David Arquette opens up about his deathmatch with Nick Gage.
On Nov. 16, David Arquette stepped in the ring with Nick Cage, a wrestler known for his violent brawls than his technical prowess. The match was out of Arquette's comfort zone, but he threw himself into the action, willingly getting battered with light tubes and sliced by a pizza cutter.
Unfortunately, things went awry near the end when Arquette had his neck sliced open by a light tube shot.
Please don't watch this video if you are bothered by blood, hardcore wrestling, profanity, Nick Gage, or David Arquette. With that said, I'm posting it due to questions being asked by the wrestling community. #JJLAC pic.twitter.com/MdHJE2KqM0
— GIF Skull [6-1] (@GIFSkull) November 17, 2018
Speaking to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Arquette discussed his wild night at Joey Janela's LA Confidential.
“I’m very grateful,” said Arquette. “I’m super lucky to be alive. It was crazy. I got cut in a part of my neck muscle that was really close to my jugular. It’s in an area called ‘the box’ in your neck, and if you get hit there it’s pretty deadly. I’m thinking, ‘I just got cut in my neck, and if that’s my jugular, I’m going to die.'"
Arquette initially left the ring and was checked out by friend and actor Luke Perry before returning to finish the bout. Arquette wanted to "go home" immediately, but Gage didn't let up. It wasn't until Arquette "shot" on Gage, that the gang affiliated wrestler got the hint and pinned Arquette for the victory.
“It went off the rails a little,” he said. “I was pretty pissed. I was at fault for it. Once I got cut, some things happened in the ring, and I reacted. We were both at fault for the neck cut, but me defending myself is how it actually happened. I was in the hospital and had to have surgery to sew up my muscle and clean up my wound. It is what it is. I have no hard feelings with Nick Gage and I hope he doesn’t have any with me.”
Following the bout, Game Changer Wrestling promoter Brett Lauderdale stated that Arquette knew what he was getting himself into. He also believed Arquette played things up as he was in the process of filming a documentary detailing his wrestling comeback.
On the subject of the documentary, Arquette said, “The idea behind it was to make a love letter to wrestling. I’ve always loved wrestling, I fell in love with it when I saw Andre The Giant, Roddy Piper, and Hulk Hogan wrestle at the LA Sports Arena. My dad actually did the voice for Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka on Hulk Hogan’s cartoon. It’s always been something I loved, the characters, the flamboyance, the athleticism." Arquette continued, “The main idea of the documentary is to let people know who I am. For me to meet the fans, to get to know the fans, to prove myself to the fans. The death match was a big part of it. You’ll always have your haters, but I’m glad they’re getting to know who I am, and I can go out and entertain them, because that’s what it’s all about.”
Despite taking blame for the incident and not holding others responsible, Arquette's friend and "Ready To Rumble" stunt double Shane Helms felt differently. He believed GCW took advantage of Arquette by putting him in the match.
Arquette promised that he won't be competing in any more deathmatches as he continues his pro wrestling journey.
