Game Changer Wrestling from New Jersey continues to do just that, with two sold-out shows from Japan. Originally Jersey Championship Wrestling from 1999 to 2015, new owners Brett Lauderdale and Danny Demanto rebranded it to GCW and have taken it from gritty local Jersey indie to one of the nationwide leaders of the US indies. With hard-hitting action, deathmatches, and some of the most mind-blowing athleticism, they’ve combined the danger of early Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) with the innovation of early Ring of Honor. And now, GCW is going international with GCW in Japan, as they travel to the Orient to meet many of the Japanese stars and legends who have fought in GCW rings before in the US. For those who can’t see it live in Japan, have no fear. Worst Behavior will air as a PPV special on Friday night on Fite.tv.
GCW in Japan – Worst Behavior ’19
Alex Colon vs. Masashi Takeda
Alex Colon is the guard-dog of GCW. He takes on all intruders in the yard and won’t stay down until he’s unconscious. Last summer, he won the 2018 GCW Tournament of Survival, showing that the gritty former regular with Rockstar Pro and CZW could get as dangerous as the next man. He’s facing off against a 12-year veteran who has spent his last 10 with BJW, in 2x BJW Tag Team Champion Masashi Takeda. But he’s more than just a traditional wrestler, he’s a deathmatch specialist. He’s a former BJW Deathmatch Champion, and a former 2x King of FREEDOMS Champion with Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS, one of Japan’s top deathmatch promotions. Takeda is also no stranger to GCW – he’s been appearing with them the past couple of years and won the 2018 Nick Gage Invitational Tournament – where he defeated Alex Colon on US soil in a semi-final classic. And this past spring, he fought Jonathan Gresham in a solid encounter at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport.
Jun Kasai, Toshiyuki Sakuda, & Takashi Sasaki vs. SHLAK, Markus Crane, & Eric Ryan
Since 1998, Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS and Japanese hardcore icon Jun Kasai has been a massacre across Asia. Apart from FREEDOMS, he’s brought down bloody rains in Big Japan Wrestling (BJW), WRESTLE-1, and DDT Pro, and internationally with Mexico’s DTU and Germany’s Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw). The reigning and 4x FREEDOMS King of FREEDOM World Champion is also a former CZW World Junior Heavyweight Champion and DDT Extreme Champion. He’s leading a squad of featuring another FREEDOMS legend in Takashi Sasaki, who was also a veteran with DDT Pro and BJW, as well as one of FREEDOMS’ young studs in Toshiyuki Sakuda. While all three of those men know how to hurt and inflict pain, so the three men from GCW on the other side. SHLAK and Markus Crane are both dominating pain mongers individually, but they also work together as a tag team called Hate Trash Disaster. Paired up with one of GCW’s most underrated stars in Eric Ryan, it’s going to be an international incident.
Jimmy Lloyd, G-Raver, & Drew Parker vs. Los Macizos (Ciclope & Miedo Extremo) & Violento Jack
Jimmy Lloyd has become more than a “Different Boy” in GCW, where he’s become a consistent performer and tough competitor. He’s joining veteran G-Raver, who fought as a cult favorite for years before gaining notoriety with GCW over the past couple years, and the UK’s Drew Parker, whose finding a real taste for the American hardcore. They’re facing a trio from one of their international allies in Mexico’s Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU). Los Macizos‘ Ciclope (not the WCW Superstar of the same name) and Miedo Extremo are not only DTU regulars, but the reigning GCW World Tag Team Champions, which they’ve held over 465 days. They haven’t defended in the US yet, but do in both Mexico with DTU and Japan with FREEDOMS and Zona 23. They’re teaming with a DTU and FREEDOMS veteran in Violento Jack, a former 2x King of FREEDOMS Champion 2x DTU Extreme Champion.
KTB vs. Daisuke Sekimoto
An absolute case of the unstoppable object meeting the immovable object. KTB is no stranger to hardcore violence – a former GCW World Champion, he’s a trainwreck looking to explode. But on Thursday, his opponent is a Japanese legend from Big Japan Wrestling in Daisuke Sekimoto, one of the hardest hitting men on the planet. A 4x BJW Strong World Heavyweight Champion, 3x All Japan World Tag Team Champion, Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) Unified World Wrestling Champion and the reigning 2x ZERO1 World Champion, he’s fought the toughest men all over the world. These two recently collided in the US at AIW Sekimoto Takes Cleveland this past July in a hardcore hoss battle.
Joey Janela & Invisible Man vs. Kikutaro & Invisible Stan
Joey Janela is wrapping up his indie commitments before going full time with AEW in October, but first, he’s heading to Japan with GCW. And more importantly, with one of his inspirations, The Invisible Man. The Invisible Man has been a staple of Joey Janela’s Spring Break events and a near tragedy earlier this year saw the world assume Man had passed away. Fortunately, it was a ruse from a jealous doppelganger, Invisible Stan, and the two see-through grapplers will be heading to tag team action to continue their blood feud. With Janela in Man’s corner, Stan has chosen a Japanese legend of mind tricks and tom-foolery in Kikutaro, in what could be the Match of the Night.
Tony Deppen vs. The Great Sasuke
Tony Deppen has been one of GCW’s unsung heroes of the past two years – while not in many main events, he’s been the gatekeeper, facing legends, veterans and rookies alike to welcome them to the world of Game Changer Wrestling. His dedication has paid off, as he’s heading to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla‘s Battle of Los Angeles this year, and on GCW’s first night in Japan he’s facing another legend in The Great Sasuke. Sasuke has made several appearances with GCW in recent years, and the 29-year veteran of Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW), NJPW, and countless other promotions is a former J-Crown Champion, 3x MPW Junior Heavyweight Champion, NWA World Middleweight Champion, and WWF Light Heavyweight Champion and is no stranger to violence.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Worst Behavior will air as a PPV special on Friday night on Fite.tv.
