Combat Zone Wrestling

Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American based promotion, based around the 'ultraviolent' style of professional wrestling. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain started to run wrestling shows in places like New Jersey and Delaware showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling called "ultraviolent". Ladders, tables, thumbtacks, barbed wire, fluorescent light tubes and fire, are common elements of "ultraviolent" wrestling matches in CZW. The company holds shows in the New Alhambra Arena, starting with their Cage of Death 3 show in the year 2001, the year ECW folded. It has been criticized by smarks and the Internet wrestling community for showcasing "over the top" wrestling, and focusing more on the hardcore aspect than anything else.

Cage of Death
CZW's biggest show is the year-end Cage of Death. It always features the infamous "Cage Of Death" match, a steel cage with various weapons, objects, and plenty of wrestling violence. Electrified cage walls, cacti, tables, light tubes, glass, thumbtacks, baseball bats, and barbed-wire have been used in it. Matches always include high risk wrestling bumps. The Cage of Death also has different formats and stipulations, as it be a singles, tag team, or gauntlet match.

Tournament of Death
CZW's yearly death-match tournament features the use of fire, weed whackers, light tubes, and other weapons. T.O.D has resulted in excessive blood loss for many of the wrestlers who have participated in it. Previous winners include Wifebeater (TOD 1 and 3), Nick Mondo, Necro Butcher and Nick Gage.

Best of the Best
CZW's yearly tournament that differs from other CZW events in how it emphasizes athleticism more than weapons use. The Best of the Best tournament is, by design, a Junior Heavyweight Tournament. In 2005, however, the tournament was formatted as an open weight tournament. The next year, it returned to its original format. Previous winners include Winger, Trent Acid, B-Boy, Sonjay Dutt, Mike Quackenbush and Ruckus in that order.

External links and references

 * CZWwrestling.com (Official Website)
 * Combat Zone Wrestling's official Message Board
 * CZW's official photo site, (photography by Mark "whacks" Pantalone)
 * Combat Zone Wrestling at CAGEMATCH.net