GCW Tournament of Survival 8 Results and Review

Well, here we go a review of GCW’s Tournament of Survival 8 that occurred on 6/3 in Atlantic City at the Showboat Hotel. This is available through FITETV plus, and if you watched it live you were in for a treat. I didn’t catch up to it until today, so I am late. I will also be reviewing GCW Cage of Survival as well, but first things first, let’s talk about this one and how it went down. I’m not going to list the place of tournament matches, ie which round, and stuff, but rather I’m going to just put the winners and losers as they came through, because this was a tournament, you should see some repeats.

Nick Gage opened the show on the mic, and the crowd was very hot for MDK. They brought out the trophy that the winner will get, and it’s awesome. What a trophy for the winner of the tournament!

These are all death matches folks, so if you’re not a fan of them, you won’t like GCW Tournament of Survival, as it is extreme, but not in the ECW way, but rather in the GCW way. Lots of fun overall for those that love this style of wrestling, and not so much for others that don’t like it. I’m on the fence, and we’ll see how much I think of it as we get into the action.

Ciclope defeated Green Phantom and Miedo Extremo

Well, between glass tubes breaking, chairs smashing, and random slaps and chops, there was some wrestling found here. I was surprised with how some of the wrestling went down, especially from Ciclope and Green Phantom. Miedo Extremo wasn’t bad either, but I noticed Phantom and Ciclope the most. Ciclope would get the win here, but not without some battle wounds. Ciclope hit a frog splash through some glass on Green Phantom, while Miedo Extremo may have been injured and dropped out of the match midway.

Toru Sugiura defeated Joey Janela and Tomoya Hirata

I was initially impressed with the sheer amount of wrestling was found in this match to start things off. The Japanese wrestlers did some chain wrestling, mat wrestling, and random moves before the light tubes started, and things got out of control. There were some nice moments that had men flying over the top, through the ropes, and back and forth. I liked that this wasn’t just a brawl, it had some good wrestling in it too, even if it got extreme at times.

John Wayne Murdoch defeated El Desperado and Matt Tremont

This was more of a brawl, then the other matches thus far. These three fought a battle of brawling, with few moves overall. There were a lot of slaps, chops, and fists, and there was a lot of glass. There was even a net of barbed wire that got utilized. Matt Tremont took a serious bump with a sheet of barbed wire. El Desperado seemed a little out of his element, but he fought back, and did a few moves. At the end of the match, this was a John Wayne Murdoch win, but not without getting a beat down in the process.

Rina Yamashita defeated Kasey Kirk and Sawyer Wreck

Sawyer Wreck is my new favorite indie wrestler. She’s so awesome in this match. She used her height advantage to really take out Kasey and Rina at times. The other women are tough as nails, though, as they fought back and brawled a little. This wasn’t a complete wrestling match, as much as it featured a bit of brawling. I didn’t mind the brawling at all, there was some nice moments, but mostly just extreme stuff here. Rina hit a splash mountain onto light tubes that were placed on Sawyer Wreck’s stomach! This was one hell of an ending, and tough call for Kasey and Sawyer, good stuff overall.

Blake Christian defeated Alex Price, Gringo Loco, and Jack Cartwheel in a four way match

This was an amazing change of pace from all the death match stuff. The match was back and forth with every competitor getting some action in. I’m always impressed by Gringo Loco, among other familiar faces. Every man in this match got a chance to shine, and it was a good lucha style, modern match, with a  good mix of moves and reversals. It wasn’t extreme, it was a good modern match, and I was chanting along with the crowd, well at least in my head. Blake Christian would get the win, but this was a showcase of talent overall. He was definitely great here.

John Wayne Murdoch defeated Ciclope

This one was insane! A quicker pace, and a lot of action, brawling throughout, and light tubes, glass, and chairs, I was not sure I’d have liked this one, but the match showcased some great pacing. A destroyer onto a barbed wire table wasn’t enough, nor was a knee through glass, it was a submission! That’s right, a submission cost Ciclope this one, and well, it was a fun five minute or so match.

Rina Yamashita defeated Toru Sugiura

This one was brutal as both competitors brawled and carved through a brutal death match. Toru was busted open early, and Rina had to battle back after he had control of the match for a while. Believe it or not, there was some nice wrestling at some point, towards the end of the match. I loved that, including suplexes, and bridges, with nice pinfall near falls. A splash mountain onto light tubes and a table got this victory for Rina, which was stellar.

Rina Yamashita defeated John Wayne Murdoch in the finals of tournament of survival 8

The ring was lined with light tubes, and they shattered when each competitor was irish whipped into the ropes, which started this brutal final. Don’t expect a lot of wrestling here, this was a brawl and utilized every bit of plunder available. Rina was a bloody mess at one point, and it was hard to watch, but she is stronger than nails, because she kept fighting back. At one point John Wayne Murdoch got tossed off a scaffold through a pane of glass, he also got hit with a huge splash off the scaffold! It wasn’t enough to win, but it was a sight to see in the finale! After a splash mountain on a pile of glass and table, Rina would pick up the hard fought victory, and get the trophy too!

After the match there was a little celebration, but it turned into a beat down with a trio of Japanese wrestlers coming to attack her. I didn’t recognize a guy in a mask, but he splashed Rina, and then attacked further. Nick Gage and others came to make the save, and that was that for the show.

Overall Thoughts

If you’re a fan of death matches, this was a great night for you. This was a great night of death match wrestling, and it featured a lot of battling. There was a nice four way lucha style match at one point, but other than that, the tournament was fun, and fought hard with everyone involved. I liked this a lot, and am glad I saw it. I recommend checking this show out if you’re a fan of hardcore wrestling, plain and simple.