Paid Members Egg Shen Posted February 22 Paid Members Posted February 22 On the subject of blading, there was a funny bit in the new Raven documentary where Dreamer tells the story of agreeing the let an inexperienced Raven cut him for an ECW match. He then proceeds to say how Raven cut him "coast to coast" (ear to ear) resulting in pretty hefty blood loss. The following clip shows Dreamer cutting a promo post match which basically disproves his own claim as he has a small bandage covering the gig mark in his hair line. Top bullshitter is Dreamer. Quote
Merzbow Posted March 28 Posted March 28 Hayabusa II is now wrestling internationally and it's in Australia against.... Low-Ki?!?! Quote
Richie Freebird Posted July 24 Author Posted July 24 As requested by our friend Olly 1984. Thanks for the heads up on this match brother. Bat signal received. Lil Sicko vs Nino Extremo, GCW Tournament of Survival 11. Okay, full disclosure. I've seen hardly anything of GCW and am not familiar with Nino Extremo, but from his entrance alone, you can feel the passion and intensity in this kid. The fans obviously love this boy, as evident by the multiple hugs received from the gore junkie faithful on the way out, sporting his Mexico football shirt and tasty golden pleather kegs. Lil Sicko has competed in a few IWA Deep South shows, so I know his capabilities well enough. From the precious little deathmatch stuff I've seen in the last few years, Sicko has been the standout guy. Again, super passionate, well into his character as a crazy Juggalo clown, and the lad can actually wrestle. A bright light in this dingy little scene. Lord have mercy, where do we start with this one. I'm not sure what went down in the rest of the tournament, but the ring was adorned with everything on a deathmatch junkie's Christmas list: Barbed wire doors, ladders, light tube contraptions as far as the mind can bend, some sort of spike protrusion board and good God almighty.... a scaffold. You know this thing is going to be death-defying carnage before the action even begins. And what a way it does begin. Young Nino comes careering off the top of the scaffold with a stage-dive, as an off-guard Sicko is still getting acquainted with the sinister surroundings. Of course, multiple light tubes were busted all over Sicko's dirty kisser in the process. No collar and elbow starts in this one, good grief. The guys traded armlocks for a hot minute (shades of WOS?) and then teased a tube bundle shot. Ultimately, it was Nino that ate the glass, courtesy of a hamstring-back bicycle-kick by Sicko the deranged deathmatch Clown. I was loving the madness here in the early going. The crowd were going mental for it. As wrestling fans, we all know how a good crowd can make a great match even better. The GCW attendees were in fine form on this night. Sicko landed some sort of Razor's Edge to Nino and planted him square through a barbed wire door like wasn't no-thang. Amazing intensity in this match. With blood splattered everywhere already, my jaw was on a one-way trip to the floor as poison-ranas from the top and chair shots clean to the dome started coming out. Business was about to pick up. A massive pane of glass was engineered across two chairs, and both men showed hunger to take advantage of the sadistic setup. After a bit of back and forth, both combatants ended up spring boarding into the ring from opposite sides and tangling up in the air... two bodies careering through the glass, sending shards asunder. The timing had to be pristine on this spot, and pristine it was. Perfect collision, mid air, stomach churning landing. My word, I've missed this stuff. These guys were leaving it all in the ring tonight. Great advert for this promotion and tournament. Legitimate cries of amazement rang out across Freebird HQ as Nino took to the top with a light tube skateboard (imagine that?) and landed a coast-to-coast light tube skateboard assisted double stomp on Sicko (the clown was already lying prone in the corner, all messed up and covered in light tube corpses from a previous spot). Amazing agility and impact on this one. As crisp as a Steamboat arm-drag. I'm really liking this kid Nino. He just has bags of that youthful energy and passion on full display. Both guys seemingly determined to blow the minds of the fans in attendance. Sicko popped the crowd again when he took to the top of the ringside scaffold and threw himself off with a corkscrew forward somersault. Usually you'd expect guys to use a table in spots like this to break the fall somewhat, but not these lads. Bang off the top, directly to the canvas. Some height to be throwing yourself around from. Insane. Even more insane is that Nino kicked out at 2. I was sure this was the match ending climax. Recovering from the previous human wreckage, both gentlemen ascended the scaffold again for another slice of barbaric degeneracy. After a brief struggle, Sicko landed an off-the-scaffold Spanish fly into the ring via some sort of light tube log cabin. Smash / bang / wallop. These boys were really turning up the volume here.... I thought it was already at 11, but they switched that dial to 12 when Sicko was launched into a "toothpick board" catching a sickening array of needle like spikes in the back, many of which remained in as the clown peeled himself free from the vomit inducing contraption. Sicko didn't like that one, so returned the favour by crowning Nino in the head and forearms with the toothpick spike board. Both men resembling road-kill porcupines at this point. How much further could they take this thing? This wasn't even the tournament final. The winner would be in desperate need of some reverse-acupuncture to proceed after this one. Amazingly, Sicko made no attempt to remove any of the toothpicks from his back and right arse cheek. Just ignored his new body mods and set up a massive ladder and log cabin table. The atmosphere almost subdued to a stunned silence as the fans pondered what the hell was next. Somehow, there was a weed-whacker hanging from the ceiling (because deathmatch wrestling) which was retrieved and excitingly struggled over. Eventually Nino gained control of the gardening gadget and sliced up the clown good, who was sitting astride the pinnacle of the ladder. Total barbarity at this point. You heard the sound of the flexi blades colliding with Sicko's flesh, sending sweat, blood and God knows what else flying across the Showboat Hall. Sicko sat prone, body covered in spikes, weed-whacked into next week, and no doubt splintered with smithereens. Nino, determined to end this madness, climbed the other side of the ladder with bad intent. Things didn't look good for the circus Juggalo. Nino hooked his man by the neck, gathering every once of remaining strength, and sent him souring through the sky with what I can only describe as a ladder-top flipping, sit out neck breaker. The pair crashed clean through the previously set up log cabin table as glass exploded into the night. Nino hooked the pin, the ref smacked 3.... my friends, this one's over. Pure brilliance, as the building erupted into cheers. Nino celebrated his gruesome victory with a cold beer and some Mexican flag brandishing. The atmosphere sounded electric in the Showboat hall in Atlantic City. Nice to hear that the loyal fans are keeping the old deathmatch tradition of sounding an air-horn when big spots land. I almost heard echoes of historical CZW commentator John House screaming "Someone call 911!"... Delightfully devilish Seymour. Thanks again for the recommendation Olly. Quote
Richie Freebird Posted October 3 Author Posted October 3 Tournament of Death 23 time! Obviously NSFW content in this one folks... So the legendary tournament is now a two night affair, with night one coming live from the Hyde family farm in Townsend Delaware on 05 September 2026. Usual disclaimer, despite my many posts on this nonsense over the years, I'm no expert on the current scene. I'm lucky if I catch two full shows a year these days and my memory is burned out with the stress of adult life, so I'm not up to date with storylines, characters etc. aside from some passing awareness of longer term performers or guys from random matches that I've been shown. Either way, lets be honest, we turn up for the mind melting matches on the night for these things, so lets dive on in for a weekend of grimy goodness... The show opens with a video package detailing the chronicles of the CZW Heavyweight title over the past year, with a lad called Eran Ashe holding the belt for most of the previous 12 months, save for a brief trade with Akira. The build here is for the opening match, which sees the two tangle again for the title belt. Not sure what it was, but I did find it cool that they still refer to the top title as "heavyweight", whereas most of the top promotions these days have dropped the weight division reference and just call their belts "world". I can't put my finger on why I enjoyed that, just a low rent promotion continuing to go against the grain maybe? Or maybe I'm just a very odd boy. With regards to the actual physical belt itself, I can't say I'm a fan of the design. Not the prettiest attempt to represent the company's top prize. It felt a bit odd to have the title match as the very first match of the weekend, but looking at the size and shape of Ashe, it was obvious he's not built for long, technical classics. It felt a bit like "lets get this out of the way, then we can have some corkers in the actual tournament". I'm not too familiar with Ashe's work, but it seems like he is a CZW original who trained with the likes of DJ Hyde and Joe Gacy. I wasn't holding my breath for a classic here... Akira, (who was the babyface in this one) came out to the legendary "Kumite" tune from Jean Claude Van Damme's classic 1988 martial arts movie Bloodsport. Likely a favourite with the CZW faithful, and one of my favourites as a kid. I bet many of us on this board had the VHS tape and played it to within an inch of its magnetic life back in the day. So it was on. An exploding bat match for the belt. They must have some confidence in Ashe from somewhere to have him hold the strap for so long, but he wasn't exactly thrilling me in this one. The guys traded skewer spots and some exploding bat shots, but the explosions were pretty weak, to be fair. Bats ranged from a kendo stick, to a baseball bat, and even cricket got some representation in the Combat Zone. Nothing to write home about really, and I did note a half hearted "holy shit" chant, which sounded more out of politeness than shock and awe. Ashe did impress me with a second rope moonsault, which, whilst we are accustomed to this type of athleticism these days, did still take some agility for a lad of his girth. The big spot in this bout was a table, which I became concerned about when I noticed it looked to be plugged into a fucking mains lead... there was some pyro strapped to the bottom. Akira got set up across the furniture, but no water in the pool as big Ashe crashed through the wood, setting off a blast from under the table. Akira followed up with a top rope splash through a small light tube bundle, and this one was over. In all honesty this was a weak opener. Not absolute shite, but far from legendary. Either way, Akira is now two time champion and the fans got their babyface title win. DJ Hyde came out to hand the Deathmatch Samurai his newly won title belt and show off the trophy for the upcoming tournament. DJ thanked his Mam and family & friends for hosting and setting up the tournament as Akira sat up on the turnbuckle. Fair play to them all for entertaining this madness, year in, year out. Fans playfully chanted "DJ's Family" and looked to be throwing them little mini bottles of spirits to Akira. I haven't seen them things in years. You know the old "one shot's worth in a tiny bottle" jobs? At least I think that's what they were. He was certainly necking something out of little containers. The tournament contestants came out, and due to a combination of me going deaf in my fat old age, and poor quality audio mixing, I didn't quite catch all of the names. I knew a few of the guys (Alex Colon, Nino Extremo, Joe Dred, and the legendary Mr. Insanity Toby Cline), but didn't recognise them all. It did feel like a real time warp, watching these pure 2000s indy CAWs walking out to the classic CZW theme tune. Felt like I could just switch over to Kerrang and see Slipknot and System of a Down videos with a load of scrolling text over them. But I digress... So that's it then. We're on. ToD baby, lets get this shite started! First round tournament proper - Opening match: Dred vs Nino Extremo in an ultraviolent casket match. We got a shot of the casket before the match. In true deathmatch fashion, it was a home made coffin filled with burned out light tubes with a door as the lid. The boring, ageing man in me was sitting here thinking "that looks fairly well made, fair play to the craftsmanship". Sad. I was familiar with Dred (formerly Judge Joe Dred) as he'd fought in the previous two finals and had a wild cage match with Mickie Knuckles as one of the Cage of Death shows. Nino I was familiar with due to a recent suggestion from our very own Olly 1984 (see above post). Nino has so much youthful energy and emotion. You can't help but feel the kid's presence when you see the expressions on his face. He looks so overwhelmed with pride to be involved in the scene and a tournament with this lineage. If you want to feel any older, Nino wasn't yet born when us gore hounds were devouring the very first CZW tournament of death back in 2002... This match was way, waaaay better than the opener. In fact, it eclipsed it in the first couple of minutes. Dred and the young Mexican Nino splattered tubes and bundles over each other's anatomies on the inside and outside of the ring, with some really cool looking spots to get the claret flowing. It was beginning to feel like the true essence of the tournament had arrived. I did find myself wincing when Nino set up Dred across a barbed wire board over chairs on the outside and then land a springboard leg drop from the top rope to the outside. The move would have been fine, but Extremo looked to crash hard on the back of his left leg across the top of one of the chairs. This was lots more brutal than the actual crash across the barbed wire board. There was also a cool neck breaker onto the lip of an upright chair during the early exchanges. Really tasty stuff. You just can't help but love Nino's energy. He's a throwback to the likes of JC Bailey and that generation of skinny deathmatch warriors who had legitimate love for the craft. The colourful pleather baggies suit his character so well. Well, when the coffin came into play shit got really real in a New York minute. A nice, dramatic "will they / won't they" tussle on the apron above the makeshift death box ended with Extremo getting choked out and dunked into the despicable pit of second hand glass. Ouch. The pain wasn't over for the youngster, as Dred pulled Nino out of the casket, only to re-power bomb him back into the remaining shards. Wild stuff my friends. These spots were barmy. Nino refused to let the lid be closed on his tournament dreams and managed to drag his carved up carcass out of the container. In a final bid to win the fight, Nino set his man up on the apron and went for a rope running flying leg lariat (known as "Air Nino" and quite a Sabu-esque sequence). Unfortunately for Nino, Judge Joe ducked out of the way, and poor old Extremo went careering over the ropes and through the fucking door which was serving as the lid to the casket. The wreckage was quite ugly, and the broken, splintered door was tearing seven shades of shite out of Nino's already mangled torso. Joe had to peel chunks of violently smashed door out of Nino's body to lift him out of the hellish situation he found himself wedged into. They eventually got him out and into the pine box to give Dred the win. Brilliant match. As gutted as I was to see Nino go out in the first round, I actually was glad that he didn't have to go back out with his side so torn up off the door spot. Though Dred caught a nasty gusher on his elbow in this one, Nino took by far the worst of it. His leg was messed up from the leg drop to the outside spot and his left torso looked like a scene from Mountain of the Cannibal God. Both men embraced and showed respect after the match and we got some nice backstage footage (which took me back to the era of seeing these shows via the wonders of Smart Mark Video and international post with 4-6 week waits). Nino was visibly limping and sliced up backstage. The kid really sacrificed himself out there in the name of this bizarre little niche of extreme entertainment. Hats off both men. Belter of a match. Hopefully I'll get time to write a bit more for you guys, but we'll have to see what life has in store. Have a tremendous weekend my friends. Each day is a gift. Quote
Richie Freebird Posted October 4 Author Posted October 4 Next match - Eric Ryan vs Mr. Insanity Toby Klein. This one was introduced (by long time Deathmatch associate / hype man / madman Larry Legend) as a terracotta barbed wire and Thumbtack Jack rules match. The commentators were as baffled as you or I to such a title, but lets just roll with it and see what transpires. The combatants had Taipei style fist tape with terracotta pieces glued on, and there were piles of small plant pots around the ring. So that's our starting point. Interesting point of note that Toby Klein fought in the first ever CZW Tournament of Death back in 2002 with the likes of the late Nate Hatred, Zandig, Nick Gage, Necro Butcher, Sick Nick Mondo and others. It feels crazy to now be nostalgic for that period in wrestling. At the time it felt so cutting edge and counterculture. The fact that this profanity is still favoured as an annual tradition is pretty remarkable. Maybe there's some sort of reflection on the human condition in there? Outsider art? I guess that's in the eye of the beholder. So, the match. Though it was excellent to see Mr. Insanity back in the Combat Zone (though looking a bit like a deathmatch version of modern day Road Dogg these days), the action was a little flat at times. Toby opened his man up wild style by jamming a fork into his head, which caused Eric's face a legitimate leak. The guy was really dripping claret right from the early going here. Of course, the plant pots came out as Klein continued his no-nonsense domination, repeatedly slamming and suplexing Ryan onto the putrid pottery. Lots of heavy punches and bumps onto the ceramic shards, with Ryan generally taking the worst of it. Then, out came the gruesome weapon which had been miss-called in the intro. A tub of what appeared to be the barbs off barbed wire. Just the barbs, or "Jacks" as they were referred to on commentary. Ryan's misery continued as he took a backdrop onto the barbs, with one sticking into the back of his head. This left a notable puncture when pulled out. I had to pop a little bit for this exchange... Then, seemingly outta' nowhere, Ryan slapped on a cross-face submission and Toby tapped almost instantly. It didn't feel like there was any build to the finish and it came totally against the run of play, leaving the crowd confused and reduced to booing the finish. Mr. Insanity looked like he genuinely didn't like response, but to be fair, I can understand the fans' point. The bout was a one sided beat down and then the Insane legend tapped with no struggle. Klein made sure to get a solid dig in after the bell to confirm his frustrations. Eric Ryan certainly didn't look like a winner after this one. Big respect to these guys for the bumps and brutality on the plant pots and barbs. We just could have done with a bit more build to the finish, I think. Not one that will live for too long in the memory here at Freebird HQ, but again, awesome to see my man Toby Klein back in ToD. Next up we're in for a mad one as Killbilly Nathan Mowery took on Slade. Before the entrances, Larry Legend explained that there had been a "weapons making workshop" for fans as part of the two day ToD event, which had taken place earlier today. Can you imagine it? Like some sort of bizarro world arts and crafts stall with deranged, stinky idiots who are more than old enough to know better sitting around a folding table asking each other "have you finished with the drawing pins and duct tape mate?". Activity leader being like "wow, that's very nice, well done, why don't you make one to take home for your mam?...". They had actually come up with some pretty fun plunder out for this too. Drawing pin filled piñatas, light tube strapped massive RC cars, and the usual array of pin adorned bats / boards, a drawing pin tom-tom drum etc. Even old deathmatch favourite, the water jug on a pole. Mowery was making his tournament debut tonight, and looked thrilled to be there, as a super serious Slade marched out to the ring looking pure menacing to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. I suppose it suited him better than Cum on Feel the Noize... No time wasted in this one as Mowery pure crowned Slade with one of the thumbtack bats, and my word they stuck right in his head. First shot of the match and Slade did not like it. He yoinked the bat right back out of Mowery's hand immediately and started returning the favour receipt style. I wasn't sure how much of this was character work and how much was Slade being like "fuck you mate that was a bit much, have it back twice as hard". I guess the illusion is a part of the allure. We weren't going to be in for a long one here, but whatever it lacked in duration it more than made up for in intensity. Slade looked pretty furious to be wearing as many pins in his head as he was, and some of the bat / tube shots felt like they had a bit more vinegar in them from the bald headed beast. At one point, Mowery retrieved his hacksaw and started sawing against the embedded pins in Slade's head, seemingly to actually remove a few for him. The commentators were audibly wincing at the hacksaw work, and for jolly good reason. Stomach churning stuff on display here my friends. There was also a really good exploding bat, which was honestly 10 times more explosive and flame-throwy than anything in the opening bout. Anther insane spot came out when Mowery placed Slade against a pane of glass in the corner, then proceeded to set his own knees on fire to land a flame assisted running double knee through the loose window. The Killbilly's knees actually stayed on fire for a minute while he grabbed for the cover. Anarchy in this one chaps. It felt like a ToD bout from years gone by as they speed-ran the creative (but deranged and dangerous) plunder spots. The finish didn't go exactly to plan but I don't really think it took much away from the intensity here. The plan was for Slade to set up a barbed wire board across chairs and set it on fire. Well, whatever spray they were trying to use as accelerant wasn't playing ball and after only a short attempt to set the board ablaze, Slade clearly had a "fuck this" moment and just ploughed his man through the contraption with a choke slam. I mean, it was covered in barbed wire, its not like it wasn't going to hurt. It actually looked a lot better doing it this way than poncing about for ages trying and failing to light it, which would have taken away from the moment and probably had fans booing again. Either way, it was goodnight Mowery. Slade advances in the tournament. Crazy little match this one. Certainly got the blood flowing in the hearts of the fans, as well as from Slade's cranium. Some nice little backstage footage again. Mowery passionately talked about kids wanting to be in Wrestlemaina when they grew up, whereas he always dreamed of the Combat Zone and ToD. Slade's backstage segment was literally him just staring with murderous eyes at the camera while picking out tacks from his skull. No words, just a gory demonstration of the after effects of planting small metal spikes into a man's flesh. Amazing stuff. Quote
Richie Freebird Posted October 4 Author Posted October 4 (edited) Next match - Big fat cowboy Tim Strange vs Dimitri Alexandrov (The Deathmatch Jesus). Despite the Soviet sounding name, Alexandrov is a proud Texan. Not sure how he got the moniker Alexandrov, but he certainly suits the Deathmatch Jesus nickname; hitting the eye like a goth hybrid of Jesus and Charles Manson. Gusset plate match here. Gusset boards, bats, wooden pallets, you get the filthy idea. You know friends, even as a long time fan of the violent crap, even I think gusset plates are "a bit much". I remember first seeing them years ago when Japanese lunatic Abdula Kobayashi was getting them hammered into his forehead with chairs and then being shown the trouble they had trying to get them back out of his skull after the match (remember that?). Yanking the poor lad's head about with pliers trying to remove the deeply embedded spikes. The plates set up for this one were different from the ones Kobayashi used to love eating, but still really nasty, dangerous bits of kit. For obvious reasons, I usually watch this trash on my own, so as not to alarm my family members. However, my partner caught a bit of this one, likening it to the movie Hostel... it certainly was a methodical and grim torture fest. It was if the two simply accepted their fate that they were going to take gusset plates into their body, and went for it. Taking turns slapping and pounding the spiky bastards into each other's chests and shoulders (and faces). A few moves such as backdrops onto the pallets and boards immediately left that sinister yet familiar pattern of uniform puncture wounds in the flesh, leaking almost instantly after impact and removal. Urgh. I wouldn't call this one a classic by any means, but they needed to slow the pace and change the flavour after the previous sprint match (and before what would become a real belter next up on the card). So the booking was decent in terms of the flow of the card. Not much else to say here, other than the guys did a good job with a very limiting set of deathmatch tools. Really brought out that grindhouse torture flick feeling to the best of their ability. Predictably, there were very few wrestling holds on display (Steamboat vs Savage this was not). The big man Timmy Strange picked up the 'W' with a discus lariat for the 3. Passable really, but made sense overall, and the guys took some hellish punishment. Okay, a real barn burner next. Jamesen Shook vs Eric Dillinger in an electrified light tube Tokyo Tower deathmatch. Millions of light tubes and bundles everywhere. The Tokyo Tower reference was represented by massive, long tall bundles, crudely shaped after the famous Japanese landmark. And I'll tell you what, all of the time spent sticking these bundles together was not to be in vain. These lads were right at it, laying into each other with tubes from the off. Irish whips through bundles, suicide dives to the outside through the tower bundles (I'd be surprised if some fans didn't catch a mouthful of carcinogenic powder after this spot). Just really blasting each other with glass non-stop. At one point the two men simply availed to taking turns busting singular tubes over each other's heads. As mad as it sounds, they were clearly loving this brutality. I did worry a bit when Jamesen Shook started checking his arm pit as it began pouring blood. Us deathmatch fiends all still remember what happened when Nick Gage caught a life threatening gusher in the arm pit all those years ago. Luckily, as bad as it was, Shook wasn't going to need a helicopter tonight. Just more light bundles and chairs. Honest to god, both men were wearing it as this one wore on, and the fans were going crazy. Electric atmosphere for an electrified tube fight. The powered up tubes came into play as Shook fancied himself for the win. A "mattress of chairs" (as described by Larry Legend) was set up with the lit up bulbs across laid across Dillinger's chest. Shook's plan was not to be, however, when Dillinger jumped up, smashed the electrified tubes in his torn up face, and leathered him off the top rope through the last remaining Tokyo Tower. Marvellous stuff here, as fans enthusiastically shouted "both these guys" and "match of the night". It certainly was a thriller. Took me back to those mental light tube matches that Ryuj Ito used to have in BJW back in the 2000s and 2010s. The backstage footage highlighted the extent to which these men got sliced up in this one. Both were sporting crimson wetsuits, backs and shoulders looking like Morrison's full fat mince. They were both really happy though, thanking everyone backstage for the match, and generally feeling high on life. Great to see, however it does make you wonder again how we got to this point as a species. Dillinger did have to speak to the hillbilly nurse and rinse his knuckles off with a hose, revealing a nasty gape on his hand. He'd be mad to go back out there this weekend without getting that stitched up. It was difficult to narrow down the screenshots for this one. I took about 20, and as cool as they are, you can't screenshot the atmosphere. I would fully recommend giving this one your attention if you watch this year's tournament. We're lucky as fans that guys like Shook and Dillinger are so into providing this kind of spectacle for us, at the cost of scars and bruises to their own body. When you see this full presentation though, its clear they are having the times of their lives out there. Edited October 4 by Richie Freebird Edit - One too many pictures Quote
Richie Freebird Posted Sunday at 06:13 PM Author Posted Sunday at 06:13 PM Next match, and another pure banger - Bear Bronson vs Alex Colon. Both big time fan favourites here, and the crowd were well up for the proceedings. Bronson has certainly been active in the likes of GCW and TNA in 2026. I remember him being on AEW in a meathead tag-team a while back too. This got me thinking, how many wrestlers have transitioned from TV stars back down to the grimy depths of deathmatch wrestling? Plenty have done it the other way (Moxley, Callihan, Gulak, even Nick Gage had a match on television at one point) but how many have gone from TV star to indy-death? Tracey Smothers did some stuff with IWA Mid South in his later years. Would you count Funk, given the stuff he did in Japan? I know Jericho is kind of picking up the "middle aged and crazy" thing now but I couldn't see him coming in something like this trash. Cardona maybe? The match here was a "4 corners of panes of glass" match. Basically tonnes of panes of glass and chairs everywhere, solely indented for your viewing pleasure. The crowd were chomping at the bit here. The wrestlers clearly felt the electricity of the moment and engaged in the hyping up of the audience. Slow, tease-ish start to the action where it really felt like the guys were trying their hardest to avoid getting dunked through glass (as most normal humans would). Loads of beer related fan interaction too. Everyone passing cans of beer to the combatants. Some of it ended up spat into peoples faces.... The deadlock was broken on the glass smashing front with a beautifully executed spinning head-scissor take over by Eddie to send big bad Bear careering through the first window. Shards everywhere. I'm sure its some sort of stunt glass (it looks too bendy and wobbly to be "real" glass) but my god, it really sends smithereens everywhere and cuts men up in a hurry. Bear's back in particular really looked like it had been through a sausage grinder. Eddie ended up going through a pane "lawn dart" style, right outside the ring and into the crowd barrier. Both men having drawn blood, the fight was on! All manner of pileddrivers, choke-bombs and heaven knows what else through panes of glass followed, as the lad's foreheads and backs started to look like puddles of stomped on red grapes. One thing I found funny here, the ref was shouting at Alex to get down off the ropes. Imagine refereeing a panes of glass deathmatch and worrying that a wrestler was using the ropes for unfair leverage. made me smile. 5 minutes later that very same ref was assisting with the construction of a double stacked glass contraption set up over chairs. Literally holding the glass in place for the big spot. Its a strange old world we live in, good job we love it. The big double glass stack top rope sunset-bomb had "finisher" written all over it, but the kickout from Bear got massive cheers from the fans in attendance. There was then a series of one count / hulk ups where big moves were no sold, each one igniting the crowd even further. Colon kicked out of some big moves, but eventually succumbed to a Rikishi style sit out piledriver (through a pane of glass, naturally). Amazing match my friends, once again, the atmosphere made it. The crowd ate it all up. Superb. After the match we got some cool promos. First from Bronson saying he didn't have to be here, and had no financial reason to enter the tournament. Bear stated that he just wanted to prove he's not in this game for the clout, just here to tear shit up and prove he's bad. Nino Extremo then gave a nice promo about coming back every year until he completes his dream and wins the thing. Lovely stuff from the keen youngster. The build to the main event rolled out some 80s power rock montage sounding tune (might have been AI for all I know) as DJ Hyde conducted tractors to move burned out scrap cars towards the ring. Ladies and gentlemen we were in for a Zona 23 Junkyard match for the CZW Ultraviolent title to close the show. For those not familiar with Zona 23, it is a hardcore promotion down in Mexico that wrestles crazy matches, primarily in an actual scrapyard. I saw a little video on the subject by Channel 5 with Andrew Callghan titled "Inside Mexico’s Ultra-Violent Wrestling League". Worth checking out if you can handle the early Vice style sensationalism. Main Event time baby! Its Mexico's own Astroboy vs Shlack for the Ultraviolant Belt. Light tube ropes everywhere, glass panes and scrap cars. This is going to be crackers. Shlack is the champ going into this one and comes out with his belt, which to me looks a lot prettier than the world belt. Just my opinion though. The crowd were on fire for this one, with duelling chants for both men from the off. The stage was set, let the beatings commence. The light tube ropes came into play right away as glass shards were enthusiastically exchanged. To the fan's delight, the fight quickly spilled outside and Shlack treated his Mexican amigo to a full on chair shot to the cranium. Feels crazy these days to see an old school chair shot to the head (for obvious reasons), however there hadn't been any so far tonight until now. Glass was also busted up and Astro tried his damndest to carve open the big man's forehead. The twisted brawling leaked over towards the scrap cars, and honestly, about 7 or 8 attempts were made to put each other through the front right car door window. Them things are stiff. The sturdy, stubborn old window refused to give way. In frustration, Astro boy ripped off the exhaust for a weapon whilst Shlack commandeered a windscreen wiper and turned it into a massive shank. Grinding a snapped off windscreen wiper across Astro's flesh looked gruesome as hell. The windscreens themselves obviously didn't have the same testicular fortitude as the side doors, as the first one expired after a brainbuster from the bonnet to the windscreen. Smash! The other got popped courtesy of a scoop slam by Astro on Shlack. Absolutely wild. Shlack acquired some lighter fluid and lit a car roof on fire with intent to super-plex Astro from the top turnbuckle to the outside, through the car. Unfortunately I think the flames burned out before Shlack could hook his man, however the two did suffer the super-plex spot regardless. This was mental, and saw the men go off the top and crash land across the windshield and roof of the car. CZW, CZW, CZW.... crazy. Back in the ring and the two hardnuts traded all kinds of glass and plunder. We got a really good Wiley Coyote-cam bird's eye view of Astro sailing through the air from the top rope to splash through a massive bundle which was lying across a prone Shlack. This looked excellent from the drone cam. Took me back to Jerry Lawler being amazed by a camera set up to look down on the ring in one of the early TLC matches. Great shot. Eventually, after a few good near falls, burning spirit hope spots and a lot more glass, Shlack regained possession of his lighter fluid. Unfortunately, Shlack's hands were too messed up to open the fluid. The ref tried to assist but also couldn't open the fluid. Step in once again Larry Legend! The legend himself opened the fluid, and it was game on. Shlack soaked his elbow pad and then set it ablaze for a tube assisted flaming top rope elbow strike. 1,2,3. Outstanding. Both men left after the match looking like they'd been in a car wreck. Absolute warriors. Either that, or they've got several screws loose. Or maybe both. Ultravionelt Champion Shlack retains in a belting main event and the fans went home (or to wherever they were camping out) happy. This was a very worthy main event to a splendid show. A real return to form for the legendary tournament so far. What on earth will day 2 bring out to top this? Thanks for reading my friends. You are all awesome, excellent people. Please never forget it. Quote
Richie Freebird Posted Wednesday at 05:28 AM Author Posted Wednesday at 05:28 AM Necro Butcher reckons he's signed a WWE legends deal. A few social media sites are reposting this. Necro has photographed physical letters and screen shots of his contract. If this is true, can anyone understand why such an offer would be made? I love Necro, but what on Earth would WWE want with his name? Quote
Dai Posted Wednesday at 06:43 AM Posted Wednesday at 06:43 AM Great write up. Cant believe its 2026 and they still have the same theme song and they still do it from DJ Hydes parents house. Must be the longest tradition in all of wrestling. Judging from your pictures, it doesn't look a huge crowd, but it seems decent enough. Speaking of DJ, hes been on the Mad Man Pondo diet by the looks of it. Nit picking, but isnt it Shlak not Shlack, unless hes changed it since I watched regularly? Do you keep up to date with the GCW death match shows? There was a time a few years back when it seemed super hot, and the death match tourney shows (the TOS and NGI ones) were great. Dont see any hype for them these days though. As for Necro, if its not him being scammed somehow, then I have no idea what they would want from his likeness. I assume the root cause would be CM Punk, but for what reason I cant think. WWE Vault guy seems to read this forum, so maybe he got inspired by your post and wants to start uploading classic TODs to the channel. Quote
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted Wednesday at 07:01 AM Paid Members Posted Wednesday at 07:01 AM 1 hour ago, Richie Freebird said: Necro Butcher reckons he's signed a WWE legends deal. A few social media sites are reposting this. Necro has photographed physical letters and screen shots of his contract. If this is true, can anyone understand why such an offer would be made? I love Necro, but what on Earth would WWE want with his name? Pretty sure this is absolute bollocks or Necro is being scammed/pranked. Quote
Olly1984 Posted Wednesday at 07:25 AM Posted Wednesday at 07:25 AM On 7/24/2026 at 5:49 PM, Richie Freebird said: As requested by our friend Olly 1984. Thanks for the heads up on this match brother. Bat signal received. Lil Sicko vs Nino Extremo, GCW Tournament of Survival 11. Okay, full disclosure. I've seen hardly anything of GCW and am not familiar with Nino Extremo, but from his entrance alone, you can feel the passion and intensity in this kid. The fans obviously love this boy, as evident by the multiple hugs received from the gore junkie faithful on the way out, sporting his Mexico football shirt and tasty golden pleather kegs. Lil Sicko has competed in a few IWA Deep South shows, so I know his capabilities well enough. From the precious little deathmatch stuff I've seen in the last few years, Sicko has been the standout guy. Again, super passionate, well into his character as a crazy Juggalo clown, and the lad can actually wrestle. A bright light in this dingy little scene. Lord have mercy, where do we start with this one. I'm not sure what went down in the rest of the tournament, but the ring was adorned with everything on a deathmatch junkie's Christmas list: Barbed wire doors, ladders, light tube contraptions as far as the mind can bend, some sort of spike protrusion board and good God almighty.... a scaffold. You know this thing is going to be death-defying carnage before the action even begins. And what a way it does begin. Young Nino comes careering off the top of the scaffold with a stage-dive, as an off-guard Sicko is still getting acquainted with the sinister surroundings. Of course, multiple light tubes were busted all over Sicko's dirty kisser in the process. No collar and elbow starts in this one, good grief. The guys traded armlocks for a hot minute (shades of WOS?) and then teased a tube bundle shot. Ultimately, it was Nino that ate the glass, courtesy of a hamstring-back bicycle-kick by Sicko the deranged deathmatch Clown. I was loving the madness here in the early going. The crowd were going mental for it. As wrestling fans, we all know how a good crowd can make a great match even better. The GCW attendees were in fine form on this night. Sicko landed some sort of Razor's Edge to Nino and planted him square through a barbed wire door like wasn't no-thang. Amazing intensity in this match. With blood splattered everywhere already, my jaw was on a one-way trip to the floor as poison-ranas from the top and chair shots clean to the dome started coming out. Business was about to pick up. A massive pane of glass was engineered across two chairs, and both men showed hunger to take advantage of the sadistic setup. After a bit of back and forth, both combatants ended up spring boarding into the ring from opposite sides and tangling up in the air... two bodies careering through the glass, sending shards asunder. The timing had to be pristine on this spot, and pristine it was. Perfect collision, mid air, stomach churning landing. My word, I've missed this stuff. These guys were leaving it all in the ring tonight. Great advert for this promotion and tournament. Legitimate cries of amazement rang out across Freebird HQ as Nino took to the top with a light tube skateboard (imagine that?) and landed a coast-to-coast light tube skateboard assisted double stomp on Sicko (the clown was already lying prone in the corner, all messed up and covered in light tube corpses from a previous spot). Amazing agility and impact on this one. As crisp as a Steamboat arm-drag. I'm really liking this kid Nino. He just has bags of that youthful energy and passion on full display. Both guys seemingly determined to blow the minds of the fans in attendance. Sicko popped the crowd again when he took to the top of the ringside scaffold and threw himself off with a corkscrew forward somersault. Usually you'd expect guys to use a table in spots like this to break the fall somewhat, but not these lads. Bang off the top, directly to the canvas. Some height to be throwing yourself around from. Insane. Even more insane is that Nino kicked out at 2. I was sure this was the match ending climax. Recovering from the previous human wreckage, both gentlemen ascended the scaffold again for another slice of barbaric degeneracy. After a brief struggle, Sicko landed an off-the-scaffold Spanish fly into the ring via some sort of light tube log cabin. Smash / bang / wallop. These boys were really turning up the volume here.... I thought it was already at 11, but they switched that dial to 12 when Sicko was launched into a "toothpick board" catching a sickening array of needle like spikes in the back, many of which remained in as the clown peeled himself free from the vomit inducing contraption. Sicko didn't like that one, so returned the favour by crowning Nino in the head and forearms with the toothpick spike board. Both men resembling road-kill porcupines at this point. How much further could they take this thing? This wasn't even the tournament final. The winner would be in desperate need of some reverse-acupuncture to proceed after this one. Amazingly, Sicko made no attempt to remove any of the toothpicks from his back and right arse cheek. Just ignored his new body mods and set up a massive ladder and log cabin table. The atmosphere almost subdued to a stunned silence as the fans pondered what the hell was next. Somehow, there was a weed-whacker hanging from the ceiling (because deathmatch wrestling) which was retrieved and excitingly struggled over. Eventually Nino gained control of the gardening gadget and sliced up the clown good, who was sitting astride the pinnacle of the ladder. Total barbarity at this point. You heard the sound of the flexi blades colliding with Sicko's flesh, sending sweat, blood and God knows what else flying across the Showboat Hall. Sicko sat prone, body covered in spikes, weed-whacked into next week, and no doubt splintered with smithereens. Nino, determined to end this madness, climbed the other side of the ladder with bad intent. Things didn't look good for the circus Juggalo. Nino hooked his man by the neck, gathering every once of remaining strength, and sent him souring through the sky with what I can only describe as a ladder-top flipping, sit out neck breaker. The pair crashed clean through the previously set up log cabin table as glass exploded into the night. Nino hooked the pin, the ref smacked 3.... my friends, this one's over. Pure brilliance, as the building erupted into cheers. Nino celebrated his gruesome victory with a cold beer and some Mexican flag brandishing. The atmosphere sounded electric in the Showboat hall in Atlantic City. Nice to hear that the loyal fans are keeping the old deathmatch tradition of sounding an air-horn when big spots land. I almost heard echoes of historical CZW commentator John House screaming "Someone call 911!"... Delightfully devilish Seymour. Thanks again for the recommendation Olly. Fucking amazing work @Richie Freebird, don't know how I hadn't read it sooner but knew you would LOVE the match soon as I started watching it. Gonna watch it again when I finish work I reckon now! Quote
Merzbow Posted Wednesday at 09:02 AM Posted Wednesday at 09:02 AM At this point there's barely any sympathy for MAGA Butcher if he's being scammed, he's one of my favourite wrestlers ever but he went right down a full on Nazi route after his cancer scare. I don't just mean being a Trumper, either... literally wanting Hitler to come back and wipe out Islam kind of bullshit. Quote
Paid Members RedTwoster Posted Wednesday at 09:11 AM Paid Members Posted Wednesday at 09:11 AM Just now, Merzbow said: At this point there's barely any sympathy for MAGA Butcher if he's being scammed, he's one of my favourite wrestlers ever but he went right down a full on Nazi route after his cancer scare. I don't just mean being a Trumper, either... literally wanting Hitler to come back and wipe out Islam kind of bullshit. I was going to say, surely to goodness there's zero chance of WWE signing any sort of deal with this man given some of the things he's posted. Had he not done any of this there may have been the remotest of remote chances they'd have included him as a hidden character in a 2K game, but I can't see any benefit in doing business with a man who has openly suggested that the world would be a better place with a modern day Hitler, targeting Muslims. Quote
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted Wednesday at 09:26 AM Paid Members Posted Wednesday at 09:26 AM 5 minutes ago, RedTwoster said: I was going to say, surely to goodness there's zero chance of WWE signing any sort of deal with this man given some of the things he's posted. Had he not done any of this there may have been the remotest of remote chances they'd have included him as a hidden character in a 2K game, but I can't see any benefit in doing business with a man who has openly suggested that the world would be a better place with a modern day Hitler, targeting Muslims. Ryan Satin posted: "Triple H saw his MAGA Facebook posts and said 'we gotta get this guy!'" Supposedly, PWInspyware have confirmed it with WWE. Nick Khan's doing so say the reports. Keep waiting for this company to clean up after Vince but I think their goal might be to show that having a sexual predator in charge was preferable. Quote
Paid Members RedTwoster Posted Wednesday at 09:30 AM Paid Members Posted Wednesday at 09:30 AM 1 minute ago, tiger_rick said: Ryan Satin posted: "Triple H saw his MAGA Facebook posts and said 'we gotta get this guy!'" Supposedly, PWInspyware have confirmed it with WWE. Nick Khan's doing so say the reports. Keep waiting for this company to clean up after Vince but I think their goal might be to show that having a sexual predator in charge was preferable. This is absolutely astounding to me. The man made comments that were pro-Hitler - comments that essentially called for the extermination of Muslims. Absolutely disgusting. Quote
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