Jonny Ferrari is a man that has certainly announced himself to the wrestling world. In recent years, Jonny Ferrari has made plenty of headlines as a professional wrestling manager.
He first made his name on the wrestling scene as the manager of EC3.
Photo by Superstar P1, CC BY-SA 3.0
He appeared on-stage at the OMEGA Night of a Champion event in February 2015, while also managing EC3 in the subsequent FBW “Celtic Clash” bout with JT Dunn. Ferrari, also known as Marc McLay, has been something of a controversial figure in and out of the wrestling world, which we’ll dive into throughout this article.
Ferrari initially made his name in the world of poker
Ferrari started playing poker at the tender age of 18 before it was actually legal for him to play cards. Ferrari endeavored to get himself involved with several charity-based casinos as a way of gaining exposure to the game. As he gained more experience, Ferrari worked his way through the ranks, becoming a pit boss and one of the youngest casino general managers in the whole of the U.S.
Despite having been spotted playing various cash games and multi-table tournaments outside of work, Ferrari publicly insisted he wasn’t interested in becoming a dedicated poker professional. Instead, he has focused mainly on marketing and hosting headline poker events on the world poker scene, including the World Poker Tour (WPT).
Back in the midst of the online poker “boom,” Ferrari was helping launch big-money tour events at the Fallsview Casino, welcoming big-name pros such as Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari to the tables.
Alongside his poker event hosting, Ferrari also got in ahead of the curve by hosting his very own poker-related podcast. The weekly show, called “Got Poker?”, which was designed to be a tongue-in-cheek reference to the milk campaign across the U.S., was broadcast alongside his good friend Antonio Esfandiari. The duo would discuss big talking points from major poker tournaments as well as poker strategy to aid beginners and intermediate players keen to improve.
The dark days of Black Monday affected the poker industry a lot in the U.S. In fact, Ferrari opted to free himself from the compliance of the U.S. poker legislation and set up his own poker gaming company in Asia.
Ferrari Global Gaming eventually opened a branded poker room in Cambodia. Ferrari himself caused plenty of commotion during his time living in Sihanoukville, becoming something of a polarizing personality that poker fanatics either loved or hated.
Despite his chaotic persona, Ferrari can be somewhat eloquent when he wants to be. He has been known to publish articles in the Las Vegas Sun, discussing the resurgence of casino-based card games online, despite the fact that many people remain intimidated by card games on casino floors. Ferrari has also been regularly called upon to appear on poker television shows, primarily as a fun, light-hearted host as opposed to a dedicated poker pundit.
Ferrari’s foray into the world of wrestling
It was after Ferrari’s poker endeavors in Cambodia that he would eventually return to North America with a hankering to get involved in the wrestling business. His larger-than-life personality and charisma seemed like a match made in heaven for wrestling.
These attributes were soon recognized, allowing him to become a popular and effective wrestling manager for up-and-coming stars. We’ve already touched upon his success managing EC3 to multiple victories, including another big one at OMEGA Chaos.
Ferrari then took the reins of PJ Black, also known as Justin Gabriel. Ironically, Ferrari eventually double-crossed his protégé and agreed to give contender Mr. 450 an easy victory at RONIN 8. Months later, the feud between Ferrari and PJ Black intensified further as Ferrari decided to manage AJ Styles to fight against PJ Black at the HOG High Intensity 4 event.
Needless to say, it got very heated at the event, with PJ Black standing up to Ferrari and intimidating him by breaking his microphone. However, Ferrari and his team would have the last laugh, watching AJ Styles take the win in a highly charged atmosphere.
Ferrari was happy to have enemies in the wrestling world. He even crossed paths with wrestling icon, Matt Hardy, who at the time recently relinquished his TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt. The pair played a game of poker in the middle of the ring one time, and although Jonny prevailed in the cards duel, he indeed came off worst when Hardy dished out a Twist of Fate manoeuver.
Jonny still keeps his hand in with the poker industry
Ferrari has still utilized his connections within the U.S. poker industry to continue to make waves outside of wrestling. He launched his very own legalized online poker room in the U.S. known as Ferrari Poker. It is sponsored by the National Poker Tour (NPT). The poker room is licensed and regulated by the Government of Cambodia and certified by several governing bodies elsewhere across the globe while catering for legalized gaming in the U.S.
It is merely a digital extension of his original Ferrari Global Gaming network and has since welcomed over 25 million players to its casino games, poker and online sportsbook. Another signal of Ferrari’s unpredictability was back in 2017 when he claimed that Cambodia’s casino industry was “corrupt” – despite operating an offline and online casino of his own that are regulated and licensed by the Cambodian government. It’s that kind of behavior which underlines Ferrari’s nature as a loose cannon, but in the world of wrestling he has certainly added a new layer of entertainment and unpredictability.