Wrestler Sentenced in Collingswood Bank Robbery

Pro wrestler Nicholas W. Wilson used to enter the ring to the Metallica song "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

On Friday morning, the bell tolled for him, to the tune of five years in state prison. 

Wilson, who wrestled under the name "Nick Gage," was sentenced in state Superior Court in Camden by Judge Samuel D. Natal. Wilson must serve 85 percent of his sentence—four years, three months and one day—before he's eligible for parole. 

Wilson robbed the PNC Bank branch on Haddon Avenue three days before Christmas 2010. 

He pleaded guilty March 15 to one second-degree count of bank robbery. His plea was part of an agreement with the state in exchange for a lesser sentence. 

Before he turned himself in to Collingswood police around noon on New Year's Eve, the 30-year-old Wilson was a big draw for Combat Zone Wrestling, a Philadelphia-based independent wrestling operation known for its blood-soaked, ultraviolent matches. Wilson was CZW's first heavyweight champion, and he was inducted into the CZW Hall of Fame in 2009. 

Wilson, who grew up in National Park, Gloucester County, entered the courtroom Friday shackled at the ankles and wrists, and wearing a red jail jumpsuit. He nodded and smiled at his longtime girlfriend, Sondra Culbertson, who sat in the courtroom gallery. 

When the judge asked the bearded wrestler if he wanted to say anything before being sentenced, Wilson replied flatly, "No."

The judge gave Wilson credit for 119 days served in the Camden County Jail, where Wilson had been held since his arrest. 

Wilson was ordered to pay $3,090 in restitution to PNC Bank to cover the amount he stole during the robbery. Natal also ordered Wilson to pay $150 to the female teller to whom he handed his robbery note. That amount added up to a week's pay for the teller, who left work, apparently due to the stress from the robbery. 

In a January at the Camden County Jail, Wilson said he'd been battling an addiction to Oxycontin and other prescription painkillers for at least 10 years. 

He was high on Oxy, homeless and penniless when he walked into the bank that afternoon, he said, adding he'd spent most of his earnings from wrestling on drugs. 

After the robbery, it was Wilson's fame on the pro wrestling circuit that quickly did him in. 

Collingswood police released a clear PNC surveillance photo of the bank robber—and almost immediately, tips started  pouring in from wrestling fans who noticed the striking resemblance between him and fan-favorite Nick Gage. 

"I guess I didn't realize how popular I was until the photos came out," Wilson said in January. 

Wilson said during the jailhouse interview that he regretted the robbery, and that he wanted to have the case against him resolved quickly so he could accept his punishment and move on with his life. He also said he planned to return to the ring after serving his sentence. 

After Friday's sentencing, Culbertson, Wilson's girlfriend, left the courtroom without comment. 

Assistant Camden County Prosecutor Michele Margera said outside court that Wilson could get up from his fall by entering a drug-treatment program in prison.

"He can take this opportunity to try to better himself," she said.