GCW Tournament Of Survival 5 Review
GCW hosted a deathmatch tournament in the middle of a pandemic.
It still amazes me that you can consider producing a deathmatch tournament in the middle of a pandemic. As we saw with Game Changer Wrestling’s Homecoming Weekend earlier this year, anything is possible in the world of wrestling. Tournament of Survival (or TOS for short) is one of GCW’s big annual events. A hardcore extravaganza, it’s all about finding out who is the greatest deathmatch wrestler in the world. Sometimes exciting, sometimes excruciating, TOS delivers more jaw-dropping moments than most companies produce in a whole year. Carrying on this tradition, Tournament of Survival 5 was fantastic from start to finish.
As with my last GCW review, I need to thank the staff at FITE TV for allowing me to cover this event, and the staff at GCW for again producing safe, socially distanced wrestling in these hard times of COVID-19. Lastly, my biggest thank you goes again to wrestling photographer and good friend Kane Wharton, who was up close and personal with the action in New Jersey. Being allowed to showcase Kane’s photographs is a massive privilege, even more so as these photos are once again exclusive to this review.
TOS – First Round
Rickey Shane Page vs. Jimmy Lloyd
Shane Mercer vs. Eric Ryan
Atticus Cogar vs. Allie Kat
Alex Colon vs SHLAK
It is probably a good time now to mention that Tournament of Survival 5 is not for the weak at heart. There are several spots which may make you squeamish. Deathmatch wrestling is without doubt an acquired taste, so you have been warned.
What I find interesting about death match wrestling is that although it can all appear the same, these matches were very different. RSP vs. Jimmy Lloyd featured a stomach-churning moment when syringes were used as weapons in the match! Shane Mercer and Eric Ryan contained some crazy slams and athletic feats, including a one-handed gorilla press followed by a shot with a light tube! Cogar and Allie Kat was all about the heart of Allie, who truly left it all in the ring. Colon vs. SHLAK was a light tube frenzy with enough broken glass to cover the Garden State twice over! The first-round matches were all a ton of fun and achieved what they set out to do.
Six-Way Scramble
After the intermission, we were thrown straight into an action-packed second half with a frantic six-way scramble between AR Fox, KTB, Andrew Everett, Myron Reed, Jordan Oliver and Lucky 13!
It was a historic six-way, as both AR Fox and Andrew Everett were debuting on the same night. Both big stars of the independent scene, Fox and Everett had great showings in this clash. In terms of standout performances, I’m a huge supporter of Lucky 13. His timing was crisp, his moves were all exciting and his interactions with all the participants was great. I also must give huge props to KTB, who once again showcased crazy feats of strength and athleticism. This was a really fun contrast to the deathmatches of earlier in the show, and started the second half of Tournament of Survival 5 with a bang!
TOS – Semi-Finals
RSP vs. Eric Ryan
Alex Colon vs Atticus Cogar
440H! ran roughshod over the other participants, leaving only Alex Colon fighting for GCW. Much like the first round, these matches were just as brutal, scary and not for the faint at heart. We had light tubes galore, enough forks to stock a three-story diner and glass panes straight off a construction site!
A cool little storyline element was that RSP had Gregory Iron in his corner, and as both RSP and Eric Ryan are part of 44OH!, the dissension between the stable was at the forefront. Plus, having two hated heels in the match was really interesting from a fan perspective, as no one wanted either man to win. It’s little things like this that make Tournament of Survival a lot more fun than just a traditional deathmatch tournament.
In contrast, Atticus Cogar vs. Alex Colon was as heated as you can get! The crowd was firmly behind defending champion Alex, and there was nothing which Atticus couldn’t do to responds of boos and the flipping of middle fingers in this one. Again, this match is not for the faint-hearted, as tons of light-tubes and glass were used by both men. Unfortunately, the climatic intentions of the finish (a glass pane to be lit on fire) didn’t come off correctly, causing some awkward clumsiness by the competitors. However, it didn’t take away from the efforts both men put in and the match itself was as brutal as you can imagine leading into the main event.
Before we got to the main event though, Eddie Only, complete with lit cigarette, decided to come out and berate the GCW fans and locker room about how no one was tough enough to take him on. Little did Eddie know that “The Dirty Daddy” Chris Dickinson was on his way out to the ring to shut Eddie up as quickly as he had begun to talk. This was a really fun squash match and the finish is one I really cannot do justice in words. You need to see it!
TOS – Final
RSP vs. Alex Colon
This match was absolutely insane! So much glass shattered and blood spillled. The violence of this brawl is straight out of a slasher movie. Both men put on fantastic performances, and to have wrestled two matches earlier in the day, equally as violent, says a lot about them. I will not give away the result because I feel that is unfair. But I will say is that this match along with the rest of the show needs to be purchased and watched by everyone as soon as possible!
Tournament of Survival 5 was another brilliant show from GCW.
Bonus Mini-Review – Jimmy Lloyd’s Jersey Shore
After speaking with Kane, he let me know that he had also attended Jimmy Lloyd’s Jersey Shore the following day.
This GCW showcase was a fun-filled supercard with a hot crowd and tons of awesome matches and star-making performances. The only criticism I do have towards this show is that sadly the weather was not as kind as the day before, meaning certain matches on the stream were difficult to see.
My three favourite matches were:
Cole Radrick vs. AR Fox
KTB and Shane Mercer vs. Jordan Oliver and Myron Reed
Joey Janela vs. Alex Zayne
Lastly, a full audio review of this show can be found at BBGWrestling with myself and my friend Mark, so give it a listen now!
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