CZW Best of the Best 2015 report 4-11-15
From a third party:
Combat Zone Wrestling returned to the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ, last night for Best of the Best 14 before a packed house. It’s always a good sign when staff are scrambling to find chairs for a late crowd. The evening started with DJ Hyde bringing up into the ring Matt Sheppard, a CZW staffer who is joining the military and being sent to Afghanistan, and thanked him. Hyde also reminded the crowd of it being the fourth anniversary of the death of Larry Sweeney.
First round matches:
– Tommy End advanced, defeating Caleb Konley and Aaron Williams. Konley is eliminated by Aaron Williams with a cradle piledriver, End eliminates Aaron with a killer deadlift German suplex to advance to the semi-finals.
– Jonathan Gresham advances over Tracy Williams and Trevor Lee. Lee gets the pinfall on Williams, after reversing a Lee superplex into a small package, Gresham hits Lee with the ink mist (he does a “Octopus” gimmick, using a Octopus submission). Lee tries to roll him up, but Gresham reverses it for the pinfall to advance.
– CJP advances over Joey Janela and Joe Gacy (with Tim Donst). David Starr comes out to trash talk Donst with some shooty stuff that got a little close to over the line. Gacy eliminates Janela after a Canadian Destroyer and lariat, CJP advanced over Gacy, after Starr returned and hit Gacy with a chair, followed by a CJP palm strike for the pinfall.
– “Speedball’ Mike Bailey advances over “Dirty’ Buxx Belmar and Andrew Everett, Everett eliminates Buxx with a 630 splash…then is immediately eliminated by Bailey with the Shooting Star Knees to advance.
DJ Hyde comes out and sets up Everett vs Trevor Lee for next month. He also announces a July 11 return to the 2300 (ECW) Arena (with the Young Bucks having been announced for the show back in the winter), the May 9 doubleheader with WSU at the Skate Zone, and TOD in June with Matt Tremont and Josh Crane announced.
– Ultraviolent Scaffold match: Devon Moore defeated “Wrench’ Conor Claxton in the “deathmatch trial series” for Claxton. For someone fairly new, he’s gotten very good very quickly at both death match and regular matches (at the CZW’s Dojo Wars shows). This featured lots of gore and plunder, with Moore finally getting the pinfal after Moore nailed Claxton with a senton off the scaffold onto a barbed wire board placed on Claxton.
Post match, DJ Hyde comes back out in “Deej” mode as the crowd chants for Hyde to let Claxton in TOD. Hyde agrees…but says his first match is with him. Hyde then reminds Claxton he has one more “trial match” against Danny Havoc in a panes of glass match.
Semi-final matches
– Jonathan Gresham defeated Tommy End by submission. Lots of mat wrestling and Gresham advances to the final after submitting Tommy with a figure four after working over his leg most of the match
– Mike Bailey defeated CJP. Before the matches started, CJP went into heel mode; and said Drake Younger, Sami Callihan (Solomon Crowe) and Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose) all told him in NXT all about the Combat Zone and now that he’s here…it “f’ing sucks”.
CZW Tag Team Title match
– Nation of Intoxication (Danny Havoc/Lucky 13) versus Ohio Is 4 Killers ended in a no contest. This match was great and surpassed the one they had last month until Eric Ryan ran in, Devon Moore came out to help and got a sort of “eh” fireball (watch some old Eddie Gilbert or Sheik footage, guys) to the face for his troubles. Post-match, OI4K went hard heel, put over how they beat The American Wolves, the Young Bucks, and the Nation of Intoxication, and Dave Crist proceeded to do a Brian Pillman and made like he was going to urinate on the tag belts until the locker room came out to chase them off
Alexander James then came out to cut a promo about his “stolen’ Honorary Junior Heavyweight Title, when all of a sudden… the lights go out, Dewey Donovan stands in the ring with his typical maniacal grin…and a pizza cutter. Then, the moment a lot of the crowd had been waiting for…. Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” cranks up and the crowd goes batshit.
After four years, Hardcore Nick Gage made his return, pretty much back in standard “not ready for even a MA rating” promo returned, “Bulldozer” Matt Tremont came out and Gage said he was um…not impressed…something about being a small cat. unimpressed. Then, not to be left out, BLK Jeez came out to join the fun, and said as champ, he’s the NEW king of CZW. Scuffling and a pull apart followed.
Looks like it’s being set up for matches with various combinations of Nick Gage, BLK Jeez, and Matt Tremont. Gotta think something good will be saved for the Arena in July.
Best of the Best finals
“Speedball” Mike Bailey defeated Jonathan Gresham to win BOTB in a match that’s worth ordering the iPPV by itself for. Slow build, with chain wrestling, then lots of heel domination by Gresham,along with the “ink mist” at Speedball and a nut shot. Gresham worked and worked Bailey’s leg (yes, folks, heavy psychology at a CZW show…again). Bailey made his comeback, and hit the shooting star knees for the pinfall, and is the Best of the Best 14 Champion.