• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Baseball ’19
  • Day Zero 3
  • Earl
  • My list
  • Photo Blogging Challenge

A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

CZW House of Horrors match lives up to name and then some

October 17, 2013

[NOTE/WARNING: PLEASE DON’T READ OR MOVE FORWARD IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH OR HAVE NO TOLERANCE FOR SEEING BLOOD. IN THIS BLOG POST, THERE ARE PHOTOS OF BLOODY WRESTLERS. PLEASE STOP READING IF THIS WILL MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE. I AM EVEN ADDING THE “READ MORE” OPTION ON THE FRONT PAGE SO PEOPLE CAN CHOOSE! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!]

The House of Horrors match.

I’ve seen a lot when it comes to professional wrestling.

There have been wrestlers sent through flaming tables. There’s been bloody battles. There have been hardcore matches.

Back in the day, I saw several of the original ECW shows, back when tumbling down a set of bleachers, fighting outside the building and using unconventional weapons wasn’t so normal.

Matt Tremont and Joe Gacy prepare to go at it in the House of Horrors.

There’s been “Stone Cold” Steve Austin spraying Vince McMahon with a beer truck (in Albany), or John Cena as a bloody mess, losing the WWE title when Edge cashed in Money in the Bank (also in Albany).

The Royal Rumble. Titles changing hands. Crazy and intense crowds and small crowds sitting on their hands.

Yep, I feel like I’ve seen it all. Until this past Saturday.

Visiting family in South Jersey, I opted to see if there were any wrestling cards in decently close proximity. I saw a handful, but the one that stuck out to me was Combat Zone Wrestling, also known as CZW. The federation is well-known among independent wrestling fans as having some of the best action out there, with a mix of great wrestling and some extremely hardcore and crazy matches.

As a fan of all aspects of wrestling, and having seeing several CZW wrestlers elsewhere, I thought it would be good to see them in their glory. Off I went.

Let me first say this — the bulk of the card was like many indy shows I’ve been to in that there were some amazing matches (AR Fox is simply incredible) as well as a few ho-hum ones. I could tell on some things because the crowd was either crazy into it or a little subdued. And, like some indy cards which use Internet Pay-Per-View or online shows, there were some angles/storylines that lost me, but I could tell if they were good or bad thanks, in part, to the crowd’s reaction.

Joe Gacy uses a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire on Matt Tremont.

Still, overall, I loved the card leading into the main event.

Then it took over.

See, I’ve never been to a card where they had to take a second intermission before the main event — just to set the ring up!

The whole time there, I wondered what a House of Hardcore match was. Now I know.

Long 2X4s were hooked on to each post. Wrapped around, high above, was barbed wire. There were chairs and bats wrapped in barbed wire. There was a stapler, a bucket of tacks (which, shockingly, wasn’t used). A table with barbed wire, a ring barrier, two pieces of plywood draped in — you guessed it — barbed wire.

Oh, I forgot to mention the board of nails.

Tremont early on in the match.

There were some basics, too, like a trash can and regular metal chair. But most things (we’d find out later there was a power drill, of course with barbed wire), were downright brutal.

The match featured “Chainsaw” Joe Gacy (who I have seen in an Upstate New York federation) facing Matt Tremont.

Though I try not to swear much on this blog, there’s truly only one thing to say about this match:

Holy shit.

Tremont was busted open in the first few minutes of the match after going headfirst into a barbed wire-covered chair, then toppling out of the ring and through one of the plywood barbed wire “tables.”

That was but just a preview of what was to come.

The end of the match.

These two used pretty much everything in the ring, sans the tacks. Barbed wire was everywhere. Gacy actually used the stapler in two spots, including on the head, on Tremont.

I thought, maybe — just maybe, the stapler was empty. But one of the photos I took allowed me to close in on Tremont’s head and, yes, there was a staple.

Ouch!

I truly do wonder how somebody puts themselves through stuff like this. The crowd was into it and it was, by far, one of the craziest things I’ve ever watched in my life. So maybe adrenaline plays a part?

The ending came when Tremont wrapped Gacy’s face in barbed wire and pulled back, rendering Gacy unconscious and forcing the referee to, somewhat mercifully, call the match.

In the end, I was fully entertained. And as a “blood and guts” wrestling fan, I was highly impressed and gave mad props to both guys. But it also makes me wonder if it’s all worth it. I think only those two can be the ones to tell you yes or no on that one.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: My world, Photography, Pro Wrestling Tagged With: blood, blood in wrestling, chainsaw joe gacy, combat wrestling zone, czw, flyers skate zone, hardcore wrestling, house of horrors, house of horrors match, joe gacy, matt tremont, new jersey, voorhees nj

17 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Phil says

    October 17, 2013

    Love wrestling! I still watch it. These matches remind me of the old school attitude days of ECW.
    Phil recently posted..White House Sub Shop in Atlantic City! That’s a meaty feast!My Profile

    Reply
    • P.J. says

      October 17, 2013

      Yeah, definitely old-school ECW. I’ve heard when CZW still ran in Philly, they did a lot of light tubes. I would have liked to see those in this match!

      Reply
  2. Considerer says

    October 17, 2013

    I think I prefer boxing. But I guess these guys know what they’re getting into, and I imagine they’re paid well enough to do it, so it’s up to them, really.

    Reply
    • TomiMag says

      October 17, 2013

      They know what they’re getting into but believe me they are not getting paid much. They’re lucky if they get more than 100$ for these type of matches. They don’t live a very comfortable lifestyle financially and obviously not physically. You really have to love the sport to get involved in it.
      TomiMag recently posted..attackfox:

      hey wats gong onMy Profile

      Reply
      • P.J. says

        October 17, 2013

        While I agree with most of this, I’m going to hope — because CZW is a bigger indy — that these two got a little more than $100. Some people make a decent living doing this if you are a mainstream indy guy. I don’t know what Gacy and Tremont got, but if it only is like $100, then they really love it! 😀

        Reply
        • Considerer says

          October 18, 2013

          They’d have to really, REALLY love it. I can assume there’s some draw, otherwise put themselves through it!
          Considerer recently posted..7 Quick Takes #49 x FTSFMy Profile

          Reply
          • P.J. says

            October 18, 2013

            I think most of them do really love it. There definitely has to be a draw to parts of it. The crowd went nuts, so I think that has to really help.

    • P.J. says

      October 17, 2013

      Pro wrestling is such a great entertainment value. They definitely know what they are getting into when they do it. And on the independent circuit, the pay isn’t that great, unfortunately!

      Reply
  3. Gunmetal Geisha says

    October 17, 2013

    Holy shit is right! So interesting and…gross! Yuck! People are seriously sadistic… But tell me, is this wrestling part of the same kind of fake wrestling I’ve glimpsed on TV?
    Gunmetal Geisha recently posted..The Politics of ThinnessMy Profile

    Reply
    • P.J. says

      October 17, 2013

      Yes, people are sadistic. But, let me say this — fake is a harsh word with pro wrestlers. Because, truthfully, it’s not “fake.” People get seriously hurt, have died etc. And that blood is real! It’s entertainment and they are athletes. Are things planned? For sure. But you still have to know what you are doing because one botched move could seriously hurt somebody or worse!

      But yes, same sort of thing as on TV, but this is a smaller version.

      Reply
  4. Gunmetal Geisha says

    October 17, 2013

    I’d prefer to think of it as fake blood! I also would like to imagine that the barbed wire wasn’t really metal, but some sort of pliable material made to look like regular barbed wire… But yes, I do understand the athleticism involved.
    Gunmetal Geisha recently posted..The Politics of ThinnessMy Profile

    Reply
    • P.J. says

      October 18, 2013

      I can understand trying to think that way. I tried, too, but a zoom lens on a camera helps with that… 🙂

      Reply
  5. Dean Moxley Ambrose says

    January 8, 2015

    So the saw that Brain Damage used on Jon Moxley was real? I have read on other sources that incident was faked. Can’t find that particular interview though.

    Reply
    • P.J. says

      January 9, 2015

      I honestly have no idea… but I would think it was real. From what I saw in CZW, they don’t fake the objects! But I have no idea about the match you are referencing. I have a couple CZW DVDs and they are pretty crazy.

      Reply
  6. Dean Moxley Ambrose says

    January 9, 2015

    Thanks. Yeah czw is definitely unconventional. The match I was referring to was a dining death match. Complete with plates, silverware, and the now notorious saw. It is a shame Brain Damage commited suicide. To me the match was more brawl than wrestling

    Reply
  7. PWT says

    July 18, 2015

    Gacy is a solid worker, and he did some work in the death match scene at CZW’s tournament of death. He also did the head-first slide as one of the tag team opponents during the “hypnosis” video which went viral when his team faced the Osirian Portal. Hope he gets better and gets more exposure, but his promos need a lot of work.
    PWT recently posted..Name Of Zombie Who Faced Sandman On 1st WWE ECW EpisodeMy Profile

    Reply
  8. Dean Moxley Ambrose says

    August 29, 2015

    I know the majority of weapons used in C.Z.W. matches are real but I wonder if they have been modified to make them safer. For example I wonder if the baseball bats wrapped with barbed wire or with saw blades affixed are plastic and if the lightubes have been made less toxic (the mercury vapor bieng very bad for the lungs). In one match the late Brain Damage (Marvin Lambert) used a plastic looking bat with a saw blade (plastic looking) to cut Jon Moxley’s head. I do know the skill saw was a real saw but the blade had been replaced with soft rubber and just moved some blood around. Thanks in advance.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Welcome to A 'lil HooHaa!

This is a personal website covering many topics! We host a monthly photo blogging challenge, and then every January hold a fun writing challenge.

Thank you for stopping by and hope this becomes a stop for you!

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Follow

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 882 other subscribers

Instagram

hoohaa29

Writer who loves images just as much as words! In search of perfectly poured pints of Guinness and great hot dogs. Find me on twitter @softball29.

Couldn’t resist stopping on the way to work too Couldn’t resist stopping on the way to work too quickly snap some photos of this scene. Hamden Covered Bridge. #bridge #coveredbridge #hamden #snow #winter #instagood #photooftheday #happy #picoftheday #fun #igers #bestoftheday #life #photo #iphonesia #igdaily #iphoneonly #love #beautiful #photography
A nice day to get out for a hike, grab a #geocache A nice day to get out for a hike, grab a #geocache and place a few. Felt good abs here’s hoping for a much better year!
Thought this wax seal came out pretty well! #waxse Thought this wax seal came out pretty well! #waxsealstamp #waxseal #waxseals #card #mail #snailmail
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Twitter

P.J.Follow

P.J.
Retweet on TwitterP.J. Retweeted
QU_MIHQuinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey@QU_MIH·
11 Jan

Our stock is 📈 #BobcatNation

Reply on Twitter 1348721955793489920Retweet on Twitter 13487219557934899202Like on Twitter 134872195579348992060Twitter 1348721955793489920
softball29P.J.@softball29·
15 Jan

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Shut up, Meg@MMMac88

Karma's a bitch. Thanks for the assist @GarlandTMI ✌💙

Reply on Twitter 1349975081716486149Retweet on Twitter 1349975081716486149Like on Twitter 1349975081716486149Twitter 1349975081716486149
Retweet on TwitterP.J. Retweeted
NYIslandersNew York Islanders@NYIslanders·
15 Jan

FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON
FIRST #ISLES WIN OF THE SEASON
FIRST SHUTOUT OF THE SEASON
🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞

Reply on Twitter 1349910557365858308Retweet on Twitter 13499105573658583081026Like on Twitter 13499105573658583083657Twitter 1349910557365858308
Load More...

Archives

Categories

Calendar

January 2021
S M T W T F S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
« Dec    

Search The Site

Site Information

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

A 'lil HooHaa © 2021 · Created By Coded Creative

Copyright © 2021 · Ava Mae on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in