The "Freeola Customer Forum" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
The State of CZW
CZW is probably the single most stigmatized organisation in the whole of wrestling today. The only time it makes the headlines is through it's 'ultraviolent' matches. But there is a lot more to CZW that just smashing light-tubes over each other, CZW currently has a hand-full of technically gifted grapplers and one of the best Cruiserweight divisions anywhere on the planet. Yet as soon as anyone mentions CZW, it's the ultraviolence which comes to the fore.
I guess I can't seriously take a look at CZW without addressing it's death match scene. Particularly as it's their death-match wrestlers who are pretty much at the forefront of their main event picture. Current CZW World Heavyweight champion is the Messiah, who is as talented an all-rounder as you will find anywhere in North America, yet he'll never work for the WWE, thanks to his former employer Rob Black. The former XPW owner was so convinced that the Messiah was having it away with his wife, that he sent a bunch of heavies to chop off Messiah's manhood, they failed in this attempt, but cut off his thumb, leaving him with a physical defect that almost guarantees he will never make the big time. The Messiah is, however, a great figurehead for CZW, he's the only regular member of the roster who didn't graduate from CZW's own wrestling school and has talent and experience beyond his years and beyond his peers. He's not afraid to work the hardcore and ultraviolent matches so beloved by CZW's core fan base and he's arguably the most dramatic bleeder on their roster. The only problem on the horizon for CZW, is that they don't have any apparent contenders to Messiah's crown. Perennial CZW favourites, like Wifebeater, Lobo and Nick Mondo, who the main event scene has been built around and now fully-retired or only wrestle on occasion. All that ultraviolence takes it's toll eventually. CZW owner John Zandig, himself a perennial contender to the main event strap is suffering from post-concussion syndrome, the same injury which may have put WWE's (much, much younger) Chris Nowinski on the shelf for good. The one contender who seems to be left is Nate Hatred, but this strange character has a reputation for working so consistently stiff that even his friends don't like working against him. Besides which, he's caught up in a feud over the Tag Team titles. Even the guys who have been built up as potential contenders in recent months, Trent Acid and Teddy Hart are seemingly gone as both recently no-showed CZW's 'Best of the Best' event. Possibly in protest at the return of two former CZW stars. Which brings us to...
Over two years ago CZW fought one of the most brutal independent wrestling wars even seen in North America, XPW stole their building and a number of their stars. They had specifically targeted CZW and attempted to put them out of business. It didn't work and it's XPW who now find themselves out of business. The three major stars XPW did manage to steal from CZW were Main event star Justice Pain and up and comers (immortalised in the Backyard Wrestling series) Josh Prohibition and M-Dogg-20. All of this prompted Zandig to cut a hate-fuelled promo against his departing stars where he immortalised the line "Once you go Black, you don't come back". Until now, this something Zandig has stuck to, he hasn't hired any ex-XPW wrestlers (other than The Messiah). The suddenly in one show Justice Pain and M-Dogg-20 made their return, further upsetting Trent Acid, who was already on shaky ground having quit along with his Tag Team partner Johnny Kashmere a few weeks previously and one can only imagine how The Messiah feels about all this, particularly as Justice Pain is likely to be his next contender for the Heavyweight Title. The CZW fans, for their part, seem to be split, some still annoyed with Justice Pain for leaving for more money, some annoyed with Zandig for going back on his words and some feeling that time should have healed the wounds by now. However, CZW's diminishing crowds speak for themselves...
The show which might just turn CZW's fortunes around is just around the corner however, the annual 'Tournament of Death' is fast approaching and promises to deliver blood guts and crazy bumps. However, even with Wifebeater coming out of retirement, most of the spots have had to be filled with talent which no longer works for CZW (Necro Butcher, Mad Man Pondo) and unknowns from IWS, who CZW are trying to form a working relationship with. OF the CZW guys who are entered, only Wifebeater and, likely winner, Nick Gage, have any experience wrestling in death-matches. So guys like Chri$ Ca$h, Ruckus and Ian Knoxx are going to have to up their game and make a name for themselves, or one of CZW's most talked about events is going to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
I mentioned earlier CZW offers something for fans who like their entertainment a little less bloody and the man who probably exemplifies that is Nick Berk, a talented technician, who has been wasted the last few years in a comedy Tag Team with the 'colourful' Z-Barr, in a dynamic not a million miles away from the team of Rico and Charlie Haas in WWE. Fortunately with Barr leaving the promotion, Berk now has a chance to showcase what he can do. Zandig is pushing him with a 'forgotten man' gimmick and Berk could prove to be the breakthrough star which CZW so desperately needs this year. The bonus CZW will find with Berk is that his hard-hitting but low-risk style will mean his career lasting significantly longer than most of his peers. The potential for matches between Berk and emerging stars Roderick Strong and Bobby Quance is that they could be as good, if not better than the early battles between Benoit/Guerrero/Malenko/Douglas and Tazz in the early days of ECW.
I mentioned in my opening paragraph, the outstanding Cruiserweight division which CZW has built up. CZW even have a whole super-card 'Best of the Best' dedicated to this talent every year. CZW spikes the interest in this tournament by bringing in stars from other promotions and the list of talent which has competed in this tournament is staggering - The Amazing Red, The Briscoes, The SATs, Sabin, Kazarian, Sonjay Dutt, Jack Evans. It reads like a who's who of every cruiserweight starring in the Indies right now. Alongside CZW's own talented Cruisers, like M-Dogg-20, Alex Shelley and other graduates from CZW's wrestling school, the outlook is bright for this area of CZW. In fact the only cloud on the horizon is that NWA-TNA seems to be targeting most of CZW's talent pool for it's own X-Division and when the Jarrett's have finished waving their cash, there could be very little left for CZW.
CZW, like many other Indie promotions and indeed the WWE, is suffering from a lack of regular Tag Teams. Indeed, looking down a list of their former Tag Team Champions, most of them seem to be combinations of singles wrestlers thrown together. With the dominant CZW Tag Team, the Backseat Boys (Acid and Kashmere) having left, the division seems to revolve around former champions The H8 Club (Nick Gage and Nate Hatred). Current Tag Team Champions The Blackout (Ruckus and Sabian) have been pushed hard to fill the void, but their 'Angry Black Minority' gimmick will hold them back more than it will further them. Racist angles are soooo 1990's. Most of the other teams which make up this division are recent graduates of CZW's Training School, but with CZW not having the luxury of a development territory, they end up coming off greener than The Hurricane's tights and take an awful long time to get over with the hard CZW crowd...
So, CZW, in conclusion. One of the better Indie promotions in the U.S. today, although one that is stuck with a negative image which is at least partially self-inflicted. They have survived their first five years, which is quite a feat in itself, by relying on it's training school and one-night deals with talented workers, rather than bringing in over-paid and past it Ex-WWE/WCW/ECW workers in an attempt to draw fans, who then usually disappear as fast as said stars. They'll never be one of the big-two or big-three promotions unless they make drastic changes to the way they work. Their fast turnover of workers doesn't help as fans connect with a guy only for him to retire at the age of 22 due to his injuries. CZW have, however, found their niche and don't have aspirations to be something they're not. John Zandig has proven himself to be a promoter who errs on the side of caution, particularly from a financial standpoint. If they continue doing what they do best and don't take any unnecessary risks, then there is no reason why CZW won't be here in another 5 years time.
Next time in Cong Man's corner - The State of ROH
CZW is probably the single most stigmatized organisation in the whole of wrestling today. The only time it makes the headlines is through it's 'ultraviolent' matches. But there is a lot more to CZW that just smashing light-tubes over each other, CZW currently has a hand-full of technically gifted grapplers and one of the best Cruiserweight divisions anywhere on the planet. Yet as soon as anyone mentions CZW, it's the ultraviolence which comes to the fore.
I guess I can't seriously take a look at CZW without addressing it's death match scene. Particularly as it's their death-match wrestlers who are pretty much at the forefront of their main event picture. Current CZW World Heavyweight champion is the Messiah, who is as talented an all-rounder as you will find anywhere in North America, yet he'll never work for the WWE, thanks to his former employer Rob Black. The former XPW owner was so convinced that the Messiah was having it away with his wife, that he sent a bunch of heavies to chop off Messiah's manhood, they failed in this attempt, but cut off his thumb, leaving him with a physical defect that almost guarantees he will never make the big time. The Messiah is, however, a great figurehead for CZW, he's the only regular member of the roster who didn't graduate from CZW's own wrestling school and has talent and experience beyond his years and beyond his peers. He's not afraid to work the hardcore and ultraviolent matches so beloved by CZW's core fan base and he's arguably the most dramatic bleeder on their roster. The only problem on the horizon for CZW, is that they don't have any apparent contenders to Messiah's crown. Perennial CZW favourites, like Wifebeater, Lobo and Nick Mondo, who the main event scene has been built around and now fully-retired or only wrestle on occasion. All that ultraviolence takes it's toll eventually. CZW owner John Zandig, himself a perennial contender to the main event strap is suffering from post-concussion syndrome, the same injury which may have put WWE's (much, much younger) Chris Nowinski on the shelf for good. The one contender who seems to be left is Nate Hatred, but this strange character has a reputation for working so consistently stiff that even his friends don't like working against him. Besides which, he's caught up in a feud over the Tag Team titles. Even the guys who have been built up as potential contenders in recent months, Trent Acid and Teddy Hart are seemingly gone as both recently no-showed CZW's 'Best of the Best' event. Possibly in protest at the return of two former CZW stars. Which brings us to...
Over two years ago CZW fought one of the most brutal independent wrestling wars even seen in North America, XPW stole their building and a number of their stars. They had specifically targeted CZW and attempted to put them out of business. It didn't work and it's XPW who now find themselves out of business. The three major stars XPW did manage to steal from CZW were Main event star Justice Pain and up and comers (immortalised in the Backyard Wrestling series) Josh Prohibition and M-Dogg-20. All of this prompted Zandig to cut a hate-fuelled promo against his departing stars where he immortalised the line "Once you go Black, you don't come back". Until now, this something Zandig has stuck to, he hasn't hired any ex-XPW wrestlers (other than The Messiah). The suddenly in one show Justice Pain and M-Dogg-20 made their return, further upsetting Trent Acid, who was already on shaky ground having quit along with his Tag Team partner Johnny Kashmere a few weeks previously and one can only imagine how The Messiah feels about all this, particularly as Justice Pain is likely to be his next contender for the Heavyweight Title. The CZW fans, for their part, seem to be split, some still annoyed with Justice Pain for leaving for more money, some annoyed with Zandig for going back on his words and some feeling that time should have healed the wounds by now. However, CZW's diminishing crowds speak for themselves...
The show which might just turn CZW's fortunes around is just around the corner however, the annual 'Tournament of Death' is fast approaching and promises to deliver blood guts and crazy bumps. However, even with Wifebeater coming out of retirement, most of the spots have had to be filled with talent which no longer works for CZW (Necro Butcher, Mad Man Pondo) and unknowns from IWS, who CZW are trying to form a working relationship with. OF the CZW guys who are entered, only Wifebeater and, likely winner, Nick Gage, have any experience wrestling in death-matches. So guys like Chri$ Ca$h, Ruckus and Ian Knoxx are going to have to up their game and make a name for themselves, or one of CZW's most talked about events is going to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
I mentioned earlier CZW offers something for fans who like their entertainment a little less bloody and the man who probably exemplifies that is Nick Berk, a talented technician, who has been wasted the last few years in a comedy Tag Team with the 'colourful' Z-Barr, in a dynamic not a million miles away from the team of Rico and Charlie Haas in WWE. Fortunately with Barr leaving the promotion, Berk now has a chance to showcase what he can do. Zandig is pushing him with a 'forgotten man' gimmick and Berk could prove to be the breakthrough star which CZW so desperately needs this year. The bonus CZW will find with Berk is that his hard-hitting but low-risk style will mean his career lasting significantly longer than most of his peers. The potential for matches between Berk and emerging stars Roderick Strong and Bobby Quance is that they could be as good, if not better than the early battles between Benoit/Guerrero/Malenko/Douglas and Tazz in the early days of ECW.
I mentioned in my opening paragraph, the outstanding Cruiserweight division which CZW has built up. CZW even have a whole super-card 'Best of the Best' dedicated to this talent every year. CZW spikes the interest in this tournament by bringing in stars from other promotions and the list of talent which has competed in this tournament is staggering - The Amazing Red, The Briscoes, The SATs, Sabin, Kazarian, Sonjay Dutt, Jack Evans. It reads like a who's who of every cruiserweight starring in the Indies right now. Alongside CZW's own talented Cruisers, like M-Dogg-20, Alex Shelley and other graduates from CZW's wrestling school, the outlook is bright for this area of CZW. In fact the only cloud on the horizon is that NWA-TNA seems to be targeting most of CZW's talent pool for it's own X-Division and when the Jarrett's have finished waving their cash, there could be very little left for CZW.
CZW, like many other Indie promotions and indeed the WWE, is suffering from a lack of regular Tag Teams. Indeed, looking down a list of their former Tag Team Champions, most of them seem to be combinations of singles wrestlers thrown together. With the dominant CZW Tag Team, the Backseat Boys (Acid and Kashmere) having left, the division seems to revolve around former champions The H8 Club (Nick Gage and Nate Hatred). Current Tag Team Champions The Blackout (Ruckus and Sabian) have been pushed hard to fill the void, but their 'Angry Black Minority' gimmick will hold them back more than it will further them. Racist angles are soooo 1990's. Most of the other teams which make up this division are recent graduates of CZW's Training School, but with CZW not having the luxury of a development territory, they end up coming off greener than The Hurricane's tights and take an awful long time to get over with the hard CZW crowd...
So, CZW, in conclusion. One of the better Indie promotions in the U.S. today, although one that is stuck with a negative image which is at least partially self-inflicted. They have survived their first five years, which is quite a feat in itself, by relying on it's training school and one-night deals with talented workers, rather than bringing in over-paid and past it Ex-WWE/WCW/ECW workers in an attempt to draw fans, who then usually disappear as fast as said stars. They'll never be one of the big-two or big-three promotions unless they make drastic changes to the way they work. Their fast turnover of workers doesn't help as fans connect with a guy only for him to retire at the age of 22 due to his injuries. CZW have, however, found their niche and don't have aspirations to be something they're not. John Zandig has proven himself to be a promoter who errs on the side of caution, particularly from a financial standpoint. If they continue doing what they do best and don't take any unnecessary risks, then there is no reason why CZW won't be here in another 5 years time.
Next time in Cong Man's corner - The State of ROH
Jae wrote:
> I haven't really watched much CZW on the wrestling channel but that
> post gives us all a good overview of it.
>
> I've just been watching 3PW... That seemed quite good.
I should really do one of these for 3PW, but I haven't seen much of their stuff. I do know they're booked by the Blue Meanie and I think Roadkill is their world champ, so Lucy would like it...
> I haven't really watched much CZW on the wrestling channel but that
> post gives us all a good overview of it.
>
> I've just been watching 3PW... That seemed quite good.
I should really do one of these for 3PW, but I haven't seen much of their stuff. I do know they're booked by the Blue Meanie and I think Roadkill is their world champ, so Lucy would like it...
I haven't really watched much CZW on the wrestling channel but that post gives us all a good overview of it.
I've just been watching 3PW... That seemed quite good.
I've just been watching 3PW... That seemed quite good.
You will have once we get the Wrestling Channel and you get to see these feds first hand.
Well Ive just read this.. very impressive.. however you do appear to have too much time on your hands.. However yet again superb.. ;o) I really dont have a comment so i'll leave it as that
lalakersrule wrote:
> †hë_Çøñg_Mðñ wrote:
> CZW currently has a hand-full
> of technically gifted grapplers and one of the best Cruiserweight
> divisions anywhere on the planet.
>
>
> So we definitly won't be seeing any of them in WWE anytime soon
Of course not! Lol
> †hë_Çøñg_Mðñ wrote:
> CZW currently has a hand-full
> of technically gifted grapplers and one of the best Cruiserweight
> divisions anywhere on the planet.
>
>
> So we definitly won't be seeing any of them in WWE anytime soon
Of course not! Lol
†hë_Çøñg_Mðñ wrote:
> CZW currently has a hand-full
> of technically gifted grapplers and one of the best Cruiserweight
> divisions anywhere on the planet.
So we definitly won't be seeing any of them in WWE anytime soon
> CZW currently has a hand-full
> of technically gifted grapplers and one of the best Cruiserweight
> divisions anywhere on the planet.
So we definitly won't be seeing any of them in WWE anytime soon
The State of CZW
CZW is probably the single most stigmatized organisation in the whole of wrestling today. The only time it makes the headlines is through it's 'ultraviolent' matches. But there is a lot more to CZW that just smashing light-tubes over each other, CZW currently has a hand-full of technically gifted grapplers and one of the best Cruiserweight divisions anywhere on the planet. Yet as soon as anyone mentions CZW, it's the ultraviolence which comes to the fore.
I guess I can't seriously take a look at CZW without addressing it's death match scene. Particularly as it's their death-match wrestlers who are pretty much at the forefront of their main event picture. Current CZW World Heavyweight champion is the Messiah, who is as talented an all-rounder as you will find anywhere in North America, yet he'll never work for the WWE, thanks to his former employer Rob Black. The former XPW owner was so convinced that the Messiah was having it away with his wife, that he sent a bunch of heavies to chop off Messiah's manhood, they failed in this attempt, but cut off his thumb, leaving him with a physical defect that almost guarantees he will never make the big time. The Messiah is, however, a great figurehead for CZW, he's the only regular member of the roster who didn't graduate from CZW's own wrestling school and has talent and experience beyond his years and beyond his peers. He's not afraid to work the hardcore and ultraviolent matches so beloved by CZW's core fan base and he's arguably the most dramatic bleeder on their roster. The only problem on the horizon for CZW, is that they don't have any apparent contenders to Messiah's crown. Perennial CZW favourites, like Wifebeater, Lobo and Nick Mondo, who the main event scene has been built around and now fully-retired or only wrestle on occasion. All that ultraviolence takes it's toll eventually. CZW owner John Zandig, himself a perennial contender to the main event strap is suffering from post-concussion syndrome, the same injury which may have put WWE's (much, much younger) Chris Nowinski on the shelf for good. The one contender who seems to be left is Nate Hatred, but this strange character has a reputation for working so consistently stiff that even his friends don't like working against him. Besides which, he's caught up in a feud over the Tag Team titles. Even the guys who have been built up as potential contenders in recent months, Trent Acid and Teddy Hart are seemingly gone as both recently no-showed CZW's 'Best of the Best' event. Possibly in protest at the return of two former CZW stars. Which brings us to...
Over two years ago CZW fought one of the most brutal independent wrestling wars even seen in North America, XPW stole their building and a number of their stars. They had specifically targeted CZW and attempted to put them out of business. It didn't work and it's XPW who now find themselves out of business. The three major stars XPW did manage to steal from CZW were Main event star Justice Pain and up and comers (immortalised in the Backyard Wrestling series) Josh Prohibition and M-Dogg-20. All of this prompted Zandig to cut a hate-fuelled promo against his departing stars where he immortalised the line "Once you go Black, you don't come back". Until now, this something Zandig has stuck to, he hasn't hired any ex-XPW wrestlers (other than The Messiah). The suddenly in one show Justice Pain and M-Dogg-20 made their return, further upsetting Trent Acid, who was already on shaky ground having quit along with his Tag Team partner Johnny Kashmere a few weeks previously and one can only imagine how The Messiah feels about all this, particularly as Justice Pain is likely to be his next contender for the Heavyweight Title. The CZW fans, for their part, seem to be split, some still annoyed with Justice Pain for leaving for more money, some annoyed with Zandig for going back on his words and some feeling that time should have healed the wounds by now. However, CZW's diminishing crowds speak for themselves...
The show which might just turn CZW's fortunes around is just around the corner however, the annual 'Tournament of Death' is fast approaching and promises to deliver blood guts and crazy bumps. However, even with Wifebeater coming out of retirement, most of the spots have had to be filled with talent which no longer works for CZW (Necro Butcher, Mad Man Pondo) and unknowns from IWS, who CZW are trying to form a working relationship with. OF the CZW guys who are entered, only Wifebeater and, likely winner, Nick Gage, have any experience wrestling in death-matches. So guys like Chri$ Ca$h, Ruckus and Ian Knoxx are going to have to up their game and make a name for themselves, or one of CZW's most talked about events is going to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
I mentioned earlier CZW offers something for fans who like their entertainment a little less bloody and the man who probably exemplifies that is Nick Berk, a talented technician, who has been wasted the last few years in a comedy Tag Team with the 'colourful' Z-Barr, in a dynamic not a million miles away from the team of Rico and Charlie Haas in WWE. Fortunately with Barr leaving the promotion, Berk now has a chance to showcase what he can do. Zandig is pushing him with a 'forgotten man' gimmick and Berk could prove to be the breakthrough star which CZW so desperately needs this year. The bonus CZW will find with Berk is that his hard-hitting but low-risk style will mean his career lasting significantly longer than most of his peers. The potential for matches between Berk and emerging stars Roderick Strong and Bobby Quance is that they could be as good, if not better than the early battles between Benoit/Guerrero/Malenko/Douglas and Tazz in the early days of ECW.
I mentioned in my opening paragraph, the outstanding Cruiserweight division which CZW has built up. CZW even have a whole super-card 'Best of the Best' dedicated to this talent every year. CZW spikes the interest in this tournament by bringing in stars from other promotions and the list of talent which has competed in this tournament is staggering - The Amazing Red, The Briscoes, The SATs, Sabin, Kazarian, Sonjay Dutt, Jack Evans. It reads like a who's who of every cruiserweight starring in the Indies right now. Alongside CZW's own talented Cruisers, like M-Dogg-20, Alex Shelley and other graduates from CZW's wrestling school, the outlook is bright for this area of CZW. In fact the only cloud on the horizon is that NWA-TNA seems to be targeting most of CZW's talent pool for it's own X-Division and when the Jarrett's have finished waving their cash, there could be very little left for CZW.
CZW, like many other Indie promotions and indeed the WWE, is suffering from a lack of regular Tag Teams. Indeed, looking down a list of their former Tag Team Champions, most of them seem to be combinations of singles wrestlers thrown together. With the dominant CZW Tag Team, the Backseat Boys (Acid and Kashmere) having left, the division seems to revolve around former champions The H8 Club (Nick Gage and Nate Hatred). Current Tag Team Champions The Blackout (Ruckus and Sabian) have been pushed hard to fill the void, but their 'Angry Black Minority' gimmick will hold them back more than it will further them. Racist angles are soooo 1990's. Most of the other teams which make up this division are recent graduates of CZW's Training School, but with CZW not having the luxury of a development territory, they end up coming off greener than The Hurricane's tights and take an awful long time to get over with the hard CZW crowd...
So, CZW, in conclusion. One of the better Indie promotions in the U.S. today, although one that is stuck with a negative image which is at least partially self-inflicted. They have survived their first five years, which is quite a feat in itself, by relying on it's training school and one-night deals with talented workers, rather than bringing in over-paid and past it Ex-WWE/WCW/ECW workers in an attempt to draw fans, who then usually disappear as fast as said stars. They'll never be one of the big-two or big-three promotions unless they make drastic changes to the way they work. Their fast turnover of workers doesn't help as fans connect with a guy only for him to retire at the age of 22 due to his injuries. CZW have, however, found their niche and don't have aspirations to be something they're not. John Zandig has proven himself to be a promoter who errs on the side of caution, particularly from a financial standpoint. If they continue doing what they do best and don't take any unnecessary risks, then there is no reason why CZW won't be here in another 5 years time.
Next time in Cong Man's corner - The State of ROH
CZW is probably the single most stigmatized organisation in the whole of wrestling today. The only time it makes the headlines is through it's 'ultraviolent' matches. But there is a lot more to CZW that just smashing light-tubes over each other, CZW currently has a hand-full of technically gifted grapplers and one of the best Cruiserweight divisions anywhere on the planet. Yet as soon as anyone mentions CZW, it's the ultraviolence which comes to the fore.
I guess I can't seriously take a look at CZW without addressing it's death match scene. Particularly as it's their death-match wrestlers who are pretty much at the forefront of their main event picture. Current CZW World Heavyweight champion is the Messiah, who is as talented an all-rounder as you will find anywhere in North America, yet he'll never work for the WWE, thanks to his former employer Rob Black. The former XPW owner was so convinced that the Messiah was having it away with his wife, that he sent a bunch of heavies to chop off Messiah's manhood, they failed in this attempt, but cut off his thumb, leaving him with a physical defect that almost guarantees he will never make the big time. The Messiah is, however, a great figurehead for CZW, he's the only regular member of the roster who didn't graduate from CZW's own wrestling school and has talent and experience beyond his years and beyond his peers. He's not afraid to work the hardcore and ultraviolent matches so beloved by CZW's core fan base and he's arguably the most dramatic bleeder on their roster. The only problem on the horizon for CZW, is that they don't have any apparent contenders to Messiah's crown. Perennial CZW favourites, like Wifebeater, Lobo and Nick Mondo, who the main event scene has been built around and now fully-retired or only wrestle on occasion. All that ultraviolence takes it's toll eventually. CZW owner John Zandig, himself a perennial contender to the main event strap is suffering from post-concussion syndrome, the same injury which may have put WWE's (much, much younger) Chris Nowinski on the shelf for good. The one contender who seems to be left is Nate Hatred, but this strange character has a reputation for working so consistently stiff that even his friends don't like working against him. Besides which, he's caught up in a feud over the Tag Team titles. Even the guys who have been built up as potential contenders in recent months, Trent Acid and Teddy Hart are seemingly gone as both recently no-showed CZW's 'Best of the Best' event. Possibly in protest at the return of two former CZW stars. Which brings us to...
Over two years ago CZW fought one of the most brutal independent wrestling wars even seen in North America, XPW stole their building and a number of their stars. They had specifically targeted CZW and attempted to put them out of business. It didn't work and it's XPW who now find themselves out of business. The three major stars XPW did manage to steal from CZW were Main event star Justice Pain and up and comers (immortalised in the Backyard Wrestling series) Josh Prohibition and M-Dogg-20. All of this prompted Zandig to cut a hate-fuelled promo against his departing stars where he immortalised the line "Once you go Black, you don't come back". Until now, this something Zandig has stuck to, he hasn't hired any ex-XPW wrestlers (other than The Messiah). The suddenly in one show Justice Pain and M-Dogg-20 made their return, further upsetting Trent Acid, who was already on shaky ground having quit along with his Tag Team partner Johnny Kashmere a few weeks previously and one can only imagine how The Messiah feels about all this, particularly as Justice Pain is likely to be his next contender for the Heavyweight Title. The CZW fans, for their part, seem to be split, some still annoyed with Justice Pain for leaving for more money, some annoyed with Zandig for going back on his words and some feeling that time should have healed the wounds by now. However, CZW's diminishing crowds speak for themselves...
The show which might just turn CZW's fortunes around is just around the corner however, the annual 'Tournament of Death' is fast approaching and promises to deliver blood guts and crazy bumps. However, even with Wifebeater coming out of retirement, most of the spots have had to be filled with talent which no longer works for CZW (Necro Butcher, Mad Man Pondo) and unknowns from IWS, who CZW are trying to form a working relationship with. OF the CZW guys who are entered, only Wifebeater and, likely winner, Nick Gage, have any experience wrestling in death-matches. So guys like Chri$ Ca$h, Ruckus and Ian Knoxx are going to have to up their game and make a name for themselves, or one of CZW's most talked about events is going to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
I mentioned earlier CZW offers something for fans who like their entertainment a little less bloody and the man who probably exemplifies that is Nick Berk, a talented technician, who has been wasted the last few years in a comedy Tag Team with the 'colourful' Z-Barr, in a dynamic not a million miles away from the team of Rico and Charlie Haas in WWE. Fortunately with Barr leaving the promotion, Berk now has a chance to showcase what he can do. Zandig is pushing him with a 'forgotten man' gimmick and Berk could prove to be the breakthrough star which CZW so desperately needs this year. The bonus CZW will find with Berk is that his hard-hitting but low-risk style will mean his career lasting significantly longer than most of his peers. The potential for matches between Berk and emerging stars Roderick Strong and Bobby Quance is that they could be as good, if not better than the early battles between Benoit/Guerrero/Malenko/Douglas and Tazz in the early days of ECW.
I mentioned in my opening paragraph, the outstanding Cruiserweight division which CZW has built up. CZW even have a whole super-card 'Best of the Best' dedicated to this talent every year. CZW spikes the interest in this tournament by bringing in stars from other promotions and the list of talent which has competed in this tournament is staggering - The Amazing Red, The Briscoes, The SATs, Sabin, Kazarian, Sonjay Dutt, Jack Evans. It reads like a who's who of every cruiserweight starring in the Indies right now. Alongside CZW's own talented Cruisers, like M-Dogg-20, Alex Shelley and other graduates from CZW's wrestling school, the outlook is bright for this area of CZW. In fact the only cloud on the horizon is that NWA-TNA seems to be targeting most of CZW's talent pool for it's own X-Division and when the Jarrett's have finished waving their cash, there could be very little left for CZW.
CZW, like many other Indie promotions and indeed the WWE, is suffering from a lack of regular Tag Teams. Indeed, looking down a list of their former Tag Team Champions, most of them seem to be combinations of singles wrestlers thrown together. With the dominant CZW Tag Team, the Backseat Boys (Acid and Kashmere) having left, the division seems to revolve around former champions The H8 Club (Nick Gage and Nate Hatred). Current Tag Team Champions The Blackout (Ruckus and Sabian) have been pushed hard to fill the void, but their 'Angry Black Minority' gimmick will hold them back more than it will further them. Racist angles are soooo 1990's. Most of the other teams which make up this division are recent graduates of CZW's Training School, but with CZW not having the luxury of a development territory, they end up coming off greener than The Hurricane's tights and take an awful long time to get over with the hard CZW crowd...
So, CZW, in conclusion. One of the better Indie promotions in the U.S. today, although one that is stuck with a negative image which is at least partially self-inflicted. They have survived their first five years, which is quite a feat in itself, by relying on it's training school and one-night deals with talented workers, rather than bringing in over-paid and past it Ex-WWE/WCW/ECW workers in an attempt to draw fans, who then usually disappear as fast as said stars. They'll never be one of the big-two or big-three promotions unless they make drastic changes to the way they work. Their fast turnover of workers doesn't help as fans connect with a guy only for him to retire at the age of 22 due to his injuries. CZW have, however, found their niche and don't have aspirations to be something they're not. John Zandig has proven himself to be a promoter who errs on the side of caution, particularly from a financial standpoint. If they continue doing what they do best and don't take any unnecessary risks, then there is no reason why CZW won't be here in another 5 years time.
Next time in Cong Man's corner - The State of ROH