Nick Gage says he is not sure where his relationship with GCW stands.
The Hardcore star was once the center figure of the indie promotion. Till date, he remains the only person the company ever signed to a contract. Gage however has not made an appearance for the New Jersey based promotion in a while.
He last wrestled for the promotion at the August 2, 2024, GCW Now And Forever show. Nick Gage was then pulled from the announced August 24 Homecoming event and he has not been booked for any appearances ever since. In the meantime, the 44-year-old confirmed that he checked himself in rehab but did not provide any further details.
Gage was recently interviewed by MuscleManMalcolm while he was visiting an Arrival Wrestling show. When asked about his relationship with the company that he once had such close ties with, Nick noted that he still exchanges texts with the promoter Brett Lauderdale but that’s the extent of it:
“My current relationship with GCW is…I don’t know man. You know, I really don’t know Malcolm. I text, I get answers. We hit a little bit back and forth but that’s it. Am I sorting out to please and begging and all? None of that and vice versa from him. None of that coming my way.
I feel like in time, it will heal wounds and we’ll get back on track. The way we’re supposed to be, the right way. I just think it will happen organically and natural, to where the time would be right and me and him would be fucking cool as we should be and probably have a sit down to dinner and discuss what it is. Who knows when it’s going to happen.”
Nick Gage also praised Lauderdale for helping him out during his jail term and revealed that Brett made the mugshot shirt for him during the time so he could earn money while serving his sentence.
Gage had taken a break from wrestling in August and he recently returned to the ring for a BCW event in the 2300 Arena. The December 14 show saw him fighting Drake Younger for the Philadelphia Street Fight Title.
Posted December 28th, 2024 in GCW. Tagged: Nick Gage.
Game Changer Wrestling has announced that Nick Gage is set to face Matt Hardy at the GCW Now And Forever event on August 2.
This will be the first time the two would go against each other in the ring:
“*BREAKING* NICK GAGE returns and takes on the debuting MATT HARDY in a first time ever Dream Match THIS FRIDAY in CLEVELAND!” the announcement on GCW’s X/Twitter page reads.
“Im gonna cause matt hardy to feel physical pain when i fight him in Cleveland,” the 43-year-old wrestler wrote on X regarding the match.
Im gonna cause matt hardy to feel physical pain when i fight him in cleveland https://t.co/ZKemGYU90f
Gage notably wasn’t able to appear on the GCW Worst Behavior on July 5, because of injury. He was subsequently advertised for events taking place on July 18 and 20, but he was still unable to make appearances due to the injury. He last competed on the June 14 event of GCW Lights Out, where he defeated Orin Veidt.
Nick Gage has made a name for himself with his hardcore matches, after competing in GCW and on other indie promotions. Gage also made appearances for AEW in 2021, when he was involved in the feud between MJF and Chris Jericho.
Meanwhile, this would be Matt Hardy’s debut in GCW. His last televised match at the time of writing was at TNA iMPACT on July 21, where he teamed up with ABC (Ace Austin and Chris Bey) to defeat JDC and The System (Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards).
Hardy recently talked about his experience wrestling in Saudi Arabia for WWE, noting that he had a great time there with the people. However, he came back appreciating the freedoms of life in the US.
The landscape of the career of Matt Cardona was dramatically changed by his role with GCW, despite the ex-Superstar being against the idea at first.
Cardona’s 15-year career with WWE ended in April 2020 when he was released from the promotion. The former Zack Ryder captured the WWE & Raw Tag Team Championships in WWE, and had reigns as United States and Intercontinental Champion.
Matt Cardona on GCW Run
With his WWE career over, Cardona reinvented himself on the independent scene, ditching his fun-loving face persona into a despicable heel who thrived in riling up audiences. Cardona’s new character was never on more display than during his GCW feud with Nick Gage, which saw Cardona refer to Gage’s past legal problems. On the Insight podcast, Cardona shared how the match came to be and admitted he was against the idea at first.
“So John Carlo, my friend John Carlo, who was working for GCW at the time. Worked for WWE, now works for AEW, he pitched it to me. I said ‘Absolutely f***ing not!’ I am not wrestling, because Nick Gage was just on Dark Side of the Ring. He almost killed David Arquette in the ring, criminal, drug addict, I’m not wrestling this guy!
“And then I took a step back and said ‘Wait a minute. People are going to watch this.’ People are going to talk about this. They’re going to want to see Zack Ryder carved up by Nick Gage. So let’s do it. And it was only a three-shot deal. Three shows: go in [and] attack Nick Gage. Have the match, and the one show after.”
The altercation and subsequent match with Gage would go viral on social media, which came as the world of wrestling was still being rocked by COVID. On the show, Cardona argued that the match helped change independent wrestling as it showed that smaller shows could still do big business.
“I think we changed independent wrestling. I say we because GCW needed to be GCW, I needed to be me and Nick Gage needed to be Nick Gage. We needed all of those ingredients.
“It’s an independent show in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But it trended number one over the UFC pay-per-view that night and the Olympics. Which is nuts. We had captured lightning in a bottle, I use that expression all the time. We had it and I just ran with it.
Cardona would dethrone Gage to win the GCW World Heavyweight Championship. In his efforts to rile up the fans, Cardona would introduce a ‘Spinner’ version of the GCW World title and attempt to bring ‘Sports Entertainment’ to the violent promotion.
A Possible WWE Return?
While Cardona is killing it outside of WWE, the former Superstar has previously said he’d consider an offer to return. On the podcast, Cardona made it clear that he still has a lot of appreciation for what WWE did for him.
“[I’m] so, so grateful to WWE for Zack Ryder. That was my dream, I lived it. Highest of highs, lowest of lows, I’m forever grateful for that time. It set me up for who I am today, but it’s over. Zack Ryder is dead. If I ever were to go back to WWE, if it was up to me, it’d be as Matt Cardona.”
For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops.
Jon Moxley put his GCW World Championship on the line at GCW Fight Club. Nick Gage put his career on the line. He needn’t worry about having to walk away.
The crowd was very anti-Moxley with fans booing him regularly. There was even a few “CM Punk” chants during Mox’s introduction. Moxley dominated the first part of the match. That was before Gage got his hands on his trusty pizza cutter. He sliced up Mox’s forehead much worse than he did to Chris Jericho at Fight for the Fallen.
After elbow dropping through light tubes placed on Mox’s body, Gage seemed on his way to regaining the championship he lost one year ago. Mox hit Gage with a big boot. While Gage was on the outside, Mox set up a glass pane. While he was waiting on Gage to get back in the ring, a tall man in a hoodie appeared. W. Morrissey hit the champion with a big boot of his own and Stokely Hathaway popped up on the apron and directed Morrissey to chokeslam Mox. He obliged and Hathaway directed him to send Mox through the glass pane. Once again, Morrissey obeyed.
The dastardly duo left and it allowed Gage to hit Mox with two piledrivers and a chokebreaker. Gage’s career is saved and he is your new GCW World Champion.
Was The Firm acting on MJF’s orders or was this a rogue act like their involvement on the last episode of Dynamite? Is Mox done with GCW for the next five years?
Current GCW world champion Jon Moxley will be competing in a title vs career match against hardcore veteran Nick Gage.
With the rise of Game Changer Wrestling as the modern era ECW, Gage has emerged as the face of Deathmatch wrestling. In the past year he has wrestled extreme matches against people like Matt Cardona and Chris Jericho.
However, the death match that seemed to have affected him the most was against Jon Moxley. These two competed in October last year where Mox defeated Gage.
The indie star hasn’t been very active in the ring since that match. He has only wrestled a handful of times since his big defeat, leading to speculations about an impending retirement.
Title vs Career
On night 1 of GCW homecoming this Saturday, Moxley successfully defended his title against Effy. Gage made his return after this bout and confronted the GCW champion.
Gage mentioned that his career might be coming to an end, but he has unfinished business with the Interim AEW champion. He then challenged Mox for a match.
Jon Moxley then cut a promo explaining that it might be the time to put the dog down. He said that Gage will have to put his career on the line for a shot at the GCW title, and Nick accepted this challenge:
There is no word yet on when this match will take place. With Nick Gage’s recent comments about his future, there is no surity that we’re going to see him wrestle after this bout.
GCW Homecoming Night 1 Quick Results
The following are quick results from Saturday night’s GCW Homecoming Weekend (Nigh 1) event from the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ:
Nick Wayne def. Starboy Charlie
Jordan Oliver def. Ninja Mack
Gringo Loco def. Grim Reefer, Jimmy Lloyd, Axton Ray, Joe Lando, Marcus Mathers
Blake Christian def. Tony Deppen
The Briscoes def. Los Macizos to retain the GCW tag titles
Cole Radrick def. Charli Evans to retain the GCW Extreme title
John Wayne Murdoch def. Matt Tremont
Rina Yamashita def. Alex Colon to win the GCW Ultraviolent title
Jon Moxley def. EFFY to retain the GCW World title
Game Changer Wrestling held the all Deathmatch event GCW: Planet Death at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas.
The GCW event was hosted by Nick Gage, who worked on commentary throughout the entire event. The main event saw an Intergender Deathmatch between Sadika and Jimmy Llyod. GCW: Planet Death aired on FITE and is available for $12.99 on Video on Demand. Wrestling fans could also buy the GCW Collective bundle for $139.99.
GCW: Planet Death may not be enjoyable for wrestling fans that don’t like Deathmatches. Every match on the show had someone bleed profusely. If you aren’t a fan of wrestlers getting hit with light tubes or cut on the forehead with a blade, this show may not interest you.
The event delivers on what fans should expect from fans of Deathmatches. The matches on the card are brutal. The competitors on the card put their bodies through pain to put on an entertaining show. However, bouts like Mercer vs. Cutter also tell stories in the match that may make you interested in how it would end. One of the standout matches on the card was Radrick vs. Akira, as both wrestles took a tremendous amount of punishment and dished it out.
The event is also an hour and a half long, making it easier to watch. Despite cleaning the objects in the ring after a match, the PPV pacing was good. Deathmatch or curious fans that missed the show could be interested in seeing the PPV on VOD for $12.99.
Game Changer Wrestling held their first event at Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, Georgia, with GCW: Astronaut.
The main event saw H8 Club vs. Second Gear Crew for the GCW Tag Team Championship. GCW: Astronaut also had ROH Champion Jonathan Gresham vs. Blake Christian in a non-title match. GCW wanted to have the match at The Wrld on GCW, but Gresham couldn’t make the show. The event aired live on FITE and is available for on-demand purchase for $13.99
GCW: Astronaut is the last Pay-Per-View before GCW: The Collective at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas. GCW: The Collective will occur from Mar. 31 to Apr. 2, with 12 PPV events. Wrestling fans can buy each event individually or buy the bundle for $139.99 on FITE.
Matt Cardona did a in-ring promo before his match. He talks about GCW’s Joey Janela’s Spring Break 6 in Dallas, Texas and said he should be challenging for the GCW World Championship, instead of wrestling Chris Dickinson.
Matt Cardona defeated “Action” Mike Jackson
After the match, Cardona did a in-ring promo disrespecting Jackson and said he was going to beat Dickinson at GCW’s Joey Janela’s Spring Break 6. Dickinson comes out and Cardona leaves the ring. Jackson beats up Cardona and throws him in the ring. Dickinson tries to Powerbomb Cardona, but Cardona escaped.
Tony Deppen defeated ACH
Alex Colon defeated Jimmy Lloyd, Jordan Oliver, Zen Shi, Cole Radrick, and Manders in a Six-way Scramble Match
Bobby Flocko and Cavron Canyon vs Ash Bennett and Rico Gonzalez ends as no contest after Joey Janela interrupts the match and attacks everyone.
Janela did a in-ring promo and vows to “Kill” Sean Waltman at GCW’s Joey Janela Spring Break 6. He also claims GCW wouldn’t be where it is without him and demands that people should “Give him his flowers” at GCW’s Joey Janela’s Spring Break 6.
Allie Katch defeated Jordynne Grace
AJ Gray defeated EFFY to retain the GCW Extreme Championship
Jonathan Gresham defeated Blake Christian
Christian did a in-ring promo after the match thanking the fans
H8 Club(Nick Gage and Matt Tremont) vs. Second Gear Crew(Mathew Justice and Mance Warner) for the GCW Tag Team Championship ends in a draw
After the match, fans chanted for the match to be restarted. Tremont challenged Second Gear Crew and The Briscoes to a three-way dance at GCW’s Joey Janela Spring Break 6. The fans still booed, but Gage thanked the fans to a lukewarm response, and the show ended.
Nick Gage has officially signed with Game Changer Wrestling. The promotion does not normally contract talent but an exception was made for Gage. GCW owner Brett Lauderdale took to social media recently to announce the news.
“This is the first & likely the last contract GCW will ever offer. Nick has earned the right to finish his career on his terms w/ dignity & a focus on the future he deserves. I’m proud GCW can give him that. For the hard work, sacrifice & loyalty over 23+ years, MDK ALL FN DAY!” Lauderdale posted to Twitter.
This is the first & likely the last contract GCW will ever offer.
Nick has earned the right to finish his career on his terms w/ dignity & a focus on the future he deserves. I'm proud GCW can give him that.
For the hard work, sacrifice & loyalty over 23+ years,
Chris Jericho competed in his first-ever death match earlier this year against Nick Gage during the July 28 episode of Dynamite. The match was part of the five labors of Jericho storyline leading to his match against MJF at All Out. The bout created some controversy but it was overall well received by fans. The match received a 4-star rating from Dave Meltzer but Y2J believes that it was deserving of 5 stars.
Jericho opened up about the evolution of his Painmaker character on the latest episode of his Talk Is Jericho podcast. Speaking of his fight with the hardcore star, the former AEW champion claimed that it was one of his favorite matches. He further explained that it deserved a 5-star rating:
“We did the match with Nick Gage and came up with all the cool spots that you saw. one of my favorite matches. You talk about a five-star match. I don’t know if there’s such thing as a five-star deathmatch. Of course, there should be and of course there is. In my opinion, it was a four and a half, five-star match. If I were ever doing an addendum to my List of Jericho book. I [will] put it in there as four and a half stars [or] five stars. I never had a full-fledged deathmatch before. I’ll never have a full-fledged deathmatch again. But that night, we had a great one,”
How Chris Jericho Came Up With The Ending To The DeathMatch
Chris Jericho won this match against the former GCW champion in a unique manner. The wrestling veteran used the mist to overcome the viciousness of his opponent and score the victory. During the episode, Chris explained how he came up with the idea to introduce mist in AEW and how Tony Khan reacted to it:
“I was thinking of something towards the end that can really turn the tide cause Nick was using the light tubes and all that other stuff. I thought well, ‘What if I blow mist? Haven’t seen any mist in years.’ Obviously [we] talked about The Great Muta earlier. That is a Great Muta classic, vintage trait. Tajiri did it in WWE for a while.
I thought this will be really cool if I do some sort of a mist. So I told Tony about it and he goes, ‘What color is it gonna be?’ And I said ‘It’s gonna be black.’ He’s like ‘Well that’s great because Muta used the black mist once in 1987 [it] is even worse than the green.'”
If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription
Mick Foley presented the GCW Championship belt when Jon Moxley faced Nick Gage earlier this month. Foley recently spoke to Metro about the promotion and praised Moxley and Gage in particular. Foley says that they are carrying the torch that he lit with Terry Funk back in their day.
“Who am I to tell someone their style of wrestling is wrong? I had the type of stuff that I enjoyed watching. I can appreciate lucha [libre], for example, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do,” Foley said. “I like the wild matches and these guys have taken that torch that Funk and I lit, and ran a couple of laps on their own with it.”
Foley also noted that he would love to return as Cactus Jack and face Matt Cardona for GCW. He also noted he is not able to do so, however.
“Oh, can you imagine the heat that Cardona would have if Cactus Jack came back for one last match? I can’t do it – I’m just saying, imagine! That’d be great.”
Foley continued to praise GCW.
“There’s all different types of wrestling out there for all different types of fans, and then you find a product that caters to fans who really take their wrestling seriously – I tell you, GCW’s a great show!”
GCW War Ready took place on Saturday night from Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
Several stars from promotions outside of Game Changer made appearances during the event, including some from Ring of Honor/ROH, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Major League Wrestling/MLW.
The Briscoes made a shock appearance during the last weekender that GCW put on, appearing to challenge the GCW Tag Team Champions Mance Warner Matthew Justice of Second Gear Crew.
ROH’s top tag team got their opportunity to fight for the titles at this event, and the match would headline alongside EFFY vs Psycho Clown and Japanese wrestling legend Minoru Suzuki facing the Deathmatch King, Nick Gage.
Here are the full results from the show, which is available to watch back on FITE TV on demand.
GCW War Ready Results
Allie Katch b. Gringo Loco, Lucas Riley, ASF, Matt Vandagriff, Gaston, JTG, and Eli Everfly (Eight-Way Scramble Match)
Alex Zayne b. Jonathan Gresham
Ninja Mack b. Arez
Chris Dickinson and Starboy Charlie b. Jacob Fatu and Juicy Finau
AJ Gray b. Dark Sheik
Jordan Oliver vs. Nick Wayne – ended in a No Contest
GCW Tag Team Championship Match – The Briscoes b. Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner and Matthew Justice) – New Champions
Game Changer Wrestling/GCW has confirmed that they will be heading to the iconic Hammerstein Ballroom in 2022.
GCW owner Brett Lauderdale confirmed that Game Changer Wrestling will run the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York on January 23, 2022.
A new vignette aired that featured the GCW roster members standing in the Hammerstein Ballroom. Several notable names gave reasons why they would ‘never make it big in wrestling.’
GCW Heading To Hammerstein Ballroom
The Hammerstein Ballroom is of course a major part of Extreme Championship Wrestling’s past, with the iconic venue having hosted events there in the late 90s to early 2000s.
Both WWE One Night Stand 2005 and 2006 were also held at the Ballroom, as part of WWE’s attempt to bring back the ECW brand.
No names have officially been confirmed for the event, however the usual crop of talent in Game Changer such as Joey Janela, Effy, Nick Gage, Ninja Mack, Rickey Shane Page and AJ Gray.
Jon Moxley is preparing for a bloodbath against Nick Gage.
Moxley shocked GCW fans with his appearance at a recent event this past Saturday night (Sept. 4). Moxley nailed Matt Cardona with Paradigm Shift and captured the GCW Title. After the match, Moxley and Gage stared down and made their match for Oct. 9 official.
GCW posted a video of Moxley reacting to his upcoming battle with Gage for the GCW gold.
“Madison Square Garden, Grand Slam Champion, all those fucking toys and posters, they don’t mean shit. Getting mugged by fans in airports and hotels and arenas, don’t mean shit, I don’t like people anyway,” said Jon Moxley in a visceral post-match promo. “It’s not the drug that I love, the drug I’ve been addicted to you for over a decade. Nicky, when you were in jail right, pacing and pacing around in a jail cell, I was pacing around in hotel rooms. I wanted that drug.
“We have unfinished business, we have a score to settle that is 10 years old and I paced those hotel rooms and I prayed to God that you would get out one day so that we could settle that score. I tried to let it go, Spring Break I really tried to let it go. I tried to let you have your moment, but I just can’t let it go. I want that drug, Nicky, the drug that only comes when me and you lock horns in the center of the ring and there’s no other ring it can take place in but GCW. The place where I am the king now. Do you think [the championship] really means anything to me? I’m going to make it mean something. If I want to go and become the greatest GCW World Champion of all time, I can do that because I’m just that good. I can make it look that easy.”
Moxley vs. Gage will be taking place inside The Showboat in Atlantic City.
AEW star and the former IWGP United States Champion Lance Archer recently spoke to Nick Hausman on The Wrestling Inc. Daily. The former champion discussed several topics during the interview, including Deathmatch King, Nick Gage.
“I’ll gladly put him through some broken glass and kick his ass,” Lance Archer revealed. “I’m good with that.”
Archer would also discuss the ‘forbidden door’ angle that has seen performers from several companies cross the borders over the past year. NJPW, NWA, AEW, IMPACT and more have seen wrestlers from around the globe perform on their cards.
Lance Archer on The Forbidden Door
“I think it intrigues everybody,” Archer noted. “I think that’s the fun part. Again, we keep going back and forth on the Forbidden Door, and the fact that we have a working relationship with New Japan right now, we have a working relationship with Impact.”
“And whatever it is, the different people that are coming in and out of AEW on a consistent basis” Lance Archer added. “I think that would be interesting for anybody. The fact if there was some kind of supershow that involved several different companies with talents from every one of them, fighting each other, fighting for their championships, whatever the case may be. I think that’s the perfect element for a place like MSG.”
AEW Star Chris Jericho recently spoke to the Inside the Ropes website. The former WWE Superstar discussed several topics during the interview, including his no holds barred/deathmatch against Nick Gage on AEW Dynamite.
‘Le Champion’ Jericho revealed in the interview that he has no plans to do any other deathmatches for the rest of his career; although, he would be prepared to get gory once again if the storyline dictated as such.
“Well, I’m not being egotistical when I say, ‘Of course it was my idea, and of course I was fine with it’ because I thought of it. I booked the whole match as well” Jericho began.
“You never thought you’d see Chris Jericho in that type of match, maybe not on TNT, but why wouldn’t you see Chris Jericho in that type of match? Because I’ve done every other match!” the former AEW Champion continued
Chris Jericho vs Nick Gage
It was then that Jericho stated that he would do another similar match if the storyline called for it. The ongoing blood feud between Jericho and MJF may well necessitate a match of this type, or close to it.
“If the story fits, I’ll do it – because it is all about storytelling. Obviously, it’s not something I would want to do every night or probably will ever do again but when you’re talking about the story that we’re telling, it was perfect for it. And I think that match was a classic in its genre.”
CHRIS JERICHO
“I think it might even be the most-watched death match of all time in the fact that we had 1.2 million people watching it. Show me another deathmatch that had that type of viewership” Jericho would conclude.
Chris Jericho and Nick Gage’s deathmatch at Fight for the Fallen ended up resulting in Dominos making a statement that they are evaluating their advertising presence on the show. Eric Bischoff commented on the fallout from the match recently on his 83 Weeks podcast.
“If I was a Dominos shareholder, I’d be a little hot. I’d question what the f**k is my advertising agency doing?” Bischoff said on the show.
“Take it from the guy who wrote the book ‘Controversy Creates Cash’ there is some controversy that really works in your benefit and particularly in this state of affairs we find ourselves in culturally today, there is a lot of controversy that can kick your ass and not be a benefit.”
Bischoff continued to say that it’s not so much that AEW chased off Dominos, but now the agency that represents Dominos will be less willing to purchase AEW ad spaces for other clients in the future as well.
“Dominos has an advertising agency, do you think that Dominos is the only client that that advertising agency has?”
He continued to say that there are very likely executives at Turner worried about the impacts this will have on ad sales for the network.
“Then everybody got excited when Pabst Blue Ribbon jumped in,” Bischoff continued. “Good for them, guess what? They don’t have a pot to piss in in terms of national advertising. Why is that? Because Pabst Blue Ribbon isn’t even a brewery, it’s a brand.”
Bischoff’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Nick Gage’s recent performances in GCW and AEW have gotten a lot of people talking. One of those people is Booker T. He mentioned on his Hall of Fame show recently that if more wrestlers were like Nick Gage, the industry would be better off for it.
“I’ll tell you this. Nick Gage, I have never met this dude before in my life. But I’ll tell you, if everyone in this business had the same thought process as a Nick Gage, the business would be in a much, much better place,” Booker said.
“This guy, Nick Gage, you pull up photos of this guy, and you’ll never gonna see him smiling in any of them. He’s got the same look on his face in every photo, in every picture I have ever seen him in. There is not a picture of him being happy. It’s a picture of a guy who’s getting ready to go into a deathmatch, each and every night. He’s the real deal.”
Booker T Praises Nick Gage
40-year-old Nick Gage is a 21-year pro, having first made his debut in February of 1999. He was trained by the CZW school and John Zandig. Gage is a 4x CZW World Champion and was inducted into the CZW Hall of Fame in 2009.
“The guys in WWE, Impact Wrestling, AEW – they can learn a whole lot from Nick Gage, and that’s just my opinion. I don’t know a lot about him, but when someone sees something different about you in this business, it’s uncanny.”
Booker continued to say he’s not actually seen Gage wrestle, but that doesn’t impact his opinion. Gage feels different, serious and real, and that is what is appealing about him to Booker.
“I’ve never watched one match. But I know when you look at this dude, he isn’t the guy you’re gonna walk up on and say, ‘What about that wrestling stuff ya’ll do?’ Because he might hit you. He’s the real deal. If everybody walked along that same line and took it as serious as this guy does, it would be a much better place.”
Domino’s Pizza recently released a statement to Front Office Sports regarding the deathmatch between Chris Jericho and Nick Gage at Fight for the Fallen.
“We share the concerns expressed about this incident and the content of this TV-14 rated program, and are assessing our advertising presence on it going forward,” the pizza company’s statement reads.
Nick Gage recently took to Twitter to “apologize” to Domino’s.
“i tried to cut jerichos scalp off my bad TMZ it is what it is but yeah thanks aew and thanks all MDK gang members we showed em whats up and also sorry dominos didnt mean to offend you guess im too ultraviolent for tv oh well all my new fans come see me at GCW its MDK all fn day,” Gage Tweeted.
Meanwhile, Pabst Blue Ribbon seems to have really enjoyed the match. They have been posting to Twitter in the hopes of picking up Dominos’ advertising spots.
Gage was just the “2nd Labor of Jericho” as part of his feud with MJF. The 3rd Labor of Jericho will take place next week. Jericho is scheduled to face his former WCW rival Juventud Guerrera on the show.
Chris Jericho and Nick Gage put on a brutal but impressive match on this week’s episode of Dynamite. Though it appears that the pizza cutter spot in the bout didn’t go over very well with Domino’s.
The company released a statement to Front Office Sports regarding the spot. In the statement as seen below, spokeswoman Jenny Fouracre-Petko said that they are assessing their advertising presence on the show:
“We share the concerns expressed about this incident and the content of this TV-14 rated program, and are assessing our advertising presence on it going forward,”
For those who don’t know, the Fight For The Fallen special of Dynamite saw former AEW champion Chris Jericho taking on hardcore wrestler Nick Gage in a No Disqualifications match.
There was one point in the bout where Gage used a pizza cutter on his opponent. Right after he cut open Jericho’s head, the broadcast went into split-screen mode.
The second screen featured a Domino’s commercial with an image of a pizza being sliced. This got a lot of attention on social media.
Many people wondered if the two companies worked together for the spot. Though this report makes it clear that the pizza delivery chain was not involved and it appears that they didn’t have any prior knowledge of it either.
Chris Jericho and Nick Gage had a no disqualification match with light tubes, a pizza cutter, broken glass, and lots of “blood and guts” at Fight for the Fallen last night. According to a report on Wrestling Observer Radio, Tony Khan spoke to TNT ahead of time to let them know what was going to happen.
“I know Tony Khan talked to TNT ahead of time and basically told them what was going to happen. So, they’re okay with it. It’s not an issue where they’ll get kicked off the air,” said Dave Meltzer.
It was noted during the discussion that Jericho would not have done anything he did not want to do during the match. It was also speculated that the idea for the match likely came from Jericho himself but that was not be confirmed.
“Jericho didn’t do anything that he didn’t want to do. Whatever spots were in that match, Jericho would say no if he doesn’t want to do it, he’s not going to kill himself. And those were the spots he said yes to, I don’t know if he said no to anything,” Meltzer said.
While AEW has put hardcore matches on Dynamite before, this was a particularly brutal one. Meltzer continued to say he’s heard that doing a match like this on television is not something AEW is planning on doing again.
“I am told it is a one time thing and they won’t do it again. We will see because if it does a good quarter, they will do it again, probably, because that’s wrestling,” Meltzer continued.
WWE has an earnings call today. The last time AEW had a hardcore match so close to a WWE earnings call is when Vince McMahon coined the term “Blood and Guts” to describe it.
Former WCW President and co-host of the 83 Weeks Podcast Eric Bischoff recently discussed the deathmatch style of wrestling on the show.
Specifically, Bischoff would bring up Nick Gage and his style, referencing the recently Dark Side of The Ring episode focusing on the Deathmatch King.
“I just don’t think that kind of thing [works],” Bischoff began. “Number one, it doesn’t interest me, that style of wrestling. I think it’s bad for the industry in general, I think it appeals to such a small portion of the audience that a larger portion of the audience is turned off by it.”
“Those guys that love that, we saw it the other night with [Jon] Moxley and whatever his name was [Lance Archer]” Bischoff added. “They were digging at each other with a fork. Alright, cool, whatever. For me, I won’t watch that kind of stuff. Number one it’s not entertaining, there’s nothing magic about it.”
Eric Bischoff on Deathmatches
“When Dark Side of the Ring focuses too much on that story, I think it gives the entire industry a bad name,” Bischoff continued, discussing Nick Gage and his deathmatch style. “Passive wrestling audience, the advertising community, the television network executive community, when people see that kind of thing they walk away with a perception of what wrestling is. That perception becomes harmful in the long run.”
“I get it, I love the storytelling I see out of the Dark Side for the most part, but when you get too dark like that, I just think it’s not good for the business long term overall” Eric Bischoffc concluded. “The Jake Roberts story for example was dark, that was hard to watch but I don’t think it hurt the business.”
Former WWE star Matt Cardona shocked everyone and became the new GCW world heavyweight champion by defeating Nick Gage during tonight’s GCW: Homecoming night 1.
The main event of the show saw Gage defending his title against the former Zack Ryder in a brutal match that left both the competitors bloodied.
Nick Gage was in control for the majority of the match. He used multiple light tubes and a pizza cutter among other things on Cardona during the bout.
Chris Jericho’s Judas theme played at one point in the match. While the hooded figure that showed up, ended up not being Jericho, the distractions continued even after that.
The 44OH! faction came out and attacked Gage not long after this. Former GCW champion RSP came out in Gage’s aid and the two managed to fight off the attackers.
Though this alliance was short-lived as RSP ended up low-blowing Nick Gage. This allowed Matt Cardona to hit a Rough Ryder on his opponent and win the match.
Fans started throwing trash in the ring immediately after the bout ended. Cardona ran off the arena to save himself, leaving Cage in disbelief.
— Lucha Outsiders Show (@luchaoutsiders) July 25, 2021
Matt Cardona beats Nick Gage, becomes GCW World Champion, gets absolutely peppered with beer, soda and water bottles then exits the arena with the belt.
This ends Nick Gage’s 100+ days long championship reign with the title. Now it would be interesting to see what the promotion has planned for Cardona’s title reign.
Game Changer Wrestling Champion Nick Gage recently appeared on the Wrestling Delorean Podcast. The ‘Deathmatch King’ discussed several topics whilst appearing on the podcast, including what it would take for him to have a match with AEW Champion Kenny Omega.
Nick Gage made a shocking appearance during this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Gage was revealed as the 2nd Labor of Jericho by MJF, with Gage now getting a No DQ match against ‘Le Champion’ next week on the show.
“Oh, I have no problem facing Kenny Omega, but it would be in a deathmatch,” Nick Gage began on the podcast, revealing the stipulations it would take for him to have a match with the AEW Champion.
Nick Gage vs Kenny Omega
“It wouldn’t be a regular match, ya know? Does he say he is the King of the Deathmatch? Well, let’s go with real glass and real barbwire. Do you know what I mean? Let’s go,” Gage continued, referring to the Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch between Omega and Jon Moxley, where Omega proclaimed himself the King of The Deathmatch.
“I seen clips of it,” Gage revealed, talking about the contest from AEW Revolution. “I thought it was ok. Something happened at the end. Are you talking about that exploding barbwire one? I don’t know what happened there, man, I don’t know, man.”
“I just feel like they are using Hollywood glass, and they are snipping the barbwire because any barbwire I been in or get hit with it, I always get stuck in it”, the GCW Champion added.
“So I always start bleeding, and any glass I land in, my back starts slicing up, bleeding really bad. So for them not to have no blood on them, or blood just on their forehead, makes me second guess what they are using, ya know what I mean?” Nick Gage would conclude.
Nick Gage will be defending his GCW Championship this weekend against former WWE Superstar Matt Cardona.
On a night of crazy happenings at Fyter Fest, the biggest shock of them all was undoubtedly the debut of GCW champion Nick Gage. Moreover, the manner in which is made his debut.
Much has been publicized about Gage’s feud with Jon Moxley. However, it was best MJF that the hardcore hero made his entrance. Nick Gage will be the second step in the Labors of Jericho.
The debut came just after Chris Jericho had defeated Shawn Spears. The stipulation of that match being Spears could use a chair, while Jericho could not.
The match between Jericho and Nick Gage has already been set for AEW’s Fight for the Fallen. Jericho has already responded to the news that it will be a no disqualification match but promising to resurrect his Painmaker persona.
Jericho is the G.O.A.T, and he is no stranger to hellacious matches. However, he would not have been the first name on the list of potential Nick Gage opponents in AEW.
Nick Gage Versus Chris Jericho Will Be Bowling Shoe Ugly
It seems only fitting to quote Jim Ross by saying the upcoming match between Gage and Jericho will be bowling shoe ugly. Nick Gage is a fighter. He’s the master of the hardcore, deathmatch style. Jericho is a warrior, there is no doubt about it. Just don’t expect to see a fight built around technical finesse and headlocks.
If Jericho wants to get his hands on MJF, then Nick Gage is certainly going to make him work for it.
Thanks everybody i got nothing new to say that i havent already told you. I do this shit for my fans its real i mean it i got no family your all i got left in this world and only reason im still here.its GCW and MDK all fuckin day this ones for the gang i love you guys lets fn go pic.twitter.com/2Uqd6mHkoV
The appearance on AEW made its mark on Nick Gage, who has not had an easy life both in and out of the ring. His episode of Dark Side of the Ring did a lot to educate people on the well-known indie wrestler. Love him or hate him, Gage is tough as a two-dollar steak. There’s a good chance, AEW will never be the same again by the time he is done.
Gage is the current GCW champion. Besides a feud with Moxley, is also preparing to take on former AEW wrestler Matt Cardona. That fight is set for the GCQ world title this coming Saturday at the GCW Homecoming Part 1 event.
At the time of writing, it’s not known if Nick Gage’s appearance for AEW is a once-off affair. With Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega both recently being linked to Gage, there is scope for a longer run.
AEW Champion Kenny Omega appeared in the main event of the IMPACT Slammiversary PPV this weekend against Sami Callihan.
Omega successfully retained his IMPACT World Championship at the show, and IMPACT seemed to push the ‘forbidden door’ angle even further with a tease of AAA, AEW, IMPACT and NJPW all being represented at the upcoming Bound For Glory PPV event.
During the Slammiversary event, Don Callis would say that Omega was ‘tougher’ than GCW Champion and Deathmath King, Nick Gage. After hearing this on the broadcast, Game Changer Wrestling would invite Kenny Omega to take part in their Homecoming event next weekend.
“GCW tweeted, “Omega “tougher” than Gage? @TheDonCallis what are you smoking pal?” The promotion responded.
Kenny Omega vs Nick Gage
“You and Kenny are welcome to come and prove it but you have to get in line & the line starts this Saturday at #GCWHomecoming Weekend in AC… Saturday: GAGE vs CARDONA Sunday: GAGE vs OMEGA??? See ya there???” GCW added.
It is not confirmed if this is part of the ongoing forbidden door angle, or if Game Changer Wrestling are attempting to just get some more buzz for the PPV shows next weekend.
GCW Homecoming Night 1 (July 24) and Night 2 (July 25) takes place in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Nick Gage will be defending his GCW Championship against Matt Cardona/Zack Ryder on night 1. Both shows will be available to view on FITE TV.
