GCW Fight Club: Mox vs. Gage
October 9, 2021
by Samoa Rowe
Live from The Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in front of a massive capacity crowd. They are promising a game changing announcement later tonight, and it's worth mentioning that they're using upgraded sky-crane equipment. Our hosts are Dave Prazak and Kevin Gill.
Alex Zayne vs. Ninja Mack vs. Lio Rush
Rush is a last-second surprise addition. Bell rings and Rush uses his surprise advantage to overwhelm the others. Zayne and Mack try to work together but Rush hits them with a double back handspring elbow shot. Rush hits lightning quick topes. Rush easily avoids Mack's punches and sits him in the front row, takes a lap, and nails the running boot. Rush tries to repeat the spot but Zayne interrupts with a chop. Mack tries to sneak into control, but Zayne uses him as a weapon against Rush. Mack interrupts Zayne's springboard attempt with a slick Spanish Fly for 2. Mack flips into a staredown with Rush. They run the ropes in elaborate fashion until Mack goes crazy with cartwheels to send a message. Atomic drop by Mack and wild roundhouse kicks. Fans chant "This is awesome" while Zayne leaps into a super rana on Mack and then suplexes Rush onto Mack! Zayne misses an Arabian moonsault, and Mack cartwheels to sunset flip bomb Rush onto Zayne. The impact with Zayne was glancing, but no one in the audience seemed to notice. Mack recovers with stiff slaps on Rush, who answers with a decapitation lariat and Falcon Arrow for 2. Zayne returns for a three-way superkick sequence until they all go down. Match restarts and Zayne hits a SSP knee drop to Mack's head, and he gains the pinfall when Rush misses his cue to break it up at 11:01. Ambitious match, they set out to give us something special but couldn't stick the landing, ***½. Winner: Alex ZayneJoey Janela and Marko Stunt vs. Chris Dickinson and Starboy Charlie
Charlie locks up with Stunt for some friendly chain wrestling. Charlie hits a shoulder block and they trade counters until they hit stereo pump kicks and stumble into tags. Dickinson explodes into the match with a shoulder tackle on Janela, who fires back with forearms. Charlie tags and hits Janela with a suplex for 1. Dickinson and Charlie hit Janela with stereo elbows, then Charlie leaps off his partner's back for a corner splash. Janela gets chopped around but then hits Charlie with a sitout powerbomb. Stunt tags and gives Charlie a release German. Stunt cuts Dickinson off with a flurry of quick offense, dives onto Charlie, and sprints back to missile dropkick Dickinson. Stunt knocked the wind out of himself, forcing Janela to tag himself in. Janela manages to stay one step ahead of Charlie, at least until he runs into a spike rana! Charlie kicks off Stunt to DDT Janela. Dickinson storms in on a hot tag, catches Stunt for a fallaway slam, and stacks them in the buckles for a splash. Dickinson suplexes Janela for 2 and rolls into the cross armbreaker. Stunt interrupts, so Dickinson monkey flips him onto Janela, and rolls them into a double half crab! Charlie returns with a running SSP, Janela DVDs him onto the apron while Stunt flies over them onto Dickinson. Janela suplexes Charlie, forgets Charlie isn't the legal man, and the match breaks down. Dickinson and Janela use their partners for a standoff and each hit spike piledrivers. Dickinson DVDs Janela for only 2! Dickinson puts Janela in the STF while Charlie puts Stunt into the Sharpshooter, but Stunt reaches out to put Dickinson into a sleeper! Cue the “This is awesome” chant. Charlie clears Janela out for a somersault dive. Stunt hits Dickinson with a swinging DDT, which is no sold for a top rope Razor's Edge into Janela! Charlie hits a twisting press, Janela no-sells, but gets knocked out. Charlie's Brainbuster on Stunt gives Dickinson the 3 count at 16:17! Wild and creative tag team war, ****.Winners: Chris Dickinson and Starboy Charlie
Janela grabs a mic and credits Dickinson for turning him into the piece of sh!t that stands before us today. Janela orders Dickinson to do right by Charlie and help him get a big contract someday. They end with a group show of respect.
Jordan Oliver vs. Atticus Cogar
They run the ropes, Oliver hits a hip toss and arm drag. Oliver hits a pair of waistlock takedowns and pickpockets the skewers from Cogar. Angry suplex by Cogar. Oliver makes some timely counters, but Cogar dropkicks him from the apron and follows with a flying double stomp to the lower back! Cogar sets 2 doors up on 4 chairs, but Oliver blocks the suplex. They battle on the top rope and Oliver hits a superplex for 2. Oliver slams Cogar into a cross armbreaker. Quick break by Cogar, his superkick gives them a breather. The restart, Oliver hits a leaping cutter, but Cogar hits a low blow and headlock driver for 2. They head to the top rope, and Oliver counters with a springboard cutter through the doors! Oliver manages to drag Cogar in quickly for the pinfall at 10:13. Crowd boos that result for some reason. Decent match that was put in a tough spot following the hot tag match, the stunt bump finish was something to behold, **¾.Winner: Jordan Oliver
Cogar begrudgingly shows respect to Oliver, but attacks as soon his back is turned. Cogar viciously jams the skewers into Oliver's forehead and flees before his friends can help.
Brett Lauderdale comes out to celebrate GCW breaking the Showboat attendance record. Brett reminisces that a year ago someone he respected told him "I've seen a million GCWs come and go, and this will never last."" Since then, they've broken their own attendance records in cities across America. Brett declares there's only ever been one GCW, and they're not trying to be anything else. The fans are eating this all up. He turns to his big announcement, only to get interrupted by Matt Cardona, basking in the fans' hatred. Cardona grabs a mic but has to wait while fans chant "We want Effy" and "Shut the f*ck up."" Cardona mocks the fans for wanting to see Mick Foley, because "F*CK MICK FOLEY, I'M THE HARDCORE ICON!"" Cardona chases Brett from the ring so he can squash Effy.
Internet Championship:
Effy © (with Allie Katch) vs. Matt Cardona
Cardona is putting his GCW career on the line for a chance to reclaim his prized Internet title. Bell rings, Effy runs into a Rough Ryder, and flees into the ropes to avoid getting pinned in seconds. Effy recovers with an illegal Tarantula-type submission and then a back suplex. Senton by Effy gets 2. Cardona gets a boot up and lays into Effy with tight blows. Effy blocks the Broski boot with a backdrop to ringside. Effy sends Cardona into the front row with a tope! Multiple chair shots by Effy, but he then misses a somersault senton through a standing chair! DDT onto the wooden floor by Cardona, who slows the pace down with deliberate chair shots. A bloody Effy dodges the Broski Boot and nails a TKO into the Dragon Sleeper. Cardona rakes Effy's bloody forehead to escape, but Effy stays on him and hits a leg drop bulldog for 2. Codebreaker by Cardona, and the Tiger Driver gets only 2! Cardona misses a belt shot and takes out the ref! Allie grabs Cardona, but Effy takes her down with an errant chair shot! A wild Thesz press everyone down. Effy hits the Rough Ryder, a new ref arrives to count, but a masked fan disrupts the count! The masked person low blows Effy, serving up for Cardona's flying Rough Ryder for the win, his GCW career, and Internet title at 11:57! Fun match that followed a tried and true formula. There were a few ill-advised unprotected chair shots along the way. The fans helped by hating Cardona and loving Effy, ***¼.Winner: Matt Cardona
Cardona's masked friend unmasks to reveal Chelsea Green! The happy couple make out in the ring, sending the fans into a rege.
INTERMISSION!
Scramble Match:
Jimmy Lloyd vs. Dante Leon vs. Gringo Loco vs. ASF vs. Brayden Lee vs. Calvin Tankman vs. Thunder Rosa
Rosa is a last second surprise entrant and the fans are almost too excited to see her (almost blocking her entrance). Match starts with everyone taking their best shot at Tankman. He tries to powerbomb ASF onto the others, but they toss ASF back for a rana! The ring empties, so they can get right into the formula of two guys getting their sh!t in while everyone else naps. The good news is that everyone's sh!t looks good, as they are eager to leave a lasting impression on the large crowd. They switch over to a diving sequence, and the fans pop loudly for Rosa's twisting senton. The fans chant “This is awesome” like they really mean it. They resume taking turns hitting spots in the ring, and attempt some high spots that the guys don't look super confident delivering. Lee's poison rana seems to knock Tankman loopy. Gringo catches two guys with a moonsault, and he hits a Destroyer on Tankman. Rosa double stomps Gringo, but ASF folds her with a German suplex. Lloyd and Leon hit ASF with a tandem Faith Breaker. Lee breaks the cover with a 630! Lee goes for a SSP to ringside, Tankman slips while catching him but still manages a suplex into the non-folding chairs. Rosa returns with a diving Rana onto Gringo, but ASF knocks her into a chair. Lloyd's spinning piledriver finishes ASF at 11:50. Uneven scramble due to many of the ambitious high spots not being executed particularly well, the crowd covered for them with all the Rosa love, **½.Winner: Jimmy Lloyd
AKIRA, G-Raver, and Alex Colon vs. The Second Gear Crew (AJ Gray, Mance Warner, and Matthew Justice)
AKIRA walks right up to Gray and chops his chest, then hits an overhead suplex. Warner interrupts AKIRA with a spinebuster. The SGC set AKIRA up for a leg lariat and work him over in their corner. The SGC dismantle AKIRA with chair shots, prompting G-Raver and Colon to quit watching and join the brawl. The SGC hit a doomsday unprotected chair shot to the head at ringside. I worry that my PBP is making this all sound way better than it is, they are moving in slow motion and the fans are oddly subdued (after rocking out to SGC's Pantera entrance). AKIRA hobbles into a tag, but stays behind to help his partners clear the ring for triple dives. AKIRA and Raver hit Justice with a Meteora/German combo. Colon hits a diving DDT onto Warner at ringside. AKIRA holds Gray down for Raver's Swanton and Colon's missile dropkick. Gray eats a triple team spinebuster and takes AKIRA's pendulum swing/dropkick. Justice suplexes Colon onto Gray to save him from AKIRA's Muta Lock. Everyone takes a breather, the fans miss their cue for an ovation. They brawl back to their feet, AKIRA eats Total Elimination. Double chokeslam on Raver. The SGC put Raver through a door, but Colon puts Gray through a ringside door (or would have if it hadn't been totally botched). A series of missed flying attacks allows the SGC to finish AKIRA with a botched double pinfall at 15:07. This was a total mess, full of yucky, dangerous, overly telegraphed bumps and rampant timing issues, *.Winners: The Second Gear Crew
The Second Gear Crew bask in their victory and brag that there are no teams in any fed that can take the GCW Tag Team Championship from them. Right on cue, ROH's Jay and Mark Briscoe arrive to answer the challenge. The standoff earns a “Holy sh!t” chant. The title match will happen later, and I daresay the SGC have bitten off more than they can chew. With Lio Rush, Thunder Rosa, and now the Briscoes showing up by surprise, GCW is starting to feel like today's super-indie.
Yoya vs. Shane Mercer
Mercer looks TV ready, Yoya looks like he's up past his bedtime. Yoya has speed on his side and slips out of a military press. Mercer looks a bit silly for selling Yoya's strikes, and press slams Yoya into the audience! Mercer directs the brawl through the crowd, throws Yoya through the curtain, but Yoya explodes back in for a Sliced Bread off the wall. Yoya bounces off the ropes for a DDT onto the floor. Flying head scissors by Yoya, who is getting an A for effort. Yoya blocks a popup powerbomb and locks on a front sleeper, and keeps holding on for an armlock. Mercer escapes with an explosive overhead suplex! Mercer slows things down and dominates with power moves. Yoya counters a spinning Torture Rack, but Mercer answers with an AVALANCHE PILEDRIVER! Mercer tweaked his knees and cannot make a cover! Yoya desperately capitalizes with a heel hook! Mercer escapes with a face stomp and hits a springboard moonsault power slam! Yoya survives the cover via rope break. Yoya defiantly slaps the face, Mercer looks for another crowd toss, but Yoya counters with a poison rana and Destroyer for a good nearfall! Yoya is in deep survival mode and locks on a chokehold, but Mercer carries him to the top rope and hits a moonsault piledriver to win at 14:55! Really enjoyable exhibition that got better the longer it went, ***½.Winner: Shane Mercer
The ring crew gets a pop from the fans for setting up the death match plunder.
Video package highlighting various members of the GCW roster and voice overs addressing their most vocal critics. The camera gradually pans out to reveal that the guys and gals are in the Hammerstein Ballroom, and that's the big announcement. They'll be running NYC in January and we're all welcome to buy a ticket, or s*ck their d!cks, whatever floats our boat.
"Death Match Legend" Mick Foley comes out to address the fans. He has trouble talking because the crowd drowns him out with chants for all his alter egos. Foley wishes his kids could be here to see him get this pop. Foley compares tonight with how he felt on his last ECW match and brags that he met Thunder Rosa. Foley says that one person's garbage is another man's art, he believes in the art and spirit of death match wrestling, and issues a heartfelt "f*ck Matt Cardona."" Foley is glad to be wearing a fanny pack because this is all a bit too exciting (I cleaned that up a bit). I was so caught off guard by how special this appearance would be.
GCW World Championship (Death Match):
Jon Moxley © vs. Nick Gage (with Dewey Donovan)
Ring introductions come to an abrupt end when Gage smashes a light tube through Moxley's forehead. Moxley likes this and puts a tube through Gage's bald head. Moxley back drops Gage over the ropes and through a glass sheet. Foley joins commentary and is clearly enjoying himself. Moxley carves Gage's forehead with a pizza cutter. Gage answers with a baseball slide dropkick through a pile of tubes. Gage hits a spinebuster onto glass shards and fetches a wired board. Moxley counters with a rotating power slam onto the wire! Moxley steals wire clippers from the ref, wraps wire around his own fist, and slugs at a helpless Gage. Moxley wraps the wire around Gage's throat for a neckbreaker! Gage desperately counters with a spear through a glass sheet! Gage looks revived and hits a chair assisted Vader bomb. Gage further bloodies Mox's forehead with a jagged tube end and pizza cutter. Moxley makes a comeback and hits numerous moves that miss all the props, until finally putting Gage through tubes with a cutter. DDT by Gage, chair shot, and then face wash through light tubes! Piledriver onto glass shards by Gage gets 2. They battle on the top rope until Moxley hits an avalanche DDT through a propped glass sheet and wins at 19:20! The ring looks like a total murder scene and Moxley looks like he got the worst of it despite having won. This was a deliberate, focused grim spectacle, that yes, told a good story despite the carnage, ***¾.Winner and still GCW World Champion: Jon Moxley
Final Thoughts: GCW seems to be leveling up in terms of star power, attendance, and venue sizes, and that's a good thing for independent wrestling. Your mileage with their particular brand of wrestling will definitely vary.
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