GCW: So High
Friday, December 3rd, 2021, Houston Premier Arena, Houston, Texas
By: Jon Pine
Coming off their record-breaking sell out of the Hammerstein Ballroom, Game Changer Wrestling returns to Houston with a stacked lineup and GCW debuts. GCW continued their streak of putting on fantastic shows last night in Houston, Texas. The venue has a real underground feel and the fans were electric the entire night, there were no lulls in the action except for during the main event after Effy came up bleeding heavily from his shoulder.
Yesterday it was announced that both Rhino and Sabu will be at GCW’s January 14th show in Detroit. Recently Sabu announced that he was retiring, Joey Janela tweeted at Sabu asking if he would work him for Sabu’s last match.
Current Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion Bandido and Demonic Flamita made their debuts in Game Changer Wrestling. I was lucky enough to see Bandido live during the main event of All In but he’s fallen off my radar since I stopped watching Ring of Honor once Nigel McGuinness left for NXT and PWG is still stuck in the 90’s so it’s impossible to easily access their shows, but I cannot wait for this next run of his career and hope that he finally gets the full mainstream credit he so rightfully deserves.
GCW Evil Deeds Results:
Second Gear Crew Defeats Alex Zayne and Tony Deppen, Gringo Loco Defeats ASF, 44OH! (Atticus Cogar and Eddy Only) Defeats Jordan Oliver and Nick Wayne, Allie Katch Defeats Chelsea Green, Leon Ruff Defeats Brayden Lee, Chase Burnett, Cole Radrick, Yoya, and Spyder Nate Webb, Alex Shelley Defeats Matt Cardona, Rina Yamashita Defeats Charli Evans, Alex Colon and Masashi Takeda Defeats G-Raver and Jimmy Lloyd
Nick Gage Invitational 6 Results:
Atticus Cogar Defeats Rina Yamashita, Charli Evans Defeats Kit Osbourne and SHLAK, Alex Colon Defeats AKIRA, Masashi Takeda Defeats Eric Ryan, Ninja Mack Defeats ASF, Brayden Lee, Cole Radrick, Gringo Loco, Yoya, and Spyder Nate Webb, Alex Colon Defeats Charli Evans, Masashi Takeda Defeats Atticus Cogar, Alex Colon Defeats Masashi Takeda to win NGI6 and reclaim the GCW Ultraviolent Championship.
POST MATCH: ICW No Holds Barred American Deathmatch Champion John Wayne Murdoch stormed the ring, jumped, and beat down Alex Colon. After the attack, Murdoch cut a promo on Alex Colon.
“Colon for so long you’ve called me a fucking bridesmaid, for so long I got tired of watching the beautiful bride get all their flowers. But fuck it, tonight, tonight I said ‘I’m the fucking bride now.’ And you, you are the fucking bridesmaid Alex Colon.”- American Deathmatch Champion John Wayne Murdoch
Spoiler Free Match Recommendation:
- Bryan Keith and Mysterious Q vs. The Second Gear Crew (AJ Gray and Matthew Justice
- Atticus Cogar vs. Nick Wayne
- Tony Deppen vs. Bandido
- Sadika vs. Effy
Commentary: Kevin Gill and Emil Jay
Loko Title Match: Dante Leon vs. Jack Cartwheel
Jack Cartwheel returns to Game Changer Wrestling after his critically acclaimed matches at PWG and his match at the debut show of LA Fights. In 2021 we were introduced to Mr. Cartwheel but I think 2022 will be his real breakout year. He has all the variables to become a major star on the independent wrestling scene.
Coming off of his recent matches at PWG and the debut of LA Fights, Jack Cartwheel returns to Game Changer Wrestling to compete for the Loko Title against another up-and-coming GCW star, Dante Leon. Both of these men are capable of pulling off incredible high-flying moves and sequences so this match should be amazing. Having won the Loko Title from the first-ever champion Sadika on May 22, 2021, Dante Leon has gone on to hold the title for over 195 days, and this will be his first official title defense.
The match starts out with the two competitors trading offense, eventually leading to a hard suicide dive from Leon onto Cartwheel as the pace of the match accelerates. Leon hits a springboard DDT and follows it up with a poisonrana, Cartwheel eventually fires back up hitting a shooting star press only to get caught for the two-count. Leon hits a release German to which Cartwheel no-sells and hits a lariat as the crowd breaks into a ‘Loko Wrestling’ chant. Cartwheel hits a Sasuke special, Leon dodges and lands a superkick. Leon throws a pair of chairs into the ring along with a door as Cartwheel recovers on the floor, both men scramble to get the advantage as Leon climbs to the top, hits a backward Shooting Star Press for the victory.
Dante Leon Retains the Loko Wrestling Championship
Singles Match: Allie Katch vs. Gino Medina
Coming off her massive win against Chelsea Green at GCW: Evil Deeds, Allie Katch returns home to Texas to take on up-and-coming Gino Medina. Trained by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, Gino Medina made his wrestling debut in 2015. Since then, Medina has worked mostly for Texas baked promotions: Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling and Loko Wrestling. In October 2019, Major League Wrestling, MLW, announced that they had signed the up-and-coming superstar. Upon the signing, MLW CEO Court Bauer said the following: “Gino is a once in a generation megastar in the making.” Since his signing with MLW he has gone on to debut for GCW at the GCW: Take a Picture on January 18, 2020, which was a losing effort against Blake Christian. His second appearance in GCW was at The Collective at Jimmy Lloyd’s D-Generation F when he faced El Hijo Canis Lupus in a losing effort. Medina also took part in the GCW vs. Loko Fight Club when he faced Effy in another losing fashion. Will Gino Medina be able to capture his first victory in GCW when he goes up against Allie Katch?
The crowd is split as the two start exchanging holds with each kissing each other’s hand and near falls. Gino hits a vicious head kick as the two eventually start trading chops as Allie was recovering in the corner. Gino hits a snake eyes and a running knee on Katch for a two count, the crowd starts chanting for Allie Katch as she fires back up on Gino driving him into the corner as she hits a Superplex on Gino. Katch continues her flurry of offense leading to a cannonball in the corner for a two-count. Gino recovers and hits a brutal kick to Katch’s head, he goes to the floor and Katch hits a lope DDT. The ref gets knocked down and Gino goes for a low blow, it doesn’t work; she twists Gino’s dick and hits a small package.
Allie Katch defeats Gino Medina
Singles Match: Jimmy Lloyd vs. Ninja Mack
This match was originally scheduled to be Alex Zayne vs. Ninja Mack but Zayne had to pull out of the booking. I honestly think this is the more intriguing match, Jimmy Lloyd is an insanely versatile and creative wrestler who only gets credit for his work in Deathmatches but ever since I started watching GCW he has impressed me in so many ways. Much like Joey Janela, Jimmy Lloyd can do any style of Professional Wrestling and do it masterfully. He is one of the better storytellers on the Independent scene.
They take off right away with both men exchanging various flips. The pace at which Ninja Mack can move is absurd, he floats in the air. Jimmy Lloyd bails to the floor, Ninja Mack hits a Fozberry flop to the floor, Jimmy recovers first and sets up a door on the outside of the ring. Lloyd gets Mack up on his shoulders but Mack is too quick and quickly gains advantage again. Jimmy Lloyd breaks out a split leg moonsault as he regains control of Mack.
Ninja Mack hits a giant sunset flip powerbomb through the door on the outside, the timing was such that Ninja’s legs went through first and there was nothing to break his fall. Ninja Mack follows it up with a 630 Senton for the victory.
Ninja Mack defeats Jimmy Lloyd
Tag Team Match: Bryan Keith and Mysterious Q vs. The Second Gear Crew (AJ Gray and Matthew Justice)
Bryan Keith made his GCW debut during The Collective when he fought Darius Lockhart in a losing effort at For the Culture. Since then he has taken more bookings outside of his native Texas: Game Changer Wrestling, ICW No Holds Barred, and No Peace Underground. He has a great look, a bandido poncho, and a cowboy hat, he provides a very hard-hitting style, has technical wrestling abilities, and can work a very solid deathmatch. Keith’s tag team partner, Mysterious Q, also made his GCW debut during For the Culture where he competed in a scramble match in a losing effort; he also competed at Allie Katch’s Real Hot Girl Shit’s Faye Jackson’s Grey Sweatpants Battle Royal. Later in the year, Mysterious Q participated in the GCW vs. Loko Fight Club where he fought Matthew Justice in a losing effort. This is a huge match for both Keith and Q as they are going up against a staple of the GCW roster. I would assume that SGC will cash in their rematch against the Briscoes Brothers at the Hammerstein and I think it’s all but a lock that Matthew Justice will jump off the balcony.
The crowd starts chanting Q and I’m assuming it was for the wrestlers but it is Texas after all so you never know. All four men shake hands, Keith pulls in AJ Gray and Mysterious Q hits a diamond cutter on Justice as Keith hits a powerbomb on Gray they stack them up for a two count, as the match spills to the floor. Keith and Gray start beating each other’s chests in with chops and slaps, Mysterious Q charges Justice who side steps Mysterious sending him crashing into the chairs. SGC suplexes Bryan Keith onto the ramp as they head back into the ring only to be met by Mysterious Q. SGC beat down Mysterious Q as SGC started getting booed as they throw a pair of doors into the ring. Matthew Justice then throws a door onto Bryan Keith on the outside. Justice charges Mysterious Q who sends him to the floor, Keith recovers and returns the favor, hitting a suplex on the ramp, Bryan Keith tags in as he runs wild on AJ Gray. Mysterious Q hits a top rope Spanish fly onto Justice for a two count, as AJ and Bryan start exchanging forearm strikes. Mysterious Q goes to put AJ Gray through the door but Mathew Justice spears Mysterious Q through the door.
SGC hit the Hardy Boyz top rope splash and leg drop onto Bryan Keith for the victory.
Second Gear Crew defeat Bryan Keith and Mysterious Q
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Team Gringo Loco: Demonic Flamita, Gringo Loco, and Low Rider vs. Team ASF: ASF, Chris Carter, and Drago Kid
This match has Gringo Loco in it so you know right away it’s going to be an amazing match filled with fluid lucha spots and exceptional high flying. This is Low Rider’s first GCW appearance and my first time seeing him along with Chris Carter and Drago Kid. I got excited when I saw the name Chris Carter, I thought the former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver transitioned into Pro Wrestling!
Chris Carter and Demonic Flamita start the match off wrestling to a stalemate as Gringo Loco and ASF take over the match, exchanging mirrored offense with Gringo bailing to the floor. Drago Kid and Low Rider hop in and Drago starts flying, executing 4 Deja Vu’s in a row but to no avail as Team Gringo Loco start beating down on the much smaller Drago Kid. They double press slam Drago as Flamita hits a cutter on the falling Drago. Drago Kid and ASF hit a tandem Tope con hilo and a Asahi moonsault. Low Rider jumps from the top of the ceiling onto a pile outside the ring. Back in the ring Low Rider and ASF start exchanging holds with Low Rider rolling up ASF for a two count as Drago Kid reentered the match. Drago Kid is thrown to the floor, hits a hurricanrana onto Low Rider. Chris Carter hits a top rope cutter for the victory.
Team ASF defeats Team Gringo Loco
Post Match: The two teams show each other respect as the fans throw money into the ring. Team Gringo Loco jumps Team ASF and leaves the ring.
This match was a lot of fun to watch, Drago kid is exceptional. Gringo Loco vs. ASF has been one of the better rivalries in GCW this year.
Singles Match: Atticus Cogar vs. Nick Wayne
This rivalry between Cogar and Wayne started months ago at GCW: The Aftermath. During that encounter Atticus Cogar put the boots to Nick Wayne for most of the match, skewering him at the peak of the match; members of Jordan Oliver’s group, Young, Dumb, and Broke ran in to make the save which set up the match between Oliver and Wayne at GCW War Ready. At GCW War Ready, the match between Oliver and Wayne ended in a no contest after an incensed Atticus Cogar stormed the ring taking out both Nick Wayne and Jordan Oliver. The duo of Oliver and Wayne teamed together in a losing fashion at GCW Evil Deeds against Atticus Cogar and Eddy Only. Each match this combination has had is better than the last one and the maturity and growth Nick Wayne has shown has been tremendous. At the Nick Gage Invitational 6 during his semi-finals match with Masashi Takeda, Cogar was on the verge of victory thanks to the help of his 440H! Members when Jordan Oliver stormed the ring, took out 440H! leading to Takeda being able to capture the victory over Cogar.
Nick Wayne recently just went 35 minutes at Defy Wrestling against Joey Janela in a match that everyone should search out. It was a textbook phenomenal Janela match that once again proved why he is still one of the most underrated and underappreciated wrestlers on the Independent scene.
Nick Wayne charges the ring and starts beating down on Atticus as they spill to the floor. Nick Wayne grabs a chair and tosses it at Atticus’s head as he scrambles back into the ring to regain the advantage on Nick Wayne. Cogar continues to beat down Nick Wayne, taunting him and landing a couple of tough chair shots for a two count; Cogar hits an air raid crash through the chair in the corner for another two count. Cogar retrieves the skewers from his pocket and purposefully skewers the turnbuckle pad, both men evading each other’s offense near the skewers as they go back to wrestling.
Cogar catches Nick Wayne as he’s coming off the top rope with a german suplex followed up with a headlock driver. He doesn’t go for a pin but takes off his wrist tape and wraps it around Nick Wayne’s who subsequently passes out.
Atticus Cogar defeats Nick Wayne
POST MATCH: Jordan Oliver rushes the ring, takes out Cogar and takes the skewers from the corner and goes to skewer Atticus who gets out of the way just in time. Plants the seed for tomorrow’s nights match up.
Singles Match: Tony Deppen vs. Bandido
On November 26, 2021, it was reported that Bandido was added to the AAA TripleMania Regia card for December 4, 2021, which prevented him from working his originally scheduled date for GCW in Dallas. These two have a complete Styles Clash but that is what is going to make this an amazing match. What will Deppen pull out of his arsenal to put down the current Ring of Honor Champion? No matter who he is against, Tony Deppen always pulls out an amazing performance; it’s a crime he hasn’t been featured on AEW Dark or AEW Dark Elevation yet.
During the show GCW posted this promo from Tony Deppen:
View this post on Instagram
The crowd is hating Deppen as the two Ring of Honor stars start going hold for hold until they reach a stalemate. They start exchanging chops and strikes as Bandido hits a one-handed press slam and hits a glancing blow of a kick to the back. Deppen fires back up taking the fight to Bandido, Bandido goes for a springboard but Deppen catches him with a dropkick sending Bandido crashing to the floor. They continue to engage in some beautiful technical wrestling
Deppen’s chest is beet red as they continue to crush each other with chops, Deppen hits a double stomp into a brainbuster into a running knee for a two count. Deppen is beside himself as he removes his knee pad but gets press slammed by Bandido for a two count, Deppen hits another running knee for a two count and a tombstone for two, all sequential. The crowd went from not knowing who Tony Deppen was to chanting Fight Forever during his match. Bandido knees Tony Deppen in the forehead hits a rebound german suplex for the victory. This was a must-see match, Tony Deppen continues to always deliver in all his appearances. Bandido is otherworldly, he is incredibly fluid in all of his motions in the ring and can tell a fantastic story as well. I hope we see Bandido go against Ninja Mack.
Bandido defeats Tony Deppen
Singles Match: Sadika vs. Effy
This by far has been the most intriguing matchup on the card as it pits two different styles and wrestlers against each other. For those who have never seen Sadika before; she’s the Deathmatch Nia Jax, she’s built like her and is as safe as Nia but with glass involved. Sadika has earned the reputation of someone who takes liberties with her opponents in the ring, most notably, her match against Nick Gage. As it was going down you could see that she was taking advantage of Nick Gage, breaking tubes underneath his shirt and then stripping him of his shirt and breaking more tubes over him. He was a bloody mess after the match and he still cut one of the best promos of the year. The next night he was supposed to face Alex Colon in a GCW Champion vs. GCW Ultraviolent Champion showdown; allegedly it took all of GCW management to convince Gage not to go out for the match citing the fact that he was really beat up from the prior night and that he was supposed to face Chris Jericho on Dynamite the following week.
Since his match with Sadika, Gage hasn’t been the same; yes he pulled out a match of the year with Matt Cardona but anyone with a keen eye would’ve noticed that he wasn’t moving the same. It culminated in an underwhelming match with Jon Moxley– during that match, he landed funny on his leg after being thrown out of the ring onto an ultraviolent contraption and a lackluster match with Minoru Suzuki. Since his match with Suzuki, it’s been radio silence from Nick Gage, so much so that he didn’t even promote that he was going to be at the Hammerstein. Sadika has also garnered heat from IWA-Mid South Promoter Ian Rotten, American Deathmatch Champion John Wayne Murdoch, and original Queen of the Deathmatch and Hardcore Legend Mickie Knuckles. Ian Rotten and John Wayne Murdoch both have tweeted or cut promos on the absolutely wreckless wrestler but Mickie took it a step further. Mickie stripped Sadika of her mask and proceeded to deliver some nasty chair shots to Sadika’s head and back and cut a scathing promo on her backstage.
I don’t think Sadika will try that with Effy, but I would’ve said the same thing about her and Gage. Effy had the following to say about his upcoming match: “I’m nervous for this whole Sadika deal”
Anyone can hit hard and do crazy weapon spots, a real talented Deathmatch wrestler makes the moves, and wrestling violence means something, she does neither. Let’s hope Effy can reign in this bear of a wrestler. As they say in the United States Senate: “the only rule is, what goes around comes around.”
Effy slaps Sadika in the face, Sadika returns fire with a hard slap and a powerbomb. These two are beating the hell out of each other, Sadika hits Effy with double knees to his crotch. They start brawling in the crowd and Effy gets caught with a headbutt on the bridge of his nose but still manages to hit a running senton. Effy retrieves a couple of chairs from under the ring, sets Sadika on a chair, and goes for a running cannonball onto Sadika but he crashes and burns. Sadika goes back and retrieves a door covered in light tubes and bridges them on two chairs outside the ring. Effy hits a swinging neck-breaking through the door and Effy comes up bleeding heavily from the shoulder. Emil Jay said, “I should be used to this shit but that is a lot real quick.” Sadika goes to the back and gets a barbed-wire door, there is an uneasy feeling within the building. Sadika tosses a couple of tubes in the ring but Effy stomps on them and kicks Sadika in the face. There is some stalling as they are trying to figure out Effy’s cut, they tried to wrap a towel around it but Sadika interrupted before they could secure it. Sadika has trouble setting up a barbed-wire door, to the point that Effy makes fun of her while he’s selling. She finally gets it set up, but gets reversed and Effy powerbombs Sadika through the barbed wire door for the victory.
Effy defeats Sadika
Post Match: Mutual show of respect by both of them as Effy goes right to the back.
That match delivered, a very very hard-hitting match that was plenty bloody and Effy survived. I highly recommend checking out this match purely for the strikes they landed on each other, they didn’t pull any punches.
Dallas is next up on the road to the Hammerstein where we get the long-awaited return of John Wayne Murdoch.
