The Short-Lived CZW Vs. ECW Angle At The ECW Arena
ECW's last show at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia was December 23, 2000. A year later, CZW held its first show at the Arena: Cage of Death 3. The main event was Wifebeater vs. Justice Pain.
After the main event was over, ECW alumni appeared in the ring to start what would have been a CZW vs. ECW feud heading into 2002. Original ECW founder Tod Gordon led the group with The Blue Meanie, Pitbull #1 Gary Wolf, Rebel, Rocco Rock and an unknown 5th member. CZW owner at the time, John Zandig, confronted the ECW contingent and was beaten down. Then, from underneath the ring, a chainsaw cut into the ring and The Sandman appeared. He first was with the ECW group, but then he turned on them to help CZW.
This low-quality footage (found on YouTube) shows the two standing on top of the cage to end the show:
Here is more on the COD 3 event: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CZW_Cage_of_Death#Cage_of_Death_III
There are a few reasons why the ECW-CZW angle never developed, so this ended up being a one-time angle which didn't have any payoff heading into 2002.
New Jack appeared two years later as a surprise entrant at CZW's Cage of Death V, also held at the ECW Arena:
After ECW's last show in 2001, very few ECW alumni wrestled in CZW for multiple matches. ECW alumni who wrestled either just once or only a handful of times in CZW in 2001 included:
- Adam Flash
- Bad Crew (Dog & Rose)
- Balls Mahoney
- HC Loc (former ECW referee)
- Juventud Guerrera
- Little Guido
- Reckless Youth
- Rockin' Rebel
- Super Crazy
- Tajiri
- Tom Marquez
- Tommy Dreamer
- Towel Boy
That would’ve been such an exciting storyline if it had continued. The idea of CZW and ECW clashing had so much potential. It’s a bit disappointing it ended so soon, especially with that surprising turn from The Sandman.