Friday, July 10, 2015

Nick Gage Is Booking His Own Deathmatch Tourney

Wrestler, Twitter master... promoter?
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein
Tonight, Nick Gage looks to make Tim Donst wish he'd never come back to wrestling at Absolute Intense Wrestling's Absolution X. But Gage has more to him than his cantankerous Twitter account and making up for lost time from his prison stint. He's actually gone the DIY promoter route and organized his own deathmatch tournament. Frustrated with Combat Zone Wrestling's Tournament of Death, Gage has set out to collect some of his old running buddies and standouts currently in the hardcore community. Much like Chuck Taylor and his 24/7 Hardcore Championship, it's a bold step for a wrestler to basically promote his own thing. Unlike Taylor, this tournament isn't just a larf on Instagram. He's trying to make some money.

The tournament will take place on September 5 in Warren, NJ, and it will be hosted by Game Changer Wrestling. If you're not familiar with that promotion, it was formerly known as Jersey Championship Wrestling, one of Gage's favorite haunts after his release from the klink. It will be called, you guessed it, the Nick Gage Invitational. It makes sense, since Gage is personally inviting all the wrestlers. He's more than doubled the number of phone calls he's made in his life.

One of those phone calls was made to the unfortunately-named wrestler, Wifebeater. I'm not sure if it's because he loves the shirts or because he, well, yeah. But I'm sure he'll be joined by several big names from the past and present. Who knows, maybe one of the Dojo Wars guys will make it to the tourney just to cut his/her teeth. Either way, it'll be interesting to see what Gage has planned. Deathmatches aren't my cup of tea, but still, whenever the proletariat seizes the means of production, it's worth noting.