Ahead of the Curve: GCW Presents 56 Nights
Live from the Carousel Room at the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ
January 1, 2021
Available on FITE.tv
I saw a well-stated tweet the other day that did a great job of putting words to what GCW means to its fans. Most of the time social media tends to be a toxic dump since society is human and humans are mentally messy creatures, but every now and again you’ll see a pearl among the sludge and it’s worth noting.
Had a great time @GCWrestling_ over the new years in AC. The fans that show up to these shows are amazing. Its like one big fraternity of outcasts and misfits who are ahead of the curve on what is cool. They are also some of the most respectful and welcoming fans.
— BigBody (@bigbody41175) January 4, 2021
Lately I get a good laugh at how GCW has become so heavily analyzed. The current state of wrestling fans is hypervigilance. Everything and anything that Brett Lauderdale does or does not do apparently merits some form of response because so much attention is focused on his promotion. To be a fan of GCW, though, is to open your eyes to all that’s counterculture about wrestling. Once you have that vision then spiteful scrutiny doesn’t mean as much. Nobody has time for it because we’re all thinking of what’s next and how we can make it our own.
All this, and yet one tweet brings it all home as to what it’s all about. Fans from all kinds of backgrounds and different locations bonding together over something that’s so outside of what’s commonly accepted that it can’t help but be cool. This is something so cool, in fact, that its own detractors can’t even turn away from it. Whether you love this promotion or you love to hate it for the sake of influence, your eyes are on the product.
On Commentary: Kevin Gill and Joey Janela
The second night of a two-show commentary run didn’t seem to slow down either Joey or KG, even after all of the celebrating that took place well into New Year’s Day. When it’s the first show of 2021 you want to be on your better than average game, though, and that’s what we got from the boys at the commentary table for 56 Nights. KG and Janela brought solid energy from start to finish.
Match 1: Tre LaMar vs. Jordan Oliver
All aboard the ‘Jordan Oliver Is Baby Now’ train! By the second night in the Carousel Room, the majority of those in attendance were staunchly behind Big Breakfast. I, on the other hand, gave my support to Tre since I believe this young man can do no wrong no matter what match he’s in. Just like the previous evening’s crazy tag team opener, this was a fine match to set the tone for the rest of the card. Tonight was about talent. Great wrestling and show of skill from both Jordan and Tre was the order of this match with Jordan Oliver getting the hard-fought win. The face turn tour continues!
Match 2: ACH vs. Ken Broadway
Ok, let me differentiate myself from many of my beloved GCW brethren here. ACH seems to imply that the fans turned against him. SON, I NEVER DID! Even at his cockiest in GCW matches this past summer, I tolerated if not outright supported him in matches! Granted, there’s always somebody who’s going to be better though - and sometimes the better person gets more support. That’s the case with Ken Broadway. If I hadn’t realized it the night before at Good Riddance, then I definitely saw it at this first show of 2021. After watching this match on the replay to catch every bit of it again, I have to say that ACH’s post-match rant was understandable. Not only did he lose, but ACH lost to an upstart that has the potential to go even farther than him in his career. I’d get on the mic and cuss everybody out too, damn.
Match 3: Cole Radrick vs. Chris Dickinson
This match just had a ‘trial by fire’ feel to it. Today’s indie wrestler goes up against Chris Dickinson as a rite of passage, and this was Raddy’s turn! I’m expecting huge things out of Radrick this year, but before he can ever get to them he has to say he’s gone one on one with the Dirty Daddy. I think we all expected Dickinson to teach Cole a hell of a lesson (which he did!), but how about my boy Raddy and the fight he put up in this match? Between what we saw go down here and all of Cole Radrick’s opponents over the past twelve months, I don’t feel one bit hesitant saying he’s established himself as one of the hard-hitters on the indie scene. Dickinson won this match, but with the victory he definitely brought Radrick one level up with him.
Match 4: Team Bussy (EFFY and Allie Kat) vs. Crazy Tough Enemies (Matthew Justice and Josh Bishop)
We of the GCW faithful sure do love us some BUSSY! One of the best things to come out of 2020 was EFFY and Allie Kat tagging together, and one of the worst things you could do to such a beloved tag team is put them in the same ring against C.T.E...dammit. If this was the way to get Justice and Bishop over as heels, then I’m sold. Our Bussy got destroyed in the worst way. Once Allie Kat ended up on the wrong side of a door, it was over for our favorite Daddy and Kitty pairing. Justice and Bishop ended the carnage by paying tribute to the Dudleys and hitting a 3-D on Bussy for the finish.
Match 5: IronBeast (Shane Mercer & KTB) vs. Levi Everett vs. Manders vs. Steve Scott vs. Elayna Black vs. YDNB (Ellis Taylor & Charlie Tiger)
So, if C.T.E. is gaining momentum, then does that mean IronBeast is going a hundred and sixty with no brakes? I’d say so, because after a double-pin finish like we saw at Good Riddance needs to be followed up by a show of dominance. Good thing both teams are damn good at being alpha, because IronBeast ruled this match despite the showcase of skill and power that they went up against. Keep in mind, this eight-person battle was full of the best new talent, too - and Mercer and KTB went right through them up until the Beast got the win over all in the end. I suppose C.T.E. couldn’t get away with letting them have all the fun as this one ended with Bishop and Justice storming the ring after KTB’s victory and continuing last night’s brawl.
Match 6: Mance Warner vs. Calvin Tankman
My God, I’d been waiting for this one since last September. I didn’t get to go to Bizarro Lucha in Indianapolis last year to see Mance vs. Tankman live in their championship match, but praise the wrestling gods above that this match happened on New Year’s Day in the Carousel Room! I was there to see it, and praise the patron saint of wrestling Mance Warner himself because I absolutely do love him. Damn did this one kick some ass. There was not a title at stake here but Mancer and Tank fought like everything was on the line. This match hits just as hard on the replay as it did watching it live; I could watch these two hosses fight all the time but I’m well satisfied with the outcome this time around. Mancer got the win over Tankman via top rope DDT headfirst into the plunder. Awesome match!
Match 7: Blake Christian vs. Lee Moriarty
Honestly, I know everyone loves their deathmatches, but I would not have been one bit upset had this match main evented the show. I’ve got this feeling of privilege when it comes to a few GCW wrestlers; we’re seeing them right as they’re blowing up on the national scene. People watching Blake Christian for the first time on IMPACT will look to matches like this and all of his classics from last year for reference…
...and man, I was there for it! Yeah, this is one I’ll be bragging about down the road, because this match banged the door off the hinges. A win for Blake here would be solid as he’s launching himself onto bigger platforms in ‘21, but for Lee to come through with the victory would be an excellent start to what I think’s going to be a quick rise for him this year. I’ll go ahead and dub this one an instant classic as it’s over 20 minutes of the best of Blake and Moriarty all at once; second only to Moriarty and Makabe at the 2020 Collective. Definitely a must-see match with the continuing Blackheart story coming into play at the end before Blake got the win. Don’t miss this one as it’s a show standout.
Main Event: Atticus Cogar (w/Gregory Iron) vs. Alex Colon
As much as people bitched online otherwise, I feel like 56 Nights could have gone without a deathmatch at all. I’m glad, though, that they saved this bloodbath for last. Nothing at all could have followed it. I remember thinking that a deathmatch seemed to stand out on a show that felt like most of the matches were geared towards wrestling and storytelling. The way Cogar/Colon played out, however, turned out to be very fitting.
Colon’s a deathmatch storyteller, which made this main event work on so many levels. Atticus is pretty damn brilliant in that regard too, as I’m finding out. Both these men, mind and body, were made for this type of combat. Where we could have had Rickey Shane Page, his boy Cogar was a more than satisfying stand in. The match itself was one big bash decorated with barbed wire and broken glass. I’d estimate that everyone involved in this main event (at just under 20 minutes long) either smashed or went through light tubes and glass panes at a rate of 3 per minute. By the fifteen minute mark there was blood everywhere. Colon put Cogar away for good at the conclusion of the match and got the victory, but did RSP get the message that he’s still a marked man no matter who he sends in his place?
Post-Show Thoughts
Where Good Riddance was one big party sending last year out of the door with a kick in the ass, 56 Nights was a hopeful and happy welcome to the upcoming weeks and months ahead. The old feeling of something good coming up just around the corner is back again; GCW has announced their innovative Fight Forever 24-hour fundraising event at the end of this month. I’ve seen where several other indie promotions are following the lead of the last outlaws and venturing forth to plan multiple shows in a month and even multi-day events.
KEEP GOING. At this point, independent wrestling doesn’t have much of a choice than to move forward.