411 Video Review: CZW Then And Now

CZW THEN AND NOW
May 10, 2003

CZW marks the tenth anniversary of wrestling at Viking Hall (the old ECW arena) by promising a great show with the first ever meeting between two of the biggest east coast indy talents, Trent Acid and Homicide. What results is one of the best matches in CZW history… or is it?

MATCH RESULTS

Elimination match: Dunn & Marcos & Hurricane Kid vs. Derek Fraizer & Z-Barr vs. Jude & Niles Young vs. Jon Dahmer & Cory Kastle – I HATE three way or four way tag matches, there are just way too many people. Dunn & Marcos are the Ring Crew Express in Ring Of Honor. Jude, Niles Young and Cory Kastle are all students at the CZW wrestling school, which Jon Dahmer leads. Big brawl starts us off and Dunn and Marcos clean house. Hurricane and Fraizer go at it and trade various spotty moves before Derek tags in Z-Barr. Barr nails the donkey punch and gives Kid an atomic drop on a chair. Fraizer comes in and hits a kick on Kid as Barr twirls him. Kid manages to tag Dahmer and Niles Young also gets a tag. Dahmer works over Young before Young makes a comeback with a dropkick for two. Big spinebuster and Dahmer tags Kastle, allowing them to hit a sidewinder. Young facebusters Kastle and tags Jude. Anyway, they keep going back and forth like this for another two minutes, not hitting anything inspiring, thus I’m not telling you. Dahmer nails the Move of 1000 Maniacs on Jude (powerbomb into piledriver). Kastle splashes onto Jude to eliminate them at 7:22. Dahmer gets dumped and Barr follows with a plancha while Dunn and Marcos hit the slice bread 2. Hurricane comes off the top with a headbutt to eliminate Kastle & Dahmer at 7:55. Dunn & Marcos hit some cool planchas to the outside and Hurricane follows with a springboard corkscrew. Back in, Barr drops Hurricane on his head and Fraizer splashes him for the win at 9:23. This was such a mess, but was fun for what it was. Nothing was really screwed up and it was definitely not as bad as it could have been. Still, I have to ask that these matches not be booked anymore. *1/4

Nick Berk vs. GQ – They start off with a lockup and the standard rolling armbar escapes. Berk stretches GQ in an armbar but GQ takes a powder. Berk chases him back in and nails a leg lariat and a regular lariat. GQ rolls out again. Berk follows out with a flipping plancha, but GQ doesn’t really catch him and it looks like Berk broke his tailbone on the concrete. Fucking nasty bump, but not as bad as the time he landed on his head at the Divide & Conquer show in March 2003. Berk looks hurt. Back in he tries to lock Q in another submission but GQ dropkicks the knee and chokes Berk. GQ continues to dominate but Berk won’t give up. Probably because we’re only four minutes into the match. Berk almost suplexes GQ over the top, but Q falls back down and snaps suplexes him for two. GQ hits some knees before giving Berk a DDT, but that only gets two as well. Am I supposed to buy these near falls? Berk charges out of the corner with a dropkick to make his comeback and drops GQ on his knees, then does it again and holds him in a surfboard. That was obviously a blown spot. Damn it. Berk goes up but gets crotched and hung in the tree of woe. GQ hits two dropkicks but misses a Van Terminator and falls prey to a split legged moonsault for two. GQ bails and grabs something… Back in GQ throws salt in Berk’s eyes in a terribly botched finish. But wait, it’s not the finish, as GQ goes for a submission instead, and Berk makes the ropes. Berk blocks a brass knuckles shot with some blows of his own and some german suplexes followed by a dragon suplex for two. GQ finally nails the brass knucks shot for the win at 11:30. Wow, this match was okay action (even the plancha had some psychology behind it) but was just blown to pieces after they started botching spots, especially the salt and the constantly delayed finish. *

Deranged vs. Grim Reefer vs. Smoked Out – If this is anything but a way of putting Deranged over two guys at once, I’ll be very annoyed. Deranged gets double teamed before taking Smoked down with a hurricanrana. Deranged flips around Reefer before kicking him down. I love Deranged, he’s always entertaining. Deranged uses Reefer’s back to LAUNCH himself over the top onto Smoked in a beautiful move. Reefer follows out with a flipping plancha of his own. They leave Reefer down on the outside. Back in, Deranged suckers Smoked into going for a double plancha, but nails him with a 619 in a clever spot. Reefer comes back in but falls victim to a DDT. Smoked nails Deranged with a release german suplex. Reefer drops an elbow but Smoked breaks the count. Reefer misses another elbow and Smoked hits a kick for two. Smoked suplexes Reefer into a bridge allowing Deranged to hit a stomp from the top rope. Deranged gets dumped and Smoked spinebusters Reefer for two. Smoked piledrives Reefer to fuck, as he literally bounces up and straight from the impact. Deranged nails a dropkick on Smoked but gets dumped again. Get Deranged back in the ring! Reefer hits Smoked with a neckbreaker to eliminate him at 6:22. Deranged nails a diamond cutter on Reefer, who sells it in the most unusual way known to man (like a DDT). Deranged nails a standing shooting star press for two. Reefer hits a swanton on Deranged for two. Deranged nails a sunset flip into a pin for the win at 7:46. Well, at least they put Deranged over, but they could have done it in 5 minutes instead of 8. That aside, this was a pretty inoffensive spotfest. *1/2

Adam Flash & Ian Knoxx vs. Rockin Rebel & Greg Matthews – The match starts on the outside before Flash and Rebel get into the ring. Flash gets a few quick falls on Rebel before tagging in Knoxx. Rebel works Knoxx over in the corner and invites Matthews in to hit a “poetry in motion” type match, though the big guy falls over the top and to the outside as well. Sidewalk slam gets two on Knoxx. Knoxx comes back with a kick that misses and a legdrop, so Matthews bails. Back in Knoxx nails a fallaway slam. Rebel gets a cheapshot on Knoxx allowing Matthews to hit a suplex. Rebel tags in and they backdrop Knoxx. Rebel drops an elbow for two. Matthews tags in and they continue to double team Knoxx. Rebel tags back in, repeat process as Knoxx plays face in peril. Knoxx DDTs Matthews but Rebel breaks the count. Knoxx suplexes him for two. Matthews accidentally elbows his tag partner. Knoxx goes for the hot tag but gets cut off. He gets it anyway. Flash takes both guys out. Flash gets crotched on the top rope and the heels whip Knoxx with a belt. Rebel works over Flash with the belt as Knoxx and Fraizer (Rebel’s friend) fight on the outside. Zandig comes in and beats the shit out of Rebel with a belt allowing Flash to win at 8:54. Zandig continues whipping the shit out of Rebel. This would set up their strap match next month that resulted in the IWA MS invasion, but that’s for another review. This was okay tag action. *1/2

Trent Acid vs. Homicide – Here it is, the first ever meeting between these two. This was set up at the previous month’s Best Of The Best 3 show where Homicide cost Trent Acid a match by delivering one of the most brutal vertebreakers ever. So, here we have it, this match with a 15 minute time limit, and lord knows why that was imposed. Trent comes out dressed like Homicide, complete with bandana face mask and his hair in braids. (He did the same thing at their Ring Of Honor match in June 2003). Acid is brilliant at playing the cowardly heel, as he is tepid about actually locking up with Homicide. Acid tries to showboat but cops a yakuza kick and a dropkick that sends him to the outside. Homicide follows out and throws a chair at Acid. He sits Acid on a chair and hits the fastest flipping plancha ever onto Acid and the guardrail. Beautiful, what a great start. He rolls Acid back in and Acid begs off. Homicide delivers a backdrop and a yakuza kick in the corner. He hits a knee in the corner for two. Acid suckers Homicide into a charge and backdrops him over the top. Acid looks to follow but Homicide blocks it with an elbow. Acid escapes a DDT on the apron and hits a quebrada, almost eating some guardrail too. This match is awesome. Back in, Acid chokes Homicide in the corner. Acid nails a superkick and a knee charge in the corner, followed by a missile dropkick and a tornado DDT for two! Acid holds Homicide in a choke on the floor but Homicide makes the ropes. Acid goes for another tornado DDT but Homicide catches him and delivers a northern lights suplex into the turnbuckle. Homicide drops Acid on his knee and then lifts him into a brainbuster for two. Homicide goes for the vertebreaker but Acid escapes and nails a blue thunder bomb for two. Acid delivers a falcon arrow for two and Homicide rolls out of the ring. Acid DDTs Homicide on the ring apron. Acid sets up a table in the ring and sets Homicide up on it. Acid goes up but Homicide joins him and hits an Ace Crusher off the top through the table!! Good bump. It gets two. They trade yakuza kicks before Acid hits one to the back of the head and one to the front for TWO! Man, the fans are rabid. Acid nails the Acid bomb, his old finisher, for two. Two minutes remain in the match. Actually, its three and a half, but wrestling never did understand the theory of time. Homicide blocks a yakuza kick and locks Acid into the STF. Acid makes the ropes. Homicide blocks a roaring elbow and nails an ace crusher, then locks the STF on again. And the bell rings! Time limit expired for 15 minutes at 12:42. Now that is FUCKING BULLSHIT!! The fans scream five more minutes and Homicide agrees. Acid complains that the fans always boo him, so why should he give them five more minutes? But he wants to prove that he is better than Homicide, so its on. Homicide suplexes Acid for two. Acid comes back with a roaring elbow and goes up. Homicide joins him and delivers a belly to belly suplex off the top for two. Homicide hurricanranas Acid off the top, but Acid holds on into a sunset flip for two. Backslide by Homicide gets two. Acid nails a firemans carry into a bridge for two. Acid goes for the yakuza kick in the corner but Homicide kicks his leg out. Homicide locks the STF but Acid escapes. Homicide nails a powerbomb on Acid and locks on another version of the STF. Acid taps!! Homicide takes it at 17:12 (total time). Acid offers a handshake but nails a yakuza kick just because he can. B-Boy runs into the ring and they double team Homicide. Mafia, aka Danny Maff runs in from out on the street and takes out B-Boy. Acid bails. This would set up a tag match between these four guys that actually didn’t occur into July 2003 (but was a fucking great match). Anyway, that was one hell of a match, and these two work REALLY well together. The only thing that really brings it down and prevents it from being on the level of their encounter in Ring Of Honor at WrestleRave 03 in June 2003 is the time limit expiration. It really served no point. It may give Acid an excuse as to why he lost, but he agreed to the extra minutes so it really has no purpose. As it stands, its still definitely worth a look. ***1/2

CZW Iron Man Title: Nick Mondo vs. Johnny Kashmere – These two have met often before, the most recent time before this match would be their October 2002 clash at Beyond the Barrier, a very underwhelming match to say the least. Kashmere and tag partner Acid have a habit of kissing all the girls in front row and taking money from them on their way to the ring. In a great moment, as Kashmere steps into the ring, all the guys throw quarters at him, and Kashmere produces an umbrella to shield himself. Hilarious. Reminds me of a good Simpsons quote. Mondo nails a low blow on Kashmere to start. Man, they waste no time. And Mondo is the face here. They trade slaps and go into a criss-cross before Mondo nails a spinebuster. Mondo nails a springboard legdrop for two. Mondo goes to run the ropes but the Dew (Kashmere’s manager) pulls the ropes down and Mondo falls out. The Dew works Mondo over and Kashmere joins him. Kashmere whips Mondo into the guardrail in an ugly spot. Back in, Kashmere locks on a figure four but Mondo makes the ropes. Kashmere drops Mondo on his head for two. Mondo comes back with some kicks for two. Man, the ring is littered in the quarters still, making it very precarious. Mondo brings a table in the ring but gets speared for two. Kashmere nails the Cradlebreaker and sets up the table. He puts another table across the top turnbuckle. Kashmere jumps up top but Mondo pushes him off onto the concrete! Brutal. Mondo sets Kashmere up on the table and goes up top but the Dew stops him. Mondo ends up giving the Dew an assault driver off the top onto Kashmere and through the table for the win at 9:27. That had to be a homage to the Benoit bomb from ECW back in 95. Anyway, this was much better than their Beyond The Barrier match because it was kept short and with less crap. Still not great though. *1/4

CZW Junior Heavyweight Title: Ruckus vs. Chris Cash – They lock up and go into a running sequence that looks like they’re holding hands and doing a dance. Looks good though. Cash lands on his feet from a monkey flip and trips Ruckus down into an STF, but it’s too early for that to work. More gymnastics before Ruckus hits a handspring leg lariat. They’re pretty crisp tonight. Ruckus misses a nice standing shooting star press. He gives Cash a dragon screw leg whip which Cash blows. Damn. Ruckus delivers a kick and then chokes Cash down on the mat. Cash escapes and hits a leg lariat for two. Cash drops Ruckus on his knee and holds him in a camel clutch. Cash props Ruckus up top but irony interjects and Ruckus flips backwards off the top and pushes Cash into the turnbuckle on his way down in a cute spot. Ruckus takes Cash to the outside. Ruckus slides out and drives Cash into the ringpost. Ruckus misses a kick and eats ringpost instead. Cash wails on him with a chair and then takes him towards the eagle’s nest. Cash DDTs Ruckus on the staging and sets up a table. They jump up onto the nest and tease going over. GQ makes an appearance on the nest and Cash accidentally gives him the Cash Flo off the stage. And why are they reprising this feud that first occurred over a year ago? Ruckus follows with a beautiful moonsault onto Cash and takes him back to the ring. Ruckus sets up a chair and gives Cash a Michinoku driver onto it for two. Ruckus hits the razzle dazzle and a powerbomb into facebuster for two. Ruckus misses an elbow and Cash nails a DDT. Cash goes up top but GQ knocks him down. Ruckus hits a flipping van terminator but Cash kicks out. Ruckus hits a fucking cartwheel phoenix splash for the win at 14:56. Man, the GQ stage bump should have been the finish, as the rest seemed like it had been tacked on for no real reason at all. Some solid action let down by the end. **

B-Boy vs. Tony Mamaluke – They start off by trading slaps like gentleman. Both guys try to take each other down into submissions but none of them stick. B-Boy escapes an armbar and they get back to their feet (nice transition). They hold the lock up, driving each other into the turnbuckles and then stumbling out and holding onto each other on the outside! Back in the ring Mamaluke cops an enziguri and some chops and kicks. Mamaluke blocks a charge but gets hit with a t-bone suplex. B-Boy dropkicks Mamaluke in the corner and Tony falls out of the ring. B-Boy misses a baseball slide and Mamaluke legsweeps him into the barrier and then stretches him. They’re slipping on the floor because of the quarters. B-Boy catches Tony with a palm strike as he tries to come back in. B-Boy misses a shining wizard and Mamaluke takes aim on the hurt knee, legwhipping him and holding him in the Sicilian stretch. B-Boy makes the ropes but Mamaluke keeps at him, nailing a DDT for two. Mamaluke smashes the knee across the ringpost and then locks on the ringpost figure four! On the correct leg! Back in, Mamaluke continues to work the leg. Mamaluke gets him in a legvine and they punch each other while in the hold. Awesome. Mamaluke bridges back out of danger. B-Boy makes the ropes again. Mamaluke goes for a whip but gets reversed and B-Boy gets a cradle piledriver… but can’t make the cover because his knee is fucked. B-Boy lands some chops and a sunset flip for two. B-Boy holds Mamaluke in a stretch that is difficult to explain. Mamaluke makes the ropes. B-Boy lands a kick and a powerbomb for two. The leg, B-Boy, don’t forget the leg. B-Boy hits a fisherman’s buster for two. B-Boy pounds Mamaluke into every buckle in the corner. He goes up top but gets crotched. Mamaluke superplexes B-Boy off the top and rolls into a front face lock. Lovely. B-Boy won’t give up and Mamaluke can’tbelieve it. Mamaluke goes back to the leg, flapjacking B-Boy and rolling into a single leg boston crab. B-Boy makes the ropes, so Mamaluke tries forearms and gets a belly to back suplex. B-Boy comes back to hit one of his own and they trade more of them. B-Boy hits the shining wizard but Mamaluke falls to the outside. B-Boy brings him back in. Mamaluke escapes the Cross-Special Brainbuster and wraps B-Boy in a legvine. B-Boy gets a sunet flip and takes out Mamaluke’s knee. While Mamaluke is on one knee B-Boy gets the shining wizard for the pin at 17:10. What a fantastic match. There were lots of subtle match elements in here, and while they didn’t have a storyline feud, this was a great contest. B-Boy was always going over, so it’s a pity he had no psychology on Mamaluke, and couldn’t use it in the finish. Still, apart from the sketchy psychology in the middle they brought it back nicely and this was a better contest than the Acid/Homicide match (which a lot of fans thought was five stars). I totally short-changed this match on first viewing and I feel a lot of fans have, but it really shows up well. ****

Ladder Match: Sonjay Dutt vs. Ric Blade – Knowing Blade, this could get really ugly. To win you have to reach up and grab the contract for a shot at the CZW jr. heavyweight title. They begin with some junior gymnastics followed by a stand off. May I mention how much I love Sonjay? Sonjay, if you read this, you’re the greatest. Each guy grabs a ladder and they have duelling ladders including a cute spot where they do that test of strength/bridge sequence with ladders in it too. Both guys tumble outside with the ladders in a scary moment. Blade sets a ladder up against the rail but irony interjects and Sonjay gives him a northern lights suplex onto it. Sonjay lands a spinning plancha and brings Blade back inside. He lays Blade on a ladder and drops an elbow. Blade catches him in a body press and runs him into a ladder in the corner then gives Sonjay a backbreaker. Blade climbs the ladder but gets stopped, as Sonjay suspends a ladder between the ropes and the other ladder. Sonjay springboard moonsaults onto that ladder but almost misses. They try to climb the ladder, and they botch a hurricanrana off the ladder. Blade rolls out and Sonjay climbs. The ladder is almost broken though. Blade stops Sonjay and hits the sunset flip powerbomb off the ladder. Blade nails a fallawy moonsault but there’s no pinfalls, you idiot. Blade props Sonjay up top but cops a hurricanrana off the top. Man, that was ugly as Blade landed on his tailbone. Sonjay goes out and gets a fucking huge ladder and sets it up in the ring. The ladder breaks and they both fall off in an obvious blown spot. Man, nothing is going right tonight for these guys. Sonjay hits a neckbreaker but misses a phoenix splash. He hits a tornado DDT but cops a neckbreaker over Blade’s knee. Blade hits a drug bomb off the top which finally looks nice. They climb ladders next to each other and both guys go tumbling again. Blade climbs the big ladder and grabs the contract at 14:19 and does a flip off the ladder to the mat just for kicks. These guys didn’t click AT ALL, not a reflection of either guy’s talent (I hate Blade and Sonjay brought him to an okay level, but Sonjay is much better than Blade would allow him to be). So, this was just messy. *1/2

CZW World Title: Fans Bring The Weapons: Messiah vs. Nate Hatred – Hatred earned this title shot by winning the battle royal at the previous show, Best Of The Best 3. There are lots of imaginative weapons on the outside of the ring, and I’ll explain them as they come into play. Feeling out process to start and Hatred lands a shoulder block. They trade hammerlocks and Hatred gets another shoulderblock. Messiah bails and Hatred chases him back in where Messiah lands a couple of arm drags before falling victim to a clothesline. Hatred sets up a wooden cross in the corner with “Messiah” written on it in thumbtacks. Messiah lands an STO and grabs the cross… and throws it out of the ring. Take THAT, fans. Hatred catches a tornado DDT attempt and lands a northern lights suplex for two. An ironing board gets set up and Messiah is sent through it. Hatred SMACKS a keyboard over Messiah’s head in a nice visual. It gets two. Messiah is BUSTED open. “Its legit, Philadelphia Athletic Commission people, I swear”. Hatred smacks Messiah with a thumbtack bat for two. Hatred smacks Messiah with a crutch and chokes him. Hatred brings the shopping trolley in but gets flapjacked onto it. Messiah wallops Hatred with street sign and rams the shopping cart into him for two. Messiah tees off on Hatred’s groin and smacks him with the thumbtack bat for two. Hatred is busted open too now. Messiah is whipped into the corner and Hatred goes out to get a bucket of thumbtacks, which he pours onto Messiah. Hatred tries to pin him in the tacks but, no dice. Hatred lands a facebuster on the thumbtacks and a slam on the tacks for two. Hatred pours rubbing alcohol onto a paint roller and rolls it all over Messiah’s back. Messiah fights back by backdropping Hatred into the tacks for two. Messiah sets Hatred up on top but gets shoved down into the tacks. He springs back up in time to slam Hatred off the top into the tacks for two. Messiah superplexes Hatred into the tacks for two. Nick gage runs in and chairshots Hatred, taking him out. That was because Hatred cost Gage the title at the previous show, Best Of The Best 3. Gage shakes hands with Messiah, then breaks the chair over his head, allowing Messiah to fall unconscious onto Hatred for the win to retain at 16:14. Gage beats on Hatred more before leaving the ring, offering up a great WWE video package shot (which they used in the next month’s package). That was the right finish, but I can’t help but feel that the Messiah got lost behind their feud here and suffered from a lack of good title feuds in the second half of 2003. Hatred calls Gage back and all three guys get into a big brawl. This would set up their three-way cage match for the next show. As for this match, it was your standard weapons fare. **

The Verdict: I didn’t remember enjoying this show very much, mainly because of the disappointment of not having the Acid/Homicide match hit ***** like a lot of people had claimed. But a few months down the track it stands as a solid show. There’s a lot of crap on here in the undercard, but there’s a few okay matches (the main, Cash/Ruckus), and one good match (Acid/Homicide) and one great match that I didn’t even remember being very great (Mamaluke/B-Boy). The Acid and Mamaluke matches are enough to give this a recommendation but you can FF the rest.

-You can pick this show up from www.smartmarkvideo.com

-You can find out more about CZW and their upcoming show “Night Of Infamy 2” (great for you PA and NJ guys) at www.czwwrestling.com, and check out www.czwfans.com for some the best CZW discussion on the net.

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Thanks for reading.