Matt Cardona is the antithesis of everything Game Changer Wrestling fans want from wrestling, so the promotion bringing him into rival Nick Gage was a stroke of genius. The pair faced off in a bloody encounter this past Saturday night at GCW’s Homecoming Weekend event in Atlantic City, and Cardona left with the promotions world championship. However, his body was left shredded to bits thanks to a pizza cutter and broken light tubes. Now in an interview with Busted Open, he discussed the experience and spoken about the hostility he received, including fans wanting his fiancée Chelsea Green dead.

Cardona deserves a lot of credit for stepping out of his comfort zone and doing something few who worked for WWE would do. He has created a ton of buzz for himself and garnered the independent promotion a great deal of attention. However, it isn’t known if Cardona intends to regularly become a regular for the company and compete in this controversial match style more frequently. Although, as their champion, he will need to step back inside a GCW ring at least one more time to at least drop the belt.

Goldberg last competed for WWE at January’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view when he challenged Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. The match would last less than three minutes, and Goldberg subsequently went on hiatus. He is back, though, in time for SummerSlam and made his Raw return by yelling into current WWE Champion Bobby Lashley’s face, “I’m next!” Now while talking on the For The Heat podcast, his former WCW boss Eric Bischoff has said that Goldberg only shows up for the money and doesn’t care whether he wins and loses. He’d then question how long the match would actually last.

Bischoff would then go on to speculate that WWE has buyers remorse for re-signing the former WCW legend to such a long deal, and they’ll have Lashley squash him.

Goldberg ended 12 years away from WWE in 2016 when he returned to the company to feud with Brock Lesnar. After dropping the Universal Championship to Lesnar at WrestleMania 33, many believed that was the end of Goldberg’s career. That though wasn’t the case, and since 2019 he has wrestled twice per year for the company facing The Undertaker, Dolph Ziggler, The Fiend, Braun Strowman, and McIntrye, as mentioned earlier. In total, those five matches have resulted in less than 20 minutes of in-ring action and open left fans disappointed. Still, they are believed to have earned Goldberg significant payoffs.

José Alvarado Nieves, known as both Brazo de Plata and later Super Porky, passed away on Monday aged just 58. As of writing, no cause of death has been revealed, however, he has had well-known heart issues, even at times faking heart attacks during matches. In recent years, he had been in a lot of pain with his back and at times needed a wheelchair after breaking his leg but being too overweight to have surgery.

He has left behind five children, all of whom followed him in the business. The most famous of them is his son Psycho Clown, one of Mexico’s biggest stars, having headlined the past three TripleMania’s. He was a second-generation wrestler himself and had five brothers who were also wrestlers using variations of the “Brazo” name.

While difficult to believe now, he began his career in 1977 as a lightweight wrestler and was considered a great athlete. In later years he would embrace his rotund appearance and focus on entertaining fans through comedy. He would compete for CMLL, AAA, New Japan, All Japan, and even WWE during his lengthy wrestling career. His WWE run took place in 2005 and 2006 when he was hired to be part of SmackDown’s Juniors division but was subsequently released along with the rest of the wrestlers in the division when McMahon lost interest. Additionally, in 2003 he competed once in MMA for Deep, a Japanese-based promotion. Unfortunately for fans of pro wrestlers turned fighters, he would lose via submission in the second round.

Matt Cardona defeated Nick Gage for the Game Changer Wrestling World Championship on Saturday at GCW’s Homecoming Weekend event in Atlantic City. The match was not something a former WWE wrestler would usually participate in and featured Cardona’s forehead being carved up with a pizza cutter and cut by broken light tubes. Fans in attendance were not happy with the victory, and he was pelted with trash, and after flipping off the fans, he’d escape through the crowd.

Now his fiancée Chelsea Green has revealed on Twitter that she played doctor aiding Cardona back at the hotel and shared several gory photos, which you can view below. She’d also later confirm she made hotel staff aware as she didn’t want them contacting the police thinking the room was a crime scene.

It isn’t known if Cardona intends to become a regular for GCW and regularly compete in this controversial style of match or if this was something off his bucket list. Thanks to his outside projects and being a featured wrestler for Impact Wrestling, it’s believed he is still earning good money post-WWE, so he isn’t involved in death matches for financial gain. However, he would seemingly have to wrestle at least one more match of that style to drop the title.

Bobby Eaton is considered one of the most outstanding tag team wrestlers of all time due to his time as half of The Midnight Express, initially teaming with Dennis Condrey and then with Stan Lane. For the past fifteen years, he has been tormented with health issues, including blood pressure, diabetes and has had a pacemaker fitted. Tragically, just last month, his wife Donna would pass away, and now it has been reported that last week he was again hospitalized, this time following a nasty fall at his home. Eaton would sadly break several fingers and requires physical therapy after damaging his hip during the fall.

Eaton isn’t involved much in wrestling nowadays, but back in 2019, a surprise show paying tribute to Eaton was held in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was called “Don’t Tell Bobby” and advertised online as Eaton doesn’t use the internet, and he didn’t find out about the event until he arrived at the venue. He would turn up thinking he was doing an autograph signing and then be surprised by those in attendance. The show would feature appearances by Jim Cornette, Tom Prichard, Bill Dundee, Les Thatcher, Tracy Smothers, Dave Taylor, Bobby Fulton, George South, and William Regal. Eaton would be presented with a custom championship belt at the conclusion of the show and received all the event’s proceeds.

WWE has announced that they have partnered with Blumhouse to produce an upcoming series titled The United States of America Vs. Vince McMahon which will be a scripted portal of the infamous 1994 steroids trial. Confirmed to be Executive Producers are Kevin Dunn, who is WWE Executive Producer and Chief of Global Television Distribution, as well as McMahon himself. The press release reveals the series will be totally pro-WWE based on the wording, and the government victimized McMahon, but he was triumphant in the end.

For those unaware, in 1993, McMahon was indicted for two counts of distributing steroids and one of conspiracy to distribute steroids to his wrestlers. Wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Rick Rude, The Warlord, Tully Blanchard, Tom Zenk, and Nailz would testify. However, only Nailz would say McMahon had told him to use steroids. Still, his testimony was called into question after he initially stated he had no animosity towards his former employee but later said, “I hate Vince McMahon’s guts.” Some speculate Nailz testimony played a key part in getting McMahon acquitted.

Had McMahon been found guilty, he faced a lengthy prison sentence and a considerable fine. At one time, McMahon was so concerned he would actually be incarcerated that he would put the company in his wife Linda’s name, and Jerry Jarrett claims he was hired to run the promotion. When McMahon was free of legal issues, he would let Jarrett out of his contract at his request and even paid him the remainder of his three-year contract.

It will be interesting to see how accurate the series is, as the press release incorrectly lists the year McMahon was indicted, names the wrong U.S. Attorney’s office, and even states McMahon had “two-school aged children at home,” implying they were young kids when Shane was 24 and Stephanie 18 at the time. Additionally, with WWE so heavily involved, it’s doubtful the fact McMahon used steroids himself will be acknowledged or that the company stopped drug testing two years after the trial concluded.

On Friday night Steve Keirn told fans in attendance at a fan fest that B. Brian Blair’s eldest son Brett Leslie had sadly died aged only 29. At the time, not much was known about the circumstances of his passing. However, it has now been reported that Brett was, in fact, murdered at a remote construction site. As of writing, it’s believed there are no suspects.

Brett had been named after WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart and had recently found himself in legal trouble after being arrested on April 10, 2021, by the Hillsborough County Sheriff in Tampa and charged for drug offenses. Eleven years earlier, when aged just 18, he had also been arrested on similar charges. In addition to his father, he is survived by his mother Toni and younger brother Bradley.

Most wrestling fans best remember B. Brian Blair for his time in WWE as one of half of the Killer Bees tag team in the 80s. He left the promotion because Vince McMahon hadn’t kept his promises and was also unhappy with plans to turn him heel. He effectively retired in 2001 and began a career in politics, and was elected County Commissioner for Hillsborough County in 2004. Over the past decade, he would occasionally return to the ring, often for IPW Hall Of Fame shows. Currently, he is the President of the Cauliflower Alley Club, known for its benevolent fund to help those in the wrestling industry who fell on hard times.

Matt Cardona invaded Game Changer Wrestling two months ago, impersonating Jon Moxley, who is feuding with GCW Champion Nick Gage. At first, fans believed it was Moxley due to the mannerisms and poses used. Cardona even hit Gage with a Paradigm Shift before removing his face covering, revealing himself as the former WWE Superstar Zack Ryder. This resulted in fans chanting “F**k Zack Ryder” as he celebrated in the ring.

A deathmatch between the pair for the GCW Championship would subsequently be announced, and that match took place on Saturday night at GCW’s Homecoming Weekend event in Atlantic City. Many fans doubted Cardona had much of a chance considering his opponent is a deathmatch icon who previously served time for bank robbery. However, Cardona stunned everyone when following a brutally bloody battle which saw his forehead carved up with a pizza cutter, he emerged victorious.

Cardona’s victory wouldn’t be clean, and the match featured a lot of outside interference. Even Judas by Fozzy began playing at one point, making it appear Chris Jericho was there ahead of his NO DQ match with Gage scheduled for Wednesday’s Dynamite. The finish would see Rickey Shane Page assisting Gage but then turn on him by kicking him low. This allowed Cardona to hit the Rough Ryder and win the GCW Championship.

After the match, the fans in attendance would show their outrage by pelting Cardona with trash, making for a disturbing visual. Shockingly though, on closer inspection, one fan went too far and threw a pizza cutter at Cardona, which could have severely hurt him if it had made contact.

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Cardona would end up flipping off the fans and escaped through the crowd. It was a wild match, and Cardona had levels of heat not seen in a long time. A replay of the whole show is available to watch through FITE.tv, and if you can stomach the gory violence, it is worth going out of your way to watch the match.

Dr. Britt Baker DMD beat Nyla Rosa to retain her AEW Women’s Championship on this past week’s episode of Dynamite. The match was a big success in the ratings doing almost 1.2 million viewers and 596,000 in the key 18-49 demo. However, it’s since been confirmed by Baker herself that things didn’t go perfectly to plan.

In a tweet she has shared showing her with Paige VanZant ahead of the MMA fighters Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship defeat, she can be seen wearing a cast and revealed she’d suffered a broken wrist in the match. From watching the match, it would appear the injury occurred during a death valley driver spot. Thankfully though, for AEW, she did also confirm she doesn’t intend to miss any time.

With @paigevanzant …And oh yeah, I retained the title on Wednesday night at #aewdynamite with a broken wrist. Not taking any time off either. #AndStill pic.twitter.com/YQVC37Woie

— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) July 24, 2021

Baker was AEW’s first female signing, and while always a leading performer in the women’s division, her career skyrocketed following her Unsanctioned Lights Out match against Thunder Rosa in March. She wasn’t victorious, but the match set her apart similarly to Steve Austin’s defeat to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. Fans would get behind her character despite her being a heel, and she’d win the AEW Women’s World Championship at AEW Double or Nothing 2021 by defeating Hikaru Shida.

WWE released Braun Strowman on June 2, and this came as a huge surprise due to him being heavily pushed since he broke away from the Wyatt Family stable and the ultimate company man. The issue was his $1.2 million a year contract, which Vince McMahon no longer felt he warranted, and when budget cuts were decided upon, he was deemed expendable.

Having only ever having worked for WWE and previously being among Vince McMahon’s favorites, he stated in a previous interview that he would not put on his boots for anyone else. However, at 37 years of age, he still has many years left to wrestle, and there have been rumors that both Paul Wight and Mark Henry have pushed for AEW to sign him.

It’s now been reported in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE is currently considering bringing him back. The belief is with AEW spending big money hiring CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, management is concerned Strowman will be next. As he had a 90-day non-compete clause, WWE still has until Tuesday, August 31, before Strowman can sign elsewhere, so it will be interesting to see what WWE decides to do. In the past, WWE has brought released talent back on reduced contracts, so it’s possible to could come into play with Strowman.

The April 30th episode of SmackDown was built around Universal Champion Roman Reigns putting his title on the line against Daniel Bryan in the show’s main event. If Bryan lost, which he did, he’d be banished from SmackDown. It was assumed that this was booked to move Bryan to either Raw or NXT and get heat on Reigns. However, it would later be confirmed his contract actually expired at midnight following the show.

The belief is WWE was so keen to have him re-sign that Nick Khan began negotiations with New Japan so he could be worth it for both companies. However, nothing materialized, and in recent weeks, it’s been reported WWE no longer discusses creative ideas or future merchandise for Bryan.

It’s been known for some time that Bryan has held talks with AEW, and according to a report from Bodyslam.net, he has actually signed for Tony Khan’s promotion. It’s speculated that AEW’s relationship with New Japan paid a massive factor in his decision. Plus, he will earning similar money as when he was with WWE but work fewer dates and have more creative input. As neither AEW nor Bryan has publicly commented on this story, it isn’t known when he will debut. But the various sources have stated the September 22nd episode of Dynamite, which is taking place at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, looks most likely.

Bryan’s WWE career has had extreme highs and lows. His title victory at WrestleMania 30 was considered one of the WWE’s all-time great moments. He did, though, have to retire from the ring due to concussion issues from 20015-2018. Thankfully, he made a triumphant return at WrestleMania 34 after multiple neurosurgeons, and Dr. Joseph Maroon, who is associated with WWE, cleared him to compete. Now it seems the next chapter of his career is going to be Elite.

Thunder Rosa has been an AEW regular since August 2020 despite being signed to Billy Corgan’s NWA promotion. This was possible due to the promotions establishing a working relationship. Since then, her career has skyrocketed due to her AEW appearances, and she is currently considered one of the most talented wrestlers in women’s wrestling. Now in what just happens to be her birthday, AEW has announced on social media that she has officially signed with them.

Following AEW’s confirmation, the NWA would acknowledge her departure on Twitter and said she will always be part of their family and wished her well. Additionally, Rosa would herself take to Twitter and quote tweet AEW’s announcement to her followers, adding she was finally where she belongs.

It has long been thought that Rosa’s long-term future was with AEW due to her past comments on Busted Open radio where she said, “I’d rather be happy than be a slave.” This was in reference to WWE’s well-known controlling tendencies, which would have prevented her from working for her own promotion Mission Pro Wrestling and competing in MMA. However, with AEW, she should remain free to continue with outside projects, and as a signed talent, she will likely now receive an even bigger push and see an increase in merchandise opportunities.