Nick Gage is a Professional Wrestler best known for his work in various independent promotions, most notably for CZW, BJW, and GCW. He got his start as one of the CZW originals, being notable for appearing on every card for the company right up until 2010... when he was arrested for bank robbery, and spent 5 years in prison. This did little to actually stop his career, as he simply moved on to GCW in 2015, where he became their longest reigning Heavyweight Champion at 722 days. He became so popular and reknowed for his bloodthirsty and over-the-top battles in GCW that they began running a special deathmatch tournament called the Nick Gage Invitational. He was inducted into the CZW hall of fame in 2009, and was honored by Sports Illustrated in 2019 as being in their top 10 wrestlers of the year. In 2021, he was the focus of an episode of Dark Side of the Ring's third season. On the 21 July 2021 edition of AEW Dynamite, Gage was announced as Chris Jericho's opponent in a No Disqualification match as part of the latter's Labors to challenge MJF.
Nick Gage has held almost every belt CZW had to offer in the 2000's: A 4-time CZW Heavyweight Champion, a 2-time CZW Iron Man Champion, a 4-time CZW World Tag Team Champion, a CZW Ultraviolent Underground champion, and winner of the 2006 Tournament of Death. He's also been GCW World Heavyweight Champion, BJW Tag Team Champion, and AIW Tag Team Champion.
These Tropes are MDK:
- The Ace: In GCW, as he held the title for almost 2 straight years.
- Arch-Enemy: In early-CZW, it was his former tag team partner Nick Hatred. In GCW, Matt Tremont definitely has held more than a little bit of a grudge.
- Audience Participation: Has become a master of it; often asking fans to hold up their chairs so he can run his opponent into them, or polling them for weapons in real time.
- Ax-Crazy: You gotta be a little crazy to cut people up and throw them into barbed wire and hit them with glass tubes for a living. And you gotta be a lotta crazy to be the KING of that sorta living.
- Badass Boast: His usual entrance, which does not even exaggerate Gage's history."Fighting out of National Park, New Jersey, with an official weight of 207 pounds. Representing that Murder Death Kill Gang — representing for all his boys locked in the fucking cell, Eastern Block — representing the motherfucking H8 Club! Rest in peace, Big Nate Hatred. Rest in peace, his brother Justice Pain! Gang-affiliated! MDK, all fucking day! The man... the King... the fucking God of this shit... Nick! Fucking! Gage!
- Blood Knight: He will fight tooth and nail against practically anybody you throw him up against. And it will be a bloodbath.
- Blood-Splattered Warrior: See the pic. It's arguably harder to find photos of him not coated in his and his opponent's own blood.
- Came Back Strong: Briefly dying in a helicopter and being convicted as a bank robber only added to his legacy. He did note that being in prison gave him plenty of time to get ready to come back.
- Catchphrase: MDK.
- Phrase Catcher: Usually decides who is and who is not MDK. It is not an especially exclusive club.
- Determinator: Almost bled out, had to be airlifted away from the area, and goddamn died in the helicopter at Tournament of Death 5. He was able to "brawl" to the back and cut a quick promo before getting into the helicopter... and was back for the next CZW show. If death couldn't stop him, what makes you think you can?
- Garbage Wrestler: Arguably the most successful and most over garbage wrestler of the 2000's and 2010's, though it helps that he does have some in-ring acumen.
- Good Is Not Soft: Gage is the central babyface of GCW and is mostly a straight-laced good guy. He's also one of the most violent, bloodthirsty wrestlers in the world.
- Improbable Weapon User: His trademark pizza cutter, which he's used to slice up many a wrestler's forehead.
- Letters 2 Numbers: H8 Club certainly fits that bill.
- Odd Friendship: With Maki Itoh. You would not expect the King of Deathmatch Wrestling and the (self-proclaimed) Cutest In The World to get along as well as they do.
- Precision F-Strike: He is almost universally announced as coming to the ring as "Nick FUCKING Gage".
- Prisons Are Gymnasiums: He was somewhat pudgy in CZW, but thinned out as his career continued on by 2015, he came back to wrestling in fantastic shape after his incarceration, spurred on by the conviction to walk out ready to go.
- Sibling Team: One popular iteration of H8 club was him and his real-life brother, Justice Pain, until Pain's tragic death in 2020.
- White Gangbangers: Post-Prison sentence, obviously. Though thankfully he's shifted his gang affiliation to his own Gang which largely consists of wrestlers he likes and his adoring fans.
