Coming off of the historic show at the Hammerstein Ballroom, The Wrld on GCW, Game Changer Wrestling has more eyes on it than ever before, but to call it an overnight success would be a crucial error. Having exploded in popularity over the past couple of years, the history of GCW dates all the way back to the early days of the modern independent scene, germinating at the height of wrestling's popularity whilst the Attitude Era played out on TV. It has been a long, winding road that has brought them to the forefront of the professional wrestling zeitgeist.

The past couple of decades has seen GCW evolve in a number of ways, now totally unrecognizable from its initial form. Many names have passed through the promotion's doors, including some of the finest professional wrestlers to ever grace the mat. But, at the heart of GCW's roster is a core that has had a fundamental impact on Game Changer Wrestling, as well as independent wrestling as a whole. Without them, and without GCW, the professional wrestling landscape would look very different.

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GCW Starts Life As Jersey Championship Wrestling

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Before they were changing the game, GCW in its first form went by Jersey Championship Wrestling, based out of its titular state and founded by independent wrestler Ricky O. Their debut came on January 29th, 2000, and is a microcosm of how bizarre this period of the indies was. The card featured ECW stars like The Public Enemy, a young Charlie Haas, Low Ki on the cusp of becoming one of the indies' first big names, and Gillberg defending the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship in the main event. JCW ran for a number of years in its home state, becoming best known for the Jersey J-Cup, collecting the best the circuit had to offer for a single-elimination tournament. The likes of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Homicide, Amazing Red, Colt Cabana, and AJ Styles all competed in these tournaments, bringing some serious talent to the East coast. Despite this, JCW would be bought out by rival promotion National Wrestling Superstars in 2004.

It took nine years for JCW to return, with Ricky O reviving the brand after NWS folded in 2012. Another example of wrestling's strange interconnectedness, JCW's return event saw another tournament to crown their first Extreme Champion, won by current WWE referee Eddie Orengo under the name Bandido Jr. Now in its second run, JCW would bring the Jersey J-Cup back under their banner, open their own school and return to running across New Jersey. But, another big change was on the horizon.

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Brett Lauderdale Reshapes GCW

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Photo by Burning Hammer

Brett Lauderdale was a referee for Combat Zone Wrestling, the ultraviolent promotion that looked to take up the mantle left by ECW following its cessation. Lauderdale took on various roles throughout the years, and whilst working in the deathmatch space, Lauderdale struck up a friendship with Nick Gage. The friendship proved practically invincible. Whilst Gage was incarcerated on bank robbery charges, he and Lauderdale stayed in constant touch, with a recurrent topic of conversation being how Gage would return to the wrestling world. The idea that came to be was a deathmatch tournament — The Nick Gage Invitational.

Rather than starting from scratch and assembling a company from the ground up, the smarter decision was to find something with the infrastructure already laid out. In 2015, Lauderdale, along with independent wrestling stalwart Danny Demanto, purchased JCW and all its assets from Ricky O, and thus, Game Changer Wrestling was born. With a new name, a new logo, and a new ethos, GCW ran the first Nick Gage Invitational, setting the course for the next several years. It would not take long at all for GCW to rise to the spot of the United States' premier hardcore promotion, and exposure on an even grander scale was right around the corner.

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GCW Becomes An Independent Wrestling Heavyweight

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In the modern age of professional wrestling, the internet and social media are invaluable tools for any wrestler or promoter looking to gain some traction. Few have been able to replicate the success that "The Bad Boy" Joey Janela has found in doing so. With slick videos popping up online in tandem with his daredevil style, the Jersey native was blooming into the most talked about name on the indies. GCW looked to capitalize on this buzz and targeted 2017's WrestleMania Weekend. A supercard, mixing fantasy booking with matches befitting a fever dream, was assembled. It was Joey Janela's Spring Break. Clashing generations of Janela vs. Marty Jannetty and Matt Riddle vs. Dan Severn, paired with the chaos of a battle royal that included Doink, Glacier, and The Invisible Man, along with the independent circuit's best, Spring Break was the most talked about event that week.

WrestleMania Weekend and these similarly branded shows such as Bloodsport, Joey Janela's Lost in New York and Orange Cassidy is Doing Something or Whatever Who Knows??? had a two-pronged effect. For one, the buzz coming out of these shows got major attention for GCW, with GIFs and clips of these marquee events flooding wrestling circles as a demonstration of independent wrestling's potential. Along with those flashpoints came a genuine, devoted following. Streaming on sites like FITE TV gave GCW a platform to show off their talents, where they have thrived and grown massively in recent years.

At the moment, GCW is the promotion to beat on the independent scene. Expanding its touring schedule to cover even more of the USA, and even taking its wares abroad, GCW continues to grow. Brett Lauderdale has even created sub-divisions of GCW on both coasts, with a revived Jersey Championship Wrestling and LA Fights both feeding into the GCW ecosystem. GCW now exists as a multifaceted promotion, featuring the best deathmatches around, a high-end in-ring product, and engaging characters that have fans hooked from show to show. It appears that 'Long Live GCW' may be more than a slogan, but rather, a premonition.