CZW: Best of the Best VII News! First Round Match-ups Announced

Combat Zone Wrestling presents:
BEST OF THE BEST VII
Live - Saturday, July 14th

Philadelphia, PA
The New Alhambra Arena
7 W. Ritner Street
Philadelphia, PA 19148

Doors Open - 7:30 PM
Bell Time - 8:00 PM

Tickets available online here

As seen on Combat Zone Video, the 1st round of the tournament has been set. Of course this excludes the two matches involving Maven and his mystery competitors, and him not yet revealing his opponents for Drake Younger and Sal Thomaselli. Keep checking CZWrestling.com and CZW Forums for more on the final two competitors, non-tournament match updates and everything else Best of the Best VII!

First round match-ups:
"The Black Jesus" Sabian vs. Jigsaw
"New Age Punisher" B-Boy vs. Cheech
Chuck Taylor vs. Riccochet
Brandon Thomaselli vs. Vito Thomaselli
"The Pyscho Shooter"Drake Younger vs. Maven's choice
Ruckus vs. The Human Tornado
Sal Thomaselli vs. Maven's choice
Scotty Vortekz vs. Cloudy

Tournament Format:
8 First-Round Single Matches, One Fall
2 Semi-Final, Four-Way Elimination Matches
1 One-on-One Tournament Final, One Fall

Also signed for non tournament action:
The Necro Butcher, CZW Iron Man Champion "Mr. Insanity" Toby Klein, and Danny Havoc
vs.
"Simply Marvelous" Mitch Ryder, DJ Hyde, and Ultraviolent Underground Champion Brain Damage w/ Maven Bentley

plus Team Andrew, C.J. O'Doyle, Jon Dahmer and much more!

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CZW Tournament of Death VI This F'n Saturday~!!!

CZW's Tournament of Death VI:
Saturday, June 9th
Doors Open @ 2:30 PM
Bell Time @ 3:00 PM

Bulldozer's Saloon
616 Glenwood Avenue
Smyrna, Delaware 19977


The match stipulations, including one rather disgusting set of rules, for Tournament of Death VI, this Saturday, are as follows: (behind the cut)

ROUND 1

"TLC" TABLES, LOOSE TUBES, and CHAIRS MATCH
"The Psycho Shooter" Drake Younger Vs. "Diehard" Dustin Lee

NO ROPES, BARBED WIRE MATCH
"Simply Marvelous" Mitch Ryder Vs. The Necro Butcher

FANS BRING THE WEAPONS and BARBED WIRE BOARDS MATCH
UVU Champion Brain Damage Vs. Iron Man Champion "Mr. Insanity" Toby Klein

Mad Man Pondo Vs. DJ Hyde

Insane Lane Vs. Danny Havoc

Junior Heavyweight Champion Scotty Vortekz Vs. "The Future of Hardcore" Nick Gage

For the last of the three First-Round Tournament Matches, CZW News Update has learned that the following three stipulations will be adhered to. On Saturday, the decision will be made as to which match gets what stipulation, so consider it a surprise:

- One bout will be a "SHATTERED DREAMS MATCH"

- One bout will be a "LIGHT TUBE LOG CABIN MATCH"

- One bout will be...
A "DUELING WEEDWHACKERS MATCH!"

Ouch.

In addition, CZW wishes to tell the fans that the Second Round Matches will all, in some way, involve YOUR weapons! So make sure to bring out your sick weapon designs in full force this Saturday for CZW's Tournament of Death VI!

-- As far as parking is concerned, this was posted on the CZWFans message board by CZW ring announcer and news-updater Ed O'Mac: Here's the deal with parking:

The person in charge of the parking situation is still working on it, knows the fans are concerned, wants to address the concerns, but honestly, there's nothing that can be done until a firm answer is given from the establishment.

From what I have been told as of now:

There is a shopping center parking lot available for the fans to park in, which is a 2 minute walk from the venue. You may remember this lot from last year as the lot that the business owners complained about the fans parking in.

CZW was told last year, by these businesses, that it wasn't the fans parking there which caused a problem. It was because of the breaking of beer bottles and rough language used in front of children near the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant.

So basically, don't litter, don't break things, control your radios, and save the language for 2 minutes down the road, and there shouldn't be any issues with parking or unpleasent "Please move your vehicles" announcements at TOD VI.

I understand that it's TOD VI. But if you want to tailgate, drink, whatever the case, please come to the bar just 2 minutes down the street and there shouldn't be any problems.

I hope everyone's looking forward to Saturday afternoon. It's TOD VI, there's a great list of deathmatch wrestlers competing, a rather innovative final, lots of tubes, lots of barbed wire, lots of glass, the return of some home run objects (inspired by Ryan Howard's career year), plus a lot of bad blood between many of the competitors.

Entrant #12, who is Lobo's personal choice to face DJ Hyde, will be announced this evening on the CZW Forum.

The remaining stipulations for the first-round will be released either tomorrow night or thursday afternoon.

The stipulations for the second round will likely be announced at the venue on Saturday.

-EdO

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CZW Tournament of Death VI on 6/9/07 in Smyrna, DE

czwrestling.com

CZW's Tournament of Death VI:
Saturday, June 9th
Doors Open @ 2:30 PM / Bell Time @ 3:00 PM

Bulldozer's Saloon
616 Glenwood Avenue / Smyrna, Delaware 19977

Click here to order tickets

On Saturday, June 9th, with a bell-time of 3 pm sharp, CZW returns to Smyrna, Delaware and the home of Nick Gage's TOD 5 victory, as CZW ULTRAVIOLENT TOURNAMENT OF DEATH 6 takes place at Bulldozer's Saloon.

Already Announced:

Featuring a 12 man Tournament to crown the Tournament of Death VI Champion!

ROUND 1:

TLC Rules - Tables, Loose Tubes, and Chairs
Drake Younger vs. Dustin Lee

No Ropes, Barbed Wire
Mitch Ryder vs. The Necro Butcher

FBTW & Barbed Wire Boards
Brain Damage vs. Toby Klein

Scotty Vortekz vs. Nick Gage

Former CZW Iron Man Champion DJ Hyde

Just Announced: Cylinder, Iowa's own Danny Havoc

Additionally, CZW has announced for the first time ever, a 200 plus tube lumberjack steal the bacon final. The winner will have to get through lumberjacks, to the ring truck where the trophy will be stationed, retrieve the trophy, and get back through the lumberjacks to the ring to be victorious.

card is subject to change

PARKING DETAILS FOR TOD 6
CZW is working hard to assure its fans that there will be no difficulities with parking for TOD 6. Both Combat Zone Wrestling and Bulldozer's Saloon are looking into making sure there will be parking both at the bar and on the street, and the possibility of a rented lot (located next to the Saloon) is also in the works. We will keep you updated on exactly where to park as we get closer to June 9th!

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Combat Zone Wrestling turns on fans, wrestlers

By Art Shimko
shimko_7@hotmail.com

-- Combat Zone Wrestling is involved in a feud, but it's not with another wrestling federation, it's with some of CZW's fanbase and some of its wrestlers. On Saturday night at CZW's Out With The Old, In With The New show following the Chris Hero/Eddie Kingston Loser Leaves Town match, owner John Zandig came out to get into it with Kingston following his win over Hero. Kingston left the ring and Zandig ended up "firing" Kingston from the company, later on Zandig came out "shooting" on the fans, particularly criticizing "5 to 10 people" on the CZWFans message board who he felt leave negative posts about the company bringing everyone down.

First off, it more than 5-10 people (as seen in this thread which is one of many) bitching about how shitty CZW's quality has been as far as booking run-in after run-in to finish matches, bringing in no-name no-talent wrestlers while pushing out wrestlers fans actually want to see and other dipshit ideas.

I haven't been to a CZW show since December 2006, and before that I was at maybe two or three shows throughout last year which is the least number of CZW events that I've attended. I have not decided to boycott the product entirely yet I'm not sure when I'll be at another show, this sentiment is shared by many fans on the board who feel cheated and shat upon by an owner who instead of listening to some feedback from fans just looks the other way thinking that such criticism is just negative internet ranting.

Eddie Kingston later left a two-part YouTube interview on all that went down Saturday night, it's since been taken down by Kingston's request but I did get to see it and some points included:
- Kingston arrived at the building early Saturday and was asked by wrestlers in the back if he was talking to Tod Gordon of PWU. Kingston said the last time he talked to Gordon was last summer when he and some members of BLK OUT (Sabian, and Joker) were to work for PWU.
- Kingston saw on the sheet that there were run-ins booked in his match with Hero which he shot down. He was then approached by Zandig and told that he would clothesline Kingston in the ring afterwards, Kingston said ok.
- After the match, Kingston told security that his hand was numb and to tell Zandig not to clothesline him, Zandig then suggested that he slap Kingston. Kingston saw this as an insult and later questioned why a supposedly "retired" wrestler who's not involved in this feud would come out and steal the heat from Kingston and Hero's moment. Kingston left the ring and later heard he was "fired" from a company that he wasn't even contracted with as he left the building.
- Kingston also confirmed the events that transpired resulting in Jigsaw also leaving the company that night as reported on Declaration Of Independents. Jigsaw wanted to drop the Jr. Heavyweight title to Vortekz clean, run-ins again were suggested and Jigsaw has to politic to drop the title without any screwjob finish. Jigsaw was told he would be needed for this year's Best Of The Best show, then it was announced in the ring that the loser of the match would not be in Best Of The Best which not only confused Jigsaw but made him feel as if he was forced out of the company, Kingston also noted that the Chikara-CZW relationship was rocky from the start and that the Chikara wrestlers felt like outsiders in the CZW locker room. Kingston was classy when he said no matter who much you hate the product and/or one person (being Zandig of course) not to take it out on the boys and boycotting the shows takes money out of the boys' pockets. The only thing with that is that ONE PERSON is approving of the goofball shit going on in that ring an as hard as the wrestlers work it's hard to have to sit through nonsensical booking and storylines and wrestlers who don't know how to get themselves over...

Well I'm not sure what's going on with this company, I may not be going until Cage Of Death this December unless I hear or read that the company's shows are getting better. The whole deal with Jig and Kingston really puts a sour taste in my mouth, Zandig and company need to take their heads out from their asses and figure something out. A new booker? Wrestlers (not necessarily big names) who can work the crowd as well as match? It's more than one thing that needs to be fixed, but first things first: Promoters should not ever insult their fanbase, you know, the folks who are willing to put money in your pocket for a decent product.

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Some INDY-RIFIC~! Rasslin' notes...

By Art Shimko
shimko_7@hotmail.com
meanfilipine.blogspot.com

-- Indy wrestling news and notes below...

-- Mike Quackenbush makes his Ring Of Honor debut on 4/27 in St. Paul (Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. Gran Akuma & Hallowicked vs. Pelle Primeau & Mitch Franklin) and 4/28 in Chicago (Quackenbush vs. Delirious vs. Kevin Steen vs. Gran Akuma vs. Jigsaw vs. Hallowicked). All I have to say is It's about friggin' time~!

-- ROH wrestlers will be appearing on Detroit's FOX 2 morning show this Friday. Also Colt Cabana, Delirious, Nigel McGuinness, BJ Whitmer and many other ROH wrestlers will be at The Detroit Beer Company [1529 Broadway] on Saturday and you can have lunch with the boys for $16.95 or $25 for lunch and a ticket for the ROH show that night were you can be shuttled to after lunch. Reserve your spot in the luncheon by e-mailing detroitbeerco@yahoo.com.

-- Here's a scouting report on the Dragon Gate wrestlers appearing at the ROH shows this weekend. More info on Friday's show and Saturday's show.

-- Some usual wackiness from CZW Commish Maven T. Bentley:
It has come to my attention that many fans have been asking questions about the format of this show and that show. Yes, Best of the Best is being moved to July, and those who will not be in it are: Javi-Air, Ryan McBride, either member of Team AnDrew, and Eric Tuttle! The rest of our roster may still have an opportunity, but have no guarantee that they will be in the tournament. In fact, I may have another test for them in the near future...

I know fans have been waiting for new match-ups to be announced, but to be quite honest, I have had other issues on my mind! Combat Zone Wrestling owner John Zandig physically assaulted me at the last show, as did his parental lackey, "Lobo". Although, the attack itself could have Mr. Zandig behind bars for many years, I was not the one who pressed charges. I received a call from the PA State Athletic Commission, stating that those wonderful souls would support me if I wanted to take action against Mr. Zandig. Therefore, the following rule has been instated: Any time Mr. John Zandig enters a wrestling ring in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania without proper clearance, he will be fined the sum of one thousand (1000) U.S. dollars! Mr. Zandig, I know for a fact, that a certain minority-owned business relieved you of a good sum of money a few years ago. I would hate to see you lose what little you have left. You see Mr. Zandig, as always "Somebody has to pay!"--

Maven Bentley
"Somebody Has To Pay" and they can send checks to
PO Box 29741 Elkins Park, PA 19027

-- CZW Out With The Old - In With The New on 4/7 at the New Alhambra Arena, South Philly:
- CZW Heavyweight Championship: Justice Pain vs Drake Younger
- Loser Leaves Town: Chris Hero vs Eddie Kingston
- Necro Butcher vs Mitch Ryder
- Iron Man Championship: DJ Hyde vs Toby Klein
- Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Jigsaw vs Vortekz

-- F1RST Wrestling Presents; "A New Era" on Sunday, April 22nd
In Minneapolis, MN at First Avenue!

Doors Open @ 6 p.m. - Bell Time @ 7 p.m.

Tickets are $8 and $5 w/ College ID - 18+, 21 to Drink : All Ages Welcome

* Stars from MTV's Wrestling Society X Collide! *
"The Anarchist" Arik Cannon -vs- D.I.F.H.'s Tyler Black

* Women's Action! *
"The Lovely" Lacey -vs- "The Radiant" Rain

* High Flying Cruiserweight Mayhem! *
Nate Bash -vs- "6% Body Fat" Rob James -vs- The Prophet -vs- "Kaos" Cody O'Neill

* International Man Of Mystery! *
Aaron Corbin -vs- A Mystery Opponent

Ryan Cruz -vs- "The Genuine Article" Chris Jordan

"Cowboy" Gator Magraw -vs- "The Future" Joey Envy

Also Scheduled to Appear...

Shane Hollister (Making his MN Wrestling Debut), "Playboy" Pete Huge,
Darin Corbin, Venom, and MUCH MORE!!!

Tickets Available Now!
http://www.first-avenue.com/buy/online_tickets.aspx?id=1768

Select "4/22/07 - F1RST Wrestling Presents: A New Era!" in the dropdown
menu to purchase your tickets now, via PayPal.

For more info, check out http://www.myspace.com/f1rstwrestling

-- PRO WRESTLING EXPRESS
presents
"DIVIDE AND CONQUER"

on Saturday, April 7th- 7:30 pm Belltime
at the
JACOB WOLL PAVILION - McKEESPORT, PA

The stars of the National Wrestling Alliance return to action on Saturday, April 7th at Renzie Park’s Jacob Woll Pavilion in McKeesport, PA at 7:30pm. Tickets are only $12 for ringside, and $10 general admission. Kids age 12 and under are only $6.

-- Mexican wrestler takes on eco-enemies

-- Lucha libre takes Elgin by storm

-- Pro wrestlers help raise $$ for charity

-- Scary Sherri gets what she wants

-- New mocumentary keeps Kayfabe

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Some pro wrestling promoters and bookers need to watch "STAR WARS"

By Art Shimko
arts767@verizon.net

-- So I just finished watching Return Of The Jedi on HBO and almost 24 years after seeing it in the movie theater I still felt the emotional highs and lows, even with some seasoning here and there via special effects and such the main point of good vs. evil and watching it unfold was not in anyway compromised nor was the character development. The main and secondary characters in the films each had a unique personality which wasn't so complicated you couldn't figure out what their deal was. You could feel out who had good intentions and who didn't and which side they were on, in other words George Lucas didn't re-invent the wheel when he wrote these stories. He did create an elaborate world yet kept the story simple with the universal themes of good vs evil, friendship and romance.

Lucas also gave the audience a cliffhanger with Empire Strikes Back when Han Solo was frozen and taken off to the Emperor and Luke found out Vader was his father leaving that movie on a depressing note which made me and lot of people anticipate the conclusion in Jedi... would we see Han Solo again? How does Luke deal with the fact that his enemy is also his father? Would the Galactic Empire reign supreme?

All these questions were eventually answered.

I still got choked up during the scene when the Emperor (Palpatine) is shooting lightning at Luke after he refuses to kill Vader and join the dark side and after Luke's begging for Vader's help he eventually comes to his senses and saves Luke by throwing the Emperor down a reactor shaft in the Death Star. That moment really struck a nerve in me, to see the most evil motherfucker in the movie make a "babyface turn" (becoming a good guy) and save his son. The part later that got me also was Luke taking Vader's helmet off so he could see Luke before he died. And of course in the end the Rebels prevailed.

So... what does that rambling intro above have to do with pro wrestling? Well maybe a bit more than you think.

I was listening to Figure 4 Weekly's Bryan & Vinny show yesterday and they were breaking down the basic story of tag match of when two guys are beating on one guy it's seen as cheating but when the other partner tags in and starts beating on those two guys at once the crowd cheers seeing the one guy beat the shit out of two men. Basic story, simple, no gimmicks needed. Same thing with Star Wars, which I believe folks like... Vince Russo... Dutch Mantell... Jeff Jarrett (see a pattern TNA?)... John Zandig and anyone in charge of booking CZW this week... Stephanie McMahon and some members of the WWE creative team... and any other pro wrestling promoter and booker incorporating illogical angles into matches... ALL need to watch the Star Wars trilogy and understand the simple story of good vs evil and how you get that point in a story.

Fans are getting sick of endless mic promos and segments that have no payoff as well as gimmicks like an X-shaped scaffold and reverse battle royals or even just every match on a pay-per-view or TV taping having some type of gimmick as if the promoters and bookers lack any confidence in their product or maybe they want to try and "bring in new fans" which always cracks me because non-wrestling fans already despise it and if they watched 30 seconds of an Impact, WWECW or WWE TV on a night where logic holes are aplenty and people who can't even read from a cue card have a live mic on TV doing storylines about shooting someone's father or putting someone's girlfriend in an ankle lock to set up a match, their disdain for pro wrestling would grow even further.

Guys like Russo and the TNA bookers need to understand that simple storytelling, building up to a finish, basic psychology and less to no gimmicks in matches and on their show are all the fans basically want, enhancing the product can come later. Why are you trying to do something "new" and "innovative" when you can't even get the basic shit correct the first time?

CZW could also refer to this statement, although they're one of many indy promotions that rely on irrelevant spot-fest matches and ultra-hardcore-violence way too often, and hey I can enjoy a spot-fest or a garbage match if it sets a unique pace on a show with no other gimmicks but I would rather seeing good pacing to a crazy-ass spot/move or use of a "weapon", but CZW has had other recent problems with their product including nonsensical booking, fan backlash and bringing in people WHO CAN'T FUCKING WORK.

One thing I ask CZW, TNA, WWE, etc. Please make me care about these characters, give me a reason this guy is after his opponent instead sticking two random guys in a ring who'll smash each other's skulls with chairshots. And it can be simple, not like this guy went to city hall or the library to find out his opponent's criminal past and expose his dastardly act. Because at some point I'll lose track of the story and not because I lack an attention span but because the story gets so convoluted and I end up stop giving a shit.

I know some people are thinking, "Art, these guys don't necessarily need to watch Star Wars to understand basic storytelling." I would have to disagree, yes there are other sources to refer to in learning what makes a good story. I picked Star Wars because after all these years I can still watch these movies and they never get old; the characters, the sub-plots, the struggle for survival, peace and the destruction of the Empire, it all remains fresh because these are basic concepts presented in an entertaining manner and doesn't get sidetracked by "outside interference".

The story of good vs evil is as universal as music and romance, it's a story everyone in the world understands and embraces and why? Because we all want to see the good guys win, when the bad guy's superior in a match, or in any situation, mercilessly beating the shit out of the underdog it feeds our desire more and more to see the good guy make his comeback and get his revenge.

Star Wars may not be an example most would think of in referencing to for how to book a wrestling match, all I'm saying is the back story is so basic, even with all these characters in the first trilogy alone, if done correctly the story of a match can be told without any problem. Sure there's always going to an idea or two thrown in to enhance the product and I understand that. My problem with "over-booking" and throwing every idea out there will just crowd things up and confuse fans.

And when I mentioned earlier how promoters attempt to bring in non-wrestling fans into their shows, I think promoters need to understand and satisfy their real fans first, the ones who come every month to live shows, buy a DVD and puts the product over online and to friends.

Once that's taken care then promoters and bookers can think of ideas to help cross-promote their product with something mainstream to get into the conscious of the rest of the folks who don't follow or haven't followed wrestling in years. Because frankly, I'm tired of seeing a god damn baseball player in a fucking wrestling match.
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