Almost every match established a clear babyface and heel dynamic and told a story. The execution wasn't always crisp but characters, stories, and understanding that most of these wrestlers probably have less than 20 matches under their belts makes it easy to forgive bumps in the road. Several of these guys have already started to venture out to some other independents like PCW, and a few of them have done some AEW dark matches - but this was my first time seeing almost everyone on the card in person. If you're looking for wrestling moves then this report isn't for you. Here's a high level overview that I'm doing without any notes.
1) South East Swat Team (Luke Sampson & Trevor Blackwell) d. Shaheem Ali & D'Marceo James to retain the GPW Tag Team titles.
Sampson is the former Luke Grimes/Erik Havok and Blackwell is his less-experienced protégé here. Ali is a Monster Factory trainee with several dozen ROH matches under his belt. James has a good build on him and appeared to be in a similar protégé role with Ali. A good chance to see more experienced guys with lesser experienced guys. The fan favorite SWAT Team retained their titles after doubleteam offense.
2) Caleb Teninty w/ KC Rocker d. "Yellow Boots" DeAndre Jones
Teninty & Rocker were in your face obnoxious. They both have very punchable faces. They created a dynamic where the crowd was 100% behind the athletic Jones. Jones knocked Teninty into Rocker for a big kiss on the mouth, which Rocker did not enjoy. The numbers game caught up to Jones though and with an assist from Rocker, he picked up a roll up victory over Jones.
3) Keith The OP made his professional debut and d. Tamilian Vineesh
Vineesh played up the anti-American shtick and stayed in control for most of the match until Keith made a big comeback and busted out some impressive athleticism to put Vineesh away. Vineesh has appeared on AEW Dark already so he's most likely one of the more experienced NF trainees. If not one of the more experienced, he's definitely one of the most talented, though it seems much of today's wrestling fanbase does not want to boo foreigners for being foreigners - he's got enough in the toolbox to be arrogant and hatable no matter what he's playing up.
4) Parker Li d. "The Warden" Mercury Peace
Li reminded the crowd that at the last event, Mercury Peace and his manager(who was absent this event) had attacked him with a briefcase but said it'd be one on one with Peace tonight and that he was going to have his revenge. This was my match of the night. Li is a lean, shredded technician that I believe will get some good opportunities if he sticks it out. Peace was great here too. He's a really agile bigger guy and these guys played up the psychology and story of a smaller guy vs bigger guy. Li did indeed get his revenge and picked up the win here. These guys both won me over big.
5) Duncan Mitchell d. Agonyst by DQ when Agonyst attacked him with a chair.
Mitchell is a smaller, lean guy with some charisma and athleticism who is a fan favorite. Agonyst is slightly bigger and came out crazed and violent. Again - so enjoyable to see polarizing characters. They had a competitive match until Agonyst had enough and hit Mitchell with a chair at ringside. I was told the GPW commissioner may be finalizing a street fight on October 9th to settle this.
6) "Nice Guy" Jacob Thrasher d. Brett Buffshay
Buffshay was over the top confident and proved to be a formidable foe here. He talked trash the whole match but came up short in the end to the crowd's delight. Thrasher was the perfect compliment to Buffshay's ridiculousness. Buffshay is a guy who appears to really have it together. He can do his thing every night without losses hurting him - which is a sign of a really good character.
7) Kat Spencer d. Hyena Hera
Hera came to the ring and ran down the crowd. She said no one wanted to face her and issued an open challenge - then demanded the ref start counting immediately to show that no one was brave enough to fight her.... enter Kat Spencer. Hera has a petite build and once again set the stage here for establishing herself as someone the crowd wanted to see get their face beat in. Spencer is athletically built and looks like a fighter. She gave Hera a quick beating and showed some power and force with her offense - getting the win and posing with her bicep muscles before leaving the ring. Short and fun. I look forward to seeing both of these two when they get more experience.
8) Josh Cantrell d. KC Rocker w/ Caleb Teninty
Cantrell is a GPW original and a guy that former GPW owner Greg "Big Wood/Woody" Hullender called the best in-ring guy he's ever trained. Cantrell and Cody Roberts formed a tag team called Georgia Heat that were always fan favorites and Cantrell still carries the charisma and talent that makes him beloved by Southern crowds. Rocker is a smaller guy but carries himself as a viable threat with athleticism, attitude, and his partner in crime Teninty. The referee caught Teninty interfering and threw him out - much to the fans' delight. The referee was knocked down later on and Teninty came back out, attacking Cantrell until.... Cantrell's buddies from the original GPW, The Good Ol Boys(Shaggy & Cletus), made the save and took out Teninty. Rocker turned around and was taken out by Cantrell to send everyone home happy.
Cantrell announced on October 9 that Rocker & Teninty would face Cletus & Shaggy in a tag team match and thanked the fans for coming out and being loud. He also paid his respects to our military and first responders with it being 9/11.
Quite a few matches BUT... the show was over by 9:15 with a run time of just over 2 hours(which had 8 matches and an intermission). I definitely recommend checking out GPW if you like old school storytelling with new age athleticism. Good stuff.
Thanks for reading,
@ScottCHensley on Twitter/Facebook
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