Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) returns to Asbury Park in New Jersey for night one of two shows this week, and it’s got another stellar card of top-notch indie wrestling and heavy-hitting action. It airs live on Friday night on Fite.tv.
Orange Cassidy vs. Lucky 13
“The Clown Prince of Lethargy” Orange Cassidy has shown more pep in his step in the past six months than he has his entire career, with the IndependentWrestling.tv Independent Wrestling Championship around his waist to show proof of his new updated style. But the renowned ring “slacker” is still the lovable star we’ve known for years and on Friday he’s in a non-title match against a rough and tough veteran of 15 years in Jersey’s own Lucky 13, who has faced multiple wars with Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), where he’s a 2x CZW World Tag Team Champion, and in Hardcore Hustle Organization (H2O), where he’s the reigning H2O Heavyweight Champion.
Jimmy Lloyd vs. Colby Corino
Two young stars ready to explode, both Jimmy Lloyd and Colby Corino have really come into their own in the past year. The new “Prince of American Hardcore” Jimmy Lloyd has made huge strides in the past year and has emerged as one of the new faces of hardcore to keep an eye on for the next decade. He’s facing a reborn Colby Corino, who left Ring of Honor years ago and went through a bit of a soul searching route that led to some personal demons. Now cleaned up and back on his path, he’s become a top star in EVOLVE Wrestling as part of The Unwanted with Shane Strickland, Eddie Kingston, and Joe Gacy. A seeming clash of styles on paper, but Lloyd is more athletic than he’s often given credit, and Corino can take punishment better than most guys his size.
SHLAK vs. G-Raver
Speaking of contrasting styles, this one features two very different hardcore specialists, but who are both equally capable of dishing out and taking the beatings that each will be looking to deliver on Friday. SHLAK is an absolute monster, driven by rage, and who possesses explosive power in his quest to dominate. G-Raver is a longtime veteran of multiple promotions but is really just coming into his own the past year, combining highflying risk-taking with an absence of care over his own well being into becoming one of the most dangerous men in the ring today.
MJF vs. Marko Stunt
MJF has exploded the past year, signing with Major League Wrestling (MLW) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), but he’s still finding time to be a thorn in the side of multiple other indie promotions and wrestlers. On Friday, he returns to GCW to face one of 2018’s breakout stories in the athletic superstar Marko Stunt. Stunt is rebuilding his name after a nasty leg break halted his 2018 momentum, and a big win over one of wrestling’s even bigger mouths would go a long way.
Tony Deppen vs. Jonathan Gresham
This one could easily steal the show, as GCW regular Tony Deppen – who has also broken out as one of CHIKARA‘s top grapplers in 2018 and 2019 – takes on the wrestling machine Jonathan Gresham. Gresham has been an unheralded gem in the wrestling industry for over a decade, and it’s only been through his recent work in ROH in 2018 that he’s finally getting the national recognition he deserves.
Homicide vs. Mance Warner
A dream match spanning multiple generations, the 30-year veteran Homicide is a former ROH World Champion and multi-time tag champion in IMPACT Wrestling with the original LAX, not to mention an absolute legend of the New York/New Jersey independent scene. He returns to GCW on Friday to face one of the hardcore scene’s biggest breakout stories of 2019 in former CZW World Heavyweight Champion Mance Warner (who recently debuted for MLW as well), in what should be a bloody and relentless affair.
GCW World Championship: Nick Gage (c) vs. Joey Janela
So far, in over 500 days, no one has been able to take the GCW World Heavyweight Championship from around the waist of the King of American Hardcore, Nick Gage. But Joey Janela is as capable as anyone, and following his return from his own serious leg injury, is out to prove why he’s the new King of the Indies.
