"If your tendency is to make sense out of chaos, start chaos." - Carlos Castaneda
This past weekend, Game Changer Wrestling's Collective invades Dallas, Texas, shining a light on the dark underbelly of combat sports as the stars of GCW brought the fight, the grit, the blood and guts to fan assembled from all across the globe for title fights, death matches and all out madness.
But, that was just the appetizer court for GCW's return to The Golden State of California this weekend, where the main course is all out chaos.
In a world such as Game Changer Wrestling, scores never truly get settled, the issues that ignited them just get more and more exacerbated and complicated. In a realm where all things lead to all-out combat inside the squared circle, the foot never leaves the pedal, all the anger and madness speeds ever faster into the blackness of night, leaving behind red hot tire tracks of blistering rage.
The chaos that is GCW never rests, it never pauses, it only grows and grows, seeking to engulf everything and everyone in its path of destruction. The battles will commence anew, the rivalries will burn eternal, because that's what chaos theory is, and GCW is the pure essence of chaos theory in professional wrestling.
Chaos at the bottom means order at the top. Order at the bottom means chaos at the top." -Stephen K Hayes
Paranoid is a word used to describe many in the professional wrestling game, so it's only appropriate that GCW's return to the City of Angels be dubbed "Paranoid." Saturday night, April 9th, Game Changer Wrestling returns to their Cali home, The Ukrainian Cultural Center, promising all out chaos indeed with a series of incredible encounters.
GCW Extreme Champion AJ Gray has fought the best in GCW, going nose to nose with Jon Moxley last week in Dallas. He will again take it to the extreme, showing how far he is willing to go to prove himself one more time in defense of his championship. However, Gray may have met his match in terms of someone marching to the ring with a chip on their shoulder. Sw3rve Strickland is back in GCW, looking to show the entire world that he is back to reclaim his kingdom. One of the GCW's purest strengths is its ability to place different styles of competitors into combat with each other and the hard-nose, smashmouth, glass ceiling breaking intensity of Gray against the stratosphere shattering, all out aerial warfare of Sw3rve will be something to behold when FITE stream GCW Paranoid.
The Japanese wrestling God Minoru Suzuki continues his excursion into GCW, seeking to break down and brawl with all in his path as he carries the banner for New Japan Pro Wrestling, but even Suzuki has never encountered an opponent with the heart of Blake Christian, one of the most creative high-flying and soulful in-ring competitors in the world. This is a very unique generational encounter with ground and pound and fury taking on finesse and timing and daredevil antics.
Mark and Jay Briscoe are anything but happy chicken farmers right now, having recently lost the ROH and GCW Tag Team Championships over the last several months. They enter Paranoid on FITE this Saturday seeking to regroup and rebound, taking on GCW's beloved team of Allie Katch and Effy, Bussy. Katch had one of the biggest weekends of her life in Dallas and Effy right there with her. Now, as a team, they face one of the biggest tests of their career in Mark and Jay Briscoe, who without exception are the best tag team competing anywhere in the world at the moment. But, will Bussy's moment be this Saturday on FITE?
In a match that promises to see each competitor bring the fire out of the other, Masha Slamovich, who has been cracking heads weekly in Impact Wrestling and beyond, stands tall to battle Chris Dickinson. With Dickinson returning to the ring from injury, he is seeking to score major victories in order to return to his place as one of the most feared men in GCW. His problem this weekend with Slamovich fears no one and she's the one who likes to break the will of others. Predicting this one would be a fool's errand.
High flying antics will be the signature of the GCW Paranoid undercard with ACH vs. the renowned up and coming Nick Wayne, Bullet Club's Chris Bey battling Jack Cartwheel and more to be announced, streaming live for FITE viewers across the globe.
But, the chaos doesn't stop there. It cannot, because chaos cannot be tamed, it can only continue to rage forward. Saturday, April 10th, GCW emanates on FITE live yet again from The Ukrainiai Cultural Center in Los Angeles, featuring another potentially insane main event.
I tell you: one must still have chaos in oneself to give birth to a dancing star. I tell you: you still have chaos in yourselves." - Friedrich Nietzche
Speedball Mike Bailey, since the beginning of the year, has exploded back onto the United States scene and is insanely trying to make up for five years lost. Last weekend in Dallas, he competed NINE times over three days across multiple promotions, with all of those bouts streaming live on FITE. There's no rest for the wicked, for the bruised and beaten Bailey heads to GCW's Devi in A New Dress on April 10th for an easy night, against MINORU SUZUKI?!?
Yes, after everything that Bailey endured physically, mentally and emotionally last week, his big reward is attempting to strategize a way to defeat one of the toughest men who has ever walked Planet Earth, who enjoys torturing and beating his opponents into submission.
Chaos Theory, indeed. Pray for Speedball.
Chaos in the midst of chaos isn't funny, but chaos in the midst of order is." -Steve Martin
Masha Slamovich, never content with just one fight, will return to the GCW ring just 24 hours after her war with Chris Dickinson to take on one of the best grapplers in the world, Biff Busick. Busick has something to prove since exiting WWE NXT and with Slamovich, he'll have to bring the most rugged grappling game imaginable in order to try and take down the Soviet Warrior.
Lucha sensation and former ROH World Champion Bandido, at just 26 years old, is already a celebrated star but the last thing he'd ever be seen at is old by his peers. However, up and coming star Nick Wayne, at just 16 years of age, is seen as the future of professional wrestling. Adept at combat sports in a way no one his age should be, Wayne will again test himself and shock the world at GCW Devil In A New Dress, and perhaps, even shock Bandido in the process.
Chaos is rejecting all you have learned, chaos is being yourself." - Emil Cioran
Joey Janela's attitude has never been chipper but in recent months, it has become downright twisted and evil. After Spring Break didn't go his way, Janela will seek to spread out his misery this Saturday April 10th when he faces Dark Sheik, who has claimed numerous victories and infinite fans over the last year, rising to the occasion against competition from all corners of the world.
In Janela though, Sheik faces someone who is out to torture and maim, all out of the bitterness that he isn't getting the credit or adulation that he deserves. The chaos inside the ring will be nothing compared to the chaos swirling inside Janela's soul and whether he claims victory over the Sheik or not, the battle inside is something that will continue to rage for Janela long after GCW exits California for its next destination.
GCW returns to California this weekend, live, only on FITE!
Mike Johnson is the lead reporter for PWInsider.com and has been writing about professional wrestling since 1996. He can be found on Twitter @MikePWInsider and MikeJohnsonWrites.com.
