California Promoter Details Previous Allegations Against GCW, Including Fake COVID Tests

Game Changer Wrestling came under fire earlier this year for their alleged use of fake COVID-19 tests by west coast promoter and wrestler "Dirty" Ron McDonald. While many wrestlers associated with GCW were quick to denounce these claims, McDonald stands by his statement and further elaborated on his issues with Brett Lauderdale, the owner of GCW.

In an interview with Piers Austin (later transcribed by POST Wrestling), McDonald described how his relationship with Lauderdale formed and eventually crumbled, recalling five GCW shows he co-promoted when the company was first attempting to expand to the west coast. McDonald then claims that Lauderdale and himself made a deal to split the fees, but it would ultimately be the origin of the bad blood between the two promoters. McDonald explained, "I said, 'Hey, could you pay for the flights? I will pay for the live stream and we'll put it on the GCW YouTube page.' That was the deal, he said yes." McDonald added, "All of a sudden, I got wrestlers from GCW saying that Brett says I'm cheap, Brett saying that I'm trying to get one over on him... where the f*** is this coming from?"

With the establishment of GCW's subsidiary, LA Fights, the issues grew between McDonald and Lauderdale, with the poaching of talent leading the west coast-based promoter to seek vengeance, leading to the fake COVID-19 testing allegations. "So, I got p***ed off, and I was like, you know what? f*** this motherf***er. I got dirt."

McDonald then claims that a member of his team was asked by Lauderdale to photoshop COVID tests so he could use the wrestlers and not lose money on their flights. "Brett, unbeknownst to those wrestlers had them made," McDonald continued, "Instead of not booking these wrestlers he had already flown out there, Brett took it upon himself to do some shady a** sh** and get somebody to do that."

Lauderdale's lawyer initially advised the GCW owner not to address the allegations earlier this year, though he did eventually make a statement on the subject. As it currently stands, McDonald is confident that no legal action will be taken for his remarks. "Nobody's coming after me." McDonald affirmed, "You know who doesn't want anybody to come out about this more than anybody? Brett Lauderdale."