Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and five of his students, Ric Blade, T.C.K, Lobo, Nick Gage, and Justice Pain (along with trainer Jon Dahmer) began to run professional wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence". Ladders, tables, steel folding chairs, thumbtacks, barbed wire, weed whackers, light tubes, and fire are all common elements of "ultraviolent wrestling" in CZW. The company filled a niche for hardcore wrestling fans that had been left open by the folding of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). CZW established themselves as the leading American hardcore wrestling promotion at the ECW Arena with their Cage of Death 3 show in 2001, the year ECW folded.