Tag: joey janela

Joey Janela will take on one half of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Ricky Morton, at tonight’s Joey Janela’s Spring Break 4.

Morton will take on Janela for the first time ever in a singles match. In his video announcing the match, Janela said that “Sometimes you gotta end the ones they idolized and adored.”

The Clusterf**k battle royal, which has been a staple of the event in previous years, is also set to return. Participants announced include JTG, Shark Boy, Kerry Morton (son of Ricky), Allie Kat, Lord Adrean, Tahit2X, Starboy Charlie, and Yoshihiko, the blow-up doll from DDT.

Alex Tremont, a regular for Game Changer Wrestling, will have his retirement match on this show, facing Alex Colon.

ACH will also look to battle Lio Rush.

Other matches announced for the show include Tony Deppen vs. Alex Shelley, Jonathan Gresham vs. Lee Moriarty, and  The Rascalz vs. Ironbeast. Additionally, Santana and Ortiz of AEW will team with Chris Dickinson to take on Alex Zayne, Blake Christian, and Jordan Oliver.

Join us for live coverage starting at 7 p.m. EST

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Current GCW World Champion Rickey Shane Page and his entourage opened the show. He’s recently been wrestling in non-title matches as a heel champion in an attempt to keep his title.

Page pranked a couple young wrestlers by inviting them out for an open challenge, but immediately sent them packing. His stable, called 44OH, beat the second one up and hit him with a chairshot to the head.

Danhausen was next, but was jumped by Page’s stable as soon as he hit the ring and sent to the back. 

The challenge was finally answered by Orange Cassidy, who got a great reaction.

Rickey Shane Page Open Challenge: Orange Cassidy defeated Ricky Shane Page

This was a non-title match. Both men powdered to the floor at the bell, and they did some comedy where Cassidy would roll in and out of the ring. Cassidy nearly got the win with a small package and put his hands in his pockets.

Cassidy went for a dive but was tripped up by one of Page’s goons. Page sent Cassidy to the outside and distracted the referee while his squad beat Cassidy down.

Cassidy made a “comeback” with his barely-there strikes. He feinted on an attack and instead dove to take out Page’s backup, then hit a hurricanrana.

Two of Page’s associates tried to interfere when Cassidy went to the top rope, but Cassidy put them both through tables, then dove on the pile. 

Page hit a chokebreaker (a reference to Nick Gage, who he’s feuding with) for two. He tried to drink Cassidy’s juice, but Cassidy sent a goon into Page, which splashed juice in his eyes. Cassidy then cradled Page for the win.

– There was an excellent Matt Tremont video package, where they played up his workmanlike nature and association with Eddie Kingston. His last GCW match will be on this show.

Ironbeast (Shane Mercer & KTB) defeated The Rascalz (Wentz & Xavier)

Ironbeast are GCW mainstays who recently formed a team. The Rascalz are Impact-signed talent, and they’re also the PWG tag champions. Of note, there was no Trey, the third Rascal. This match was all-out nonstop action, the definition of an “indie spotfest.” Ironbeast were very good bases for the Rascalz’ high flying.

The Rascalz hit double team moves at the bell followed by stereo topes. Back in, KTB caught Xavier and just threw him into his partner, before Mercer suplexed Xavier into Wentz, who had been placed in the tree of woe.

Ironbeast grabbed a table, but the Rascalz stopped them from setting it up. KTB hit an assisted powerbomb for two. Xavier was the victim of more double team offense, but Wentz fought back and chopped both of his opponents before being cut off with a release suplex and a KTB lionsault.

Wentz was isolated by Ironbeast, but he sent Mercer into KTB after a rana and reached Xavier for the tag. Xavier hit a flurry of offense before Wentz came in to help. Both Rascalz went for dives, but both dives were caught, overhead pressed, and thrown into their partner.

Xavier backflipped out of Doomsday Device, but Ironbeast hit an assisted moonsault powerslam. Wentz broke up the cover with a superkick. The Rascalz beat down Mercer with kicks and hit their assisted moonsault for two. Xavier went for a dive but went headfirst into a table, then was put through it for his trouble.

Back in, Wentz tried to fight back, but he was sent into a passing German suplex for the pin. 

Post-match, the Rascalz bowed to the crowd.

Jonathan Gresham defeated Lee Moriarty

Gresham is a long-time Ring of Honor talent known for technical prowess, and Moriarty has been getting buzz as one of the best indie wrestlers out there, especially during the pandemic. This was pretty much flawless between the ropes, but the crowd didn’t really pick up their energy until the final few moments.

They shook hands at the bell. We got technical wrestling at the start as neither man could obtain an advantage. Moriarty matched the more experienced Gresham the whole way. 

Moriarty locked Gresham in a cool hold that looked like an omoplata where he wrenched Gresham’s arm with a back bridge, almost like Zack Sabre Jr.’s Jim Breaks Special. That was the story of the match as Moriarty continued to target Gresham’s lef arm. Gresham came back by returning the favor and attempting to dismantle Moriarty’s arm. He tied Moriarty in knots and turned it into a cover for two.

Moriarty came back with knee strikes, kicks, and a double stomp. He went for a suplex, but his arm wouldn’t function, so he hit a diving stomp and a hammerlock DDT for two before transitioning into a Fujiwara armbar. Gresham panicked and reached the ropes. Gresham swept out Moriarty’s leg and sent him to the floor with a running dropkick. Moriarty kicked out of La Magistral and blocked an armbar. They traded cradle attempts with their arms locked.

They faced off in the middle of the ring. Moriarty kicked out Gresham’s leg and hit La Mistica, but Gresham reached the ropes again. They exchanged forearms, but Gresham kipped up out of one and downed Moriarty with a German suplex. He then hit three crushing forearm smashes, each leading to a near fall.

Gresham locked on the octopus hold. Moriarty tried to fight out, but Gresham hit rabbit punches and hammer fists, forcing Moriarty to tap.

Post-match, Gresham cut a promo calling Moriarty one of the best technical wrestlers in the world. He then invited Moriarty to wrestle in Ring of Honor when called upon to do so. That was wonderful and more heartfelt than I anticipated. 

Team Pazuzu (Chris Dickinson, Santana, & Ortiz) defeated Alex Zayne, Blake Christian, and Jordan Oliver

Dickinson might be the highest-profile unsigned wrestler out there. He frequently teamed with Santana and Ortiz before their signing with AEW. Zayne and Christian have made appearances for NJPW of USA this year and Oliver wrestles for MLW. This match was really long, over 20 minutes, with more than half of it operating as a heat segment. Once it got going, it had some really exciting action.

Christian and Dickinson started off and wrestled around before inviting each other to trade strikes. Christian tried some acrobatics but Dickinson cut him off with a shoulder tackle and tagged in Santana, who treated Christian like a trainee. He escaped with a cazadora into a splash and tagged in Oliver. 

Santana took off his shirt and slapped Oliver around. Team Pazuzu isolated Oliver in the corner. He tried to fight back but was met with a clothesline from Ortiz. Oliver went for a trust fall but Ortiz simply walked out of the way, and he and Santana posed while allowing Zayne to tag in. Zayne took the fight to Ortiz, but was cut off with a clothesline and a northern lights suplex for two. He fought back with a running corkscrew shooting star press before tagging in Christian.

Ortiz cut Christian’s flurry of offense off with yet another big lariat, meaning he did that to all three of his opponents, before Dickinson entered the match. He beat down Christian and tagged in Santana, who hit a face wash and a suplex for two. Ortiz was sent into Santana after a headscissors, but Dickinson stopped Christian’s comeback with a forearm, leading to Ortiz hitting a powerbomb. The match broke down as the four illegal men brawled outside.

Christian had been the legal man for a long, long time at this point, almost ten minutes of heat. Dickinson put him in a single leg crab and turned it into a piledriver for two. Santana and Ortiz then hit double team moves and taunted their opponents on the apron.

Christian finally made his comeback after escaping out of a half-and-half suplex and hitting a German. His partners came in for the assist as Oliver hit a stunner, Zayne hit a shooting star double knees, and Christian hit a springboard 450 for a near fall. 

Zayne made his way into the match and hit a flurry of offense but was cut off with a lariat and some Dickinson/Santana double teams. Dickinson hit a Death Valley Driver followed by a Santana 450 splash for two. Santana went for a lariat, but Zayne hit a Pele kick which allowed him to tag Christian back in. He and Dickinson hit stiff slaps, which fired up the crowd. Oliver and Christian used the numbers advantage to take control before Zayne hit a tope con hilo on Santana and Ortiz.

Christian went for a 450 splash, but Dickinson got the knees up and hit a clothesline for two. The Pazuzu Bomb followed for three.

Post-match, Dickinson, Santana and Ortiz cut a promo. It was hard to hear everything they said due to the microphone setup, but they seemed to be putting over their young opponents as the future of wrestling.

Tony Deppen defeated Alex Shelley

Deppen recently made an appearance in ROH’s Pure Tournament, while Shelley is a current Impact tag team champion. This was a well-worked match but it was in a tough spot following the six-man tag and preceding the show’s more high-profile matches.

Shelley took control early on with a DDT on the ring apron. Back inside, Deppen applied a figure four, but Shelley reached the ropes. Deppen went for a dragon screw but Shelley fought out with a kick before Deppen kicked out Shelley’s legs.

Deppen’s targeted attack on Shelley’s legs was the story of the match. Shelley made a comeback by sending Deppen headfirst into the turnbuckle, and the two exchaned forearms in the center of the ring. Deppen gained the upper hand by chopping at Shelley’s leg but ran face-first into a knee strike.

Shelley hit a rope-hang neckbreaker for two. Deppen continued to make comebacks with attacks to his opponent’s leg, eventually turning it into an STF. Shelley reached the ropes, but Deppen fought out of a running Sliced Bread and hit a ripcord headbutt followed by a double stomp.

Deppen made his way up top for a stomp, but Shelley avoided it and hit three consecutive superkicks followed by an air raid crash, which Deppen kicked out of at one. That felt un-earned. In any case, Shelley hit Shellshocked for two, and the two battled for cradles before Deppen pinned Shelley with La Magistral.

Lio Rush defeated ACH

ACH has really cut up his physique, he’s absolutely shredded. This was as traditional a match you’ll see on a GCW show, but still, both men were quite impressive here. I appreciated the chance to see ACH working from on top; it’s rare that he’s the bigger man in a matchup, but he’s so strong that it comes across really well.

They had a technical battle to start. ACH was sent outside and Rush went for a hurricanrana, but instead popped up to the apron and hit a quebrada. Back in, Rush hit a running crossbody but ACH rolled through, hitting a backbreaker and a suplex.

ACH maintained the advantage with strikes and power moves. Eventually, Rush made a comeback with a handspring kick and a bottom-rope springboard cutter, which is something I’d never seen before. Rush went for a top-rope move, but ACH cut the legs out. He then wint for another handspring move but ACH turned into a German suplex bridge for two. The two attempted strikes but both were too fast for the other before ACH hit a double stomp for another near fall.

ACH was frustrated at his inability to seal the victory, so he invited Rush to a striking battle. ACH hit some brutal forearms and chops, but Rush fired up with a flurry of strikes. He sent ACH to the outside and hit a huge bottom-rope tope suicida.

Back in, Rush attempted another springboard, but ACH blocked and hit a tiger driver. ACH missed a 450 splash, Rush hit the Rush Hour and followed with the frog splash for the victory. 

Ricky Morton defeated Joey Janela

This was Janela’s third instance of matching up with a wrestling legend at Spring Break –– he’d previously faced Marty Jannetty and Great Sasuke. Having seen them all, I’d say this was the best one, with more of a focus on fun high spots and less trying to wrestle a classic match. The crowd loved it.

Janela played up his role as the younger, more athletic man at the start, taking advantage easily and taunting Morton along the way. Janela went for a hip toss but Morton turned it into one of his own, following it up with a shoulder tackle. Janela rolled outside and teased grabbing a table, but decided not to.

Back in, Janela took advantage by using the ropes for leverage. He grounded Morton with a chinlock, but Morton hit a jawbreaker. Janela sold everything Morton did like it was a gunshot. He escaped to the outside and kept Morton at bay with a chairshot before setting up a table.

Janela turned around and was met with a punch, setting Morton up to put him through the table with a piledriver. Janela sprung up immediately though and hit Morton with a chairshot to the head, busting him open. That felt convoluted and rushed. Janela punched away at the wound before bringing Morton badk inside.

Morton made his comeback with a running dropkick followed by a Death Valley Driver on the apron. He set up a door in the corner, but Janela reversed a whip and sent him into it, following up with a brainbuster for two. He propped the door onto Morton and hit a diving elbow drop, but Morton kicked out again, firing up the crowd.

Janela beat Morton down with door shots before locking in a figure four. Morton reached the ropes, and when Janela attempted to lock it on again Morton turned it into a small package for two. Janela then hit a superkick for yet another near fall. 

He propped Morton onto the top rope, but the legend jumped off and hit a destroyer. Janela kicked out Morton’s legs and applied the figure four once more, but Morton turned it over, reversing the pressure, and forced Janela to tap.

Spyder Nate Webb won the Clusterf**k

The official rules of the Clusterf**k are slightly different from that of a traditional Rumble: you are eliminated by pinfall, submission, being sent over the top rope, leaving the building, or DEATH. As always, the match led up to its billing. It was a complete mess, but it moved at a fast enough pace that I was mostly entertained throughout. I did my best to keep track of eliminations and entrances. 

#1 was Spyder Nate Webb, and #2 was former WWE wrestler JTG. The latter hit a black hole slam and set up for a powerbomb but was interrupted by Jimmy Lloyd, #3. Lloyd hit a cutter and was follwed by #4, Cole Radrick, who attacked with a stunner. Starboy Charlie was next at #5. He’s 17 years old and somehow looks even younger but is a great athlete. Flash Flanagan was #6, dropping Webb on his head with a dragon suplex. Sugar Dunkerton (Pineapple Pete on AEW Dark) was #7, and he crossed over JTG with a basketball, then dribbled JTG’s head like a basketball before running into a Radrick superkick. Lloyd set up a hoop in the corner but Dunkerton blocked Radrick’s dunk attempt. I swear I’m covering wrestling, not basketball.

Allie Kat was #8, and she took the fight to Charlie. Kung Fu Janela was #9, and he ran wild before meeting a piledriver from Dunkerton. Violence is Forever, the tag team consisting of Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini, were #10 and #11. They immediately hit Kung Fu with a piledriver and nailed an assisted powerbomb on Webb, following it up with a curb stomp on Allie Kat and a high low which eliminated Flanagan. 

JTG went for a Razor’s Edge on Garrini, but he fought out and Violence is Forever hit another high low to eliminate him. The Carnies (Kerry Awful and Nick Iggy) were #12 and #13, and they brought chairs for a face off with Violence is Forever. They set up the chairs and had a slap fight in the center of the ring. Solo Darling and Willow Nightingale were #14 and #15, and they brought their own chairs to join the slap fight. Awful decided the fight was over and everyone threw chairs at each other, a couple of which struck people’s heads. Darling and Nightingale isolated Iggy, but Webb intervened to stop the attack. 

Levi Everett, an Amish character, was #16. He brought a butter churn and started churning to chants of “Churn!” before inviting Webb to give it a shot. Everett didn’t seem to think Webb did it right, so he clotheslined him down. Cassandro was #17. She kissed Jimmy Lloyd before downing him with a headscissors. Dustin Thomas, who has no legs, was #18. He had a great moment at last year’s Spring Break. He hit a 619 and a springboard 450 splash on Cassandro. Next was Kerry Morton, Ricky Morton’s son, at #19. He dropkicked literally everyone left in the match before Kody Lane arrived at #20, immediately followed by Jody Threat at #21. Threat hit Lane with a Michinoku Driver for 2.

I didn’t catch the name of #22, but his nickname is “Juicy” and he’s a former Fale Dojo trainee. He hit an insane Samoan Drop with three opponents on his shoulders. #23 was Calvin Tankman, who’s really impressed on the indies recently with his own power. He eliminated Ku and Garrini simultaneously by powerbombing the former onto the latter. The Carnies worked together to beat down Tankman, but he hit a fire thunder driver onto the other for another double elimination.

Morton attempted a dive on Tankman but was easily eliminated over the top rope. Tankman did the same to Lane. He and Juicy faced off in the senter of the ring, but Tankman hit a ridiculous Death Valley Driver to eliminate his fellow big man. Billie Starkz, who is younger than the 17-year-old Charlie, was #24. Tankman went for a spear on Charlie but ended up on a pile outside. Charlie and Starkz then faced off in the ring with a really cool sequence. They acted like they were longtime rivals, and at the end of the sequence Starkz hit a German suplex bridge for a great near fall.

Tankman faced off with Starkz in one of the more ridiculous images you’ll see. Atticus and the rest of 44OH, Rickey Shane Page’s entourage, were entrants #25-#28. They laid waste to everyone outside the ring and beat down Tankman and Starkz. The referee jumped in to stop the attack on Starkz, but she was thrown over the top rope anyway. Kung Fu, Cassandro, and Threat made comeback attempts, but 440 eliminated them all. They then beat down Thomas, but Gregory Iron, one of the members, stopped the attack. However, it was a ruse, and they all mocked Thomas, who turned an attack into a DDT before being beaten down again with a triple powerbomb.

#29 was Elayna Black, who flipped off 44OH, and #30-#34 were the Second Gear Crew: Matt Justice, Effy, AJ Gray, Mance Warner, and Manders. They evened the odds on 440. #35 was Nasty Leroy. He taught Allie Kat how to dance, but was surrounded by 440, who beat him down. Second Gear Crew re-entered the fray and eliminated all of 44OH before celebrating with Leroy. Lord Adrean and Tahir 2X, the viral Walmart wrestlers, were #36 and #37. They ran wild before hitting a destroyer on Lloyd, then turned on each other. Some third man showed up, and one of the Walmart dudes hit a Styles Clash and a chokeslam on the others. They then put each other through a table on the outside.

#38 was Cabana Man Dan. He attacked everyone with his flip flops and hit a Code Red on Nightingale, but Darling broke it up. They put Dan in the Texas Cloverleaf. Parrow was #39, and he repeatedly chokeslammed Nightingale onto Darling, eliminating them. Dan fought back with his flip flops, but a sit-out powerbomb from Parrow eliminated him. Parrow then eliminated Manders with a powerslam. #40 and #41 were Robert Anthony and Frank The Clown. They faced off with Leroy, but Parrow made the save. Frank hit a low blow, but Parrow fired up and scared Frank out of the ring.

#42 was the Invisible Man, a former Clusterf**k winner. He ran wild and faced off with Everett before hitting the arm-snap spot. Everett fought valiantly to stay in the match, but the Invisible Man eventually sent him over the top rope. Parrow had to struggle hard to fight off Invisible Man’s offense, but the latter sent Thomas into Parrow, eliminating him. Thomas then attempted a crossbody to Parrow on the outside, but Parrow caught it and dropped him on the floor. Anthony and Frank nailed a double team on the Invisible Man, but he fought back and hit a double chokeslam. Tankman inserted himself back into the action and eliminated Anthony and Frank, press slamming the latter onto a crowd outside. 

#43-#45 were Young Dumb and Broke: Charlie Tiger, Griffin McCoy, and Ellis Taylor. Black ran wild with offense on all three, but they eliminated her with the numbers advantage. #46 and #47 were Steve Sanders and Dyln McCay. One hit a corkscrew moonsault and the other hit a shooting star press, but two of Young Dumb and Broke kicked out. Gray pinned McKay with a lariat and Sanders with a brainbuster. AIW promoter John Thorne was #48, taking a pull of vodka on the way to the ring, and was eliminated instantly by Allie Kat. #49 was Logan Stunt and #50 was Marko Stunt. All three of Young Dumb and Broke were eliminated. Marko immediately eliminated his brother, but Logan returned the favor as they fought to the back. Radrick was eliminated. 

The Walmart guys returned, but Lloyd put one of them through a table. Thunderkitty was #51, but the Invisible Man stopped her from running wild. The Second Gear Crew faced off with the Invisible Man, but he cracked them over the head with an invisible chair. He then eliminated Warner and Justice. Effy kissed the Invisible Man but was eliminated. Invisible Man has double-digit eliminations. Yoshihiko, the blow-up doll from DDT, was #52, and she worked together with her handler, Shadowman, to pin the Invisible Man with a swanton bomb. Yoshihiko hit Lloyd with multiple destroyers and eliminated him, before facing off with Gray, whohit a chairsault onto Yoshihiko and eliminated her.

#53 was the final entrant, Shark Boy. He immediately pinned Thunderkitty with a stunner. Webb offered Shark Boy a beer as Allie Kat and Leroy grabbed one themselves. Webb and Shark Boy both hit stunners to eliminate Allie Kat and Leroy, before Shark Boy stunned Webb. Charlie wanted a beer, but he’s only 17. He hit Shark Boy with a stunner and eliminated him. Atticus then rolled up Charlie to eliminate him before being pounced by Tankman. Tankman and Gray had a striking battle in the ring, with Gray won with just a ridiculously stiff lariat, eliminating Tankman. Atticus blew a fireball in Gray’s face to pin and eliminate him.

Webb, the first entrant, faced off with Atticus as it appeared they were the final two. Atticus beat Webb down with chair shots before introducing a trash can into the mix. He hit an air raid crash through a chair, but Webb kicked out of a good near fall. Atticus went for a moonsault, but Webb knocked him down with the trashcan. Webb hit a moonsault through the trash can, then hit his finisher to finally end this thing.

Alex Colon defeated Matt Tremont

This is Tremont’s last GCW match, as he’s changing his focus to being a trainer. Light tubes were attached to the ropes and barbed wire boards were set up outside. It was pretty hot at first but really slowed down once the blood started pouring. They did go a really long time, almost a half hour (which is a particularly lengthy for a deathmatch), and got the crowd back into it once Colon hit his big balcony spot. Overall, an admirable performance from both men and an appropriately bloody final GCW match for Tremont.

Tremont established his power advantage at the bell as they teased being sent into the light tubes. Colon swung away with a light tube, broke it over Tremont’s arms, then sent him into both walls of tubes before breaking one over is own head. Colon used the broken glass to carve into Tremont’s forehead. 

On the outside, Colon broke a tube over Tremont’s back. Tremont was bleeding badly from his forehead, but he returned the favor by digging the broken tube into Colon’s forehead before breaking it for good measure. The two continued to brawl outside. They teased a chair battle, but dropped them to exchange forearms before Colon downed Tremont with a thrown chair to the head.

Colon sat Tremont down on a chair and sent him to the floor with a forearm smash. He continued to attack with strikes, Tremont backdropped Colon awkwardly onto a set-up chair. Tremont’s forehead was visibly torn up, which looked absolutely gnarly. They teased heading up the stairs, but Colon poked Tremont’s eye and made his way back to the ring.

Back in, Colon broke another light tube over Tremont’s back and continued to tear away at his head with broken glass. Colon set up a ladder in the corner, but was sent into it himself after a backdrop. Tremont grabbed more tubes and put Colon through them with a northern lights suplex. He put Colon on the top rope and broke a tube over his head, but Colon hit a tornado DDT. Colon then put Tremont through more tubes with a double stomp.

On the apron, they fought to send the other into barbed wire boards, but Tremont won the exchange with a Samoan Drop through the boards to the floor. Tremont actually got tangled in the barbed wire, and trust me, it wasn’t just his clothes that were stuck. 

Colon brought the fight up the stairs into the crowd. Tremont fired up and hit a suplex onto the wood-covered concrete bleachers. There were a bunch of doors and chairs set up below a balcony area. Colon headed to the top of the balcony, about 12 feet above the ground, and just splashed Tremont through the doors to the floor.

Back in the ring, Colon hit a double stomp through tubes into Tremont, but Tremont fired up. They traded strikes, and Tremont came back with a clothesline, following it up for a Death Valley Driver through more tubes for two. Colon grabbed a trash can and smashed it over Tremont’s head over and over. Colon then put it over Tremont’s head and hit a double stomp through the trash can for a good near fall.

Colon’s associates brought light tube rakes to the ring, but he took too long to set his contraption up, so Tremont smashed a tube over his head. They repeatedly broke tubes over each other’s heads, at least a dozen each. Tremont broke the pattern with a Saito suplex, but Colon broke a light tube through Tremont’s mouth and broke the rake over his head. Colon begged Tremont to stay down, but he wouldn’t, so Colon broke the last rake over his head and got the win. 

Post-match, Colon scolded the crowd for leaving before allowing Tremont to take the ring by himself. Tremont asked everyone to be silent while he acknowledged the late Danny Havoc. Chants of “Bulldozer” closed the show.