GCW Say You Will- January 15, 2022
by Doc Allen
Live from the Grand Sports Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Our hosts are Kevin Gill and Dave Prazak. The room looks packed with fans.
Six Way Scramble
Alex Zayne vs. Dante Leon vs. Nick Wayne vs. Ninja Mack vs. Dark Sheik vs. Gringo Loco
Bell rings and the ring quickly empties so 2 or 3 people can take turns hitting spots in the ring at a time. Zayne piles up several opponents for a nifty somersault senton. Leon hits a double avalanche bulldog into a dropkick! Sheik hits a German suplex while bridging into a pin. Zayne uses Sheik as a weapon. Zayne hits a super rana followed by an immediate German to pile opponents! Sheik bounces off Zayne's back to hit Gringo with a double stomp. She punches Wayne in the d!ck, which might be a crime, he's only 16. Gringo hits Sheik with a military press face buster. Mack leaps off Zayne, but Gringo piles them for a flying splash. Leon hits a twisting press, but Mack surprises him with a flying kick. Gringo hits a creative twisting slam for 2. Wayne ambushes with a standing Spanish Fly and then hits a corkscrew press to outside! Mack follows with a back handspring plancha. Leon shows off with a twisting plancha as well. Gringo double stacks two opponents and Sheik hits the biggest Doomsday Device ever on Wayne! Mack finishes the stunt with a DOOMSDAY TOPE SUICIDA! Gringo hits an avalanche sitout powerbomb on Mack to win at 8:50! This was the greatest scramble I've seen, it's like they knew these had become mundane and pulled out all the stops, ****.Winner: Gringo Loco
Tony Deppen vs. Mike Bailey
They start by playing to the crowd for cheers, and Deppen flips some fans off for booing him. Bailey offers a friendly handshake, but Deppen mocks with a crane pose. They run the ropes, Bailey scores a chest kick. Deppen laughs maniacally while trading forearm shots. Deppen hits a shotgun dropkick to set up a wild flipping tope. Bailey answers with a moonsault to outside. Bailey follows with double knees to the chest. Bailey fakes Deppen out with a chop and unleashes an aggressive burst of offense. Deppen angrily blocks a kick and slaps the face. Deppen hits a leaping Codebreaker for 2. They trap each other by the wrists and trade stiff shots. Bailey hits a comedic looking flurry of kicks, but Deppen kicks him outside. Bailey recovers with an Asai moonsault! Bailey is distracted by the fans chanting his nickname, and Deppen hits a superplex and holds on for more punishment. Deppen applies “chicken mutilation” and Bailey gets a last second rope break. “This is awesome” chant. Deppen hits a tombstone piledriver for 2, Bailey answers with a standing Spanish Fly. Bailey misses his second rope SSP, but recovers for a blistering driver, but DEPPEN KICKS OUT! Bailey's SSP is blocked by Deppen's dropkick! Bailey recovers with a double knees moonsault, but Deppen pulls the tights to reverse a rollup and wins at 12:37! Really good exhibition that did a lot of little things right and had the fans buying the false finishes, ***¼.Winner: Tony Deppen
Kirby Alexander is here to play guest ring announcer.
Blake Christian vs. Bandido
Bandido offers up a handshake and hug. They start with some friendly grappling. Blake changes the tone with an attempted blindside clothesline, hits a shoulder block, and they run the ropes aggressively and earn a standing ovation for their stalemate. Blake hits a sneaky leg sweep and puts Bandido on defense. Blake's split legged moonsault gets 2. Bandido answers with a deadlift military press slam for a good nearfall! Bandido hits (what I think was supposed to be) a Shining Wizard. They trade open hand slaps, and Bandido turns himself into a human lawn dart for 2. Bandido dishes out the Three Amigos but Blake kicks out. Blake surprises with a low DVD and then a double stomp to the chest. Blake goes on offense, but accidentally chops the ring post. Despite the setback, Blake keeps hitting chops. Bandido retaliates with a back handspring cutter, followed by a soaring dive. Bandido hits a West Coast Pop for only 2! Blake sidesteps to send Bandido outside for a shotgun dive that sends Bandido bouncing into the 3rd or 4th row! Back to the ring, Blake hits a springboard forearm to the back of the head. Blake hits a springboard moonsault for 2. They have another slapfest until Bandido hits a backbreaker onto his knees and follows with a cutter and driver for a good nearfall. They take a breather, Bandido then hits a crucifix bomb for 2. Christian answers with a somersault senton to outside! Blake follows with a low 619 and springboard 450 splash, but Bandido kicks out! Frog splash by Blake also gets 2. "This is awesome" chant. Blake hits a Brainbuster and wins out of nowhere at 19:12! Very good, athletic match that got the crowd going. They worked hard to earn their nearfalls, the finish was a tad anticlimactic, ***¾.Winner: Blake Christian
Blake joins commentary to put himself over as the next ROH Champion because he beat Bandido, and he'll beat Gresham too.
ROH World Championship:
Jonathan Gresham © vs. 2 Cold Scorpio
Crowd gives them a dueling chant at the bell. They lock up, Scorpio forces a quick rope break. Gresham grabs a headlock, holds on despite getting slammed. They frantically exchange holds and reach a stalemate. Scorpio locks knuckles and holds on through Gresham's monkey flip; they trade many pin attempts, Scorpio cartwheels to safety. Gresham refocuses his attacks to the legs, but Scorpio is able to hang with him in a technical wrestling match. Fans chant “new champ” and they start throwing chops to the face. Scorpio has more power than Gresham and chops him off his feet repeatedly. Scorpio lands a flipping leg drop but Gresham kicks out! Gresham mounts a comeback, but Scorpio knocks him down with a forearm shot. Gresham powers up enough to hang in a slugfest and blasts an enziguri! German suplex by Gresham, but Scorpio hits a back kick to the gut. Gresham dodges a series of kicks and nails another German suplex. Scorpio desperately counters with a snapmare, and flips into the buckles to break Gresham's sleeper attempt. Scorpio pauses to tease a dive, and Gresham pulls him into a sleeper for the submission at 14:01! Really interesting match, with Gresham being forced to adjust his tactics to put away the wily veteran, ***¼.Winner and still ROH World Champion: Jonathan Gresham
Scorpio insists on standing up on his own and makes sure Gresham knows that he almost beat him before accepting a handshake and hug. Blake Christian returns to the ring for a staredown with Gresham, properly setting the table for their Hammerstein Ballroom clash.
GCW Extreme Championship:
PCO © vs. AJ Gray
PCO meets Gray with a somersault senton through the ropes. PCO tosses Gray into the second row. PCO seats Gray for another senton from the apron. They hit the ring and Gray nails a leg lariat. Gray fills the ring with chairs and doors. They trade punches until Gray hits an ill-advised unprotected chair to the head. PCO recovers to put Gray through a door with another senton. PCO uses the ref to tight rope walk into a botched springboard moonsault. PCO laughs it off and hits a somersault senton onto the apron. Gray answers with another brain scrambling chair shot and leg lariat. Gray hits a chair assisted flying leg drop for only 2. They take turns smashing broken doors over their heads. PCO finds his second wind and demonstrably spears Gray through a door! PCO drapes Gray over 4 standing chairs for yet another flying senton. PCO then misses a moonsault and crashes through the standing chairs! Gray turns the chairs around so the spines are together, but PCO reverses with a weak chokeslam, and leaves him leaning. PCO climbs the ropes, so Gray body slams him through the chairs! PCO totally no-sells, but Gray repeatedly knocks him down with a flurry of offense. It takes six lariats for Gray to finish PCO at 14:52! The phrase “bowling shoe ugly” fits here, and I didn't care for the unprotected chair shots, but otherwise this was a fun brawl, **¾.Winner and new GCW Extreme Champion: AJ Gray
Emil Jay plugs GCW's PPV from the Hammerstein Ballroom, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon! He's interrupted by Matthew Justice, who feels a bit left out, and wants to fight someone. He's answered by Atticus Cogar, who's looking dapper in a flannel shirt, Bobby Beverly, and Gregory Iron. Justice quickly falls to a 3 on 1 beatdown. Cogar gets out the skewers, but Jordan Oliver runs in for a failed rescue. Finally, Manders arrives to clear out 44OH! Oliver serves Cogar up for Manders' power slam. Cogar slips away before Justice can get his hands on him, and they'll likely meet at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Iron is left behind as the sacrificial lamb.
Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green come to the ring to massive boos. Green does her best Stephanie McMahon impression and addresses the “GCW Universe” to even bigger heat. Crowd chants “Shut the F up” as she complains about Rhino goring her last night. Still, she and Cardona are better than ever, and puts over Cardona as the NEW ECW Television Champion (which is an official title change, according to Wikipedia). Cardona wants the fans to show his wife some Fing respect when talking. He rebrands GCW as “Green-Cardona Wrestling” and brags about ending Rhino's 20 year title reign. Cardona tells a story about how he wrote Paul Heyman a heartfelt letter about wanting an opportunity (when Heyman was in charge of Raw) and 2 days later he was released. Heyman can kiss Cardona's @ss and he drops the ECW TV title into a trash bin with a sarcastic “I'm sorry, I love you.” Cardona brands himself the king of the boy band express and sings a “Bye Bye Bye” parody about kicking Ricky Morton's @ss.
Matt Cardona (with Chelsea Green) vs. Ricky Morton
Fans chant “Rock and Roll” at the bell. Cardona slips out to stall. Once Cardona hits the ring, he does well and hits a shoulder block. Morton answers with a tackle of his own. Cardona hides in the corner, ref blocks Morton's punch, so he punches with his other hand while Green distracts. Green trips Morton, allowing Cardona to take over with a cheap clothesline. Cardona hits the Broski Boot for 2, so he chokes with his t-shirt. Green continues choking Morton while the ref admonishes Cardona. Morton dodges a head of steam and lights Cardona up with punches. Morton's sneaky rollup wins it at 5:56! Crowd pops in surprise! Fun, short match, but I wouldn't have had Cardona lose before the PPV, **.Winner: Matt Cardona
Cardona grabs the microphone and pretends to apologize for all his @sshole behavior towards Morton, who he grew up watching. It's all bullsh!t, of course, as Green low blows Morton, leaving him vulnerable to Cardona's chair beatdown. Joey Janela runs in to save Morton from utter destruction. Joey promises to hunt Cardona down and sacrifice him at the Ballroom, and he'll see Chelsea later tonight, wink, wink.
Kylie Rae vs. Allie Katch
They shake hands and lock up. They gradually turn up the intensity while getting increasingly annoyed with each other for their counter holds. Rae hits a nice side slam for 2, and then kicks the head in a condescending manner. Kylie politely asks a fan for his chair, but Allie cuts her off with a rollup. Clothesline by Kylie gets 2, so she manipulates the joints in an abdominal stretch. Kylie flips off a smart-@ss fan and leans into a heel role, but Allie comes back with a running hip attack. Allie puts on Kylie's bow for a cannonball for 2. Hard Irish whip by Allie and then a chinlock. Kylie escapes and lands a superkick for only 2. Kylie drags out a door, but Allie cuts her off. Kylie reverses into a tight STF, and then a crossface! Allie escapes, but Rae blasts a superkick for another 2. Kylie sets the door up in the corner, but Allie fights back. Allie hits a brutal V-Trigger, and follows with a superplex and DVD through the door! Kylie kicks out at 1! Kylie begs for mercy, ducks a door swing, and nails a superkick. Kylie smashes the door piece over Allie's back, and slams her into another crossface. Allie gets the ropes and slips out while Rae pouts, no longer smiling. They both look exhausted but throw flurries of fists. Katch hits a piledriver and wins at 18:41! This was a deliberately paced match that provided some late surprises by going into a functional overtime period after Kylie survived the door bump. Allie looks resilient heading into the PPV match with Ruby Soho, ***½.Winner: Allie Katch
Allie takes the mic and admits that it's hard to talk after a match, because winning is hard. She puts over her efforts over the past few months, in which she's had her toughest competition ever and has to work hard for every victory. She says that a year ago she was hiding behind her cat gimmick because she didn't think that anyone would like her without it. She had to dig deep and ask herself what if her dreams do come true. Now, Allie gets her dream match against Ruby Soho at the Hammerstein Ballroom, but this is her world, and she's not laying down for her. Her triumphant promo is interrupted by Jeff Jarrett, with guitar in hand. Allie tells him off, so he smashes the guitar over her head. It gets wrapped around her neck, so he drags her into a heap and stands over her like a hunter with his kill. I guess we all forgot that Jarrett hates women. Security escorts Jarrett out through a hostile crowd, and this is a helluva deal.
GCW Tag Team Championship:
The Briscoes © (Jay and Mark) vs. The Rejects (John Wayne Murdoch and Reed Bentley)
This is a war between bad-@ss chicken farmers and murderous hillbillies. Jay starts against JWM for the feeling out process, but Murdoch quickly fetches a bundle of light tubes. Jay retrieves his own bundle for a standoff. JWM smashes his tubes between Jay's eyes. Mark has seen enough and takes on both Rejects. Mark slams Murdoch onto the glass, but Bentley lights him up with repeated shots. Jay returns to drop Bentley with a chair. Mark leaps off a chair to wipe out the Rejects. Mark hits a flying elbow off the apron and through a chair. Chairs and beer buckets go flying as they brawl through the fans. Mark leaps off the bleachers to put Bentley through another chair. They brawl back to the ring, where the Rejects hip toss Jay through a door! One fan has a mysterious yellow liquid in a jug, the competitors are wisely ignoring him. The Briscoes and Rejects sit together in a circle for a comedic sitting brawl. They all take KO shots Reservoir Dogs-style and go down. They stumble back into the ring to resume brawling. The Briscoes hit Bentley with a tandem neckbreaker for 2. Jay hits JWM with a normal neckbreaker. The Rejects bridge a door onto some chairs, and flapjack Mark next to it. The Rejects put Mark through the door with a SUPER DESTROYER but Jay breaks the pin! Jay hits Bentley with a J-Driller while Mark slams JWM onto some tubes. Mark's Froggy Elbow finishes Bentley at 15:42! The Briscoes truly are the kings of wild, inventive hardcore brawls, ****.Winners and still GCW Tag Team Champions: The Briscoes
The Briscoes cut their "go home" promo for the Hammerstein Ballroom. They issue an open challenge to any tag team in the world, which could be code for "FTR.""
Final Thoughts: This was an excellent pay-per-view, full of great matches and build to the Hammerstein Ballroom event. The first half of the show focused heavily on in-ring action, while the second half focused mainly on angles and storylines, but it worked well and the main event brawl wrapped everything together. I'm going to skip the dark Death Match main event that aired on Youtube immediately afterwards, but I give this PPV a hearty recommendation.
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