Is garbage wrestling dead?

[sideburnedhamster]

i noticed the lack of discussion on this board and it got me thinking, is this because garbage wrestling as we know it is dead? BJW is dying out, there is no hardcore division in wwe anymore and how often do we see death matches these days? XPW is the only american group that is truly just garbage wretling, i dont know about japan anymore. someone please tell me its not dead.

[sideburnedhamster]

ok, i take it either garbage wrestling is dead or no one here cares about it anymore.

[edgehead1984]

Point well taken Hamster.

[Jason]

I'd characterize it more as being in a coma, than being dead. It was obviously a fad in the 90s, and like most fads completely played itself out, but will probably be back somewhere down the line.

[sideburnedhamster]

hey edgehead, what happened to stan hansen? one day ill discover the way to get to myown little avatar... anyway, would those old fashioned matches like the recent NWA russian chain match or the recent wwe stretcher match be considered hardcore or just a stipulation?

[edgehead1984]

felt like a change.



on your other question, it depends on what you believe hardcore is.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

I was waiting to answer this after I saw what a few of the other answers were.....

My guess is that the companies that cater to garbage fans are losing interest because the matches became the norm, not the exception. You see one, it's shocking. You see ten, it's entertaining. You see a hundred, well... it loses it's edge after a while.

Now, in another thread (the BJW thread), j.o.b.squad stated that a few of the American garbage promotions (CZW and IWA Mid-South) are cutting back in the number of death matches, saving them for special occasions. That sounds like a really good idea to me, maybe something Big Japan should look into. Making the matches rarer would make them special, "must-see" shows.

P.S. - since the "Hardcore" title reign of Crash Holly, there is very little I would consider the WWE doing that I'd classify hardcore...

[Mayo Chaos]

Bringing back Mick Foley, eh?

But onto the matter at hand: Combat Zone Wrestling has been forced to cut a lot of the gimmicks from their matches (barbwire, lightbulbs, glass) as the Philadelphia Athletic Commision has banned them. They're doing their annual Tournament Of Death outside Philly, so they can use bulbs and wire etc. IWA's King Of The Deathmatches is right around the corner, followed by their juniorweight tournament. They've cut back on the deathmatches alright (CZW especially), and it's worked wonders. In the bad times, a shot from a lightbulb was pretty pathetic and useless, as it was no-sold big time and used way too much: it became bland. Now that they can use it in a couple of events a year (being a Philly based promotion) they're suddenly much more waited for. And that's definitively something that BJPW should look into.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

I thought Combat Zone was based in New Jersey? When did they move?

Anywho, it's probably a good idea to make the death matches rarer so the wrestlers could heal up more. Some of those guys go through a lot of punishment, and to do it show after show after show would surely take a toll on a human body.

[Mayo Chaos]

Originally posted by El Pollo Guerrera
I thought Combat Zone was based in New Jersey? When did they move?

I'm not exactly sure, but I'd say in mid-2002.

[j.o.b. squad]

it is still technically based in jersey as that is where the offices and school are. they just do not run shows there except once a year or so. they moved the main shows to viking hall (the old ecw arena) stating in december of 2001.

[Jeremy Goss]

Garbage wrestling has toned down because it isn't a big draw like it used to be. The indy feds now play two hands, one being hardcore brutality and the oter being thecnical wrestling. CZW still produces bloody, hardcore mayhem but XPW is pretty much dead so we can forget about them.

Don't worry though, the CZW Tournament of Death is coming up as well as the IWA Mid South King of The Death Match tourney.

[j.o.b. squad]

as long as this thread is still up

sick nick mondo won the tourney of death 2
mad man pondo won iwa-ms kotdm 2003

now watch as i tie this thread back into puro related news. representitives from japans samurai tv were at iwa-ms kotdm. also the footage taped by smv will air on samurai tv (which might explain why pondo won it).

So while the supply side of the equasion in japans deathmatch wrestling equasion may have bottomed out. There are some who believe that there is still some demand for it in japan.

[Bozo Yoroshiku]

My guess is that the companies that cater to garbage fans are losing interest because the matches became the norm, not the exception. You see one, it's shocking. You see ten, it's entertaining. You see a hundred, well... it loses it's edge after a while.
[...]
Making the matches rarer would make them special, "must-see" shows.

This fits with the WWE these days as well... specifically Hell in a Cell matches. There have been too many of them for this type of match to be considered so horrific and possibly-career-ending.

That's what made the TLC matches great... they had 2 (or 3) of them, and no more. And if Edge is to be believed, none of the original participants will do another.

If only they had done the same with HiaC. Foley made the first couple of matches the stuff of legends. I can't recall anything from subsequent HiaC matches that I would consider to be anything but mediocre (and don't even get me started on Kennel in a Cell).

They had something good with TLC, they made it great, then left it at that. Hell in a Cell was milked for every bit of blood it could wring out of the post-match chamois, and now it's nothing more than a glorified cage match. Not exactly the apocoalyptic carnage it should have been.

My suggestion for (hopefully MUCH fewer) future HiaC matches: keep HHH as far away from the match as possible.


Bozo.

[Russ L]

. Hell in a Cell was milked for every bit of blood it could wring out of the post-match chamois,

That's the best and funniest phrase I've heard for a long, long time.

I agree with everything you said about that, though. From the way they built up the elim chamber match I think they might try to groom that as the alternative "WWE's most brutal gimmick," but I get the feeling they'll mess it up and over use it.

Quick, someone mention Japan...