[5.0] "I was not a fan of this tournament at all from the commentators(specifically Jimmy Controversy) to the half assed looking matches. The only people who tryed on this show was Connor Claxton and Jimmy Lloyd. Also speeking about him match of the night goes to John Wayne Murdoch and Jimmy Lloyd in the first round, alot of near falls and had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was coming next. Also shocked to see Tremont and Warner ranked so high. I didn't think it was terrible but it wasn't nowhere near there best work either. Overall this show is very middle of the road, far from the best TOD but far from terrible."
[3.0] "Also der Opener war absolut garnix. Richtiger Trash der hier veranstaltet wurde. Nix gegen Shlak und Dan O'Hare, aber hier haben die Beiden absolut garnix Produktives auf die Beine gestellt. Conor Claxton vs. Jimmy Lyon war auch dann leider absolut garnix bis hin zum Kontroversen Finish. Auch hier wurde wieder ein absoluter Brawl, einfach nur Schwachsinn. Trotzdem zieht auch hier der richtige Mann weiter in's Semi-Final ein. Jimmy Lloyd vs. John Wayne Murdoch war dann das beste Match bis dahin und definitiv Empfehlenswert. Beide konnten wirklich gut Miteinander arbeiten (***1/2). Big Joe vs. Casanova Valentine war auch Gut. Casanova Valentine wird in diesem Match extrem stark dargestellt, auch wenn er viel einstecken muss (***1/4). Das Tag Team Home Run Derby Death Match war auch sehr gut (***1/2). Conor Claxton vs. Jimmy Lloyd war extrem kurz aber ganz unterhaltsam. Genauso wie das Semi Final Match danach. Im Main Event heißt es also das Finale vom ToD 18 Conor Claxton vs. Officer Dan O'Hare um den Death Match Champion. Davor gibt es aber natürlich noch das Fans Bring The Weapons Match zwischen Mance Warner und Matt Tremont. Das Match war Einfach nur Solide. Mehr aber auch nicht. Ging viel zu lange und es war halt nix wirklich besonderes dabei. Außer der End-Spot mit dem Exploding Tangled Web Spot vom Scaffold. Main Event war dann auch einfach nur noch Solide. Insgesamt haben mich viele Dinge gestört an diesem Event. Es fehlen bei CZW einfach die "Großen Deathmatch Stars". Conor Claxton und Dan O'Hare sind jetzt absolut nicht die beiden die Ich unbedingt in einem Tournament Of Death Finale sehen möchte. Dafür finde ich beide auch einfach nicht wirklich gut im Ring. Die Tonspur war öfters mal nicht in der Linie, genauso wie auch öfters mal dem Ringsprecher das Mikrofon ausgegangen ist. Das Feeling welches man damals bei den ToD's gehabt hat kommt hier leider einfach absolut nicht mehr hoch und das ist einfach nur traurig. 3 Punkte."
[9.0] "This show had a sloppy opener but it picked up with banger after banger of Deathmatches. Biggest question was why Tremont and Warner weren't in the tournament, there match could have been a main event or finals match anywhere but they didn't do it. Though I will say Connor Deserved that win and what a push for Hare, thought these two were gonna be the faces of the company at this point."
[5.0] "SHLAK/O'Hare had history and energy to start the show, but ended up being very random and extremely sloppy, not that special in the end. Claxton/Lyon had some decent heel work, but the weird injury angle killed the flow of the match and made the finish mean nothing. Lloyd/Murdoch used a lot of weapons and paced their spots smartly, making the most out of them and saving up for a demented finishing sequence. Casanova/Joe lacked charisma, but gave the feeling of a fight and surprisingly surpassed more seasoned deathmatch workers. REP/Kicks was average in quality, but very effective in showing a different side of The REP, helping them continue developing into the premier tag team in CZW. Lloyd/Claxton had Jimmy Lloyd doing most of the work and giving the superior performance, only for Conor Claxton to catch a cheap roll-up and get the undeserved victory, deflating the crowd a lot. Casanova/O? Hare had a similar phenomenon, with Casanova Valentine using his strength to pull off the most impressive maneuvers, only for Officer O? Hare to catch the victory in a slightly more substantial match. Tremont/Mance was a fine brawl, with a good pace and a charismatic presence, although the crowd brawling did not look very good and they lost themselves a bit in the last few minutes. The Finals was rushed an unsatisfying, taking underperforming workers and putting in them in a directionless match that limped to an early ending with a very contrived and phony contraption. The tournament had big problems in structure and monotony, but Jimmy Lloyd and Casanova Valentine stood out brightly. Also, the two non-tournament matches delivered well and gave solid buffer between the rounds while also having their own vibe and accomplishing stuff. Therefore, while the tournament results were disappointing, the deathmatch action itself felt average to good, making for a perfectly fine little show that goes by relatively easily."
[5.0] "Took over 6 months to decide to watch this. It was just before this event that I sorta gave up on CZW until the end of 2019. While my opinion hasn't changed, I figured I'd give this one a shot since I was looking forward to it back then. O'Hare and SHLAK was solid and both men went brutal from the get-go with the light tubes. Given the fact that they are/were tag partners, I may have expected a little more intensity. Claxton vs. Lyon was uh... a glorified squash at best. Not sure what happened with the finish. Next match was bloody and enjoyable when compared to the previous two. Panes of glass and such make me happy. Outside interference was unnecessary but didn't affect the match result. Murdoch's back was massacred. Casanova skewering Joe was a cool nod to Masada, who now we know will face Casanova at the 21st Anniversary show. The match was a bit slow, but had more psychology than the previous matches, which was welcomed and told a good story. Murder by Kicks vs. The Rep was alright. It did nothing to peak my interest and was just there. Not bad, but nothing to write about. Lloyd vs. Claxton was solid with some good weapon usage. This was completely overshadowed by the weak finish however. Casanova coming out as Cactus Jack with the barbed wire cross gave this next one a plus one point. Good match when compared to the previous one. I liked the use of the barbed wire here. Finals are set, as expected with the CZW regulars. The next match was what was missing in this tournament. A true brutal and barbaric match that actually played out and went a solid amount of time. Time was a factor here as it gave both guys a chance to go all out. Tremont, while slower now, remains a death match legend and Warner is fantastic in this environment. Main event could have been more, but the finish (a nod to old CZW) was cool where everything else lacked. Honestly, this was OK overall. Could've been more."
[6.0] "The first two matches were okay (** - **1/2). Jimmy Lloyd vs. John Wayne Murdoch in a Panes Of Glass match was awesome actually! I enjoy the match alot! The glass spot on the ground was sick, MOTN for me (***1/4). Big Joe and Casanova delivered a good match, the second best match of the 1st round matches (***). Murder By Kicks vs. The REP was good but the fire spots on the end of the match was ruined (**3/4). The 2 semi finals was nothing special kinda boring with few good spots (**1/4). Tremont vs. Warner was really good (***1/4). Claxton vs. O'Hare in the final it felt like they were rushing to finish. The trampoline spots was great (**1/4). Overall a decent show, not the best TOD, the commentary was not great."
[4.0] "1. O'Hare/SHLAK: ** ½ (Jimmy Rave of all people helping call this show along with some random douche that isn't Emil Jay. One of SHLAK's better matches until a wonky finish involving another failed flaming elbow drop from SHLAK) 2. Claxton/Lyon: ** (This was very enjoyable and seemed like a potential TOD classic with Lyon taking the pencil board and push pin bat, just disgusting shit. Then he apparently gets hurt and then do a weird finish which honestly was still OK but a big let down from the rest of the bout) 3. Lloyd/JWM: *** (Besides Murdoch's finisher being rendered pointless and Lloyd wearing his "CZW Is Pussy" shirt at a CZW show, I really liked this. An insane amount of glass, Murdoch deserves a GCW tournament spot one day) 4. Casanova/Joe: ** ¾ (Fun, straight forward match. Big Joe isn't anything special but he fit in fine. Casanova is the guy CZW needs to build around as it seems he might stand of chance of not starting to work GCW shows) 5. Tag Match: ** ¼ (McCall and Broadway fit right into the death match stuff. ANOTHER fucked up fire finish ruined this for me, which sucks because these guys killed each other) 6. Claxton/Lloyd: * (This match existed. It had an exploding bat. Woo hoo) 7. O'Hare/Casanova: * (Round 2 TOD matches always seem to suck. Too slow) 8. Tremont/Mancer: *** ¼ (Excellent stuff made just good by shit camera-work and commentary. I hope these 2 have a rematch in a place more befitting of such a potential classic) 9. Finals: ** ¼ (Commentary made a decent final ending in an amazing bump mean absolutely nothing. Claxton should have won this tournament years ago)"
[5.0] "Muss sich den direkten Vergleich mit GCW´s TOS gefallen lassen, und da kommt es einfach nicht im Ansatz mit. Es gab nette Momente, es lies sich gut weggucken, aber es gab auch ordentlich Bullshit. Pures Mittelmaß."
[6.0] "Als jemand, der sich gerad weiter in die Deathmatch-Wrestling-Schiene vortastet, ist CZWs Tournament of Death natürlich ein Pflichttermin im laufenden Wrestling-Kalender. Fast alle Worker sind mir dabei schon über den Weg gelaufen. Einzig Big Joe habe ich da bisher verpasst und sehe da doch Potential, noch etwas aufzuholen. Doch der Reihe nach. Gedenken an verstorbene, ein paar Parkhinwweise und Ideen, wie man in NJ legal Alkohol konsumieren kann, dann kann es auch schon losgehen. Der Opener ist okay und führt solide in die Thematik ein. SHLACK mit einem guten Job dabei. Früh fällt auf, dass es diesen Tag wohl um Claxton gehen könnte. Sein Erstrunden-Match ist kein Highlight, auch wenn der Spot mit der Trage natürlich sitzt. Lloyd und Murdoch machen es dann für mich eine deutliche Schippe besser. No Selling trifft irre Spots. Nettes Chaos. Der bereits erwähnte Big Joe macht mir dann ordentlich Spaß, auch wenn sich das Match etwas zieht. Die einzige Tag Team-Action des Tages erfüllt seinen Zweck als Auflockerung, ist aber auch kein Showstealer, sondern teils doch etwas wirr. Auch gegen Lloyd zieht Claxtons Run das Niveau etwas runter. Das zweite Halbfinale macht es etwas besser ehe Warner und Tremont mit guter Intensität und vielseitigem Einsatz von Gegenständen das MOTN liefern. Auch im Finale wird Claxton seinen Fluch nicht los und so ist das Finish doch etwas nebulös, aber der Spot zuvor natürlich genießbar. In Summe für mich ein solider Event, der im Leistungsschnitt aber ruhig hätte etwas runder sein dürfen. Kann man sich geben, wenn man das Genre mag, aber kein Highlight."
[4.0] "This is probably the worst TOD I have seen. Is it a coincidence that all 3 of the worst received TODs have had Claxton in the finals? I kid, I kid. He was probably the MVP of this tournament and really should just be ran with as the guy for this dying company. It is pretty obvious he is one of the only ones who still give a shit. Dan O'Hare has size, a personality, and balls to take big bumps, but somehow none of this translates to his ring presence. The crowd was absolutely dead for the finals and were more interested in chanting for sex toys, so it looked like the guys just gave up, walked to the final contraption, and hit the finish with no struggle. Why the hell was Shlak not in the finals? Even Casanova Valentine atleast brings some level of character and presence. More than any TOD I've seen, each match on this show generally felt the same and lacked any creative thrust for spots. Guys took some brutal stuff and I respect them for that, but no one on this show aside from Shlak, Valentine, and Claxton seemed to have any clue how to actually get over. Jimmy Lloyd and John Wayne Murdoch had one of the better matches as I would have expected, though even then it felt a bit flat. Tremont and Mancer had the best match of the show, and they weren't even in the tourney. I have no clue why Mancer wasn't in it and maybe even winning it. In a perfect world, we would have seen Mancer and Shlak in the finals in a match that the crowd would have actually ate up and felt some level of hype for, but we have to play DJ's political game and prioritize loyalty over quality. The cherry on the top was the commentary that made me want to apologize to every indy commentator I have ever given flack to. The Johnny Gargano sounding guy was the all time worst commentator I have heard, and should be blacklisted after this. I give this show a 4 because I like a majority of the guys in the tourney, and I don't consider this weak tourney their fault."
[10.0] "An excellent show that defied all kinds of expectation. O'Hare and Shlak were always going to kill each other due to their history, and it delivered. Chondo exceeded all my expectation with his performance. He was selling right in front of me and I thought he was really hurt and felt bad, only for Claxton to double stomp him from the apron and pile drive him on to a car. What a moment. Lloyd continues to show he's one of the best death match wrestlers in the world and Murdoch is so underrated as well. Big Joe fucking delivered and so did Casanova. Hope to see Big Joe back in the US in some capacity. Second rounds kinda felt like fillers but exploding bats as well as Casanova's Cactus Jack dress up was awesome. Tremont and Mancer TORE THE HOUSE DOWN. What a show they put on. And that final bump was definitely the craziest bump I've ever seen. Big ups to O'Hare for the hell of a performance in three matches as well as taking an absolute beating."
[8.0] "Very good show by CZW ! The first four round matches of the tournament are amazing brawls. Crazy funny and hardcore spots in this matches. The best match in the show is Mance Warner vs Matt Tremont. A tournament without big names that filled the expectations. Good performance by O'Hare and Casanova."
[7.0] "Beim Opener fand ich, dass der Start echt recht stark war. Da gab es sofort saures, nach kürzester Zeit hatte man Blut und die erwarteten Spots aber dann ist es etwas abgeflacht, dennoch hatte ich in dieses Match schon auch Investment wegen der Vergangenheit der beiden. Claxton gegen Lyon hatte einige ganz unterhaltsame Spots wie die Geschichte mit der Ananas und der Melone ( was ja auch Claxton weiter beschäftigte) und besonders auch das mit den Stiften. Man merkte hier schon, welche Geschichte man wohl mit Claxton erzählen will. Lloyd gegen Murdoch gefiel mir vor Allem von der Stipulationumsetzung her gut nur dieses Overbooking hätte nicht sein können, der Spots mit dem brennenden Glas bleibt aber im Gedächtnis. Casanova Valentine gegen Big Joe ist dann wirklich für mich das MOTN, weil es eben nicht nur Spots hat sondenr auch wrestlerisch ansprechend ist mit gutem Selling von beiden, einer Story um die Dominanz von Valentine bevor es zu Joe dreht um dann wieder zurückzudrehen. Das Tag Match hatte richtig krasse Spots mit drin, die ich so gar nicht erwartet hätte. Das Exploding Bat Match fügt sich dann nahtlos in Claxtons Turniergeschichte ein. Der Sneaky Veteran der relativ schnell mit einem surprise Finish das Ding gewinnen kann. O´Hare gegen Casanova hat zwar die Tumbleweed Stipulation gut ausgenutzt, war mir aber ehrlich gesagt von Casanovas Seite etwas zu viel Mick Foley Imitation. Tremont gegen Warner war für mich das zweitbeste Match gewesen. Das einzige was mir da nicht gefiel, war die Sequenz, wo man sie nicht sehen konnte. Ansonsten war dieses Match hier, das mit spannendsten und längsten Schlussphase. Auch hier gutes Selling von beiden. Das Finale ist dann quasi der Schlusspunkt der Claxton Geschichte und ist eigentlich das One Spot Match des Turniers, aber dafür ist es auch der krasseste. Alles in Allem ein mehr als anständiges TOD, dass nur deswegen nicht gut ist, weil die mit den schwächeren Matches ins Finale kamen. Dennoch gute Unterhaltung."
[8.0] "It was the best graduation present ever, Shlak vs O' Hare was a nice but sloppy opener and sadly Shlak did not make it pass the first round again, Claxton piledriving Lyon on a car was so cool, Jimmy Lloyd vs John Wayne Murdoch had random run ins for no reason but still fun, Casanova Valentine vs Big Joe was best match of the tournament. The REP vs Murder By Kicks was fun but the tag team titles weren't on the line so what was the point? Claxton vs Lloyd was way to Short, Casanova dressing up as Cactus Jack and comes out with a barbedwire cross was awesome and the match had a lot of tasty spots. Matt Tremont and Mance Warner Shows us they should be in the tournament and this should be the real final oh and the finals was short but the exploding trampoline spot was awesome"
"Conor Claxton, die Graupe vor dem Herren, gewinnt gegen Graupe #2 im Main Event Finale via random Matchabbruch? Ja klar, ist ja CZW - kann man so machen, ist halt aber Scheiße wenn man es sich mal genau betrachtet. GCW TOS dieses Jahr war auch nicht so großartig, aber bei weitem besser als die Nummer hier. Angefangen von der Produktion, den geistesabwesenden Kommentatoren, diversen untauglichen Wrestlern (allen voran Claxton, Valentine, Lyon, Big Joe) und einem viel zu langen Match zwischen Warner und Tremont. Wird Zeit, dass DJ Hyde als Veranstalter sich zurückzieht."
