GCW owner addresses potential Hammerstein return: ‘We’ll see what the future holds’

While there are no firm plans in place, Game Changer Wrestling would like to return to the Hammerstein Ballroom one day.

GCW ran the legendary New York City venue for the second time with The People vs. GCW taking place this past Sunday. After the show, GCW owner Brett Lauderdale appeared on Game Changer Weekly and addressed whether his promotion will be returning to the Hammerstein in the future.

“Are there plans to go back to Hammerstein? I don’t have a contract right now for another date, but there’s no plan not to go back to Hammerstein,” he responded. “I think it’s just going to be a matter of if there’s a right time, right moment scenario that pops up again. You know, I still really love that place. It’s a special place for me. It’s a special place in wrestling, in my mind anyways. And, yeah, I don’t know. I would like to go back there someday, but whatever. We’ll see what the future holds.”

The Hammerstein Ballroom earned its reputation as a historic wrestling venue by hosting events from promotions like ECW and ROH. It was the location for the first two ECW One Night Stand shows in 2005 and 2006. In December 2024, AEW made its Hammerstein debut with three nights of action.

Sunday’s event was GCW’s first time back at the Hammerstein since 2022. The theme was that GCW was looking for redemption after that first show received mixed-to-negative reviews.

The promotion encountered some bad luck with Allie Katch suffering a broken leg in the second match of Sunday’s show, which affected the story for the rest of the night. Effy defeated Katch by referee stoppage and advanced to the main event, defeating Mance Warner to become the new GCW World Champion.

Lauderdale said he thought this was a good show overall but not perfect. He would rate it a 7 or 7.5 out of 10.