Fun with GCW

Dan-e-o and I attended our first GCW show yesterday at the Legion in Oshawa, Ontario. GCW runs regular shows and has added a much needed infusion of indy action into Durham Region.

To me, this is what indy wrestling has always been about. A few comedy matches, some great technical work, a little high flying and tons of crowd heat. This show had all that.

I’ve been told that the GCW shows are generally ‘standing room only’. For whatever reason, the crowd at this show was a little sparse, but still energetic.

It was a 1PM start and had a lot of young kids in the crowd. To play that up, we saw some really old fashioned style booking that just worked. A lot of faces went over, making the fans happy, but a couple of really red hot heels picked up wins as well. That makes sense. Don’t let a lukewarm baddie get the win just for the sake of it. In fact, that should be an indy law. If you’re a heel – you ONLY win if the crowd hates you.

Darth Cutthroatus worked hard to get tons of heat on him, and the young crowd certainly enjoyed his ring escorts. Two dudes rockin’ full Storm Trooper gear. You think Cena no-sells? You shoulda seen these guys when Master Chow Yung Ho tried to kick them in the pills or poke them in the eyes. The young Master really has a funny gimmick that he just unveiled this weekend. He comes out with a black and red mask and gi and throws out high pitched “ooooo”’s on every move (shades of Bruce Lee). Funny stuff.

Jay Fenix and Jake O’Reilly may be two of the best on the Ontario scene at drawing a crowd into their match, and getting tons of heat. Both are extremely charismatic and both turned Dan-e-o (self-admitted heel lover) into a fan.

The Southside Stranglers are over like nobody’s business. How can you not dig a couple of masked wrestlers drinking beer?

Michael Elgin is one of the top talents on the scene right now and never disappoints with his work rate. Everything he does is top drawer. He was originally slated to face Kanyon in the main event, but it ended up being a tag match. Kanyon teamed with Hayden Avery, while Elgin joined forces with O’Reilly.

Personally, I was really looking forward to seeing Kanyon and Elgin go one on one, but this worked out well. The four of them worked hard and put on the match of the day.

I’m going to rename Hayden Avery the “Soldier”. This guy worked yesterday with a broken orbital bone! All he did was put on a protective mask (like an old school hockey face guard) and he went at it. Talk about “man up”. Geeez. Here’s hoping Hayden takes some time off to heal, so that eye doesn’t just fall out of the socket next time he takes an Elgin moonsault.

One criticism I’d point out was that that a few of the wrestlers got caught up in trash talking fans and let some colourful language fly. Normally that doesn’t bother me – but there were a ton of youngins in the crowd.

Special thanks to ring announcer Gentleman Geoff for putting us over at the start of the show. We always appreciate the pub. Much respect to Dr. Mask and whoever else put together the merch tables. These guys had more wrestling merch than I’ve ever seen in my life! If you’re a collector, this show is a must attend. Lucha masks, action figures, DVDs, comics, 8X10’s … you name it. Good stuff.

Quick results:
Rip Impact defeated Ash (with Angel de Guerra in his corner). Angel accidentally pumped Ash off the top rope allowing Impact to get the win.

King Sphynx won the masked battle royal, last eliminating Angel de Guerra. Actually Ash eliminated Angel De Guerra. Sphynx then went on to say he was the best masked wrestler ever – only to be jumped by Mortis. Mortis (Kanyon) was then attacked and de-masked by Elgin and O’Reilly – save made by Avery… setting up our main event.

Jay Fenix defeated Xtremo. Great match.
Adam Reed & Steve Brown (Egos And Icons) defeated The Amazing Darkstone and sixteen year old high flyer Alex York.

Cutthroatus defeated Master Chow Yung Ho

Hayden & Kanyon defeated Jake O'Reilly and Michael Elgin, following a big pile on. Kanyon musta loved that.

We will keep you posted on future GCW shows. Visit www.canadianwrestlingexpo.com for more info.

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