Yesterday, I left off with Kazi reluctantly adhering to the stipulation and joining the All Stars. This made fans and peers question whether they can trust Kazi. Men at one point considered Kazi’s friends were now distancing themselves from him. Friendships would be tested in this huge 8 man tag.
It’s clear that Kazi is only an All Star by law. However, tension is still high between Kazi and his possibly ex-friends?
The next month, CWF had the finals of their annual Johnny Weaver Memorial Cup. Roy Wilkins battled Chet Sterling, who was on an impressive hot streak. Roy and The Coach wanted Kazi to interfere and help Roy win. Kazi had other plans and almost cost Roy the win.
Nick Richards was dealing with a situation of his own. For the past year, Lee Valiant had manipulated him and made him the fall guyot The Riot (group of Lee Valiant, Aric Andrews, The Dawsons and Nick Richards). It didn’t really hit Nick until Lee cost him the Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Title.
After that match, Richards was considered a much more sympathetic villain. For the next few months, fans begged for the old Nick Richards to come back and give Lee an old-fashioned whoopin. It wouldn’t be until that November that fans would get a taste of what they wanted.
December 26th, 2015. CWF has their biggest show of the year, BattleCade. In the middle of the card, Nick Richards got the opportunity to exact all of his revenge as he battled Lee Valiant in what I believe was a no disqualification match. This was one of the most fun matches on an absolutely stacked card. I don’t think simply describing it as a hardcore sprint would do it justice. However, the match itself is more significant for the moment then the wrestling itself.
Nick won a 10 minute war. The beloved Nick Richards from 5 to 6 years ago was back. He certainly evolved as a wrestler, but that night, he made a return. After he put his demons behind him, he was interrupted by Michael McAllister and his buddies. It looked like Nick was going to be in trouble, that is, until Richards’s old teammates from Fatback saved him. Ironically, Nick was the one that turned on everybody back in 2013. So, Fatback went to war with McAllister and his crew. My favorite moment in the match was when Donnie Dollars, the man Nick specifically stabbed in the back, shoved Nick out of the way and took a chain shot. In the end, Fatback was victorious and even did a celebratory group pose.
The video below has both matches.
Kazi had a shot at the tag titles at BattleCade. He could choose anybody to be his partner. Coach told him to pick somebody from the All Stars. He also told Kazi that if he brought back Gold to the All Stars, he would receive a huge Christmas bonus. He chose his old partner Xsiris. He openly defied the Coach.
Kazi and Xsiris ended up losing. Kazi just cost himself a big pay day Or did he?
BattleCade’s main event was a fantastic elimination 6-way with heavyweight champion, Brad Attitude defending against Trevor Lee, John Skyler, Roy Wilkins, Chet Sterling, and Lance Lude. Long story short, the final two would end up being Trevor and Roy. Just when it looked like Trevor would come away with the belt, Kazi blasted him with a chair. The superhero had officially joined the dark side!
This is the first match between these two in 2016. The first few minutes are great at introducing the new sides of both wrestlers. Kazi stalled a lot and bailed from the ring when frustrated. The fans weren’t used to seeing Kazi back off so easily.
Richards, on the other hand, was actually using technical wrestling. For the past year and a half, he abandoned technical wrestling, for formless, ugly, hardcore brawling. Now, he’s reminding everybody that even though he hasn’t used it in a while, he’s still proficient in technical wrestling. Nick busts out arm drags, jumping snapmare takeovers and even frankensteiners!
Nick continues his role by trapping Kazi in a Gedo clutch and then an Oklahoma Roll. He tries for one too many rollups by attempting a magistral cradle. Kazi trips him up and ground and pounds him. Next, he gives him a soccer kick to the gut and sends him rolling to the outside. While Richards is outside, Chappy, the water boy of the All Stars gets in a few cheap shots while Kazi distracts the referee. When Nick tries to get back in the ring, Kazi spikes him with a rope hung DDT.
Nick attempts to make a comeback with a Rude Awakening as a tribute to long-time favorite, Rick Rude. Kazi sees it coming and counters by slamming Richards to the mat by his eyelids. He follows up by blatantly choking him in front of the referee. He continues to beat on Nick with a series of chops until he gets too cocky with his showboating. Richards responds with machine gun chops that would make Kobashi smile. His comeback would be brief as Kazi rakes his eyes and creams him with a nasty release dragon suplex.
Richards briefly turns the tables with an inverted atomic drop and a nice lariat that turns Kazi inside out. Both guys struggle for the next big move. Nick ultimately is successful when he hits an avalanche butterfly suplex.
Both wrestlers are hurt but they continue duking it out. Richards hits a cactus clothesline but makes sure to land both of his feet on the apron. He then attempts his wild, yet always beautiful Cactus Elbow Drop. Kazi scouts it and counters with two boots to the chest. They then fight on the apron. Kazi plays dirty by targeting the eyes. Nick fights back and ends up uncorking an awesome apron Cutter!
Richards gets his opponent back in the ring and gets a 2 count. Kazi headbutts his way out of Cattle Mutilation. What follows is an incredible combination of a spinning back fist and a Death Valley Driver to the buckles. Nick still won’t stay down!
Kazi is frustrated and goes for a reverse Go 2 Sleep (Sleep 2 Go?), which Nick counters into a La Mistica style Cattle Mutilation. Kazi taps but the referee was distracted by Chappy on the top rope. Nick takes out Chappy with a mid-air Cutter. The referee dispatches of Chappy and Kazi takes advantage of the chaos with a low blow and an ugly cradle for the win! The bad guy might have won for now, but the war has just begun!
Richards came out out guns blazing for the rematch! Kazi new he was in trouble and got disqualified within the first minute for using a cheap low blow. Kazi and Chappy put the boots to Nick afterwards and then hightailed it out of there. A few minutes later, Nick would get a hold of both Kazi and Chappy. The two would pay for their sins as Chappy got slammed into a trash can and Kazi took a beating. Nick left victoriously after laying Kazi out with a Cutter.
This match is contested under Richards Rules. This basically means there are no rules. It’s a situation somewhat similar to Kazi Rules, but it’s still different. Kazi’s style of hardcore is more weapon-based and involves more high-risk moves. While Richards is definitely no stranger to weapons, especially chairs and thumbtacks, he likes to use a more wild, brawling on the outside style.
Nick starts this match off quickly with a suicide dive and some hard forearms. Richards dominates the first few minutes. You can tell he’s more at home brawling on the outside than Kazi, especially the All Star version of Kazi. For a brief moment, it looks like Kazi might have the upper hand. Then, he gets nothing but chair on a running elbow drop. Ouch!
Richards takes advantage by sending Kazi flying into a row of chairs. Kazi responds by ramming a chair into Nick’s gut. He sets up a chair but ends up taking a suplex on the chair. Nick proceeds to fly off the apron with a Cactus Elbow.
The match is then taken to the bleachers. Richards sets Kazi up and runs full speed but gets floored with a clothesline. Kazi then tries to piledrive Nick on the bleachers but eats a wicked back body drop. Next, Kazi’s head and neck get attacked with a running knee and a brutal DDT on the bleachers!
The action is officially back in the ring and Nick gets a close 2 count. He follows up with a running somersault senton. Nick is showing that he can do pretty stuff too. Richards makes a mistake by trying to take things to the ropes. He ends up getting rocked by a gamengiri and his neck and back get wrecked by a Death Valley Driver on the apron!
Kazi is proud of his work as he takes time to pose and invite boos. Hard to believe this man was CWF’s most popular wrestler for nearly a decade. He knows he has Nick rocked and places his foot on his chest. This arrogance seems to have only angered Richards. He mounts Kazi and rains down vicious forearms. Kazi responds by doing what he always does when he’s desperate: he goes after the eyes. Next, he levels Nick with a nice spinning brainbuster.
Kazi unleashes his spinning backfist and Nick is wobbled. However he fights through the pain and starts hitting offense. Not long into Nick’s comeback, Kazi gouges the eyes. Then, he pushes the referee into Nick. Blinded, Nick drops him with a cutter! It doesn’t take long for Richards to realize his mistake. When he turns around, he gets surprised with a Cutter. Nobody is there to count the sure pinfall. Kazi revives the ref and attempts another Cutter but gets punted in the pills!
Richards goes outside to get a chair. Unfortunately, while he’s outside, he doesn’t see Kazi put on brass knuckles. When he attempts to deal the final blow, Lance Lude, one of Kazi’s stablemates, distracts him. This allows Kazi to knock the wind out of him with a brass knuckles gut punch and deliver the knockout blow to the back of the neck.
After that last match, Nick wants revenge. The only way Coach will allow Nick to get his hands on Kazi is a Scientific Rules match. We won’t see any punches, wild brawling on the outside or any high flying moves. Striking isn’t completely barred, but it is discouraged. This is supposed to be pure, clean technical wrestling.
The match starts with Kazi immediately trying to goad Richards into punching him. Nick knows better and takes him down with an armbar. Then, they battle over a top wristlock. Richards wins the battle, but Kazi places him in a headscissors. Nick counters with a jackknife cradle.
In the next minute or so, both guys must resist their urge to hit. Nick had Kazi in a wrist lock and drew back for a punch. He thought better, and hit an arm drag instead. While he was still in control, Nick had Kazi literally on the ropes. You could see that Kazi wanted to hit a back elbow but decided to go for a takedown. Richards locks in a beautiful bridging hammerlock. The crafty Kazi escapes by raking his opponent’s eyes while Coach distracts the referee.
The masked villain would only have momentum for a short period as Nick busts out a smooth abdominal stretch. I think he even surprised himself with that one. He grinds the knuckles into the ribs for good measure. Kazi escapes with a hip toss but Richards uses his leg strength to push him to the floor.
Once Kazi gets back in, Nick hits a drop toe hold. The referee scolds him and Kazi takes advantage by shoving Richards to the floor. Kazi distracts the referee and Coach and Chappy get in a few cheap shots. Nick starts to fight back with a graceful sunset flip but Kazi cuts him off with a possibly illegal clothesline.
Kazi hits a backbreaker and tries to pin his opponent by placing his foot on his chest. Next, he tries to go to the ropes and the referee stops him. Richards yanks him down and traps him in a scorpion deathlock. Coach knows Kazi is in a bad situation and grabs the referee’s attention so Chappy can break up the hold. Richards goes for a Cutter but winds up in a tazmission (Kazimission?). He uses his amazing toughness to survive and even tries to run the ropes ala Bret Hart. Kazi sees it coming and kicks out.
Nick gets his second wind and fires back with a clothesline and a back elbow style chop. Kazi reverses an attempted butterfly duplex into a spinning brainbuster. Kazi must follow up and goes for a powerbomb. Luckily for Nick, he escapes and drops Kazi on his neck with a tiger suplex. He smells blood and sinks in the Cattle Mutilation. Once again, Chappy interferes.
Kazi almost steals it with an O’Connor roll. Nick tries to respond with a Cutter. Kazi has Nick up in a fireman’s carry but Nick reverses into an O’Connor roll of his own for the win! After the match, Richards cuts a promo saying that he’s proud he won with wrestling but he wants Kazi in a fight. Kazi sneaks up on him and cracks him in the back with a kendo stick. Coach and Chappy hold Nick against the ringpost so Kazi can hit a devasting blow to the gut!
For the past six months, Kazi and Nick have been going at it. After a series of wars, it all comes down to this. Kamakazi Kid vs Nick Richards: Last Man Standing. I can’t think of a better way to settle such a hate filled rivalry. The only man Kazi might hate as much as he hates Nick is long-term rival Ric Converse. Both Kazi and Nick now have the opportunity to prove without a shadow of a doubt, that they are CWF’s King of the Deathmatch Style!
Both wrestlers come out with weapons in hand. Nick has kendo sticks and Kazi has a bullwhip with his mask on it. The match immediately turns into an ugly fight on the outside. Richards personally introduces Kazi’s face to a number of chairs. For the first few minutes, Kazi just keeps getting beat up. Kazi responds to the beating with one of his secret weapons: the eye rake. Not long after the eye rake, Nick finds himself the victim of a back body drop through a chair!
Kazi gets it back in the ring after raking Nick’s eyes once more. The overconfident villain then proceeds to nonchalantly smack Nick in the knee, shoulder, and head with the kendo stick. This just fires Richards up and gets Kazi a series of hard forearms to the face. Nick keeps the momentum going with a lariat that turns Kazi inside out and a running knee that sends him outside.
Richards follows Kazi out but get brained with a trashcan lid. Kazi keeps his offense going by drilling Nick with an elevated DDT on a chair! Nick stays down for an 8 count. Kazi deals another blow to the skull with the trashcan lid, again resulting in an 8 count. Richards tries to turn his luck around with a butterfly suplex into a chair. He gets countered into a spinning backfist. Nick won’t give up and slaps Kazi out of defiance! He’s met with another spinning backfist and a devastating Death Valley Driver into a chair wedged between turnbuckles!
While Nick struggles to get up, Kazi uses the chair to take a breather. Once Nick gets up, Kazi cheers him on in the most patronizing voice ever. Next, we get a callback spot to their Kazi Rules match from 2011. Kazi goes for a german suplex on the chair. Nick has it scouted and reverses into a cringeworthy tiger suplex! Kazi uses the ropes to barely make a 9 count.
Nick symbolically rips the All Star jersey off Kazi and just beats the crap out of him. No weapons needed, just chops, forearms, and several running boots. When Kazi gets to his knees, Nick punts him square in the ribs. Kazi is down on his back, sucking wind. Richards grabs Kazi’s whip and just ends him with a whip to the ribs! I don’t know how, but Kazi survives. He gains momentum by punching Richards dead in the groin.
Kazi motions for the All Stars and here come Coach and Chappy. Chappy pounds Nick while Kazi and Coach set up a barbed wire board in the ring. Chappy then throws Nick in the ring. Nick KO’s Chappy, throws Kazi out, and almost takes Coach out with the kendo stick. Chappy gets up and declares he’s going to choke Richards. Nick then brutalizes Chappy with the kendo stick. Kazi counters a suicide dive with a gamengiri and powerbombs Nick through the announcer’s table. Richards is up at 9!
Nick survived the count but he can barely stand on his own two feet. Richards is fighting his heart out but his punches are all misses. The evil Kazi knows he’s in the driver seat and keeps taunting Nick. Kazi wants to finish this with a Death Valley Driver through the board. Nick escapes and spears Kazi through the board! Kazi’s stuck and he can’t get up. Ladies and gentlemen, Nick Richards has won the feud!
To those of you reading this, I would like to say thank you. I know that both of these pieces went long. Usually, I prefer to write using a shorter style. I was concerned that if I didn’t go into detail I would be doing both wrestlers and CWF a disservice. To me,this feud embodies professional wrestling.
In my eyes, professional wrestling is about the constant struggle between good and evil. Our sport is meant to take us on a journey. It doesn’t matter if it’s scientific wrestling, hardcore wrestling,or high flying wrestling, every story has a hero and a villain. Someone else’s villain might be your hero, or vice versa. The roles of villain and hero are always changing. But no matter who you are, if the wrestling is good, you’ll find yourself on a side. Everyone enjoys watching their villain get their comeuppance!
You can follow me on Twitter @CWFAN96. I love talking about CWF and I really appreciate any support. Thank you for reading this, maybe next time I’ll just take it one match at a time. Thank you for your patience!