Post by cavedweller73 on Dec 6, 2011 22:36:28 GMT -5
I wanted to post these results before this. But, due to the fact that I had computer problems all weekend and then, my computer completely blew up last night (and I spent all afternoon fixing it), this is the first chance I've had.
I honestly was on the fence about going back to Philly for Cage of Death this year. But, what pushed me over the edge was the afternoon "Indy Summit" show that was to feature guys from such Japanese promotions as BJW, Freedoms, DDT and K-Dojo. The coolest thing about these shows was that last month, at CZW's Indianapolis show, I talked DJ Hyde into hooking me up with front row tickets for both show, since getting front row tickets for any CZW show at the Arena is never easy. Here's what went down:
Indy Summit show:
Before the show, some of the guys from Japan were at the merch table. I got to meet one of the main reasons I made the trip to Philly, Takashi Sasaki. I bought a DVD from him (which got a "HEY!!!!!!" yell from him and Jun Kasai...HAHA!!) and he signed it for me. I also got my picture with him. He was SUPER nice!!
Danshoku Dino vs. DJ Hyde
Dino is the over-the-top gay guy from DDT who once worked a show in West Virgina for IWA:EC. When he came out, he was trying to grab and kiss every guy he could get his hands on. When he got to the corner where I was, I looked up and all I saw was him puckering his lips towards me with his arms stretched out. I literally tried to crawl under my chair! HA HA!!! The match was full of comedy spots with Dino doing all kinds of creepy things to DJ and other guys in the front row (nowhere near me this time, thank Goodness!). In the end, Dino got the win after he did a piledriver onto DJ with DJ's head in the front of his tights. After the match, he humped DJ and made out with Larry Legend (the ring announcer)....HA HA!!! A decent comedy match....albeit a disgusting one!
Kaumi & Devon Moore vs. Philly's Most Wanted (BLK JEEZ (Sabian) & Joker)
Kaumi is a masked guy from Freedoms in Japan. He looked a lot like W*INGER. The match was really nothing much of note. Joker spent most of the match beating the crap out of Kaumi. In the end, PMW got the win.
CZW Jr. title Match
Sami Callihan (c) vs. Yoshihito Sasaki
I knew this one would be good and it delivered! Sasaki is a somewhat short, stocky guy who's pure muscle and usually teams with Daisuke Sekimoto in BJW. The match was SUPER stiff with both guys getting monster strikes on each other. Sami's whole body was beat red and he was bleeding from his mouth at one point. In the end, Sami got Sasaki in his "stretch muffler" submission hold which he did a variation of and Sasaki tapped out.
Drake Younger & Madasa vs. Takashi Sasaki & Kengo Mashimo
Takashi is a deathmatch guy who works for Freedoms and BJW. Kengo is from K-Dojo stands for Kaientai Dojo, which is a promotion in Japan that's owned by Taka Michinoku, of WWE fame. I had high hopes for the match, considering it had three of the top deathmatch guys in the world in it. However, the match was a bit of a let-down. Everyone worked hard, but the match never got as violent as I thought it would. Kengo looked really good though and Drake was WAY over with the fans since this was his first match in Philly in several months. I can't remember exactly how, but Kengo (I think) pinned Drake. After the match, Drake got on the mic a tried to put the Japanese guys over, but Takashi got on the mic and screamed "F*CK YOU!!!" and they both left. Drake then said that somewhere down the road, the four of them would meet again.
Kudo vs. Masahiro Takanashi vs. thingy Togo
This match was being billed as Togo's last US match, however, I believe he's booked to work Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in California this weekend. Also, this match was suppose to be just Togo vs. Kudo, but Takanashi was added....for some unknown reason. Togo was WAAAAYYYYY over with the fans. We gave him a standing ovation during his introduction. Takanashi is a smaller guy from DDT who, in a way, kinda reminds me of Kenny Omega. He was sort of a comedy-ish wrestler. And Kudo....well, he's just a bad-ass! The match started off with Kudo and Togo locking up and Takanashi getting in between them and then acting sad that they kept pushing him away. Once he got involved, Takanashi and Kudo double-teamed Togo until Kudo turned on him. Once Togo got control again, he pulled off some AWESOME moves that got huge pops from the crowd! In the end, Togo was thrown to the outside and Kudo dropped Takanashi from the top rope onto his knees and pinned him. Kind of a crappy way to end a match that seemed so important, if you ask me. Togo should have won that one, but we all gave him another standing ovation after the match!
Main Event
Shattered Dreams Match
Danny Havoc & Ryuji Ito vs. Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa
As much as I hate to say it, not much actually happened in this match. Which again, was sad since I had high hopes. That's not to say it was bad though. Havoc and Kasai were the first two to go through panes of glass. Ito didn't do too much (which wasn't a surprise really). In the end, Ito got the pin on Numazawa after a big frog splash off the top rope. After the match, Kasai and Numazawa started beating each other up and bodyslammed each other....and then kissed each other. Gotta love those whacky deathmatch Japs! HA HA!!! Ito then got on the mic and said (in English!) that the Japanese guys would be back soon.
All in all, this show was a bit of a let-down! The matches were short and seemed like such a waste of talent. Not a terrible show, but it could have been so much better!
Once I got back out to my car, I saw that the whole thing had gotten over in little less than two hours AND that I had two hours to kill before the doors opened for Cage of Death. Since I didn't want to lose my good parking spot, I did something that might not have been the brightest idea....walked around south Philly in the dark! It was interesting to say the least. I even saw a guy on a bike get hit by a car...NO JOKE!!! Once I got back to the Arena, I hung out in my car for a bit. I got out to get something from the trunk and next thing I knew, everyone across the street was going nuts. I don't know the full story, but apparently, Vin Gerard (from Chikara) was getting his butt kicked by Eddie Kingston. I don't know if this was a work or a shoot, but once I got over there, Kingston had dumped Vin's bag all over the street and thrown it down the middle of Swanson Ave. Here are some videos from the aftermath:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zJnvEeagr4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1tZByaRysg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCN9-BzNS_U
If you look REALLY close at the 2:35 mark of the first video, you can see me stranding between two cars on the edge of the sidewalk. The whole thing seemed like a shoot, but upon watching those videos, it almost seems more like a work. Who knows?
Anyway....on to:
Cage of Death 13:
CZW Wired TV Title match
Jake Crist (c) vs. Dave Crist
What a way to open the show!!! This match was awesome from top to bottom. Both guys were pulling off all kinds of interesting moves, including strikes and high-flying moves. In the end, Jake set Dave up on the top rope and hit him with a TOP-ROPE CANADIAN DESTROYER!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!! That move was AWESOME!!!!!! ....and Dave looked dead after that move. Once Dave got up, Jake went to shake his hand, but Dave slapped him and stormed off. Fantastic match!!!
Two-out-of-Three Falls, Intergender Tag Team Tables Match
BLK OUT (Ruckus, Alex Colon, & Chrissy Rivera (w/Robbie Mireno))vs. The Runaways (Joe Gacy & Ryan Slater) & Kimber Lee
While I can't say this match was great, it sure had it's moments. Slater and Gacy looked terrible, Ruckus and Colon looked decent....but the real surprise was Kimber Lee and Rivera. Man, those chicks really busted their butts in this match! At one point, Lee's nose got busted open from Rivera hitting her with a face-wash move in the corner. Rivera also hit a 'rana on Lee from the top rope onto the floor. Once Slater and Gacy took out Ruckus and Colon, they set up a table in the middle of the ring and then did the classic powerbomb through the table on Rivera, just like the Pitbulls did to Francine back in the old ECW. Rivera was eliminated. Gacy was eliminated next (somehow) and it was down to Ruckus and Colon vs. Slater & Lee. Slater missed a jumping moonsault and the "YOU F"CKED UP!!!" chant was loud! In the end, Colon ended up putting Lee through a table and BLK OUT won the match.
Drew Gulak (w/Mr. Tofiga & Dewey Donovan) vs. Ryan McBride vs. Derek Frazier vs. Dustin Rayz vs. tHURTeen vs. Alex Payne
For some odd reason, this match was for a #1 contendership for the world title and a match for that title at the Feb. anniversary show. I have no clue who Payne is but it was kinda cool to see Frazier in person, since I had only ever seen him on DVDs before. Basically, the whole match was everyone, except Gulak, flipping and flying all over the place. So much happened during the match. At one point, Rayz went for a flipping dive off the top rope to the outside. The move happened on the opposite side of the ring from where I was but after it happened, Drew Blood (the ref) was going CRAZY and the medical team ran out to check on Rayz. Apparently, he snapped his femur on the guardrail. So yeah, he's going to out of action for a while. Which kinda sucks since he had been on quite a roll recently and was getting better as a worker. The match continued and at one point, Drew Blood and Frazier got into a fight. During all of this, Gulak slipped into the ring and got a pin that was counted by another ref. Frazier continued to fight with Blood and McBride outside. Then, DJ Hyde came out and fired Blood and then made a reference about how John Zandig would never be in HIS building again.
Drake Younger vs. Rory "Little" Mondo
This match was the result of Mondo going to Japan and being disrespectful and then him and Younger getting into a war of words on Facebook or something. Whatever the storyline, one thing was clear, Younger was going to (and did) beat the ever-lovin' SH*T out of Rory!!! During the very first spot, he picked Rory up and threw him over the top rope and onto a table covered in barbed-wire! More wire, thumbtacks, a water-jug bat and broken glass were all used....mostly on Mondo. And he was bleeding buckets! Drake even pinned him a couple of times and pulled him up just to beat on him some more. Mondo did get a few shots in on Drake and Drake bled some. The sickest spot in the match happened when Drake set up a trash can upside down and the dropped Mondo onto, back first. His body crushed down the bottom of the car. How he didn't break his back in beyond me! After that, Mondo did hit Drake with an M. Bison move over a chair which was almost as sick! In the end, Drake got the pin and the crowd chanted "That was awesome!" He then gave Mondo some respect by holding him up and lifting his arm. Mondo looked as though he was about to pass out.
Ryuji Ito, Sasaki Takashi, Mashimo Kengo, Danshoku Dino, & Kudo vs. Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa, Yoshihito Sasaki, Kamui, & Masahiro Takanashi
Man....talk about a "thrown together" match! So much happened in this one that I don't even know where to begin, but the real "star" (I guess you'd call him that) was Dino. He was groping and humping everyone he could get his hands on, mostly Kamui. At one point, he stood over Kamui (I think) and pulled his tights down and squatted over him. After that, he ended up on the top rope backwards, bending over with his ass (in a thong) towards the ring. He spent the rest of the match there. Numazawa was hitting guys with a broom and then he ran towards someone who was near Dino and then shoved the end of the broom into Dino's ass. (YES....this match was a gross as it sounds! HA HA!!!) and then later, somehow, Dino's thong got pulled down and Takashi Sasaki ended up getting a face-ful of his bare ass! Somehow, in the end, Dino's team won the match but the real story was after the match, Dino was going after everyone and got his hands on Yoshihito Sasaki and chased his around the ring, pulling his tights down too. He then got him in the ring and humped him. Once Sasaki got away, Dino staggered out the ring and landed in Larry Legend's arms. The sight of an almost naked Japanese guy making out with a gay black man was something I don't care to see again anytime soon. And although this was a fun comedy match, Lou Thesz turned over in his grave! HA HA!!!!
Philly's Most Wanted (BLK JEEZ & Joker) vs. Homicide & Eddie Kingston
Kingston and Homicide were WAY over with the crowd and the match started off the way it should....as a pure brawl. However, that didn't last long and before you knew it, it turned into a regular wrestling match....that went on.....and on.....and on.....and on......and on.....and on.....and on some more. Good GOD was this match drawn out and just downright BORING!!!! In the end, the whole thing was thrown out once everyone attacked the refs and Mavin Bently came out and was also beaten down. After the match, someone in the crowd was getting on Kingston's case and King hopped the rail and went after him. Try as they might to make all of this interesting, it just wasn't and that sucked because I like all over these guys (except Sabian!!).
CZW Jr. title match
Sami Callihan (c) vs. AR Fox
This was, once again, a super-stiff contest between two guys who are actually my favorites in the indies. However, something about this match just never really fully clicked and after a while, the whole thing started to get really boring again. Maybe it was because Sami's known as a striker and Fox is a high-flyer and neither of them seemed to really get to show what they can really do. In the end, Sami locked Fox in a submission move in which he had his legs locked and then pulled his arms straight back and Fox tapped out. After the match, DJ came out and said that Sami was going to have to face Tommy Dreamer at the next Indianapolis show in Feb.
Ultraviolent Pits Match
Danny Havoc vs. Matt Tremont
The "pits" were just a wooden pit full of thumbtacks and a bad of nails. The thumbtack spots were what you'd expect, but the bed of nail spots were SICK!!!! At one point, Havoc hit Tremont with a back drop onto the nails and one of the nails went THROUGH the bottom of his boot and his foot was literally stuck on the nails! In the end, Drew Gulak and Mr. Tofiga ran in and attacked Danny and gave Tremont the chance to pin him. Tremont then got pissed and attacked both of them and chased them off. He then told Danny that he didn't want to win that way. Danny then challenged Gulak to a match next month.
DJ Hyde vs. Greg Excellent
I can't believe that after a year, they're STILL doing this feud, but they were. Everyone knew this match was going to suck and IT DID!!! however, they tried to make it interesting. First by Excellent getting Hyde on the outside and walking around the ring so everyone could chop him. Most people were hitting him with weak chops and even Larry Legend said, "Oh man...come on! Hit the bastard!!" So, when they got to me, I hit him HARD!!! Ha ha!!! After the spot, a guy behind me said, "Man, that was a good hit!" I said, "Well, my hand's stinging, so it must have been decent!" HA HA!!!! Next, Excellent's former valet, Kylie Pierce ran in and DDT'ed DJ but once Greg covered him, she pushed him off. Greg got up and the always classy Philly crowd started chanting "SHOW YOUR T*TS!!!" So, Excellent pulled down his singlet and showed his t*ts. DJ then got up and speared Kylie. Excellent took off his singlet (where was Dino when we needed him???) and then "Real American" played over the PA and Excellent did all of Hulk Hogan's moves on DJ until Mia Yim ran into the ring and attacked Excellent. Next, Mama Excellent ran out. This was the first time she'd been seen since Greg dropped her on her head last year. She teased that she was going to hit Greg with a chair but hit DJ instead. Her and Yim then got into each other's faces. For some reason, the match kept going until finally, "Youth Gone Wild" started playing and out ran JOHN F'IN' ZANDIG!!!!!!! He hit DJ with a roaring elbow and then put Greg on top of him, gave DJ a double-finger and yelled "F*CK YOU!!!" He left and Greg pinned him. Obviously not much of a match, but fun for what it was. As Zandig himself would say, "JEEZ-UZ!!!!!!!"
Next was an intermission while they set up the cage. It only took little over an hour, which really isn't that bad considering it's CZW we're talking about!
Main Event
Cage of Death
CZW World Title Match
Devon Moore (c) vs. Scotty Vortekz vs. Masada vs. Robert "The Ego" Anthony
Why Moore has been the champ this long is beyond me, but the crowd wanted to see him lose the belt in the WORST way! This was one of those, "First guy to climb up and grab the belt wins" matches. I can't even describe the cage design. There was panes of glass, ladders, one side that was all barbed-wire....you name it. In one of the early spots, Vortekz got thrown into the barber-wire side and hit his head on the bottom of the cage. He was bleeding buckets from the back of his head. At one point, Masada and Anthony threw Moore and Scotty through panes of glass at the same time. Masada then attacked Anthony and put him in the barbwire. He then got out the wooden skewers and pushed a bunch of then into Anthony's head. There were other crazy spots, but the big ending came when Anthony was about to powerbomb Vortekz through a table, until he saw the pane of glass set up on one side. He then did a RUNNING POWERBOMB THROUGH THE GLASS and through a table on the floor!!!! It was SICK! Both guys just layed on the floor and Vortekz started convulsing. After that, Masada and Moore climbed to the top of the ladders and Moore knocked down the belt. He then fell back onto the ring and grabbed the belt and won. The crowd nearly rioted! What a terrible way to finish what could have been SUCH an awesome match. After the match, everyone from the back came out and DJ put everyone over. Scotty was bleeding buckets of blood out of his back all over the place. DJ then thanked us all for coming out and announced that CZW's next show would be a double-header with Evolve Wrestling (Gabe was at one of the merch tables!) and that was it really.
All in all, this year's show was better than last year's, but I still wouldn't go so far as to say it was a total home run. The "Indie Summit" show left me disappointed and COD made up for it some, but still, I think that if some of the matches had been booked a bit better, the whole show would have been a LOT better. Still, I enjoyed it and it was a fun time!
EDIT: Lyle C. Williams' awesome pictures from the Indie Summit show are up:
www.lylecwilliams.net/czw3249.html
I honestly was on the fence about going back to Philly for Cage of Death this year. But, what pushed me over the edge was the afternoon "Indy Summit" show that was to feature guys from such Japanese promotions as BJW, Freedoms, DDT and K-Dojo. The coolest thing about these shows was that last month, at CZW's Indianapolis show, I talked DJ Hyde into hooking me up with front row tickets for both show, since getting front row tickets for any CZW show at the Arena is never easy. Here's what went down:
Indy Summit show:
Before the show, some of the guys from Japan were at the merch table. I got to meet one of the main reasons I made the trip to Philly, Takashi Sasaki. I bought a DVD from him (which got a "HEY!!!!!!" yell from him and Jun Kasai...HAHA!!) and he signed it for me. I also got my picture with him. He was SUPER nice!!
Danshoku Dino vs. DJ Hyde
Dino is the over-the-top gay guy from DDT who once worked a show in West Virgina for IWA:EC. When he came out, he was trying to grab and kiss every guy he could get his hands on. When he got to the corner where I was, I looked up and all I saw was him puckering his lips towards me with his arms stretched out. I literally tried to crawl under my chair! HA HA!!! The match was full of comedy spots with Dino doing all kinds of creepy things to DJ and other guys in the front row (nowhere near me this time, thank Goodness!). In the end, Dino got the win after he did a piledriver onto DJ with DJ's head in the front of his tights. After the match, he humped DJ and made out with Larry Legend (the ring announcer)....HA HA!!! A decent comedy match....albeit a disgusting one!
Kaumi & Devon Moore vs. Philly's Most Wanted (BLK JEEZ (Sabian) & Joker)
Kaumi is a masked guy from Freedoms in Japan. He looked a lot like W*INGER. The match was really nothing much of note. Joker spent most of the match beating the crap out of Kaumi. In the end, PMW got the win.
CZW Jr. title Match
Sami Callihan (c) vs. Yoshihito Sasaki
I knew this one would be good and it delivered! Sasaki is a somewhat short, stocky guy who's pure muscle and usually teams with Daisuke Sekimoto in BJW. The match was SUPER stiff with both guys getting monster strikes on each other. Sami's whole body was beat red and he was bleeding from his mouth at one point. In the end, Sami got Sasaki in his "stretch muffler" submission hold which he did a variation of and Sasaki tapped out.
Drake Younger & Madasa vs. Takashi Sasaki & Kengo Mashimo
Takashi is a deathmatch guy who works for Freedoms and BJW. Kengo is from K-Dojo stands for Kaientai Dojo, which is a promotion in Japan that's owned by Taka Michinoku, of WWE fame. I had high hopes for the match, considering it had three of the top deathmatch guys in the world in it. However, the match was a bit of a let-down. Everyone worked hard, but the match never got as violent as I thought it would. Kengo looked really good though and Drake was WAY over with the fans since this was his first match in Philly in several months. I can't remember exactly how, but Kengo (I think) pinned Drake. After the match, Drake got on the mic a tried to put the Japanese guys over, but Takashi got on the mic and screamed "F*CK YOU!!!" and they both left. Drake then said that somewhere down the road, the four of them would meet again.
Kudo vs. Masahiro Takanashi vs. thingy Togo
This match was being billed as Togo's last US match, however, I believe he's booked to work Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in California this weekend. Also, this match was suppose to be just Togo vs. Kudo, but Takanashi was added....for some unknown reason. Togo was WAAAAYYYYY over with the fans. We gave him a standing ovation during his introduction. Takanashi is a smaller guy from DDT who, in a way, kinda reminds me of Kenny Omega. He was sort of a comedy-ish wrestler. And Kudo....well, he's just a bad-ass! The match started off with Kudo and Togo locking up and Takanashi getting in between them and then acting sad that they kept pushing him away. Once he got involved, Takanashi and Kudo double-teamed Togo until Kudo turned on him. Once Togo got control again, he pulled off some AWESOME moves that got huge pops from the crowd! In the end, Togo was thrown to the outside and Kudo dropped Takanashi from the top rope onto his knees and pinned him. Kind of a crappy way to end a match that seemed so important, if you ask me. Togo should have won that one, but we all gave him another standing ovation after the match!
Main Event
Shattered Dreams Match
Danny Havoc & Ryuji Ito vs. Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa
As much as I hate to say it, not much actually happened in this match. Which again, was sad since I had high hopes. That's not to say it was bad though. Havoc and Kasai were the first two to go through panes of glass. Ito didn't do too much (which wasn't a surprise really). In the end, Ito got the pin on Numazawa after a big frog splash off the top rope. After the match, Kasai and Numazawa started beating each other up and bodyslammed each other....and then kissed each other. Gotta love those whacky deathmatch Japs! HA HA!!! Ito then got on the mic and said (in English!) that the Japanese guys would be back soon.
All in all, this show was a bit of a let-down! The matches were short and seemed like such a waste of talent. Not a terrible show, but it could have been so much better!
Once I got back out to my car, I saw that the whole thing had gotten over in little less than two hours AND that I had two hours to kill before the doors opened for Cage of Death. Since I didn't want to lose my good parking spot, I did something that might not have been the brightest idea....walked around south Philly in the dark! It was interesting to say the least. I even saw a guy on a bike get hit by a car...NO JOKE!!! Once I got back to the Arena, I hung out in my car for a bit. I got out to get something from the trunk and next thing I knew, everyone across the street was going nuts. I don't know the full story, but apparently, Vin Gerard (from Chikara) was getting his butt kicked by Eddie Kingston. I don't know if this was a work or a shoot, but once I got over there, Kingston had dumped Vin's bag all over the street and thrown it down the middle of Swanson Ave. Here are some videos from the aftermath:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zJnvEeagr4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1tZByaRysg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCN9-BzNS_U
If you look REALLY close at the 2:35 mark of the first video, you can see me stranding between two cars on the edge of the sidewalk. The whole thing seemed like a shoot, but upon watching those videos, it almost seems more like a work. Who knows?
Anyway....on to:
Cage of Death 13:
CZW Wired TV Title match
Jake Crist (c) vs. Dave Crist
What a way to open the show!!! This match was awesome from top to bottom. Both guys were pulling off all kinds of interesting moves, including strikes and high-flying moves. In the end, Jake set Dave up on the top rope and hit him with a TOP-ROPE CANADIAN DESTROYER!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!! That move was AWESOME!!!!!! ....and Dave looked dead after that move. Once Dave got up, Jake went to shake his hand, but Dave slapped him and stormed off. Fantastic match!!!
Two-out-of-Three Falls, Intergender Tag Team Tables Match
BLK OUT (Ruckus, Alex Colon, & Chrissy Rivera (w/Robbie Mireno))vs. The Runaways (Joe Gacy & Ryan Slater) & Kimber Lee
While I can't say this match was great, it sure had it's moments. Slater and Gacy looked terrible, Ruckus and Colon looked decent....but the real surprise was Kimber Lee and Rivera. Man, those chicks really busted their butts in this match! At one point, Lee's nose got busted open from Rivera hitting her with a face-wash move in the corner. Rivera also hit a 'rana on Lee from the top rope onto the floor. Once Slater and Gacy took out Ruckus and Colon, they set up a table in the middle of the ring and then did the classic powerbomb through the table on Rivera, just like the Pitbulls did to Francine back in the old ECW. Rivera was eliminated. Gacy was eliminated next (somehow) and it was down to Ruckus and Colon vs. Slater & Lee. Slater missed a jumping moonsault and the "YOU F"CKED UP!!!" chant was loud! In the end, Colon ended up putting Lee through a table and BLK OUT won the match.
Drew Gulak (w/Mr. Tofiga & Dewey Donovan) vs. Ryan McBride vs. Derek Frazier vs. Dustin Rayz vs. tHURTeen vs. Alex Payne
For some odd reason, this match was for a #1 contendership for the world title and a match for that title at the Feb. anniversary show. I have no clue who Payne is but it was kinda cool to see Frazier in person, since I had only ever seen him on DVDs before. Basically, the whole match was everyone, except Gulak, flipping and flying all over the place. So much happened during the match. At one point, Rayz went for a flipping dive off the top rope to the outside. The move happened on the opposite side of the ring from where I was but after it happened, Drew Blood (the ref) was going CRAZY and the medical team ran out to check on Rayz. Apparently, he snapped his femur on the guardrail. So yeah, he's going to out of action for a while. Which kinda sucks since he had been on quite a roll recently and was getting better as a worker. The match continued and at one point, Drew Blood and Frazier got into a fight. During all of this, Gulak slipped into the ring and got a pin that was counted by another ref. Frazier continued to fight with Blood and McBride outside. Then, DJ Hyde came out and fired Blood and then made a reference about how John Zandig would never be in HIS building again.
Drake Younger vs. Rory "Little" Mondo
This match was the result of Mondo going to Japan and being disrespectful and then him and Younger getting into a war of words on Facebook or something. Whatever the storyline, one thing was clear, Younger was going to (and did) beat the ever-lovin' SH*T out of Rory!!! During the very first spot, he picked Rory up and threw him over the top rope and onto a table covered in barbed-wire! More wire, thumbtacks, a water-jug bat and broken glass were all used....mostly on Mondo. And he was bleeding buckets! Drake even pinned him a couple of times and pulled him up just to beat on him some more. Mondo did get a few shots in on Drake and Drake bled some. The sickest spot in the match happened when Drake set up a trash can upside down and the dropped Mondo onto, back first. His body crushed down the bottom of the car. How he didn't break his back in beyond me! After that, Mondo did hit Drake with an M. Bison move over a chair which was almost as sick! In the end, Drake got the pin and the crowd chanted "That was awesome!" He then gave Mondo some respect by holding him up and lifting his arm. Mondo looked as though he was about to pass out.
Ryuji Ito, Sasaki Takashi, Mashimo Kengo, Danshoku Dino, & Kudo vs. Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa, Yoshihito Sasaki, Kamui, & Masahiro Takanashi
Man....talk about a "thrown together" match! So much happened in this one that I don't even know where to begin, but the real "star" (I guess you'd call him that) was Dino. He was groping and humping everyone he could get his hands on, mostly Kamui. At one point, he stood over Kamui (I think) and pulled his tights down and squatted over him. After that, he ended up on the top rope backwards, bending over with his ass (in a thong) towards the ring. He spent the rest of the match there. Numazawa was hitting guys with a broom and then he ran towards someone who was near Dino and then shoved the end of the broom into Dino's ass. (YES....this match was a gross as it sounds! HA HA!!!) and then later, somehow, Dino's thong got pulled down and Takashi Sasaki ended up getting a face-ful of his bare ass! Somehow, in the end, Dino's team won the match but the real story was after the match, Dino was going after everyone and got his hands on Yoshihito Sasaki and chased his around the ring, pulling his tights down too. He then got him in the ring and humped him. Once Sasaki got away, Dino staggered out the ring and landed in Larry Legend's arms. The sight of an almost naked Japanese guy making out with a gay black man was something I don't care to see again anytime soon. And although this was a fun comedy match, Lou Thesz turned over in his grave! HA HA!!!!
Philly's Most Wanted (BLK JEEZ & Joker) vs. Homicide & Eddie Kingston
Kingston and Homicide were WAY over with the crowd and the match started off the way it should....as a pure brawl. However, that didn't last long and before you knew it, it turned into a regular wrestling match....that went on.....and on.....and on.....and on......and on.....and on.....and on some more. Good GOD was this match drawn out and just downright BORING!!!! In the end, the whole thing was thrown out once everyone attacked the refs and Mavin Bently came out and was also beaten down. After the match, someone in the crowd was getting on Kingston's case and King hopped the rail and went after him. Try as they might to make all of this interesting, it just wasn't and that sucked because I like all over these guys (except Sabian!!).
CZW Jr. title match
Sami Callihan (c) vs. AR Fox
This was, once again, a super-stiff contest between two guys who are actually my favorites in the indies. However, something about this match just never really fully clicked and after a while, the whole thing started to get really boring again. Maybe it was because Sami's known as a striker and Fox is a high-flyer and neither of them seemed to really get to show what they can really do. In the end, Sami locked Fox in a submission move in which he had his legs locked and then pulled his arms straight back and Fox tapped out. After the match, DJ came out and said that Sami was going to have to face Tommy Dreamer at the next Indianapolis show in Feb.
Ultraviolent Pits Match
Danny Havoc vs. Matt Tremont
The "pits" were just a wooden pit full of thumbtacks and a bad of nails. The thumbtack spots were what you'd expect, but the bed of nail spots were SICK!!!! At one point, Havoc hit Tremont with a back drop onto the nails and one of the nails went THROUGH the bottom of his boot and his foot was literally stuck on the nails! In the end, Drew Gulak and Mr. Tofiga ran in and attacked Danny and gave Tremont the chance to pin him. Tremont then got pissed and attacked both of them and chased them off. He then told Danny that he didn't want to win that way. Danny then challenged Gulak to a match next month.
DJ Hyde vs. Greg Excellent
I can't believe that after a year, they're STILL doing this feud, but they were. Everyone knew this match was going to suck and IT DID!!! however, they tried to make it interesting. First by Excellent getting Hyde on the outside and walking around the ring so everyone could chop him. Most people were hitting him with weak chops and even Larry Legend said, "Oh man...come on! Hit the bastard!!" So, when they got to me, I hit him HARD!!! Ha ha!!! After the spot, a guy behind me said, "Man, that was a good hit!" I said, "Well, my hand's stinging, so it must have been decent!" HA HA!!!! Next, Excellent's former valet, Kylie Pierce ran in and DDT'ed DJ but once Greg covered him, she pushed him off. Greg got up and the always classy Philly crowd started chanting "SHOW YOUR T*TS!!!" So, Excellent pulled down his singlet and showed his t*ts. DJ then got up and speared Kylie. Excellent took off his singlet (where was Dino when we needed him???) and then "Real American" played over the PA and Excellent did all of Hulk Hogan's moves on DJ until Mia Yim ran into the ring and attacked Excellent. Next, Mama Excellent ran out. This was the first time she'd been seen since Greg dropped her on her head last year. She teased that she was going to hit Greg with a chair but hit DJ instead. Her and Yim then got into each other's faces. For some reason, the match kept going until finally, "Youth Gone Wild" started playing and out ran JOHN F'IN' ZANDIG!!!!!!! He hit DJ with a roaring elbow and then put Greg on top of him, gave DJ a double-finger and yelled "F*CK YOU!!!" He left and Greg pinned him. Obviously not much of a match, but fun for what it was. As Zandig himself would say, "JEEZ-UZ!!!!!!!"
Next was an intermission while they set up the cage. It only took little over an hour, which really isn't that bad considering it's CZW we're talking about!
Main Event
Cage of Death
CZW World Title Match
Devon Moore (c) vs. Scotty Vortekz vs. Masada vs. Robert "The Ego" Anthony
Why Moore has been the champ this long is beyond me, but the crowd wanted to see him lose the belt in the WORST way! This was one of those, "First guy to climb up and grab the belt wins" matches. I can't even describe the cage design. There was panes of glass, ladders, one side that was all barbed-wire....you name it. In one of the early spots, Vortekz got thrown into the barber-wire side and hit his head on the bottom of the cage. He was bleeding buckets from the back of his head. At one point, Masada and Anthony threw Moore and Scotty through panes of glass at the same time. Masada then attacked Anthony and put him in the barbwire. He then got out the wooden skewers and pushed a bunch of then into Anthony's head. There were other crazy spots, but the big ending came when Anthony was about to powerbomb Vortekz through a table, until he saw the pane of glass set up on one side. He then did a RUNNING POWERBOMB THROUGH THE GLASS and through a table on the floor!!!! It was SICK! Both guys just layed on the floor and Vortekz started convulsing. After that, Masada and Moore climbed to the top of the ladders and Moore knocked down the belt. He then fell back onto the ring and grabbed the belt and won. The crowd nearly rioted! What a terrible way to finish what could have been SUCH an awesome match. After the match, everyone from the back came out and DJ put everyone over. Scotty was bleeding buckets of blood out of his back all over the place. DJ then thanked us all for coming out and announced that CZW's next show would be a double-header with Evolve Wrestling (Gabe was at one of the merch tables!) and that was it really.
All in all, this year's show was better than last year's, but I still wouldn't go so far as to say it was a total home run. The "Indie Summit" show left me disappointed and COD made up for it some, but still, I think that if some of the matches had been booked a bit better, the whole show would have been a LOT better. Still, I enjoyed it and it was a fun time!
EDIT: Lyle C. Williams' awesome pictures from the Indie Summit show are up:
www.lylecwilliams.net/czw3249.html