Preview: The Reviewing Tag Team Debuts. Night two of GCW’s Prelude to Survival Weekend is here and we have more extreme, independent wrestling action emanating from Atlantic City, New Jersey. There are a series of GCW Tournament of Survival qualifying matches, the first between Jimmy Lloyd and Shane Mercer, and the second between Brandon Kirk and deathmatch legend Matt Tremont. Joey Janela appears tonight for the first time since his AEW contract expired and he will take on Masha Slamovich in an intergender singles match. Elsewhere on the card AJ Gray defends the GCW Extreme Championship in a 6 man scramble under Lucha Rules. Last but not least Allie Katch and Effy defend the GCW Tag Team Championships against John Wayne Murdoch and Akira.
AVERAGE Alec Price Vs ASF, Antonio San Francisco: Overall this was a match was a on the fly opening contest, ASF was scheduled to face Tony Deppen and Alec was originally in the extreme scramble. This match had some decent spots and nice moves that were done between the two of them. I believe this was a match that was almost called on the fly by Alec and ASF and their inexperience hindered this match. This could have gone on second as it wasn’t the best way to open this show. (Summary By Coby)
Results: ASF by Pinfall via Butterfly Piledriver.
Coby Galenzoski and Clark Taylor WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
GOOD Dante Leon Vs Alex Zayne: Zayne enters first wearing the eye patch and then removes it before Dante Leon makes the walk. Both men circle each other to start the match, and a classic lock up gets us going. Zayne grabs onto a headlock but Leon is able to break free. Leon hits the ropes and Zayne drops down and then leap frogs before Dante rolls him up for a 1 count. Back on his feet, Zayne delivers european uppercuts and elbow strikes. Leon is able to turn things around with a rebound savate kick. He follows with an inverted moonsault cutter in the corner, and then parlays it into a tope suicida outside the ring. Zayne is down in the front row and eats a chop from Leon as they circle around the ringside area. Leon delivers a knee to Zayne in one of the seats on the outside and begins to build a pyramid of chairs. Zayne has too much time to recover but Leon is ready for it and he sets Alex up on the bed of chairs. Off the apron Leon flies but Zayne evades and the back of Leon is badly damaged on the chair pyramid. Alex Zayne goes to work on the back of Dante Leon, but Leon is game and fights back with right hands from the ground. He eats a shotgun dropkick from Zayne but is able to kick out at 2. The crowd begins to chant “let’s go Dante.” It isn’t a packed house but the fans in attendance have come alive for the first time tonight. Dante Leon corners Alex Zayne and connects with a spinning back kick. Both men climb to the second rope in the corner and trade chops. Leon gets the best of the exchange and follows with a springboard spanish fly, accompanied by a brainbuster and a near fall. Dante tries for another cutter but eats a huge knee to the jaw and Alex Zayne piles on with a corkscrew senton. Dante rolls Zayne up and they go back and forth in the corner. Zayne is prone and Dante Leon hits a shooting-star-Canadian-destroyer. Dante climbs the top rope and goes for a shooting star cutter but he is caught. Alex Zayne hits him with a pump handle-cobra clutch-driver. This was a cool back and forth match with a bit of a shocking result. The crowd came alive for the first time all night, and there were more than a couple innovative spots. It’s not an all time classic but Zayne’s finisher is definitely a cool move, and I personally thought Leon had a fun showing. They shake hands post match and maybe Zayne isn’t the heel we all thought he was. (Summary by Clark)
Results: Alex Zayne by Pinfall via Pump Handle Cobra Clutch Driver.
Coby Galenzoski and Clark Taylor WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GREAT Bussy, Effy and Allie Katch Vs The Rejects, John Wayne Murdoch and Akira – GCW Tag Team Championship: Akira then John Wayne gets the first entrances before Bussy gets the champions entrance. After Johns music got cut off he tells Emil to remind the fans his name is not John Wayne P***y it’s John Wayne Murdoch. JWM and Allie Katch start the match, crowd chanting Bussy is going to kill you. John flips Allie off before Allie sneaks a roll up and JWM attaches himself to the ropes. Allie gets an early advantage getting some offense as John makes the tag to Akira, Allie tags in Effy. John Wayne breaks up with Effy and Akira locks up before Effy kisses John and Allie brings him out of the ring. Akira gets kissed but ends up biting the tongue of Effy. Effy is sent to the outside before Akira gets on the apron and does a run up to the corner, moonsaulting onto the three outside the ring. Akira gets a combo ending with the lifting reverse DDT. Allie gets some chair shots onto Akira, before John breaks a tube over Allie, grabbing more tubes and continuing the attack. The rest of the match involves some deathmatch style stuff but this wasn’t a full on deathmatch. There was limited blood but this was a very solid match for all parties involved. The match ended with John and Wayne brawling on the apron and getting pushed off and through a door. Akira and Allie were shocked and had a back and forth exchange that ended with Allie’s Piledriver. After the match Allie got her hand raised but Effy and John were brawling to the back. Effy failed to throw John into the pillar but they brawled to the back before Allie walked back both titles in hand. Effy Vs John might be a Tournament Of Survival non tournament match next time in Atlantic city. (Summary By Coby)
Results: Allie Katch for Bussy Retains by Pinfall Via Bussy Piledriver.
Coby Galenzoski and Clark Taylor WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
AVERAGE Jimmy Lloyd Vs Shane Mercer – Tournament Of Survival Qualifier: We’ve got a deathmatch on our hands and the crowd quickly starts chanting for Jimmy Lloyd as he makes the walk. Shane Mercer’s music hits next and he’s on his way now. Mercer looks nasty as could be on his way there. Jimmy starts with a lighttube across the back before the bell and we are underway. Mercer turns things around with a German suplex and a lighttube shot of his own. He parlays that into a brainbuster and then picks up another tube. He places the tube over the forehead of Lloyd and doesn’t break it on the first attempt but shatters the glass with a right hand on his second. Jimmy is then nailed with a reverse hurricanrana and Lloyd is down in the center of the ring. Mercer calls for a weapon from a member of the ring crew, and unfortunately, it’s a weed whacker. Lloyd recovers in time to avoid the damage but then it is turned on by Lloyd and he goes to town on Shane Mercer. Shane turns him over for a powerslam and thankfully the weed whacker has drawn blood but it is only on the arm of Shane Mercer. He grabs a towel that is filled with a nunchuck sized mace. And we have officially gone medieval. Lloyd grabs a chair and squares Mercer with two straight unprotected chair shots across the skull. Jimmy follows with an Assault Driver through a door, but Mercer recovers and breaks some light tubes over Jimmy’s head. Lloyd responds with a Canadian Destroyer and a near fall and then sets up a barbed wire door across a set of chairs. Mercer is draped across but he evades and launches a chair at the head of Jimmy Lloyd. Shane goes for Moonsault and Battery and he unfortunately overshot it, but that is the finish. This was a deathmatch without question, but there wasn’t a heck of a lot of storytelling here. The crowd enjoyed it and Mercer has qualified for TOS. It was entertaining with a lot of athleticism, but there was still some to be desired. (Summary By Clark)
Results: Shane Mercer by Pinfall via Moonsault and Battery (Moonsault Fallaway Slam)
Coby Galenzoski and Clark Taylor WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
GREAT Gringo Loco Vs Aj Gray Vs Cole Radrick Vs Drago Kid Vs Marcus Mathers Vs Axton Ray – Scramble – GCW Extreme Championship: Mathers enters first, followed by Axton Ray and then Drago Kid. All 3 receive decent receptions from the crowd and then Gringo Loco makes his way to the ring. Cole Radrick makes the walk 5th and the crowd is happy to see him for a second straight night. Last but certainly not least, we get,. “Oh Let’s Do it,”and AJ Gray, the Extreme Champion of GCW and he’s ready to go. Lucha rules apply to this 6 man extreme scramble, and Radrick and Gray start in the ring. The other competitors circle the ring as AJ Gray lands a shoulder tackle on Cole and then follows with a chop block. Gray runs him into the corner and delivers a chop which he follows up with a spinning heel kick. Radrick rolls out and Axton Ray is in the ring but now Gringo Loco jumps into the action. Drago kid joins too and hits a tornado ddt on Axton Ray, sending him to the outside. Loco and Drago kid trade moves with some insane lucha action and then Marcus Matchers joins the match as Drago rolls to the outside. Mathers delivers a half and half suplex and then follows with a tope con hilo to the outside taking out 2 of his opponents. Cole Radrick reinserts himself into the action with a moonsault to the remaining competitors and he and Drago Kid hit the ring. Drago scores on a step up enziguri and then Gringo Loco joins the ring and he tries to double team Drago with the help of Axton Ray. Drago climbs the shoulders of Gringo and then walks across Axton’s to deliver a dive to the other 3 competitors on the outside. Somehow he and Mathers are back in the ring and Drago delivers a poison-rana. There is now a triple stack in the corner of the ring, Gringo carrying Mathers and Drago Kid, and a series of moonsaults landing on Axton Ray. AJ Gray is hit with a swinging ddt and then a springboard moonsault from Cole Radrick. Axton Ray drills Radrick with a sitout tombstone and then hits it with a chop from AJ Gray. Gray has Ray grounded briefly but Axton responds with a bunch of forearms. AJ turns it around with a urinagi but is hit with a springboard senton from Drago Kid. Gringo Loco meets Drago kid on the top and hits a super military press michinoku driver. AJ Gray immediately gets back in the action knocking Gringo Loco to the outside. After a brief back and forth with Mathers, Loco and AJ team up for something, but Mathers fights his way out. AJ Gray delivers a devastating lariat and then knocks Loco to the outside. He drops the Leg off the top to Mathers and AJ Gray has retained the GCW Extreme Championship match. That was an incredible contest, the unique rules and 6 competitors put on a show. Spot fest wouldn’t be a stretch but it was very logical, and extremely entertaining, no pun intended. AJ Gray looked great, but Gringo Loco continues to build his star power inside the GCW ring night in and night out. (Summary By Clark)
Results: Aj Gray Retains by Pinfall via Diving Leg Drop on Marcus Mathers.
Coby Galenzoski and Clark Taylor WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
GOOD Jordan Oliver and Nick Wayne Vs The SAT Jose and Joel Maximo: Both teams enter and the bell rings with all four teams in the ring and a sign of respect to start the match. SAT starts the match attacking Jordan and Nick. This match turns out to be as normal as you can get in terms of tag team rules. SAT are working on Nick Wayne before Jordan gets the hot tag, taking on SAT by himself. Jordan and Nick are going for a double spanish fly but one of the SAT get Nick off and hit him with a powerbomb onto his knees. They go for a super clothesline but the SAT guy ends up landing on the top rope tumbling while Jordan falls on his back. It was the one prominent botch but didn’t look so back because he didn’t land on his head or anything bad. The match continues on as Jordan and Nick take control of the match. A great sequence that almost had Jordan get the victory with the clout cutter. The SAT tries for the spanish fly but Jordan spots them, before they go to a different corner with Nick, Jordan tries to interfere again but they end up getting the double spanish fly on both Nick and Jordan for the win. Solid match that got hindered by the one super clothesline spot. After the match the teams exchange respect before the SAT grab the mic. Joel puts over GCW, Jordan Oliver and Nick Wayne saying the match blew his expectations out of the water. They share another hug before they all walk out. (Summary By Coby)
Results: SAT By Pinfall via Double Spanish Fly
Coby Galenzoski and Clark Taylor WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GREAT Joey Janela Vs Masha Slamovich: Masha makes her entrance first to a decent reception. Joey will walk second and he’s clearly a GCW homer. They love the kid, the Bad Boy and Masha both have supporters in attendance this evening. Joey Omega sets up for the match during his ring introduction, and if you don’t get that joke watch the match and you will. “Masha’s gonna kill you,” chants ring out in Atlantic City and they trade strikes to start the match. No lock up, no takeovers, just good old fashioned forearms and punches. The Bad Boy slaps Slamovich but she responds with a slap of her own. She chops Janela and then follows with more and more overhand chops across the sternum. Joey responds witha headbut to ground Slamovic and then uses a lariat to keep her grounded. He postures for the crowd and hoists her up for a powerbomb and a two count. Janela keeps the grip and delivers a second powerbomb but of the released variety this time. He hits the ropes but is caught with a spinning back kick and both competitors are now grounded. Janela lands a german suplex and a running knee when they return to the center of the ring Joey is in control. He hoists Masha up for a superplex of the top turnbuckle but Slamovic fights her way out and delivers a missile dropkick. She follows that with a tope suicida and the fans are split at this point in the match. Joey has gotten in slightly more offense but they trade punches in the center of the ring, and Masha is able to get the best of the exchange finishing with an axe kick. She parlays the axe kick into a powerbomb and goes under the ring for a steel chair. Slamovich delivers an unprotected chair shot to Janelas skull and then hits him with a northern lights suplex on the same chair. Masha brings in a door but is hit with a german suplex and then a running powerbomb through the door. Joey lifts her up for a Gotch style piledriver but that is not enough! Masha recovers and gets Janela up in an electric chair before sending him through another door. Janela kicks at two and Masha looks to hoist him up for something, Janela uses his leverage advantage to deliver a hammerlock takedown followed by a lariat. As Joey begins to taunt and address the crowd, Masha Slamovic locks in a sleeper, but Janela climbs through the ropes and delivers a back drop onto the apron. Masha is in trouble but she is defiant as Joey tries to deliver a superkick. Slamovich evades the first one but Joey Janela scores one the second try and the superkick is the finish. What a great shot delivered by Joey Janela and his first match as an official free agent was a darn good one. He postures and grabs a microphone. Joey starts by thanking Masha Slamovich but he asks her to leave the ring. Janela addresses the fact that he is no longer signed to AEW. He doesn’t run down AEW he discusses how much, “He learned in the 3 years he was signed to AEW.” Then here it comes, he says AEW, had “no idea what they were getting themselves into when they signed Joey Janela,” before bringing to light his matches with Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega. Now the promo turns, and he says he was asked to, “Plug Dynamite when he wasn’t even on the card,” before saying, his “heart was always in GCW.” He’s in GCW to wrestle everywhere now. It was a really interesting promo, almost like he had more to say but didn’t feel right saying it just yet. Either way it was a very entertaining match and it’s good to know that Joey is being booked in more than just America and he gets to continue living his dream as a pro wrestler. (Summary By Clark)
Results: Joey Janela by Pinfall via Superkick
Coby Galenzoski and Clark Taylor WR Star Rating – 3.75 Star
GREAT Matt Tremont Vs Brandon Kirk – Tournament Of Survival Qualifier: Veda Scott left commentary putting Nick Gage on commentary as the match was being set up. Light tube bundles, log cabin of tubes and glass, and a barbed wire board on the outside. Nick Gage says it would be a big win for Kirk if he beats Tremont. Brandon Kirk enters first with a set of tubes in hand. Tremont shows up with a new theme, and a wooden board with one end wrapped in barbed wire. Slow start to the match, as they take an actual wrestling approach with a collar and elbow tie up. Matt throws Kirk off into the corners which have bundles of light tubes standing up. He throws him into three corners in a row, resulting in all bundles being busted open. The match started off slower than expected but I liked that it was building up to the more hardcore stuff. Matt puts a gusset plate into Kirk’s head before smacking one into his own forehead. They attempt to trade headbutts with the gussets but Matt’s gusset falls out making the spot awkward unfortunately. They get in the center and trade punches then headbutts and then more punches, mixing in jabs with traditional right hands. Kirk leapfrogs off the top before giving a shotgun dropkick into the last bundle in the corner. Kirk then breaks a tube in Matt’s mouth. The rest of the match involved a lot of light tubes, both men getting them broken over each other. There was a clear story of both guys wanting to get in Tournament Of Survival, and fighting back multiple times with the middle fingers up. I enjoyed Kirk almost getting the victory before going for the tube log cabin and getting put through it and kicking out before getting put back down by Tremont. As Tremont gets his hand raised as the crowd are chanting both these guys to close out the show. (Summary By Coby)
Results: Matt Tremont By Pinfall via Third Sitout Death Valley Driver.
Coby Galenzoski and Clark Taylor WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
Overall: Overall, this was arguably a better show than In Too Deep, but they got the same rating. You can check over the way it played out and see why, and that is what is most important. This was a quality wrestling show, as was last night. Tremont and Kirk delivered in the main event without question. AJ Gray had an exciting title defense in the scramble and was able to retain his title. Joey Janela wrestled for GCW as a non AEW contracted wrestler in 3 years and picked up the victory over Masha Slamovich. Shane Mercer ended up as the other qualified wrestler for the Tournament of Survival. We also saw two very good and solid tag team matches but for completely different ideas. Oh Yeah, Nick Gage is still the official deathmatch commentator for GCW.
Matches: 0.50/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere…: 0.50/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.50/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.50/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 2.75/5 Stars
Photo Credit: (GCW Twitter)
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