Combat Zone Wrestling's Best of the Best is a professional wrestling tournament and supershow held in the CZW promotion. The annual Best of The Best was originally a junior heavyweight tournament, which in 2005 was repurposed as an all weight tournament.
Contents
- List of winners
- Best of the Best
- Best of the Best 2
- Best of the Best 3
- Best of the Best 4
- Best of the Best 5
- Best of the Best 6
- Best of the Best 7
- Best of the Best 8
- Best of the Best 9
- Best of the Best X
- Best of the Best 11
- Best of the Best XII
- Best of the Best XIII
- Best of the Best XIV
- Best of the Best XV
- References
The first four tournaments saw 12 men first compete in elimination style 3-way matches in the first round before then single elimination matches until a winner was determined. During the 2005 tournament, which was held on May 14, 2005, the winner was determined by all single elimination matches. The original tournament structure returned in 2006, but saw the last four men face off in one match to determine the winner.
List of winners
2001 = The Winger
2002 = Trent Acid
2003 = B-Boy
2004 = Sonjay Dutt
2005 = Mike Quackenbush
2006 = Ruckus
2007 = Joker
2008 = Sabian
2009 = Egotistico Fantastico
2011 = Adam Cole
2012 = Sami Callihan
2013 = Alex Colon
2014 = Drake Younger
2015 = Mike Bailey
Best of the Best
CZW’s first Best of the Best tournament took place on May 19, 2001 at the Champs Soccer Arena in Sewell, NJ.
†Ruckus was a stand in for Juventud Guerrera in round one, because he was late to arrive.
Best of the Best 2
CZW’s second Best of the Best tournament took place on June 8, 2002 at the “CZW Arena” (The Arena) in Philadelphia, PA.
Best of the Best 3
CZW’s third Best of the Best tournament took place on April 12, 2003 at the “CZW Arena” (The Arena) in Philadelphia, PA. Due the show starting late, all the matches had a strict 15 minute time limit.
Best of the Best 4
CZW’s fourth Best of the Best tournament took place on July 10, 2004 at the “CZW Arena” (The Arena) in Philadelphia, PA.
Best of the Best 5
CZW’s fifth Best of the Best tournament took place on May 14, 2005 at the “CZW Arena” (The Arena) in Philadelphia, PA. This was the first Best of the Best tournament to allow heavyweight wrestlers to compete. Also, this Best of the Best tournament did not have the traditional 3-way elimination opening round match. Instead, the final match was a 4-way elimination match.
Best of the Best 6
CZW’s sixth Best of the Best tournament took place on May 13, 2006 at the “CZW Arena” (The Arena) in Philadelphia, PA. This Best of the Best tournament saw the return of 3-way elimination match for the opening rounds, as well as keeping 4-way elimination match for the final match.
Best of the Best 7
Best of the Best 7 took place on July 14, 2007 at the “CZW Arena” (The Arena) in Philadelphia, PA.
Best of the Best 8
Best of the Best 8 took place on May 10, 2008 at the “CZW Arena” (The Arena) in Philadelphia, PA, and featured the first female competitor for a Best of the Best tournament in LuFisto.
Best of the Best 9
Best of the Best 9 took place on June 13, 2009 at the “CZW Arena” (The Arena) in Philadelphia, PA.
- Ryan McBride def. B-Boy
- Carter Gray def. Scotty Vortekz
- Sami Callihan def. Greg Excellent
- Devon Moore def. Pinkie Sanchez
- Shiima Xion def. Sabian
- Egotistico Fantastico def. Drew Blood
- Sami Callihan def. Ryan McBride and Carter Gray
- Egotistico Fantastico def. Shiima Xion and Devon Moore
- Egotistico Fantastico def. Sami Callihan to win the Best Of The Best 9 tournament, the CZW Iron Man Championship, and to retain the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Best of the Best X
Best of the Best X took place on April 9, 2011 at the “Asylum Arena” (The Arena) in Philadelphia, PA.
In non-tournament action
Ragnarok & Roll Glass Crush Death Match - CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship: Danny Havoc def. Jun Kasai (c)
CZW World Heavyweight Championship & CZW World Tag Team Championship: The Briscoe Brothers (c) & Devon Moore def. Philly's Most Wanted & Robert Anthony (c) w/ Jon Moxley
Participants:
- Zack Sabre, Jr. def. Jonathon Gresham and Akuma with Kimber Lee
- Adam Cole (with Mia Yim) def. Johnny Gargano and Kyle O'Reilly
- Diasuke Sekimoto def. Chuck Taylor and Brandon Gatson
- Sami Callihan def. Jake Crist and AR Fox
- Adam Cole (with Mia Yim) def. Zack Sabre' Jr.
- Sami Callihan def. Diasuke Sekimoto
- Adam Cole (with Mia Yim) def. Sami Callihan
Best of the Best 11
Was held on April 14th, 2012 at the Flyer's Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ.
Non-tournament Matches:
CZW Wired TV Championship: Dave Crist def. Jake Crist
Ultraviolent Encounter: Matt Tremont def. Clint Margera
Drew Gulak and Danny Havoc signed a contract for a No Ropes Barbwire match that happened May 12th, 2012.
Participants:
- Sami Callihan def. Drake Younger, MK McKinnan & Trent 7
- Alex Colon def. Greg Excellent & Willie Mack
- Samuray del Sol def. Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano
- AR Fox def. ACH & Lince Dorado
- Sami Callihan def. Alex Colon
- AR Fox def. Samuray del Sol
- Sami Callihan def. AR Fox
Best of the Best XII
Took place April 13, 2013 at the Flyer's Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ.
Non-Tournament matches included:
Adam Cole def. Sami Callihan
DJ Hyde def. Michael Dante
Fans Bring the Weapons Match: Ron Matthis def. Rory Mondo.
Participants:
- Alex Colon def. Shane Strickland & Rich Swann
- Jon Gresham def. Biff Busick & Caleb Konley
- Tommy End def. Shane Hollister & Alex Reynolds
- AR Fox def. Uhaa Nation & Andrew Everett
- Alex Colon def. Jon Gresham
- AR Fox def. Tommy End
- Alex Colon def. AR Fox
Best of the Best XIII
Took place April 12, 2014 at the Flyer's Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ.
Non-Tournament matches included:
CZW Wired Television Championship - Ladder Match: Shane Strickland (c) def. Devon Moore
# 1 contenders Match for the CZW World Tag Team Championship: The Juicy Product (David Starr & JT Dunn) def. OI4K (Dave & Jake Crist)
Participants:
- Chuck Taylor def. Buxx Belmar & Lucky 13
- Biff Busick def. Azerial & Caleb Konley
- Drake Younger def. Papadon & Timothy Thatcher
- AR Fox def. Andrew Everett & Mike Bailey
- Biff Busick def. Chuck Taylor
- Drake Younger def. AR Fox
- Drake Younger def. Biff Busick
Best of the Best XIV
Took place April 11, 2015 at the Flyer's Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ. During the event, Nick Gage made his return to CZW after spending four years in prison.
Non Tournament Matches:
CZW World Tag Team Championship: NOI's Danny Havoc & Lucky 13 def. OI4K (Jake & Dave Crist) (c) by disqualification
Deathmatch Trial Series - Scaffold Match: NOI's Devon Moore def. Connor Claxton
Round 1:
- Tommy End def. Aaron Williams & Caleb Konley
- Jonathan Gresham def. Trevor Lee & Tracy Williams
- CJP def. Joe Gacy & Joey Janela
- Mike Bailey def. Andrew Everett & Buxx Belmar
Round 2:
- Jonathan Gresham def. Tommy End
- Mike Bailey def. CJP
Finals:
- Mike Bailey def. Jonathan Gresham
Best of the Best XV
Took place April 9, 2016 at the Flyer's Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ..
Non Tournament Matches:
Brittany Blake defeated Aaron Williams and Chip Day and Ethan Case and Jason Cade and Tony Nese
The Amazing Gulaks (Drew Gulak & Rory Gulak) defeaed Conor Claxton & Devon Moore
No Disqualification Match: Tim Donst defeated Danny Havoc
Round 1:
- Jonathan Gresham defeated Joey Janela and Lio Rush
- Rickey Shane Page defeated Ethan Page and Ryan Galeone (w/Veda Scott)
- Shane Strickland defeated Anthony Henry and Curt Robinson
- David Starr defeated Dave Crist and Dezmond Xavier
Round 2:
- David Starr defeats Shane Strickland
- Jonathan Gresham defeated Rickey Shane Page
Finals:
- Jonathan Gresham defeated David Starr