CZW Tournament of Death 20 (2023)

I was raised on CZW. I still remember the awe and excitement when the first TOD was announced over 20 years go. Back then, I thought CZW would always have a special place in my heart. I was wrong, and TOD20 is a testament as to why.

First, the card leaves me firmly unexcited. There are only 8 names and not one of them belongs to someone I'd associate with CZW. The irony that most of them are XPW regulars is glaring. One might suspect this had to do with the bad blood between CZW and GCW, but I don't follow wrestling drama, so I don't know. What I do know is that TOD20 doesn't feel like the CZW flagship event it used to be. It feels like an afterthought, far from one of the Big Three it was in the past. In fact, it comes across like one of the many one-off deathmatch tournaments that everyone and their mother ran a decade ago, except this one doesn't even have a local big shot who'd get his moment in the limelight. Other than the venue, absolutely nothing about this says 'CZW'. A total runtime of barely 2 hours doesn't exactly make me hopeful either.

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ROUND 1

Match 1 – Pane of Glass, Door & Lighttubes - Bobby Beverly vs. Eric Dillinger

Match 2 – Swinging for the Fences - Mickie Knuckles vs. Otis Cogar

Match 3 – Brain Damage – SHLAK vs. Eric Ryan

Match 4 – Pits of Hell – Big F'N Joe vs. Judge Joe Dred

FINAL

Final Thoughts

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Round 1

Match 1 – Pane of Glass, Door & Lighttubes - Bobby Beverly vs. Eric Dillinger

With Bobby Beverly, the only returning champion on the card opens the show against Eric Dillinger. The match kicks off quickly, but it takes several minutes until commentary starts, so late that I actually thought there wasn't any at first. There's a lot outside brawling around the ring, throwing chairs, smashing lighttubes. Maybe it's the decidedly reserved commentary, but the match feels phoned in. Beverly's suplex against Dillinger onto a chair and lighttubes, and the following two count, is the first exciting moment. It's less exciting when Dillinger does the exact same spot against Beverly right after though. The match ends with a Fisherman Suplex through the only pane of glass, with Bobby Beverly advancing.

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Match 2 – Swinging for the Fences - Mickie Knuckles vs. Otis Cogar

There's a bit of everything here; a door, lighttubes, a trashcan with presumably bats, water jugs. If it wasn't for a review, this would be an instant-skip for me. Never liked Knuckles, never will, and Otis Cogar is unlikely to win me over either. Again, lots of outside brawling with little buildup to anything. It's mildly amusing when Cogar goes for what I presume was meant to become a Fallaway Slam, but can't lift Knuckles up and just drops her. This match drags on and on and there's just nothing to get excited about here. Both go through the motions; Knuckles with her oversold cringe comedy spots, Cogar with his stupid straight razor. After more brawling, Knuckles wins the painfully long match by submission.

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Intermission: Clay pots and a pane of glass are brought to the ring. Commentary keeps talking about 'the CZW faithful' and I question how many of those still exist. Another thing that should probably have been left unsaid is that 'this is only the first round' and 'there's plenty more to come' when there is only one round. Last year, also with 8 contestants, there were 2 rounds. This time, it's only 4 first round matches and the winners go straight to the finale.

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Match 3 – Brain Damage – SHLAK vs. Eric Ryan

I have hope for this one. More 44OH, but at least SHLAK is there to make things entertaining. After so much outside brawling, it is endearing that SHLAK refuses to leave the ring. Some back and forth, then the match begins with chain wrestling in terracotta shards – a welcome change. Again, commentary claims that Ryan's strategy considers that he has 'matches' – plural – after this. The match isn't really a classic, but it is more entertaining and better paced than the two previous ones. They mix it up more, stay in the ring, and it sure helps that SHLAK, unlike most of 44OH, showed up the day charisma was handed out. SHLAK advances after a near-botched powerbomb attempt.

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Intermission: More mockery about the historical significance of TOD and the 'CZW faithful'. Whoever is on commentary must have been in a coma for the past few years.

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Match 4 – Pits of Hell – Big F'N Joe vs. Judge Joe Dred

Lighttube boards, lighttubes, plastic fork board; Four Corners of Pain would be a more appropriate name. Big F'N Joe wears a XPW Rob Black shirt. As if it wasn't clear that this is a continuation of their XPW feud and has little to do with CZW or TOD. Which isn't a bad thing; they have something to work with and the match is more intense than the others right from the start. Not sure if the jabs at GCW from Big F'N Joe were really necessary, but then, who cares? If anything, it's mildly funny when one considers that both quarreling parties - CZW and GCW - are not doing so hot lately and XPW clearly came out as the laughing third. The match is long – almost twice as long as Knuckles vs. Cogar – but it doesn't drag and keeps up the intensity to the end. Well-paced spots, a variety of weapons in- and outside the ring, and an elaborate finish via ref stoppage after which Big F'N Joe advances.

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Intermission & Recap

Commentary says 'these competitors will return for the second round'. There is no second round. There is no 'second half' as he claims either. It's 90 mins into a 120 mins show. There is only the final Fatal Four Way left to go. At this point, it just seems delusional to talk this TOD up as if it's taking place during CZW's glory years. The first round was a mixed bag. Beverly (who I find bland in general), and Knuckles (who I'd pay not to see) didn't offer anything interesting, SHLAK's match was fine, but nothing special, and the two Joes put on an XPW main event. While it was easily the best match, it also emphasized just how un-CZW this CZW event is. This could as well have been a Circle 6/XPW collaboration like the shows C6 did with NPU. More than anything, TOD20 proves that CZW has long dropped the ball on the deathmatches it was once famous for. Not having a 'face of the Combat Zone' in their big name tournament is just sad, and that I can't even think of anyone who could fill that role is even sadder.

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Final

Fatal Four Way – Bobby Beverly vs. Mickie Knuckles vs. SHLAK vs. Big F'N Joe

Barbed Wire Ropes/No Ropes No Canvas Lighttubes Barbed Wire & Lighttube Doors, Barbed Wire Bat

Joe is only announced as 'representing Deathmatch Outlaws' while still wearing the Rob Black shirt. One lighttube door is broken almost immediately by SHLAK who puts Beverly through it. SHLAK then takes Knuckles in an arm bar and the big bang the match started with dissipates. In other words, it's not exactly a promising start if two people are in a submission while the others wander around the ring. The pace picks up slightly when Joe and Beverly just destroy lighttubes on each other, and it turns into a four way brawl on the outside from there on.

It doesn't help that the cameras have trouble staying on the action and commentary can't see either. It's hard to follow what's going on, not just for me. There's a clear pinfall from Knuckles on Joe, but no ref in sight to even start a count. Chaos in the finale of a deathmatch tournament is expected, but come on. Apparently there was exploding barbed wire which SHLAK and/or Beverly took. Again, the shoddy camera work didn't fully capture what went on, and the ref doesn't even see them – both with their shoulders down – outside the ring. Joe and Knuckles use exploding baseball bats – another weapon that, despite its spectacular nature, wasn't mentioned before. This time the camera just happens to point in the right direction, so that's something. Beverly is carried out and apparently eliminated, shortly before Knuckles visibly lifts her shoulder at 2 in a cover from Joe, but he is declared the winner anyway.

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Final Thoughts

XPW Pillar Big F'N Joe, after 'bodyshaming' American politicians, holding the CZW TOD trophy in his Rob Black shirt at the historical TOD 20 is a bizarre and yet entirely fitting final scene. It perfectly captures the vibe of this show: a two hours long XPW commercial, and one where Rob Black skimped on production values at that. The only thing that truly shines here is the talent drain CZW has been suffering from for a while.

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