GCW Presents ‘Take A Picture’
Live from the Blue Genie Art Bazaar in Austin, TX
Streaming on FITE.tv
January 18, 2020
by Tiffany Rose
The drive from Little Rock, Arkansas to Austin, Texas takes exactly seven hours. Seven ass-ramming, leg-cramping, mind-fucking hours. GCW was making its debut in Austin. I drove straight the hell through, stopping only once for gas. I was not going to miss this show, not after I had such a great time in Tullahoma and Nashville last month. It’s a different vibe for me now, though, because I’m not only going to see a wrestling show, I’m going to see family. It’s likely you won’t see this review until days after the event because I take time now at these shows and after the shows to hang, chill, PARTY, and just talk with these like-minded friends I’ve made. Thank you to everyone (fans, talent, crew) I met up with, chatted with, ate meals with, smoked with, drank with, and chilled with in Austin - you all should know your conversations and your company, even if it’s just for a moment, mean a lot to me and remind me that being a wrestling fan among friends is a huge emotional boost. I love you, I mean it, and there’s not a thing you can do to stop it!
And there were matches on this card to talk about too, by God! As always, GCW put together a heavy-duty card for us on this show, and once again they did the quality move of showcasing the best of the local talent and introducing us to names that need to be known (and will likely soon be recognized) worldwide.
Tonight’s Commentary: OG Kevin Gill and Shawn Scoville
Can I just say that I now know from personal experience that this is a very well-matched commentary team? Having spent time with Shawn and talking with him about wrestling, you can really tell he has a passion for wrestling and dedication to helping GCW grow as a promotion. KG, who works well either on his own at the table or with a partner joining on the mic, does great with Shawn as the veteran voice calling the action. Let’s have more of these two doing commentary on the west coast shows, please.
Match 1: Blake Christian vs. Gino Medina
Texas was willing to give Gino some love in the beginning of this match, but Gino wasn’t feeling reciprocal and let the Austin crowd know it on the mic prior to the match. Blake Christian sure the hell was feeling it, though! I tell you, Blake really does excite the hell out of me even more whenever I see him in person; he could be just standing there and I’d still cheer loud as hell. All Heart has been on an even bigger run than usual with multiple victories and renewed focus now that it’s been announced that Will Ospreay will be wrestling at Spring Break 4 with a yet-unknown opponent. Medina definitely impressed everyone in this match, yet Blake Christian got the win here after once again sending a message to Ospreay through Medina, hitting Ospreay’s signature moves with just a touch of his own juice and after the match speaking into the camera directly to Ospreay, who really should be watching to see just who’s gaining so much ground on him this year.
Match 2: Chris Dickinson vs. Andy Dalton
It was a battle of the Dirtiest in this match as we had the Dirty Daddy going up against Dirty Dalton, and they got fucking filthy in Austin. I knew it was going to be brutal when I got hit by Dalton’s flying spit early in the match. Hard-ass banger with lots of meat being thrown around; I was only slightly familiar with Dalton prior to this show (having known about his family history and his father Frank Dalton) but damn this dude did great work tonight; it’s great that GCW scouts out the best local talent so that these names get out there and most importantly get their shit in. Dickinson takes the win here after Dalton submitted to a Texas cloverleaf. Damn good fight; I wish we'd get Dalton up to Beyond Wrestling for the rematch soon in Dirty Daddy’s home territory.
Match 3: Alex Zayne vs. Chris Bey
FINALLY I get to see both Alex Zayne and Chris Bey live on the same show, on the same card, and in the same match! This one was worth driving 7 hours for because I knew these boys would fuck and fuck hard. It was incredibly difficult to pick a favorite here even though most of the Austin crowd was solidly behind Bey. No one can go for very long without getting hooked on Zayne’s fire sauce, though. The drama in this match was just as excellent as the theatrics that both of these men put on display; the crowd was hot for every near-fall and sudden kickout and near the end it was clear that this match could have gone either way. Zayne was able to put Bey away with a solid and devastating Crunchwrap off the top rope followed up with the Taco Driver - my only regret about being there to watch this greatness live was that I wasn’t able to gif all of the awesome spots. I will, of course, be giving this match multiple rewatches just to catch all the great clips and just because this was a classic that deserves a few viewings. Seriously, though…both these damn guys.
Match 4: Masada vs. SHLAK
Austin loves the hell out of Masada, ya’ll, and Masada and SHLAK beat the hell out of each other. You never realize how savage these men are until they’re right in front of you bashing each other’s head in with doors or until you can actually smell their blood on the concrete floor you’re standing on. This is why I tell people they should, as a wrestling fan, experience at least one deathmatch live and in person. If nothing else just to see skewers sticking out of profusely bleeding heads. The ring was covered in shards of wood and blood after this match, just to give you an indication of how down and dirty things got. Masada got the win here after shoving multiple skewers into SHLAK’s head and then sending a folding chair right through the guy’s head with a knee. Just a damn mess and we loved it!
Match 5: Matthew Justice vs. Jimmy Lloyd
As if we didn’t have enough violence prior to intermission, right when we get back to the show we’re ready for some fuckery! Justice & Lloyd started this one out crazy as the ring quickly filled up with chairs from around the ring. People around me were actually getting up out of their chairs and throwing them into the ring, damn it! This match had a dueling chairs battle, action going outside of the ring and all around the Blue Genie, chairshots abundant, and both Justice and Lloyd going through doors (the hardest way, getting slammed right through them) for good measure. This is what happens when you get these two crazy ass guys in a ring together. Justice takes the win after going Second Gear and hitting a reverse powerbomb on Lloyd directly onto his head and directly onto the multiple chairs that were still in the ring. This was FUCKERY, done the GCW way - which is the only way.
Match 6: Ricky Starks vs. Spyder Nate Webb
The reigning Prestige Pure Wrestling champion and Stroke Daddy himself Ricky Starks went up against Spyder Nate Webb and damn it this was a good time. Best Spyder Nate entrance EVER! Everybody was hyped up, singing Teenage Dirtbag, drinking (Nate was even cool enough to share his beer with Shelby at ringside) and we loved every minute. Yes, I’m biased, Spyder Nate and I even danced and the moment was fantastic!
Go watch the replay and see us getting down and then you’re gonna see both Stroke Daddy Starks and Spyder Nate having some fun prior to the start of this match - not your average veteran/rookie match at all! We have a pose-down, a nametag roll call from sticky notes that fell off of people’s chairs (LOL), and both guys banding together for a quick moment against the guy in the green hat at ringside trying to put himself over on hard camera but only ended up getting a “fuck that guy” chant. The spots in this match were wild as hell, we had dueling kisses that ended up with the referee in the middle of a kiss, Starks being new-school with Undertaker’s Old School and crossing all four top ropes, action spilling out of the ring and all around the building, more broken chairs, and even a broken thermostat (whoops). Once both men made it back to the ring we saw dueling punches, more beer drinking, chair busting, and lots of close calls for both guys that could have had the match go either way. The match ends with Nate hitting his Soylent Green finisher on Starks right on top of a chair and getting the pinfall victory. Really enjoyed this one from start to finish and I’m already ready to see more Ricky Starks on GCW cards from here on out.
Match 7: Rickey Shane Page (with Gregory Iron) vs. Mance Warner (non-title match)
RSP is one of the world’s best heels. I can’t stand his ass whenever I see him in that ring. Then they go and make this one a non-title match, which is a pussy move that serves nothing more than to piss us all off of course. So what, though? We still get to see Mancer whoop up on that ass, which is very much worth the ticket (and ordering the replay). RSP would end up being both a pussy and a dick at the same time at the start of this match when he cut Mance’s entrance short and came out with Gregory Iron as his backup. I can’t remember the last time I saw an RSP match in GCW that didn’t involve his stupid pussy crew. I’m still mad at those assholes for robbing AJ Gray of the title last month, I’m showing no mercy here. Neither did ol’ Mancer either, he really did spend a good part of the match giving RSP the beating we wanted to see. What I hate most about RSP is that he’s able to do shit that doesn’t look like he’s able to pull off because he has such a punchable face and punchable body and punchable personality. Good for him, but you’d think if he’s so great he could have a match without Gregory Iron getting involved. Nope. This match would have gone way differently had Iron not been around, I’d say. You’ll come away from this match with a lot of respect for Mancer; even after the interference that was run and RSP capitalizing greatly on it we did not see the Southern Psycho quit, even after he was busted open and bleeding out like crazy. RSP knew it would take more than one man to beat Mance Warner here and he took every cheating advantage he could take to get a cheap ass pinfall victory. In summation, RSP is a pussy, Mancer is tough as hell, and Nick Gage is probably getting tired of beating up on RSP’s crew since their ‘fearless’ leader keeps running away from every opportunity to fight the King.
Match 8: Nick Gage vs. Allie Kat
At least Allie Kat’s not a pussy (she’s a kitty) and she’s not afraid to go to war with Nick Gage! The GCW debut in Austin would be Allie Kat’s homecoming, and of course she came home in the most hardcore way possible by going one on one with the King of Deathmatches. As a respectful nod to Texas, Allie Kat wore leggings in the style of Terry Funk (and I appreciate her letting me know this ahead of time as I didn’t get the reference until she said it!) and the crowd welcomed her to the ring with orange and white streamers - the colors of Whataburger, the pride and joy of Texans everywhere. Gage takes the mic and lets Austin know exactly who he is and where he’s from; the MDK crew is strong here despite Gage not being the favorite in the match. Allie Kat demanded that Gage begin the match out by scratching her belly, he refuses and instead goes in for the attack to start things out. Lots of punishment taken by Allie Kat in the beginning of the match both inside and outside the ring, but she’s proven she’s a fierce hellcat who fights back hard. Gage was absolutely ruthless in this match, though! Even with Allie Kat’s own mother in the crowd he took a screwdriver to the poor kitty’s head not once but *twice*, cutting her open and even biting open the wound he left on her. Allie Kat manages to power back and send Gage through a glass pane, but it’s not enough to take the King out. She brings out plastic Whataburger order numbers (the ones with the sharp edges and corners, naturally) and a second pane of glass that she would eventually get sent flying through. Gage does eventually scratch her belly, too - with a handful of broken glass. I’m saying with true conviction now that Allie Kat is a deathmatch queen, she went to absolute war with Gage here and lost most of her nine lives in the process. Gage gets the win by submission by choking Allie Kat out and the world’s newest Queen of Deathmatches ended up with a severe laceration after this match that required 11 stitches to close, as we found out later. Allie Kat may leave all nine of her lives in the ring but I’m hoping like hell she’s got more than a few left for us to enjoy. We need this level of hardcore in wrestling.
Post-Show Thoughts
It’s Monday and I’ve had a little time to process this weekend’s trip; I’m incredibly grateful to have met so many of the GCW faithful fans that I now like to consider my wrestling family. If I ever get around to writing that book about my wrestling travels, then the GCW show in Austin and the people that surround this wild and crazy thing will be lovingly described in a full chapter...right next to the chapter about Tullahoma and then the one for Nashville.
If you’re a wrestling fan, you should go to some GCW shows this year if you’ve never been to one. The Collective in Tampa would be an excellent way to start. I think unless you’ve been to a GCW event and experienced the energy that’s always at these shows from start to finish it’ll always come across only as exceptional wrestling matches from an outlaw wrestling promotion to you. If you’re cool to keep your enjoyment on that level it’s all right, but man, GCW has so many more levels to it. Here’s to hoping these reviews find their way to jaded wrestling fans who need a little renewal of spirit; maybe you’ll end up completely in love with wrestling again like I did.