Review: GCW Presents Curtain Call
Asbury Park, NJ
By Tiffany Rose
Buy the Replay: https://www.fite.tv/watch/gcw-curtain-call/2p0un/
Curtain Call is GCW’s farewell to Joey Janela, Marko Stunt, and Jungle Boy, who will be making their debuts this week on AEW Dynamite. Orange Cassidy, who also appears on the card and is a current AEW talent, will still be honoring indie dates into November including October’s GCW No Sleep.
Special Guest for tonight’s show: Super Humman
Match 1: Jungle Boy vs. Jake Atlas
The opening match was a great pairing of two guys who have enjoyed a great year. Having most recently gone against each other in PWG at this year’s Battle of Los Angeles, Jungle Boy vs. Jake Atlas at GCW’s Curtain Call showed off the athletic skills of both competitors. This match was fast paced with back and forth stiff chops, savage knee strikes, and close pinfalls. Jungle Boy reversed a DDT from Atlas and used the momentum against him to counter with a jackknife cover and a pin, winning a damn good and damn close match after a pinfall that saw both men’s shoulders close to the mat. We’ll see Jungle Boy on Wednesdays now and we’ll see much more of Jake Atlas in the future as it’s his time to shine.
Winner: Jungle Boy
Match 2: Marko Stunt vs. KTB
This bout was billed as the Marko Stunt Invitational, meaning that Marko had his pick of opponents. In a call back to his breakout match at GCW’s Lost in New York, Marko selected his first opponent KTB to be his last opponent at Curtain Call. Marko brought his A-game for this match and KTB was on point as well with incredibly close pinfall spots and a highlight of Marko hitting a super hurricanrana off the top rope. Marko Stunt came through with the win and gave a grateful post-match speech thanking GCW for seeing him to success.
Winner: Marko Stunt
Match 3: David Starr vs. Tony Deppen
One of the best matches of the night! Deppen is one of my favorite wrestlers on the independent scene and he was the MVP of this battle. Deppen vs. Starr at Curtain Call was a chain wrestling classic that involved several stiff forearms, chops, and knees. There were precarious apron spots and again close pinfalls that kept the drama going non-stop. Tony Deppen got the win after a brutal battle against David Starr that ended up in a post-match shove battle that let everyone know that this is a feud that’s not done yet. Let’s hope we see Starr vs. Deppen somewhere again soon.
Winner: Tony Deppen
Match 4: Matt Tremont vs Orin Veidt vs Shlak vs Nick Gage (4-Way Fuckery for the GCW Championship)
It seemed the odds were against Veidt in this match as the crowd was truly gang affiliated. Matt Tremont looked to take the most damage in this match as he was busted open in the early stages of the fuckery. This was a wild match full of busted doors and various plunder that we’ve come to know and love with GCW matches. The fuckery ended with Nick Gage literally drilling into Orin Veidt’s skull with a power drill and then combining that with a one-winged angel for the pin. The winner and still champ, Nick Gage, then delivered a few choice post-match words to Rickey Shane Page in a continuation of their feud that started at GCW’s Nick Gage Invitational 4 when Page stole the GCW belt from the king of the deathmatches.
Winner: Nick Gage
Match 5: Shane Mercer vs. Teddy Hart vs. Alex Zayne vs. Blake Christian vs. Chris Bey vs. Jordan Oliver vs. Mick Moretti (7-Man Scramble)
GCW scramble matches are known for being crazy and just flat out nuts, and this scramble was no exception. All seven competitors were able to showcase their talent in this match with recognition going to indie legend Teddy Hart for his part and rising star Alex Zayne standing out especially. This was a good spotlight match for young newcomers Blake Christian and Chris Bey, too. Jordan Oliver was clearly the least favored of this scramble but managed to impress me by the end. Shane Mercer got the win after a scary spot with Jordan Oliver being launched from the ring towards the side of the building and Mercer getting the pinfall on Moretti.
Winner: Shane Mercer
Match 6: Chris Dickinson vs. Matt Justice
This match probably should have been stopped in its early stages when “Dirty Daddy” Chris Dickinson got the back of his head busted wide open after falling ringside, but instead this was a brutal banger of a match that proved that Chris Dickinson is a beast who can go under the roughest circumstances. This match went inside and outside the ring with chairs and doors involved and lots of Dickinson’s blood. Matt Justice came through with the win, but not after Dickinson took him to war. Justice took to the mic to call out Nick Gage after the match, angering a crowd that was already pro-Dickinson even further. It’s safe(?) to say that Gage/Justice will get just as bloody and vicious as this match got.
Winner: Matt Justice
Match 7: Orange Cassidy vs. All EGO Ethan Page
This was the match that showed us two viral video sensations in one ring. Prior to the match, Curtain Call’s special guest Super Humman came to the ring to do a stunt for the audience but was interrupted and bullied by Ethan Page. Orange Cassidy (the only AEW talent who still has a few more indie shows to work) then came out to the delight of the GCW crowd and put on his least best effort that we all know so well. The match’s end saw Page get physical with referee Bryce Remsburg, causing Super Humman to reappear in the ring with a chair as backup this time. Page got nailed with the chair and Orange Cassidy capitalized with a FUCK-THIS-SHIT fall from the top rope onto his opponent and a pinfall for the win. OC, Bryce, and Super Humman then celebrated in the ring, much to the enjoyment of the Asbury Park crowd.
Winner: Orange Cassidy
Match 8: Jimmy Lloyd vs. Joey Janela
The main event was an emotional passing of the torch that saw Joey Janela’s final GCW match against the promotion’s other favorite son, Jimmy Lloyd. As it would turn out, a different kind of boy would be the successor to the Bad Boy as Lloyd came through with the victory on this lengthy but hard-fought match. It’ll be interesting to see how GCW goes forth with Jimmy Lloyd in a more prominent spot now, and it’s honestly about time we had fresh blood (pun possibly intended) in the spotlight. Janela’s post-match speech was a touching tribute to the crew and crowd, reassuring us all that he’s still the same person while moving on to this well deserved and hard-earned new stage of his career.
Winner: Jimmy Lloyd
This was a great Monday night viewing alternative to RAW and a great lead in to Wednesday’s premiere of AEW Dynamite. The overall feel of Curtain Call was that a changing of the guard is taking place and new indy names are going to be built up over the next year in GCW. It’ll be fun to see how things take shape with new stars on the independent wrestling scene by the year’s end.
Pros: Stacked card with plenty of talent, diverse matches that GCW is known for
Cons: None, even the speeches that ran a little long seemed to fit perfectly
I was there. Deppen vs Starr was awesome. Chris Dickinson is the man. Matt Justice seemed a bit rattled when cutting the last bit of his promo.
ReplyDeleteI love Janela. I hope he kills it in AEW. His new gear is so much better than those ill fitting tights that got stolen in Philly.
Lastly, fuck Teddy Hart. He is such an ego maniac and spotlight stealer. While I'm not surprised that Teddy stole the shine after his match, I feel kinda bad for Shane Mercer. And Teddy inserting himself in the final segment between Janela, Stunt and Perry was so cringeworthy. What a delusional asshole.