Atticus Cogar recently appeared on Iron-On Wrestling with Gregory Iron, announcing that he was no longer with GCW.
Cogar stated "me and the office don't see eye to eye on the way business is handled," and that was the main reason why he left the company. He also said, "I decided to step away from GCW is, I didn't like how the people who I was close to were treated. I didn't like how Rickey (Shane Page) was treated and I didn't like the way everything went about after WarGames. It's not my business to speak on and I won't. I didn't like it. Eddie Only still hasn't been paid for Hammerstein. There are little things like that. People were being disrespected. I didn't agree with that and the way things were handled in that aspect."
You can find Cogar's full comments on his departure by clicking here.
GCW Owner Brett Lauderdale responded to Cogar's departure on the GCW Patreon, giving his side of the story.
Lauderdale noted that he had not listened to the podcast and was simply going off cliff notes. He also said that he wasn't responding to "shit talk" Cogar.
"I was Atticus Cogar's biggest fan," said Lauderdale. "I told RSP [Rickey Shane Page] early on that I thought Atticus was a star and that I had major plans for him and that he could be the face of GCW. All of these plans were in motion, right up until the final day that Atticus worked for GCW. I was good to him. I flew him across the country, places he had never been and in front of crowds who had ever seen him, long before he was a known name in the Indie world. He stated as much. I gave him feature matches with big name, mic time with big stars on big shows that a lot of people in our locker room would kill for. I did this because I believed him and thought he had the potential to be a major player in GCW for years to come. There is a process for everything and it takes time. Patience is a virtue. This process was moving and everything was going in this direction and accelerating quickly until his final day."
Lauderdale continued by explaining why GCW and Cogar had parted ways.
"He wasn't 'fired' for any of his opinions, beliefs, or frustrations that he may have relayed to me in regard to storylines, bookings, or matches. All of those are normal wrestling discourse. Anytime we're not on the same page, I had an open line of communication with him. I deferred to him and took his input as far storylines go on a much more intensive level than 99% of the roster. I included him and involved him in almost everything he did in GCW and he was usually very happy with all of those things and he would thank me for that. He wasn't fired for those reasons. Ultimately, the decision was made to part ways with Atticus for a different reason that is far more serious and related to something that I cannot and will not discuss. I know that is not helpful for the public discourse, but Atticus knows what the reason is and what it's about and he knows that his reaction to our conversation to this matter is ultimately why this relationship ended.
"Any suggestion to the contrary that he quit or walked out for some noble reason is just not true. I was disappointed in the way this ended, it was not an easy decision to make, but at the end of the day, I know it was the right decision to make. I had no choice in the matter. While I'm disappointed, I do not regret it. I'm sorry it came down to this. It's never as cut and dry as people think. It's wasn't a matter of him wanting to work with someone else, in the traditional sense. I've never stood in the way of that and I would have supported him. There was a matter that came up where there was no other option. he knows it and there is a reason why he didn't want to discuss it."
Lauderdale said "it was a matter of ethics" as to why Cogar had departed from GCW. He also said that the reason for Cogar's departure had to do with the people Cogar is currently involved with.
Cogar is now involved with Circle Six alongside Mike Gevorgian, who worked as a production manager for GCW and is the owner of MDK All Day. The promotion will hold its debut event on March 19.
When asked if GCW would be willing to work with Cogar again, Lauderdale said, "I can't see a scenario where that would come into play, at least not under the current circumstances."
In the interview with Iron, Cogar commented on the GCW locker room as a reason for why he left.
"The locker room is extremely toxic for someone who has battled with drug issues. It's toxic for someone who has battled with mental health issues. This is all strictly my point of view, I'm not speaking for anyone else in Game Changer Wrestling locker room," said Cogar.
Lauderdale addressed the locker room comments as well.
"There are times when the GCW locker room has adopted a bit of that rockstar lifestyle. These guys are working hard and are on the road every week and they like to have fun in their own way. This is not exclusive to GCW. It happens in any wrestling company or form of entertainment or sports. They are grown ups who like to do what they do on their own time. They are not employees or contracted. There is only so much I can do. With that being said, for the most part, everything has remained mostly professional. There are times where I thought things could be getting carried away and there have been times where I felt the need to step in and 'deal with it.' Sometimes, dealing with it has been as simple or easy as pulling someone aside and saying, let's get our shit together. Sometimes, dealing with it means far more drastic measures," said Lauderdale.
He continued by telling a story, while not giving full details, of a time he had to take matters into his own hands to ensure someone got the help he needed.
"There have been times where I've had to remove somebody from the situation in order for them to get help and make sure they are okay, where I've put the person in front of the company and not just put my money where my mouth is, but reach out to people far more important with far more resources than I have to make sure our people were okay. That is something I've done in handling the culture or handling people that may need help. it's not something I've shied away from. People may know what I'm referring to or how serious I am when saying that. With what Atticus said comes a certain level of hypocrisy. It only adds to the list of reasons why I had to make the decision that I made. The folks around him have not contributed to a healthy work place. Issues that we've had with partying was fueled in many ways by the people Atticus is working with. Nobody wants a toxic locker room or to be part of a culture that feels unsafe or dangerous, that includes me. To portray us as having something that is unique or completely unchecked is far from true. Without realizing that people around you may be part of that is hypocritical and disingenuous," he said.
Another complaint Cogar had during his interview was GCW not sharing his promo before The WRLD on GCW where he questioned the spot of GCW regulars on the Hammerstein show compared to the likes to Jeff Jarrett and Matt Cardona.
Lauderdale said GCW did share the promo, in-character, but added, "I was not a big fan of it, not because of the substance of it, but because of the timing of it. When you're going to do storylines with the company, generally you discuss it beforehand. If you were to record a promo of that nature and post it with implications to the biggest show in company history, you might even call that going into business for yourself. I felt the substance of the promo and video itself, on the surface, was good. The timing was off and it felt like there was a bit of a hidden agenda involved. Aside from that, whatever the motivations were, he already knew what he was doing on the show. It had already been discussed and we had began working towards him doing what he was doing. the promo he cut served no purpose, it served only to muddy the waters and take focus away from the direction we were going and what we had planned. That's why I was upset. Had the promo happened a month later, I would have been all about it and we would have engaged further. There was nowhere to go from that promo. There was not going to be a changing of the card to react to a promo he cut without running it past us or without us seeing it. I admire the creativity and respect the frustration, but I do not respect the method and what's why we were upset with it."
Cogar was involved in a segment with Mance Warner at The WRLD on GCW that ended with Sabu cleaning the ring from 44OH!
Cogar last wrestled for GCW on February 5 at GCW If I Die First, winning a five-way scramble match.
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