JCW Lunacy Episode 1, by PaperClip Mike

I was a teenager in the 90s. As a lot of teenagers, music was a big part of me, shaping who I was and am. However, one genre my parents detested was rap of any form. Hell, MTV was banned in our house for years because of it. If I wanted it, I had to buy it myself. Even though my sister and I each had stereos in our rooms, if we wanted to listen to rap, we had to have headphones on. Needless to say, outside of Eminem and the huge names in rap, I did not get as much exposure as I had wanted to. There was one group that if I had the exposure, I definitely would have been down with…

The Insane Clown Posse.

I would have jammed to this so bad, but I knew this would have never been allowed in the house. So I had to suffice with whatever snippets on TV I got. More importantly, what I saw in wrestling. I do dabble in the music. I would never consider myself a Juggalo, but I am down with the clown, as the kids say. Hell, I would love to go to The Gathering of the Juggalos once for the experience. Anyway, back to the wrestling. It was hard to watch it in my house as a teen, so I hardly saw any of their stuff in WWE. I did catch a lot of the stuff in WCW and was hooked. I have always been a fan of the bizarre and off-kilter, so they were right up my alley.

Now, when it comes to their own federation, JCW, once again, I dabbled. I did have a DVD. I do not remember who was on it, but one match. Fans of Cleveland wrestling will appreciate that it was Josh Prohibition vs. M-Dogg 20. IYKYK. I also owned and played both Backyard Wrestling games. But once again, it all comes back to that key word, dabble. Well, I wanted to prove to myself that this year, there is no more dabbling.

Sometime last year, ICP and JCW came out with a new show on YouTube called JCW Lunacy. The production value was far and away from that DVD I bought at Suncoast over 20 years ago. Plus, it has a lot of wrestlers I am familiar with by name and a lot I am fans of. I know I am the retro guy here at the bWo and MEWN, but I do watch a lot of the new stuff, and what better way to not dabble than to cover JCW Lunacy!

Now, as of the writing of this article, there are 64 episodes of Lunacy. And in continuing to push myself in not only writing and creating content as a whole. I gave myself a goal. On top of my other writing and content elsewhere, I want to have every episode written about by the end of the year, so I can eventually be up to date with the episodes. Well, enough with the fucking dabbling, and let’s fucking go!

The show opens outside the venue, where a huge line is waiting to go in as a whit limo pulls up and out pops JCW champion, Willie Mack. I have been a fan of his since PWG, so I am already on board. After the intro video, we are introduced to ring announcer W34pon X. He then welcomes in none other than the Commissioner of JCW…

Violent J gives this impassioned speech about a new era of JCW being around for 25 years. He talks about all of the accomplishments they have made while being ignored. Anyone who knows anything about ICP knows these guys love wrestling. And that speech, as short as it was, had the crows rabid. Great way to start the new show. We then go to the commentary team. We are met by Joe Galli from NWA and Manny Fresh.

Back from break, Joe Galli is somewhere backstage trying to get a word with The Souther Six of Silas Mason, Kerry Morton, and Alex Taylor. Fun way to introduce them to people who may not know them. This was actually kind of funny. Kerry said they were here to party with the Juggalettes. Silas got me with the line that the ones that are ‘snaggletoothed and clubfooted’ can stay home. This was fantastic. 

DANI MO V. ALICE CROWLEY

We are opening up the first episode of Lunacy with a women’s match. I know Dani mainly as a long-running team she had with Facade all over, mainly the Midwest region. Alice, I am less familiar with. What I do know is that she was a member of the former 33OH! Stable with the Cogars, Rickey Shane Page, Gregory Iron, and other Ohio-based wrestlers. So, it will be nice to be introduced to new faces.

Interesting note that the first match was between two females, but at the time, JCW had yet to establish a women’s title. Nice start from both women as neither one is afraid to get gritty. After a few moments of this, Dani pops off a gorgeous headscissors. Alice was able to get a bot of control. Nice mix of lucha style from Dani and filthy scrappiness from Alice.

Alice is in control, using simple brawling to keep Dani grounded. Dani was able to get back in the match with a combo of her own, including a fake out into a kick to the ribs. Dani is able to back her into the corner and hit a DDT. Alice kicks out and hits a nice fisherman’s suplex moments later.

Alice goes for what seems to be a couple of clothesllines, but Dani was able to dodge them, hops on the rope, and launches a rope walk crossbody for the win. Great first match to set the stage. I am ready to see more from both women.

JCW TAG TITLE MATCH: BROTHERS OF FUNSTRUCTION © VS. FACADE AND KALEB KONLEY

Here we go with our first title match on Lunacy! I am relatively familiar with all four men. Facade, I am probably the most familiar with, as he is most known in the OH/MI/PA area. I even saw him at the first Urban Wrestling Federation taping, and whoo boy, that story needs to be told eventually. Kaleb, I have known about him for about 15 years or so, first seeing him during the one Dragon Gate USA show I went to. And if you listen to Cody Rhodes’ podcast, he recently did with Timothee Chalomet, Timothee describes a show he went to because Sabu was on that card. I was there too!. But Kaleb has been all over the country, including a couple of spots in TNA. I even saw him super kick an old man using a walker during the one Wrestling Revolver show I went to.

As for the champs, the Brothers of Funstruction, my knowledge is somewhat more limited. I am most familiar with the run they had in NWA a few years ago. I also saw them perform at the Wrestling Revolver show I went to in 2024 and loved them live. The crowd loves them, and it is easy to see why.

Yabo starts the match with Kaleb and pulls out a rubber chicken…ahem, sorry…a rubber cock. Got me grinning already. He then pulls out a smaller rubber chicken/cock, then teases Konley with a balloon. Not one lock up or move, and the crowd is rabid, I love it. Kaleb finally had enough and smacked the shit out of him and tagged in Facade. A bit more shenanigans. The clowns want to dance around with Facade, who obliges. They try to convince Kaleb to come in, who does so before attacking the BOF.

The boys in pain did not take kindly to this, as Kaleb eats a dropkick to the face. And thes, the BOF wear clown shoes. After more double-teaming, Kaleb is able to go for a tag to Facade, but a miscommunication causes Kaleb to hit him instead. The clows went for another double team move as the crowd chanted “You Fucked Up” at Kaleb. He responded by making the clowns run into each other. Kaleb goes for a tag, but Facade is mad at him for all the errant hits, so the BOF grabs Kaleb and chop him with one of their massive ties. But, Kaleb is able to finally tag in Facade, who takes out both clowns with his educated strikes

Kaleb and Facade are finally on the same page, looking to go for a double superkick on one of the BOF who is on his knees. But Kaleb superkicks Facade instead, before turning to the crowd and flipping them off to a cacophony of boos. This proves to be his downfall; he turns into what seems to be a double team finisher from the clowns, a side slam/top rope double stomp for the win.

We then go to a segment called Shaggy’s Spotlight. Shaggy 2 Dope introduces a hype package of The Southern Six. With how the trio is being presented so far this episode, it looks like they might be some of the top bad guys going forward. We then cut to “Juggalo” Joe Galli (his words, not mine) as he is with the Brothers of Funstruction. Joe asks them what is next after retaining their tag titles. They basically say if anyone wants a shot at the belts, all they have to do is ask.

THE SOUTHERN SIX VS. SANTANA JACKSON, WILLIE MACK, AND MATT CROSS

Here we go for our first main event, a six-man tag. The Southern Six have been a staple of the NWA for years. Hell, at the time of this writing, Silas Mason is the current NWA World Champion. Plus, both Alex and Kerry have been NWA Jr. Heavyweight champs. And if Kerry’s last name sounds familiar, his dad is Ricky Morton of the Rock N’ Roll Express, a team that is somehow both one of the greatest ever and underrated at the same time.

`Their opponents are no slouches either. I already mentioned how much of a fan I am of Willie Mack earlier, so I won’t repeat myself, but it's safe to say I am not the only one. Matt Cross has been associated with JCw in some shape or form since the very beginning. He has wrestled in dozens of countries and was even in Lucha Underground as Son of Havok. Santana Jackson is a fun concept. Not only do they incorporate the Michael Jackson concert into the matches, but they are also an impersonator outside of wrestling.

The match starts before the bell as the Southern Six jump their opponents. Taylor and Cross officially start it off as the bell finally rings. Taylor tags in Mason, but Cross hits them both with a springboard crossbody before tagging in Willie. Great moment where Willie pops Silas in the mouth, causing him to stumble back and get tied up in the ropes. Willie, rather than trying to free Silas, starts chopping the shit out of him.

Morton and Jackson then tag in, and this is an intriguing matchup. Jackson was able to use some dance moves to stymie Kerry to hilarious effect before Kerry returned the favor with a nasty clothesline. After a few moments of trouble, Santana was able to tag in both Willie and Matt. Taylor and Mason then decide to get in the ring, and the four men start fighting. We then get the comedy spot where Silas is on the mat, and Alex falls, headbutting Mason in the nuts. Always love to see classic sapots like this.

All 3 of TS6 are kneeling in the ring, and it seems the good guys are about to lay a beating on them but all are hit with a low blow. Silas then hits Santana with the Thrill Ride for the win. All three men are celebrating in the ring when…SORRY ABOUT YOUR DAMN LUCK! Out comes “Cowboy” James Storm in a JCW jersey! James Storm says Violent J invited him to come up to beat the ass of The Southern 6. And as soon as he comes into the ring, all the men retreat as the show ends.

All in all, this was an awesome first episode. I had a blast. A lot of great wrestling, plenty of spots that had me either smiling or laughing, and an insane crowd that was hot all night. If this is what I am in store for the whole time, then this journey is gonna be a blast! Thanks to everyone for reading this. Follow me on all my socials and see you on the blogs!