One Man's Opinion: My Trip to GCW Fight Club 2023 Weekend.

To commemorate my trip to the Death Match Mecca aka The Showboat in Atlantic City I wanted to do something a bit different and just let you guys hear about my trip.

In September when the War Games announced I had no intention of going. I had wanted to get out there since I started watching Death Match but I get bad social anxiety around a bunch of people I don't know, didn't think I would fit in at all and never had the money line up. But my dude Loren at Your Dose of Death Podcast basically told me I had to come out to this one and gave me the pricing of everything I figured out this time I can afford it and I decided just bring my vape to try to ignore the anxiety and I'll be fine, plus I may not get another chance to see Mr. Jun Kasai so why not.

Friday

After getting on a flight from Chicago to Raleigh, another flight from Raleigh to Philly which got delayed because no one wanted to assist in case of emergency in the exit rows, I appreciate the honesty though. And a train from Philly to Atlantic City I was at the Showboat. The first night I ran into my boys Hugo and Maijin from Texas and there crew. got invited down to meet people and after a bit Loren introduced me to a lot of the crew and I instantly got treated like family and was wondering what the fuck was I so afraid of right then and there. Mittens, Joe, Benecio, TG all the people that were there I'm forgetting the names of because I'm an idiot(feel free to call me out on it) if you read this thanks for your hospitality.

For real Fuck Southern Hospitality, Showboat Hospitality is where it's at.

Saturday

I woke up and got Breakfast at Oceans and after a nap got Wet Willie's for the first time which you should all believe the hype. For real if I lived in A.C. I would become an alcoholic off of these. Went and walked around the boardwalk and got amazing food from Tony Boloney's the went to the show which here is review 1)

Alec Price v. Tony Deppen

These were two of the best pure wrestlers GCW has on the roster doing what they do best and that's wrestling. This was the best Tony Deppen outing since his return from injury and I'm glad he found his stride again.

Alec Price wins via pinfall
4.25/5

Jack Cartwheel v. Jordan Oliver v. Jory janela v. Masha Slamovich

This was an okay match but by now we all know how I feel about scrambles by now and that's more or less what this was.

Joey Janela wins via pinfall
2.75/5

Charles Mason v. Richard Holiday
This match was okay. The story was Charles Mason paid off the ref which got the Ref a lot of heat. Richard Holiday was great here and I hope to see him get more opportunities at GCW.

Charles Mason wins via pinfall
2/5

Team Radrick v. SGCunt

This was good but very chaotic and hard to keep track of.

SGCunt wins via pinfall
3/5

Blake Christian defends the GCW Championship against Jimmy Lloyd.

This was a good match. Jimmy was the crowd favorite. And they did a screwy finish but it was to further Jimmy Lloyd's feud and let that son of a bitch Blake Christian keep his heat so I get it.

Blake Christian retains via pinfall
2.75/5

Team GCW v. Team Freedoms in War Games

So shout out to Loren from Your Dose of Death for convincing me to take a risk and come out to AC for this because holy shit. Takeda, Suiguira, Sasaki, Violento Jack, Jun Fucking Kasai, Rina, John Wayne Murdoch, Macizos, Nick Gage. It's a who's who of death match in this. We had glass and a lot of blood. Ciclope almost dies after being thrown off a scaffold and A Nick Gage and Jun Kasai face off. How the fuck can you not love this match? This was worth the trip alone.

Nick Gage was the soul survivor
5/5

After this I went back to my room and chilled a but then went to the after party. Then went back to my room and slept.

Sunday

I was slightly hungover even though I did the majority of my drinking before the party so I went and got breakfast and headed to JCW. Where were at review 2)

Alec Price v. Manders

This was a great hard-hitting match to open the show. Manders is a real one for doing this match and then getting on a plane right after to go wrestle in Revolver.

Manders wins via pin
2.75/5

Brayden Toon v. Matt Makowski

This was a great match and these two guys beat the shit out of each other. It reminded me of an ROH-style match from 2006.

Matt Makowski wins via submission
3/5

Miracle Generation v. Wasted Youth

This match was good. Wasted Youth is a great tag team and keeps getting better. I don't know much about Miracle Generation but I liked what I saw here and I want more.

Wasted Youth wins via pinfall
2.5/5

CPA v. Beastman

This was a fun comedy match that was hindered by the finish. Beastman went up for a splash off of the middle rope and the rope broke. I'm glad CPA is okay because Beastman landed on his head, but that was scary.

Beastman wins via pinfall
1.5/5

Charlie Tiger v. Griffin McCoy

This was a good match. Griffin McCoy was good as a heel and I like this angle of him gaslighting the rest of YDNB and turning them against Jordan Oliver. Charlie Tiger showed great fire in this as well.

Griffin Mc Coy wins via pinfall
3/5

Jordan Oliver defends the JCW Championship against Tracy Williams

This was a good NJPW-style match. It got a little boring with all the chain wrestling at first but then once they picked it up and added strikes it got really good. Tracy Williams was great and hopefully, JCW keeps bringing him in.

Jordan Oliver retains via submission
3.5/5

After this I made a trip to White House subs and did another Wet Willie's run then went to the next show where we get review 3)

Masha Slamovich v. Jack Cartwheel

This was an okay match. Jack did his usual flip spots and Masha looked like a badass.

Masha Slamovich wins via pinfall
2.25/5

Shane Mercer v. Tony Deppen

This was a good match as well. We got the usual power spots from Shane Mercer and Tony Deppen kept his momentum from the night before and im glad we have full on dickhead Tony Deppen back.

Tony Deppen wins via pinfall
2.5

Bussy and Rina Yamashita v. Charles Mason Blake Christian and Parrow

This match was supposed to be Bussy against Charles Mason and Blake Christian but there was so much bullshit going on in this Rina had to come out and this turned into a 6 person tag. This was a good match and Rina once again proved Death Match wrestkers can work as well.

Bussy and Rina Yamashita win via pinfall
2.75/5

Toru Suiguira, Violento Jack and Takashi Sasaki v. Joey Janela, Jimmy Lloyd and Sawyer Wreck

This was a chaotic brawl with a lot of insanity. Come on look whose in this what do you expect?

Toru Suiguira,Violento Jack and Takashi Sasaki win via pinfall
3/5

East west v. Gahbage

This was an insanely good tag team match. Both teams were super athletic and could do some crazy shit. The way this was presented was this was a send off for Nick Wayne so Nick, if you read this. Not that youll need it but good luck in AEW. Beat Edge for me.

East west win via pinfall
4/5

Mance Warner v. Masashi Takeda

This match was insane! Mancer is no slouch but this may be the best match I've e ever seen him in. We had a ton of glass and tubes used. And there was a spot where a table was lit on fire and Mance Warner was driven through it. I loved that i got a fire spot live.

Masashi Takeda wins via pinfall
5/5

Jun Kasai v. Matt Tremont

This was the match i was looking most forward to on this night. We had a ton of glass and tubes. There was a contraption with a door bridge and tubes on it that Jun Kasai got dropped off the ring apron onto. And to put the cherry on top of the weekend i got to see Jun Kasai do a Pearl Harbor splash off the top of a ladder.

Jun Kasai wins via pinfall
5/5

After this I made 1 last Wet Willie's run ate and went to the after party then went back to my room and slept for a bit.