One of the most anticipated Wrestlemania Weekend indy shows has returned, as Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) and Joey Janela present Joey Janela’s Spring Break. For the first time, the even is so big it will be split over two nights, with the main even for Part One being a deathmatch between Jimmy Lloyd and Masashi Takeda. Joey Janela, Jake Atlas, Australian Suicide and the Jungle Boy will all be in action, as will the GCW Heavyweight Champion, Nick Gage. Also on the card is the final grudge match between The Invisible Man and his dastardly brother, Invisible Stan.
+ Jimmy Lloyd vs Masashi Takeda (Death Match): holy crap this was violent. Not just the blood and light tubes, because any CZW fan is used to this stuff by now. But this may be the first time I’ve seen scissors legitimately sticking out of somebody’s neck in a wrestling match before, let alone that person yanking them out and throwing them away like it’s nothing. This was a car crash, and I couldn’t look away
+ Jake Atlas vs Australian Suicide vs A-kid vs Slim J vs Shane Mercer vs Jungle Boy (Spring Break Scramble): this was easily the match of the night. All six guys were on point, with Shane Mercer being the huge standout due to his crazy strength with admittedly smaller guys. I know Australian Suicide from some of his AAA stuff, and of course being a surprise on Lucha Underground, and Jake Atlas has been a big “Wrestlemania Weekend” player through the last few years. I really enjoyed this match, and outside of the insanity of the main event, this was the most memorable of the two day event
+ Tony Deppen’s Audience Open Challenge: holy. shit. This was the single worst, and then absolute best thing I have ever seen in my decades of watching pro wrestling. I was ready to cringe and lambast the company for being so out of touch, but once the switch was flipped, so to speak, this turned into something I just could not look away from. I really want to spoiler it, but this is something you need to see for yourself
+ Joey Janela (w/ Penelope Ford) vs Marko Stunt: this started the show (and truthfully, I’m not sure if Marko Stunt was meant to be a surprise or not?), and it was crazy but a lot of fun. Considering both of these guys have recently come off relatively big injuries, they did a lot of big moves, and I enjoyed it for what it was – an unashamed spot fest to hype up the crowd
– Ethan Page vs A Mystery Opponent: this was entirely a promo slot for Ethan Page, to hype up the Clusterfuck on Part Two, and it felt like a waste of time
– TAKA Michinoku vs Orange Cassidy: this started with mostly comedy, but it finished a bit more action heavy, but this didn’t do it for me. I like TAKA, and I truly think this shtick with Zack Sabre Jr he revitalised his career, and Orange Cassidy is generally pretty fun, so this was a disappointment
– Invisible Stan vs The Invisible Man: this is a hard one to rate. I loved every second of watching the fantastic performance of the referee, but I am here to rate wrestling matches, and I just can’t see (hilarious pun intended) how I can rate this a positive
– Nick Gage (c) vs Shinjiro Otani (GCW Heavyweight Championship): disappointingly, this was too short and too uneventful. I don’t think I had ever seen Otani before, but he was hyped up as something special by the commentators, and again in a pre-match promo, but he didn’t really show much here. Gage is what he is, and I certainly enjoy him, but I was really expecting more from this match
Should you watch this event: With the Clusterfuck still to come on Part Two, this did feel like a bit of a mixed bag. The new wave of exclusivity clauses did play a bit of havoc, since WALTER vs PCO from last year was one of the matches of the year, and neither guy was on the various indy shows this year. This show itself had a good beginning and end, but there were a few matches int he middle that dragged on. Still, seek out the positives, and yes, even the Invisible Man match is worth seeing.
MoshFish Reviews 