After seeing glimpses of CZW on various compilations, I decided to invest in a few full individual shows. This is CZW's Annual tournament in which wrestling is the emphasis as opposed to the ultraviolent stuff. There are 12 participants in the tournament including the likes of Drake Younger, AR Fox, Chuck Taylor, Caleb Konley, and Biff Busick. I've seen some matches from past Best of the Best and was blown away so I was really pumped to see this whole show. This being Drake Younger's final CZW show made this a must have for me as well.
They introduce the participants to start the event. Drake Younger is the most popular out of the bunch as you may expect. "Drake" chants rang through the arena until he made his exit along with the other entrants.
DJ Hyde came to the ring to loud boos, but before he could really say anything, Kevin Steen jumps the railing and nails him with a package piledriver. I remember seeing news of this happening on Twitter and was pretty pumped. Wish I wouldn't have seen it now so I could have felt the element of surprise. None the less, it was still a great moment. Steen says he's here to see Drake Younger win the whole tournament. I am too, Steen!
1) Chuck Taylor vs. Lucky 13 vs. Buxx Belmar
The only man I was familiar with prior to this match was Chuck Taylor so all the other guys had a chance to impress here and they did just that. This was your basic multi-man opening match in which the action never slowed down. There were several nice spots and even some comedy which is a given when Chuck is involved. Super fun start to the show. Really enjoyed this one.
Match rating - ***
2) Azrieal vs. Biff Busick vs. Caleb Konley
There were a wide variety of styles encompassed in this match which made for some pretty unique exchanges. Busick used his uppercuts to take out the two smaller men in this match while Azrieal tried to use his speed & agility. A minor story going on here was that of Azrieal's former partner Alex Colon not being included in this year's tournament. Colon came out and recieved a dive from Azrieal for his troubles however he would recover and end up costing him the match. Busick picked up the win here with a vicious suplex. Another fairly fun match, although not as good as the opening bout.
Match rating - **3/4
3) Drake Younger vs. Papadon vs. Timothy Thatcher
This was yet another clash of styles here with a deathmatch guy facing off with two wrestling purists. Drake hasn't been solely known as a deathmatch guy for awhile now though so he put on display his underrated highflying and hardhitting abilities here. Thatcher impressed me most here out of everybody. I had seen him a few times before and being a big fan of guys like Claudio (Cesaro) and Busick, I really enjoyed him. While this match wasn't technical by any means, we still got to see some of the brutal striking that Thatcher is known for. He and Papadon had a great uppercut battle in the midst of the match. None the less, it was neither of them that would come out on top as Drake hits Drake's landing on Thatcher for the victory.
Match rating - **3/4
After the match, Drake put over Thatcher as one of the best wrestlers in the world. That was cool to see and a very nice thing to do by Drake.
4) AR Fox vs. Andrew Everett vs. Mike Bailey
Not only had I heard alot about this one going into it, I'm also a massive fan of Fox & Everett so this was the match I was most looking forward to. Fox vs Everett is a bout I've been wanting to see for awhile and it finally came to fruition here. Needless to say, it was just as awesome as I expected. This match wasn't just Fox & Everett though, the debuting Mike Bailey played his part as well and impressed me just as much. Some highlights include Fox & Everett both springboarding off the top rope and Fox catching Everett with the lo mein pein in mid air which was just insane to see. The action here was off the charts and just what you would expect from three of the best highflyers in wrestling today. Awesome match.
Match rating - ****
5) Shane Strickland vs. Devon Moore - Ladder Match for the CZW Wired Title
This was a pretty good Ladder match. These two didn't go completely all out, but they definitely put their bodies on the line. Moore took a nasty back body drop on a ladder and only his elbow caught the ladder which resulted in it turning purple. It was hard to see it up close although I'm sure it had to be broken or something because the noise it made when it hit was loud. The end came when Strickland hit Moore with a double foot stomp off the apron through a barbwire board. Moore definitely took the brunt of things in this match. They played off the story of Strickland being afraid of the wire very well throughout too. Good match, one of the best of the night.
Match rating - ***1/2
6) Biff Busick vs. Chuck Taylor
I don't remember much about this besides the fact that I enjoyed it. I write down the ratings for each match I watch and while **1/2 may seem low, it's just because this wasn't anything special. I'm a fan of both guys so I enjoyed it, just not a spectacular match. Pretty straight forward with Busick getting the win with little fight from Chuck.
Match rating - **1/2
7) Drake Younger vs. AR Fox
Fox continued to steal the show in this match however Drake got this stuff in as well. This was action packed from bell to bell with both men hitting the other with everything they had. It was an entertaining watch although it didn't have much of a story to it. That seems to be the trend of this event, all enjoyable action, but not much storytelling. Fun match none the less.
Match rating - ***1/4
8) Juicy Product vs. O14K - #1 Contender's Match for the Tag Team Titles
The bout starts off with an insane series of dives and highflying manuevers by both teams which set the trend for the remainder of the match. I honestly don't think there was even one legal tag here. It was just both teams going at it non stop. Nice exhibition for the two top tag teams in CZW.
Match rating - ***
9) Drake Younger vs. Biff Busick
Busick came out of the gate hot by blasting Drake with an uppercut in the midst of him being covered with streamers. However, Drake would fight back on the outside and get the advantage by using his body as a weapon. His time in control of this match was short lived though as Busick began wearing down Younger with an array of half & half suplexes, including one off the top rope. This perfectly set up Drake's big comeback which resulted in him picking up the win.
Match rating - ***
Overall thoughts: This was my first time watching a CZW show in full and while I enjoyed it, there was nothing here that made me want to watch more of their events. All the matches here felt pretty repetitive as it was just action with no substance aside from the Fox/Everett/Bailey match and the Ladder Match. None the less, it was a fun event and I'll be keeping it in my collection solely for Drake's farewell.
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