GCW Presents Long Live GCW
Live from the Basement East in Nashville, TN
Streaming on FITE.tv
December 8, 2019
by Tiffany Rose
There’s just something about watching wrestling that’s not in an arena or stadium. It gets me fired up, it entertains me more, and it’s just a damn intimate feeling that I enjoy (not dissimilar from sex - I’ll go that far). It’s an excitement that I have to experience in person eventually. This leads us to the Basement East for Long Live GCW, the follow up to the previous night’s WOMBAT in Tullahoma. My God...this damn weekend, though.
I think it’s best to give this review a little more detail because I really did have that much of a good time at both shows. People that I met were very easy to talk to and welcoming. The atmosphere was amazing. You get such a mix of fans at GCW shows; there are those who are brand new to the whole thing or the good folks who are a part of the traveling crew, like Claire who I was so happy to meet and quickly find out I have a lot in common with besides being a fan! People that I can’t wait to see again like Papa Hales, a man every fan should sit near at any show he’s at, because you’re guaranteed to have fun (shoutout to @RebookTheFinish for the drinks!). It’s cool to speak with all of you in person about what I’ve written in reviews and talk about heady things in wrestling - there’s every chance in the world I was stoned when I was talking to you, but trust me, everything we talked about was worth writing about because everything that happens at a wrestling show becomes a good story down the road. Then there are the people I’m happy to be seeing next month in Austin.
Yep. I’m a damn traveling fan now. Maybe it’s the adventurous side of me but I don’t care, I’m driving to Austin next month for Take A Picture. I’ve been waiting a long time for something to reawaken the spirit in me and if you’ve read my other columns you damn well know I’m willing to go as far as midtown Manhattan all the way in NYC to be there live for any kind of wrestling that I love dearly (shoutout to @xtremelyserious). But yeah, this weekend was fucking unbelievable, now on with the damn show!
Tonight’s Commentary: Kevin Gill and the Bad Boy himself, Joey Janela
Janela’s commentary is so great that I went back and bought the show just to watch it again and hear everything he had to say. He works consistently well with KG too, as much as I enjoyed being there to see this show in person it takes a second viewing to appreciate how well a commentary team pulls everything together.
Match 1: (Scramble) Jake Lander vs. Gringo Loco vs. Jordan Oliver vs. Manders vs. KTB vs. JJ Garrett
Prior to this match I’d never seen a scramble live, so I was pretty fired up that the very first match would be something that would leave a damn good impression. There I was, seated precariously close to the ring for all this and ready to quit my chair at any moment that a dude came flying or running my way. That to me is a damn WRESTLING SHOW. These guys put on that kind of match, too. I can’t help but start to like Jordan Oliver even though he’s a dick, the guy’s so good and his spot off the ceiling rail in this scramble was just damn fascinating to look at from a ringside view. Then there’s one of my favorite big boys Manders going toe to toe with KTB and they made that damn ring shake to where you could feel it in your chest. Manders really had an exceptional showing in this match and was my pick to win, he’s had such an awesome second half of the year. Loco and Garrett never fail to deliver in a scramble and it was Lander who was the standout here, showing off some truly impressive strength by lifting both Oliver and Garrett on his shoulders at once while KTB lifted and carried both Manders and Loco before slamming all opponents down. Only moments later Lander would hoist KTB off the ground right onto his shoulders and spin him around, then sent him crashing into the mat (and that was a loud bang). Lander is strong as hell indeed. He’s also the winner of this scramble after sending JJ Garrett through a door and getting the three count, ending a hell of an opener to the show.
Before the second match started, none other than Rickey Shane Page himself came out to share with us all something he had to say. RSP, who was announced to appear at the show only hours before it started, let the audience know that by change of heart he wanted to give Nick Gage back his GCW World Championship title belt after having stolen it and spent all this time taunting and attacking Gage. Of course, no one was convinced that anything about RSP was any different, but he insisted that all he wanted (after humbly sliding the title into the ring) was a shot at Gage anytime and anyplace. The King had a response to that - Nick Gage was out next, greeting the MDK Nashville crew on his way to the ring and letting Page know how weak of a gesture it was to return the belt like this and demand a shot in return. Not accepting of such a pussy-ass move, Gage ordered RSP to leave the building, which he did with plenty of insults from the crowd.
Match 2: The Smoking Budz vs. Violence Is Forever
The next match was a solid opportunity for the Smoking Budz to demonstrate how much they’ve honed their skills as a team recently as they took on the more established and polished Violence is Forever. After this weekend I consider myself a fan of the Budz forever, so I was pretty pleased they had some time to shine here. Violence is Forever amped up the ruthlessness with submissions (even a double submission with both team members locking in holds on both of their opponents) but the Budz worked together to fight back, showing their improved cohesion as a team. Despite their better than usual performance, the Budz couldn’t get the win over VIF in this match. Both teams put on a great show, though, and I’m glad to see the Budz sticking together so well as a team (yes, I’m making that joke).
Match 3: Orange Cassidy vs. Arik Cannon vs. Tony Deppen
You know how when you’re working together with a group in school and there’s the kids who want to have a good time and play around and then there’s always the one little asshole who wants to stay on task? Tony Deppen must have been that asshole in school, because he was accepting no fun and games on the part of Orange Cassidy tonight. Arik Cannon, on the other hand, was a little more amenable to Freshly Squeezed’s style. Much of the charm in matches with Orange Cassidy is how the opponents react and act to him and both Cannon and Deppen (and even ref Jesse Fields) did a damn fine job here. My favorite spot in this one was OC going for multiple one-count pins repeatedly on both Cannon and Deppen, back and forth until he got confused and pinned the ref, who also kicked out and had to take a moment to explain to OC what just happened. Absolutely entertaining match where Deppen tried his best to break up all of the fun moments (including a kind-of peace treaty between Cannon and OC with juice and PBR) and stick to straight-up wrestling. As usual, even Deppen can’t keep from breaking his own set rules of wanting actual wrestling in the match when actual wrestling was going on - once Orange Cassidy hit a beautiful tornado DDT on Cannon, in sneaked Deppen for the roll up pinfall on OC to get one more dirty victory. Damn it, Deppen, you were indeed that asshole...
Match 4: Jimmy Lloyd vs. Shlak vs. Alex Colon vs. Matthew Justice
Part of the draw of my wanting to see and experience GCW live was to see fuckery happen right there in person, and not only did these guys bring the crazy shit in front of me with this fatal four-way but they also took the violence all the way to the Basement stage, having fans everywhere jump out of their seats while these guys escalated in brutality, savagery, and just plain fuckery (it’s honestly the best way to explain it). I had to go back and watch the FITE.tv replay just to catch all that happened in the moments where the action went all the way back to the stage and out of view, which is one good thing about watching the event on the live stream...except for that one part where Justice hit a post-to-post superplex on Colon and the stream’s feed went out immediately after as he got the pinfall win. These dudes go everywhere with crazy-ass spots and weapons to go with it, though, and this was a good one to see live and in person.
Match 5: Logan Stunt vs. Shane Mercer
Marko Stunt and Papa Stunt are on commentary for this match, which I think is one of the biggest ones Logan Stunt has ever had. I mean that in the way of Mercer towering over Logan, yes, but also it’s a match that would boost his profile by just stepping in the ring with such a beast. Plus considering we’d all just seen Logan in a Waffle House deathmatch the night before at WOMBAT, it shows how much heart he has to come forth the next day and compete in this match. Needless to say, Mercer was absolutely ruthless here - he launched Logan right the hell out of the ring and into the crowd, for God’s sake. Lots of punishment in this match on poor Logan, but the kid is tough. He fought back, took the action out of the ring and on up to the stage, even beating on Mercer repeatedly with a chair. Things looked promising until Mercer once again sent Logan flying, this time however right off of the damn Basement stage right into a door he set up across the room...every bit of a Holy Shit(!!) moment. Once the action made its way back into the ring from there it was amazing to see Logan still had fight in him, nailing Mercer in the head with the broken half of a door and later sending him through it via Death Valley Driver. That wouldn’t be enough to take him out completely, though, and Mercer won the match after a devastating move off the top rope that took Logan out completely. Hell of a showing by Logan, though, all credit to him for staying in the match with all he had.
Match 6: Chris Dickinson vs. Brett Ison
Both the Dirty Daddy and the Pitbull have bigger-than-life personalities that come across on screen and in person. These dudes are both stars to me; I enjoy the hell out of Dickinson matches and can’t wait to see him back on Uncharted Territory this week (it was good to see him wearing the Team Pazuzuhausen kneepad). I also really like watching Ison work because he’s a big, solid dude that moves incredibly well at his size. I was pulling for both these guys, but the Basement audience was clearly behind the hometown favorite Ison for the win. Man, these two went to absolute battle in this match. I’d been waiting to see an Ison/Dickinson chopfest in person and I was pretty damned satisfied with what they delivered. The balance of power went back and forth here (including a nice dive to the outside from Ison to Dickinson that sent him back into the bar) and for a little bit I wondered if the crowd would get what they wanted and Ison would get a huge win here over the Filthy Father, but Dickinson took the victory after sending Ison flying from the top rope and down to the mat for the pin. The crowd wasn’t pleased about it and Dickinson, being the Dirty Daddy that he is, took the mic and let everyone know what they could do about it. What a great guy, and I actually mean that with no sarcasm. :)
Match 7: Blake Christian vs. Jake Atlas
Hell yes to all of this match because it was a classic. I’m crazy about Blake Christian and was damn happy to finally get to see him live at WOMBAT in a tag match and then at this show against Atlas, who deserves just as much love. It was great to see Jake wrestle at a live GCW show before he goes on to NXT, so I count myself lucky for the experience. Clean as hell wrestling took place in this match; it’s hard to believe it’s only been a few months that Blake has been exploding on the scene since everything he does in the ring from technical moves to flying is so polished. It feels like he’s already set a standard and he’s only getting started. Beautiful match overall with plenty of chain wrestling that would please any purist and acrobatics that put the entertainment here over the top. I had an excellent time watching this one; Blake Christian got the victory after getting a schoolboy rollup pin, capitalizing on a missed move from Atlas off the top rope. That was one of those matches where you felt like anything could happen at any moment and either one of the guys could have gotten the win - this was definitely a show stealer.
Match 8: Mance Warner vs. Effy
The good name of WCW was at stake here! There were Mancer-face signs all over the crowd who had taken them out to support the Southern Psycho and protector of all that is WCW (Papa Stunt told me to mention that there were fans who had been sitting on Mancer’s face...I laughed loudly). Good Ol’ Mancer, who I do completely forgive and still love since he was nice enough to apologize to me for what he said to me at WOMBAT which I will still not repeat - go buy the show and see it for yourself on FITE.tv. He came to the ring bearing a flag for WCW since he’s going to war here for the honor of the big dogs of the old guard. Effy starts the match out by saying he knows one thing about WCW, then reaches nice and deep into his trunks to retrieve a dollar bill, which he then shoves into Mancer’s mouth...and then gives him a fingerpoke of doom to send him to the mat for the pin. Indeed, Effy does know his WCW history. THAT is how you start a match off! Mancer kicks out and just as it looks as if we’re about to see some good old school rasslin, Effy goes down to his knees and demands to suck Mancer’s dick. The crowd loves it, chanting “SUCK THAT DICK!” Just as Mancer looks as if he may be going for his zipper, he gives Effy the eyepoke and we then realize we will definitely not be having any dick sucking in this match. Mancer takes the mic and demands three judges to determine if the match will continue. Jesse (our badass announcer), IWTV’s J-Rose, and Mr. Bricksterr were chosen. All 3 judges gave a resounding vote of yes and I must really be high because this 3-judge rule is giving me flashbacks. It’s not long into the match that we have a pinfall and a three count...our ref Doug Markham says that both guys shoulders were on the mat, resulting in a draw. WCW booking all over this match, baby. Effy grabs the mic and says they fight, and off we go...but this time we have a time limit that runs out too soon. Now the nostalgia is hitting me hard, damn it. We continue with Effy exploding a loaded guitar over Mancer’s head, we have a ref bump with Doug, we have Mancer with a cattle prod, and I’m feeling like it’s Nitro and Thunder and the mothership rolled into one being played out in front of me. I was fascinated the whole damn time. Just as I thought I was about to fall comatose from overload of 90s memories the nWo Wolfpac music hits and what do you know, out comes Marko Stunt dressed as Sting (then removing his mask to be Crow Sting). I adore everything about this match, it’s like if you had a dream one night about WCW that you couldn’t control, this is how that dream would play out. Mancer gets the pinfall win here after coming off the top rope with Effy right through a door, and now it’s official - Mancer’s the WCW Big Dog of GCW, so show some respect to where the big boys play damn it.
Match 9: Nick Gage vs. AJ Gray (GCW World Championship match)
Oh God I was ready for this match, even though I knew RSP was full of shit and still somewhere around the building despite having “left” earlier in the show. I knew there would be a possibility of some bullshit, but regardless I would enjoy seeing Gage going up against Gray in our main event. There is nothing like seeing a Nick Gage entrance live; when he comes out after the buildup intro of For Whom The Bell Tolls it’s like a human wave of people go nuts and raise up to meet him, touch him, hug him, bump chests, slap hands, bump fists, just to be near him because he’s that charismatic. It felt awesome to see that happen in front of me. Then there was Gray getting his well-deserved shot at the title, and once again I was in a place where I couldn’t decide more whom I wanted to win. That’s another beautiful thing about GCW matches, there are so many of them where you could chant “BOTH THESE GUYS” and not feel like it’s overused because it’s true. So the first half of this main event absolutely banged. Gage and Grey gave us a war and when it was time to hand out the plunder even I was reaching under the ring to hand The King a chair to use along with the door that was already in the ring. I think one of the highlights of my being a wrestling fan will be handing Nick Gage a chair to use in the ring for a spot. Crazy but beautiful memories, that's what I came for. Yes, this match fucked, but then the fucked up part was when RSP's damn friends Gregory Iron and Atticus Cogar came out to attack Gage, nailing him in the head with a broken door. Of course we couldn't have this match keep going like we wanted, right? But it was that interference that led to the next part. AJ Gray cleared the ring of interference, hit a leg drop on Gage, and got the three count pinfall to become NEW GCW World Champion! The place went nuts! AJ Gray's had a hell of a year but this was a damn good way to top it off for him. I was still in shock as AJ got on the mic to speak and tell us how much this moment meant to him...and then RSP is back and I don't think I could have yelled "fuck you" any louder and any less repeatedly at him than I did in that moment. RSP was there to make good on his anytime, anyplace title shot and damn it I love how easily moments like this can piss me off. AJ was clearly exhausted but put up a damn good defense, but RSP got the win (and the GCW World Championship) after a quick fight. Oh, the absolute hatred of this son of a bitch...the heat in the room was nuclear. I couldn't put my middle finger down.
And that was the show...and what a fantastic damn show it was.
Post-Show Thoughts
The energy of these shows is incredible. Two nights and I'm hooked, this is the wrestling experience that I crave. Mr. Brickster said to me on Saturday night at WOMBAT, "you found the underground" and that statement hit so well with me. I hope I've put forth in this piece (and other reviews) the feeling that GCW is something that's influential and wonderfully controversial and entirely necessary if you're a wrestling fan who's as burnt out on the mainstream as I was. Let's meet up in Austin. :)