Break It Down: CZW Live In Germany

Live In Germany on November 6th, 2010

The DVD starts with an advertisement for the CZW Wrestling Academy as well as an effective plug for the Tangled Web 3 DVD. There definitely seems to be an increase in production values. Even the match graphics look a lot better. However, it appears that entrances have been cut from the DVD.

Opening Match: CZW Wired Television Title: Drew Gulak © vs. Rich Swann
Gulak runs down the crowd on the microphone before the match. Swann repeatedly takes the belt away from the referee, causing Gulak to attack before the bell. Swann connects with a series of dropkicks and Gulak retreats to the floor. Swann lands a moonsault from the apron but walks into a forearm back in the ring. Gulak hits a suplex and connects with a corner dropkick. He adds a gutwrench suplex and takes control. Swann snaps off a hurricanrana and lands a standing moonsault. Gulak hits a bridging overhead suplex and transitions into an armbar. Swann kills him with a gamenguiri. Gulak responds with a nice neckbreaker and applies the Gu-Lock to retain his title at 7:19. Gulak appeared to be working hard and Swann tried his best to get something decent out of him. This was definitely a step above the usual Gulak title defense and a fine way to start the show. I could actually see the Wired Television Title elevating someone like Swann, so hopefully he receives another title shot down the line. **½

Match #2: Greg Excellent vs. Jonathan Gresham
I don’t foresee happy times for Gresham. He tries a waistlock and an irish whip to no avail. He’s actually able to take Excellent down to the mat. Excellent blocks a headscissors attempt and slams Gresham with authority. Gresham is successful on a second headscissors attempt and lands a corkscrew plancha to the floor. There’s now instant replay during the matches. Back in, a distraction from Kylie Pierce allows Excellent to hit a samoan drop. Gresham answers with a standing shooting star press. Excellent hits a bucklebomb followed by a corner cannonball. Gresham fights back with an inverted DDT and kisses Pierce when she tries to interfere. Excellent connects with a lariat but gets caught with a tornado DDT. Gresham lands a 450 splash for the win at 6:56. I am pleasantly surprised with the result, as Gresham has considerably more potential. Excellent is pretty average outside of a deathmatch setting and these two couldn’t get much going in their seven minutes. *¾

Match #3: CZW World Junior Heavyweight Title: Adam Cole © vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Sabre controls on the mat early on. He rolls through two snapmares and trips Cole. Sabre locks in a surfboard and transitions into a muta lock. Cole gouges his eyes to escape. They trade kicks and Cole takes over. Sabre tries a quick pin attempt to no avail and gets leveled with a clothesline. Cole misses a charge and Sabre connects with a running kick. Sabre follows with a springboard dropkick and stretches Cole with an indian deathlock. Cole avoids a charge and hits a backcracker. They exchange forearms and Sabre connects with a vicious kick. Cole reverses a rollup into a wheelbarrow german suplex. Sabre applies an armbar but Cole reaches the bottom rope. Cole connects with a superkick and hits Coleateral…Sabre kicks out at one! Cole follows with the Corona Kick to retain his title at 11:56. Sabre was the right opponent for Cole and they worked well together. I appreciated how Sabre continually tried quick pin attempts and he did a great job of adding importance to this match. The crowd was extremely responsive and an interesting first half was complimented by an exciting finishing stretch. I’m looking forward to Cole’s future title defenses as he is adjusting well to his new role. ***¼

Cole refuses a handshake after the match. In a backstage segment, Sabre confronts Cole and asks for a rematch. Cole rejects the idea and walks away.

Match #4: Devon Moore vs. Sabian
They wrestle to a stalemate twice and trade dropkicks. Sabian synchs in a japanese stranglehold and maintains control. He teases a slingshot maneuver and mocks the crowd. Moore finds an opening to sneak in a few quick pin attempts. He elevates Sabian into an ace crusher. Sabian snaps off a hurricanrana and connects with a missile dropkick. Moore avoids a tornado DDT and hits a blockbuster. He misses a moonsault and Sabian finds success with a tornado DDT on the second attempt. Moore retreats to the floor where Sabian catches him with a plancha. After battling at ringside, Moore lands a shooting star press off the apron. In the ring, Sabian hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and applies a boston crab. The time limit expires at 15:00. The problem with this match is that it felt like both participants were working toward a time limit draw the whole time. Sabian took control early on and proceeded to do nearly nothing of interest. That’s not out of the ordinary for him but it was especially evident here. Aside from a few decent spots near the end, this contest was filled with uninspired action. It truly felt like a time limit draw from the beginning. **

Sabian considers five more minutes but decides against it and heads to the locker room. Moore yells expletives at him on the microphone and thanks the crowd for their support.

Match #5: Street Fight: DJ Hyde vs. Bad Bones
Bones vows to defeat Hyde for Thumbtack Jack. Hyde hits a spear but Bones quickly returns the favor. They brawl into the crowd and towards the bar. Hyde utilizes a barstool and sends Bones over the bar. Bones throws a trash can at Hyde’s head. They hit each other with an ice bucket. Bones hits a DDT on the bar ledge. Hyde whips him into some chairs and hurls a large box at him. Bones busts Hyde open with a beer bottle shot and inflicts damage with the ring bell. In the ring, they trade headbutts and Bones connects with a nice shotgun dropkick. Hyde responds with the Shadow Driver. Bones ducks a lariat and hits an ace crusher. Hyde wins a chop exchange but walks into a mafia kick. Bones misses a charge and Hyde connects with a lariat for the victory at 13:05. This match actually could have benefited from relying less on weapons and sticking more to wrestling. I know there was hatred between these two but I enjoyed the action most when they were trading impactful moves down the stretch. Bones brought his best effort and I wouldn’t mind seeing him in CZW in the near future. **¼

Hyde puts over Bones’ toughness after the match. He says that anytime Bones wants a spot in the Combat Zone, he’s welcome to a rematch. They shake hands and hug.

Match #6: MASADA vs. Sami Callihan
Callihan charges at the bell. MASADA hits a powerslam and connects with a boot. Callihan responds with a missile dropkick and a basement lariat. He clotheslines MASADA off the apron but a subsequent dive is blocked. After brawling on the floor, MASADA hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker in the ring. They have a nice exchange, ending with MASADA connecting with a lariat. Callihan tries to fight back but MASADA dropkicks him off the top rope and to the floor. The fans bring Callihan up to his feet and put him back into the ring. MASADA hits a powerbomb but finds himself in a sleeper hold. Callihan hits a saito suplex and follows with a stiff forearm. MASADA blocks a stretch muffler and connects with a corner yakuza kick. They battle up top and MASADA hits a death valley driver. Both men are down and the crowd starts dueling chants. They exchange strikes. Callihan tries for the stretch muffler but MASADA counters into a cross armbreaker. MASADA continues to attack the left arm and connects with another corner yakuza kick. Callihan avoids another kick but walks into an uppercut. MASADA whiffs on a backfist and Callihan applies the stretch muffler for the win at 16:30. These two have great chemistry together and had the crowd rocking. Callihan played the determined underdog perfectly and watching him attempt to take down his larger opponent was entertaining. Since I’ve started reviewing CZW, I haven’t seen MASADA work this well in the ring. While he can still be useful in deathmatches, I think CZW should just let him wrestle sometimes. Everything came together and this match completely blew away my expectations. ***½

Match #7: Drake Younger vs. Nick Gage
These two waste no time getting started. Younger dropkicks Gage to the floor and follows out with a dive from the top rope. They battle on top of a ledge and Gage hits a piledriver. He proceeds to suplex Younger through the merchandise table. Younger whips Gage into a steel wall. He runs down a railing and dives onto Gage. Younger finds himself in a boston crab and Gage takes the action back into the ring. Gage connects with a chair shot, busting Younger open. Gage hits the Chokebreaker and follows with a facewash kick. Younger hits a death valley driver, putting him through a wooden board. Younger adds a brainbuster onto a chair and connects with a flying double stomp. He hits Gage repeatedly with the seat of a chair. Gage returns the favor by hitting a brainbuster onto a chair. He props another wooden board in the corner and powerbombs Younger through it. Adam Polak appears on the apron holding the CZW Ultraviolent Underground Title. Younger uses the distraction to hit Drake’s Landing onto a propped chair for the victory at 10:26. Simply used to showcase two of CZW’s more well-known figures and to setup the Polak/Gage title match on the next night. They ran through a lot of impactful weapon spots without making them mean much. However, the action was at least entertaining and seemed to capture the crowd’s interest. **½

Polak attacks Gage after the match. Polak says that the CZW Ultraviolent Underground Title means nothing to him but he will do his best to keep it from Gage.

Match #8: CZW World Heavyweight Title: Jon Moxley © vs. Danny Havoc
Havoc connects with a series of strikes in the corner. Moxley avoids a brainbuster and hits a hangman’s suplex. He applies a half crab and transitions into an STF. Havoc reaches the bottom rope. Havoc lands a flying crossbody and hits a bulldog. Moxley knocks him off the apron. They brawl through the crowd where Havoc utilizes a chair. Havoc lands an elbow drop off the bar ledge. He climbs to the top rope but Moxley throws a chair at him. In the ring, Moxley hits a superplex onto a pile of chairs. He takes control Havoc powerslams him onto a chair. Havoc tries a cobra clutch but Moxley quickly escapes. He instead decides to just hit Moxley over the head with a chair. Moxley retreats to the floor and Havoc catches him with a slingshot double stomp. Havoc places Moxley on top of a propped up wooden board. Fans hold Moxley in place while Havoc connects with an elbow drop off a pillar. In the ring, Havoc misses a moonsault and Moxley hits an ace crusher. Havoc answers with a death valley driver for a nearfall. They collide in the center of the ring and both men fall to the canvas. Moxley connects with a lariat. Havoc reverses the Hook and Ladder into a rollup for a two count. He connects with an enzuigiri. Moxley hits the Hook and Ladder for a nearfall. Moxley follows with another Hook and Ladder to retain his title at 15:46. Moxley is really coming into his own and constantly producing solid title defenses. I enjoyed the story of this match with Moxley trying to keep the action in the ring and Havoc wanting more of a brawling atmosphere. They worked in some believable nearfalls for Havoc and this was a fine way to end the show. ***

Drake Younger attacks Havoc after the match. DJ Hyde and others run out to make the save. Younger gets on the microphone and calls himself the “golden boy” of CZW. Hyde challenges him to a deathmath tomorrow night. Havoc also makes a few threats toward Younger. Hyde thanks the crowd to close the show.

The 411: Live In Germany is a solid show from CZW that made a good impression upon the German crowd. I noticed a general feeling of more excitement amongst the roster and nearly everyone seemed to be putting forth their best effort. Cole provided a good title defense against Sabre and showed that he is comfortable in his new role. MASADA and Callihan topped my expectations in the match of the night. Finally, Moxley continued to prove why he is the world champion, delivering a worthwhile main event with Havoc. Younger was also made to look like a threat throughout the show. The last thing I should mention is an apparent upgrade in production values. This DVD came with more fluid match graphics, instant replay during matches, and plenty of interviews. There’s enough quality wrestling on this release to earn a slight recommendation. Also keep in mind the upgraded production values and the unique atmosphere from being in Germany.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]