RADICAN’S 1/24 GCW “Just Being Honest” PPV Report: Grey vs. Bey, Are vs. Christian, Warner vs. Deepen, Gage vs. Justice

By Sean Radican, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @sr_torch)


SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

RADICAN’S GCW JUST BEING HONEST REPORT
JAN. 24, 2020
LOS ANGELES,CALIF.
AIRED LIVE ON FITE TV

Commentators: Kevin Gill and Dashawn 2 Cents

They did a 10 bell salute for Justice Pain, who passed away today.

(1) A.J. Grey beat Chris Bey. Grey missed a kick by about 100 feet at one point during the match and Bey still sold it. Grey got the win, but Bey won over the crowd with his performance. Some sloppy spots, but overall this was a good match. (***1/4)

(2) Jimmy Lloyd beat Joey Ryan. Ryan proposed they have a technical wrestling match. Joey went for a leapfrog and Lloyd accidentally ran into his crotch. Ryan acted apologetic, but then he tried to make Lloyd touch his dick. Lloyd came back and got the win because Joey never wins matches. (**)

(3) Blake Christian beat Arez. This was an incredible match. They tore the house down with some innovative high flying and the fans just went nuts for the action. Christian won with Elia, which is a slow motion corkscrew press off the top. After the match, he called out Will Ospreay for JJSB during WM weekend. (****1/4)

(4) Chris Dickinson beat David Starr. This as the best match on the card. It featured hard hitting back and forth action from start to finish. Starr kicked out of the Pazuzu Bomb at one point and the fans went nuts. Dickinson then put him down for the three count with a huge clothesline. Dickinson said he and Starr are different after the match, but they stand up to bulls—t in wrestling. He talked about how they have different views, but they’re both independent wrestlers. The crowd applauded his promo. (****1/2)

(Intermission)

(5) Gringo Loco beat Starboy Charlie and Slice Boogie and Eli Everfly and Matt Vandagrifff and Adrian Quest in a Scramblef— match. This was a crazy match with some standout performances. Charlie, who is only 16, was incredible here. Gringo Loco looked fantastic as well doing big man Lucha Libre style. Loco pinned Boogie to get the win after a superplex through a door stacked on some chairs. Charlie got a big ovation after the match and deservedly so, as he was the highlight with his innovative high flying offense. (***3/4)

(6) Tony Deppen beat Mance Warner. It’s great how some of the entrances in GCW are events in and of themselves. Warner’s is something to behold. Deppen threw a chair at Warner as he was being introduced and wiped him out with a big cannonball dive. He hit a double stomp off the top for a near fall. Deppen missed a move off the top and crotched himself on the chair Warner was sitting on. They brawled all over the venue and Warner ended up tossing Deppen off the stage through a table. Deppen hit a Deppen Driver through a door in the corner, but Mancer kicked out at the last second. Deppen went for a springboard, but Mancer caught him with a head butted for a two count. They had a war with broken parts of a door. They went nuts hitting each other, but Deppen shattered the door over Mancer with about a dozen shots. Warner then fired right back and went to town on Deppen with half of a door. The fans lost their minds. This spot was seriously one of the craziest sequences I’ve seen in awhile and the way the fans organically went nuts as it escalated was tremendous to watch. Deppen pushed the ref into Mancer, which allowed him to hit a low blow. He then hit a running Hidden Blade for the win. This was an insane brawl. (****)

Deppen got on the mic after. He said he had won a match that gave him the ability to select his match at JJSB. He said he wants to face the best in the world, but it’s not Will Ospreay. He said he’s calling out the best wrestler of the last two decades. He then called out Alex Shelley and the fans went nuts. Wow!!!

(7) GCW Champion Rickey Shane Page beat Effy in a non title match. Page is the heel here and he has been refusing to defend his title in GCW since he captured it. Both men are straight edge, but it has taken Page to a dark place. The announcers did a good job of telling the story of the match. RSP’s crew of straight edge thugs are not in attendance for this match. Page had the upper hand, but Effy mounted a comeback and the fans fired up. Effy had set up a door on some chairs, but RSP double stomped it and the fans booed. Page hit Gage’s choke breaker for a near fall and the fans booed. Effy kicked out and flipped him off and RSP hit several choke breakers for the win. This was good, but it never really got going into a higher gear. RSP is an effective heel champion and does a good job of getting heat from the crowd in this role. (***1/2)

(8) Nick Gage beat Matthew Justice. Gage got an incredible pop coming out for the main event. They brawled around the ring and Gage dropped and elbow off the top to put Justice through a door. Gill added the following gem on commentary about Gage: “They say Nick Gage doesn’t know a wristwatch from a wrist lock, but I know he can sell a watch in a Philly Alley. Ain’t no f—-in way he’s selling a wrist lock!” Justice hit a spear through a door after one with a chair, but he couldn’t put Gage away. He went for another spear, but Gage hit him with a piece of broken door until it shattered. They had a staple gun battle and Gage eventually stapled Justice low and hit an atomic drop for a two count. Gage hit two piledrivers, but it wouldn’t break. He then hit the Pain Thriller through the door for the win and the fans went nuts. (***1/2)

Gage got on the mic after to cut a promo. He thanked the fans. He said he got news his brother died when he landed in LA. He said he didn’t want to wrestle or come to the venue. Then he said he realized he’s in LA. He said LA is the hottest spot he can come to. A fan came to the ring and hugged him. He said it made him forget about his situations dm what his brother did to himself. Page then came out and attacked Gage from behind. Pain tried to help but he wiped him out too. Several wrestlers ran out and Page bailed. A big MDK chant the rang out. Gage got on the mic and challenged Page to an anything goes Death match for the title in Atlantic City, NJ. He said he was going to kill Page.

Overall thoughts: (8.5) – Tremendous show. GCW delivers time and time again and this show was no different. The crowd was great for just about everything and Kevin Gill and Deshawn did a great job of calling the action and adding to the incredible atmosphere for the show. The first half of the show was incredible. You’ll have a hard time finding a better start to a show than GCW had for Just Being Honest. Arez vs. Christian and Starr vs. Dickinson were great matches.

The second half of the show was really good as well. Deppen and Warner had a fantastic match with an incredible door jousting spot that has to be seen just for the way the crowd came up as they traded shots with two broken halves of a door. The Scramble match was a blast as well and Starboy Charlie is one to watch as he continues to gain experience at only 16 years old.

The show closed with RSP doing a good job of getting his heel persona over by beating Effy before attacking Gage after he beat Matthew Justice in the main event. It was an emotional night for Gage after his brother, Justice Pain, passed away. Gage’s post-match promo indicated he committed suicide and it was unbelievable to see the energy from the fans for his match and post-match promo to set up his upcoming GCW World Title match against RSP. Replay highly recommended.

Contact Sean at radicansean@pwtorch.com. Follow him on twitter @sr_torch.

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