411 Video Review: CZW Truth Or Consequences

CZW TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
June 14, 2003

This show will forever be remembered as the “IWA invades” show. But it is also worth remembering for other reasons than that.

There’s a great video package at the start to bring you up to speed on the cage match.

MATCH RESULTS

CZW World Title, BJPW Death Match Title: Cage Match: Messiah vs. Nick Gage vs. Nate Hatred – Like I said, there’s a video package to set this up, but for those who don’t know, Gage and Hatred were tag partners who had just broken up at this point, and Gage had been feuding with Messiah over the title for several months, so they’re having a three-way after the events of the last show, “Then And Now”, review available on 411. If Messiah is pinned, he loses the CZW World title, if Gage is pinned he can’t compete for six months, and if Hatred is pinned he loses his BJPW Death Match title. Gage and Hatred start off without Messiah, as Gage UNLOADS on Hatred and rams him into the cage a few times. Hatred is busted open. Man, less than a minute into the match, they waste no time. Messiah steps into the ring and he and Gage go at it. Messiah backdrops Gage into the cage and then rams him in again, busting him open. Hatred blocks a whip from Messiah and throws him into the cage. Nick Gage is busted open. Hatred throws Messiah to the cage again and now he is busted open too. Hatred delivers a jarring German suplex to Gage for two. All three guys get into a circle slug fest and Messiah tries to escape the cage. Gage gets a neckbreaker on Hatred and joins Messsiah up top. Messiah gives Gage a sunset flip into a PILEDRIVER off the cage! Hatred shoots Gage to the corner and gives him an inverted DDT for two. Gage gets his face greated into the cage. Messiah whips Hatred to the corner but falls victim to a high spinebuster for two. Messiah breaks up a submission attempt by Hatred and goes to climb again. You can’t win by escaping. He signals to his manager The Dew, who climbs up the cage. Gage joins them and pulls Dewey into the cage and goes for some footscrapes, but Hatred cuts him off. I love it. Messiah hits a backbreaker on Hatred for two. Messiah sets Dewey free and they smash Gage’s bad knee that has been injured since Best Of The Best 3 in the cage door. Messiah locks a figure four on Gage, and Hatred pummels away at him. That’s great storytelling, Hatred doesn’t want to stop Messiah from winning, just stop Gage, cause he hates him THAT much. Messiah goes up top, but Hatred joins him and holds him in a suplex… Gage joins them and powerbombs Hatred off the top as he superplexes Messiah off the top of the cage. Beautiful. Gage gets two on Hatred from it. Gage drops Messiah on his head with a half-n-half suplex. Gage cops two clotheslines from Hatred for two. Gage escapes Hatred’s finisher, the sit out tombstone by locking on a dragon sleeper. Messiah climbs the cage and Gage opts to join him instead of hurting Hatred. He knocks Messiah down and Hatred jumps up. Hatred slams Gage off the top of the cage! It gets two. Messiah suplexes Hatred for two. Hatred comes back to powerbomb Messiah for two. Hatred locks Gag in a camel clutch, with his fingers in Gage’s mouth in a nice touch. Messiah rushes them but Hatred backdrops him into the cage while still holding onto the clutch. Beautiful. Messiah tries again but misses a charge and Gage hits a DDT for two. Gage gives Messiah a brainbuster but can’t make the cover. Hatred sends him into the cage and then picks Messiah up… and shakes his hand. They double powerbomb Gage into the cage for two. They try another pin, but no dice. They run him into the steel again but still Gage won’t give up. Hatred accidentally clotheslines Messiah and Gage fights back with roaring elbows and a side suplex. Dewey opens the door and Gage crawls but Dew accidentally shuts the door in Messiah’s face! Hatred powerbombs Gage for two. Man that looked like it hurt. Hatred does another charge, but Gage rolls to the side and schoolboys him to win the BJPW Death Match title at 16:49. The rest of the Hi-V stable (Trent Acid, Johnny Kashmere, B-Boy), and Hatred officially joins. This was never really intended to blow off any of these feuds, so it was great storytelling the way in which the Hatred/Gage storyline played out, and how Hatred was conflicted between wanting to hurt Gage and wanting to win the belt. Even the near falls were well worked especially with Dewey’s run-ins. I felt they did very well for three big guys enclosed in such a short space. ***1/2

Sonjay Dutt vs. Deranged – This is actually a dream match of mine as I’m a huge mark for both guys. They start off with trading some arm drags and other junior gymnastics. Its all beautifully executed. YEAH!! They lock up and try a test of strength, going into the bridge sequence and then into the joined monkey flip sequence. Both guys bridge out of pin attempts. Dutt locks Deranged in a submission on the floor and they trade slaps. They roll over and try to bridge out, but their legs are still locked together so they end up upside down on their heads…. And they slap each other! That’s innovative. They trade more slaps and Sonjay gets a leg lariat for two. Sonjay hits a dropkick for two and a leg drop for two. Deranged fihts out of a headlock but Sonjay escapes a backslide. They fuck up a backflip spot and Sonjay tosses Deranged. Sonjay follows with an awesome somersault plancha. Back inside, Sonjay nails the Sprinkler elbow, his version of the People’s Elbow with some dance moves thrown in. Deranged comes back with a tornado DDT and then a satellite headscissors. It gets two. Deranged locks Sonjay in an STF, which he escapes. Deranged hits a moonsault kick for two. He retrieves a chair and kicks Sonjay with it for two. Sonjay rolls out an Deranged uses the chair to launch himself into a flipping tope. Back in, it gets two. Deanged nails a hurricanrana and a reverse hiptoss into facebuster. Deranged goes up but misses a dragon screw. Sonjay elbows Deranged and neckbreakers him for two. Sonjay drops Deranged in a fisherman’s neckbreaker for two. Deranged comes back with an Ace Crusher, and it literally drives Sonjay headfirst into the mat, man that looked nasty. It gets two. They fuck up a backflip spot and then Deranged hits the Code Red (which he calls the Blueprint) for two. The fans are really into the near falls. Sonjay gets a small package for two. Deranged springboards in but Sonjay catches him in a spinebuster and goes up. Pheonix splash and that’s all she wrote at 14:38. There was two blown spots in here but almost everything else was hit with precision and these are two guys I can’t get enough of. A very good little spot fest. ***

Niles Young vs. Grim Reefer vs. Jon Dahmer – Yeesh, this doesn’t look good. Dahmer starts off by abusing both guys. Reefer uses Dahmer’s back to dropkick Young out of the ring. Reefer suplexes Dahmer and goes up, but hits a nice plancha onto Young instead. Young joins the mback in and Dahmer gives him a gutbuster for two. Yoiung and Reefer do a sequence that ends with Young getting a facebuster for two. Young DDTs Dahmer for two. Reefer gets a neckbreaker on Young for two. It seems like they’ve lost steam, 4 minutes in. Reefer goes up and hits a walking swanton, which is a very awkward looking move. It gets two. Dahmer delivers chops to both guys and then suplexes them at the same time. He spinebusters Reefer off the top for two. Dahmer delivers the Move of 1000 Maniacs to Young for the win at 5:53. While that is an awesome move (powerbomb into piledriver), I don’t see the point in putting Dahmer over any of these guys. DUD.

Greg Matthews, Z-Barr & Derek Fraizer vs. Adam Flash, Danny Rose & Ian Knoxx – Rose gets the better of Matthews at the start, ending a sequence with a piledriver for two. He tags Flash in and they double team Matthews for two. Dropkick gets two and Knoxx is tagged. Matthews gets a drop toehold on Knoxx, hanging him in the ropes. Fraizer comes in and kicks him around. They trade chops in the corner and Knoxx clotheslines Fraizer for two. Barr tags in and moonsaults Knoxx for two. Knoxx continues to play face in peril. Matthews running powerbombs Knoxx over the top through a table in a nice spot. Barr starts a fight with Matthews for reasons unknown. Rockin Rebel gets on the mic and they decide Barr isn’t fit for the Rebel’s Army. Rose delivers a DVD onto a chair. Flash piledrives Barr on a chair for the win at 7:25. This was just what it was. Ѕ*

Chris Cash vs. GQ – These two were a tag team in late 2001 before turning on each other and feuding in early 2002. They then re-teamed for most of 2002 and 2003 up until the previous show where Cash accidentally threw GQ off the balcony. I don’t know why they reprised the feud, but the matches weren’t bad in early 2002, so I’m not complaining. GQ takes a powder almost straight away. They lock up and trade counters, reversals, kicks, ounches, everything you can think of. Cash gets a DDT and a clothesline, followed by a high knee. GQ takes another powder He comes back in and they trade some furious punches. Cactus clothesline takes both guys out again and GQ takes a whip into the rail. Cash tries a plancha but GQ catches him (barely) and rams him into the post. GQ props some chairs on the concrete and backdrops Cash onto them. BRUTAL. Back in, GQ absolutely blows what was going to be an Arabian moonsault. Cash attacks him and nails a hurricanrana for two. Cash goes for a kick but GQ smashes a chair into his knee. GQ goes to work on the knee, locking in a figure four. Cash escapes and nails the cutthroat driver, but can’t make a cover. He finally does but only gets two. Each guy springs in from opposite sides of the ring and Cash gets a two count out of the collision. Cash accidentally superkicks the referee. GQ nails a drug bomb into DDT. He smacks him with some brass knucks for three at 12:11. This was nothing compared to their early 2002 matches. *3/4

Jimmy Rave vs. B-Boy – They feel each other out to start, and B-Boy takes time to jaw with some fans. Rave gets an armdrag but can’t hold onto his patented armbar. B-Boy escapes a crossface attempt but misses a shining wizard. B-Boy takes Rave down and holds his knee in a stretch. Rave turns it into an armbar but B-Boy escapes. Rave goes for a hurricanrana but ends up taking him down into the armbar again. B-Boy escapes and nails some forearms. He gets some chops in the corner and hangs Rave in the tree of woe. Boy goes for a baseball slide but Rave sits up. Anticipating this, B-Boy kicks him and jumps up onto the top to stick his foot in Rave’s crotch. Nice. B-Boy takes him down and locks in what appears to be a triangle choke. Rave makes the ropes. B-Boy avoids a sunset flip by stomping on Rave’s chest. B-Boy sretches Rave in the SoCal Stretch but again Rave reaches the ropes. B-Boy nails a spinning neckbreaker for two. Rave locks on a crossface but can’t keep it on. He gets an enziguri and a belly to back for two. B-Boy goes up and Rave joins him. Rave locks his legs in and gives B-Boy a belly to belly off the top. He then hops up and nails a cross-body and a knee to the face for two. Rave gets a tiger suplex for two. B-Boy comes back with a criss-cross piledriver (Rave’s arms were folded). Brutal move. Boy nails a fisherman’s buster for two. He goes up top but misses a legdrop. Rave powerbombs B-Boy for two, but then rolls him into the crossface. B-Boy makes the ropes, AGAIN! Rave misses a charge and takes a palm strike. B-Boy nails a german suplex, and then rolls through into a t-bone into the turnbuckle! Rave has to be seeing stars, but kicks out at two. B-Boy goes for the Shining Wizard but rave locks on the crossface. This time Boy isn’t close to the ropes. B-Boy keeps trying to get to the ropes and eventually gets there. Rave takes B-Boy’s knee out, but misses a shining wizard and takes a belly to back. B-Boy stalks him and nails the Shining Wizard for the win at 13:47. Another good match from B-Boy this month, though not as good as his one with Mamaluke at “Then And Now”. Not much psychology this time, but still some really good hard hitting action. ***

Tony Mamaluke vs. Nick Mondo vs. Tom Carter vs. Nick Berk – Mondo cleans house on all three guys before Johnny Kashmere, bitter about his loss last month, runs in and provokes Mondo. Mondo chases Kashmere out, so I guess this is going to be a three-way. Berk goes to work on the other guys, hitting a double jawbreaker and a suplex on Mamaluke. Carter smacks Berk with a forearm and takes him down into an armbar. Carter takes Mamaluke out and keeps on Berk. He slams him and goes up, landing a knee off the top. Carter snaps Mamaluke’s arm and holds him in a stretch. Mamaluke escapes and gets a Russian leg sweep into a stretch of his own. Carter escapes. Mamaluke rams Berk into the ringpost and gives him a release northern lights. He then goes to work on the shoulder that hit the ringpost. Carter breaks up the submission and gives Mamaluke a brutal DDT. Mamaluke escapes a powerbomb but Berk nails a facebuster on him. Carter takes a facebuster as well for two. Berk hits a DVD into Michinoku Driver for two. Carter knocks Berk down and then hits a brainbuster for two. Mamaluke jumps in for a pin attempt, then into an armbar. Carter gets an Ace Crusher on Berk off the second rope, dropkicking Mamaluke on the way down. Mamaluke holds Carter in a front facelock but he makes the ropes. Berk and Carter double team Mamaluke, and he in turn comes back to hold both of them in a stretch, but it isn’t enough. Mamaluke superplexes Berk and Carter hits a frogsplash. Mamaluke chokes Berk while Carter stretches his legs, and Berk taps at 11:16. There is confusion as to who won, and both guys are declared winners. All these guys seemed like they were mailing it in here. **

CZW Jr. Heavyweight Title: Ruckus vs. Ric Blade –Blade won his shot at the belt by beating Sonjay at the previous show, “Then And Now”. They start off with some pointless mat/counter stuff, and Blade absolutely botches a quebrada. Ruckus hits a hurricanrana and they trade abdominal stretches. More junior gymnastics results in Blade hitting Ruckus with a spin kick. Man, I REALLY hate these kind of matches, especially when that talent less punk Blade is involved, and Ruckus isn’t the one to carry him. Blade hits a springboard legdrop for two. Both guys go outside, and Blade crotches Ruckus on the railing. As Ruckus is still hung on the railing, Blade goes up top, and hits a FUCKING SWANTON off the top, and onto the guardrail!!!! That could have resulted in a broken back, and that was one of the stupidest spots I’ve ever seen. Nice, but VERY stupid. Back in, Blade misses a boot in the corner and Ruckus takes advantage of the leg. Dragon screw is then worked into a figure four. Hey, Ruckus is working a body part. Knowing these matches though, it’ll be forgotten within t-minus 30 seconds. Sure enough, Ruckus breaks the hold. Why? Blade takes the advantage with some chops, but gets his eyes raked. Blade reversals the razzle dazzle into a victory roll. Nice. However, Ruckus soon dropkicks Blade’s leg out again. I appreciate the effort, but Blade hasn’t sold the leg in between this. Ruckus suplexes Blade and nails a standing dragon screw for two. Ruckus hits the razzle dazzle and handspring spin kick, but Blade makes the ropes. Ruckus goes up top but Blade joins him with a kick. So much for Blade’s bad leg. Blade climbs a turnbuckle on the other side of the ring and rope walks across into a hurricanrana. What a stupid spot. Ruckus rolls through into a boston crab but Blade reverses that. Blade nails the SFJ for two. Blade goes for the Quadrasault, which is a standing moonsault, and moonsaults off the first, second and top turnbuckles. However, the last one misses, and Ruckus drops him. Ruckus goes up top and nails a nice swandive splash for two. Blade goes for another victory roll but Ruckus holds on to win 14:10. There were some okay spots in here, but the leg psychology went nowhere and there was nothing, apart from the swanton, that I hadn’t seen before. *1/2

CZW Tag Titles: Backseat Boyz (Trent Acid & Johnny Kashmere) vs. Briscoe Brothers (Mark and Jay) – The Briscoes returned at Best Of The Best 3, and this match was a natural fan request because these two still had unfinished business when the Briscoe’s left CZW. Acid and Mark start off and trade counters, with Acid getting the better. Jay and Kashmere tag in and Kashmere takes a powerbomb. He comes back with a DDT and they trade chops. Double clothesline, and all four guys come into the ring. Kashmere and Mark go out as Jay and Acid go at it and Jay dumps Trent. Kashmere comes in and Trent nails a missile dropkick on Jay. Mark springs in with a missile dropkick on Kashmere. I love this evenly-matched stuff. Acid goes for a yakuza kick but Mark takes out his knee and gets a dragon suplex for two. Gut wrench suplex and a knee drop get two. Jay tags in and they hit the Sidewinder. Jay gives Acid a snap suplex but falls victim to a superkick. Acid tags Kashmere who goes to work on Jay. He tags Acid back in and they double team Jay for two. Jay blocks a roaring elbow and gets an ace crusher. Hot tag Mark, who cleans house on Kashmere and Acid. Mark sets Kashmere up top and springs in with an ace crusher. Acid dumps Mark and takes some chops from Jay. Acid gets dumped onto the apron, where Mark Briscoe then jumps off the top and hurricanranas Acid off the apron into a pile of chairs!! Holy shit that was dangerous. Jay drills Kashmere with a Michinoku Driver for two. Kashmere sits out with a cradle driver. Mark Briscoe tries a cutthroat driver but Kashmere escapes and spears him. The Backseats then go into the Dream Sequence for two on Mark. Mark takes Kashmere down with a suplex but takes a brutal yakuza kick from Acid. Acid turns around and gets caught with a more brutal yakuza kick, and then Jay hits the Jay Driller (Tiger Driver 91). Jesus these guys are killing themselves. The Dew pulls out the ref! Jay goes for the Driller on Kashmere, but the Dew distracts him as Mark is climbing the buckle. The Backseats run up to the top and hit a super T-Gimmick to retain the belts at 13:57. Damn, this match was just getting going. They work really well together but this was begging to be 20 minutes and to have less shenanigans. ***

“I Quit” Strap Match: Zandig vs. Rockin Rebel – A weight-lifting belt covered in thumbtacks hangs from a pole in the corner. Rebel whips Zandig with a cable and chokes him, but Zandig won’t quit. They go out and Rebel takes a whip through a table. Zandig smacks him with some chairs and whips him into the ringpost. Zandig grabs a Cane and smacks Rebel with it. Rebel turns the tide with some shots of his own. He sets a table up outside but gets slammed through it. Rebel is busted open and Zandig whips him with the cable. Back in, Zandig grabs the thumbtack belt and whips Rebel in the back with it. Rebel clotheslines Zandig and whips him with the belt. Zandig won’t quit, even though he is busted open. Rebel sets a table up in the ring. Zandig gains control and dumps thumbtacks on the table, then superplexes Rebel through it. Then… what’s this? A bunch of guys are running in through the crowd and they jump the barrier. They are Ian Rotten and J.C. Bailey from IWA Midsouth, a rival promotion of Zandig’s! Bailey nails a security guard as Rotten takes to Zandig with a chair. Corporal Robinson runs in as well. They cuff Zandig to the ropes. Rotten mentions that Zandig was looking for a challenge, and they’ve answered. Rotten staples a dollar bill to Zandig’s face. But he still won’t quit the match. Corporal brings Zandig’s wife out and they threaten to hit her, but Zandig quits in order to save her at 11:24. Rotten smacks the chair over Zandig’s head. Rotten talks smack on the mic and promises that he will take CZW down, starting at the next show, the Extreme 8. He promises to bring his guys there. The fans start throwing rubbish. Athletic Commission representative Frank Talent brings some cops into the ring and threatens Rotten as the fans begin throwing chairs into the ring, nearly killing everybody. The cops arrest Rotten, Bailey and Corp, then take them to the outside of the arena where they are loaded into cop cars. Corp cries “We don’t give a fuck” from inside the car, and I believe him. The sirens blare and the guys are taken away.

We get some footage of Zandig backstage, and it turns out that the locker room has been barricaded, effectively ruining the chances of anybody from CZW running to Zandig’s aid. Zandig is PISSED and throwing chairs and tables as the show ends.

The Verdict – Nothing was outright great, but four ***+ matches and one hell of an angle means this show is worth picking up and taking a look at. Its definitely historically significant as the start of the IWA invasion. Recommended.

-You can pick this show up from www.smartmarkvideo.com

-You can find out more about CZW and their upcoming show “Night Of Infamy 2” (great for you PA and NJ guys) at www.czwwrestling.com, and check out www.czwfans.com for some the best CZW discussion on the net.

-Hit me up with any feedback at the link below.

Thanks for reading.