The VAMPIRE DIARIES Pt 4: Callihan v. Havok

Danny Havok v. Sami Callihan - Devil Wears Prada Death Match 9/12/09

This was the start of their feud and a great way to start what I thought was the US Indy feud of the year. The gimmick was pretty amusing with purses hung on polls from the corners, and a board with high heeled shoes glued to it. The thing that really separates these guys from most death match dudes is that their brawling actually looks good. The best part of the match was when both guys were in the middle of the ring punching and headbutting each other. The high heel shoe board is a really cool idea, but I thought they used it too early in the match, it really should have been used closer to the finish and been a bigger deal. Havok does a sick blade job, which was old school bloody forehead style, rather then some weird gash in the side or arm like you often get in death matches. I dug the finish, both guys crawl for purses, Callihan gets a power drill out of onw, but gets cut off with hair spray to the eyes, and gets hit by Havok's finisher. Unfortunately that was preceded by a ladder and table bump which took way too long to set up and then got shrugged off. Post match really makes this match, Callihan pulls out his switchblade, unwraps Havok's tape and slits his wrist which causes the locker room to empty. It actually came off like a total crossing of the line, like Funk with the plastic bag or Shane Douglas shaking Pitbulls Halo, pretty impressive to get that kind of reaction in CZW of all places.

Danny Havok v. Sami Callihan- Cage of Death 12/12/09

This was the crazy blowoff to the feud, and CZW has done a nice job of making this gimmick a big deal. Setup was nuts, with two sides yellow steel, two sides barbed wire at a 45 degree angle with plates of glass, and to top it off you have a scaffold with panes of glass and electrified barbed wire, with two panes of glasses hanged between the scaffold and the ring. A truly insane looking deal and by the end of the match the ring had more glass then mat, it looked like Hans Gruber ordered his men to shoot the windows. The match lived up to the craziness for sure. This was absent most of the flaws of US indy death match wrestling, it looked and felt like a fight rather then an exhibition of stunts. It had big bumps rather then shit like needles and syringes, and the biggest bump ended the match.

Too many nutty bumps to list, Callihan going off a scaffold, face first through a pain of glass looked like something out of a Jackie Chan post movie stunt montage. I did think it got formless near the end, as the five minutes or so before the finish you had both guys kind of diffidently exchanging headrops. It felt unnecessary and took me out of the match. Ending was pretty great, they go back on the scaffold with Callihan pulling his switchblade, Havok blocks the first stab but gets slashed and falcon arrowed off the scaffold through the hanging glass pains and a table to the ring. Completely nuts, and it didn't feel super set up like those kind of stunts often do. I am not sure where I place this on a list of their 2009 matches, as the stuff pre finish was the worst stuff they did against each other, but damn did this feel like the way you end a feud, give me a good COD match up next year and CZW has sold me a ticket.