I went to GCWs first ever event in Maryland on May 17th and had a really good time.

GCW is known for hardcore wrestling matches that often include barbed wire, glass, doors used in place of tables, chairs, skewers and brawling through the crowd…most of which is not allowed by the Maryland State Athletic Commission.

I have been a fan/follower of GCW for 6-7 years. So much in fact that I have subscribed to Triller TV for the past few years with the main reason being to watch GCW. I am a fan of all wrestling. I can spend hours watching old rasslin from the 70s and 80s. Most weeks I watch at least one AEW & WWE TV program. Add in the series, documentaries such as Dark Side of the Ring (on Vice TV) and The Queen of Villains (on Netflix) along with the podcasts I keep in heavy rotation. I have been a fan of wrestling for over 45 years and can find fun and entertainment in even the most local of indy rasslin.

Needless to say, I was excited when GCW announced their Maryland debut. Not nearly as excited as when I got to the show and saw my seat was literally front row ringside, in the center. Perfect for chanting, booing, photos and videos. I was a bit annoyed with the fact that your ticket didnt show a section, row or seat number. Just said ‘ringside’ which had me wandering the building, climbing over people to find a seat with my name on a sticky note.

I didnt write down match by match results, but instead want to share my experience and thoughts on the show.

The building it was held in was really nice. RJ Meyer Arena in Joppa, MD is not your typical hall that hosts independent wrestling. Its inside a flea market, has plenty of room for merchandise tables, refreshment stands, a stage, excellent lighting and a few hundred fans. I didnt get a count, but the seats were all full and there were plenty of people standing.

The crowd gave me a vibe of mid 90s ECW in Philadelphia. Not the drunk, obnoxious, blood thirsty fans, but mostly male, wearing black tee shirts. Nothing wrong with that as I too was wearing a black tee. The crowd was clearly a mix of GCW fans, WWE/AEW TV fans and a few local MCW fans (MCW runs regular shows at the RJ Meyer Arena). There were signs and chants of BALD at every wrestler with a bald head. That got old real early and some fans started competing chants asking them to “Shut the F Up”. There were some kids in the crowd, not as much as you would see at a regular indy show featuring former WWE & AEW TV names.

One odd thing I want to mention that I havent seen in all my time of seeing live wrestling, whether its WWF, NWA, ECW, indies, etc is that there were 3 wrestlers tonight that lost their shoes/boots. One appeared to be a slip on shoe. One was a ankle high boot you would see on a work site and the other was a knee high boot without laces. Just something odd that stuck out to me.

There was a man vs woman match early in the show. Marcus Mathers vs Miyu Yamashita. I remember maybe 20 years ago WWE promoted Vince vs Stephanie McMahon on a Pay Per View held in Baltimore. Maryland didnt allow man vs woman matches at the time. WWE held the match as announced and just paid a fine. This was a well wrestled match that had the crowd into both wrestlers. Marcus is a WWE ID talent and Miyu has been on several indies as well as TNA shows. Miyu won in the end.

They had a grudge tag match featuring Joey Janella & Mr Danger vs The Cogar Brothers. One thing noticed early…none of the wrestlers on the show would pass the ‘airport test’. No one had above average height or size. I know wrestling has changed but sometimes perception is reality. This match had skewers (stuck in a turnbuckle pad and not a wrestler) chairs and doors (used in place of tables). The Cogars won the match after the referee turned heel and helped them win.

There was Greg Excellent vs Jimmy Lloyd. Greg did have a different look. He has been on the indies for over 20 years. He is a bigger guy, but very entertaining. His mom came to ringside with him and actually got involved in the match and hit a Canadian Destroyer on Lloyd behind the refs back to help Greg get the win.

They had Matt Tremont vs Slade for the Ultraviolent Championship. One thing we weren’t getting tonight was Ultraviolence. Tremont has been doing Hardcore wrestling for close to 15 years and his body shows it. The ringside crew prearranged some doors and chairs in the corner of the ring. The guys went through the doors and used them as weapons on each other. They brawled to the floor and out through the crowd when Dan McDevitt (who is the MCW promoter and I am assuming GCW was using their license) came out and frantically called for the match to be stopped due to the strict Maryland State Athletic Commission. The share of the crowd being GCW fans and not familiar with MCW started chanting “F that old guy” when the bell was rang. That didnt stop Tremont & Slade and they brawled out the door and into the parking lot.

The main event was GCW Heavyweight champion EFFY vs local standout Ruckus. I have known Ruckus for 20-25 years. He used to call a pro wrestling hotline I did and ask for Sabu tapes. He would bring wrestling belts that he won all over the world to my house. I am sure most fans knew that Ruckus wasnt winning the belt tonight but that didnt stop the crowd from supporting their hometown rassler. It was a good back and forth match that saw Ruckus hit some of the high flying moves and dives he has done over the past 2 decades. In the end, Effy got the pin to retain and that was it. The first GCW show in Maryland was over.

I’d say it was a success. Really good crowd and solid wrestling up and down the show. I hope they return and if they do, I hope I am front row middle once again.

To see clips of this night, please check out our youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@rasslerama

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@rasslerama