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68-518: In 2013 WSU was purchased by the owner of Combat Zone Wrestling D. J. Hyde , and from then onwards CZW and WSU have been closely-linked, with WSU events often running in a venue earlier the same day of a CZW event. WSU is considered one of the top women's wrestling organizations in the United States. The company claims to be "the leader in women's wrestling in the northeast" and to promote more cards than any other women's wrestling company in

136-406: A kayfabe angle which led to an inter-promotional feud throughout most of 2003. During the night of the initial invasion, the crowd was so riled up that they began hurling chairs into the ring at Ian Rotten, Corporal Robinson, and J. C. Bailey of IWA-MS. The Delaware wrestling commissioner, who was in the ring at the time, was struck in the side of the head. The feud was based in both promotions and

204-595: A tweener in the process. During the Survivor Series kickoff show, Gulak won the title for the seventh time as the Gobbledy Gooker , a comedic character original portrayed by Héctor Guerrero at the 1990 Survivor Series event ; this reign is recognized by WWE as a reign for the Gobbledy Gooker, but not for Gulak. On the January 11 episode of Raw, Gulak would face AJ Styles for a chance to qualify for

272-502: A "Better 205 Live ", in a nod to his previous character in CZW. The campaign included Gulak asking Mustafa Ali to use a more conservative in-ring style as part of a "No-Fly Zone" campaign. This prompted a feud between the two, which ended on July 18 episode of 205 Live , when Gulak lost to Ali in a two out of three falls match . As part of his gimmick, he began incorporating his own PowerPoint Presentations every week on his plans for

340-538: A "bully". After leaving WWE, Gulak began to work for the independent promotion Beyond Wrestling . During his time there, he was included in a controversial storyline that referred to his incident with Ronda Rousey, asking Masha Slamovich during an in-ring promo "Did you feel I was a danger in the locker room?". Gulak made his video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K19 , and subsequently in WWE 2K20 , WWE 2K22 , WWE 2K23 , and WWE 2K24 . Gulak

408-584: A 10-man battle royal for a spot in the WWE Intercontinental Championship tournament but was eliminated by King Corbin . On June 5 episode of SmackDown , Gulak defeated AJ Styles with a bridging folding press. This earned him an Intercontinental Championship match against Styles on July 3 episode of SmackDown where he was unsuccessful in capturing the title. On July 17, Gulak served as a guest commentator on 205 Live alongside Vic Joseph where he continued to provide commentary for

476-540: A PowerPoint Presentation on how to beat Tyson Fury , but was quickly defeated by Strowman. The following week, he would attempt to show a PowerPoint Presentation on how Braun Strowman can lose to Tyson Fury before his match with Kalisto, but he was once again attacked by Strowman. On November 15 episode of SmackDown , Gulak along with The B-Team ( Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas ) would taunt Strowman for his loss against Tyson Fury, but Strowman would attack all three men. On February 21, 2020, episode of SmackDown , Gulak began

544-502: A Street Fight, ending their feud. On December 4 episode of Raw , Gulak won a fatal four-way match to face Rich Swann the following week, with the winner earning a match against Enzo Amore for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship . However, Swann was suspended prior to the match and replaced with Cedric Alexander. On December 18 episode of Raw , Gulak lost to Cedric Alexander, making him unable to face Amore for

612-802: A Triple Crown Champion. In Evolve, he won the Tag Team Championship. He also worked for Chikara with the name Soldier Ant, where he won the Campeonatos de Parejas, the King of Trios tourney in 2011 and the Tag World Grand Prix in 2008. In 2016, Gulak participated into the Cruiserweight Classic , a tournament hosted by WWE featuring cruiserweight independent wrestlers. Although he didn't win the tournament, Gulak signed with WWE and worked for them until 2024. He won

680-500: A better 205 Live . Gulak went on to feud with Akira Tozawa about his war cry chanting. On October 10 episode of 205 Live , Gulak attacked Tozawa on the ramp and later injured his voice box. Tozawa gained revenge on Gulak, which led to a match on October 31 episode of 205 Live , which Tozawa won. Gulak had aligned with Enzo Amore and became a member of Amore's faction "The Zo Train", while continuing his rivalry with Tozawa. On November 21 episode of 205 Live , Gulak lost to Tozawa in

748-482: A cross promotion with Tidal Championship Wrestling. In January 2012, CZW & ECW's arena was sold and was later temporarily closed, not reopening until December 2013. The closing of the venue forced CZW to look for a new home, now running monthly events at Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, New Jersey. After 13 years in business together, in 2013 Combat Zone Wrestling and Smart Mark Home Video ceased partnership after

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816-469: A deal for pay-per-views on In Demand . Combat Zone Wrestling's yearly death-match tournament features the use of fire, weed whackers , light tubes, and other weapons. Previous winners include Wifebeater (TOD 1 and 3), Nick Mondo (TOD 2), Necro Butcher (TOD 4), Nick Gage (TOD 5 & TOD vs. Gorefest), Drake Younger (TOD 6), Brain Damage (TOD: FF), Jimmy Havoc (TOD 7), and John Zandig who gave

884-661: A developmental brand associated with their training school called Dojo Wars to showcase CZW prospects. CZW's secondary live show. Wrestlers from across the country come to CZW to showcase their talent to earn a spot on the CZW main roster. Combat Zone Wrestling's biggest show is the end of the year Cage of Death. It always features the "Cage of Death" match, a steel cage with various weapons, objects, and plenty of wrestling violence. Electrified cage walls, cacti , ladders , tables , steel folding chairs , barbed wire , light tubes , fire, glass, thumbtacks , and baseball bats have been used in it. Matches that also always include

952-443: A falling-out. As of February 2013 all Combat Zone Wrestling events are filmed, edited, and distributed by RF Video. On July 12, 2017, it was reported Dave Marquez had bought into Combat Zone Wrestling as part-owner of the company. CZW also partners with other promotions like: Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) for their German events, Serbia's Combat League Wrestling (CLW), and the remnants of Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), in

1020-709: A feud with Daniel Bryan after claiming to have "found holes in his game" and placed him in matches against opponents such as Heath Slater and Curtis Axel to test his weaknesses but Bryan came out victorious. On March 6 episode of SmackDown, Bryan challenged Gulak to a match at Elimination Chamber , which Gulak lost. On March 13 episode of SmackDown , Gulak formed an alliance with Daniel Bryan after both men gained mutual respect for each other, turning face . He subsequently managed Bryan during his match against Cesaro , where both were subsequently attacked by Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura , and Sami Zayn . The following week, Gulak and Bryan teamed up to defeat Cesaro and Nakamura in

1088-541: A losing effort to Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Sin Cara . On the Survivor Series pre-show, Gulak, Tony Nese, and Ariya Daivari lost to T.J. Perkins , Rich Swann, and Noam Dar . In December, it was confirmed that Gulak had signed with WWE. On January 2, 2017, episode of Raw , Gulak won his first match on the main roster against Cedric Alexander. In 2017, Gulak introduced a new gimmick in WWE, beginning to campaign for

1156-424: A lot of CZW's logos and TitanTron work, among other things, briefly departed from the company in late 2005 after an altercation between Pancoast Productions owner Mike Pancoast and John Zandig . At their Cage of Death 7 show at the end of 2005, CZW roster member Chris Hero cut a promo challenging "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson of Ring of Honor (ROH) to a match at the next show. The angle would develop into

1224-486: A major part led into CZW's Tournament of Death 2, five IWA-MS wrestlers and three CZW wrestlers entered into the 8-man single elimination tournament. The semi-final saw two CZW wrestlers John Zandig and Nick Mondo compete in a 2 out of 3 light tube log cabin match, a match which is said to have ended Mondo's career (However, in Mondo's shoot interview he stated that T.O.D 2 was going to be his last appearance anyway). Towards

1292-434: A one-time match between Matt Tremont and Atsushi Onita . On December 9, 2017, CZW's Cage of Death 19 show ended with Nick Gage and Brett Lauderdale from rival promotion Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) invading the ring. Reportedly, CZW booker Giancarlo Dittamo had pitched an invasion angle to D. J. Hyde, but was shot down. Without telling anyone, Dittamo decided to go through with the angle regardless. Police were called to

1360-484: A rematch of their FMW 4th Anniversary Show encounter. However, the match fell through when Onita cancelled and in its place Nick Gage and the Wifebeater performed in the first ever 200 light tubes match in the United States. The show was later called 'They Said it Couldn't be Done'. In 2001 WGTW-48 began broadcasting CZW footage under the title Fake You TV , which was available in many northeastern states in

1428-614: A six-man tag team elimination match, which Gulak won for his team. On July 24 episode of 205 Live , Gulak won a fatal four-way match also involving Mustafa Ali, Hideo Itami and TJP to become the number one contender to the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Gulak challenged Cedric Alexander for the Cruiserweight Championship at SummerSlam and on September 19 episode of 205 Live , where he was unsuccessful both times. Following April, Gulak

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1496-502: A tag-team match. On March 27 episode of SmackDown , Gulak defeated Nakamura to earn Bryan an Intercontinental Championship match against Zayn at WrestleMania 36 . During the first night of WrestleMania on April 4, Gulak was defeated by Cesaro on the pre-show while Bryan was unsuccessful in winning the Intercontinental Championship from Zayn on the main card. On May 15 episode of SmackDown , Gulak competed in

1564-466: A tournament for the vacant Intercontinental Championship , but was eliminated by Bryan in the first round. After this match, the following day, Gulak's contract with WWE expired. On May 25, 2020, it was reported that Gulak was re-signed by WWE, and his profile on WWE.com was moved back to the SmackDown roster page. On May 29 episode of SmackDown , Gulak participated in his first match back for WWE,

1632-449: Is an American professional wrestler . He is currently performing on the independent circuit . He is best known for his tenure in WWE , where he was a former one-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion and eight-time WWE 24/7 Champion . Before signing with WWE, Gulak worked for 10 years on several independent promotions. With his real name, he worked for Combat Zone Wrestling , where he became

1700-458: Is used. (Randy Summers and Brandon Watts) The Maven Bentley Association ( MBA ) is the sister promotion to CZW ran by Maven Bentley. In 2007, CZW had a short lived interpromotional feud with the MBA. In storyline, MBA's founder Maven Bentley was portrayed as a power-mad middle manager who ran amok in CZW and abused his authority. Bentley hired a few of CZW's own wrestlers to help him take over

1768-625: The 2021 Royal Rumble but was unsuccessful. Following this, Gulak would wrestle mainly on Main Event . As part of the 2021 Draft , Gulak was drafted to the SmackDown brand. On the April 15, 2022 episode of SmackDown , Gulak became a backstage interviewer for the brand, however, he reverted to his wrestler persona a few weeks later. In December 2022, Gulak returned to the NXT brand , where he played

1836-714: The Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) Wrestling Academy and the Chikara Wrestle Factory . He made his debut for CZW on September 10, 2005, at Down With The Sickness 4-Ever , a tribute show to Chris Cash , winning a battle royal . Gulak was quickly paired up with fellow CZW Wrestling Academy alumnus Andy Sumner and, known as Team AnDrew, the duo captured the CZW World Tag Team Championship twice before disbanding in 2009. Gulak moved into singles competition following

1904-479: The New Alhambra Arena , with head trainers Chris Hero and Mike Quackenbush . During 2007, CZW departed from the training school to form their own, much like their older school. The company remained strong in the forthcoming years with new booker, Mike Burns, who was responsible for one of the best runs in the promotion's history. Pancoast Productions, a company which for many years was responsible for

1972-405: The 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the promotion as "ultraviolence". Early CZW matches featured items such as ladders , tables , steel folding chairs , thumbtacks , barbed wire -covered baseball bats, weed whackers , light tubes , and panes of glass . The promotion filled a niche for hardcore wrestling fans that had been left open by

2040-606: The CZW locker room joining them every session. Early 2000 saw CZW establish a connection with the death match wrestling orientated company Big Japan Pro Wrestling , credited to have popularized the death match wrestling style that CZW continued to emphasize in the United States. Both promotions exchanged talent throughout 2000 and 2001 and engaged in a "CZW vs BJW" storyline. The "CZW Warriors" in BJW included Wifebeater , Nick Gage , Trent Acid , Justice Pain , Johnny Kashmere , Nate Hatred, Ruckus , Nick Berk, as well as John Zandig as

2108-545: The Champions , Gulak retained the Cruiserweight Championship in a triple threat match against Lince Dorado and Humberto Carrillo. Gulak lost the renamed NXT Cruiserweight Championship to Lio Rush on October 9 episode of NXT , ending his reign at 108 days. As part of the 2019 draft , Gulak was drafted to the SmackDown brand . Gulak, once again doing his campaigning gimmick, made his debut on October 18 episode of SmackDown where he attempted to show Braun Strowman

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2176-574: The NXT Heritage Cup will be defended by the whole stable under the " Catch Clause ". The Catch Clause was invoked on the March 19 episode of NXT , with Gulak defeating Riley Osborne 2–1 to successfully defend the Cup in his final appearance in WWE. In April, Ronda Rousey made allegations that Gulak grabbed her pants' drawstrings backstage in 2022. While Gulak stated that it was an accident, he

2244-481: The PowerPoint Presentations and his "No-Fly Zone" campaign for a better 205 Live , and developed a new character with aspirations to be the best submission specialist in WWE. Around this time, Gulak formed an alliance with Gentleman Jack Gallagher and The Brian Kendrick to feud with Lucha House Party ( Kalisto , Gran Metalik , and Lince Dorado), with the two teams trading victories, including

2312-463: The Sickness" after Chri$ Ca$ h's theme song from the band Disturbed . The show originally started as a double header afternoon show, with another CZW event taking place later in the evening. Many former CZW trainees have made appearances on past events, including longtime friend GQ, who has wrestled on all of the events. Every year since 2008, CZW has held this event in which a barbed-wire "spiderweb"

2380-814: The Swamp Monster, and in 2016, he was part of Team #CWC, alongside Cedric Alexander and Johnny Gargano . When competing as Drew Gulak, his team failed to progress from the first round every time. However, as Soldier Ant, his team, The Colony , won the 2011 edition of the tournament. Gulak has also competed internationally. In June 2016, Gulak traveled to the Channel Islands to make his debut for Channel Island World Wrestling. On May 7, 2016, Gulak defeated Tracy Williams at Evolve 61 to qualify for WWE 's upcoming Cruiserweight Classic tournament. The tournament began on June 23, with Gulak defeating Harv Sihra in his first round match. On July 14, Gulak

2448-617: The US. The Show lasted until June 2004 Anticipating their Cage Of Death 3 (COD) show at the end of 2001, the company needed a bigger venue and made their debut in the ECW Arena . The venue was the first sellout in the building since the era of ECW , and hundreds were turned away from the biggest show in CZW's history. At that time several wrestling promotions were competing for the Northeast fan base that had been left behind by ECW. In what

2516-413: The WWE Cruiserweight Championship once and the WWE 24/7 Championship eight times. In 2024, after an allegation made by Ronda Rousey, Gulak’s WWE contract was not renewed. Prior to becoming a wrestler, he was a user on Newgrounds who would occasionally make forum posts talking about his interest in WWE and pro-wrestling in general. Gulak began training for a career in professional wrestling in 2004 at

2584-460: The WWE Cruiserweight Championship. On January 23, 2018, Amore was fired from WWE and "Zo Train" was quietly disbanded. In February 2018, Gulak was entered into a 16-man single elimination tournament to determine a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion, with the final round set to occur at WrestleMania 34 . Gulak defeated both Tony Nese and Mark Andrews via submission en route to the semi-finals, where he lost to Mustafa Ali. During this time, Gulak stopped

2652-629: The Wired TV Championship to A. R. Fox at Prelude to Violence 2 . Gulak then began expanding his "Campaign for a better Combat Zone" by recruiting Alexander James as his intern and Kimber Lee as an activist for women's rights in professional wrestling. At Tangled Web 6 on August 10, 2013, Gulak defeated Masada to win the CZW World Heavyweight Championship . At Proving Grounds in May 2014, Gulak lost

2720-469: The arena, but Dittamo, Gage and Lauderdale had all left the venue by the time they arrived. Hyde was reportedly "beyond furious" over the incident, firing Dittamo from CZW. CZW Studios is a video-on-demand service owned by Combat Zone Wrestling. All major CZW events air live on the service, which also features matches from the promotion's archives, dating back to 2002. The service has a current monthly subscription price of $ 9.99. In 2015, CZW Studios signed

2788-423: The arena, but also stated that with the $ 10,000 a month XPW would need to pay for the building, the lease would not last long. Accompanied by incidents relating to Extreme Associates , XPW later folded in 2003. CZW made their return to the arena on March 8, 2003. Shortly after their return to the former ECW Arena, on May 10, 2003, the company promoted a show entitled "Then & Now: A Decade of Defiance." The event

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2856-413: The country. As of December 14, 2019 In 2009, WSU created a hall of fame with an inaugural class of three members. On November 6, 2010, WSU aired their first internet pay-per-view (iPPV) event on GoFightLive.TV. Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling ( CZW ) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig . Commonly associated with

2924-704: The dissolution of the team, and in early 2010, he won the CZW Wired TV Championship by defeating Tyler Veritas at a television taping at Swinging for the Fences . Gulak held the title for 429 days, defeating wrestlers including Nick Gage , Zack Sabre Jr. , Rich Swann , and Sumner. During his reign as the Wired TV Champion, Gulak began to characterize himself as a political leader and activist within CZW, speaking out against ethical issues of violence, including CZW's famed ultraviolence and

2992-529: The end of the match Zandig Mother F'N Bombed Mondo off a 40 ft rooftop as both men crashed into tables and a light tube log cabin contraption. Mondo continued the Tournament with 3 broken bones in his wrist and won the tournament after defeating Ian Rotten in a 200 light tubes final. During John Zandig 's feud with heel stable the Hi-5, Zandig was suspended in the middle of the ring by meat hooks from

3060-648: The enter promotion "CZW vs ROH" storyline which would see CZW and ROH co-promotion several shows around the Northeastern United States. D. J. Hyde purchased CZW from Zandig in 2009. The first show booked by Hyde was Tangled Web 2. Since then, CZW has held its first shows in Germany, Massachusetts, Ohio, South Carolina and Indiana. They also returned to Japan and has brought back previous stars like Homicide, The Briscoe Brothers, Derek Frazier, and BJ Whitmer. In 2014 CZW toured England as part of

3128-500: The folding of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 2001. In 2009, CZW's founder John Zandig sold the promotion to CZW wrestler D. J. Hyde . Although hardcore wrestling continued to be a prominent part of CZW shows, under Hyde the frequency of hardcore matches would gradually decrease. By the start of the 2010s, CZW had diversified its image by mixing its roster of homegrown wrestlers with international talent and began to showcase additional styles of wrestling. This diversity of styles

3196-648: The frequent manhandling of company referees, specifically targeting the actions of long-time fan favorite Nick Gage. Gage was legitimately arrested in late 2010 for bank robbery, and Gulak worked it into storylines by mocking Gage and associating himself with Gage's former manager Dewey Donovan. He also continued to speak out against violence and mismanagement within CZW. This drew the ire of several roster members such as former training partner Danny Havoc , Jon Moxley , and Devon Moore, who began interrupting Gulak's presentations and attacking him. In response, Gulak hired Nui Tofiga for protection. On June 11, 2011, Gulak lost

3264-466: The high risk wrestling stunts and bumps. The Cage of Death also has different formats and stipulations: singles, tag team, or gauntlet. The first show featured a bloody barbed wire match between Zandig and Lobo. Since then the Deja Vu card has been held on an almost yearly basis. As of 2005 Combat Zone Wrestling annually run a memorial tribute event to Christopher " Chri$ Ca$ h " Bauman titled "Down with

3332-727: The impact on the concrete. The reason for the collapse of the inter-promotional deal is uncertain. After a controversial exploding panes of glass match, between Zandig and Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in Japan, 2001, Zandig left BJW with the BJW death match title belt. Many wrestlers of both promotions at the time were confused about the collapse between the two. In February 2000, the company would relocate from their home arena in Mantua Township, New Jersey , to Champs Soccer Arena , in Sewell, New Jersey . They would remain there for two years until

3400-478: The leader. In 2001 in Japan, the Wifebeater and Ryuji Yamakawa faced off in a match which ended Yamakawa's career after the Wifebeater chokensteined him off the ring apron through a table set up on the outside. In a 'shoot interview' Wifebeater stated communication difficulties between the two were a major factor which led to the incident. Wifebeater pleaded that they should not execute the manoeuvre, though

3468-512: The move went ahead and saw Yamakawa's head slam against the concrete. Both wrestlers have stated that it was half of each other's fault when Yamakawa did not take the move as it should be performed; back first, though some even blame the Japanese tables, which are smaller, more sturdy and harder to break, the table in this incident did not break and simply slipped from underneath of Yamakawa thus only connecting with his legs, causing his head to take

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3536-484: The promotion. Those wrestlers included Diehard Dustin Lee, Scotty Vortekz, Brain Damage , and D. J. Hyde. Bentley himself got involved physically in the feud as he was scheduled to face Lobo in a lumberjack strap match at Cage of Death 9 . Bentley would lose the match, ending the feud. The MBA returned to The Arena for its Economic Crisis event on January 31, 2009. Drew Gulak Drew Gulak (born April 28, 1987)

3604-622: The role of Hank Walker's mentor. On February 14, 2023, episode of NXT , Gulak turned on Walker and aligned with Charlie Dempsey , creating the No Quarter Catch Crew stable with Dempsey, Damon Kemp , and Myles Borne , turning heel . On the February 27, 2024 episode of NXT , Dempsey defeated Noam Dar 2–1 under British Rounds Rules for the NXT Heritage Cup . A week later at NXT : Roadblock , NQCC announced that

3672-451: The roof of the arena. The incident led into the setup of the main event at Cage of Death 2003, where a cage was suspended from the roof, the event was called Cage of Death 5: Suspended . The company remained successful that year and had a sold-out crowd for their annual Cage of Death show. During 2005, CZW established a connection with local promotion Chikara , which established into a joint training school known as 'The Wrestle Factory' in

3740-572: The show until the return of Nigel McGuinness . At Clash of Champions , Gulak pinned R-Truth to become the WWE 24/7 Champion for the first time. He would lose the title back to Truth later on in the night. As part of the 2020 Draft in October, Gulak was drafted to the Raw brand. Over the following months, he kept on chasing after the 24/7 Championship, mainly feuding with R-Truth and Akira Tozawa and capturing it on several occasions also turning into

3808-443: The state of New Jersey banned the use of ultraviolent weapons (such as glass, barbed wire, and fire) in wrestling. To counteract the ban, CZW branched out from New Jersey to Delaware , where they would host their more ultraviolent shows throughout the rest of the company's existence. On June 25, 2000, CZW was scheduled to host a pay-per-view event, which was to be headlined by Terry Funk and Atsushi Onita in an explosion match in

3876-684: The title to Biff Busick . Aside from CZW, Gulak has also worked for Beyond Wrestling , Dragon Gate USA , Evolve , and Inter Species Wrestling. In 2013, he won the Style Battle tournament for Evolve and later participated in the 2014 edition. In August 2014, Gulak made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla , participating in their annual Battle of Los Angeles event. Gulak has participated in Chikara's annual King of Trios tournament multiple times; in 2008, he teamed with Andy Sumner and Tim Donst , in 2014, he competed alongside Chuck Taylor and

3944-478: The trophy over to Thumbtack Jack who lost the Tournament of Death trophy at Best of the Best to D.J. Hyde (TOD 8). Due to the incidents at TOD 8 another event named TOD 8.5 Rewind took place in the same year which was won by Thumbtack Jack. Scotty Vortekz won TOD 9. Masada won TOD X, XI and TOD: Europe. Combat Zone Wrestling's yearly tournament that differs from other CZW events in how it emphasizes athleticism more than

4012-434: The use of weapons. The Best of the Best tournament is, by design, a Junior Heavyweight Tournament. In 2005, however, the tournament was formatted as an open weight tournament. The next year, it returned to its original format. Previous winners include Winger, Trent Acid , B-Boy , Sonjay Dutt , Mike Quackenbush , Ruckus , Joker , Sabian , Egotistico Fantastico , Adam Cole and Sami Callihan in that order. CZW launched

4080-634: Was TCK and Ric Blade. The academy relocated to The 2300 Arena in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, and briefly merged with the Chikara Wrestle Factory. Shortly after the second class, the academy separated from the Chikara Wrestle Factory and moved its operation back to New Jersey, then back to Philadelphia, and now to Blackwood, New Jersey. Previously, Drew Gulak was the head trainer of the academy, with members of

4148-763: Was a tribute to ECW and to all previous promotions that held events at New Alhambra Arena during the last ten years. On October 25, 2003, the promotion made their debut in Italy with an attendance record of 2,000 people filled the Palasport Arena in Pistoia, later on March 27, 2004, the company returned for another event which featured Sabu in a tables match this time only drawing 500 people in Parma. On June 14, 2003, mid-south based promotion Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA-MS) invaded CZW as part of

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4216-592: Was covered by Vice Media in the documentary Bloodlust: Tournament of Death . After a long hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic , CZW returned to promoting events in 2021. Since its return, CZW has stopped holding hardcore matches, apart from their annual Tournament of Death. CZW events are currently held in Blackwood, New Jersey and Havre de Grace, Maryland , along with occasional events in other east coast venues. Combat Zone Wrestling's Pro Wrestling Academy

4284-458: Was eliminated from the tournament by Zack Sabre Jr. Gulak appeared on September 14 episode of NXT , losing to Hideo Itami . On September 26 episode of Raw , Gulak made his main roster debut, teaming with Lince Dorado in a losing effort to Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann. On the Hell in a Cell pre-show, Gulak established himself as a heel , teaming up with Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari in

4352-475: Was emphasized by CZW's two annual tournaments, Tournament of Death , which showcased the "ultraviolent" style, and Best of the Best , which featured technical and high flying wrestlers. Throughout the 2010s, CZW was part of the Triangle of Unity (also known as the Triangle of Ultraviolence) alliance with Japanese promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling and German promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling . In 2016, CZW

4420-463: Was founded in New Jersey by John Zandig in 1998. After training the classes alone, Zandig enlisted the help of Jon Dahmer, who helped train with Zandig for the next three classes. The first student trained was Lobo , who worked with Zandig before their wrestling careers. Nick Gage and Justice Pain were the next two students to be trained by Zandig. The fourth student and fifth student trained

4488-604: Was later known as the "Indy Wars", CZW, XPW, and 3PW all competed for control of the ECW Arena. XPW were given the lease to the arena in late 2002 after Rob Black offered around $ 60,000. On December 12, 2002, as part of a triple-header of wrestling in Philadelphia Ring of Honor ran shows in conjunction with CZW and 3PW in what was to be the latter two promotions last events in the arena. During CZW's event, Zandig publicly stated that they had offered $ 32,000 to stay in

4556-454: Was removed from television and an internal investigation was conducted by WWE. Gulak departed from WWE weeks later, ending his 8-year tenure with the company. Both Chief content officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque and Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels explained that his contract had expired and was not being renewed. The investigation alleges his bad behavior backstage with other wrestlers, being described as

4624-488: Was taken off television and returned without elements of his previous gimmick, such as doing campaign slogans and PowerPoint presentations. At Stomping Grounds , he won the Cruiserweight Championship. Gulak then defeated Nese at Extreme Rules in a rematch for the title. At SummerSlam , Gulak successfully defended his title against Oney Lorcan after using underhanded tactics. Two days later on 205 Live , Gulak again retained his title against Lorcan by submission. At Clash of

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