GCW Now and Forever- August 2, 2024
by Doc Allen
Live from TempleLive Cleveland Masonic in Cleveland, Ohio. WrestleTix estimates attendance at 633. These are superfans in town for Summerslam. Dave Prazak and Veda Scott are on commentary.
Bang and Matthews (Davey Bang and August Matthews) vs. CPF (Danny Black and Joe Lando)
CPF (Close Personal Friends) are U.K. mainstays on tour. They get the better of Matthews with quick tags. Blind tag by Bang allows the team to crash Black into the rails with stereo flying knees. Lando uses flippy offense to escape a 2 on 1 situation. Hot tag to Black, he runs wild and nails a half n' half suplex. Tope, cannonball, and Michinoku Driver by Black only gets 2 on Bang. Back handspring elbow by Bang takes down CPF. Bang and Matthews apply stereo abdominal stretches, CPF escape, Lando follows with a tope stunner! The camera misses Lando's high spot, but it got a sweet nearfall. Bang hits a double rolling clothesline. Bang and Matthews both hit dives, then a tandem double stomp. They hit Lando with the Spears Tower, Bang's 450 Splash ends it at 8:40. Shameless spotfest, this was about the guys showcasing their movesets and tricks, **.Winners: Bang and Matthews
Sonny Kiss vs. Allie Katch
They start with some friendly grappling. Kiss spins out of a wristlock and chops Allie's chest. Kiss points to the hard camera, so Allie will know which way to jiggle her bottom. Kiss splits to the canvas and takes Allie with her. Kiss repeatedly jabs Allie's face into her rear, Allie escapes with a slam. Fans clap for Kiss while Allie goes on offense. Kiss makes a laborious comeback, misses a moonsault, and eats Allie's northern lariat. Hip attack by Katch, then a cannonball senton for 2. Katch finishes with a Heatseeker in straightforward fashion at 7:00. Would have made a perfectly good dark match, *.Winner: Allie Katch
Sidney Akeem vs. Gringo Loco
Akeem was previously Reginald/Reggie in WWE, mostly known for his 24/7 Championship antics. Fans are vocally on Gringo's side. Friendly handshake, but Gringo pauses to play to the fans. Gringo starts strong with clubbing offense. Akeem uses his Cirque du Soleil skills to evade but misses a standing SSP. Akeem outmaneuvers Gringo with head scissor takedowns. Gringo puts together a string of attacks but can't get a pinfall. Crossbody by Akeem, Gringo answers with a superkick. Gringo misses the double springboard moonsault, Akeem nails a high moonsault for only 2. Gringo delivers the standing Spanish Fly, Akeem responds with a poison rana for a cold nearfall. Gringo takes his sweet time setting up a very telegraphed Spanish Fly, but the fans love this nearfall. Crowd chants "F*ck that ref." Akeem makes another comeback, backflipping into a Stunner to win at 10:37. I feel like I just watched the match that online trolls claim happen on Dynamite every week, **.Winner: Sidney Akeem
Joshua Bishop vs. Zilla Fatu
Fans give Fatu a superstar ovation at the bell. They size each other up during a slow start. Bishop scores a shoulder block, then reverses Fatu's crossbody into a fallaway slam. Fatu reverses an Irish whip into the post, then misses a head of steam to bonk his skull into the steel. Powerslam onto the apron by Bishop, Fatu surprises him with a flying crossblock. Fatu no-sells a chairshot to the head, so Bishop gives him another and nails a slam for 2. Bishop slams Fatu onto a door that fails to break. Bishop tries again and chokeslams Fatu through the door. Fatu answers with a Samoan drop through a new door, Bishop kicks out. They arm themselves with broken doors and exchange head shots. Fatu reverses with an avalanche Samoan Drop! The Samoan spike ends Bishop at 10:50. Decent brawl, elevated by Fatu's popularity, **½.Winner: Zilla Fatu
Young Dudes (Alec Price, Dustin Waller, and Marcus Mathers) vs. Lucha Guys (Arez, Galeno Del Mal, and Jack Cartwheel)
These team names leave a lot to be desired. Might be someone's idea of a rib. Fans chant “GCW” at the bell. Jack and Mathers start with some aggressive grappling. Quick tag to Arez, who flusters Mathers with his “Strange Style” offense. Waller tags in and catches Arez with a leaping DDT. The formidable Galeno grabs Waller's hair and flips him with a shoulder tackle. Price flips in for a head scissors takedown on Galeno. Springboard crossbody by Price temporarily flusters Galeno. Tempers flare, the match breaks down in a 3 on 3 brawl. They exchange triple superkicks, Young Dudes clean house with triple dropkicks. Waller dives onto the Lucha Guys and feeds Cartwheel to Price and Waller. Jack blocks a double suplex, Galeno ambushes Young Dudes with double clotheslines. Lucha Guys clean house, Galeno hits a brutal crossbody splash on Mathers. Reverse suplex by Mathers allows a hot tag to Price, who runs wild with high flying attacks. Price moves at a lightning pace, but Arez slow him down with a Northern Lights suplex. Waller saves Price with a standing SSP. Waller gives Arez a backbreaker, setting him up for Price's torture rack slam into the buckles! Mathers hits Arez with a FLYING DESTROYER ONTO THE RAMP! Price dives into the crowd to tope Galeno. Waller hits a frog splash for a great nearfall broken by Jack. Cartwheel slam by Mr. Cartwheel, then a cartwheeling plancha to ringside! Galeno plants Waller into place for an Arez double stomp. Jack's corkscrew senton finishes it at 11:08! Anothing shameless spotfest, but this time it was nonstop bell to bell chaos, ***½.Winners: Lucha Guys
Effy vs. The Maharaja Raj Dhesi
GCW General Manager Matt Cardona joins commentary. Dhesi is former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, the latest unpopular star to come to GCW and target Effy. It's working because the fans are HOT for Effy at the bell. Dhesi uses his TV-ready physique to dominate the early going. Effy comes back with reverse pelvic thrusts and a running boot. Effy uses an illegal draping muffler, then applies a tarantula. Dhesi stops Effy's cheating with a single KO superkick. Effy bites the nipple and hits a Northern Lights suplex. Dhesi answers with a knee strike to regain control. Quick comeback by Effy, including a Blockbuster and spear for only 2. Dhesi hits a drop toe hold into a standing chair, followed by a glancing Death Valley Driver. Effy kicks out! Dhesi has been in GCW for 5 minutes but knows where to find the doors. He builds a door bridge, but Effy counters with a powerbomb through the plunder! Two masked men rush in to attack Effy and are quickly dispatched. Effy pump kicks Effy but another two masked men run in for a crowbar attack. These new henchmen are the Bollywood Boyz and actually get a pop. Manders and Allie Katch chase the Bollywood Boyz away, and we get a non-finish at 13:15. Cardona channels his inner Teddy Long and books a six man tag match for Homecoming. I'll give them a ton of credit, Dhesi was displaying excellent chemistry with Effy before sports entertainment got in the way. This feud should have some legs, ***.No Contest
1 Called Manders vs. Sam Stackhouse vs. Isaiah Broner vs. Parrow
Stackhouse has a rapper perform his entrance music, which certainly wasn't on my 2024 Bingo card. This match seems thrown together for the sheer hell of it. They pair up for some brawling at the bell. Stackhouse splashes Parrow. Broner and Manders briefly team up to take Sam down and then slug it out. Sam interrupts their brawl with a spin heel kick. Parrow chokeslams Sam for 2. Parrow, Stackhouse, and Manders set up the craziest Tower of Doom spot of all time. Everyone gathers for a 4-way brawl. Stackhouse wins a strikefest with Broner and hits a guillotine leg drop. Broner dodges Sam's moonsault and nails a lariat. Parrow spears Broner through a door. Manders lariats Parrow to win at 8:21. Lively big man match, that Tower of Doom made me smile, **¼.Winner: 1 Called Manders
GCW General Manager Matt Cardona (with Broski Jimmy) comes to the ring for a huge announcement! But first, Matt teases a guest appearance by his hot wife, then promises that Chelsea Green will never come back to GCW because it sucks, just like Cleveland. Actually, Cleveland doesn't suck that much, because George Mizanin is here, and gets the fans to chant “Miz's dad.” Cardona turns his attention to GCW's next “premium live event” Homecoming, in which he'll return to the ring at Night 2. He welcomes GCW World Champion Mance Warner to the ring. Mance was supposed to wrestle Joey Janela, but he's hungover somewhere, so instead he's getting some guy named Cool A$$ Andy. Something tells me this won't be a tough night for the champ.
GCW World Champion Mance Warner vs. Cool A$$ Andy\
Mance attacks from behind and mauls him with headbutts. He tosses Andy outside and proclaims victory. Cue the Second Gear Crew's music and a big return from Matthew Justice. I'm going to assume Andy's match has been tossed around 1:52.No Contest
GCW World Champion Mance Warner vs. Matthew Justice
Justice catches Mance's boot and stomps him to ringside. He then nails a hard Irish whip into the guard rail, followed by a Stinger Splash. Justice smashes a beer can over Mance's skull. He wraps Warner's neck in a chair and bonks him into the post. Justice holds Mance still for some kids to slap him around. So wholesome. Justice continues dominating with weapon shots until Warner hits a low blow. Warner hits a chokeslam onto the ramp and pauses to jaw at fans. Mance hits a piledriver onto some production speakers. He takes time filling the ring with plunder and hits a running knee for 2. Mance hits a DDT onto a door for a good nearfall. Justice blocks a chairshot and hits a DVD through a door! Fans chant "GCW!" Justice nails a Coast 2 Coast dropkick, Mance kicks out! Warner answers with a chokeslam through a chair! He builds a door bridge, but Justice puts him through it with a high crossbody! Justice buries Warner under a pile of plunder, but has to deal with Broski Jimmy's interference. Mance revives himself and nails an avalanche DDT through a door! Justice prepares a DVD, but Jimmy interrupts with chair shots. Justice spears Jimmy through a door, but Mance clobbers him with the GCW title to win at 18:09. Good stunt show, deeply unsatisfying conclusion, ***.Winner: Mance Warner
Shane Mercer and "GCW World Champion" Blake Christian vs. Los Macizos (Ciclope and Miedo Extremo)
Los Macizos charge the ring for an urgent brawl. They swarm Blake with a spinebuster and back senton. Mercer makes the rescue, Blake dropkicks Ciclope off his feet and gives Miedo an outside moonsault. Mercer and Blake hit a doomsday bulldog on Miedo to take control, even though that was a perfectly good finisher. Mercer assists Blake in hitting a tandem brainbuster on the ring frame. Los Macizos answer with a tandem flapjack. Right now it feels like this match is heading nowhere. Los Macizos slam Mercer onto Blake, but Blake comes right back with a leaping DDT. Blake hits a boring version of an Os-cutter, Ciclope stops his step up stomp with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Los Macizos hit Mercer with a Doomsday Device, Blake breaks the pin with a 450 splash. Crowd is ice cold for the nearfalls. Miedo misses a chairshot and clocks Ciclope, Mercer capitalizes with a slam. Double stomp by Blake ends the misery at 7:29. Just a hot mess, failed to tell any interesting narrative or connect with the audience, *.Winners: Blake Christian and Shane Mercer
GCW Extreme Championship:
Maki Itoh © vs. John Wayne Murdoch
JWM asks the crowd to choose between a 30 minute promo or a Maki Itoh musical performance. Fans want Maki to sing, but JWM ambushes her from behind. Poor Maki is heartbroken! JWM dismantles her with chair shots and chops. Maki pretends to cry and dumps Murdoch for a running boot and tornado DDT on the floor. High crossbody by Itoh gets 2. JWM softens Itoh's neck with a chair and pulls her hair. Itoh counters with a desperate powerbomb and nails a running face wash. Itoh bonks JWM's head on a chair and rolls him up to win at 5:50. Not much here, *½.Winner and still GCW Extreme Champion: Maki Itoh
Nick Gage vs. Matt Hardy
Bell rings, but Matt Cardona interrupts before anything can happen. He thinks Hardy is way too good for GCW, Gage is a criminal, and the match can be deleted when Hardy joins Deathmatch Royalty. Hardy reminds us that he's been in jail too, he's honored to wrestle Gage, and tells Cardona to go f*ck himself. On with the match, Hardy and Gage aggressively lock up. Hardy backdrops Gage outside but misses a low dropkick. Gage nails a DDT on the floor! Gage fills the ring with plunder. Hardy hits a surprising Side Effect for 2, Gage responds with a spinebuster. Gage runs into Hardy's chair shot, then suffers a neckbreaker. Hardy prepares a door bridge and hits a flying elbow for only 2. Gage hits a messy DDT of sorts, followed by a snap suplex. Gage reverses a Twist of Fate! Gage nails a piledriver through a chair platform! Broski Jimmy and Matt Cardona run in to attack both men. Broski misses a chair shot and takes Cardona down! Gage gives Jimmy a DDT and feeds Cardona to Hardy's Twist of Fate! Hardy rants on the microphone about how Cardona robbed the people of getting what they want. Hardy challenges Deathmatch Royalty to a tag match at Homecoming. I'm not sure what's preventing Hardy and Gage from resuming their fight, but instead they form a union. I guess the match is called off at 17:00 or whatever. Oh well, they weren't exactly setting the world on fire with their sloppy garbage brawling, **.No Contest Final Thoughts: GCW went to Cleveland to piggyback off of Summerslam and delivered an amazing stinker. Jinder Mahal was in the second best match of the night, so if that doesn't say it all, I don't know what does. Recommendation to avoid.
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