Deathmatch wrestling, or hardcore wrestling, has been a staple of the independent wrestling scene since it became successful in America with Extreme Championship Wrestling. Of course, deathmatches certainly made waves in Japan years prior.
While ECW went defunct in 2001, the promotion influenced a number of other wrestling organizations like Combat Zone Wrestling.
Deathmatches remain a controversial aspect of wrestling, due to their bloody and ultra-violent nature. Needless to say, this stuff is not suitable for children due to its destructive content. A UK-based wrestling organization called Colliery Championship Wrestling is inviting wrestling fans\' ire on social media after they decided to hold a show involving a bloody deathmatch with children present in the audience.
On April 29, the promotion held its \"CCW Pits Of Punishment\" event at the Seaham Conservative Club in Seaham, County Durham in England. The match between Blizzard and Ronnie Thatcher at the event saw the two wrestlers beat each other to a bloody mess in a \"3 out of 5 Doors Match\".
Clips from the match are making the rounds on social media, in which children can be seen in the audience as the two bloodied wrestlers use a variety of weapons to inflict as much pain as possible on each other.
In one of the clips, Blizzard is using a string trimmer on Thatcher\'s arm as he writhes in pain on the floor outside the ring.
In another, the wrestler is seen whacking a bundle of sticks on his opponent\'s wound cavity on his head, as his head is drenched in blood.
A third clip shows Thatcher taking his turn to shatter a tube light on Blizzard\'s back and then stabbing the shattered, pointy end on his head.
Expectedly, the promotion is getting flak from fans all around the world for having a deathmatch take place on a show advertized as family-friendly.
The promotion has stated on their Facebook group that their show will be strictly an adults-only affair moving forward:
\"There will be no repeat of went down at PITS OF PUNISHMENT like what we saw between Ronnie and Blizzard again. It will only take place in over 18 shows ( yes you can screenshot this for twitter )The match was only supposed to be a doors match, where both men took it upon themselves to take things to another level. We apologise to everyone this may have upset and we will make sure this will never happen again. [sic]\"
In another statement, the showrunners have asked people to stop harassing the venue where the show was held and apologized for their blunder. Bizarrely, the statement also mentions that they received a call from someone from North America pretending to be a promoter, threatening to shut down their promotion. As noted, CCW is located in the UK.
