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CZW continues to drop the ball.
There's also the matter of them failing to put the belt on Younger after he pretty much became THE man in CZW after H8.
Got to wonder what Zandig is going to screw up next?
HUGE CZW NEWS UPDATE
From DOI
There are two huge stories coming out of CZW's 4/7 show. As previously reported, Eddie Kingston was fired by CZW Saturday night and CZW Owner John Zandig buried several CZW fans during an in-ring promo.
According to several reliable sources, Eddie Kingston, in fact was really "fired" from CZW this past Saturday night. After having what has been told to me as CZW's match of the year, (which was a feat in itself, as it topped a huge crowd pleaser between Havoc/Brain Damage that occurred earlier in the card) where he defeated long-time rival Chris Hero in a "Loser-Leaves-CZW" match, Zandig fired him in the ring.
When the match was over, John Zandig came out and told Eddie something along the lines of "take a clothesline & get fired." Eddie had none of that and walked out. Kingston was furious with Zandig not for wanting to fire him, but for stealing Kingston's & Hero's heat after a great two year feud. Seeing several of the matches personally, and based on popular opinion, the Kingston/Hero feud was nothing short of Tommy Dreamer/Raven during the 90's ECW era.
By coming out for a promo, after the emotional win and feud ender, Zandig did steal Kingston's thunder. After cutting a promo in the ring, where Zandig fired Kingston, Kingston left the building and went outside. Several wrestlers tried calming him down and begged him to stay. The only person who didn't ask Kingston to stay was of course John Zandig.
The reason for Zandig firing Kingston was because Zandig thought Kingston was going to jump to CZW rival, PWU. Kingston had the opportunity to jump to PWU a couple of months ago, but refused. From there Kingston won the CZW World Heavyweight title. This is a huge issue that Kingston discusses in his DOI Shoot Interview.
Unbeknownst to Zandig, there have been zero discussions between Kingston & PWU. Kingston had no intention of leaving CZW after his match with Hero at all. Several people commented to the DOI that Zandig is "paranoid" concerning talent jumping to PWU, as PWU has really one-upped CZW in the talent-jumping department. Kingston had no plans to jump, but due to Zandig fearing a jump, Zandig jeopardized his relationship with Kingston.
One factor that may have led to Zandig firing Kingston is that Kingston will be unable to make the next two shows, due to being booked in IWA Mid-South. As several may know, IWA Mid-South and Pro Wrestling Unplugged have a working relationship, which may have raised Zandig's paranoia levels. Perhaps Zandig thought that Kingston would jump to PWU, even for just the payday and since he was open those dates.
The DOI asked Kingston if he would comment about this story but we were told "not at this time." If Kingston changes his mind, we'll keep you posted.
It should be said that there is always the possibility for both sides to patch things up, and do business once Kingston's schedule is open again. If anything, Zandig does have the fans talking, even if for the wrong reason. Kingston, who is passionate about his career, and did not have the intention to jump to PWU, would have a huge angle if he decides to return. People close to Zandig have told him that losing Kingston is a mistake, as Kingston has been a valuable asset to the company and represents CZW in a positive manner. However, one has to wonder, if Kingston returns, would Zandig come out of retirement again for the huge money angle. Again, this is all assuming that Kingston would even want to go back and/or Zandig realizes the foolish mistake he made.
We'll have more on this story once news is available.
As reported before, CZWFans.com, a huge CZW fan geared message board, was taken to task by Zandig in a promo that concluded this past Saturday's show. The site has since renamed itself for the time being as "CZWSucks.com". Ripping your most loyal followers was obviously a bad decision by Zandig and hopefully he can repair the relationship at the next show, if those fans decide to go. If you check out the site, you will see several fans responding to Zandig, in a not-so friendly manner. What I take out of all this is that the fans do care about the company and want it to succeed, only to get spit on. When you go from 1000 fans at your peak to 250-300 fans currently, you really don't have the leisure of dumping on the people who are your most faithful customers.
Also leaving CZW last night was Jigsaw. Jigsaw felt lied to and betrayed by CZW. Jigsaw was upset about having run-ins on every match in CZW. When asked to lose to Vortekz, Jigsaw had no problem with losing, but asked to put over Vortekz cleanly. Jigsaw politicked to lose to Vortekz cleanly, because to him (and to me just hearing this story) it would mean more to have a clear winner and it would be a better match. Plus, with all the other run-ins on the show, it would also help make the show not look redundant. Jigsaw won out in the end and put over Vortekz cleanly, which was better for every party concerned.
However, before the match took place, Jigsaw was asked to do this years Best of the Best tournament. Jigsaw agreed and was happy to do the tournament. However, 20 minutes later, Maven Bentley made an announcement that the loser of the Vortekz/Jigsaw match wouldn't be eligible to be in this years tournament. Obviously, Jigsaw wrestled the match upset and confused, as he was just told he was needed for the tournament. When Jigsaw finished the match, he asked Maven what was the announcement all about, and he was told "It came from John." Feeling betrayed, Jigsaw quit the company.
Danny Demanto was praised by several in the CZW locker room for stepping up to the plate and into the face of adversity. While CZW doesn't have the same rabid crowd as they used to, Demanto went into this show with something to prove, as several CZW fans groaned when they heard he was debuting. While he did get a small "Don't Come Back" chant, the majority of the fans popped for him and were positive. Of course, it also helped that he wrestled someone he knew like Grim Reefer, rather than someone he might not have had chemistry with. Danny was asked back to CZW, to presumably feud with Nate Hatred, who laid him out after Demanto's match with Reefer.
Kevin Matthews was set to debut on Saturday taking on Danny Demanto. The prospective match then changed to Kevin Matthews & Reefer vs Danny Demanto & Javi-Air. However, earlier in the week, Kevin Matthews bowed out of doing the show, as he wanted nothing to do with Danny Demanto. The way Kevin feels is that he started his career by wrestling Demanto all over the place. Kevin, who's improved tremendously since those days, thought that by working Demanto it would be a step down from where he is at today and that it wouldn't be accomplishing anything. Kevin, who thinks Danny is an indy stuntman, rather than a wrestler, based on his SSCW Ladder Match, Moonsaulting a Floor at JAPW, Diving Through Chairs, Falling Down Bleachers, etc, also didn't want to be part of another Demanto moment, hence him pulling off. However, Danny did do well, and it's a shame Kevin didn't get a chance to debut.
Kevin did have a good gimmick planned for CZW, which would probably work well, if given the chance again. Kevin was set to do a "sports entertainer" gimmick, where he would purposely not bump and would try to bore the crowd with headlocks and other simple moves to get heel heat. It would then lead to him being forced to having to do sick spots in the later stages of the match to win and hoping the crowd would respect his character.
Brain Damage, who was super-over with the fans, called in sick to his real-life job to make his arena debut for CZW. However, Damage won't be full-time with CZW, as he has real life obligations. Outside of CZW, Damage's next announced booking is for IWA Mid-South, where he will be competing in the King of the Death Match Tournament, which takes place in June.
Javi-Air took the worst of the "DON'T COME BACK" chants last night. Also receiving the chant was PWU-defect CJ O'Doyle. Javi-Air, despite having his third match for CZW, has not connected with the fans. There's no word if CJ O'Doyle will return to CZW, but at this juncture, I'd assume he will be back.
Another big story coming out of Saturday's show was that former booker & currrent referee, Derek Sabato quit the company. Sabato did not go into the show with the intention of quitting, but after all the stuff with his real life friends Jigsaw & Kingston, he felt that he had to be loyal and stand by his friends, and leave the company as well.
The DOI talked to Derek Sabato, and Sabato told us that he felt the same way that a lot of people did, that Zandig took heat away from Kingston's huge win. Hearing Zandig throw gas on the fire by firing Kingston publicly didn't make matters better. Coupled in that his friend Jigsaw got screwed with, in addition to the fact that someone he respects in Chris Hero is done with the company as well, Sabato felt it as time to leave too. As an outsider looking in, I do think Sabato should be commended and respected for being loyal to his friends when they needed it the most. It was a tough decision but Sabato showed loyalty to his friends, which is a rare quality in the wrestling business.
As far as an official statement on his tenure in CZW, Sabato told the DOI:
" I appreciate the fact that I was able to break into the business with Combat Zone Wrestling. I spent close to 6 years being able to be in the business because of them and learning so much and for that I'm thankful. I wish them nothing but luck in their future and have no ill will to anyone there, wrestlers and staff included."
Another big development is that Nick Gage is rumored to return to the company in May. Gage, who was hurt in February, has missed two shows due to his injury. Gage was injured in a match with Justice Pain for the CZW World Title. Unbeknownst to fans, Gage suffered a concussion earlier in the night, when Nate Hatred attacked him during a mandatory CZW run-in. For Gage, it was his 6th concussion. Later on in the show, during his match with Pain, Pain hit a plancha on Gage, where Gage landed on his head and blacked out.
After blacking out, Gage was taken home, which led to the whole fan revolt and Drake Younger coming out and saving the company for the night. Gage wanted to come back immediately, but his doctors and the PSAC wouldn't let him wrestle until he was 100%. For Gage, it would be the first time an injury would force him to sit out a CZW show, as he's done approximately 141 out of 143 CZW shows. Even when receiving burns at a CZW TOD tournament several years ago, he continued to work with the burns. Gage is a huge lifeblood for CZW and looking forward to returning. Hopefully his health won't worsen.
For those wondering, CZW employee, Dino, was the one who helped get Dave Greco into CZW last month.
In closing this report, Rockshah 337 is happy to be in CZW and has respect for everyone in the CZW locker room. He was there in Zandig's time of need, when Zandig cut his promo at the end of the show.
There's also the matter of them failing to put the belt on Younger after he pretty much became THE man in CZW after H8.
Got to wonder what Zandig is going to screw up next?
