24 hours, 365 days: GCW Presents Slime Season
Live from the GCW Performance Center (Undisclosed Location)
December 5, 2020
Available on YouTube
Tooling along the main drag on a Saturday night in Las Vegas, a wrestling fan in house shoes and candy cane print leggings among the blunt-smoking rabble...stoned, ripped, twisted...good people.
It was one full year ago that I prepared to leave for the tough and tiny Tullahoma, Tennessee for last year’s sequel W.O.M.B.A.T. show in December. I had no idea what I was in for but I knew it was going to be memorable. I also didn’t know it would lead me down a path that has taken me from one side of the country to the other, from the Jersey shore to the California canyons, to the county fairgrounds of Indianapolis and just off the strip in Las Vegas.
Yes, that was me you heard (or even saw) at Slime Season. Exactly where in Vegas all this went down I won’t say, but intrepid readers won’t have to do much digging to figure out the coordinates. Since this show was billed as a no-fans show, I decided that this would be the first one I wouldn’t attend as a fan. This time I’d be a journalist. A loud, hand-clapping, enthusiastic journalist. Sure, I’m not exactly the most unbiased or sober correspondent out there. Still, we take what we can get in these uncertain times, right?
My recap of Slime Season begins at 3am Sunday morning at the Fatburger on the Las Vegas strip. It was cold out, I was still buzzed off of the previous events over the past 24 hours, and I was having a conversation with a younger couple from Plano, Texas who were in town for the weekend and pretty drunk by the time I met them. Our encounter commenced as most of my dealings with people begin - by passing around a joint. I can’t think of a better way to break the ice. We did the customary ‘how long you here?’ exchange and that’s where I got their attention.
“I’m not staying long, just came to look at some fights yesterday and support a good cause,” I told them, putting a little effort in being vague since I’m no good at getting away with lying. I guess they were thinking I was part of some underground battle ring or something because they started pressing me with questions, asking if I was involved with MMA or if it was some sort of boxing thing.
“Not really,” I said. “I did see a guy in a mask confuse the hell out of a lady cat by sticking his fingers in her butt and having her smell them, though.”
The two of them looked at me and I couldn’t tell if their reaction was astonishment or suspicion. I told no lies, though. I’m trying to get into Heaven the best way I know how.
Flashing back to earlier on Saturday I had a brief moment of sorrow at what might have been for the previously planned GCW debuts in Vegas. All The Lights was announced back in early spring. Had the world not changed I wonder if that would have been one of the best shows of 2020, as it would have come after a successful Collective weekend in Tampa and prior to the promotion’s first outing with Zona 23 in Mexico. It really was going to be a huge year for GCW. Praise to the last outlaws taking the broken pieces and building an entirely different success as a result, negativity be damned.
It was hard not to think positively upon entering the GCW Performance Center. The people I saw there were glad to be there, which is a fact that gets lost in the overstated and fervent narrative of the online outraged. These were not individuals who felt forced to wrestle for Big Bad Bookers in hard times. This was a group who wanted to do what they love in the hopes that fans would understand and encourage them. If you’d sat in my position that evening you’d have felt the same vibe. I’m pretty sure no matter where fans sat on Saturday they felt that energy, because people watched a damn good free show on YouTube and those people donated their hard earned dollars. That’s a move in the right direction. Those who don’t see it that way can remain safely stationary. We’re in a new age of taking risks and chances, and Vegas suits that sentiment well.
On Commentary: OG Kevin Gill and Joey Janela
Anyone who’s overly critical of KG and Joey on commentary is likely the same one who’d melt down into a tantrum when faced with any of the audio snags this show ran into on Saturday. KG is the living example of rolling with whatever comes up in the way; Janela’s that guy who can pop a wheelie off of any bump in the road. After a second viewing of the show where I could fully hear what was being said when the matches were called, I was well entertained by these two. Sound issues be damned.
Match 1: Jordan Oliver vs. Chris Bey
A match like this kicking things off could only portend great things ahead. Damn I love Chris Bey. Seeing him live at the beginning of the year at Take a Picture in Austin was a huge deal, and to look at his enhancement 11 months later gets me hopeful for his advancement in 2021. Both Bey and Jordan Oliver get brought up often whenever I mention talent who didn’t let a bad year break their stride. Fantastic start to the show and it wasn’t long before the few of us gathered in attendance brought the inner fan out at a no-fans show; we were energized by the speed and agility on display and so we made a joyful noise about it. The pacing for this opener was blink-and-you’ll-miss-it; it’s amazing that Jordan Oliver still goes just as fast in the ring now as he did before his Big Breakfast upgrade with the power moves blended into his skillset. I’ve gone over the past year from laughing at a smug skinny YDNB kid to being a straight-up fan of him. Bey came through with the win in an opener where both guys looked golden. The tone was officially set for Slime Season.
Match 2: Facade vs. Sefa Fatu
Holy shit, was there a better way to introduce Sefa Fatu to the world? Both this dude and Jacob Fatu fit GCW’s style just fine. It’s hard to decide which one of them is more brutal than the other, but I think Sefa being the first one introduced to us with this one-on-one against Facade gave Sefa a slightly fiercer edge. I loved the pre-match shit talking between the Neon Ninja and the new guy; it made the match more personal and allowed us to take sides. Sefa’s great at being the ruthless one who would rather fight than rely on technique. By the close of the match it was easy to get behind Facade because Sefa was just so damn dominating, right down to the ripping out of Facade’s neon dreads (ouch). This one was a solid follow to the Jordan/Bey opener and I was more than impressed with Sefa getting the win in the end despite Facade having my support in the end. Here’s to more of the Fatu boys booked on cards everywhere; they need to have eyes on them.
Match 3: Jacob Fatu vs. Matthew Justice
It can’t be just me who feels that Matthew Justice on the West Coast hits a little differently (the operative word there being ‘hits’). He’s in his element there, and I’ve watched him work matches everywhere. This one in particular against Jacob Fatu was ruthless, to sum it up in a word. In person, Samoan headbutts look hard as steel chairshots. A Clownette head, which also made an appearance, is nowhere near as hard but twice as funny. It didn’t take long before the action went outside the ring and out to where the few of us present were sitting (and not sitting for long). At one point Jacob got sent flying into the wall and left a huge hole in it. I’m going to start referring to these incidental damages as Lauderdale mementos. Crazy, crazy match that had me wondering out loud how much damage Fatu could do to Justice’s head when we’ve seen him get clobbered with everything. Never underestimate a Samoan, though, because Fatu came through with the debut match win here after having to nearly kill Justice to keep him down. For a show that didn’t feature the usual GCW deathmatch, this one came as close to it as possible and we ate it up with a spoon. I’ll be glad to see more of Jacob and Sefa in GCW.
Daaaamn son #GCWSLIME pic.twitter.com/XFLPxYyyHr
— 🎬Tiffany MerryChristmas🎄🎁 (@ThatRoseTattoo) December 6, 2020
Match 4: Jimmy Lloyd vs. Eli Everfly vs. Spyder Nate Webb vs. Damian Drake vs. Matt Vandagriff vs. KTB (Scramblefuck)
The scramblefuck gods - of which Jimmy Lloyd is patron saint - blessed us with another excellent blending of regular GCW talent and names from the West side that we need to know. Eli Everfly’s established himself as one of the masters of the scramble, and this was the time for Drake and Vandagriff to shine. Damn these guys are exceptional. This was the shortest match of the show but it started quick and kept the fast pace once KTB attacked Nate in the middle of his entrance. From there everyone hit the major scramble spots we love to see with Damian and Matt especially showing out and showing the hell up. Better than usual scramble match that saw KTB taking the well-earned victory.
Match 5: Mance Warner vs. Atticus Cogar
Everybody just loooooves Atticus Cogar and the come up he’s had this year, right? Just like his Buckeye pal Eric Ryan. Cogar’s one of the names I hear in conversations about who didn’t lose but gain momentum in 2020. Good for him but when he’s in that ring I can’t stand his Ohio-repping ass. I was ready to see this fight, especially since Atticus was going one on one with Mance Warner. We know Mancer’s history with 44OH going all the way back to Take a Picture in January and all the way forward to So Much Fun last month when Mance was robbed of his shot at the GCW Championship title. It was satisfying to see some measure of revenge taken at this show, though. I had to go back and watch this one a second time (don’t forget to watch the replay on YouTube!) to catch all of it, and it’s kinda funny to hear how much I hate it when Cogar’s in control of a match. Again, this show didn’t have a scheduled deathmatch but this one and Fatu/Justice before it came pretty damn close. That’s what happens when SGC’s booked in a match, though, it’d feel empty if there wasn’t fuckery and excessive violence involved. Mance showed 44OH they aren’t so badass after all by decisively getting the victory once he put Cogar through a door via DDT. Fuck yeah Mancer!
Match 6: Kikutaro vs. Allie Kat
Sometimes I like to smoke myself beyond the limits of good sense and watch those old cartoons from the 70s and 80s where the cute character has to fend off the “charms” of the lecherous character. I was plenty high by the time Kiku vs. Allie Kat rolled around, so that was the vibe I had throughout this one. You remember the old Pepe le Pew cartoons where he was in love with the cat he thought was a skunk? That’s EXACTLY what I was thinking of in this match. We ran the gamut of physicality in this one, too, all the way from simple pet/owner relations to plans for drive-through marriage Triple H and Stephanie style and then right down to good old butt stuff. I loved this one, it was a moment of fun on a stacked solid card and for anyone tuning in free on YouTube new to Kikutaro it was a grand introduction to his in-ring antics. I’m a big fan of comedy matches (hello XSW!), so I was cool with the long joke being played out and was happy to see Allie Kat win after a match that will probably revisit me in my sleep one day as a Tiny Toon Adventures skit.
Match 7: Juicy Finau vs. Rickey Shane Page
It wasn’t until I saw these two standing right in front of me in the ring that I realized how much of a big boy banger this next one would be. If you’ve yet to witness Juicy Finau in person, dude’s basically a human wall. I mean just one Juicy leg is the size of two normal human legs put together. Not that RSP isn’t a unit in his own right, I just think Juicy is less of a pussy. We’ve seen a lot of Juicy in the past two months, though, and his biggest critics need to take a step back and remember that this guy is still new and growing (if that’s the best word to use for his progress). Juicy’s in-ring style will become more polished. His gear will be more reliable. In the meantime it’s no bad thing to vibe on how he’s making the most of every given opportunity. This was no easy opponent for RSP, too, and this match is one of those ones where I almost, almost understand being too scared to put the title on the line. At any given point in this one Juicy could have caught RSP in a bad moment and crushed him underneath a pin for the win, so of course once RSP found a weakness in Juicy’s knee he capitalized on it. Respect to Juicy for staying in the match for so long on a bad wheel, too, and even still managing to bust out some dramatic big-man moves too. RSP’s got the advantage of experience, however, and I’ll credit that to his victory here. And he won without any 44OH interference (however limited it would have been), so I’ll give him a crumb of a brownie point for that at least.
Main Event: Blake Christian vs. Lio Rush
My mind was not prepared to take on the spectacle we witnessed in Lio Rush’s Blackheart entrance. No, seriously, I was tripping. Freaking out. With this happening in front of me and the GCW Performance Center backdrop I honestly felt like I was in Florida at a twisted version of TakeOver for a brief moment. That first match between these two unlocked a (red?) door and that shit is wide open now. Here, friends, here was the real fear and loathing in Las Vegas.
I WAS TOO HIGH FOR THIS #GCWSLIME pic.twitter.com/GJkC1nDi3H
— 🎬Tiffany MerryChristmas🎄🎁 (@ThatRoseTattoo) December 6, 2020
This main event left me with my mind blown all over the walls of the GCW Performance Center. Performance, indeed! This was half an hour of something amazing. We were on hand to see the second round of two living legends on the indie scene, and I was more than okay with taking the place of the minority ‘All Heart’ chants surrounded by a heavier ‘Blackheart’ chant. Both Blake and Lio have managed somehow to make us all continuously eat our words when we say their last match was a year’s best candidate only to turn around and say the next one is even better. What a damn masterpiece of a match this match was, though. I was determined not to miss this one live, because this was Blake Christian at his absolute peak. He looked like a superhero in a big movie battle against an arch-villain, and Lio’s callback to the Blackheart is one of the best things I’ve seen in awhile in the GCW ring. So went the sequel match with its intimidating inciting incident of Lio’s entrance and the exposition that goes behind the history of that character. The conflict was established in the first round and the rising action in this follow up involved move for move techniques that I haven’t even seen in Blake’s classics with Alex Zayne. Both Blake and Lio built the action to a climax that had us in attendance clapping until our hands hurt...and then came the abrupt falling action of a roll up pin for Blake’s second win over Lio. A quick roll up, a three count, and we were shocked as Blake took that win and strode right the hell off. Resolution? Nowhere near it yet.
That main event! Those spots! THAT finish! I was solid behind All Heart, but yeah, I can see how you’d want to paint a red door black after that.
Post-Show Thoughts
So from the ramblings I heard after the show, there were up to 40,000 virtual viewers for Slime Season and I saw that the goal for the donation drive was nearly doubled. Pretty damn good for a bunch of outlaws allegedly up to no good in pandemic times. I’m wondering out of the tens of thousands of viewers how many new eyes were on the product and what they thought of their first GCW experience. I’m a little jealous of them for getting to have that ‘holy shit, what have I stumbled upon’ moment that I had so long ago.
At this point, who knows what the future holds for independent wrestling in 2021? My hope of GCW opening the New Year in Atlantic City is still lingering in the air like a trail of smoke from a blunt that won’t go out; that damn thing wants to be picked up again because there’s still some good left in it. Can’t help but draw comparisons between that and the independent scene overall. Pass that shit to GCW.