Is GCW Doing Too Much?

It’s hard to deny the fact that Game Changer Wrestling has ruled the indies through this Pandemic Era of Wrestling. They continued to run through the peak of COVID and have an event at the famous Hammerstein Ballroom to show for their hard work. With growing success means being able to book bigger talent like Jon Moxley, Thunder Rosa, and The Briscoes. They’ve also booked bigger shows, like the aforementioned Hammerstein event. Though from the fan point of view, GCW seems to be going into excess in the latter department; especially through this year.

It was 2019 when I really became a fan of GCW. They would put on at least two major events per month; showcasing the best of independent wrestling and Deathmatches. Now we’re midway through 2022 and they’ve has hosted 28 different events under the GCW banner. On top of that, there are another 15 events on the upcoming schedule. This number is without counting partnered shows with companies like LOKO or Horror Slam. It also discounts GCW’s two sister promotions in JCW and LA Fights; both of which have been treated as their own brands. In a scene where most indies only run once or twice a month, this is a pretty ludicrous amount of shows.

While it’s great for business that GCW can do many shows across the country, as a viewer, it can be a lot to keep up with. One way in particular is the sheer degree of announcements that GCW can pump out during the average week. They typically shoot off match and talent announcements for shows all across the calendar. This leaves room for confusion come show day as so many different things have been announced that one could feel lost. 

Of course there is also the issue of being able to stream all their shows. With business picking up, GCW has run many double shots (weekends of shows) per month. In fact, February alone had 3 double shots out of a 4 weekend month. With all events streaming on FITE (typically in weekend packages), you could end up spending around $60 a month on GCW’s streams alone. While feasible for some people, for others that could equal the cost of a bill or groceries. It could even someone’s whole entertainment budget/the cost of going out to a show.

That’s not to say that GCW isn’t putting on great matches amid this mass schedule. There is still some good content through all of these shows. The issue is that the shows are coming at such a conveyor belt pace that recency bias rules heavily. Unless you’re keeping track of GCW’s best matches of the year, there’s a chance you’ve already forgotten about what matches happened earlier this year. Hell, The Collective was only in April and I can’t quite recall it since there’s been 10 GCW shows since then.

Yes, GCW does deserve to reap the spoils of being one of the most prominent indies of the Pandemic Era. But I do believe that moderation is one of the healthiest things for any medium of entertainment. Why give away your story in a whole book when you can spread it out and let things develop? Leave the fans wanting more! Because when your content becomes disposable by the show, fans might look for an alternative to better scratch the wrestling itch.