Reported by Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
On Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 2:31 PM EST

Tournament of Death VII
May 17th 2008
Smyrna, Delaware
Reported by: David Stephens of Wrestleview.com

A solid crowd of somewhere in the 600 range has shown up, and is eager to kick things off. The first bell rang near an hour and a half after scheduled bell time, but by this point the crowd is pumped for CZW’s annual display of Ultraviolence in all its glory.

1st Match – Ultraviolent Rules
Tournament of Death Round 1
Danny Demanto v. Pinkie Sanchez

Danny kicks off the match by lifting Pinkie over his head and throwing him to the outside on the non-padded tarp-covered grass. The action made its way into the crowd at which point we all frantically grabbed our folding chairs to get out of the wrestlers’ way, while ensuring that no conniving fans filched our seats in the midst of the match. Demanto really was taking it to Pinkie all over the yard in what appeared to be a quick squash match. A dangerous moment for the crowd happened next as Demanto attempted to throw a bowling ball at the bundle of lighttubes that were lying against Pinkie as he was seated in the corner, but the bowling ball took a bad bounce, flew out of the ring, and came within inches of taking out the front row of spectators! Thankfully the guard rail saved some serious injuries (and lawsuits). A thumbtack laced plastic bat was introduced at this point much to the crowd’s excitement, and Pinkie’s chagrin. Despite the seemingly inevitable end of Pinkie’s TOD aspirations, with the help of a few weapons, he is able to set Demanto up for a finishing blow. Pinkie traps Demanto in a Tree of Woe and lays Danny’s upper body on a table set up in the ring. After strategically placing two lighttubes inside of Demanto’s singlet, Pinkie climbs to the top rope in order to flatten Demanto through the table via an Ass Drop! Botched, twice. Thankfully on the third attempt at least part of the table breaks and Pinkie picks up the 1…2…3

Winner: Pinkie Sanchez

2nd Match – Loose Lighttubes
Tournament of Death Round 1
Scotty Vortekz w/ “Diehard” Dusting Lee v. Mickie Knuckles

This is an interesting match thanks to the woman factor. Knuckles definitely fought as hard as her male counterparts, but the crowd just didn’t seem to want to buy into it all. Scotty was nailing some very vicious kicks throughout the match. The opponents are smashing each other with lighttubes left and right, debris was flying into the audience! I couldn’t help but be fascinated at that point by the explosion of glass and dust that results from a lighttube being smashed. The crowd’s reaction to this match was pretty much summed up by the man standing in the back who shouted “Hey Scotty, if I had a Chair I’d sit down”. Scotty wins with a double knee drop onto lighttubes held in place over Mickie by Dustin Lee.

Winner: Scotty Vortex

Before Dustin Lee can make it to the back the Ring Announcer, Larry Legend, informs him that if he wants to get involved, then he is in a match right now!

3rd Match – Lighttube & Barbedwire
Tournament of Death Round 1
Whacks v. Dustin Lee

Whacks is a beastly looking man. He is covered from head to foot with tattoos as well as more piercings than I even thought the human face could hold. A decent match with big hits back and forth, and a rather creative ending. Whacks seemed to botch a suplex of Lee into the corner which had a barbed wire board propped up in it, however in process, Lee’s hair got stuck in the wire. Whacks placed lighttubes across Dustin’s chest and hit a huge back splash from the tope rope onto Lee.

Winner: Whacks

Following the match, Dustin’s hair had to be cut out of the barbed wire with a knife.

4th Match – Everything Goes, Falls Count Anywhere
Tournament of Death Round 1
DJ Hyde v. Andy Sumner

DJ scoffed at the fact that he was even facing Andy Sumner in this match in the first place and gave Sumner the chance to leave the ring before he was demolished. As Hyde turned his back, Sumner laid him out with a chair which had half a dozen lighttubes taped on to it. A Guitar Hero guitar made its way into the match at this point, however the thumbtacks that covered the entire back side, made it a far cry from anything The Rock and Rave Infection will be carrying to the ring. A nice spot saw Sumner hit an inverted Samoan drop through a barbed wire covered table. At this point the match made its way into the crowd and after a detour into a tree, out into the parking lot. I am not totally sure what went down at this point, as everything was out of view. The two reappeared on top of a roof before Hyde went falling off and into a table on the outside. Somehow, the action made its way back to the ring. DJ held a lighttube up in front of Sumner and smashed through it with another one into Andy’s face.

Winner: DJ Hyde

After the match, Sumner was stretchered out of the ring, but walked to the back.

5th Match – Panes of Glass Death Match
Tournament of Death Round 1
Nick Gage & Drake Younger v. Devon Moore & Drew Blood

Originally slated to be Gage v. Younger the match was changed by the CZW owner, John Zanzig, who came to the ring and asked them to take out Moore and Blood for him. Interesting note that I have to point out here is that the people in the crowd were big fans of competitors who didn’t where shirts. In these kinds of matches it is very easy to give credit to those willing to expose their bare backs to the elements. With that in mind, this was a classic quote about Moore & Blood: “Pop because they don’t have shirts”. Regardless of the fans attempting to pop, it was quickly evident that Gage and Younger were the TOD veterans in this match. Notable spots included Drake Younger somersaulting off the Apron, Drew Blood hitting a Paul London style running Shooting Star Press off the Apron onto the chair placed upon Drake Younger’s chest, and a Hurricanrama by Devon Moore on Nick Gage off the apron through a pane of glass suspended between two chairs. The finish saw Gage & Drake throw their opponents through panes of glass in the corners for the double three count.

Winners: Nick Gage & Drake Younger

6th Match – Barbedwire Massacre
Tournament of Death Round 1
Ryan McBride v. Greg Excellent

The crowd did not appreciate this match at all. Boring chants were constant throughout. A few nice spots to point out: Excellent powerbombed McBride into the guard rail and McBride hit a 450 splash onto a board of barbed wire that was covering Excellent. The finish saw Greg Excellent set up two chairs with a third laying suspended between them and piledriving McBride onto it.

Winner: Greg Excellent

7th Match – Lighttube Bundles
Tournament of Death Round 1
Danny Havoc v. The Ram

This match was originally slated to have Necro Butcher in it, however he came to the ring on his crutches to the tune of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and with his agent Nicky Benz who explained that his stunt double would in fact be fighting instead. And so we were introduced to “The Ram” who was reportedly Mickey Rourke’s stunt double in “The Wrestler”. While I am on the topic, I just want to point out that Nicky Benz’s outfit was marvelous. The Ram did a decent job, however the match overall was simply not well received by a crowd that was hungering for Necro Butcher. The finish saw Benz attempt to interfere by hitting Havoc with a bundle of lighttubes, but instead accidentally took out The Ram!

Winner: Danny Havoc

8th Match – Fish Hook Death Match
Tournament of Death Semi Finals
Scotty Vortekz v. Whacks v. DJ Hyde v. Drake Younger

Before I even begin to describe this match, I sincerely hope that the concept of a fish hook death match is never again repeated, some things just aren’t right. This is a double elimination match with the surviving two advancing to the finals. There are plastic bats and water jugs covered with fish hooks not to mention an entire trash can lid full of fish hooks. Whacks back literally became littered with hooks. Slightly off topic, but I noticed that during some moments I seemed to drift away and watch the matches as if I was witnessing them on my computer or from a distance, I just couldn’t believe some of the things that were happening five feet in front of me. Hyde emerged from the back with a weed wacker and was setting up in the ring to use it. Whacks came from behind Hyde and nailed him with some lighttubes. Whacks picked up the Weed Wacker and used it on DJ Hyde who was being held in place by Drake and Vortekz! Whacks gets the pin and eliminates DJ Hyde, but before he can celebrate Drake Younger picks him up and holds him in position for a reverse Piledriver. Vortekz uses the Weed Wacker on Whacks who is drilled into the mat for the pinfall.

Winners: Scotty Vortex & Drake Younger

9th Match – Tag Team Extravaganza
Non-Tournament Match
Rukus & Sabian (BLK OUT) v. Joe Gracy & Alex Colon

I want to take a moment and give a shout out to Bliz who produced BLK OUT’s theme song and was sitting behind me during the show. Truly some of the best color commentary I have ever heard. The fans really despised the jobbers in this match. Their case was not helped by the application of a choke hold as an offensive maneuver. It should come as no surprise that this didn’t go over to well at a Tournament of Death. This was a solid match, but just a bit out of place for this venue and card. Finisher saw Rukus hold the opponent in a position to apply a move similar to Homicide’s Cop Killer, with Sabian flying off the top rope and helping drop him down.

Winners: Rukus & Sabian

10th Match – Fans Bring the Weapons
Tournament of Death Semi Finals
Pinkie Sanchez v. Nick Gage v. Greg Excellent v. Danny Havoc

This match was insane! Just a taste of the available weapons: thumbtack covered basketball, glass covered watermelon, hubcap threaded with barbed wire, cricket stick with barbed wire, cheese graters, plastic bat with several 8 tracks attached to it, bundles of lighttubes, a stereo taped to a shelf, and a Playstation 2 covered in tacks. Essentially, the play by play for this match consisted of the competitors going through all the weapons they could find and demolishing each other. At the start Havoc and Excellent were on the outside of the ring and shook hands, signifying an alliance of sorts. They even shared a cookie. This didn’t last too long however as Havoc viciously threw his half eaten cookie at Greg Excellents face! That’s ULTRAVIOLENCE! One fan had a very intelligent reasoning for why the cable box should be picked up and used during the match as he yelled “hit him with the analog box, we’re going digital in 2009”. Hats off to that heckler. Some nice spots in this match were Gage piledriving Pinkie onto lighttubes and Gage busting open the watermelon that was on Pinkie’s back with a chair. Gage eliminates Pinkie via a powerbomb from the second rope. Excellent is eliminated via Havoc’s General Order 24 (Similar to Sabin’s old finisher).

Winners: Nick Gage & Danny Havoc

There is about a 20 minute break so that they can break down the ropes and set up the ring for the finale.

11th Match – No Rope Barbed Wire Match of 200 Lighttubes
Tournament of Death Final Match
Scotty Vortekz v. Drake Younger v. Nick Gage v. Danny Havoc

The match started off with the competitors whipping each other into the barbed wire ropes which had lighttubes weaved in between them. The tubes were flying everywhere. My sunglasses saved my eyes, as the audience was literally covered in glass that was flying out of the ring. Gage is destroying Havoc while Drake puts Scotty through a table covered with barbed wire via an elbow off the apron to the outside. Back in the ring, Gage has Havoc in the Walls of Jericho, but Havoc is saved by some very timely lighttube shots to the head of Gage compliments Drake Younger. Gage suplexes Havoc out of the ring, and Havoc tears his arm up on the barbed wire on the way down. A ladder is brought into the ring, and Scotty hits a leg drop from the ladder onto Gage! Meanwhile, Havoc is on the side of the ring getting a towel duct taped to his arm in order to control the bleeding. Drake set up Gage on the outside of the ring and splashed him through a board of barbed wire. Necro Butcher ran in out of nowhere and chokeslammed Havoc through two chairs! Havoc kicks out of Scotty’s pin attempt and hits him with the General Order 24 for the win!

Winner and NEW Tournament of Death Champion: Danny Havoc

Following the match, Drake took out Butcher and wrecks him on the outside. John Zandig came in and presented Danny Havoc with the 2007 Tournament of Death Trophy. Zandig and Younger hoisted Havoc up and the crowd gave a standing ovation to express their appreciation. Havoc said a few quick words of thanks and brought to a close the 7th Annual Tournament of Death.



Tournament of Death Thoughts

Before this event, I had never attended a CZW show. I had never witnessed “ultraviolence” in person. Some call it trash wrestling, but I found myself a fan. It was impossible not to take a step back and just appreciate the way these men were literally sacrificing their bodies for my entertainment.

While they were setting up for the last match I took a walk out around and behind where the wrestlers were staying. I had feelings of pure appreciation for the men in front of me cracking smiles and telling each other good show in between the gallons of blood that were pouring off them. So thank you to all the CZW wrestlers and staff for a fantastic show.

I’ll be back this Tuesday for my ECW recap.
Until then, send your thoughts to jugglernextdoor@gmail.com

David Stephens

Quick Results

Ultraviolent Rules :
Pinkie Sancez def. Danny Demanto

Loose Lighttubes:
Scotty Vortekz def. Mickie Knuckles

Lighttube & Barbedwire:
Whacks def. Dustin Lee

Everything Goes, Falls Count Anywhere
DJ Hyde def. Andy Sumner

Panes of Glass Death Match
Nick Gage & Drake Younger def. Devon Moore & Drew Blood

Barbedwire Massacre
Greg Excellent def. Ryan McBride

Lighttube Bundles
Danny Havoc def. The Ram
Fish Hook Death Match
Scotty Vortekz v. Whacks v. DJ Hyde v. Drake Younger
Winners: Scotty Vortex & Drake Younger

Tag Team Extravaganza
Rukus & Sabian (BLK OUT) def. Joe Gracy & Alex Colon

Fans Bring the Weapons
Pinkey Sanchez v. Nick Gage v. Greg Excellent v. Danny Havoc
Winners: Nick Gage & Danny Havoc

No Rope Barbed Wire Match of 200 Lighttubes
Tournament of Death Final Match
Scotty Vortekz v. Drake Younger v. Nick Gage v. Danny Havoc
Winner and NEW Tournament of Death Champion: Danny Havoc