Independent wrestling never takes a week off, even after having one of the biggest weekends of the year in Dallas. I took you all on the ride of The Collective, and this week we look at a few shows that happened over the past weekend.
These shows both took in California, as GCW decided to not take a break and invite you to buy a ticket and enjoy the ride.
GCW Paranoid – 4/9 11pm EST
I’m sure the How to Talk to Your Friend About Wrestling girls will have a full breakdown of the show as they were there! Yet, here’s three matches that I think would interest you to look at.
Chris Bey vs. Jack Cartwheel Jack Cartwheel, fresh off Independent Waters, secondary workhorse of the weekend (it was Bailey, duh), takes on Bullet Club member Chris Bey in a match that shows Cartwheel’s improvement in the ring, and just shows how he can easily handle himself. He’s grown these past 12 months quite well, proving that he belongs on these GCW shows.
The Briscoes (c) vs. BUSSY – GCW Tag Team Titles Effy and Allie Katch had a tough task against The Briscoes, fresh off their tag team title win last weekend at Spring Break 6, Part 1. Effy and Allie did there best to showcase themselves as worthy to take the titles off a great team like the Briscoes, and while this match may have gone on a little too long for some, this was all about the feel-good moment at the end.
ACH vs. Nick Wayne I’m a big fan of giving Nick Wayne a chance against independent legends, and him proving that he can easily hang with them. And in some cases, outshine them. This was a case where he hung with ACH and continues to showcase how great he’s going to be in the future. Imagine him at 18.
GCW Devil in a New Dress – 4/10 8pm EST
GCW’s debut in the Bay! GCW takes over San Francisco and we have a return date.
Jordan Oliver vs. Jack Cartwheel Jordan Oliver, who has turned heads as of late and showcased himself as one of the premiere talents in the Northeast, had another signature performance against Jack Cartwheel. Oliver, who had a great dance partner in Cartwheel, showed himself as someone who is slowly becoming someone who could get an opportunity at Jon Moxley, GCW Champion.
Titus Alexander vs. Midas Kreed This was a great match that allowed both to showcase themselves to bigger audience. GCW, who dealt with travel issues throughout the weekend, had this spot match added in here to showcase the NorCal talent of their LA Fights organization (sister promotion of GCW, West Coast JCW). These two faced off in LA Fights Vol. 1, and this was another match that showcased both up and coming NorCal wrestlers.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Minoru Suzuki Minoru Suzuki’s best match on the US independent scene. Hands down. Mike Bailey made Suzuki work for this win. Bailey was too quick for Suzuki and frustrated Suzuki. Yet, you still got to see the greatest hits of Suzuki, which is a sight, but after you see it a few times, it gets to be a bit boring. This match was far from boring though.
That’s this week’s recommendations, have some others you would suggest? Any shows you watched that I didn’t, and want to recommend to me? Comment below or message me on Twitter (@shawntaggart531).
You can watch the two GCW shows in California, part of the California Two-Pack, on FITE.