GCW owner pulls viral stunt outside of AEW event amid drama between the promotions

AEW and Game Changer Wrestling have been two of the most popular rising pro wrestling promotions in recent years. While owners Tony Khan and Brett Lauderdale have no formal working relationship, there have been at least some friendly crossovers, but more recently there has been drama brewing. The GCW boss went viral this weekend and is being accused of taking things one step further in a major way.

All Elite Wrestling launched in 2019 and has quickly cemented its spot as the number two wrestling company. Game Changer Wrestling has roots that go back to 1999, but the promotion was re-branded after Lauderdale's acquisition in 2015. In recent years we've seen Nick Gage face Chris Jericho in controversial fashion on AEW Dynamite, while Jon Moxley held the GCW and AEW World Championships at the same time.

AEW and GCW have had drama brewing more recently, but several roster members from both companies have said they hope Khan and Lauderdale can work together. The Game Changer boss appeared outside Manhattan Center in New York City on Saturday night to promote The People vs. GCW set for January 19 at the same venue, specifically inside the Hammerstein Ballroom. Lauderdale's stunt apparently came while AEW was shooting its live Christmas Collision special, and taping ROH's Boxing Day Brawl.

Lauderdale took to X (fka Twitter) with a double-tweet statement, issuing remarks on how GCW used the streets to build itself up, also referring to the ROH Final Battle PPV held on Friday at Hammerstein, where he was in attendance to watch GCW's Matt Cardona headline against ROH World Champion Chris Jericho. He included a few photos from outside the venue.

"Gcw came from nothing. There was no security blanket. We made our name & earned it in the streets. These last 2 nights i left my family at home (i 💙 you) and returned to the streets (34th street to be exact) to hand out flyers in the freezing cold. When the going gets tough," Brett Lauderdale wrote.

Lauderdale, who has worked some with WWE and was invited to WrestleMania 38 by Stephanie McMahon, made an immediate follow-up with more photos from his night out in NYC, along with a double-down on how proud he was of GCW. The popular promoter ended the statement with an apparent challenge to AEW and other competitors. You can check out his post by clicking here.

"...the tough get goin and goin and F*****G going! Laugh or clown me if u want... im proud to be out here grinding & hustling and ill earn every ticket sold. I felt GCW pride tonite in my heart. We came from nothing. I came from nothing. I live for this s**t. Bring it on," he wrote.

The People vs. GCW 2025 is set to feature at least one occasional All Elite talent - El Hijo del Vikingo, who has not worked for Khan since January. Ricky Starks was recently pulled from multiple Game Changer Wrestling dates, reportedly due to comments by GCW's Effy about the Khans, and it's believed that one of those dates was the Hammerstein show on January 19, 2025.

AEW returns to Hammerstein Ballroom tonight

All Elite Wrestling will wrap up its three-night debut run at the historic Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City tonight. Below is the updated lineup for the Miracle on 34th Street Dynamite that will air on Wednesday night:

Continental Classic Blue League: Shelton Benjamin vs. Kazuchika Okada
Continental Classic Gold League: Komander vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Continental Classic Gold League: Will Ospreay vs. Brody King
Continental Classic Blue League: Daniel Garcia vs. Kyle Fletcher
Continental Classic Gold League: Ricochet vs. Darby Allin
Toni Storm vs. Taya Valkyrie

AEW will also tape the fourth annual New Year's Smash edition of Rampage tonight in New York City. The episode will air on December 27 in its usual timeslot, but no matches have been announced as of this writing.