What's the story, aficionados of affected aggression?
Got something of a historical matchup for you folks this week. Less focus on the in-ring action and more on what this match inspired. I can't always review the very best wrestling on planet earth, though I do try, so please be mindful of that this week. Now, that's not to say this isn't worth a read! Don't click off the page so quickly now, dammit! I still think this is more than worth your time!
C'mon, just give it a chance, yeah? I promise, you'll find something you'll enjoy.
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| Georgia Championship Wrestling. WWE |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
AEW Continental Classic 2025
AEW Collision - 12/06/2025
Roderick Strong vs. Orange Cassidy
A surprisingly technical bout between these two, moreso for Cassidy than Strong. The begrudging member of the Conglomeration, Roddy, denied Cassidy's request to make this a "Conglomeration Rules" match, aka "No Chops Allowed," flaying the chest of Cassidy early to his lackadaisical friends behest. The Messiah of the Backbreaker landed 9 consecutive backbreakers on Cassidy, but Orange continues to fight his way out of the assault, refusing to stay down. Strong looked to have Orange more than beat near the ending moments of this match, but the ever-resilient Cassidy fought his way out of Strong's strikes for a shocking pin to win.
Cassidy wins, +3
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mascara Dorada
The Death Riders Emissary of Violence squares off against Mascara Dorada in a match that could prove difficult for Castagnoli who, historically, has had issues against high-flying lucha libre style wrestlers. Ironic, then, that he's the CMLL World Heavyweight Champion going into this match. Relying on his brute strength, Claudio does his best to fend off Dorada, but the aerial antics of the Golden Mask catch Claudio off guard more than once. Even resorting to trying to tear the mask of Dorada, Claudio is digging into his bag of tricks to try and maintain his lead in the Blue League. Dorada's aerial offence is flashy and brilliant, able to land, arguable, an upset victory over Claudio with a shooting star press.
Dorada wins, +3
Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita
A hard-hitting dream match between two of the very best, Takeshita and Mox are about as evenly matched as they can be at the very opening of this match. Looking to bring Moxley down to size, Takeshita hones in on the left ankle of Moxley, wearing it down in an effort to soften up the Ace of AEW. Moxley's recent history of submitting to submission holds is in the back of Takeshita's mind the entire match, looking to use the wound he created to take Moxley down. Both men hit each other with strikes like they're going for home rung, and tie each other in holds that would force a lesser man to fade, but not for these two. Even with Moxley put through a partially collapsed table, they continue to fight through the pain. The last five minutes are as intense and hard hitting as the first five, but Moxley's ankle turns to dust beneath his weight, giving Takeshita the opportunity to land Raging Fire for the win.
Takeshita wins, +3
AEW Dynamite - Winter Is Coming 2025 - 12/10/2025
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jack Perry
Jack Perry's first singles outing since his return pits him against one of his toughest challenges yet in Okada. A slow but vicious start from Okada, not dissimilar from his other matches, The Rainmaker opts to wear down Perry slowly but deliberately. Perry, to his credit, doesn't fold easily, fighting back defiantly and refusing to let Okada get a significant lead in this match. Able to avoid the Rainmaker twice, Perry pushes Okada further than anyone would have expected him to go. Going tit-for-tat, Perry responds to Okada's biting-of-the-hand to break a submission by biting Okada in the crotch while held in position for a tombstone piledriver. Bunch of sickos. Perry initially avoids getting hit with a second Rainmaker, but Okada is able to thwart his offensive attempts and crush him with another Rainmaker.
Okada wins, +3
Mike Bailey vs. Kyle Fletcher
I completely forgot I was supposed to write about this match once it started. My lord, what a mach between Bailey and Fletcher. Speedball, despite facing one of the leaders of the Gold League with zero points to his name, Bailey puts in an incredible effort and refuses to give an inch in this match. He is closer than close when it comes to putting away Fletcher at multiple points in this match, even able to escape some of Fletcher's very best strikes and bombs to keep pushing. This match sprints to the 15 minute mark, the crowd hooked on every move by this point in the matchup. In the final minute, Bailey is able to wrap Fletcher up in a pin and keep him down for three. An insane upset and, far and away, the best match in the C2 so far.
Bailey wins, +3
Here's where the C2 currently stands;
Here’s what we’re reviewing for the Watchlist:
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Buzz Sawyer vs. Tommy Rich - Steel Cage Match - Rich & Sawyer Settle Their Differences in a Historic Cage Match
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| Ellering watches from high above. GCW. |
Basic Breakdown
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| Georgia Championship Wrestling. WWE |
Two of the biggest stars of Georgia Championship Wrestling, "Wildfire” Tommy Rich and “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer had gone to war for nearly two years with wild, chaotic brawls that took both men all throughout the arena. In an effort to try and contain the violence, the decision was made to lock both men inside a steel cage; but this one would be different. Prior to tonight, all steel cages were simply four walls, a simple yet effective way to keep both men contained within the confines of the ring. But this cage was different. If the historians are to be believed, this is the first time a steel cage match featured a cage with a roof.
The historical significance of this match cannot be understated. Considered for many years to be the inspiration for WWE's famous roofed cage match "Hell in a Cell" as well as WCW's legendary "WarGames" double-wide roofed cage, this match between Rich and Sawyer was spoken of in hushed whispers because, for many years, it was believed that no footage of this match existed. It was believed that the only remaining proof this match ever took place was from the minds of the ~11,000 that attended the show, and the photographs that have surfaced since. Other than that, for many years, this match was lost to time.
But, as it turns out, that was not the case;
For many years the footage of this match was considered to be the "holy grail" and was believed to not exist. In 2012 the WWE stated that only a few pictures exist from the event. Although it was believed to have not been filmed, the video wound up in the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) library, however it remained on its original reel and was kept unlabeled. WCW's assets were purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in 2001, and footage entered the WWE library unmarked. In September 2016 however, the match was uploaded to the WWE Network, with the remainder of the event added in October 2018.
Now, the full show is up on YouTube in its entirety, not just this legendary match. For being considered lost media to being fully viewable on my fucking phone, this is a pretty cool turnaround. Man, I love the internet.
Bell to Bell
It's important for me to point this out right from the start that, just because something inspired something else or laid the groundwork for something more famous to come about after, it doesn't mean that the original thing is particularly incredible. In fact, if this match were held inside a completely standard steel cage, it would almost certainly be lost to time. The simple addition of the roof changes the historical significance of this match to an immeasurable degree and, almost for that reason alone, I want to talk about this match.
Another stipulation that I neglected to mention for this match, is that Paul Ellering, the manager to Buzz Sawyer, is suspended above the ring inside a shark cage. On the one hand, it's to make sure Ellering can't interfere in the match, but it's also to keep him close at hand for the duration of the match. Why, you may ask? Simple, if Tommy Rich is able to best Sawyer inside this cage, he gets 10 whole minutes alone with Ellering inside the cage, a tantalizing stipulation for Wildfire, with Ellering dodging him for months and months.
There's only one camera filming this entire show, the hard cam. Normally, this would make for a pretty boring, static-looking show that would wear on the viewer pretty quickly. But this camera at least follows the action pretty reliably, able to zoom in on what is happening between Sawyer and Rich one-on-one in a way where you almost forget it's a one camera show. Early on, we also get acquainted with how confined this ring feels, with Sawyer reaching for the roof and grabbing hold of it with ease. This certainly isn't the cell that Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker fought in, it feels a lot closer to the old WarGames cages that I miss so dearly. I want these matches to feel confined, I want the environment to be a threat, oppressive. Having a cell that is so big that you interact with it only when you need to leave the ring kinda kills it for me. Make that ring feel like a prison, like your world has been narrowed to the smallest thing possible. That every punch matters, every strike must land with purpose. That's what I'm missing.
I didn't mean to give away more about this match than necessary in that last paragraph, but when I say this is a punch-heavy match, I mean it's almost entirely punches. I mean, the first thing that happens is Sawyer throws a punch at Rich that misses, resulting in him crashing knuckle-first with the cage wall. They do a really, really goo job in selling how dangerous this cage is, with Sawyer constantly grabbing at the roof to check for weaknesses and assess his environment, and Rich selling a back elbow shot that lands on the cage like death. I mean seriously, one shot into the cage, and they grip their arm like the bone just exploded. Sawyer capitalizes on this missed shot, ramming Rich's right arm into the cage wall over and over and over again.
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| Like running into a cheese grater. GCW |
Focusing in on Wildfire's right arm, Sawyer wants to ensure he comes out on top of this one-armed ass kicking contest. Grabbing Rich up off the canvas, he rams him head first into the cage, bouncing Rich back to the centre of the ring. By the time we see his face again, we see that Tommy is busted wide open, blood streaming down his face and onto his chest. Again, the sell job of how dangerous this cage is cannot be understated. Back when this match took place, it wasn't exactly commonplace for cage matches to happen, reserved only for when two guys really, really wanted to get at each other. The idea of wrestling inside a cage was seen as extremely dangerous and reserved for only the hottest of angles, so it was important to keep the allure of the cage alive. If every strike into the cage and every time a wrestler came into contact with the steel wall, they came away from it worse for wear, the allure was maintained and the match stakes rose dramatically. With Rich taking one single header into the cage and coming back pouring, you could very, very easily believe that a steel cage is one of the most dangerous stipulations a match could have.
Finding it within him to fight back, Rich fires off with a right hand that staggers Sawyer back, with Wildfire stumbling into the corner, letting himself get caught by the ropes. Sawyer marches across the ring, but Rich catches him under the jaw with a boot, dropping a knee across the right arm of Sawyer before biting the head of Sawyer, just to add insult to injury. Now, it's Sawyer's turn to get his head rammed off the wall of the cage, stumbling back from the impact and nearly colliding with the cage on the opposite side of the ring. Fighting to his feet, he knocks Rich back to the canvas as he marches around the ring, trying to walk off the pain of having his head rammed into the fence wall.
Getting sent into the wall again, Rich manages to stop himself seconds before impact, but it proves to matter very little. Sawyer is hot on his heels and grabs him by the back of the head, shoving him into the cage and grating his head along the wall like a cheese grater. To the shock of everyone, Rich is able to snatch Sawyer by the back of his head and pull him between his legs, stuffing him heavy with a piledriver!
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| Gotcha, bitch! GCW |
It's at this point in the match that I realize there is no referee in there with them. Both Sawyer and Rich are flat out on the canvas to recover from the piledriver, with a voice as loud as God coming over the house speakers to start a count. I can only assume this would be a 10 count, as they never get further than 7, and it only starts when both men are down and out as to ensure this match actually comes to some sort of conclusion. Although, you'd think with a stipulation like this, you'd want a ref in there to check on them both in the event of a double down so we may actually have a winner, not a draw, but what do I know.
With Sawyer now dripping blood, Rich bounces his head off of the cage wall and crunches him with a heavy right hand to knock him flat out in the centre. Sawyer isn't down for long, however, getting right back up to catch Rich with a knee lift upside the head to knock him down. Pulling Rich up off the canvas, Sawyer goes for a piledriver of his own, stuffing Rich heavy on his head and neck. A backbreaker from Sawyer leads to the first pin attempt of the match, with the house speakers belting out "ONE! TWO!" but Rich escapes at two. His bleach blonde hair more crimson than blonde now, Rich rolls to his ass and fires off with a punch to Sawyer, catching him in a seated position and rocking him.
With Sawyer flat out on the canvas, Rich climbs to the middle rope and tries to deliver a fist drop, but Sawyer rolls out of the way at the last moment. Rich finds himself back on his feet again, leaned against the ropes and all alone, with Sawyer back up slowly, zeroing in on his target. Charging with unreal speed, Sawyer launches himself at Rich, with Tommy ducking to the side at the last possible moment, leaving Sawyer to crash into the solid steel wall!
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| So close! So far! GCW |
Ramming Sawyer into the cage wall, head first, not once, not twice, but three times, Rich falls into a cover, but Sawyer escapes by two. Back vertical again, Sawyer gets rammed into the wall two more times, with Rich crawling to the cover now, literally pulling himself with the canvas to cover Sawyer for three!
Overview & Final Rating
🟡 - Historically recommended.
Not a fantastic match when you look at it through modern eyes and, honestly, I'm not too sure how great this match was received even back in 1983. It's bloody and physical, sure, but they don't do much different in the final minutes of the match than what they were doing in the opening segments. The fact that the finish was just Sawyer getting his head rammed into the cage wall is kinda flat for me. I'd have been fine if, say, a piledriver or something big put him away after the wall shots, but those alone don't really come across as killing moves. Maybe I'm just jaded, who's to say.
If you want to see the match that inspired the concept of putting a roof on your cages, check this match out. It's not hard to find on YouTube, but I wouldn't put in too much work to hunt this one down if you want something fun to watch one night.
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Well, there you have it folks! Like Primus once said, they can't all be zingers! A decent match worth the review space for its historical significance, but nothing exceptional when you look at it as a straight up match. Let's hope next week really delivers, yeah?
Until then, my friends. Be well, stay safe, and love one another.
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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