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As we reported shortly after the Cage of Death event took place last week, CZW (with the exception of one person) was not aware that Nick Gage and Brett Lauderdale were going to enter the ring and the Cage after the show. There's been some heat between the two companies for some time. Lauderdale had worked the CZW in the past and was no longer welcome at their events after a falling out. Gage had been one of the top CZW talents at one point and the two were now doing their own rival promotion in Gamechanger doing their own Ultraviolent style product using some former CZW names, including founder John Zandig.
So, why did the scene at the end of Cage of Death happen? We are told that the idea of doing an angle was pitched to DJ Hyde and the decision was made to turn it down. Giancarlo Dittamo, who worked on the booking of CZW with Sami Callihan and Hyde, had originally pitched the idea. As noted, it was shot down, but the word making the rounds is that Dittamo, feeling the show needed a big moment to close it, decided to do it anyway and not tell anyone. Gage and Lauderdale just walked into the building and hopped the rail. which is equally insane. That sort of thing never would have happened if Atlas Security was there.
With no real plan and CZW (beyond Dittamo) not in on what was going on, the show had an awkward ending where the ring mic was shut off on Gage and the ring sort of filled up with everyone waiting for something to happen. Hyde and Matt Tremont were shoving back and forth with Gage but beyond that, there was no physicality, although the scene could have gotten real ugly, obviously. At that moment in time, most in the cage weren't sure if what was happening was a work or not. We are told Dittamo left the building as soon as everything went down and is gone from the company. The word was that he was fired and a lot of people were really upset about the situation because Dittamo had been great at producing videos and in general, was a great hand and a good mind that helped the CZW product.
CZW has removed that footage from their Cage of Death video and requested that their staff and wrestlers do not speak about it publicly. Gage and Lauderdale's company Gamechanger Wrestling released a video made up of content shot from what appeared to be fans' phones of the incident but CZW immediately filed a copyright claim (since it was their show) and had the material yanked. We are told that the police were called to the building but by the time they arrived, Gage and Lauderdale had left the venue, as had Dittamo. The entire scenario and the aftermath (speaking to police, etc.) led to CZW post-show cleanup being delayed and the building was furious about that, especially since they needed to set up for the next day. DJ Hyde was beyond furious about the situation, believing it had ruined the show. Whether anything comes of this remains to be seen, but as of today it's not building to any sort of CZW storyline.
The weird irony in all of this is that Matt Tremont, who in CZW storylines owns 50% of the company, is wrestling Gage for Gamechanger this weekend in New Jersey.
MJF suffered a broken hand in his match against Joey Janela at the Cage of Death. He had been hoping it was just sprained but it was broken.
Everyone involved in the Cage of Death main event ended up going to the ER after the show.
CZW is taking January off as they are looking for a new venue after Rastelli Complex, despite coming to an agreement with the company to regularly host both their school and live events there, pulled out. The word making the rounds was that the facility, which was a cheerleading rehersal space and kids-oriented facility didn't really jibe with the CZW product. Who could have guessed that one??? CZW apparently has two potential venues in the Sewell, NJ area they are looking at. The plan is to run again in February, kicking off with the company's 19th anniversary event.
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