LucharesuFan619

WARNING: The following review contains descriptions of graphic content. Read on at your own risk. No Holds Barred death match: IAN ROTTEN vs. MADMAN PONDO – (CZW Bloodbath 2000; January 8, 2000 at The Champs Indoor Soccer Arena in Sewell, NJ) POSTED: Friday, December 3, 2004 THE HISTORY BETWEEN THESE TWO: Pondo was a competitor in Ian’s IWA Mid-South promotion ever since it was first formed in 1996. Ian must have thought that he had suffered all of the stab and bladejob wounds possible during his ECW rivalry against his brother Axl, but little did he know just how fierce Madman Pondo’s thirst for blood was. Here’s the most comprehensive listing of their IWA-MS meetings leading into this bout, as best as I could find (considering that most of IWA-MS’ early shows have never even been released on tape, and the only records of them which I know of appear on GenickBruch.com and RSPW) - Winter Warz ’96 (1/6/96): Four Corners of Pain death match - Start of Something Big (10/10/96): no stipulation (NOTE: IWA-MS refers to this on their web site as being the promotion’s first show ever, but it wasn’t.) - Fan’s Night Out (10/17/96): Fans are the Lumberjacks Match (one of a kind, perhaps) - It’s a Kentucky Thing (10/24/96): Thumbtack death match - Bloodfeast ’96 (11/28/96): Rematch – Four Corners of Pain death match - The Night the Lights Went Out in Louisville (12/5/96): No-Rope Barbed-Wire-Wrapped Light Bulbs death match - Eddie Gilbert Memorial Show (3/13/97): 3-way Four Corners of Pain death match that also included Ox Harley At this point, Ian and Pondo started to go their separate ways, as the arrival of Doug Gilbert, Rollin’ Hard (originally known as Tornado Taz), Cash Flo, Kip Morris, Mitch Page, even Axl Rotten (along with many others) offered new potential feuds for each performer. Suffice to say, these two were no strangers by the time this famed CZW confrontation rolled around. THE TECHNOLOGICAL QUALITY: This match (the entire show, actually) is filmed by a ringside cameraman. Although his constant movements can be somewhat annoying, the portable nature of the filming allows him to adjust the position of the camera as the match travels around the ring, so as to get the best possible shot for us watching at home. Furthermore, the video quality is surprisingly good and the lighting is better than one would expect (although far from great), considering that this is such an early CZW show. INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THIS MATCH: - This was CZW’s first show in Sewell, NJ. Up until this point, the promotion had run almost exclusively in Mantua, NJ. - Ian made his CZW debut at the previous show, CZW The War Begins… (11/20/99) by attacking promoter-turned-wrestler John Zandig after a match with Wifebeater. Zandig was scheduled to work Pondo in this match, but pulled out due to a knee injury and Ian served as his replacement. This match (the night’s main event) marked Pondo’s very first CZW appearance. - Low Ki debuted in CZW earlier this same night, as he took on champion Ric Blade for the CZW Junior Heavyweight Title (a couple years before they stole BJPW’s belt). - The Haas Brothers (current WWE superstar Charlie and the late Russ) competed on this show against Wifebeater and Big Mack Smack (there’s something weird about the thought of the Haas’ being in the same ring as a talentless hack such as Wifebeater…then again, the Haas’ did a lot of weird stuff in CZW, even getting matched up against John Kronus at A Living Hell 2000.) - This match caused the initial relationship between Ian and CZW to end. He received about 20 stitches[ from the match (so, once you read the review, it’ll be relatively safe to assume that Pondo likely received just as many, if not more than that), yet never got a call from Zandig to thank him for the sacrifice. It took three years for them to get back on decent terms, and now they’re on bad terms once again. PRE-MATCH: If you’re watching it with me, that’s actually CZW’s old ring announcer, Dennis Shock, in the background of the picture, NOT Eric Gargiulo (who sort of resembles him). Ian – wearing an IWA Mid-South t-shirt – cuts a quick promo before the match begins, calling his opponent a “coward” and saying that he’s “afraid to wrestle Ian Rotten.” Well, he and Pondo have worked each other tons of times in IWA-MS before this (as indicated above), so I dunno about that… THE MATCH: The lights go out and when they come back on, Pondo is standing in the ring. He takes Ian down with a big STOP sign shot to the head, before revealing his secret weapon: SCISSORS! Oh, boy…this is gonna get ugly pretty quickly. With Ian leaning up against the middle ring rope, Pondo starts incising away. He even adds in some stabbings for good measure, as the camera gets a decent (although nothing like some of the visuals that will be seen later on) shot of the slice on Ian’s forehead. Then – just for good measure, I assume – Pondo bitesinto the forehead wound with his teeth (or at least pretends to). Ian stumbles around the ring, acting all woozy, but Pondo could care less, deciding to Russian Leg Sweep his IWA boss onto the barbed-wire 2x4 that Ian brought to the ring. After prompting a large uproar from the crowd thanks to an “I can’t fuckin’ hear you’s people!” shout, Pondo covers and gets a 2 count. Next, Ian’s crotch feels the power of the 2x4 being bashed down upon it at full-speed, at which point the referee audibly (mainly because of how close the camera is to the ring) asks Ian if he’s OK and the IWA-MS promoter assures him he’s fine. That right there testifies to Ian’s unbelievable toughness. After Ian’s forehead gets sliced away at with the scissors a little bit more, Pondo tosses him out to ringside and proceeds to stab him three more times with the scissors. As the two brawl around ringside, fans, security officials, ring crew members, photographers, and cameramen alike scramble, with Pondo even yelling several times for people to “Move!” Finally, Ian reacquires the advantage and leads Pondo around the corner of the ring, where he proceeds to Powerbomb him onto three set-up steel chairs. Pondo takes a chairshot before Ian rolls into the ring and grabs the scissors, and then – with Pondo down on his knees at ringside – Ian unleashes one foul swoop of the scissors across his rival’s forehead. What’s so scary is the absolutely BLOODCURDLING SCREAM that Pondo lets out. The camera gets a very good shot of the cutting, zooming in as close as possible on the site of attack…and that’s not even the end of the scissor’ role here. With Pondo still down on his knees, Ian brandishes the scissors and…Oh my God…drives it across Pondo’s upper arm AS IF HE’S TRYING TO CUT THE ARM RIGHT OFF! Not only is Pondo’s scream here considerably more disturbing than a couple of seconds before, the camera’s shot of this juicing is even more detailed than the one before – it zooms in as far as possible, so that the viewer can actually see the blood start trickling out of Pondo’s arm as the scissors rip into his skin. As soon as Ian pulls the scissors away from the arm, Pondo hightails it back into the ring, as if he fears for his life (and after all, who would blame him if he did?). Ian follows him in and drives the 2x4 down across the back of Pondo’s head and neck, before proceeding to rake the barbed-wire across his face. Next, Pondo rolls towards the ring ropes in an attempt to escape from the mutilation ceremony, only to have his head laid back onto the bottom rope and receive a vicious choke by Ian. What’s kind of comical is that the referee – in the midst of this indescribable unruliness – actually makes the “1-2-3-4” count for Ian to release the hold (which he does). Pondo finally starts to mount a comeback by planting Ian onto the STOP sign with a DDT. He then exits the ring to obtain a wooden board and two steel chairs. After Ian goes down from a chairshot, a voice (presumably Dennis Shock’s, but I may be wrong about that) is heard booming, “Everybody, please back up away from the ring as far as possible.” As Pondo bridges the piece of wood between the two steel chairs, several very stern calls of “Get back!” are heard from officials, since the fans apparently haven’t heeded the ring announcer’s commands. Ian sits Pondo on the top turnbuckle and prepares for what looks to be a Superplex, but Pondo fights out and Powerbombs Ian through the board, which – judging by how it exploded upon impact – was covered in some kind of combination that included broken glass or light tubes. The lights in the arena immediately go out for about eight seconds. A small “Axl!” chant breaks out, spoiling the surprise, and sure enough – when the rays of light floods back into the venue – AXL ROTTEN (making his CZW debut) is standing in the ring, steel chair in hand. As a full-fledged “Axl!” chant erupts, Axl brother floors Pondo with a chairshot and stabs him with the scissors. As Pondo lays in the corner, having now had the ever-loving sh*t kicked out of him by both Rotten brothers, Axl shouts, “Get up, Paul Heyman – you douchebag motherf*cker! Get the f*ck up!” Finally, Axl just drags Pondo to his feet and delivers another stab to the forehead with the scissors, as a fan shouts, “Kill him! This is where the sickest part of the match comes, and Axl, Ian, nor the scissors are anywhere near Pondo: What happens is that the camera zooms in on the cut Pondo’s arm, and reveals a sight that is…absolutely nauseating. It looks as if an inch-by-half-inch segment of Pondo’s arm has actually been cut out at a deepness of about half an inch. Disgusting beyond belief. At this point, Axl holds up his index finger and asks the fans if they want “one more” (whether he’s referring to a stabjob or a chairshot, I’m unsure, but at this point, Pondo might as well be dead, so there’s not much of a difference between the two.). A few people respond with a “one more!” call, but what I’m really paying attention to is the cameraman’s zoom-in technique onto Ian’s crimson mask of a face. Back to Axl, who taunts Pondo even more – “Get the f*ck up, Paul Heyman! Get your f*ckin’ Jew ass up you douchebag motherf*cker! Get the f*ck up! Get your f*ckin’ ass up!” A couple of fans laugh at this taunt, but I must wonder what Axl was thinking by referencing religion in such context. Anyway, though, Pondo finally starts climbing to his knees, only to be met by a CONCHAIRTO~! (haven’t seen that one in awhile) from the former-Bad Breed duo. Another “Axl!” chant begins, but he exits the ring when Lobo runs in with a steel chair in hand, making the late save. At this point, the video cuts out. DECISION: No Contest (due to interference by Axl Rotten) THE LIVE FAN’s REACTIONS: This aspect helps make the match what it is…it really does. Most of the onlookers were in utter awe by the violence that they were witnessing first-hand. Whenever the scissors were being used, many fans could be heard shouting variations of “Oh my God!” and “Holy sh*t!” and letting out tremendous gasps of horror. When Ian rolled into the ring and grabbed the scissors, the onlookers began to brace themselves for another series of repulsive bloodletting (little did they know just how sick it was going to be). As Ian sliced away at Pondo’s forehead with the scissors, tons of fans shouted audibly, “Oh my God!” and one even “Jesus Christ!” When Pondo’s arm got ripped to shreds by the scissors (in one of the sickest visuals I’ve ever seen, mind you), the onlookers continue shouting “Oh my God,” only this time they emphasized the “God” part, conveying a degree of revulsion for the barbaric acts being performed. “Holy sh*t,” “F*ck,” and other obscenities could also be heard at this point. It sounded as if the cameraman is among one of those people who couldn’t believe what they were seeing, although it may just be someone else right next to him. As the match re-entered the ring and Ian proceeded to choke Pondo with his hands, someone in the crowd can actually be heard shouting “That’s enough!” That instance brought back to me a flashback of the Mass Transit incident, which I actually just happened to watch last night (Eric Kulas’ father shouts at the top of his lungs, “That’s enough!” right before New Jack is about to drive an object down onto Kulas’ forehead and just moments after the bladejob from hell had occurred.). Later, when Pondo exited the ring to obtain the wooden board, a woman shouted “Oh, God!” and several other females screamed as they saw from close-up range the horrific wound on his upper arm. The camera stayed at ringside the entire time and the viewer can actually see four fans (one male and – get this – three females [it's weird to think that so many women would attend a CZW show]) talking about what they just saw. As Pondo returns from wherever he obtained the weapon, the same women who freaked out as he left the ring area react the same way again, backing up as if there’s a colossal slug crawling towards them. Someone is heard yelling, “It’s white!” (in reference to Pondo’s cut), while several other people let loose even more (as if there haven’t been enough of them already) “Oh my God!” shouts. Then, during the zoom-in sequence on Pondo’s arm wound, the cameraman can be heard telling someone else near him to “look at the arm.” One of the two guys – either the cameraman or the guy nearby – is heard saying variations of “Look at that arm!” several times, as if he doesn’t believe what he’s seeing (and I don’t blame him…the cut looked nauseatingly deep). POST-MATCH RAMBLINGS: What do you expect me to say? This was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. That camera shot during the Axl attack made this match almost as sick as the Mass Transit incident. At least, though, some of the fans here showed some concern; with Mass Transit, so many were bloodthirsty vampires shouting things like “You fat f*ck!” Overall, this is definitely one of the sickest matches that I’ve ever seen, possibly the sickest I’ve ever seen from CZW (the TOD3 stuff remains a strong contender). This is a must-see match if you’re a blood-and-gore fan or a diehard Pondo, Ian, and/or CZW fan, but if you don’t fall under either of those categories, stay far away from it. MATCH ANALYSIS: What? This was a match? You could’ve fooled me…****1/2 for the brutality, 1/4* for the wrestling.

wee waas sasa

Indeed. I appreciate the backing up. The reason I wrote Jesus Christ wasn't because I was surprised it was RF Video doing the shoot. It was the fact that SABU was doing a shoot. That's why I CAPITALIZED Sabu and NOT RF Video. RF Video does tons of shoots with big names; it's not a surprise they got a name as big as Sabu...it's a surprise that Sabu is willing to do a shoot.

Why isn't there a "mellow" emoticon when I need one? I don't mean to defend RF. The point I'm trying to make is that while he's worse than just about every other wrestling promoter, he's in a group of people that are - in and of themself - corrupt. I think he's a scumbag for going after what he thought was a little boy. While what Heyman and Bischoff have done isn't technically illegal, I believe it to be very immoral...not as much as the RF scandal, but no more than a level or two below.

A who-what? Considering that Sabu has never done a video interview and his ENTIRE gimmick is and HAS BEEN based around not talking for 20 YEARS, I think the thread title is quite appropriate...

Not really. No, it wasn't. He tried to prevent Sabu from ever being able to wrestle again by pulling some absurd contract bullshit. Had XPW not supplied Sabu with thousands of dollars, Sabu wouldn't have been able to wrestle again for God knows how long. Along with the many other things I mentioned above.

RF has been a notorious asshole for years So has Paul Heyman, Eric Bischoff, and practically every other person involved in the wrestling industry. Let's face it - pro wrestling is a morally corruptive industry...there's not much way to avoid it if you wanna survive. Keep in mind that Heyman/Bishoff etc never tried to solicit a teenage boy for sex. Heyman tried to get New Jack in trouble for raping the daughter of an athletic commissioner who just so happened to not have any children. Heyman tried to cover up the Mass Transit incident and dealings with Extreme Associates. He violated the contracts of 80+% of his wrestlers by not paying them their salaries. And I'm pretty sure you can find plenty of dirt on Bischoff if you just try. Wasn't he (along with Kevin Nash) one of those implicated in a prostitution ring, but escaped the charges somehow? Face the facts.

Yeah, but according to a lot of people, he married a grade A asshole in his wife. You win some, you lose some, but you're always gonna make mistakes in a business like this...coming out as a different person than you started is inevitable with pro wrestling.

RF has been a notorious asshole for years So has Paul Heyman, Eric Bischoff, and practically every other person involved in the wrestling industry. Let's face it - pro wrestling is a morally corruptive industry...there's not much way to avoid it if you wanna survive.

Well, if public opinion is going to determine his business, and public opinion is based on how he conducts himself after this incident, I have trouble seeing him doing it again.

DOI has indicated that Sabu won't be shooting with SMV, Highspots, or anyone else, and that he has made the RF Video shoot his one and one shoot he'll ever do. Also, RF Video will be doing more stuff with Sabu in the future. I don't think he'd try to fuck any more little boys after the response the Internet gave him with the initial incident...

That kinda killed your whole point, dude.

lj

Like the transcript that exposed Rob as a child molestor? Nobody's defending him. I damn sure wouldn't What I'm defending is his seemingly unlimited business contacts and innovations. It's been like that for the last several weeks, dude. I hate to be the guy defending RF Video because I know they've made some really poor decisions in the past, but... Dude, you don't know that. Only Sabu, RF, his employees, and a few others know. I'd love to see you commit to the travel schedule that Sabu once had and still maintains. Maybe the time was right to let the mystique die. Sabu has had a lot of physical and personal stuff go down over the past few years. He's not going to be wrestling for more than a couple more years, and that's pushing it. The non-life-threatening back tumors that someone else brought up are just one example of his problems. He has a lot more health problems that I know a bit about, but hardly enough to speak of (partly because of the credibility issue and partly because a lot of the stuff crosses the level of what should be on a public forum). Who are you to comment on his financial status? You're welcomed to have that opinion, man. I just don't agree, nor do thousands of other wrestling fans. And unfortunately (in my opinion), a lot of people probably agree with you. What the f*ck else do you expect from the guy? He just celebrated 20 years in the business, and judging by his scars, it seems like he's an elder who's been wrestling ever since the day he was born. Well, RF Video's shoots date back to the early '90's, so you gotta expect the production value is going to be considerably less than 2004 production value. The reason I scoffed at your original assessment was because you made it sound like you were completely devaluing the fact that without RF Video, ROH Straight Shootin wouldn't exist. (hope that answers your question, too, bob barron)

That's funny. Scary, too. Puhleez..."Straight shootin?" LMAO. Gotta favor the innovator here, and that's RF Video. Face it - they pulled something off that nobody - not Dave Meltzer, not Bob Barnett, not Bill Apter has been able to do for years. Sure Wade Keller did an interview with Sabu around '95 and Sabu did the Gathering of the Juggalos Fans Q&A, but still...I've been waiting for this for ages.

kjl

Who was he? I know he was the guy who helped DX impersonate The Nation, but was he a wrestler? Was he under contract do WWE? I've never heard've him since. Any info on the dude?

Next up - the infamous bloodfest between Madman Pondo and Ian Rotten in CZW.

How's AJ Styles/Teddy Hart from WCPW in Hawaii? Is it really good or just average?

WWF Light Heavyweight Title Match: Jerry Lynn © vs. Christopher Daniels – WWF Jakked/Metal (aired May 26, 2001) WRITTEN: Saturday, November 27, 2004 Jonathan Coachman and Kevin Kelly are on commentary. Quick start, as Lynn attacks with a double-leg takedown, but gets kicked off. Daniels fights to maintain a headlock, but eventually gets pushed into the ropes and – following a sweet roperun reversal sequence – takes Lynn down with the leaping heelkick that he loves. Bodyslam and a catapult leg drop from Daniels for 2, but Lynn comes back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a backdrop suplex for the same result, before slowing things down with a Vertaebreaker submission. Daniels eventually drops out and tries a huracanrana, but Lynn counters awesomely with a sitdown powerbomb out of midair for another 2 count. A Side Backbreaker gets the same result. Daniels comes back by escaping a T.K.O. attempt and counters Lynn’s attempted shoulder-spin into a mega Electric Chair Slam. Now a pair of lariats and a tilt-a-whirl sideslam, as Daniels starts throwing out a bunch of offense. He hits the GREATEST MOONSAULT EVER~!, but doesn’t go for the win, instead working Lynn over with a stepover toehold-style bow-and-arrow. Later, Lynn charges into the corner and gets backdropped to the apron, but takes back control by using a leg drop to drive Daniels throat-first onto the middle rope. The running swinging DDT finishes things off, as Lynn retains and Daniels is back off to APW, ECWA, PWF, Japan, and wherever else he’s booked. MATCH ANALYSIS: Obviously nowhere near the quality that these two guys are fully capable of, but still a solid showing by both. Lynn actually fitted a decent dose of psychology in by focusing on Daniels’ back (two backbreakers, a suplex, the Vertakebreaker, and a powerbomb), and then Daniels retained a similar focus with the Electric Chair (which was a nice addition by the way), the sideslam, the Moonsault (which – I forgot to add – was onto Lynn’s back, and the bow-and-arrow. Still, though, nothing overly special here. The fact that they maintained such a quick pace was nice to see on a second-tier show such as Jakked/Metal, but considering what these guys have done on the indy circuit since Lynn was released from WWE, wasn’t fully indicative of their talents. Worth tracking down due to its rarity if you’re a Daniels fan, but other than that, definitely not a must-see. *1/2.

Ya. Four things came up with Spybot. I had it correct the problems and restarted. Same thing happens. With eTrust, no viruses/infections came up. Any suggestions? Is there a way to uninstall WMM? It doesn't appear to be in the Add & Remove Programs section, unfortunately, and it won't let me delete it.

When I double click it, nothing happens. I've tried restarting my computer multiple times. I was just using it yesterday without any problem. I had a similar thing like this with Internet Explorer a few months ago (before I switched to Mozilla Firefox) and it turned out that I had a virus. Could that be the reason for this? This is not a good thing. I got some MVs I've worked extremely hard on and I can't have them all just go to waste. Any help would be extremely appreciated.

I've contacted former-porn star and XPW valet Jessica Darlin to be a part of this retrospective. I hope to have an answer from her within the next couple of weeks. She's the second porn star to be contacted; Jasmin St. Claire was the first and refused, through her boyfriend The Blue Meanie. Whether or not she agrees to help out, best wishes go out to Jessica, as she's currently busy recovering from cancer and occasionally doing porno on the side.

Coming in the next couple weeks: An amazing music video showcasing the history of XPW as you've never, EVER seen it before. Never before seen footage and photos from HeatWave, autograph sessions, the ECW discussions, Slammers, and more. This is unlike anything XPW-related that you will ever see. Stay tuned - over the next couple of years, the story of the promotion that forever changed Southern California independent wrestling will be told.

Congratulations on becoming my new favorite TSM poster. I love you.