Last night on Twitter, GCW owner Brett Lauderdale posted a thread reflecting on the deathmatch between Matt Cardona and Nick Gage at GCW’s Homecoming back in 2021, calling it the biggest indie wrestling match of all time.

“I believe that Nick Gage vs Matt Cardona was the biggest indie wrestling match of all time. The anticipation, characters, the storytelling, the timing & the performances. All the planets aligned. Matt & Nick – two guys who couldnt have less in common created a masterpiece. The impact on their careers – monumental. Elevating both of them and securing their legacies at the same time. The impact on GCW, taking what was already the biggest indie and cementing it as the most influential indie of all time. The aftermath – big buzz & big business for all. If you were there that day, you know what you witnessed and what you were a part of. A once in a lifetime experience. With the nature of today’s business, its unlikely this set of circumstances and this environment could ever be recreated. It was breathtaking, it was magic.”

Matt Cardona captured the GCW World Championship from Nick Gage that evening in what was Cardona’s debut match with the company. That match gave birth to his “Deathmatch King” moniker. Cardona would lose the championship a couple of months later to Jon Moxley.

I believe that Nick Gage vs Matt Cardona was the biggest indie wrestling match of all time. The anticipation, characters, the storytelling, the timing & the performances. All the planets aligned. Matt & Nick – 2 guys who couldnt have less in common created a masterpiece pic.twitter.com/uBNFoD7e0C

— brett lauderdale (@Lauderdale11) January 14, 2026