TheCage of Death isCombat Zone Wrestling's biggest show since 1999. It always features the Cage of Death match, asteel cage with various weapons littered in the cage.Electrified cage walls,cacti,tables,light tubes, glass,thumbtacks,baseball bats,barbed wire, fire and numerous other weapons and objects have been used in it. The first two were simple either pin and/or submit to win cage matches with weapons littered in and around the cage. The Cage of Death also has different formats and stipulations: singles, tag team, or gauntlet. Each Cage of Death features two or more wrestlers in the cage. For Cage of Death 5, 6, and 7,WarGames stipulations were used.
The firstCage Of Death was held on October 16, 1999, inMantua Township, New Jersey, where Lobo defeated Justice Pain in the first Cage of Death match for the Iron Man title.[1] The first Cage of Death that could be a separate built unit or put on a ring with the ropes taken down. Two parallel sides of the cage are made of steel chain link fencing and the two others are made of steel bars. Inside the cage, littered in a ring, and attached to cage walls are full of different weapons (barbed wire, glass panes, cacti, tables, ladders, light tubes, trash cans, etc.) There is a scaffold across the top of the cage and elevated barbed wire boards on the outside of the ring.
Cage of Death II took place inSewell, New Jersey, on September 9, 2000. That night the Cage was host to two matches. In the first match, then CZW World championLobo defeated Zandig to retain his title.Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) wrestler Ryuji Yamakawa had hit the ring during the match and Zandig (who had spent much time that year wrestling for BJW) had lost due to Yamakawa's interference.[2] The second Cage of Death was same cage as Cage of Death but its explosively electrified.
Due to their upcoming annual COD show at the end of 2001, the company needed a bigger venue and made their debut in theECW Arena, formerly Viking Hall and currently The Arena. The venue was the first sellout in the building since the era ofECW, and hundreds were turned away from the biggest show in the promotion's history.[4]
Ty Street wrestled Mongoose to a no-contest. Jeff Rocker ran in and then Nate Hatred and Nick Gage came out and destroyed everyone.Nick Gage and Nate Hatred defeated a masked team suspiciously looking like Jay and Mark Briscoe (who wrestled under masks presumably to get around the selectively enforcedPennsylvania age restrictions).NWA Southwest workers Joey Corman defeated Samir and Brad Michaels in a 3-Way Dance. Corman pinned Michaels after hitting the spin doctor. In what had been billed as a match with Zandig and Glen Osbourne; Osbourne, Lobo, and Danny Rose all got involved in a big brawl with Zandig until Greg fromTough Enough made the save.[3]
In an elimination match,The S.A.T. defeated Chris Divine, Quiet Storm and Brian XL (with Pastor Jim). The stipulation for the match was if Divine, Storm, and XL lose the match, Pastor Jim was out of CZW for good. The order of elimination:Joel Maximo (by Divine), Divine (by Jose Maximo),Jose Maximo (by XL), Brian XL (by Red), Quiet Storm (byAmazing Red, after the Spanish Fly by the Maximos and the Infrared Splash).[3]
Jon Dahmer and Fast Eddie Valentine defeatedChri$ Ca$h & GQ.Trent Acid defeated Ruckus to win theCZW/BJW Junior Heavyweight Championship. Initially, both men were counted out, but the match was restarted byJohn Zandig with a ladder involved. Acid won the match with the Yakuza Kick, but was put through a table by Big Japan's Winger, who then walked off with both belts. Johnny Kashmere defeated Menace with the Cradlebreaker. Mad Man Pondo defeated Z-Barr – The returning Pondo got the pin after hitting Barr with a splash on top of a chair and his patented Stop Sign.Adam Flash defeated Nick Berk andNick Mondo in a Falls Count Anywhere match to win theCZW Iron Man Championship.[3]
Inside the Cage of Death, were a jackhammer, a cactus, garbage cans, a truck hood, and tables; and was topped by a scaffold.Justice Pain defeated Wifebeater to retain the CZW World Heavyweight Title as both men crashed throughtables in the ring off of thescaffold that topped of the cage of death.[3]
As the match finished, the Arena lights went out. In akayfabe angle, formerECW ownerTod Gordon, along withThe Blue Meanie,Pitbull #1,Rockin' Rebel andRocco Rock were in the ring, trashed CZW, with Gordon calling the fans "ingrates" for chanting CZW. After they abused Justice Pain and Wifebeater, the CZW locker room crashed the cage, and the lights went out again. When they came back on,The Sandman was standing in the middle of the ring.[3]
Sandman then turned on his former ECW compatriots. At the end Sandman stripped off his ECW T-shirt for a CZW shirt and had a beer withJohn Zandig.
Cage of Death IV took place on December 13, 2002, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at theViking Hall and sawJohn Zandig defeatLobo in a Cage of Death match for theownership of CZW. This was the last Cage Of Death to use electricity as a hazard (Lobo was electrocuted early in the match).[5]
The mainfeud going into the Cage of Death match was between Team Zandig (John Zandig,Nick Gage, Ian Knoxx,Wifebeater, andLobo) and the HI-V (The Messiah, Adam Flash, Nate Hatred,Trent Acid,Johnny Kashmere, andB-Boy). Although Team Zandig's sixth member was New Jack, he turned on Team Zandig and joined the HI-V. The Cage match also differed from the previous year, in that there were two rings; one of them was surrounded by the cage, and the other was filled with thumbtacks (which in kayfabe storyline was claimed to be "one million"). Above the two rings was scaffolding walkway on which the wrestlers could walk on. The match started with two members of each team, and every 90 seconds a wrestler, from either team, entered the match according to the number they drew before the match started. Elimination occurred when both a wrestlers' feet hit the floor.
Cage of Death VI took place on December 11, 2004, in theECW Arena where there were two Cage Of Death matches. One saw Team Ca$h (Chri$ Ca$h,J.C. Bailey, Nate Webb, andSeXXXy Eddy) defeat Team Blackout (Ruckus,Sabian,Eddie Kingston, andJack Evans). The other match saw the battle of The H8 Club asWifebeater andJustice Pain took on Nate Hatred andNick Gage. For Cage of Death 6 there were eliminations that would happen when a wrestler would hit the arena floor much like Cage of Death 5 the year before, the difference being that the tag team titles were hanging on a scaffold stretched across the length of the top of the cage overlooking the two rings.[7]
In the 4 on 4 WarGames elimination match, wrestlers were eliminated when they hit the floor. The cage surrounded two rings, weapons littered around two rings, and there was also a scaffold on top of the cage where Maven Bentley and Robbie Mireno were holding the CZW Tag Team belts.
The other Cage of Death match was a Fans Bring the Weapons match inside the cage. Wifebeater and Justice Pain won after Nick Gage turned on Nate Hatred by driving him through a pane of glass covered in salt and thumbtacks. Immediately after the match Pain and Gage turned on Wifebeater.
Cage Of Death VII took place on December 10, 2005, inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, at theNew Alhambra Arena, where H8 Club &John Zandig defeated The Tough Crazy Bastards (Necro Butcher and Toby Klein), andJoker. This Cage of Death was the large eight-sided cage that surrounds the entire ringside area with a barbed-wire spider net set up on one side and glass set up on another side with tables underneath and two scaffold platforms across the ring from each other. Hardcore and extreme wrestling weapons such as thumbtack turnbuckles, barbed wire bats, staple guns, light tubes, barbed wire, and others littered around for wrestlers to use. This show is also notable for an incident where a fan was heard heckling during a ten bell salute forEddie Guerrero who died less than a month prior to the event.[9]
Cage of Death VIII took place on December 9, 2006, where in a Loser Must Retire Fans Bring the Weapons Cage of Death match,Nick Gage pinnedJohn Zandig in a four way that also involvedLobo andLuFisto (in a last minute addition). The cage was an all new design made of wood and barbed wire featuring platforms, barbed wire spider nets, glass, barbed wire-wrapped baseball bats, and all other different assorted weapons. This was the first ever four way Fans Bring The Weapons Cage of Death deathmatch, and the first one with a female participant.[10]
The show opened with a surprise as oldCZW favorite Ric Blade came back to the promotion for his first in-ring appearance since 2004, as the referee for the Junior Heavyweight Title Match.[12] The roof for the Cage of Death hung from the ceiling. Also hanging from the ceiling were the tables, ladders, chairs, ropes, rope ladders, and the CZW Junior Heavyweight Title.[12][13]
Ryan McBride defeated Pinkie Sanchez,IWS regular Dan Paysan, Insanity Pro Wrestling's Carter Gray, and All-American Wrestling/IWA Mid-South Wrestling'sEgotistico Fantastico in what may well have been the hottest match of the night to become the new CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion. The finish saw Pinkie Sanchez and Ryan McBride fighting on the ladder – both went to grab the belt and fell down, but McBride was holding the belt when they hit the mat.[12][13]
Post-match,John Zandig brought outLobo,Nick Gage, andWifebeater to the ring to join Ric Blade, and credited them for being the reason why CZW still existed. ThenNew Alhambra Arena manager Roger Artigiani surprised Zandig by unveiling the 2008 New Alhambra ArenaHardcore Hall of Fame induction banner on the wall joiningThe Sandman,[12]Terry Funk,[12] Ted "Rocco Rock" Petty andJohnny Grunge as inductees.[12] A video promo followed, with Zandig stating that, "if these five men want the $10,000...they'll have to go through me" – making Zandig the sixth man in the Cage of Death.[12]
In a nice touch, the promotion did its third annualToys for Tots toy collection, with uniformedMarines at the collection box at the Arena's front door.The Arena would continue the collection at the afternoon'sCHIKARA and Velocity Pro Wrestling events. Fans are encouraged to bring a new "unwrapped" toy to the Arena for these shows, as Arena management and the promotions running the venue contribute back to the children of thePhiladelphia area.[12][13]
In a pleasant surprise,Sonjay Dutt plugged CZW after the match and suggested he might return as he could in 2009 (with everyone waiting for the expected heel swerve that for once wasn't forced on by a promoter).[12] 2 Girls, 1 Cup defeated The Olsens,Miracle Ultraviolence Connection, and Team Andrew to retain the CZW Tag Team Titles.[12][13] Given Nick Gage's concussion at the time, expectations for this match weren't what they might have been under other circumstances. Gage won the match for H8 Club, as he hammered Ruckus at the end with at least 7 Chokebreakers at the end of the match.Ruckus was ruled unable to continue by the referee. Deranged defeatedD. J. Hyde in aFans Bring the Weapons Match. Various toys used included a glasspicture frame, a drum, a boatoar withthumb tacks, hand held plastic guitar,[12] and aknife.
The Cage of Death was a double cage structure with a four-sided steel wired cage inside the large four-sided wooden cage, a roof made up of a barbed wire spider net, wooden boards, and a scaffold topping the traditional four-sided original Cage of Death. Surrounding the Cage that surrounded the Cage-enclosed ring was a platform surrounding that withtables, chairs,lemon juice, salt, ladders, sheets of auto glass and other different goodies enclosed by a large second four-sided wooden cage. In the middle of That platform was avertical wall ofglass which exploded after Devon Moore took a "Mother F'n Bomb" through it.[12] Other sick spots saw Devon Moore doing a shooting star press onto all but Zandig,Sami Callihan hitting a senton off thescaffold/spidernet through a barbed wire table onBrain Damage, andDrake Younger Russian leg sweepingDanny Havoc off the side of the cage through a barbed wire board propped up by chairs.[13] In the end, Zandig got to the top of the structure to win the match. After the match, Zandig stated that he was trying to prove that "his boys" had theirOnita style "fighting spirit" back, and handed out the $10,000 to all five other competitors.[13]
#
Result
Stipulation
0
Ryan McBride defeatedEgotistico Fantastico, Don Paysan, Quick Carter Gray and Pinkie Sanchez
