CZW Tournament of Death 14 (2015)

If I could time travel and change history, I'd adjust the timeline of TOD. I was pretty sure I had already covered this tournament, but as it turns, that was TOD 15 from 2016. I fell for the old mismatch between number and year again.

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ROUND 1

Match 1 – Barbed Wire Madness – Ron Mathis vs. Jake Crist

Match 2 – Pits & Strips – Josh Crane vs. Matt Tremont

Match 3 – Lighttube Bundles – Rickey Shane Page vs. Danny Havoc

Match 4 – FBTW – DJ Hyde vs. Conor Claxton vs. Nick Gage

Non-Tournament Match

Recap

ROUND 2

Non-Tournament Match

FINAL

Final Thoughts

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It is the year of the Bulldozer 2015 and we're in Townsend, Delaware. CZW's home arena, the Ultraviolent Underground, still looks suspiciously overground, but it is packed and the weather looks promising in regards to visibility.

The show begins with DJ Hyde, armed with a microphone, entering the ring. This is made worse by him not being in character and unleashing a speech about being thankful for everything and everyone. A ten bell salute in honor of the recently deceased Dusty Rhodes follows.

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ROUND 1

Match 1 – Barbed Wire Madness – Ron Mathis vs. Jake Crist

Ron Mathis, a man with the combined charisma of two bags of flour, wouldn't be hired by a gas station in this outfit. The remains of a black shirt, tattered jeans shorts, but at least proper boots. As bad as the look is, it still beats Jake Crist with a more intact black shirt and long jeans, which gives Mathis the advantage in terms of exposure. Face blindness fun fact: Jake Crist looks like Bryant Woods to me, at least as long as both have their shirts on.

In the ring we have two barbed wire boards, and there's at least one more on the outside.

The match kicks off with a kick from Crist that leads into a furious exchange of strikes and punches. After a back and forth, Mathis goes through the first board with a Death Valley Driver. An early cover only yields a two. Crist goes for a piledriver on the apron, but Mathis counters and tries one of his own which is also countered. Ultimately, it's Crist who goes through the board on the outside – then the match comes to grinding halt because his hair has to be cut out of the barbed wire.

The brawl continues on the outside, and Crist gains the upper hand with a barbed wire chair and a Vandaminator. The guard rail gets involved, then Mathis – now in charge – takes the match back into the ring. After rolling Crist back in, Mathis comes down on him with an elbow drop from the top rope. A pinfall attempt follows, Crist kicks out, then gets floored with an STO on the apron. Mathis gathers chairs in the ring and piles them up in front of Crist, hanging dazed in a corner. He gets put on the top rope, but counters with a kick to the face, then a piledriver from the second rope that puts Mathis onto his chairs for a two count.

Crist sets up the second barbed wire board between chairs and takes Mathis to the top rope for a spectacular finish – his Flipping Butterfly Piledriver through the board.

Well-paced, good wrestling to weapon balance, no complaints other than the atrocious outfits. It's been 10 years, so I'm not sure, but this was possibly the foundation for some kind of story. Commentary kept pointing out Crist's connection to the Nation of Intoxication and that this was his deathmatch debut.

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Match 2 – Pits & Strips – Josh Crane vs. Matt Tremont

Josh Crane wears a red singlet under camo shorts and proper footwear. Not his usual 100 % wrestling attire, but decent colors. It's a huge improvement over anything on display in the first match.

Tremont wears a pristine white shirt – also a huge improvement over his usual black – to black shorts and proper boots. This is the best outfit I've seen on him in a long, long time. However, fashion expert Crane sensed the danger and pulled down his singlet, so I'm giving the win to him for better exposure.

The unfortunately-named stipulation involves carpet strip cubes, a pit of something, and a bundle of lighttubes.

The match opens with lock-ups, an exchange of punches, and Crane going through the carpet strip tube with a belly-to-belly suplex. Tremont quickly goes through the second one after a wonky Death Valley Driver, then a headbutt duel ensues. Commentary also points out that Tremont wants a match against Nick Gage who we will see later.

Both arm themselves with thumbtack bats. Shortly after, both have tacks in their heads, and Tremont Samoan Drops Crane into the pit of thumbtacks for a first two count. Tremont gets acquainted with the pit as well, first with a Bulldog, then a Curb Stomp. Crane gets a two count after that, and arms himself with the thumbtack bat, but quickly abandons it in favor of chairs. He sets them up sideways and puts the bundle of lighttubes on top. Tremont slips out of the Death Valley Driver attempt though and slams Crane onto his own contraption. He follows up with a Powerbomb, then a suplex into the thumbtack pit, and finally a piledriver for a three count.

Tremont's outfit has improved with a good amount of red. The match wasn't bad, but wonky at times. Nothing went wrong, but it was close more than once. Both of them had killer matches in the same year, so I don't think this was a skill issue – just a lack of chemistry.

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Match 3 – Lighttube Bundles – Rickey Shane Page vs. Danny Havoc

RSP wears a yellow shirt to long black pants, proper footwear. The exposure isn't great, nor is the sportswear ratio (although there's a black singlet under the shirt), but yellow is a good color. It's not his color, but it's something.

Danny Havoc is even more covered up with long black sleeves under a gray shirt, gloves, long black pants, his viking loincloth, but at least proper footwear. The shirt comes off, so I'll reluctantly give him the victory, but he's cutting it close.

The weaponry consists not only of lighttubes, but also a trash can, a lawn chair, and at least one board with tubes outside the ring.

It starts with a lock-up and Havoc gaining the advantage with an arm lock. RSP counters, and kicks off a chain wrestling sequence that ultimately ends with Havoc throwing a bundle of tubes to his face. The action continues on the outside where a chair gets involved by RSP. Havoc reminds him that this is lighttubes match by putting a tube in his mouth and smashing RSP against the ring post. In the background, another contraption – a board between chairs or a table – becomes visible.

They return to the ring for a first two count on RSP, who kicks out and shatters a bundle of tubes on Havoc with a roundhouse kick. Now RSP is in charge and sort-of-Atomic Drops Havoc onto the barbed wire lawn chair, followed by a Cutter. They move to the apron where RSP picks Havoc up for a Death Valley Driver through the contraption outside; a barbed wire board with salt, but Havoc slips out, then also blocks a back suplex attempt. In the end, RSP manages to chokeslam Havoc through the board, leaving him covered in salt, most of it on his face.

Much earlier in CZW history, Rockin' Rebel once did a similar thing with Ruckus, but we don't like to talk about that.

RSP rolls Havoc back in the ring for a two count, then Russian Leg Sweeps him with a lighttube – which doesn't break. Now the trash can gets placed in the center of the ring, and Havoc over it. RSP climbs the top rope for a splash, but is intercepted by the thrown trash can. Havoc follows up with a German Suplex, but only gets a two out of it.

Commentary mentions that Havoc wants to get his hands on Jake Crist while Havoc smashes tubes, then sets up four chairs, backrest to backrest. RSP gets the upper hand though and maneuvers the lighttube board on top of the chair arrangement. He takes Havoc to the corner and climbs the top rope, but Havoc blocks and goes for a superplex through the board for a three count.

Havoc has a fountain-like head wound, there's a handshake, RSP rejects the beer Havoc offers. Good match, spectacular spots, quite gory in the second half.

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Match 4 – FBTW – DJ Hyde vs. Conor Claxton vs. Nick Gage

DJ Hyde wears a black shirt to jeans shorts and proper boots, and he carries a blow-up doll on his shoulders. There's probably a joke or two about his perception of women to be found here. Not a shred of sportswear though.

Conor Claxton wears the remains of a black shirt and proper footwear as usual, but gray-ish trunks. About time for another piece of wrestling attire at this gas station clerk convention. He also brought a superior weapon – a guitar.

Nick Gage wears a black t-shirt, jeans shorts, proper boots, black and white bandanas. Just as terrible as all the other gas station outfits, but unlike DJ's doll, his pizza cutter at least counts as a weapon. Not a great one, but still.

The verdict is obvious. This is a landslide for Claxton with good exposure, wrestling attire, ok-ish colors.

The ring looks like a flea market with all sorts of plunder; cinder blocks, water jugs, a wheelchair, a kendo stick, a pinata. There's also a big barbed wire spider web on the outside. Obligatory complaint: Why is there a threeway in a tournament round that otherwise has singles matches? Also: Why does Gage have a microphone? That is never a good idea. Thankfully, he gives it up after asking WHO'S THE MAN? Pretty sure he wouldn't like my answer. Anyway, he takes the shirt off, so that's at least a slight improvement compared to the other jeans aficionados.

Hyde leaves the ring to Claxton and Gage who gains an early advantage after a shoulder block. Once Claxton is down, Hyde tries to sneak up on Gage with a mailbox, but gets disarmed and they go out of the ring and into the crowd. Chairs get involved, then a trash can and coolers. The brawl leads them toward a black van or camper, and for the most part, Gage remains in charge.

At some point, the tide turns in favor of Hyde who delivers chair shots. Commentary informs me that Claxton is sitting in the ring, drinking beer. He only rejoins the action when Hyde and Gage move back to the guardrail where Claxton hits a dive from out of frame on both. He takes Gage back to the ring and arms himself with a water jug, but gets floored by Gage before he gets to use it.

Gage sets up chairs, or at least tries, attacks with a pink guitar, then returns to his construction efforts. Claxton manages to counter a corner splash with a big boot, but gets caught with the pizza cutter right after for an extended carving session.

Hyde returns to the ring and attacks Gage with a water jug, then a lighttube, then does some light carving as well. It doesn't take long until Gage returns the favor with the pizza cutter, but Hyde turns it around with his trusty water jug. Then there's more carving, Professor Hyde with the jigsaw in the library. After a Spinebuster, Hyde tries a first cover on Gage, which is broken up by Claxton. He floors Hyde with his guitar and tries to pin him, to no avail. Gage briefly gets involved again, but rolls out of the ring after a springboard elbow from Claxton.

He gets floored by Hyde who picks a fork board instead of his blow-up doll, places it on Claxton, and goes to the top rope for a senton. Gage follows up with a frog splash, but Claxton kicks out right away. Meanwhile, Hyde grabbed two lighttubes. They get smashed on Gage, then Hyde gets a big lighttube bundle and puts it, along with Gage, in a corner. Gage evades the splash though and shatters the bundle on Hyde.

Now Gage gets a chance to finish his construction by putting a flatscreen TV on the chairs. Once it's set up, he puts Claxton on the top rope for a piledriver, but again, Claxton kicks out at two. Gage follows up with a Chokebreaker and a Face Wash, again it only gets him a two. Hyde watches from the apron, standing near the barbed wire web, as Gage tries his luck with a bridging German Suplex for another kickout.

Gage changes plans and attacks Hyde with lighttubes, then signals for a running elbow, but gets backflipped by Claxton before it connects, which sends Gage over Hyde and through the barbed wire on the outside.

Claxton running elbow strikes Hyde in a corner, then gets caught in a T-Bone Suplex. He crawls for a cinderblock and uses it to block Hyde's lariat, then gets a three count out of a roll-up while Gage is still trapped in the barbed wire outside.

Good match, good weapon to wrestling balance, although for the length – over 20 minutes – it could have used a few more big spots in the ring instead of the extended outside brawl.

He walks in Beauty, like the night / Of cloudless climes and starry skies / And all that's best of dark and bright / Meet in his aspect and his eyes 
- Lord Byron

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Non-Tournament Match

Ladders, Orange Sacks & Legos – Eric Ryan vs. Lucky 13

Eric Ryan wears red-black shorts to footwear in matching colors. I like asymmetric kickpads, so in doubt, that's going to give him the edge here. Lucky 13, whose name references his charisma score out of 100, wears black spandex capris – and also has asymmetric footwear by wearing only one kickpad. The stipulation makes this at least a hardcore match, so I value non-black and give the victory to Ryan.

Ryan sneak attacks before the bell and the match thereby begins on the outside. Lucky slams him onto the guardrail, then a ladder, then dives from the top rope onto Ryan, still on the ladder. Chops and elbows around the ring follow, then Lucky arranges another ladder between the apron and the guardrail. Ryan slips out of the Powerbomb attempt, puts Lucky on the ladder instead and dives from the top rope with a leg drop.

In the ring, Ryan pours out the legos and places a little plastic table over them. Lucky goes into the legos twice, first with a leg pull, then with a double underhook powerbomb. Ryan misses a leg drop and goes into the legos, and Lucky gets the third ladder into the ring. Ryan puts him against it, but Lucky is back in charge with a tornado DDT. He proceeds to hit Ryan over the head with sacks of oranges, then throws oranges to the crowd. Ryan recovers and after a kick to the face, hits a Coast to Coast against Lucky. He throws another ladder in the ring and creates a two-ladder contraption in a corner. Ryan goes for a double underhook something again, but Lucky counters and puts him onto the ladder with a headscissor, follows up with a Shining Wizard and gets a three count.

Very fast-paced, very entertaining, although I wish they'd have found some other weapon that starts with 'O'. Oven mitts? Offal? Obelisks? Oreos? Olive branches? Ok, I can see it's not that easy. Oranges get a pass.

When Lucky is on the way to the back, Ryan attacks, his stable mate Dave Crist joins in, and I'm guessing there's some kind of feud going on with the Nation of Intoxication.

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INTERMISSION, RECAP

The pickings are slim for Best Dressed. So many jeans shorts. Jesus Christ. My current ranking puts Claxton in first place, followed by Josh Crane in second, and Matt Tremont in third.

The matches so far were solid, but not outstanding. I don't have an immediate MOTN contender. Tremont vs. Crane didn't click, so that's out as potential best match of round 1. The threeway was a threeway and I simply dislike the premise, as regular readers know all too well. That's out on principle first and foremost, but also because of the long brawl away from the ring. In a FTBW I want the weapons to get used, not random coolers and chairs. If this had been Hyde vs. Gage with the camera being on Claxton drinking beer at ringside for 20 minutes, it would definitely be my MOTN, and the world would be one renaissance painting richer, but alas. So it's between Mathis vs. Crist and Havoc vs. RSP. In terms of fashion, the latter was stronger, otherwise it comes down to taste. I'll go with the duel of the gas station clerks in the opener because I liked the finish a bit better.

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ROUND 2

Match 1 – Lighttube Bundles (Carcinogenic Carnage) – Danny Havoc vs. Matt Tremont

Outfit change for Havoc. He wears a different black t-shirt which isn't really much better than before. Tremont also changed his shirt – from bloodstained white to black tank top. Terrible idea, but for the moment, he's slightly more exposed than Havoc and has slightly better battle damage. Havoc takes the shirt off, shifting the exposure advantage and thereby the victory to him.

The match is formally called Carcinogenic Carnage which translates to lighttube bundles.

It starts off with an exchange of forearms and a reminder from commentary that Havoc has it out for Jake Crist. After a long back and forth, Havoc gains the upper hand by flooring Tremont with a DDT, then sending him out of the ring with a running knee strike. On the outside, a chair comes into play and apparently Havoc's nasty head wound opened up because he's gushing before anyone has been near the lighttubes.

Tremont finally turns the tide in his favor with a slam onto a chair, then takes the match back into the ring and goes for the lighttubes with a tube-enhanced Samoan Drop. The first cover yields only a one count. Tremont follows up with a corner splash, grabs another tube bundle, and is promptly disarmed with a high kick. Back in charge, Havoc keeps attacking Tremont's arm, first with lighttubes, then an armbar. He gets caught in a Death Valley Driver, and this time Tremont gets a two count.

Havoc floors Tremont with a clothesline after what looked like slight timing issues, then Death Valley Drivers him into a bundle of tubes, followed by a Dragon Suplex. A slow motion duel of forearm strikes follows that ends with Tremont getting floored, then getting Russian Leg Swept into another bundle of tubes for a two count. Havoc sets up chairs, headbutts a tube bundle on Tremont, then stacks the remaining ones on the chairs. He takes Tremont to the top rope and goes for a superplex, but Tremont resists, puts Havoc through his contraption with a Sitout Powerbomb, and gets a three count.

A fairly slow match with a lot of down time.

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Match 2 – Panes of Glass – Jake Crist vs. Conor Claxton

Outfit change for Crist. Still a black shirt, but he swapped the ratty long jeans for black shorts. Terrible in terms of color, big improvement in terms of sportswear. No outfit change for Claxton which means he still has better exposure and colors and wins the fashion face off.

The stipulation is exactly what it says on the tin; two panes of glass in the corners.

It starts with some light chain wrestling and a struggle to shove each other toward the pane of glass. Crist hits a Snap Suplex for a not-even-one count. An exchange of forearm strikes ensues, then Crist floors Claxton with a superkick. Claxton gets back in control with a Jawbreaker, but shortly after, Crist counters and backflips him through the first pane of glass. He follows up with a Bodyslam and another cover attempt, then Crist throws chairs into the ring. It's Claxton who picks them up though and floors Crist with a chair shot for another cover and early kick out. Crist backflips him out of the ring and dives after him, and continues with a cutter. His offense gets cut off with knee strikes and a slam onto the apron.

Back in the ring, Crist is back in charge after a chair shot. He places Claxton on the top rope and hits a Superplex, then another suplex before a cover and a kick out. Crist puts a chair around Claxton's neck and throws him in a corner, another chairshot, another cover, another kickout. Crist begins to set up chairs, but is interrupted when Claxton takes the second chair away, floors Crist with it, and gets a two count. Crist eats a leg drop under a chair, but again kicks out at two.

Crist hits a surprise German Suplex in the general direction of the other chair, then a Superkick, before he continues his construction by setting the second pane of glass up between chairs. He succeeds in Tiger Suplexing Claxton through it, but it's still not enough for a three count. Crist gets another two count after another suplex, and finally throws Claxton out of the ring – where another pane of glass turns up.

Claxton is back in charge after elbow and knee strikes though, and rolls Crist back into the ring. After several elbow strike duels, there's now a knee strike duel – which Crist ends with a clothesline. He sets up the chairs again, gets the third glass pane, and positions it on the chairs over Claxton. While Crist climbs the top rope, Claxton gets up, follows to the top rope and gets a three count after a Death Valley Driver through the pane.

This match skews more toward wrestling than weapon use - which I usually like better than the other way around - so to me, this was clearly the best match so far. Which is a bit surprising, considering both of them are rookies in a sense. Claxton is still in his actual rookie year, as commentary keeps pointing out, and for Crist, it's the first deathmatch tournament. There were no timing issues, no sloppy moves, the pacing was good, the intensity was there – although the feud between their stables wasn't really a factor. After the emphasis on Danny Havoc wanting to fight Crist in the final, and the other Crist's attack on Lucky 13, this match gave the impression that Claxton was a member of Switzerland instead of the Nation of Intoxication; neutral in his stable mates' quarrels with OI4K.

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Non-Tournament Match

Scaffold – Dave Crist vs. Devon Moore

I'll skip this because this is the bad Crist and I simply don't care about Devon Moore, the godfather of gas station fashion. He lives up to all expectations in that regard. Crist wears a black shirt and purple tights to matching footwear, so I have to give him the fashion victory. Or do I? Eric Ryan, wearing the most 80s gym shorts anyone has ever worn in public since 1988, attacks Moore before the match has started.

Lucky 13 and Danny Havoc also show up to attack the OI4K members. I don't know if this is a tag team match, a handicap match, maybe even a fiveway now. I'll skip this, but Eric Ryan wins with the neon-pink trims of his gym shorts. According to Cagematch, Dave Crist won the match, so I guess it was still a singles match in the end.

Joe Gacy and Tim Donst enter the ring with microphones. They announce that Donst beat cancer and will return to wrestling. Gacy says they will have their match for his CZW Wired Title soon.

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FINAL

No Ropes Barbed Wire Panes of Glass – Conor Claxton vs. Matt Tremont

No outfit change for Claxton. That he still sits on top of the Best Dressed podium anyway says something about the fashion sense on display in this whole tournament. Tremont opted for the black tank top again, so Claxton can rest on his effortless laurels.

The stipulation looks more elaborate than it sounds. The glass panes are in wooden frames, and there are two barbed wire counterparts as well.

And a fuckton of streamers. Poor staff is fighting windmills with those.

The match begins with a lock-up and Claxton trying to maneuver Tremont into the barbed wire with an armbar. The chain wrestling and careful avoidance of weapons continues for a good while, until Claxton manages to force Tremont's injured arm – and then all of him – into the barbed wire. He follows up with a suplex into the barbed wire, then another, and goes for an early cover that naturally does nothing.

Tremont turns the tide by backflipping Claxton into the barbed wire, then a suplex, and a bodyslam after which it takes a while to free him from the barbed wire. A few minutes before, it cost Tremont an elbow pad, and in earlier matches, Jake Crist and Nick Gage got tangled up for quite some time, too. That's some serious barbed wire they have there!

Tremont goes for a Powerbomb, then a Death Valley Driver, but Claxton slips out of both attempts. On the third try, he goes through a pane of glass frame and a chair contraption on the outside though.

Tremont follows him for some headbutts, then both return to the ring, and Tremont finds a barbed wire bat. Before he gets to use it, Claxton cuts him off with a kick, and somehow puts him through the other pane of glass with a running knee strike, causing both to go through the chair contraption on the outside.

They return to the ring and Claxton gets a first two count, then picks up the abandoned barbed wire bat which he uses on Tremont's injured arm in a submission hold. After a dropkick, he gets another two count, then leaves the ring and finds a lighttube log cabin. This match is full of surprises/weapons not mentioned in the stipulation. Back in the ring, Claxton attacks with his wrench and floors Tremont for another two count. The log cabin is in the ring now, but Claxton leaves again and this time, he finds a ladder. He kicks Tremont a bit, then sets the barbed wire ladder up in a corner and tries to suplex Tremont against it. A counter and reversal duel ends with Claxton taking Tremont in a Sleeperhold, but gets smashed against the ladder in the end.

Kneeling, they exchange forearm and elbow strikes, then it evolves into headbutts as they get up. Both are down in the end, but Tremont gets back up first and now discovers the log cabin. When he tries to catch Claxton in (presumably) a Death Valley Driver, Claxton evades and Tremont ends up in an armbar takedown and a submission targeting his injured arm, then a crossface submission. Somehow, Tremont gets up and Death Valley Drivers Claxton through the log cabin for a three count.

Great match, definitely the MOTN, but man, what a strange, sudden finish. It went from 'being in a crossface' to 'getting a three count' within seconds. It feels like there's at least half a minute missing between these two points on the timeline.

A wild DJ Hyde appears with the trophy to congratulate Tremont and praise his efforts to breathe new life into deathmatch wrestling. Think about Hyde what you will – I certainly don't have a high opinion of him as a person – but one can't argue with that.

He hands the mic to Tremont for his victory speech – including the remark that he's now the only man to have won 'all four' deathmatch tournaments in the United States. For the historians, this refers to IWA-East Coast Masters of Pain (2012), IWA-DS Carnage Cup 9 (2013), IWA-MS King of the Deathmatches 2014, and of course CZW TOD 14. Tremont wouldn't be Tremont if he didn't put his opponent over in the end. The stream ends with Tremont challenging BLK Jeez to a re-match.

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RECAP, FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, a pretty strong tournament that ramped up the quality in the second half. The non-tournament match I watched was good, and I assume the one I skipped at least had a purpose on the card to further the feud between OI4K and most of the Nation of Intoxication.

The one big weakness is the fashion sense. Good god, so many jeans shorts... The Best Dressed trophy goes to Conor Claxton who barely had to lift a finger beyond wearing his almost-usual outfit (and would have won with his usual black trunks as well), runner-up Josh Crane with decent wrestling attire, colors and exposure, and since Tremont opted for black in two out of three matches, the third place instead goes to Danny Havoc with bad colors, but decent sportswear and exposure.

The MOTN is the final, followed by Claxton vs. Crist in round 2 and Crist vs. Mathis in round 1. The MVP was naturally Matt Tremont in regards to reviving deathmatch wrestling and providing most of the tournament's star power, but Claxton made a major contribution to the match quality – and length of the show, with the three longest matches on the card.

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