Nick Gage

For the author and journalist, see Nicholas Gage.
Not to be confused with Nicolas Cage or Nick Page.
Nick Gage
Gage in 2019
Birth nameNicholas William Wilson
Born (1980-09-22) September 22, 1980 (age 43)
National Park, New Jersey, U.S.
RelativesJustice Pain (brother)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Nick Gage
Hardcore Nick
Billed height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1]
Billed weight217 lb (98 kg)[1]
Billed fromNational Park, New Jersey
Salt Lake City, Utah
Trained byCZW Wrestling School
John Zandig[2]
DebutFebruary 13, 1999[2]

Nicholas William Wilson (born September 22, 1980), better known by his ring name Nick Gage, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), where he is a former 3-time GCW World Champion. He also wrestles for various other promotions on the independent circuit. He is the only man to win the "big three" of American deathmatch tournaments: the CZW Tournament of Death, the IWA Mid-South King of the Deathmatch, and the GCW Tournament of Survival.

Along with being the first-ever CZW World Heavyweight Champion for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), until late 2010, Gage wrestled at nearly every CZW show and competed in more CZW matches than any other wrestler. In addition to these accomplishments, he has held the World Tag Team, Iron Man, Ultraviolent Underground, and Death Match championships during his CZW career.[3] Gage's late brother, Chris Wilson, was also a professional wrestler; he performed in CZW under the ring name Justice Pain.[4] The brothers even joined a stable known as “The H8 Club” with fellow CZW talent Matt Tremont, Nate Hatred, and Wifebeater.

In April 2011, Gage was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree bank robbery. He was ultimately released in 2016. After his release later on in his career, he became an infamous name in the deathmatch indie scene and gained a cult following known as the Murder-Death-Kill Gang (often shortened to MDK). In his entrances, he is introduced as "representing The M.D.K Gang, The H8 Club, and all his comrades in prison, eastern block". His infamy as a "folk hero" of both independent American wrestling and of the deathmatch scene led him to be the subject of a 2021 episode of the docuseries Dark Side of the Ring.[5] John Pollock of POST Wrestling describes Gage as a "cult figure" of professional wrestling.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Nick Gage Cagematch profile". CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Nick Gage". Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  3. ^ "CZW Statistics". Archived from the original on 13 January 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
  4. ^ "Combat Zone Wrestling - Cage of Death VI". 2004-11-12. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
  5. ^ McGeorge, Alistair (14 May 2021). "Dark Side of the Ring: Nick Gage 'died for seven minutes' after horrific wrestling deathmatch". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  6. ^ Pollock, John (14 May 2021). "POLLOCK'S REVIEW – "The Ultra-Violence of Nick Gage"". POST Wrestling. Retrieved 9 July 2021.