Matt Cardona Talks New York Athletic Commission Being Strict About Deathmatches, GCW's Growth & More

Matt Cardona was recently a guest on Busted Open Radio, where he spoke about the New York Athletic Commission being stricter on rules when a deathmatch is introduced.

“That’s going to be another interesting thing about this show. GCW is known for the deathmatch and the blood and guts. But if you know anything about the New York Athletic Commissions, a lot of that stuff is not going to fly.”

Cardona spoke about how he first felt about GCW upon seeing it.

“When I first heard about GCW, I was like, ‘oh, this deathmatch sh*t, I don’t want to do that.’ But then when I was there and I go to these shows, I realize, yes, that’s just a small part of it, the deathmatch stuff. Some of the stuff these guys can do, the athleticism. Then you have me, just walking out, listen, I am doing like old school wrestling, people just hate me. I don’t even have to wrestle, I just talk and they hate me. There’s so many different styles, there is something for everybody. Then we have guys like Jeff Jarrett come in, he’s not doing a deathmatch with Effy. There’s just so much going into it and that’s why I think a lot of people do compare it to ECW. Because yes, there is the bloody violent stuff, but there’s so much more, especially the passion.”

Cardona spoke about GCW's growth.

“Listen, I’d love to take the credit, but I can’t take all of the credit, of course. The product had to show for itself once people tuned in. I’m not on every show. Yes, the thing I did with Nick Gage brought a lot of eyes and a lot of attention, and the numbers don’t lie. It was trending number one on Twitter above UFC and Olympics that night, it’s a pretty big deal. It hasn’t trended number one since, and I haven’t been in the main event since. ‘Hey, Brett Lauderdale, you’ve got to book me on top, baby.’ But I think the shows have been picking up. Everybody has been stepping it up, everybody has been doing their own thing. Everyone has been trying to promote this Hammerstein show.”