Jimmy Rave made his debut with Great Championship Wrestling on April 3, 2009, with a victory over his trainer, Murder One. Murder and Rave would subsequently battle throughout the summer, in a series of matches in which Rave finally defeated Murder for the GCW Heavyweight Championship. Of these battles, the July 16 street fight between the two that saw them brawl all over the GCW building, and the August 29 "Mayhem in Milledgeville" road show match, both stand out as two of the best matches the promotion had seen in over two years. Rave lost the championship belt in September to Johnny Swinger, who revealed himself to be plotting against Rave for months, while masquerading as a babyface. Rave would eventually regain the GCW Heavyweight championship a month later in October. His feud with Sal Rinauro, which began on May 14, 2009 with a hard-fought match that saw Rave win after 30 minutes of action, picked up once again, as Rinauro (returning from a hiatus from the organization) returned to challenge Rave for the GCW title on November 12, only to once again be defeated by him.