Tag: mance warner

Tony Khan says Mance Warner wasn’t pulled from independent date by AEW

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Update:

Mance Warner has since wrote on social media that AEW did not ask him to pull out of this show, saying his rate was never agreed upon.

“Want to clarify this situation. AEW did not ask me to pull out of this show. my rate was never agreed upon. I sent $400 to the promoter to cover the flight costs. I am sorry to any fans who were looking forward to seeing me at AAW. With transparency, I made a decision to withdraw from the show to avoid any % chance of travel issues or any fuck ups ruining a big opportunity. I hope y’all can understand,” he wrote.

Original story:

Tony Khan is disputing a promotion that says Mance Warner was pulled from their show by AEW.

AAW Wrestling initally announced on Friday that Warner had been pulled from their event set for Friday night in Merrionette Park, Illinois.

“Mance Warner will unfortunately NOT be appearing at #AAWHomecoming per AEW’s request,” they wrote on social media. “We are immediately restructuring the show accordingly and will announce updates as soon as possible.”

Soon after, however, Tony Khan said that Warner was free to do the show.

“That’s the first that I’ve heard of this, and it’s the first time anyone in AEW’s office has heard of it.
He is welcome to do your show,” he wrote.

AEW Double or Nothing is this weekend

The news comes as AEW’s Double or Nothing event is set to take place in Queens, New York. While Warner hasn’t appeared on AEW television for some time, he has made appearances in Ring of Honor as recently as the tapings that took place on May 18.

Warner and his wife Steph De Lander made news back in March when they abruptly quit TNA. De Lander said it was due to TNA’s medical team not clearing her to return to in-ring action, despite De Lander saying that her neck was “100% healed” after undergoing neck fusion surgery the year prior. Both have since made appearances for GCW and other independent promotions. 

Ex-TNA star debuts at ROH tapings

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

A new name has been added to the Ring of Honor roster: Mance Warner, former TNA star, made his ROH debut at the tapings in Jacksonville on Monday night.

After years in the indies and an off-and-on stint in Major League Wrestling, Warner debuted in TNA in January of 2025 alongside Steph De Lander, who was his real-life fiancé at the time. The couple were married last October, then left the promotion last month after TNA refused to medically clear De Lander due to her neck injiury.

The highlight of Warner’s TNA run was his loss to Sami Callihan in a barbed wire massacre match at Unbreakable during WrestleMania week in Las Vegas on April 17, 2025.

Warner’s ROH debut came in a singles match against Shane Taylor. It was the first-ever meeting between the two.

Warner is booked against Krule for Pro Wrestling Revolver in Dayton, Ohio, on April 25. Tickets to that show are available here.

Mance Warner & Steph De Lander make GCW return

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Mance Warner and Steph De Lander are back in Game Changer Wrestling.

They made their arrival during the main event of GCW So Alive on Saturday, reuniting with the Second Gear Crew (AJ Gray & Matthew Justice) to fend off VNDL48 (Atticus & Otis Cogar). A six man tag match was then made pitting Second Gear Crew against the Cogars and Christian Napier, with the latter team scoring the victory.

After show, De Lander posted a video on social media referencing she and Warner’s recent departure from TNA. 

“I’m not gonna let a businessman with a hat tell me when my career is over. Mance & SDL are back in GCW,” she declared.

It was revealed earlier this week that the two quit the company after De Lander was told by TNA president Carlos Silva that TNA was not going to allow her to wrestle again despite her surgeon fully clearing her to return to in-ring action.

“I received a phone call on Monday of this week that basically they never wanted to let me wrestle at TNA again. They just didn’t feel comfortable with that. So then I made the decision to leave, and my husband did too in solidarity,” she told TMZ.

De Lander previously wrestled for WWE under the name Persia Pirotta. When she was released in 2022, she made her TNA debut the following year and later became associated with Warner when he made his TNA debut last year.

Report: Two wrestlers have quit TNA Wrestling

Posted on by Ian Carey

Two wrestlers from TNA reportedly have quit the promotion.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful wrote on Thursday that Mance Warner and Steph De Lander have left the promotion. The outlet later reported on its Patreon that they were told the departures stem from TNA refusing to clear De Lander to return from injury, with De Lander having been told she would never be able to wrestle for the promotion again.

The 29-year-old De Lander has been out of action since August 2024 and underwent neck fusion surgery on her C5 and C6 vertebrae that October. In January, she revealed that she was 100% healed from the procedure and ready to return to the ring.

“My neck is 100% healed and I have been cleared by my surgeon to return to the ring. I need guidance from a medical professional to ensure safety so I can get back to doing what I love. I have asked so many times. Can anyone help me @ThisIsTNA @WWE @AEW ???”

Fightful noted that one source in TNA Wrestling believed Warner and De Lander could finish up with the promotion after the current loop of tapings. TNA is scheduled to hold television tapings at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta on March 6 and 7, followed by additional tapings in New Orleans on March 27 and 28.

TNA couple Steph De Lander & Mance Warner gets married

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A wrestling couple got married in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday with Steph De Lander & Mance Warner tying the knot.

The TNA stars were married in a ceremony that was attended by Matt Cardona, Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, Alba Fyre, Bronson Reed, Deonna Purrazzo, Steve Maclin, Ash By Elegance, Priscilla Kelly, and more. Special wedding-themed Micro Brawler figures of Warner & De Lander were made for guests.

De Lander (Stephanie De Landre) & Warner (Quirt Miller) have worked together on screen in TNA and on the indies. In October 2024, De Lander underwent neck surgery. She is still recovering and has not been able to return to action yet.

“It’s been 1 year since my neck surgery. I should have been back in the ring by now, but I am not,” De Lander wrote earlier this month. “Sometimes I feel like my situation is forgotten about because I don’t complain, I don’t post about it (no hate to those who do), I just get on with it and focus on what I can control. Although I am frustrated with certain things, I am proud of myself for always pushing forward and keeping a positive attitude and spirit.”

Warner is a regular for Game Changer Wrestling on the indies in addition to his TNA work. He is a former GCW World Champion.

Zilla Fatu to make TNA debut on Slammiversary pre-show

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Zilla Fatu — the son of departed wrestling legend Umaga — is officially set to make his TNA debut at Slammiversary.

TNA has confirmed that a six-man tag match with Fatu, Real 1 (Enzo Amore) & Josh Bishop facing Steve Maclin, Jake Something & Mance Warner will take place on the pre-show for Slammiversary this Sunday. The pay-per-view is being held at UBS Arena in Long Island, New York.

The trio of Fatu, Real 1 & Bishop are representing Fourth Rope, an indie promotion and wrestling brand that aims to promote the love of wrestling through art, fashion, and music. The brand is curated by rapper and wrestling fan Westside Gunn. Leading into Slammiversary, Fourth Rope videos featuring Real 1 have been airing on Impact.

Fatu started his wrestling career in 2022 training at Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling. His first match then happened for Reality of Wrestling in 2023.

Maclin is the TNA International Champion and recently retained the belt against Something and Warner in a triple threat match.

The one-hour Slammiversary pre-show begins at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday and will be hosted by Gia Miller, Tommy Dreamer, and Busted Open Radio’s Dave LaGreca. The pre-show is streaming for free on TNA+ and TNA’s digital platforms.

TNA Slammiversary 2025 (Sunday, July 20)–

  • AJ Styles appears
  • TNA World Champion Trick Williams defends against Joe Hendry and Mike Santana in a triple threat match
  • Winner-take-all match: Knockouts World Champion Masha Slamovich vs. NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne
  • Ladder match: TNA Tag Team Champions Nic & Ryan Nemeth defend against Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy, Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz, and AJ Francis & KC Navarro
  • X-Division Champion Moose defends against Leon Slater
  • Tessa Blanchard vs. Indi Hartwell
  • Mustafa Ali vs. Cedric Alexander
  • Matt Cardona, Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards & JDC vs. DarkState (Saquon Shugars, Cutler James, Dion Lennox & Osiris Griffin)
  • Pre-show: Knockouts Tag Team Champions Ash By Elegance & Heather By Elegance defend against Cassie Lee & Jessica McKay
  • Pre-show: Steve Maclin, Jake Something & Mance Warner vs. Real 1, Zilla Fatu & Josh Bishop

TNA Impact live results: International title tournament begins

Posted on by Matt Boone

After last week’s announcement that the Digital Media title would become the new International title, the tournament to crown a new champion begins on tonight’s TNA Impact.

In the first bout, Mance Warner faces AJ Francis and Sami Callihan in a three-way with the winner advancing to next Thursday’s Unbreakable streaming special.

Former World Champions will clash at Steve Maclin battles Eddie Edwards while the high-flying Leon Slater will face Ryan Nemeth.

Former Tag Team Champions The Rascalz will take on The System’s Brian Myers & JDC in a key divisional match.

Reigning X-Division Champion Moose will face Cody Deaner in a non-title match as former X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali takes on former X-Division and Tag Team Champion Ace Austin.

**********
The usual video package recapping the previous week’s show airs to get things started. The show then settles inside the Impact Zone in St. Joseph, MO., where Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt welcome the viewing audience at home.

Ethan Page, Frankie Kazarian & Santino Marella Kick Things Off

“Well, well, well …look who’s back, baby!” He says he’s back in TNA Wrestling, the company where he truly found out who he was. It’s where he found his ego. It’s where he became “All Ego” Ethan Page.

He cut his teeth here and he’s pretty sure he still holds the record for longest reigning tag-team champion in company history. He’s not here to talk about the past. He wants to focus on the future.

He mentions TNA Rebellion 2025, where he will take on Frankie Kazarian and TNA World Champion Joe Hendry, with the title on-the-line. In Los Angeles, at TNA Rebellion 2025, it will be Ethan Page who finally becomes TNA World Champion.

Fans boo. Page responds, “Boo? BOO?!” He asks if the crowd thinks he can’t beat Joe Hendry. They yell back, “No!” He says he already knows what he needs to about Hendry.

He’s got a catchy song, he’s always wearing a tight shirt, he’s got a Slim Shady haircut. He says he will win the TNA World Championship and bring it back with him to WWE NXT.

Frankie Kazarian’s theme hits and out he comes with his Call Your Shot gauntlet trophy. Kazarian and Page exchange insults until TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella cuts them off.

The TNA shot-caller comes out and tells Kazarian and Page that Joe Hendry will be out here later tonight and he will be talking about something that will affect the both of them.

Gia Miller Interviews Steve Maclin, Eric Young Interrupts

After the opening segment wraps up, the show settles backstage where Gia Miller is standing by with Steve Maclin. He talks about his three-way match in the TNA International Championship tournament tonight.

He says he knows The System will be lurking, but he doesn’t need The Armory or anyone watching his back. Just as he says that, Eric Young and The Northern Armory interrupt him.

Young tells Maclin he knows The System will get involved and it will be bad. He says whether Maclin wants it or not, they will be watching and will have his back.

Maclin tells him he’s gonna tell them one last time, he doesn’t want their help. He warns them to stay out of his business and walks off. The show heads into a commercial break.

Ace Austin vs. Mustafa Ali (w/ The Great Hands & Tasha Steelz)

The show returns inside the Impact Zone to the familiar sounds of Mustafa Ali’s theme music. Out he comes along with The Great Hands and Tasha Steelz.

He settles inside the ring for the first match of the evening. Next, the entrance tune for his opponent, Ace Austin, plays to bring out the ABC member. He takes to the ring and the bell sounds.

Ali immediately charges across the ring and hits a wild kick that flattens Austin, thanks to an assist in the form of a distraction by The Great Hands at ringside.

After being on the defensive end for the first couple of minutes, Austin fires back up on offense. He hits a click-click-boom dropkick. Austin drives Ali face-first into the canvas for a two-count.

Once again The Great Hands provide a distraction at ringside. Ali rolls up Austin, but Austin kicks out and sends Ali out to the floor. Ali is caught by The Great Hands. Austin runs and dives and takes out all three.

Steelz and Austin go face-to-face. John Skyler tries to attack Austin from behind, but Austin moves and decks him. Jason Hotch tries next, but Austin avoids him as well. Ali lays out Austin with a steel chair.

The referee saw Ali’s chair shot and immediately calls for the bell. The Great Hands hit their double-team finisher — The Favor. Ali gives orders to Skyler and Hotch. They hold his arms on the floor while his chin is laying on the bottom turnbuckle.

Steelz hands Ali a steel chair. He takes a step back and gets ready to wind up with the chair, when he slowly starts to realize Mike Santana, without music or any crowd reaction, has emerged at ringside.

Ali tries to turn in mid-motion and sneak in a chair shot at Santana as he approached the ring apron, but Santana avoided it. Ali high-tails it out of there with The Great Hands and Steelz. Santana’s theme hits and he poses on the ropes. The show heads to another commercial break.

When the show returns, Ali, Skyler, Hotch and Steelz are scurrying through the backstage area, trying to get out of there. They make it to the parking lot and reach their car. They quickly get in and tell their driver to hit it. The driver turns to reveal he is actually Santana. “Where we going?!” He says, before beginning his attack.

Match Result: Ace Austin defeated Mustafa Ali

TNA X-Division Champion Moose vs. Cody Deaner

Back inside the Impact Zone, the catchy-tune for Moose hits the house speakers, and out comes the TNA X-Division Champion, accompanied by the other members of The System. He settles in the ring for the next match of the evening.

Moose’s music dies down and the entrance music for his opponent hits. Out comes Cody Deaner. He begins cutting a promo as he enters the ring, only to be cut off by JDC. JDC taunts him, asking when he’s won a match in TNA.

JDC offers Deaner a spot in The System. Not as a member, but as the custodian or janitor of the group. He says he can carry their bags and clean up after them. He tells Deaner he doesn’t have many options. “You need to trust in The System, okay?”

Deaner says maybe he should think about his kids. He says it’s not up to him, however, but rather the fans. He asks the fans if he should be The System’s lackey. He decides against it and claims he can beat Moose for the TNA X-Division Championship.

Moose asks Deaner what makes him think he deserves a TNA X-Division Championship shot? He says he’s a nice guy and in a giving mood. He tells Deaner if he can last two minutes in the ring with him right now, he will give him a TNA X-Division Championship match.

Deaner asks the fans if they think he can last two minutes. “Do you think I can last two minutes?!” he says in excited fashion. Out of context that just sounds horrible. The people have spoken, and the two-minute challenge is underway.

The bell sounds and a two-minute clock appears on the screen. Moose immediately batters Deaner down to the mat. He hoists him up and hits a Last Ride-style powerbomb with authority. Moose then starts to taunt him and take his time, playing with his food.

He hoists Deaner up and hits another massive powerbomb. He covers him but pulls Deaner off the canvas at the count of two. Moose goes for a spear, but Deaner rolls out to the floor. Moose chases after him. Deaner rolls in the ring. Moose does as well.

Deaner rolls right back out. Deaner continues to try and avoid Moose to eat away at the clock. The fans count down from ten and the bell sounds. Deaner survived two minutes, and thus, this match continues and is now for the TNA X-Division Championship. Seconds later, Moose spears Deaner and pins him.

Match Result: Moose defeated Cody Deaner

The System (JDC & Brian Myers) vs. The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz)

After the match, The System gang up and look to deliver a post-match beatdown to Deaner. Before they can, however, The Rascalz’ duo of Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel hit the ring with bats to make the save.

The show heads to another commercial, with The Rascalz vs. JDC and Brian Myers in tag-team action when the show returns.

As the show returns, all four men are in the ring and ready to roll. The bell sounds to get things started, and now it’s JDC and Myers’ turns to prove themselves to Eddie Edwards, like each member of The System must do tonight. Moose did in the previous bout.

We see some good fast-paced action in the opening moments, and then JDC and Myers start to settle into the offensive lead. After they enjoy a few minutes in control, Wentz and Miguel begin to fight from underneath back into competitive form.

Wentz and Miguel start to pick up the pace and get the crowd involved in the process. Just as it looked like they were rounding third on their way home, The System pull some cheap heel tactics.

We see an illegal assist during a pin that secured them the three-count. They quickly roll out to the floor and retreat as the show heads into another commercial break.

Match Result: JDC & Brian Myers defeated The Rascalz

AJ Francis (w/ KC Navarro) vs. Mance Warner (w/ Steph De Lander) & Sami Callihan in a TNA International Championship Tournament match

When the show returns, the ring entrances begin for the next match of the evening, which is the opening bout of the tournament to crown the inaugural TNA International Champion.

First Class’ AJ Francis comes out accompanied by KC Navarro. Out next is Mance Warner, who comes to the ring with his new fiancée’, Steph De Lander. Finally, Sami Callihan makes his way out.

The bell sounds to get things officially off-and-running. Almost immediately it is clear the three will be leaning on the rule of anything goes in a three-way match. Navarro gets involved, providing an assist that helps Francis settle into the early lead.

As the action continues, De Lander begins playing a big role at ringside in favor of Warner. Callihan cuts off Warner’s momentum. He grabs a flyer and uses it to give Warner a paper cut in between his fingers.

A chair dual between Callihan and Warner leaves them both worse for wears, allowing Francis to finish things off with the TFL for the pinfall victory.

With the win, Francis advances in the TNA International Championship Tournament. The tourney will wrap up at TNA Unbreakable 2025 next Thursday. After the match wraps up, the show heads into another commercial break.

Match Result: AJ Francis defeated Mance Warner & Sami Callihan

Barbed Wire Massacre Announced For TNA Unbreakable

When the show returns, Sami Callihan is in his dressing room when a fired up Santino Marella comes in asking him, “What the hell was that?”

He talks about how violent Callihan and Warner got moments ago during the TNA International Championship Tournament match. Callihan says this ain’t a joke. He wants to finish things once and for all with Warner.

Santino asks Callihan what it is going to take to make that happen. Callihan demands a Barbed Wire Massacre bout with Warner at TNA Unbreakable 2025. Santino gives it the green light. It’s official.

Leon Slater vs. Ryan Nemeth

Back inside the Impact Zone, Leon Slater and Ryan Nemeth make their respective ring walks. The bell then sounds to get the next match of the evening officially off-and-running.

Slater gets off to an impressive start, only for Nemeth to shift the offensive momentum into his favor. Slater doesn’t stay on the defensive for long, however, as he soon begins taking back over.

Slater hits his Twist of Slate homage to The Hardys, and then heads to the top-rope. With the crowd roaring, the young talented TNA prospect hits his 450 swanton bomb for the pinfall victory. The show heads into anther commercial break.

Match Result: Leon Slater defeated Ryan Nemeth

Mike Santana Begins His Revenge On Mustafa Ali

When the show returns, we see a flashback segment with highlights of the classic AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels triple-threat match from the original TNA Unbreakable event.

After that, we shoot to a cinematic experience-style segment, where Mike Santana has John Skyler of The Great Hands tied up in a bunker of some sort. Skyler cries and begs as Santana tells him Ali doesn’t care about him.

He says Ali took one from him, and now he’s gonna do the same to Ali. He’s gonna take his people out one at a time. He stands up with a shovel and winds up to bash Skyler’s head in.

As Skyler flinches and cries some more, Santana stops in mid-swing and sends one final warning to Skyler about Ali.

Eddie Edwards (w/ Alisha Edwards) vs. Steve Maclin

Inside the Impact Zone, the theme for The System hits to bring out Eddie Edwards. He makes his way to the ring accompanied by Alisha Edwards. It’s now his own turn to prove himself.

His music dies down and the familiar sounds of his opponent’s theme plays to bring out “Bulletproof” Steve Maclin. The bell sounds to get things underway.

Maclin starts off strong, but a distraction from Alisha at ringside early into the bout allows Edwards to shift the offensive momentum into his favor.

Maclin takes over again, only for outside interference to once again lead to Edwards in the offensive driver’s seat. The show heads into a mid-match commercial break as Edwards continues to add to his lead.

As soon as the show returns, Edwards lands a vicious chop that echoes throughout the Impact Zone and elicits audible gasps from the crowd. Edwards with a snap-mare to bring Maclin to the mat.

He picks him back up and hits a short-arm clothesline to put him back to the mat. Maclin finally blasts Edwards and decks him. Both guys are down and the fans rally behind Maclin.

They get up and trade shots back-and-forth in the middle of the ring. Maclin comes off the ropes with a Thesz Press and a barrage of follow-up punches on the ground. Maclin with a big slam for a close two-count.

Yet again Alisha gets involved from ringside, and this leads to Edwards to taking back over on offense. He takes too long while climbing to the top-rope, however, and Maclin cuts him off. Maclin climbs up after him but Edwards knocks him off.

Maclin climbs right back up and he hoists Edwards up for a Super-Olympic Slam. Maclin then hangs Edwards upside down in the tree of woe in the opposing corner.

He charges at him and hits a spear to knock him down. The System come out to ringside. They pass Edwards The System ring. Eric Young and The Northern Armory come out.

Young stops Judas and Williams from helping Maclin. Edwards drills Maclin with The System ring and then follows up with the Boston Knee Party for the pinfall victory. The show heads to another commercial break.

Match Result: Eddie Edwards defeated Steve Maclin

Joe Hendry Announcement

It’s main event (segment) time!

When the show returns, matches and segments are announced for next week’s episode of TNA Impact (see below). The familiar sounds of Joe Hendry’s theme song hits the house speakers as the show settles back inside the Impact Zone.

Hendry settles in the ring and talks with a serious voice about suffering a serious rotator cuff injury. He says in this business, you’ve got to take the bad with the good. He says he always claimed he would defend his TNA World Championship against anyone from any company.

He says if you can’t defend the championship, then you shouldn’t be the champion. Fans cut him off with loud “We Believe!” chants. He again mentions having to take the bad with the good. He says the bad news is the medical team has told him he shouldn’t compete.

He says the good news is he told the medical team he will compete at TNA Rebellion 2025. He says he’ll defend his TNA World Championship against two of the biggest scumbags he’s ever met in Frankie Kazarian and Ethan Page.

He vows to walk out of TNA Rebellion 2025 with the TNA World Championship still in his possession. Fans chant “We Believe!” again. Theme for Frankie Kazarian hits and out comes one of his two opponents scheduled for TNA Rebellion 2025.

Kazarian taunts Hendry over his rotator cuff injury. He tells him if he’s not 100 percent, there’s no way he can compete with “The King of TNA.” He tells Hendry he makes the mistake of caring about the stupid fans.

He says he’ll be a beast at TNA Rebellion. He’ll expose of Ethan Page and finally get his hands on Hendry, beat him and become TNA World Champion. Hendry asks if he just said he can’t wait to get his hands on an injured Joe Hendry?

Hendry tells Kazarian one week before Rebellion, at Unbreakable, there is going to be a tag match. It’ll be Kazarian and Tessa Blanchard taking on TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich and TNA World Champion Joe Hendry. Hendry’s theme hits again to wrap up this week’s show.

Thanks for joining us and don’t forget to follow F4WOnline.com’s Matt Boone on Twitter/X.

Next Week On TNA Impact (4/17/2025):

  • Brian Myers vs. Leon Slater
  • Jazmyn Nyx vs. Xia Brookside
  • Jakara Jackson vs. Dani Luna
  • What’s next for Cody Deaner?
  • Elijah has a message ahead of TNA Rebellion

GCW announces opponent for Zack Sabre Jr. match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Game Changer Wrestling has revealed one of the opponents Zack Sabre Jr. will be facing in his return to the promotion next month.

On the weekend of March 1 -2, Sabre will compete in his first GCW matches since 2023. The Sunday event is being held in Mesa, Arizona — and it’s been announced that Sabre vs. Mance Warner will take place at the show. The first-time-ever matchup is a clash of styles with the technician Sabre facing a hardcore brawler in Warner.

Sabre is just over a week removed from dropping the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to Hirooki Goto at NJPW New Beginning in Osaka. Next month, he’ll be participating in New Japan Cup 2025 looking to earn another shot at Goto.

In addition to being one of GCW’s top stars, Warner recently debuted for TNA Wrestling.

The Sunday, March 2 GCW event in Mesa is titled Just Being Honest and will air live via Triller TV+. Warner was previously scheduled to face Super Crazy, but the lineup for the show was changed up after Sabre was added. Super Crazy will still be competing on the card.

Sabre’s opponent for GCW’s Saturday, March 1 show in Los Angeles has not been announced yet.

Mance Warner makes TNA debut on Impact

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Mance Warner made his debut in TNA on Thursday’s live Impact alongside new Digital Media Champion Steph De Lander.

After weeks of vignettes with the number 23 on Impact, the teases came to a head on Thursday’s live episode, with De Lander entering and interrupting Sami Callihan.

As Callihan demanded answers as to the identity of 23, De Lander announced that she had become TNA Digital Media Champion, winning the title in a divorce from her storyline husband PCO. De Lander then introduced Warner as her boyfriend. Warner laid out Callihan, then De Lander and Warner made out to close the segment.

A former GCW mainstay and CZW regular, Warner dropped the GCW World title at this past weekend’s Hammerstein Ballroom event, indicating that he may be on the move.

Aside from a brief cup of coffee with AEW in 2022 (two matches), Impact is the largest stage on which Warner has worked.

Matt Boone’s report from Thursday’s live TNA Impact is available here.

The People vs. GCW live results: Hammerstein Ballroom return

Posted on by Joseph Collins

For the first time in three years, GCW will return to the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City for The People vs. GCW.

After a big build, their January 2022 debut received mixed-to-negative reviews which GCW owner Brett Lauderdale will try to erase tonight.

GCW Champion Mance Warner defends against a mystery opponent while the next challenger will be decided in a bout between partners Effy and Allie Katch.

GCW Tag Team Champions Violence is Forever defend against Alec Price & Cole Radrick while the GCW Extreme title and Ultraviolent title will be unified in an eight-person match.

In what should be an athletic affair, El Hijo del Vikingo will take on Sidney Akeem while Tom Pestock (the former Baron Corbin) will debut in a Bloodsport rules match against Josh Barnett.

Former ECW stars Super Crazy, Little Guido & Tajiri will face Arez, Gringo Loco & Jack Cartwheel with another former ECW star — Masato Tanaka — will go one-on-one with Joey Janela.

The card will also feature Matt Cardona against a mystery opponent, a steel cage match and more.

**********

Kick Off Show.

There was a 90 minute kick off show. It started off with clips of matches from various GCW events that set up tonight’s matches. There was a pretty good Matt Cardona hype video.

Preshow Scramble Match: Manders pinned Marcus Mathers in a match which also had Mr. Danger, Marcus Mathers, Fuego Del Sol, Rich Swann and Blake Christian (11:03)

The arena was still mostly empty at the start of the match, but there was still a booming GCW chant from the crowd that was there. Mathers got to look good in an exchange with Del Sol, and the commentators put over he was WWE’ID. Christian did some ariel stuff with Mr. Danger and Swann. The opening few minutes were two guys doing stuff in the ring, four guys selling on the floor.

Christian hit a snap spinning powerslam on Del Sol. Manders (the only guy in the match who isn’t super flippy) got dropped with a quadruple superkick. Christian hit a fosbury flop onto four guys on the floor. Mr. Danger hit a top rope springboard moonsault onto all five guys. Back in the ring, Christian hit Danger with a top rope Spanish Fly. There was a stacker superplex on Swann, and then Fuegeo hit Manders with a coast-to-coast dropkick. Del Sol hit a springboard DDT on Christian, and Dangers hit a moonsault on Del Sol. Mathers hit a fisherman’s bustper on Danger. Manders tossed Matthers out of the ring with a suplex, and Christian took him out with a superkick. Christian followed up with a 450 foot stomp.

Swann caught Manders with a springboard cuter for a near fall. Manders hit a destoryer off the top on Del Sol while he was on Manders shoulders. Mathers dove into a Oklahoma stampede from Manders, who finished him off with a lariat. All those flips and the finish was a clothesline.

– Allie Katch and Effy gave promos ahead of their top contender’s match later.

PCO won the Kick-Off Rumble.

There were already a bunch of guys brawling in the ring with this started, but then there were more entrants every minute or two. First was Crowbar, who came in and hit everyone with a crowbar. Zeyda Steel (who is a woman) entered next and actually got the corwbar from Crowbar. The tag team champions from Juggalo Championship Wrestling, The Back Seat Boys, (brought out by the Insane Clown Posse) enterted next. Sam Stackhouse was the next entrant. This was just a mess.

Shane Mercer came in next. There were so many men in the ring I was started to fear it might break. Brook Havoc (another woman) entered next. She was followed by CPA, an accountant. Big Vin was the next entrant and he gave someone a big chokeslam. The final participant was PCO.

PCO tossed a bunch of guys. Havoc eliminated Steel. Shane Mercer eliminated the Back Seat Boys. The camera cut to a wide shot, but you couldn’t really tell what was goign on. Sam Stackhouse use a cartwheel kick to eliminate someone. Havoc sent Stackhouse (who weighed like 400 pounds) to the floor with a rana. Shane Mercer then gorilla pressed Havoc and dumped her onto a crowd on the floor. This left him with PCO. They fought onto the apron, where PCO chokeslammed Mercer to the floor and got the victory.

After the match, PCO got the microphone and smashed a TNA championship belt (the Digital Media title) with a sledgehammer. PCO started running down TNA and the show quickly cut away from PCO and went to a pretaped package.

I guess PCO wasn’t happy in TNA.

– Brett Lauderdale crows about his ticket sales and how they’re better than any show that ran in this building “in the last 30 days or so.” He put over GCW’s success and promised to bring it to all 50 states. He talked up how GCW was successful without a coprorate TV contract or “a billion dollar safety net.” He also recognized some GCW fans who have passed away, including his mother. He rambled on for way too long.

– Dave Prazak joined the commentary team.

The People vs. GCW Main Show

Dave Prazak and Veda Scott were on commentary for the main show.

Matt Tremont won the DLC Match for the GCW Ultraviolent Championship & Extreme Championship which also featured Drew Parker, Dr. Redacted, Rina Yamashita, Matthew Justice, Ciclope, John Wayne Murdoch, Brandon Kirk, and Maki Itoh (15:55)

Most of the entrances occurred during the pre-show. “DLC” means “Doors, ladders and chairs” with the two belts hanging above the ring. This was the retirement match of Brandon Kirk, win lose or draw. Murdoch grabbed a mic and declared that Itoh didn’t not belong in the match, and he was jumped by everyone else to start the match. Itoh is the “Extreme” champion, which is one of the belts hanging above the ring. Parker & Murdoch climbed a ladder and were yanked down by their groins by Yamashita. Itoh did the Terry Funny spinning ladder spot. Guys threw chairs at each other’s heads, then came off the top rope with chair shots to the head. Cicople gave Yamashita a spinebuster. Cicople hit a springboard moonsault onto a pile on the floor. The pan to a crowd shot, but I gotta say the building looked a lot better when AEW was in it last month.

Brandon Kirk went through the first door. Murdoch hit Parker with a destroyer. Itoh hit Murdoch and Justice with a spinning DDT. Kirk went for a pumphandle slam, but Itoh countered that with another spinning DDT. Itoh hit a dive onto a pile on the floor. Nobody has made any attempt to get the belts.

Yamashita and Redacted tried to come off of opposite corners while wearing trash cans, but wound up crashing into each other. Now the match has just stopped while everyone builds ladder struckers in the ring and door/table structures on the floor. Yamashita and Cicople double-teamed Redacted, suplexing a ladder onto him. Out of the ring, Itoh and Murdoch were laid out on tables by Parker. On the top of a ladder, Cicople forced a kiss onto Yamashita, then superplexed to the floor through some tables. Then Drew Parker came off the top of another ladder with a swanton through Itoh and Murdoch. Then on a ladder-scaffold, Justice gave Redacted a death valley driver through a table against the ring barricade. This left Kirk to climb the ladder, but Drew Parker cut him off. Kirk then gave him a pump handle powerpomb through the ladder.

With everyone down, Kirk set up another ladder-scaffold before starting to climb for the belt. Murdoch low-blowed Kirk and sent him through the ladder he’d just set up. Oh the irony! Matt Tremont and Murdoch climb a ladder, and Tremont stopped him by hacking away at him with a fork, sending Tremont crashing down. Tremont pulled down both belts to win the titles.

– A pre-match video on Allie Hatch had me convinced she was winning tonight.

Effy defeated Allie Katch by decision for the GCW World Title shot in the Main Event (4:35)

Katch backdropped Effy to the floor and followed him out with a tope. Katch’s head ended up under the guardrail, but the commentators said she injured her leg. Later it was confirmed she injured her leg. Effy broke character checking on Katch, and the show cut to a wide shot while Katch was tended to by the crew.

Mance Warner (the champion) came out and attacked Effy with the title belt. Warner chokeslammed Effy through the time keeper’s table. Effy was declared the winner in what was obviously not the planned finish.

The New York OG’s (Homicide, Grim Reefer & Amazing Red) defeated Real F’n Pros (Kerry Morton, Tony Deppen, Griffin McCoy) after a lot of time killing.

Kerry Morton started a pre-match promo by saying “It’s a damn shame that GCW gets real professional wrestlers” and immediately became the babyface for me. There was a lot of mic work that felt like it was trying to fill the time left from the last match. And there was really no need for that.

Then, an announcement is made that they can’t actually start the match because “the commission” was not at ringside because they were dealing with the Allie Katch injury. This led to Morton grabbing another mic to run down some more people. The Real F’n Pros decide to leave since they’ve already been paid. Homicide got a mic and started cursing and demanded someone ring the bell. The Grim Reefer offered to hunt down the commissioner and “slap him in his f*n face.”

The finally cut away for some pre-tapes.

The match got underway once a second ambulance got on site. The first ambulance took Allie Katch to the hospital after her leg injury.

Morton did some great heel work from the apron while Deepen was triple teamed by the OG’s. Morton pulled a joint out from behind the Grim Reefer’s ear and broke it in half. Reefer sold for the heels. Morton’s heel work was tremendous. Reefer was completely gassed taking basic punishment from the Real Pros. Reefer pulled out another joint, lit it, then hit a top rope dive onto Deepen and McCoy. Homicide got the tag and took out Deepen and Morton with cutters. Morton’s team triple-teamed Homicide. Morton grabbed Homicide’s fork, but Ricky Morton ran in and took the fork away from his kid, then gave him a destroyer. A Code Red and A Cop Killer ended the match for the New York OG’s.

After the match, Amazing Red was inducted into the 2025 Independent Wrestling Hall of Fame. This would have been a great thing to do when they were trying to kill time before the match.

The Gahbage Daddies (Cole Radrick & Alec Price) defeated Violence is Forever (Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini) for the GCW Tag Team Championship (14:28)

The match spilled to the floor very early. The Gahbage Daddies went for spinning DDTs on the floor, but they were blocked. Price was dropped with a brainbuster on the ring apron. Back in the ring, the champs double-teamed Radrick. This led to some pretty good old-school tag psychology where Vioence is Forever kept cutting off Radrick from getting the tag to Price.

Price finally got the tag and hit a blockbuster on Ku for a near fall. Price hit knee strikes on the champs. Garrini ate several kicks, and Price hit him with a top rope splash for two. Garrini dropped Price with a northern lights bomb. Ku hit a Regalplex on Price (with a boot from Garrini for good measure) for a near fall. Price and Garrini took each other out with a double clothesline.

Ku and Radrick exchanged forearms, and Ku caught him with a sleeper. Garrini had Price locked in a submission, but Radrick broke that up. Ku hit a brainbuster on Radrick, but Drake came off the top with a swanton bomb to break the pin up. Ku and Garrini hit Radrick with a spike piledriver, but it only got two.

Radrick hit an inverted powerbomb for a near fall. The Gahbage Daddies went for their finisher, but the champs countered it, and Ku dropped Drake with a top turnbuckle brainbuster. The Gahbage Daddies made a fast comeboack on Ku, hitting him with a cutter and a rebound lariat. Then then hit their finish, the Gahbage Disposal (a top rope stop from an electric chair) on Ku to get the pinfall and the championship.

This was decent. The Garbage Daddies went into the crowd to celebrate their title win.

Charles Mason defeated Richard Holliday in a Steel Cage Match (12:17)

Holiday reported Mason for murder, but apparently the charges didn’t stick and now we have this cage match. Because a snitch is worse than a murderer, according to commentary. During the entrance for Mason, various criminals are shown on the screen and Luigi Mangione gets a face pop.

Mason seems to understand his character, I will give him that. Mason was pretty dominant early. He sent Holliday headfirst into the cage but walked into a cutter. Holliday sent Mason into the cage headfirst but it didn’t faze him. Holliday hiptossed Mason into the cage to finally slow him down. They brawled up to the top of the cage. Holliday tumbled to the mat, and Mason came off the top of the cage with an elbow.

Perro (Holliday’s ally) broke into the cage and chokeslammed Mason. Mason kicked out of the pin attempt, so Perro threw a door and some chairs into the ring. Perro set up Mason for a powerbomb through the door, but Mason’s ally Slade entered the ring and speared Perro through the door. The wooden door set up like a table, not the cage door. Slade and Perro brawled out of the cage and into the crowd.

Holiday found a chain, but Mason had a chair and beat Holiday to the punch. With the chair, I mean. Mason went for a last big swing, but Holliday caught him with a low blow. Holliday admitting to snitching on Mason and leveled him with a superkick. Holliday hit a spinning suplex for one. Mason hit a spinning lariat and a meteoria in the corner. Mason hit a death valley driver for two, then locked in a sleeperhold. Holiday went for a suplex, but Mason countered into another sleeper, and locked in a body scissors. Holiday tried to use the chain to break it, but Mason grabbed it and used it to choke out Holliday to get the win via ref stoppage. This wasn’t too bad, either.

Sidney Akeem defeated El Hijo Del Vikingo (10:38)

Some pretty great mat stuff started things out. Vikingo offered Akeem a handshake, but he declined and hit a crossbody and a forearm. Vikingo came back with a superkick. Akeem went for a suplex to the floor, but Vikingo escaped with a knee and a kick. Akeem dodged a dive from Vikingo and hit him with a bodypress on the floor from the apron, basically on his back.

Back in the ring, Akeep hit a top rope crossbody for a near fall. Vikingo came back with a missle dropkick off the top that sent Akeem to the floor. Vikingo hit a tope and immediately grabbed his left knee. Back in the ring, Vikingo hit a frog splash for two. Akeem hit a spin kick and a pump handle slam for a near fall. Vikingo hung up Akeem in the ropes and hit a double stomp for a near fall. Both guys avoided cutters and knocked each other down simultaneously with kicks.

Akeem hit his handspring cutter (The Final Act) for two. Vikingo crotched Akeem on the top rope, then hit a destoryer from the top rope onto the ring apron. Back in the ring, Akeem hit the Final Act a second time and got the pinfall.

Arez, Gringo Loco & Jack Cartwheel defeated Tajiri, Super Crazy & Little Guido (12:35)

The ECW guys looked very old. Guildo did soem pretty good matwrok, and Tajiri hit some crisp arm drags. Super Crazy kept up with Arez desipte putting on a good deal of weight since his ECW days. A cheap shot from Arez led to all six guys getting in the ring, and Cartwheel’s team triple teamed Crazy and sent him to the floor. Arez stomped on Little Guido, and Cartwheel hit a slingshot elbow off the ropes. He went to the top for a skytwister press, but Guido rolled out of the way.

Crazy got the tag and hit his opponents with clotheslines. Tajiri took out Loco and Arez with the handspring elbow. Tajiri and Crazy tied them up with tarantuals, and Guildo locked Cartwheel in an armbar. The fight then went to the floor.

Super Crazy climed up the second level balcony and hit a moonsualt on the pile. That’s an insane risk considering what’s already happened on this show. The match eventually went back to the ring, and Arez and Crazy each lock one of their opponents into a surfboard. Arez sent Crazy to the floor, and Loco and Cartwheel followed out and hit him with dives. Arez then hit the pile with a moonsualt to the floor of his own.

Back in the ring, Tajiri misted the referee. Arez then hit Tajiri with the red mist! Loco hit Guido with a split legged moonsault and got the pinfall.

This show feels like it’s been on forever.

Josh Barnett v. Tom Pestock in a “Bloodsport Fight” (10:04)

Pestcok is the former Baron Corbin, but he has legitimate Golden Gloves and BJJ experience. This match has a 15 minute time limit with a five minute overtime if necessary. The ropes have been removed from the ring for this.

Pestock got a takedown and then a heel hook. Barnett looked like he might have an armbar, but Pestock countered and got in a full mount and turned that into a cross arm breaker. Barnett escaped and caught Pestock with some short rights. Pestock threw some elbows into Barnett’s ribs. Barnett got a headlock, but Pestock countered with a headscissors and then went right back into a cross arm breaker again. Barnett was able to block it. Barnett rolled up on Pestock and went for ankle, but Pestock was able to roll on top to counter. Pestock got on top and drove some knees into Barnett’s ribs, then went into a guillotine. Barnett countered that with a suplex, then locked in an armar into a cross arm breaker. Pestock tried to power out, but Barnett countered into a knee bar. Pestock escaped and started pummeling him with forearms. Pestock hit a verticual suplex and some more forearms. Barnett got on top and hit a punches, but Pestock rolled over and fired back.

Both men got to their feet, and Barnett went after Pestock with kicks to the legs. Pestock blocked a kick and leveled Barnett, then hit a pair of backdrop suplexes. Barnett countered a third with a go-behing and went for another legbar, locked it in and Pestock (who had been the crowd favorite) had to tap out.

I don’t’ know what it was but the crowd was into Pestock.

Megan Bayne defeated Atticus Cogar (13:49)

Cogar wore headgear exactly like Bayne’s. Bayne quickly hit a spear for a near fall. Bayne backdropped Cogar and hit a chop in the corner. Bayne buried knees in Cogar’s midsection and hit a spalsh in the corner, then followed that up with a butterfly suplex. Sliding lariat got Bayne a near fall. Cogar shoved Bayne off the turnbuckles to the floor.

Cogar draped Bayne across the barricades and came off the apron with a splash. Cogar set up a table on the floor. Cogar caught Bayne coming in the ring with a DDT for a near fall. Cogar kicked a chair into Bayne’s face. Cogar tried to drive skewers into Bayne’s head but missed. They exchanged German suplexes, and Cogar hit a half and half suplex and a superkick. Cogar found some more skewers and shoved them into every corner of the ring.

Bayne came back with forearms and an overhead belly to belly suplex. Cogar went for a crossbody, but Bayne caught him and gave him a fallaway slam into a steel chair. Cogar hit a headbutt, then came off the top with a stomp for a near fall.

Bayne escaped an air rad crash and hit a sitout powerbomb for two. Bayne went to the top, but Cogar caught her with a kick. Cogar followed him up and hit an air raid crash that was supposed to be on the apron but they went straight to the floor. They went back into the ring and Bayne kicked out of a cover attempt. Bayne hit Cogar with an F5 for a near fall. Bayne grabbed some of the skewers, but before she could skewer him, Otis Cogar (Atticus’ brother) ran in and gave Bayne an uranage, then a moonsault. But Atticus only got a near fall. Otis went for a second moonsault, but Sawyer Wreck sprayed him with a fire extinguisher. Wreck then hit Atticus with a taser, and Bayne hit a tombstone on Atticus to get the pinfall.

Joey Janela defeated Masato Tanaka (12:38)

I don’t think having this many guys who were stars in ECW 30 years ago is the flex the guys running this thing think it is. Tanaka turned Jalena inside-out with a clothesline. Janela dropped Tanaka with a death valley driver on the ring apron. Janela set up some tables on one side of the ring. Jalena then walked Tanaka over to the tables and whipepd him into the ring barricade. Tanaka sent Jalena over the ring barricade and hit him with a chair. Janela then positioned himself onto a table for Tanaka to dive onto him.

Tanaka then threw a bunch of chairs in the ring. Back in the ring, Janela cuaght Tanaka with a DDT. Tanaka hit Jalena with a swinging DDT into the pile of chairs. Janela suplexed Tanaka into the pile of chairs. Then back onto the apron , and Janela powerbombed Tanaka through the table on the floor.

Jalena set up the chairs in the ring. He went for a powerbomb, but Tanaka countered with an elbow and hit Diamond Dust for a near fall. An elbow sent Janela into the chairs and Tanaka went to the top, but Janela caught him. Janela superplexed Tanaka through the chairs and got a one count. Janela hit Tanaka with a pair of chair shots to the head for two.

Janela threw a door and a table into the ring while Tanaka grabbed his head. Janela set Tanaka up in the corner for a superplex, but Tanaka turned it into a spinning DDT into the table. Jalena kicked out at two. Janela sent Tanaka through the door with a death valley driver.

They fought with chairs and forearms in the center of the ring. The each hit rolling elbows and knocked each other down. Janela hit a superkick, then a package piledriver on a steel chair to get the pinfall.

Janela grabbed the mic afterwards and said, “it’s been a long f*cking night.” Yeah, no kidding. Janela got the crowd to give Tanaka ovation. Janela started to talk about his spring break show and the lights went dark. Then clips of Sabu were shown. Including stuff from ECW, Raw, and WCW so I don’t know how they’re getting away with that. Anyway the lights came back up and Sabu was in the ring with Janela. Janela announced that Sabu would have his retirement match with Janela at his spring break show.

Matt Cardona defeated Tommy Invincible (1:44)

Cardona cut a promo about how he’s carried GCW on his back for the last four years. Tommy Invincible has a social media following, and the crowd doesn’t respond well to him. Cardona hit Radio Silence right out of the gate, but it only got two. Invincible hit a pair of knees and then did a John Cena impression to a lot of boos. Invincible hit a fistdrop and a cutter for a near fall. The crowd was not having any of this. Cardona hit a low blow and another Raido Silence and that was it.

So after destroying that nobody, Cardona demands more competition.

Matt Cardona defeated Micro Man

It’s midnight, are these guys serious? The smallest wrestler alive Micro Man came out to wrestle Cardona. Cardona won this match after a low blow when his second, Jimmy Lloyd, pulled the ref out of the ring. Cardona demanded another opponent.

Jimmy Lloyd defeated Matt Cardona (2:12)

Lloyd was Cardona’s second, who turned on Cardona and hit him with Radio Silence. Lloyd hit him with a boot wash and a superkick, then dropped him with a big piledriver and got the pinfall.

Effy defeated Mance Warner for the GCW Championship (19:07)

Warner is trying to start fights with the crowd around ringside. Also it looks like there are a lot of empty seats in the Ballroom. Probably because it’s well past midnight.

Effy started off fast and hit a pair of boots in the corner, but Warner grabbed the title belt and walloped Effy with it. The fight went to the floor and Warner dominated with chops and bit Effy’s forehead. Effy suplexed Warner on the floor. Effy whipped Warner into the ringpost and into the guardrail. Effy threw some chairs in the ring.

Back in the ring, Effy hit Warner with a chair, then dropped him crotch-first onto a chair. Effy went for a cannonball off the top, but Warner moved and Effy hit the chair. Warner hit Effy with a chair. Warner then chokeslammed Effy into the edge of a set-up steel chair. What was left of the crowd was behind Effy, and they definitely weren’t as loud as they were earlier in the night. Warner set up some more chairs in the ring. Effy sent Warner into the chairs with the TKO. Effy followed up with a tombstone into a set up chair.

Effy smashed Warner with a door. Warner hit him with the door. Warner tried to springboard into Effy, but Effy caught him and spinebustered him threw the door. Effy gave him a curbstomp into a chair for another near fall.

Effy threw more doors and chairs into the ring. Any booker with good sense would have sent these guys home by now. The crowd does not care about any of this. Effy and Warner fought on the apron, and Warner tried a piledriver through the table and it didn’t break and both guys are out of it. And the crowd couldn’t care less.

Back in the ring, Effy kicks out of a pin attempt. The crowd barely reacts. Warner goes to the floor to throw more stuff around. Warner hit a member of the ring crew with a steel chair. Back in the ring, Warner put a door across some steel chairs (a “door bridge” the commentators called it). Warner DDT’d Effy off the top through the door, and Effy kicks out. And maybe four people clapped.

Warner dumped Effy to the floor and demanded a count out. Effy got in before the ref counted ten, so Warner dumped him out again. Effy made it back in the ring, and Warner beat him with a steel chair. Warner hit him with a knee for one, and finaly the crowd reacted a bit. Warner pulled a screwdriver out of his boot, and Effy hit a spear. Effy got the screwdriver and hit Warner in the head. Effy gutwrench powerbombed Warner through the door, but it only got one. Warner countered a Radio Silence attempt with a powerbomb, then hit a DDT for another near fall.

Warner then left the ring to grab a guitar. But Cole Radrick ran in and stopped him. Radrick pulled out a brass ring (which would get him a title shot), but Radrick didn’t use it. Instead, he gave Effy the guitar and left. Effy hit Warner with the guitar, then hit the Radio Silence (which he calls the Sack Ryder), and got the pinfall. The win got barely any crowd reaction.

This show was about two hours too long. There’s only so many times you can see guys get hit with chairs or go through tables or doors before it gets redundant. And I’d guess about 1/2 the crowd left before the end of it.

Mance Warner wins GCW title at Cage of Survival 3

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Mance Warner is the new GCW Champion.

Warner won the title shortly after Joey Janela won the Gauntlet of Survival match to become champion. Warner then came in and cashed in his Do or Die title match, pinning Janela with an implant DDT to become the new champion. The show ended with GCW General Manager Matt Cardona, Steph de Lander, Jimmy Lloyd, and Warner celebrating with the championship.

The title was stripped from Blake Christian while he was competing in NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament by Matt Cardona, who is recovering from a torn pectoral muscle. An angle took place on social media earlier in the afternoon where masked men attacked Joey Janela in his hotel room prior to the card.

Other matches on the show, which took place in Atlantic City, saw Effy defeat Warner in a Cage of Survival match, Megan Bayne defeating Mike Bailey, Cole Radrick & Alec Price defeating Yuki Ishikawa and Hideyoshi Kamitani, and Matt Tremont defeating Big F’n Joe in a deathmatch.

Matt Cardona to make MLW debut in Kiss My Foot match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Matt Cardona’s MLW debut will be in a Kiss My Foot match.

It was announced today that the former Zack Ryder will face Mance Warner in a Kiss My Foot match at MLW Fury Road on Sunday, September 3. The match will also have a no holds barred stipulation. The loser of the match must kiss the winner’s foot.

MLW revealed last month that Cardona would be debuting for the promotion at Fury Road. Cardona and Kevin Blackwood were the first two wrestlers to be selected in the 2023 MLW Open Draft.

The announcement of the match comes after Warner accepted an open challenge to face Cardona. Mister Saint Laurent, who is aligned with Cardona, was recently attacked by Warner and Microman on MLW Fusion. Saint Laurent then challenged any member of the Second Gear Crew to face Cardona at Fury Road.

Fury Road is taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia and will air live on Fite+. Here’s the updated card for the show:

MLW Fury Road (Sunday, September 3) —

  • MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane defends against Willie Mack
  • Kiss My Foot match: Matt Cardona vs. Mance Warner
  • Maki Itoh vs. B3CCA (winner becomes number one contender to MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion Delmi Exo)
  • Kevin Blackwood makes his MLW debut

MLW Fusion results: Tag Team & Middleweight title defenses

Posted on by Iain Oliver

This week’s MLW Fusion was taped in Philadelphia as part of their Battle Riot tapings earlier this year with Matt Striker & Joe Dombrowski on commentary.

Mister Saint Laurent and Microman opened the show by introducing us to Microman’s new theme song which had MSL singing along and orchestrating the crowd to do the same.

This brought out Davey Boy Smith Jr. who has been receiving some mixed reactions since returning to MLW. Smith shook Microman’s hand, but then hit him with a big boot and a running powerslam.

During the attack, MSL feigned shock and horror. However, when Smith grabbed MSL by the neck, Smith and MSL’s faces both turned to grins as they revealed the ruse and their new evil partnership. Smith gorilla pressed Microman out of the ring and onto The Mane Event, who had come out to try and save their friend. MSL and DBS shook hands again and left together.

MLW Middleweight Champion AKIRA defeated Lince Dorado to retain the title

This was a decent match that had a very innovative finishing sequence involving Dorado losing his mask. This was AKIRA’s first defense of the Middleweight belt as he only won it a few weeks ago from Dorado in a triple-threat match which also included Lio Rush.

Dorado had an urgency in the early going and hit fluid ushigoroshis before showing off some great high-flying action with a running no-touch dive over the top rope to the floor and a torneo from the top rope when back in the ring.

AKIRA came back into the match when he crotched Dorado in a Tree of Woe and hit a running dropkick. He later dropped Dorado on his knee with a backbreaker. 

Dorado hit a flipping DDT and moonsaults from two of the ropes, but AKIRA got his boot up to Dorado’s jaw on the third attempt.

AKIRA hit a German suplex, which he missed earlier, and got a close two count. As the back-and-forth action continued, AKIRA hit some running boots in the corner. Dorado came back with a handspring stunner and a brainbuster, but AKIRA grabbed and removed his mask while Dorado was attempting another handspring. 

Instead of leading immediately to the finish, they were able to pull off some near falls and spots while Dorado was covering his face. Dorado kicked out of a running knee and then countered a piledriver into a hurricanrana, all while keeping his face hidden behind his arm.

Dorado eventually reached for his mask, but this gave AKIRA an opening to hit his Death Penalty elevated reverse DDT and pick up the pinfall win to retain his title.

– After last week’s “expose” exposing those that are not the financial backer of Alex Kane’s Bomaye Fight Club, this week’s second installment had the final four suspects: Conrad Thompson, Jim Cornette, Queen Latifah, and Dixie Carter. Similar to last week, all four were confirmed as not being the financial backer, but we will find out who is this Saturday at Never Say Never.

– In the gym, the Second Gear Crew were talking tactics ahead of their title match later tonight, which included a table drawn on a whiteboard, Hindu squats, and plenty of beers.

– After last week’s attack on Featherweight Champion Delmi Exo, Taya Valkyrie has been fined and suspended for one week. This led the commentary team to question whether Exo will be fit for her title vs. title match this Saturday against wXw Women’s Champion Ava Everett.

Mandy Leon defeated Billie Starkz

Leon continued her winning ways in MLW against the impressive Starkz. Leon has joined forces with Raven, AKIRA, and Ricky Shane Page as part of the main heel faction The Calling, and had to call upon her stablemate henchmen to get the win.

Before Leon’s entrance, a video featuring The Calling was shown. Page challenged Jacob Fatu for his National Openweight title and it was mentioned that Leon is gunning for the Featherweight title.

This match was only a few minutes long, but they put a lot of effort into their time. A German suplex and an Unprettier on the apron had Leon in control. Starkz came back with suplexes on the outside and inside, but the masked Calling henchmen distracted the referee and pushed Starkz off the top rope to give Leon the win.

– Ahead of their MLW title match at Never Say Never, Alex Kane and the champion Alex Hammerstone cut promos backstage. Hammerstone took offense at being called a placeholder by showing how he has bettered Kane at every step during their similar paths in MLW. Kane’s promo was more straight to the point as he again called Hammerstone “roid boy” and guaranteed a win Saturday.

MLW Tag Team Champions The Samoan SWAT Team (Juicy Finau and Lance Anoa’i) defeated The Second Gear Crew (1 Called Manders & Mance Warner) to retain in a hardcore match

The build for this match was one week long and emerged from a friendly sharing of beers backstage last week. That was all these four needed to sign on for a hardcore match, which says a lot about the crazy characters involved here. The match was a callback to the old ECW classics involving The Gangstas where weapons were sprawled all around the ring.

We were straight into the action as all four threw chairs at each other before the outside brawling began. Finau’s head became a weapon against Warner before the “Southern Psycho” decided to go for the eyepoke to get some non-head-related offense in.

Manders threw a chair at Finau on the outside, but it spun off and hit a security guard and tumbled into the front row as the chaos continued. Tables were brought into the ring and set up for a splash from off a ladder.

Warner exploded into life with chair shots to the tag champs followed by Anoa’i taking a big bump off the top of the ladder and through another ladder that was resting in the corner.

Finau squashed Warner with a powerslam, but immediately ate more chair shots from Manders.

Manders then found himself on a table after more chair shots and brawling. Finau went to the middle rope, but was caught by Warner and more chair shots. Warner then ended up on Finau’s back, but the huge tag champ only used this extra weight to continue and crush Manders with a middle rope splash through the table leading to a pinfall victory and the champions retaining their titles.

After the match, and for the sixth time this episode, The Calling’s music hit as AKIRA, Page, Delirious and gas-masked henchmen jumped the SST and Second Gear Crew, all as Raven and Leon watched on.

But unlike most other Calling attacks, the SST got the upper hand and sent The Calling up the ramp as they brawled with Warner and Manders, all after Finau had launched a ladder over the top onto Page, who only saw it coming at the last minute.

This Saturday’s card for MLW Never Say Never live on FITE+:

  • MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone defends against Alex Kane
  • MLW Featherweight Champion Delmi Exo defends against wXw Women’s Champion Ava Everett in a title vs. title match
  • MLW National Openweight Champion Jacob Fatu defends against Calvin Tankman
  • MLW Tag Team Champions The Samoan SWAT Team (Juicy Finau and Lance Anoa’i) defend against The Calling (Ricky Shane Page & AKIRA)
  • Timothy Thatcher vs. Tracy Williams
  • Mance Warner vs. Sam Adonis in a Country Whipping match
  • The Bomaye Fight Club benefactor is revealed

MLW Fusion results: Mance Warner vs. Sam Adonis leather strap match

Posted on by Iain Oliver

This week’s MLW Fusion was taped in both New York City and Philadelphia as part of MLW’s War Chamber and Battle Riot tapings earlier this year. Matt Striker and Joe Dombrowski were on commentary. 

Mandy Leon (w/ Raven) defeated Clara Carreras

This was advertised as “The Calling unleashing Mandy Leon on the Featherweight division” and it did not disappoint in delivering Leon into title contention. 

Leon was recently unveiled as the latest member of Raven’s group of rogues and here, she wasted no time in planting her spot at the top of the featherweight division. She is surely in line as one of champion Delmi Exo’s first challengers if she can survive wXw Women’s Champion Ava Everett in their title vs. title match at Never Say Never.

Carreras managed to get some offense in, including a cannonball in the corner and a nearfall from a frog splash, but Leon took most of the match. She rag dolled her opponent and put her away with Astro Projection and a Raven-inspired Evenflow DDT.

– Earlier today ahead of his leather strap match, Mance Warner and the Second Gear Crew caught up with MLW Tag Team Champions The Samoan SWAT Team. They ended up agreeing on a friendly tag team match in the future between the beer-loving and beer-sharing fan favorites.

– Microman and Willie Mack were sharing some Dunkin’ Donuts in the parking lot but Mister Saint Laurent was quick to jump in and remove his Micro-money maker from the situation.

– After winning the MLW National Openweight title last week, a jubilant Jacob Fatu said he and the Samoan SWAT Team, who joined him for a championship celebration last week, were now going full gear in MLW.

Sam Adonis defeated Mance Warner in a strap match

After coming to blows and eliminating each other in the Battle Riot match, but more recently being on the end of a reckless and brutal hanging two weeks ago, Warner was set for revenge tonight against the men (Adonis and John Hennigan) who were fined $2500 last week for their actions.

The four corner touch rule was in effect here. Adonis came out early trying to touch each turnbuckle multiple times. He was also quick to use the strap to his advantage. It culminated in a top rope blockbuster neckbreaker by the lucha-loving AAA member Adonis. As impressive as Adonis’ neckbreaker was, it still received a “you still suck” chant from the fans, which was a nice comedic touch from the Philly faithful.

Of course, the tough-as-leather Warner fought back and hit a neckbreaker on the floor followed by multiple chops and whippings from the strap.

The finish of the match involved the rules coming into play. The referee told the fans that during the back-and-forth brawling, both fighters made it to 3-3 on the corner touching but via different paths. However, a tug-of-war ensued that led to both crashing into a wooden board in the corner. As Adonis went in back first, his hand reached up first and as a consequence, he hit the buckle before Warner thus giving Adonis the win. 

Warner got the last word after smacking a broken board over Adonis’ head, but it was the Azteca Lucha member who walked away with the win.

Later, Warner called out Adonis for a Country Whipping match to bring their feud to a conclusion. This was booked for Never Say Never.

– In a segment that took us no further forward in the search for the Bomaye Fight Club money man behind the enterprise, Dan Lambert, Shane Taylor and Wale were all named as potential leaders of the number one contenders fight club. However, they were quickly told that none of them were, in fact, the person we are looking for, and that person will be named at Never Say Never. Other than name dropping, this seemed a bit pointless but it did give Dave Meltzer a showing as he was pictured alongside Wale.

– Jacob Fatu will defend his newly won Openweight title against Calvin Tankman at Never Say Never.

– Sam Leterna interviewed the aforementioned Exo, but she was quickly attacked by former champion Taya Valkyrie. Valkyrie gave her a curb stomp on top of her newly-won title belt before explaining Exo has to have a rematch with her in the next 30 days due to her contract.

– Everett then cut a promo before her title vs. title match with Exo and said that Exo was in her first-ever professional match. She also promised to walk away with both titles.

Alex Kane defeated Shigehiro Irie

Ahead of his MLW Championship challenge of Alex Hammerstone at Never Say Never, Kane put up some of his Bomaye Fight Club cash in what was advertised as “The Big Apple Grapple II: The Search For More Hoes.” They are still going with this name.

Irie’s slingshot splash is innovative and impressive which gave him a very early nearfall in this 10-minute hard-hitting battle. A ringside brawl concluded with Kane having the advantage inside the ring after a commercial break.

Irie caught Kane off guard and slammed him with a nice suplex as the commentators talked up his latest wXw 16 Carat tournament win. Irie then ran over and slammed into Kane with a running back elbow through the ropes as Kane was sitting on the ring apron, which was the first time I have seen that.

A strike exchange then followed before a hard-hitting back-and-forth exchange of suplexes led to Kane raking the eyes and hitting The Mark of Kane finisher for the win. This was a good hard-hitting bout. 

After the match, Kane called out Hammerstone who gladly obliged but was initially held back by officials so they could throw insults at each other. Kane had a few good straight-to-the-point ones: “Hulk Hogan,” “Old Warrior,” and “Roid Boy” but ended with a good line while Hammerstone stood behind three referees and a stagehand in a black hoodie. He said, “You lift all these weights and you can’t break through that line?” before Fusion eventually went off the air with Kane milking in the crowd adulation.

Next week:

  • MLW Tag Team Champions Samoan Swat Team (Juicy Finau & Lance Anoa’i) defend against The Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner & 1 Called Manders)

New for Never Say Never (July 8th):

  • Mance Warner vs. Sam Adonis in a Country Whipping match
  • MLW Openweight Champion Jacob Fatu defends against Calvin Tankman

MLW Underground results: Four-way dumpster match

Posted on by Iain Oliver

This week’s MLW Underground heavily hyped next week’s War Chamber match with both the opener and main event being used to build to the massive match.

This week’s action was taped in Philadelphia during February’s SuperFight TV taping with Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker on the call.

Matthew Justice defeated Mance Warner, Microman and Real1 in a dumpster match

The story surrounding this match was with Real1 having all his recent adversaries competing, there was no way he could win and would face his comeuppance. He certainly didn’t win, but put in a good showing.

Early on, Real1 tried to get his hands on Microman but Warne and the crazy Justice took turns getting their shots in. Microman even got his own shot in with an assisted “Whazzzup!” to Real1’s lower regions.

Real1 fought back and dropped his opponents groin first on the guardrail before hitting his Razor’s Edge into the ringpost on both men, then sidestepping to send Warner crashing through a wooden board.

Justice took Real1 out with a chair and he and Microman rolled him on top of a ringside dumpster. Justice then brought a ladder into the ring, climbed it and dropped an elbow onto Real1 into a dumpster, giving him the win.

As he hit the dumpster, the ominous music of The Calling hit as Ricky Shane Page, AKIRA and their crew of masked henchmen attacked Justice and Warner, also attacking MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone in the backstage area.

– MLW Fusion will be returning and showing the upcoming Super Series. 

– It was announced that the Opera Cup will be returning but the current cup “holder” Alex Kane will be banned due to his recent actions of disrespect towards the Cup.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated Alex Kane in a no ropes catch wrestling match

Smith got cheered during his entrance, but would finish the match getting booed by the Philadelphia crowd for no reason other than the crowd chose Kane as their favorite. There has definitely been a mixed reaction recently to Smith and the Billington Bulldogs and a quick “kiss my ass” taunt at the end of the match showed Smith acknowledging the crowd’s choice.

Before the match, we heard a pre-taped interview with Kane who taunted Thomas Billington after he had his teeth knocked out last week at the hands of the Bomaye Fight Club.

This started as a grappling match but broke down into a suplex and striking battle towards the end.

Smith nicely bridged out of an octopus hold early on and had a nip-up to escape a leg lock. Kane went to the eyes to escape from an armbar and a German suplex exchange started as the crowd started to get behind the heel Kane.

Strikes followed and Kane hit Smith with another suplex and an Angle slam. They exchanged leg submissions as they rolled and reversed, ending in a sharpshooter by Smith. Mr. Thomas helped Kane escape (because there were no ropes to grab), but Smith kicked him off the apron.

This gave Kane a chance to go for the liquid that blinded Smith last week, but Smith ducked and locked in a rear naked choke to pick up the win to the boos of the Philadelphia crowd.

– Sam Laterna interviewed Lio Rush after he laid out Middleweight Champion Lince Dorado last week and left with his title. Rush had the title over his shoulder and said Dorado had been dodging him recently, but if Dorado wants his title back, he will need to catch him if he can.

AKIRA defeated Calvin Tankman

This called back to The Calling’s first set of attackers as Tankman was one of their first victims as well as the more recent attack on Tankman’s tag partner, EJ Nduka.

AKIRA brought a crowbar into the ring to start the big man vs. little man style match, but ended up having his chest beaten red via chops from Tankman.

Tankman got his leg stuck in the guardrail to give AKIRA an opening and he took full advantage. Back in the ring, he focused his attack on the leg and locked in a standing octopus/Manji Gatame hold. AKIRA then jumped on Tankman’s back to lock in a choke, but Tankman threw him off.

Tankman hit his pop-up spinning elbow and set AKIRA on the top rope with bad intentions. Tankman followed him up but before he could do anything, Raven took a cheap shot with a loaded pipe to Tankman’s leg after which AKIRA locked in a choke. Tankman toppled to the mat and AKIRA transitioned to a bulldog choke to get the referee stoppage finish to pick up the win.

After the match, 1 Called Manders and Matthew Justice ran out with steel chairs to get some revenge for earlier on and began to brawl with AKIRA and the masked Calling henchmen. AKIRA ended up coming off the top rope with a chair across his back to take out everyone at ringside.

Outside the building, we saw Hammerstone, Warner, Rickey Shane Page and other henchmen brawling as the announcers hyped up next week’s War Chamber match.

Next week:

  • Alex Hammerstone and Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner, 1 Called Manders & Matthew Justice) vs. The Calling (Raven, AKIRA & Rickey Shane Page)

April 25th:

  • Battle Riot V