WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE AND LANGUAGE AHEAD
Welcome back to GCW and part two of the Weekend of Survival. We covered ToS VII and now it was time for the aftermath. The tournament had dominated day one and now it was time to focus on the other monstrous elephant in the room, John Wayne Murdoch and Alex Colon. The pair had turned taken their feud around America and now it was time to end things in GCW’s ultimate death trap, the Cage of Survival. Alongside that, we had another madcap Extreme Title scramble, Masha Slamovich taking on LuFisto, the return of IronBeast against SGC, Cardona vs Christian, Sawyer Wreck potentially murdering Joey Janela, and the return of Los Macizos. There was blood and violence abound so let’s get into the carnage.
Extreme Title Scramble: AJ Gray defeated Cole Radrick, Jimmy Lloyd, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, AKIRA, Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne via Lariat on Bailey
The show opened in true GCW fashion with a seven-person scramble. Black Death was in the building which meant one thing, that Extreme Title was being defended. AJ Gray has been one of the ultimate fighting champs and was pitting the belt on the line against six high-quality challengers. He’d have to see off Cole Radrick, Jimmy Lloyd, AKIRA, Jordan Oliver, Nick Wayne, and “Speedball” Mike Bailey if he wanted to leave Atlantic City as champ. We had a recipe for chaos brewing here. Fucking hell, we started the show off right. I know the phrase “best scramble ever” gets thrown around a lot but this one might just have taken the top spot. All seven competitors had excellent chemistry and the continuously moving nature of the match as Gray murdered his way through his foes, Bailey applied his style to a scramble, YDNB kept their alliance going and AKIRA wanted to fight everyone, making moments with everyone. It was a continuous roller-coaster of action with bodies flying, falling, and being smashed to the ground. This was just what you want from a scramble. Gray practically decapitated Bailey with the closing lariat and walked away with his belt once again.
Masha Slamovich defeated LuFisto via White Night Driver
The stiffness wasn’t going to be toned down as LuFisto and Masha Slamovich took to the ring next. The First Lady of Hardcore and Russian Dynamite are both known for their brutal style and ridiculous toughness so we were in for one hell of a battle here. These two just beat the shit out of each other. LuFisto wasted no time going on the attack and tried to keep things under her oppressive will, trying to smother and break down Slamovich. Russian Dynamite kept living up to her name and exploding into action with frantic flurries of punishing shots. Things remained hyper-competitive to the end though as both kept kicking out and kicking each other in the face. It was physical, brutal, and full of the heaviest shots imaginable. LuFisto has been making up for lost time and putting on some absolute masterclasses with a multitude of foes. She brought the best out of Masha here and gave us something as explosive and harsh as possible. Masha got the win but victory was always teetering on a knife’s edge. It was an excellent match and a continued run of excellence from both fighters.
SGC (Mance Warner & Matthew Justice) defeated IronBeast (KTB & Shane Mercer) via Stage Dive Splash on KTB
Assisted deadlift superplex from IronBeast! (@theirondemon @KTB_mauls)#GCWCoS @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/t6Hf8xxj8n pic.twitter.com/vVyffxAcsq— Rob (@HeyyImRob) June 5, 2022
Let the chaos continue. KTB was back after a long break and ready to wreck shit alongside his IronBeast teammate Shane Mercer. Despite the absolute war yesterday, Mercer was as fired up as ever and ready to throw SGC around the Showboat. Mance and Justice were just as hyped so things were going to get very messy. KTB hasn’t lost a step as he picked up right where he left off, throwing and flying like there’d been no break. That went out the window for a while as SGC brought out the plunder and everyone took this hurricane of hardcore around ringside. IronBeast had their time to dominate and SGC went from dominators to underdogs across the match’s runtime. It made for a nice spectacle and hopefully, a return to action for KTB. GCW hasn’t been able to replace him and his presence so even if IronBeast lost here, I want to see more of them again. Their twisted feats of strength have been sorely missed and it was obvious to see everyone having fun amongst the broken doors and mangled chairs.
Sawyer Wreck defeated Joey Janela via Avalanche Door-Breaker Chokeslam
Right in the Janelas. @SawyerWreck #GCWCoS @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/t6Hf8xxj8n pic.twitter.com/A0rTO7z1Wn— Rob (@HeyyImRob) June 5, 2022
Oh, I would not want to be Joey Janela right now. The Bad Boy has been on a run of destruction, trying to kill off people’s favourites and get the flowers he thinks he deserves. This time, he was taking on the Matriarch of Mayhem, Sawyer Wreck. Joey has never let size disparities stop him but Wreck towered over him and loves nothing more than fucking people up. Within the first few minutes, we’d seen Wreck destroy Janela’s balls with a chair parade and Janela doing a run with a trashcan. It was powerful, plunder-filled brutality with Wreck having the fans on her side as she found ways to disrupt Janela’s ideas. It was another vicious match with Wreck seeming to get the better of Janela at every turn. Be it with weaponry or raw power, Wreck wasn’t going down, wasn’t yielding, and continuing to destroy. Janela kept hitting Wreck as hard as he could and she kept rising like a zombie. Janela just couldn’t find an answer whilst Wreck seemed to have a book of them. When she eventually beat Janela with a monstrous Chokeslam, the room erupted with applause and cheers. Wreck is a champion of the people and stuck another nail in the coffin of Janela’s flower run. With a win like this under her belt, surely, we have to be getting Wreck as a regular now, right? Even Janela couldn’t be angry at this loss, showing Wreck the respect she’d earned. What a fucking fight.
GCW World Title Contender’s Match: Blake Christian defeated Matt Cardona via Superkick
Okay, I gotta admit, this was pretty funny. Matt Cardona injured his arm at the last event and now, was being wheeled around in full neck-brace safety gear by Chelsea Green as he prepared to address the GCW Universe on the state of his #1 contender’s match with Blake Christian. His wheelchair journey spawned a ton of hilarious pic (see above) and we saw Cardona walk up into the ring and stand under his own power proving the whole thing pointless. The despised duo gave a speech when they got to finally speak and as expected, he spewed a bunch of shit. Blake Christian refused to be a bleeding heart and gave his own speech, recounting his moments as a Zack Ryder fan. That led to a confrontation where Christian pretended to lay down for Cardona then pulled a psyche and took the win. Cardona worked injured and got pinned in seconds. The Deathmatch King can rest in peace knowing his spot went to a worker. Wait… no he hates that. The Summer of Cardona is over for now.
Tag Team Deathmatch: Los Macizos (Ciclope & Meido Extremo) defeated Toru Sugiura & Rina Yamashita via Tube Pile Fire-Thunder Driver on Yamashita
Nope. @wryyyyna66 #GCWCoS @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/t6Hf8xxj8n pic.twitter.com/JxKHlHrtcx— Rob (@HeyyImRob) June 5, 2022
Time to inject the life back into the show. After the Cardona-shaped roadblock, it was time for a return people were beyond excited about. Los Macizos, the former GCW Tag Champs and one of Mexico’s top deathmatch exports were back. Meido Extremo and Ciclope were getting the warmest of welcomes in some FREEDOMS favourites (another company they’ve excelled in) Toru Sugiura and Rina Yamashita. Nick Gage came to commentary to enjoy the show as we prepared for some deathmatch insanity. It would be Lucha, tubes and strong style all colliding in a ring of fuckery with some ultimately creative mines orchestrating the carnage. As you’d hope, this was every bit as deranged as you’d want with both teams holding nothing back. It was a violent, flippy and glass-filled battle of attrition with everyone getting their moments to shine. The showmanship and personalities clashed just as much as the wrestling and we ended up with a high-octane tornado tag war. These pairs threw caution to the wind as we saw two flavours of international deathmatch mix in the ultimate melting pot. This is how you make a return in style and send off some of the new favourites with a bang. I loved this and everyone else did too. It had taken four and a half years to get Los Macizos back and they had not disappointed. Now to bring them back more often, their titles are screaming out to them.
Cage of Survival: Alex Colon defeated John Wayne Murdoch via Blood Fighter Clutch
Last but not least, the main event. We’ve seen John Wayne Murdoch and Alex Colon tear each other apart, physically and verbally for months now. Ever since Murdoch came after the Blood Fighter and the GCW Ultraviolent Title, we’d seen one of the nastiest, territorial feuds boil over. Colon and Murdoch have spewed blood and malice everywhere they’ve been and now it was time to end things. A feud of this nature required the deadliest of matches, the Cage of Survival. We had a steel cage, ceiling-mounted glass panes, pits of pain, death contraptions and so much more littered in and around the cage. Blood would be shed, bodies would be broken and, in the end, only one man would survive. But who? They started up top and brawled across a scaffold before trying to climb down and falling to the floor. Murdoch hit the floor and Colon crashed through a lattice of tubes. They took the fight ringside, smashing tubes and brawling around the fans, the fall seeming to do nothing to either man. Back within the cage, Murdoch continued to smash tubes over Colon and kept cutting into various limbs. Colon got his own back with a tube stunner and sent Murdoch through a tube frame after hitting the knee lift. It was all Colon now as he brought out his greatest hits and tried to wreck Murdoch. It just kept going back-and-forth as Murdoch was able to stop the bloodletting temporarily with a bundle Sick Kick. He continued to target different parts of Colon’s body with tubes and sent Colon over the ropes into another glass pit.
JESUS CHRIST! @TheDukeJWM @alexcolon0139 #GCWCoS @GCWrestling_
▶️https://t.co/t6Hf8xxj8n pic.twitter.com/sjuZFmnyuL— Rob (@HeyyImRob) June 5, 2022
Murdoch continued to methodically pick apart Colon, taunting fans and breaking down his foe however he could. It was getting scary for Colon as he was cut all over and Murdoch was showing no signs of slowing down, even if arrogance was fuelling some of his actions. Colon evened the odds with a nutcracker and tube stomp before getting his shit in again on Murdoch. At least he did until Murdoch caved his chest in with a tube bat. Doors entered the mix as Murdoch continued to break Colon’s legs. Murdoch went for broke by going to the top but Colon followed him up. Another fight broke out up top and Murdoch sent them both down with a Corkscrew Neckbreaker through glass and wood. Murdoch went up again but again, he took too long and Colon dragged him down into another pane. Colon got a one-count on a cage top double stomp so Colon locked in the Blood Fighter Clutch and took the win. Murdoch had no choice but to tap, he was nowhere near the ropes and the damage had been done. Colon was a torn-up mess but he’d gotten his title back, taking the worst Murdoch and the cage could throw at him. It was a monster of a match and an incredible end to a feud that had kicked that Ultraviolent title to new levels. Both guys had seen the darker side but after pulling off one hell of a sick main event, they saw the light. Both Colon and Murdoch are kings of this craft and words won’t ever change that. Murdoch and Colon shook hands with the former champ presenting the winner with his belt. This fucking rocked. It would have been easy to mess this up but both fighters made the most of the stipulation and story to deliver a classic. This weekend had been a fun reminder of just how great GCW’s violent side can be. The tournament rocked and so did this. Deathmatch season kicked off with a bang.
All images courtesy of GCW, Chris Grasso, HeyyImRob