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DVD Review: CZW "Best of the Best 7" (7-14-07) w/ Ruckus, Human Tornado, Joker, Thomasellis, B-Boy

Sep 11, 2007 - 1:56:36 PM
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By Chris Vetter

Combat Zone Wrestling, based in the former ECW Arena (New Alhambra Hall) in south Philadelphia, lays claim to having the old ECW 'spirit,' with a focus on wild hardcore action and death matches. For the most part, CZW's type of wrestling does not interest me.

However, I do order at least one CZW show a year -- the annual junior-heavyweight tournament, "Best of the Best." Yes, there are some hardcore matches here, but for the most part, this is action that I enjoy watching. This is a review of "Best of the Best 7" from July 14, 2007. CZW definitely treats this as a "big deal" event, as this DVD set features 15 matches over FOUR hours of wrestling. (I can only imagine how long this show was live!)

The crowd here is perhaps 400 to 500. Smart Mark Video records CZW shows, and they do a good job with lighting, sound, and they use multiple cameras to record shows. On commentary are Brian Logan and Greg Excellent. This is a new announcing team since the last CZW show I saw (last year's Best of the Best a year ago.) No backstage segments. To the ring!

(1) Round 1: Human Tornado defeats Ruckus (w/Robbie Mireno) at 8:10.
Solid match. Ruckus won BotB in 2006; no one has repeated as champion. They opened with some comedy in a dance-off, but Ruckus attacked Tornado and hit a nice leg lariat. Sabian (Ruckus' teammate) joined commentary, saying he is injured and unable to compete. Tornado hit a flip dive to the floor. The announcers talked about how BotB is the greatest night of light-heavyweight action of the year. Ruckus slowed the action down with a chinlock on the mat. Ruckus hit a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 4:30.

Human Tornado fired back with a spin heel kick to the head, and they were both down. Ruckus crotched Tornado on the top rope, but Tornado no-sold it (it's part of his gimmick), and Tornado hit a pimp slap across the face! Tornado nailed a (Monty Brown) Pounce! Robbie Mireno hopped in the ring, but Tornado slapped him too, and he hit his dance-jive kicks in the corner on the heels. A female valet, Christy River hopped in the ring, but Tornado gave her a drop-toe-hold into Mireno's groin. This was fun. Tornado hit a low blow kick, got a jacknife rollup, and pinned Ruckus out of nowhere.

(2) Round 1: Ricochet defeats Chuck Taylor at 9:17.
Good action. Sabian acknowledged that Taylor is the IWA Mid-South champion, and the winner of the Chikara Young Lion's Cup tournament a few weeks earlier. (I LOVE when indies acknowledge other indies; these comments show fans that Taylor is a 'big deal' in other promotions.) These two have fought each other MANY times before. They opened with some standing switches, and Taylor hit a shoulder tackle and he jawed at Ricochet. Ricochet hit a quick armdrag, but he had a sloppy armdrag, and the 'smart' Philly crowd chanted, "You f**ked up." Taylor nailed his Sole Food/falling-backward foot to the chin at 3:00, then he hit a spine kick. "This is the hardest crowd to work in front of in the United States" one announcer said of the restless fans.

Taylor hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex and he celebrated. Taylor stayed in charge, and he hit some chops. Ricochet fired back with a flying double-kneeshot, and they were both down. Ricochet hit a flying forearm at 6:30 and a backbody drop, then a modified 919. Ricochet went for a springboard move, but Taylor caught him with a flying dropkick! Ricochet hit a second-rope hurricanrana for a believable nearfall. Ricochet hit a corkscrew plancha to the floor, and they were both down. Back in the ring, Taylor gave Ricochet a powerbomb into the turnbuckle and a Yakuza Kick for a believable nearfall at 8:30, but he couldn't hit the Omega Driver/modified Michinoku Driver. Ricochet hit a nice tornado DDT and a top-rope Shooting Star Press for the pin! Good match.

* Ruckus returned to the ring, and said he felt disrespected by the low blow that led to his loss. Ruckus said he wasn't leaving until he got some respect! Justice Pain hit the ring, and he jawed at Ruckus. They eventually brawled on the mat, and security separated them, as fans chanted, "Let them fight!" They agreed to a title match later on!

(3) Round 1: B-Boy defeats Cheech at 8:32.
A very good match, especially for the time given. Fans chanted, "Welcome back" at B-Boy. they opened with an intense lockup and a standoff. Cheech hit some stiff forearms, but B-Boy no-sold them and fired back with his own stiff, clubbing forearms. B-Boy hit some loud chops and a second-rope basement dropkick to the head. Cheech hit a catapult senton for a nearfall. B-Boy hit some more chops. Cheech hit a basement dropkick at 3:30. B-boy hit a spin kick to the face, and they were both down. Cheech missed the Facelift/running basement dropkick in the corner, mocking B-Boy. However, B-Boy NAILED the Facelift on Cheech! B-Boy hit a modified stunner and a hard clothesline for a believable nearfall!

B-Boy hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 5:30. Cheech hit an STO uranage, and they were both down. They traded stiff forearms and slaps, and Cheech hit a Mafia Kick and a running boot, then a modified Go To Sleep kneestrike for a nearfall, but B-Boy got his foot on the ropes. B-BOy hit a running knee to the head in the corner, and he grazed Cheech with an enziguri. B-Boy nailed a top-rope doublestomp on the head, then he nailed the "California Special" piledriver on Cheech for the pin. Good action; a good showing for Cheech.

(4) Round 1: Jigsaw defeats Grim Reefer at 10:14.
Another good match. The crowd was hot and split. The announcers acknowledged that Jigsaw had once won the Chikara Young Lion's Cup. Grim Reefer wouldn't shake hands, and he slapped Jigsaw in the face! They opened with some quick standing switches, and Jigsaw hit a Tornado DDT, then he dove through the ropes to the floor on Reefer at 3:00. Grim Reefer hit a springboard 450 Press to the floor! In the ring, Reefer hit some chops, and he hit a senton for a nearfall. Reefer hit a nice neckbreaker on the top rope and a frogsplash to the floor at 6:00! OUCH! However, Reefer missed a springboard flip senton.

Jigsaw nailed a running boot for a nearfall, but he missed a top-rope guillotine legdrop. Reefer hit a short-arm clothesline for a believable nearfall, and the crowd was HOT. Reefer hit a hangman's DDT out of the ropes for another believable nearfall, and he yelled at ref Bryce Remsburg. Jigsaw came back with a running kneestrike in the corner, then a jump-up rana and a top-rope guillotine legdrop for a nearfall at 9:00. Reefer applied a crossface on the mat, but Jigsaw escaped. Moments later, Jigsaw hit a Superkick for the pin. Sharp action.

(5) Round 1: Ricky Reyes defeats Sal Thomaselli (w/Vito Thomaselli) at 10:07.
Good match. Reyes was one of two "mystery entrants" into this tournament. Vito has his hair shaved in a Mohawk now; the long hair is gone! The commentary team acknowledged that Sal & Vito won the IWA-MS "Candido Cup tag tournament" in May. (Again, I LOVE that they acknowledge stuff like this.) The match began with some intense mat lockups. Reyes hit some chops and forearms, and Sal bailed at 2:00. Reyes hit some jabs and armdrags, so Sal bailed again. Sal hit an eye gouge and some stomps. Vito hit some stomps on the floor, and he whipped Reyes into the guardrail. Sal was now in charge, and he hit some forearms, chops, and a side suplex in the ring for a nearfall at 5:00.

They hit double clotheslines, and both men were down. Reyes hit a back suplex and a belly-to-belly suplex, then a Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall and some spin kicks to the chest. Sal hit a swinging neckbreaker at 7:30. The impatient Philly fans began chanting "boring." (Really, I don't get it.) Sal hit a clothesline for a nearfall. An announcer acknowledged the crowd's impatience. "They aren't too kind to strangers," he said. Reyes hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a running knee to the face for a nearfall.

Reyes hit a hard sitdown powerbomb for a believable nearfall. The crowd only got louder with its "boring" chant. Man, I HATE Philly fans. Sal hooked Reyes' leg and hit a back suplex for a nearfall. This was good action, and Logan even said, "This crowd isn't being too fair." Reyes hit an enziguri, causing the Thomasellis' heads to collide. Reyes hit a Saito Suplex for the pin. Good match, but hurt by a rude, mean-spirited crowd.

(6) Round 1: Scotty Vortekz defeats Cloudy at 11:39.
Good match. Vortekz isn't big, but he towers over the tiny Cloudy here. Vortekz attacked Cloudy immediately and hit some spine kicks. The announcers said Vortekz is the current junior heavyweight champion. Cloudy hit a headscissors takedown and a dropkick, and Vortekz bailed. Cloudy hit a twisting press through the ropes, and this was a dangerous-looking move. Cloudy rolled Vortekz in the ring and got a nearfall. Vortekz fired back with some chops and a Japanese Armdrag at 3:30. Vorkekz hit a Mafia Kick in the corner, and he was in charge, and he hit a nice spin heel kick. They brawled to the floor, where Cloudy whipped Vortekz into the guardrail, and he hit some chops against the guardrail.

In the ring, Vortekz applied a sleeper at 6:00, but Cloudy rallied out of it. Cloudy hit an Ace Crusher. They traded forearm shots, and Cloudy hit a nice roaring forearm. Cloudy hit a Tornado DDT and a nice Reverse Rana for a nearfall at 9:00! Vortekz hit a spinning faceplant. Cloudy hit a headscissors takedown, and he went to the floor and brought a ladder into the ring. However, Vortekz gave him a slingshot into the ladder, then Vortekz hit a gutwrench faceplant. Vortekz nailed a second-rope kneedrop to the chest for the pin.

(7) Round 1: Brandon Thomaselli defeats Vito Thomaselli at 12:14.
The brothers are both heels. Brandon wore his trucker jacket & cap, and his gut is growing. Vito told his brother that they weren't going to hit any forearm shots. They shook hands and had a 'friendly' tie-up. They traded offense in a knuckelock, but Brandon hit a forearm shot! So, Vito returned a forearm, and soon, they were firing forearms back and forth! Brandon hit a catapult stomp to the face! Vito came back with two Yakuza Kicks, then a suplex onto an open chair on the floor! They brawled on the floor, and Vito whipped Brandon into the guardrail. They fought into the crowd. Back in the ring, Vito hit a frogsplash for a nearfall. Brandon hit a cool twisting neckbreaker and a brainbuster for a nearfall at 7:00.

Brandon hit an ASAI moonsault to the floor, and they were both down. Wow, that was a scary-looking ASAI. They fought some more on the floor. Brandon hit a modified Canadian Destroyer/flip piledriver on the ramp at 9:30, and fans chanted, "Holy sh!t!" Brandon got Vito in the ring and got a nearfall. Brandon hit a nice fisherman's buster for a nearfall, then "The Deal"/SAT powerbomb over his knees for a believable nearfall. Brandon nailed a Mafia Kick, then a second SAT Powerbomb for the pin. Good match that told a nice story.

(8) Round 1: Joker defeats Drake Younger at 8:58.
Another sharp, sharp match, especially for the short time given. Joker is the other "mystery entrant" in this tournament. Sabian rejoined commentary to cheer for his partner, Joker. The crowd was HOT, as they opened with an intense lockup, some quick reversals, and they had a standoff. Younger hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall, then a snap suplex, and he applied the Rings of Saturn/double armbar, and he hit some chops. Joker dropped Younger gut-first on the top rope, and he kicked him to the floor. Joker hit some European Uppercuts on the floor. Joker hit a Saito Suplex for a nearfall at 4:30, dumping Younger on his head!

Younger hit a bodyslam for a nearfall and some straight punches to the face. Joker hit an Exploder suplex into the corner, and he nailed his rolling tumbleweed in the corner! Younger came back with a frogsplash for a nearfall at 7:30, and they traded headbutts. Younger couldn't hit the "Drake's Landing"/Copkillah. Joker nailed a back suplex, and he applied a modified Crippler Crossface, and Younger tapped out. They shook hands after the match. Good, hard-hitting action. Younger told the fans that he would win it next year.

(9) CJ O'Doyle defeats Jon Dahmer at 6:59.
Skippable match. O'Doyle wore white trunks, and he's lost significant weight since I saw him last. Dahmer wore a black top and green shorts. They opened by trading basic armholds. Dahmer hit some clubbing blows to the chest. O'Doyle hit some chops. The crowd was quiet. They traded some chops, and O'Doyle hit a European Uppercut and a Polish Hammer for a nearfall at 3:00.

Dahmer hit a Russian Legsweep, and he dumped O'Doyle on his head! Dahmer leaned O'Doyle against the guardrail and hit a LOUD chop, and CJ had a red welt on his chest. CJ hit a suplex on the floor. Dahmer hit a Spinebuster for a nearfall. O'Doyle got a rollup for the pin. Solid match. They shook hands, and the tough Philly crowd booed the sportsmanship.

* DVD 1 ends in 2 hours, 12 minutes.


(10) Ruckus (w/Robbie Mireno) defeats Justice Pain at 11:39.
Ruckus said happy birthday to the deceased Chri$ Ca$h, and the fans applauded. Pain came in through the crowd and attacked Ruckus from behind. Pain is thicker and stronger, and he hit some punches, an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, and a clothesline that sent Ruckus to the floor. Pain then hit a plancha. Ruckus hit a bodyslam on the floor and a flip senton. Pain hit a clothesline on the floor. Ruckus whipped Pain into the guardrail. Pain hit a chairshot to the head in the ring at 3:30. Pain hit a twisting neckbreaker for a nearfall and a basement dropkick across an open chair for a nearfall. Pain hit a nice Superkick for a nearfall. Ruckus airballed a standing Shooting Star Press, and the hostile Philly fans berated him with a "You f**ked up!" chant.

Ruckus went for a springboard move, but Pain caught him with a chairshot to the gut. Ruckus nailed the Afterburner/handspring-back-elbow at 7:00, then the Razzle Dazzle/cartwheel splash in the corner, and he hit a Famouser legdrop for a nearfall. Pain was bleeding near his eye, and Pain hit a second-rope overhead belly-to-belly suplex, tossing Ruckus across the ring, to a huge pop! They traded stiff forearms, and Pain hit a German Suplex into the corner. Pain got a table and he set it up in the corner. Pain nailed a splash on Mireno and dumped him on the table at 10:30. Pain then hit a brainbuster on Chrissy Perez. However, Ruckus grabbed his cigar and jammed it into Pain's eye! Ruckus covered Pain, and Mireno held down Pain's leg, allowing Ruckus to get the win. Good match with great crowd heat.

* Note: The second-round of the "Best of the Best" tournament this year are four-way elimination matches. The winners of the 2 four-ways will advance to the finals. The matches are "tornado rules," and no tags are needed.

(11) Round 2: Joker defeats Scotty Vortekz and Ricky Reyes and Human Tornado at 11:40.
Good match. Joker nailed a decapitating clothesline on Vortekz on the apron, and Vortekz fell to the floor. Human Tornado gave Joker a suplex into the ring. Joker nailed a decapitating clothesline on Human Tornado for a nearfall at 2:00. Joker and Reyes began working together. Reyes hit a snap suplex on Vortekz in the ring, as Joker brawled with Human Tornado on the floor. Reyes applied a cross-armbreaker on Vortekz. Human Tornado made the save; even the announcers questioned why Tornado would help, because it makes NO SENSE. To further add to the confusion, Tornado gave Vortekz a suplex for a nearfall. (Why would Tornado save him from being pinned? It's an elimination match! UGH).

Vortekz hit a Tornado DDT on Joker for a nearfall at 5:30. Joker hit a German Suplex on Vortekz. Vortekz nailed a spin heel kick to the face. Joker hit a top-rope doublestomp on Vortekz, and Reyes immediately applied a Dragon Sleeper on Vortekz, who passed out at 7:25 and was eliminated. Human Tornado hit a top-rope crossbody block on Joker & Reyes, then a hurricanrana on Reyes, and a moonsault off the apron to the floor on Reyes. Sabian on commentary ignored questions on if Reyes was now a member of BLK OUT. Intriguing. Human Tornado hit his 'dance jive' kicks on Joker. However, Joker nailed a standing powerbomb to pin Tornado at 9:43.

Joker and Reyes are the last two left, and they jawed at each other, then they traded STIFF forearm shots! Joker nailed a running forearm in the corner. Joker hooked Reyes' arm, rolled forward, and scored a pin. Good match, with my only complaint being Tornado saving Vortekz early in the match.

(12) Round 2: B-Boy defeats Jigsaw and Ricochet and Brandon Thomaselli to advance to the finals at 11:13.
WOW, best match of the show. The announcers said B-Boy has now been in the past 6 BotB tournaments. B-Boy hit an enziguri on Brandon. Jigsaw hit a running knee on Ricochet and a flip dive onto Brandon & B-Boy. Ricochet hit a top-rope corkscrew moonsault on all three opponents. Ricochet hit a spin heel kick on Brandon in the ring. Jigsaw put Ricochet in the Gory Special, and B-Boy hit a double-stomp on Ricochet's exposed chest! Cool spot. B-Boy put Ricochet & Jigsaw in a double crab, but Brandon made the save (again, this makes no sense to me at all.) Brandon hit a Lungblower to Ricochet's chest, then one on Jigsaw for a nearfall. Brandon picked up Ricochet and powerbombed him onto Jigsaw.

B-Boy nailed a triple Facelift on all three opponents at 4:00! The crowd was HOT. Ricochet dove through the ropes, and he hit a Tornado DDT on B-Boy on the floor! Ricochet hit a nice dropkick on Jigsaw, then a modified 619. Ricochet hit a missile dropkick on Brandon, but he missed a Shooting Star Press on Jigsaw; Brandon caught Ricochet with a Field Goal kick as he came down! Cool spot! Brandon Thomaselli then nailed "the Deal"/SAT bomb over his knees on Ricochet to pin him at 6:03. (Jigsaw was standing in the ring and 'could' have saved Ricochet, but wisely chose not to.) Brandon and Jigsaw traded forearm shots, and Jigsaw hit an enziguri and a swinging neckbreaker for a believable nearfally. Brandon hit a double-underhook Lungblower to Jigsaw's chest for a believable nearfall! However, Jigsaw nailed a Jig N' Tonic/modified Styles Clash to pin Brandon at 7:48!

It's now just B-Boy vs. Jigsaw. B-Boy looked dazed, but he got a schoolboy rollup for a nearfall, then a half-nelson suplex, and he nailed a Facelift on Jigsaw for a nearfall! Jigsaw hit a top-rope doublestomp and an enziguri for a nearfall, but he couldn't hit the Jig N' Tonic. B-Boy nailed the California Special/inverted DDT piledriver for a believable nearfall. Jigsaw nailed a Superkick! B-BOy nailed a Death Valley Driver off the second rope, then a Shining Wizard/running knee for the pin! WOW, that was some great nearfalls at the end and some good, hard-hitting wrestling.

(13) Andy Sumner & Drew Gulak defeat Javi-Air & Ryan McBride at 10:54.
Skippable action; this took away from a very good show. Gulak wore black trunks, he has a beard, and he's really skinny. Javi-Air has long, wet, black hair. Ryan McBride wore black pants with a red stripe. Gulak started and hit a powerslam on McBride. Javi and Gulak traded some good mat reversals. The heels began to work over Gulak, and they hit double elbows in the corner at 4:00. McBride hit a nice dropkick for a nearfall. The heels choked Gulak, and the crowd LOUDLY chanted, "boring!" (This time, they were right.) Javi hit a nice delayed vertical suplex and a catapult elbow drop at 6:30.

Sumner FINALLY tagged in, and he wore blue pants, and he hit some clotheslines. Sumner picked up both heels and hit a double fallaway slam. Javi hit a Lungblower on Sumner. There is just NO SENSE of pacing in this match. Gulak hit a neckbreaker. Gulak hit a German Suplex on McBride. Javi hit a running double kneeshot on Gulak. Sumner hit a Doomsday Device clothesline on Javi for the pin. Blah.

(14) Mitch Ryder & DJ Hyde & Brain Damage defeat Necro Butcher & Toby Klein & Danny Havoc at 15:55.
This hardcore action just doesn't interest me at all. All six guys fought immediately, and fans chanted, "Necro!" Ryder was almost immediately bleeding from the forehead, and Toby punched at the cut. The crowd was hot! Havoc hit a neckbreaker on the guardrail on Brain Damage, then he hit a doublestomp over the top-rope onto a barbed-wire chair. Brain Damage whipped Havoc into the guardrail at 3:00, and he hit someone with a garbage can shot. Necro tossed DJ Hyde into the crowd. Brain Damage hit a double kneedrop on Havoc on a table! Brain Damage whipped Havoc into a barbed-wire chair that was wedged in the corner. Klein hit a flying shoulder tackle in the ring.

Necro clawed at DJ Hyde's eye. Klein hit a trash can shot to the face. DJ hit a sitdown powerbomb at 8:00 on Necro on the floor. Mitch Ryder was really BLOODY now. DJ speared Havoc. There was fighting everywhere. Hyde hit a Dragon Suplex on Havoc. Klein hit a running Mafia Kick on Brain Damage. Klein hit a top-rope crossbody block to the floor on Brain Damage. Hyde hit Havoc in the head. Klein poured thumbtacks in the ring at 12:00, and he gave Brain Damage a powerbomb on the thumbtacks. Necro gave DJ Hyde a backbody drop onto the thumbtacks.

Danny Havoc hit a hurricanrana on Brain Damage, sending BD onto the thumbtacks, Necro and DJ Hyde traded headbutts! OUCH. Mitch Ryder hit a piledriver on Necro for a nearfall. DJ hit a clothesline on Klein for the pin. DJ Hyde got on the mic and challenged Necro Butcher to a singles match, saying no one is better than him on the indy scene. Out of nowhere, Monsta Mack came out, attacked DJ Hyde, and challenged him to a match.

* Replays of the big spots in the match aired. This was the only time replays were used on this show.

(15) Finals: Joker defeats B-Boy at 10:07 to win the "Best of the Best" tournament.
A BIG trophy was brought to the ring. The match began, and Joker immediately got a rollup. B-Boy went for a Shining Wizard, but Joker got his arms up to block it. They traded forearm shots on the floor, then they traded chops and headbutts in the ring. Joker hit a European Uppercut to B-Boy's elbow at 2:30, and Joker rolled to the floor in pain. Ref Bryce Remsburg got a roll of tape, and he tried to help B-Boy tape the arm, or put an elbow pad on, but B-Boy refused the help. The match resumed, and Joker immediately went to work on the arm, and he hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Joker twisted the left arm and applied a Chickenwing.

B-Boy rolled to the floor again at 5:30. Joker hit a Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall, and he went back to a hammerlock and chickenwing. Joker hit a quick back suplex. B-Boy hit a Saito Suplex. Joker nailed a T-Bone suplex. B-Boy hit a Dragon Suplex, a Shining Wizard and a Facelift at 8:30, but he made a weak cover, as he sold the pain in his arm. Joker hooked B-Boy's leg and hit a back suplex. Joker applied a cross-armbreaker, and B-Boy tapped out IMMEDIATELY. Above-average, but hardly great, as there were many, many better overall matches on this show.

* In a fan-choice award, the fans picked Drake Younger for a fan's award. Sabian hopped in the ring and put over Joker, his BLK OUT teammate, noting that Joker is an Iraq war veteran, and he's back home in CZW after a brief time working for PWU (CZW's rival). Fans chanted, "Welcome home!" and "CZW!" Joker got on the mic and thanked BLK OUT and the fans.

* DVD 2 ends at 1 hour, 55 minutes.


Final thoughts:


As I noted at the top of this report, this show is a whopping 15 matches over FOUR HOURS. There is plenty to like here. I liked the second four-way match with B-Boy-Jigsaw the most. I'll give second-best match to Younger-Joker, and third-best to B-Boy-Cheech. Fourth-best goes to Jigsaw vs. Reefer. While there were many good, above-average matches, I didn't see any blowaway "match of the year" candidates either. With so many matches, nothing was really allowed to go long enough to be truly memorable.

This felt like an IWA Mid-South show, and that's meant as a compliment. With the three Thomasellis, Ricochet, Chuck Taylor, Younger and Vortekz, there were many wrestlers in the tournament I consider "IWA guys." In fact, the only guy in the tournament who I haven't seen wrestle in IWA in the past year is Grim Reefer.

The non-tournament matches, except for Ruckus-Pain, just weren't good. The tag match with Gulak & Sumner was just bad, and it had no business being that late on a big show like this one. The crowd enjoyed the bloody six-man death match, but matches like that are why I just do not purchase CZW shows often.

I have to again conclude by complaining about the Philly fans. I recently reviewed the IWA Mid-South DVD from their show in Philly at the end of June. Here, just two weeks later, these same boorish fans decided to ruin some otherwise good matches by shouting, "boring," just because they didn't know the wrestlers in the ring. Those guys were busting their butts, but just couldn't get the crowd to care. I said this before, but it's fans like this that make me believe that ROH isn't going to hold a PPV in Philadelphia any time soon.

This show earned a thumbs up. There's plenty of action, and most of it is good. Joker has come a LONG way in the past year, Ruckus is vastly improved over where he was four years ago, this is the best Ricochet has looked in a while, and there are some solid, underrated guys like Cheech, Jigsaw and B-Boy all delivering good matches here. This DVD is available at www.smartmarkvideo.com for $20.


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He has conducted "Torch Talk" insider interviews with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Jesse Ventura, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, more.

He has interviewed big-name players in person incluiding Vince McMahon (at WWE Headquarters), Dana White (in Las Vegas), Eric Bischoff (at the first Nitro at Mall of America), Brock Lesnar (after his first UFC win).

He hosted the weekly Pro Wrestling Focus radio show on KFAN in the early 1990s and hosted the Ultimate Insiders DVD series distributed in retail stories internationally in the mid-2000s including interviews filmed in Los Angeles with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrara and Matt & Jeff Hardy. He currently hosts the most listened to pro wrestling audio show in the world, (the PWTorch Livecast, top ranked in iTunes)


REACHING 1 MILLION+ UNIQUE USERS PER MONTH
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PWTORCH STAFF

EDITORS:
Wade Keller, editor
(kellerwade@gmail.com)

James Caldwell, assistant editor
(pwtorch@gmail.com)

STAFF COLUMNISTS:
Bruce Mitchell (since 1990)
Pat McNeill (since 2001)
Greg Parks (since 2007)
Sean Radican (since 2003)

We also have a great team of
TV Reporters
and Specialists and Artists.

PWTORCH VIP MEMBERSHIP

PWTorch offers a VIP membership for $10 a month (or less with an annual sub). It includes nearly 25 years worth of archives from our coverage of pro wrestling dating back to PWTorch Newsletters from the late-'80s filled with insider secrets from every era that are available to VIPers in digital PDF format and Keller's radio show from the early 1990s.

Also, new exclusive top-shelf content every day including a new VIP-exclusive weekly 16 page digital magazine-style (PC and iPad compatible) PDF newsletter packed with exclusive articles and news.

The following features come with a VIP membership which tens of thousands of fans worldwide have enjoyed for many years...

-New Digital PWTorch Newsletter every week
-3 New Digital PDF Back Issues from 5, 10, 20 years ago
-Over 60 new VIP Audio Shows each week
-Ad-free access to all PWTorch.com free articles
-VIP Forum access with daily interaction with PWTorch staff and well-informed fellow wrestling fans
-Tons of archived audio and text articles
-Decades of Torch Talk insider interviews in transcript and audio formats with big name stars.


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