The ZENith and the journey there (ZEN)

Eugh · September 7

Now for your viewing pleasure on WrestleWorld Oceania (and previously for DVD purchase from ZEN, and on a few torrent sites).

---PRESENTS---

---WAY OF THE---

---PHILOSOPHER---

DATE: Saturday 9th April, 2022

LOCATION: Christchurch, New Zealand

RATING: 43

ZEN: Art Of Winning Tournament - Semi Finals

w/ d.
1. Trevor Feather (w/Guru Vishni), representing Skullduggery d. Bucky Snark, representing Alien Armada, in 12:54 {49 rating}
The night starts with a bang, with one of the most anticipated matches of the evening. A double rudo affair, but given Snark is seemingly in his current position against his will, the crowd seemed to favour him more. From those not invested in storyline, Snark and Woodchuck have been responsible for some absolute bangers against each other in the Conceptual title scene over the years. Feather’s usual mind games have literally zero impact on Snark, who does not interact at all with his shenanigans, or attempts at referencing Kalliope Woodchuck. Vishni offers advice to Feather, saying he will have to outwrestle the Armada member. This was clearly not going to end well, as whilst Feather is no slouch (with his peacock front literally that, a front), Snark in kayfabe is viewed as one of the most technically proficient strikers in ZEN, and Feather looks to be on his way out of the tournament. However, a moment of rudo genius turns things in Feather’s favour. The Malothian drones have a tendency of not being affected by pain in a traditional way, however often collapse and succumb to accumulated fatigue. After coordinating a distraction from Vishni, Feather sprays copious amounts of hair spray into the eyes of Bucky Snark. Disposing of the evidence Feather speaks to the camera “Mind ain't human, but body still is!”, and in the follow up, Snark is not slowed down, but he has no coordination or ability to connect with anything/know where Trevor Feather is. This provides the opening, Feather Ruffler! 1, 2, 3! Trevor Feather wins!

___

In-Ring segment - The old and the new {29 rating}
Dustin Thane steps into the ring and introduces the class of ‘22 from the ZEN Temple Dojo. The four dojo graduates head to the ring, in street clothes, clad in a ZEN branded black hoodie. They are B1G, Patrick Howard, Stretch and “The Blast Beat” TJ Ward. A segment follows where Thane gives the rookies an opportunity to introduce themselves. B1G is egotistical and sarcastic, Howard is all laid back and chill, Stretch is silent, and Ward answers for him saying that Stretch wants his actions in the ring do the talking. Ward says whoever their opponents are at Way Of The Champion they are all here to uphold the legacy of ZEN, and are excited to win over the fans and be the stars of tomorrow. B1G and Ward get into a little confrontation, B1G having no interest in winning over the fans.

The music of MAN O’WAR hits and the ZEN Harmony champions, MAN O’WAR and Laguna The Loyal head out, loitering around the entrance area. MAN O’WAR congratulates the rookies for graduating into a warzone, saying ZEN has set them up as lambs to the slaughter, to the Alien Armada! He doesn't need any response today, but the truthful road is to simply “Hail Karrg” as your leader and supreme being, and they may be granted clemency for doing so.

MAN O’WAR dismisses the rookies from the ring but tells Dustin Thane to stay. As the historian of ZEN, he is asked to confirm that when the Lords Of The ZEN Temple decide on a mystery challenger for a championship match, it is accepted that the champion can invoke the timing of said match on the night, in order to counteract the uncertainty. Thane begins to reel off examples of when this has happened, but MAN O’WAR cuts him off with a “thank you, Mr Historian”, turning to Laguna saying “some humans do have their uses”. MAN O’WAR says they are invoking this clause, they want their match now.

Thane says it's interesting, as he actually knows who their opponents are, and will announce them himself. He's just introduced the future of ZEN, now he's personally delighted, for the first time ever to introduce a huge part of ZEN’s history. The first ever Harmony Champions! THE HORROR SHOW!!

—Harmony Title Match—

d.
2. MAN O’WAR and Laguna The Loyal (C), representing Alien Armada d. The Horror Show, of Nightmare Slasher and Nightmare Stalker, in 8:36, to make the 5th defence of the Harmony Titles {38 rating}
Like a lot of indie talent who never made it and without a regular gig, The Horror Show have not been particularly active in the wrestling scene for a number of years, and there's definitely a bit of ring rust there. Nightmare Stalker and Nightmare Slasher still manage to get some cool spots in, Stalker dropping MAN O’WAR with a reverse DDT on the apron, and Slasher drop toe holding a charge Laguna into the turnbuckle post outside the ring. A back suplex/neckbreaker combo secures a 2 count for the challenges, but it just fires up Laguna leading to the end point of the match. Laguna clotheslines both challengers simultaneously, before hitting Slasher with a chokebreaker and Stalker with a fisherman's buster. Hoisting Slasher into an electric chair position, the champs hit their reverse doomsday device variant, a MAN O’WAR striking Slasher with a flying clothesline to the back of the neck whislt being dropped with an electric chair facebuster. They follow this promptly with the Anchor Drop (Spike Tombstone) to Nightmare Stalker, and 1, 2, 3. The champs retain!

___

Backstage segment - B-Beat! {35 rating}
There's a short backstage interview with Killer B, Molly Cuddle and The Beat, back at full strength. It's a basic promo hyping their match against the rudos, up next, but there are two interesting points made. Blue Chip mentions that he thinks The Ghost Hunters are up to something, something more than simply attacking them for revenge. Crime Buster waves this off, “perps have simple motives”, and he's been watching too many thrillers. The promo finishes with Killer B requesting Molly Cuddle to remain in the back again. Molly says that he needs her strategy and support, he's immensely talent but without her by his side he lost to Kalliope Woodchuck, and he lost against ZERO and The Ghost Hunters previously. Killer B cannot be moved from his decision, leaving Molly Cuddle frustrated.

d.
3. Killer B and The Beat, of Crime Buster and Blue Chip d. ZERO and The Ghost Hunters, of Bruce Strange and Mister Hyde, in 13:51 {47 rating}
The match was possibly a little bit too long for some of the competitors involved and to maintain crowd investment, however with a lot of storyline aspects at play there was obviously a decision to let things breathe and to give opportunities for all competitors to look strong. ZERO in particular is made to look ruthless, as he is at various points shown to clearly outlaws both members of The Beat. Much like the previous encounter between variations of the two teams, ZERO is avoiding Killer B, however a strong emphasis from commentators is made that this is not out of fear, it is calculating, as it is throwing Killer B completely off his game. With a more reliable partner by his side, Crime Buster makes bigger inroads with his fight against Strange and Hyde, he attempts his Spinebuster finisher on Mister Hyde but it is reversed with a stiff kick to the face and an STO. They run back the finish of the Way Of The Enemy, with Killer B chasing after ZERO leaving Crime Buster isolated, however with Blue Chip by his side he is able to thwart the Double Chokeslam from the Ghost Hunters. As the match continues, having seen enough Molly Cuddle makes her way ringside. Her appearance upsets Killer B, but he still acts on her directions and is able to begin to outsmart and finesse the opposition. Following Molly's direction he dodged an attack from Mister Hyde that ends up wiping Bruce Strange out, he follows with his back suplex lift backbreaker to Hyde. With his opponent only recovering to his knees he's in prime position for the B-Sting knee strike! ZERO decides the match is a lost cause and already begins to skulk away at the referee counts to 3 for Killer B. The tecnicos have a brief celebration, Killer B seemingly coming back around and thanking Molly Cuddle for the support at ringside.

___

Backstage segment - A peak in the Alien Armada compound {41 rating}
We cut backstage and a cameraman is following the Harmony Champs as they head back to the Alien Armada compound, trying to get their thoughts on their title defence earlier in the evening. As they head inside the cameraman peers his camera in, magically being able to pick up the sound perfectly! The camera spots Bile chained up in the corner, as Karrg welcomed the Harmony champs back, congratulating them on the successful defence of the titles. Karrg’s tone quickly changes, as he wonders what the problem with the “monster man” is. MAN O’WAR speculates that The Malothian could be weakened. The attack from Hez Jendell, or simply the spreading too thin? How many minds can he control at once? Karrg questions The Malothian on if it's weakness, he remains stoic, expressionless and silent, but shakes his head.

MAN O’WAR attempts to shift focus, “My liege, you mentioned reinforcements. Are we expecting support from the cosmos?”. Karrg is a more subtle self than usual, seemingly pondering an answer. “Why should I need to use reinforcements, risk further souls of valour and meaning, when there are other disgusting and disposable meat puppets. Although...”., at which point Karrg discusses his disappointment with everyone but Laguna The Loyal: Malothian cannot control Bile fully and his controlled Bucky Snark failed in his match tonight, Deathwatch Beetle was almost defeated by the “football boy” at the last show, and MAN O’WAR’s disobedience on the amnesty led to Kalliope Woodchuck and Hez Jendell aligning. MAN O’WAR says he has apologised many times for that, he is eternally sorry, “I am cursed with the mind and body of these meat puppets, but my soul is not the same”. Karrg says he is much grateful for “Mr. War”, helping with customs, insights, strategy, he has been very useful, he should continue to be.

Karrg addresses “Mr. War” and Deathwatch Beetle, he tells MAN O’WAR to take Beetle (who cannot be trusted to do it alone) to make sure he doesn't have to face the “football boy” alone again, lest not until we get a better strategy against his strength. The cameraman frantically runs away as MAN O’WAR leads Deathwatch Beetle from the Armada compound back to the rest of the backstage area.

___

d.
4. Booster Boy d. Auckland Raider, in 9:03 {40 rating}
Booster Boy shows a lot of hubris in the early going, he's been putting in the training for this match! The confidence is soon revealed to be misplaced as Auckland Raider has firm control for the vast majority of this context, ragdolling Booster Boy around, throwing out all his favourites such as a the back suplex toss, a suplex variant where Raider remains standing and a big belly-to-belly suplex. Booster Boy tries some underhand tactics to get back into things, to limited success, as he is just outpowered by the tecnico. Raider hoists Booster Boy up for a scoop slam, but instead tosses him over the top rope to the outside! Auckland Raider takes the time to showboat, as Booster Boy tries to recover. It's at this point that Conceptual Champion Deathwatch Beetle and MAN O’WAR begin to walk out ringside. This catches the eye of Raider who makes a championship motion around his waist, MAN O'WAR snaps back “There’s no belt you idiot!”.

The referee seems to sense what's coming and drops out of the ring to tell the pair from the Alien Armada to head to the back. However, this seems to have been part of the plan as The Malothian appears through the crowd and jumps Auckland Raider from behind! He's gloved but attempts the Malothian Claw but Auckland Raider manages to fight it off, however this causes the protective glove of Malothian to fall off, this will unleash the true mind bending power of the claw! Malothian tries again Much like Pink Spider in January, Auckland Raider is staring down the barrel of whatever sinister force is at play in The Malothian's appendage. “WHAT YOU DOING, NERD?!” yells Raider as he powers away again and is able to flatten The Malothian with a clothesline. However, Booster Boy is back and catches Auckland Raider unawares with a low blow. The Malothian slithers from the ring as the Armada team mates agree to leave ringside at the behest of the referees, Booster Boy drops Raider with his Energy Booster (Flatliner). 1, 2, 3! Booster Boy gets his title shot.

___

Backstage segment - 3.E.A.R make plans {50 rating}
Halloween Knight, HalloWarped and Pumpkin Jack are backstage, the fortune teller who has been present over recent events is not in attendance tonight. The trio are discussing strategy, with Knight stressing the need to stick together and stay strong, and he knows he's upset both men recently, and old him would have been fine with that, but he wants to apologise and say he will try and do better by both of his allies, and by ZEN in the future. HalloWarped and Pumpkin Jack both accept the apology.

Jack says he still plans to facedown Karrg directly himself, and regardless of the outcome of the title match tonight he will head out and challenge Karrg for Way Of The Champion. HalloWarped asks if they think the challenger has a chance of dethroning Karrg, “As good a chance as any one of us”, replies Halloween Knight.

They then talk other avenues. The prophecy (where Halloween Knight says that the fortune teller had to travel to Brisbane), could it be Kalliope Woodchuck? Is she the hope? What about Hez Jendell's ‘fire speaking’, is there really someone in ZEN who has this talent? There's a crack about it likely being black mould in the venue. Halloween Knight posits whether it is worth “reaching out to the orient”, to allies there, to see if there are any mist experts in contact, and whether the human skillsets could possibly translate to the Falandùq. Jack tells Halloween Knight to pause that, we need to get through the night without Karrg turning anymore outsiders into unpredictable monster drones.
However, they should talk to Auckland Raider after what just happened! Pumpkin Jack wants to do it, but Halloween Knight says he needs to. knight let down Pink Spider, he knows what Spider saw in the hand of The Malothian, he will find Raider and talk. Jack should get ready to confront Karrg, and HalloWarped should get himself pumped to outclass Cyanide and Skullduggery.

___

In-ring segment - Art of Winning showdown {52 rating}

After intermission a table and a trophy that is definitely not brand new for this occasion, have been placed in the centre of the ring. Dustin Thane introduces this as the ZEN: Art Of Winning trophy, and brings out the two competitors who will be fighting for it in 3-weeks. The place goes nuts for Kalliope Woodchuck, who is bordering on the most over tecnico in the company at the moment. Her new stablemates of Celestina Cherish and Hez Jendell aren't here tonight, commentary mentioning this is due to them not being cleared following the mass brawl involving Bile last show. Trevor Feather is next out, and is accompanied by members of Skullduggery pushing a giant box, wrapped as a present?! They leave it ringside, leaving Trevor to enter the ring and go face to face with Kalliope.

The pair cut promos, Kalliope says this must be the moment of Feather’s life going against her, but he doesn't register to her, whatever he tries to do to get under her skin doesn't work, he's merely a inconsequential annoyance. Feather rebuts that what she said was unbelievably mean. What type of champion would she be when she is so mean to her biggest stan?! Feather says that Woodchuck should be thanking her, he prevented her from having to face off against her ex, he prevented her from the heartbreak of having to step up face to face with Bucky Snark. Only he knows what's best for her, he's her biggest stan, nobody gets her like he does. She needs to lose in 3 weeks, winning a tournament of this magnitude will bring scrutiny she can't deal with right now, he is going to beat her, but it's for her own good!

After a bit more back and forth Trevor Feather says he knew she'd be angry and upset, so he has a gift sure to cheer her up, nobody can be upset when they see a clown! At which point C-W-A jumps out of the box and into the ring, and jumps Kalliope Woodchuck. The ring is cleared and it looks like an impromptu match is underway.

d.
5. Kalliope Woodchuck, representing 2 Girls And A...Whatever d. C-W-A, in 4:35 {43 rating}

This was essentially a showcase for Kalliope Woodchuck, with C-W-A rolling through some clown based comedy spots. Woodchuck hits some of her key moves, a missile dropkick, her handspring rana, a tiger suplex and a standing tornado DDT. She then plants C-W-A with with Woodchuck Cutter, securing the easy 3. A strong victory heading into the final of the ZEN: Art of Winning tournament.

___

Backstage segment - Checking in with Raider {40 rating}
Halloween Knight finds a furious Auckland Raider backstage, who is letting his anger out on a punching bag. Raider is unleashing a train of thought about “nerds”, “dweebs” and “weirdos” when Knight softly asks if he is okay. “No coach! They all trying to screw me out of the title belt again”. Knight can't help but correct that there's technically not a belt, before saying that wasn't what he was on about, is he okay after what The Malothian did. Raider looks at Knight, he has no idea who he is referring to. He talks about the Malothian Claw and it clicks for Raider, “You mean the nerd who tried to rub my face? That pale freak who walks like he has a stick up his...”, “That would be the one”, interjects Halloween Knight.

Knight asks Raider what he saw. “Disgusting. The horrors coach!”, Knight gets in position to comfort Raider, “Grandma hands! Pale, chalky and disgusting. Someone needs to tell white boy to exfoliate or something!”.
Knight seems confused “Is that all you saw? A hand? Nothing about fleeting mortality?”

“Is that freak called Mort?”

“No Mortality.”
“Mort for short?”
“No, they are The Malothian.”

“He's called, The?”
“...”
“So who's Mort?”
“No, mortality, death, do you understand?”
“Mort is deaf! Poor guy! So the nerd was trying to rub my face to hear me better?”
“How would rubbing you face help him he...OH NEVERMIND! Let's just say, yes. Back to the point. All you saw was a hand?”
“Yes coach”.
“Interesting.”
Raider interjects on Halloween Knight's pondering again asking about the title belt, Knight says Raider still has a match for the title in 3-weeks, and Knight is confident that nobody else will leave Way Of The Champion with the Conceptual Title Belt.

___

The crowd are somewhat surprised as the ZEN Master, Karrg The Insidious heads to the ring. The announcer notes that they title match is up next. Karrg stands waiting in the ring, soaking up the boos of the crowd. The PA system plays some tribal style chanting, those with lasting memories jump to their feet as the chanting morphs into some fast metal music, and out through the curtain steps

MASSACRE!!

Now more commonly seen in Australia with APW, one of the original members of rudo F.E.A.R and former best friend and tag partner of Cyanide makes his way out, and for quite possibly for the first time in his ZEN career, to a hero's welcome!

d.
—Master Title Match—
6. Karrg The Insidious (C), representing Alien Armada d. Massacre, in 10:13, to make the 2nd defence of the Master Title {46 rating}
These two beat the absolute snot out of each other. For a company quite often based on the elegance of lucha libre, which despite the nuance of the artform, outside of Mexico is often condensed to be high flying, this match is about as far removed as you can expect, a pure indie-hoss-fest. The match opens at 100 miles per hour, with the exchanging of clubbing blows and literally doesn't stop until the final bell rings. If there were worries that now he has a profile in Australia that Massacre would hold back upon a return to ZEN, there needn’t have been. The scene is set when within the first two minutes he has jumped from the apron delivering a splash to Karrg who was on his back on the wooden arena floor. Karrg however is no slouch himself, and is able to match the intensity of the challenger, and has the crowd shook after nailing Massacre with an Alabama slam onto the arena floor, the impact of Massacre’s back with the solid wood floor resonating sickeningly around the room. Both competitors gain close falls as things continue, both from key signature moves. Karrg hits his Mafia Kick variant, but Massacre kicks out at 2. Massacre also hits the ropes and delivers his charging flying headbutt, but is only able to secure a 2-count, before the champ recovers. Things continue and after some more back and forth action Karrg looks for the Conquest Bomb but Massacre fights loose and charges the champ back into the corner. Massacre unloads with huge punches, scaling the turnbuckle punching away at the head of Karrg, Karrg rallies through the pain and latches Massacre into the powerbomb position. Massacre keeps punching at Karrg but he cannot prevent the Conquest Bomb from coming. Karrg collapses onto Massacre, 1, 2, 3. The champ retains! But it was a war!

In-Ring segment - The trials of Jack {47 rating}
As Karrg struggles back to his feet the recognisable strains of Pumpkin Jack's theme music hits and one of the key members of 3.E.A.R heads out ringside. Jack is given a mic and says he's here to challenge Karrg, one-on-one for 3-weeks time at Way Of The Champion. He will take his belt from him, and then go further, and take him and the Armada out altogether! Karrg says this is interesting but pure fiction. Nobody in or out of ZEN has afforded Karrg a loss, and a weakling like Pumpkin Jack is not going to start. As champion, he sees no challenge in facing him in 3-weeks, he declines the challenge, to boos from the crowd. Jack laughs and says it sounds like Karrg is scared. Karrg comes back and says, “maybe I can make you worthy of my time”, Karrg proposes “the five trials of Pumpkin Jack”. Jack will face down 4 opponents of Karrg's choosing, over the coming months, and if he survives all 4, he will get his match with Karrg. Karrg notes it's not even about Jack beating all 4 chosen opponents, it's simply about surviving to make it to Karrg! Jack reluctantly agrees to this, it's his only way to get Karrg one-on-one.
As Jack goes to leave, Karrg stops him. Karrg points out that the humans are advertising an event around champions. This offer to Jack has made him feel extra generous. He will defend his title in 3-weeks! Against someone much more worthy of his time than Jack (twisting the knife). But it's someone who is scared to face him directly, and instead sends his own puppets to the slaughter! Karrg noting, are they truly any different? “Tell your skeleton friend to find his heart, I want him at Way Of The Champion”.

___

Contenders Match - Harmony Titles

d.
7. DevilShark, of Devilfish and Lone Shark d. Casual Violence, of Lerone Slim and Rekha (w/Guru Vishni), representing Skullduggery, in 19:52 {51 rating}
DevilShark make their way one step closer to their elusive Harmony Title reign with victory in their return match as a duo after many years. At times the match follows the expected formula of a plucky tecnico team and a brutish rudo outfitz Casual Violence drawing a line across the ring and keeping Devilfish isolated from his partner. Slim and Rekha had been tasked with taking Devilfish out but Skullduggery leader, Cyanide, and this portion of the match worked as a perfect illustration of this whole situation, the powerlessness of Devilfish to take the forces of Skullduggery on alone, but when the hot tag comes it shows that with Lone Shark in his corner things are going to change, he has the support to fight back. The match is littered with double team moves, the tecnicos get their total elimination spin kick/sweep combo, and a wheelbarrow rocker dropper. Casual Violence with assisted backbreakers and gutbusters, and a big double flapjack to Devilfish. A moment of showboating seems to prevent Casual Violence from getting the win. Rekha has Lone Shark in a position for a powerbomb, but she takes time to taunt before hoisting the tecnico up. This gives him enough time to recover and reserve into a rana, draping the Skullduggery member across the middle rope. This is followed with the 619, which sends Rekha rolling backwards into her knees, with Shark following with a springboard dropkick. Lone Shark does not have time to go for a pin as he is grabbed by the scruff of the neck by Lerone Slim, whipped off the ropes and blasted with the Slim Pickings (pop-up forearm smash). Slim again takes a moment to taunt the crowd over the crumpled body of Lone Shark, at which point Devilfish is recovered. He attempts a flying crossbody but is caught midair by Slim. Slim attempts to boost Devilfish up into a power move but Devilfish spikes him with a DDT reversal. Devilfish scales the top rope, Frog Splash! 1, 2, 3! Rekha is beginning to recover but not in time to break up the pin. DevilShark get the victory! They will face MAN O’WAR and Laguna The Loyal in 3-weeks time.

___

Backstage segment - Friends reunited? {42 rating}
We cut backstage to the other members of Skullduggery. They are aware of the outcome of the previous match, with Cyanide hyping up Vortex and Dee Lucketti, this is a huge match for his apprentices, he is drilling in the need to focus as a team. Cyanide emphasis that Jack and Knight feel they are superior to the rest of ZEN, and HalloWarped thinks he deserves respect purely by association, tonight we prove them wrong.
He then takes time to school Trevor Feather, commends his smarts in winning, but says he owes it to himself and to Kalliope Woodchuck to have a clean fight in 3-weeks. Feather questions why Cyanide cares about Woodchuck, why he bowed to her. Cyanide claimed she has proven herself a true warrior, one of the few in ZEN. But, Trevor is also a true warrior. He knows Kalliope is not to be taken lightly, it's why he is dedicating time to his psychological warfare, but this is the biggest match of his career, he can win, but he should not win with a blemished record.

Feather is listening to Cyanide, whether he agrees with the sentiment it's difficult to tell. He doesn't have the chance to respond when a voice bellows out “Well, you still have some honour”. The camera pans and the room turns and it's Massacre! Still feeling the effects of his title match defeat Massacre steps towards the Skullduggery members. There's an intense staredown, and Massacre bows to Cyanide. There's a huge delay and eventually Cyanide reciprocates, with the other members of Skullduggery soon following the lead of their leader.

“Ah mister corporate! What an honour to get to speak to you, I thought all contact is through your agent now?”
“There's only one of us who stopped talking here, and it wasn't me.”, snaps back the APW star.
You can cut the tension with a knife.

“Back doing Halloween Knight's dirty work. Pathetic.”
“Never one to back down from a fight. I remember when you were the same.”

“Try me.”

Massacre pivots to try and reduce the tension, he calls Cyanide his brother, he'd only fight with him, never against him. Massacre discusses Cyanide’s reference of Skullduggery thriving in a scorched earth, “You know there is no pride in standing atop the ashes of a fallen empire!”. Massacre continues, he thinks that Cyanide is scared. Cyanide interjects that he is never scared of a fight, but this is not his fight, it is not a fight he needs to put Skullduggery through.

“How long until it comes knocking at your door? Until it's not your choice?”
“I protect my warriors.”, Cyanide unflinching from his position.
“And so do I. So when, yes, when you decide to stop being scared, and step up, I will be by your side, I will fight with you!”

The two lock eyes, Guru Vishni appears with Casual Violence, banged up, tail between their legs after defeat. Vishni indicates it's time for Cyanide, Lucketti and Vortex to head to the ring.

—YOUR MAIN EVENT—

d.
8. Halloween Knight, Pumpkin Jack and HalloWarped, representing 3.E.A.R d. Cyanide, Vortex and Dee Lucketti (w/Guru Vishni), representing Skullduggery, in 15:17 {49 rating}
This match will have done wonders for both Vortex and Dee Lucketti in the eyes of the fans. Whilst Vortex has been with ZEN for a short while, building a reputation in the midcard, Lucketti has only been with the company a few months, yet both are given a number of key opportunities to showcase themselves in this main event, and aren't shown as out of their depth against the veteran tecnicos. The story of the match seems to be that as a sum of individual parts the group of Skullduggery are outclassed by the veterans, but have much superior togetherness and Cyanide has drilled the team ethic, and are able to work together to bring the tide back in their favour. There are some awesome spots through the match, the obligatory tower of doom makes an appearance with all 6 men wiping each other out, Dee Lucketti hits his running moonsault topé landing in all other competitors outside the ring to a nice pop, Cyanide hits his DVD into the turnbuckle on Halloween Knight but with HalloWarped also sat in the corner, Halloween Knight absolutely decimates Dee Lucketti with a Piledriver and 3.E.A.R get a breathtakingly close nearfall on Vortex after a triple combo of rolling fireman's carry from HalloWarped, flying elbow from Halloween Knight and then a triple jump moonsault starting from the apron by Pumpkin Jack. The ending sequence sees Cyanide drive HalloWarped to the canvas with his Skull Splitter Brainbuster. Before Cyanide is able to go for the pin he is sent staggering by a Pumpkin Jack superkick, and then a leaping neckbreaker. Jack is back to his feet in time to be caught by Vortex who had scaled the top rope, Vortex flings himself at Jack for a flying DDT, but Pumpkin Jack shows off the surprising upper body strength of his and manages to grab Vortex, halting the momentum of the move, adjusting into an exploder position and spiking the Skullduggery member with the Pumpkinhandle Suplex! This time it's Cyanide's turn to prevent a cover, and soon Jack is in place for the Skull Splitter. Jack tries to fight the move, and his weight distribution causes both men to go tumbling over the top rope when Cyanide attempts the move. HalloWarped has subsequently recovered and notices prone Vortex, lucha rules, they're the only 2 competitors in the ring, 1, 2, 3! 3.E.A.R get the victory.

After the match at Halloween Knight requests a microphone. He first accepts Karrg's challenge for Way Of The Champion, and then turns to Cyanide and says he too needs to accept his duty, not because of Knight, HalloWarped or Jack, not because the Lords Of The ZEN Temple will it to be so, but because this war is coming for everyone, and he knows it's the right thing to do, the only thing to so. Cyanide points out the victory tonight from HalloWarped was on the back of the work of others, that is what Knight instills in his people! He and his warriors will not be fodder. Cyanide protects his warriors, did F.E.A.R protect Pink Spider? Bile? Bucky Snark? Toady? So the answer is “no”.

At this point the Alien Armada (without the unstable Bile) descend into the arena, from all directions and launch into attack mode. Cyanide grabs Vortex and drags him from the ring, where they gather Dee Lucketti from the outside and scurry away to the back. 3.E.A.R are laid out by the Alien Armada who stand tall to end the show. {38 rating}

Edited September 7 by Eugh

alpha2117 · September 8

Love it ... absolutely love it.

kanegan · September 8

Great show.

Eugh · September 8

2022 and The Curious Case of ZEN

Looking back as we are from the end of the year, the year of 2022 has been an interesting one for ZEN. ZEN has always been a cult favourite here at totalextremewrestling.com, with a fan base across the globe in online circles way beyond its popularity domestically and ability to draw. It is this fanbase and online sales that has the company sitting in a relatively stable financial position in comparison to companies of equivalent size and influence.

2022 (well the end of 2021 onwards) seemed like the beginning of a change in ZEN’s approach. The reopening of the ZEN Temple Dojo, increasing in production values, running two shows a month instead of the historical one, ZEN looked to be implementing a strategic growth plan. It seems a dangerous plan given the state of the economy in New Zealand, and even more so when globally pro wrestling is seen on a decline everywhere outside of the UK. However, lingering on this a bit more, is it that dangerous? ZEN at its heart is pro wrestling, it even houses some of the finest pure wrestling talents in Australasia, but ZEN is also more than that, it has its own lore, narrative world, ventures of good vs evil with shades of grey between, there’s mythical, spiritual and supernatural, with colourful characters for all of the family. This puts ZEN in a unique position.

Once the past-time of the fringe of society, the “geeks” and “nerds”, in 2022 the world of super heroes, villains, the mythical, spiritual and supernatural are now the stuff of high grossing films and of prestige TV. They are the mainstream summer blockbusters, replacing thrillers and action films of old. This could be ZEN’s window of opportunity to survive the hardships of the industry, opening up a potential new fanbase.

In April of 2022 ZEN announced a relationship with WrestleWorld. This would lead to live broadcast of their shows across the continent of Oceania. Fans in the US were disappointed that they wouldn’t get the shows on their network, even on a delay, but this seemed smart as it still kept the lucrative DVD market open, whilst making the shows more easily accessible in regional areas, albeit in a place where they were unlikely to court those outside of the traditional wrestling fanbase.

The company had intended to launch this partnership at Way Of The Champion, with the culmination of the ZEN: Art Of Winning Tournament, however various technical issues saw this initially delayed until their traditional season ended, Way Of The Warrior. Within new ZEN lore these two shows were rebranded alongside Way Of The Dead and Way Of The Master as “premier showcase events”,

The 4 ZEN Premier Showcase Events

These events would feature more than the 8-matches regularly expected from a ZEN show (between 9 and 11 in 2022), quite often large scale feud ending matches, or matches of high stakes. Whilst the successive three were all streamed live and remained on-demand on WrestleWorld Oceania, Way Of The Champion has not been available until now. In celebration of this we will be reviewing this show next week (as spoiler free as possible to encourage those who have not caught up with ZEN to the end of 2022 to do so, we 100% recommend it!).

Months down the line has the WrestleWorld relationship paid off? It’s hard to say. It has seen ZEN take a financial hit. Live broadcasting is not cheap, and with on-demand access, a number of fans who aren’t the collector type are opting for subscriptions over DVD purchase (and even those who are, 24 shows is an awful lot different to 12 in this economy!), but you could argue there are more eyes on the company than ever across their home continent, with hints of an Australian event coming soon!

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Writer note:

As I wasn’t 100% on top of the lore, and was just thinking story ideas from the free agent pool, Bile’s appearance was going to be Shaolin (minus brainwashing) and Massacre’s appearance was going to be Bile (minus all the Cyanide stuff’, obviously). But something cropped up that led to me putting Shaolin into use elsewhere and when editing F.E.A.R to 3.E.A.R in stables I saw about Massacre and good lord! An infinitely better outcome was born.

The 4-events mentioned will get totalextremewrestling.com reviews. This will be a separate post to the show, and is to serve 2 purposes. First to just make them feel a little more special, as whilst big matches/title changes/feud ending matches will obviously happen elsewhere, these are the events that I generally book towards. Secondly, it gives an opportunity to summarise each storyline that’s been in place/run its course, which is a key aspect of ZEN as a company.

Edited September 8 by Eugh

Eugh · September 8

EVENT PREVIEW: Way Of The Champion, 2022

DATE: Saturday 30th April, 2022

LOCATION: Wellington, New Zealand

16 of the most fierce competitors on planet earth have been competing over recent months as part of the ZEN: Art Of Winning tournament. The competition is finally whittled to two, Kalliope Woodchuck and her “biggest stan” Trevor Feather. After showing huge amounts of respect to Kalliope following their match, Skullduggery leader, Cyanide, has instructed Feather that he should fight this fair, he owes it to himself to push himself to the limit as a warrior. This doesn't seem like Trevor Feather’s style, as this match comes after months of attempted emotional warfare from Feather, picking at the wound left by the brainwashed Bucky Snark.

In the background of this, not referenced by either finalist as of yet, is the prophecy given to Halloween Knight about the tournament identifying the one to change the tide in the war with the Alien Armada. Kalliope Woodchuck has many reasons to go after Karrg already, and she has promised that one winning the tournament she is coming from Karrg and The Malothian for what they did to her beau, Bucky Snark. However, could Trevor Feather also be the unexpected hero? in his semi-final match with Bucky Snark, his underhand tactics highlighted a specific weakness in the brainwashed humans, that whilst they might not feel certain attacks, the effects of them will still resonate. Feather effectively blinded his opponent to gain an advantage. Is Trevor feather the unlikely and reluctant hero ZEN needs?

All three titles will be up for grabs at Way Of The Champion. ZEN Master, Karrg The Insidious has released a challenge to former 5-time champion, Halloween Knight, which was promptly accepted. Part of this may have been to try and drive a wedge between Knight and Pumpkin Jack, but Karrg also made an accusation that Knight and he, were not too different. Just like Karrg and his mind washed human drones, Knight setting up allies, ZEN wrestlers and more recently alumni, as fodder in the war (sentiments that Skullduggery’s Cyanide also spouts). Karrg said Knight should stop having others do his dirty work and step up to him, himself. Could Halloween Knight be the man to afford Karrg his first defeat and bring the Master title back to the tecnicos?

As the 3.E.A.R member in charge of strategy in the war with the Alien Armada, Pumpkin Jack wants to set himself in a collision course with Karrg The Insidious. Originally challenging him for Way Of The Champion, Karrg refused, saying that Jack was not worthy of his time. Instead he proposed the “5 Trials of Pumpkin Jack”. Over the next few months Jack must face face-off in 4 matches curated by Karrg, he doesn't have to win these matches, merely survive! An ominous notion! If he does that, he will get his match with Karrg as the 5th trial. Karrg’s first opponent for Jack is brainwashed Armada henchman, ex-ZEN Master and former ally of Pumpkin Jack, in Pink Spider! This will also be a submission match!

Jack has indicated he doesn't care if his face-off with Karrg is for the title or not, it is about more than that. Karrg will have no shortages of challengers before then who may dethrone him, if he manages to make his way through Halloween Knight, the next in line being decided tonight. Earlier this month the Lords of the ZEN Temple announced a 4-way top contenders match at Way Of The Champion, the victor going on to face Karrg The Insidious or Halloween Knight at best month’s Way Of The Poet. The match sees two rivalries collide as Killer B and ZERO bring their issues to the fray, based on ZERO’s heinous and unprovoked attack on B’s manager and ZEN favourite, Molly Cuddle. You also have Cyanide and HalloWarped, 3.E.A.R’s attempt at courting Skullduggery into the war with the Alien Armada has been far from successful, originally spearheaded by HalloWarped, Cyanide took exception to this, getting under HalloWarped's skin implying his success is not of his own merit, instead on the backs of other more successful individuals. Throw a future shot at the biggest championship in ZEN and this match is going to be a barn burner!

Devilfish started the year with limited success. Stretched in two directions, he was being ruthlessly targeted by Skullduggery, with Cyanide wishing to gain a greater level of control over the training methods at the ZEN Temple Dojo, whilst also being a key support for F.E.A.R as a tecnico ally against the Alien Armada, and it seemed like he was missing a support system of his own. Halloween Knight drafted back Lone Shark, and the former allies reunited, promising to do the one-thing they couldn't do previously, win the ZEN Harmony Championships! At Way Of The Philosopher they bested Casual Violence, of Skullduggery, potentially putting a full stop on Lerone Slim and Rekha’s targeting of Devilfish, and they earned a shot at the elusive Harmony Titles. MAN O’WAR and Laguna The Loyal have been dominant champions, with 5 successful defences to their name, will to fight make it 6, or will DevilShark correct the record books?

Speaking of Casual Violence and Skullduggery, the Lords of the ZEN Temple have still not given up on courting Cyanide and his group to the side of humanity in the war with the Alien Armada. To help tempt Cyanide on-side they have announced that the first official showcase of the Class of ‘22 graduates of the ZEN Temple Dojo will be against Skullduggery, namely Lerone Slim, Rekha, Vortex and Dee Lucketti. Skullduggery will definitely go in looking to toughen the rookies up, in a way only the group can.

Another hope in the war with the Alien Armada may have appeared over the last month. At Way Of The Enemy it looked like Auckland Raider had dethroned Deathwatch Beetle, in a convincing manner, only for a jealous Booster Boy to interfere and allow Beetle to retain on a technicality. This clearly spooked Karrg, as he assigned his second in command MAN O’WAR to make sure that Auckland Raider would not get a one-on-one rematch with Beetle. Through shenanigans of the Armada, Booster Boy ended up defeating Auckland Raider, finding his way into the match, with the Armada viewing this as fodder for Beetle, for the hope for a more achievable victory. This was not the main talking pint of Way Of The Philosopher however, that was how Auckland Raider seemed entirely unphased by the aura and doom of the Malothian Claw, a stark contrast to the glimpses of death seen by Pink Spider. What does this mean?!?

Hez Jendell is on a mission to gain revenge on the Alien Armada for the eradication of the Falandùq race. Having recently aligned with Kalliope Woodchuck and BFF Celestina Cherish, she has showcased the beginning of an ability of their people called “fire speaking”, where they produce a mist like substance, a substance that temporarily incapacitated The Malothian and his drones, and arguably he hasn't quite been the same since, with the Armada even speculating this could be the issue with the corruption of the monster, Bile. This power could be a way of overcoming The Malothian and the Alien Armada forces (and why the Armada had targeted the Falandùq race for eradication?), however, Hez cannot control this power, and needs the training that would have been offered by their people. Shockingly Hez believes that that is a “fire speaker” in hiding in the ZEN locker room, FEAR alternatively suspect the residue was merely black mould. Either way, the increased prominence of Jendell, and the fact the tecnicos forces are rallying around them has led to increased attention from the Alien Armada, as they are sending Bucky Snark and Toady to take on Hez Jendell and Celestina Cherish at Way Of The Champion.

And finally, we have a 9th match-up for this showcase event! After an upset defeat at the turn of the year, The Ghost Hunters have been viciously targeting Crime Buster and his rookie partner on the beat, Blue Chip. Screwing the pair out of their Harmony Title match, and then taking both of the wholesome boys in blue out of action over the next few months. The Beat returned at full strength at Way Of The Philosopher and came out victorious over The Ghost Hunters as part of a trios match. Blue Chip thinks The Ghost Hunters are up to something beyond attacking The Beat, with ZEN cameras catching some suspicious interactions with Halloween Knight’s fortune teller, is he correct? Or is Crime Buster’s assurances they are merely villains of simple motive the correct call? Will The Beat get the best of The Ghost Hunters again, or will Bruce Strange and Mister Hyde gain a victory back over ZEN’S wholesome boys in blue?
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There are 9 matches at Way Of The Champion, the first of ZEN’S premier showcase events for 2022.

YOUR MAIN EVENT / MASTER TITLE MATCH
(C) Karrg The Insidious, representing Alien Armada vs. Halloween Knight, representing 3.E.A.R

ZEN: ART OF WINNING TOURNAMENT - FINALS
Kalliope Woodchuck, representing 2 Girls and a...Whatever vs. Trevor Feather (w/Guru Vishni) representing Skullduggery

5 TRIALS OF PUMPKIN JACK #1 - SUBMISSION MATCH
Pumpkin Jack, representing 3.E.A.R vs. Pink Spider, representing Alien Armada

CONTENDERS MATCH - MASTER TITLE
Cyanide, representing Skullduggery vs. HalloWarped, representing 3.E.A.R vs. Killer B (w/Molly Cuddle) vs. ZERO

HARMONY TITLE MATCH
(C) MAN O’WAR and Laguna The Loyal, representing Alien Armada vs. DevilShark, of Devilfish and Lone Shark

TOUGHENING UP THE ROOKIES
The Temple Dojo Class of ‘22, of B1G, Patrick Howard, Stretch and TJ Ward vs. Skullduggery, of Lerone Slim, Rekha, Vortex and Dee Lucketti (w/Guru Vishni)

CONCEPTUAL TITLE MATCH
(C) Deathwatch Beetle, representing Alien Armada vs. Auckland Raider vs. Booster Boy

TAG TEAM BATTLE
Bucky Snark and Toady, representing Alien Armada vs. Celestina Cherish and Hez Jendell, representing Two Girls and a...Whatever

GRUDGE MATCH
The Beat, of Crime Buster and Blue Chip vs. The Ghost Hunters, of Bruce Strange and Mister Hyde

Edited September 8 by Eugh

alpha2117 · September 9

Way Of The Champion

YOUR MAIN EVENT / MASTER TITLE MATCH
(C) Karrg The Insidious, representing Alien Armada vs. Halloween Knight, representing 3.E.A.R

To me the Alien Armada is fun but it's the default Main Event feud at the start and having Knight w1n here allows you to shape things the way you want going forward.

ZEN: ART OF WINNING TOURNAMENT - FINALS
Kalliope Woodchuck, representing 2 Girls and a...Whatever vs. Trevor Feather (w/Guru Vishni) representing Skullduggery

Woodchuck is a future Main Eventer and it's time to pull the trigger on that run to the top. I'd book a Skullduggery beatdown and a save by the other 2 girls and whatever too. A Feather v Woodchuck rematch is very tempting.

5 TRIALS OF PUMPKIN JACK #1 - SUBMISSION MATCH
Pumpkin Jack, representing 3.E.A.R vs. Pink Spider, representing Alien Armada

Jack is going over for at least the first 4 trials as far as I am concerned.

CONTENDERS MATCH - MASTER TITLE
Cyanide, representing Skullduggery vs. HalloWarped, representing 3.E.A.R vs. Killer B (w/Molly Cuddle) vs. ZERO

As I said time to pivot the Main Event and Cyanide v Knight is a perfect feud at the top of the card.

HARMONY TITLE MATCH
(C) MAN O’WAR and Laguna The Loyal, representing Alien Armada vs. DevilShark, of Devilfish and Lone Shark

I honestly have the Armada going down in flames here so they can take a step back and regroup for a new era - perhaps splittign in two and feuding with each other.

TOUGHENING UP THE ROOKIES
The Temple Dojo Class of ‘22, of B1G, Patrick Howard, Stretch and TJ Ward vs. Skullduggery, of Lerone Slim, Rekha, Vortex and Dee Lucketti (w/Guru Vishni)

I've got it as being a biggish night for Skullduggery well until Feather's loss

CONCEPTUAL TITLE MATCH
(C) Deathwatch Beetle, representing Alien Armada vs. Auckland Raider vs. Booster Boy

Time to pull the trigger on Hall.

TAG TEAM BATTLE
Bucky Snark and Toady, representing Alien Armada vs. Celestina Cherish and Hez Jendell, representing Two Girls and a...Whatever

Time for the Armada to go down big time.

GRUDGE MATCH
The Beat, of Crime Buster and Blue Chip vs. The Ghost Hunters, of Bruce Strange and Mister Hyde

The Beat's time will come but I think the Rudos get a win here because later on I am predicting a rout for the Armada.

Comments: I am probably wrong on all the Armada stuff but to me it just feels right to change things up soon.

KyTeran · September 9