GCW Presents ‘Live Fast, Die Young’
Taped February 3, 2020 from 1st Ring in Tokyo, Japan
Streaming on FITE.tv
February 4, 2020
by Tiffany Rose Merryhill (it’s tax season, I’m using my full government name now)
The outlaws are overseas killing it and doing their damndest to keep from being killed in the Land of the Rising Sun! This review is the first of three Japan shows over three consecutive days, so I’m changing the game up a bit (see what I did there?) and presenting a condensed review with match results and my impressions of my first time watching GCW in Japan as a REAL fan.
Match 1: Takahashi Sasaki/Toru Sugiura won against KTB/Kikutaro
Match 2: Shlak won against Matthew Justice
Match 3: Alex Colon got the victory against Violento Jack
Match 4: Yuji Okobayashi won after taking on Chris Dickinson
Match 5: Danny Havoc/Isami Kodaka/Matt Tremont defeated Jimmy Lloyd/Toshiyuki Sakuda/Drew Parker
Match 6: Orin Veidt fucked up ‘Crazy Kid’ Masashi Takeda
Commentary: OG Kevin Gill doing WOOOOOORK!!
Commentary: OG Kevin Gill doing WOOOOOORK!!
Holy shit, everybody.
As a new-ish (less than a year) GCW devotee, Live Fast, Die Young was my second time to witness how GCW operates in Japan. Granted, when I watched the GCW/Japan events from last August it was with friends who were more well-versed in independent wrestling than I’d been at the time. I was still relatively new to the promotion and didn’t have the balls-out fervor that I have now. What a difference a few months make, though - when I heard they were going back to Japan I made damn sure to keep myself posted on when FITE.tv would have the shows available.
Night 1 was an outstanding way to kick off the tour. The FITE broadcast was nice and concise, clocking in at 90 minutes thanks to some good editing. I did notice a couple of complaints about this in the FITE chat during the show (as GCW regulars have become accustomed to 2 and a half to 3 hour shows), but the complaints were all but gone after the Dickinson/Okobayashi classic - that match MUST be seen. Dickinson is on his way to becoming a household name in Japan and it’s damn fine to see it happen. I’d say Dickinson’s run on this tour is a great precursor to what we’re going to see in Tampa in a couple of months.
The opening match was a good one with the Japanese crowd showing much-deserved love to the returning KTB while crazy-ass Kiku kept the entertainment factor high. Matthew Justice vs. Shlak was one I’d been waiting to see and it was a hell of a good time, reminding me how much I enjoy seeing two men (who very well may be insane but I still have love for both of them, I don’t give a fuck) attempt murder on one another, which is what Shlak ended up doing to win the match. Seriously, there was a precarious feeling surrounding all of these bad asses in every match; I just knew somebody was going to get fucked up. Colon vs. Violento Jack had so many thrilling spots that went very well when shit could have easily gone sideways, but they pulled off a banger while leaving everyone watching in awe. The six-man match was nonstop violence (and fun) from bell to bell, personally I was most impressed by Danny Havoc and Drew Parker here although everyone got wild and bloody (and in some spots, stabby). By the time we got to Veidt/Takeda I was pretty damn sure we were going to see something fucked up and I was not wrong. Without giving too much away...look for the knife board spot. Try not to look away, either.
What’s more is this was only the first night of three! If you’re just now getting into GCW like so many people are, these three Japan shows are something you must see. It’s a totally different vibe from the shows we see here in America and another example of how GCW is steadily making an art form out of diversifying itself, which is something that’s not easily done in professional wrestling these days when everything is so damned cookie-cutter and formulaic.
My God, if these words don’t sell you on this show then I honestly got nothing else for your dead ass. Get to FITE.tv and catch up, quick! See you tomorrow for Night 2! :)