Post by thwak is T.hawk on Apr 8, 2007 21:11:33 GMT -5
A number of talents resigned from Combat Zone Wrestling yesterday in the wake of a strange incident where CZW owner John Zandig fired one of his top talents and proceeded to lash out against critics of the promotion from inside the ring at their monthly event in Philadelphia, PA at the New Alhambra.
During the course of the event, Chris Hero and Eddie Kingston faced off in a loser leaves CZW bout. The booking plan was for Kingston to win the bout, which took place as scheduled and according to our own Ed Shirreffs in his live report, was a great match. Zandig then hit the ring and Kingston left the ring. It was booked for Zandig to nail Kingston with a lariat, but Kingston instead walked out, apparently upset that Zandig would take the focus off of the match. Zandig then proceeded to fire Kingston on the mic.
Some I spoke to believed that Zandig fired Kingston publicly as he was under the impression Kingston was heading for rival Philadelphia promotion Pro Wrestling Unplugged, headed by Tod Gordon, which also runs the New Alhambra. A number of former CZW regulars have found a new home in PWU in recent months. PWU was founded by former CZW headliners Johnny Kashmere and Trent Acid in 2004 after a falling out with Zandig. Kingston has claimed to those who have asked that he's never even had a conversation with Gordon.
Word began making the rounds this morning that beyond Hero (who likely was leaving anyway as he's got regular commitments with Ring of Honor and recently debuted for Pro Wrestling NOAH) and Kingston, Jigsaw (who dropped the CZW Light Heavyweight title last night), referee Derek Sabato (who at times handled backstage duties as well), and even the company's sound engineer had left the company, unhappy about how the situation played out.
The evening's events got even stranger as the show proceeded. At the end of last night's event, Zandig, surrounded by the company's babyfaces, returned to the ring and proceeded to berate Kingston and even the CZW fans, claiming there were "five fans" complaining about the company, which they were drawing 250 fans regularly. CZW's attendance down from even a year or two ago, much less the promotion's great crowds of 1,000 plus when it debuted in late 2001 in Philadelphia. According to some, Zandig went as far as to say he'd like to put those five fans in the ring with Necro Butcher. The remarks about the critical fans lit a powder keg on long-time CZW fan website www.CZWFans.com with complaints about the state of the promotion's direction and discussion of potentially boycotting the company ongoing.
What seems even stranger about the situation is that given CZW's semi-regular disorganization, the fan owned and run website was the primary source of news and information about upcoming CZW events, as the promotion hasn't regularly issued releases (that I've received) in many, many moons.
Source: www.pwinsiderxtra.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=6317&p=1
During the course of the event, Chris Hero and Eddie Kingston faced off in a loser leaves CZW bout. The booking plan was for Kingston to win the bout, which took place as scheduled and according to our own Ed Shirreffs in his live report, was a great match. Zandig then hit the ring and Kingston left the ring. It was booked for Zandig to nail Kingston with a lariat, but Kingston instead walked out, apparently upset that Zandig would take the focus off of the match. Zandig then proceeded to fire Kingston on the mic.
Some I spoke to believed that Zandig fired Kingston publicly as he was under the impression Kingston was heading for rival Philadelphia promotion Pro Wrestling Unplugged, headed by Tod Gordon, which also runs the New Alhambra. A number of former CZW regulars have found a new home in PWU in recent months. PWU was founded by former CZW headliners Johnny Kashmere and Trent Acid in 2004 after a falling out with Zandig. Kingston has claimed to those who have asked that he's never even had a conversation with Gordon.
Word began making the rounds this morning that beyond Hero (who likely was leaving anyway as he's got regular commitments with Ring of Honor and recently debuted for Pro Wrestling NOAH) and Kingston, Jigsaw (who dropped the CZW Light Heavyweight title last night), referee Derek Sabato (who at times handled backstage duties as well), and even the company's sound engineer had left the company, unhappy about how the situation played out.
The evening's events got even stranger as the show proceeded. At the end of last night's event, Zandig, surrounded by the company's babyfaces, returned to the ring and proceeded to berate Kingston and even the CZW fans, claiming there were "five fans" complaining about the company, which they were drawing 250 fans regularly. CZW's attendance down from even a year or two ago, much less the promotion's great crowds of 1,000 plus when it debuted in late 2001 in Philadelphia. According to some, Zandig went as far as to say he'd like to put those five fans in the ring with Necro Butcher. The remarks about the critical fans lit a powder keg on long-time CZW fan website www.CZWFans.com with complaints about the state of the promotion's direction and discussion of potentially boycotting the company ongoing.
What seems even stranger about the situation is that given CZW's semi-regular disorganization, the fan owned and run website was the primary source of news and information about upcoming CZW events, as the promotion hasn't regularly issued releases (that I've received) in many, many moons.
Source: www.pwinsiderxtra.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=6317&p=1