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CZW Aerial Assault 04
by Sassy

When I began writing about wrestling it was mostly concerning WWE and TNA. I recently discovered ROH and Chikara. I began a list of Worldwide Wrestling Organizations and discovered how many different organizations are out there and how much I was missing. I vowed to begin checking out events on DVD or VHS tapes to find out more about how each organization and see what type of entertainment they provided.

I have done reviews of Ring of Honor and Chikara wrestling events. My next venture into the world of professional wrestling had to be something at the opposite end of the industry – the extreme. I had read that Combat Zone Wrestling falls under the category of extreme. I am now going to find out just how “extreme” CZW truly is.

Background:
Combat Zone Wrestling was established in 1999 in Philadelphia, PA. CZW’s founder is John Zandig. CZW is known for its “Ultraviolent” style of wrestling.

This DVD is a compilation of four CZW matches.

My general impression of CZW is that you will get every second worth of action that you pay for. Although only one match on this DVD was hardcore, the other matches were fantastic and worth the watch. You see true wrestling talent and no shying away from high-risk maneuvers. Sonjay Dutt was the only wrester on this DVD I was familiar with and he did not disappoint me in his match. If you are able to see a live CZW event, you may want to sit further back than the first five rows unless you are able to move fast and get out of the way.

If you are not able see a live event, here is the website: www.czwrestling.com. They do have Combat Zone video footage available on the site.

**If you have children who might imitate what they see, do NOT allow them to watch this DVD.

If you are a wannabe wrestler, do NOT try the things you see on this DVD. Only professional wrestlers should be doing these kinds of stunts and even they can be seriously injured.

I understand that is one of the reasons “Sick” Nick Mondo made his exit from the squared circle.**

This DVD opens with a very bright screen that informs the audience there is Graphic Violence and Explicit Language and advises the viewing audience NOT to try this at home!

Eric Gargiulo is the announcer that opens the video. His announcing partner is John.

Number One Contender for Junior Heavyweight Championship Match
Chri$ Ca$h
CZW Academy Graduate
Vs.
Sonjay

Winner: Sonjay
with an elbow off of a pipe hanging over the ring, a moonsault off the top rope, a pin and a three count.

Sonjay is none other than Sonjay Dutt, currently with Total Nonstop Action wrestling.

This camera shows Sonjay’s back before the match begins and it appears he has numerous bright red marks on his back. The marks look fairly fresh. The fans are hot for Sonjay and Ca$h gets all the heat from the fans. CZW has a ring that doesn’t seem to have much give to it when a body lands. Neither of these men are very large but both are quick and agile and they don’t seem to have any fear. The announcers discuss how Sonjay previously faced Trent Acid, who is the CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion, but could not beat him in the ring. There is some wrestling in the ring but it is fast and the hits and landings are hard. I’ve seen three landings so far that made we wonder if someone was going to have a broken neck. Both of these men did a great job working the ring and Ca$h did a great job of working the audience in the negative. Sonjay showed his balance and athleticism playing off the ropes. I have not seen Chris Ca$h in the ring before and he does a good job playing the heel. These men worked well together in the ring. And I just saw an incredible match with Sonjay Dutt before he became “The Guru”.

Sonjay Dutt

5’8”, 210 lbs., from Bollywood, India

*Stats from TNA, www.tnawrestling.com

Chri$ Ca$h

6’3”, 195 lbs., 1982-2005

*Bio from Wikipedia: http://en.Wikipedia.org

NOTE: Chri$ Ca$h, real name Christopher Bauman, Jr., made his pro wrestling debut in 2001 and died in 2005 in a motorcycle accident in New Jersey. He was 23 years old. CZW holds an annual memorial show in his memory. If you get a chance to see a CZW DVD or VHS tape with Chri$ Ca$h footage, please do so. He was a talented wrestler.

Best of the Best 2002 Match

Jody Fleisch
Vs.
Jonny Storm
Winner: Jody Fleisch

with a 720 DDT, a cover and a three count.

This is the first match in the United States for both of these wrestlers. They are from the UK.I have not seen either one of them in action before. Storm appears to be the heel in this match up. Another Junior Heavyweight match and again very fast action. Again these two men are not large but they have no hesitation, work at wrestling and use high-risk maneuvers. Please note there is no protective mat surrounding the ring. There is nothing but floor and that doesn’t stop these guys from ending up out on the floor. I am unsure about the rules of this match since Storm performs a unique but blatant low blow and isn’t called on it. Outside the ring Storm uses a steel chair on Fleisch and isn’t called on it. Storm sends Fleisch into the guardrail and Fleisch goes up and over the guardrail and into the audience – the announcer tells us it is the fifth row – and, with security surrounding both men, Storm uses a soda can he has picked up on Fleisch. They fight in the back and the ref never leaves the ring. The two men appear to be exhausted and I am not surprised. We have a lot of hard hits and a lot of near falls. After the match, Fleisch offers his hand to Storm and they shake hands and hug in the ring. Jody Fleisch will take on Ruckus in his next match.

Jody Fleisch

5’5”, 154 lbs. From Walthamstow, London

Jonny Storm

5’7”, 172 lbs., from Harlow, Essex

*Stats from IPW:UK International Pro Wrestling, www.ipwuk.com

NOTE: For current Jonny Storm fans he is not sporting the “shaved” look in this DVD. He has long black hair in this match. I like the long black hair.

CZW Junior Heavyweight Championship Match
Ruckus
Vs.
Trent Acid
CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion
Winner: Ruckus New CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion

with a 50/50, a cover and a three count.

I have read a lot about Ruckus but have never seen him in action. I am hoping he lives up to the hype. Trent Acid won the title from Ruckus one year and one month before this match. Acid has been on a winning streak since obtaining the Championship. We have some fast action in the ring with moves and counters until Acid decides stomping is fun. There is someone outside the ring with a towel who is busy choking Ruckus while Acid has the referee’s attention. I believe the announcer called the guy “Kashmere” but I’m not sure. There was not a year mentioned but the announcer just said that Sonjay Dutt would face the winner of this match for the Championship. Acid is getting quite a bit of help from his buddy on the floor although I did see Ruckus grab a handful of Acid’s hair and slam him to the mat. Acid must be a Michael Jackson fan. He’s doing a lot of crotch grabbing for the fans. Ruckus appears to be carrying more weight than Acid by it doesn’t seem to stop him from being quick and agile. I just saw a cameraman up on the ring apron. He either makes a lot of money or he is certifiably crazy. Kashmere just tossed a chair in to Acid as Acid and works for their approval. Eric, one of our announcers, has a problem with the referee in this match, Brian Logan, for allowing Acid to get away with using a chair in the ring. Acid doesn’t like the count –- Ruckus kicks out – and he shoves the ref. For everyone’s information, the refs in CZW weigh black and yellow striped shirts. Now the announcer has give us the full name of Acid’s friend outside the ring, Johnny Kashmere. Ruckus has been taking a big beating in this match but it hasn’t slowed him down. Ruckus just can’t seem to get the three count. Acid finally gets Ruckus to the mat for a pin with a little outside help from Kashmere and the ref refuses to count Ruckus out because of the interference. Acid backs the ref up in the corner, delivers a chop and starts to walk away but the ref has Acid by the hair, slams him back into the corner and delivers a series of chops to Acid, knocks Kashmere, who has climbed up on the ring apron to help Acid, off the ring apron and on to the floor. The ref then struts across the ring and grabs his crotch ala Trent Acid and when Acid comes after him, he ducks out of the way and Ruckus nails Acid with a boot and goes for the cover. Ruckus gets a two count before Kashmere is in the ring grabbing the ref and slamming him back into the corner. Kashmere and Acid work a double team on Ruckus (our announcer calls the maneuvers “the dream sequence”) and Acid goes for the cover. The ref refuses to count and calls the ring announcer up to ringside to talk to him. The ref has just banned Johnny Kashmere from ringside, which he should have done in the first few minutes of the match (but then the match might not have been as entertaining as it has been). Kashmere picks up a baseball bat but someone else has come out to the ring and he kicks the you-know-what out of Kashmere, puts him over his shoulder and carries him off to the back. I don’t know who this guy is because I can’t understand the announcer. These wrestlers certainly spend a lot of time shoving the refs around in CZW. Acid takes out Ruckus and the ref and then takes the mic over and tells the fans the match is over, that he won by knockout. Acid retrieves his title belts.

Sonjay Dutt enters the arena and stops Acid from leaving. Acid climbs back into the ring and then Chri$ Ca$h enters the ring behind Acid and nails him in the back of the head before sending him down to the mat with the Ca$h Flow. Now we have a fight going on between Sonjay and Ca$h outside the ring. In the ring, Ruckus has rolled over on Acid and a new ref hits the ring, but by the time the ref gets to the count, Ruckus only gets a two. Ruckus hits a spinning DDT and then goes up on the top rope and there is glitch in the DVD! The ref says that Ruckus used the 50/50 to get the pin. Ruckus is now the new champion! I don’t understand why the championship has two belts, but it does. And I don’t know who won the battle that was raging on the floor outside the ring between Sonjay and Ca$h.

Ruckus

5’8”, 225 lbs., from Baltimore, MD

*Stats from CZW, Combat Zone Wrestling, www.czwrestling.com

Trent Acid

5’11”, 180 lbs., from Philadelphia, PA

*Stats from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org

NOTE: Our announcer John must be a cousin of TNA’s Don West. There are times he screams like a girl!

The final match is being touted as violent and high impact.

Homeless Jimmy
Vs.
“Sick” Nick Mondo
Winner: “Sick” Nick Mondo

with an assault driver off of a Ryder truck – yes, hardcore wrestling fans, I said R Y D E R T R U C K -- and a pin.

Jimmy appears to be carrying around an old shutter or washboard. This match takes place in an arena outside and it appears to be concrete outside of the ring. It looks like there might be some shattered glass on the mat. Jimmy’s forehead is bleeding. I don’t know anything about the backgrounds of these two men but they seem to be quite comfortable in what I would definitely consider a hardcore match. It looks like Mondo’s back is bleeding. This is strictly an all weapons are a go match, including barbed wire. If Mondo’s back was bleeding before, it’s bleeding more now. Barbed wire against a bare back will do that to a body. No, I was wrong. Mondo’s back is bleeding a LOT more. The men are now using trucks – big Ryder trucks and they are on top of the truck. Mondo’s getting loud chants from the crowd. Mondo uses a move called the assault driver and both men go off the top of the Ryder rent a truck through tables covered with fluorescent lights – and that is one HOLY SHIT! Moment! Mondo lands like he’s just done a power bomb and gets the pin. I can’t believe he landed sitting up like he had just dropped down to a regular mat!

Homeless Jimmy

*I have been unable to locate stats for this wrestler.

“Sick” Nick Mondo

6’1”, 202, lbs., from Minneapolis, MN

*Stats from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.com

NOTE: Nick Mondo made his debut in professional wrestling in March 1999 and retired in November 2003. He is a member of Combat Zone Wrestling’s Hall of Fame.

The audience is now cheering for Homeless Jimmy as attendants try to help him to his feet. He shoves away the assistance and gets to his feet on his own. This was one thrilling match. I’m not sure high impact is the description you would use for two wrestlers who just dove off the back of a tall truck onto tables filled with lights. The announcers tell us it was a 30 to 35 foot fall from the truck through those tables.

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