Given the fact that PWG has not yet released their final two shows on DVD yet, I feel it would be inappropriate to fully discuss positives and negatives while also making some predictions. Whenever I get a chance to watch All-Star Weekend X and post the reviews, I will write some positives, negatives, and predictions about the company out of Reseda, California. Today though, let’s look back at the year that was in CZW and also comment on the year Beyond Wrestling had. For now…
Positives:
World Championship Booking- People might be surprised about the statement I am about to make, but no company booked their championship better than the company which ran out of Voorhees, New Jersey. From allowing Masada to have a number of solid title defenses against more mainstream indie opponents to having him go over death match legend Jun Kasai, Masada was handled better than Kevin Steen in Ring of Honor or Eric Ryan in AIW. This as an incredible compliment to CZW that Masada had such a long stretch of success as world champion. Then the company went the other way by giving the heel Drew Gulak the heavyweight title. Gulak performed admirably in the waning months of 2013 and similar to Masada, he got a chance to wrestle guys like Chuck Taylor and Chris Hero. Gulak is the antithesis of Masada by being more of a shooter and straightforward technical wrestler. In Ring of Honor or PWG, he would be a babyface. Now Gulak certainly has his fans , but most fans would love to see Gulak lose to a more traditional CZW wrestler like Matt Tremont or Danny Havoc.
Rising roster-No company seems to have more young roster members than CZW. Juicee Product of JT Dunn and David Starr. The Beaver Boys of Alex Reynolds and Jon Silver. Alex Colon. Andrew Everett. Caleb Konley. Shane Hollister. Biff Busick. Some have had more success than others, but all of the listed men have made significant contributions in making CZW a less terrible company. Involving them more in bigger storylines will only make the company better. There’s a ton of talent there.
Beaver Boys versus 4 Locos- These two teams specifically showcased themselves in matches during the fall. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to steal the show at Cage of Death. Regardless, there is a very real chance that the Beaver Boys earned the confidence of the promoters enough to win the world tag team titles early in the year. Alex Reynolds and Jon Silver have had trouble gaining traction in other places, but for whatever reason they had chemistry with Bandido Jr. and Azrieal. These two teams plus the re-introduction of Irish Airborne could make for an exciting division. Just please get those titles off the team currently holding them. Seriously, BLK OUT has done less than nothing for the division since winning the belts.
Negatives:
DJ Hyde, the Wrestler- DJ Hyde has made some stark improvements in the company since buying it. There is more wrestling and less death matches. I’m okay with holding the King of the Deathmatches since it’s obviously a moneymaker, and I can skip watching the DVD. Cage of Death is also a clear moneymaker and one of the biggest spectacles of the year. However, having him cut promos on every show and involving himself in feuds? No buys. Hyde’s lariat is legendary, and it’s good he put over both Matt Tremont and Navaeh at back-to-back Cage of Death, but the journey toward these events wasn’t worth it if you ask me. If Hyde wants to expand the reach of CZW and build up international relations, I’m more than okay with this. Hyde putting himself front and center is a poor choice, and in the last year I’ve come to believe that if you’re the booker, promoter, or owner of a company, you should not be on shows as an active character or wrestler. Delirious and Adam Pearce are not perfect bookers, but the best decision they made was to take themselves off DVDs and/or television.
Matt Tremont- I talked all about this one in my article about dumb booking decisions. If not for Chikara being a complete disaster, this would be an easy number one.
Booking- Matt Tremont being booked so poorly combined with BLK OUT having a long term title reign not to mention having DJ Hyde as an active competitor are just three of the decisions I’ve highlighted in this piece. There are other questionable choices including having Joe Gacy pin AR Fox and allowing Freight Train to be a part of the biggest CZW show of the year. I could also look at some of the things done in the Cage of Death itself as a way of showing everything right and wrong with the company. What I believe CZW needs is organization. A plan to get over wrestlers at appropriate times when needed and having important matches at the right times. I want to like CZW, but until the pacing of shows improves and the three finishes on ever show involve some sort of screwjob, I’m going to continue slogging through shows.
2014 Predictions:
AR Fox will win the CZW world championship from Drew Gulak.
The Beaver boys will win the CZW world tag team titles from BLK OUT.
Matt Tremont will continue to be a mere supporting player within CZW.
Beyond Wrestling certainly isn’t perfect, but the biggest difference between this company and others is an incredible willingness to experiment. Their latest attempts to “expand” are a series of splinter cell shows taking place in cities as far west as St. Louis and as far south as Atlanta. While the “Wrestling is” satellities turned into a disaster because of a lack of interest and fans, Beyond Wrestling will not have such concerns. Shows take place involving wrestlers but no paid fans, meaning more content for the YouTube page and a ton of exposure can be given to southern area workers who might not be getting the chances they deserve in bigger places because of geography.
Another aspect of Beyond Wrestling which has been most impressive is their discover of Fete Music as a viable place to run professional wrestling a few times a year. By all accounts, every shows run there so far has been successful artistically and at the gate. Calling anyone the “PWG of the east coast” strikes me as an over exaggeration since I don’t think there’s anyway to fully capture everything which makes them special. However, where I think the owners can be successful is in the way they use bigger independent stars to provide a rub for the New England wrestlers. Guys like Biff Busick and JT Dunn have already benefited in the second half of the year, and I can imagine more will soon.
I’m very much looking forward to watching Beyond Wrestling shows at Fete Music because I like the atmosphere and appreciate being able to see fans cheering as opposed to just having wrestlers watching shows. Obviously, the YouTube account will continue to have a great deal of content with the satellite shows taking place all across the country. Given the fact there are no championships or a defined roster, I can’t make a lot of predictions, but Beyond Wrestling can be a bridge to bigger places for some and another great place for the bigger stars to wrestle.