Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
June 26th
On this day in history in ....
1936 - Everett Marshall defeats Ali Baba for the NWA (National Wrestling Association) Heavyweight Wrestling Title Marshall was already the Midwest Wrestling Association Heavyweight Champion.
1942 - James J. Dillon (real name James Morrison) is born in Trenton, New Jersey.
1961 - Hard Boiled Haggerty defeats his former partner, Gene Kiniski, for control of their AWA World Tag Team Title in St. Paul, Minnesota, ending their second reign together. Haggerty chose Bob Geigel as his new partner.
1968 - Peter Maivia and Billy White Wolf defeat Curtis Iaukea and Ripper Collins to win the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Title in Honolulu, Hawaii, ending Iaukea and Collins' third reign.
1971 - Ripper Collins and Mad Dog Mayne defeat Sunni War Cloud and Steven Little Bear for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Title in Honolulu, Hawaii, beginning their second reign.
1973 - Johnny Valentine defeats Ron Fuller for the Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida.
1974 - Matt Striker (real name Matthew Kaye) is born in Ossining, New York.
1975 - Antonio Inoki defeats Tiger Jeet Singh to win the National Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan, beginning his second reign.
1978 - The WWWF runs its monthly Madison Square Garden event. The results:
- Stan Stasiak defeated Special Delivery Jones.
- Chief Jay Strongbow defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna.
- Jack Brisco defeated Butcher Vachon.
- Mil Mascaras defeated Ken Patera.
- George Steele defeated Tony Garea.
- Andre the Giant and Ivan Putski defeated "Crazy" Luke and "Superstar" Billy Graham.
- The Yukon Lumberjacks (Eric and Pierre) defeated Dino Bravo and Dominic DeNucci to win the WWWF World Tag Team Title.
- Bob Backlund defeated Spiros Arion to retain the WWWF World Heavyweight Title.
1982 - Bret Hart wins his fourth Stampede North American Heavyweight Title, defeating Leo Burke, ending his seventh reign.
1982 - Invader I and Pierre Martel defeat The Kangaroos (Don Kent and Johnny Heffernan) for the WWC World Tag Team Title in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1983 - The Sheik's Army (Jerry Blackwell and Ken Patera) defeat The High Flyers (Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne) in Minneapolis, Minnesota to win the AWA World Tag Team Title. This ended The High Flyers' second reign, which lasted just over two years.
1987 - Frank Lancaster and Eric Embry defeat The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers and Bobby Fulton) to win the World Class Tag Team Title in Dallas, Texas, ending the Fantastics' second reign.
1988 - Bull Nakano defeats Yumiko Hotta in the finals of the fourth-annual AJW Grand Prix Tournament in Tokyo, Japan.
1992 - The original "Nature Boy", Buddy Rogers (born Herman Rohde, Jr.), a former NWA World Champion and the first WWWF World Champion, dies a short time after suffering three strokes, two of which happened on the same day. Rogers was on life support following this, and passed away. He was 71 years old.
1992 - New Japan Pro Wrestling holds an event at Tokyo, Japan's Budokan Hall. The results:
- Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Yamamoto defeated Koji Kanemoto and Osamu Nishimura.
- Super Strong Machine pinned The Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit).
- Kokina and Samu defeated Scott Norton and The Killer Bee (Brian Blair), when Kokina pinned Bee.
- El Samurai pinned Jushin Liger to win the IWGP World Junior Heavyweight Title, ending Liger's fifth reign.
- Keiji Mutoh and Hiroshi Hase defeated Black Cat and Takayuki Iizuka, when Hashimoto pinned Cat.
- Hiroshi Hase pinned Kensuke Sasaki.
- The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) defeated Big Van Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow, when Rick pinned Bigelow, to begin their second IWGP World Tag Team Title reign.
- Riki Choshu pinned Masahiro Chono to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Title.
1995 - Yoshiko Tamura defeats Misae Watanabe for the vacant AJW Junior Title in Sapporo, Japan.
1995 - Billy Jack Haynes defeats Brian Christopher for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee. This ended Christopher's 17th run with the belt.
1996 - Masato Tanaka, Kouji Nakagawa and Tetsuhiro Kuroda defeat Super Leather and The Headhunters (A and B) to win the FMW World Street Fight Six-Man Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.
1997 - J.C. Ice defeats Tyrin for the IWA Mid-South Light-Heavyweight Title in Louisville, Kentucky.
1997 - The Masked Maniac defeats Chris Michaels for the USA Pro Wrestling U.S. Heavyweight Title in New York.
1998 - Buck Quartermaine defeats Freedom Ryder for the Indepenent Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Pinellas Park, Florida.
1999 - ECW held "Hostile City Showdown" at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The results were:
- Rhino pinned Christopher Daniels.
- Spike Dudley pinned Rhino.
- Skull von Crush pinned Lance Diamond.
- Danny Doring and Roadkill beat Nova and Chris Chetti when Roadkill pinned Nova.
- El Mosco pinned Kid Kash.
- Little Guido pinned Super Crazy.
- Taz defeated Yoshihiro Tajiri by submission to retain the ECW World Heavyweight Title.
- Rob Van Dam pinned Balls Mahoney to retain the ECW World Television Title.
- The Impact Players (Justin Credible and Lance Storm) defeated Sabu and Jerry Lynn in a Death match when Storm pinned Lynn.
2000 - WWF RAW is WAR solidly defeats WCW Monday Nitro in the Monday Night War this week. RAW, featuring WWF Champion The Rock defeating Triple H and Kurt Angle in a three-way non-title match in the main event, scored a 6.4 rating. That edition of RAW also included former WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels appointing Mick Foley his successor. Nitro would only muster less than half of RAW's rating, getting a 2.8. That show featured a main event of WCW World Champion Jeff Jarrett defeating Kevin Nash, Goldberg and Scott Steiner in a four corners match.
2000 - Mick Foley was named WWF Commissioner during an edition of Raw. Here is Tim Whitehead's original report on that show.
The 6/26 RAW aired live from the Worcester Centrum......Rock came out with the WWF World Title belt to a huge ovation. He said Vince McMahon should consider himself lucky that he still owns a multi-million dollar company, a big house, expensive cars, and his penile implant. He said the era of the McMahon-Helmsley Faction is over and the Rock era has begun. Vince arrived and congratulated Rock on his title victory. He said that as he lay there on the mat, a beaten man at the hands of Rock, he realized that the reason Linda has been throwing so many obstacles in his path is because she loves him. He said he loves Linda, too, and from now on he'll give Linda all the love she can handle, either soft & tender or rough & ready. He said he thinks Linda wants another baby and called himself a "genetic jackhammer" and said he's going to go home and give her total attention. Vince offered to shake Rock's hand. Rock shook it but then said that no matter what Vince says, he's still a total asshole. Rock left Vince laying with the Rock Bottom......A limo arrived and Shawn Michaels emerged......Vince limped out to his limo with Stephanie wondering what he was doing. He said he was going home and to tell Hunter Hearst Helmsley that he's sorry. Stephanie just looked baffled, which is understandable since it really was baffling.......Rikishi defeated Chris Benoit in 2:25 by DQ to retain the IC Title. Clips were shown of Benoit "injuring" Rikishi's shoulder at the PPV. Rikishi kept selling the bad shoulder in this match. Tazz made his return, running in and hitting Rikishi with a chair for the DQ. Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler wondered aloud why Tazz would hit Rikishi instead of his rival Benoit. After the match, Benoit mauled Rikishi's shoulder more, including a diving headbutt onto it.......HHH arrived and Stephanie tried to explain to him about Vince's behavior and conveyed Vince's "I'm sorry" message. HHH was seething and looked angry enough to explode.......X-Pac beat Chris Jericho in 2:43. Clips were shown of Jericho kissing Stephanie at the PPV. Jericho described it by saying that kissing Stephanie was like kissing roadkill and said "Kirk Angel" owes winning the King of the Ring to a bottom feeding (etc.) ho. Stephanie was with X-Pac instead of Tori, who suffered a shoulder injury at the PPV. Jericho tried to kiss Stephanie again but Road Dogg made the save. Jericho hit the lionsault but Stephanie distracted the ref. Dogg walloped Jericho and rolled X-Pac on top as the ref returned to action for the pin. Afterward, Dogg & X-Pac held Jericho and Stephanie slapped him and kicked him in the balls.......Kurt Angle was polishing his crown backstage and bragging about himself.......They cut to the WWF restaurant in New York where Godfather arrived with four cute hos. They later showed them partying there.......Val Venis defeated Eddie Guerrero by DQ in 2:55 in a European Title match. Trish Stratus kept interfering. She didn't get caught, but Chyna did when she interfered and Eddie was DQ'ed, but retained the belt. Eddie & Chyna double DDT'd Val afterward and Chyna gave Trish a killer powerbomb. The heat for this was great and Chyna looked like she was really enjoying herself. She and Eddie hugged before leaving.......Kurt Angle had an arena employee with him, boring the guy (whom he called a commoner) by asking whether he should call himself King Angle or King Kurt.......Shawn Michaels came out and destroyed the throne they had set up for the King of the Ring coronation by shoving it off the ramp. Michaels said he has business to take care of before any coronation can take place, and that the announcement concerned the #1 contendership to the WWF Title. HHH suddenly arrived. He reminded Michaels that they were old friends and said that surely it must hurt him to know that he (HHH) was screwed out of the belt at the PPV since he wasn't pinned. He complained that people had been pointing at him all day and saying "loser". HHH was confident that Michaels would do the right thing and make him top contender. Michaels agreed that HHH had a point and should be #1 contender, but reminded him that he is no longer commissioner. He then introduced Mick Foley, to a huge pop, as the newly appointed commissioner. Foley came out with his new short haircut and a "commissioner"" T-shirt. He told HHH that he now has a lot of power courtesy of Linda and that with Vince apparently gone he'll have even more power. He said he was going to see to it that no one ever has to listen to boring 20 minute HHH promos again. HHH was furious and said he'd beat the hell out of Foley if he didn't give him the contendership. Foley said he won't be intimidated and would make the decision based on who was most deserving. Kurt Angle arrived with crown and scepter. He said he deserves the contendership by beating three guys and becoming King of the Ring and that even the commoners in Worcester (he pronounced it War-ches-ter) know it. Foley laughed at Angle's regal outfit. He then ruled that there will be a three-way match later on the show between HHH, Angle, and Rock. If Rock wins, then both HHH and Angle are eliminated as contenders, but if either HHH or Angle win, they will get a title shot at Rock on Smackdown. HHH slugged Angle and hurled him from the ring.
Hour two saw Dean Malenko shooting pool as several babes fawned over him. Terri was worried about the upcoming match where she would have to strip if Malenko loses. As incentive, she promised him a private viewing if he wins. Malenko was so excited he missed a shot...... Kat promised Jerry Lawler that if he wins, she'll give him the bronco ride he's been wanting........Lawler beat Malenko in the strip gimmick match in 3:15. The rules were that every time a man went over the top to the floor, the gal he represented had to remove an article of clothing until someone was topless. Both guys bumped over twice and the girls stripped accordingly. Malenko then bumped over and Terri had to take off her top but Stevie Richards came out wearing a suit and looking very clean-cut and held up a sign that said "censored" so no puppies could be seen. Everyone, including me, hated Richards, who I assume will do a prude gimmick.......Edge & Christian told Foley that they want their own locker room like Rock has now that they're World Tag Team Champions for the second time. Foley didn't treat their request seriously at first, but finally got them a room of their own.......Lawler was furious that Richards had "censored" Terri's puppies......Edge & Christian were in their room, talking like Foley was some kind of pushover since he gave them their request so easily. He came in and they told him to get them some sodas. Foley shocked them by announcing that he had scheduled them for a non-title match against Undertaker & Kane. ....... The Acolytes won a tag team battle royal in 3:52 to become top contenders to the tag titles. The other teams were the Hardy Boyz, the Dudleys, Too Cool. Al Snow & Steve Blackman, Perry Saturn & D-Lo Brown, Test & Albert, and Taka Michinoku & Sho Funaki........They promoted the USA Weekly "Wrestling vs. Baseball" special featuring Rock. They also showed the clip of Donald Trump at the Madison Square Garden house show again.......Foley brought Edge & Christian each a soda to try and be a nice guy. They acted like they wouldn't agree to fight UT & Kane but Foley said he'd strip them of the belts if they didn't.........Undertaker & Kane beat Edge & Christian in 1:26. Edge & Christian whined about it being unfair that they had to wrestle them and cancelled their pose in protest. The match didn't last long with UT & Kane pinning both foes with chokeslams. .......Footage aired of Jerry Toliver winning a drag race in Madison, IL in the WWF racer.......Rock beat HHH and Kurt Angle in the three-way in 8:54. Rock got a huge ovation again. The match was pretty good though much of it was the usual routine where the third man breaks up any pin attempt. HHH almost had it won when he Pedigreed Angle but Chris Jericho broke up the pin and snapped HHH's neck on the top ropes. The ref didn't see this since he was arguing with Stephanie. Hmmmm. Anyway, HHH staggered back and Rock gave him the Rock Bottom for the pin. Overall an okay show which elevated Angle to the top and brought back the much-needed Mick Foley.
2001 - At a SmackDown! taping at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, Albert defeated Kane to win the WWF Intercontinental Title.
2001 - Tom Howard defeats Tony Jones to win the UPW Southern California Title in Santa Ana, California.
2001 - Albert (A-Train) defeats Kane for the WWF Intercontinental Title in New York City at Madison Square Garden during a taping of Smackdown.
2002 - TNA Wrestling's second weekly pay-per-view event, which was taped one week prior along with TNA's first-ever event which aired live, airs on television. The results:
- America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) defeated The Rainbow Express (Lenny [Lane] and Bruce [Alan Funk]).
- Apolo defeated David Young.
- Scott Hall pinned Jeff Jarrett.
- Brian Christopher defeated K-Krush.
- Taylor Vaughn (formerly B.B. in the WWF) defeated Francine, Joanie, Shannon (Daffney), Alexis Laree, Miss Sasha, Elektra and Erin in a Lingerie Battle Royal to become Miss NWA-TNA.
- A.J. Styles defeated Psicosis, Low Ki and Jerry Lynn in a four-way match to become the first TNA X Division Champion.
2003 - Texas Trailer Trash (Harley Johnson and Rogue) defeat ReGex (Tejas and Mace) in Fort Worth, Texas for the vacant NWA Texas Tag Team Title.
2004 - Terry Taylor defeats Preston Paradise for the Spinebuster Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title in Valdosta, Georgia. At the same show, Taylor would lose the title to Erik Watts.
2004 - The CyberSpace Wrestling Federation (later known as NWA Cyberspace and currently as NWA Shockwave) runs an event in Rahway, New Jersey. The results were:
- Mike Tobin defeated Danny Jaxx.
- Julio Dinero defeated Danny Doring.
- Mike Kruel defeated Michael Shane.
- America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) defeated Rob Eckos and Matt Stryker for the CSWF Tag Team Title.
- Crazy Ivan defeated Josh Daniels.
- April Hunter defeated Traci Brooks.
- Sonjay Dutt defeated Nick Berk, Grim Reefer and Ken Scampi in a four-way match.
- Slyck Wagner Brown defeated Darkbird (Chris Kanyon) to win the vacant CSWF Heavyweight Title.
2004 - Mikael Yamaha defeats GeeStar to win his second Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic Television Title in Burlington, North Carolina.
2004 - Rocky Reynolds defeats J.D. Escalade for the NWA Tri-State X Division Title in Mannington, West Virginia.
2005 - WWE holds its "Vengeance" pay-per-view at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show got a 0.92 buyrate. The results:
- In a match airing on Sunday Night Heat, The Hurricane and Rosey defeated The Heart Throbs (Antonio and Romeo), when Hurricane pinned Romeo, to retain the World Tag Team Title.
- Carlito pinned Shelton Benjamin to retain the WWE Intercontinental Title. The champion caught Benjamin with a roll-up after he hit an exposed turnbuckle.
- Victoria pinned Christy Hemme after blocking a Sunset Flip and holding the ropes.
- Kane pinned Edge after a Chokeslam.
- Shawn Michaels pinned Kurt Angle after the Sweet Chin Music.
- John Cena defeated Christian and Chris Jericho in a Triple Threat match, by pinning Christian after an FU, to retain the WWE Title.
- Batista pinned Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match, after a Batista Bomb, to retain the World Heavyweight Title.
2007 -The first-ever Florida Championship Wrestling event was held at the Dallas Bull in Tampa , FL. Michael Spears sent the following results for the brand new WWE developmental territory:
Johnny Curtis pinned Robert Anthony.
Don Rodman & Tyson beat Mike Knox & Derrick Neikirk.
Nattie Neidhart (Natalya) defeated Shantelle (Shantelle Taylor, later to be known as Taylor Wilde in TNA) and Krissy Vaine in a 3-way match.
Keith Walker & Ryklon Stephens beat Eric Perez and Kofi Kingston.
G-Rilla (the future Brodus Clay) pinned Shawn Osbourne.
Harry Smith (DH Smith) & TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd) defeated Afa Jr (Manu) and Sonny Siaki.
Rene Dupree pinned Steve Madison.
Harry Smith won a 21 person battle royal to win the Florida Championship Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship.
Notes: Jim the Anvil Neidhart was in attendance and was cordial to fans who approaching him, singing autographs and taking pictures....Steve Keirn, Mike Bucci and Tom Pritchard were all in attendance since they run the promotion....ROH's Roderick Strong was also at the event.
2007 - WWE issued the following press release in the wake of the Benoit tragedy, noting the text messages Chris Benoit sent this weekend, as well as reviewing the timeline that had been posted on WWE.com earlier in the same day:
WWE(R) Shares Internal Timeline And Details Relating To Chris Benoit Tragedy
Tuesday June 26, 10:39 pm ET
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--World Wrestling Entertainment today released additional details of what it knows concerning communication with Chris Benoit and authorities before and after the tragic double homicide-suicide involving Benoit, his wife Nancy, and his son, Daniel.
WWE's timeline of events began on Saturday:
On Saturday, June 23, Chris Benoit was slated to appear at a WWE live event in Beaumont, Texas. That afternoon, Benoit contacted WWE to inform them that his wife and child were ill, and that he would not be able to attend the show.
WWE executives rebooked Benoit's flight for the following morning, allowing Benoit to miss the Beaumont event and making alternate arrangements for him to attend the pay-per-view event in Houston on Sunday.
WWE employees attempted to confirm with Benoit his travel plans but were unable to contact him.
Early Sunday morning, between 3:51 and 3:58 a.m., Benoit sent five text messages to co-workers:
Text Message 1 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:53am)- Chris Benoit's cell phone "My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane, Fayetteville Georgia. 30215" Text Message 2 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:53am)- Chris Benoit's cell phone "The dogs are in the enclosed pool area. Garage side door is open" Text Message 3 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:54am)- Nancy Benoit's cell phone "My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane. Fayetteville Georgia. 30215" Text Message 4 to two co-workers (sent 6/24 at 3:55am)- Nancy Benoit's cell phone "My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane. Fayetteville Georgia. 30215." Text Message 5 to one co-worker (sent 6/24 at 3:58am)- Nancy Benoit's cell phone "My address is 130 Green Meadow Lane. Fayetteville Georgia. 30215"
Throughout the day on Sunday, WWE made numerous attempts to contact Benoit both at home and at local hospitals in the Atlanta area. As of 11:00 p.m., WWE officials were unable to establish contact with Chris Benoit.
At 12:30 p.m. on Monday, June 25, WWE officials were notified of the text messages sent to the co-workers the previous day. By 12:45 p.m., WWE had contacted Fayetteville County Sheriff's office requesting they check on the Benoit family.
Fayetteville County Sheriffs office made contact with WWE at approximately 4:00 p.m. advising that they had entered the house of Chris Benoit and found three deceased bodies - an adult male, adult female and a male child. WWE was told that Benoit's home was now considered a major crime scene.
The decision to cancel the live event scheduled in Corpus Christi that night was made between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. In keeping with company policy, and with limited knowledge regarding facts of the case, WWE choose to air a memorial dedicated to the career of Chris Benoit. As facts emerged surrounding the case, all tributes to Chris Benoit were removed both on-air and on WWE.com.
WWE was stunned and saddened by the details released today by local authorities and is continuing to monitor the ongoing investigation.
2010 - CZW held their ninth annual Tournament of Death in Townsend, DE. Mike Johnson filed the following report:
Combat Zone Wrestling, as a promotion, has been in an interesting position in recent months. In the early part of the decade, it was the promotion that really kicked off the revival of independent wrestling in Philadelphia and the former ECW Arena. It featured a new and fresh crop of talents, some of whom were extremely violent brawlers and some of whom were equally entertaining wrestlers. The shows drew, especially at first, and it would have seemed like they were poised to conquer the scene and then expand onward. It didn't really happen that way. In hindsight, the infrastructure wasn't prepared in the least. Injuries, age and personal problems would catch up to a number of roster members. Some like former TOD champion Nick Mondo, retired. Some, like Lobo, were forced to bow out due to injuries. Others, like the Briscoes, moved on to other places.
The Pennsylvania Commission began cracking down on the violence and weapons aspects of the show. Bookers changed. Fans moved on. The wrestling business cooled overall. CZW Television moved from a weekly series to nothing to a semi-regular special broadcast. CZW changed venues before returning to the Arena. PPV projects and national DVD releases were attempted. Momentum was lost and for every great event or moment, there were others that didn't follow up to maintain the buzz. One step forward, one step back. Over time, founder John Zandig eventually sold the company to DJ Hyde, who had worked his way up from student to eventual owner of the company, a decision that had to be heartbreaking for Zandig.
Since that time, Hyde has worked to find a balance between good wrestling and the violence that has become known as CZW's calling card. It's been an ongoing process, but the company is still hanging in there and trying to build itself back up at a grass roots level. Such things take time, effort and money - three things Hyde has slowly been pouring into CZW. It's certainly a trial and error process, especially in the current economic state of the world, not to mention a wrestling business that has cooled considerably from the height of CZW's hype and buzz.
All that brought up to Combat Zone Wrestling holding their Tournament of Death 9 event on Saturday 6/26 in Townsend, Delaware on the estate owned by CZW owner Dave "DJ Hyde" Markland's family. To say the experience was one of a kind goes without saying. It was a surreal scene, standing in a field on farmland with mother nature serving as the background for the most violent event of Combat Zone Wrestling's year. Surveying the scene through a heavy nicotine haze, one couldn't help but shake their head and laugh while thinking what someone who wasn't a wrestling fan would think if they suddenly stumbled out of those woods and arrived upon this gathering - breaking glass, insane bumps, blood running deep in every match and some unique, twisted characters populating the ring and the audience alike.
CZW's Tournament of Death is sort of the wrestling equivalent of a punk rock festival. If you like the style and the scene, you are home. If not, you'll never understand it. That is certainly the best way to describe the show. If you are into the extremely violent Death Match style matches, this was the show for you. If blood, crazy (and sometimes contrived) spots, all out violence and weapons shots aren't your thing, this certainly was not the show for you, not in the least and you would have hated every minute of it. Perhaps another CZW event would have been for you, but not this one. It was all or nothing when it came to the violence and CZW delivered in that regard.
The show opened with a ten bell salute for former CZW star Michael "Trent Acid" Verdi. I believe DJ Hyde made a speech about Verdi, but I hadn't arrived yet due to traffic issues, so I'm not sure what was said.
CZW TOD Round One: In a Lighttube Bundles and Structures match, JC Bailey pinned Havok with a Michinoku Driver onto a ton of light tubes. Lots of back and forth brawling and a tons of light tube destruction. Bailey hit a double stomp off the top through tubes as well. He continued beating down with tubes after the match, leaving him laying. Really violent and entertaining opener setting the stage for the carnage from what I saw.
CZW TOD Round One: In a "Weapons of Mass Destruction" match, Big Japan Wrestling's Abdullah Kobayashi pinned Nick Gage in what was Kobayashi's first ever appearance in the United States. Gage took the mic before the match and said that he's beat the hell out of everyone who's ever come into CZW, so now they want to bring a Japanese P**** into the company. He said he was going to kick Abdullah Kobayashi's teeth down his throat. When Kobayashi came to the ring, Gage warned him he was in the ring with him and who did he think he was. Kobayashi screamed his name in response. Gage hit Kobayahi over the head with a light tube. He no sold it and then ate one. Sick! He smashed another one over Gage's back and ate the remnants. He dropped Gage over broken shards then r ipped at his face with a piece. Gage came back with several kicks to the groin. Gage drilled him in the back with a barbed wire chair. He smashed a keyboard over Kobayashi's head, then smashed him with a giant plastic water jug with Christmas ornaments. Gage nailed a diving attack off the top for a two count. Kobayashi came back with a dropkick and a shining wizard, then dropped an elbow for a two count. Kobayashi nailed a belly to back suplex for a two count. Gage put a Tekken, which has a LOT of tiny little spikes and is used to hold flowers in place on Kobayashi's head, then drilled it into his head with a chairshot, Then, he repeated it. SICK! Kobayahi has done that in Japan before but seeing it live was a hell of a sight. Fans began chanting for CZW. Gage then tried to pull them out but they were too deeply embedded. He nailed Kobayashi with a plastic bat that had thumbtacks glues around it. He went to use the jug but Kobayashi stole it and beat Gage with it. He drilled Gage with a leaping DDT, then placed a number of tubes on Gage's chest and stomach. Kobayashi came off the ropes with an elbow and pinned Gage. Crowd didn't like that and a lot of people were catcalling about it. Kobayashi screamed into the mic he loves Death Matches and American people. Gage warned him if he ever sees another Big Japan talent in CZW again, he was going to f*** them up. Since the plan is to bring others in, I guess Gage will be doing a lot of f***ing them up. Great stuff - this was my favorite Gage match in sometime.
CZW TOD Round One: Thumbtack Kick Pads and Panes of Glass Martch: Scotty Vortez pinned Vortex. They choppd the hell out of each other early. Dysfunction suplexed Vortez into a plane of plexiglass but it didn't break. So, he powerbombed him into it. Glass showered the audience. That would be why I don't sit ringside for these things. Dysfunction nailed Vortex with an over the knee backbreaker. Vortex came back with a diving kneedrop off the top through a glass pane bridged between two chairs. Dysfunction was killed but came back with a superkick. Dsyfunction sat Vortex on his shoulders and slammed him down through a pane. He drilled Vortex with a chair, then set up another pane between two chairs. They battled on the top until Vortex hit a Flux Capacitor off the top through the glass for the pin. Decent with some incredible bumps.
CZW TOD Round One: Masada pinned Drew Moore, who substituted for John Zandig. Masada came out first but when Zandig's music hit, out came Devon Moore driving a farm vehicle. Masada demanded to know why he was there but there was no explanation and they rang the bell. The reality was Zandig has been dealing with a bad back injury for well over a year stemming from a car wreck where he was hit by a woman driving with such force it flipped his truck. The morning of the TOD, he woke up in such pain, there was no way he could have worked the date. The promotion probably should have made an announcement before the show. Zandig wasn't at the event. Moore went for a discus clothesline but bounced off. Masada tossed him out of the ring and called for Zandig. The crowd was deflated by no Zandig. Moore returned to the ring and hit a flip dive over the top to the floor. Masada returned to the ring and backdropped Moore over, then clotheslined him to the floor. Masada beat Moore around the outside. Masada set up several chairs near the station where the announcers were set up. He knocked off some wood from the structure and set it between the chairs, then suplexed Moore through it. Fans began chanting, "This is bullsh**" but I don't know if it was because of bad sightlines or no Zandig. Moore hit a shooting star press off the station. They battled back to the ring where they destroyed a car windshield. Masada pinned him with a stiff clothesline. The crowd never gave this a chance in my eyes but it was OK.
In a non-tournament match, Joe Gacy and Sami Callihan beat DJ Hyde and Greg Excellent in a great a Fans Bring the Weapons Falls Count Anywhere match. Callihan and Gacy attacked their foes in the aisle and they immediately brawled all over the field through the crowd. They used a wood backboard stretcher that the EMTS the company had hired had with them on Hyde's back. They worked over Hyde and whipped him into a wooden fence, which collapsed. They ripped a branch off a tree and whipped Excellent with it. They dragged Excellent back to the ring and worked him over with weapons. Hyde returned and they worked him over and hit him with a watermelon, which didn't break. Hyde speared them and then destroyed them with the melon. They went back and forth with some crazy weapons shots. Hyde was sent off the apron through some nutty barbed wire construction a fan brought. They finally powerbombed Excellent off the top through a barbed wire glass pane that was placed atop a TELEVISION. That was a pretty sickening bump and Excellent looked to be badly hurting after the match but later on seemed to be moving around OK. Really, really fun brawl.
*TOD Semi Final: In a barbed wire board and log cabin lighttubes match, JC Bailey pinned Abdullah Kobayashi. Kobayashi was all bandaged up from earlier. Bailey used headbutts early but Kobayashi fought back with chops. Bailey nailed him over the back with a chair and peppered him with rights. He placed a log cabin across his chest and then did a double stomp off the top on Kobayashi. He began beating Kobayashi with the remnants of the tubes. Bailey set up another on Kobayashi and went to the top but Kobayashi escaped and threw a steel chair in Bailey's face. Kobayashi hit a Samoan Drop then put a log cabin over Bailey, then splashed off the ropes, destroying the structure. Bailey was bleeding hard from the chest. Kobayashi placed a circular structure over Bailey's body and used shooting kicks to destroy it. So it was 2-1 for Abdullah. Bailey and Kobayashi carved each other with tubes. Kobayashi got the better and went to the ropes for an elbow. Bailey fought him off and superplexed Kobayashi through a log cabin, tying it up. They faced off with chairs with Bailey getting the better and killing Kobayashi with two stiff shots to the head. Bailey finally nailed a back senton off the top through a log cabin for the win. The crowd went from apathetic for Kobayashi to loving him over the course of his two appearances, with a large crowd lining up for photos later in the day. I've always loved his work so it was really cool to get to see him do his thing live.
*In a Barbed Wire Boards Death Match, Scotty Vortex pinned Masada. The story here was Masada beat the holy hell out of Vortex to make him "earn" the win. Vortex caught him with head scissors early. They battled back and forth. Masada hit a reverse suplex through a barbed wire board propped in the corner. Masada slammed a cinder block over the remnants of the board, then covered Vortex for a two count. Masada nailed a butterfly suplex onto the board wire for a two count. Outside, Masada stiffly powerbombed Vortex through a glass tubes board. Masada's manager Bill Gram got into it with the referee and shoved him The ref shoved him back, knocking Gram into a barbed wire board. Masada bridged another barbed wire board between the guard rail and the apron, then used it as a teeter totter as Masada came off the top with a chair, slamming it into Vortex's head. Masada beat Vortex with light tubes. Back in the ring, Vortez mounted a comeback with a series of chops. Masada returned in kind. Masada nailed a charging elbow in the corner. He pulled several cinder blocks into the center of the ring and slammed Vortex onto them several times. The first slam was nasty as hell and I can't see how Vortex wouldn't be feeling that tomorrow. Vortex kept battling back but Masada caught him with a kick to the back for a two count. Masada leaned a barbed wire board against two chairs in the middle of the ring. He tried to powerbomb Vortex, but Vortex escaped. Vortex fought off Masada, then hit diving knees, drilling Masada through the board. Bill Gram attacked Vortex who got the better of him, nailing him with a kid's bat surrounded by thumbtacks, then killing him with light tubes. The ref tossed Gram, who was possibly the bloodiest mess out of everyone all day, out. His long hair got caught up in barbed wire and some of it was ripped out. Ouch. Masada went for a powerbomb but Vortex slipped out. He nailed him a second time. Masada called for his manager to be taken to the back. Vortex caught him with a kick to the head and used a forward cradle for the pin. Masada shoved several fans on the way out. I know he's a heel and all but perhaps getting physical with fans while on the property of the owner of the company (who would be completely liable if anything happened) wouldn't be the smartest of ideas.
*In a Taipei Death Match, Brain Damage pinned Drake Younger. For this world, Damage is one hell of a great brawler and has this intense look. He spit in the face of a woman as he made his way to the ring. Wow. They punched each other. Younger filled Damage's mouth with glass and punched him. Younger came off the ropes but got punched in the face for a two count. Damage tossed him to the floor. Damage beat Younger down with a pair of water jugs connected by a stick (think an American Gladiator-like joust). Younger made a comeback but was kicked down. Younger fought off Damage and splashed him with a light tube. Younger nailed a Death Valley Driver for a two count. Damage nailed a Michinoku Driver on light tubes for a two count. Damage went to the top rope but Younger fought him off and nailed a superplex onto light tubes and another water jug jousting stick. Younger went for a Gringo Killer on tubes but Damage came back with a powerbomb through them for a two count. Damage nailed a package piledriver for the pin. Intense brawl.
TOD Finals: Scotty Vortex pinned JC Bailey in a Tables, Ladders, Light Tubes and Anything Else Still Left in the Back Match. Vortex pushed Bailey off the top through a table covered in light tubes. They battled on the floor. Back in the ring, Vortex covered Bailey with light tubes around the groin, then slammed a ladder into them. Bailey fought back with kicks and Vortex responded in kind. Bailey got the best and nailed a fisherman's buster suplex into the broken glass. Bailey was whipped into the corner, where he ran up a ladder but was caught with a back suplex. Vortex brought a table into the ring and set it up. At the same time, Bailey set up a ladder. They began battling and Bailey got the better of it. Bailey set up another ladder. Bailey put a log cabin light tube on top of the table. He clobbered Vortex with a light tube over the head. Bailey dragged Vortex up the ladder then hit a Side Russian Legsweep through the table and log cabin. Both men were down as the referee began counting them out. They got up right before the 10 count. Vortex came back with several light tube shots to the head and chest. Bailey caught and stopped Vortex,then kicked one into Vortex' chest. He grabbed a light tube contraction wrapped in barbed wire and set it up over Vortex's chest, then nailed a double stomp for a two count. They battled back and forth with punches, forearms and headbutts as fans chanted back and forth for each man. Bailey slid a light tube between Vortex's legs and shattered it. Vortex made a big comeback and set up Bailey on the top rope. He grabbed a massive amount of light tubes and smashed them over Bailey's head. He finally superplexed Bailey in and scored the pin. They were obviously tired and from the standpoint of a climactic moment, this didn't have that but given all they went through in the course of the show, you can't fault them one bit.
Notes: JAPW's Steve Mack was in attendance...The promotion was heavily pushing the 7/10 Acidfest Memorial Event...They were also plugging upcoming dates in North Carolina and Germany...While it was a hot, humid day, everyone really worked hard and if you enjoy that style of wrestling, this would be one hell of a DVD purchase....For more on CZW, visit www.CZWrestling.com.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
