Taking a look at GCW’s The Last Resort, featuring Eli Everfly vs. Jimmy Lloyd, Joey Janela vs. AJ Gray, and a Sabu match in 2020.
Joey Janela vs. AJ Gray
This was a good way to start the show. Most of the stuff in this match was pretty basic by today’s standards, but it was still a well-worked match. It kept going back-and-forth, which kept the match interesting. AJ Gray got the win after hitting Joey Janela with an Emerald Flowsion from the middle rope. Both Gray and Janela had solid performances in this match that resulted in them putting on a solid 10-minute opener.
Rating: **1/2
Adrian Quest vs. Danny Limelight vs. Chris Dickinson
This show was supposed to feature Adrian Quest vs. Chris Dickinson and Danny Limelight vs. Alex Zayne. However, Alex Zayne couldn’t make it, so we got this instead. Adrian Quest had a standout performance in this match. Danny Limelight also had some solid moments outside of him slipping off the ring apron when going for a springboard at one point. The spots involving Chris Dickinson were mostly sloppy, and it seemed like he wasn’t on the same page as the other guys. There were some good moments here and there, but this match wasn’t very good outside of a few sequences between Quest and Limelight. This match lasted about six minutes before Chris Dickinson got the win. As I said, this match had some good moments, but it was also a mess at times. All three guys are capable of doing much better.
Rating: **
Matthew Justice vs. Sabu
Watching a Sabu match in 2020 is depressing. He looks like Sherman Hemsley, was wearing a back brace in this match, and could barely move. At the start of the match when he and Matthew Justice went outside of the ring to get chairs, Sabu winced in pain after he hopped off the ring apron and onto the floor. Sabu took a few bumps in the match, but Matthew Justice carried the workload in this one. Most of the match saw them brawling before they would do a spot. Sabu got the win after hitting Matthew Justice with a chair assisted leg drop. I’m not even going to rate this match because of how sad it was. The only thing that was worse than watching this match was having to listen to Kevin Gill’s awful commentary.
Rating: n/a
Elayna Black vs. Allie Kat
I don’t have much to say about this match other than it was bad. Elayna Black had some decent looking moves in this, but the overall match was just awful and had a lot of poor in-ring work. Allie Kat got the win after hitting Elayna Black with a clothesline.
Rating: 1/2*
KTB vs. Juicy Finau
This was the first time I’ve seen Juicy Finau perform. It seemed like this match was designed to help establish him with the audience, and I think this match accomplished just that as he had a really good performance that allowed him to showcase his abilities. While KTB got the win, this match did a lot to help get Juicy over. I hope we get to see more of Juicy Finau in SoCal once this pandemic is over and promotions start running again.
Rating: **
Deathmatch: Jimmy Lloyd vs. Eli Everfly
Of all the matches on this show, this was my favorite. Both guys busted their asses to put on a good match. There was a lot of creativity in this, which resulted in some cool spots and moments. One highlight of the match saw Eli Everfly hitting Jimmy Lloyd with a Spanish Fly off the ring apron and onto a piece of wood wrapped with barbwire. Another cool moment saw Jimmy Lloyd countering a Dragonrana attempt by Eli with a Styles Clash. Jimmy Lloyd got the win after hitting Eli with a running Tombstone Piledriver onto a pile of light tubes. Both guys deserve a lot of credit for this match. It was awesome.
Rating: ***3/4
Deathmatch: Atticus Cogar vs. SHLAK
The main storyline right now in GCW is Rickey Shane Page and other wrestlers from Ohio such as Atticus Cogar formed a group called 44OH and have been pissing off GCW for months. This match was a continuation of that storyline. I don’t watch GCW regularly, so I didn’t care about the backstory. The match itself was solid for what it was. Atticus Cogar had a good performance in this and made SHLAK look like a monster. While I didn’t think this was a good as Jimmy Lloyd vs. Eli Everfly, it was still entertaining in its own way.
Rating: **3/4
Non-title match: Blake Christian vs. Rickey Shane Page (current GCW Champion)
Another aspect of the 44OH vs. GCW storyline is that Rickey Shane Page is the GCW Champion and refuses to defend the title. As I said above, I don’t watch GCW regularly, so I didn’t care about the storyline. I just wanted to see an entertaining match.
For the most part, this was a good match. It had a very basic formula with RSP being the heel heavyweight trying to slow down Blake Christian, who was the high flying babyface who kept pulling off exciting comebacks and used his speed and agility to try to counter RSP’s offense. The finish saw Blake Christian hit a tope on Atticus Cogar after he came out to ringside, then Blake Christian went for a springboard move that was countered by RSP into a Chokebreaker, leading to RSP getting the win via pinfall. The match was good, but I wasn’t into it at all as it felt inconsequential.
Rating: **3/4
Final Thoughts
The commentary for the show was done by Shawn Scoville and Kevin Gill. They were awful for different reasons. Shawn Scoville is a fan and not a broadcaster. He doesn’t understand how to call a match, tried way too hard to be funny, and mumbled way too much. Whenever he spoke, he sounded inarticulate and had awful pronunciation. It was also obvious that he was heavily inebriated during the show as there were several instances where he sounded extremely incoherent. While Shawn Scoville was awful, you can understand why he was awful at commentary when you realize he’s just some dude who is an inexperienced stoner and has never been taught how to call a pro wrestling match.
Kevin Gill, on the other hand, is just flat out garbage. Shawn Scoville got annoying at times and was unfunny during this show, but Kevin Gill was beyond terrible and very infuriating to listen to. He is the biggest detriment to GCW’s onscreen product. His commentary always ruins my GCW viewing experiences, and this show was no different. There were many times where Kevin Gill would be talking and I’d just yell “SHUT THE FUCK UP!” at my TV. His commentary has no redeeming qualities at all. Nothing is appealing about listening to a 50-year-old guy who keeps saying “fuck” like he’s a 13-year-old trying to impress high school kids. Kevin Gill straight-up sucks.
As for the show overall, I didn’t think GCW’s The Last Resort wasn’t very good. Outside of the Jimmy Lloyd vs. Eli Everfly match, there is nothing on this show that is worth going out of your way to see. The whole show felt unimportant and mundane. It was pretty much a GCW “house show.” Nothing that happened on this show will matter in the long run. I recommend skipping this one.
