GCW was in Detroit at Harpo’s Theater for an event, and they were live on FITE Plus. I didn’t catch it live, but was able to look at it today, and wanted to review it. I will be reviewing as much pro wrestling as I can overall. Here we go, a review and results from GCW The Way I Am from Detroit on 5/20/23.
Joey Janela defeated Karam
Janela is a lot smaller than I thought. Karam has a good
build, and the match was a good fast paced matchup. The crowd was very much
into Janela, and he definitely put on a good showcase, although he didn’t
rollover Karam. This was a nice modern match, good back and forth, with a nice
bit of momentum for Janela. By the end here Janela’s chest was really red, and
the two did exchange a great deal of chops, so that was good to see. Overall, a
quality opener for sure. Janela got a double stomp and picked up the victory in
this one, and the crowd was into it.
Breyer Wellington defeated Charles Mason by DQ
Mason was on the mic and I was listening to SOLOMONSTER
Sounds Off, so I missed what he was saying, sorry. Breyer Wellington came out,
and got in his face, and the two started a brawl. Not a bad brawl for what it
was, but it would be Wellington with the win after Mason used a belt to choke
the man on. Parrow came out and assaulted Wellington, and basically gave him
Greetings From Asbury Park, and that was it. Just a beat down. Joey Janela ran
in to help, and that was it for this segment.
The East West Express defeated Los Macizos and The Motor City
Machine Guns GCW Tag Team Title Three Way Match
A good tag match, but the ring was a little small for three
teams. There was a lot of back and forth here, with some great double team
action. I liked this a lot. The Motor City Machine Guns are always fun to
watch, and the other two teams were good foils too. I liked this greatly, but
it was The East West Express that would get the upper hand, and they win. This
was fun, fast paced, back and forth, and lots of moments with double team
action.
Mance Warner defeated Tommy Vendetta in a Death Match
Some of this match spilled into the audience, and there was
no lighting for it, so I didn’t see some of this. The commentary even mentioned
the fact that there was no spotlight at all. I shook my head a little, as it
seemed stupid to go into a dark crowd without any lighting. This match was
ultra violent, and it wasn’t much in terms of wrestling as much as it was
purely staples, beatdown, and fighting. Barbed wire doors, chairs, and even
light tubes were used in this brawl of a match. Good stuff if you like Death Matches,
but otherwise it wasn’t much to write home about.
John Wayne Murdoch defeated Crazy King in a Death Match
Murdoch and Crazy King looked like independent wrestlers,
and that’s not a bad thing, but it was a lot more noticeable than Mance Warner,
which I think is ready for the big time. That’s not bad, mind you, but it very
much has an independent look overall. This was another death match, and the two
didn’t really have a lot of good wrestling, but rather was just fighting,
brawling, and a few moments from wrestling school. Light tubes, a door, chairs,
and that’s about it made this an extreme match, but honestly, I didn’t care
that much for it. I didn’t hate this mind you, I was just a little burned out
after a previous death match already on the card. The ending was good, mind
you, so there’s a plus.
Cole Radrick defeated Alec Price, August Mathews, Caleb
Konley, and Davey Bang
A five way scramble match was nice to see as a breather from
the death match wrestling. This was fast paced, and not that long overall. It
was roughly 7 minutes, but it was good to see a little back and forth. This had
a lot more sound wrestling, with some great moments, tag-ins, and modern moves.
There were some nice double team moments, and some good slams here, a stark
difference between this and the match beforehand, which was definitely fun to
see. Fast moves, quick hits, and some nice wrestling here, but it was too
short, if you ask me.
Blake Christian defeats Effy
I’m not that familiar with Effy’s work. However, I know of
him through twitter and other social media listings, as people have talked about
him and his wrestling. Effy got a lot of people cheering for him during his entrance,
so there’s something to the guy. He faced off against Blake Christian, in a
normal match, which went nearly 20 minutes in length. The crowd seemed into
both men, although Effy got way more attention. There was a lot of wrestling
here, with some good suplexes, power bombs, and even an introduction of a door
for good measure. Effy and Blake brawled a little, wrestled a little, and
really had some good moments. I liked it, and it featured a good deal of back
and forth action. Effy would end up on the losing end after getting hit with a
wrench, then a curb stomp, with a ref bump that wasn’t half bad. Good match
here, highlight up to this point.
Masha Slamovich defeated Allysin Kay, LuFisto, Maki Itoh,
and Shazza McKenzie in the GCW World Title match
A five way scramble match for the title was your semi-main
event. There was a good mix here, with lots of back and forth. There was a
great deal of punishment dished out by all of the wrestlers involved with this
one. I was impressed with the pacing, and the overall focus of the match, which
didn’t tell much of a story as much as it was just a brawl with some signature
kicks, power moves, and more. There were some very stiff kicks for sure, and
some strong power moves, and in the end Masha Slamovich picked up the victory. Good
stuff here, entertaining completely and something you’ll want to watch if you’re
a fan of indie wrestling. I liked this, great stuff. The crowd reactions were
good too. There was a little something for everyone, including Itoh using a pizza
cutter!
Rina Yamashita defeated Jimmy Lloyd in the GCW
Ultraviolent Title Match
I didn’t know that there was an Ultraviolent Title, and wasn’t
sure what to expect here. You’ll have to remember that there was already death
matches on this one, and some extreme things in the GCW title match, so it was
interesting to see what these two came up with. The crowd was all over Rina
here, and she looked the part to me, more than Lloyd did. Rina and Jimmy didn’t
start with extremes, but this thing got brutal fast. There wasn’t a lot of
psychology here, it was just a brawl with a lot of glass shattering. Blood poured
out of each of the competitor’s faces, and this was not for the weak of heart.
The ending came when Rina dropped Jimmy Lloyd with a splash mountain through a
barbed wire table!
Overall Thoughts
There was a mixed bag of action on this card, and it was a
fun watch. You get 3 plus hours of entertainment, and while it wasn’t always
good, it had some good moments. I am not a huge fan of the death matches, but I
stomached them ok. I liked some of the performers including Effy, Mancer, and
the Japanese women, alongside the GCW champion. Overall, a decent showing,
albeit with less than stellar lighting, a smaller ring than I’m used to, and
well, other than that, not half bad. I liked it, and recommend getting FITE
PLUS to stream this on your free time.
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