4/8 GCW’S THE COLLECTIVE – ACID CUP 3: Day 1 report including all 8 opening round matches featuring AJ Gray, Tony Deppen, Edith Surreal, More.

GCW ACID CUP 3
APRIL 8, 2021
THE CUBA CLUB IN TAMPA, FL
AIRED ON FITE.TV

Announcer: Kevin Gill

(1) CALVIN TANKMAN vs. COLBY CORINO

The two men shook hands to start the match, then the men got into mat based wrestling. The two men went back and forth, then Calvin Tankman hit a stiff chop, Colby Corino fought back with a chop of his own. Corino tried to get Tankman in a Fireman’s carry but fell to the mat under the weight of the larger man. Once both men got back on their feet, they once again traded chops and forearms.

Tankman then hit a slam and full body splash, leading to a near fall. Corino followed that up with a series of offensive moves, ending with a step up kick to the head, leading to a two count, but Tankman threw Corino off of him. Corino missed a moonsault and hit a heel kick, Corino then hit a Samoan drop for a near fall. Corino then tried a 450, but Tankman dodged. Tankman then hit a side slam for the Win.

WINNER: Calvin Tankman in 8:08

(Sage’s Analysis: A fine match, Corino was added late. I wonder if these two have worked together before. The match was pretty slow and felt a little dull, but Tankman looked like a contender to win the entire tournament.)

(2) LAREDO KID vs. BRAYDEN LEE

A collar and elbow tie up started the match, Laredo Kid got wrist control on Brayden Lee, the two then went back and forth with mat based offense. Lee hit a drop kick on Kid, knocking him off the apron and onto the concrete below. Kid followed up with a top rope splash, but Lee dodged the attempt. Lee then took control, and he tried multiple pining attempts, then he hit some chops in the corner. Kid dodged and move through the ropes and hit a kick on Lee. Both men ended up on the outside, and back into the ring. Lee then dove down onto kid off of the top rope.

Kid followed that up with a springboard moonsault, leading to a pinning attempt. The two men did a Spanish fly in the middle of the ring, Lee then went to the top rope and tried the sooting star press, kid dodged and hit a DDT on Lee. Kid then hit a moonsualt with Lee in front of him and pinned Brayden Lee after that.

WINNER: Laredo Kid in 8:02

(Sage’s Analysis: Another good match, Laredo kid is the biggest star in the tournament with his recent appearance on AEW. Brayden Lee has so much upside and everyone should look out for him in the year to come.)

(3) DRAGON BANE vs. KTB

The men shook hands to start, KTB slammed Dragon Bane early and the two then ran the ropes, with DB using his speed to get avoid further power moves. KTB did finally get ahold of him and grounded Dragon Bane, the he hit offense in the corner on DB. KTB then did a held vertical suplex, leading to a near fall for KTB. Dragon Bane called for the live fans to cheer, he then tried to get some chops on KTB, but it wasn’t very effective. KTB laid in hard chops of his own. Dragon Bane hit a explosive elbow and then a springboard moonsault on KTB to the outside.

Back in the ring Dragon Bane hit fast kicks and a Spanish Fly. KTB the spiked DB for a near fall. Dragon Bane countered with a spike if his own, both men were laid out on the mat at this point. The two men got up and traded chops, then traded elbows in the corner, KTB then hit a knee on a power bomb type slam. Dragon Bane hit a suplex and Rana on KTB, DB then hit a front flip slam and he was able to pin KTB.

WINNER: Dragon Bane in 8:16

(Sage’s Analysis: The best match of the show so far. KTB’s powerhouse style and Dragon Bane’s Lucha style were perfect together. This was the first time I have seen Dragon Bane and I want to see much, much more.)

(4) JORDAN OLIVER vs. EDITH SURREAL

The two shook hands to start, a test of strength started with Jordan Oliver letting go and backing up. Another test of strength lead to a series of technical moves that Edith Surreal had in Oliver. Surreal then locked her legs around the arms and head of Oliver, this lead to a pinning attempt and a drop kick by Surreal. Oliver and Surreal then continued the mat based match while trading pinning attempts back and fourth. Oliver was able to lock his legs around the head of Surreal, but she was able to get out and switch the submission. Oliver then hit a drop kick on Surreal, this took the match to the outside of the ring.

Oliver tossed Surreal into the post, and Jordan Oliver ran back into the ring. Surreal was able to beta the count and renter the ring. Surreal set in a front ankle lock to ground her opponent. Surreal then hit a running elbow and a bulldog to get a near fall on Oliver. Jordan Silver tried to lock in a Boston Crab hold, but it was countered. Oilver then hit a big boot to the face of Surreal for the pinfall win.

WINNER: Jordan Oliver in 9:36

(Sage’s Analysis: A match that shows the mat skills of both. Surreal is one of the best technical wrestlers in the independent scene and Oilver was able to hang with her in that regard. I think Surreal has almost unlimited upside for a major company, and Oliver has upside with some slight character enhancements.)

(5) LEE MORIARTY vs. JJ GARRET

A collar and elbow tie-up started the match, the two men rolled on the mat and started with their technical wrestling moves. Lee Moriarty did a BJJ type takedown, that he was able to transition into an ankle lock on JJ Garret. Garret hit a kick to the midsection of Moriarty, this move set was countered and Garret was sent to the outside of the ring. Back in the ring garret had control, he laid in chops and whips into the turnbuckle, Garret sold his left arm after an Irish Whip.

Garret continued with a Belly to Back suplex, Garret then took a drink of water in the match, after this Moriarty rolled out of the way and hit a shin strike to the head of Garret. Garret then began to throw up in the ring and the referee stopped the match.

WINNER: Lee Moriarty in 5:49

(Sage’s Analysis: The ending was very odd, if it was booked that was strange. If it was real, hopefully Garret is ok. Before the finish, this was shaping up to be an excellent match. I really want to see a proper rematch between the two at some point in the future.)

(6) AREZ vs ARAMIS

The men shook hands to start, they both traded locks, Aramis had a waist lock and Arez was able to counter that into a wrist lock and a leg lock. Arez had a full body lock on Aramis, he then let go and they both got onto their feet. Quickly Arez got a pinning attempt and they both went back-and-forth pinning each other. Arez bridged out of one of the pinning attempts, but Aramis continued and the two men continued to mat wrestle, the crowd stood up and gave a audible applause to both men for their efforts.

Aramis hit a number of super kicks and an insane dive to the outside, it was so fast that Arez almost couldn’t stop Aramis from hitting his head on the concrete, but he was able to protect his opponent. Aramis hit a top rope Rana, then a series of strikes on Arez, then he hit a chais theory for a near fall on Arez. After an even exchange Arez did a series of maneuvers that wrapped Aramis’ arms around the ring ropes, he then threw his opponent outside the ring.

Arez caught Aramis in a fireman’s carry and hit a GTS type move, Arez sold his knee legitimately and prevented Aramis from continuing. Arez stood and they both kicked each oath ran the head and both landed on the mat at the same time. Aramis had an fantastic series of moves that lead to a sit out power bomb for a near fall. Aramis then kicked Arez in the head pretty stiffly, Arez then countered that with a Northern Light Suplex for the pinfall victory.

WINNER: AREZ in 13:42

(Sage’s Analysis: This was an awesome match. The first part was a clinic in technical wrestling, the second part was a high flying and hard hitting lucha match. This is the first MUST SEE match of the Wrestlemania weekend.)

(7) JIMMY LLOYD vs. COLE RADRICK vs. ELLIS TAYLOR

A three way test of strength started the match. Cole Radrick was kicked out of the ring, leaving Ellis Taylor and Jimmy Lloyd. Radrick came back and took out Lloyd, Ellis pulled Radrick back out and now all three men were out of the ring. Lloyd threw in a chair into the ring, Roderick chopped bit Lloyd and Taylor. Taylor and Radrick then had a strike fest, in which Radrick won.

All three men were in the ring, radrick ht a double Bulldog on both his opponents and he got a near fall on Taylor. Lloyd then suplexed Radrick into the standing chair, breaking it. Taylor got to the top rope, Radrick then went for the superplex, but it was countered. Radrick hit an interesting side suplex to get the pinfall on Taylor.

WINNER: Cole Radrick in 5:45

(Sage’s Analysis: This was a solid replacement, Tony Deppen was supposed to be the opponent fo this match, but he was not Abel to make it. The match was a fun triple threat and Cole Radrick looked strong.)

(8) AJ GRAY vs. NATE WEBB

AJ Gray got a waist lock to start, Gray transitioned into other holds and finished the exchange with a shoulder block, sending Nate Webb outside the ring. Webb reentered and a test of strength was initiated. Gray took Webb down and locked in a head lock and transitioned into full guard while Webb was on his stomach. Both men then traded forearms with Gray winning the exchange. Gray then tossed Webb to the outside, and he followed him out. The men traded chops on the outside, Webb then hit an exploder onto the concrete.

Webb then hit Gray with a chair, Gray grabbed the chair from Webb and hit him with the same chair. Gray then threw in chairs into the ring as Webb was down. He reentered the ring and placed a door on two chairs, Webb stood up and now both men were in the ring. Gray put Webb on the top rope, Webb countered and he double stomped Gray for a near fall. Webb moved the door off the chairs and put it in one of the ring corners. Webb then speared Gray into the propped door. Webb then hit a Face Lift for a near fall.

Gray followed that up with a head kick and a superplex on Webb, leading to a near fall. Gray then hit a running lariat for another near fall. Gray hit another lariat and a slam to finish the fight.

WINNER: AJ Gray in 9:23

(Sage’s Analysis: A solid Indy main event. AJ Gray is really that guy in the scene and Webb is a legend. These two always tell a great story and this was a good way to cap off a fun show.)

(Final Thoughts: This was a good show that was missing two people that were advertised. But I though they did a good job making up for those absences. The two must see matches were AREZ vs. ARAMIS and KTB vs. DRAGON BANE. Go out of your way to see these.)