The GWF Vol. 1 (TV Title Tournament Disc 1)
By: Magnus Donaldson

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This is the first time that I have actually seen any GWF (Global Wrestling Federation) footage,
but this stuff has been floating around for a while. For those of you who do not remember the GWF,
allow me to give a brief summary of what it was.

The Global Wrestling Federation was an independent wrestling company that ran in the early 1990's in Texas.
It opened in 1991 and closed in 1994, much like another indy company Smokey Mountain Wrestling.
And indeed much like SMW, the GWF built around fresh young talent, many of whom would go on to be stars elsewhere:
Scott Anthony (Raven), Harlem Heat, The Patriot and Cactus Jack all made their names in the GWF at one point or another.

However, the two wrestlers who arguably made the biggest names for themselves in this company were two young light-heavyweight:
 The Lightning Kid and Jerry Lynn. Their series of matches together put them on the wrestling map, leading to the Lightning Kid joining
 the WWF as the 1-2-3 Kid and Jerry Lynn's success in WCW and ECW.

This is the first of 94 volumes of GWF TV. I'll likely never get through all of it, but I will watch what I can and review it. This first volume contains
 matches in the first round of the Television Title Tournament from Episodes 1 and 2 .

Commentary is from Craig Johnson and Scott Hudson (the same man who would commentate in WCW, NWA Wildside and TNA).

Billy Black vs. Brian Adias (1st Round)
Adias wrestled a lot for WCCW where he had major success. I don't have a lot of info on Billy Black but he wrestled in SMW in the 90's.
 There was some good mat wrestling early, with the commentators putting Black over as the tournament favourite. Adias would end up gaining
 the advantage, but Black would cheat his way back into it. Adias made a brief fightback, but when attempting a Top Rope Splash he hat the knees
 of Black, who rolled him up using the trunks for three. A solid opening match-**

Randy Rhodes vs. Sweet Daddy Falcone (1st Round)
I don't know a lot about either of these two, but Rhodes looks a lot like his namesake Dusty. Fairly basic stuff here, with Rhodes using mostly
 punches and elbows, while Falcone wrestled in a similar fashion but cheating a bit in addition. The action also tended to be too slow at times and
 there were several rest holds. Rhodes got the fall with a Bulldog- *

Patriot vs. Stan Lane w/Jim Cornette (1st Round)
A battle of power against speed, with The Patriot trying to overpower the smaller opponent while Lane looked to move quickly and outwrestle
 The Patriot. Patriot had no trouble matching holds with Lane though, and Lane begged off and claimed cheating whenever Patriot took him down.
 Jim Cornette tried to interfere on the outside but Patriot knocked he and Lane's heads together. Lane cheated at every opportunity, but could not
 keep Patriot down for three, and Patriot was eventually able to fight back to roll up Lane for three. Great match, I really enjoyed this- ***

Bill Irwin vs. Fantasma (1st Round)
Irwin had much success across the Indy scene and in WCCW & other territories during the 80's and 90's, but may be best remembered for
 playing The Goon in the WWF. I know little about Fantasma, but he is billed as being from Mexico. Irwin dominated much of this match,
 overpowering Fantasma and using a lot of strikes. Despite the punishment Fantasma wouldn't stay down. Yet despite his dominance Irwin struggled
 to get three. Fantasma made a fight back with several high flying moves, but Irwin hit him with a weapon and used a Gutwrench Suplex for three.
 Solid match- **1/4

Terry Garvin vs. Zebra Kid (1st Round)
This is not the same Terry Garvin who was Ronnie Garvin's brother. Zebra Kid is not the British wrestler, but a generic masked man from
Parts Unknown, and it may have been Al Perez under the mask (he is billed as using the gimmick in Texas). The wrestling in this was solid but
 Garvin tended to be a little sloppy and I got the feeling these two didn't click all that well. Garvin got the fall with a DDT- *1/2

Makhan Singh vs. Terry Daniels (1st Round)
Makhan Singh is Mike Shaw, the man who would become Bastion Booger in the WWF. Daniels is little more than a jobber here. Shaw uses his
 big size advantage to dominate Daniels. Shaw slams him on the floor, but Daniels was able to make it back in. He toyed with Daniels and eventually
 got the fall with a Running Splash in the corner- SQ

Chris Walker vs. Doug Somers (1st Round)
Walker actually signed with the WWF late in 1991 but only wrestled a few matches before quietly being released by mid 1992. Doug Somers is
 a veteran from the AWA, most notable for his team with Buddy Rose. They exchanged a few wrestling holds in the opening minutes, with Walker
 also putting his power to use. Somers cheated a bit in addition to using power. It would be Walker who advanced, getting the fall with a Cross Body.
 The match was decent with some good wrestling, but went far too slow at times (if you listen closely you can hear a few "Boring" chants
 on occasion, which I felt was harsh)- **

Rip Rogers vs. The Hitman (1st Round)
I know nothing about The Hitman, but he's a powerful masked wrestler. The Hitman controlled the match early, working on the arm of Rogers
 and also putting his power to use. Rogers was at a size disadvantage, so had to take some chances, as well as cheating. Hudson makes a big
 mistake on commentary by calling a Headbutt by Rogers "a great technical wrestling move". After The Hitman made a brief fight back, Rogers got
 the fall with a DDT. That was pretty solid as well.- **1/2

I didn't have high expectations coming in, and to be honest I was pleasantly surprised by how solid almost everything was. The Lane/Patriot match
 is a really good old school match. Rogers/Hitman and Irwin/Fantasma are also solid bouts, and there was nothing that bad other than the squash
 and the Rhodes match. Solid recommendation here

7/10