When Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) announced The Collective, a united series of events over WrestleMania week featuring GCW produced events (like Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3 and Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport) as well as showcases from the likes of CHIKARA, Blackcraft Wrestling, Ohio’s Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), Canada’s International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS) and Inter Species Wrestling (ISW), and Indiana’s Black Label Pro, it also included West Virginia’s NOVA Pro Wrestling. NOVA Pro had built up a strong following in the Mid Atlantic territory and this would be a great national showcase for the company.
But last week, tensions flared when “All Ego” Ethan Page called out NOVA Pro for not paying its wrestlers. With Page’s Social Media influence, it wasn’t soon before many other wrestlers brought up their own stories of not being paid by the company for their appearances.
https://twitter.com/OfficialEGO/status/1105861554401103872
It lead to a multitude of wrestlers pulling out of future NOVA Pro bookings, including indie megastar Jordynne Grace, who withdrew from the NOVA Pro Collective show on WrestleMania weekend.
https://twitter.com/JordynneGrace/status/1106289800217354242
Following the backlash, NOVA Pro announced they were going on hiatus and would be withdrawing from The Collective, leaving a whole in GCW’s programming that week. GCW took back the slot and announced they would reveal a new show very soon.
On Monday, GCW revealed the new show, a GCW presentation that will run Saturday, April 6, 2019, at 12pm. They stressed that anyone who had tickets for the original NOVA Pro show will have those tickets honored at the door. And the reveal was done in one of their trademark videos, unveiling that it will be “run” by Orange Cassidy and be the Orange Cassidy Is Doing Something or Whatever, Who Knows???
https://twitter.com/GCWrestling_/status/1107755752993800192
So far, apparently the originally planned match between Jonathan Gresham and Japanese legend Shinjiro Otani is still on for the card. Other originally booked matches included Martina The Session Moth vs. Faye Jackson, Jordynne Grace vs. Harlow O’Hara, Allie Kat vs. Saraya Knight, Puma King vs. Logan Easton Laroux, Daniel Makabe vs. Arik Royal, and Wheeler YUTA vs. Shazza McKenzie vs. Chris Brookes vs. Sage Phillips. No word on which of these bookings will remain intact or if the card will be drastically altered.
