#Matt Tremont

[jasvvy]

[papanitosfamilycircus]

dai nihon

[germ-t-ripper]

05OCT24 The almighty Matt Tremont.

[panneshirley]

DPW Live 2: New Jersey Street Fight - Violence Is Forever vs Tremont & Mathers

[d-e-a-d-n-e-r-d]

[kud-lucas]

[josiahthegreat]

It's a bird, it's a plane, holy shit it's the bulldozer Matt Tremont 👀

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

GCW You Wouldn't Understand 2024 Live Impressions

If we accept professional wrestling as a form of pantomime, then it certainly makes sense that you can feel the emotions of professional wrestling more directly live and in person than by watching on television. So, though GCW is not my preferred professional wrestling company, I went to their latest show at Brooklyn's Roulette Intermedium, You Wouldn't Understand, since it was a fairly affordable ticket ($54 for first row balcony reserved) and accessible (close to the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center hub).

Credit goes to GCW for cultivating an atmosphere that 1. replicates the atmosphere from old Chikara shows that I attended, where fans would wave to other fans that they had seen at other shows 2. is decidedly closer to 50/50 between men and women attendees 3. had a surprising number of young fans in attendance despite the flying profanity and the violence inherent to the show.

Independent wrestling merchandise, as always, remains a mixed bag at best. I was hopeful that UltraMantis Black and the Spectral Envoy might have apparel that I wouldn't be too embarrassed to wear, but I couldn't even find their stand before or after the show.

1. Brandon Kirk d. Bam Sullivan

Right off the bat, we are treated to plunder and excess as Bam Sullivan tries to prove his mettle to the GCW locker room by resurrecting Joey Ryan's groin-based offense. At least Sullivan is assaulting his opponent's groin and not forcing his opponents to touch his groin; nonetheless, I didn't think groin-based gimmicks, especially in a company that is open to intergender matches, survived Speaking Out. Bam Sullivan proved me wrong on that. Sullivan is a local act, so the obnoxiously loud fans to my right were happy to riff about Sullivan's mustache (another echo of Joey Ryan). To prove that he is a worthwhile addition to the GCW roster, Sullivan summoned chairs and doors from under the ring because that's what GCW's and Sullivan's limited definition of hardcore wrestling is. I wonder if the two deathmatch veterans used chairs and doors so early to compensate for the blood ban in New York.

Sullivan and Kirk started with a lot of energy, and things were fine until Sullivan either tired or lost focus and was slightly off his timing on some of the sequences with Kirk. Kirk beat Sullivan with a Psycho Driver and then indeed endorsed Sullivan as a worthy member of the roster. I wish someone had jumped Sullivan after that, but I suppose GCW has time later to tell the story that not everyone agrees that Sullivan belongs in GCW. For what it's worth, Sullivan fits the aesthetic and the working standard in GCW about as well as Kirk.

2. Brooke Havok d. Zayda Steel

Havok is 25 years old and has wrestled 136 matches in 3 years. Steel is 21 years old and has 113 matches in 2 years. With those caveats, I am willing to grade this on a curve because this was a mess. Havok struggled to lift Steel at various points during the match and had to repeat two spots twice. Havok and Steel couldn't quite rotate fully on a poisonrana, and they landed awkwardly. Their strikes looked unconvincing, and Steel's lungblower on Havok, who was suspended on the middle rope, makes no sense as a move in an ostensible fight. Steel, the WWE ID signee, seems more polished than Havok, even though her character is fairly shallow. Steel set up Havok for an Unprettier that looked tentative, but Havok squirmed free and pinned Steel to end the match. I suppose that means that being a WWE ID signee doesn't restrict you from losing matches, for now.

At this point, I was not impressed by the show or the fact that the venue was, at best, 2/3 full.

3. Tony Deppen d. Man Like DeReiss

I had last seen DeReiss at DEFY Can't Deny It, where he teamed with Michael Oku against the Bollywood Boyz, so I was looking forward to seeing how much he had progressed in those seven intervening months. He's certainly still energetic and charismatic, which made for an interesting contrast with Deppen, who has a deceptively dirtbag charm to his character and his wrestling style. Watching this, I felt like both Deppen and DeReiss could do better than wrestling undercard matches in a small GCW show in Brooklyn. Deppen should be able to reach at least the heights that Jimmy Rave reached at his peak in ROH.

DeReiss, the younger of the two, has more time to put it together. His sequence of rapping on the mic while hitting Deppen with shoulder tackle, chops, and clotheslines was fun if incomprehensible. It seemed like his focus during this match was to sell the arm that Deppen targeted and to find a way to channel the crowd's sympathy. On the first count, DeReiss was mostly successful; I don't understand why he would try to force Deppen to submit to a Stepover Toehold Facelock and not have his damaged arm come into play there or how his hurt arm slowed his climb to the top rope for a double stomp, but I appreciate how he would grimace and shake his arm every now and then. I'm not sure how well DeReiss succeeded on the second front; the crowd seemed to be more against Deppen, and eventually Griffin McCoy, than for DeReiss. I chalk that up to how the GCW crowd seems to go to shows to see GCW wrestlers, not to see wrestling in general, which I'll explore more later.

I hate the wrestling trope that a match's babyface must be completely flustered when someone appears ringside. DeReiss was set to finish Deppen with his 450 splash when Griffin McCoy appeared and taunted DeReiss from the stage. It's contrived nonsense.

After the match, Deppen pretended he had nothing to do with McCoy and left the ringside area. McCoy and DeReiss traded blows, and McCoy disabled DeReiss with a lowblow that looked like it took two attempts to hit. McCoy's opponent this evening, Grim Reefer, emerged to confront McCoy to let DeReiss leave.

4. Griffin McCoy d. Grim Reefer

I enjoyed Grim Reefer's work the last time I saw him live, which was 16 years ago at Jersey All Pro Wrestling's Reclaiming Hudson show on January 19, 2008. Reefer's gained some weight, slowed down a little, and doesn't fly from the top rope as much now, but he still seemed like a solid pro. The crowd, as it is wont to do, had fun punning off of Reefer's name with "Reefer's gonna smoke you" and "Light him up" chants to taunt McCoy. Reefer lit his joint and started smoking it while fighting McCoy, and the scent of weed wafted to the balcony. The crowd, of course, then chanted "Pass that shit."

McCoy's own scumbag charm was also great, and he reminded me of Austin Theory from Theory's Evolve run. I think there's potential there as a braggadocious heel who talks too much during the match but has the mettle to back it up when he's forced to do so. He doesn't have Theory's athleticism, but he's more entertaining and less off-putting than Theory was. It makes a ton of sense that McCoy was trained by the aforementioned Jimmy Rave at one point.

After the match, which McCoy won with a cheap pin, McCoy and Deppen beat up Reefer. DeReiss saved Reefer and called for Reefer to help hit Deppen with a 3-D for some reason. McCoy pulled Deppen to safety.

At this point, I felt like the show had gotten its feet under it after an uninspired start.

5. Matt Tremont d. Lou Nixon

In this match, the show lost whatever momentum it had been able to build. Tremont and Nixon decided to pay homage to Don Frye and Yoshihiro Takayama and missed the reason why Frye and Takayama's fight is so memorable: the respect that Frye and Takayama had, the position that they were in (as the last fight in a show that had largely underwhelmed, Frye and Takayama wanted to give the crowd a show), and the intensity of their violence (Frye and Takayama exchanged 137 punches in about 90 seconds). Instead, Tremont and Nixon exchanged some light punches, brawled to the floor, had Nixon hit Tremont with some kicks, and then Tremont hit a Death Valley Driver to win the match. An utterly pointless match that could have been replaced with a match featuring wrestlers from DEFY and PROGRESS's afternoon show. Tremont then told everyone that he and Nixon were paying homage to Frye and Takayama (poorly).

6. Allie Katch d. Microman

Katch and GCW promoter Brett Lauderdale clearly don't believe in wasting a crisis since they had Katch address how Effy's comments about Shad and Tony Khan likely caused AEW to pull Ricky Starks from all future GCW shows. I had said earlier that GCW fans attend GCW shows to see GCW wrestlers, but I'm not convinced that they care about the top level story that GCW is trying to tell with Katch, Effy, and Mance Warner. It didn't help that Katch talked for longer than she needed to for her point to be made. (I accept the irony in my writing this.)

On the other hand, the crowd loved Microman. So, when Katch gets booed for throwing Microman around, she can claim that the crowd is booing her character and the character's role in the story they're trying to weave. I don't think the investment was there from tonight's crowd; instead, I think the sentiment is for Microman more than it's against her. Using power wrestler moves like Mark Henry's World Strongest Slam and Yokozuna's corner Bonzai drop against Microman is a nice touch.

It was amusing when Katch tried to hit Microman with a running butt splash in the corner but missed him completely because he was too short.

For some reason, Blake Christian came out from under the ring and threatened Microman before deciding to leave him alone.

7. Megan Bayne vs. Parrow - No contest

I hadn't seen Parrow since he invaded Evolve with his partner in The End, Odinson, and forced us to listen to atrocious heavy metal music for minutes at a time while they fought the WorkHorsemen, Catch Point, and the Skulk. I guess he's a creep who likes to beat up women now in GCW. Bayne, after finishing her tour in Stardom, has been working primarily in Limitless, GCW, and Beyond, and it's a mystery why she's there instead of elsewhere. Bayne struggled to lift Parrow for the F-5 and messily dropped him in the execution. Parrow used a variety of power moves against her, which made sense since he dwarfed Bayne. Parrow was about to finish Bayne with a chokeslam, but the lights went out, and the supposedly criminally insane Charles Mason replaced Bayne in the chokeslam hold. I don't understand how that makes sense, where Bayne went, and what the deal with Bayne is.

8. Luke Jacobs d. 1 Called Manders

The show needed a good match after the stretch from Tremont vs. Nixon to Bayne vs. Parrow, and luckily Jacobs and Manders were able to deliver a thrilling fight to save the show for me. It was also apparent that no one knew who Luke Jacobs was; I was the only person cheering for him, and the crowd was oddly silent even though Manders and Jacobs worked very hard to get the crowd to notice. Manders and Jacobs had extended chop, forearm, lariat, and headbutt exchanges. It's not as if the crowd booed Jacobs and cheered Manders; they simply didn't seem to care about this unannounced match. I also don't understand the business logic of not announcing this match; given the 1/3 empty seats at the Roulette Intermedium on this Black Friday show, one could reasonably conclude that the announced matches weren't enough to entice potential attendees. Jacobs and Manders traded one-counts after lariats because they're both tough bastards; I enjoyed Jacobs calling Manders "a big bastard" while fighting to lift him up for a German suplex. They were tough bastards to the end as Manders refused to give up in Jacobs's rear-naked choke, raised a middle finger in defiance, and passed out to give Jacobs the win.

GCW, meanwhile, can claim that they held this match first even though it was not announced for the advertised card and DEADLOCK Pro Wrestling had announced on November 27 that they had booked Jacobs vs. Manders for their 3rd Anniversary Show on December 8. So much for GCW's hypocritical indignation about other companies breaking the unwritten rules of promoting professional wrestling.

9. Los Desperados (Gringo Loco, Arez & Azrieal) d. The Spectral Envoy (Frightmare, Hallowicked & UltraMantis Black)

This was my main event of the show and the reason I decided to attend; I have fond memories of the Spectral Envoy and was looking forward to seeing UltraMantis Black, in particular, again. Frightmare has entered his fat luchador phase, and Hallowicked looks unchanged; it was nice to see Hallowicked hit the Go to Sleepy Hollow combo with Frightmare and UMB again. They played for comedy at first that felt like a throwback to Chikara trios matches. Frightmare and Arez missed their timing on an armdrag, but it wasn't as noticeable as the confusion later when the Envoy were supposed to run at the Desperados. Once they had the match back under control, the offense looked good. Arez, in particular, looked really impressive here and was the standout in the match.

While this wasn't one of the best matches of the year that I've seen, I think it's still worth checking out because it's a lesson in how comedy can be seamlessly incorporated into a wrestling match's action. For all that can be said about Chikara, I think that is its lasting legacy: to show that you can combine action and comedy and that you can escalate from humor to high drama in a single match.

10. Mance Warner d. Homicide

My expectations for the match were low, and I still felt underwhelmed. Warner threw a fan's phone to the hard camera operator in the balcony during his entrance. Worse, Warner decided to give a monologue in the middle of the match about how the fans believed in Homicide (the chants of "New champ" at the match's start notwithstanding, nobody believed that Homicide would dethrone Warner this night), and so on, and so on. I paid for action and fake fighting, not poorly acted skits. Frankly, I tuned out of the match the moment Warner picked up a microphone, and there was no way they could win me back. Add yet another outside interference spot (Jimmy Lloyd appeared to pull the referee out of the ring during a Homicide pin) to the show's count.

I can forgive Tremont and Nixon for their utterly pointless match. I can forgive Havok and Steel's sloppiness. However, this is the show's main event, the headline of the show, and it was melodramatic, plodding slop.

If not for the fact that live wrestling in New York City is not frequent or the fact that the Spectral Envoy were a special attraction for this show, I would have written the show off altogether based on what they had announced for it. This show did GCW no favors in convincing me to return for another show; given the attendance at this show, I'm not sure GCW would have much appetite for running the venue again.

One last note: I'm glad at least that wrestlers have moved away from using just heavy metal for their entrance themes. There was a diversity of music among the entrances, from classic rock to pop to Homicide's classic "The Truth" remix.

[unscriptedinsanity]

Brett lauderdale really wants to catch these hands how are you going to put three really good wrestlers in a match and then do it again

[raisedbycassettes]

[jasvvy]

kasai is a treasure and should be allowed to cum during a ma--

[dankhausen]

GCW Til Infinity, JCW Battlebowl, GCW 56 Nights Reviews

So I finally had time to finish all of the shows GCW (and JCW) put out this past weekend, and let me just say I was blown away! I suppose the best way to handle this mega review would be to go show by show and match by match- so, here it is:

GCW Til Infinity Review:

East West Express vs. Wasted Youth was a very good and fast paced opener to the show, I wasn't familiar with either team going in but I definitely want to see more of them now. One very memorable moment from the match was the Spanish Fly into the Canadian Destroyer, very awesome indeed.

Kerry Morton vs. Jimmy Lloyd was a match that I didn't really click with, although it was still a good match. I loved how Kerry was booed the entire time for just putting on a technical wrestling match, and how this evolved into him hamming it up across all 3 shows the entire weekend.

Effy vs. Blake Christian was a great match, huge fan of Effy already and Blake's pretty hype too. I really liked Effy's version of the Tarantula, Blake hitting a bottom rope 619 was amazing and skinning the cat into a rollup is a great finish.

Leon Slater vs. Tony Deppen was a great match, very fast paced and pretty evenly matched. I was confused going in as to why Tony was getting cheered, but I think it might be because he is local to the area. Leon's Swanton 450 was perhaps the most athletically impressive thing all weekend.

Nick Gage made another hype as hell entrance, I absolutely loved it and getting Maki Itoh involved was a nice touch. This led into Allie Katch vs. Maki Itoh, which was a hell of a match and nearly match of the night for me. Maki basically did the greatest hits of Nick Gage, and I was all in on it.

American Violence Dealers vs. Los Macizos, seriously where do I begin with this one? It was an absolutely brutal match filled with jaw-dropping sequences, and really my notes say it better than I ever could:

Shitheads vs Sc*nt was a really fun and quick match, I've mentioned before that I'm a Dark Sheik fan so it was good to see her involved. I was also really impressed by the others, especially Rob Shit who hit an epic press slam dive.

"Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. 2 Cold Scorpio was an interesting match, fairly slow pace but it worked. I really liked how it was back and forth for most of it, almost like a physical game of chess between the two. I still love Bailey's finisher, and when he threatened to stomp a vape pen it made me laugh.

Starboy Charlie vs. Willie Mack was a really good match, I liked the dynamic of big man/little man. Willie did some pretty hard hitting and entertaining offense, and there was a sick shotgun dropkick by Starboy.

John Wayne Murdoch vs. Sawyer Wreck was a short but BRUTAL match, and I absolutely loved it- it's my pick for Match of the Night! Highlights for me included the baseball bat with the spikes(?) being used, and the GODDAMN SUPLEX THROUGH THE GLASS PANE.

Yokai vs. Billie Starkz and Brogan Finlay was a pretty good finish to an excellent show, the match was good and I was particularly impressed by Janai Kai.

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JCW BattleBowl Review:

Midas Black & Charlie Tiger vs. Jay Lyon & Ellis Taylor was an interesting and fun opener on this show. It was interesting how two tag teams are split up and made to face each other, I don't know anyone here but I'm intrigued. Jay Lyon's handspring elbow was the highlight of the match, and the surprise rollup was a great finish.

Kerry Morton & Axton Ray vs. Marcus Mathers & Dyln McKay was a good match, I'm happy that Wasted Youth won. I cracked up at Marcus stealing the title at the end.

Gabriel Skye & Austin Luke vs. Griffin McCoy & Alec Price was an awesome match, I didn't know anybody here but they were all very impressive. Luke with the Ambrose rope clothesline was pretty sweet, and McCoy with the modified Boston crab was pretty cool.

Beastman & Sam Stackhouse vs. Yoya & Mago was a hell of a match, I really liked the big vs. little dynamic. Yoya hit one HELL of a Canadian Destroyer in this one, and that was easily moment of the night.

Sawyer Wreck & Azrieal vs. Billy Dixon & CPA was a good match, I especially loved Sawyer just wrecking everyone and CPA's comedy antics.

Jimmy Lloyd & Rob Shit vs. Manders & Bam Sullivan was a good match, there were a couple of really hype lariats here which I enjoyed.

Billie Starkz & Big Vin vs. Brogan Finlay & Janai Kai was an awesome match, MVP of the match was easily Big Vin. He hit a HUUUUUUGE chokeslam, a double side slam, a flipping slam over the ropes... dude's an absolute beast.

The 14 Person Battle Bowl Match was a kickass battle royal, highlights of it were CPA with even more gags and ALEC PRICE ELIMINATING BOTH STACKHOUSE AND BEASTMAN!

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GCW 56 Nights Review:

Cole Radrick vs. Masha Slamovich was a somewhat quick but enjoyable match, I'm glad Masha won. Unfortunately a good chunk of this match didn't air due to technical errors with the stream, but what was shown was excellent.

Nick Wayne vs Leon Slater was a high flying, explosively awesome match. Highlights of the match were Leon diving over the ringpost, the double backflip off the top rope and the TOP ROPE CUTTER, HOLY SHIT.

Joey Janela vs. Blake Christian vs. Tony Deppen vs. Willie Mack vs. Alec Price vs. Jordan Oliver was a good match, lots of cool multi-man moves in it. Highlights included Blake's springboard moonsault and Willie Mack just wrecking everyone with slaps and chops.

Maki Itoh vs. Sawyer Wreck vs. Billie Starkz vs. Dark Sheik was my most anticipated match of the night, I wanted either Sawyer or Sheik to win. Maki Itoh with the full Nick Gage entrance was amazing, and Dark Sheik's spider walk move was pretty cool. Sawyer continued to destroy everyone, including Sheik with a CHOKESLAM THROUGH THE DOOR!!!!

Matt Tremont vs. Mad Man Pondo was a brutal and awesome match, I want to see more from both men now. The weapons were used in creative ways, and of course I should mention this epic moment:

The Do Or Die Rumble was an epic battle royal, and again here only my notes can do it justice:

The post match with Blake doing the punt kick with Masha in the chair was absolutely brutal, I hope she gets her revenge soon.

[germ-t-ripper]

17MAY24 I’m a Matt Tremont supporter.

[earlycuntsets]

The Casbah Tremont Music Hall Appalachian State University Charlotte, NC 12/13/2002

x

[mtaartsdesign]

“Sunday’s Empire” by Peter Gizzi is the second new addition to the Poetry in Motion collection this winter season. Reflecting on the new pair of poems now on display throughout the system, Matt Brogan, Executive Director @poetrysociety shared, "The poems of Ilya Kaminsky and Peter Gizzi remind us that our lives are lit, not only by the sun rising over the horizon or reflecting off the fallen snow, but by family, neighbors, and community. ‘People live here,’ Gizzi writes, and Kaminsky responds, ‘all neighbors’ hands.’”

Gizzi’s poem is presented with a detail from Frank Leslie Hampton’s mosaic “Uptown New York” (2000) at Tremont Av (B,D) station. The mosaic depicts a classic New York scene familiar to all, an apartment building with laundry hanging on clotheslines and views of the city skyline. Projecting warmth and the serenity of feeling at home, the poems and artwork lend a sense of comfort and calm to the daily commute.

“Sunday’s Empire” from Now It’s Dark © 2020 by Peter Gizzi. Published by Wesleyan University Press. Used by permission. “Uptown New York” (2000) © Frank Leslie Hampton, NYCT Tremont Av station. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Photo: Rob Wilson.

📸: MTA A&D/Rob Wilson

[kud-lucas]