The Officially Unofficial GFW Grand Championship Rankings (Week 2)

Last Thursday saw some incredible happenings on Global Force Wrestling’s Impact. Dezmond Xavier earned himself a trip to the finals of the Super X Cup, there was a Fallah Bahh sighting, LAX gained a new member, Alberto El Patrón experienced some family turmoil, and Braxton Sutter seemed to slide even further into a zone chock full of BS.

Overshadowing all of that, however, was the Grand Championship match between two of Global Force’s absolute best, with Moose defending his championship against Ethan Carter, III (known in some places as MY BOY, EC3). There was much anticipation heading into the bout, as many fans were unsure as to which grappler would come out on top.

So, who came out on top? That’s what the Officially Unofficial GFW Grand Championship Rankings are here to tell you! Just remember…

In ranking the contenders, the following scientific criteria shall be considered:

1. Wins / Losses in recent outings
2. Crowd Response / Interest
3. Momentum Meter (Green, Yellow, Red)
4. Megamove

As Global Force Wrestling can, at times, be the Wild West, it is always difficult to try and instill some order, and that’s understood. Still, the second most important championship needs to have a clear path for those who hope to win it, and I intend to provide it.

Due to overwhelming response, we have also decided to expand the rankings from the Champion and the Top 3 Contenders to the Top 5 Contenders! That’s almost twice as many contenders as last time – at no extra cost to you!!!

On to the rankings! (Writer’s Note: Don’t forget – if it hasn’t aired, it isn’t official!)

Grand Champion: Ethan Carter, III (EC3)
Last Week: #1 Contender

Carter took one more step towards immortality when he defeated Moose to capture the Grand Championship this past Thursday on Impact in an incredibly competitive match that saw both men give as well as they got. However, the win was not without some controversy…

Heading into the final round with the score tied at 1 apiece, both Moose and EC3 decided to go for broke, bringing out the heavy artillery in search of the elusive finish. Moose unleashed big boots, a huge Go To Hell, and even a last second chokeslam; Carter would respond with the TK3, One Percenter, an incredible lariat, and a failed attempt at his new finisher, the ECD. It was one of the most competitive rounds in the proud history of the division, and when the final bell rang, both could at least know in their hearts that they had left it all in the ring.

The first two judges – Dutch Mantel and Scott D’Amore – would use the very seldom-seen but absolutely correct 10-10 to demonstrate that while both men had their moments, neither actually took control of the round. That’s when Bruce Prichard’s scorecard was read, leaving the Impact Zone shocked when his 10-8 scorecard was read, giving the win and the championship to… EC3? The same guy he’d berated for weeks? The same guy he’d kept from other championship opportunities? The man who ended the round nearly unconscious???

Obviously, Bruce has some explaining to do, but for the time being, we have a new Grand Champion, and his name is E… C… 3!!!

#1 Contender: Moose
Last Week: Champion

As mentioned above, Moose came out on the losing end of a very questionable judge’s decision. A 10-8 score for such a close round is criminal. With that in mind, we here at ZeeWI have decided not to drop the former champion too far in the rankings, as he could have easily emerged the winner with any other judge sitting in that third chair.

If Moose wants to bounce back, however, he’s going to have to get over the idea that Prichard and Prichard alone cost him the belt. While his third round was an incredible display, Moose seemed content to play with his food early in the match, and that was a trait that one noticed in many of his previous matches. Even though he controlled most of the first round, the frame still ended with EC3 in control, dishing out damage after having sent Moose into the steps.

Had Moose finished out the first stronger, then his winning the second round would have basically rendered the third round obsolete, like some sort of mule. At times, the man seems to overvalue his skills while underestimating his opponent, and against EC3, that was never the right strategy. That Bruce Prichard apparently had a big plan all along only made Moose’s weak first round finish all the more grating.

The man has a bright future ahead of him, which seems like a silly thing to say about a man who just ended his second reign as the Grand Champion, but if Moose wants to survive in the sea with guys like Lashley, Carter, and the rest of the tippy top guys, he’s going to have to learn to be a bit more cutthroat in his approach. He’s too big and too powerful to be getting lost trying to play to the crowd.

Still, in this writer’s opinion, it may just be a matter of time before Moose is holding the belt once again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCdBnP9-Nr0
#2 Contender: E_Li_Drake
Last Week: #2 Contender

Drake continues to eye the Grand Championship, while still seeing his wheels spin any time he tries to advance his position. A huge match with Eddie Edwards this past Thursday could have seen Drake get a big win over the former World Champion. Instead, he could only smile and watch on the big screen as, backstage, Kongo Kong laid Edwards out with a vicious beating. This is what happens when someone tries to take Kongo’s lady – everyone pays.

So, without the chance to improve, Drake keeps his spot as the #2 contender for the Grand Championship. He’s feuded with EC3 before, and knows exactly what he needs to do in order to be successful against the new champ, so your columnist absolutely likes Drake’s chances should he find himself in a title match.

Of course, Drake may get a tingle in his loins, and could easily decide that the World Title is what he wants, or maybe he wants to really test out this alliance with Chris Adonis, and they could make a run at the tag titles held by The LAX. He has definitely shown a tendency to lose his focus after a few weeks. If he can keep that focus, though, he could find gold around his waist once again.

In this writer’s humble opinion, seeking a rescheduling of that match with Edwards would be Drake’s smartest move, as a win over such a high-profile competitor can only get him some more shine, and maybe even the attention of the people making the decisions. If Prichard’s looking for guys willing to do anything to succeed, he could do a lot worse than letting E_Li_Drake talk to him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXkPxFecANc
#3 Contender: Low Ki
Last Week: Not Ranked

Low Ki made a huge splash on Impact aligning with The LAX and assisting them in victory over El Patrón, su hermano, y su padre. While Ki has seemingly made it obvious that he intends to dethrone El Patrón and wear that Heavyweight Championship, there’s no reason to believe that Ki would be satisfied simply with that win. He’s going to want to be known as the champion of the company, which makes the Grand Championship an object worthy of his desire.

And the former 5 time X Division Champion and 3 time NWA: TNA Tag Team Champion has the skills and the knowledge to make it happen. Longtime readers know that yours truly has always considered himself a fan of Low Ki, and would definitely caution EC3 from taking Low Ki lightly.

If The LAX truly wants to dominate Global Force Wrestling, then they’re going to need all of the belts. And with Homicide not as active as he used to be (especially in singles bouts), it could very well fall on Low Ki to win both the Grand Championship and the Heavyweight Championship belts, in the same way that Santana and Ortiz had to win both the Impact Wrestling and Global Force Tag Team Championships to unify the belts and show their dominance in the tag division.

All Low Ki needs to do, one would assume, is ask for the match, and it’s his. And if that happens, this columnist would not be the least surprised to see Low Ki end up victorious. Lucky for EC3, Alberto El Patrón is the focus. For now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=980hQ4q5NeU
#4 Contender: Matt Sydal
Last Week: #3 Contender

Sydal loses a spot this week, though not due to anything of his own doing. Not active this past week as he prepares for his upcoming match with Bobby Lashley at Destination X, Sydal drops to #4 after Low Ki’s crazy move to The LAX.

As stated before, Sydal could be the Wild Card of the company. This match with Lashley guarantees the winner a title shot, but doesn’t say for which title. While the smart money assumes that Lashley wants the World Championship and nothing else, does that line of thought hold true for Sydal? Would he really be risking all of this just for a shot at the X Division title? Sure, a win over Lashley shows the rest of the X Division that Sydal may be on another level, but at the same time, why risk your entire career for the third most important singles title in the company?

Why not take that momentum and use it to wrestle for the Grand Championship? We’ve seen guys like Drew Galloway (at the time) look at the Grand Championship as their opportunity to prove who the real champion of the company is. There’s a tendency to see the Grand Championship bouts as tougher fights when compared to the World Title wrestling matches. Again, these were ideas from Galloway himself, not some daydreams of a wrestling writer.

Should Sydal see that same opportunity available for himself, an opportunity to create his own legend in a fledgling division, then this match with Lashley will be the best way to start telling that story. If he can beat Walking Armageddon, then surely nothing else can stop him!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xwYeLu_eH8
#5 Contender: Dezmond Xavier
Last Week: Not Ranked

Dezmond Xavier has done nothing but absolutely tear it up since his debut a few months back, and he looks to be the odds-on favorite to win the Super X Cup. His victory over Drago this past Thursday showed that the youngster can take on the very best that the X Division has to offer, and that can only add confidence to a man that was already brimming with it.

Sure, the X Division title is his main goal for now, but like it was mentioned for both Low Ki and Matt Sydal, sometimes you need to take a slight detour on your road to glory to find even more acclaim. Xavier’s great performances have to have caught the attention of the more established wrestlers, especially when they think of the effects that his Final Flash would have on their anatomies.

If Xavier can in fact win the Super X Cup, then the world is his. And while it’s pretty clear that he’ll hope to use an X Cup win as a catapult to the X Division Championship, there’s no reason to think that he wouldn’t want more gold – or, more importantly, that he couldn’t get it. The man has it all, and with time on his side, he may be more than willing to slow play his hand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFr1QoCMKB0
Further GFW Impact Musings…

Global Force’s camera crew was lucky enough to grab this incredible bit of footage, as we see that Braxton Sutter and Allie are most definitely not seeing eye to eye.

For those who may have missed it, the discussion pertains to the actions of Sutter after he, Grado, and Suicide were victorious over the killer trio of KM, Mario Bokara, and Fallah Bahh on Impact. After the match was over, Grado would call for Laurel Van Ness to come down to the ring, hoping to propose. Sadly, right as love was about to find its way back to Van Ness, the aforementioned Kongo Kong would appear, absolutely laying in a beating on Grado.

At ringside, Allie would plead with Sutter to help his partner out, but Sutter refused, instead insisting that they head back to the locker room. At the time, it seemed like a really bad move from Sutter. In fact, this columnist would dare say that it stunk like a big pile of BS.

But this video? Sutter’s rationale actually seems solid. Why risk his well-being for Grado? What if Sutter was to be injured? Then who protects Allie? On top of that, why risk Allie’s well-being? Laurel Van Ness has launched attack after attack on Allie this year, and with Allie’s heart being bigger than her brain, she tends to forget that Laurel is not someone that she should trust. If Braxton ran in to help Grado, what prevents Laurel from yet again assaulting Allie? The whole thing could have been a huge set up!

This columnist is absolutely still keeping an eye on this, as we all root for love to win. But, despite what Braxton says, I think it’s pretty clear that everything is most certainly not great.The Officially Unofficial GFW Grand Championship Rankings, Week 2