Joey Janela on NYSAC Rep Threatening to Shut Down GCW’s The People vs. GCW Event Over Unprotected Chair Shots Issue

The past January’s The People vs. GCW 2025 event for Game Changer Wrestling at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, New York was notable for the show being delayed for a very lengthy amount of time following Allie Katch’s broken leg injury incident. The reason for the lengthy pause was due to the lack of medics on standby and a New York State Athletic Commission rep not being present after both had traveled with Katch to the hospital and GCW had to wait for their return to resume their show.

A recent episode of Fightful Overbooked’s In The Weeds podcast featured Joey Janela as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Janela’s thoughts about GCW’s backstage issues with the NYSAC rep during their The People vs. GCW event and this person threatening to shut down the show over the amount of unprotected chair shots to the head taking place during matches.

“It’s just a pain in the ass. It’s a hot crowd, but I’ve wrestled in front of way hotter. [Seattle Hall], that building is, in my opinion, the number one wrestling building on the indies. That crowd, however much they fit there, feels like thousands. It’s hot all night. They never get tired. Hammerstein, there were issues with the injury and delayed show and getting them back. It’s a long show, a five hour show, and the restrictions. It’s just a pain in the ass. New York City is just a pain in the ass commission. There is a guy they send from the commission. He was whining and screaming the whole show because there was unprotected chair shots. ‘One more unprotected chair shot we’re shutting the show down.’ Shit like that. It’s just stressful. Thankfully, I don’t have to deal with it. If I was a promoter, I don’t know if I’d ever run in New York after what I’ve seen in my career. Ambulance not getting there on time, show getting delayed for hours. I wanted to start my own promotion a couple of years ago, ‘It’d be cool to do a New York City nightclub.’ I’m completely against that idea after the last couple of years.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com