I have Fell in Love with Hardcore Extreme Wrestling One Fateful Day when I stubbed across an ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) Barbwire Match Featuring Hardcore Icon Terry Funk versus The Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal Sabu. It was like nothing I had ever seen but with the Blood and Violence along with a Frenzied Philly Audience chanting things like “Fuck Him Up!” or “WE WANT BLOOD!” had Me Hook line and Sinker.
This Match is Legendary because during the match Sabu accidentally Split Open the Inside of His Left Bicep. Instead of Stopping the Match and seeking immediate Medical Attention Sabu had His Manager Bill Alfonso fetch Him a Roll of Medical/Athletic Tape. Sabu then wrapped Up His Bicep and continued to Wrestle until the End of the Match some 22 minutes or so after the Injury. In Fact Sabu Won by tying Tery Funk to a Table using Barbed Wire, wrapping Barb Wire around His Mid Section, and then Sabu put Funk Through the Table. As soon as the Sabu pinned Funk a Small Team of Crew Member wearing Protective Gloves ran out armed with Wire Cutters and proceeded to cut the Two Wrestlers Free which took Quite a While.
Until that Day the Only Wrestling I was familiar with was the Dueling Spandex Soap Opera Promotions/Federations WWF (Now WWE) and Their long time Rival the Now Defunct WCW (World Championship Wrestling). Now I was watching Wrestlers that looked like Real Life Bad Asses They weren’t all 6′ 5″ with Bulging Muscles clad in Horrendous Spandex sporting Long Hair. ECW was Nothing Hollywood it was Rough, Raw, and Totally Original.
ECW oped the Door of Extreme Wrestling Spawning Many Imitators most Notably The West Coast’s XPW (Xtreme Professional Wrestling) which is No Longer in Existence. Tragically ECW’s Days Were Numbered and Eventually after a Massively Successful Run Exposing America to Extreme Hardcore Wrestling facing Bankruptcy was Purchased By Sack of Shit Vince Mcmahon who’s first Action was to Dissolve the Company and fire the Entire Roster Almost. The ECW Talent Vince Kept were Under Utilized, Marginalized, and General treated like fucking Trash until They left or were Fired.
Luckily for Extreme Hardcore Wrestling Fans the Void was filled by New Jersey’s Own Combat Wrestling Zone (CZW) founded, owned, and Operated by John Zandig until He retired do to the Massive Amounts of Abuse HIs Body had taken over the Years (For Example: During a match Zandig jumped off a fucking 30 Foot Ladder resulting in a Compound Fracture, thats the one where the Broken Bone protrudes through the Skin for all to see.)
Zandig took the Ball from where ECW left off before its Untimely Demise, and ran with it like a motherfucker taking Hardcore Extreme to New Levels of Violence. Zandig coined the term for His New Band calling it “Ultra Violent” Wrestling. Zandig wasn’t just the Founder, Original Owner, and Original Operator He was also a featured Wrestler who participated in some of the Most Outrageously Violent Matches in CZW History.
Zandig was also a Very Intelligent Business Man as well as one Hell of a Wrestler in His own Wrestling Company He knew at the Time being an Indie Promotion was Harder than ever. The WWE had bought out WCW which is the equivalent of Coke ending its Rivalry with Pepsi by Buying The Pepsi Corporation, and ECW the Extreme Hardcore Pioneers had also fallen Victim to the relentless WWE. So Zandig started Inter Federation Promotions with Other Indie Companies starting Rivalries and Feuds between the Different Rosters. This allowed Wrestlers from outside Promotions to come and complete in CZW and Visa Versa.
Also to His credit Zandig spent a good portion of His Wrestling Career Wrestling in Japan primarily in/with Big Japan Pro Wrestling Company where He was Introduced to the Most Brutal and Bloody form of Wrestling: THE DEATH MATCH. Zandig saw the appeal of Death Match Wrestling with American Audiences, and introduced American Wrestling Fans to Death Match Wrestling.
Zandig even set up 2 Special Yearly Death Match Wrestling Specific Events the First was the Annual CZW’s CAGE OF DEATH Tournament and KING OF THE DEATH MATCH Tournament which became HUGE Hits with Hardcore Wrestling Fans.
CZW’s Death Match Weapons Include, But are NOT Limited to: Steel Folding Chairs, Tables, Ladders of Varying Size, Thumb Tacks, Florescent Light Tubes, Panes of Glass, Staple Gun (to prove its real Wrestlers will Staple a Dollar to Their Opponents Cheek, Lip, Tongue, or Forehead), Gas Powered Weed Whacker, Battery Powered Jig Saw, Large Syringes (to Prove They are Real Wrestlers stick them through Their Opponents Cheek or Lip and then Squirt out Saline), Barb Wire, Metal Garbage Cans, Stop Signs, Kendo Sticks, Wooden Food Skewers, Salt (to pour on or in Opponents Open Wounds), Barb Wire Baseball Bats (a Baseball bat with an Excessive Amount of Bar Wire Wrapped around it), Flaming Tables, and even have a “Fans Bring The Weapons” Matches which Allows to Fans to use the Same or Similar Materials to construct a Weapon to be used in the Match (Obviously Nothing Inherently Fatal)
Its NO SECRET I am a Huge fucking Fan of the Viceland Channel and when They announced They would be doing a Series focusing on Different Forms of Wrestling from Around the World I was Ecstatic to say the Least. Vice’s Reporting is Original, Intelligent, In-Depth, and Extremely Well Done (No Pun Intended) thus I assembled the Following 3 Vice Death Match Videos. Enjoy.
Hope You Enjoyed The Trip Down the Bloody Ultra-Violent Hardcore Death Match Wrestling Rabbit Hole to Hell.
Presented By Les Sober