Tony Deppen On Challenging For The GCW World Title: ‘I Have Everything To Lose And Everything To Gain’

By Matt Black

For Tony Deppen, the chance to challenge Jon Moxley for the GCW Championship is more than just a match.

Deppen has been a mainstay with Game Changer Wrestling since the early days with the promotion, long before it held a show in the legendary Hammerstein Ballroom this past January. He has watched other stars land in the promotion and quickly challenge for the world title, but the clash with Moxley at GCW You Wouldn’t Understand will arguably be Deppen’s most high-profile opportunity to date.

In an interview with WrestleZone, Deppen previewed the bout by noting that he feels like he got “a bone thrown” to him because he often works with younger wrestlers in matches that are designed to make them look good. He pointed out that while he has challenged for the title before, the match against Moxley is on a different level.

“So, I feel like this is more or less of just like because I wrestle a lot of the younger kids and then randomly get a bone thrown to me,” Tony Deppen said. “Like, ‘Here, Tony here’s for all the work you’ve been doing.’ So I feel like that’s what this might be, just like, ‘Hey, you’ve been putting the work in with GCW, now let’s give you a reward for it’, and a reward can’t get much bigger than Jon Moxley, and since I’ve been at GCW, that’s my biggest match to date. So like I’ve wrestled for the title before against [Nick] Gage, but this is a whole new level right now.”

When asked whether the feeling that the title match was a reward, as he described, gave him a chip on his shoulder, Deppen agreed, but he made it clear that he’s grateful for the opportunities he gets at GCW.

Deppen went on to emphasize how he’s been working hard throughout the pandemic, and with this title match, he’s aiming to show GCW owner Brett Lauderdale that he deserves to be put in high-profile situations more frequently.

“I’ve been here during the pandemic still busting my ass, and come Saturday, I’m really going to show Brett [Lauderdale] why he’s making a mistake on just randomly doing it every so often,” Deppen said. “I feel like I have the ability and the talent to be put in this position more than just once every few months.”

Finally, Deppen made it clear that the match is remarkably meaningful for him, whereas he believes that Moxley has nothing to lose. He explained how winning the bout, and the title, could substantially elevate him, while if Moxley loses, he’ll still be on TV with AEW next week.

“I have everything to lose and everything to gain from this,” said Deppen. “Moxley, if he loses and he loses the belt, well I’m gonna see him on TV next week. He’s really got nothing to lose off this. And me winning this match and winning the title, it would probably ensure that I get way more bookings, even outside of GCW, because a victory over Moxley and having a really good match with Moxley would elevate me to a certain level that I feel like I need to get at. And I think Moxley’s the perfect opportunity to do that.”

GCW You Wouldn’t Understand will air on FITE on June 18. The card is as follows:

  • GCW World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Tony Deppen
  • Jack Evans vs. Ninja Mack
  • SAT vs. Gringo Loco, ASF, and Drago Kid
  • Homicide vs. Grim Reefer
  • Joey Janela vs. Action Mike Jackson
  • Charles Mason vs. Nate Webb
  • Masha Slamovich vs. Marko Stunt
  • Los Macizos and Jimmy Lloyd vs. Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner, AJ Gray, and Matthew Justice)
  • Scramble
  • BUSSY and more

RELATED: Maki Itoh Officially Announced For GCW Homecoming

Matt Black
Matt Black

Matt Black has been covering wrestling video games since WWE Warzone from Acclaim. Coverage of wrestling video games eventually lead him into the world of wrestling news. Matt is a fan of every wrestling company and enjoys the current state of the industry in 2024.

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