GCW Presents 'I Can’t Feel My Face'
Live from the House of Independents in Asbury Park, NJ
Streaming on FITE.tv
January 11, 2020
by Tiffany Rose
The atmosphere for the first GCW show of 2020 is highly energetic; we are ready to usher in another successful year for the outlaws, damn it! Back at the House of Independents for I Can’t Feel My Face and the lineup for this event is a showcase of everyone who’s bound to make an even bigger name for themselves over the course of the upcoming months. In addition to the excellent card we also had a number of great surprises tonight to keep us hype and excited all evening. Be sure to watch the replay on FITE.tv if you missed the show!
Tonight’s Commentary: Kevin Gill/Joey Janela for the first half and later Kevin Gill/Emilio Sparks on second half. Emilio Sparks made his commentary debut for this show and I think he did a fine job for his first time out. Janela (much to our delight) was drunk again on commentary tonight and that led to some memorable quips, one-liners, and some good ol’ Enzo hate to top it all off.
Tonight’s Announcer: The God of wrestling fashion himself, Emil Jay! Love to Emil for sporting the WCW sweats and repping Bam Bam Bigelow in Asbury Park.
Match 1: Blake Christian vs. AJ Gray vs. Ophidian vs. Treehouse Lee vs. Cole Radrick vs. Oswald Project (6-Man Scramble Fuckfest)
This was probably the most satisfying GCW scramble I’ve seen, and I’m saying that because I’m one hundred percent biased. I was for all these guys, no lie. There were my Tennessee boys AJ Gray and Blake Christian to root for but I’m also a huge fan of Cole Radrick now after having seen a number of his matches in 2019. Ophidian was the wily veteran of this first match and never disappoints in a scramble; dude makes the whole match gel so much that it shines like aspic. This was Treehouse Lee’s second appearance for GCW and after this match I’m ready to see this man go one-on-one in a match with anybody who shared the ring with him here, he’s great and his corkscrew elbow is *deadly*. Oswald Project made his much-heralded GCW debut here after getting his start in Pizza Party Wrestling; between the crazy gimmick and the crazy bendy skill this dude has a hell of a future and deserved the platform he got tonight. Needless to say, these guys showed off, showed out, and showed up in this scramble - everybody got their shit in and managed to keep a notoriously demanding HOI crowd entertained throughout the match (Radrick even sent himself flying outside the ring and right through a door he set up). I think the big story underlying this scramble is the news that Will Ospreay will be making his debut at Joey Janela’s Spring Break just months away and the question of who he’ll face is on everyone’s mind. Blake Christian won’t let us forget he’s an option! Near the end of the match Blake did a modified Hidden Blade to Treehouse Lee (sending a message to Ospreay by using his move?) and won the scramble after hitting his patented Elia from the top rope on Lee, making the move that much more beautiful with a little extra hang time. ALL HEART, by God!!
Match 2: Shlak vs. Gregory Iron (w/Eddy Only)
Come on, now. I think this match was put on next just to give everybody a breather after the scramble. Was there ever any doubt how this one would go, even with a two-man advantage in favor of Gregory Iron? Shlak wins after sending Iron through a door and getting the pinfall after a powerbomb. Knowing Shlak, though, this could have gone much bloodier and brutal so Iron ought to be thankful for getting the moderate ass beating he got instead of a lot more. If nothing else here we have the pleasure of seeing RSP’s goons get whooped up on for a little bit tonight.
Match 3: Chris Dickinson vs. Alex Zayne
Hail Alex Zayne, the returning hero from Japan (where they do, in fact, have a good number of Taco Bell locations)! And hail Chris Dickinson as well, returning from a nasty-ass battle with his own body after conquering a brutal illness. It goes to show you the tenacity of the Dirty Daddy when he’s willing to pump himself full of antibiotics just to be healthy enough to go toe to toe with the biggest indy name of 2019. I knew this one would be a good mix of flips and brawling as there was no way Dickinson would allow Zayne to go full fire sauce on him, and in return Zayne would not be the one to take a sick beatdown from the Filthy Father throughout the majority of the match. Dickinson went for the kill early here, putting a deep hurt on Zayne’s leg and forcing him to work most of the match on one good wheel. Not letting a bad leg slow him down completely, Zayne managed to put up great defense against Dickinson and still was able to get creative with his moonsaults and hit his signature Taco Driver (all the more impressive when the guy was mostly putting weight on one side of his body). Dickinson brought the plunder into the ring late into the match by going to the outside and getting a door, eventually leading to a beautiful spot from Zayne off the top rope, sending Dickinson through the door with a Crunchwrap. There really isn’t anything Alex Zayne can’t do, damn it, even on one leg! The Dirty Daddy ain’t dumb, though, and just when we thought he was taken out for good after the Crunchwrap he did the standard veteran move of playing possum - just when Zayne thought he had the outcome in hand, Dickinson rolled him up for the pin and win. Great match and great to have these two back in the GCW ring!
Match 4: Matthew Justice vs. Alex Colon
Matthew Justice needs to come out with some merch that just says “BACK THE FUCK UP” because it can’t be said enough to the crowd - when this dude is around, you need to move the hell out of the way because he’s about to hit second gear. Between Justice and Colon I knew there was no way this match was going to stay inside the ring for the majority of the time; both these guys like to get outside and play, and that’s just what they did in tonight’s match. After getting back into wrestling last year via the independent scene I’ve really come to respect Colon a whole lot as both a wrestler and a hardcore specialist, you can literally read the road map of scars on the man’s body and that lets you know he’s got a history of savagery in the ring. The fuckery was abound outside the ring tonight and ready for both competitors - rigged doors with gusset plates and barbed wire, doors for sending someone flying through them, broken doors for hitting someone in the head after you just sent them flying through it. Justice even took a woman’s purse at one point while on the HOI stage in the crowd and bashed it over Colon’s head much to my delight! Things got wilder and bloodier as the match progressed, and when the barbwire door came out we all knew things were coming to a climax - but for who? As it turns out, Colon got a truly impressive pinfall victory here over Justice after hitting a Spanish Fly from the top rope and sending Justice crashing through the barbwire door that was set up in wait for either of them to go through it. Just the right amount of blood, violence, and fuckery that we needed tonight; many thanks to both Colon and Justice for putting it on the line for us all.
At the intermission break Joey Janela made the surprise announcement that he’ll be returning to the GCW ring for action next month (February 15th) in New Jersey at GCW’s Run Ricky Run. This is great news for Janela fans! As happy as I am to see Janela in AEW doing his thing, Joey shines when he’s doing the most for GCW - whether it’s in-ring action or providing color commentary you can tell the man’s heart has never left the independent wrestling scene. His dedication is not only appreciated but damn sure ought to be emulated by a lot of other guys in wrestling - don’t dare forget where you came from.
Match 5: KTB vs. Shane Mercer
Another surprise tonight was to see Shane Mercer going up against KTB; originally Matt Tremont was scheduled for this match but was unable to appear due to a personal situation that conflicted with travel. Thankfully Mercer was not only able to step up but he damn sure stood out here in this big-man match. KTB ended 2019 as a huge standout in his matches and is starting the year off in beast mode as well, not letting someone as solid and destructive as Mercer slow down his momentum one bit. This was a match of big men throwing (and flipping) their weight around as well as throwing each other around; chops, strikes, a door in the ring, this match is just full of meat. It’s almost as if the two are perfectly matched here; the end of the bout has KTB and Mercer trading roll up pins until Mercer manages to attain the victory with a well-secured roll up. Fine match, but we had a fully intact door left to us in the end which just felt strange, it’s like having one last piece of pizza in the box that nobody’s demolished yet and yet everyone wants their shot at it. That door wouldn’t be long for this world, though, not with these last matches of the show coming up...
Match 6: Jimmy Lloyd vs. Effy
Daddy has challenged us all to MAKE IT GAYER and damn it he did just that tonight, showing us all how we need to be doing this shit! I’m most satisfied that we saw a different side of the Different Boy tonight, as Jimmy fuckin’ Lloyd ain’t scared of a damn thing and that includes taking full bare ass to the face repeatedly and enjoying every second of it. Effy spent a great deal of this match with his lovely naked bottom out on display and Lloyd, undeterred, also took dick butts (a move that I just damn adore) to the face like a pro. It’s safe to say that this is one of my favorite Jimmy Lloyd matches, I love it when guys go way out of their usual comfort zones or character habits and show us something wild and fantastic like what we had in this match. The crowd was divided almost perfectly with half cheering for the hometown favorite in Lloyd and the other half in solid support of Effy; the fun and games came to an end when Effy landed a sick clothesline, piledriver, and then one final piledriver with an extra sensuous setup for the pinfall win. This one was fun as hell!
Match 7: Tony Deppen vs. Jake Atlas
I’ve learned that GCW is great at farewells for wrestlers who are either moving on to the n(e)xt level or who are moving with the Elite crew now, and so I was pretty damn excited to hear that Atlas/Deppen would be happening at the HOI. This would be the show stealer, as I and many others called it. Jake Atlas is the guy that’s going to change things in WWE, I’ll speak that prediction into existence right now. I don’t want to see a repackaged Jake Atlas with a moveset that’s wholly different from what we saw tonight when he gets to NXT. I want him to fight to keep the finesse he’s got right now, because it’s what brought him so far. Sure, you can change his name, shine up his look, polish up his skills - BUT LET THE MAN DO HIS REAL THING. Hopefully WWE takes the time in the next few days to look down from their ivory tower at this particular bout so that they have an idea of what we want to see from Jake Atlas in 2020 because this match is IT.
Now on to Deppen. Damn it, it’s his time to shine, it’s his time to be seen, and personally I think it’s his time to get signed to someone who can dump loads of money on him. For 6 months now I’ve evolved into an emphatic Tony Deppen supporter and I won’t shut up about how good he is whenever I see him, because I believe that just like with Jake Atlas he can change this business for the better if given the proper opportunities. Tony knows it too, obviously, because he went out there and KILLED it with Atlas for this match. He knows the right people are watching, and *everybody* needs to watch this match if you want a solid indicator of how great the independent scene still is right now despite people getting swiped up left and right by the big corporations.
The match itself is a classic. Sure, those who ‘can’t do’ will be the ones who complain the most about certain spots, but I’ve learned that most of the criticism of guys like Deppen and Atlas comes from a place of jealousy from people (both fans and wrestlers alike) who simply aren’t at that level and either can’t or won’t do shit to attain that kind of skill. As for me? Fuck it, I’ve been a wrestling fan for over 35 years - that’s longer than many fans have been alive and nobody can tell me what’s good because I know. This match was a standard-setter for the indies. Deppen wins after a Hershey Destroyer. Go order the show and watch this match in full because it deserves your money more than my words or any review can explain it, and be sure to hear Deppen’s post match remarks because they’re the truth. See you in NXT, Jake!
Match 8: Spyder Nate Webb vs Rickey Shane Page (GCW World Championship match)
Let's preface this by saying FUCK RSP and get that out of the way. Honestly, however you feel about the guy he’s in my opinion the best heel in wrestling right now other than AC Mack, Chuck O’Neil, and - at a very distant fourth - Baron Corbin. RSP’s just so easy to hate (it’s his punchable face, punchable body, and punchable personality), and GCW does right by pitting him against guys who are loved and respected overall like Nate Webb. Add RSP’s shady crew in the mix (which includes Gregory Iron, who ironically used to be loved and respected overall) and you’ve got yourself a substantial heat machine that would keep you hot all the way over in Antarctica. Great work from Spyder Nate on getting in solid defense despite the three-on-one threat that loomed over him in this match, but unfortunately it wouldn’t be a winning effort when the reigning champion insists on playing dirty and inviting his unwanted friends over. RSP gets the victory and it only serves to set up a post-match 3-man beatdown on Webb to lure out RSP’s real target, the King of Deathmatches himself.
Match 9: Nick Gage vs. Killer Kross
Our main event starts out more like a mafia hit tonight - Nick Gage comes out at the conclusion of the RSP/Webb match to greet the gang affiliated of the HOI and to kick some RSP ass before taking on Killer Kross, but the opposition was ready for him. After being lured out to the ring by RSP to engage in a fight, Gage is attacked by Killer Kross, who is here and dressed out like a damn professional hitman (which is pretty much what he is right now; this was of course all arranged by RSP to ensure Gage would take some damage) and instead of seeing a gratifying sequel to Gage/Kross’s match at Bloodsport later last year we have Kross as a hired hand trying to take out the God of this shit. If you think Gage is done in that easily, though, you haven’t been watching closely enough! The beatdown eventually turns into the match we came here to see tonight, with Kross bringing out the murder gloves (completing that whole hitman vibe) and taking things to next level brutality. It’s great to see Gage and Kross mix it up in the ring again and I wouldn’t mind seeing a third match in the series. The final surprise of the night, however, comes at the finish - at Bloodsport we saw Kross take the victory over Gage by submission, and tonight the King finally got back a bit of his own by doing the same. That’s damn right, Nick Gage choked out Killer Kross for the win! I can’t think of a better way to avenge Gage’s loss at Bloodsport; this was a fantastic end to the match and yet we still have enough juice in this drama for a third match somewhere down the road between these two.
Post-Show Thoughts
I feel like GCW’s on that same tidal wave of energy right now that I felt ECW had after the Barely Legal PPV back in 1997. Back when ECW exploded in popularity right afterward and you knew every name and ordered every tape you could find just to catch up. Sure, you could argue this tidal wave’s been going on since last summer for GCW but I feel that we’re hitting the crest of it right now going into the Collective events in April and so many shows brimming with talent between now and then.
Do keep in mind, detractors and “outlaw mudshow” naysayers - ECW had the same shit flung its way two decades ago in almost the same manner and wording (except it was Lawler then who was the most vocal instead of Cornette now, it’s always some asshole from here down south with questionable morality who talks the most shit somehow) and we’re still talking about the impact it’s left on wrestling today.
GCW’s not going away. It’s spreading like wildfire and you can’t stop it.
See you next week in Austin. :)