Game Changer Wrestling
Eye for an Eye
March 17, 2023
Melrose Ballroom
New York City, New York

Watch: FITE+

GCW Eye for an Eye Results

  • Cole Radrick def. Alec Price, Jimmy Lloyd, Starboy Charlie, Steve Scott, Yoya (6:34)
  • Blake Christian def. Jack Cartwheel (10:11)
  • Tony Deppen def. Willie Mack (13:20)
  • Matt Cardona def. Homicide (14:11)
  • Rina Yamashita & Sawyer Wreck def. Los Macizos (Ciclope & Miedo Xtremo) (12:53)
  • BUSSY (Allie Katch & Effy) def. The Mane Event (Jay Lyon & Midas Black), Second Gear Crew (1 Called Manders & Mance Warner), Wasted Youth (Dyln McKay & Marcus Mathers) (8:33)
  • Gringo Loco def. Bandido (12:53)
  • GCW Extreme Championship: Joey Janela © def. Grim Reefer (9:41)
  • Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) def. Jordan Oliver & Mike Bailey (21:12)
  • GCW World Championship: Masha Slamovich def. Nick Gage © (20:09)

Masha Slamovich walked into New York City looking for a fight with Nick Gage and walked out the 23rd Game Changer Wrestling World champion. Nick Gage may not be the wrestler he was before the pandemic, but he played the bully role perfectly in this main event. His wrestling may leave a lot to be desired, but his charisma and presence makes up for it. His beating up Masha in front of her family and taunting them was a real highlight and led the turn to turn against him somewhat so Masha could make the big fiery babyface comeback. We could’ve done without the Blake Christian interference spot, but it made sense with his current story in the promotion, and he was quickly chased to the back by Akira. The match crawled to the finish after that, where Masha choked out Gage to win the title. The match wasn’t anything special, but the title change was a cool moment. Masha should be a fun champion, and I can’t wait to see what she does at the top of the Game Changer mountain.

The semi-main was a big spot for Jordan Oliver. He was in there with three excellent pro wrestlers and looked like he belonged. The Shelley and Oliver sequences were a nice preview of the upcoming MCMG vs. East West Express tag match at Joey Janela’s Spring Break during Mania Weekend. The match started slowly but built up over the twenty minutes to an exciting finish. There’s always a certain crispness to the Time Splitters’ work together as a team, which really added to this match. This was good and has upped my excitement for the Spring Break title match.

You should check this match out.

Grim Reefer had a huuuuuge blunt. It didn’t help him in his match with Janela. The match was fine. Charles Mason attacked Reefer after the match to draw out Janela. It looks like that might be a new program.

This show was plagued with stream issues. FITE lost signal from the venue for large portions of the Cardona vs. Homicide, and Gringo Loco vs. Bandido matches. That’s not a problem during Homicide/Cardona but it’s a shame it happened during Bandido/Gringo. From what was shown, Cardona/Homicide was a plodding match that led to Steph de Lander’s debut as Cardona’s second. She interfered at the end of the match. It would’ve been nice if she interfered ten minutes earlier.

What we saw of the Bandido/Gringo Loco match was pretty good, as expected. It’s a shame the feed kept cutting out. Hopefully, they run the match back sometime soon.

Los Macizos are usually one of the best parts of the GCW undercard, but something in their match with Rina Yamashita and Sawyer Wreck just didn’t click. The match started off with an awkward chicken fight and never picked up from there. It was an alright plunder brawl but could be a great deathmatch in a state that allows those. The spot of the match was the Doomsday Destroyer where Sawyer landed right on her head.

Jack Cartwheel is one to watch in 2023. His recent appearances in AAA and GLEAT have been great, and he’s been having some good matches in GCW this year. His match here against Blake Christian was decent but never shifted into the next gear, but that might be because of the time allocated to this match. A few more minutes, with less of the Christian taunt fests, and this could have been very good. Overall, it still was a fun showcase of two of the better guys on the roster.

Also on the show… The scramble match was a fine opener. Just a bunch of guys doing moves. I like these as the first thing you see when the show goes live on FITE+. Tony Deppen and. Willie Mack had a fun undercard match. I am very happy that Willie Mack is getting more high profile bookings so far this year. The four-team tag team match was bang average.

Final Thoughts

A solid finish to a somewhat underwhelming show. The semi-main was the match of the night and Masha’s title win and celebration with her parents was a great moment. I might have been higher on the show if Bandido versus Gringo Loco didn’t have stream issues.

GCW Eye for an Eye Match Recommendations

  • Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) vs. Jordan Oliver & Mike Bailey (****)