There are too many tales of the dark side of the ring, as there are literally dozens of episodes from the actual series that airs on Vice TV. Some of those shows provided a fascinating look at scenarios that could only happen in the pro wrestling business and brought them to a more mainstream audience. Vice is a smaller network with smaller TV clearance, but the fact that the wrestling content is among the channel’s highest-rated shows proves that the producers tapped into something the viewers wanted to watch, with a behind the scenes look at the sport.
Sometimes the series dips into stories that have been covered at length and thus there isn’t much new ground to break within the narrative. Furthermore, despite being renewed for a seventh season that is set to air sometime this year, the argument could be made that it’s time for the series to wrap up, as at some point, the spotlight on the negative and often depressing topics becomes more about exploitation than presentation. I’m not sure Brutus Beefcake or Marty Jannetty benefited from some of their worst moments being publicized on national television.
Thankfully, there was some positive news about an actual subject of The Dark of The Ring series a few weeks ago when death match icon, Nick Gage emerged from a recent stint in rehab looking significantly healthier than he was just a few months ago. Game Changer Wrestling promoter, Brett Lauderdale, who is a longtime friend of Gage, posted the news on social media to let fans know that the independent wrestling stalwart would be back in the ring, explaining that Gage was “near death” in October before he took a hiatus from the sport to enter the previously mentioned rehab facility.
In 2021, Nick Gage had his own episode of the documentary series, revealing personal details that were unknown to even the diehard fan base that followed his career on the independents for more than two decades. For humble beginnings, Nick Gage endured a lot of tragedy and hardship throughout his life, with professional wrestling as seemingly the only light at the end of his tunnel. In the Vice TV production, it was noted that his mom passed away from cancer before his real-life brother, independent wrestler, Justice Pain committed suicide when he was being pursued by police.
One of the many criticisms of the death match style, specifically in the United States, where it’s still very underground with lower pay than main stream groups, is the risk involved for the performers. Pro wrestling causes enough injuries and has a history of some performers becoming addicted to the pain medication that they had to use to recover from them. It goes without saying that the risk for injury and potential addiction afterwards can be exponentially increased within the death match genre. While the style as a whole seems to be a more measured approach now, during Gage’s heyday, particularly when there was a slew of independent leagues trying to fill the void of ECW closed, there were numerous insane risks that had a completely unbalanced risk/reward ratio in the early-2000s. Infamously, Gage was declared clinically dead when he was cut severely with a light tube during the CZW Tournament of Death finals before he was revived as he was on a life flight to the hospital in 2009. A few years before that, a suplex spot gone wrong resulted in Gage being set on fire and he suffered severe burns during the match.
The injuries and pain were too much for Gage and he became addicted to drugs. In another infamous moment that was a focal point of the Vice episode, the real-life Nicholas Wilson robbed a bank in a desperate attempt to get drug money. He was homeless at the time and had nowhere to go in the New Jersey winter. Truth be told, getting sentenced to prison for several years was probably something that saved his life. When he emerged from the prison system several years ago, he became a true redemption story, as he was a centerpiece of GCW as the organization became the top independent group in the United States.
The Dark Side episode gave him enough publicity to land on national television for a match on Dynamite against Chris Jericho in 2021. There’s absolutely no doubt that Nick Gage is a commodity, but if he could tailor his style to fit into the parameters of a national promotion is questionable. The segment became very controversial, as an ill-timed spot with Gage’s trademark pizza cutter right before the show went to a Domino’s commercial caused the pizza chain to remove their ads from Dynamite broadcasts. Furthermore, there were a few occasions where glass flew into the front row, and as I wrote at the time, when the fans know that the company is owned by a billionaire, they will be more willing to sue for a quick payoff if there’s any chance of such an incident.
Still, Gage is a major draw, albeit for a niche audience, but the bottom line is, Nick Gage sells tickets.
Because of that, he more or less continued his role as one of the top guys in GCW over the past few years. However, tragedy stuck again this past April when his longtime girlfriend, Sondra Culbertson, who was featured on the Vice episode, passed away at the age of just 43. It’s no surprise that there was concern about Gage, as the emotional distress could’ve led to a relapse. It’s unknown what prompted the recent stint in rehab, but it was clear in the months before his hiatus from the ring that he looked very unhealthy, especially compared to the shape that he was in just a few years ago.
As polarizing as Gage’s in-ring work and some of his antics, including almost injuring David Arquette with a light tube in an ill-fated bout they had years ago, are you got the sense, especially from the Vice interviews that the only person that Gage carelessly harmed was himself. He took too many risks and paid the price for it through drug addiction, but he seemed like a genuine guy that wouldn’t try to be malicious in real-life towards anyone.
I’m very happy for Nick Gage, but very concerned at the same time.
Let’s be honest, injuries, often serious injuries, are more or less inevitable with the death match style. Is this really the place for someone with a history of addiction issues? At 45, Nick Gage isn’t going to transform himself into a technical wrestler, and as much as death matches are relatively new in the history of the industry, Gage is still somewhat of a throwback. Randy Savage wasn’t going to be an insurance salesman. I can’t imagine Nick Gage being content to work in an office building. At the same time, I sincerely don’t think it would be wise for Gage to continue to work dangerous matches and bleed buckets in the process, as there’s a pattern of what path that eventually puts him on, especially because of the toll it takes on the body.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that Nick Gage hang up his boots. I think the former GCW champion will perform in the ring until he literally can’t make it through the ropes. If that’s a good decision or not is debatable, but the much bigger point is that being a pro wrestler is who Nick Gage is. Regardless of what anyone thinks of the style or Gage’s career, there’s no question that he works incredibly hard in the ring. I could be wrong, but I’m hoping that Gage allows the cache of his career and everything that he has done over the past 25 years help his matches become more about the character and less about dangerous bumps. If Gage can settle for brawling around the ring as a way to lessen the impact on his body, he might be able to add a few more years to his in-ring career. Considering the cult following he has and the reaction that he gets from the crowd, I’d say that the audience would still get their money’s worth based on the spectacle of Gage in the building rather than him risking serious injury on a regular basis.
Hopefully, this remains a success story and it would certainly be really wonderful if this is a benchmark in Nick Gage’s life where he can put his addiction issues behind him. Within the next five years, maybe Gage can retire from the ring and work behind the scenes at GCW since it seems as through he will always be involved in the industry in some form or fashion.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
