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Tape Reviews
The SFJ: CZW Overdrive
Posted by Jay Doring on Jul 13, 2004, 22:30
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Not much of an intro this time around, other than to remind y�all that this review is also available at the PCN official site, which features exclusive reviews and other material by some of the most informed and entertaining writers you�ll ever come across. Coming soon on the P to the C to the N, Rob Naylor profiles and interviews Florida sensation Roderick Strong!
You know, despite nearly three years of quality junior heavyweight wrestling, as well as a flourishing Iron Man division, there are still some idiots out there who think CZW is all hardcore garbage and devoid of wrestling. To prove that uninformed opinion wrong, I present one of the best CZW shows of 2004, Overdrive.
Taped 3/6/04 from Viking Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, your hosts are Eric Gargiulo and John House.
I�m going to skip the Gutter/Merc/DJ Hyde match that opens the show though, because a) it sucks and b) Teddy Hart interrupts the match a few minutes in. Teddy, wearing the pants that may have gotten him beaten up at that bar (wink wink) is none too happy about getting thrown out of the building the night before at CZW�s Allentown show, �Bring on the Pain.� Hart does his usual delusional schtick about doing it all for the fans and mentions kicking the crap out of CM Punk before Zandig interrupts and forces him to fight fellow Canadians Petey Williams and Jack Evans later in the night.
Jude vs. GQ vs. Jon Dahmer �Ladder Match
GQ, in his continuing fruitless quest to prove that he can be just as successful as his former tag partner Chris Cash, has been requesting ladder matches. The other guys aren�t really in there for any specific reason, although Jon Dahmer doesn�t often lose to his students. Jude REALLY needs new gear, because the Hammer pants and singlet just scream �backyard.�
Quick lockup sequence starts the match, and Jude takes both men over with Japanese armdrags. Dahmer bails, and GQ hits some rolling verticals on Jude, culiminating with a Hennigplex for two. Dahmer brings in the ladder, but takes it in the ribs. Jude tries a slingshot senton, but lands on the ladder, and GQ FROGSPLASHES HIM ON THE LADDER! Nice. Dahmer does the Terry Funk spinning ladder spot, knocking out both men. Dahmer brings in a couple more busted ladders, and they immediately get put to use. Dahmer gives Jude a release German onto a propped up ladder (SICK) and GQ responds with one on Dahmer (SICKER). GQ goes for his reverse DDT series, Jude revierses, and GQ tosses him over- but JUDE DRIVES HIM FACEFIRST INTO THE LADDER ON THE WAY DOWN! Dahmer suplexes GQ into another ladder, and tosses a ladder onto Jude on the outside. Chairshots to Jude�s back, and the good ol� ladder bridge is constructed. GQ climbs a ladder, and takes a BACK SUPLEX off the top of the ladder! Hard chops to Jude, and he gets set up on the ladder bridge. Dahnmer heads to the top of the ladder, and SPLASHES JUDE THROUGH THE LADDER BRIDGE ON THE FLOOR! GQ nails Dahmer with rolling DDTs back in, but Jude spings off a ladder with a back heel kick. Then, Jude rides the ladder down onto GQ, taking Dahmer with him! Jude brings out another ladder, much bigger this time. �Jude� chants are firing up as he climbs the ladder, but Dahmer is up! Dahmer FLINGS him off the 15-foot ladder, and there�s a 3 count!
For this type of show, this is the best opener you can ask for: a highspot-fest with weapons, and everything hits. Jude has improved a ton in the past few months, looking more confident in the ring, hitting everything properly, and dropping ridiculous amounts of excess weight. He also managed to draw some pretty good heat for himself, something most of the CZW students have a hard time doing. If Jude and the rest of Dahmer students can extend themselves beyond highspot/prop matches, they�ll have bright futures. In summation, the match was just a bumpfest, nothing more, but it was an entertaining one.
Winner: Jon Dahmer
Rating: 73
Rob Hartog is now on the microphone to continue his insipid feud with the Rockin� Rebel, declaring he can beat our favorite racist redneck in an arm wrestling match. After we�re treated to the sight of Rob Hartog shirtless, Rebel�s Army beat Hartog down after the arm wrestling, and a bunch of tag teams hit the ring to save, leading to�
All Money is Legal (K-Murda and K-Pusha) vs. CKNY (Niles Young and Cory Kastle) vs. Nick Berk and Z-Barr
All Money is Legal are another tag team operating out of the NY/New Jersey region, and have impressed me a ton with their highspots, chemistry and doubleteam moves. Niles Young recently put in a pretty good performance at the Chikara Young Lions� Cup, the first major outside booking for a recent CZW student I can remember outside of Cory Kastle doing a couple shots in Wildside.
Berk and Barr dominate to start, hitting the Systematic Breakdown (Bareback/basement dropkick combo), and dumping one of AMIL to the outside. Berk hits a chair-assisted plancha, but the Army take Barr away, and Berk gives chase, taking them out of the match. Kastle and K-Pusha exchange shots, with Pusha getting advantage and going to the top, but Niles Young throws him off chest-first onto Kastle�s knee. Nice double superkick by CKNY, and K-Murda saves from a pinfall. Impressive rolling leg lariat from K-Pusha, and he makes the tag. Thug Passion (SAT-type Washing Machine stretch) followed up with a low dropkick. K-Murda hangs Kastle up in the ropes and hits a reverse Diamond Dust. STO by K-Murda, and AMIL hit the Dime Drop (Bodyscissors/ flying facebuster) to put CKNY away.
Oh yeah, I forgot, this match was for the number one contendership to the tag titles, anad the title match takes place RIGHT NOW.
All Money is Legal (K-Murda and K-Pusha) vs. Rebel�s Army (Greg Matthews and Derek Frazier) � -CZW Tag Team Championship Match
Matthews biels K-Pusha halfway across the ring, and he and Frazier team up for Poetry in Motion, followed by a Hart Attack. Matthews puts Murda in a pendulum, and Frazier TEES OFF on Murda with roundhouse kicks. Pusha comes back with a missile dropkick to turn the match around, double roundhouse kicks, finishing up with Paid in Full (a Roll the Dice from a Gory Guerrero position). AMIL look to finish, but Danny Rose hits the ring, gives one of them a DVD, Matthews with a powerslam off the top rope, and Frazier nails a crappy-looking frogsplash for the double-pin. Rebel joins in on a beatdown, but Hartog hits the ring and spears him in order to continue the stupidity for another month.
Two matches with some nice highspots that were both too short to mean anything. AMIL impressed me once again, busting out all sorts of unique doubleteams, most better than the SAT can do. CKNY and Rebel�s Army also showed signs of jelling and improvement, however the latter team was unfortunately disbanded due to Matthews� long-term injury and subsequent departure. I�d really like to see a lot of these guys in a match that goes longer than 5 minutes.
Winners: AMIL (match 1) Rebel�s Army (match 2)
Ratings: 70, 69
Okay, after that inauspicious start, here�s where shit starts to get really good.
The Wildcards (�King of Diamonds� Eddie Kingston and �Black� Jack Marciano) and Hallowicked vs. Icarus, Mike Quackenbush and Gran Akuma
All six men are representatives of the Allentown, PA-based Chikara Pro Wrestling. Quackenbush, the founder and head trainer of the Chikara Academy, is a legend on the independent scene and the ulimate indy journeyman, competing for various promotions in Mexico and Europe (he�s currently the wXw Cruiserweight champion). He�s also written �Headquarters,� a must-read wrestling tome. The Wildcards, in addition to their Chikara work, have recently been putting on golden heel performances in IWA Mid-South. This match will be taking place under lucha libre rules, meaning no piledrivers, and people can come in when their partners leave the ring in addition to tags.
Akuma and Kingston start the match for their respective teams- Kingston shrugs off a couple of shoulderblocks, but takes him down with a third one. Akuma blows his end of a bodyscissors grab but takes Kingston over with an armdrag. Kingston escapes a Code Red attempt, Akuma whiffs on a kick, but takes Kingston down with a couple roundhouses, and here comes Quackenbush. Hallowicked comes in too, and Quack goes to work on him with some lightning (haha, bad pun) quick chain wrestling. Lucha armdrag time leads to a stalemate, and we do some exotic pinfall attempts I can�t even try to describe. Quack ends up with the advantage, and Hallowicked cowers to the corner, bringing in Marciano. Whip sequence ends in a Quack armdrag that sends Marciano to the outside, Quack fakes a dive, but takes a cheapshot from Hallowicked. Quack monkeyflips Hallowicked ON THE APRON, to send him to the outside, where Akuma quickly nails him with a somersault plancha. Kingston cheapshous Quack from behind, but pays with a dropkick, and a RUNNING�SPRINGBOARD� SOMERSAULT PLANCHA BY QUACK! Icarus in now with Marciano, and we got some more armdraggery and a flying headscissors. Kingston in, and he gains momentum for his team with a Capture Suplex. Hallowicked with some rudo heel stuff, Kingston back in again, and he gets a delayed vertical suplex. Hallowicked gets a sleeperhold, fought out by Icarus, who gets a sunset flip for two. Tilt-a-whirl powerslam byh Hallowicked gets two. Icarus nails a Toyota roll into a DDT for a LA CASA DI FUOCO HOT TAG! HERE COMES QUACK- MOTHERFUCKIN� PALM STRIKE~! Double faceslam by Quack, and there�s an EIGHT-WAY SUBMISSION BY THE FACES! Quack dive on the outside sends the heels into the crowd as Akuma works over Kingston. Double-team tornillo by the faces, awesome! Hallowicked tries to whip Quack, but Quack sits down! Brilliant! Black Tornado Bomb by Quack, but the Wildcards regain the advantage. Condo Clutch on Akuma, but Icarus saves from the tapout. Snap hurricanrana gets two for Icarus, and the Yoshitonic (Code Red) gets two for Akuma. Icarus heads to the top, cut off by Maricano, who hits a REVERSE SUPERPLEX FOR THE WIN!
Chikara trios matches are really a wonder to behold. Not only do all the matches feature some incredibly innovative highflying and submission work, but you really get a sense that the two sides are teams, doing whatever they can to win. Each competitor is always aware of where the other one is, and tries to take them out of the match- it really is a game of human chess in these matches. Quackenbush is simply amazing, the guy is so natural and fluid in the ring, it�s a shame he broke in to indy wrestling before the Internet made the genre so popular. Only Akuma and Icarus blowing a couple spots mars this match � you REALLY need to see these matches, which were a staple of CZW cards in March and April.
Winners: Wildcards and Hallowicked
Ratiing: 87
Blackout (Ruckus, Sabian, and Joker) vs. Jimmy Jacobs, Chris Cash and Sonjay Dutt-Elimination Tables Match
There�s a LOT of backstory to this one, all starting at Cage of Death 5. In an unscripted incident, Sabian grabbed the ass of Becky Bayless, Jimmy Jacobs� sorta-girlfriend, infuriating Jacobs. CZW decided to run with it and use the incident as a basis for a feud between the two men, which made Jacobs none too happy. Meanwhile, Chris Cash and Joker received a standing ovation for a ladder match on the same show. They then teamed up out of mutual respect at �The Allentown Project,� but Joker turned on Cash. Also at COD5, Robby Mireno was fired as ring announcer in favor of a returning Dennis Shock. Furious, Mireno threatened legal action against CZW via his lawyer Maven Bentley and took on an �oppressed minority� persona despite being anything but. Mireno formed a stable of fellow held-down brothers- Ruckus, Sabian and Joker, the Blackout. The name didn�t exactly sit well with NWA Wildside�s Blackout, but that�s a story for another day. Meanwhile, Sonjay Dutt�s junior heavyweight title belt was stolen following a successful defense against Grim Reefer, and signs pointed to Ruckus, the man he beat for the belt. So there ya go.
Cash and Joker lock up, and Joker quickly bails out, tagging in Sabian, who also bails. Ruckus grabs the mic and demands some respect, and after some stalling, Joker gets back in. Cash locks a half-nelson on tight, but Joker escapes and grabs a wristlock, and takes him down to the mat. Low dropkick to the face by Joker, but Cash turns the tide with a front suplex and a dropkick of his own. Tag to Sonjay, he comes in hot with a flying headscissors and a hiptoss. Joker slows the tempo down with a cravate and a flapjack, and in comes Sabian. Running knees, running elbows, and a doubleteam top rope kneedrop/front slam by the Blackout. Sonjay quickly recovers with a backdrop, dropkick and 2nd-rope moonsault though. Sabian and Sonjay fight on the apron, and Sonjay SPIKES him with a DDT. The Hussman Cometh in, unloading with his Berzerker offense, before Ruckus drops him with the Afterburner. Ruckus teases some flippy stuff but pulls a Waltman by faking it. Backbreaker by Ruckus, followed up by the Razzle Dazzle. Jacobs dumps Ruckus, and he and Cash team up for stereo planchas. Indy Dive Sequence Time! Joker tries for his own dive, cut off by Jacobs, but the Blackout manage to islolate him. But Blackout grab her too! IT�S BOOTY TIME! No wait, he accidentally grabs his own teammates� ass! Here come the good guys! They take out Ruckus and Joker, but Becky is left with Sabian! MAKEOUT TIME! Sabian�s a little too happy on the top rope, SO BECKY POWERBOMBS HIM! Cash has got Sabian on the top- CASH FLOW TO THE FLOOR ON A TABLE- AND IT DOESN�T BREAK! HOLY SHIT! Sonjay puts him through with a plancha, and Sabian is eliminated!
Sonjay and Jacobs set up another table in the ring and go to work on Ruckus. Double back suplex by the faces, and they�re looking for a second elimination. Joker takes out Sonjay, Jacobs is wasting too much time- Mireno kidnaps Becky! That�s all the distraction Ruckus needs- TOP ROPE FALCON ARROW THROUGH THE TABLE!
Double belly-to-belly by Ruckus and Joker, and they bring some chairs into the ring. Sonjay gets PLANTED with a chairshot, and Ruckus DRILLS SONJAY THROUGH THE CHAIRS WITH ANOTHER FALCON ARROW! Sonjay is out of it, and they�ve got Cash alone. Joker is on the highest scaffold of the arena, about 25 feet in the air. They�re keeping Cash on the table with chairshots �DOUBLE STOMP OFF THE PLATFORM, THROUGH THE TABLE! The BLACKOUT TAKE IT!
This was a tremendously entertaining ECW-style match, with an excellent storyline set around protecting Becky Bayless. Each guy got their personalities over well- Jacobs as the enraged boyfriend, Sabian the pervert, and Ruckus as the Syxx-type heel who wasn�t playing to the crowd anymore. Toss in some of the more insane highspots done in Viking Hall in recent memory, especially that finish, and you�ve got something that Paul E. would be proud of.
On one final note, I'd like to say best of luck to Joker, who is serving our country in Iraq for the forseeable future- stay safe.
Winners: Blackout
Rating:: 86
Alex Shelley, still suffering from a shoulder injury, hits the ring for an interview with Eric Gargiulo. He�s still only at about 69%, and wants to talk to Jimmy Jacobs. If it was up to him, says the Baby Bear, he�d never have to wrestle Jacobs again, but they�re signed for the May show. Jacobs actually wants to let bygones be bygones, but after goading from Shelley (�being with Becky Bayless is like throwing a hot dog through a hallway!�) the enraged Hussman attacks. Shelley says the math will happen in May, and bails. The match never actually happened though, due to Jacobs� anger with Zandig over the Sabian incident and other booking issues. It�s also kinda funny that Shelley turned heel in the exact same way in IWA, ROH and CZW, by turning on Jimmy Jacobs, but judging by Shelley�s heel performances, it was the right call.
Roderick Strong vs. Nick Gage �Xtreme Strong Style Tournament, Round 1
The master of the backbreaker, Roderick Strong is by now known as the breakout star from NWA Florida. After many accolades there, including their X Division championship, he�s since moved on to the East Coast, earning a primo spot in Ring of Honor as part of the Generation Next stable with Alex Shelley, Jack Evans and Austin Aries. This is part of CZW�s 11-month Xtreme Strong Style tournament, which will culminate at Night of Infamy 3 in November.
Strong jumps Gage at the bell and runs him into the guardrail, Gage responds with guardrail shots of his own and some chairshots, �cause tables and chairs are legal in this tourney (although when are they not in CZW?) Gage sets up a table on the rail, but he�s the one who tastes it after a Strong whip. Strong keeps up the aggression by dropkicking Gage back to the floor, AND THERE�S A RUNNING DIVE OVER THE ROPES! Quick cover by Strong gets two. Strong works over Gage in the corner, but Gage fires back with stiff shots of his own- BUT STRONG CATCHES HIM WITH A HALF-NELSON BACKBREAKER! Standing dropkick by Strong gets another nearfall. Mafia kick by Strong-blocked, elbow by Gage- blocked, another Strong kick-BLOCKED! There�s the Hardcore Drop! Chair to the back on Strong, and Gage sets up a chair coffin. Gage lays Strong on the coffin and heads to the top- CUT OFF BY STRONG! BACKDROP THROUGH THE GIANT PILE OF CHAIRS! Back in the ring, Strong�s got him in a fireman�s carry- INTO A GUTBUSTER! Yakuza Kick by Strong! Irish whip, Gage goes for a kick- BLOCKED! CAPTURE SUPLEX BACKBREAKER! Strong STILL can�t put Gage away! Strong is lollygagging- AND TURNS INTO THE CHOKEBREAKER! STRONG KICKS OUT! Strong blocks a 2nd attempt, but not a third- STRONG ROLLS THROUGH ON THE BUMP! LARIAT! ANOTHER TWO COUNT! Oh man this match is rocking. Strong goes for the CX �03, Gage reverses, whip to the corner, BAM! Roaring elbow. BAM! BOOTSCRAPE! BAM! Hadrcore drop, Gage gets the 3 count!
While I was definitely hyperbolizing when I described this match on the CZWFans Board at an underrated MOTYC, it�s definitely a damn good match for the following reasons:
What I love most about this match is that it's presented as what the entire XSS should be about - a straightup, "let's light each other the fuck up" FIGHT. Starting with Strong immediately jumping Gage on the outside for some nasty guardrail bumps, including a nice table-spot, which established the "tables and chairs are legal" stip. The chairshots were absolutely nasty-looking. Roderick never lets up the aggression; there were absolutely no dead spots in this match. There was a fantastic strike/counter sequence in the middle of the match that didn't look like your typical choreographed indy stuff. Strong immediately going for covers after every high-impact move was smart psych, which drove home the competitive aspect of the tournament.
There are tons of other good dimensions to this match- all of Strong's backbreakers were absolutely nasty, variations of the move I've never ever seen. The booking also kept Roderick, uh, strong as he kicked out of a chokebreaker from Gage and Gage had to run through all of his secondary finishers in fast sequence to beat him. Great touch of psychology also, as Roderick scouted a second chokebreaker attempt and ROLLED THROUGH THE MOVE, which I've never seen before, to hit another insane backbreaker variation. Strong's facial expressions and swearing/arguing with the ref also added to the match's competive spirit, and combined with Gage's usual intensity it put me emotionally into the match bigtime. The only spot I didn't like was the setup for the chair coffin (something I never like in matches) but at least the bump off the top to the outside made it worthwhile.
Seriously, this was an awesome match, not quite in the same league as Messiah/Pain from Answering the Challenge but definitely close. Definitely the best Nick Gage match I�ve ever seen too.
Winner: Nick Gage
Rating: 90
Petey Williams vs. Jack Evans vs. Teddy Hart
Petey Williams is the current IWA-MS Heavyweight champion, as well as the captain of Team Canada in NWA-TNA (why Team Canada continues to exist when the X-Cups are long over is beyond me, but whatever.) Jack Evans you can read about in the 2 Playas article on TSM. The angle behind this match is that Zandig is punishing Hart by making him fight �his students,� but the funny thing is that Petey has no affiliation with Hart whatsoever other than that he was on Team Canada with him during the 2nd America�s X Cup.
Petey and Jack start off while Teddy sits in the corner. Evans flips out of a wristlock, and some more catlike flippling gets an Indy Respect standoff, and some more BREAKDANCING~! Petey cuts him off with a clothesline, but showboats and catches a spinkick. Jack slams him down, and there�s the ODE TO BLITZKRIEG~! (Twisting moonsault/standing phoenix splash combo) Teddy sneaks up on Jack and flips him into a powermbomb, in a spot that�s way cooler than it sounds. Petey gets the same treatment, taking a Dungeon Bomb. Hart skulks aways while Petey and Jack tie up again. Petey gets a neckbreaker, irish whip, Jack tries a backdrop, but TAKES A DDT, JACK DOES A SICK SELL~! Then again, Jack does a sick sell for everything. Teddy grabs a waistlock, and drops Petey fast with a Fujiwara. Jack dropkicks Petey in the face and gets a Fujiwara on the other arm. Jack sets Petey across his knee while Hart is on the top- HART ATTACK 2.0~! (Shooting Star Elbowdrop). Jack Evans goes up- CORKSCREW 630~!- and he whiffs it. Teddy makes him pay for the fuckup with Sliced Bread #2. Petey jumps on Ted and they brawl on the outside, but Evans is up- STUNTIN� 110~! (Springboard twisting moonsault). Now it�s Teddy�s turn- TRIPLE BYPASS~! (Spiral Tap) on the outside. All three men head to the staging area of Viking Hall, where Jack suplexes Petey on the wooden floor. Teddy and Petey brawl below, but Jack is on the stage! DOUBLE MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR~! HOLY SHIT~! Back toward the ring area, Hart rams Petey into the pole, and rolls him back in the ring. Hart gets a reverse Samoan Drop, but Petey grabs a small package (that sounded dirty, didn�t it) and transitions into a half-crab. Jack breaks with a Shining Wizard, but pays for it with a Cobra Clutch Suplex from Hart. Hart heads to the top- DDT ON BOTH MEN! Hart wipes both guys out with a second Triple Bypass, but opts out of the over for some weird reason. For some OTHER weird reason, he wants Petey to finish- and he does emphatically with the CANADIAN DESTROYER~! (front flip piledriver). Hart pulls him off through- �NO! NO FINISH! GIVE ME THE MIC!� Hart says his usual incoherent BS and calls out Zandig. Zandig chides the fans for cheering this moron in the first place, but is cut off in mid speech, because HART MOONSAULTS ON HIM! �FUCK YOU!� Zandig is up though, Teddy�s not paying attention �SPINNING CLOTHESLINE BY ZANDIG! Zandig pulls Petey and Jack on top of Teddy for a three count!
This really wasn�t much of an actual match, just an exhibition of spots, but some of the spots were absolutely amazing. Even with the whiffed 630, Evans was the star in this match, as it was his nutty dives and rubber boy selling that made this match memorable. Petey really didn�t do much, but total spotfests aren�t his forte anyway, and Hart did what he was supposed to do- act like a nutcase. This contest actually did have a strong storyline behind it, as it established Teddy as a manipulator who only cared about his own agenda, despite claiming to love the fans. While there are other matches that are better on this show, it�s definitely worth going out of your way to see this, just to see the future of highflying, Jack Evans, have one of his breakout moments (the other being the Scramble Cage.)
Winners: Jack Evans/Petey Williams
Rating: 84
Adam Flash vs. B-Boy
After the Hi-V got destroyed at Cage of Death 5, the members were given a choice to sign with Zandig or continue to fight him. The Backseat Boyz left the promotion entirely, B-Boy chose Zandig�s side, while Flash and Messiah continued to fight against him. Naturally, Flash and Messiah resented B-Boy�s decision, and vowed revenge.
Flash and B-Boy stare each other down to start, and lock up hard in the corner. They stall a bit more, and a second lock up yields to a wristlock. Flash stalls AGAIN, ugh. Irish whip into an armdrag sequence, and Flash bails. After regaining his bearings, Flash hammers away on B-Boy in the corner. B-Boy on the apron, and make Flash pay with a stiff kick after a missed shoulder charge, and REVERSE DDTs HIM ON THE APRON! B-Boy shoots Flash into the guardrail, and crotches him on the ringpost. In the ring now, and B-Boy charges with a running forearm, followed by some spinal taps and a dropkick to the face. B-Boy heads to the top rope, cut off by an ugly spinebuster. Flash goes to work on him, with some dull offense, but ups his temp with an Eye of the Hurricane for two. Hard sky high slam by Flash, and he cuts off a B-Boy comeback attempt with a lariat. Flash chokes away, and gets a release belly-to-belly for a second two count. Frankensteiner gets ANOTHER two count. Flash hits the chinlock, and B-Boy fights out to a double-KO spot. B-Boy fires up and kicks the crap out of Flash, getting a Northern Lights and a Fisherman�s Buster for 2.9. Flash turns the tide with a Michinolu Driver and the Last Call legdrop- FOR TWO! Flash sets up a chair coffin, goes for the suplex into it- BLOCKED! SPIKE DDT OFF THE ROPES! SHINING WIZARD! TWO COUNT! A second Shining Wizard- HITS THE REF! Here comes Messiah! FALL FROM GRACE! The ref wakes up and counts three on B-Boy�BUT HERE COMES THE WIFEBEATER! CHOKENSTEIN TO FLASH! There�s a THREE WAY BRAWL!
I was a little bit torn on this match, as it has numerous flaws but also some really good points. It starts off with stalling, which I hate, but from there the beginning gets hot, when B-Boy goes on offense. However, once Flash gets on offense the flow gets way out of wack, as his offense is mostly pretty dull with a couple highspots randomly thrown in. There are some hot nearfalls at the end, but the ref bump finish was pretty pointless. The bad, in my opinion, outweighs the good, so it gets a lower rating.
Winner: Adam Flash
Rating: 69
Messiah vs. John Zandig � -Taipei and Nail Boards Deathmatch, for the CZW World Heavyweight Title
This is Zandig�s first title definse since winning the belt in OCTOBER, causing the belt to hit its lowest levels of prestige EVER. Thanks a lot Zandig. It�s a world title, we get it, you don�t have to switch the belt for no reason every time you�re in a foreign country. A Tai Pei deathmatch means glass is glued to each combatant�s fist, and a nail board deathmatch is self-explanatory.
Zandig runs in during the brawl, starting the match off early. Messiah bumps into the crowd off an irish whip, and takes a gorilla press slam onto some chairs. The brawling continues, as Messiah rams Zandig into the refreshment stand. Messiah chokes Zandig out against the guardrail, and blasts him with a chairshot. Back toward the ring area, Messiah busts a bucket over Zandig�s head and rakes some of the broken glass onto his forehead, drawing blood. Messiah continues the assault on Zandig, ground-pounding him in the ring. Irish whip by Messiah, reversed by Zandig, and Messiah goes BACK-FIRST INTO THE NAIL BOARDS! Zandig busts the nail board over his head, and then busts another nail board over his head for a two count. Zandig pulls Messiah�s shirt up and throws him down on the nail board back-first. Zandig tries to whip Messiah into another board, Messiah put the breaks on, and hits an EXPLODER THROUGH THE NAIL BOARD ON ZANDIG! Messiah lays a board across Zandig�s chest and Lionsaults onto it twice, which is stupid because it hurts the Messiah more than Zandig. Messiah goes to the outside and sets up a table. Zandig takes advantage and goes to press slam him through it, but Messiah escapes, and hits a SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMB THROUGH THE TABLE- ZANDIG FALLS ON HIS HEAD! Messiah rolls him back in the ring, as Teddy Hart show back up. Zandig makes a miraculous recovery and powerbombs Messiah- BUT HART CUTS OFF THE PINFALL WITH A MISSILE DROPKICK! TRIPLE BYPASS~! 1, 2, 3, NEW CHAMPION~! Hart sticks around too long again, and takes a SUPLEX ON THE NAIL BOARDS, SPLITTING OPEN THE BACK OF HIS HEAD! Gushing blood, Hart exchanges threats with Zandig to close the show.
Again, this match is sort of weird. From a violence standpoint, it doesn�t really hit the gore level it should- blame the PA athletic commission sanctions for that. That said, minus the nail-board Lionsaults, there were some really nice deathmatch spots, such as the nailboard exploder and especially the sunset flip powerbomb through the table. Zandig also made sure to expose Messiah�s skin on the nailboard, which is smart thinking. I did hate the finish though, since it proved once again that Messiah can�t beat Zandig clean, and set him up for another world title reign on par with his first one, where he nearly matched Chris Jericho in terms of chickenshit, weak defenses. I REALLY wish CZW would give Messiah better opponents, possibly a Dan Maff or Homicide, so he can prove to all the East Coast �wrestling purists� dickheads who haven�t seen his SoCal work that he truly is a capable all-around talent. Unlike Flash/B-Boy, the pros and cons kinda even out so this gets a solid rating.
Winner: Messiah
Rating: 72
Final Thoughts:
Overdrive received a lot of hype on the Internet after it happened, and deservedly so, as on this night CZW returned to its 2002 glory and put on a card that was strong from top to bottom (minus Gutter/Merc/Hyde but I�m not counting it). Great highflying in the Chikara match and the Canada 3way, an awesome hard-hitting contest in Strong vs. Gage, and some cool ECW-style tables action. This is your best introduction to the current CZW, as there�s definitely something for everybody.
Overall recommendation: Super duper high
This show, as well as all tapes and DVDs of CZW, IWA Mid-South, 3PW, PWG and Chikara, can be purchased, as always, from Smart Mark Video.
Feedback is in the usual place.
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