WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE AND LANGUAGE AHEAD, DUH IT’S GCW
It’s night two of GCW’s carnival of carnage in Japan. Ready to Die would have the hard task of building on the amazing action of night one and giving us more new matches. This time we got a battle of the young bulls in Drew Parker vs Jimmy Lloyd, two veterans going to war in Matt Tremont vs Ryuji Ito and a battle of the hardest heads when Matthew Justice squared off with Masato Tanaka. Plus, there was a whole host of tag matches in between too. Let’s return to Japan for more GCW madness.
Kikutaro Open Challenge: Kikutaro defeated Chinsuke Nakamura via World’s Longest Brainbuster
The show opened with an angry Kikutaro taking to the ring to complain about not having a match on the show. As a Japanese staple of GCW, he felt left out and issued an open challenge for anyone to accept. As he finished the statement, a familiar entrance theme hit. It was none other than Chinsuke Nakamura. Yes, you read that correct, we had a Nakamura tribute wrestler fighting Kikutaro. To give the guy credit, he was a great tribute if not quite as strong style. Chinsuke started by taunting Kikutaro, so Kikutaro chopped him down hard. He made fun of Chinsuke’s walk and the pair locked up trading wristlocks. When a corner splash failed Chinsuke came back with the elevated knee strike and a tribute to Good Vibrations. He tried for the Bomaye (Kinshasa) but only got a one-count. Kikutaro took out the knee of Chinsuke and went for the world’s longest and most polite Brainbuster. Would you believe it, he actually hit it and got the win? What a dominant match for Kikutaro. It’s almost like he didn’t have a serious opponent. But you know what, I got a good laugh out of this and that’s all that matters. In the end, Kikutaro announced he would take Chinsuke to Tampa with him.
Yuji Okabayashi & Shigehiro Irie defeated Chris Dickinson & KTB via Dual Splashes
Assisted finlay roll from @bjw_pissari and @tachimukau_irie!#GCW #GCWJapan @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/BEc0ctbe5W pic.twitter.com/SEaSPyc7PE— Rob (@HeyyImRob) February 6, 2020
Hey, do you like hoss fights? Do you like really athletic hoss fights? Then this is the match for you. It took the fight from last night and added two new elements with Shigehiro Irie and KTB. It was team Japan vs Team GCW and it couldn’t look better. KTB and Irie started with a battle of the beasts. A test of strength ended in a stalemate so KTB hit a forearm and a flying Lucha arm drag. He kept the pace up and downed Irie with a flying shoulder tackle. Irie reversed a suplex attempt and slammed KTB down then hit a rope sprung splash. He and Okabayashi rushed Dickinson and Yuji launched Irie into KTB on the outside. I’m pretty sure Irie injured himself in the process. KTB shook it off and knocked Irie off the top rope with a leaping elbow. He tagged in Dickinson who was all fired up to fight. He knocked about Irie with his brand of Staten Island strong style but really seemed to want to fight Okabayashi again. He nearly won with a Brainbuster then tagged in KTB for a flurry ending with KTB hitting a Lionsault. Both KTB and Irie started slugging each other with neither budging until they both KO’ed each other. Both men crawled to their partners giving us Dickinson/Okabayash round 2. The pair beat the piss out of each other then Okabayashi downed Dickinson and put him in the torture rack. Dickinson escaped and dropped Okabayashi on his head with a German Suplex and nearly decapitated him with a lariat. KTB took out an interfering Irie by diving on him but ended up chopped up by Okabayashi. He hit a massive diving headbutt but only got a two count. He missed a Moonsault and was assaulted by an angry Irie, eating a cannonball in the corner. Dickinson saved KTB from the torture rack but ended up being caught by Okabayashi who slammed Irie who was slamming Dickinson with a Finlay Roll. I’m serious, that happened. They returned to KTB and finished him with dual splashes. Okabayashi goes 2 for 2 on this tour. What a slugfest. This isn’t a match for vegetarians as there was a lot of beef in that ring.
Jimmy Lloyd defeated Drew Parker via Gonzo Bomb
It’s deathmatch fuckery time. It was a battle of the young bulls as Drew Parker and Jimmy Lloyd looked to steal the show once again. They had worked well as a team on night one but would make better enemies this time. They started with duelling gusset plates but decided to just hammer them into their own heads. The pair traded strikes and knocked each other down with headbutts. Parker blocked a light tube show and hit Lloyd with a Meteora. Lloyd returned fire with a light tube bundle and a powerbomb/piledriver combo. Lloyd grabbed a syringe and jammed it through Parker’s cheek, firing up Parker. He dropped Lloyd with a Detonation Kick and a Poisonrana then drove him into a board of sharp things (commentary description.) The pair traded kicks with Parker hitting a 450 Splash on a downed Lloyd. Lloyd returned fire with a DDT-stroyer and gonzo bomb but only got one. Parker went full-on warrior but got caught by the Assault Driver. He went for the kill by hitting a second Gonzo bomb, putting down Parker. I’m not going to lie I expected more from this. I liked what I got but I wanted it to be longer and wilder. It felt like they were holding back a bit. It was good for what it was.
Toru Sugiura, Takashi Sasaki & Violento Jack defeated SHLAK, Orin Veidt & Kenji Fukimoto via Electric Chair DVD
Inverted DDT onto thumbtacks from @OrinVeidt!#GCW #GCWJapan @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/BEc0ctbe5W pic.twitter.com/uduWrt6yeh— Rob (@HeyyImRob) February 6, 2020
Team FREEDOMs came after Team GCW and a turncoat next as Kenji Fukimoto was paired with SHLAK and Veidt. SHLAK loves attacking veterans so it would be interesting to see if he tried to murder Sasaki here. The FREEDOMs team cleaned the ring leaving just SHLAK and Jack to start the match. They traded chops and strikes but SHLAK won the exchange with a slam. He took out Sugiura and Sasaki too, laying the boots into Sasaki. He went after his arm and tagged in Veidt. He quickly tagged in Fukimoto, who started whipping Sasaki with his belt. He tried to choke out Sasaki and posed with SHLAK. Team kind of GCW kept working down Sasaki with Fukimoto cutting off a comeback with a dick kick. Sasaki finally got a break when he avoided an elbow drop from SHLAK causing him to elbow the ring apron. He kicked SHLAK out of the ring, tagged in Sugiura and Sugiura proceeded to dive on everyone. He went slug for slug with SHLAK but once again flipping off his opponent got him in trouble as SHLAK took his head off with a lariat. Sugiura escaped SHLAK with a crossbody and tagged in Jack. He mixed it up with Fukimoto, both men nearly downing the other on several occasions. Fukimoto tried to double team Jack but it would be SHLAK who interrupted the action with a missile dropkick to the dick. A gusset plate board was brought into the ring as Jack and SHLAK traded German Suplexes. SHLAK got put through the gusset board but a sneaky Veidt looked to steal the win with a rope hung neck breaker. It failed. Thumbtacks were brought into the ring and Veidt tried to put Jack down with Takeda’s Inverted Slam. That too failed. We got a tacks bomber and skewers to the head before Jack could finish Veidt with a super DVD. This was great. It started as a madcap six-man tag that only intensified with deathmatch fuckery. It mostly felt like the SHLAK show for a lot of it but Jack really got to shine too. Not that he needed anymore after that mad match on night 1 with Colon.
Masato Tanaka defeated Matthew Justice via Chair Breaking Sliding D
Next up was a battle between two guys that CTE fears. Matthew Justice and Masato Tanaka have two things in common, they both have very hard heads and fear next to nothing. Tanaka is an FMW and ECW legend so you could see Justice was over the moon to be in a ring with him. It was a slugfest to start as both men tried to knock the other down. Justice got the better of it, survived a guillotine and kicked Tanaka to the floor. He dove onto Tanaka and started pulling out chairs. He tried to sit Tanaka down for a cannonball but ended up colliding with the chair. They brawled into the crowd with Tanaka taking a fan’s strong zero and smashing it into the face of Justice. He tossed it back to the fan and the pair kept brawling. Justice also used a fan beverage as a weapon and brought the action back in-ring. Justice surprised Tanaka with a massive DDT and tried to go to the top rope. Tanaka stopped him and started to gouge the eyes of Justice. He hit Justice with a Superplex but Justice tanked it and dropped him with a suplex of his own. They hit some lariats and dodges but Justice won the exchange with a DVD. He set up some chairs whilst Tanaka was on the floor. He perched Tanaka on the top rope but ended up going through the chairs when Tanaka reversed it with Diamond Dust. Tanaka sent Justice to the ramp but this just gave Justice the run-up for a suicide spear. Justice kept on the assault by hitting Tanaka with a trio of unprotected chair shots to the head. He then went for a chair assisted splash but only got a one-count. Tanaka fired back by breaking a chair over Justice’s head and hitting a rolling elbow. That too only got a one-count. He broke another chair over his head and finished Justice with a brutal Sliding D. KO, Masato Tanaka has won the game. This was brilliant. I love stiff bouts and this was just that. Tanaka still has it and Justice brought it to him. Both men probably suffered for this match but I loved watching every second of it. Justice got another heartfelt moment as Tanaka showered him with respect.
Danny Havoc & Alex Colon defeated Toshiyuki Sakuda & Isami Kodaka via General Order 24
JESUS! Light tube elbow doomsday device from @DannyHavocSite and @alexcolon0139!#GCW #GCWJapan @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/BEc0ctbe5W pic.twitter.com/DSC1wIpnrY— Rob (@HeyyImRob) February 6, 2020
It’s time for another BJW vs GCW war match. This was originally set to be Takeda teaming with Sakuda but well, night one happened and Kodaka is a more than fitting replacement. Plus, it meant I got to see Kodaka and Colon in the same ring together. The ring was full of plunder and Sakuda had brought some kind of board with him. Colon had his own plunder too so things were going to get messy. The fight started on the outside with all men fighting. Kodaka and Colon were the first in-ring and Kodaka started stabbing with a light tube. Colon ran through a second and kicked Kodaka down. Sakuda got another night of fighting an opponent bigger than him by trying to take on Danny Havoc. He went for a light tube but Havoc ate it. He kicked Havoc into the corner and elbowed another tube into him. Havoc reversed an Irish whip and crushed Sakuda in the corner and tagged in Colon. Sakuda’s night got worse as Colon launched him straight through a barbed wire board. Sakuda caught a running Colon with a rolling senton but only got a two. Kodaka tossed him a safety pinboard which Colon broke over him with double knees. Colon tried to go for the top rope Spanish Fly but Sakuda reversed into a Top Rope Sliced Bread. He tagged in Kodaka who floored Havoc and went to work on Colon. He tried to hit Colon with a light tube but Colon kneed him through it. Colon tagged Havoc in and the pair executed a Shining Wizard/Dragon Suplex combo. Sakuda broke up a pinfall and worked with Kodaka to hit a 619. Kodaka KO’ed Havoc with a head kick and Sakuda hit him with a springboard senton onto a barbed wire board. Havoc set Kodaka on the top rope and set up a chair held light tube bundle but Kodaka reversed the move attempt and dropped Havoc knees first through the bundle and followed up with some top rope double knees. Kodaka should have gone for a cover but instead grabbed some tubes and headed up again. Colon intercepted and set up a light tube Doomsday Device with Havoc. Sakuda tried to get involved but had tubes thrown into his face by Colon. Colon followed up with a light tube dive whilst Havoc tried to fight Kodaka. Havoc tried for a DVD but Kodaka reversed into a KO kick and a brutal tube assisted knee strike. He tried to follow up but Havoc ducked and responded with an around the world slam. Havoc followed it up with a DVD through his special light tube bundle for the win. He just pinned one of BJW’s best in brutal fashion. I don’t know what to say about this one. Words can’t describe how fucking good it was. From start to finish it was just brutal action and intensity. Danny Havoc is still bloody amazing despite his time away. Watch this one!
Ryuji Ito defeated Matt Tremont via Light Tube Dragon Splash
What better way to main-event a show than have two veterans of their respective countries beat the shit out of each other with added deathmatch fuckery? Ryuji Ito is one of BJW’s elite and Matt Tremont needs no introduction. These two were absolutely going to put on a barnburner. A barbed-wire bat had been placed in the centre of the ring and the pair instantly fought over it. Ito hit low and won the exchange, bringing the bat down on Tremont’s back. The pair tried to back and forth around a barbed wire board. After a couple of dodges, Tremont gained enough momentum to throw Ito through one. A brawl started on the outside with Ito making a barbed wire knuckle duster to drag across the head of Tremont. The bulldozer battled back with some hard right hands but the barbed wire was winning. Back in-ring, Ito set up some chairs to start a bar fight. Tremont won it but both men were left collapsed on the canvas. Tremont found the barbed wire bat and introduced it to Ito’s face across the sides of the ring. We had a light tube test of strength that was won by Ito headbutting the tubes into Tremont’s head. Ito placed a barbed wire board on the back of Tremont and started swinging away at it with a chair. He kept on the assault with a corner splash and an Axe Kick. He did a second with light tubes and set Tremont up for a Moonsault. This missed giving Tremont and opportunity back into the match with a Samoan Drop. Tremont called for flower pots which he then broke over the head of Ito. Tremont tried to go top rope but Ito cut this off by throwing a chair at him. He set up some chairs for Tremont to land on and broke some light tubes over his head for good measure. He signalled for a top rope Brainbuster and dropped Tremont across a tower of chairs. Tremont kicked out so Ito hammered kenzans into his head, broke a chair and hit a light tube assisted Dragon Splash onto Tremont for the win. I loved this way more than I thought I would. It was fast, furious and felt like the main event. Both guys killed each other and that is what we all wanted to see. Age clearly means nothing in the deathmatch game.
DRAGON SPLASH!!! @Deathmatch_ito #GCWJAPAN @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/S1MoflV1w8 pic.twitter.com/BIaGtC1zSc— Kayden (@KVR216) February 6, 2020
So, there you have it, GCW Ready to Die reviewed for your reading pleasure. What a show. Once again GCW kills it from start to finish. These Japan shows have always been an all killer no filler affair and this was no different. Kikutaro got a win, Okabayashi proved to be unstoppable again, Team BJW vs Team GCW was a blast and the main event was everything it needed to be. Even the slightly short Lloyd vs Parker match delivered some intense spots so I can’t complain. Japan really does bring the best out of GCW. I eagerly await night 3. See you there (if you keep reading regularly anyway…)
All images courtesy of GCW Twitter, Drew Parker Twitter, HeyyImRob Twitter, Kayden (KVR216) Twitter