GCW:Tournament of Survival 9

 I made the pilgrimage to the luxurioud Showboat for this one. The trip started with a Torn Ligiment in my Knee and a 2 and a half hour delay, Frontier Airlines can get fucked. But after that I met up with my boys Jake and Ferelli and we got some Cheesesteaks and walked around the city of Philadelphia. 

The next day we went to the Showboat and got the party started 

The show started with A tribute to Clem. I never got the privilege of meeting him but this is very sad. Clem, there were a lot of people who care about you there and you are now forever at the Showboat. 

Ultramantis Black v. Yuki Ishikawa

This was a decent way to start the tournament. There wasn't too much outside of light tubes and a Barbed Wire Board but the cool thing about this was how much Ishikawa bled. 

Yuki Ishikawa advanced via pinfall

2.5/5

Big Joe v. Hideyoshi Kamatani

I enjoyed this match. It had some cool brawling and a lot of tubes and blood. There was also a nice spot where Kamatani took a bump from the top rope to the outside through a TV. This was one of my first times seeing Kamatani and I was impressed and look forward to seeking out more of his stuff. My only gripe was I wanted Joe to go farther in the Tournament. 

Hideyoshi Kamatani advanced via pinfall

4.5/5

Shunma Katsumada v. Brandon Kirk 

Again Katsumada was a guy I wasn't that familiar with but he impressed me here, Brandon Kirk was the star here. For a while, he was overshadowed by Kasey but he had his breakout performance in this Tournament. That PSYCHODRIVERFUCKYOURLIFE through the doors and pane of glass had me pumped.

Brandon Kirk advanced via pinfall 

4/5

John Wayne Murdoch v. Slade

So there was a surprise entrant announced For TOS and it was the recently returning Slade. This was a decent match, the return of Slade was cool and Slade's back was torn to shreds but other than that there wasn't anything that stood out to me.

John Wayne Murdoch advanced via pinfall 

2.5/5

Marcus Mathers v. Jordan Oliver v. Alec Price v. Cole Radrick 

This was more manageable than your average scramble and it had great workers in it, but again I'm just tired of scrambles. 

Cole Radrick won via pinfall

2.25/5

Hiroyoshi Kamatani v. Yuki Ishikawa 

It was cool to see the Japanese talent work with each other however other than a few cool tube spots this was a bit slow for my taste. Not bad just slow. 

Yuki Ishikawa advanced via pinfall 

2.5/5

John Wayne Murdoch v. Brandon Kirk 

This match was awesome. The story of this to me was how well Brandon Kirk was showcased. John Wayne Murdoch could not beat Brandon Kirk. That's a simple yet good story. Brandon Kirk did fall victim to a submission from JWM. He may have lost but he won respect from the GCW fans. 

John Wayne Murdoch won via submission 

3.25/5

Yuki Ishikawa v. John Wayne Murdoch in the Tournament of Survival Finals

I thought this was a great way to end the Tournament. These two pulled out all of the crazy stuff like going off of a scaffold through a tube and door structure and going off the scaffold again through a flaming table this time. John Wayne Murdoch was a good choice to win the tournament and Ishikawa won me over in this match by saving his best efforts for last. 

John Wayne Murdoch won the Tournament of Survival via pinfall

3.75/5

Overall 

Great Tournament. The Big Japan crew was great, Brandon Kirk was established as a main event player in the GCW Death Match Division and John Wayne Murdoch cemented himself as a legend in the era of Death Match Wrestling. Again, my only gripe was Big Joe didn't go further but I guess someone had to lose.

7.5/10

After the show I got to see Abdullah The Butcher and Marcus Crane get there rightful spot in the Death Match Hall of Fame. Then went to the suite party which is always great.