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Writer's pictureMichael Brennan

GCW: Road to Hammerstein - Most Notorious & Say You Will Preview


January 14th and 15th mark the last two dates for GCW before their biggest show to date The WRLD On GCW on 1/23 at the Hammerstein Ball Room. I cannot stress the importance of GCW having strong showings before The WRLD On GCW. This company has been an absolute bullet train of momentum since July of 2021, when Matt Cardona defeated Nick Gage in a deathmatch for the GCW Championship. Since then, GCW hosted some massive moments including the Nick Gage Invitational and the Art of War Games. GCW will attempt to increase the already palpable buzz surrounding the promotion starting with Most Notorious in Detroit on Friday.


GCW is bringing in a pair of wrestling legends in Kevin Nash and Sabu. It is unclear what involvement they may have on the show, but including them in Detroit is very smart.




Jimmy Jacobs vs Alex Shelley

Speaking of very smart, Alex Shelley will take on Jimmy Jacobs in a throwback to their previous matches of wrestling past. Personally, I love both of these guys and think they've been severely underrated for a long time. These two guys could do this match with their eyes closed and that means it will undoubtedly be one of, if not the best match of the weekend.




Scramble Match

GCW loves their scramble matches and I've grown to love them myself. It is a fun way to get a bunch of people on the card who might otherwise be left out. The combination of guys in this one is a little odd, but should be fun nonetheless. A lot can and often does go wrong in matches like this, but having a veteran presence like Nate Webb should ensure the match goes smoothly. I'd look for GCW to spotlight Ninja Mack a bit before his upcoming NOAH tour. All of the competitors could come out on top, but I'd watch for Jordan Oliver to come out looking the best.




Bussy (Effy and Allie Katch) vs 2 Cold Scorpio & Ricky Morton

Effy has had a great run recently in wrestling. His feud with Cardona was fantastic. Now, it appears that he's entering a new feud with Jeff Jarrett. Normally, I know all of those words, but not in that order. Jeff Jarrett and Effy may wrestle at the Hammerstein Ball Room and to me, that is just one of the oddest things on paper. That being said GCW tends to make sense of the strange. It's a big part of their appeal. Allie Katch has the biggest match of her career at the Hammerstein Ballroom against Ruby Soho. Obviously, I respect and love what Ricky Morton and 2 Cold Scorpio have done in wrestling, but there is no chance they pull this one off cleanly. Maybe Jeff Jarrett costs Effy the match, but with Allie and Effy heading into massive matches, a loss would do a lot of damage.




Matt Cardona vs Rhino

Like it or not, Cardona is the top heel of independent wrestling. I know a lot of people don't like hearing that, but it's true. He's absolutely going to beat Rhino and become the NEW ECW TV Champion.




Leon Ruff vs Rich Swann

Outside of Evolve and NXT, most people haven't seen Leon Ruff. Ruff has a great dance partner (pun absolutely intended) in Rich Swann. I'd expect Swann to get the win here, but a win by Ruff would go a long way.




Atticus Cogar vs Matthew Justice

Two brawlers going head to head can only mean one thing, chaos. Matthew Justice will look for something big to jump off of. Pretty excited about that. Atticus has to get the win though. Cogar just deserves more than what he gets in general.




Dark Sheik vs Tony Deppen

I'll admit I have not seen a lot of Dark Sheik. Tony Deppen most recently had a run in ROH, but prior to that, he gained his notoriety from GCW. This match should be a hard-hitting affair with both wrestlers looking strong at the end of it.




Alex Colon vs Hoodfoot

Hoodfoot is on a hell of run. Guy came out of almost nowhere and now he's wrestling Alex Colon. This should be a truly great way to showcase Hoodfoot against one of the top deathmatch wrestlers today. That being said, Colon rarely loses. I'd expect Colon to win this one.


That concludes the show on Friday, but let's take a look at the Saturday show in Chicago. The card is loaded, but let's not forget one of the true pillars of GCW, Jeff Jarrett will be appearing.




Scramble Match

Having 3 of the same people from the previous night dims my excitement for this one, but it will be nice to see Alex Zayne and Nick Wayne who were not on the previous night's show. It wouldn't surprise me if Gringo Loco got the win in his hometown to give him some momentum heading into the New York show.




PCO vs. AJ Gray

PCO recently returned to GCW and now he's taking on AJ Gray, a man who has been there this whole time. These men wrestle a similar style, but PCO is always trying to kill himself in the ring it seems.




Blake Christian vs. Bandido

Blake Christian has a date with ROH Champion Jonathan Gresham at the Hammerstein Ballroom. I feel like he can't lose this match. That being said, these two will put on a great match.




Kylie Rae vs. Allie Katch

As previously discussed, Allie has the biggest match of her career against Ruby Soho coming up. Kylie Rae seems to be in a better place personally and therefore professionally than she was in recent memory. It'll be great to see these two go at it, but look for Katch to get the decisive decision.




Jonathan Gresham (c) vs. 2 Cold Scorpio - ROH World Championship

The ROH Championship isn't changing hands, but this match should be a solid 10 minutes of entertainment. Scorpio is from a different era, but here is he keeping up with the best from this era. I'd expect nothing less this time.




Alex Colon vs. Jimmy Llyod vs. Shlak - Markus Crane Tribute Deathmatch

When you have 3 motivated deathmatch wrestlers, you're going to get something crazy. These 3 will go into this trying to honor Markus Crane in the only way they know how. I'd expect this to be an amazing deathmatch that Markus would be proud of. Even if you are not ordering the show, you can check this match out after the show for free on the GCW Youtube Channel.




Tony Deppen vs. Mike Bailey

Bailey has had a lot of buzz around him recently. This being one of his matches in GCW is awesome. They'll put together a memorable bout, but look for Speedball to secure the win as he starts his run of 4 dates in GCW.




Matt Cardona vs. Ricky Morton

The biggest draw in GCW history, Matt Cardona takes on the legendary Ricky Morton. It's amazing Ricky is still going at the level that he is. I'm sure these two will put together something solid. Cardona has to get the win as Cardona is truly one of the major reasons why GCW has gained so much popularity.




Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. John Wayne Murdoch and Reed Bentley

This match will be a brawl through the crowd. Hopefully, they don't get close to me. I'll bail so fast. Having followed the Briscoes for most of their career it's very intriguing to see them outside of ROH. The Rejects provide another element to the intrigue. I think that these 4 can definitely make a lasting impression. That being said, at some point FTR vs. the Briscoes needs to happen. I would think Tony Khan would want it for AEW, but maybe GCW will have it on the Hammerstein Show. If that's the case, this is really the last chance for Dax and Cash to appear. I'm not holding my breath on that one.



Both the Detroit and Chicago show are great standalone, but Fite TV is offering both in a package as well. If you'd like to order either show please order through my referral link:


If you are going to be at the Chicago show, stop by and say hello to me. I'll be the guy in the black shirt.


GCW needs more than just a "good" weekend, they need a great weekend and these two cards look great to me. Hope that both deliver!


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