Scrub's View #27 - Golden State Championship Wrestling (2.1.03) Review
By Scrub

I'll be honest with you. I can definitely say that I did not think Golden State Championship Wrestling would last a year. I mean, c'mon, can you take any fed seriously with Billy Buddges booking?! AHHAAHAHHAHAHH! JOKE! Sorry for being so cynical, but I really didn't think they would last. But they proved nay-sayers like me wrong, by running their 1 year anniversary show on February 1, 2003. GSCW has improved a hell of a lot since their inaugural show from the infamous Anaheim Indoor Marketplace. As the year passed, the GSCW Brass has improved their cards by booking logical storylines that work, rounding out their cards from top to bottom by giving the fan a nice balance of all types of wrestling, finding a great venue to host their shows (albeit a far venue), and providing the SoCal fan with some good ol' quality wrestling.

After our hour long trek from Orange County, Steve and I arrive at the New Hall venue, with approximately 50 fans waiting outside the building at 7pm. I'd say half of these people that were there already made the six hour drive from the Bay Area, to support the NorCal contigent on the card. Props to them for making such a long trek for an Indy wrestling show. I was haphazardly trying to sell "Support Indy Wrestling" stickers to fans all throughout the evening. My bastard colleague Steve gave a sticker to APW's Nikki. And for his troubles, Steve got a hug. That goddamn bastard! Where's my hug Nikki?! Huh?! I came to see you outwrestle Melissa! Where's my hug!? But of course, I'm not bitter. *sad*

Really good show overall. Nothing outlandishly bad. The worst match on the card was passable. A couple disappointments and several miscues here and there, but overall, a good show and great effort from GSCW and all the wrestlers involved.

On to the High's and Low's:

Highs

Good Wrestling Venue: This was my first time in New Hall, and I must say, it's a really nice venue for Indy wrestling. The mood in New Hall is waaaaaaay better than the mood set at the Marketplace. At times, certain matches had that special feel when the crowd was into it. Small venue + hot sold out crowd = great atmosphere for Indy wrestling.

NorCal Fans: Sure, they were our enemies on February 1, but they were one of the main reasons why the GSCW crowd was so hot. The loud and rowdy (yet respectful) NorCal fans would bicker with us SoCal fans back and forth all night. They gave the SoCal wrestlers a piece of their mind as well. But they all hung their heads in shame as Steve Rizzano made his way to the ring, representing good ol' APW.

Dropkick Fan RULES!: You guys have probably no idea what I'm talking about, but there is this guy I always see at shows, and everytime any wrestler does a dropkick, this guy is always on his feet, clapping his heart out with a huge smile on his face. Any dropkick will suffice. But you can't trick him into clapping for a leg lariat or a spinning heel kick, he's too smart for that.

Joey Ryan's Magic Tricks: Towards the end of the match, Joey Ryan got a hold of two chairs, sliding one into and back out of the ring "on accident". This lures Bo Cooper to look at the fallen chair outside and distract him while Ryan blasted Cooper with the second chair. What a genius that Joseph P. Ryan is! This was also the first time I saw Joey Ryan use this "technical wizard" gimmick. While I do like the gimmick, it would be more appropriate if Ryan was some mindboggling submission specialist like the UK's Doug Williams, that knew hundreds upon hundreds of insane and intricate counters and holds.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Mr. Excitement: I thought this match was good. I thought these two would not click at first, but they seemed to have worked alright for their first matchup together (that I know of). Kazarian was his usual self in the match, spitting out his usual one-liners and zingers. Excitement looked good in the match too, but looked a little uninspired. I've seen Excitement more intense and fired up in his other matches (matches with either Super Dragon or the Havana Pitbulls in particular). But even then, the match was still good. Finish saw Kazarian hit his solo Spanish Fly on Excitement for the duke.

Nikki & Melissa vs. Disco Machine & Looney Lane: Instead of the advertised Nikki vs. Melissa, the GSCW fans were given the impromptu mixed tag. The advertised women's match did look like it was going to take place at first. Melissa and Nikki were squaring off, looking like they were going to lock up. But then their lightbulbs went off in their heads, and they decided that they did not have to kill each other in front of us stupid SoCal fans. So they walked out. I knew that they'd be back out in the ring for a tag match of some sorts, but I had no idea that their SoCal opponents would be a woman that I have never seen outside a UPW ring, and a MAN! A man as flamboyant as Disco Machine! It was definitely a surprise to see Looney and Disco team up, let alone be competing in this match. I dug the new music Disco came out to. New music for wrestlers can be a nice change of pace if done right. Anyways, this match was very entertaining, even though I was looking forward to the advertised APW women's match. But hey, I'm not complaining. The match they delivered instead was just fine. I was really impressed with Nikki's performance in this match. I have seen her wrestle on tape and on the Internet before, but this was my first time watching Nikki wrestle live. Boy, was I impressed. She really sets herself apart from pretty much every US womens wrestler I have ever seen. She wrestles like a guy (which is a compliment). She wrestles that crazy Japanese "Strong Style" that those goddamn computer nerds seem to love. Props to Nikki for being one of the only women in the United States to pull that off so well. She also wrestles with so much grace and fluidity which is rare in most US womens wrestlers. She pulls off some pretty advanced throws and holds as well. That's what happens when you've trained under American Dragon, man or woman. In my humble opinion, I think she's better than Melissa, even though Melissa has had a little Japanese seasoning. Though Melissa has improved a whole lot from her stint in ARSION, she still has that dainty feel to her wrestling style. Which, I guess, is how women... should... wrestle? I mean, that's how almost all US women wrestlers wrestle. That's what sets apart Nikki from the rest. Nikki does not have to wrestle that elegant dainty style, even though she's a woman. She can hang with the rest of her male counterparts in the ring, and perhaps outwrestle them too. But with all that said, Nikki and Melissa are still the top two US Women in my eyes, with perhaps the WWE's Victoria right on their backsides. Nikki's upcoming stint in ARSION will make her even better than before.

Did HE Just Slap HER?!: Good God Almighty, this got the crowd going apeshit. Not because they condoned it, but because of the shock value. Did the crowd go oooh and aaah because Disco Machine just slapped a girl? Or did the crowd go oooh and aaah because Nikki actually took that slap like a man, errr.. woman? This slap came out of nowhere. I don't think anyone in the building (not even the GSCW Brass) saw this coming. It seemed that Disco Machine chose the wrong time to take a page out of Super Dragon's handbook, and slapped the holy hell outta Nikki, leaving a huge shocked red look on Nikki's face. But being the warrior that she is, she sucked it up, and begged for Disco to bring it on. I do not condone violence towards women, but I think that it grabbed my attention all because of the shock value behind it. But the more I think about it, that slap was probably kids stuff to Nikki. I've seen Nikki take some hellacious beatings from Bobby Quance and Super Dragon up North at APW. She's one tough cookie! Yea, it's a cheesy cliche, I know.

Scott Lost vs. Lil' Cholo: These two also had a good match. I have not seen Lost in singles competition since the Rev J in September, so I was looking forward to this. Cholo ain't no slouch either, so him in the ring with Lost was a treat as well. These two complimented each other well. Cholo hit an awesome body scissor rollup with Lost facing the other way for a real close 2 count. Very impressive. Cholo brought out the ladder towards the end of this match, but the tables turned on him, as he had the ladder teeter-totted right back into him thanks to a leg drop from Lost. Match ended with a countout, but leaded up rather well to a ladder match on the next show between the two. Maybe the Lost/Cholo feud could have been dragged out a little bit longer for one more show before the ladder match, but that would just be me nitpicking.

B-Boy vs. Jardi Frantz: This was my Match of the Night. The fact that this match followed up a disappointing Quance/Excalibur match made the fans love this match even more. The intensity in this match was off the charts, as both the SoCal and Norcal fans rallied behind their respective guys. The war was both in the ring, and in the stands. Everything in this match was very fluid and clean. Frantz connected with a really nice Springboard Enzui Knee. The 2002 SoCal Wrestler of the Year hit all his spots, including a couple sick shoteis, and an absolutely brutal Shining Wizard. B-Boy also continued to take pages out of Super Dragon's playbook, by hitting the powerbomb into the turnbuckles, which then set up Frantz for the patended dropkick in the corner, that knocked Frantz's face off. Finish saw B-Boy polish off Frantz with the afforementioned brutal Shining Wizard. Post match saw the APW contingent jump B-Boy from behind with Quance leading the charge. The SoCal'ers made the save, chasing the APW boys outta the Legion Hall. This was done rather well, which looks to be leading up to a Bobby Quance/B-Boy match up here in SoCal (a rematch from their Golden Gate Invitational Finals). Did I mention that B-Boy was rocking a stylish "Support Indy Wrestling" sticker? All the cool kids are doing it. Look, even B-Boy's doing it!

Drunken Army Veteran: What more can I say? I can't really explain his actions. He's drunk. Yet he made sure to tell everyone in the ring to "get a room". He also made sure to make pirate noises during the last couple matches for God knows what reasons. He also made sure to get in the face of APW VP Jason Deadrich for no apparant reason. Either way, whatever he did, whatever random comment he made, whatever random noises he made, he was rather entertaining, even though he was a drunken army veteran.

Lows

Zokre & Phoenix Star: I've seen these two wrestle on the Halloween wrestling show as the Snack Pack (two oversized M&M's). I was very impressed with what I saw on the Halloween show. I knew that these two were gonna be really good. I could not wait to see their progress in the years to come. I've also seen one match of theirs on tape, without the Snack Pack gimmick, and I must say that I was also very impressed with that outing. I was looking forward to seeing them live for the first time at GSCW. But it seems that these two were having an off night, with a couple miscues here and there. They weren't the rookie phenoms that everyone claimed them to be that night. Hopefully, these two can have a much more smooth performance the next time I see them in the ring. But with all that said, as of now, these two are the front-runners for Rookie of the Year 2003.

BOO-YA!: He's a "gigalo". In quotes! It says so on his trunks! He's not a full-fledged gigalo yet, so he needs the quotes, only to be honest and fair. Yea, this match was not good. Not because of Al Katrazz. Oh no. I think Al Katrazz is alright. It's just that Al Katrazz is fed crappy opponents. Until Adam Pearce, I can honestly say that Al Katrazz hasn't been fed any good opponents. He can't really prove himself if he isn't given the chance. But if you give him Steve Rizzano, what can anyone really do with that? This match was not interesting to me at all. It didn't help that Rizzano did a really lame kneedrop dancing sequence.

Excalibur: Although Excalibur is one of my favorite wrestlers, he certainly did not live up to his usual expectations. I have not seen Excalibur wrestle a singles match live since his 2002 MOTYC with B-Boy in May at GSCW. Between then and now, Excalibur's been in tags and six-mans, where his faults could be disguised more easily and effectively. Excalibur has not even wrestled a singles match in EPIC. With plenty of time off from the ring, whether it be not working for a fed, or simply just not training, Excalibur looked to have plenty of ring rust. Disappointing performance that could have been way better. Him and Quance just never clicked as well as Super Dragon and Quance do, or even as well as Excalibur and B-Boy, or Excalibur and Super Dragon do. That's what unfamiliarity will do to you. Hopefully, Excalibur can get back into the groove of things, and become his usual self working high quality matches with SoCal's finest.

No Nikki vs. Melissa: OK, this is just me nitpicking, but I still wanted to see this match! It's one of the reasons I came to the show! But hey, I won't complain. Like I said earlier, the impromptu mixed tag was just fine and dandy. But I still wanna see Nikki and Melissa wrestle live!

Overall, I'd say every match was very entertaining sans the Rizzano match (and even that was passable). The crowd was really hot the whole night. Nothing too outlandish or disrespectful was yelled out, with the exception of a couple words here and there. I'd say the show was worth the hour long drive for me. Kudos to Golden State Championship Wrestling for sticking around as long as you have. Congratulations on the success of your one year anniversary show, and may you have more success with your upcoming shows. You guys have reminded me why I love SoCal Indy wrestling in the first place.

Scrub
Joey Ohwee Oh. Ohhhhhh-Oh.
scrub@socaluncensored.com