GCW HOMECOMING Part 1: Matt Cardona beats Nick Gage for the GCW title

John Siino reviews Part 1 of GCW's Homecoming headlined by the big match between Nick Gage and Matt Cardona for the GCW Championship.

Photo Courtesy: Game Changer Wrestling

GCW Homecoming 2021, Part 1

July 24th, 2021

By: John Siino

Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ

Commentary: Kevin Gill & Dave Prazak

Marko Stunt vs. Starboy Charlie

Stunt got a huge reaction coming out to Pat Benatar’s “We Belong” making his GCW Atlantic City debut and his first match for GCW since October 2020. Both Charlie and Stunt are similar in size, but KG said Charlie is ‘El Gigante’ in comparison as they start with a test of strength and take it slow with side headlocks. Stunt tries to take Charlie down with a shoulder lock, but Charlie doesn’t get phased as the crowd chants ‘You fucked up’. They do it again, this time with Stunt no selling and then teasing going over the top rope Andre the Giant style. They speed it up a bit with leapfrogs and rolls until Stunt uses the ropes to bounce off with a crossbody and hurricanrana followed by a tope suicida to the outside on Charlie. Stunt tries to leap back into the ring, but Charlie stops him with a kick to the stomach and gets a two count after a leg drop. Stunt keeps Charlie in the corner with chops and body shots, but Charlie dodges out and hits a German suplex for a two count. They start fighting on the top rope, but Stunt fights out and hits a running dropkick causing both of them to fall to the outside. Stunt sets Charlie down on a chair and teases an apron spot onto him, but Charlie trips him up and hits a running Death Valley Driver into the chair on Stunt as the crowd seems a bit mixed for him. They go back and forth a bit until Stunt hits a running drop kick in the corner followed by an elbow drop to the back of Charlie, a running lariat, and Sliced Bread #2 for a very close 2 count. Stunt goes to the top and misses a dive right into a pair of dropkicks by Charlie and a Falcon Arrow for back-to-back 2 counts. They both tease power bombs, but Stunt is able to roll into pinfall for the win.

Winner: Marko Stunt by pinfall at 14:48

Tony Deppen vs. Ninja Mack

Deppen gets a big reaction as the crowd sings along to Starship’s “We Built This City.” The masked Ninja Mack could be described as a hip hop ninja and had the nickname of ‘Kamikaze’ for this event and had a great reaction as well. Deppen seems to be a bit thrown off by Mack’s move and tells him to calm down a little. Mack is able to flip around a bit, but Deppen is able to duck and dodge and hang with him. Mack takes off his gloves as a sign to get a bit more serious before they start showing each other down. Mack comes back with kicks until Deppen stops him and mounts him with punches, followed by a dropkick to knock Mack to the outside. Back inside, Mack hits a bunch of flips and moonsaults for pin attempts at a fast pace until Deppen leaves outside for a breather. Mack follows him but Deppen is able to outsmart him and trip him up. Deppen asks the crowd if they want to see him do ‘flippy shit’ but he just slowly falls backward into Mack. Deppen starts to play with the crowd by dancing all over the ring encouraging Mack to fight back. Mack hits a beautiful moonsault to Deppen on the outside that was preceded by multiple backflips before hitting the move, a spectacle for sure. Back inside, Deppen is able to hold Mack down with an STF, but Mack is able to reach for the rope. They continue to go back and forth, until Mack hits a German suplex, a poison rana followed by a hurricanrana for a two count. Mack hits a 630 splash, but Deppen grabs the rope to break it up. Mack goes back up, but Deppen drops him and hits a knee strike in the corner followed by a jump off the top attempt, but Mack stops him with a knee to the face. Mack attempts a Phoenix Splash 630 attempt, but Deppen moves out the way and hits a running knee strike to the side of the head for the win and then quickly just runs to the back.

Winner: Tony Deppen by pinfall at 11:41

Nolan Edward vs. AJ Gray

Edward looked a bit different than last time I saw him wrestle at Bloodsport, this time wearing the mask of his trainer Kerry Awful.  They quickly end up on the outside, where Edward dives onto Gray, followed by a moonsault off the second rope to the outside. Back inside, Edward hits a frog splash for a 2 count. They start to exchange chops and strikes, with each challenging the other to hit harder. Gray is able to hit Edward so hard, he hulks up, throws his mask away and they start to go at it as the crowd erupts with Edward hitting a Northern Lights Suplex for a 2-count followed by a cannonball in the corner and a 450 attempt, but Gray stops him with a spinebuster and a powerbomb for a 2 count, but quickly twists him into a half Crab that Edward grabs the rope to escape out of. Edward seems to show a bit of a leg injury and gets hit with a lariat for 1. Edward quickly gets up and they start brawling again as the fans run to the ring and start smacking the apron. Gray comes back with another lariat for a 2 followed by the Emerald Flowsion for the pin. After the match, Edward collects the money that was thrown into the ring.

Winner: AJ Gray by pinfall at 7:33

Grim Reefer vs. 2 Cold Scorpio

The crowd is dancing along and having a ball to 2 Cold as he comes out to ‘Jungle Boogie’ by Kool & the Gang. The fans start a dueling chant for both men as the energy is consistent throughout this event. They then go into a ‘You Still Got / Never Lost it’ chant as they exchange lockups and takedowns. Reefer stops the match and goes and grabs a blunt, he takes a couple of puffs then passes it to Scorpio. As Scorpio goes to lower his bandana to take a hit, Reefer takes advantage and attacks him and they go at it, with Reefer still taking hits. They keep wrestling while exchanging puffs in between moves (not making that up), as Reefer hits a Russian Leg sweep off the ropes, into the ‘Chronic Crossface’ with the blunt in the mouth. Scorpio hits a superkick and teases going to the top where he hits a flipping leg drop off the second rope for a 2 count. They start delivering strikes ending with both knocking each other down. Reefer starts to get up, but then goes right back down, playing possum. As Scorpio goes to pin him, Reefer quickly reverses it into the Crossface until Scorpio grabs the rope as the crowd chants ‘This is dope’. Scorpio is able to flip Reefer to the outside and hits a running boot. Reefer tries to springboard to Scorpio on the outside but falls down on his back as a result while connecting. Back inside, Scorpio hits body shots and headbutts before sitting Reefer on the top rope. Scorpio has a bit of trouble climbing on the ropes, so Reefer takes advantage and hits a DDT off the ropes for a 2 count. Reefer hits a Swanton Bomb off the ropes for another 2. Scorpio fights back with knee strikes and a Pele kick followed by the Tumbleweed for the pin and grabs the blunt again for some celebration before passing it to Reefer to revive him.

Winner: 2 Cold Scorpio by pinfall at 10:20

GCW Ultraviolent Championship / BJW Death Match Heavyweight Championship: Alex Colon (c – GCW) vs. Drew Parker (c – BJW)

Before the match, we see a video of the 23-year-old Drew Parker who says he came all the way over from Wales, UK, and GCW has given him a platform as he has just won the title the day prior at BJW in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. SHLAK takes over for Kevin Gill on commentary here. They start the match locking up, but Parker quickly grabs a light tube and smashes it on Colon, who goes and grabs some and smashes himself, but hitting a tope suicida to Parker with both holding tubes as they immediately both start bleeding already. Colon places Parker on a chair and hits a running knee strike with light tubes. SHLAK spends the first couple of minutes asking for someone to bring him a beer, and even tweets it out. Parker grabs a couple of darts and throws them to the back of Colon, connecting as the crowd chants ‘You sick fuck’. Back inside, Colon throws up middle fingers and throws Parker into more tubes on the ropes. Couple more tube spots, including Colon digging one in Parker’s eye and forehead as SHLAK finally receives 2 beers from a fan at the 7:20 mark. Parker hits a cutter to Colon on tubes, sets him up in the corner with more tubes, and hits Coast to Coast. They end up on the top rope, where Parker hits a DDT to Colon on a pile of tubes for a 2 count. Parker hits a Death Valley Driver to Colon through a shower door, but the glass doesn’t break as the crowd starts boo’ing then tells him to do it one more time, but this time Colon tosses Parker into it smashing the glass. Colon hits double knees to Parker while he’s holding tubes. At this point, the wrestlers and the ring are a bloody and glassy mess. Colon asks for a glass/wooden board that he sets up on chairs. Colon hits a Death Valley Driver to Parker on the apron followed by swinging DDT through the ropes onto the floor. Back inside they fight on the top rope until Parker hits a superplex to Colon on the glass/wooden board followed by a Swanton Bomb, but Colon kicks out at one. They start trading strikes, but Colon hits a uranage into a Camel Clutch. Colon brings a barbed wire-covered glass sheet that he sets up on chairs. They fight on the top rope and Parker hits a burning hammer onto the barbed wire glass but only gets a two. Parker hits another Swanton onto Colon with tubes but still gets a two count. Parker applies a rear-naked choke that SHLAK calls ‘some kind of shit’, as Colon passes out.

Winner: Drew Parker by submission at 18:44 to retain the BJW Death Match Heavyweight Championship, and become the NEW GCW Ultraviolent Champion

After the match, Parker gets on the mic to a mixed reaction and says he came all the way over here to fight Colon and now it’s time for Colon to head to Japan and fight him. Colon grabs the mic and says ‘I guess I’ll go to Japan beat your fucking ass’, as the crowd erupts in cheer. Parker grabs the mic again and says he came over here to GCW and lost to Jimmy Lloyd and won’t go back to Japan until he gets his win back so says he’ll fight Jimmy Lloyd tomorrow at GCW Homecoming Part 2.

Scramble Match: Jordan Oliver vs. Brayden Lee vs. Dante Leon vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Shane Mercer vs. Atticus Cogar

The crowd starts the match chanting ‘Fuck Ohio’ as Mercer starts the match attacking and taking out Cogar. They take turns hitting moves with everybody heading to the outside with the exception of Brayden and Cartwheel as they do cartwheels with each other before each diving to the outside on their opponents. Cogar and Oliver end up in the ring, but Mercer comes in and takes them both out including a toss-up powerslam on Cogar and a toss suplex to Oliver. Oliver stops Mercer but gets kicked off the rope by Leon into a sunset bomb/cutter on Mercer. A lot of frenzy going on including Leon flipping on everybody. Cartwheel tries a vertical suplex on Leon, but Brayden runs in and hits a German Suplex to Cartwheel while still holding Leon. Leon hits a head scissors onto Cartwheel who falls on Brayden who gets tossed on the outside. Cartwheel tries to dive to the outside on everybody, but Leon stops him and dives instead, Cartwheel shortly follows. Cogar takes control including trying to pin Cartwheel, but Mercer breaks it up, holds Cogar up, but Oliver jumps off of them hitting a super cutter on Cartwheel followed by a cutter on Cogar once Mercer throws him off. Crazy. Oliver hits a cutter on Mercer off the top rope, as Brayden and Cartwheel hits double shooting stars followed by Leon hitting a Swanton Bomb breaking up the pin. All six men are in the ring and fall down after all hitting big boots. Mercer hits a crazy-looking military press to Leon off the top rope. Cogar pulls out skewers and digs them into the head of Mercer, but Mercer sits right up and military presses Cogar. Oliver tries a cutter, but Mercer pulls out the skewers, grabs Oliver and hits a moonsault powerslam that the pin gets broken up. Oliver hits a cutter on Brayden, but Cogar hits him with a low blow and gets the pin on Brayden Lee.

Winner: Atticus Cogar by pinfall at 11:48

GCW Tag Team Championship: Jimmy Lloyd & G-Raver (c) vs. Second Gear Crew (Matthew Justice & Mance Warner)

Lloyd and G-Raver attack Justice and Warner before the bell rings and take it to the outsider, where G-Raver dives onto them. As they continue to fight, Warner starts bleeding and G-Raver grabs a wooden door from under the ring. Warner and Lloyd start using the chair as G-Raver is still grabbing stuff from under the ring. G-Raver starts attacking Justice outside, who started bleeding as well. They head back inside as Lloyd staples Warner’s tongue onto the wooden door. Warner stands up while still stapled to the door, but Lloyd and Raver toss Justice onto the door, essentially snapping Warner’s stapled tongue. Justice is able to toss Lloyd onto G-Raver who was on the top rope before Justice and Warner starts double-teaming Lloyd. Lloyd, blinded by the blood of Warner, hits his own partner G-Raver with a cutter. The Second Gear Crew is in control here as they get the crowd behind them, but G-Raver fights back. G-Raver and Lloyd both set up doors, one on a chair and the other in the corner before slamming Justice onto one of the doors. Warner comes in with one of the tag titles and starts attacking G-Raver but throws the title to Lloyd, Eddie Guerrero style, to have G-Raver think he got hit by Lloyd. As G-Raver and Lloyd start arguing about it, Justice spears them into the other door in the corner, but only causes a two count. Justice grabs a barbed wire-covered wooden door from under the ring and Warner sets it up in the corner. Warner hits a vicious-looking chair shot to the head of G-Raver before they try to Irish whip Lloyd into the door. Lloyd stops them but gets hit in the face by G-Raver off the top rope with knees to the face who seems to be sick and tired of Lloyd’s antics and starts heading out of the ring as the crowd chants ‘Asshole’, he decides to sit on the floor outside. Justice hits a chair shot to the head of Lloyd, followed by a knee strike by Warner and a spear into the barbed wire door. Warner holds Lloyd down as Justice hits a frog splash for the pin.

Winners: Second Gear Crew (Matthew Justice & Mance Warner) by pinfall at 11:40 to become the NEW GCW Tag Team Champions

After the match, G-Raver heads back into the ring as Jimmy Lloyd is trying to get up. G-Raver grabs the mic and questions the crowd if they really thought he wanted ‘this piece of shit’ as a tag team partner and why would he want to carry a GCW title with him. He says GCW should thank him for at least bringing the titles back to the U.S. (With the prior champions Los Macizos holding them in Mexico). G-Raver then challenges Lloyd to a death match at 3 Cups Stuffed in Chicago for All Out week which happens to be the 2-year anniversary of G-Raver’s serious injury.

Effy is Home, Effy is Coming

Before the main event, Frontman Jah comes out unexpectedly and grabs the mic saying he fancies himself a big deal and the superstar of tomorrow and questions why the Homecoming would go on without him. As he continues to go on and on, we hear the familiar tunes of Elton John’s ‘Yellow Brick Road’ as Effy walks out accompanied by Allie Katch to a huge reaction. As Jah starts flirting with Katch, Effy grabs the mic and tells him to pay attention. Effy says the difference between him, and Jah is that he doesn’t have to be on the poster as it’s Homecoming, and Effy is home and Effy is definitely ‘coming’ that gets a huge pop. Effy says he saw Jah’s match earlier (on JCW Dear Summer) and while Effy was on commentary, he says Jah has to tell people he is a superstar, while Effy is already a superstar. Effy says whether Jah leaves no or faces what he’s about to do to him, and every boy who talks has to come face to face with his daddy as we get an impromptu match

Frontman Jah vs. Effy (w/ Allie Katch)

Effy starts with a slap, atomic drop, and a backbreaker before ‘blowing farts into the belly’ of Jah as commentary stated. Jah comes back with a leaping forearm, misses the next one as Effy hits a hip attack and a running boot, followed by a leg choke in the corner. Effy traps Jah in between his legs on the apron but gets backdropped into the ring and gets a two count. The crowd starts chanting ‘fuck him up, Daddy, fuck him up’, as Effy misses the blockbuster off the top rope. Effy starts twisting the nipples of Jah, but Jah doesn’t seem to be affected, so Effy starts biting it as Jah says ‘he loves that shit’ followed by a DDT for a very close two count. Effy comes back and hits a big chokeslam but only gets a two count. Effy picks Jah up, but Jah escapes and walks into a big boot by Effy followed by Under the Rainbow, and surprisingly only gets a two. As Jah reaches for the ropes, Effy traps Jah pulls back on his neck causing Jah to tap out.

Winner: Effy by pinfall at 5:52

Effy gets a mic and says before we get to the main event, he knows Jah is in his family and a pansexual soldier, but tonight he became a lemon as he invites him to Effy’s Big Gay Brunch in Chicago on September 5th. Jah accepts by delivering a big smooch on Effy. Before Katch leaves, Jah gives her one as well.

GCW World Championship: Nick Cage (c) (w/ Dewey Donovan) vs. Matt Cardona

Great video before the match with Cardona reminding everybody, he beat cancer twice as SHLAK joins commentary again. They briefly play the Zack Ryder ‘Radio’ song to get the crowd riled up before Cardona comes out to his new Downstait theme with security as he bum rushes through the fans to real John Cena/ECW One Night Stand vibes. The commentary calls Cardona a ‘doll collecting pussy who will go to Disneyland after this’. As Gage comes out, we see there’s a glass case ringside filled with action figures. Commentary mentions jokingly that Chelsea Green has been sliding into Nick Gage’s DMs as reported by Sean Ross Sapp who was told by Dave Meltzer. As Cardona is trying to be introduced, he calls him a ‘fucking mark’ as Gage immediately starts attacking Cardona before the bell rings. Gage grabs a box full of light tubes but Cardona dodges him and sends Gage into the tube itself as Gage is already booing to a sea of boos. Cardona while wearing purple gloves does his Woo Woo Woo kick to Gage in the corner but Gage gets right back up and slams another light tube on his own head as Cardona tries to run away.

The crowd won’t let him leave as Gage goes and grabs him before tossing him into a set of chairs. “A man with a hot dog costume just walked by with a ‘Fuck Matt Cardona’ sign”. SHLAK throws about 2 dozen action figure jokes on commentary as Cardona dodges and Gage takes out the glass case full of action figures. Cardona gets back in the ring and tells the referee to start counting to the confusion of everybody before flipping onto Gage on the outside. Cardona grabs his first light tube and gingerly breaks it on Gage’s head as the crowd isn’t impressed. Cardona steps on another tube and body slam Gage on it as commentary thinks Cardona has maybe ‘smoked some action figures’ before this match as he hits a neckbreaker for a 2 count. The crowd starts chanting ‘you got fired’ to Cardona as Gage hits a DDT and places the chair on Cardona’s chest before hitting the corkscrew elbow. Gage grabs a pane of glass as he gets the crowd riled up, placing it in the loudest corner. Cardona comes back with a boot to the face but only gets a 2 count. Cardona plays up the crowd while hitting Gage with another light tube. Cardona stops being whipped into the pane of glass, but Gage spears Cardona right through it to a big pop followed by a bunch of light tubes to the head finally shedding some blood. Gage continues and starts digging into the forehead of Cardona with the tube as Cardona begs for mercy. Gage grabs a pizza cutter as SHLAK says Cardona’s lawyer had put a stop to this happening to no avail.

Gage lands a couple more light tubes before cutting into Cardona’s forehead with the pizza cutter as Cardona looks at his own blood screaming ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck!’ as he starts to cry. Gage follows that by biting Cardona while cutting his nose, keeps cutting it as commentary tells him to ‘split it up like a fucking overcooked calzone’. Gage continues to go to town on Cardona’s head, jamming it with a broken light tube before setting up four chairs in the middle of the ring. Gage rakes and bites the back of Cardona and places him under the chairs, hitting him with one more light tube before covering him with a pane of glass. As Gage is on the top rope chanting MDK, Cardona comes back up, taking him out with a light tube. They end up on the top rope with Cardona superplexing Gage onto the glass on the chairs. The referee checks on Cardona who is completely drenched in blood, but he gets up and hits a powerbomb on Gage for a very close 2 fall. Gage dodges the Radio Silence, as Gage hits the choke breaker as he goes for the pin, we hear Chris Jericho’s ‘Judas’ theme. Jericho doesn’t come out, instead, a masked man does that Gage takes out. As Gage is distracted, Cardona hits double knees to the face for a 2 count as the crowd seems a bit confused with everything. Cardona goes for a DDT, but Gage reverses hits a pair of piledrivers as 44OH! makes their way ringside. They start to surround Gage, but Gage is able to take them all out. As he has Atticus Cogar in the corner, 44OH start attacking Gage, but Rickey Shane Page runs out and tells them to stop attacking Gage. Cogar slaps RSP, as RSP and Gage fight off 44OH to a huge reaction including double choke breakers. RSP sets up tubes on top of Cardona in the corner, but then low blows Gage, as Cardona hits him with a couple more light tubes, hits the Radio Silence, and gets the pin.

Winner: Matt Cardona by pinfall at 24:39 to become NEW GCW World Champion

The ring is immediately filled up with garbage as he’s announced the new champion, as Cardona starts running to the back it seems like the fans are ready to riot and attack him to this shocking end of a show. The last image we see is a bloody Nick Gage in the ring surrounded by dozens upon dozens of bottles and cans.

About John Siino 358 Articles
New York native and reporter at POST Wrestling. He is also Associate Producer at POISONRANA, co-host of 'Collision Course' and the host of the 'Shot in the Dark' podcast.