Combat Zone Wrestling

**Combat Zone Wrestling** (CZW) is an American independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and five of his students, Ric Blade, T.C.K, Lobo, Nick Gage, and Justice Pain (along with trainer Jon Dahmer) began to run professional wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence". Ladders, tables, steel folding chairs, thumbtacks, barbed wire, Weed whackers, light tubes, and fire are all common elements of "ultraviolent wrestling" in CZW. The company filled a niche for hardcore wrestling fans that had been left open by the folding of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). CZW established themselves as the leading American hardcore wrestling promotion at the ECW Arena with their Cage of Death 3 show in 2001, the year ECW folded.

Their homegrown roster helped establish what became a top independent promotion in later years. Although they are most commonly known for their "ultraviolent" style, their shows feature almost every other styles of wrestling as well. Just about any card will feature high flying, comedy, strong style, chain wrestling, and technical wrestling. Their annual Tournament of Death show emphasizes the ultraviolent style of CZW, while their annual Best of the Best emphasizes on the technical and aerial style. All of their shows are taped and distributed by Pancoast Productions, Inc., who releases the shows on DVD and pay-per-stream via their website. CZW was broadcast on The Fight Network to viewers in the UK and Ireland as part of the Bloodbath program until The Fight Network closed in 2008. CZW now runs shows on a monthly basis at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, New Jersey; however, they occasionally will run shows outside New Jersey.

## Championships

* Combat Zone Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship
* Combat Zone Wrestling World Tag Team Championship
* Combat Zone Wrestling Wired TV Championship
* Combat Zone Wrestling Medal of Valor

* Combat Zone Wrestling Death Match Championship
* Combat Zone Wrestling Interpromotional Hardcore Championship
* Combat Zone Wrestling Iron Man Championship
* Combat Zone Wrestling Ultraviolent Underground Championship
* Combat Zone Wrestling World Junior Heavyweight Championship

## Maven Bentley Association

The Maven Bentley Association (MBA) is Combat Zone Wrestling's sister company, run by Maven Bentley. The MBA is the sole owner of the Maven Bentley character. It provides promoter services to independent wrestling companies as well as the character Maven Bentley for acting and other entertainment endeavors. Half of the roster are mainly from CZW. The MBA LLC has provided services for some of the top names in the wrestling business such as Ring of Honor (ROH), World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW), World Sumo League (WSL), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

In 2007, CZW had a short lived feud with the MBA, who had been running amok in CZW for the past few months with the power-mad Bentley abusing his authority. Bentley "hired" a few of CZW's own wrestlers to help him take over the company. Those wrestlers included Diehard Dustin Lee, Scotty Vortekz, Brain Damage, and DJ Hyde. Bentley himself got involved as he was scheduled to face Lobo in a lumberjack strap match, which he lost at Cage of Death 9. The MBA returned to the CZW Arena for its "Economic Crisis" event on January 31, 2009.

## Defunct Championships

* Maven Bentley Association Heavyweight Championship
* Maven Bentley Association Tag Team Championship
* Maven Bentley Association A-Maven-Can Idol Heavyweight Championship