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COLON VS. HOODFOOT, SABU HONORED, COGAR VS. JUSTICE, BUSSY VS. MORTON & SCORPIO, SHELLEY VS. JACOBS, NASH AND MORE: COMPLETE GCW 'SAY YOU WILL' IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN RESULTS & THOUGHTS

By Mike Johnson on 2022-01-14 23:00:00

Ongoing results and thoughts from Game Changer Wrestling's Detroit, Michigan return at at the legendary Harpo's Theatre.

I've actually always wanted to see a show here as it's an incredibly intimate musical venue.  The crowd is RIGHT ON TOP of the right and the second level is PACKED with everyone standing.  It looks like a hell of an atmosphere.

The show opened with a Scramble match featuring Nate Webb vs. Dante Leon vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Ninja Mack vs. Gringo Logo.  This was all crazy spots one right after the other with some dives and some multi-man sequences won by Gringo Loco.  If you want to see people leaping in the air and going all out, this was for you.  If you wanted something a little more nuanced, this wasn't your jam.

Next up was Jordan Oliver vs. Leon Ruff.  This was slated to originally feature Ruff vs. Rich Swann.  This had some nice back and forth grappling earlier with Ruff working over Oliver's arm.  Oliver used an abdominal stretch while down on the mat, which came off pretty original and different.  This had a completely different vibe from the first bout and was far more about the pure wrestling side of GCW.  Towards the end, they battled to the top, where Oliver went for sunset flip powerbomb but Ruff escaped and rolled him up for a two count.  Oliver nailed a beautiful standing Spanish Fly as Ruff rebounded off the ropes towards him.   Oliver got the pin with the Orange Crush powerbomb.  Pretty fun.

WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash, who used to bounce here, was brought out next.  The crowd loved seeing him.  He plugged he's going to have his own canabais in Detroit.  He joked everyone in the Scramble "stole all his sh**" and they plagiarized him.  That was funny.  He put over how happy he was to be in Detroit and the room clearly loved seeing him.  Nash then introduced Alex Shelley as his old partner from Paparazzi Productions in TNA.  Shelley came out an d said Nash was was the best mentor he's ever had and said he now gets to pass that on to others.  They did the "Too Sweet" deal with the idea Shelley overpowered Nash when he wouldn't let go.  Nash clearly enjoyed being there.

Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Jacobs was next and they had a pretty damn entertaining back and forth bout.  Lots of nice submissions and grappling until Shelley trapped Jacobs in the Motor City Stretch.  Jacobs fought out and locked in a front guillotine choke.  Shelley fought to his feet and wrenched Jacobs' arm.  He nailed an enziguiri and a superkick before drilling him with Shellshock for a close two count.  Jacobs was locked in the Stretch again and finally tapped.  A nice throwback bout for the market with two really damn good performances.

Matt Cardona with Chelsea Green vs. Rhino was next.  The crowd loved giving Cardona nothing but crap.    Green did mic work before the show to say that Joey Janela would leave a legacy of being a complete loser after they end him at the Hammerstein Ballroom.  Janela has been posting alleged photos of himself and Green, right out of the Ric Flair-Randy Savage 1992 feud in the WWF.  Rhino came out and called Green a crack whore and warned her not to get in his way.  He said he was going to take out Cardona Detroit-style.  Cardona has really leaned into playing into the upside down of GCW where everything he would normally do to get over with the average fans gets him a ton of heat, which he accentuates by mocking the entire concept of independent wrestling online.  They brawled into the crowd, where Rhino nailed him with a chair.   Back in the ring, Cardona cut him off and worked him over with kicks to the face and knees.  Green choked Rhino while the referee was distracted.    Rhino made the comeback and nailed several lariats and back elbows. 

Rhino ducked being hit with a replica of the WWE ECW Championship belt and of course, the referee was clobbered.  This set up Rhino goring Cardona to death but there was no referee to count, naturally.  Rhino went under the floor and pulled out a door.  Rhino set it up for a gore through it but Green raked his face.  She saved Cardona but was Gored through the door.  Cardona lowblowed Rhino and drilled him with the belt for the pin.  Cardona declared himself the new ECW TV Champion by virtue of pinning Rhino, who was the last champ back in January 2001 when ECW imploded.  Cardona has done a great job of leaning into his role, even pretending to care about Green after the bout when obviously, he could care less.

After intermission, it was time for Dark Sheik vs. Tony Deppen.  The promotion has always been very liberal and inclusive with mixed gender bouts.  Sheik used a lot of submissions and grappling to keep her opponent off-guard and controlled much of the early bout.  She went to the top but was nailed with an enziguiri.    Deppen made a comeback but Sheik kept surviving.  She was trapped in Cattle Mutilation and finally tapped out. 

They introduced Sabu, who is being honored tonight in his hometown.  Sabu was thanked for over 30 years of contributions to the greatest sport in the world.  The locker room would not be there without having been inspired by Sabu.  Sabu was given the microphone to speak but before he could (as if he was going to, come on!), out came Atticus Cogar came out on the stage.  Corgar mocked Sabu, saying when Sabu grew up, he had an aura and a silence about him but now all he does is talk on Twitter and on $20 shoot interviews.  Cogar said he looked up to Sabu until he met him and realized he was a broken-down f*** with a broken back and a broken bank account.  He said it was a shame was going to have to f*** him but Matthew Justice hit the scene and attacked Cogar with a steel chair.  He tossed Cogar into the ring.  Sabu drilled a chair into Cogar's face.  Justice celebrated with Sabu.  The crowd chanted ECW.  Sabu neaded out of the ring, setting up Cogar vs. Justice.

Justice worked over Cogar and beat him up around the ringside fans.  There's very much an old ECW Arena vibe to the scene given the fans are so close to ringside and there's zero guard rails.  They battled to the second level.  Cogar was shoved down the stairs and they faced off before meeting in the middle, brawling back to the second level.  They teased Justice tossing Cogar off the balcony with a DVDR.  Justice charged Cogar for a lariat but was backdropped over the balcony down to the level below.  Cogar then hit a dive off the balcony.  Well, as a tribute to Sabu, you couldn't ask for more than some dangerous chaos.   Cogar worked over Justice and wrapped a chair around his neck, continuing the beating.  They brawled backstage and returned onto the stage where the hard camera was set up.  Sabu was sitting up there.  Cogar drilled Justice with some rough kicks to the chest and face.  Cogar pulled out some skewers and was going to use them but Justice fought him off and kicked him off the stage to the floor.  Justice hit a flip dive off the stage but only glancingly nailed Cogar and came down tailbone and back-first on the concrete.   He'll feel that when the adrenaline wears off. 

They returned to the ring, where Cogar nailed a sideslam through a chair for a two count.  Corgan laid him across a chair while hanging off the ropes and hit him with a moonsault.  That was pretty innovative.  Cogar stuck him with skewers and smashed him over the head with the chair.  Justice kicked out at one to show what a monster he was but was smashed with another chair.  He kicked out of a headlock driver.  By now, obviously, Justice was busted open.  Cogar brought a door into the ring.  They battled on the top.  Justice hit a Superfly Splash off the top for a two count.  Justice flung chairs into his face in the corner   He went to the top to finish out Justice but was distracted by Gregory Iron and Bobby Beverly grabbing Sabu.  Cogar rolled up Justice for the cheapest of pins.  A great, fun brawl that exemplified everything ECW used ton do back in the day before the angle.  Cogar could very well be the next great heel in pro wrestling as he matures and evolves.  Justice has a great charisma to him and was obviously in his element here.  Anyone who wants to criticize the chairshots is certainly in their rights as they didn't protect themselves on a lot of them.

Justice took the mic and praised Sabu for being the daredevil before that word was commonplace on pro wrestling.  He said that Sabu was a living legend and was the OG who set the stage in ECW for what everyone GCW does today.  He put Sabu over like a God and led a standing ovation for him.  The entire building went nuts for Sabu.  They played "Huka Blues" out of respect for Sabu, who was obviously moved by all of this.  Anyone who has ever, ever dealt with Sabu knows he avoids moments like this - it took me years of asking for him to even be willing to do an interview on the site.  It really was a nice moment, one I wish I had been there live and in person for.  Justice was obviously speaking from the heart and he nailed it on Sabu.  He electrified and revitalized professional wrestling when he broke out in 1993.

They announced a return to Harpo's on Saturday 4/23.

BUSSY (Allie Katch & EFFY) vs. 2 Cold Scorpio & Ricky Morton was next.  This HAS to be the first time Morton and Scorp have been a tag team.  EFFY and Scorp battled back and forth early on.  Morton and Katch tagged in.  Katch shoulderblocked him down.  She nailed a lariat and pulled him to her corner.  EFFY charged in and drilled Morton in the corner.    Scorpio tagged in and took control over EFFY.    He and Morton tagged in and out, working over EFFY.  EFFY took control on Morton, choking him in the corner with a boot.  Katch slammed Morton for a two count.  Scorp tagged in.  Katch nailed him with a right and Scorp laughed.  Katch fired away and nailed several rights before taking him down.  Scorp, not happy with that, came back to drill her with an elbow in the corner.  Katch avoided a charge and nailed a cannonball in the corner.  BUSSY worked over Scorp and Morton until Katch accidentally nailed her partner.  Morton caught her with the Canadian piledriver.  Scorp nailed a Tumbleweed on Effy but Katch broke it up.  EFFY avoided a Scorp charge in the corner and smashed Morton with a leaping punch in the opposite corner.  Katch hit a piledriver on Morton and EFFY scored the pin.  Morton once again gifts someone.  This was OK.  Katch is obviously someone the GCW audience loves the hell out of.  There's something to EFFY and it should be interesting to see how the Jeff Jarrett deal helps him going forward.  You have to love Scorp and Morton busting their asses in 2022.

EFFY cut a good promo about busting your butt and showing honor and respect but Jeff Jarrett didn't do that, attacking him.  He said Jarrett gets nothing until he steps in the ring like a person with honor and respect.  He said he won't fall for the TV Tropes like everyone else and said he won't fight Jarrett at the Hammerstein Ballroom and won't let JJ get clout off him after what he pulled.  Jarrett is advertised for tomorrow in Chicago, so yeah, they are totally fighting at the Hammerstein.

They aired a commercial for Orange Crush, which will feature an in-depth essay by yours truly on Eddie Kingston in the new edition.

The main event of the show is GCW Ultraviolent Champion Alex Colon vs. Hoodfoot Mo Atlas.  Lots of weapons in the ring, including light tubes being taped to the ring ropes and glass panes in the corner.  So, expect lots of headlocks and drop toeholds!  You already know this is going to be all blood and guts and shattered glass, folks.  Colon smashed himself with a light tube during the ring introductions. 

Hoodfoot, who has worked for IWA Mid-South, JCW and lots of other places, is making his debut here.  He showed his power early and controlled Colon to establish him as a credible challenger.  This is pretty important since the audience here has seen Colon come off as one of the scariest men on Planet Earth.  He scored a two count after a big belly to belly suplex.  He went to charge and smash tubes into Colon but Colon avoided it and dropkicked a tube bundle into Hoodfoot's leg and thigh. 

Hoodfoot went to the floor.  Colon hit a tope suicide, driving a tube into Hoodfoot's chest and throat like a missile.  That was insane.    Back in the ring, Colon smashed a tube over his quad and then dug the remnants into his leg.  Colon kept attacking the legs.  He tapped a broken tube into the back of Hoodfoot's leg.  Yeah, this will be on Disney+ next month.  Colon kept smashing tubes over the knee and then ripping at the leg.  It was pretty gruesome.  Hoodfoot fired back and nailed an Avalanche in the corner.  

Colon kept smashing him.  Kevin Gil said there was lots of spooky dust in the air.  I don't know why but that made me laugh.  Colon choked him against the ropes, using a tube to carve up the forehead.  Colon continued that strategy.   There  were some evil looking close-ups.  Hoodfoot fired back with big bombs and shots to the face.  He's bleeding heavily from the face and the legs.  He was finally like the hell with this and threw Colon over the top to the floor, smashing him through some wood and glass structure that wasn't even teased as being there, so it truly came out of nowhere.  Colon still kicked up at two.  If you enjoy watching insane people doing insane things, this is your thing.  

Hoodfoot continued the assault and scored a two count after a big superplex.  He tried to suplex the champ through several tubes but Colon turned it into a swinging DDT.  He smashed tubes with a dropkick into the chest for a two count but Hoodfoot kicked up and grabbed the ropes.  Colon splashed him off the top, smashing light tubes between them.  Hoodfoot came back to smash a tube bundle over his head and nailed a back suplex through a plane of glass in the corner for a two count.  Detroit lost it and chanted GCW.  Someone placed three canisters of salt in the ring as well as more light tubes.  Yes, because this called for MORE of those!

Colon kicked him in the legs with light tubes over and over, trying to take Hoodfoot's legs out from under him.  Hoodfoot snatched him with a back suplex for another two count.  If you wanted to see American Horror Story tonight, you got it.  Several chairs were set up in one of the corners.  Colon was placed on the top but poured a HUGE thing of salt on Hoodfoot's head, literally in the wounds. He was smashed into the ring but still kicked up  Colon poured MORE and MORE salt in the wound and locked on a camel clutch of sorts, finally forcing the tapout.  Colon retains in an insane spectacle.  They pretty much made Hoodfoot a badass monster tonight who fought all the way to the end in this war of attrition, making himself beloved in the process.

This was a great accounting for the insanity that makes GCW so popular with indy wrestling fans right now.  It may not be for everyone but it's certainly for the punk rock, underground DIY wrestling scene.

Tomorrow, the promotion returns to Chicago, IL with the following, also streaming live on FITE.TV:

*Matt Cardona vs. Ricky Morton for the first time ever.

*Allie Katch vs. Kylie Rae.

*GCW Tag Team Champions The Briscoes vs. The Rejects

*ROH Champion Jonathan Gresham vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (which sounds AWESOME)

*PCO vs. AJ Gray.

*Blake Christian vs. Bandido.

*Tony Deppen vs. Mike Bailey

*Markus Crane Tribute 666 Deathmatch: Alex Colon vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. SHLAK

*Scramble Match: Gringo Loco vs. Dante Leon vs. Dark Sheik vs. Alex Zayne vs. Nick Wayne vs. Ninja Mack.

Jeff Jarrett has been announced as returning to the promotion tomorrow in Chicago,

 

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