As far as I'm concerned the feud of the year for 2005 so far has been the incredible feud between Ring of Honor and Combat Zone Wrestling. Through great promos by men representing ROH (such as Jim Cornette) and CZW (via Chris Hero), the "serious wrestling" versus "garbage wrestling" angle has become the most fun thing to watch to watch in any company, WWE included. In the last ten years I got to see one invasion angle start off hot but skewed way too much in one direction (nWo vs. WCW) and another botched beyond all human comprehension (WCW/ECW vs. WWE). It is refreshing to finally see an invasion angle where both companies are booked strong. This just in: the home promotion can lose and the story be better for it. An invasion angle that logically builds from one show to the next and has surprising twists and turns that actually increase my anticipation for the next chapter in the story? That's good booking right there.

Like many other viewers, I'm not all that familiar with CZW. I know they run in the ECW Arena and have gained some notoriety through their annual King of the Deathmatch tournaments - which is what gave them the "garbage wrestling" stigma - but outside of that I don't know much about the company. However, I have watched one documentary on a CZW wrestler and I'm going to reexamine that DVD now. Unscarred is a film detailing the life and career of Matt Burns, better known as “Sick” Nick Mondo. While Mondo is unknown to many wrestling fans, he is a legend to the followers of hardcore action and this DVD shows exactly why. The disc takes a look at Mondo's entire career, from his childhood until his last match in CZW. Before I continue, I must note the fantastic production values on the DVD, as everything from the music to the onscreen graphics are really sharp. I’m not even a big fan of death (speed?) metal, but it works in this context.

On to the DVD!

After a music video by the former WWE, TNA, ECW, and WCW tag team Insane Clown Posse, Mondo started the DVD off with answering the question he said he is always asked by the fans, what is the most painful thing he has been through? The answer: taking a weed whacker to the stomach. The DVD then cut to an actual CZW match where a wrestler started up a weed whacker, and then I-shit-you-not put the whacker - blades fucking first - into Mondo, who was tied up in the ropes. Talk about a wild start to the DVD. Watching that spot I was thinking, “there’s no way in hell he’s actually going to hit him with those blades. No chance.”

I was wrong.

Dead wrong.

Again.

I think it is obvious right from the start that fans used to the WWE style of hardcore matches - and their overuse of aluminum cookie sheets and cheap trash cans - are going to be in for quite a shock watching Unscarred. The DVD then takes a ride with Mr. Peabody and Sherman in the Way Back Machine to look at Nick Mondo growing up. Mondo was a kid who was always looking for ways to goof on people and the DVD includes a lot of his pranks such as walking into convenience stores dressed solely in his underwear, making phony phone calls to local cable access shows, and putting dummies dressed up as Santa Claus on train tracks for a train to run into. Jesus, Mondo was one step away from The Good Son. It wasn’t long before the law caught up to Mondo and he found himself facing fines and community service, so he began to look into other areas where he could work out his "creativity."

Mondo and his crew started up a backyard federation that Mondo’s father described as a “Ninja fed.” The footage of this reminded me of the Youth Wrestling Federation on Bryan Alvarez’s Super Chico V DVD or the Hardy Boyz’ Trampoline Wrestling Federation. For those who of you who have not watched either of those promotions, and I'm guessing that's around 99.44% of you, a similar comparison may be comparing the movie See No Evil to Jaws. Around this time Mondo found himself enjoying ECW and decided he wanted to be a professional wrestler, so he worked 12 hours a day one summer to save up money to go to a wrestling school in Cleveland, Ohio. Mondo also worked some local Cleveland indies during this period, and while he knew he still had plenty to learn, he always felt that he pleased the crowd in his matches.

After a while, Mondo began to tire of the long drives to Ohio and looked for wrestling work closer to his home in Pennsylvania and it was here that Nick joined the company he would find fame in, CZW. Mondo’s first match in CZW was against none other than Backseat Boy Trent Acid and the company also sent Mondo on a tour of Japan that he really enjoyed. In 2001, Mondo went through what he felt was a very dark period in both his personal life and wrestling career. Mondo said that he though wrestling was getting dull and he “made the mistake of getting involved in violent matches.” Cue an absolutely insane montage of clips that included one memorable light tube battle that seemed reminiscent of Obi-Wan versus Anakin on that lava planet. The spots than got even crazier, if you can even imagine that, including my personal favorite, a barbed wire waffle bat in a match against Ian Rotten. After watching these clips I think it's fair to say Mondo is a divinely blessed man, as there is no other possible reason to explain the fact he is still alive.

Thankfully in 2002, Mondo had a turning point and met a woman through his own website’s messageboard. The girl was actually a local indie wrestler by the name of Rain and the two immediately hit it off. Rain can be seen today wrestling in the SHIMMER promotion run by Dave Prazak. Mondo saw his wrestling career turning around and felt what he had was a dream match against another hardcore icon, The Messiah. In late 2002 Mondo was entered in the CZW Tournament of Death, in which every match was a weapons match. Mondo’s first match was against XPW's Homeless Jimmy (who has one of the greatest ring names of all time IMO) and it contained a spot outside the building in which Jimmy and Mondo took a bump off the top of a Ryder truck onto a table of light tubes. Mondo said this bump got the attention of the fans and the wrestling media and after watching it myself, I have to say it has to be seen to be believed. Although to be fair, even after seeing it I'm not sure I believe it.

Mondo’s second round match was against The Messiah, and this was just weeks after Messiah had a legit encounter with a pair of real life thugs that were allegedly sent by XPW owner Rob Black. It turns out Messiah was bragging about sleeping with Rob Black's girlfriend, XPW manager Lizzie Borden, and this went over with Black as much as you could expect it to with someone who is possibly 100% batshit insane. The men cut off Messiah’s thumb and he actually wrestled the match against Mondo with his hand taped up. The last match of the tournament was Mondo against Wifebeater and the two realized they would have to turn it up a notch.

And they did it.

The final match was a “200 light tube” match in which the ring was just covered in a veritable forest of light tubes. In one truly sick spot, Wifebeater dumped a bucket of salt on the back of Mondo, who was bleeding everywhere. That must have stung like hell. The match ended with the weedwhacker spot that Mondo talked about to open the DVD. Mondo said everyone in the locker room told him not to do that spot, but Mondo felt it was “well worth it” because of the recognition it gave CZW. Somehow this tournament refreshed Mondo's love of wrestling and he came back with even more moves in his repertoire including the Mondo Sledge, the Assault Driver, the Life Cutter, and my personal favorite, the M. Bison. The last move was named after a character in the Street Fighter II video game and is based on a move the character does in the game. That’s f---ing awesome.

By the time 2003 rolled around, Mondo said it was time to consider retiring and he saw three warning signs that led him to that decision. The first was during a match between Zandig and Nick Hatred in which Mondo took several powerbombs that severely aggravated his back. I'm sure you'll be shocked to find out that a stiff chair shot to the head during that match didn’t help matters. The second warning sign came when Mondo was in Italy. Mondo was in the country for a total of one hour when his driver stopped a car on the highway after missing an exit and got smashed from behind. This accident messed up Mondo’s neck, but since he felt the students in Italy were looking forward to his advertised training session, he still trained them the very next day. When you think of all the jackasses in wrestling who have taken money from students and skipped town, it is even more remarkable that a man like Mondo exists in the world of professional wrestling.

The final warning sign came during CZW’s Tournament of Death 2. Mondo had actually broken his hand several weeks before the Tournament, but the hype of the event and the fans prompted him to wrestle in it wearing a cast. In the Holy Shit of all Holy Shit spots, Mondo fought Zandig on the roof of a building until both men did a spot off the building onto a table filled with light tubes on the ground. Mondo said he actually overshot the tables and hit the concrete. This is the amazing part, MONDO AND ZANDIG CONTINUED WITH THE FUCKING MATCH! Mondo had actually cut open an artery in his back and was bleeding for ten men. Even the Great Muta would get queasy watching this match. Mondo won the match and actually wrestled Ian Rotten in the finals, saying that Rotten carried him in the match because he was totally out of it. Mondo said he went home after the match, and while he recovered he got a chance to watch the event and realized he had taken things way too far. “I easily could have died coming off that roof.”

Let's pause for a second and reflect on possibly the understatement of the year.

Mondo said that moving on from wrestling was hard, but because he went out on top it was easier to deal with. Mondo showed some of the letters he had gotten from fans along with other items such as homemade action figures. You could tell this sort of stuff meant a lot to him, as if he had cemented a legacy that he could be proud of. Mondo also told of a kid who would dress up like him at every show while the DVD showed a great shot of Mondo putting this kid on his shoulders and posing during a CZW show. Mondo said his lifelong dream was to see himself in a videogame and was shocked to find out he would get the opportunity months after he left wrestling for the PS2/Xbox game Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood. Mondo actually got to fly to California to do voice over work for the videogame and had a blast.

The DVD finishes up with Mondo talking about the tattoo across his stomach that reads “Unscarred.” Nick said that it signifies all he has been through in his life but nothing has been able to keep him down. I thought this was a strong finish that tied together a lot of the themes that were covered in the DVD. Mondo came across as a likeable guy that has a Mick Foley-like tendency to do whatever it takes to give the fans their money’s worth, no matter what the cost. Unlike so many legends, such as Ric Flair and Mick Foley, Mondo actually got to go out in a storybook way, winning a Tournament of Death and riding on the shoulders of his contemporaries.

Bonus Features: This DVD is actually loaded with extras including a “Director’s Cut” of the main feature, which looked to be “Unscarred v1.0” as it didn’t have the really cool graphics that v2.0 did. There is a “Hard to the F’N Core” music video and a “Hall of Pain” documentary feature on more insane backyard stuff. There is also a fantastic behind the scenes look at the making of Backyard Babes, which was basically an excuse to oogle four really hot, and naked, girls. To top everything off is a behind the scenes look at the making of the Backyard Wrestling 2 video game. This actually included promos by New Jack and Sonjay Dutt.

Overall Thoughts: What a great surprise. Unscarred is a great look into the life of a hardcore backyard wrestler, showing the ups and downs while stripping away the illusions of a so called “fake” sport. This is highly recommended to fans of CZW, ECW and indie wrestling in general. If you like hardcore wrestling or crazy spots, then this is also the DVD for you. In fact, I think non-hardcore fans will appreciate it just as much as it takes a close look at the quote, unquote garbage wrestler and what the lifestyle is like. Hopefully in the future there can be more documentaries done like this to let us get to know the people who put their lives on the line just to entertain us, often for little to no money or acclaim. I should note that the production values of this DVD is off the charts and I can not think of one possible way to improve it. The editing is picture perfect to the point it is as if WWE decided to make a DVD for an indy guy. Click HERE to purchase Unscarred: the Life of “Sick Nick Mondo.”

Derek Burgan has been writing for the F4W Empire for almost a year. He would like to thank Keith Lipinski for his invaluable help with this review. If you have any questions, corrections, feedback, comments and ideas, he can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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