Various: Three Matches Set for GCW’s The People vs. GCW Event at Hammerstein Ballroom, NJPW Confirms Shota Umino vs. Claudio Castagnoli for NJPW x AEW Wrestle Dynasty, Indies

Nov 26, 2024

Three Matches Announced for GCW’s The People vs. GCW Event at Hammerstein Ballroom

Game Changer Wrestling recently announced the first three official matches for the card of their The People vs. GCW event, which takes place on January 19, 2025 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, New York.

The first new match announced was a singles match of Sidney Akeem vs. El Hijo del Vikingo.

The second new match announced was a GCW Tag Team Championship match of Gahbage Daddies (Alec Price & Cole Radrick) vs. Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) (c).

The third new match announced was a Vacant GCW Ultraviolent Championship DLC match of John Wayne Murdoch vs. Drew Parker vs. Brandon Kirk vs. Matt Tremont vs. TBA vs. TBA.

Current card for GCW’s The People vs. GCW event:

Vacant GCW Ultraviolent Championship DLC match – John Wayne Murdoch vs. Drew Parker vs. Brandon Kirk vs. Matt Tremont vs. TBA vs. TBA
GCW Tag Team Championship match – Gahbage Daddies (Alec Price & Cole Radrick) vs. Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) (c)
Sidney Akeem vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

NJPW Confirms Shota Umino vs. Claudio Castagnoli Match for NJPW x AEW Wrestle Dynasty

This past Sunday’s World Tag League 2024 event for New Japan Pro Wrestling in Tokyo, Japan featured Claudio Castagnoli making a surprise video appearance. Castagonli revealed himself as the Jon Moxley’s “emisary” for his match challenge to Shota Umino at Wrestle Dynasty.

NJPW recently confirmed that Castangnoli vs. Umino has been made official for the card of their co-promoted NJPW x AEW Wrestle Dynasty event on January 5, 2025 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

NJPW official website:

Claudio Castagnoli vs Shota Umino set for Wrestle Dynasty!
Moxley’s ‘emissary’ named
November 24 in Korakuen Hall, Shota Umino was surprised by a message from Claudio Castagnoli. After AEW World Champion Jon Moxley had declared that he would send an ‘emissary’ to wrestle Shota Umino January 5 rather than wrestle the Roughneck himself, a furious Umino awaited Moxley’s choice of opponent.
That choice is imposing Castagnoli, who called acknowledged that Shota was the very first member of Moxley’s feared ‘Deathriders’ stable but had since gone astray. Now Castagnoli versus Umino is set for a showdown in the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Dynasty.

Current card for NJPW x AEW Wrestle Dynasty:

International Women’s Cup Four-way match – TBD (AEW) vs. TBD (ROH) vs. TBD (CMLL) vs. TBD (Stardom)
NEVER Openweight Championship match – Tomohiro Ishii vs. Winner of Konosuke Takeshita/Shingo Takagi (c)
Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ricochet
Yota Tusji vs. Jack Perry
Shota Umino vs. Claudio Castagnoli
The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) vs. mystery opponents

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

Monday’s episode of American Dad on TBS featured WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart making a guest animated appearance.

This past Sunday’s Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XII event for Game Changer Wrestling featured Jon Moxley making a surprise appearance. Moxley came out alongside Marina Shafir for her match against Jody Threat, which was won by Shafir.

Pro Wrestling Tees is currently holding a Black Friday 2024 sale until December 2nd on their online store with discounts going as high as 60% off. It was also announced that no special codes are needed for the discounts but some restrictions do apply.

In a recent interview with Sportskeeda’s WrestleBinge podcast, Gage Goldberg, son of WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg, gave his thoughts about his interest in following in his father’s footsteps and pursuing a pro wrestling career in the future. Goldberg stated “I mean, yes and no, for sure, because wrestling would be cool. Being amped up and everything, having all the adrenaline. But then also, like, I know my place right now is with football. So I’m going to live this out and see where that takes me. If it doesn’t work out, could be wrestling. Don’t know. It’s a backup plan.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

Major League Wrestling recently announced that CMLL talent Hechicero will be making an appearance for the company at their Kings of Colosseum 2025 event on January 11, 2025 in North Richland Hills, Texas.

MLW also recently announced that they will be holding a fan meet & greet event featuring Eric Bischoff, Matt Riddle, and Mistico prior to the start of their One Shot 2024 event on December 5th in New York City, New York.

As noted before, MLW talent Mads Krugger recently signed a new long-term contract with the company. In a recent interview with Fighttul’s In The Weeds podcast, Krugger gave his thoughts about his decision to sign a new deal with MLW to remain in the company. Krugger stated “A conversation with Court (Bauer) and myself is really where it started. There was an opportunity there to fill my resume a little more backstage and get into some producing and agenting. That’s where I see my future in the long run in the world of professional wrestling. That’s where my passion is. I’m really big into telling stories, always have been. I don’t see a point in doing this if we’re not telling stories. That’s just my personal opinion. That opportunity is what led me to say, ‘Okay, this is a good chance and a good opportunity for me to learn and grow,’ and learn from somebody who has been in this business for a very long time and been in different companies.” Krugger also gave his thoughts about who he has been learning from backstage and revealed that he has done some producer work for MLW. Krugger stated “Alex Greenfield, Greenie, and then, of course, Court Bauer. That’s straight to the top. It’s a good opportunity and I’ve never done it outside of the independent wrestling scene, and I’ve kind of been doing it for years and didn’t even realize what I was doing until a year or so ago. Now, it’s become a focal point. I see more of it and I realize what I’m trying to learn, what I’m trying to do, and where I’m trying to go. I’m agenting some matches. Those are the two things right now. I’m sure that will grow over time. I think one way and I’m usually on one track. If I’m going to a show and I have my story and my things, that’s usually what I’m focused on. I may or may not be focused on the entirety of the show. I don’t mean that in a bad way, but I’m concerned about what I’m doing and what’s happening around myself. Now, I’ve started thinking outside of that box. What is going on with everyone and how does it all tie together to create a good wrestling show? At the end of the day, that’s what it takes. It can’t just be one story. One story can’t necessarily carry a whole show. You have to have other things going on to keep people interested.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

MLW recently announced one new match for the card of their Kings of Colosseum 2025 event on January 11, 2025 in North Richland Hills, Texas: