Former ICW American Deathmatch World Champion Kasey Catal spoke with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay about a broken nose injury that kept her out of action for eight months, the physical and mental challenges of her recovery, her in-ring return at GCW’s 2024 So Much Fun event, her newfound love for Taylor Swift, a potential match against Nick Gage, and more.
hello everybody Ella J here on behalf of wrestle Zone and today I am joined by the queen of the death match Casey Catal how are you today I’m doing well thanks for having me I am so excited to be catching up with you it’s been a hot hot minute it’s been about four years since we last spoke obviously a lot has remained the same as you are still rightfully the queen of the death match but obviously some has changed you’ve gone through some uh as they say bumps in the road as they say Obviously last year you had to temporarily vacate your proverbial Throne when you underwent nose surgery I believe you’ve broken your nose before because it’s kind of inherent in death matches but this seemed obviously a lot more serious so how and when did you sustain this particular injury yeah so I have I’ve probably broken my nose now at least like documented six times at least um so it’s been my Achilles heel um but yeah so this injury happened in April actually WrestleMania weekend of last year in 2023 and a week before my birthday and two days before I was going to Dallas so I was like no but um yeah from the first time I had broken it um which was like seven years ago uh it was a really really bad break to the point of like I almost lost my nose completely so the only thing they could do at the moment was to fuse my bones back together hope that it kind of healed straight and I could breathe and then we’d move on so after that happened a lot happened for me it was very early on in my career so I was just like go go go and I was getting a lot of opportunities so I never took a break um so it was never quite fixed um from the first time and then you know going through all these matches and breaking it a bunch more times um in April um I had a direct hit straight to the face so it just completely shattered everything my sinuses every part of my nose was completely demolished and destroyed um and what made it difficult with this injury was I was just much trouble breathing was getting really bad congestion sinus headaches like I just was not myself and I could not perform the way I wanted to so we had to go get it fixed and it was you know Annoying but we had to do it so you continued to wrestle for another three months after uh the breakage how how did you combat that did you like did did it feel weird wrestling knowing I don’t know if you knew at the time if it was broken or not during that time but how did that feel to wrestle with that for that three months obviously you got surgery in August but you wrestled for three months after that yeah so I was I got um ended up getting surgery at the end of October I was actually supposed to have it was supposed to have it earlier actually in August um and you know Insurance everything else you know fell through um but yeah I was just trying to get through everything the best I could because I felt like it was a really pivotal time in my career I didn’t want to slow down I I felt like I was finally becoming who I wanted to be and feeling confident and you know and then it happened and and that really sucked so I did it for as long as I could after that but then I just realized like I can’t I really I I have to bite the bullet and do it um because it was just it was too hard to get through a match yeah you know and especially something like that it it’s you know a nose surgery I don’t how so was it particularly like broken did the fusion break again or what how what kind of surgery was it because I feel like no after so many breakages I feel like it’s probably really complicated what exactly did they do gosh yeah so after the first one because I had broken it so many times after God knows what God knows what damage I did I never really went to a doctor or anything like that every time I broke it I was just like whatever you know at this point I I know what to do and eventually I’ll get it fixed so just you know ignore it and it didn’t look too crazy my nose was collapsing in the front but I was like whatever I look the same it’s fine you know we’re going to deal with it after a while you just don’t care um but yeah so this surgery was just complete nose reconstruction the first doctor that I went to um was just an ENT he said um you know insurance will cover it we’ll get it fixed but you know doctor it takes a month to get an appointment then another two months follow up it was just by the time I actually got a surgery date it was in the summer like near August and it was just like hell I I could not I I it was just so much it was just so much tests and tests and doctors and then finally uh the day before my surgery they called me and said that the insurance dropped me because it was too far away from the injury so I was like oh my God panicked because I was on a timeline um and I was just like I want to come back this time I want to come back in March I want to be ready for Mania I want to be feeling my best and I was like no I crunch time so I searched and search and search a lot of doctors would not take my case because they thought it was too complicated and liabilities and everything like that finally found a doctor we did complete nose construction uh he’s one of the best in the country I love my doctor um yeah so they basically went in and fix everything I mean sinuses Bridge sh my nose was collapsing in the front my valves on the side were also collapsed in that’s why I couldn’t breathe so they had to go in bump those out it was just a whole thing and then while I was at it he was a plastic surgeon so I’m like you know what we’re gonna do it we’re GNA make it look cute because at this point screw it so it was just kind of everything it was it was a taxing recovery I was not expecting that because I have a crazy pain tolerance but it was tough and it it’s still tough because I I keep still bonking it so you know we’re doing our best over here yeah so obviously it’s taxing physically and mentally we’ll talk about the physically part now I mean luckily it wasn’t like a an extremity or something like that but after dealing with uh obviously it was very uh severe considering you had to go through so many different doctors just for opinions and a complicated surgery so talk about that taxing process of recovering physically and the months following your surgery yeah it was an adjustment um you know when you first get your nose done you don’t realize like you’re changing your entire face too so you know you’re just you’re looking at yourself and your nose is so swollen and your face is so swollen and you’re just like oh did I do the right thing and now I have to take all this time off and you know just heal and it was scary like I was scared to even sleep on my side a certain way let alone wrestle so I’m like how am I going to do this when I come back like how am I going to feel comfortable enough to be in a ring and to feel protected and to feel like I can protect myself so um yeah it was just ice ice ice ice um let’s just get it healed as much as we possibly can my doctor said four weeks I said I’m do I’m doing eight weeks you know I was really taking things really slow and yeah it was just it was a slow process but we’re getting there yeah I know the time being away from The Ring obviously physically is one thing but I know mentally as well you were talking about uh uh on Twitter that that’s a huge aspect and you know that you went back to therapy actually which which is so great on you and obviously as the days went on they became brighter and brighter for you so how did you Center yourself back mentally and eliminate those mental blocks along the way yeah you know that’s it’s really tough um it’s really tough to feel like things are starting to work out and things are starting to happen after putting so much work into something you love and and just really diving I I dove head first I was all in all committed and to feel like I had that kind of snatched away from me it was really tough I think the emotional part it’s always I’m I’m tough as Nails I will say it I I don’t care you know people are going to be like what I’m tough as Nails physically mentally I am I’m a mush I’m a mush it’s really really hard for me to kind of go through those emotional processes and to figure out like am I still going to do this am I going to be as good as I was now I look so different are people going to judge me because you know they think oh she just went and got a nose job and now she’s back like there was so much to it that people didn’t really understand and also as you get older you realize like these are my boundaries so I never really wanted to go and explain everything to anybody I was like this is you know my journey my stuff I’m going to heal and if I want to share I’ll share you know and if I want to you know I I was I was so afraid of like all the pictures are going to come out and this is going to come out and and you know now I have to start from square one and what if I don’t look the same and what if I don’t you know wrestle the same and what if that spark is gone what if it was just kind of like a a one shot thing and I just got lucky you know and all those things go around your head and it was really important for me to kind of take a step back from that and be like okay what’s important to you you’re what’s what matters you have to you know Cloud out all the things around you and I couldn’t do that by myself you know and and I knew and and reaching out and getting help um is so important um because even when you think you got it together and it’s like all right you know what screw it I got it I got it like it’s really really nice to just sit down and kind of decompress and figure out why you’re feeling the way you are and then how to just evolve from it it’s really powerful so yeah and again during recovery especially you’re probably probably Limited in in what you can do and stuff like that so did you in in a in a light spot and on a lighter note did you discover any new passions or Hobbies during that time away from the obviously outside of training how did you allocate your time good question um I didn’t do much you know a lot of the things that I do enjoy uh Hobbies wise are physical um I am a reader and I couldn’t read either because my eyes were you know so swollen and I was trying I I couldn’t wear my glasses you know so I audio books Casey audio books I know I know I know but I love reading like I love just getting lost in a book um that’s one of my favorite things so you know I didn’t really pick up anything new I I definitely Dove head first into music I started listening to a lot more music and I I was kind of tapping into more of my like creative art side and I I really think that has helped me um to where I am right now as I’m slowly kind of on this journey but yeah just like listening to music and embracing the words and realizing you know like all right I’m not alone this is going to be great and yeah just just being more creative and and just tapping into that part of myself that I I feel like I lost for a little bit what what new artists or bands or songs did you discover during this time oh this is gonna be a hot take um so I always loved Taylor Swift I was never like a super fan though I was just like a casual oh if it done I’ll listen to it um and then I’m a big Chiefs fan so when Taylor started dating Travis I actually was like the reverse I was like I became more of a Swifty because Travis so um torture poets Department came out um I at midnight I had my airpods in I was ready to go um and it honestly like that album is really transformative and and people can talk all the that they want about Taylor Swift but like the connection that I just feel and that she just she things what we feel and it’s it’s so empowering and and so beautiful and yeah uh my husband Brandon actually bought me uh the record and he bought me a record player so now I’m like super into records oh the music sounds so much better on a record player and uh so yeah I was definitely listening to a lot of a lot of tailor I’d be afraid of breaking the record honestly like I feel like like if you draw I don’t know how fragile I’ve never own a record I don’t know if they’re like really fragile like if you drop it on like a hardwood floor like if it’s going to shatter I’d be afraid honestly so but I trust you’re taking good care of it though yes and they’ve been used in death matches like Brandon has hit people in the head them and they snap so they do break it all comes full circle Casey yes just keep those make sure those ones he knows are off limit though oh he will never he knows so much better than that you know obviously now at this point uh it’s been what seven seven months since your surgery now at this point uh how are you how is your nose feeling right now what is its current state like yeah so uh so I had a a few matches back and I um broke it twice well not confirmed so at gcw I at the cluster I kiss soya wreck and I got a little too excited bashed my face into hers wasn’t bad I don’t think it broke but it did bleed it was like swelling so I was like okay great and then recently at JCW a few weeks ago I took a German uh from Joey Janella and need myself in in the face and then so panicked and I had actually my six-month appointment with my doctor the next day so I called him to you know let him know this is not so good but luckily it was all the way at the top so nothing was ruined uh it just very swollen got the black eyes and everything and then I was like you know what it looks great so we’re good we’re moving on but I will I am wearing a mask now sorry everyone I am wearing a mask because I’m cursed um but it feels okay it feels good it’s healed really well my breathing is next level no headaches no brain fog like it’s crazy how clear I feel so I will take it I’m happy and we’re on the right track now can you read like properly with like without distraction again youve comfortably breeding again yes yes I I have been I I have to put the glasses like after I just bum it I have to like take a little time off and everything because I’m just scared to put anything on my nose but uh yeah everything for the most part I think my eyesight changed a little bit and maybe that’s why my death perception is off with people and I keep talking it so I’ll get that fixed eventually too but for the most part it’s been the best thing I ever did yeah now besides obviously the face the protective face mask have you had to how have you had to adjust your approach to your matches in general specifically death matches like doing certain moves or weapons to make sure you don’t re-aggravate the injury again yeah so at first I was and I was like everyone if you could just avoid you know anything straight on anything straight on side you know sides I can kind of manage anything kind of head on we’re gonna we’re gonna avoid there so um yeah it worked for like the first few matches and now it’s a little bit different so but my Approach is still the same um I don’t want to go in there with fear I want to go in there with confidence I want to trust in myself that I can protect myself um and know that the other person you know is there and take good care of me and every person I’ve been in the ring with since then has taken such great care of me so I’m just very lucky yeah and obviously you mentioned earlier your Hope was to bake it was to make it back in time by March you did that you officially returned in the ring at gcw so much fun event which I think is rightful because I mean gcw in it of itself is very fun and obviously but very uh very death oriented as well but that makes it fun you know in wrestling so tell us about that experience of being back in the ring and how do you think your overall performance went that night good question um I it it it was so much fun um I knew when I was coming back I wanted it to be a death match and I wanted to be with John uh Wayne Murdoch because John it’s full circle John has been a friend a mentor just a legend one of the best people in the entire world um in every right and he has taught me so much and I wanted that big moment to be with him um and yeah and I I wanted to be a death match you know something I’m comfortable with my bread and butter I know it sounds crazy but like those are the matches I thrive in and I I feel my my most self um so I knew it had to be there I knew it had to be with him and it was actually two years to the uh two years in one day from our first match ever so it was really cool to be able to kind of tell that story um and yeah uh how do I think I did you know I’m very I’m my biggest critic everyone is um I can relate yeah yeah I was like oh man there’s so many things I wish I could have done different and so many things I wish I could you know you always go back and you just nitpick everything but for what it was it was so special the crowd made me feel so comfortable and so confident and you know it was it was a really good return so I’m really happy with it you know before you were mentioning you know tapping into the creative side obviously you have that background in Broadway Dance and also music as well and all of that as somebody who’s done like God knows how many death matches I feel like there’s only there’s only so so many like spots you can do you know how do you keep yourself where do you look to for creativity and in keeping things Innovative for your death matches you know so it’s not just the same routine and uh spots and weapons and everything how do you keep things fresh I guess yeah yeah great great question and I think this is something that was ingrained to me since since I started was story tell an amazing story for me everything comes back to story I’m not great with you know picking moves and where they go and you know putting together a match in that sort of aspect but for me storytelling is what I feel that I connect with and that I’m good at and I’ve really coming back now I really wanted to focus on being more authentic doing things my way being me like what can I show everybody like what’s going to make it important that I’m going to connect with all of these people like that’s so important to me and that’s been the most fun thing um in wrestling for me because of the background that I have is like I really want to tell these impactful Amazing Stories where people are just so captivated so that’s what I focus on with even death matches and I think it’s such a beautiful blend um of violence and storytelling that you can tell and to realize you don’t have to use every weapon out there you don’t have to do all the craziest spots like really hone in on that story and I’ve always kind of play that Underdog and I feel like I that’s really authentically me is you know I’m put into these situations and I’m going to rise up I’m gonna rise up every time and so those are always the types of things I try to tap into in death matches um because when people are invested that’s you know what the most important part is and then everything else around it just makes it more special so yeah and you know keeping things special also the connection with your fans as well we’re almost three months out now since your return at the time of recording this before you mentioned being a little bit nervous of how the fans would perceive you physically you know and all of that so how how has the reaction I’ve seen some things I’ve seen nothing but positive things on Twitter anyways which is a rarity because it’s Twitter um but on your feed I’ve seen a lot of positive reaction from fans since your return so how has it been for you the reaction the reception from the fans that you’ve gotten so far yeah I mean thinking about it it makes you emotional like that’s why I do it and I know that’s why a lot of people do it but I’ll speak for myself that’s why I do it um it’s been really special to come back and to see all these faces again and people are still coming you know all the people I like oh I hope they come back and see me and they’re still there um they’re still coming they’re still cheering me on uh a lot of new faces which I love which is so exciting for me um yeah it makes it worth it it makes you know all the pain all the the suffering and the physical it makes it all worth it uh just to see everybody there and I I really respect and thank everybody who comes and pays a ticket to come and watch me and I take it very very seriously and I think that’s also why I’m so hard on myself is because I want to give them you know that moment that they can remember so uh yeah just it’s been great to see everybody yeah well well you’ve also undoubtedly given everything you have to this sport I mean physically and mentally as well and now in a couple days actually at the time of recording this you know you talk about uh you’ve given everything that you have for professional wrestling it’ll be your seven year wrestling anniversary how do you think that you’ve grown as a person and as a competitor in your career thus far oh my gosh I mean just on the person alone uh looking back at that little girl I have no idea you know she had no idea what she was doing what she was getting into um I think that’s been one of the coolest parts of all this is to see my growth um I see things very differently now and I just really am thankful to be at the spot at where I am and to have been around the people and the journey like even though a lot of the journey sucked like it’s really cool to be like it like I’m here and I’m still doing it and I never quit and I it’s just it’s really really cool um I old me would have quit when things got tough and I have persevered and I’m just I’m really proud of that and I’m really proud of myself and for the first time I feel like I could say that out loud and be like I’m proud of myself and I don’t have to feel guilty about that you know um and not care about what people think because I earned that right to say you know i’ I’ve put in the work and I’m just really proud of what I’ve done so yeah um and professionally my god um wow I I the funny thing with wrestling people don’t realize how much actually goes into wrestling um you know between the physical the lifting the strength the acting the character the clothes for you know women the hair the makeup the style the get like the music there’s so much that you are constantly thinking about and so now be at a point where like those types of things like I’m not going to be amazing at every single one of those things it’s even hard to just be physically amazing and to be an athlete um and I’ve accepted that and I’m like okay I’m gonna do my best to be great at all of these things but I can’t be hard on myself and I was so hard on myself for being like why can’t I do that that she does that why can’t I do that why and now I’m just like that’s not me and it’s okay that it’s not me so I think that acceptance too of being like I’m still great I’m just different and I think that’s really special and I’ve embraced it yeah it’s kind of that it’s wrestling is so weird because it’s again it’s performance art but it’s also combat sport it’s a blend of both you know sports and entertainment you obviously and then you add glass yeah yeah and you obviously have that background in the performance aspect like we said Broadway Dance and acting last time we talked about how you used to have aspirations to be an actress and you did some extra work and some reenactments for some true kind stuff but beyond that were you involved in any other acting or entertainment projects from that realm my resume is weird okay I’ve done a lot of really random things um a lot of theater Productions uh I Dance Off Broadway uh I did some like weird spots with MTV like I’ve done some like really random weird things that were just like one and done gigs um and I loved it so much and I miss it and I hope that you know one day I could maybe do something else if they like scars and have good makeup artists so um you know I I I that’s where my heart is you know and that’s why I love going out and Performing and being able to be in front of that crowd and just like the uncertainty of it all I don’t know it’s just really exciting for me and that that Rush is really exciting for me to be in front of a live crowd doing what I love so um yeah M day hopefully I’ll I’ll tune back into to something now selfishly I have to ask if you recall your MTV gigs because that was a huge thing growing up for everybody what were you involved in with MTV yeah so I did like a few things it’s it was called MTV sleepover so this was actually more on the recent side so this is not like the fun like 90s MTV um I actually my family won tickets to go see TRL um it it was the last taping and they ended up canceling it oh my God I like I’m still mad because I could have been like yeah I went to TRL I saw Carson you know I did the whole thing but um God this must have been like I’m old now 15 years ago probably more um and lene Dunn used to like host a bunch of stuff for them and she did like a MTV sleepover where we watched What a Girl Wants with the Mana binds movie and then instead of commercials in between we were the commercial doing like a sleepover like we were watching the movies and stuff so I did a few of those and we were like like eating gross European like British food and I just remember just being more ifying and like oh great they put me in the ugliest rope but it was Betsy Johnson so I was like fine it’s okay um but yeah it it was like weird stuff like that but it was like all improv stuff so they just like put us out there we’re like have a sleepover like you know react to this video was just so I’m very comfortable with just like just doing it just send it you know yeah you you mentioned earlier it seemed like acting was your big dream growing up I would have to assume assume that um when did when did wrestling when did your pivot Focus then from rest from acting to wrestling because that’s a big kind of that’s a big pivot to make for you yeah especially not being a fan and not watching it but yeah I went to an indie show um I went to an indie show and I just fell in love I fell in love with it it was a hardcore show um it’s nywc Psycho Circus so that was like their big you know blowoff show every year and I was just like ah this is so cool this is real this is wrestling you know um and then yeah like uh ended up dating someone who was not thrilled that I wanted to get into wrestling and then a few years later uh when we broke up the next day I signed up for wrestling training and yeah and the rest is history I remember taking my first bump and just being like this is sick this is so cool like I love this I’m a very like physical you know like I I like doing phys IAL thing so I felt like it was like a mesh of everything I loved acting performing and then being able to do all these cool physical tricks that I wanted to learn and you know so it was just a love at first sight two more questions for you you know as we’re looking now towards the future you know you’re you’re slowly getting yourself back in the game what are some of your personal and professional goals for the next year or two yeah um I really should work on short-term goals I get very weird I I I put so much pressure on myself so I feel like I just I really want to stay in the moment I want to take things as they come a lot of people are like why aren’t you loading up your schedule well thank you for thinking that everyone wants to vote me but um it’s it’s a mix of two things you know like I don’t want to go crazy um you know I want to take things slowly and I want to do things great and if I can’t give my all and be amazing and be with the best person on the other side that rang with me that I feel like is on the same page I’m not going to do it and I think that’s really empowering and I think a lot a lot of people you know just stick up for yourself and be like hey not for me not super comfortable I think I want to do this you don’t have to take every single thing that is offered to you I know everyone is going to tell you to do that for experience and for just be smart you have you know Follow Your Instinct you know that just just take care of yourself because at the end of the day you’re it’s your career you’re the one doing this so just a little sidebar there but yeah definitely just enjoy it have fun not be so stressed about the shows and about how I’m going to look and how people will perceive me just go out and do it and have fun like this is what I want to do so I’m really lucky I get to do it well I know Brandon has a short-term goal for you that a lot of us also want you and that is to face staple of gcw Nick Gage I crazy I had to like double check I like you would have thought that you two would have like crossed paths already has not happened yet which is crazy so what are your thoughts on a a Casey Catal Nick Gage agenda is that a face off to explore as well everybody wants me dead gez um you’re the queen though H not self-proclaimed at all um I yeah I’m always just like guys no no I’m I’m like the butler um I love Nick obviously he there there’s nothing you can say about him that’s already you know that’s not already been said he’s just he’s the God he’s the god um it terrifies me I definitely would like to um one day when they weren’t announcing the matches for the last gcw show at Richfield Park I was like I’m going to end up wrestling Nick Gage at Richfield Park on a Sunday afternoon I was like I cannot do this I cannot do it um but I would love to um I would really have to mentally prepare myself so if you know that would happen I would need like a six month in advance to like really like really be ready for it but you know never say never well Matt Cardona is now the the gcw general manager and he’s been making some crazy unpredictable calls so maybe this is one of them maybe uh Brandon needs to give him a little nudge I’m just saying no don’t do it to me Matt he don’t like me so don’t do it to me uhuh we’re not playing that but yeah honestly I would not be shocked so whatever whatever you know bring it bring it we’ll do it well Casey before we let you go can you please share where the listeners can find you online and support you oh gosh just search my name KY Catal I’m Catal everywhere I think I’m Catal Casey uncore on most things so if you just pop it in there don’t use Facebook um rarely rarely use Facebook so yeah and if you want to book me you can email me well Casey thank you so much for joining me here today it’s been an absolute pleasure getting to catch up with you and obviously you know continue going at your own pace we will support you through all of this it’s so it’s amazing to see the comeback that you’ve made so far well thank you so much I really appreciate it
