Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent wrestling promotion. In 1998, 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, panes of glass, exploding barbed wire baseball bats, 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 style of wrestling as well. Just about any card will feature high flying, comedy, strong style, 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. 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 used to run shows on a monthly basis at the Colossal Sports Academy in Voorhees Township, New Jersey. They formerly hosted events at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees Township, New Jersey, and the Rastellies Kids Complex in Sewell, New Jersey. CZW currently runs monthly shows at The State Theatre in Havre de Grace, Maryland and at Studio Z in Blackwood, New Jersey. In 2016, CZW was covered by Vice Media in the documentary Bloodlust: Tournament of Death. History John Zandig ownership Pro Wrestling Academy Combat Zone Wrestling's Pro Wrestling Academy was founded in New Jersey by John Zandig in 1998. After training the classes alone, Zandig enlisted the help of Jon Dahmer, who helped train with Zandig for the next three classes. The first student trained was Lobo, who worked with Zandig before their wrestling careers. Nick Gage and Justice Pain were the next two students to be trained by Zandig. The fourth student and fifth student