GCW I Can’t Save You 5/21/2023 Results and Review

Another GCW event came and went, and this time they were in Columbus, Ohio. At this point I’ve seen a lot of independent wrestling in one weekend, and was definitely not looking forward to another, but why not? I’m about 2 hours away from Columbus as I write this, and am tired. I didn’t sleep well, and I’ve watched a TON of wrestling, but hey, I do it all for you 2 or 3 readers that may find yourself without sleep looking at random notes and blogs about pro wrestling.

Steph De Lander defeated Maki Itoh

I previously saw Itoh in a 5-way match, so I was familiar with her, and De Lander I saw with Matt Cardona so I was a little familiar with the two. The match was good, and I liked how both women had a turn beating each other up, with no clear winner early on. Itoh really threw herself at De Lander, and she was the smaller of the two. Steph De Lander didn’t lighten up on Maki, as she threw her for a few loops here and there including a nice chokeslam. The crowd was way into Maki Itoh as she was speeding through moves, and definitely smoother than De Lander at times. Itoh was leading at one point, but it was a distraction from Matt Cardona that would cause this match to end, as Itoh would lose overall. Not bad. I liked this opening match and I’m an Itoh fan for sure.

The East West Express defeated Joey Janela and Sawyer Wreck in the GCW tag title match

I’ve seen Janela and the East West Express before, but I’m new to Sawyer Wreck, and I like her a lot. I thought this match wasn’t half bad, it had a lot of audience participation at some points with the chops. Ric Flair chops, lol, always fun to hear the crowd get involved. This was a nice back and forth tag team match with a few good spots overall. Nothing too crazy, though, mind you, but some good psychology from the East West Express. The East West express kept focusing on Janela and Wreck’s arms, and would eventually get the win. A good fast paced match with little to no resting, and some nice back and forth, in the tag title match.

Los Macizos and Crazy King defeated Caleb Konley, Chico Suave, and Jimmy Lloyd

This was an outstanding six man tag, with a lot of action. There was a lot of back and forth, broken pinfalls, and stellar dives here and there. All six men put on a good show with this, entertaining the audience and me with their overall back and forth action. I was impressed with how smooth some of the moves were, especially from the lucha guys overall. I’m always a big fan of diving, and technical wrestling the same, but this was a mix of things, including a little hardcore with some chair shots for good measure. A solid 9 minute affair, with some quality back and forth, and some good tags in and out.

Blake Christian defeated Trey Miguel

A fast paced match with some good back and forth, from a couple of lightweight wrestlers. The two were trading offense, and no one was getting the upper hand, until a low blow from Blake Christian equalized things. Trey then succumb to a curb stomp and that was it. He did put on a good overall match, nothing too crazy, some nice high flying moments, and interesting back and forth. Good match, and some interesting moments with a finish that was out of desperation.

Gringo Loco defeated Ninja Mack

I’ve seen Gringo Loco several times, and he is a really good lucha libre type wrestler. I’ve never seen Ninja Mack, but I was expecting a good one here, and the two delivered overall. A fun match that would spill onto the floor, and both men brought something to the table. Ninja Mack impressed me with some great acrobatic offense, and Gringo Loco met him with some stellar lucha moves. This was an entertaining lucha style, modern match with lots of action, and lots of flying. Great overall fun, with Gringo Loco getting the win, but not without a fight.

Cole Radrick defeated Matt Cardona

Cole Radrick looked like enhancement talent for WWE. I was laughing a great deal, but hey that’s the great thing about the indies. Cardona kept complaining about his back, and the match just kept going forward, with slow moving elements, and telling a story of Cardona being too good to be in Columbus. The match wasn’t great, and the end came with Radrick getting help from Nick Gage, hitting Cardona with a title belt, and that’s it. Not a terrible match, but definitely one sided, and interesting to see Cardona get his. I’m sure this is going to lead to a Nick Gage match for Cardona.

Alex Shelley defeated Alec Price

Shelley’s a seasoned veteran at this point, and he had a lot of moments in this match. Price isn’t someone I’m familiar with, but he put up a fight, even if it didn’t last too long. Shelley would dictate the pace for the most part, and Price would just follow up here and there, getting some shots in, but it was Alex’s match. Alex Shelley with the win in about 13 minutes or so, and it wasn’t half bad. A good modern match.

Second Gear Crew and Rina Yamashita defeated Bang Bros, Jeffrey John, and The Swinger

The match started slow, with each team feeling out one another, but it would eventually go to double teams and even triple team action. There was a lot of diving, and nice shots outside on the floor, but overall this was a cluster of a match. Chairs came into play at one point too, and things picked up midway through the match itself. A door was introduced at one point, and things got a little extreme, but overall this was a fun match with a lot of back and forth action. A nice crash through a door was awesome, and a splash from the top would get the win for the Second Gear Crew and Rina Yamashita.

Masha Slamovich defeated Mance Warner in the GCW Title Match

This match was wild. It started with Masha Slamovich using a chair to get the upper hand against Mancer, and it kept pace afterwards. Mancer would get the upper hand and take the fight outside of the ring, and eventually the two would fight inside the ring. Mancer brought in a door, a table, and much more plunder to the interior of the match, as this turned into a hardcore match, even though it wasn’t advertised as such. Mancer bled heavily for this match and Masha was super violent overall. This was a hardcore match in every sense of the word, and it was a fun romp, with Masha getting the win after the two would go through a lot of back and forth.

Overall Thoughts

To me, this night of wrestling seemed like a lot. It had some good moments, especially with the push for Cardona and Gage will be a meeting sometime. The rest was not half bad, with some good matchups, and interesting moments. I liked it for the most part, and I liked it more than I did their Detroit show which I reviewed as well. The main event delivered with some hardcore fun, but other than that, this is an ok show, definitely worth watching at least once.

Overall Thoughts

At the end of the day this was a fun show. GCW delivers with a great, fun show, even though the whole card was a bit lopsided at times, it was still fun. I thought the wrestling was good, and the main event delivered, sending the crowd home happy. I liked this a lot, and it was 3 hours of a good time, recommended more than their Detroit show that’s for sure.

NJPW Strong Resurgence 5/21/2023 Results and Review

It was a busy weekend, with two GCW shows, an AIW show, and NJPW as well. I wanted to see it all, and review it of course, and well, I got lucky that I am able to do that. NJPW was live from the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California, and had a bunch of matches, including the tournament to crown a women’s champion. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, so it was interesting to see what I got here, and if you’re a fan, you probably don’t need anything I’m going to say, but alas, I don’t do it for everyone I do it for the two readers that come along with me for this pro wrestling journey.

El Barbaro Cavernario and Virus defeated TMDK (Bad Dude Tito and Zack Sabre Jr.)

I’ve been a huge Zack Sabre fan ever since I saw him take on Okada in one hell of a championship match. It was good to see him in this tag match, and the two teams had some great back and forth. There wasn’t anything too crazy to write home about, but the back and forth action was good, with a mix of technical wrestling and lucha style. This was very much a good, fast paced opener, even though there was some slow down here and there to setup some tag team moves. A solid opener for sure, fun stuff to introduce you to NJPW. I gotta admit that the ending was a little lackluster, but overall, a fun match with some nice moments, but yeah not a great ending moment with a submission, oh well.

Mercedes Mone defeated Stephanie Vaquer

So here we go, the first match of the tournament for the women’s title. Mercedes is whom I wanted to win, and whom I figured would get the upper hand, as I was a fan of her WWE work especially when she was tearing up arenas in NXT. I hadn’t heard of Stephanie Vaquer so I couldn’t comment on her, but this match was definitely worthy of checking out overall. There was some great back and forth here, I loved the intensity from both women. Mone is a little different in NJPW than in WWE and it shows. I liked that, I liked the way she pushed through a bunch of moves, and Vaquer is no slouch either, mixing lucha and modern wrestling styles overall. I liked it a lot, and feel that this was a good opening tournament matchup. Good stuff, with Mone getting the big win moving forward. I miss Money in WWE, or rather I miss the NXT version where she had more time to display action like she did with this match. Roughly 12 minutes, and not a moment wasted, good stuff.

Willow Nightingale defeated Momo Kohgo

I have never heard of either one of these wrestlers, but was impressed with the overall match. Momo was the lighter one here and Willow put on a great show with power moves. The lighter wrestler was throwing a ton of moves at the larger one, and it was a good back and forth matchup. I was impressed with the pacing, and the move set of each woman, including a 619 at one point that I marked out for! Momo was excellent here, and Willow’s power moves made it interesting too, which made me like this match a lot. A good job reeling me in by both women here. The crowd got into it, and I was all for it, great match in the tournament with Willow getting the win.

Juice Robinson defeated Fred Rosser in a Street Fight

I love a good street fight, and I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this. I’ve heard of Juice Robinson before but I never heard of Fred Rosser. Apparently the two were feuding or something and they were led into a street fight to settle their differences. A hardcore match, but not a death match mind you, this was a good showing for the two wrestlers. Both wrestlers had their turn beating up the other, and it was fun overall. There was a belt introduced at one point and it looked painful as all hell. The two fought outside in the aisle at one point, and then would break a couple of doors overall. This was good. It reminded me of a hardcore match from the ECW days or even some of the better WWF matches. The crowd was into this, I was into this, and the two put each other through the ringer to get this going. There was a lot of hard hits, kendo sticks, a stop sign, chairs, doors, and just hard hitting moments. This was a good street fight, and in the end, Juice Robinson got the victory, but it wasn’t without a war of a match. Fun stuff here, a good one has been had.

Kenta defeated Hikuleo in the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship Match

I’m tempted to say that Kenta couldn’t hack it in NXT but it wasn’t that. What happened was he got injured, and the WWE didn’t do a whole lot to help his cause. Anywhere else, he’s good, and it shows. Kenta was on the offensive at first here, but he didn’t back down, getting some fight back against Hikuleo. Hikuleo is huge, mind you, he’s bigger than Kenta and he was dominant at first, with some hard hits on Kenta, getting the crowd to woah a great deal. It was mostly Hikuleo until Kenta dropped the big guy off the stairs and through a table! Quite the bump, and that would get Kenta the win, as he beat the 20 count, and that’s that. I disappointed with the ending, but meh, Kenta wins the title with a count out. Hey, it’s their rules.

The Blackpool Combat Club and Shota Umino defeated CHAOS

A six man tag match, with some interesting back and forth. As far as six man tag matches are concerned, this wasn’t too bad. I liked the back and forth, good overall fighting, and some nice submission holds. This was like a clinic in Japanese style modern wrestling as there was a lot of action. There were some moments where if you blinked, you missed it. I was impressed throughout, the pacing was fast, there was some back and forth and the crowd was into it, making this a fun match to watch. Everyone got a bit of their offense in, so it was frenetic at times, but it would be the Blackpool Combat Club that would get the upper hand after a sick DDT called the Death Rider, or writer, I don’t know it was sick and it was all she wrote for CHAOS.

Will Ospreay defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in the number 1 contenders’ tournament match

Back to the singles competitors, I knew these two going into the match, and always love to see them work. Tanahashi and Ospreay were on another level here, with a lot of back and forth, speed, and overall crowd interaction. These two took their time, built a solid match, and was fun to watch. It was a mix of modern and even a little lucha, with a lot of action between. Ospreay with his finisher and a huge lariat, sheesh, the ending sequence was great. Ospreay definitely put Tanahashi through the matt at one point, and I loved it. Great match here, and roughly 16 minutes, but it was good. Back and forth, but Will Ospreay getting the win. He’s really good, I hope he continues to rise up. Tanahashi is no slouch, mind you, but it wasn’t his night that’s for sure.

Willow Nightingale defeated Mercedes Mone for the NJPW Strong Women’s Title

Before this night, I wasn’t familiar with Willow’s work, and through this match and the first match, I was impressed overall. She’s a hard hitting, really good wrestler, and Mone just couldn’t last. Don’t get me wrong, Mone had some good moments here, and she was definitely throwing around some counters, but it was Willow that seemed to get the upper hand. I was impressed. Mone took a beating, Willow showed up to the main stage, and this was one of the best women’s matches I’ve seen in a long time. Loved it, and recommend it.

Overall Thoughts

I heard that Mone broke her ankle during the main event. That sucks overall, but other than that note, this was a good night of wrestling. You didn’t need a lot of hype packages, and you didn’t need to get a lot of story to enjoy the wrestling. I found the wrestling to be hardcore at times, and something for everyone. There was lucha style, Japanese strong style, modern style, and even a little martial arts and mma for that matter. The main event delivered in spades, and I liked this whole 4 hour some odd venture from NJPW. The crowd was into it, the matches delivered, and Money is money! Willow too!

GCW The Way I Am 5/20/2023 Results and Review

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.

AIW Gauntlet For The Gold 16 5/20/23 Results and Review

My local indie comes through with an event that was live from Eastlake Ohio. I am in Cuyahoga Falls, and did not go to this live. I decided to sit this one out. Instead, I caught up with it on FITE Plus, and it is an interesting show. There was a good sized crowd at the Force Sports arena, and while the lighting was good, it still very much felt like an indie show. Let’s see what went down overall.

Money Shot defeated Members Only

This was a fast paced modern match, and it wasn’t that memorable to me. Yeah, it had some good back and forth action, but overall, it was nothing to write home about. There was your standard stuff here, hot tags, and more, but I just didn’t get that into it, and while they did work hard, it was just not that memorable. Members Only and Money Shot both look like developmental guys, which isn’t bad, I just feel that they are still climbing, and overall, not a bad match.

Dominic Garrini defeated Kaplan

I thought I was going to h ate this one. I’ve seen Garrini before and didn’t impress me at all. I know he has a background in MMA but I didn’t think he was great when I saw him previously. That changed for me with this match, as the two put on a hard hitting showcase, and some great back and forth. Garrini has improved greatly since I last saw him, and Kaplan was a great worker to move forward with Garrini’s offense. A good brawl at times, some nice slams, and suplexes, brings this one to Garrini’s win.

Joshua Bishop defeated Tom Lawlor in a Casket match

Now this was a cool matchup. Lawlor seems to have lost a little weight since I last saw him, and Bishop was new from me. I thought this was a good back and forth, with Lawlor really getting brutalized at one point. In fact, he even had the crowd slapping his chest with chops. I kid you not! This was a fun match, and the casket stipulation was cool, but Bishop and Lawlor didn’t need it. A good back and forth match with hard hitting moves, and chops, which was fun. Bishop got the win, and Lawlor gets thrown into the casket with the door closed.

Joseline Navarro defeated Miyu Yamashita

This was my second favorite match of the night. Both women have interesting looks, but it was Yamashita was definitely the one to watch here, as she impressed me. Navarro was good too, and this was a back and forth match with some quality moves, and interesting pace. I liked it, and would recommend seeking out the show for this one, even if it wasn’t five stars, it was fun and that’s all you can want from a match women’s or not.

Derek Dillinger defeated Shaw Mason

Not a terrible match, but not a great one either. I was a little tired and admittedly couldn’t get into this one. I love Ziggy Haim, though. She’s awesome, and glad to see her in this, although she wasn’t wrestling in the traditional sense. Not a terrible match, but not a great one either, good filler if you ask me.

Matt Cardona defeated Hardway Holloway in the AIW Absolute Title Match

If you’re a Matt Cardona fan, and you are following him in the indies, then you’re going to like this overall. A great back and forth match with Cardona using his stooges to get the upper hand overall. Cardona would win with his finisher, which was not called the rough ryder, so I don’t know what to call it here, but it was good to see him. He’s a smooth wrestler, with some seriously good moves, and it was fun to see this one. A good match, and a main event caliber one if you ask me. Fun stuff here.

Isaiah Broner won Gauntlet for the Gold

This was basically a Royal Rumble with a lot of indie guys. I didn’t know all of them, but there was a great number of them, including some from earlier in the night. I liked the overall premise, and it was fun to see the guys interact in the Royal Rumble style match. Broner would get the win with a sweet lariat that really pushed through the end. I liked it a lot. This was a great fun matchup.

Overall Thoughts

AIW wasn’t half bad. Gauntlet For The Gold was a lot of fun, the matches involved a great deal of back and forth, and lots of action. If you’re a fan of pro wrestling, you’ll have fun with this show, as I did a lot. I found it to be a great deal of fun. My favorites included the Lawlor match, the women’s match, and the Dominic Garrini match as well. Fun times, check it out on FITE PLUS.