Acting off their Twitter feud where Matt Cardona’s wife, Chelsea Green, was implied to have had an affair with Joey Janela, Cardona continued to prove why he’s one of the hottest and most in touch heels on the indies. Entering in an homage to Sandman’s entrance, the self-proclaimed “Deathmatch King” Matt Cardona continued to flaunt his WWE credentials to the fury of the GCW audience. The boos swarmed like a swarm of hornets as a giant “If Cardona Wins we Riot” sign brandished the rafters. Cardona walked into the ring with a “Fuck Mick Foley” shirt and his wife Chelsea Green by his side. Meanwhile, “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela entered to a massive pop from the crowd as one of the most beloved figures on the indie circuit. I love the story told with this match-up, with Janela fighting for the honor of GCW against the sellout WWE superstar-reject Matt Cardona.
Matt Cardona Photo Credit: Darwin Baez
The fight began evenly, with Cardona and Janela throwing their bodies at each other with dives and clotheslines. Janela was eager to break out the steel chairs, working Cardona with some stiff hits, gaining control of the bout before Cardona started using his size to do damage with some chair shots. Chelse Green seemingly turns on Cardona with a low blow but swerves and lands another low blow on Janela, granting Cardona control of the match while revealing a generously inconspicuous cup. Cardona’s big focus, however, is working the crowd, generating as much heat as possible, mocking the crowd while pummeling Janela. Janela definitely felt the effects of the chair, weary as he gained some steam, landing some punches and suplexes on Cardona. Over time, we’re treated to cameos from the likes of Smart Mark Sterling, Virgil, Swoggle, Sam Stackhouse, and Marko Stunt interfering with the match. Marko Stunt got the biggest pop of all the cameos, followed by immediate boos when Cardona delivers an inverted DDT on Stunt. The pace picks back up when Joey Janela brings out a door and delivers a flying big elbow on Cardona. When it looks like Janela’s coming back with some stiff chair shots to the back of Cardona’s neck, Chelsea Green interjects, hitting Janela with a kendo stick, leading to Janela delivering a spiked piledriver on Green.
Suddenly, a mysterious figure in a motorcycle helmet ran into the win and spears Janela through a door. He’s revealed to be Brian Myers, Cardona’s long-time friend and tag team partner from WWE and the indies. They join together for a Radio Silence smashing Janela to the door, as Cardona pins Janela for the three count delivering the win.
The crowd showered the team with boos and trash, leading to an appearance by X-PAC attacking Cardona.
I really enjoyed the match. The in-ring storytelling was solid, and Cardona knows how to draw heat from the crowd. His understanding of how to piss off the internet wrestling community is unlike any other. Joey Janela’s dedication to taking as much punishment as possible to tell his story and entertain the crowd is always worth commending. The cameos were fun, but outside of Brian Myers, they kind of disrupted the match’s pace, feeling out of nowhere. Still, the pacing picked up in the second half. Frankly, any match involving these two is guaranteed to be entertaining, and this one is no exception.
