GCW Fight Club live results: Jon Moxley vs. Nick Gage death match

GCW will put one of their biggest events in company history Saturday in Atlantic City, New Jersey, headlined by GCW World Champion Jon Moxley vs. former champion Nick Gage in a death match for the title.

Moxley made a surprise appearance at last month’s The Art of War Games, challenging then-champion Matt Cardona in an open challenge. Gage then came out to confront Moxley afterward and the challenge was made. Gage lost the title to Cardona in July. Mick Foley will be on hand to present the championship to the winner.

Cardona will be part of Saturday’s show, taking on Internet Champion Effy in a title vs. GCW career match. Effy defeated Cardona for the title 

The show will also feature a six-man tag team match with AJ Gray, Mance Warner and Matthew Justice vs. AKIRA, Alex Colon and G-Raver; Chris Dickinson and Starboy Charlie against Joey Janela and Marko Stunt, and more.

Our live coverage kicks off at 8 PM Eastern.

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Show Report —

Alex Zayne defeated Ninja Mack & Lio Rush in a three-way (11:09)

Enjoyable spotfest and a nice showcase for Ninja, who is one of the fastest-rising talents in GCW. This match was originally supposed to be a singles match between Zayne and Ninja, but Rush’s music played before the match started and he joined the contest.

Rush used his quickness to take out both opponents with kicks right away. He landed a double back handspring elbow and followed it up with consecutive suicide dives on each opponent. He and Ninja had an awkward exchange on the floor, then Rush circled the ring to land a running boot onto a seated Ninja. He went for it again but ran into a chop from Zayne.

Zayne hit a nice headscissor takedown on Ninja before a second sent Ninja into a seated Rush in the corner. Ninja cut off a Zayne springboard with a Spanish Fly for two. He and Rush had a quick exchange leading to Ninja doing some acrobatics to the crowd’s pleasure. Ninja hit a series of kicks and atomic drops before a cyclone kick took down Rush for two.

Ninja and Rush got tangled in the corner, allowing Zayne to hit a great flipping hurricanrana on Ninja before hitting a German on Rush for two. Rush avoided a springboard on the outside, but then Ninja hit one of the more ridiculous move you’ll ever see, a back handspring into a sunset powerbomb to the floor. Rush then took out both opponents with a dive.

Rush leveled Ninja with a clothesline followed by a Falcon Arrow for two. They had a three-way kick exchange, and the triple dropkick led to the triple down. Zayne climbed the ropes and hit shooting star knees to Ninja. Rush tried to break it up, but didn’t get there in time, leading to the three count. That could have been the actual finish, but it came across as a botch.

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Chris Dickinson & Starboy Charlie defeated Joey Janela & Marko Stunt (16:44)

This was a fun tag match. All four wrestlers are really talented, and Janela and Stunt are far better than many people give them credit for.

Stunt and Charlie started off with some chain wrestling. They went to a stalemate, tagging in each partner. Dickinson bowled over Janela with a shoulder tackle and a soccer kick, but Janela popped up and landed strikes. Dickinson came back with strikes of his own and tagged in Charlie. They showed good teamwork with a double team dropkick. 

Janela caught a hurricanrana attempt from Charlie and turned it into a powerbomb. He tagged in Stunt, who landed a German suplex on Charlie. Dickinson caught Stunt and went for the Pazuzu Bomb, but Stunt turned it into a hurricanrana and then a Shining Wizard. He then landed a dive on Charlie before following it up with a missile dropkick on Dickinson.

Stunt tagged out to Janela, who beat down Charlie. The official spent a long time checking on Stunt, who may have been knocked silly. Charlie fought back, but Janela cut him off and hit an atomic drop. Charlie surprised Janela with a snap hurricanrana. Eventually, Charlie bought himself enough time to reach Dickinson for the hot tag. 

Dickinson caught a crossbody attempt from Stunt and turned it into a fallaway slam. He beat down both opponents with suplexes and throws. A snap overhead suplex on Janela got two. Dickinson transitioned to an armbar, but Stunt broke it up, so Dickinson applied a two-man single-leg crab on both opponents. 

Janela pulled down the top rope to send Dickinson spilling to the floor. Charlie landed a running shooting star press and climbed the ropes, but was cut off by Janela. Stunt landed a dive on Dickinson as Janela hit Charlie with a Death Valley driver on the apron. He went for a cover, but Charlie wasn’t the legal man.

Dickinson crushed Janela with a German, but Janela fired up. All four men traded strikes as the bigger men hit piledrivers on their smaller partners. Janela hit a thrust kick, Dickinson hit a cyclone kick and then a Death Valley driver for a near fall. Dickinson then locked on an STF as Charlie applied a Scorpion Deathlock on Stunt. Stunt clawed over to lock a sleeper on Dickinson, forcing him to break the hold on Janela.

The larger partners continued to beat down on the smaller ones. Charlie fought off Janela before landing a tope con giro. Stunt hit a swinging DDT on Dickinson but was cut off with a boot. Dickinson hit an insane top-rope Pazuzu Bomb, sending Stunt into Janela. A brainbuster from Charlie on Stunt was enough to give their team the win.

– After the match, Janela put over his history with Dickinson. “Our beef is over, but our tag team is over as well.” He demanded that Dickinson help Charlie get that big contract one day.

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Jordan Oliver defeated Atticus Cogar (10:18)

Aside from that spectacular final high spot, this wasn’t very good. The crowd didn’t care at all. Cogar’s got lots of charisma but Oliver is still really limited at this point in his career.

Chain wrestling opened things off. Cogar played dirty to gain the advantage. Oliver caught a thrust kick and rolled Cogar up for two. Cogar dropkicked him to the floor and landed a double stomp to Oliver’s back for two. He pulled out some plunder, including doors and chairs, then tried to suplex Oliver through them. Oliver countered with an outside-in suplex for two. A Northern Lights suplex bridge got two more.

They battled on the top rope as Oliver landed a top-rope butterfly suplex for two. Another butterfly suplex allowed Oliver to transition directly into a cross armbreaker. Cogar rolled Oliver up to release the hold before they traded thrust kicks. A lariat from Cogar got two. They traded grounded strikes, then stood up and exchanged slaps. Oliver landed a slingshot cutter and went for the Clout Cutter, but Cogar countered it and pushed Oliver into the referee.

Cogar used the ref bump to hit a low blow, but Oliver kicked out for a good near fall. They fought on the top rope before Oliver hit a springboard Clout Cutter through the structure on the floor in a really great spot. He then rolled Cogar into the ring for the three-count, which happened during a replay.

– After the match, the two competitors shook hands, which was obviously a ruse, as Cogar immediately attacked Oliver and skewered his head. Oliver’s Young Dumb and Broke teammates ran out to chase Cogar to the back.

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GCW promoter Brett Lauderdale came out for an announcement. This show set an attendance record for the venue. Last year, Lauderdale was told by someone he respected that he’d seen a million GCWs come and go — and it would never last. Since then, they’ve been setting records. 

He was about to make his major announcement, but Matt Cardona’s music played and he interrupted. Cardona asked who was here to see Mick Foley. “F**k Mick Foley.” 

Unfortunately, the feed cut out for a moment. When it came back, Cardona told Lauderdale to get out of his ring. “I am GCW.”

Effy’s music played, and he came out for the match.

Internet Championship Title vs. GCW Career: Matt Cardona defeated Effy (c) (w/ Allie Katch) to win the championship and stay in GCW (13:40)

This was a spectacle, for better and for worse. Those chair shots were nasty.

If Cardona wins, he wins the Internet title. If Effy wins, Cardona must leave GCW forever. 

Cardona hit the Sack Ryder, one of Effy’s signature moves, right away, but Effy rolled to the ropes. Effy tied Cardona up and hit a suplex and a senton for two. Cardona came back with forearms. Effy sent Cardona to the floor and landed a suicide dive. He pulled out a chair and repeatedly smacked Cardona with it. Effy perched Cardona on the chair and went for a cannonball senton, but Cardona rolled out of the way, sending Effy crashing into it. Cardona then DDTed Effy onto the floor.

A long beatdown ensued. Cardona whacked Effy with the chair repeatedly. Cardona hit a sickening unprotected steel chair shot to Effy’s head, busting him open. He choked Effy with a band, but Effy liked it and fired up with a Northern Lights suplex for two. A sitdown splash followed for two more, but Cardona got the chair again and tossed it at Effy to cut him off.

Effy came back with a TKO into a dragon sleeper. Cardona gouged at Effy’s eyes to break the hold, but Effy kept up the attack and hit Under the Rainbow for a good near fall. Cardona came back with a lungblower and a tiger driver for two. Effy cradled Cardona, but Cardona kept right back up with the attack.

Cardona grabbed the belt and hit the official with it. Effy got the belt and went to hit Cardona, but inadvertently hit Allie Katch with it. Effy hit Sack Ryder, but the official didn’t get there in time and was then pulled out of the ring by a masked woman. Effy took multiple low blows and then Cardona landed a top-rope Sack Ryder to win the championship and stay in GCW.

– After the match, the woman unmasked as Cardona’s fiancée Chelsea Green. 

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Seven-way Scramble: Jimmy Lloyd defeated ASF & Calvin Tankman & Gringo Loco & Dante Leon & Brayden Lee & Thunder Rosa (11:50)

There were a lot of things that happened in this match. AEW wrestler Thunder Rosa was a surprise entrant. 

Tankman shrugged off attacks right away. He caught a dive from ASF and powerbombed them onto Gringo and Lloyd, but they sent ASF into Tankman for a hurricanrana. Gringo and ASF had a lucha exchange, which ASF eventually won with a headscissors and a springboard arm drag. 

Rosa entered the fray and starched ASF with a slap. She kind of hit an arm drag and a dropkick before a tijeras took down Gringo. She then stepped up with a nice double arm drag on both opponents. Lee was next in, and Rosa landed a series of dropkicks for his trouble. Lee came back with one of his own and celebrated, but when he turned around, Tankman was there.

Tankman pounced Lee to hell before killing Gringo with a back elbow. He did the same with a pop-up version to ASF. Leon took Tankman out with a DDT and then hit Lloyd with a cutter. A tornillo followed to Tankman and Lloyd on the outside. Gringo followed it with an Orihara moonsault. Rosa then landed a spinning dive on the pile. Lee was next with a sky twister onto everyone. Tankman popped ASF up to the floor into somewhat of a hurricanrana. 

ASF spiked Tankman with a DDT. He and Lee fought on the top rope, and Lee sent ASF flying into Gringo with a hurricanrana. Tankman flattened ASF with a backbreaker. Lee tried to stop Tankman’s attack with kicks before hitting kind of a delayed poisonrana. ASF landed a missile dropkick, Gringo hit a moonsault, but Tankman broke up the pin.

Gringo hit a destroyer on Tankman. Rosa came off the top with a double stomp. ASF landed a release German suplex on Rosa. Lloyd hit an assisted Styles Clash. Lee broke up the pin with a 630 senton. He went for a moonsault on Tankman on the outside, who caught it and tossed Lee onto the chairs with an overhead throw. Gringo wiped out Tankman with a tope con giro. Rosa landed a hurricanrana off the top rope on Gringo but ate a dive from ASF.

Lloyd spun around into an inverted Fire Thunder Driver for the win.

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AJ Gray, Mance Warner, & Matthew Justice defeated Alex Colon, G-Raver, & AKIRA (15:14)

This was terrible. I don’t know who laid out this match, but it was a mistake to start off with eight full minutes of plodding heat followed by seven minutes of hardcore spots to a silent crowd, concluded by a botched finish.

AKIRA fought off all three opponents at the start until Warner took him out with a spinebuster. The Second Gear Crew all worked together to isolate AKIRA with frequent tags. They eventually brought a chair into the equation and repeatedly whacked AKIRA with it. After legitimately a five-minute beatdown, AKIRA’s partners finally got involved as the match broke down. 

Justice climbed the ropes with a chair. He just killed AKIRA with an unprotected doomsday chair shot to the top of AKIRA’s head. They set up more plunder. Over eight minutes into the match, AKIRA finally was able to tag in a partner in Colon. AKIRA, Colon, and Raver all landed dives to the outside.

Raver landed a diving knee into a German on Justice. Colon hit a diving DDT to the floor. Raver landed a Swanton Bomb on Gray before Colon hit a missile dropkick for two. AKIRA locked Gray in an inverted crab, leading to stereo dropkicks from Colon and Raver. AKIRA then locked on the Muta Lock. Colon and Raver tried to stop Justice and Warner from breaking up the hold, but Gray’s teammates eventually broke it up.

The match broke down. Second Gear Crew hit Total Elimination on AKIRA, then a double team chokeslam on Raver. Warner suplexed Raver through a board, Gray and Colon were sent crashing to the floor, and Justice and Warner hit… something…. for the win that the official mis-counted. No idea what happened.

– After the match, Warner said there weren’t any tag teams who could live up to him and Justice. Ring of Honor’s Briscoe brothers, Jay and Mark, showed up to answer the challenge.

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Shane Mercer defeated Yoya (14:59)

This was the best match of the night so far. They worked ridiculously hard to get the dead crowd back into things.

Early on, Mercer just tossed Yoya from inside the ring all the way into the crowd. He continued the beatdown all over the venue, but then Yoya kind of hit Sliced Bread off a support beam. Yoya was then able to hit a DDT to the floor. He followed it up with a diving dragonrana. Mercer caught Yoya on a pop-up, but Yoya turned it into a flying kimura. Mercer fought out with a suplex, but Yoya maintained the grip. Mercer finally escaped with an overhead throw.

Mercer laid in chops. He applied a Shock Arrow grip and somehow turned it into a powerslam. Yoya turned a torture rack into an arm drag, but Mercer caught a dive and clubbed Yoya with a lariat. Mercer climbed the ropes and hit a top-rope fire thunder driver, but he couldn’t cover in time. Yoya locked on a kneebar, but Mercer stomped his way out of it. He then hit — get this — a running springboard powerslam moonsault that would’ve gotten the win, but Yoya got his hand on the ropes.

Yoya landed a desperation slap. Mercer parted the crowd and went to throw him to the outside again, but Yoya turned it into a poisonrana and then a destroyer. Yoya then hit the brainbuster, his finish, for a near fall. He climbed the ropes, but Mercer hit an enziguiri and met him at the top. Yoya floated over into a rear naked choke. Mercer faded, but he climbed to the top rope and turned it into almost a backflip tombstone piledriver for the win.

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Brett Lauderdale came out once again for his big announcement. He played a video with all the GCW regulars talking about the negative comments they’ve received. They were standing in the historic Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, with a show announced for next year on January 23.

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Mick Foley came out to a great reaction to introduce the main event. He said that the most memorable moment of his career was his last match in ECW. He shouted out Thunder Rosa. Some people call this style “garbage wrestling,” but one man’s garbage is another man’s art. “From the bottom of my heart, f**k Matt Cardona.” He then joined commentary.

GCW World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) defeated Nick Gage

This was violent and bloody as expected. It didn’t have the same wild energy of Gage vs. Cardona but the crowd was happy to see Moxley retain — meaning he’s sticking around for longer. 

As the ring announcer was going through the introductions, Gage busted a bundle of light tubes over Moxley’s head. Moxley was immediately busted open and he retaliated with a bundle of tubes of his own. They traded forearms before Moxley backdropped Gage through glass onto the floor. 

Moxley pulled out a pizza cutter and ran it across Gage’s forehead. Gage sent Moxley to the floor and sent tubes crashing through Moxley with a baseball slide. They brawled into the crowd. Back in the ring, Gage hit a spinebuster and brought in a barbed wire board. Moxley dropped Gage onto the barbed wire with a release suplex.

The referee tried to cut Gage out of the barbed wire, but Moxley took his clippers and used it to cut off a piece of barbed wire and wrap it around his fist. He laid in strikes with the barbed wire fist. Moxley then hit a barbed wire-assisted neckbreaker for two. 

Moxley turned his attention to the patterned glass panes in the ring. He looked to put Gage through it, but Gage fought out and speared Moxley through a glass pane. He propped a chair over Moxley and landed an elbow drop through it. Gage then busted open a light tube to use the jagged edge to stab at Moxley’s forehead.

Gage fired up the crowd. He turned the tables and used the pizza cutter on Moxley’s face. Moxley countered a piledriver attempt with a Saito suplex and a DDT, but Gage just kicked out at one. He then hit a cutter through light tubes for two. Moxley’s face had a ton of blood on it. 

They fought to their feet. Gage hit a DDT and a chair shot in the corner. He propped a light bundle over Moxley’s face and hit the Otani face wash through the tubes. The piledriver followed for two. Gage went for a top-rope piledriver through glass, but Moxley countered and they fought up top. Moxley bit his way out of it and landed a Paradigm Shift through the glass for the win.

– After the match, Gage remained in the ring. He was distraught and stunned at his loss. He said that the crowd energy helps him keep going. Either his body’s going to give up on him, or somebody’s gotta put a bullet in his brain to get him to stop. He promised to bring the belt back to GCW.