JCW Lunacy
Date: 10/16/2024
From: Detroit, MI / Thornville, OH
Outside, Nick Gage and Mad Man Pondo are talking about how they have never fought in Japan. Pondo thinks they should wrestle tonight in JCW. Gage accepts that challenge. Pondo tells Gage they can’t be friends, and Gage agrees.
Backstage, Violent J says he wants to punch Kerry Morton, but he can’t because he’s the commissioner. J is going to be at ringside for the tag match between Brothers of Funstruction and Southern Six. J is going to make sure Kerry Morton doesn’t get involved.
MATCH #1: THE SOUTHERN SIX (ALEX TAYLOR & SILAS MASON) VS. BROTHERS OF FUNSTRUCTION (RUFFO & YABO)
FINISH: Yabo pins Taylor following a sit out slam. After the match, Violent J brawls with Kerry Morton on the aisle.
Bob’s Take: I think it is obvious that the clowns are not over with the crowd here as they came out to very little reaction. Of course, the crowd has seen a lot of wrestling at this point. There was a bit of comedy by Taylor and Mason, which was done fairly well. It’s a fairly basic encounter, but I have been enjoying the Southern Six and their antics since the beginning of Lunacy. The closing sequence was fine and I was a bit shocked to see the Southern Six lose here. Violent J getting physically involved could have been made into a bigger deal than how it was presented.
Match Rating: *1/2
Backstage, Officer Colt Cabana promises he’s going to become the new JCW Heavyweight Champion. Cabana loves police brutality.
Shaggy’s Spotlight this week focuses on Breyer Wellington and Geeves. It includes older footage of Wellington in JCW, and he certainly doesn’t look the same nowadays.
MATCH #2: JCW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION WILLIE MACK VS. OFFICER COLT CABANA
FINISH: Mack hits a stunner on Cabana and retains the title.
Bob’s Take: Cabana kind of feels like he’s playing a 1992 WWF character in the JCW universe. This is a mostly slow moving match, but it did feature some meaningful offensive moves. There wasn’t much heat to this title defense, but I think it’s an exhausted crowd having seen these guys several times on the taping already.
Match Rating: *
Violent J introduces the next match, which is the main event of the first ever JCW Lunacy season.
MATCH #3: NICK GAGE VS. MAD MAN PONDO — DEATH MATCH
FINISH: Pondo leaps off the top rope to leg drop Gage through a table.
Bob’s Take: It doesn’t take long for weapons to be used as they used several light tubes early into the match. This is your typical death match style match, so if you’re a fan of that style then you’ll get enjoyment. I tend to not be entertained by this style. There’s plenty of blood, light tubes, tacks and doors used throughout the match. Pondo uses a saw. I don’t understand this form of wrestling. I really don’t, and I need someone to explain the point of it.
Match Rating: NR
Violent J is in the ring and talks about JCW having a 22-year history. Violent J says they have a new belt to debut, and it’s the JCW American Championship. So, they are doing a battle royal to determine the first champion.
MATCH #4: BATTLE ROYAL FOR THE VACANT JCW AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
FINISH: Matt Cross, 2 Tuff Tony, JP Grayson, Kongo Kong and Caleb Konley are the final five in the battle royal. Kong tosses JP, but Tony backdrops Kong to the floor. Konley, Tony and Cross are the final three. Tony lit his fist on fire, but decked Cross on accident. Konley throws Cross to the floor and tosses Tony to the floor after a low blow to win the title.
Bob’s Take: I’m not possibly going to list all the guys involved in this match. But, it’s safe to say that it’s the majority of the JCW roster that has been seen on TV in recent weeks. As per usual with battle royals there’s a lot of strikes and general simple strikes. Kerry Morton and Alex Taylor both got eliminated a lot sooner than I thought they would. I honestly thought Morton would be the favorite to win the battle royal. I wasn’t expecting a flaming fist by Tony. Konley winning the title is a good choice as I like his heel work in JCW thus far.
Match Rating: *1/2
Backstage, JCW Heavyweight Champion Willie Mack notes that he’s beaten Cross two times and says he was told that this is the last chance for Cross as long as Mack is champion. Mack plans on holding onto the title.
Backstage, Matt Cross says his quest started in 2003 and talks about being all over the country and world. Cross respects Mack and puts him over a great athlete. Cross says it is business and to toss their friendship to the side. Cross believes the third time is the charm. This match is from Bloodymania 17.
MAIN EVENT: JCW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION WILLIE MACK VS. MATT CROSS
FINISH: Cross pins Mack following a top rope shooting star press to win the title. After the match, Mack seems frustrated but shows respect to Cross.
Bob’s Take: As noted, Mack has won the two previous encounters, which makes this not feel nearly as important as it’s being presented. Cross having his last chance is a fine tidbit, but as a viewer, I’m not coming into this match thinking that Mack is in any real danger of losing. So, this trilogy has been really weird to me. I feel like none of the matches have been overly long and this match was mostly Cross in control in felt like. The crowd didn’t seem to be all that excited for the title change, and I’m not sure why there’s a change here. I guess they went with the story of Cross chasing the title for twenty years, but it didn’t come across strongly to me. They needed to have a longer form match, and it hasn’t happened.
Match Rating: **
The show ends with a video package highlighting Cross breaking his neck 24-years ago and it also promoted the match we just saw. It’s a good package to explain his journey. There’s some comments from various wrestlers such as Jerry Lynn, George South, Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Glacier, Nick Gage, Facade, Dani Mo, Matt Riddle, The Demon, Sonny Kiss, and Vanilla Ice. I think those were literally Cameos.
Final Thoughts:
The major development here is that Matt Cross is the new JCW Heavyweight Champion, which isn’t necessarily anything that has me excited for the future. I’m intrigued by Konley winning the American Championship, but the last couple of episodes haven’t felt like there’s been any advancement for the angles in the company.
Thanks for reading.