GCW Nick Gage Invitational 2 9/16/17

Sometimes I watch a death match tournament. It has been years since I have done of these, but I have been a fan of out on probation Nick Gage and I figured I would give this a shot when it showed up on Russian YouTube. This is the second Nick Gage Invitational, although Nick was locked up on a probation violation for version 1

SHLAK vs. Matt Tremont

I have liked the SHLAK I have seen before, although he might be a Nazi. So I am watching this like a more extreme version of those viral Nazi punching videos. You think watching Richard Spenser get chin checked is fun, how about watching SHLAK get barbed wire whipped across his back. This was actually really good, a hellacious fight between two psychotic seeming dudes, none of the geniality of lesser death match tournaments. Match opens up with Shlak running full into Tremont swinging 10 or so lighttubes taped together. Shlak has to tape up an open wound in his stomach. Tremont takes a big beating too, including taking a face first bump to the floor through barbed wire ropes. There is also a nutso spot where Shlak tries to suffocate Tremont with a plastic bag, and then smashes a lightube right on his eyes. We get some CTE headbutts and finally a DVD through a barbed wire board to get Tremont the win.  If this looks like you might like it, you will like it.

Miedo Extremo vs. G-Raver

This was pretty messy at parts, as it was a lot of set ups for crazy stunts. The stunts were really crazy though, at one point G-Raver goes for a dive and gets caught with weedwhacker and flies through a barbedwire board, the set up for it made no sense, but it was insane. Raver also gets Steiner screwdrivered on some cinderblocks with light tubes on them. Extremo gets stabbed in the head with a needle (and by the look of G-Raver, that was a Hepatitis B driver 91) Extremo, who is a DTU guy had moments where he looked polished (nice clothesline, nice German) and other moments where this felt less like a wrestling match then some sort of grimy Jackass knock off.  It would make a hell of a series of GIFs though.

Daisuke Masaoka vs. Markus Crane

This was a smoother version of the stunt show in the previous match. Basically both guys set up escalatingly crazy ways to throw and suplex each other into piles of light tubes. Crane hits a ocean cyclone suplex through about 30 tubes, Masaoka hits a double knees from the top rope to the floor through a lightube and two by four contraption, and finally puts Crane away with a one man spanish fly through a side table sized pile of tubes. Truly nuts, and Masoka is clearly a dojo trained guy, whoes inbetween stuff looked good. I do think they could have cut a big stunt or two to make the final stunts mean more, but it was a pretty nutso display.

Ciclope vs. Nick Gage

I thought this might have been old ass Haloween wrestling in this tourney, but this was younger guy from DTU. Gage has the most charisma of anyone in this tourney (and almost anyone in wrestling) and this crowd is molten for him. Gage actually had some good selling in this at one point he gets a chair slung at his temple and he did a nice job selling concussed (or he got concussed, he did get a chair slung at his temple). Ciclope was certainly game, he got a fishook in his cheek and bealed off of the tope rope by a fishing pole, and multiple nasty slams on a razor board. Gage also took his share of gruesome bumps, the curb stomp face first on the razor board was sick. I didn't like the duel no-sells, if you aren't selling these shots as horrible, it is just a carnival side show, but Gage does have the charisma to pull it off.