Break It Down: CZW Cage Of Death XII

Cage Of Death XII on December 11th, 2010

Opening Match: Rich Swann vs. Alex Colon vs. Akuma vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Ruckus vs. Ryan McBride
The winner advances to next year’s Best of the Best tournament. Gresham cartwheels out of a snapmare and tries various pin combinations on McBride to no avail. Gresham comes off the middle rope with a hurricanrana on McBride. Swann snaps off a hurricanrana on Akuma and they battle on the floor. Ruckus hits a vicious side slam on Colon. Colon back drops Ruckus to the outside but whiffs on a dive. Akuma stops Swann from diving and hits a snapmare driver. Akuma misses a moonsault and McBride catches him with a frog splash. McBride follows with a flipping death valley driver on Akuma. Ruckus connects with the Razzle Dazzle on McBride and adds a rolling fisherman buster. Gresham hits a stunner on Colon, who responds with an innovative michinoku driver. Colon hits a double DDT on Irish Drive-By. McBride spinebusters Gresham onto Colon and applies a sharpshooter-boston crab combination. Akuma breaks the hold with a stiff kick and hits a lungblower on Colon. He powerbombs Colon onto the rest of his opponents on the floor. Gresham rolls up Akuma for a nearfall and hits a tornado DDT. Akuma catches Gresham off a springboard with multiple powerbombs for the win at 6:47. Everyone worked hard and made this an entertaining opener to kick off the biggest show of the year for CZW. The short duration doesn’t bother me because they packed in a lot of action into their seven minutes and kept going at a breakneck pace. Akuma was a great addition to the roster and I’m glad that CZW is putting some faith into him. **¾

Greg Excellent makes his way to the ring accompanied by Kylie Pierce and his mother. He would love to be in action tonight but wasn’t booked. Negative chants ring throughout the Asylum Arena. Excellent apologizes to management and the crowd. Out of nowhere, Excellent hits a tiger driver on his own mother. A wave of CZW staff run to the ring to keep Excellent away from his mother.

Match #2: Sami Callihan vs. Robert Anthony
The winner will become the #1 contender for the CZW World Heavyweight Title. Callihan charges at the bell but runs into a dropkick. Anthony connects with various strikes while berating Callihan on the microphone. The fans drown him out with air horns. Callihan comes back with a vicious clothesline. Anthony crotches him on the top rope and connects with a dropkick. Callihan clotheslines Anthony off the apron and lands a dive to the floor. Anthony drop toe holds him onto a chair but gets caught by a chair shot. They brawl around ringside and ANTHONY POWERBOMBS CALLIHAN INTO THE CROWD!! There were definitely some fans taken out there. Anthony hits a suplex on the concrete floor. In the ring, Anthony comes off the top rope but Callihan catches him with a powerbomb. Callihan wins a strike exchange but runs into a modified gourdbuster. Anthony hits Taco Pizza into the turnbuckles followed by the Taco Bender for a nearfall. They battle up top and Anthony hits a powerbomb for another nearfall. The crowd is going crazy. Callihan hits a saito suplex out of nowhere and tosses Anthony into a chair. He follows with a forearm shot and applies the stretch muffler. Anthony reaches the bottom rope. Callihan lays in repeated elbow shots but Anthony survives. Anthony connects with two superkicks and hits another Taco Bender for the victory at 13:32. The back and forth nature of the match benefited them, as the various strike exchanges and brawling around ringside effectively showcased their hatred for each other. I prefer Anthony as a heel and the crowd was enormously behind Callihan in the underdog role. The finishing stretch was entertaining and both men came out of this match for the better. ***¼

Drew Gulak cuts a promo backstage. He complains about the officiating in CZW and claims that he’s going to do something about it.

Match #3: CZW World Junior Heavyweight Title: Adam Cole © vs. A.R. Fox
Cole takes time to flirt with Mia Yim on the apron. He avoids a dropkick and retreats to the floor. Fox catches him with a baseball slide and lands a moonsault to the outside. In the ring, Cole reverses a slingshot attempt into a german suplex. He distracts the referee while Yim chokes Fox on the bottom rope. Fox blocks a suplex and hits a twisting brainbuster. He bulldogs Cole into the middle turnbuckle and hits a jawbreaker. Fox follows with a springboard ace crusher but finds knees on a moonsault attempt. Cole connects with a superkick and hits Coleateral for a nearfall. He adds two tombstones but Fox won’t stay down. They battle on the apron and Fox hits sliced bread. Cole falls to the floor where Fox takes him out with a dive. Back in, the referee checks on Cole while Yim low blows Fox. Cole hits Panama’s Sunrise to retain his title at 8:09. I wish these two were given more time but the post-match happenings prevented that. Nevertheless, they packed a lot of action into eight minutes and managed to top their previous encounter. Fox was on point with his offense and Cole was solid as usual. Cole has had a great title reign and was able to end the year with a solid defense. ***

After the match, Tyler Veritas appears near the entrance. He congratulates Cole on his successful title defense but reveals that he’s cashing in his title shot right now…

Match #4: CZW World Junior Heavyweight Title: Adam Cole © vs. Tyler Veritas
Veritas chops Cole around ringside and throws him into the front row. In the ring, Cole misses a dropkick and falls victim to a half nelson suplex. Veritas connects with a knee strike. A distraction by Yim allows Cole to Corona Kick Veritas off the apron. Back in, Cole hits a neckbreaker followed by Coleateral. The referee inadvertently gets knocked down during an airplane spin. Veritas hits a crucifix bomb and applies the Veri-Tap. Yim runs into the ring and sprays something into Veritas’ face to break the hold. Cole synchs in the Veri-Tap to retain his title at 5:15. Some might be annoyed at the booking, as Veritas’ title shot was thrown away in a five-minute match. However, Veritas doesn’t currently have the momentum to take the title from Cole and at the very least, this match provided a genuine surprise on the biggest show of the year. **

Match #5: CZW World Tag Team Titles: Sabian and Joker vs. Amasis and Ophidian
This is the finals of a tournament to crown new champions. Sabian and Amasis begin with some chain wrestling. The crowd is surprisingly gracious toward the action. Ophidian sends Joker to the outside with a headscissors and then snaps off another headscissors on the floor. Sabian catches Amasis with a dropkick but walks into a knockout kick from Ophidian. The Osirian Portal take over with some double teaming. They try to hypnotize Joker but Sabian breaks it up by dropkicking Ophidian. Philly’s Most Wanted hit a flapjack on Amasis and isolate him. Joker punishes him with stiff strikes until he’s able to leave the ring and force the tag. Ophidian lands a lionsault onto Joker but Sabian plants him with a DDT. Philly’s Most Wanted refocus their attention on Amasis and work him over. He takes down Sabian with a spinebuster and makes the tag. Ophidian dazes Joker with a knockout kick and sends him to the floor with a yakuza kick. He follows out with a twisting corkscrew press. Ophidian trips on a springboard but still takes down Sabian. He adds a sit-out facebuster. The Osirian Portal try to hypnotize Sabian but Joker german suplexes both of them. Philly’s Most Wanted hit a lungblower-backcracker combination on Amasis. Joker giant swings him into a dropkick from Sabian for a nearfall. Joker hits a corner cannonball on Ophidian. Amasis escapes a doomsday device and Ophidian takes out Sabian with double knees. The Osirian Portal connect with stereo kicks and land stereo 450 splashes for a two count. They hypnotize Philly’s Most Wanted and dancing ensues. It might seem out of place, but everyone in the building is standing. The Osirian Portal hit the Osirian Sacrament on Joker for a nearfall. Joker low blows Amasis. Sabian takes off Ophidian’s mask and rolls him up to make Philly’s Most Wanted the new CZW World Tag Team Champions at 17:36. Both teams delivered a fantastic performance and ended the tournament on a high note. I loved how they built toward the hypnosis and subsequent dancing, as Philly’s Most Wanted evaded multiple hypnosis attempts throughout the match. When it finally happened, the crowd went crazy and took the match to a new level. However, I still feel as though the Osirian Portal should have won and the rollup finish totally deflated the crowd. Nevertheless, I’ll give Sabian credit as he ended 2010 with his best performance of the year. Hopefully Philly’s Most Wanted deliver worthwhile title defenses as the titles have gained much needed legitimacy throughout the tournament. ***½

Sabian disrespects Ophidian’s mask and gloats about his title win. The Briscoes make their return to CZW and challenge Philly’s Most Wanted to a title match next month.

Backstage, Drew Gulak confronts Maven Bentley about his referee problems. Apparently, Gulak is mad that other wrestlers put their hands on CZW officials. Bentley basically calls Gulak a boring wrestler and tells him that he can officiate a match as long as he doesn’t wrestle. Do they realize that he’s the Wired Television Champion? I agree that he’s boring but they’re kind of burying the title here.

Match #6: CZW World Heavyweight Title: Jon Moxley © vs. Homicide
They wrestle to a stalemate. Homicide connects with a series of chops and throws Moxley to the floor. He misses a baseball slide and Moxley finds success with one of his own. In the ring, Homicide applies an octopus hold and hits a neckbreaker. He comes off the middle rope with a tornado DDT. Moxley is bleeding from the nose. Homicide hits rolling suplexes and goes up top. Moxley catches him with a superplex. They stare each other down and exchange punches. Homicide hits an ace crusher but Moxley quickly responds with one of his own. Homicide escapes the Hook and Ladder. He hits another ace crusher and follows with a lariat. Moxley tries a few rollups to no avail and locks in a fujiwara armbar. Homicide reaches the bottom rope. Homicide hits an exploder along with the Cop Killa but Moxley smartly rolls to the outside. Homicide brings him back into the ring but finds knees on a frog splash. Moxley hits a kobashi DDT followed by the One Hitter to retain his title at 11:22. This match definitely could have been better but it’s all a matter of circumstance. They probably would have benefited from brawling more and introducing weapons. However, they didn’t go that route because the final two matches on the show will heavily consist of brawling and weapons. The crowd was pretty dull for most of the contest and just couldn’t get invested into the action. Homicide hasn’t had the best performances during his run in CZW thus far. **½

After the match, Brodie Lee comes through the crowd and boots Moxley in the face. He makes it clear that he wants a shot at Moxley’s title.

Match #7: CZW Ultraviolent Underground Title: Nick Gage © vs. Yuko Miyamoto
Drew Gulak is the special referee. I’ll do my best to refrain from making any jokes about bank robbery. Gulak tells both competitors that he wants a pure wrestling match. Gage tries to wrestle but decides to bring a staple gun into the ring. Gulak takes it away from him. They trade control of a wristlock and find themselves at a stalemate. Gage brings a pizza cutter into the ring but Gulak once again takes it away. Gulak also takes away a hammer and Gage finally lays him out with the Chokebreaker. Gage gets on the microphone and signals for weapons to be brought to ringside. They exchange forearms and Miyamoto back drops Gage into a web of barbed wire. Miyamoto lands a flying elbow drop, sending Gage through the barbed wire. Gage whips him into the guardrail and they brawl through the crowd. Miyamoto sets Gage onto a table. He ascends to a balcony but Gage follows him. Gage throws him over the balcony and through the table. Back in the ring, Gage hits Miyamoto over the head with a thumbtack bat. He follows with a spinebuster and grinds barbed wire across Miyamoto’s forehead. Miyamoto comes back with a handspring elbow and a hesitation dropkick. He hurricanranas Gage off the top rope and onto a chair. Gage hits a DDT and connects with a facewash kick. He plants Miyamoto with two piledrivers and hits the Chokebreaker for a nearfall. Gage slides a ladder into the ring. Miyamoto catches him with a dive to the floor and hits a modified piledriver in the ring. Miyamoto climbs to the top of the ladder. This ladder is high, to the point where he can reach the ceiling support beams. Miyamoto lands a moonsault off the ladder to become the new Ultraviolent Underground Champion at 20:49. I was questioning Gulak’s involvement at first, but the crowd exploded when Gage took him out. This is a match that relied on its visually-impressive yet extremely painful looking big spots. Thankfully, those spots were effectively spaced throughout the match and pulled off without a hitch. Aside from some significant dead time at points, this was an entertaining brawl that was able to meet its somewhat high expectations. ***¼

Match #8: Cage of Death: Scotty Vortekz, Danny Havoc, Devon Moore, and Dysfunction vs. Drake Younger, MASADA, Brain Damage, and tHURTeen
The only way to win this match is by eliminating all members of the other team. You eliminate someone by making both of their feet touch the arena floor. Devon Moore and tHURTeen start the match for their respective teams. tHURTeen grinds barbed wire across Moore’s forehead. Billy Gram accidentally hits tHURTeen with a thumbtack bat. Moore then uses the thumbtack bat to take care of Gram. tHURTeen back drops Moore onto a barbed wire board. They climb the cage and battle on a platform. Moore powerslams tHURTeen off the platform and into the ring. Brain Damage enters the match for Cult Fiction. He hits Moore with a thumbtack bat and delivers a low blow. Brain Damage follows with a brainbuster. Danny Havoc joins the match for the Suicide Kings and catches Brain Damage with a missile dropkick. He lands a springboard corkscrew senton but Brain Damage just throws him through a barbed wire board. Moore powerbombs tHURTeen into a barbed wire board. Havoc climbs to a platform. He jumps off and connects with a forearm smash on Brain Damage. MASADA enters the cage and overhead suplexes Havoc off the top rope. MASADA climbs to a platform and elbow drops Moore through a table. Dysfunction joins the match to even the score. He finlay rolls tHURTeen into a barbed wire board. The Suicide Kings work together to throw Brain Damage through an opening in the cage and through a barbed wire table on the floor, eliminating him. Drake Younger comes out as the final entrant for his team. He blocks a superkick from Dysfunction and slams him through a pane of glass. MASADA and Younger wheelbarrow slam Havoc into barbed wire. MASADA uses a piece of glass to carve Dysfunction’s forehead. Younger back suplexes Havoc onto a propped chair. Scotty Vortekz joins the match as the final participant. He brings a weed wacker with him and Younger eliminates himself to avoid any further pain. Younger grabs a microphone and says that he’ll fight Vortekz on his terms. MASADA russian leg sweeps Vortekz into a slanted platform. He throws Vortekz to the floor and eliminates him. tHURTeen climbs to a platform and lands a 450 splash onto Havoc and Dysfunction. MASADA military presses Moore through a barbed wire board. tHURTeen enzuigiris Havoc off a platform and through a table on the floor, eliminating him. It’s now Moore and Dysfunction against MASADA and tHURTeen. Dysfunction superkicks tHURTeen off the same platform and through a barbed wire table on the floor, eliminating him. MASADA throws a chair at Dysfunction, who is barely able to grab hold of a platform ledge. MASADA stabs wooden spikes into his hands and forehead. Dysfunction loses grip and falls through a table at ringside. We’re down to Moore and MASADA. Moore challenges MASADA to join him on a platform. MASADA stabs wooden spikes into his head and sets up a pane of glass. He suplexes Moore through the pane of glass. Moore turns the tide by stabbing MASADA with a wooden spike. Billy Gram climbs to the platform but accidentally hits MASADA with a thumbtack bat. Moore knocks MASADA off the platform and through a barbed wire table on the floor. Moore wins Cage of Death for the Suicide Kings at 26:12. The whole Cage of Death contraption was a spectacle and the match itself was well-executed. If you enjoy deathmatch wrestling, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t love this match. Younger eliminating himself to avoid Vortekz was brilliant and they should have a quality feud to begin 2011 for CZW. There were also plenty of innovative weapon spots, as you would expect. My biggest complaint with this match involves the eliminations. Almost all of the eliminations involved a wrestler being knocked off a platform and through a table on the floor. This caused the action to become predictable and repetitive towards the end. Still, if you’re a fan of deathmatches, this is definitely a spectacle worth checking out. ***¾

Moore military presses Gram off the platform and into the ring. Younger sneaks up behind Moore and hits Drake’s Landing onto the platform. He throws Moore into the ring and through a pane of glass. Younger celebrates until B-Boy makes his return to CZW. Younger runs away while Moore breaks a pane of glass over Gram’s face. B-Boy and Moore celebrate to end the show.

The 411: Cage Of Death XII is unquestionably the best show of the year for CZW. The card was filled with quality wrestling and I appreciated the consistency. Callihan and Anthony produced a solid match that effectively setup Anthony to challenge for the world title next year. The CZW World Tag Team Titles were given legitimacy in a great contest that featured Sabian’s best effort to date. The main event ended the show and the year on a high note, which is exactly what CZW needed. There’s also some worthwhile title matches throughout the card. Additionally, this show felt like a big deal with the returns of the Briscoes, Brodie Lee, and B-Boy. CZW has finally proven that they can deliver highly recommendable shows and hopefully they do more of that in 2011.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]