So, it begins again. WrestleMania has rolled around which means, it’s time for The Collective. The indie collection of shows had invaded Dallas, Texas, and was coming with a storm of GCW shows and shows with friends. It was the Collective World Fair and among the rides and attractions, we had some dream matches brewing. For this first day, we had Glory Pro kicking things off, Josh Barnett booking another volume of Bloodsport, the first part of another wild Spring Break, and closing out with Planet Death. We had a lot of big matches and bloodshed to get into so let’s get into the action.
Glory Pro “Cemetery Gates”
Let’s start with some Glory Pro. The Missouri company was about to shine with some stellar matches mixing well-known favourites and hot up and comers. This was their attempt to get wrestling fans up and amped for the shows to come and show their stuff in their second Collective outing. Let’s see how they did.
Myron Reed defeated Carlos Romo, Shane Sabre & Danny Jones via Cap’n Crunch on Sabre: The show opened with some international flair as Spain’s Carlos Romo and the UK’s Danny Jones came to mix it up with Shane Sabre and Hot Fiyah Myron Reed. This got everyone’s hearts pumping. It was fast, furious and showcased everyone’s unique styles before giving one of the most recognisable stars on the scene the win. No slack, no drag, just fun.
Midwest Territory Championship: Tootie Lynn defeated Janai Kai via Bridging Fujiwara Armbar: Things were only going to get scarier as the Kick Demon was entering the building. Janai Kai had come to fight and in her way was the Midwest Territory Champion, the Little Blue Dragon, Tootie Lynn. Goddamn, this was stiff. It was pure martial arts and a striking showcase as Kai tried to torture Lynn and Lynn made her pay for doing so.
Jake Something defeated Max the Impaler via Black Hole Slam: Well, here comes the destruction. It was time for a battle between two absolute monsters. Something and Max were about to tear each other apart. That’s just what they did. This was absolutely wild as the two bulls just kept charging, knocking each other loopy and bloody. Max was more than a match for Something but just couldn’t quite keep him down. This was 100% a show standout.
Submission Match: Allie Katch defeated Laynie Luck via Rope-Trapped Boston Crab: Don’t piss off Allie Katch. That is what Laynie Luck had done so now they were settling things in a no rope-break submission match. This could get very ugly as there were no DQs and a lot of bad blood. These two killed each other and the match with what they pulled out here. They navigated the stipulation well, turning pinfall-gaining moves into submission attempts and trying to cripple the other’s limbs. Their story bled through and Katch continued to utilise dirty tactics to break holds and got the win. Seriously great match here.
.@LaynieLuck leaps off the middle rope to hit a cutter!#GPCollective @WeAreGloryPro
▶️https://t.co/gzGbfZdXgf pic.twitter.com/ikzEuGWuXi— Rob (@HeyyImRob) March 31, 2022
United Glory Tag Titles: Hustle & Muscle (Karam & Xavier Walker) defeated Technical Difficulties (Moses the Deliverer & Rahim de la Suede), Fly Def (Warren Johnson & Zack Mason) & Alpha Omega (Camaro Jackson & Kenny Alfonso) via Spinebuster: The anarchy continued with a four-team tag title bout. We had high flyers and heavy hitters all colliding to get some gold. The new champs were trying to keep their titles against three hungry teams and were going to go all-out, rules be damned. The sheer number of talent in the ring led to a continuous madcap pace and a whole lot of energy in the ring. It was an awesome clusterfuck of tag excellence.
No Remorse Corps (Davey Richards and Rocky Romero) defeated Grindhouse (Mat Fitchett and Davey Vega) via Double Stomp DVD on Vega: Well damn, how’s this for a tag team extravaganza. Fitchett and Vega had ditched the Besties persona to become Grindhouse and now, they were getting one hell of a chance to show off by destroying a legendary team, The No Remorse Corps. Rocky Romero and Davey Richards had reunited for this one but would there be rust to worry about? Oh man, this is just what I wanted. This was four pros in a ring doing what they do best. Grindhouse remains one of the best teams on the scene and No Remorse Corps picked up where they left off. Again, this was another great match of great wrestling.
No DQ Loser Leaves the Neighbourhood Match: Dan the Dad defeated Kody Lane via Figure Four Leglock: This neighbourhood ain’t big enough for the two of us. That’s the sad reality that Kody Lane and Dan the Dad had found sharing the same suburban neighbourhood. They couldn’t co-exist so they were going to have a no DQ war to settle this with the loser moving away. Who knew a neighbourhood could mean so much? This was the first dose of hardcore for the Collective as these two used wrestling and plunder to forcibly evict each other. Dan was successful in ridding his neighbourhood of what he deemed a public nuisance but it had definitely left a mark. Good luck on the move Lane.
.@JPWARHORSE with a double stomp on the hanging Josh Alexander!#GPCollective @WeAreGloryPro
▶️https://t.co/gzGbfZdXgf pic.twitter.com/Bvajt106y3— Rob (@HeyyImRob) March 31, 2022
Josh Alexander defeated WARHORSE via Butterfly Piledriver: Get the horns up, get your head banging, WARHORSE was in the building and it was time to rule ass. He was getting one hell of a challenge though as he was facing one of Canada’s best wrestlers, Josh Alexander. Never have two styles clashed quite so much. Better yet, that clash of styles led to an insanely good contest. People tend to forget just how good a wrestler WARHORSE is so to pair him with someone as technically gifted as Alexander lets that shine through. WARHORSE kicked ass but Alexander was just one step ahead of him today.
Crown of Glory Championship: Mike Outlaw vs. Bryan Keith via Pin Trap: Last but not least the main event. Two heavy-hitting badasses were throwing down and ending the show in style. It was the Bounty Hunter Bryan Keith setting his sights on the top title in Glory and going for the best in the company, Mike Outlaw. Keith had the crowd backing him and Outlaw had Team Ambition in his corner. This was as real as it gets. It was physical, painful and technically sound with both guys proving why they got that main event spot. Keith and Outlaw found an excellent rhythm and put on one hell of a high stakes, high tension bout to close an awesome show. Way to kick the Collective off in style.
GCW: “Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 8”
Now I don’t want to be biased but this right here was one of the most-hyped shows I have for the event. Bloodsport has always been a personal favourite of mine and this card was unbelievably stacked. There were big names, big fighters and the promise of some hard-hitting, technically charged shoot fighting. Everyone was going to show out on this one.
Masha Slamovich defeated Janai Kai via Cross Armbreaker: First up tonight, we had the Russian Dynamite returning to Bloodsport for a clash with the Kick Demon, Janai Kai. We had two tough-as-nails competitors ready to maul each other with strikes and savagery. It was a very disciplined fight as Masha looked to lock down Kai to prevent any of those lethal kicks from taking her out. The strategy worked and Kai had no choice but to tap, despite landing some vicious kicks.
Ninja Mack defeated Yoya via Flipping 540 Kick KO: Ninja Mack is more than his flips. He might be a master at giving gravity the finger but we’ve also seen him tap people out and showcase a multitude of classical wrestling acumen. What better way to show that off than against a legit MMA trained fighter like Yoya? Mack was going unmasked for this one. This was a chess game of a match. Mack tried to be nice but Yoya wasn’t showing any mercy, even throwing them both off the ring at one point. We saw a wide range of Amateur style wrestling from Mack as he tried to navigate the striking and submissions of Yoya. He held back on flipping until the very end when he landed a sickening 540 kick.
Royce Isaacs defeated Bad Dude Tito via Rolling Guillotine: Bring on the punk. We had Bad Dude Tito back in action against the Mile High Samurai Royce Isaacs. This was going to be a fun styles clash for sure. Isaacs was out here representing Team Filthy and Tito was out here for himself. Again, this was a nice mixed-styles bout. They made sure to get in a mix of mat, striking and power moves in before Isaacs was able to seal the deal with a Rolling Guillotine. It was a solid bout and could feasibly have gone either way.
Alex Coughlin defeated SLADE via Rear-Naked Choke: Oh boy. Alex Coughlin loves a challenge. We’ve seen him come back from hell to keep fighting but this was a whole different ball game. He was being thrown in with SLADE, a certifiable madman. Coughlin was going to have to avoid every bit of attempted murder coming his way. This was a fight pure and simple. It was ugly, physical and full of violence. SLADE is mad and took great joy in the pain he was dishing out and receiving. Coughlin knew what he was up against and didn’t give him an inch, choking out SLADE. Even after the bell had rung, they were ready to keep going.
John Hennigan defeated Simon Gotch via Guillotine: Time for one of the more unpredictable fights of the night. Simon Gotch is the Bloodsport regular and an incredibly dangerous grappler but he was going against someone wholly unpredictable in John Hennigan or as the fans had taken to calling him Johnny Bloodsport. This had very old-school Pancrase vibes. It was the flashy newcomer taking on the grizzled vet in a style meets substance meets brutal efficiency match. Hennigan got the win and showed that he was way more than the high-flying we know him for. Johnny Bloodsport can do it all.
Marina Shafir defeated Zeda Zhang via Greedy: The next one was the one Zhang had been waiting for. Since Shafir’s debut, she’s wanted a crack at the problem and now, she was getting her wish. Once again, this was hard to predict one as either woman could clutch this one. it was competitive to the end with Zhang doing everything she could to be taken seriously by Shafir. They traded everything to the end with Zhang eventually succumbing to Shafir’s Greedy submission. It went long but kept everyone hooked until the end.
JR Kratos defeated Timothy Thatcher via Superman Punch: Welcome back Timothy Thatcher. It’s nice to see him back in his natural habitat. He seemed more than ready to be back and locking down more limbs. His return present, the most feared of Bloodsport, JR Kratos. Thatcher was happy to be in the fight of his life, smiling like we’ve never seen as he brought the pain to Kratos. Though talk about an upset. Kratos played spoiler to the happy homecoming and knocked Thatcher out, despite being busted open from a stiff headbutt. This was a very nasty one to watch as Kratos was less than thrilled with how hard it had been to put away Thatcher. I know the whole “happy to be here” thing is seen as a negative but there was something so wholesome amongst the violence to see Thatcher so happy.
Yuya Uemura defeated Speedball Mike Bailey via Cross Armbreaker: Time for something a bit more uplifting. Speedball Mike Bailey has been long overdue at Bloodsport and now he was bringing his hybrid style to the arena against another favourite, the NJPW young lion on an excursion, Yuya Uemura. This was perhaps the cagiest fight of them all. A lot of this fight was the pair trying to feel each other out. Neither man could ever quite find the opening they needed. It was continuously back and forth with Bailey unleashing his heavy strikes and kicks whilst Uemura went for the mat-based wrestling and eventually managed to manoeuvre his way into a win. This was a bloody fun one and a nice win for Uemura’s excursion.
Josh Barnett defeated JONAH via Heel Hook: Okay, Josh Barnett always books himself a super match if he’s going to appear on the show and this time, he was fighting a mountain. The Top Dog JONAH was making his Bloodsport debut and was getting an audience with the Warmaster himself. Bloody hell, this rocked. JONAH fought smart and forced Barnett to work around the strength and weight advantage he had. Barnett was continuously fighting up and had to rely on his wits and explosive striking ability to get the win. Adrenaline allowed him to muscle over JONAH and end the fight with a Heel Hook. This was a monster match and earned its spot so high on the card.
.@_starDESTROYER and @JonMoxley exchange some slaps and then Biff dumps Mox on his head with a half-and-half!#Bloodsport8 @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/gzGbfZdXgf pic.twitter.com/sn9JJXQsAG— Rob (@HeyyImRob) March 31, 2022
Jon Moxley defeated Biff Busick via Running Knee KO: Throw them up, Biff Busick was in the building. The scrappiest striker in the game was about to meet his match as he threw down with the GCW World Champion, Jon Moxley. This wasn’t going to be pretty but it sure did have a lot of intrigue to it. So this was an absolute car crash. Busick was left a bloody mess as the two grappled, brawled and beat each other black and blue around ringside. Busick was throwing haymakers and Mox was giving them straight back whilst showing he’d learned some new tricks from his new mentor Lord William Regal. It made for engrossing viewing and may just have been my favourite fight of the show. Good God, Busick lost a lot of blood here though.
Chris Dickinson defeated Minoru Suzuki via Brainbuster Elbow Barrage: Last but not least, the main event. A rematch for the ages. Chris Dickinson and Minoru Suzuki have had one hell of a rivalry. Two notoriously stiff, merciless wrestlers who will give it their all no matter the match. Dickinson had been forced to sit on the sidelines due to injury and was coming back with a vengeance. It did not disappoint. It went from a cat and mouse game of grappling to a striking one-up battle with Dickinson’s body threatening to give up on him. Suzuki willed him on and the pair just went strike happy, brutalising each other with palm strikes and elbows. Through it all Dickinson fought on and took Suzuki down for an elbow barrage, getting the win via ref stoppage. Dickinson had taken the win over the Murder Grandpa but it had left the crowd torn. Something tells me this is far from over. Suzuki doesn’t take losses nicely. For now, though, Dickinson can enjoy the return victory. GCW is his house and he’s back to defend it.
GCW: “Joey Janela’s Spring Break 6 Part 1”
It wouldn’t be a Collective without a Spring Break. Joey Janela had regained the rights to his fantasy booking event and was preparing to make one of the biggest yet. Part one promised to bring the biggest title matches of the weekend with AJ Gray finally getting a long-overdue GCW World Title match and the Ultraviolent Championship rematch between John Wayne Murdoch and Alex Colon. Alongside that, we had a whole host of fun to enjoy in preparation for part 2 tomorrow.
GCW Tag Team Championships: The Briscoes defeated SGC (Mance Warner and Matthew Justice) & H8 Club (Nick Gage & SLADE) via Doomsday Device to SLADE: The show opened with the anarchic tag title three-way to crown new champs for new belts. It was the two previous challengers going hell for leather against a solo challenger as Gage was flying solo. Due to circumstances, Matt Tremont couldn’t be there so Gage was forgoing a partner. At least that’s what we all thought. After a hurricane of hardcore, Gage decided to enter the match proper and found himself without his pizza cutter. SLADE brought it out and seemed to fit in as Gage’s partner. From there, it was a bloody mess of plunder and violence with Warner getting his tongue stapled to a door. Justice and Gage took a horrible landing outside so Warner had to fight off the Briscoes single-handed. Slade had to save the match and introduced the Briscoes to Ryker’s style. He wasn’t enough and Briscoes became two-time GCW champs. It was a big win to start the show and an excellent plunder bout, I just hope Gage and Justice are alright.
Blake Christian defeated AR Fox (w/Ayla) via Golden Trident: It’s always a good time when AR Fox is around. The indie legend was once again stepping into the ring with a dream GCW opponent. Fox always takes on a challenge and Blake Christian has been proving to be an ultimate challenger. This was going to be magic. That’s just what it was, a super-indie, smooth as hell, fast as hell bout. Both guys were firing on all cylinders and put on an absolute blast of a match. AR Fox is still one of the best veterans out there and Christian gave him one hell of a fight.
Mickie James defeated Allie Katch via Mick-DDT: How is this for an exciting match up. Allie Katch is on one hell of a run and she wasn’t out for a dream match, she just wanted to kick ass and have her fantasy match with Mickie James. Who knew what was going to happen when Katch entered the hardcore country? What followed was seriously fun. Katch was having a blast in this one and even brought out the plunder as she tried to best James. There were great throwbacks to the famous Trish angle and door usage as Katch wanted to break one. Katch didn’t win her fantasy match but she stole not one but two lip locks from James. Definitely not bad as it was the first Spring Break women’s match.
Lucha Scramble: Nick Wayne defeated Gringo Loco, Ninja Mack, Jack Cartwheel, Jordan Oliver, Jimmy Lloyd & Alec Price via Ace Crusher on Lloyd: It’s not a GCW show without a scramble. Joey Janela had put together what he considered the ultimate indie Lucha scramble featuring a huge swathe of the young generation alongside Gringo Loco and Ninja Mack. It was going to be mad. That’s just what it was, an explosion of activity bringing all the flips and flops and strikes it possibly could. Everyone shone, no one slouched and the action just kept popping off. GCW always delivers with scrambles. This was no exception.
JESUS CHRIST! Avalanche X-Factor through a door from @TheRealXPac!#JJSB6 @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/gzGbfZdXgf pic.twitter.com/fdQP2kxsQq— Rob (@HeyyImRob) April 1, 2022
Joey Janela defeated X-Pac via Nutcracked Superkick: Despite the actions that had led to it, I was stupidly excited for this one. X-Pac/ the 1-2-3 was a staple of wrestling as I was growing up and now, I get to write up a match of his in 2022 on one of the biggest shows of the event where he kicks the shit out of Joey Janela. It was even taken up a notch as the Bad Boy was paying homage to the Bad Guy. This was one hell of a slow-burn match filled with Janela’s brand of shenanigans and moments. He attacked mercilessly, revelling in being the bad guy and breaking down X-Pac. Even then, he couldn’t stop X-Pac from coming back and engaging in the indie spectacle of fighting. He went wild with door spots, topes and destroyers, all while keeping to what people remembered him for. An early shot into one of the ring posts left him fighting an uphill battle all match but he kept trooping on until Janela turned off the lights. He was left on the floor and got showered with the applause and love of the crowd, no matter how broken down he felt. This will be a polarising one but I loved it. Even better, X-Pac isn’t done yet. No matter what his body tells him, he’s going to keep going.
GCW World Championship: Jon Moxley defeated AJ Gray via Bundle Death Rider: This has been a long time coming. AJ Gray, the champion that was screwed out of his title has been overlooked and left behind as far as the title is concerned. Now, after grabbing the brass ring at Hammerstein, he was taking his shot. All that stood between him and the title, was Jon Moxley. No small task but if anyone was going to stop Moxley, it was going to be Gray. He came so close too. This got ridiculously violent. Moxley and Gray went from slugging and grappling to slashing each other with wire and tubes. This was a desperation bout to find any sort of killing blow as neither wanted to quit. We saw Gray taking flight off the top rope and a ladder whilst Mox embraced that darker deathmatch side we know lurks within. A side that got him the win here tonight. Just who can beat Mox?
.@alexcolon0139 with a light tube stunner!#JJSB6 @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/gzGbfZdXgf pic.twitter.com/0ArBHuQgLN— Rob (@HeyyImRob) April 1, 2022
GCW Ultraviolent Championship: John Wayne Murdoch defeated Alex Colon via Tenderised Cross Armbreaker: Bring on the fuckery. It was time for some ultraviolence as the ultimate blood feud in deathmatch ended the first part of Spring Break. Murdoch and Colon have been chasing each other for months and now it was time to end things. One guy was going to be the champ, the other was going to be left broken. That was truer than I thought as these two got so into it that Colon was left with a knackered arm. This went from 0-100 fast as the fuckery was used instantly and never let up. We had gussets, tubes and knives all cutting holes in the competitors. Murdoch was in firm control for a large portion of the match but every time he took his eye off the ball or let up for a second, Colon capitalised. It was only because Colon self-destructed on a ring post and destroyed his arm that Murdoch got the win. Colon tried to fight with one arm and spat in the face of Murdoch’s gentleman act, earning himself a quick tap out loss. Murdoch is the new champ and Colon was told to get out. It was a destructive end to part one of Janela’s fever dream.
GCW: “Planet Death”
Last but not least from today’s carnival of carnage, Planet Death. It was time for a bloodletting super show with GCW once again dedicating an entire show to the art of deathmatch. It was sure to get gory with seven exceptional matches planned to scare the shit out of everyone as the clock struck midnight, all under the hosting duties of The King Nick F’N Gage. Let’s get into the horror.
SLADE defeated Bam Sullivan via Rear-Naked Choke: SLADE was back for the third time today and he was getting glassed up. He and Bam Sullivan had been employees of the JCW psychopath Charles Mason but once that relationship grew sour, Bam and SLADE had come to blows. It was time to clutch your nuts and glass your knucks with some Taipei death. It played to the usual Taipei rules with a whole lot of punches to the head mixed with glass grinding and traditional wrestling. it was meant to be a personal brawl and that’s exactly what we got. No one could complain.
Thumbtack Kickpads and Tubes: Cole Radrick defeated AKIRA via Folded Spike Bundle Driver: We upped the energy with a dose of demolition derby. Wildheart Cole Radrick was entering the deathmatch Thunderdome once again but this time he was taking on a familiar foe in the Death Samurai AKIRA. They had tacked kick pads and tubes to play with so every kick was going to hurt all the more. This was the type of delirious creativity I wanted to see from these two. It was a crimson-soaked massacre of glass, tacks and great wrestling. These two are the perfect example of hybrid death. Radrick has really stepped up within the deathmatch world and to get a win over AKIRA, one of the hottest deathmatch guys on the scene is a massive achievement.
Boards of Fuckery: Sawyer Wreck defeated Brandon Kirk via Tube Board Chokeslam: Time for some more mayhem. The Matriarch of Mayhem herself Sawyer Wreck had been given a place at Planet Death and she was going to be battling one of the new favourites, Brandon Kirk. It had gone from fuck the Kirks to love the kirks but I doubt Wreck was in the mood for love, especially with all these boards to break. Jesus, this one was stiff. It started with Brandon Kirk taking an unbelievable amount of gussets to Wreck taking as many landings on her face as possible. This was vicious as hell and went by fast but was full of horrifying spots and shots. Neither fighter held back with Wreck really living up to her name.
Bundles Deathmatch: Shane Mercer defeated Neil Diamond Cutter via Super Moonsault and Battery: Hell fucking yeah was I happy to see Neil Diamond Cutter booked on Planet Death. The Honey Badger was ready to stamp his mark on another company and was probably about to take flight as he battled the Iron Demon Shane Mercer. This was going to be a spectacle, even more, so him getting yet another deathmatch crowd to sing Sweet Caroline. Fucking hell. This was insane. Cutter is tough as they come and refused to be intimidated by Mercer’s size and strength. He was the vet and he was going to make Mercer work for his win, no matter how many times Mercer threw him around the ring. He kept finding ways to survive the hard landings and harder flights but eventually, Mercer went for broke with Moonsault and Battery off a ladder and crushed the last bit of resistance out of Cutter. It was great seeing Cutter get please come back chants, he deserves all the recognition.
Moonsault and Battery off the ladder! @theirondemon @FearlessNeil #PlanetDeath @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/gzGbfZdXgf pic.twitter.com/UsYpynQMFz— Rob (@HeyyImRob) April 1, 2022
Pure Tubes: Hoodfoot defeated Mad Man Pondo via Tube Door Saito: It was time for a rematch of one of the bloodiest matches to have ever occurred. Hoodfoot rose up the ranks by having a bloody as hell encounter with Mad Man Pondo at Ruthless and now, he was going to do it again, a more experienced deathmatch fighter. This could end up rivalling the Shining’s Elevator scene by the end of it. They certainly tried it and by the end of it, it was Pondo as the bloodier mess and not Hoodfoot. He was still cut and bloody but he’d made an absolute mess of Pondo, surviving the onslaught and bludgeoning Pondo had unleashed. They carved and smashed through an excellent match and Hoodfoot was made again with a big win on one of the deathmatch main stages. This rocked and it was so fun to see the round 2 from these two fighters.
Sadika defeated Jimmy Lloyd via Barbed-wire Skytwister Press: Last but not least, the bloodbath to end the day of shows. It was the Different Boy Jimmy Lloyd takiang on La Reina Extrema, Sadika. This was not going to be for the faint of heart as Sadika is as real as it gets and will often spend most of the match trying to outright kill you. They had doors of barbed wire all around the ring and plenty of time to break them. This wasn’t as smash and grab of a match as the previous few but had a lot of wire ripping at the fighters and a whole lot of nasty brawling. Lloyd tried to go for the mask and make a statement but that just pissed off Sadika and led to him getting his ass handed to him. Sadika is still scary as hell and demanded a real extreme match, calling for fire. It was an odd ending but it kind of always is with Sadika. That closed out a brilliantly brutal show and put the close on Day 1. The next day will be here before we know it bringing us more Spring Break, Lucha and so much more. See you then.
.@ItsBrandonKirk looking like the underside of a roof right now thanks to @SawyerWreck.#PlanetDeath @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/gzGbfZdXgf pic.twitter.com/mpe9i3hJdK— Rob (@HeyyImRob) April 1, 2022
All images courtesy of GCW, Glory Pro, HeyyImRob All shows are purchasable on FITE