Pre-Shows
The Wrld on GCW was sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon, who supported two battle royals on YouTube before the PPV on FiteTV. The first battle royal included over 50 wrestlers from the indie circuit, all coming in every few minutes, including Janai Kai, Charles Mason, Dustin Thomas, “2Hot” Steve Scott, Psycho Clown, Dark Sheik, Parrow, Hoodfoot, Yoya, Big Vin, B-Boy, Thunder Rosa, and recently inducted Indie Wrestling Hall of Famers Lufisto and Ruckus. The battle royal was tremendously fun, as all of the competitors showcased their skills for the crowd. Big Vin took the victory, eliminating Charles Mason, as the crowd cheered the second-generation wrestler. The match ended with Charles Mason celebrating with his father, ECW original 911, who competed in the Hammerstein over 20 years ago.
The second battle royal was a six-man scramble match with Ninja Mack, Grim Reefer, Shane Mercer, Jack Cartwheel, Alex Zayne, and Dante Leon.
All the wrestlers beginning with the big spots, as the high flyers like Jack Cartwheel, Grim Reefer, Alex Zayne, and Ninja Mack, all showcased flying spots over the top ropes and off the top turnbuckle. The crowd cheered as each wrestler took to the sky, whether it’s the high-risk maneuvers of Alex Zayne, Grim Reefer taking a hit before sticking a landing (supported by a “Pass That Shit” chant from the crowd), or Ninja Mack especially delivering creative and innovative agility. Ninja Mack’s combination handspring and moonsaults are always a sight to behold. Former tag team partners Dante Leon and Ninja Mack had a great back and forth before Shane Mercer broke in, taking out both Leon and an incoming Alex Zayne at the same time. Zayne counter delivering a combination top rope hurricanrana on Ninja Mack, followed by a German suplex on Shane Mercer. Still, Shane Mercer relied on his strength to dominate the match, specifically against a resilient Jack Cartwheeler and knocking out Ninja Mack with a closeline. Grim Reefer tries to hold down Shane Mercer for a submission, but Jack Cartwheel attacks both with a beautiful Twisted Crest, followed by Dante Leon attacking Cartwheel with a cutter. Alex Zayne puts Dante Leon on his shoulders, setting him for Ninja Mack to leap off the top turnbuckle, hit Leon with a flying kick, but Leon still has enough strength to land a poison rana on Zayne. The crowd cheered for the beautiful combination from Ninja Mack and Dante Leon, but could barely catch their breath as Shane Mercer carried Ninja Mack to the top turnbuckle to land a devastating moonsault.
Shane Mercer continued to dominate the battle royal and even held Zayne through the ropes so Jack Cartwheel could deliver a shooting star press onto Zayne. Grim Reefer brought in a chair to deliver a DDT onto Shane Mercer, but Mercer blocked the attempt, grabbing Reefer and bringing him to the top turnbuckle. High in the sky, Reefer counters, finally delivering a top rope DDT to Shane Mercer through the chair, allowing him to take the three count, landing Grim Reefer the victory.
The match was incredibly excited as a showcase for all of this talent. I liked the story having all of these high fliers needing to find ways to work around Shane Mercer’s strength, as he was booked like a monster throughout the fight. This match worked as a great introduction to the creativity GCW offers.
