WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE AND LANGUAGE AHEAD
Welcome back to GCW and to one of the wildest weekends the company has ever thrown that’s not part of the Collective. These next two shows boast some of the weirdest, wonderful, and out-there bouts we’ve seen in quite some time. Even with some last-minute changes (hope you heal up soon Alex Colon), there was still a wealth of matches to dig into. To name a few, we’d see Joey Janela vs Mascara Dorada, The Briscoes vs the S.A.T, SGC vs the Lucha Allstars, and much much more leading to the main event deathmatch between Hoodfoot and the Bulldozer. This was going to be a mix of beautiful bloody anarchy so let’s get into the action.
The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) defeated The S.A.T (Joel & Jose Maximo w/Will Maximo) via Jay Driller
The show opened with one of the most unexpected tag team dream matches on the planet. It would be the former GCW Tag Champs The Briscoes taking on the legendary unit of The S.A.T. It would be Joel and Jose Maximo, the creators of the Spanish Fly and the best at bringing the unexpected taking on Dem Boys. The show was really kicking off with some fireworks. Well damn, this was fun as hell. It threatened to be a standard tag match before the Briscoes threw tags out the window and we got a four-way brawl. Both teams ended up eating doors and got to pull out their signature hits. Joel and Jose brought the fight and had the Briscoes rocked for a lot of the fight, even pulling brother magic by bringing Will into the dance too. Everyone had fun with this one and the fans were enjoying it too. We got to see the Spanish Fly that made the Maximos so popular and other throwbacks to the teams of old, including a From the Heavens. This was the perfect opening bout as it was pure, unexpected fun from two legendary teams.
Blake Christian defeated Jimmy Lloyd via Heart-Drop DDT
Styles make fights and we were about to see two guys who can adapt to almost any style take to the ring. Lloyd is always out to prove he’s more than a deathmatch guy by bringing out any style he can. Christian has been doing the same to remind people he’s more than flips and to prove he’s championship material. This could literally be any type of match. Lloyd was coming in with an ankle injury so Christian went straight for it. That would be his MO for most of the match as he showed off a foray of unique targeted attacks and submissions, systematically wrecking Jimmy Lloyd’s knee. Hell, he even hit a Figure-Four Powerbomb. Lloyd tried to keep himself in the match and found his spot to drop Christian but could never land the killing blow, having to pull out of attempted manoeuvres because his leg couldn’t take it. This was another sadistic side to Blake Christian coming out to play and showing us what could be when he steps into the Octopus’s den. It’s rare we see Lloyd in such an unwinnable position but Christian basically tortured him for most of the match and sadistically savoured having that power. It was a very compelling side to see.
Nick Wayne defeated Jordan Oliver via Boston Counter Pin
Well, well, well. It was time for the battle of the young guns. Nick Wayne is taking the wrestling world by storm and now was battling the guy that has had his back the whole time he’s been here, Jordan Oliver. He’d just been signed to AEW and now it was time to show why they’d offered him the contract. It started respectfully enough but quickly descended into a battle of one-upmanship as Oliver took matters into his own hands and tried to break Wayne’s ribs. From there, it was an all-out war with splashes of high-flying, submission wrestling and a whole host of counterwork. It was all exceptionally well-executed with both guys showing a whole host of experience beyond their years. This went to the limit with both guys knocking seven bells of shit out of each other and leaving welts galore. As per, it seems friendship and respect lead to hitting your opponent harder. Oliver didn’t want to be outshone but here, he couldn’t get the win. Wayne was the most resilient of the duo and took the rib damage, the heavy landings, and the kicks galore to dish the same back out and walk out the winner. It had been a roll-up that did it but a win is a win. Wayne walked out of Atlantic City with the win after putting on another display of why he’s one of the hottest young guns on the scene. Even Oliver couldn’t grumble when the smoke cleared.
Second Gear Crew (EFFY, AJ Gray, Matthew Justice & 1 Called Manders) defeated Gringo Loco, ASF, Jack Cartwheel & Ninja “Kamikaze” Mack via Hammock Justice Splash on Cartwheel
It doesn't matter if he's going by Ninja Mack or Kamikaze, he's fucking DEAD. @1called_manders @ThrashJustice #GCWBelieveMe @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/Y6pAllzOKB pic.twitter.com/1oK5LGIvAR— Rob (@HeyyImRob) February 20, 2022
If you hear Pantera’s Walk and you’re in the front row, run for the hills as a hurricane was coming. SGC was in the house and it was going to get manic as they were battling four of the top high-flyers in GCW. We know SGC loves nothing more than a fight but would they be able to cope with the flying antics of Gringo Loco, ASF, Cartwheel, and Kamikaze? We didn’t even get proper introductions because ASF and Cartwheel ambushed SGC with Mack and Loco quickly following. This broke down into pure insanity. It went from Lucha flips and splashes galore to SGC taking to the plunder and tossing away bodies. We had showdowns galore and another hot crowd for Manders, who I was exceptionally happy to see back. The wildest part was the emergence of Ninja Black who’d come to stop Kamikaze which meant we even got to see AJ Gray busting out the Lucha moves. This was fucking incredible. One of the wildest eight-mans I’ve seen in quite some time with SGC and the Lucha Stars colliding to make one of the most anarchic displays of wrestling spectacle that Atlantic City has ever seen. An absolute must-watch.
Post-match, Nick F’N Gage was out to address his GCW future. The King has recovered from injury and is now a tag champion, so what was next for the leader of the MDK Gang? He addressed the year he’d had, dealing with injuries, the deaths of his brothers, and the rumours flying that he wasn’t the man no more. The worst thing was he’d started believing them. Thankfully, he remembered he has the MDK gang and will continue to fight with the contract as security. This was the statement we all needed to know that Nick Fucking Gage was back and ready to be the fucking man again, even if the said speech was invaded by the personas non grata of GCW, The Rejects. They threatened Gage there and then, wanting to fight. That didn’t happen though as Orin Veidt and G-Raver came to stop them with bundles.
Tag Team Death: The Rejects (John Wayne Murdoch & Reed Bentley) defeated G-Raver & Orin Veidt via Judd Nelson Driver on Veidt
.@StaySickGRAVER and @OrinVeidt send @TheDukeJWM into a pane of glass covering @TheReedBentley!#GCWBelieveMe @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/Y6pAllzOKB pic.twitter.com/LVO3XRxECj— Rob (@HeyyImRob) February 20, 2022
The words card subject to change often hurt. Sadly, Alex Colon was injured so Reed Bentley’s title shot would have to wait. With him being here and ready to fight, we had an impromptu tag match made as Bentley and Veidt joined G-Raver vs John Wayne Murdoch for some tag team warfare. The Rejects were going to put on a display of violence before their next Tag Title shot against the H8 Club. We had fuckery to break and two teams ready to smash it. Raver and Veidt had saved Gage, now it was time for their impromptu tag match. Gage took to commentary as we watched bundles galore break over all four heads. It was a glass-tastrophe of a match with ridiculous amounts of pure tube and pane-based violence. This was fucking awesome. It was just continuous creative tube smashing and pane breaking with both teams bloodied and cut to fuck. No one got it easy in this one with all four guys bleeding for the crowd. The Rejects might not be the most welcome group in GCW but they put on a fucking show, pelting tubes and panes into GCW’s beloved psychopaths. We had the Deep-South Destroyer into the Koji Clutch and the Regal-Plex getting centre stage before finally landing the Judd Nelson Driver for the win.
GCW Medical Personnel is currently tending to @OGkevingill backstage. Stay tuned for an update when it is available.
KG thanks you for the “overwhelming love and support”.#GCWBELIEVEME pic.twitter.com/SrxcBwjFL1
— GameChangerWrestling (@GCWrestling_) February 20, 2022
Their rage against GCW didn’t end there as they attacked resident commentator and Alex Colon cheerleader, Kevin Gill with a bundle post-match. That earned a mixed response from the fans and showed that no one was safe from their wrath. Because of the injuries, Kevin Gill was off commentary for the rest of the night. That was another act of war in the Colon/Murdoch war and it definitely got a response as Colon had to be held back. After some more verbal back-and-forth, the match was made for Joey Janela’s Spring Break. No more words, no more games, Colon was going to hurt Murdoch.
Billie Starkz defeated Cole Radrick via Swanton Bomb
We returned from intermission to a change of pace. It would be Cole Radrick, the Wildheart battling Space Jesus, Billie Starkz. This was a big chance for either fighter to score a win and get a good showing. It would also be nice to see what madcap wrestling the pair could create. It became the story of Icarus as Starkz started fast but flew too close to the sun with a Swanton and got punished for it by Radrick. She had to fight back and withstand the abuse to make any more headway in the match, continuously eating slams, forearms, and kicks. Starkz wouldn’t die though and managed to bring herself back into things with some stiff shots and took the win. it was a very traditional but fun encounter between the pair that made for an enjoyable viewing experience. Starkz always excels as an underdog and Radrick was more than willing to get nasty to try and get the win. This is the kind of fire you see when there’s so much to prove. Both wrestlers killed it here.
Mascara Dorada defeated Joey Janela via Airplane Spin Driver
JESUS! @Mascaradorada24 vaults over the top rope to hurricanrana Janela through a door on the floor!#GCWBelieveMe @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/Y6pAllzOKB pic.twitter.com/Gka8tGAjOU— Rob (@HeyyImRob) February 20, 2022
Joey Janela is really on the oddest match streak. I’m all for it but who’d have thought we’d be sitting here saying he’d battled Dr. Wagner Jr and now, he was stepping into the ring with the explosive Mascara Dorada. I didn’t quite know what to expect here as Dorada is another Swiss-army knife wrestler. We’d had a small taste of what he could do, now it was time for the former Gran Metalik to showcase his one-on-one skills with the bad boy. Janela was not in the mood to fuck around tonight as he went after Dorada and had him under his thumb. We got more plunder and lightning with doors coming into play and Dorada aiming to pick up the pace, stinging Janela’s chest with hellacious overhand chops. That opened into an incredible back-and-forth chess game of a match with the Bad Boy at his brutal best as he tried not to get outshone in his house by Dorada, breaking out some unexpected moves to do so. I never knew I needed to see Janela do an inverted Spanish Fly. Even then, Dorada would not be denied and caused a door to exploded with a flying Head-Scissor to the outside. It was competitive to the end with Dorada able to come back into the fight and take the win. Both guys showed out here for the Atlantic City crowd and gave us another awesome match to add to this awesome as hell show.
Death: Hoodfoot Mo Atlas defeated Matt Tremont via Saito Suplex Storm
Last but not least, the main event. It was time to paint the hall crimson as we prepared for a bloodbath. Hoodfoot was getting his second GCW deathmatch main event as he took on the Bulldozer Matt Tremont. The Saucy Butcher has been rising through the deathmatch ranks and now, he was in the ring with one of the most respected guys in the genre. This was going to be a hoss fight full of gratuitous blood loss and broken glass. I couldn’t wait. They went from strongman shunting to ultraviolence as Hoodfoot went for Tremont’s bat and got spiked for it. We kept getting this nice mix of powerhouse and bloodbath as heavy hands met barbed wire and glass. Hoodfoot wasn’t just going to take the abuse without dishing it back. We saw the true extent of the striking with an absolutely jaw-breaking barfight before the blood really began to flow. Hoodfoot broke the first tube of the match across Tremont’s back and kicked the match into another gear as Tremont knew Hoodfoot wanted to play. No mercy was shown as both guys were cut to shreds by broken tubes and turned a ghastly shade of red, continuing to show off the power that had brought both guys to the dance.
This was big man warfare in a ring full of shards as the crowd lost their collective minds for both fighters. The crowd wanted blood and both men delivered, taking nasty bumps into the glass and delivering some nightmarish tube shots to each other. We even saw the pair crash down from the second rope as Hoodfoot delivered an avalanche Saito suplex. That didn’t end things so Hoodfoot set up a barbed-wire door and went for broke. Unfortunately, Tremont had it clocked and headbutted him through the door before following him down with a colossal splash. Much like Tremont though, Hoodfoot was too tough to stay down. More tubes broke and Hoodfoot just kept hitting Saitos until Tremont stayed down. This fucking rocked. Talk about an all-or-nothing bloodbath of hard hits, harder landings, and glass galore. Hoodfoot is a made man now with a win over one of the top dogs of deathmatch. What a fucking main event, you just put two tough-as-nails motherfuckers in the ring and let them fight it out. As you can hopefully tell, I loved this one. Hoodfoot is killing it in the deathmatch game and now, he’s got a massive win to show that deathmatch loves him back. What a way to top off one hell of a show.
.@TremontH2O sends Hoodfoot falling into a barbed wire/gusset board with a headbutt and then hits a splash!#GCWBelieveMe @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/Y6pAllzOKB pic.twitter.com/07q2NJnxSl— Rob (@HeyyImRob) February 20, 2022
All images courtesy of GCW, HeyyImRob