By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “Live in Maryland”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
May 17, 2025, in Joppa, Maryland at RJ Meyer Arena
The venue is the MCW Arena. It was really dark, but the ring was lit okay. The crowd was maybe 350-400; it looked packed. Veda Scott and Emil Jay provided commentary, and she noted this was GCW’s Maryland debut. The sound was not good as the show started; I really had to turn it up to hear Veda. There are guardrails! GCW rarely uses those, so I’m guessing it is required by the athletic commission here.
* The show opened with a video package airing highlights from several recent shows. A tribute video to Sabu also aired. The announced match lineup had Alan Angels facing Marcus Mathers, and Miyu Yamashita facing Tony Deppen. Both of those matches have been altered.
1. Jordan Oliver and Alec Price vs. Davey Bang and August Matthews for the GCW Tag Team Titles. The champs actually came out first, which is a bit odd. Bang and Matthews are a Chicago-based team, so I was surprised when GCW announced they would be on this show. Price and Matthews opened. Oliver and Bang entered and traded chops. Bang hit a slingshot senton at 2:00. All four traded blows. Price set up for a dive to the floor, but August cut him off with a kick. They all fought on the floor. In the ring, Matthews hit a standing moonsault, and Bang hit a Lionsault on Alec at 4:00, as Oliver was down and out on the floor.
They were having audio issues with Emil’s mic, so Veda was going it alone. Bang hit a top-rope moonsault onto Alec’s left arm at 5:30. August hit a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall, and they kept Price in their corner. Oliver finally got the hot tag at 7:00, and he hit some clotheslines, then he suplexed Matthews into a corner and hit a back suplex on Bang for a nearfall. B&M began working over Jordan. Oliver hit a superkick. Price was yanked off the apron so Jordan couldn’t tag out. Bang hit his top-rope moonsault to the floor, while August also hit a dive to the floor.
B&M hit their team doublestomps to Oliver’s back, and Bang hit the Spears Tower for a believable nearfall at 10:30, and all four were down. B&M hit stereo back elbows on Jordan. Price nailed a Rebound Lariat, with Oliver making the cover for a nearfall. Bang and Oliver traded forearm strikes and chops, then rollups. Price got a hot tag and hit a top-rope doublestomp on Matthews. He hit a pop-up dropkick on Bang. Oliver powerbombed Bang onto Matthews in the corner. Price hit a Blockbuster and a dive to the floor, then his 720 springboard DDT for the pin. A really fun opener.
Jordan Oliver and Alec Price defeated Davey Bang and August Matthews to retain the GCW Tag Team Titles at 14:02.
* Footage aired of Mr. Danger’s match last week, with Joey Janela saving him from a post-match beatdown, leading to a match later in the show.
2. Alan Angels vs. Chris Slade vs. Juni Underwood vs. Bobby Flaco in a four-way. This is a bonus, unadvertised match.Angels competed 20ish hours ago in Seattle for Defy. I don’t think I’ve seen Slade; he’s a slender Black man with long, blond dreadlocks. Juni lost a really short match last week in Wrestling Open; I’ve seen him all over the nation in 2025, and right on cue, Veda says the same thing. Flaco is the short, bald dork who is inexplicably loved by the fans. He came out last and he attacked everyone, and we’re underway. (Veda was still solo; they haven’t figured out what is wrong with the other mic.) Emil is back on the mic!
Quick action from all four guys. Flaco hit a top-rope crossbody block on Juni at 2:00. Angels hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread, then a top-rope frogsplash for a nearfall. Slade hit a Lethal Injection at 4:30, then a flip dive to the floor onto all three opponents. Slade hit a seated Spanish Fly out of the corner. Juni hit a sit-out powerbomb on Angels for a nearfall at 6:00, then a modified Poison Rana. Angels crotched Flaco on the top rope, hit a Halo Kick, then a Butterfly Canadian Destroyer on Flaco for a believable nearfall. Flaco hit a top-rope doublestomp and pinned Juni! Fast-paced action.
Bobby Flaco defeated Juni Underwood, Alan Angels, and Chris Slade in a four-way at 7:47.
* Footage aired of Fuego Del Sol returning and attacking his former best friend, Sam Stackhouse! Fuego has renamed himself as KJ Orso.
3. Marcus Mathers vs. Miyu Yamashita in an intergender match. Mathers has really upgraded his physique this year and he has such a clear muscle mass advantage. The bell rang and they shook hands. They traded reversals on the mat. Veda noted that WWE ID prospect Mathers has been training with Nattie Neidhart in Orlando. They got up and got in a knuckle lock. Pretty basic stuff early on. She hit a stiff kick to the spine at 5:00. She continued hitting an array of kicks. She kicked him to the floor at 7:00. He dropped her face-first on the ring apron.
Back in the ring, he hit a step-up mule kick for a nearfall. He wrapped her knee around the ring post at 9:00 and was booed. He punched at her upper thigh and tied up the leg and focused on it for several minutes. He tied her in a half-crab, but she reached the ropes at 11:00. She hit another stiff kick to the spine and a clothesline and they were both down. He continued to work over her leg; she slapped him several times in the face.
Mathers hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 15:30. She hit some kicks to his face. Marcus hit a German Suplex but she popped right back up and hit a kick to his ear, then her own German Suplex, and they were both down again. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing. She unloaded more roundhouse kicks to his chest. He applied an ankle lock at 18:30. She applied a rear-naked choke and they fell to the mat. He escaped and re-applied an ankle lock. She hit a Code Red-style move for a nearfall. Marcus hit a kip-up stunner. He came off the ropes but she hit a Skull Kick for a believable nearfall. She hit a running knee to his sternum for the pin. That was fun.
Miyu Yamashita defeated Marcus Mathers at 21:02.
* A video package aired of Miedo Extremo returning at the Joey Janela’s Spring Break event in Las Vegas over WrestleMania weekend.
4. Jonathan Gresham vs. 1 Called Manders. It was noted that both men have won the wXw 16 Carat Gold tournaments in Germany; Manders’ win was just a few months ago. Right on cue, Veda drops that fact, too. A lockup to open. Mathers hit a back suplex but Gresham kept him in a headlock. Manders backed him into a corner and chopped him at 2:30. He applied a bear hug, but Gresham escaped.
Gresham hit a dropkick on the knee, and he tied Manders in a Figure Four at 6:30, but Manders reached the ropes. Gresham hit a diving forearm for a nearfall at 8:30. Manders hit a stiff clothesline for a nearfall. Gresham jumped on his back and applied a sleeper. Manders hit an Oklahoma Stampede (Bulldog Powerslam), then another clothesline for the pin. Good, intense action.
1 Called Manders defeated Jonathan Gresham at 9:57.
* Promoter Brett Lauderdale joined commentary for the next match.
5. Joey Janela and Mr. Danger vs. Atticus Cogar and Otis Cogar. Janela was also on the Defy show in Seattle 20ish hours earlier. Joey and Atticus opened. Joey hit some clotheslines on Otis. Joey and Danger hit a team delayed vertical suplex on Atticus at 3:00, then they hit stereo flip dives to the floor on the Cogars. Back in the ring, Otis tossed Danger across the ring, and the brothers kept Danger in their corner. Joey got a hot tag at 6:00, and he hit some punches on each Cogar. He hit a Samoan Drop on Otis, then a superkick on Atticus for a nearfall.
Joey hit a Sabu-inspired kick after leaping off a chair, and he pointed at the ceiling (he did that in Defy, too.) He hit a Death Valley Driver onto Atticus for a nearfall. The ref made a slow count, and Joey was clearly irked with this kid. Danger and Joey got doors from under the ring at 10:00. Otis powerbombed Danger across some open chairs for a nearfall, but Joey made the save at 12:00.
Joey threw a chair at Atticus’ head and hit a DDT at 14:00. Joey hit a top-rope elbow drop onto Atticus, who was on a board bridge, for a visual pin, but the ref stopped counting and gave Joey the middle finger! The ref and the Cogars stomped on Joey! The Cogars hugged the ref. “How could this happen?” Brett asked. They continued to beat up Joey. Atticus climbed on top of Joey, and the ref made a quick count for the cheap pin.
Atticus Cogar and Otis Cogar defeated Joey Janela and Mr. Danger at 16:34.
6. Greg Excellent vs. Jimmy Lloyd. I think I’ve seen Greg once before; his beard has turned gray, and he’s probably mid-40s and rather heavy. An intense lockup. Greg put his hand into his singlet to apparently rub his hand in his crotch. He missed a cannonball; Lloyd got a rollup at 2:30. This is bad; I rarely say a GCW match is bad, but this is bad. Joey couldn’t pick him up. They hit double clotheslines and were both down. Greg hit some jab punches; he looked winded and exhausted. Greg went under the ring and got a table. Joey hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 7:30. Greg hit a double-underhook piledriver for a nearfall. Jimmy speared Greg into the door in the corner. A woman got in the ring and hit a low blow on Joey and an awful-looking Canadian Destroyer. Greg covered Joey for the pin. As ugly of a GCW match as I’ve seen all year.
Greg Excellent defeated Jimmy Lloyd at 10:11.
7. Matt Tremont vs. Slade for the GCW Ultraviolent Title. Tables were already set up in the corner. Slade charged and speared Tremont through a door to open the match. He charged toward another corner, but Matt moved, and Slade crashed through that door. They hit each other with door shards. They got chairs and hit each other with those, too. They brawled on the floor, and Slade hit a snap suplex on an entrance ramp at 3:00. Slade hit a chokeslam onto chair and door debris for a nearfall at 5:00. They brawled back to the floor and around the building. Security tried to separate them, so they grabbed trash cans and beat up the security. They went out a side door and into the parking lot! Tremont whipped Slade into a chain link fence… and I guess the match is over? Dumb.
Matt Tremont vs. Slade went to a draw or double-disqualification at 9:10.
8. O’Shay Edwards vs. Ken Dixon. O’Shay always reminds me of Shane Taylor, and Dixon makes me think of Erik Rowan. Cagematch.net records say these two have only met in the ring once, and that was a battle royal in ROH in 2021. Both have impressive physiques and this was a stand-up brawl. Ken chopped him in the corner. Edwards hit a series of shoulder blocks. They went to the floor and brawled at ringside.
They got back in the ring, but Edwards stomped on him and kept Dixon grounded. Edwards hit some snap supexes at 8:00. Dixon hit his own suplex and some chops, then a Thesz Press. They traded punches. Edwards hit a senton at 11:00. Dixon hit a top-rope flying shoulder tackle for a nearfall, and he applied a submission hold around O’Shay’s neck. He hit a powerslam for the pin. Okay big-man brawl.
Ken Dixon defeated O’Shay Edwards at 13:06.
9. Effy vs. Ruckus for the GCW World Title. A feeling-out process to open and some standing switches. Ruckus hit a handspring-back-spin kick, then some backflips into a back elbow in the corner, then a rolling guillotine leg drop at 2:00. Effy rolled to the floor to regroup. Effy tied him in a Tarantula, then he hit a splash onto Ruckus’ back. He kept Ruckus grounded and hit his Whoopee Cushion buttdrop at 5:30. Ruckus got his knees up to block a Whoopee Cushion. They went to the floor, where Effy hit him with a chair, then he whipped Ruckus into a guardrail at 7:30.
Ruckus had a fan put his foot on the guardrail, and he rammed Effy’s head into the foot! Ruckus hit a backbody drop on the stage. Ruckus hit a twisting flip off the stage onto Effy and several security guards on the floor. They got back into the ring, where Effy got a nearfall at 11:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Ruckus hit a moonsault. He went for another one, but Effy got his legs up. Effy hit a Blockbuster at 12:30, then a spear for a nearfall.
Ruckus hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall, and he applied a half-crab. Effy hit a Fame-asser leg drop for a nearfall. He got a door and a chair, and he jabbed the chair into Ruckus’ ribs. Ruckus hit a top-rope doublestomp to the chest as Effy was lying on a door bridge. Ruckus hit his moonsault doublestomp to the chest, but Effy immediately got an inside cradle for the flash pin. Solid match.
Effy defeated Ruckus to retain the GCW World Title at 16:29.
Final Thoughts: The Mathers-Yamashita match was really entertaining and easily the best match of the show. The show-opening tag title match takes second. I’ll go with Manders-Gresham for third. I liked this venue, and this seemed like a good draw for them, so I hope they come back.
However, the show lost steam as it went on. I hated the non-finish for Slade-Tremont, and the Dixon-Edwards match was a step slower than I prefer, and I just hated the Greg Excellent-Jimmy Lloyd bout. I can only assume that Brett Lauderdale had to book Greg Excellent as a trade-off for using this venue. It’s the only reason I can think of why you would use a heavyset, out-of-shape guy in his 40s.
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