Backyard wrestling cartoon featuring Luke Hadley and CZW's John Zandig

00:28 - 1 year ago

http://www.lukehadley.com DVLH Backyard wrestling cartoon featuring Luke Hadley and Zandig. John Corso (born April 4, 1971 in Sewell, New Jersey) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name, John Zandig. He is the owner of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). Corso was an electrician before promoting wrestling; in the course of his wrestling career, he assisted with any explosions that had to be fitted during "explosion" matches. He began training as a wrestler in 1998 and adopted the ring name John Zandig (a reference to The Misfits singer Glenn Danzig) in 1999. Shortly after debuting, Zandig opened a professional wrestling school in New Jersey in order to hone his skills. The school eventually evolved into a professional wrestling promotion, Combat Zone Wrestling, and relocated to Philadelphia in late 2001. From an early juncture, CZW was orientated towards hardcore wrestling, and Zandig himself has been involved in many ultraviolent matches since the company's inception, involving such objects as thumbtacks, fluorescent light tubes, barbed wire and even a weed wacker. On one occasion, Zandig was hung from meat hooks. At Cage of Death 8, Zandig lost to Nick Gage in a four-way Cage of Death match that included Lobo and LuFisto. Due to a prematch stipulation, Zandig was forced to retire as a result of losing. Since then he has wrestled one match. On March 10, 2007, Zandig teamed with Toby Klein to face and defeat DJ Hyde and Mitch Ryder in a no rope barbed wire match. Zandig was filling in for Necro Butcher, who couldn't make it to the show. After the match, Zandig stated that his return was for one night only. More recently Zandig came out of retirement at Tournament of Death 6 to face Necro Butcher in a No-rope Barbwire match when Mitch Ryder was a no show. [edit] Finishing and signature moves Mother F'n Bomb (Military press driver) Spinning sitout powerbomb Sitout suplex slam Rolling snap suplexes Superplex Sunset flip from out of the corner Lifting DDT German suplex Neckbreaker [edit] Championships and accomplishments Big Japan Pro Wrestling BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship (3 times) BJW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Nick Gage Combat Zone Wrestling CZW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times) CZW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Nick Gage CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship (1 time) Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American based professional wrestling promotion, based around the 'ultraviolent' style of professional wrestling. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence". Ladders, tables, thumbtacks, barbed wire, light tubes and fire are common elements of "ultraviolent" wrestling matches in CZW. The company filled a niche for hardcore wrestling fans that had been left open by the fall of Extreme Championship Wrestling. CZW found fame in the New Alhambra Arena with their Cage of Death 3 show in 2001, the year ECW folded. Their tightly knit homegrown roster helped establish what became a top independent promotion in later years. The biggest misconception is that the promotion only focuses on hardcore wrestling. Although they are most commonly known for their 'ultraviolent' style, rarely do their shows feature more than one or two ultraviolent matches. In late 2002, they were forced to further tone down their style after the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission issued a ban on the use of fluorescent light tubes (among other things) in Philadelphia.[1] Their annual Tournament of Death show emphasizes the ultraviolent style of CZW and usually takes place in Delaware. All of their shows are taped and distributed by Smart Mark Video, who releases the shows on DVD via their website. CZW is broadcast on TWC Fight! to viewers in Great Britain and Ireland as part of the "Bloodbath" program. CZW continues to run on a monthly base in the New Alhambra Arena. Aside from their monthly shows, they also run shows outside of Philadelphia, where the promotion is based In late 1998 John Zandig opened a wrestling school in New Jersey, where the first student trained was Lobo, who worked with Zandig before their wrestling careers. Nick Gage and Justice Pain were the second students to be trained by Zandig, and it was only in the forthcoming years that they unveiled as brothers, Justice Pain being the older of the two. The fourth student trained was Ric Blade, who already had a background in martial arts. The school is still active as of today with free tryouts, practice takes place Mondays and Thursdays from 6:30PM to 9:30PM. CZW's Academy [edit] Japan connection Early 2000 saw CZW establish a connection with the death match wrestling orientated company Big Japan Pro Wrestling, a successor to the Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling organization, credited to have popularized the death match wrestling style that CZW continued to emphasize in the United States, though, dubbed as "Ultraviolence." Both promotions traded talent throughout 2000 and 2001, the company vs company feud was primarily based in Japan. Notable incidents included Zandig turning face in Japan and Jun Kasai joining Zandig as part of his Big Dealz stable in CZW. Kasai competed in a match which was later dubbed "Un F'N Believable," in reference to the shows name. During the match, Kasai was crucifixed bombed over the top rope into lightubes, barbed wire and tables, causing Kasai's elbow bone to pop out of his skin, he continued the match after having his elbow taped up. John Zandig slams Mitsuhiro Matsunaga into an exploding pane of glass.During 2001 in Japan, the Wifebeater and Ryuji Yamakawa faced off in a match which ended Yamakawa's career after the Wifebeater chokensteined him off of the ring apron through a table set up on the outside. In a 'shoot interview' Wifebeater stated communication difficulties between the two was a major factor which led to the incident. Wifebeater pleaded that they should not execute the maneuver, though the move went on and saw Yamakawa's head slam against the concrete. Both wrestlers have stated that it was half of each others fault when Yamakawa did not take the move as it should be performed; back first, though some even blame the Japanese table's, which are smaller, more sturdy and harder to break, the table in this incident did not break and simply slipped from underneath of Yamakawa thus only connecting with his legs, causing his head to take the impact on the concrete. The reason for the collapse of the inter-promotional deal is uncertain, according to a shoot interview conducted with the Wifebeater in 2002 stated that Shin�ya Kojika (owner of BJW) was regularly not present during shows and left Wifebeater and Zandig without pay on many occasions. Later in 2007, John Zandig also stated the same during a Q&A with the fans of CZW. After a controversial exploding panes of glass match, between Zandig and Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in Japan, 2001, Zandig left BJW with the BJW death match title belt, Zandig also briefly stated that the mafia was involved in wrestling 'over there', many wrestlers of both promotions at the time were confused about the collapse between the two. [edit] Champs Arena, PPV, and Fake You TV Early 2000 saw the company branch out from New Jersey to Delaware, though mainly in the Champs Soccer Arena, in Sewell. A Pay-Per-View taping for the June 25, 2000 show, was put in place. The event was scheduled to be main evented by Terry Funk and Atsushi Onita in an explosion match. The deal fell through when Onita canceled. Although the show took place and was main evented by Nick Gage and the Wifebeater in the first ever 200 lightubes match, the show was later called 'They Said it Couldn't be Done.' On June 8, 2001, the company secured a TV taping for the show 'Take 1.' During the main event as apart of a dual 40ft balcony dive, Ric Blade suffered a broken leg after landing on Justice Pain, who laid upon two stacked table's, Nick Gage was to attempt the second dive with Lobo a few meters away, unfortunately Nick Gage slipped and fell from atop the balcony to the ground, fortunately Gage was able to continue, unlike Blade who had to be stretchered out. The spot was cut from TV. The TV tapings aired on WGTW-48, as apart of CZW's very own show Fake You TV, which was available in many northeastern states in the US. After many business changes by the WGTW-48 production team over the years, including a time slot change from Saturday's at 9.00PM to a weeknight at midnight slot, to compete with other promotions, this idea was a failure and Fake You TV continued to strive. CZW continued to endure every business decision that WGTW-48 formulated and executed until the channel decided not to air the June 18, 2004 episode due to its content, through negative affects on the fans and after much consideration, CZW decided to withdraw the show indefinite.[2] [edit] Viking Hall debut and Indy Wars Due to their upcoming annual Cage of Death (COD) show at the end of 2001, the company needed a bigger venue and made their debut in the New Alhambra Arena, formerly Viking Hall. The venue was the first sellout in the building since the era of ECW, and hundreds were turned away from the biggest show in the promotions history.[3] Controversy surrounded the company in 2002, when top XPW star Messiah moved from XPW to CZW after a fall out with Rob Black. A few months later the Messiah was attacked in his home and had his thumb cut off by two unknown assailants. The incident was included on an episode of America's Most Wanted, where Rob Black was named as a suspect.[4] Shortly after Rob Black informed his workers that anyone who works for CZW, doesn't work for XPW, John Zandig did the same, and because of these two incidents, heat between the two promotions rose and remained until XPW's collapse in 2003. Also in 2002, following many violent matches in the arena, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission issued a ban of fluorescent lightubes in the arena.[5] Some fans blame the ban on an incident which occurred during an XPW show in the arena, when a wrestler from XPW bled on one of the State Athletic Commission's children as a brawl spilled out into one of the bathrooms.[6] Although the match between the Wifebeater and Zandig at 'A Night of Infamy 1' is said to have been the key incident which had initiated the ban.[7] The end of the match saw a kayfabe angle involving Frank Talent (of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission) who stopped the match after the use of a weed whacker. Several promotions competed for the Northeast fan base that had been left behind by ECW in what became known as the 'Indy Wars." CZW, XPW, and 3PW were the key promotions which revolved around Viking Hall. XPW were given the lease to the arena in very late 2002 after Rob Black offered around $60,000. On December 12, 2002, as part of a triple header of wrestling in Philadelphia Ring of Honor ran shows in conjunction with CZW & 3PW in what was to be the latter two promotions last events in the arena. During CZW's event, Zandig publicly stated that they had offered $32,000 to stay in the arena, but also stating that with the $10,000 a month XPW would need to pay for the building, the lease would not last long. Accompanied by incidents relating to Extreme Associates and low attendance, XPW later folded in 2003. CZW made their return to the arena on March 8, 2003. [edit] Italy and ECW tribute Shortly after their return to the arena, on May 10, 2003, the company promoted a show entitled "Then & Now: A Decade of Defiance." The event was a tribute to the last ten years of wrestling in the New Alhambra Arena, or at the time; Viking Hall. The show opened with John Zandig welcoming the fans to the show and played an 11 minute music video highlighting the last 10 years of wrestling in the arena, from Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1993 to Combat Zone Wrestling in 2003, featuring music including the ECW theme, U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" and White Zombie's "Thunderkiss 65."[8] A low quality version of the video was available on the promotion's website for a limited period of time and still circulates on the internet to this day. After the video finished, Zandig then issued a 10 bell count in memory of those who performed in the building but had passed away. Also, Zandig stated that he had invited Tod Gordon and Paul Heyman to appear. Zandig noted that Gordon didn't want to show "so he didn't care" and that Heyman didn't return his calls "so he doesn't give a f*ck about this place anymore." Zandig said that he called Tommy Dreamer to make an appearance but Dreamer was unable to due to WWE commitments but was honored he was asked. It should be noted the promotion didn't invite anyone to attend the show until the last week prior.[9] On October 25, 2003, the promotion made their debut in Italy, later on March 27, 2004, the company returned for another event which featured Sabu in a tables match. [edit] IWA-MS Invasion John Zandig Mother F'N Bomb's Nick Mondo off of a 40ft rooftop into tables and lightubes.On June 14, 2003, mid-south based promotion IWA-MS invaded CZW as part of a kayfabe angle which led to an inter-promotional feud throughout most of 2003. The feud was based in both promotions and a major part led into CZW's Tournament of Death 2, five IWA-MS wrestlers and three CZW wrestlers entered into the 8-man single elimination tournament. The semi-final saw two CZW wrestlers John Zandig and Nick Mondo compete in a 2 out of 3 lightube log cabin match, a match which is said to have ended Nick Mondo's career. Towards the end of the match Zandig Mother F'N Bombed Nick Mondo off of a 40ft rooftop as both Zandig and Mondo crashed into tables and a lightube log cabin contraption. Mondo suffered an injury to his back that doctor's referred to as a "gun shot wound."[citation needed] He continued the Tournament with 3 broken bones in his wrist and won the tournament after defeating Ian Rotten in a 200 lightubes final. [edit] Zandig hanging incident During John Zandig's feud with heel stable the HI-V, Zandig was suspended in the middle of the ring by meathooks from the roof of the arena. The incident lead into the setup of the main event at Cage of Death 2003, where a cage was suspended from the roof, the event was called 'Cage of Death 5: Suspended'. The aftermath of the incident was negative, many fans even vowed never to attend a CZW show again.[10] The company remained successful that year and had a sold out crowd for their annual Cage of Death show. [edit] Later years During 2005, CZW established a connection with local promotion Chikara Pro Wrestling, which established into a joint training school known as 'The Wrestle Factory' in the New Alhambra Arena, with head trainers Chris Hero & Mike Quackenbush. During 2007, CZW departed from the training school to form their own, much like their older school. The company remained strong in the forthcoming years with new booker, Mike Burns, who was responsible for one of the best runs in the promotion's history, especially in 2005. Pancoast Productions, a company which for many years was responsible for a lot of the company's media logo and titantron work, among other things, briefly departed from the company in late 2005 after an altercation between Pancoast Productions owner Mike Pancoast and John Zandig. At their Cage of Death 7 show at the end of 2005, former CZW Ironman Champion Chris Hero cut a promo challenging challenging American Dragon Bryan Danielson to a match at the next show, backstage, Zandig was furious. Zandig did not know about the deal that CZW booker, Mike Burns arranged with ROH Booker, Gabe Sapolsky. The news of CZW working with ROH made Zandig go into a frenzy. Zandig was approached backstage by Mike Pancoast, Zandig told him not to raise his voice at him, after a very vocal argument Zandig pushed him down a flight of stairs, one worker quoted Zandig saying, "Make sure to grab the rail on your way down."[11] Zandig was mad at Mike Burns for setting up a deal with ROH, without telling him first, this lead to the departure of Mike Burns, it is not known if Mike Burns quit CZW or was relieved of his duties by John Zandig. Though SmartMarkVideo still continues to tape their shows, along with Pancoast Productions who are all still actively working together. Although the inter-promotional feud between ROH and CZW developed in 2006 and was widely recognized by fans of independent wrestling.[citation needed] [edit] The Wrestler "The Wrestler" is an upcoming movie based around a fictional, once-epic pro-wrestler (played by Mickey Rourke) in the heights of the 1980s, now left to drive from town to town for cheap pickup bouts and the rigorous dangers of leagues like CZW. On December 8, 2007, Scott Franklin, Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke visited CZW's Cage of Death IX in December and committed to the venue. On February 9, 2008, as apart of CZW's regular February event, filming took place in the New Alhambra Arena for the upcoming movie which included many CZW alumni, along with the Necro Butcher, who will be playing a major part in the film. Zandig's hope is that The Wrestler, along with CZW's first worldwide distribution deal for its DVDs (through LocoMotion Films) will take the ultra-violent sport to the next level.[12] [edit] Annual events [edit] Cage of Death CZW's biggest show is the year-end Cage of Death. It always features the "Cage of Death" match, a steel cage with various weapons and objects. Electrified cage walls, cacti, tables, light tubes, glass, thumbtacks, baseball bats, and barbed-wire have been used in it. Matches always include high risk wrestling bumps. The Cage of Death also has different formats and stipulations: singles, tag team, or gauntlet. [edit] Tournament of Death CZW's yearly death-match tournament features the use of fire, weed whackers, light tubes, and other weapons. Previous winners include Wifebeater (TOD 1 and 3), Nick Mondo, Necro Butcher, Nick Gage, and Drake Younger. [edit] Best of the Best Main article: CZW Best of the Best CZW's yearly tournament that differs from other CZW events in how it emphasizes athleticism more than the use of weapons. The Best of the Best tournament is, by design, a Junior Heavyweight Tournament. In 2005, however, the tournament was formatted as an open weight tournament. The next year, it returned to its original format. Previous winners include Winger, Trent Acid, B-Boy, Sonjay Dutt, Mike Quackenbush, Ruckus, and Joker in that order. [edit] Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Show As of 2005 CZW annually run a memorial tribute event to the late Christopher "Chri$ Ca$h" Bauman. The show originally started as a double header afternoon show, with another CZW event taking place later in the evening. Chri$ Ca$h was one of the most successful wrestler's to be trained in the CZW wrestling school and many former CZW trainee's have made appearances on past events, including longtime friend GQ, who has wrestled on all of the events. [edit] Roster Main article: Combat Zone Wrestling roster [edit] Championships [edit] Current champions Championship: Champion(s): Defeated: Date Won: Location: CZW World Heavyweight Championship Nick Gage Ruckus & Messiah December 8, 2007 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CZW Iron Man Championship Brain Damage Joker January 12, 2008 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship Sabian Danny Havoc October 13, 2007 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CZW World Tag Team Championship The Naptown Dragons (Scotty Vortekz and Dustin Lee) Jon Dahmer and Danny Demanto February 9, 2008 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship Drake Younger The CZW World Heavyweight Championship is the top professional wrestling title in the Philadelphia-based promotion Combat Zone Wrestling. It was established in 1999 at CZW's second show, The Staple Gun, with Nick Gage winning a battle royal.[1] The "world" in the title's name refers to the fact that the title has been defended (and changed hands) several times outside of the United States, including in Mexico,[2] England,[2] Ireland,[2] Italy[2] and Japan.[3] Despite the "heavyweight" distinction, there is no true weight limit, as demonstrated by typically lightweight wrestlers Super Dragon[4] and Ruckus.[5] There have been a total of 12 recognized champions who have had a combined 29 official reigns.Matt Burns, better known by his ring name Nick Mondo is a retired American professional wrestler. Mondo is best known for his appearances with Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). He was known throughout his career for his willingness to take extremely dangerous bumps, such as being hit with a weed wacker, getting trown into a table with barbwire on it slammed a distance of 40 feet onto lightubes and concrete, and other potentially deadly spots. He was recently added to CZW's Hall of Fame. He retired in 2003 after suffering several injuries during his career, the last of which was a severely punctured back which he got during his match against John Zandig at Tournament of Death 2, a match in where he was already wrestling with 3 broken bones in his right wrist. In addition to his ring work, Nick has been featured as a playable character in Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood along with Zandig. [1]. He also is studying film making and has an upcoming movie, Fighting the Still Life, that will debut in the very near future http://www.lukehadley.com DVLH Backyard wrestling cartoon featuring Luke Hadley and Zandig. John Corso (born April 4, 1971 in Sewell, New Jersey) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name, John Zandig. He is the owner of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). Corso was an electrician before promoting wrestling; in the course of his wrestling career, he assisted with any explosions that had to be fitted during "explosion" matches. He began training as a wrestler in 1998 and adopted the ring name John Zandig (a reference to The Misfits singer Glenn Danzig) in 1999. Shortly after debuting, Zandig opened a professional wrestling school in New Jersey in order to hone his skills. The school eventually evolved into a professional wrestling promotion, Combat Zone Wrestling, and relocated to Philadelphia in late 2001. From an early juncture, CZW was orientated towards hardcore wrestling, and Zandig himself has been involved in many ultraviolent matches since the company's inception, involving such objects as thumbtacks, fluorescent light tubes, barbed wire and even a weed wacker. On one occasion, Zandig was hung from meat hooks. At Cage of Death 8, Zandig lost to Nick Gage in a four-way Cage of Death match that included Lobo and LuFisto. Due to a prematch stipulation, Zandig was forced to retire as a result of losing. Since then he has wrestled one match. On March 10, 2007, Zandig teamed with Toby Klein to face and defeat DJ Hyde and Mitch Ryder in a no rope barbed wire match. Zandig was filling in for Necro Butcher, who couldn't make it to the show. After the match, Zandig stated that his return was for one night only. More recently Zandig came out of retirement at Tournament of Death 6 to face Necro Butcher in a No-rope Barbwire match when Mitch Ryder was a no show. [edit] Finishing and signature moves Mother F'n Bomb (Military press driver) Spinning sitout powerbomb Sitout suplex slam Rolling snap suplexes Superplex Sunset flip from out of the corner Lifting DDT German suplex Neckbreaker [edit] Championships and accomplishments Big Japan Pro Wrestling BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship (3 times) BJW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Nick Gage Combat Zone Wrestling CZW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times) CZW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Nick Gage CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship (1 time) Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American based professional wrestling promotion, based around the 'ultraviolent' style of professional wrestling. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence". Ladders, tables, thumbtacks, barbed wire, light tubes and fire are common elements of "ultraviolent" wrestling matches in CZW. The company filled a niche for hardcore wrestling fans that had been left open by the fall of Extreme Championship Wrestling. CZW found fame in the New Alhambra Arena with their Cage of Death 3 show in 2001, the year ECW folded. Their tightly knit homegrown roster helped establish what became a top independent promotion in later years. The biggest misconception is that the promotion only focuses on hardcore wrestling. Although they are most commonly known for their 'ultraviolent' style, rarely do their shows feature more than one or two ultraviolent matches. In late 2002, they were forced to further tone down their style after the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission issued a ban on the use of fluorescent light tubes (among other things) in Philadelphia.[1] Their annual Tournament of Death show emphasizes the ultraviolent style of CZW and usually takes place in Delaware. All of their shows are taped and distributed by Smart Mark Video, who releases the shows on DVD via their website. CZW is broadcast on TWC Fight! to viewers in Great Britain and Ireland as part of the "Bloodbath" program. CZW continues to run on a monthly base in the New Alhambra Arena. Aside from their monthly shows, they also run shows outside of Philadelphia, where the promotion is based In late 1998 John Zandig opened a wrestling school in New Jersey, where the first student trained was Lobo, who worked with Zandig before their wrestling careers. Nick Gage and Justice Pain were the second students to be trained by Zandig, and it was only in the forthcoming years that they unveiled as brothers, Justice Pain being the older of the two. The fourth student trained was Ric Blade, who already had a background in martial arts. The school is still active as of today with free tryouts, practice takes place Mondays and Thursdays from 6:30PM to 9:30PM. CZW's Academy [edit] Japan connection Early 2000 saw CZW establish a connection with the death match wrestling orientated company Big Japan Pro Wrestling, a successor to the Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling organization, credited to have popularized the death match wrestling style that CZW continued to emphasize in the United States, though, dubbed as "Ultraviolence." Both promotions traded talent throughout 2000 and 2001, the company vs company feud was primarily based in Japan. Notable incidents included Zandig turning face in Japan and Jun Kasai joining Zandig as part of his Big Dealz stable in CZW. Kasai competed in a match which was later dubbed "Un F'N Believable," in reference to the shows name. During the match, Kasai was crucifixed bombed over the top rope into lightubes, barbed wire and tables, causing Kasai's elbow bone to pop out of his skin, he continued the match after having his elbow taped up. John Zandig slams Mitsuhiro Matsunaga into an exploding pane of glass.During 2001 in Japan, the Wifebeater and Ryuji Yamakawa faced off in a match which ended Yamakawa's career after the Wifebeater chokensteined him off of the ring apron through a table set up on the outside. In a 'shoot interview' Wifebeater stated communication difficulties between the two was a major factor which led to the incident. Wifebeater pleaded that they should not execute the maneuver, though the move went on and saw Yamakawa's head slam against the concrete. Both wrestlers have stated that it was half of each others fault when Yamakawa did not take the move as it should be performed; back first, though some even blame the Japanese table's, which are smaller, more sturdy and harder to break, the table in this incident did not break and simply slipped from underneath of Yamakawa thus only connecting with his legs, causing his head to take the impact on the concrete. The reason for the collapse of the inter-promotional deal is uncertain, according to a shoot interview conducted with the Wifebeater in 2002 stated that Shin�ya Kojika (owner of BJW) was regularly not present during shows and left Wifebeater and Zandig without pay on many occasions. Later in 2007, John Zandig also stated the same during a Q&A with the fans of CZW. After a controversial exploding panes of glass match, between Zandig and Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in Japan, 2001, Zandig left BJW with the BJW death match title belt, Zandig also briefly stated that the mafia was involved in wrestling 'over there', many wrestlers of both promotions at the time were confused about the collapse between the two. [edit] Champs Arena, PPV, and Fake You TV Early 2000 saw the company branch out from New Jersey to Delaware, though mainly in the Champs Soccer Arena, in Sewell. A Pay-Per-View taping for the June 25, 2000 show, was put in place. The event was scheduled to be main evented by Terry Funk and Atsushi Onita in an explosion match. The deal fell through when Onita canceled. Although the show took place and was main evented by Nick Gage and the Wifebeater in the first ever 200 lightubes match, the show was later called 'They Said it Couldn't be Done.' On June 8, 2001, the company secured a TV taping for the show 'Take 1.' During the main event as apart of a dual 40ft balcony dive, Ric Blade suffered a broken leg after landing on Justice Pain, who laid upon two stacked table's, Nick Gage was to attempt the second dive with Lobo a few meters away, unfortunately Nick Gage slipped and fell from atop the balcony to the ground, fortunately Gage was able to continue, unlike Blade who had to be stretchered out. The spot was cut from TV. The TV tapings aired on WGTW-48, as apart of CZW's very own show Fake You TV, which was available in many northeastern states in the US. After many business changes by the WGTW-48 production team over the years, including a time slot change from Saturday's at 9.00PM to a weeknight at midnight slot, to compete with other promotions, this idea was a failure and Fake You TV continued to strive. CZW continued to endure every business decision that WGTW-48 formulated and executed until the channel decided not to air the June 18, 2004 episode due to its content, through negative affects on the fans and after much consideration, CZW decided to withdraw the show indefinite.[2] [edit] Viking Hall debut and Indy Wars Due to their upcoming annual Cage of Death (COD) show at the end of 2001, the company needed a bigger venue and made their debut in the New Alhambra Arena, formerly Viking Hall. The venue was the first sellout in the building since the era of ECW, and hundreds were turned away from the biggest show in the promotions history.[3] Controversy surrounded the company in 2002, when top XPW star Messiah moved from XPW to CZW after a fall out with Rob Black. A few months later the Messiah was attacked in his home and had his thumb cut off by two unknown assailants. The incident was included on an episode of America's Most Wanted, where Rob Black was named as a suspect.[4] Shortly after Rob Black informed his workers that anyone who works for CZW, doesn't work for XPW, John Zandig did the same, and because of these two incidents, heat between the two promotions rose and remained until XPW's collapse in 2003. Also in 2002, following many violent matches in the arena, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission issued a ban of fluorescent lightubes in the arena.[5] Some fans blame the ban on an incident which occurred during an XPW show in the arena, when a wrestler from XPW bled on one of the State Athletic Commission's children as a brawl spilled out into one of the bathrooms.[6] Although the match between the Wifebeater and Zandig at 'A Night of Infamy 1' is said to have been the key incident which had initiated the ban.[7] The end of the match saw a kayfabe angle involving Frank Talent (of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission) who stopped the match after the use of a weed whacker. Several promotions competed for the Northeast fan base that had been left behind by ECW in what became known as the 'Indy Wars." CZW, XPW, and 3PW were the key promotions which revolved around Viking Hall. XPW were given the lease to the arena in very late 2002 after Rob Black offered around $60,000. On December 12, 2002, as part of a triple header of wrestling in Philadelphia Ring of Honor ran shows in conjunction with CZW & 3PW in what was to be the latter two promotions last events in the arena. During CZW's event, Zandig publicly stated that they had offered $32,000 to stay in the arena, but also stating that with the $10,000 a month XPW would need to pay for the building, the lease would not last long. Accompanied by incidents relating to Extreme Associates and low attendance, XPW later folded in 2003. CZW made their return to the arena on March 8, 2003. [edit] Italy and ECW tribute Shortly after their return to the arena, on May 10, 2003, the company promoted a show entitled "Then & Now: A Decade of Defiance." The event was a tribute to the last ten years of wrestling in the New Alhambra Arena, or at the time; Viking Hall. The show opened with John Zandig welcoming the fans to the show and played an 11 minute music video highlighting the last 10 years of wrestling in the arena, from Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1993 to Combat Zone Wrestling in 2003, featuring music including the ECW theme, U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" and White Zombie's "Thunderkiss 65."[8] A low quality version of the video was available on the promotion's website for a limited period of time and still circulates on the internet to this day. After the video finished, Zandig then issued a 10 bell count in memory of those who performed in the building but had passed away. Also, Zandig stated that he had invited Tod Gordon and Paul Heyman to appear. Zandig noted that Gordon didn't want to show "so he didn't care" and that Heyman didn't return his calls "so he doesn't give a f*ck about this place anymore." Zandig said that he called Tommy Dreamer to make an appearance but Dreamer was unable to due to WWE commitments but was honored he was asked. It should be noted the promotion didn't invite anyone to attend the show until the last week prior.[9] On October 25, 2003, the promotion made their debut in Italy, later on March 27, 2004, the company returned for another event which featured Sabu in a tables match. [edit] IWA-MS Invasion John Zandig Mother F'N Bomb's Nick Mondo off of a 40ft rooftop into tables and lightubes.On June 14, 2003, mid-south based promotion IWA-MS invaded CZW as part of a kayfabe angle which led to an inter-promotional feud throughout most of 2003. The feud was based in both promotions and a major part led into CZW's Tournament of Death 2, five IWA-MS wrestlers and three CZW wrestlers entered into the 8-man single elimination tournament. The semi-final saw two CZW wrestlers John Zandig and Nick Mondo compete in a 2 out of 3 lightube log cabin match, a match which is said to have ended Nick Mondo's career. Towards the end of the match Zandig Mother F'N Bombed Nick Mondo off of a 40ft rooftop as both Zandig and Mondo crashed into tables and a lightube log cabin contraption. Mondo suffered an injury to his back that doctor's referred to as a "gun shot wound."[citation needed] He continued the Tournament with 3 broken bones in his wrist and won the tournament after defeating Ian Rotten in a 200 lightubes final. [edit] Zandig hanging incident During John Zandig's feud with heel stable the HI-V, Zandig was suspended in the middle of the ring by meathooks from the roof of the arena. The incident lead into the setup of the main event at Cage of Death 2003, where a cage was suspended from the roof, the event was called 'Cage of Death 5: Suspended'. The aftermath of the incident was negative, many fans even vowed never to attend a CZW show again.[10] The company remained successful that year and had a sold out crowd for their annual Cage of Death show. [edit] Later years During 2005, CZW established a connection with local promotion Chikara Pro Wrestling, which established into a joint training school known as 'The Wrestle Factory' in the New Alhambra Arena, with head trainers Chris Hero & Mike Quackenbush. During 2007, CZW departed from the training school to form their own, much like their older school. The company remained strong in the forthcoming years with new booker, Mike Burns, who was responsible for one of the best runs in the promotion's history, especially in 2005. Pancoast Productions, a company which for many years was responsible for a lot of the company's media logo and titantron work, among other things, briefly departed from the company in late 2005 after an altercation between Pancoast Productions owner Mike Pancoast and John Zandig. At their Cage of Death 7 show at the end of 2005, former CZW Ironman Champion Chris Hero cut a promo challenging challenging American Dragon Bryan Danielson to a match at the next show, backstage, Zandig was furious. Zandig did not know about the deal that CZW booker, Mike Burns arranged with ROH Booker, Gabe Sapolsky. The news of CZW working with ROH made Zandig go into a frenzy. Zandig was approached backstage by Mike Pancoast, Zandig told him not to raise his voice at him, after a very vocal argument Zandig pushed him down a flight of stairs, one worker quoted Zandig saying, "Make sure to grab the rail on your way down."[11] Zandig was mad at Mike Burns for setting up a deal with ROH, without telling him first, this lead to the departure of Mike Burns, it is not known if Mike Burns quit CZW or was relieved of his duties by John Zandig. Though SmartMarkVideo still continues to tape their shows, along with Pancoast Productions who are all still actively working together. Although the inter-promotional feud between ROH and CZW developed in 2006 and was widely recognized by fans of independent wrestling.[citation needed] [edit] The Wrestler "The Wrestler" is an upcoming movie based around a fictional, once-epic pro-wrestler (played by Mickey Rourke) in the heights of the 1980s, now left to drive from town to town for cheap pickup bouts and the rigorous dangers of leagues like CZW. On December 8, 2007, Scott Franklin, Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke visited CZW's Cage of Death IX in December and committed to the venue. On February 9, 2008, as apart of CZW's regular February event, filming took place in the New Alhambra Arena for the upcoming movie which included many CZW alumni, along with the Necro Butcher, who will be playing a major part in the film. Zandig's hope is that The Wrestler, along with CZW's first worldwide distribution deal for its DVDs (through LocoMotion Films) will take the ultra-violent sport to the next level.[12] [edit] Annual events [edit] Cage of Death CZW's biggest show is the year-end Cage of Death. It always features the "Cage of Death" match, a steel cage with various weapons and objects. Electrified cage walls, cacti, tables, light tubes, glass, thumbtacks, baseball bats, and barbed-wire have been used in it. Matches always include high risk wrestling bumps. The Cage of Death also has different formats and stipulations: singles, tag team, or gauntlet. [edit] Tournament of Death CZW's yearly death-match tournament features the use of fire, weed whackers, light tubes, and other weapons. Previous winners include Wifebeater (TOD 1 and 3), Nick Mondo, Necro Butcher, Nick Gage, and Drake Younger. [edit] Best of the Best Main article: CZW Best of the Best CZW's yearly tournament that differs from other CZW events in how it emphasizes athleticism more than the use of weapons. The Best of the Best tournament is, by design, a Junior Heavyweight Tournament. In 2005, however, the tournament was formatted as an open weight tournament. The next year, it returned to its original format. Previous winners include Winger, Trent Acid, B-Boy, Sonjay Dutt, Mike Quackenbush, Ruckus, and Joker in that order. [edit] Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Show As of 2005 CZW annually run a memorial tribute event to the late Christopher "Chri$ Ca$h" Bauman. The show originally started as a double header afternoon show, with another CZW event taking place later in the evening. Chri$ Ca$h was one of the most successful wrestler's to be trained in the CZW wrestling school and many former CZW trainee's have made appearances on past events, including longtime friend GQ, who has wrestled on all of the events. [edit] Roster Main article: Combat Zone Wrestling roster [edit] Championships [edit] Current champions Championship: Champion(s): Defeated: Date Won: Location: CZW World Heavyweight Championship Nick Gage Ruckus & Messiah December 8, 2007 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CZW Iron Man Championship Brain Damage Joker January 12, 2008 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship Sabian Danny Havoc October 13, 2007 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CZW World Tag Team Championship The Naptown Dragons (Scotty Vortekz and Dustin Lee) Jon Dahmer and Danny Demanto February 9, 2008 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship Drake Younger The CZW World Heavyweight Championship is the top professional wrestling title in the Philadelphia-based promotion Combat Zone Wrestling. It was established in 1999 at CZW's second show, The Staple Gun, with Nick Gage winning a battle royal.[1] The "world" in the title's name refers to the fact that the title has been defended (and changed hands) several times outside of the United States, including in Mexico,[2] England,[2] Ireland,[2] Italy[2] and Japan.[3] Despite the "heavyweight" distinction, there is no true weight limit, as demonstrated by typically lightweight wrestlers Super Dragon[4] and Ruckus.[5] There have been a total of 12 recognized champions who have had a combined 29 official reigns.Matt Burns, better known by his ring name Nick Mondo is a retired American professional wrestler. Mondo is best known for his appearances with Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). He was known throughout his career for his willingness to take extremely dangerous bumps, such as being hit with a weed wacker, getting trown into a table with barbwire on it slammed a distance of 40 feet onto lightubes and concrete, and other potentially deadly spots. He was recently added to CZW's Hall of Fame. He retired in 2003 after suffering several injuries during his career, the last of which was a severely punctured back which he got during his match against John Zandig at Tournament of Death 2, a match in where he was already wrestling with 3 broken bones in his right wrist. In addition to his ring work, Nick has been featured as a playable character in Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood along with Zandig. [1]. He also is studying film making and has an upcoming movie, Fighting the Still Life, that will debut in the very near future«

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