2019 has been a wild year for wrestling.
And no one embodies how wild it’s been better than Joe Gacy. The current Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and Stand Alone Wrestling (SAW) Heayweight Champion made an impact during the summer by participating on the first independent show ever to be broadcast on the WWE Network (EVOLVE’s 10th Anniversary Show). He, along with his partner Eddie Kingston, stole the show fighting Leon Ruff and AR Fox in a super fun, absolutely nuts tornado tag match for the EVOLVE Tag Team Titles. Since then, Gacy has gone on to sign on with EVOLVE, and the future is extremely bright for this insanely talented grappler.
We caught up with Gacy at Stand Alone Wrestling’s shows at Electric Halloween Festival in Millville, NJ last weekend to talk about the Network, EVOLVE, and married life.
Congratulations are in order for so many things. First and foremost, on getting married. How’s married life treating you?
Married life is great. I’m actually about to leave for my honeymoon tomorrow morning [at time of the interview] so I’m pretty excited.
We have to talk about your debut on the WWE Network. I was so excited for your match. What was it like for you to finally be on the Network?
To be honest, the whole day I was trying my best to not think about it. And I think that I did that so well, that it still hasn’t really hit me that I was on the Network. It was awesome. Two days later – when I finally got home I was like I’m gonna watch this match. So I put on the Network and watched my match. It was kind of crazy.
It’s hard to describe the feeling that I had that night. Just the feeling in the locker room in general was insane. It was crazy. I can say I was fortunate to be a part of it.
Tell us about being a part of The Unwanted in EVOLVE. You have an amazing mouthpiece in Eddie Kingston. Just an all time great faction – What do you have to say about those guys?
Kingston was one of the first guys that I looked up to when I actually started training. Back when I started training for wrestling at Combat Zone Wrestling School. Kingston was there. He became Heavyweight Champion shortly after I started there. Like most of the students there, I looked up to him. He was just so powerful as far as his promo and his presence.
So for years I’ve always looked up to him. Fortunately being in a group with him, we’ve gotten very close. I can’t describe how awesome that’s been. And as a tag partner, he’s been amazing. I’ve never had the chemistry I’ve had with him with anyone else. He’s actually told me that I was his second favorite. Second to Homicide. (laughs) Which isn’t a bad thing, but it’s so crazy that he thinks of me so highly.
And everyone else in the group is great. Colby Corino, awesome guy. Sean Maluta just joined. We got a lot of good guys. I’ve never ever been part of something like it and it’s been amazing.
Speaking of which, we gotta talk about you getting that EVOLVE contract. What a moment. What was that like for you?
It was amazing. It’s something that I’ve wanted for so long and I finally accomplished it. It’s hard to put into words all the emotion, work, and feelings I put into wrestling to get to where I am. Years ago, I would e-mail Gabe Sapolsky at EVOLVE trying to get something. I was like – Hey Can I get on the show or come help out? Even back at Wrestlemania in Dallas, I was there for a couple shows. I showed up to the EVOLVE show, hung out and tried to meet people. So I’ve had my eyes set on it, and I finally am not only part of it, but I’m a contracted wrestler for EVOLVE. Hopefully only up from here. I’m just gonna keep riding the wave.
You’re living the dream. You’re moving up every year on the PWI 500 (#304). What a time to be a wrestler. You have your Wednesday Night Wars and so much else going on right now. What do you think of the state of wrestling right now?
Honestly, this is probably the biggest boom in wrestling since the ’90s. I don’t even know if that’s even really a fact. I think wrestling as a whole right now might even be bigger than it’s ever been. It’s hard to say because I have a different perspective on it than back then. Obviously you have the rising AEW company competing with WWE. “Wednesday Night Wars,” as you said. On top of that there’s so many places you can go as a wrestler. There’s so many places you can aspire to go to make a living off of this. Everyone that loves doing this would love to make a living off doing this. And there’s just so many places now you have the opportunity to do this.
Just being a wrestler right now is amazing. Hopefully everyone is tuning into to everything and enjoying it.
To catch Joe Gacy in action, follow him on Twitter to find out where he’ll be wrestling.
