GCW Homecoming 2023 HOT TAKE

Game Changer Wrestling may have conquered the world, but there's no place like home, no matter how sleazy it may be.

Let's not kid ourselves. No matter how pretty the neon may be and no matter how many dreams of success float into Atlantic City, the seedy underbelly underneath is what runs that town. For every roulette wheel that spins, there are shadows that are cast upon the walls, shaping the nightmares that have been crystallized within America's Playground.

It's all fun and games on the way in, but all too often, you're finding yourself fighting on the way out - financially, emotionally and for the poor soul who wanders off from the Boardwalk at the right moment in the dead of night, even physically. However, for those who dream of glory or at risking it all for one last shot at redemption, Atlantic City is their haven - and it's the perfect home for the criminal combatants of Game Changer Wrestling, who return once more for Homecoming weekend live on FITE+.

Despite its worldwide success, Game Changer Wrestling has never strayed from its mission statement. It remains the rage against the machine that accompanies the fever dreams of revolution for those sickened by the slick multimedia presentation of nationally broadcast sports-entertainment. Much like a punk band fighting its way out of the underground clubs and into the mainstream consciousness, Game Changer Wrestling has exploded like an atom bomb out of New Jersey but all those who journey in pursuit of fame, fortune, glory and gold must eventually return home.

For GCW, it's a return that sees its dignity intact. The Blumhouse Studios of pro wrestling has resurrected horror and shock within a genre that has all but turned away from the violence that is its essence in its unbridled form. It is a dark, gritty universe where chaos is the norm in your face, bloody bluntness has allowed the promotion to cultivate its undying followers unlike anything in the 21st century of professional wrestling.

GCW loyalists fans scream for action, for violence, for blood, for real men and women throwing down and GCW will deliver that this weekend when it stomps off the beaches of Atlantic City like Godzilla, leaving a trail of rubble and insanity in its wake.

GCW Homecoming on FITE+ will feature the following marquee attractions!

Night One on Saturday August 19th will be headlined by GCW Ultraviolent Rina Yamashita charging into battle against Takashi Sasaki. Yamashita has battled across the spectrum of promotions, from Ice Ribbon to JWP to DDT Pro Wrestling with unbridled intensity, rising to become the Queen of the Ultraviolent.

The Death Match Amazon has held the title for nearly a year and will enter AC, seeking to destroy her challenger Takashi Sasaki, the legendary founder of FREEDOMS in Japan who waged war in Big Japan, scarring his body en route to super stardom.

Now, he makes his way to GCW, seeking to add the Ultraviolent Championship so it can sit proudly next to the rest of accolades, including multiple Big Japan DeathMatch Heavyweight Championships. This is a bout made for the GCW environment, where anything can and will happen and insanity is encouraged. Two of the most dangerous competitors in the world will main event GCW Homecoming Night One, live on FITE+!

While Yamashita and Sasaki are beloved for their renowned brutality, Matt Cardona & Steph De Lander are anything but loved and respected in the upside down world that is Game Changer Wrestling. Having tormented the talents and disrespected the promotion for months, it appears De Lander and Cardona are doomed.

Indeed, it appears GCW fans will finally get justice this weekend when Maki Death Kill (Maki Itoh & Nick Gage) take to the ring to finish the beating they started several months back in Los Angeles, setting the stage for this explosive tag team battle for the very black heart and soul of GCW. Nick Gage is the GCW gatekeeper, the walking, stabbing embodiment of the Game Changer Wrestling's criminal mele. Itoh, the Fired Idol, Itoh takes the firefight to her opponent in vulgar, harsh terms. Cardona and De Lander have always carried themselves in the most fierce and condescending of ways but this weekend, the cell doors are locked and there's zero escape routes out of A.C.

Night One will also see an insane bevy of talents spotlighting the many hybrid in-ring combat styles of GCW, including Alec Price vs. Leon Slater, a Death Match featuring Violento Jack vs. Matt Tremont, the traditional GCW Scramble featuring the insane lineup of Gringo Loco vs. Arez vs. Komander vs. El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Alex Zayne vs. Ninja Mack, a dream six person tag with

Crazy King & Los Macizos (Ciclope & Miedo Extremo) going to war against Thrussy (Allie Katch, Dark Sheik & Effy) and a Double Dog Collar Match as GCW original Joey Janela & Sawyer Wreck battles Charles Mason & Parrow.

As if that wasn't enough, GCW will return to the scene of the crime 24 hours later on Sunday August 20th for Night Two, headlined by a massive grudge match for the Game Changer Wrestling World Championship as Blake Christian, who shockingly won the title at Tournament of Survival back in June, defeating Rina Yamashita and former GCW World Champion Masha Slamovich. The Russian Dynamo, Slamovich, routinely beats the hell out of opponents for fun, but at Homecoming Night Two, she is coming for vengeance, seeking to regain her title and bloody Christian in the process. It will be Christian's high-flying, rule-flounting attitude against the Juggernaut-like intensity and striking madness of Slamovich, and the winner will emerge from the battlefield beaten and bloodied, but also the undisputed World Champion.

GCW always celebrated the greatness of the lucha libre style and this weekend will be no different when the world renowned Dragon Kid, who has risen to stardom from the rings of Toryumon and Dragon Gate, will come to The United States to battle one of Mexico's most revered competitors today, the aerial assault assassin who walks ring ropes like they are sidewalks before diving into the night sky, Komander. This international attraction will showcase the unique inclusivity of GCW, where everything is welcome in pursuit of amazing performances and flawless victories.

GCW Tag Team Champions Jordan Oliver and Nick Wayne look to continue their winning ways at Homecoming Night Two when they defend their gold against the dream team of Takashi Sasaki & Tomoya Hirata. Sasaki may indeed be Ultraviolent Champion by Homecoming Night Two but facing the East West Express. he'll have to adhere to a more traditional tag team situation but with the big, bruising Hirata by his side, the smaller defending Champions may indeed find themselves as the underdogs. Wayne and Oliver's fighting spirit has never come into question, but this easily be the hardest, most physical challenge of their careers. Which dream team combination will take the gold? FITE+ subscribers will learn firsthand.

Night Two will also see Maki Itoh battle the rising singing stunner known as B3CCA, Dante Leon & Ninja Mack align to battle the street-savvy tandem of Alec Price & Cole Radrick and more to be announced!

Over the last few years, GCW has proven its uniqueness and its independent spirit from The Hammerstein Ballroom to unknown backyards, the spirit of Game Changer Wrestling is unrelenting. It is a promotion where battles can be waged in the ring, beyond it and even without a ring even present. It's a nexus where men and women can take to the air and to the streets at once in battle against each other. It's a battlefield where tables and chairs are mundane thanks to the advancement of weaponry such as featuring glass, doors and barbed wire…and now it's home again, where it feels most comfortable and anything can truly happen.

FITE+ has become the exclusive home for GCW, providing the only true window into the brawling, the brazen, the criminal and the majesty that is Game Changer Wrestling and it holds the doors open for you - welcome home.

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.