GCW Summer Road HOT TAKE
SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER
GCW's fearsome cast of characters are a long way from the Griswolds, but this weekend, Game Changer Wrestling takes to the Holiday Road and it's time for the first-ever four day GCW Summer Road Trip Bundle, available exclusively right here on FITE.
The combatants of Game Changer Wrestling will have four one night stands in a row this week, bringing all of the mayhem and insanity and action that comes with the unbridled, unrepentant GCW experience right into your devices and your homes, providing the ultimate in independent, alternative professional wrestling, striking with the middle finger out against the establishment that pervades corporate grappling.
GCW are the last rebels, the outlaws for a reason. Their anything goes, deep-bruising presentation allows for an atmosphere unlike anywhere in the world of combat sports. GCW fans demand action, violence, blood. They want to see real men and women throwing down and proving they are the best.
Having conquered every battlefield from NYC to Chicago to Los Angeles and beyond, GCW is taking their show to the masses this weekend and FITE is bringing you professional wrestling with the envelope pushed in rich technicolor violence all weekend long!
DOA!
It all begins on Thursday June 30th as GCW roars back into the Motor City of Detroit for "Dead on Arrival", an ironic title given the vibrant roster seeking to etch themselves into professional wrestling's Book of Destiny for all time.
GCW Ultraviolent Champion Alex Colon will step right out of nightmares to battle Indiana's own Phoenix Dale Patricks, bringing the plunder and the pain to all corners of the Knights of Columbus that evening. As if that isn't enough mayhem, the immortal Hoodfoot will enter the battlefield against SLADE, bringing the pain as they attempt to enforce their mighty will against the other in the name of victory.
Dream matches in GCW never stop emerging and Detroit will stand witness to lucha superstars Los Mazisos, Ciclope & Miedo Extremo, hitting the GCW ring as they take on the pairing of Joey Janela and Cole Radrick. As if that meshing of professional wrestling styles isn't enough, imagine the all-our aerial assault of Ninja Back doing battle with the sheer mighty brutality of Calvin Tankman - that mind-blowing encounter will play out before the eyes of FITE fans in the center of the ring in Detroit.
The Motor City Machineguns' Alex Shelley will once again play the role of veteran technical wizard as he battles two of GCW's brightest and innovative talents in Nick Wayne and Jordan Oliver, all but guaranteeing that the mental and physical chess match that is professional wrestling will be taken to a new, fourth-dimensional, dazzling level of competition. Plus, Blake Christian, The Second Gear Crew, AKIRA and more will step into the combat zone of GCW at Dead on Arrival.
GATEWAY TO DEATH
GCW's penchant for originality bursting from the seams continues on Friday July 1st when GCW returns to Illinois for Gateway to Death, featuring an incredible series of first-ever encounters, including the heart and soul of GCW, Allie Katch putting herself to the ultimate test against one of the most celebrated and revered multi-dimensional in-ring combatants of all time, former ECW World Television Champion 2 Cold Scorpio. Over the last year, Katch has fought to level up as a fighter and this is her moment to do so against one of the most legendary, groundbreaking combatants to ever grace the squared circle.
Gateway to Death will also see former ROH World Champion Davey Richards bring the fight to Joey Janela. Since re-emerging full-time in GCW, Janela has run the gamut of great matches and horrible attitude to truly entrench himself as one of the all-time worst GCW antagonists. In Richards, Janela will have to nut up or shut up, taking the might of one of the most celebrated MMA-hybrid fighters of the modern era. Win or lose, the trajectory of Janela in GCW could change forever within Game Changer Wrestling.
Tony Deppen brings the fight without mercy against everyone he steps into the ring with, but at Gateway of Death, he finds himself challenged by the youthful exuberance and awe-inspiring Nick Wayne, who has garnered incredible levels of love and support thus far in his short journey in professional wrestling. All but guaranteed super-stardom in his future, Wayne will have to somehow survive the all but guaranteed beating Deppen is bound to inflict upon him if he hopes to live to fight another day after this weekend.
GCW's high flying has always put air traffic controllers on emergency standby and the sheer potential of Blake Christian vs. Gringo Loco to soar through the stratosphere and touch the stars is mind-numbingly insane. Loco has emerged as one of the definitive lucha libre combatants in 2022 while Christian continues to ascend to the heavens to throttle his opponents straight to hell. Unleashed against the other with nothing between them but fighting spirit and the ability to go all out in their battle, the very structure of time and space itself may shake apart.
GCW's Gateway to Death will also feature Effy entering battle with Delirious, plus Los Mazisos, The Second Gear Crew, Ninja Mack, Alex Colon vs. Cole Radrick and tons more as GCW leaves its own unique, bloody imprint on Pop's Nightclub in Sauget, IL for all of FITE to witness!
ROCK AND ROLL IS KING!
Saturday July 3rd, GCW steps back in time for "Rock N' Roll Forever", bringing everyone back to those warm, happy memories of the glory days of Memphis Wrestling when weekly visits to the Coliseum in Evansville, Indiana meant that The Rock N' Roll Express, Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson had come to town to battle their enemies and electrify the crowds.
With Morton and Gibson decreeing that this would be their final year competing together as a team after decades of memories, FITE is proud to be able to broadcast this historic final return to Evansville alongside GCW on Friday as Morton and Gibson bring their famed double dropkick home to battle The Rejects, Reed Bentley and John Wayne Murdoch. Can Rock and Roll still be king as father time inches ever forward? GCW and FITE fans will learn whether Ricky and Robert get to say goodbye to Evansville with one final momentous win.
GCW's Evansville event will also feature a tremendous bevy of unique contests designed to push the boundaries of the heart and skills of the GCW roster. Ricky Morton's young son Kerry, who has designs of carving his own path, will be put to the physical test against the grizzled Tony Deppen, who shows no man any mercy. The one man wrecking machine Calvin Tankman will battle the ever-evolving Jordan Oliver in a unique dream match. Allie Katch continues her journey towards greatness against the renowned Nick Wayne, the young sensation who has captured the imagination of everyone who's ever seen him step through the ropes. Joey Janela will battle Cole Radrick and the enigmatic Dark Sheik faces Billie Starkz.
BACKYARD BBQ BRAWL!
Everything finally culminates on the 4th of July as the greatest independent professional wrestling goes full-blown mental for the 2022 GCW Independence Day Bash. Somewhere out there, a clandestine professional wrestling event will be promoted in secret and only FITE viewers will be able to enter as GCW presents Backyard Wrestling 4.
The July 4th spectacle is so secretive that not even FITE's crack team of detectives and researchers are able to spirit away the lineup. All we can promise you is that Game Changer Wrestling will be bringing all the unhinged insanity of their underworld carnival celebration straight to you, streaming from an undisclosed location in someone's backyard.
The ultimate house party may very well destroy the foundation of the home that hosts it, but you'll be safe watching, far apart from any bloodletting about to go down or any authorities that show up trying to shut down the proceedings!
Must go on vacation to take a load off, to relax and decompress. The stars of Game Changer Wrestling are the exact opposite. They are hitting the road to fight, to battle, to conquer and to pillage and plunder their opponents in order to prove, one more time, why they are the future of professional wrestling. Like fiery phoenixes rising in the black of night, they seek to enrapture all who gaze upon them and to change the trajectory of time itself, carving unique memories that live forever in the time capsule of professional wrestling.
FITE will be your exclusive gateway to open and enter the world of Game Changer Wrestling as one again, fights will be fought, stars will soar through the sky, championships will be defended, legends will be revered and blood will be dropped. GCW's Summer Road Trip is upon us.
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.