Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage, and Justice Pain began to run professional wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence". Ladders, tables, thumbtacks, barbed wire, light tubes and fire are common elements of "ultraviolent" wrestling matches in CZW. The company filled a niche for hardcore wrestling fans that had been left open by the folding of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). CZW established themselves as the leading American hardcore wrestling promotion at the ECW Arena with their Cage of Death 3 show in 2001, the year ECW folded.
Their homegrown roster helped establish what became a top independent promotion in later years. Although they are most commonly known for their 'ultraviolent' style, their shows feature other styles of wrestling aswell. Their annual Tournament of Death show emphasizes the ultraviolent style of CZW. All of their shows are taped and distributed by Pancoast Productions, Inc., who releases the shows on DVD and Pay-Per-Stream via their website. CZW was broadcast on TWC Fight! to viewers in the UK and Republic of Ireland as part of the "Bloodbath" program until TWC Fight! closed in 2008. CZW continues to run on a monthly basis in The Arena, and they also run shows outside of Philadelphia.
Read more about Combat Zone Wrestling: Maven Bentley Association, Annual Events, Roster
Famous quotes containing the words combat, zone and/or wrestling:
“The combat ended for want of combatants.”
—Pierre Corneille (1606–1684)
“He who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright.”
—William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)
“We laugh at him who steps out of his room at the very moment when the sun steps out, and says: “I will the sun to rise”; and at him who cannot stop the wheel, and says: “I will it to roll”; and at him who is taken down in a wrestling match, and says: “I lie here, but I will that I lie here!” And yet, all laughter aside, do we ever do anything other than one of these three things when we use the expression, “I will”?”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)