Combat Zone Wrestling

Combat Zone Wrestling is an independent wrestling promotion based in Philadelphia that is well-known for its brutal, hardcore style of wrestling. If this sounds like ECW, that's the intention. CZW was originally a backyard promotion formed in 1999 by John Zandig in New Jersey, but soon after ECW's demise in 2001, CZW began running shows in the famous ECW Arena. By the time of the Arena's closing (and later reopening) in 2012, CZW might have actually surpassed ECW in the amount of shows run at the Arena. As stated before, CZW is most well known for its "ultraviolent" wrestling. Its huge events, the "Cage of DEATH" and "Tournament of DEATH", certainly support this perception. However, most CZW shows feature very few actual hardcore matches, and its "Best of the Best" tournament is meant to showcase pure athleticism and not guys hitting each other with light tubes. Due to being based in Philadelphia, CZW has close ties to Ring of Honor and CHIKARA, frequently sharing talent with both, a long invasion-style feud with the former, and a brief merging of wrestling schools with the latter. Besides that, CZW has a sister promotion in the Maven Bentley Association. In 2014, CZW would acquire ownership of rival/partner promotion WSU. Most popular wrestlers on the indie circuit have worked at least one match in CZW, among them Claudio Castagnoli (WWE's Cesaro), former CZW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose, who would later make history by becoming the first former CZW World Champion to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion), Chris Hero (NXT's Kassius Ohno), Drew Gulak (a stand-out in the cruiserweight division) and the former Junior Heavyweight Champion Adam Cole. The promotion and one of its stars Necro Butcher got some national exposure when they were featured on The Wrestler. CZW is also infamous for its prominence on popular Internet series Botchamania, and is one of few promotions to actively encourage it.