GCW “Homecoming Weekend Part 1” results (8/15): Vetter’s review of Atticus Cogar vs. Joseph Sawyer for the GCW Title, Alec Price and Jordan Oliver vs. KJ Orso and Sam Stackhouse for the GCW Tag Titles

By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)

GCW “Homecoming Weekend Part 1”
August 15, 2026, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at The Showboat
Streamed live on TrillerTV+

* The show opened with a video montage from several recent GCW shows.

* To the venue. This drab, basement bus barn has a high ceiling (because buses used it!) Lighting is good. The crowd was hot and maybe 500. Emil Jay shouted, “I’m at HOME!” Veda Scott and John Mosley provided commentary. However, I have the volume on my laptop at full volume and the headphones plugged in, and the sound is just not good; both Veda and Mose sounded muffled and lacked volume.

1. “Bustah & The Brain” Alec Price and Jordan Oliver vs. KJ Orso and Sam Stackhouse for the GCW Tag Team Titles. The challengers came out first, and the crowd chanted profanities at Orso before he spoke a word. He vowed they would win the belts tonight. (They had a title match in Dallas a month ago but lost when Hook interfered.) Price came out solo; Oliver snuck in the ring behind the challengers and struck them with a crutch! Oliver chopped Orso while Price held KJ’s arms back. The champs hit a team Spinebuster for a nearfall at 2:30.

Stackhouse finally got back into the ring; he caught Price and hit a Samoan Drop. He hit a crossbody block on a seated Oliver for a nearfall. Price flipped Stackhouse into Orso. Price hit a tornado DDT on Sam at 4:30. Price hit a top-rope double stomp, then a top-rope flying elbow on Sam; Oliver made the cover for a nearfall. The champs went for the team Styles Clash, but Orso escaped. KJ and Price traded forearm strikes. Orso hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly, but Price immediately hit a Canadian Destroyer! Stackhouse hit some blows, and suddenly everyone was down at 7:00!

Oliver unloaded some chops on the massive Stackhouse. Sam hit his spinning heel kick. KJ hit a release suplex. Orso slid a door into the ring at 9:00, and Sam placed it in the corner. KJ hit a double-noggin-knocker. Sam charged for a rolling cannonball, but the champs moved, and Sam crashed through the door! The champs hit the team Styles Clash on Orso for a believable nearfall, but Sam pulled Oliver to the floor! Sam hit a Black Hole Slam on Price for a nearfall at 11:00. KJ hit a piledriver on Oliver on the ring apron. The challengers hit the double stomp-and-piledriver combo on Price for a believable nearfall, but Oliver made the save!

Orso dumped a bag of thumbtacks in the center of this clean, white canvas! (How will it look by the end of the night?) Oliver pulled Orso from the ring and threw him into a ring post. The champs hit a team Acid Bomb, dropping Sam face-first onto the thumbtacks! Orso immediately hit the Character Assassination double stomp to the back of Oliver’s head! KJ hit a low blow punt kick on Price. He hit a second Character Assassination on Oliver and scored the pin! New champions! (I expected this, but I still winced.)

KJ Orso and Sam Stackhouse defeated “Bustah & The Brain” Alec Price and Jordan Oliver to win the GCW Tag Team Titles at 14:00.

* We saw a video of Joey Janela’s career. If he loses tonight, he has vowed to retire! We saw Joey enter the building. Flyin’ Ryan O’Neill approached him and said he’s been watching Joey’s career for years and called him a legend. Hmmm… what’s going on here???

2. Flyin’ Ryan O’Neill, Leedz Lewis, Sturdy Sal Mistretta, and Tarzan Duran vs. Bobby Flaco, Hunter Drake, and “Top Team” Terry Yaki and Jay Lucas. This is the final week in the U.S. for French star Leedz, who has had quite an excursion since his July 4 debut. Most of the Southeast contingent competed in Georgia for Action Wrestling last night! Ugh, they brought the arm-pumping dork Flaco with them. Sal and Bobby opened. Leedz and Hunter (think a scrawny Matt Riddle) quickly got in and traded offense. Hunter missed a Lionsault.

Duran entered and tied up Yaki’s legs. He got a long stick and tied Yaki to it and punched Terry. Jay made the save. Top Team hit a team neckbreaker on Duran at 2:00. O’Neill entered and hit a double armdrag on Top Team. He hit a neckbreaker on Yaki in the ropes, then a top-rope guillotine legdrop for a nearfall. Sal’s football got sent into the stands, but someone threw it back to Sal. They lined up like it was football, and the eight charged at each other at 4:00. Sal held his football and dove through the ropes onto the four Southeast guys.

Flaco pumped his arms and did a top-rope cannonball onto everyone on the floor. Yaki, Lucas and Drake hit stereo flip dives to the floor! In the ring, Duran grabbed Flaco and hit a powerbomb, then he dove onto everyone on the floor. Duran got back in the ring and hit a corner twisting dive onto everyone on the floor. Duran missed a dive onto Flaco. Leedz hit a springboard Canadian Destroyer on Flaco. Jay hit a Canadian Destroyer on Sal. Ryan hit a back suplex on Lucas, then a springboard flip dive to the floor at 7:30!

Leedz hit a top-rope twisting dive onto everyone on the floor! This is insane stuff. In the ring, Leedz hit his split-legged moonsault on Flaco and tied him up in a Rings of Saturn. We had several pinfall attempts. Ryan and Sal fought Yaki in the corner. Hunter climbed on top of all of them! Hunter hit a double sunset flip bomb. Yaki then hit a double missile dropkick. Yaki hit a Sabin-style Cradle Shock to pin Leedz. I was thoroughly entertained.

Bobby Flaco, Hunter Drake, and “Top Team” Terry Yaki and Jay Lucas defeated Flyin’ Ryan O’Neill, Leedz Lewis, Sturdy Sal Mistretta, and Tarzan Duran at 10:05.

* A video package aired on the feud between Charles Mason versus Gabby Forza and Bear Bronson.

3. Charles Mason and Slade vs. Gabby Forza and Bear Bronson. Mason is wearing a suit tonight! He hasn’t wrestled in a suit in months! Bear and Gabby came out second, got in the ring, and all four immediately brawled. They went to the floor, where Bear threw Slade into rows of chairs. Those two fought away from the ring. (This bus barn is huge!) Gabby and Mason fought near the ring. Slade choked Bronson on the cement floor! Gabby had a tie, and she choked Mason with it at 3:00.

They continued to fight on the floor. Gabby sat up, and her face was covered in blood. Bear and Slade got into the ring at 6:30. Slade hit a German Suplex, but Bear popped up and hit an Exploder Suplex. Mason hit an Exploder Suplex on Gabby. Bear hit an Exploder Suplex on Mason! Gabby hit a suplex on Slade! All four got up, hit clotheslines, and all four were down at 8:30. Bear and Gabby hit clotheslines into opposite corners. Gabby hit a Bulldog Powerslam. Bear slammed Mason onto Slade, then hit a senton for a nearfall at 10:00.

Bear and Gabby headed to the back but returned with doors covered in weapons and slid them into the ring. Slade speared Bear through one of the doors, but Bear popped up and hit a double clothesline. He hit a Black Hole Slam on Slade. Mason threw door debris on Bear and hit a DVD through the other door at 12:00 and got a nearfall, but Gabby made the save. Mason went for a Sister Abigail, but Gabby escaped, and she slammed Mason to the mat. Slade chokeslammed her. Slade and Bear grabbed chairs, and they clanged them together. Slade cracked one over Bear’s unprotected head. Gross and unnecessary.

Amy Rose stood up in the crowd. She’s been a “Slade whisperer” of late. She got on the ring apron and tried to calm Slade down.  She persuaded Slade to hand her the chair, and she threw it on the ground. However, Amy went under the ring and grabbed a huge bundle of light tubes, and she handed that to Slade instead! Slade destroyed them across Bear’s back at 15:30. Slade attacked Bear with a screwdriver. Bear’s back was all bloody. Amy bounced and clapped, enjoying the assault. She headed to the back, and Slade followed her.

Mason and Gabby stood up, and they traded forearm strikes. Mason hit a discus clothesline, and Gabby fell onto the glass shards at 17:30. He set up for a Sister Abigail but bit her forehead before hitting the move, and he got a nearfall. Mason grabbed a title belt, swung and missed. Gabby speared him, with Charles landing in the glass. She hit him with the title belt! She slammed Mason for a nearfall at 19:30. Bear pushed boards into the ring, and they set up a door bridge. Bear covered the door bridge with thumbtacks. Gabby hit a second-rope Bulldog Powerslam, dropping Mason through the tack-covered door bridge for the pin. Crazy, wild match. Not generally my style, but this is the payoff to a long-running feud.

Gabby Forza and Bear Bronson defeated Slade and Charles Mason at 20:43. 

* Footage aired from the Minneapolis shows. (I still haven’t watched them; I certainly want to catch some of the matches I really liked in person.)

4. Joey Janela vs. Marko Stunt. Again, if Janela loses, he will retire from in-ring competition! (I didn’t expect this match so early in the show!) We got the bell, but they stood and absorbed the crowd reaction. Some fans chanted, “Thank you, Joey!” Janela and Marko hugged and finally locked up 50 seconds in. Marko tried a shoulder tackle, but he bounced off and fell to the mat. Joey hit a knee drop to the forehead and a sliding clothesline.

Marko hit a huracanrana and a flying Claymore Kick in the corner at 2:30. Marko dove through the ropes, but Joey caught him and threw him stomach-first onto the apron. They fought into the crowd. Joey sat Marko in a chair and chopped his chest. Marko ran the length of the ring, launched off a chair, and hit a rolling cannonball onto Joey at 4:30. They got back into the ring. Marko hit a top-rope flying elbow. He went for a Sliced Bread, but Joey shrugged it off.

Janela hit a shotgun dropkick for a nearfall. He took control and kept Stunt grounded. He tied Marko in a leglock around the waist. They fought on the top rope. Stunt tripped Joey, who hit his head on a turnbuckle. Marko dove through the ropes onto Joey. In the ring, he hit a DDT at 7:30, then a Sliced Bread out of the corner for a nearfall. Joey caught him coming off the ropes and hit a powerbomb. He threw him like a lawn dart into the turnbuckles, and he got a nearfall at 9:30.

Stunt slammed him off the top rope to the mat for a nearfall. Joey hit a top-rope superplex and a powerbomb, then a piledriver, but Stunt kicked out at 11:00. Marko hit a huracanrana that spiked Joey’s head into the canvas, then he hit a DDT for a nearfall. Stunt hit a DVD, dropping Joey’s head onto an open chair, and Marko got a nearfall at 13:00. Joey hit a DVD and a package piledriver for a believable nearfall. (It is now absurd that Marko is kicking out of finishers that have put away so many wrestlers.)

They got up and traded kicks. They hit stereo spin kicks, and Marko collapsed onto Joey for a nearfall at 15:00. Ryan O’Neill came to ringside and tried to rally the crowd to cheer for Janela! Marko and Joey traded chops and forearm strikes. Ryan grabbed Marko’s ankle! Joey kicked Stunt on the side of the head. Joey punched Marko while holding a roll of coins and made a cocky, one-footed cover for the pin. Ryan got into the ring and celebrated with Janela.

Joey Janela defeated Marko Stunt at 16:54. 

* Weapons were set up in the ring. Glass panes. Light tubes. Yeah, I saw enough during the Gabby and Bear match…

5. Dr. Redacted and Jimmy Lloyd and Conor Claxton vs. Nick Gage and Sicko the Clown and Nino Extremo. Gage was absolutely MOBBED by fans as he entered the room. I fast-forwarded over this. At the conclusion of the match, several guys were fighting on a scaffold overlooking the ring. Lil Sicko and Conor flipped off the scaffold and crashed onto the debris in the ring. Conor had an ugly landing and immediately started bleeding heavily from a nasty gash in his arm; I think they opted to end the match right there to get him medical attention backstage. GROSS. This looked particularly gross and violent, and I’m glad I skipped the bulk of it.

Nick Gage, Sicko the Clown, and Nino Extremo defeated Dr. Redacted, Jimmy Lloyd, and Conor Claxton at 15:46. 

** NOTE: Conor Claxton posted a picture of himself in a hospital bed late Saturday night. A fan wrote on Twitter/X that Conor “nearly bled to death.”

6. Otis Cogar vs. Anakin Murphy for the GCW Ultraviolent Title. Another deathmatch? Thankfully they didn’t bring these matches to Minneapolis. Otis slammed a chair over Anakin’s unprotected head and pinned him. No thanks.

Otis Cogar defeated Anakin Murphy to retain the GCW Ultraviolent Title at 12:42. 

7. Christian Napier vs. Vipress in a “Chola Chain Match.” Yes, a third straight death match. Just zero interest in these — I got my fill in the Bear/Gabby bout. The chain was connected to their left wrists. At 12:00, she hit a frog splash through a door bridge. She was covered in blood. She wound up wrapping a chain across his face as he was lying on his stomach, and he tapped out.

Vipress defeated Christian Napier in a Chola Chain Match at 16:33.

* Vipress got on the mic and called out Otis Cogar.

8. Atticus Cogar vs. Joseph Sawyer in a deathmatch for the GCW World Title. Sawyer (formerly Joe Gacy) debuted at the Minneapolis show. Yes, this once-white canvas is bloody and disgusting now. They immediately traded punches. Sawyer dove through the ropes and onto Cogar at 1:30. They brawled into the crowd.  Back in the ring, Atticus got his cooking skewers. Atticus hit a buzzsaw kick at 7:00. Sawyer hit a back suplex at 9:00, and they were both down. Sawyer hit a twisting uranage and a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 11:00. He hit a dropkick on a chair in Cogar’s hands.

They traded punches while on their knees. Atticus was bleeding heavily from his forehead. They each went for a Sister Abigail swinging faceplant but both attempts were blocked. Sawyer powerbombed him onto a door in the corner at 14:30. Sawyer splashed onto him, and this time, the door broke, and Sawyer got a nearfall. Atticus hit an Air Raid Crash through a door in the corner for a believable nearfall at 16:00. Cogar hit the Brain Hemorrhage (snapmare driver) for a believable nearfall. He hit another one onto door debris for another nearfall at 17:30.

Joseph hit the handspring-back-clothesline for a nearfall, but a man in a black hoodie pulled the ref from the ring and struck him! The man in the hoodie got in the ring and hit Sawyer with a Taser. The man in the hoodie revealed himself as referee Max Recon! Huh? Max started to make a pinfall count to help Atticus win! However, a man in a red mask got into the ring and stopped Max! The mystery man in red then hit a Backslide Driver (Cop Killah) on Atticus! He removed his mask, and it was former WWE referee and hardcore specialist Drake Younger! Sawyer hit Sister Abigail on Cogar. Referee Scarlett Donovan jumped in the ring and made the three-count! New champion! “What did we just witness?” Veda shouted.

Joseph Sawyer defeated Atticus Cogar to win the GCW World Title at 20:28. 

Final Thoughts: I rewatched the final three minutes of the main event because it was such a mess, meant to shock and surprise. Why would ref Max Recon join VNDL 48? It was actually rather hilarious that the Drake Younger reveal was met with crickets — just no reaction. I’m sure fans knew who he is — they just didn’t care enough to cheer or boo. Drake Younger is a controversial person who has made a lot of comments that I don’t think many wrestlers in the locker room, or fans in the stands, would find acceptable. I have no interest in discussing national politics in a wrestling setting, so go research his past comments yourself.

I liked the first half of the show. I have assumed for a while now that Orso and Stackhouse would be winning the tag title belts. The low blow to Price before pinning Oliver gives Bustah and The Brain a bit of an ‘out’ for why they lost the belts. The eight-man tag was fun. The Gabby/Bear vs. Slade/Mason match was wild, and it paid off a long feud that warranted violence. I’m still not sure why Amy Rose headed backstage mid-match, with Slade following her.

However, the bits of death matches I caught over the second half of the show really turned me off. Far too many chair shots to the head on this night. Too many light tubes exploded. A blood loss so severe that one wrestler ended up in the hospital. I searched for “Conor Claxton” on Twitter/X late Saturday night and saw all the comments from people stressing the sheer blood loss he suffered during that match. It’s hard to believe this is the same promotion that put on two pretty awesome shows in Minneapolis two weeks ago.