Brett Lauderdale has responded to former GCW star Atticus Cogar regarding his recent comments about the GCW locker room being “toxic” and running rampant with drug use and his issues with management.
Lauderdale, who is the owner of GCW, posted a statement on the official GCW Patreon account to address the claims. You can check out some highlights from his statement below:
On his relationship with Cogar: “I was Atticus Cogar’s biggest fan. 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.”
On why Cogar and GCW 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.”
On if he would be willing to work with Cogar again: “I can’t see a scenario where that would come into play, at least not under the current circumstances.”
On Cogar alleging the locker room is “toxic” for those with drug & mental health issues: “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.
“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.”
