Pro Wrestling Guerrilla: Kurt RussellMania: On The Road Again
Kurt RussellMania
Date: January 30, 2010
Location: LAX Hilton, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 1,100
Commentators: Excalibur, Colt Cabana, Chris Hero
It’s time to head back to PWG and this one happens to be part of the Wrestle Reunion convention. Other than that it seems to be a pretty standard PWG show, meaning long matches on a card that may or may not have much in the way of backstory. These things can be a blast so let’s get to it.
Excalibur is in the ring and calls the show Jamarcus Russell Mania (referencing a major NFL bust) before being corrected to a better reception.
The ring announcer goes over the code of conduct, saying “YOU BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELVES YOU DRUNKS!”. Well that got more serious in a hurry.
Excalibur tells us to get some merchandise but here are the Young Bucks and Brian Kendrick to interrupt. Matt says he’s tired of the Bucks being referred to as “Matt and Nick Jackson” because they are Max and Jeremy, Generation Me (their TNA names). They’ve become bigger than PWG which is why they left Los Angeles and went to the beautiful city of Orlando and get to work with people like Vince Russo, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan.
The Nasty Boys have taken them under their wings and they love Dixie Carter. This generation belongs to them, which doesn’t sit well with Kendrick. The brawl is on and Paul London runs in for the save. London says Kendrick doesn’t seem as motivated as he has before but the offer for the tag match is made anyway. Kendrick is in, saying this guy with the mask calls the shots around here. London: “Is that Octagon?” The match seems to be on. Funny stuff here, with the Bucks knowing how to pester the fans.
Malachi Jackson/Candice LeRae/Johnny Goodtime/Jerome Robinson vs. Cutler Brothers/Ryan Taylor/Christina Von Eerie
LeRae and Goodtime dance (with an NES Power Pad because of course) a bit before the match and we’re ready to go. Goodtime chills on the Pad again and gets jumped and the villains (the ones without the Pad) jump the other team to start fast. Well kind of fast as the bell takes its sweet time ringing. The Cutlers crash out to the floor and Eerie is sent outside as well. That leaves LeRae to hurricanrana Taylor onto the Cutlers for quite the big crash. Goodtime and Robinson hit running flip dives Jackson is right there with a flip dive.
Back in and Eerie suplexes LeRae for two and we settle down to a regular match. Taylor comes in and gets caught with a Black Widow, only for Brandon to come in with a boot to the face. Brandon’s choking pushups have LeRae in more trouble but she hurricanranas Taylor, allowing Robinson to come in and fight back. An O’Connor roll is blocked so Robinson just sits on Brandon for two in a funny bit. Dustin gets in a shot to the back on the apron though, followed by an apron powerbomb for two.
The choking in the corner keeps Robinson in trouble but he manages a Falcon Arrow. Taylor cuts him off so Goodtime comes in without a tag, meaning it’s time to beat Robinson up in the corner even more. Robinson gets out of a chinlock and steps up out of the corner on Brandon, with a Pele hitting Dustin in a sweet counter.
Goodtime is back in to clean house and a Falcon Arrow gets two on Dustin but Taylor comes in to kick Goodtime in the head. Taylor tries to kiss LeRae but kisses Eerie by mistake so LeRae gives him a ballplex (figure it out). Eerie recovers quickly enough to Pedigree LeRae so Jackson grabs a sitout powerbomb.
A flipping Stunner sends Taylor into a sunset flip to give Robinson two and we get a double stack electric chair for a really big crash. Goodtime drops Dustin for two with Brandon making the save, earning himself an assisted Codebreaker. LeRae missile dropkicks Dustin into a low blow on Brandon but they’re right back up to give her a spike Tombstone for the pin at 11:35.
Rating: B-. It might not have been a classic but this was the kind of fun match that serves as a good opener. You had a bunch of people running around doing one spot after another and that’s all you’re looking for with something like this. The ending felt like a big moment with LeRae getting knocked silly, so points for the Cutlers to get something out of this one.
Brandon Bonham vs. Brandon Gatson
Naturally the fans chant LET’S GO BRANDON and you can make your own out of date jokes. They trade waistlocks and Gatson takes him down with an armdrag into an armbar. Gatson grabs a headlock as commentary compares the trunks and hair. Bonham is back up with a front facelock and then a jumping enziguri for two.
Cabana guarantees that a Brandon will win this match, ignoring the option of a draw. What a professional. Gatson is sent outside for a big running flip dive from Bonham and they head back inside. Bonham sends him into the ropes but gets pulled into a Tarantula (well, an upside down one in this case), followed by a Hennig necksnap for two.
A kick to the head knocks Gatson back down for two more but he’s right back up with a slingshot cutter. Bonham is stomps him in the ribs but gets kicked to the floor for a Space Flying Tiger Drop (with commentary making Fergie references for some reason). They both get back in at the same time, with Bonham kicking him in the head for two. Back up and Gatson grabs a side slam and flips him forward into a faceplant for the pin at 10:01.
Rating: C+. Yeah this was fine. It’s a match between a couple of guys who aren’t exactly well known and they got to go back and forth for a little while in front of a pretty big crowd. That’s the kind of a match you need to have on a show like this and it went well enough. Gatson has been around on a few of these and while there’s nothing that makes him stand out, I’ve seen far worse.
Excalibur is back in the ring and says Chuck Taylor isn’t here due to a bad storm. Fan: “WE WANT CHUCK!” Excalibur: “Do you own a snow removal company a******? Shut the f*** up. I’m trying to cut a promo here.” Taylor and Human Tornado were scheduled to challenge for the Tag Team Titles but that won’t happen, so Tornado will be facing Super Crazy.
Davey Richards was set to face Crazy, so he’ll be facing Kevin Steen. And yes, Paul London and Brian Kendrick will face the Young Bucks in a non-title match. Excalibur to that fan: “Don’t say I never did anything for you a******. F****** p****.” I’m going to hope that the fan said something I didn’t hear because DANG that’s an over the top reaction otherwise. Or maybe he’s a heel here.
Super Crazy vs. Human Tornado
Tornado stomps him down in the corner to start fast and a photographer gets taken out. Back in and Crazy takes over with some kicks of his own and the surfboard goes on. Crazy gets in the ten punches in the corner (Excalibur: “Cinco is Mexican for seven.”) but Tornado sends him outside for the big running flip dive.
They’re both a bit nuts so they brawl around the ring with Crazy getting the better of things but getting dropkicked back inside. A swinging DDT gets two more and we pause for some yelling at the referee, who might have messed up the count. Crazy grabs a sitout powerbomb for two and now the fans aren’t sure who they like more. Tornado is back up with a belly to back faceplant into the Cancun Tornado (twisting Swanton) for the pin at 6:20.
Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time to do anything here, which isn’t exactly normal for PWG. I’m guessing that’s due to the match being changed due to the Chuck Taylor absence, though it felt like they were just getting going when Tornado won. It’s not a bad match but more short and not given a chance to really get anywhere.
Kevin Steen vs. Davey Richards
Before the bell, Steen yells at a fan with a hat and threatens to knock him out and then “have my way with your body.” Steen goes over to the fan and, after offering a free shot, kisses him on the head. We get the Big Match Intros and Richards grabs a wristlock, earning himself a kiss to the cheek. That means a smiling Richards bails out to the floor and we pause for a bit, with Steen clearly having a good time with this.
Back in and Steen says he knows (I think) Richards is hiding behind a sign (I’m not sure I get it) so Richards kisses him right back and poses. This leads to an odd discussion on commentary, including: Excalibur: “If you yourself were drugged and raped, would you enjoy it?” We settle back down into Richards grabbing a headlock so Steen blows his nose on him. Cabana: “Technically that’s not against the rules!” Excalibur: “Kurt Russell would have it no other way.”
Steen sends him to the floor for another blow of the nose, this time earning himself a dropkick. They go outside and into the crowd, with the brawl heading near the commentary area. Richards finds a drum set and does a solo, with Steen calling him horrible. They come back to ringside where Steen hits an apron powerbomb and Excalibur pouts (his word) over Cabana beating him to a joke. A slam gives Steen one back inside and he tries a pushup to limited success.
Richards misses a dropkick but Steen misses a charge and crashes into the post. That sends Steen outside for the running flip dive from Richards, who lands in about the fourth row. A missile dropkick connects with Steen back inside and we’re off to the cross armbreaker, with Steen going right to the rope.
Back up and a suplex into the corner sets up Steen’s Cannonball for two (with commentary actually avoiding the Otto Wanz reference) and it’s time to slug it out. Steen’s brainbuster onto the knee gets two but the Swanton hits raised knees. Some running shots in the corner set up the bridging German suplex to give Richards two. Richards misses a shooting star press but settles for a cross armbreaker to make Steen tap at 15:45.
Rating: B. This was more like the PWG matches you would expect with the two of them trading big moves until one of them gave out. The stuff with the kisses at the beginning was funny and felt right at home for Steen, who can be rather amusing. Richards wasn’t doing the no selling stuff here either and that’s always appreciated.
Great Muta/Kai vs. The Dynasty
That would be Joey Ryan/Scott Lost. Muta and Lost start things off and we pause early for the green mist. Muta’s leglock takes Lost down so he gets up to his feet and realizes what he’s up against for a change. A running shoulder drops Lost, who is back up with a dropkick. That’s enough to send Muta outside and he claims a mask pull and…well are you going to argue with him?
Kai and Ryan come in with Kai cartwheeling over him but getting caught with a swinging neckbreaker. Lost says you’re about to see the best suplex in the world, which is senough for Kai to easily reverse into one of his own. It’s back to Muta for the Power Drive elbow and we’re off to the STF. The threat of a mist has Ryan scared off so commentary talks about The Mist by Stephen King. Kai comes back in for a Boston crab to Lost before it’s already back to Muta for a leglock.
Some running knees in the corner connect for Kai and he drops a middle rope double stomp for two. Lost gets in a shot of his own and Ryan comes in for some hurricanranas to take over. It’s already back to Lost for a spinning kick to the head, only for Kai to one up him with a springboard spinning kick to the head. Everything breaks down and Kai uses a caution sigh to cut Ryan off. The referee takes the same sign from Lost and that means a misting. The Shining Wizard gives Muta the pin at 12:09.
Rating: B-. Well you don’t bring Muta in to lose. He’s an all time legend and the fans were probably thrilled to have him there, which is exactly the point of something like this. The Dynasty is a pretty big deal in PWG but Muta and Kai are a bit out of their league. Granted Kai was someone who only became so big of a star, but he was in good company here.
El Generico vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
Well this works. Liger wrestles him down to start but the headlock is quickly escaped, giving us a standoff. The surfboard goes on, with Generico managing to stack him up for two. Back up and Generico spins around into an armdrag to the floor, meaning it’s the springboard into Generico’s pose. Generico even offers to help Liger back inside, where Liger snaps off a headscissors.
Liger hits a heck of a dropkick to the floor and the rolling Liger Kick connects back inside. Another surfboard goes on, with commentary listing off every Romero they can think of as a possible name. With that broken up, Liger grabs a camel clutch, followed by a seated abdominal stretch. Generico gets out and sends Liger outside for the springboard moonsault.
A high crossbody gives Generico two back inside and the Blue Thunder Bomb connects for the same. Liger’s tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets him out of trouble but he splashes Generico’s raised knees. The Helluva Kick connects for Generico, whose brainbuster attempt is countered into a suplex. Back up and they strike it out until Generico snaps off a German suplex of his own.
Liger hits a big shotei palm strike for two as the fans are rather pleased here. They go to the corner where Liger gets tied in the Tree Of Woe, allowing Generico to go up for a top rope flipping kick (that’s way more athletic than I would have expected from him). The brainbuster gets two so Generico takes him to the corner, where Liger reverses into the Liger Bomb for two more. Liger is a bit frustrated so he grabs his own brainbuster for the pin at 12:33.
Rating: B. Liger gets a lot of praise for being flashy but dang the guy can go in the ring. He can work well with anyone and that was the case again here, as Generico was a great choice for an opponent. It’s probably the match of the night thus far and you could tell the fans knew they had something special with Liger in the ring. Good match, which shouldn’t be a surprise at all.
Brian Kendrick/Paul London vs. Generation Me
Non-title. It’s a brawl before the bell with the Bucks clearing the ring and getting to pose a bit. Kendrick is back in to fire off some kicks until we settle down to Max (Nick, partner of Jeremy, who is better known as Matt) running away from Kendrick to keep things slow. London comes in and gets backed into the corner as commentary talks about his bad case of space madness. A running dropkick puts Max down for two so it’s off to Jeremy, who is quickly taken into the corner by the arm.
Kendrick’s top rope double stomp hits the arm and we’re off to the double arm crank. Max comes back in to work on London’s arm, including wrapping it around his own leg. London suplexes his way out of trouble and it’s back to Kendrick for a kick to Max’s back. That earns Kendrick a trip right back into the wrong corner and it’s a running Blockbuster into a backbreaker for two. Jeremy’s weird right hands in the corner connect and Max flips around into a back rake to Kendrick.
The double basement dropkick has the fans saying the Bucks are doing the SAME OLD S***! Excalibur points out that the chant has been done before, so it’s the SAME OLD S*** from the fans too. Since the Bucks are Nasty Boys fans, we get a Pit Stop, though Jeremy is sent into Max instead for the sake of comedy. Kendrick kicks his way out of the corner and hands it back to London so house can be cleaned.
A springboard double stomp to the back has Jeremy in more trouble and a running flip dive doesn’t exactly work with London not getting any kind of distance. Back in and Jeremy gets facebustered into an enziguri but Max is back with a tornado DDT for two on London. It’s back to Kendrick for more kicks and running forearms but some superkicks put him down. A wheelbarrow facebuster gets two on Kendrick so Max hits the big running flip dive onto London.
That leaves Jeremy to give Kendrick a flipping middle rope Stunner, followed by Risky Business for the same, with London diving in for the save. London fights up and takes them both down for/with the dropsault, setting up a top rope knee for two. More Bang For Your Bucks is blocked and Kendrick grabs Sliced Bread out of the corner. London adds the shooting star press (and he barely got it) for the pin at 19:02.
Rating: B+. Well of course this was good and I don’t think that was ever in any serious doubt. London and Kendrick were an exceptional team in their day and it was cool to see their grown up versions working together here. The fans seemed to enjoy seeing the Bucks get beaten up and it was probably a surprise to see the champions lose. Good stuff here, with London and Kendrick clearly still having it.
Chris Hero vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Roderick Strong
They circle each other to start and Van Dam goes to the floor to let the other two do their thing. Hero takes him down by the leg and they’re already off to the grappling. Strong twists the ankle a bit, with Hero rolling away for a standoff. Hero gets knocked out to the floor and now Van Dam is willing to get involved. They fight over wrist control and trade flipping escapes before missing some strikes.
That’s broken up so Van Dam poses a bit, wit Excalibur thinking he’s involved due to the fan chants. Hero is back in to send Strong outside so we get a fresh showdown. They take turns sweeping the legs and it’s another standoff. Van Dam kicks him out to the floor and hits a quick moonsault to Hero before posting Strong as well. Van Dam hits the spinning kick to Strong’s back but Hero is right there to drop Van Dam just as fast.
A nice running dropkick to the side of the head gives Hero two more but he gets caught with a spinning kick in the corner. Strong is back up and finally gets in a backbreaker, followed by a rather nice dropkick. The seated abdominal stretch goes on but Van Dam powers out and hits a heck of a monkey flip. Hero comes back in to strike away at Van Dam with some Tracy Smothers style chops.
Van Dam makes the mistake of going up and gets shoved down into the barricade, leaving Strong to backbreaker Hero for two more. Back up and Hero gives Strong a neckbreaker for two, followed by a suplex for another near fall. Van Dam is back in with a chair to throw at Hero’s head and follows it up with a double Rolling Thunder. The chair gets skateboarded into Strong’s face and the split legged moonsault gets two on Hero.
Strong is back up to cut off the Five Star but Hero is right there to turn it into a Tower Of Doom for two each. Van Dam is back up with some kicks for both of them so Strong gives him a gutbuster. Hero kicks Strong in the face and faceplants him for two more. The Sick Kick gets two on Hero so Van Dam throws a chair at Strong, with Hero forearming it into his head. Van Dam takes Hero out and the Five Star finishes Strong at 18:31.
Rating: B. Van Dam is kind of perfect for a guests tar around here as he can wrestle a similar style, has indy credibility for his work in ECW and is a former WWE Champion. That’s a rare kind of talent that PWG was smart to bring in, even though he would be on his way to being a big star in TNA before too long. It might not have been a great main event but it was good enough and showcased a big name so it all made sense. Somehow though, this was Van Dam’s only PWG match ever, which is rather surprising.
Post match Hero asks for some applause for Van Dam, with the fans wanting him to come back. Hero says he didn’t win but technically he didn’t lose so he should be the #1 contender to the PWG World Title. He’s been in Japan and missed the Battle Of Los Angeles, where Kenny Omega beat Roderick Strong to win the vacant World Title. Once he gets it back, Strong can try to get it back. Hero thanks the rather large crowd and wishes they could fit this many in Reseda to wrap it up.
Overall Rating: B. It might not be a great show, but it was more than entertaining enough. The big thing here might have been the crowd, which was just ok, as the show missed something by not being in their home base. Still though, it had a nice mixture of the regular PWG stars and some big names who weren’t around as regulars. There’s nothing close to bad on here and the second half of the show is all good so call this another successful event.
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