PWG Eight
Date: July 23, 2011
Location: American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Hero, Chuck Taylor, Kevin Steen

This promotion is often all over the place, but it can have some rather entertaining shows. Usually the bigger the shows, the better they get, and this one happens to be an anniversary show. As usual, I have no idea what is going on here as I’ve only seen random events, though storylines only mean so much around here anyway. Let’s get to it.

Pac vs. Kevin Steen

This is Pac’s return to PWG and Steen realizes that Pac has bulked up. Steen: “YOU GOT F****** HUGE!” Actually hang on as Steen sees Pac’s arm band and runs to the back to get one of his own. They finally lock up nearly three minutes in and Steen powers him into the corner, with commentary asking how you pronounce “Pac”.

A hard shot to the face knocks Steen into the corner so Steen shouts something that we can’t hear because Excalibur won’t stop running his mouth. They go to the test of strength, with Steen kicking him in the ribs as he knows he’s in trouble. Steen hits the ropes for the hard running shoulder but Pac is back with a running hurricanrana. The standing shooting star has Steen bailing out to the floor for some intense staring. The referee tells Steen to get back inside. Steen: “You fight him!” Fan: “We want wrestling!” Steen: “THIS IS WRESTLING YOU F*** FACE!!!”

We go back to the test of strength with Steen snapping off a monkey flip and stomping Pac’s head down for quite the crash. That lets Steen stop for some pushups but Pac actually wins an exchange of forearms. A dropkick sends Steen outside, where he sidesteps a running flip dive. Steen spinebusters him onto the apron and there’s a slow motion Bang Bang elbow off the apron. This lets commentary make a bunch of video game references and…yeah fair enough as this is a place where you can get away with it.

Steen seems to stick his finger in Pac’s nose before dropping a backsplash for two. The fans start getting on Steen so he stands on Pac’s hair (Hero: “Utilizing one of Kelly Kelly’s favorite moves!”). They get back up and slug it out, with Steen going to the apron and trying a superplex. That doesn’t work so Pac grabs a slingshot cutter to knock Steen silly instead.

The corkscrew Asai moonsault to the floor sets up a high crossbody for two on Steen back inside as commentary talks about Youtube videos. Another cutter is countered into an F5 (with a diverticulitis reference) to drop Pac for two but Steen stops to respond to a fan (Steen: “I’M A LITTLE BUSY A******!”). That lets Pac kick him into a German suplex and a running enziguri catches Steen on top. A running Frankensteiner is countered into a super Regal Roll for two and Steen can’t believe the kickout.

Steen hits a pair of moonsaults, the latter onto the legs, into the Sharpshooter but Pac dives over to the rope. Pac knocks him down and goes up for an inverted 450 (because that’s something that can be done) so Pac goes up again. This time Steen is there to catch him with a top rope hanging DDT for two more. Steen is livid and Pac blocking the package piledriver makes it worse. A poisonrana drops Steen on his head but the shooting star press hits raised knees, allowing Steen to get the small package pin at 23:08.

Rating: B+. This was very much a PWG match, with Steen yelling a lot and a good deal of crowd play to go along with the hard hitting stuff. Pac was starting to get somewhere with the bigger size and incredible aerials, which is why he was signed so soon after this. On the other hand you have Steen, who certainly feels like a major star around here. Rather fun match here and a heck of an opener which didn’t feel nearly that long.

Post match Pac gets the PLEASE COME BACK chant.

Brian Cage-Taylor vs. Brandon Gatson

Cage is…oh a good sixty pounds lighter than his crazy muscular look. They have some issues ringing the bell before Gatson starts with a wristlock. Cage gets to the ropes as commentary goes into stories about beating up plants. Gatson cuts off some knees to the ribs and hits a running forearm, only for Cage to come back with a left armed Stunner. Cage sends him outside where the big dive is cut off with a forearm.

That means a standing Tarantula of all things can go on, followed by something like a Stunner to the leg. A PerfectPlex gives Gatson two but he slingshots into a release German suplex. The chinlock goes on as commentary starts talking about Chris Benoit coming out to a song about killing a baby. The abdominal stretch doesn’t last long for Cage, who plants him down hard for two instead.

A kind of Angle Slam gives Cage two as commentary goes on about the former Gorgeous George (90s edition) and how she caused Randy Savage to drive into a tree (no). Gatson comes back with some spinning kicks to the head and some rolling neckbreakers have Cage down again. The third neckbreaker is countered into a northern lights suplex for two and they knock each other down. Gatson is up first and misses a moonsault, only to come back with a moonsault for two.

Back up and Gatson tries to jump over him but Cage gets in a shot to the ribs for two more. Cage’s suplex to the floor is cut off by a nasty superkick but Gatson misses a Sasuke Special. Gatson is fine enough to kick him in the face though and they’re both down again. Another superkick drops Cage again and they get back inside. Something resembling a McGillicutter has Gatson in trouble for a change and Weapon X (without a smooth landing) finishes Gatson at 14:08.

Rating: B-. This match had the problem of following the much better opener, which had a lot more time and better stars. Cage looking so small was the amazing part of this one, as he looked nothing like his more famous version. I’ve seen Gatson a few times now and he’s not bad at all. I could have seen him going further but it never happened for some reason.

Alex Shelley/Roderick Strong vs. El Generico/Ricochet

Yeah this should be good. Generico and Shelley start things off with a rather tentative test of strength until Shelley grabs a headlock takeover. Back up and Shelley is ready for a leapfrog, meaning the headlock goes on again. Generico gets up and flips over him, setting up some rapid fire armdrags. Ricochet (with his weird mohawk) comes in and grabs a headlock, with Shelley grabbing the hair in a smart move.

Granted it doesn’t work but it’s smart. Shelley bites the hand to escape and grabs his own headlock and hands it off to Strong. That means it’s time for Ricochet to pick up the speed with the dives before grabbing a front facelock on Shelley. That’s reversed into a rocking horse of all things, which naturally doesn’t last long with Ricochet getting back over to Generico.

The chinlock goes on to keep Shelley in trouble and Ricochet is back in with a double arm crank. Shelley starts to break it up but Generico comes in with a chop to cut that off in a smart move. Generico comes back in with a high crossbody to send Shelley outside, where a big running flip dive takes him out again. Strong picks Ricochet up and throws him over the top for a crash as well.

Ricochet gets dropped face first onto the apron, followed by what would be known as the Devil’s Kiss back inside. Strong slams him down again and we hit the chinlock, with the fans already rhythmically clapping. A Liontamer version of a Texas Cloverleaf (or something like one) goes on before Shelley comes right back in to hammer away. It’s right back to Strong for a basement superkick and a suplex gets two.

An Irish Curse gives Strong two and Shelley is back in to knock Generico off the apron. Ricochet manages to backflip out of a double belly to back suplex and sends the….I guess villains into each other, followed by a double Pele. That’s enough for the tag off to Generico, who cleans house, including a Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Strong. Back up and Strong kicks Generico in the face, followed by an Angle Slam for two on Ricochet.

What looks like End Of Heartache is countered into a hurricanrana to give Ricochet two but Strong drops Ricochet again. Shelley hits a painful looking top rope double stomp for two, with Generico having to dive in for the save. The Helluva Kick/enziguri combination hits Shelley in the corner and it’s another Helluva Kick into a brainbuster. Generico isn’t legal though so Ricochet misses a 450. A nasty End Of Heartache finishes Ricochet at 22:06.

Rating: B+. Another action based match and that was a fun thing to see. Generico was doing his thing as usual and the other three were more able to hang with him. This was the kind of match I was expecting from PWG, as it was all about having people flying around the ring until one more finisher was enough for the win. Good stuff as the hot start continues.

Post match Generico and Ricochet aren’t on the same page. Ricochet looks close to swinging but stops, with Generico shoving him instead. The fans want the bell to ring but Ricochet spits at him and runs off.

Peter Avalon vs. Ryan Taylor

Taylor works on the arm to start as commentary tries to figure out how the Taylor boys are related. Avalon escapes an armbar as the fans are all over Taylor, with Avalon playing right into it. Avalon’s headlock works a bit better as we hear about the first PWG show taking place near a Magic The Gathering competition. Taylor twists the arm down onto the mat and stomps away but lands on some knees in what might have been an intentional low blow.

We pause for a Booker T. pose from Avalon, with Taylor cutting it off. Taylor does the same thing and Avalon breaks it up as well, so they decide that they should both do Spinaroonis. Excalibur: “And they both sucked.” Taylor goes back after the arm but gets driven into the corner as commentary previews a tag match. Avalon knocks him outside for a suicide dive, followed by an elbow to the jaw for two back inside.

Taylor ducks a big kick to the face and scores with a clothesline to leave them both down. Back up and Taylor strikes away, followed by a Rock Bottom for two. A kick to the head gives Taylor two more and he drives Avalon into the corner. That lets Avalon hit a middle rope knee to the back of the head and Taylor rolls outside. With nothing else working, Avalon grabs a chair but here is Brian Cage-Taylor to take it away. Avalon rams the Taylors together though and a small package, with trunks, pins Ryan at 12:06.

Rating: C+. This was the weakest part of the show thus far but it was still perfectly fine. That’s not a bad thing to see, as not every match on the card can be some kind of all time classic. They had a good, hard hitting match here though with Taylor showcasing himself well. I still don’t get much out of Avalon, but he’s fine enough most of the time.

RockNES Monster vs. The Dynasty

That would be Johnny Goodtime/Johnny Yuma vs. Scorpio Sky/Joey Ryan. The Dynasty dropkick them to the floor to start fast and hit some dives for the double knockdown. They split off and brawl on the floor, with Goodtime hitting Ryan in the head with a water bottle. Apparently the match hasn’t started yet as Ryan and Goodtime go out into the crowd. Yuma manages to come over and help stomp at Ryan so Sky gets a charge on the apron and hits a big dive.

Yuma and Ryan go inside and we actually get the opening bell. Sky kicks Goodtime down and the Dynasty knee him in the head, which looks rather painful. Goodtime manages to backdrop Sky out to the floor for a crash, only to get dropkicked by Ryan. One heck of an Asai moonsault takes Sky down and there’s a headscissors to do it again. Back in and Goodtime high crossbodies Ryan for two but Sky is back in.

That’s fine with Goodtime, who suplexes him over the top but crashes out as well. Yuma tries a springboard but gets superkicked down, leaving Ryan to get missile dropkicked by Goodtime. Ryan is back up to spear Yuma and Goodtime sends Sky chest first into the buckle. A pumphandle suplex puts Ryan in the corner but is right back up with a Tombstone into Sky’s frog splash.

That just earns Sky a powerbomb into Ryan in the corner and a leg lift DDT drops Ryan for two. Back up and Yuma is knocked outside, meaning it’s a series of strikes to knock Goodtime into Sky’s TKO. Cue the Young Bucks for a distraction though, allowing the Monsters to hit an enziguri/cutter combination on Ryan. Goodtime Death Valley Drivers Yuma onto Ryan for the pin at 10:04.

Rating: B-. Another fun enough match here, though Goodtime was wrestling like such a superhero that prime John Cena would have found it a bit much. The Dynasty was a team that was around for a long time in PWG and had quite the success so I’d assume we can call this a big upset. Either way, it was another good match, though the lack of time took away from it a bit.

Young Bucks vs. Kevin Steen/Cima

The Bucks’ Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. The Bucks jump them from behind to start and double team Steen inside. Cima is back in for the save as apparently this is about the Bucks disrespecting Cima’s stablemate Akira Tozawa. Hold on though as Matt wants to prove that he can do pushups, allowing Cima to stomp him down without much trouble. Steen slams Cima onto Matt but Cima can’t slam Steen onto Nick. Well not at first at least, as the fans have to help him make it work.

Steen goes to slam the referee but gets chop blocked to cut him off. A double apron bomb has Steen in more trouble and we settle down to Steen biting Nick’s finger. Matt isn’t having that and takes Steen into the corner for some right hands. Steen spits at him and Cima comes in to rake the eyes, which doesn’t get him very far. Nick starts mocking Dixie Carter, with Excalibur suggesting that the Bucks slept with Carter to get their jobs in TNA. A front facelock has Steen in more trouble until he bites the leg, followed by the face, to escape.

The Bucks go after Steen’s knee again to cut him back down but the Scorpion Deathlock is broken up. Steen is able to get over to Cima to clean house but the Bucks cut him off again. A springboard splash connects with Steen having to make a save. Steen gets caught on the apron and kicked out to the floor, allowing the Bucks to kick away some more. The Bucks drape Steen in the ropes for a 450 and a near fall, meaning it’s time to look shocked.

More Bang For Your Buck is broken up though and Steen hits a package piledriver. Steen’s top rope Meteora gets two with Matt making the save. Matt spits on Steen, who blocks another Scorpion Deathlock attempt. A powerbomb drops Matt and Steen grabs the Scorpion as Cima Air Raid Crashes Nick. Cima adds a top rope Meteora to Matt while the hold is still on and Matt taps at 15:04.

Rating: B. I can always go for seeing the Bucks take a beating and it worked well here. Steen is having a rather nice night thus far and you can see the star power that WWE saw in him. Cima is someone I’ve only seen so much of and he’s worked well every time. Good match here as the Bucks may be annoying but they can be entertaining.

Post match Nick reveals it was a non-title match, which was already mentioned by commentary. The Bucks also want back in TNA so they can fight real stars like Eric Young and Shark Boy. Matt talks about how they built this company and Cima hasn’t been relevant since 2006. Steen can go get fired by another promotion, which is enough for him to chase the Bucks off. Cima thanks the fans, who want him back. The Bucks have left a belt behind and Steen tells them to come get it.

PWG World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero

Castagnoli is defending. They test the top rope, after it apparently broke in their previous match. Castagnoli works on the arm to start but Hero wrestles him down and starts in on the leg. That’s broken up with Castagnoli going after Hero’s leg, which is enough for a standoff. Castagnoli ties up the leg again but steps on the rope, with Kevin Steen (on commentary) calling him out for being a cheater.

Hero reverses into a leglock of his own as commentary mocks the idea of various wrestlers sleeping with Dixie Carter. Back up and Hero grabs a full nelson, with Castagnoli swinging him around but not being able to break it. Steen of course wants to see the Uncle Slam, ala the Patriot, which lets Excalibur blow his mind by revealing that Tom Brandi/Salvatore Sincere later wrestled as the Patriot.

The hold is broken up and it’s time to make fun of Test for being dead. A cravate holds Castagnoli in place as Excalibur gets to tell Steen about the Chris Benoit joke from earlier. Excalibur: “Twice in one night folks. That’s what you get with Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.” Castagnoli gets a headlock and Hero wiggles out, only to get pulled right back into the same thing.

The hold stays on for a good while as Excalibur brings up the Benoit joke AGAIN. Hero reverses into a headscissors but Castagnoli reverses into a handstand as commentary seems envious of Castagnoli’s physique. Castagnoli works on the arm for a good while until Hero is back up with a boot to the face. That’s enough to send Castagnoli outside, with Hero hitting a running boot to the face through the ropes for the big crash. Castagnoli chops the post by mistake as Steen is yawning on commentary.

Back in and Hero strikes away, including some rather hard chops. The shoulders in the corner keep Castagnoli in trouble and Hero crushes him with a backsplash. Castagnoli rolls outside, where he catches Hero with a dragon screw legwhip over the ropes to bang up the knee. Back in and Castagnoli stays on the leg, including a reverse Indian deathlock. The bad leg is wrapped around the post and Castagnoli even uses the post for some painful looking cranks.

A running dropkick takes out the knee again and Castagnoli pulls on it inside, at least until Hero kicks him in the head. Castagnoli is fine enough to grab the Figure Four, with Hero having to go to the eyes for the break. They go outside with Hero getting slammed onto some chairs, followed by a snapmare to send the knee into the ropes. Castagnoli switches over to the back with a camel clutch and Hero’s knee gives out as he tries to stand up. The hold is broken anyway and Hero snaps off a very painful sounding chop.

A flipping cravate neckbreaker puts Castagnoli down but Hero needs a breather, even to the point of changing knee pads. Some shots to the face put Castagnoli down and Hero grabs another neckbreaker. Hero goes up but gets dragon screw legwhipped back down, allowing Castagnoli to grab a half crab. That’s broken up and Hero forearms him out of the air, followed by la majistral for two. Some boots to the face just seem to make Castagnoli scream a lot but Hero finally knocks him out to the floor.

That’s good for a nineteen count before Castagnoli comes back in, where an elbow to the face gives Hero two more. Hero tries a Riccola Bomb of his own but Castagnoli reverses into a one legged Swing. The Neutralizer (a Brock Lock rather than the piledriver faceplant) goes on, with Hero bailing over to the rope. Somehow Hero escapes that as well and goes up, where a super flipping cravate neckbreaker gets two. Hero loads up the discus elbow but his knee gives out. Instead he fires off a cyclone boot for two more but Castagnoli uppercuts him into another Neutralizer for the tap at 37:08.

Rating: B. This was a good example of a match that was rather good but would have been even better if it was shorter. They went longer than they needed to, though there was something awesome about seeing Castagnoli working on the leg like that and then cranking it until Hero gave up. Of course they had great chemistry together as they always did, though shaving off about eight or so minutes would have helped a lot.

Post match Kevin Steen comes to the ring and asks for a title shot, which he has officially earned after his recent victories. Steen wants a title shot at the next…and the fans say no. They seem to want to see it right now and Steen is in. Castagnoli moves the referee out of the way and then says no. That’s fine with Steen, who says Castagnoli will have to face him eventually. Then Castagnoli runs back in and kicks him in the head, bumping the referee in the process. That’s enough for a bell and we’re on.

PWG World Title: Kevin Steen vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli is defending and tries the Riccola Bomb but Steen reverses into a Sharpshooter. Cue the Young Bucks to superkick Steen for the save as another referee comes down. The Dynasty runs in to take out the Bucks and Castagnoli hits a big lariat. The Riccola Bomb is countered into a Code Red for two, followed by the package piledriver to make Steen champion at 1:34.

The fans declare this awesome and thank Castagnoli as Chris Hero comes back in to help Castagnoli up to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah this was pretty awesome stuff, with nothing but either rather awesome or at worst good action throughout. It’s the definition of popcorn wrestling as they’re just throwing matches out there to pop the crowd and it worked rather well. PWG is a good example of a company where you know exactly what you’re getting and it worked well here. I had a good time and they nailed what is probably their biggest show of the year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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WWE Vault Grab Bag II
Commentators: Dean Hill, Kenny Bolin, Lenny Leonard, Bryce Remsburg, Chris Cruise, Mike Tenay, Jim Cornette

So this is one of my favorite things to do, as the WWE Vault releases a bunch of matches on a regular basis. In this case, there are enough that I can do a few collections, as I’m basically making my own playlists. There is no running theme for these matches and they’re just whatever I happen to pick. Let’s get to it.

From August 22, 2008, a dark match before Smackdown/ECW.

Takeshi Morishima vs. Jamie Noble

Tony Atlas is here to introduce Morishima, who is a power guy and former Ring Of Honor World Champion. Morishima runs him over to start and knocks Noble into the corner. Noble tries to fight back with a few shots to the head, including an enziguri to stagger Morishima. That just earns Noble a Boss Man Slam into a neck crank, followed by a big leg for two. Morishima picks him up at two and adds a big Saito suplex for the pin at 3:03 (with the announcer naming him “Orishimo”).

Rating: C. This wasn’t quite a squash for Morishima but it was close enough, as he looked dominant. You don’t get to see someone with his size and athleticism very often and it makes sense that WWE would be interested. Morishima looked good out there and it would be nice to see more of him in WWE, if nothing else due to him using the old Orient Express theme. Because of course.

From August 18, 2008, a dark match before Raw (I have no idea why they went out of order).

Takeshi Morishima vs. Charlie Haas

Haas yells at the fans to start and gets sent face first into the buckle for his efforts. The big leg connects but Haas manages to snap his arm over the top rope. That doesn’t seem to matter as it’s a Boss Man Slam to drop Haas, followed by a missile dropkick for the pin at 2:36.

From July 29, 1995, a dark match at a Superstars taping.

Bret Hart vs. Hakushi

In a cage. Hakushi jumps him to start fast and strikes away, only to get knocked back down. Hart goes for the climb out but gets pulled back down rather quickly. That lets Hakushi go up but Hart pulls him down and climbs as well. Hakushi cuts that off just as fast and strikes away on the top. They get back down and Hart whips him into the corner, followed by a bulldog.

It’s too early for Hart to get through the door though and Hakushi starts in on his leg. A ram into the cage lets Hakushi make a rather slow climb, which Hart cuts off with a DDT. Hart still can’t get out and Hakushi goes for the leg again, only to get pulled back inside as well. That lets Hart climb up a lot faster than before but Hakushi grabs him by the hair for a rather painful looking stop.

A backbreaker drops Hakushi but the middle rope elbow misses (you don’t see that very often). Hakushi’s top rope headbutt misses just as well so Hart turns him inside out with a clothesline. They take turns pulling the other down again and there’s a hard whip to send Hart chest first into the buckle. He’s right back up though and it’s a superplex off the cage for the big crash, leaving them both down. With Hakushi barely able to move, Hart manages to escape for the win at 12:31.

Rating: B-. For a dark match, this turned into something pretty good and the superplex was a nice surprise. They started slowly but eventually it picked up with more intensity and hard hitting. These two always had good chemistry together and it was on display again, which is cool for a less than readily available match.

From OVW TV, June 23, 2007.

CM Punk/Cody Runnels vs. Shawn Spears/Jay Bradley

Runnels (Rhodes of course) is distracted by Spears to start and gets hiptossed by Bradley. That’s broken up and Runnels goes after Spears again, only to kick Bradley in the face. A fall away slam sends Runnels flying into the corner for the tag to Punk, meaning trash can be talked. Punk strikes away to knock him into the corner and Spears realizes the tag means he’s in trouble.

Runnels gets the tag as well and Spears runs straight to the floor (apparently they kind of hate each other). Spears crawls back inside and hands it off to Bradley, who sends Punk into the corner. Now Spears is willing to come in and gets knocked down, allowing Runnels to come in and chase Spears to the floor. Punk cuts that off but Bradley comes in to jump Runnels from behind.

We take a break and come back with Bradley hammering on Runnels, which is enough for Spears to come in and stomp away. Runnels fights up so it’s immediately back to Bradley for a chinlock. Spears comes back in and goes after Punk, drawing him in so Runnels can be double teamed in a perfectly logical cheating sequence. The drop down shot to the face allows the tag off to Punk, who is in to clean house.

The running knees in the corner set up a bulldog/clothesline combination, followed by the springboard clothesline for two on Bradley. Cue Michael W. Kruel to pull the referee out, allowing Spears to get in a cheap shot on Punk. Runnels is back in with a strap to Spears’ back (before their strap match in a few days) so here are Spears’ goons to be dispatched. Runnels straps Spears to the back, leaving Punk to Anaconda Vice Bradley for the tap at 11:26 (earning Punk a shot at Bradley’s OVW Title in the process).

Rating: B-. Perfectly nice match here, with the all star team overcoming the odds to get some revenge and a title shot at the same time. That’s a case where simple storytelling works out well and I liked what we got here. Punk was red hot in OVW but he was already up on the main roster at this point, so he was pretty much just visiting here. The results worked out though as he and Rhodes always work well together.

From Evolve 17.

Sami Zayn gives us a quick introduction, as he got to pick the match. This just happens to involve someone he has been compared to a lot over the years.

El Generico vs. Samuray del Sol

Sol is better known as Kalisto. They fight over arm control to start and go to the mat, meaning it’s time to exchange flip ups. Generico grabs a headlock into a chinlock before working on the arm. A wristdrag takes Sol down but he flips out of a hurricanrana and Generico isn’t sure what to do. Generico’s running shoulder drops So and he springboards over Sol into some more armdrags.

Some chops in the corner seem to wake Sol up as he walks on his hands into a headscissors. A slingshot 450 gives Sol two and he bends Generico over his back for quite the painful visual. That’s broken up and Generico hits a clothesline but Sol is back with another headscissors. A rather springboardy wristdrag sends Generico outside and there’s the step up corkscrew dive to drop him again.

Back in and Generico exploders him into the corner, where the Helluva Kick is cut off. What would become known as the Salida del Sol gives Sol two but Generico is back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two more. Generico’s Michinoku Driver gets two more so Sol steps onto his back for a Code Red. The Rising Sun (poisonrana) gives Sol two but a super version is countered with a facebuster onto the turnbuckle. The Helluva Kick into the turnbuckle brainbuster gives Generico the pin at 14:08.

Rating: B+. I can see why Zayn picked this, as Generico and Sol were both working rather hard out there and put on a heck of a match. That’s the point of something like this as it was not only the show’s main event but also a rubber match. It made things feel that much bigger and they lived up to the hype. Pretty awesome match here and a sign of what they would be able to do on the big stage.

From AAA When Worlds Collide.

Fuerza Guerrera/Madonna’s Boyfriend/Psicosis vs. Rey Mysterio/Heavy Metal/Latin Lover

Mysterio is only 19 here and this is described as his Breakout Match. Guerrera and company (the rudos here) clear the ring to start before we can even get the introductions. Guerrera and Metal start things off with an exchange of armdrags before Psicosis comes in to clothesline Mysterio. The top rope hurricanrana sends Psicosis bailing up the aisle and it’s Boyfriend (Louie Spicolli, who towers over Mysterio) comes in and picks Mysterio up.

That doesn’t last long and it’s off to Lover for an exchange of running shoulders. A superkick drops Boyfriend and it’s back to Psicosis for a clothesline to Metal. They grab stereo faceplants for a double down and Mysterio comes in, only to get hit in the face by Guerrera. Mysterio sends Guerrera outside for a dive, leaving Lover to send Psicosis into the corner.

Back in and Guerrera hits Lover low, only for Metal to come in with a low blow of his own. That doesn’t work for Boyfriend, who gorilla presses Mysterio over the barricade for a crash into the crowd. The villains get to double team Lover but Mysterio comes back in to give Psicosis a faceplant. Guerrera gets powerbombed out of the corner but Lover misses a top rope splash. Everything breaks down and we get a parade of dropkicks to the floor but Metal misses a Swanton to Guerrera. A seated armbar makes Metal tap at 13:40.

Rating: B. It’s much more in the lucha libre style, which wasn’t a thing in America at this point. That was the entire point of this show and it absolutely worked, as they were displaying something that had fans rather impressed. I can definitely see why Mysterio’s performance was so well received, as he looked like a star in the making, which is absolutely what he would be in just a few more years.

From May 13, 2003, a dark match before Smackdown/Velocity.

CM Punk introduces this one, talking about how he had wrestled a dark match the previous night and been unofficially banned from WWE for being unsafe. He showed up anyway and was asked if he wanted to face the Road Warriors. Apparently that was quite the affirmative.

CM Punk/Doug Delicious vs. Legion Of Doom

We’re joined in progress with Hawk throwing Delicious around and handing it off to Punk, who jumps Animal for some reason. This goes as well as expected, with Animal hitting a hard clothesline and a powerslam. Hawk misses a running charge into the post though, allowing Punk to get two off a snap suplex. We’re clipped (in a dark match) to Hawk hitting a double clothesline as everything breaks down. The Doomsday Device finishes Delicious at 2:44 shown (possibly out of 4:14 total). Actually not a squash and LOD looked decent enough.

From OVW TV, January 19, 2002.

Prototype vs. Randy Orton

As you probably know, the Prototype (with Kenny Bolin) is an early (and evil) John Cena. Orton sends him into the corner to start and gets two off a crossbody. A powerslam gives Orton two more as Cornette gives the hard sell for the Last Dance later this month. Prototype sends him hard into the corner for two and a sidewalk slam gets two more.

A pair of snap suplexes give Prototype two but Orton catches him on top. The ensuing superplex gives Orton two so Bolin gets on the apron. Some powder only hits the referee though so here is Rico Constantino to jump Orton as well. Bobby Eaton of all people comes in to go after Constantino and then jumps Prototype for the DQ at 6:32.

Rating: C. The match was pretty much just there, but it’s more of an historical curiosity than anything else. Cena and Orton have one of the most legendary rivalries in WWE history and seeing them both at such a young age is rather odd to see. They would get a lot better, but this was hardly a bad match, especially for developmental television.

From Dragon Gate USA Open The Ultimate Gate 2013 (the Wrestlemania XXIX weekend show).

Johnny Gargano introduces this one and it’s a bit different.

Open The Freedom Gate Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Shingo

Gargano is defending. They stare each other down to start as the fans want Shingo (better known as Shingo Takagi) to do bad things to Gargano. A battle of arm control takes them to the mat with Shingo working on the leg to limited avail. Gargano goes to the arm so Shingo gets to the ropes, allowing him to start another arm control battle. Gargano’s chops don’t work but Shingo’s certainly does, allowing Shingo to grab a headlock. A suplex puts Gargano down and it’s a backsplash for two, setting up a neck crank.

Back up and they slug it out, with Gargano not being able to get the Gargano Escape. Shingo sends him into the corner but gets caught with a quick hurricanrana. Gargano grabs a double arm crank and leans back onto the arm for a rather painful visual. A neckbreaker gives Gargano two and he actually wins a strike exchange by elbowing Shingo down in the corner. It’s back to working on the arm to keep Shingo in trouble, with a cradle even getting two.

The Gargano Escape is broken up with pure power and a clothesline sends Gargano outside. Shingo strikes away against the barricade and boots Gargano into the crowd, which is never a good idea. A superkick gets Gargano out of trouble and he runs back inside for quite the suicide dive. It works so well that Gargano does it again, only to charge into a Death Valley Driver on the floor (which probably won’t have the effect that it should).

Naturally Gargano beats the count back in, where a neckbreaker and sliding lariat give Shingo two. A slingshot DDT plants Shingo for two more and the fans are a lot more split. One heck of a clothesline puts Gargano down again and another pop up Death Valley Driver gives us a double breather. More clotheslines don’t even put Gargano down so he pulls on the Gargano Escape.

That’s broken up again and they go up top, where Shingo’s superbomb is countered into a super hurricanrana for two. The lawn dart gives Gargano another near fall and he can’t believe the kickout. They slug it out from their knees and then their feet until Shingo hits a Saito suplex and a hard clothesline for another double down. Shingo is up first with a super Death Valley Driver for two but Made In Japan is countered into the Hurts Donut (spinning full nelson faceplant).

The Gargano Escape sends Shingo over to the rope as we get a PLEASE DON’T STOP chant. Shouldn’t it be PLEASE DON’T GET PINNED OR SUBMIT TO CAUSE THE MATCH TO END? Made In Japan gives Shingo two more and the hue running clothesline gets an even nearer fall. Another Death Valley Driver gets another two and the referee gets bumped. That means it’s a low blow to drop Shingo and Gargano whips out a rope to choke him into the Gargano Escape to retain at 33:27.

Rating: B+. It’s an excellent back and forth match, but dang I was having some trouble buying that Gargano was surviving all of this. That’s been an issue of his for longer than I can remember and it was certainly true again here. Shingo definitely had the skill to back up his reputation and he felt like a big get for a show of this magnitude.

From February 7, 1993 at a WCW house show. This isn’t a complete match but it’s certainly some awesome sounding footage.

Dustin Rhodes/Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas vs. Steve Austin/Brian Pillman/Barry Windham

This is an elimination match and we’re joined in progress with Austin working on Steamboat. A suplex gives Austin one and he drops Steamboat with a clothesline to cut off a comeback attempt. Austin hits a side slam as I don’t see any partners anywhere around. Some slams stay on the back and Austin grabs a bearhug, which isn’t something you see him do very often.

With that broken up, Austin makes the mistake of spitting on Steamboat, which triggers the comeback you’re probably expecting. A top rope superplex sends Austin crashing down hard for a rather delayed two but he reverses a Tombstone into one of his own for two more. Austin goes up (this can’t end well) and Steamboat rolls through a high crossbody for the pin at 4:37 shown. Not enough shown to rate as the whole match is about 25 minutes, but these two always worked well together.

Post match Pillman runs in for the beatdown, with Windham making the save. The big brawl goes outside, with Douglas coming back in to drop Pillman onto the barricade. More wrestlers (including 2 Cold Scorpio in a Ribera shirt) can’t break it up either and the brawl continues. Johnny B. Badd and I think William (Lord Steven at the time) Regal are in there but can’t get very far either. Things finally settle down but Pillman chop blocks Douglas in the aisle and the pain is real to end things. Good match, very hot post match brawl.

From December 15, 1996, a dark match after In Your House: It’s Time.

Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind

We’re a few months after their famous match at Mind Games and Paul Bearer is here with Mankind. Michaels jumps Mankind to start on the floor and then takes him inside to hammer away. The discus lariat puts Michaels down and some right hands drop him in the corner. Michaels is sent into the steps and choked on the ropes as Mankind gets in the creepy “COME ON SEXY BOY!”.

The Mandible Claw is blocked and Michaels manages a belly to back suplex. The flying forearm lets Michaels nip up…and go right into the Mandible Claw. Well that didn’t work. They crash out to the floor, where a nasty ram into the steps is enough to get Michaels free. Mankind’s hand is sent into the steps and the top rope elbow connects inside. Bearer’s distraction lets Mankind get the urn but Michaels superkicks him down for the win at 6:56.

Rating: C+. It’s a dark match so you’re only going to get so much out of it, but it could have been far worse. These two could have a good match in their sleep and while this wasn’t quite that, it was hardly some great match that tore the house down. It doesn’t help that they had such a classic the previous time so the expectations were probably high, even though it wound up being the Cliffnotes version.

From May 5, 1993, a dark match at a Wrestling Challenge taping.

Harlem Knights vs. Tony DeVito/Mike Bell

The Knights are better known as Men On A Mission and this is their tryout match. They’re already doing the wave as Bobby (Mo) backs DeVito into the corner to start. That means more waving and an armdrag before it’s off to Nelson (Mabel), who trades hammerlocks with DeVito. Thankfully Nelson finally wakes up and realizes HE’S A GIANT AND SHOULDN’T BE DOING HAMMERLOCKS and grabs a chokebomb.

Bobby comes back in for a double elbow and we’re clipped ahead about six seconds (I’m guessing something a fan said/did) to Bell kicking Nelson low to escape another hammerlock. Nelson no sells some forearms and hits a World’s Strongest Slam, setting up the double splash for the pin at 4:49.

Rating: D. How in the world did this get them hired? Bobby barely did anything other than the waving deal and Nelson was trading hammerlocks with and selling punches from someone half his size. I could see how the team could be fun, but they completely missed the point…and then got signed anyway. Of course they did.

Overall Rating: B-. This is exactly the kind of thing I love doing with the WWE Vault, as you never know what kind of awesome stuff you might find. I just picked a bunch of matches here and watched them mostly straight through in a kind of do it yourself playlist. It’s by no means a regular playlist or anything close, but there is some stuff in there that is worth a look. I’ll definitely be doing this again, as just seeing what they had next was more than worth the time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Battle Of Los Angeles 2011
Date: August 20, 2011
Location: American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Rick Knox, Joey Ryan

We’re back in Reseda with PWG and it’s tournament time. This is one of the bigger independent tournaments of the year and there should be a nice lineup of talent for the whole thing. That could be quite the show as these matches tend to get time and have solid action. Let’s get to it.

As usual, there is no intro here, as music is edited out. Fair enough.

Battle Of Los Angeles First Round: Chris Hero vs. Willie Mack

Both are a good bit slimmer here than their modern appearance. They show some respect to start and it’s time to fight over warm control. Hero takes him down into a headscissors but Mack flips over into a headlock, with the fans approving. That’s broken up so Hero ties up the legs in an Indian Deathlock before switching to a front chancery. La majistral gets two on Mack and Hero nips up to quite the positive reception.

Back up and Hero tries a leapfrog but Mack accidentally headbutts him low, sending Hero bailing into the crowd for a needed breather. Hero gets back inside and some armdrags send him into the corner before they loudly chop it out. One heck of a clothesline cuts Mack off and something like a neckbreaker gets two. The No Mercy Eastern Stretch has Mack in more trouble before it’s time for another slugout.

Hero knocks him down and stomps away, setting up an apron kick to the side of the head. Back up and Mack wins an exchange of kicks to the head so Hero blasts him with a forearm. The staggered Mack ducks a big boot and hits a running kick to the chest to send Hero outside for the big running flip dive. Back in and a jumping back elbow sets up a flying shoulder and Hero is in more trouble. Hero strikes away but gets caught with a running splash and clothesline in the corner.

A running boot to the face gives Hero two but Mack hits a lariat out of the corner that would make John Cena jealous. Something like an F5 drops Hero again, only for him to come back with a suplex. A Liger Bomb gives Hero two and the discus forearm to the back of the head gets the same. They’re both down for a needed breather until Hero hits another discus forearm for another near fall. Mack charges into a boot in the corner and Hero nails a cyclone boot. Hero loads up a neckbreaker but Mack reverses into a backslide and flips onto him for the pin at 19:18.

Rating: B-. Mack is someone who has always felt like he could have been a big deal if given the chance and it’s nice to see him getting to showcase some of that potential here. On the other hand you have Hero, who looks like a different person here and looked good in defeat. He can work with anyone and the fans clearly liked him, though this could have been a few minutes shorter to sharpen things up a bit.

Battle Of Los Angeles First Round: Kevin Steen vs. Dave Finlay

As in Fit and Steen’s PWG World Title isn’t on the line. Feeling out process to start until Finlay grabs him by the face and hits an elbow. Steen goes for the leg so Finlay rips at his face as you might expect. Finlay wrestles him down and stomps on the fingers to send Steen outside. Back in and a headlock has Finlay down for a change but they’re quickly on the floor for a slugout.

They get back inside and Steen might have poked him in the eye, but Finlay uses the distraction to knock him down in quite the sneaky veteran move. Steen’s chops earn him a forearm to the face so Steen gets evil by wrapping the knee around the post. That works so well that Steen bends the knee around the rope before firing off an elbow to the face for two.

Steen kicks at the leg again and mocks Finlay with something I can’t quite understand. Finlay fights back with a knee drop and a seated senton for two but Steen Codebreakers him down. There’s the Cannonball for two but Finlay gets the knees up to cut off a dive. Back up and Steen pulls him off the ropes, setting up a Sharpshooter for the (surprising) submission at 15:02.

Rating: B-. This was one of those cool historical curiosities as Finlay and Steen represent such different generations. The good thing is that Finlay has an ability to adapt to other styles very well and that’s what we got here. Steen working the leg and then winning with the Sharpshooter was a simple story, and making Finlay tap is quite the accomplishment.

Post match both of them get a nice reaction from the fans.

Battle Of Los Angeles First Round: El Generico vs. Claudio Castagnoli

This should work. Castagnoli backs him into the corner to start and they trade shoves, with Castagnoli getting the better of things. A front facelock is broken up so Castagnoli goes back to the wristlock. Generico breaks that up as well, only to be taken back down into a front facelock on the mat. That’s switched into an armbar, with the fans bringing Generico back to his feet.

Generico reverses into an armdrag but Castagnoli is right back with a neck twist to put him down again. We hit the trapezius hold for a bit, with Generico fighting up and hitting the springboard armdrag. Generico hits ocho right hands in the corner but Castagnoli sends him into the buckle and fires off some knees. A backbreaker stays on the back and Castagnoli grabs a crossarm choke with knees in the same back.

That’s broken up so Castagnoli hammers away some more, including some chops to put him down. Generico’s comeback is cut off with another backbreaker for some near falls. There’s a hard whip into the corner to stay on the back as commentary chatters on, occasionally even acknowledging the match. Generico runs the corner for a hurricanrana which doesn’t exactly work, allowing Castagnoli to hit a trio gutwrench powerbombs for two.

Back up and Castagnoli misses a pump kick and falls to the floor, allowing Generico to hit a big running flip dive. Back in and Generico’s high crossbody is countered into a nasty tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for another near fall. Castagnoli switches gears by trying a torture rack backbreaker but Generico reverses into a hurricanrana into the corner. The Helluva Kick connects but another is countered into an INCREDIBLE looking Swiss Death for two, with Generico reversing into a rollup for a red hot two.

The Riccola Bomb is countered so Castagnoli blasts him with a clothesline for two more. They go up top where a super Riccola Bomb is broken up. Castagnoli muscles him up for another anyway, with Generico reversing into a super hurricanrana. A jackknife rollup gives Generico the pin to blow the roof off the place at 15:20.

Rating: B+. These two had some incredible chemistry together and it’s no surprise that they tore the house down anytime they faced off in NXT. This was another awesome match between them, as Generico knows exactly how to fight from behind against a power monster like Castagnoli. Heck of a match here and the kind of match that gave PWG its reputation.

Battle Of Los Angeles First Round: Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong

They fight over the ropes with a lockup to start until Strong goes after the wristlock. Edwards takes him down into a hammerlock as commentary talks about the fans coming to love this venue. That’s broken up and we get another standoff as this is firmly in first gear thus far. Strong’s headlock doesn’t get him very far so he sends Edwards outside instead. They chop it out with Edwards staggering around the ring, eventually getting backbreakered onto the apron.

Edwards is right back with a brainbuster onto the apron, followed by a moonsault off of said apron to drop Strong again. Back inside and Edwards staggers him with a headbutt but Strong manages a catapult to send him throat first into the bottom rope. A seated abdominal stretch keeps Edwards in trouble, followed by a running shot to the face for two. The waistlock brings Edwards back up for some shots to the face and they strike it out.

Edwards grabs a suplex to put Strong down and we get a needed double breather. Strong tries to fight out of the corner until an enziguri cuts him off again. Edwards’ half crab sends Strong bailing over to the rope and he’s back up with some hard shots to the face. A basement superkick drops Edwards for two and the Strong Hold goes on to keep him in trouble. The belly to back spinning facebuster gives Edwards two and they chop it out again.

Strong’s Sick Kick gets two but Edwards catches him with a superkick. A top rope double stomp to the apron crushes Strong again and a second to the back gets two. Edwards’ Diehard Driver is countered into a rollup for two and it’s a pinfall reversal sequence for two each. Strong’s Stronghold into a half crab but Strong slips out, only to get small packaged to give Edwards the pin at 17:52.

Rating: B. This was more of a technical match, which shouldn’t be a surprise given who was involved. Sometimes you need people like these two who can remind you that it’s a wrestling show and it helps that the two of them can do so well with this style. Good stuff here, and the time went by rather quickly, which is always a nice feeling.

RockNES Monsters vs. Dynasty

That would be Johnny Goodtime/Johnny Yuma vs. Joey Ryan/Scorpio Sky for a future Tag Team Title shot. It’s a brawl to start with the Dynasty being sent outside, where Goodtime hits a nice Asai moonsault. The brawls continue in the crowd, with Goodtime stopping for a drink before taking Ryan inside…for the opening bell, as apparently the first two and a half minutes or so were just a bonus.

Goodtime kicks Ryan down and hits him with a leg lariat before Sky comes back in to take his place. We settle down to a more standard tag format, with Yuma coming in to hammer away. Goodtime gets two off a cradle but Ryan is back up to slam Yuma into chairs on the floor. Back in and Sky stomps the heck out of Yuma in the corner, followed by Ryan’s dropkick connecting for two. Sky works on Yuma back as commentary talks about 80s movies.

A clothesline cuts off Yuma’s comeback attempt but he sends the villains into each other. That’s enough for the tag off to Goodtime as the pace picks up in a hurry. Everything breaks down and Goodtime kicks Ryan onto Sky for a double near fall (Fans: “THAT WAS FOUR!”). Sky breaks up a powerbomb with a spear though and Ryan hits a reverse exploder suplex to drop Goodtime. Ryan dives onto Yuma as Sky gets two off a rollup. Back in and Goodtime hits a kind of weird X Factor with his feet for two. Sky and Goodtime hit stereo frog splashes but Sky rolls Goodtime up for the quick win at 12:15.

Rating: C+. I wasn’t feeling this one as much, though it wasn’t bad. Sky is another guy who can look smooth in there with anyone and Goodtime/Yuma had a fine enough showing. Ryan has never done much for me in the ring but not everyone can be that kind of a star. Not a bad match at all, but it was a step down after everything else on the show thus far.

Post match the Young Bucks run in to beat both teams down. The Bucks talk about being the most controversial tag team in wrestling today and they haven’t shaken any hands (a reference to Booker T., who the fans have been cheering for since the Bucks showed up). Nick mocks the Spinarooni pose and talks about burning bridges on the first day of their WWE tryout.

They’re rock stars who will do anything they want, whenever they want, because they are bigger than TNA, WWE or the Battle Of Los Angeles. You can’t have a show without them though so they would love some opponents. The fans want the Kings Of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli/Chris Hero) and that’s exactly what they get, both carrying chairs.

Hero says the Bucks suck on the microphone and calls them the best crybabies he has ever seen. PWG made them stars but they went to Florida to become Generation Me…and they lost to Eric Young and Shark Boy? Castagnoli mocks Shark Boy’s pose in a funny bit before Hero issues the challenge for the title match tonight. Matt agrees and spits at Hero before leaving…and Castagnoli does a Spinarooni.

Battle Of Los Angeles Semifinals: El Generico vs. Willie Mack

Commentary starts us off by explaining that Joey Ryan is NOT allowed to talk about baseball, but doesn’t bother to explain why. They bump chests to start and yes of course we’re going to have a dance off (minus the music). Mack does a reverse Worm and Generico does I think something Michael Jackson inspired. That’s too much for Mack, who kicks him in the ribs and we’re ready to get a bit more serious.

Mack gets in a shot to the face but has to avoid a quick Helluva Kick attempt. Instead Generico does some dancing kicks in the corner, including a low blow behind the distracted referee’s back. Mack is right back with a heck of a fall away slam to send Generico crashing out to the floor. Back in and Mack drops a big knee to the chest and then does it again to the mask.

Mack drives him chest first into the buckle and Generico can’t hit the Blue Thunder Bomb. A heck of a clothesline puts Generico down again but he is able to hit the Blue Thunder Bomb on the second attempt. Now the Helluva Kick connects but Mack cuts him off with a Samoan drop. A step up enziguri gives Mack two, followed by a running corner clothesline. Generico follows him into the other corner with another Helluva Kick though, setting up the brainbuster to finish Mack at 10:30.

Rating: B-. The ending was good here, with Generico catching Mack for the fast win. Generico is pretty clearly the crowd favorite, which says a lot when he’s out there with someone as charismatic as Mack. At the same time, this was trimmed down a bit, which is likely due to Generico being in his second of three matches in one night. Fair enough, and it didn’t hurt things in any major way.

Battle Of Los Angeles Semifinals: Kevin Steen vs. Eddie Edwards

Non-title. They trade shoulders to start and bounce off the ropes a bunch until Edwards gets taken down with a drop toehold. Back up and they trade forearms, with Steen going to the eyes to cut over. Edwards tries his own eye poke but Steen grabs the hand and makes Edwards poke his own eye in a funny bit. A dropkick works a bit better as Steen is knocked out to the apron, where a knee to the back puts him on the floor.

Steen gets sent into the chairs on the floor but is fine enough to come back with a Fameasser over the ropes to take over again. Steen slowly kicks away and hits a backbreaker before getting cocky, as he tends to do. A bite to the ear draws what sounds like a MICHAEL COLE chant but Edwards low bridges him to the floor. That means the suicide dive can connect to drop Steen and they get back inside.

Edwards bites Steen for a change and they strike it out, only for Steen to come back with the pop up powerbomb. Edwards fights out of trouble in the corner and grabs a half crab, setting up an exchange of kicks to the face. Steen’s package piledriver attempt is countered into a fisherman’s buster but Steen hits him with a kind of weird pumphandle brainbuster onto the knee. The Sharpshooter goes on and Edwards taps at 12:34.

Rating: C+. The result here was only in so much doubt as Steen was not only the World Champion but also potentially facing El Generico in the final. If you have one of them you have to have the other, so Steen going over here made sense. Edwards was able to give him a good fight, which isn’t a surprise, but there were some big odds against him here.

Post match, respect is shown.

Tag Team Titles: Kings Of Wrestling vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending. We have to clarify that it’s a title match, with Excalibur saying that yeah, he might have jumped the gun by calling it such. Castagnoli backs Matt into the corner to start as commentary plugs social media platforms. Nick tries to get in and trips on the rope to fall on his face.

Back in and Castagnoli grabs a headlock takeover to grind away before hitting a hard shoulder. Nick’s attempt at running the rope is cut off by a quick trip, leaving the fans even more enamored with Castagnoli. Hero comes in for a big right hand and some chops before Castagnoli tortures Nick’s knuckles. Castagnoli orders Nick to kick his boot but since that isn’t happening, Nick gets stomped on the head instead.

It’s back to Hero for a wishbone, which works so well that the Kings do it two more times. Matt tries to make a save and gets a double wishbone, with the fans rather approving of the damage to such areas. A double slam gets two on Nick as this is totally one sided thus far. Castagnoli sits down and uses his legs to stretch Nick’s legs, then does the same to Matt (without letting go of Nick) for daring to interfere.

Hero comes in to grab a double chinlock, followed by a backsplash for two on Nick. An ankle crank goes on as Hero is seemingly enjoying the torture. Yet another wishbone connects but for some reason Nick pops up and drives Castagnoli into the corner for the tag to Matt. Castagnoli shrugs off the right hands and ties up all four limbs to lift Matt up, because that’s something he can do.

Back up and Nick gets in a cheap shot, with a Randy Savage finger spin, before begging Castagnoli not to hit him. This goes as you would expect, though Matt gets in a cheap shot to knock Castagnoli outside and into a chair. Back in and Matt hits Rolling Thunder (yes with the RVD pose) and the Bucks take over for the first time. Commentary gets into a discussion about whether wins or losses matter in declaring the Bucks the greatest tag team in the world.

The alternating beating continues, with Nick helping Matt get two off a sunset flip. Some back rakes have Castagnoli in more trouble but he rams them together without much trouble. A double bulldog drops the Bucks and he rolls over for the tag off to Hero. The discus forearm sends Nick into the corner and Hero starts alternating the running forearms in the corners.

The Bucks fight up so Hero tries a top rope springboard moonsault, which only goes so well (given his size, that’s not bad). An assisted Sliced Bread gives Nick two but Hero slips out of More Bang For Your Buck. The assisted 450 hits Hero (with Nick’s knees crashing into Hero’s ribs) for two more but Castagnoli tags himself in.

A quick powerbomb gets two on Matt and it’s time to go swinging. Hero adds the dropkick (Castagnoli LOVED that spot) for two, with Matt making the save. Matt and Hero brawl to the back so Castagnoli gives Nick the UFO (no hands spinning torture rack bomb) for two more. Then Matt rolls him up with feet on the ropes for the pin to retain at 21:50 (it’s as sudden as it sounds).

Rating: C+. I wasn’t liking this one as much as I was expecting a match which involved the Bucks having various parts of them stretched in painful ways. The ending really hurt it though, as you had the Bucks getting beaten up for the entire match and then winning on a fluke rollup. I’m not sure if that’s what is considered to be getting heat, but it was more annoying than anything else.

Post match Hero and Nick come back, with the Kings wrecking the Bucks again. We get an unconscious handshake as well.

Battle Of Los Angeles Finals: El Generico vs. Kevin Steen

Non-title. Generico jumps him as he gets in to start fast (because these two are required to fight forever). Steen fights up and sends him outside for the big running flip dive and they trade chops around (the rather small) ringside. Steen drops him onto the apron and goes to mock a kid in a Generico mask, as a heel should do.

Back up and Generico gets in a boot to the face, setting up the Arabian moonsault to drop Steen again. The big flip dive to the floor mostly misses for Generico, though Steen goes down anyway. Steen gets sent face first into a wall and Generico knocks him around ringside again. A tornado DDT (off the wall of course) cuts off Steen’s comeback and leaves commentary stunned.

Back in and Steen hits a cutter before getting into a battle of middle fingers with the kid in the Generico mask. The regular Generico hits a Michinoku Driver for two but the Helluva Kick is countered with a superkick. Steen’s brainbuster onto the knee gets two more and we hit the Sharpshooter again. For some reason, Steen lets it go and slowly chokes away but takes WAY too long going up.

Steen bites the slightly exposed face (Excalibur: “Kevin Steen, you sick f***.”), setting up the package piledriver for two. The Sharpshooter goes on in the middle of the ring but Generico manages to crawl over to the ropes. Back up and Steen spits on him in the corner but charges into the exploder in the corner.

Another suplex drops Steen and Generico hits his own package piledriver for a VERY close two. The Helluva Kick makes Steen smile so Generico does it again for the same result. Instead the brainbuster gives Generico two and they head out to the apron. Another Helluva Kick sets up a NASTY brainbuster and Steen is finally done at 13:43.

Rating: B. This is on the list of feuds that works no matter what they’re doing and it makes sense to put the two of them together in a high level spot. They beat the fire out of each other and made it fun at the same time, with the walk up the wall DDT being a highlight. There was something great about seeing Generico just unloading on Steen until he couldn’t get up anymore, as it fits perfectly with the idea of surviving to the end of a tournament.

Post match Generico gets the trophy (and of course Steen flips him off) and brings the Generico kid into the ring. Steen breaks the trophy and runs off like a good heel. We get quite the celebration with the broken trophy as the OLE chants are on. The fans want a speech and, after being confused about a PA announcement about beer, Generico apologizes for his bad English and thanks the fans to end the show. Generico would beat Steen for the title in about two months.

Overall Rating: B. This was a lot of fun and having Generico getting a great moment with the win (the part with the kid was a great bonus). There is nothing bad on the whole show and while you might not like the Bucks (fair enough), there was enough of them getting tortured to make things better. Overall, it’s a simple and easy to follow show that doesn’t require a high knowledge of PWG, making this a good one to watch if you just want some high quality action.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Pro Wrestling Superstars: Toronto
Date: April 14, 2012
Location: Doubletree By Hilton, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Bill Apter, Ken Tuccio, JJ Dillon, Tommy Dreamer, Shane Douglas

So back during the pandemic, Highspots had a crazy sale on its DVDs and digital downloads and I picked up a ton of them. Since I take forever to get to them, it’s been a bit since I’ve done one of these but here we go anyway. This is basically just a legends/independent show with whatever random lineup happens to be around (at the WrestleReunion convention), meaning you could expect anything here. Let’s get to it.

Host/boss Sal Corrente brings out Howard Finkel as a special surprise. Fink puts over the convention and Toronto and hopes the fans have a good time. It’s weird hearing him just talking instead of making some kind of announcement.

Michael Elgin vs. El Generico

Commentary sums up Generico’s entrance by saying if you don’t like it, you don’t like things that are fun. The much bigger Elgin powers Generico around to start and then shoulders him down without much effort. A leg lariat sends Elgin into the corner though and a Sami Zayn Helluva Kick connects. Generico tries another but gets elbowed in the face, only to get taken down by a hurricanrana to the floor. The dive is teased but Generico backflips into the middle before hammering away in the corner.

Generico’s high crossbody is pulled out of the air though and a powerslam gets two. Back up and Generico hits some clotheslines to limited success but a dropkick works a bit better. Now the big running flip dive can take Elgin down again but he’s right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Generico two, only for Elgin to muscle him up for some kind of reverse implant DDT. Elgin charges into the suplex into the corner though and another Helluva Kick into the brainbuster finishes for Generico at 7:55.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of match that is always going to work, with two talented guys working a power vs. speed style. There is something about watching an underdog like Generico fight back against a monster like Elgin and it worked well again. It helps that there are no stakes and you can pretty much do whatever, but they kept it straight here with a perfectly fine wrestling match.

Tito Santana vs. Shawn Spears

Rick Martel (there’s someone you don’t see very often) and Jimmy Hart are here as well. They fight over a lockup to start and Santana backs him into the corner, where Spears claims a pull of the trunks (as a heel often does). Spears backs him up against the ropes for a change and we get an ARRIBA off (the fans go with Santana on that one). Dillon talks about having no memory of EVER cheating as a manager and knows Hart wouldn’t either. Heels have to stick together man.

Santana headlocks him to the ground and Spears needs a breather on the floor. Back in and Santana runs him over with a shoulder as commentary talks about the 32 year old Spears like he’s about 14. Spears goes to the eyes in the corner to take over (Dillon missed it believe it or not) and stomps away, setting up the chinlock.

Back up and Santana charges into a knee in the corner so Spears can get his feet on the ropes (Dillon: “I missed that again.”) for two. The chinlock goes on again as Apter thinks there should be two referees in matches. Spears misses a top rope splash so Santana loads up the forearm, only for Hart to trip him up. Martel chases Hart off (Spears: “WHERE YOU GOING?”), leaving Santana to grab a small package for the pin at 8:16.

Rating: C. Again, this isn’t a show where the quality of the match is worth much, but for a match between a mostly unproven Spears and a mostly over the hill Santana, this was perfectly watchable. Dillon as a classic heel commentator was fine, with some of his stories being more interesting than the match itself. For a match with no story and a pretty random pairing, this went just fine.

Adam Page/Asylum vs. Rhett Titus/Caleb Konley vs. Super Smash Bros vs. Grizzly Redwood/Jake Manning

Page is better known as Hangman, Asylum would go on to VERY minor fame as Stone Rockwell in TNA, Titus and Konley (with Leah Von Dutch) were independent stars for a long time, the Smash Bros are the Dark Order (Evil Uno/Player Uno and Stu Grayson/Player Dos) and Redwood is a lumberjack while Manning is an adult scout (the Manscout). Got all that? Eh probably as it isn’t that complicated.

Redwood and Page start things off and go to the mat as Tuccio talks about eating lunch with Redwood today. Apparently Redwood ate a tree he had cut down earlier. That’s quite the level of efficiency. Neither can get anywhere so Titus comes in to face Page, who hands it off to Konley. They stomp the mat a lot and try to tag out, only for the other six to drop to the floor.

Titus drops down so Konley can cover him, with commentary saying it was like 1998 with Hulk Hogan. First of all, that was in 1999 and second of all, the better choice, from the same era, would be the New Age Outlaws who did it in a multi-team match. Asylum comes in to take over on Titus before both Bros come in to do the same. A fist drop/standing moonsault combination gets two on Titus and the Bros stop to pose, with Tuccio not being impressed.

Titus finally drives Dos into the ropes for the tag to Konley, who gets taken down by Uno just as quickly. Manning comes in with a dropkick to the knee so Redwood can add a running bulldog for two. Redwood gets sent face first into the corner though and a pull on the suspenders keeps him in trouble. A rather hard backsplash gives Konley two and Redwood almost gets dropped on his head with a release German suplex.

Konley’s top rope ax handle gets two and we hit the cravate. A catapult into the ropes gets two more and Titus puts on a bodyscissors. That’s broken up and the tag brings in Uno to clean house. Everything breaks down and Dos hits a high crossbody on Asylum before Manning feeds Dos over to a slingshot spear from Redwood. Page chops away at Manning and gets two off a powerslam but Asylum comes in with a double underhook into a neckbreaker (that was cool) to send Dos outside.

Konley and Titus take Asylum out though until Page hits a shooting star (or most of one) from the apron onto a pile. Uno hits a dive of his own before Dos hits a corkscrew dive onto just about everyone else. Back in and what would become known as the Fatality finishes Konley to give Dos the pin at 13:26.

Rating: B. This was the “get a bunch of people on the card” match and my goodness it’s weird to see a lot of these people being such young stars. You could see that there was talent here, but only Page would go on to become a major star. It was certainly a fun match though and a nice change of pace after the previous one. It’s nothing great or groundbreaking, but it did exactly what it was supposed to do.

Gene Okerlund is brought out and a special guest: Roddy Piper. Yeah that works. We get quite the PIPER chant and says he was supposed to face Terry Funk here but thank goodness he’s not here. Instead, Piper was trying to think of something fun for these guys, because there isn’t much of a place for wrestlers to get experience. There’s really only WWE, which makes him spit.

These wrestlers are talented, so let’s let one of those young wrestlers come out here and talk to someone. A fan shouts something that I can’t understand and it makes Piper laugh. For now though, Piper invites someone down for a Piper’s Pit, so here is Caleb Konley (as Piper had requested someone from the previous match). The fans call Konley a metrosexual and Piper says Konley is doing great so far.

Piper points out that he doesn’t know much about Konley but he hands Konley the mic and tells him to see what he can do. Konley talks about how he has looked up to Piper since he was a kid and he hated Piper’s guts. Then he realized that he likes that feeling because he’s prettier than everyone else out here.

The fans’ wives and girlfriends can attest to that and they aren’t pleased. Konley asks Piper something but Piper says the rule is to never let go of the microphone. Piper wants Konley to introduce the next guest and he whispers a name in his ear. If Konley screws this up, Piper promises a clubbing. Konley introduces….BRUNO SAMMARTINO!

Piper says Sammartino still scares him and lets Konley handle the interview, with the threat of that clubbing still being a very real thing. After some basic biography questions (the fans aren’t happy), Piper whispers something to Konley, who says he thinks he can bench press more than Sammartino. Konley: “LOOK AT HIM!” Piper suggests asking Sammartino how much he has benched, which would be a then world record of 565lbs. Piper takes the mic (Konley broke the rule) and asks about Sammartino’s other record, which was benching 335lbs 38 times.

Piper wants a LEGEND chant and Konley again says he could beat Sammartino. Believe it or not, Sammartino doesn’t seem impressed and lists off the rather intense exercise regimen he still follows. With Sammartino holding Konley’s wrist, he says if Konley tries something, he’ll teach him a lesson. Piper asks Konley who he is and what he’s famous for doing. Konley: “Getting chicks!” Piper: “Maybe you should try wrestling because you lost the match.”

Piper talks about how he was treated when he started out and slaps Konley, demanding he slap back. Konley does as he’s told and then gets slapped out to the floor, with Piper saying WIN NEXT TIME. Piper says Sammartino is a legend to wrap it up. Konley went on to have a decent career, but this was probably his biggest moment ever. He did fine, but how do you stand out with those two around you?

Dave Finlay vs. Harry Smith

Finlay is of course better known as Finlay and Smith is Davey Boy Smith Jr., complete with his old Hart Dynasty theme. Feeling out process to start with Finlay taking him into the corner by the leg and then putting it on the mat, with Dreamer going into some actual analysis. Smith reverses into a kneebar into the ropes but we pause for Finlay to invite a rather passionate fan (apparently even commentary knows her by name) to be the new Hornswoggle under the ring. Said fan gets in the ring and dances with Finlay for a bit (the interlocking arm deal he did with Hornswoggle) in a nice moment.

We settle down to Finlay headlocking Smith and taking him to the mat as Dreamer talks about working out with Nikita Koloff earlier today (cool enough). Smith reverses into an armbar, which is reversed into a leglock as the match is mostly being ignored as Apter is basically interviewing Dreamer.

Apter points out that the WWE fans would probably be calling a match like this boring, though to be fair it’s a match on an independent show rather than Raw or Smackdown. It’s not supposed to be the same kind of thing, though Apter probably isn’t wrong. Smith grinds away on a headlock before being sent outside in a heap. Finlay gets in a quick shot as Smith is trying to get back in and there’s a loud ram into the post. The countout doesn’t work for Finlay so he jumps Smith on the floor and hammers away back inside.

The double arm crank goes on as we talk about how attractive Diana Smith has stayed over the years. They move on to this new thing called “social media”, which is quite the easy way to keep in touch with wrestlers and fans. Smith is sent outside again but manages to get his foot up to block a splash. Back up and Smith makes the clothesline comeback, followed by a superkick. The threat of a Sharpshooter sends Finlay to the ropes so Smith grabs the running powerslam for the pin at 13:57.

Rating: B-. Good enough stuff here, with a more traditional wrestling match to slow things down a bit. I’m sure Finlay was happy with putting over the son of a legend of British wrestling, especially with only about eight months left in his active career. Finlay could more than go at this point and he made Smith look good here, with that powerslam being a nice way to go.

Vader vs. Necro Butcher

This is….well it’s certainly a thing. Vader throws some chairs in the ring and even Butcher bails from that kind of violence. They get inside, where Vader yells at the fans and then powers Butcher into the corner for the big punches. Some hard clotheslines put Butcher down a few times and Vader pummels away in the corner.

A rake to the eyes gives Butcher an opening and he kicks away in the corner, which seems to annoy Vader more than anything else. Vader comes out of the corner with that running body block of his, setting up a Fujiwara armbar. A chokeslam plants Butcher before a Vader Bomb and another chokeslam put him away at 5:49.

Rating: C-. This was more or less an extended squash for Vader, as Butcher only got in a little bit in one corner. At the same time, it was just Butcher doing a regular match, which isn’t the best way to go. Not much to see here, with Vader getting to do his usual stuff and nothing really beyond that for the whole match.

Gene Okerlund introduces our next match.

Dominic DeNucci/Shane Douglas vs. Lord Zoltan/Shawn Blanchard

JJ Dillon is here too. DeNucci is a legend in his own right but is better known for training Mick Foley and Douglas himself. Zoltan is a mainstay of Pittsburgh wrestling and has some Danhausen style face paint. Before the match, Douglas grabs the mic and says some people have been asking for some shoot comments. He talks about Dillon (in a SWEET Four Horsemen jacket) and insults his association with Ric Flair before bringing out someone to be in his own corner: Bruno Sammartino.

Douglas takes Blanchard (I’m assuming he’s related to Tully in some way) into the corner to start and hands it off to DeNucci for some chops against the ropes. Douglas comes back in and tells Blanchard to get up but gets taken into the wrong corner for a front facelock. Dillon gets in some choking from the floor but Douglas fights up and cleans house. That’s broken up so DeNucci comes in for the save as everything breaks down. A low blow to Zoltan sets up the belly to belly to give Douglas the pin on Blanchard at 4:50.

Rating: C-. This was a good example of “yeah what were you expecting?”. You’re only going to get so far with something like this and the point wasn’t in having an exciting match. DeNucci was 80 years old here (yes it was his last match) and this was really just a way to have the Pittsburgh guys together. Not a good match, but seeing DeNucci and Sammartino out there was fun.

NCW Femme Fatales International Title: Kalamity vs. LuFisto

Kalamity is defending and this is from Northern Championship Wrestling, a Canadian company still around today. LuFisto is billed from “Montreal, Japan” (Apter: “Montreal…Japan?”) in what I’m assuming is a misprint. The bigger Kalamity backs her into the corner to start and we go to a standoff. They trade some slaps and armdrags before going head to head. Some kicks to the legs don’t get either anywhere so LuFisto trips her down and ties up the leg for a bit.

Back up and Kalamity kicks her down for a change, setting up some running knees to the back on the ropes. The half crab keeps LuFisto down but she fights out and pulls Kalamity into a Downward Spiral into the buckle. A middle rope dropkick gets two on Kalamity and a headscissors keeps her down. Back up and Kalamity crushes her in the corner, followed by a running forearm to the chest for another near fall.

A double clothesline gives us a double knockdown before LuFisto hits a running dropkick against the ropes. The cannonball and running boot to the face get a slightly delayed two on Kalamity but she runs LuFisto over again. LuFisto fights out of a superplex attempt and hits a top rope double stomp in the Tree Of Woe.

A nice spear drops Kalamity and LuFisto grabs something like a guillotine. That’s broken up as well and they kick each other in the face (geez) with LuFisto getting the better of things. Some rollups give LuFisto two and a German suplex into a spinning back elbow drops Kalamity again. A top rope headbutt misses though and Kalamity grabs a fisherman’s driver for the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match and easily the best one on the show so far. I’ve never seen Kalamity before but she had some size and knew how to use it. LuFisto was more than handling her own and fighting against the power. Good match here, and keep in mind that this was before the Women’s Revolution, making this even more of a total hidden gem.

Roderick Strong vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

Sweet goodness Liger’s music is great. Liger takes him to the mat to start but gets pulled into a leglock. That’s broken up for a standoff until Liger grabs a surfboard and rocks Strong back and forth for a bit. Liger ties up various limbs on the mat until Strong makes the rope and goes old school with a spinning toehold. Back up and Strong’s chops don’t do much as Liger sends him to the floor for a dropkick through the ropes.

Strong is back up and strikes away in the corner, setting up a suplex to put Liger down for a change. The waistlock stays on the ribs for a good while as Liger is in trouble. Back up and Strong misses a charge in the corner, allowing Liger to get in a German suplex. Another surfboard goes on, with Strong having to get over to the ropes. A belly to back side slam gives Strong two and it’s an Angle Slam into the Stronghold.

Liger gets out and they strike away until Strong grabs a fireman’s carry gutbuster. Back up and some running palm strikes rock Strong and a superplex gives Liger two. The Liger Bomb gets two more and a frog splash is good for another near fall. Strong knees him in the face though and a torture rack into the backbreaker gets two more. A tiger bomb finally finishes Liger at 15:35.

Rating: B. Another good match here with Strong getting a big win over a prominent name. Strong was already a big deal on the independent circuit and in Ring Of Honor but beating someone like Liger is still a feat. At the same time, Liger isn’t someone who needs to go over in any match as he’s been a legend for so long and is just so likable no matter what he does. The fact that they had a good match made it even better.

Respect is shown post match.

Raven/CW Anderson vs. Rhino/Tommy Dreamer

Believe it or not, this is indeed under Extreme Rules. Dreamer and Raven start things off, with the fans wanting blood. They circle each other but Raven brings Anderson in rather than fighting, because he’s smart like that. Both of them miss clotheslines and we have a standoff, as this is going a bit more slowly than you might have expected. Dreamer can’t get the sunset flip but Anderson can get the basement dropkick for the first good shot.

Back up and Dreamer hands it off to Rhino, which has Raven giving advice in the corner. A clothesline puts Anderson down and it’s back to Dreamer for a running elbow. Anderson gets in a left hand though and NOW Raven is willing to come in, as you might have expected. Some knees to the face keep Dreamer down and it’s back to Anderson for the reverse chinlock. Dreamer manages to send him into the corner though and it’s Rhino coming in to clean house. Raven breaks up the Gore and crotches Rhino on the post and the double stomping is on.

Commentary reminds us that this is an extreme rules match, despite nothing being extreme thus far. Dreamer teases the DDT on Anderson but stops to glare at Raven, who goes outside and heads up the aisle. Raven gets tossed back inside and Dreamer hammers away, with both of them going to the floor again. The fight goes into the crowd as things finally wake up a bit. Dreamer rings the bell low on Anderson before slugging at Raven back inside.

The DDT gets two on Raven so it’s time for a chair and table. Naturally that takes too long so Raven sends Dreamer into the chair for two, only to get Gored by Rhino (hey he’s still in this). Anderson’s spinebuster gets two on Rhino and the table is set up in the corner. That takes too long and the Death Valley driver through said table gives Dreamer the pin at 12:08.

Rating: C. This was an ECW match almost in name only, as they barely did anything with the weapons. You had the table in the end, because they had to get one of those in, but other than that it was just a bunch of guys doing basic stuff because it was about all they could do. Dreamer vs. Raven is a famous feud, but this was all they had?

Dreamer and Rhino leave so Raven yells at Anderson, who gives him a superkick. Then Anderson leaves and Raven stands there for a long time. He finally says Toronto sucks to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a show where the quality isn’t the point, but rather how much fun you have with the thing. It’s a bunch of thrown together matches with a variety of generations coming together to make the whole thing work. I had a good time watching it with no expectations, plus a few good matches to make it that much better. Throw in Bruno Sammartino and Roddy Piper in the same ring and it was hard to not have fun.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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1.21 Gigawatts
Date: March 21, 2008
Location: American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Attendance: 300
Commentators: Excalibur, Rick Knox, Taro

It’s another PWG show and I think I would have to turn in my nerd card if I didn’t look at a show with this name. As usual, I’m really not sure what to expect here as I’m doing these shows at random, meaning continuity isn’t a factor. The action tends to be quite good though and if that is the case again here, we should be in for a heck of a show. Let’s get to it.

Nemesis vs. Brandon Bonham

Nemesis is a masked guy and appears to be popular while Bonham is making his PWG debut. Bonham goes for him and gets posed at for his early efforts. They fight over arm control to start as they’re going basic early on. A quick rollup gets two on Bonham as commentary talks about new referee Tony Roma (jokes about ribs abound). Nemesis runs him over but gets enziguried for his efforts as commentary manages to get a bit more serious for a change (it won’t last).

Bonham knocks him outside and hits the big flipping dive, earning a NEW GUY chant. Back in and the fans don’t seem too thrilled with Nemesis, though his flipping neckbreaker does earn some polite applause. Some strikes in the corner have Bonham in more trouble but he manages to get out to the apron. A slingshot cutter drops Nemesis and a high angle Swanton gives Bonham the upset pin at 6:23.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t exactly the opener you might have been expecting but points for giving the new guy a win and establishing him a bit. Bonham doesn’t have the most impressive look but he did well enough to make a bit of an impression. Nemesis felt more like a crowd favorite, at least at times, so Bonham’s win does seem to have a bit of status to it. Completely fine opener.

Candice LeRae vs. LuFisto

This is LuFisto’s PWG debut but the fans certainly know who she is. The referee isn’t interested in checking LuFisto’s trunks (she hiked the skirt up to make it easier) so we can get going. LeRae, who looks incredibly young here (at 22), gets shoved down to start but comes back with forearms. Some armdrags and a dropkick have LuFisto staggered a bit as we hear about her wanting to teach LeRae to fight like a woman.

LuFisto isn’t having this basic stuff and kicks LeRae down, setting up a fisherman’s suplex into a headscissors. An armbar at the same time makes it even worse but LuFisto switches it into a camel clutch. Some headbutts and shots to the back have LeRae in more trouble as the beating is on hard here. A small package gives LeRae two and she manages to send LuFisto outside.

With that not working, it’s a butterfly suplex to give LuFisto two back inside. LuFisto misses a charge though and gets rolled up a few times for two each. They strike it out until LeRae slams her down and gets two off a neckbreaker. LuFisto isn’t having that and kicks her down before going up top. The high crossbody connects but LeRae rolls through it for the pin at 8:09.

Rating: C. It wasn’t bad, but this felt like LuFisto having to keep everything going as LeRae wasn’t quite as polished. LuFisto was the much bigger star at this point and it makes sense to have her carrying things. The good thing is they had a completely watchable match, even if the ending felt like quite the slip on a banana peel. You don’t hear too much about women’s wrestling in PWG but this was perfectly good enough to keep it going.

Post match Claudio Castagnoli and Human Tornado (who seem to have a less than positive history with LeRae) come to the back but here is Chris Hero for the save. And an impromptu match!

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero

Everyone else leaves and it’s hero chopping away on the floor to start. They get inside with Hero elbowing him in the face until Castagnoli tosses him over the top for a big crash. Castagnoli gets creative by choking with the ring skirt and it’s time to send Hero crashing through the fans.

We hit the camel clutch back inside, with Castagnoli pulling the hair instead of the face (Is that still a clutch?). Some uppercuts and kicks to the face just have Hero looking annoyed so he comes back with a running neckbreaker. Hero forearms him off the apron this time and a suicide armdrag of all things sends Castagnoli down. Back in and a middle rope Blockbuster gives Hero two but Castagnoli is back with a heck of a running uppercut. The Riccola Bomb doesn’t work so Castagnoli grabs his kind of Angle Slam for two more. The giant swing is loaded up but Hero reverses into a cradle for the pin at 9:56.

Rating: B-. These two working well together is a grand total of not surprising whatsoever and they had another good match here. There’s a long history between them and they have chemistry in the ring so this worked well. Castagnoli showing off with the power until Hero caught him with a cradle was a good story and the cradle made it look like Castagnoli got caught rather than defeated.

Post match Human Tornado runs back in for the save, drawing out Candice LeRae. LuFisto runs out to cancel out LeRae but Hero gets up to clear the ring. Hero seems a bit upset that he got physical by throwing LuFisto back inside, as he has a thing about violence against women.

Here is The Dynasty (Scott Lost/Joey Ryan, with Jade Chung), the reigning Tag Team Champions. Ryan has been looking for an opponent is defending. He insists that Chris Bosh (who the fans seem to favor) didn’t care about the fans and that’s why he left. Ryan tried to get in touch with Dino Winwood but couldn’t get hold of him. Then he send a text to Excalibur, who had his own problems: doing commentary with an intoxicated Taro.

With nothing else to do, Ryan sent out a mass email to the PWG roster for an open challenge for the Tag Team Titles. The first person to answer was this man, so here is El Generico. The problem is that Generico’s reply was in Spanish so Ryan doesn’t know who his partner is going to be. After a few points to the entrance, Kevin Steen (Owens) runs in from behind and we’re ready to go.

Tag Team Titles: Kevin Steen/El Generico vs. The Dynasty

The Dynasty is defending and Steen pulls Ryan over the top to start fast. The chops in the corner have Ryan in trouble and Generico sends him into some buckles to make it worse. Ten right hands in the corner set up some armdrags as Ryan can’t get anything going here. The fans seem to appreciate Steen as he chops Ryan down again but a shot to the eye allows the tag off to Lost.

That’s fine with Steen, who chops away as commentary is curious about how Ryan sent off an email last night but Steen managed to get here from Montreal so fast. Lost manages some knees to the ribs to take over but it’s right back to Generico for a backbreaker. As commentary discusses the Dynasty’s ownership stake in the company, Steen hits a flipping legdrop to the back of Lost’s neck.

Lost manages to kick Generico in the ribs though and Ryan comes in to start on the arm. Chung finally remembers she’s here too and adds some choking on the ropes. A wheelbarrow slam/gutbuster combination plants Generico and Lost’s leg lariat takes him down again. Lost grabs a bodyscissors but Steen comes in to blow his nose on him (not break up the hold or anything mind you). Generico backbreakers his way to freedom and Steen comes back in to clean house.

The rope is kicked low into Ryan and the powerslam gets two on Lost. Steen kicks the rope into Ryan again (seems fun) and hits a DDT to plant Lost again. The pop up powerbomb gets two on Lost but Ryan is there to break up the Swanton. Generico hits the big dive onto Ryan though and the Swanton connects for two. Ryan comes back in and blocks the Helluva Kick, setting up his own powerbomb for his own two on Generico.

A backbreaker/top rope elbow combination gets two WITH Steen making the save. (Excalibur: “It might be Bastille Day! IT’S NOT BASTILLE DAY BECAUSE KEVIN STEEN HAS FREED THE PRISONERS!!!”). The parade of suplexes sets up the Helluva Kick to Lost, who counters the brainbuster into a suplex over the top. Cue Super Dragon to Psycho Driver Jade Chung as everything stops for a few moments. Lost takes Chung to the back and it’s a Helluva Kick into Steen’s package piledriver into the brainbuster to finish Ryan for the titles at 16:20.

Rating: B. Steen and Generico being a heck of a team is no surprise whatsoever as they worked well together even back here. Lost and Ryan were one of those teams who feel like they’re from a different era of PWG. While they were good in the early days, they were surpassed by a team like Steen and Generico as the company was evolving. Good match here, even if the defending champs felt a bit overwhelmed at times.

Post match the celebration is on. Steen says it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks or says, because this is PWG and it feels good to be home.

Here is Excalibur, who says Commissioner Dino Winwood is not here because he is celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim. Therefore, the fans here are the worst Jews he has ever seen. As for tonight, Excalibur has full authority tonight and talks about how Necro Butcher isn’t here tonight. Butch is filming a movie with Mickey Rourke called The Wrestler, so we’ll have to make another match. That’s why tonight it’s Human Tornado/LuFisto vs. Chris Hero/Candice LeRae in a street fight.

DDT4 Qualifying Match: Scorpio Sky/Ronin vs. Young Bucks vs. Hook Bomberry/TJ Perkins vs. Los Luchas

Elimination rules and DDT4 is PWG’s big tag team tournament. Los Luchas are Phoenix Star and Zokre, who have been around since the early 2000s. It’s a big brawl to start with the Bucks getting the better of things, including a pop up dropkick to Sky. Zokre springboard crossbodies both Bucks down and the Luchas springboard armdrag Sky and Ronin down. Sky hits a slingshot elbow for two on Bomberry and we settle down, with everyone actually getting on the apron for a change.

The Bucks’ hanging neckbreaker into a slingshot hilo hits Perkins as the Bucks (who actually look young here) take over. Nick hammers away as commentary kind of explains how complicated the tournament setup has been without actually saying how we got here. Perkins gets in a shot to Nick’s knee and it’s off to Bomberry for a clothesline as commentary discusses Bomberry’s sexually transmitted diseases.

Bomberry’s half crab sends Nick over to the rope as commentary points out that the other two teams are just kind of here too. Nick dropkicks his way out of trouble and it’s Matt coming in to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and Nick mostly misses a dive, followed by Star missing an even bigger dive even worse. Matt, Ronin and Zokre slug it out inside and Ronin powerbombs Zokre for two (with the referee’s hand hitting the mat three times to make it a bit confusing).

An assisted neckbreaker drops Ronin but Nick’s bad knee won’t let him follow up. Sky cutters Matt but Perkins grabs a rollup (with an assist from Bomberry) to pin Sky at 9:48. Perkins neckbreakers Zokre but Sky shoves him off the top. Bomberry hits Perkins by mistake and Los Luchas hit a double powerbomb into stereo springboard Swantons (Maximum Risky) for the pin at 11:27.

So we’re down to the Bucks vs. the Luchas, with the Bucks hitting a slingshot X Factor into a wheelbarrow suplex for two on Zokre. Nick’s frog splash (What knee injury?) gets two on Star, who is right back with a spinebuster. A neckbreaker/spinebuster combination gets two on Nick with Matt having to make the save. Commentary even points out that Nick’s knee is suddenly better as More Bang For Your Buck misses. Matt gets super Angle Slammed onto Star’s knees (dang) to give the Luchas a double pin at 14:00.

Rating: B. It was a fast paced match and as usual, elimination rules made it that much better. Commentary calling out Nick’s lack of a knee injury was a nice touch and they didn’t bother dragging this out too far. Good, action packed match here and Los Luchas continue to be a rather nice team who never got a ton of recognition. As a bonus, apparently this was the finals of a round robin tournament (not mentioned here) to get a spot in another tournament, which Sky and Ronin wound up competing in as well.

Candice LeRae/Chris Hero vs. LuFisto/Human Tornado

Street fight. LuFisto unloads on LeRae in the corner as Excalibur goes on a rant about how bad the production crew is around here. Hero throws Tornado into some chairs as LeRae chops LuFisto against the apron. Taro says that this match is unsanctioned, sending Excalibur into a mini rant about how HE MADE THE MATCH SO OF COURSE IT’S SANCTIONED! Ok point for a funny line.

Some weapons are thrown inside as the women trade forearms on the floor. LuFisto gets in a chair shot but LeRae blasts her in the head with a trashcan lid. Back in and Hero puts on a Boston crab, while also putting the chair over Tornado. The basement dropkick in the corner hits LuFisto as Hero neckbreakers Tornado for two. Tornado is fine enough to hit him with a chair shot to the throat, followed by some shots to the knee. The men head outside, leaving LuFisto to drop LeRae on her head back inside.

Back in and Tornado hits a delayed corner dropkick on LeRae, setting up LuFisto’s running boot. With LeRae down, LuFisto holds Hero in place so Tornado can get in some chair shots to the knee. LuFisto hits Hero with a chair before going back inside to rip at LeRae’s facial area. Hero comes back in and fights back up, only to get dropped by Tornado again. Another comeback is cut off by a forearm to the head and a hanging legdrop as LeRae is knocked off the apron again.

Hero manages a double knockdown but his knee is shot, allowing Tornado to knock him outside again. LeRae is back in with a forearm to knock LuFisto outside but all four get back inside. A rollup to Tornado gets two but he kicks Hero into a chair in the corner to knock him silly. LeRae grabs a reverse Koji Clutch on Tornado until LuFisto breaks it up. The teams pair off again and the referee gets poked in the eye, which doesn’t seem to change anything. Hero sends Tornado into LuFisto and LeRae throws her outside for a dive.

Some chairs are thrown at Tornado, which the fans help Hero pile up (what nice/evil people, depending on your affiliation). Tornado backdrops him onto the pile though and the guys are down again. Back in and LeRae gets in a DDT for two on LuFisto, setting up a camel clutch in the ropes. Hero steals Taro’s water (er, “water” more than likely) and Swantons off the announcers’ area onto Tornado onto some chairs for the big crash. Back in and LuFisto hits a spinning backfist into an Emerald Flosion to plant LeRae again.

Tornado misses a bit spinning kick to LeRae, allowing Hero to BLAST HIM with a forearm for two as LuFisto makes the save. Back up and Hero gets creative with a toss atomic drop to send Tornado into an open chair (that’s a new one/OUCH), setting up the big boot to the face. Tornado catches him on top but Hero knocks him down into the open chair. LeRae pelts another chair at LuFisto’s head for a delayed two, only to have Tornado kick LeRae in the back of the head.

Tornado puts the chair in front of LeRae’s face in the Tree of Woe, allowing LuFisto to hit the Tommy Dreamer dropkick. LuFisto gets a little more violent by biting her head and then Tornado gets evil by punching LeRae in the head. LeRae is busted open (and missing some extensions) but Hero comes back in to piledrive LuFisto. Hero grabs a cravate style Stunner to pin Tornado at 26:59.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but once it hit its top gear, it was a violent match between four people who felt like they wanted to hurt each other. The violence was strong with this one and if you cut off the first ten minutes or so, it gets that much better. Hero vs. Tornado feels like an almost literal blood feud and you can imagine one heck of a showdown coming for them soon.

Post match Claudio Castagnoli runs in to take Hero out and then duct tapes him to the ropes. The referee gets decked as well and a table is set up in the corner. A belt shot knocks LeRae silly and LuFisto spears her through the table. There’s another belt shot to Hero and Tornado plants LeRae again. Commentary walks off in disgust and LeRae is carried out. Tornado throws her back inside though until Excalibur finally comes in to make the save.

That leaves Tornado to beat up Taro as Excalibur tries to get Hero out. Hero finally gets free and throws a bunch of stuff as referees and medics check on LeRae. Hero puts LeRae over for her effort and says they’ll both be back at the next show, because now this is personal. He swears to get his hands on Tornado and Castagnoli somehow, whether it be at the next show or in the parking lot tonight. LeRae is helped to the back to end the show. This was a red hot angle and I want to see Hero destroy Tornado. Really good stuff here and maybe the best angle I’ve ever seen from PWG.

We get some post show footage, including Hero checking on LeRae in the trainer’s room. He recaps the feud with Tornado, as LeRae is Tornado’s former manager and helped him get the World Title. Tornado kept abusing her though and it broke Hero, who wants to see Tornado get what is coming to him. Yeah Tornado is the champion and walks to the ring like a pimp, but he’s just a little boy. Hero is going to do whatever it takes but he’s getting his hands on Tornado and he’ll never be the same again. Heck of a promo here.

Overall Rating: B+. The ending helped this a lot but otherwise, it wasn’t quite a blow away show. There was enough good to make it work rather well, though the only thing to stand out is the big angle and most of the main event. What matters most though is I want to see more of the story (and some other stuff), so they are doing well. Just get the first hour or so of the show up a bit and it’s that much better. Or do another story that makes me want to see a villain get destroyed in about fourteen different ways. Either works.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Threemendous II
Date: July 31, 2009
Location: American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Joey Ryan, Human Tornado, Chris Hero, Rick Knox, Chuck Taylor, Colt Cabana

This is the sixth year anniversary show from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and that means we should be in for a big card. The more PWG I see, the more fun I tend to have, though they did get better as time went on. This is still relatively early in their history so things might still be a bit shaky. Let’s get to it.

Colt Cabana and El Generico are in the back, with Cabana saying Generico’s English and Spanish are both terrible. Cabana tells him to cut a promo on someone who isn’t good, so -Generico stumbles through some very broken promos on Kenny Omega and Chuck Taylor. At Cabana’s prompting, Generico talks about wanting to relieve himself in their ears and eat their children. They both crack up as Generico says he thinks that was a muy good promo. Generico continues to be hysterical.

Cutler Brothers/Charles Mercury vs. LTP/Brandon Gatson/Johnny Goodtime

Before the match, LTP busts out an NES Track & Field Power Pad for a bit of a warmup. The Cutlers and Mercury work out a bit during their Big Match Intros as the fans certainly seem to like Goodtime. Gatson is described as a newcomer and Robinson has to be held back before the bell, which Excalibur describes as “engaging in some homoeroticism”. Dustin Cutler and Gatson start things off, with Dustin backing him into the corner to start the triple teaming.

A double shoulder drops Gatson as Joey Ryan does NOT want to talk about his title match in tonight’s main event. Gatson fights back with a corner clothesline and it’s Goodtime coming in for a basement dropkick to the side of Mercury’s head. Commentary goes into a variety of movie and book spoilers as LTP dropkicks Mercury into the corner for a running corner dropkick.

It’s back to Goodtime, who takes Brandon Cutler down for a slingshot dropkick to the side of the head. A quick low bridge sends Goodtime crashing out to the floor and the good guys are in trouble fast. Goodtime gets triple teamed, setting up Dustin’s chinlock as commentary talks about X-Men comics. Mercury drops a bottom rope knee before grabbing a reverse chinlock to keep Goodtime in trouble.

Goodtime kicks away and enziguris his way to freedom, allowing Gatson to come in and clean house. Dustin cuts off Gatson’s handspring elbow and the Cutlers chop away at Gatson in the corner. A slingshot cutter gets Gatson out of trouble, allowing Goodtime to dive onto Dustin (with a nasty crash). LTP springboards off Gatson’s back for the huge dive, setting up Gatson’s Sasuke Special onto everyone.

Back in and Goodtime Falcon Arrows Brandon Cutler….for no count as the referee says he isn’t legal. Excalibur: “What the h*** are you doing???” Eh ok point for a funny line. Goodtime hits a top rope double stomp to the back of Brandon Cutler’s head as everything breaks down. Dustin hits a heck of a swinging Downward Spiral on Gatson and Brandon plants LTP with a German suplex.

Everyone is down until it’s LTP getting up top, only to have his high crossbody caught by the Cutlers. One heck of a double fall away slam sends LTP flying but Goodtime dropkicks both Cutlers down. They’re right up though and grab a wheelbarrow Codebreaker combination, setting up a running spike Tombstone to finish LTP at 16:49.

Rating: B. This was the “let everyone go nuts” match and it worked very well as an opener. What mattered here was getting the fans even more excited for the show (granted not that hard around here) and they made that work very well. Fun match, even if it wasn’t exactly going by your classic textbook structure.

Scott Lost vs. Alex Shelley

Lost jumps Shelley from behind during his posing session and a chop puts him down again. Shelley manages a suplex though and starts cranking on the arm. That’s reversed into a broken up Scorpion Deathlock and Shelley shoulders him into the post. Shelley cranks on both arms before sending it into the post again. Back up and Lost manages a double stomp out of the corner to take right back over.

They chop it out until Shelley manages a kick to the head but Lost kicks him back as commentary makes NBA Jam references. Lost manages a spear on the floor and we hit the reverse chinlock back inside. Shelley gets dropped chest first onto the apron for one and we hit the bodyscissors to stay on said chest. That’s reversed so Shelley can slam Lost’s face into the mat a few times as the NBA references continue.

Shelley gets caught in a chinlock but manages to send him hard into the corner. A big kick to the head gives Shelley two but Lost is fine enough to crotch him on top. With Shelley still on top, he ties Lost’s arm around the buckle and armbars it back on the mat. That’s broken up with a gutbuster but Shelley is right back with a series of rollups for two each.

Another rollup sets up a cross armbreaker on Lost, which is reversed into a Sharpshooter. Shelley realizes he’s right next to the rope for the break and they’re out to the apron. Lost breaks up Sliced Bread and grabs a Stunner to put Shelley down hard. Back in and an elbow to the face gives Lost two more but Shelley kicks him in the head. An Air Raid Crash (Human Tornado: “That n**** dead.”) gets two on Lost and a reverse brainbuster drops him again. A frog splash gets two more but Shelley is right back up on top, where the second frog splash finishes Lost at 16:13.

Rating: B. These two beat on each other for a long time until Lost just couldn’t kick out anymore. Shelley is one of those wrestlers who can work with anyone and make it look good. Lost is someone who you don’t hear much about outside for PWG but he’s usually fine when he’s in the ring. Good match here, as the show is off to a great start.

Chris Sabin vs. Bryan Danielson

Before the match, Sabin compliments Danielson’s entrance music as the coolest in wrestling. They fight over wrist control to start with Danielson getting the better of things as commentary talks about the murder of Rikidozan. Sabin slips out of something like a chickenwing and grabs an armbar, which doesn’t get him very far. Danielson is taken into the corner for a clean break before Sabin’s headlock is called boring.

Sabin sends him to the apron for a legsweep (best strike in No Mercy so it works here too) to the floor, naturally setting up a dive. We hit the chinlock back inside before Sabin switches to something like a crossface. Some chops have Danielson reeling and a Vader Bomb elbow gets two. Sabin grabs an octopus hold on the mat but Danielson is back up with a kick to the chest.

More kicks have Sabin in more trouble and it’s time to work on the leg. That doesn’t last long as Danielson opts to rip at his face instead. Back up and Danielson wins a kick off, setting up a surfboard with a dragon sleeper (egads). With that broken up, Sabin slips out of a superplex attempt and ties Danielson in the Tree of Woe. A running dropkick and a running forearm rock Danielson again as he falls out.

Stereo crossbodies leave both of them down for a bit before it’s time to chop it out. Sabin snaps off a suplex neckbreaker but Danielson knocks him hard into the corner. A jumping knee rocks Sabin again and a springboard missile dropkick sends him down. With Sabin favoring his ankle (which Danielson might not have seen), Cattle Mutilation goes on but Danielson switches to the hard elbows to the face. After a rear naked choke doesn’t work very well, Danielson slaps on Cattle Mutilation again to make Sabin tap at 17:55.

Rating: B+. This was about two people beating on each other for a long time until one of them finally broke down. Danielson is a far bigger singles star than Sabin, but this wasn’t anything resembling an easy win. Sabin can go with just about anyone in the ring and he looked rather good here, even in defeat. Heck of a match here, as they beat each other up rather well.

Post match Danielson checks on Sabin, who has to be helped to the back.

Chuck Taylor vs. Colt Cabana

Taylor hides in the corner to start so Cabana sits down in another corner. Back up and Cabana drops the towel before Taylor grabs a headlock. Cabana sends him into the corner and seems to do the JYD Juke. Taylor backs off a bit and the fans are not pleases with his cowardice. A wristlock takes Taylor down….so he offers Cabana money in exchange for Taylor getting to slam him.

Then Taylor whips out an invisible grenade, which is too much even for Cabana. The grenade is sent outside and the pin comes out, meaning Taylor has to dive on it on the floor. With the grenade taken care of, Taylor goes back inside for a test of strength. Cabana easily takes over but some spit in the eyes lets Taylor take over for a change. With Cabana on the mat, he tries to give Taylor a hug but Taylor cranks on the leg instead.

Back up and Cabana sends him into the corner, allowing Cabana to get in some posing. Taylor misses a flip out of the corner and fakes an injury, allowing a small package to get two. Cabana: “SMALL PACKAGE!” Then he small packages Taylor and they roll around for a series of near falls.

The referee gets knocked down so Cabana sits on his back and kind of rides him into the corner. All three wind up in the corner for some rather suggestive thrusting. Taylor isn’t a fan so Cabana drops him with a right hand (Commentary: “Shades of Matt Classic right there.”) and a clothesline gets two. Taylor is right back up with a rollup and grabs the rope for the pin at 11:11.

Rating: C+. This was the weakest part of the show so far and even then it was completely fine. They went in a different direction here with the comedy (some of which was rather bad), as you probably guessed from the people involved. Cabana is capable of having a more serious match but go with what the people want, which is why he was on the show. Taylor was less than serious as well, but at least they didn’t go back to the grenade later.

Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards

They go straight to the strikes to start before running the ropes and trading leapfrogs. Strong ducks the big kick and they strike it out until the fight heads to the floor. Back in and Strong kicks him down for two before more chopping ensues. Richards kicks away to take over again and we hit the chinlock, followed by a running knee to the ribs. More strikes put Strong into the corner but he raises a boot to cut off a charge.

They forearm it out again until Richards hits a handspring kick to the head. The Texas Cloverleaf doesn’t last long so Richards kicks him down, only to get blasted with a dropkick. Strong picks him up and tosses him with a release suplex into a backbreaker for two. The Falcon Arrow gets the same and Richards is sat on the apron. Strong charges into a kick to the head and a missile dropkick sends him into the corner again.

Richards strikes away and gets two off a sliding clothesline. Strong is right back with a quick Stronghold but Richards crawls over to the rope. Back up and the tiger driver is blocked, allowing Richards to hit a pop up kick to the chest. A bridging German suplex gives Richards two and the Cloverleaf goes on again. That’s broken up so Strong kicks him in the head, setting up a gutbuster. Back to back Sick Kicks set up the tiger driver to finish Richards at 12:27.

Rating: B. This was another hard hitting match between two people who know how to do that style rather well. I’ve never been much of a Richards fan but he was doing his thing here well enough. At the same time, I wouldn’t have bet on Strong winning and it’s nice to see him beat someone in a match like this one.

Young Bucks vs. Two Skinny Black Guys

The Bucks’ Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line and the Guys are El Generico and Human Tornado. Matt and Tornado start things off as commentary talks about a bunch of wrestlers going to In And Out Burger (as you should). Tornado takes him down and works on the leg for a bit before it’s off to Nick instead. That doesn’t go well for Nick either, as Tornado steals his bandanna and poses a bit.

Generico comes in and gets headscissored down, setting up a dropkick into the corner. The rope walk sets up Nick’s rather spinny wristdrag as Generico can’t get anything going. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker puts Matt down though as Taylor complains about promotions not booking him. Tornado comes in for a no hands Scorpion Deathlock (that’s a new one) on Matt but he standing Sliced Breads himself out of trouble.

It’s back to Nick to slam Generico and the Bucks hit their stereo basement dropkicks. The fans turn on the Bucks, which has Excalibur rather surprised. As the fans suggest that the Bucks keep doing the same thing, they do the same thing with another double basement dropkick. Generico finally gets a boot up in the corner and the hot tag brings in Tornado (Fans: “LET’S GO BLACK GUYS!”) for the house cleaning.

Everything breaks down and the Guys stomp away in the corner and Nick gets kicked low, allowing a clothesline out to the floor. Tornado hits a big flip dive to the floor and Matt is down for a bit. Matt manages to shove the Guys into each other and a huge dive drops Tornado inside. Nick hits a top rope flipping Stunner for two on Generico as commentary tries to count knees.

Generico Michinoku Drivers Matt for two and more shots to the face leave everyone down again. Nick and Tornado strike it out until Generico gets low bridged to the floor. More Bang For The Buck hits Tornado for two, with Generico having to make the save. With Generico on the floor, Tornado gets his head kicked off but Generico runs back in with the corner brainbuster on Nick. Matt gets suplexed by Tornado, who dives over to pin Nick at 19:54.

Rating: B+. This is the kind of all action matches that you would expect and that is how it should have gone. Let the Bucks go out there and go nuts while Tornado and Generico get to do the same. It was four guys running around and hitting everything they could, which is what tag wrestling has become in modern times. Very exciting stuff here though, as everyone was getting to work their best style.

Respect is shown post match. Matt says that the Guys are the hottest tag team in the world right now and they beat the Bucks 1-2-3 here. The Bucks are still the champs, but the Guys have earned a title shot, which seems set for next month. After everyone else leaves, Chuck Taylor comes in to lay Generico out, saying he and Kenny Omega deserve the Tag Team Title shot. Taylor issues the challenge to face Generico one on one next month, with the winner getting the shot at the titles.

PWG World Title: Joey Ryan vs. Chris Hero

Hero, with Candice LeRae, is defending and this is Guerrilla Warfare, meaning anything goes. They strike it out with Hero getting the better of things and running Ryan over. A backsplash crushes Ryan and Hero talks trash to him in the corner. Ryan’s comeback is cut off rather quickly but he pulls Hero off the top. Now it’s Ryan hammering away for a change but Hero is out before even a one count.

Back up and Hero hits a Liger Bomb for two before sending him to the floor. A chair is wedged in the corner but Hero is sent into it instead in quite the irony. Hero is busted open as Ryan takes him back inside for some chain shots to the head. They’re right back on the floor with Hero scoring with an elbow to take over.

Back in and Ryan uses a trashcan to block another elbow, allowing him to wrap Hero’s arm around the post. The arm is sent into the corner and Ryan ties it behind Hero’s back for a slam. The tie starts to come loose though, meaning Ryan needs to hit him in the head a few more times. Hero manages a shot of his own, followed by a chair to the head to knock Ryan silly. Ryan is busted open pretty badly as well and Hero slides in a table.

Actually we’ll switch that to having it on the floor, with Hero taking too long to put Ryan on top. Back in and a trashcan shot knocks Hero silly again before Ryan brings in some chairs. They both go up but LeRae shoves Ryan down and hits a top rope double stomp to his back. Hero’s Blockbuster gets two and Ryan’s superkick gets the same. They head up again for a headbutt off until Ryan slams him down onto the chairs for two.

The Hero’s Welcome (Cross Rhodes) gets two more and now it’s Hero’s turn to grab the chain. The chain is wrapped around Ryan’s neck for a piledriver and another near fall, so Hero grabs an STF (with a cravate). Ryan manages to get out and hits a Psycho Driver before knocking LeRae down as well. Hero is fine enough to hit a dropkick through the ropes but misses a dive through the table.

That’s enough for two back inside but the superkick with the chain misses. Hero blasts him with the discus elbow for two more, then ties the chain around Ryan’s neck to hit a second discus elbow. With that and the third elbow getting two each, Hero chokes him out with the chain to retain at 43:20.

Rating: B+. This was long but didn’t feel like it was dragging, which is a heck of a trick for a match this long and violent. They beat each other up for a long time and there were times where I was buying the idea of Ryan getting the title. Hero felt like a monster out there though and it should take a special challenger/performance to beat him. Rather good stuff here and maybe the best thing on a stacked show.

Post match Hero brags about his win until Ryan says he promised to shake Hero’s hand no matter what. Hero brings out the best in him but he doesn’t like how Hero talks to the crowd. The fans aren’t happy with Ryan praising Hero but do applaud the handshake and the hug. Then Hero lays Ryan out to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. The more I watch of PWG, the more I get the appeal. They put on some incredibly entertaining shows, though you are not exactly going to be getting much in the way of storylines. Instead, this is all about one action based match after another and it was a three hour show that flew by. Check this out of you can find it, as it was one of the easiest shows to watch that I’ve seen in a long time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Threemendous
Date: July 16, 2006
Location: Hollywood-Los Feliz JCC, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 350
Commentators: Disco Machine, Excalibur

So someone requested that I do this show…..oh seven or eight years ago now but I’ve finally gotten around to/remembered to do it. It’s back in the earlier days of PWG and I’m not sure if there is some kind of gimmick for the show. PWG has a history of some rather awesome show names and the tradition holds up in their earlier days too. Let’s get to it.

An unnamed man is in the ring and talks about how amazing it is for PWG to have been around for three years. He’s a bit hard to understand but he talks about fixing some problem and promises a special show tonight. Oh and buy concessions.

Disco Machine vs. Excalibur

Before the match, Excalibur talks (of course) talks about seeing some familiar faces around here but there are some people who might not know the history between these two. They have been together for a long time now and there have been questions about who is the better commentator. Excalibur says he can talk at length about absolutely nothing so he proposes a title match tonight: the winner earns the title of Best PWG DVD Commentator.

We get a guest referee who….is not named, which probably has something to do with the massive clipping that PWG releases have to do due to various rights issues. Commentary does let us know that the referee is named Patrick Hernandez. Good to know. Anyway they fight over arm control to start with Excalibur grabbing a top wristlock and flipping over. That’s broken up and it’s a standoff until Disco twists Excalibur’s fingers.

That’s broken up with a hiptoss and Excalibur drops some knees as the two of them talk about the referee allegedly being the inspiration for the Robin Williams movie RV. Disco gets red carded for a headbutt to the chest which lets Excalibur come back with a suplex for two. A catapult sends Excalibur outside for the big dive (which Disco said he didn’t know was coming) and they’re both down on the floor, leaving commentary to go over the company’s history.

Back in and Disco grabs a camel clutch before a suplex gets two. As Disco hits a backbreaker, commentary talks about airline experiences, including the lack of peanuts and package deliveries. Excalibur rakes the eyes to come back and grabs something close to a cobra clutch, setting up a German suplex for two. Disco chokes him to block a heart punch and a chokebreaker finishes Excalibur at 8:30.

Rating: C. I wouldn’t have bet on this having a definitive winner as it would have seemed destined to go to a draw. It wasn’t a match that meant much of anything as it was all about playing into the company’s history, which makes sense on an anniversary show. Excalibur never was much in the ring and he didn’t show me anything else here, but for a fun way to open the show and give the fans something to like, it worked well enough.

Ronin vs. Nemesis

Nemesis grabs a wristlock to start and armdrags him down, meaning it’s time to pose. Back up and Nemesis kicks him into the corner as the fans chant HELLO KITTY at Ronin in an old school callback. I mean, as old school as you can get in a promotion that is three years old. Nemesis sends him outside, teases the pose, and then misses a baseball slide.

Ronin gets in a shot to the ribs and sends him back inside for two off a suplex. Back up and Nemesis grabs a Cradle Shock for two and hammers away in the corner. What looks to be a running monkey flip out of the corner doesn’t go so well and Ronin is back with a swinging brainbuster for two. One heck of a lariat into a Death Valley Driver finishes Nemesis at 7:09.

Rating: C. Another just ok match here with two PWG regulars. The lack of story behind the match made it a bit difficult to get invested in what they were doing though, as they were just doing moves until someone won. Ronin has been on a lot of these PWG shows but has never really done much to get my interest up. Nemesis was just another guy here and while the match was watchable, it kind of came and went.

Top Gun Talwar vs. Colt Cabana

Cabana, who isn’t a very big guy, towers over Talwar. As a bonus, Cabana has two formal photos of some couples. Commentary says Cabana doesn’t know who they are, but that’s the pretty run of the mill for him. Then Talwar offers to fight from his knees….and seems to do a line of cocaine (commentary’s word). Cabana fights from his knees as well and scares Talwar outside, where he circles the ring on his knees.

Back in and they fight over wrist control as commentary talks about stabbing your leg after drunkenly staggering around your apartment. They lock hands and roll around until Talwar finally breaks out, leaving them to sit next to each other on the mat. Now it’s time to lay on each other for some near falls before Talwar’s rollup is countered with a crawl across the ring. Cabana sweeps the legs so Talwar winds up on all fours, where he crawls around with Cabana on his back. Yeah it’s that kind of a match people.

They tease a test of strength but Talwar stops to smell Cabana’s fingers. Now it’s a lockup with Talwar climbing the ropes without breaking contact. Said lockup stays on as they go outside, around the ring and through the entrance curtain. We can hear a bunch of stuff….and then the curtain is pulled back to reveal them having some tea. The referee grabs both of them by the ear and brings them back to the ring, where Cabana picks the ankle. The tease of a low blow is switched into a leg stretch, with Cabana talking until Talwar bites the fingers.

That’s not enough to escape so Cabana rocks them back and forth to make Talwar angrier. Back up and they gently slap it out (Excalibur: “Shades of Moe and Shemp.”) before heading outside again. Talwar is whipped towards the barricade but keeps running, only to trip over the steps. Cabana finds some resistance bands to tie around Talwar’s throat while getting in some exercise, only to have Talwar tie it around Cabana’s wrist.

The tug of war is on until Talwar pulls him in for a clothesline to take over. Back in and Talwar hits a spinning reverse DDT (the Chipolte) for two on Cabana as commentary makes fun of Ike Turner beating Tina Turner. Cabana misses the Flying Apple but counters another Chipolte into an inverted bearhug (meaning Cabana picks him up for a Tombstone and shakes him back and forth) for the win at 12:02.

Rating: C+. This match wasn’t for me and I’m not big on the comedy stuff, but they also didn’t do anything so stupid that it was ridiculous. Cabana doing his comedy stuff is his bread and butter and Talwar is one of those wacky guys who can make something like this work well enough. Not something I’d ever want to see again, but it could have been FAR worse.

Post match Cabana leaves and World Champion Joey Ryan runs in to beat up Talwar. A piledriver on the chair leaves Talwar laid out and Ryan brags about being the best PWG Champion of all time. The fans don’t like it, so Ryan piledrives Talwar on the chair again. Ryan wants Excalibur out here so here he is, just after Ryan hits a third piledriver on the chair. Good beatdown, but those sideburns make Ryan look like a joke rather than a serious guy.

Davey Richards/Kevin Steen/Human Tornado vs. Dynasty

Richards and company have Candice LeRae with them and the Dynasty is Chris Bosh/Scott Lost/Scorpio Sky, with Jade Chung. It’s a big brawl before (I think?) the bell and it all heads outside until the Dynasty is left laying. Back in and Davey kicks at Lost but the tiger driver 98 is blocked. Sky comes in to dance a bit so Richards shoulders him down as well. Tornado and Steen clear the ring with the Dynasty needing a breather on the floor.

After teasing leaving, the Dynasty comes back and slows it down a bit until we get to Tornado vs. Lost. A crossbody puts Lost down and his attempt at a low blow fails (that’s difficult to do). It’s off to Richards to strike away as commentary discusses why a low blow didn’t affect Tornado (I’ll let you figure that one out). Tornado comes back in for a dancing low blow on Scott and Bosh’s attempt at a low blow just hurts his hand. A leg trip takes Tornado down though and it’s Sky getting to stomp away in the corner.

Bosh and Steen (on the apron) exchange nipple twists before Tornado is sent face first into Sky’s rock hard abs. They certainly have some unique spots around here. Figure out if that is a good thing on your own. Sky heads outside where he gets beaten up by Steen and Richards, who have to be pulled off. Back in and Tornado gets elbowed in the face and Lost grabs a chinlock. Tornado fights up and this a neckbreaker, allowing the hot tag to Steen to pick up the pace. Richards comes in with a missile dropkick and it’s a German suplex for two on Lost.

Bosh and Steen slug it out but it’s right back to Sky to leg lariat Richards. With everyone else on the floor, Tornado hits a HUGE flip dive to wipe out the pile. Back in and Richards rolls Lost up for two but Sky takes Richards down with a jumping cutter. Bosh’s clothesline into a backbreaker gets two on Tornado and there’s a Stunner to Steen. That doesn’t work for Steen, who is back with a Rock Bottom to Bosh. Richards gives Sky a gutbuster and Lost has to break up a stretch muffler. Steen hits a great looking moonsault for two on Bosh but Sky clears them out and knocks Tornado silly with an implant DDT for the pin at 20:05.

Rating: B. Now this felt more like a PWG match as you had six guys in there starting off with a regular tag before going into the wild fight that it needed to be. The Dynasty looked like a team but since commentary isn’t about to offer any kind of insight into what is going on, they were just people who had somewhat matching gear. The other three were people who happened to be teaming together, as backstory or drawing people in isn’t exactly PWG’s strong suit.

Post match Steen grabs the mic and yells something at Richards that is kind of hard to understand but it doesn’t seem to go well. Richards grabs the mic and rants about a variety of things, including slipping in a gay slur. He seems ready for the Battle Of Los Angeles and is ready to take someone out. Steen appears to apologize to Tornado and they hug it out. I think that was a heel promo? Maybe?

Roderick Strong vs. TJ Perkins

Perkins is only 21 here and looks even younger than that. They start slowly with Strong tying him up, only to get pulled down into a cross arm choke. That’s reversed into the same thing from Strong. With that broken up, Perkins needs to tie his boot and Strong is nice enough to let him. Perkins wins a battle over wrist control but gets flipped over into an armbar. That’s reversed into a hammerlock from Perkins as the technical start continues.

Perkins fights out again and it’s another standoff, this time with Strong bailing to the floor for a seat in the first row. Back in and Perkins goes right back to the arm as commentary explains why it might not be great business for Strong to be a heel. Strong fights up and tries a kick to the ribs, which Perkins stops and spins around to drop Strong again. The front facelock goes on and is switched into a cravate as Strong can’t get anything going here.

The chop off goes a bit better for Strong, who manages to hit his first backbreaker. We hit the full nelson with Strong’s legs, followed by a less painful looking (for both of them) camel clutch. A torture rack backbreaker drops Perkins again but Strong pauses to yell at the fans. Strong hits a suplex for two and then slams him on the apron to make it worse. Back in and Strong ties their legs together and pulls on the arm for a rather nasty looking hold.

Perkins gets out and avoids a charge in the corner, setting up a high crossbody for two. Strong is back with an enziguri into a Falcon Arrow for two more but Perkins pulls him into a cross armbreaker. With that broken up, Strong hits the fireman’s carry gutbuster into the Sick Kick into the tiger driver for….two, in quite the kickout. Not that it matters as the Strong Hold makes Perkins tap at 18:56.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match that would fit in PWG or Ring Of Honor as they kept it straight and went with one move after another until Strong, the bigger star, got the win. That is all you needed to do here and it was the lengthy match that didn’t feel boring or long despite getting a lot of time. Good stuff here as both guys are always worth at least a look.

Kings Of Wrestling vs. Cape Fear

That would be Claudio Castagnoli/Chris Hero vs. El Generico/Quicksilver. This is announced as impromptu, but there is no story given for why it was thrown together. Hero and Generico start things off with the fans WAY behind the Kings. Generico works on the arm but Hero cravates him down and it’s off to Quicksilver vs. Castagnoli. Some leg cranking has Quicksilver in even more trouble but he’s back up with a hurricanrana for two.

Hero comes back in and has to counter a monkey flip so it’s right back to Castagnoli to clothesline Generico. This time it’s Generico grabbing a hurricanrana of his own and Castagnoli is frustrated. Hero comes in without a tag and the Kings chop each other by mistake. Generico sends them outside for some dives as Castagnoli is busted open bad (via a gash from the previous night).

Back in and Hero makes a blind (but not deaf) tag to take Generico down. Hero chops him in the throat and Castagnoli adds an uppercut for two. A gorilla (appropriate) press drop onto the turnbuckle has Generico in more trouble and Hero comes in for a dropkick for two. Generico finally manages to armdrag Castagnoli into Hero and a flip over allows the hot tag to Quicksilver.

A middle rope spin into a Black Widow has Hero in big trouble as Generico hits a heck of a dive onto Castagnoli on the floor. Hero falls over to the ropes and suplexes Quicksilver down hard for the break. It’s back to Generico, whose corner run tornado DDT is countered into an uppercut from Castagnoli for two more.

Hero ducks the Yakuza Kick and hits Generico with one of his own but back to back dropkicks take him down. Castagnoli gets taken down by a hurricanrana on the floor and a brainbuster gives Generico two on Hero. That’s too far for Castagnoli, who LAUNCHES Quicksilver into some chairs at ringside. Back in and Hero flips Generico into a powerbomb from Castagnoli (cool) for the pin at 20:48.

Rating: B. This got going near the end but there were some long stretches of dull to get there. Generico is someone who can work well with anyone but the Kings were much better as a team. Good match here and it ate up a lot of time, though it never reached that point of being a classic or into a higher gear.

PWG World Title: B-Boy vs. Joey Ryan

Ryan is defending in a Battledome, meaning a TLC match inside a cage (though you win via pinfall/submission). The weapons are already in the cage and Ryan goes for the climb at the bell, only to have B-Boy throw a chair at the wall to cut him off. Ryan’s elbows are broken up and cut off with a single elbow to the face, followed by a heck of a kick to the chest.

There’s a clothesline to drop Ryan again and Excalibur gets in a jab at Konnan for some reason. Ryan gets blasted with a chair to the head and the blood is flowing early. The blood works well for B-Boy, who sends Ryan face first into the cage. Back up and Ryan sends him into the cage for a change (and his first major offense) to bust B-Boy open as well.

Ryan snapmares him down, sits in a chair, and grabs the chinlock to slow things down a bit. With that broken up like a drop toehold should be, Ryan drop toeholds him into the chair to make the bleeding even worse. A chair to the face lets Ryan grab a ladder, which is slammed back with a chair. Some ladder shots to the face have Ryan in more trouble and another shot takes out a cameraman.

The chairs are piled up for a Death Valley Driver to give B-Boy two more but the referee gets bumped. Therefore, Ryan tapping to B-Boy’s Crossface means nothing, allowing Ryan to come back with a spinebuster onto a chair for two. The table is set up near the corner and a superbomb through it gives Ryan two of his own. Ryan slaps the referee for the slow count so they slug it out (just go with it) until Ryan sends him into the cage over and over.

A Go To Sleep connects but there is no referee again. A second referee slides in to count two before checking on the bloody original referee. Ryan and B-Boy fight to the floor (escape doesn’t matter in this match) with B-Boy getting the better of things by throwing Ryan into the chairs. A cheap shot slows B-Boy down but he gets in a low blow. A double stomp onto some chairs keep Ryan in trouble as they have been on the floor for a good while now.

Ryan is back with a low blow and they climb the side of the cage until Ryan elbows him down through the table at ringside. Back in and B-Boy fights back and puts Ryan on a ladder, setting up a top rope cutter for the double knockdown. A VERY delayed cover gets two so B-Boy puts Ryan’s head through the ladder rungs. With a chair over Ryan’s head, B-Boy goes to the top of the ladder and double stomps down onto the chair.

Since Ryan is done, Scott Lost runs in to beat down B-Boy, including a Vertebreaker onto the pile of chairs. B-Boy is up at two so here is Human Tornado to take out Lost. Scorpio Sky and Chris Bosh run in to beat on Tornado so Kevin Steen, Davey Richards and Excalibur run in to clear some of them out. Everyone fights at ringside and Tornado sets up a table in the ring.

Tornado goes up top but flip dives onto the pile at ringside instead of moonsaulting onto Ryan through the table. B-Boy goes up top for a Superfly Splash through Ryan through the table for two (with the fans popping BIG for the near fall). With both of them down, Jade Chung comes in but Candice LeRae is right there to take her out. Ryan sends LeRae into the cage so B-Boy hits him with a chair. Chung makes the save this time so B-Boy gives her a GTS. That’s enough for Ryan to pour something on a cloth to smother B-Boy and knock him out to retain the title at 34:47.

Rating: C-. I don’t often get to say this, but you could have easily cut half of this off and had a better match. This was A LOT of filler, plus all of the insanity at the end. It doesn’t help that Ryan isn’t very good in the ring and seems to be more about reputation than anything else. The brawling was good but I was checked out about halfway through and just wanting this to end. B-Boy was ok here but he didn’t exactly feel like a top star. Good enough match, though its flaws are really bad.

We’re off the air with the ring announcer only getting to AND STILL.

Overall Rating: B-. This show hit a nice stretch near the middle but the main event didn’t work and the first few matches weren’t exactly great. Maybe this is just too early in its history, but the show didn’t have me wanting to race out to see more PWG. While it certainly isn’t a bad show, there is almost nothing on here that blew me away. Maybe jumping ahead a bit will help, but this was closer to mediocre than good.

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Zombies Shouldn’t Run
Date: August 6, 2005
Location: Hollywood Los Feliz JCC, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 300
Commentators: Disco Machine, Excalibur

It’s back to PWG as I continue my efforts to go through my pile of downloaded shows. This is a show from a rather long time ago but you are probably going to know a lot of the people on this show. That can make these shows that much more fun as I have no idea what to expect here. Let’s get to it.

Keep in mind that I know very little about the promotion so I’m sorry for missing any plot or character details.

Note that the DVD release has commentary but this is a digital download and unless I’m missing something really obvious, the commentary track is not available here.

We open with Hardkore Kidd (better known as Carlito’s enforcer Jesus in 2004) and his manager El Jefe in the ring for a chat. Kidd is glad to be back after a year away and welcomes us to Pro Wrestling Orangutan. Kidd reminds us that he is his hero, which it even says on his business card. He wants to face anyone tonight, even a tag team. Jefe tries to count it down in Spanish but can’t quite make that work. We’re clipped to someone answering his challenge and the match starting, possibly because of a music issue.

TJ Perkins vs. Hardkore Kidd

El Jefe is here with Kidd and Perkins hits a missile dropkick to start fast as we get the opening bell. A hurricanrana gets Perkins out of a powerbomb and he lays in the ropes, as is his custom. There’s the big suicide dive to the floor as Perkins already has a bloody nose. Back in and Perkins hits a top rope hurricanrana but gets caught with a gutbuster to put him in trouble. A Jeff Hardy double legdrop gives Kidd two and a top rope headbutt low blow has Perkins hurt in a different way.

The fans inquire about their pizza as this is suddenly an FBI match in ECW. Perkins is back up to put him in the Tree of Woe for a running basement dropkick. Kidd pounds him right back into the ropes, where Jefe gets in some choking like a good boss. There’s a side slam for two on Perkins but he kicks Jefe down and hits an inverted Swanton for two of his own. A rather complicated leglock has Kidd in trouble, only to have him reverse into a double arm crank.

With that let go, Kidd hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker as he seems to focus on the back more than anything else. Perkins gets out and sends him to the floor for a baseball slide into the chairs but Kidd is right back up. A Jefe cheap shot gives Kidd two back inside and it’s time to slap/chop it out. Kidd misses a charge into the corner and Perkins hits a heck of a springboard tornado DDT. A top rope hurricanrana is countered into a sitout powerbomb to give Kidd two but another slingshot headbutt it cut off by Perkins’ raised boots. Perkins adds a 450 for the pin at 10:46.

Rating: C. This was a rather indy match as it felt like one guy can do a move and then the other would shrug it off and do one of his own. That doesn’t make for the best match but they did get somewhere with Kidd working over the back most of the time. Perkins would get a lot better, though you could still feel a lot of the inexperience and indy style on him here.

Rocky Romero vs. Davey Richards

We get Big Match Intros and Romero is incorrectly identified as Ricky Reyes (another wrestler). You know that gets a YOU F***** UP chant, followed by a RICKY chant. Neither can hit a big kick to the head to start so they trade arm control instead. Romero gets the better of it but gets reversed into a cravate, which feels rather appropriate for a show like this.

We hit the test of strength, with Richards taking him down and the fans shouting MERCY. The grappling continues with Richards getting the better of things off of some headbutts. That doesn’t do much to Romero, who is right back with an anklescissors to slow Richards down a bit. Richards breaks that up and ties their legs together, setting up a rip at the face. Back up and they get a bit more serious (yes in a Davey Richards match), with Romero taking him down and kicking him between the shoulders.

The surfboard goes on for a bit, only to have Richards come back with a snap suplex. Richards grabs the chinlock but since that’s a bit boring, it’s another kick for another two. Another chinlock, this time with a knee in Romero’s back, doesn’t last long either as Romero is up and kicking away again. They do the big serious strike off with Romero getting the better of things but collapsing as well.

Romero hits running double knees off the apron to drop him again, setting up the slap off back inside. Something like an Octopus hold has Richards in trouble but he grabs the rope without much effort. That earns him a running kick to the chest and they’re both down again. Richards’ cross armbreaker sends Romero over to the ropes and it’s another double breather. A quick rollup gives Romero two and a hurricanrana is good for the same.

Richards is back with a tiger suplex for two more and, say it with me, they’re down again. Romero gets snapped down into a Fujiwara armbar but rolls his way to freedom. That’s fine with Richards so he’s right back with the Fujiwara, sending Romero straight back to the ropes. Back up and Romero grabs a guillotine choke, which is countered with kind of a suplex. The guillotine goes on again and Richards is count at 18:39.

Rating: B. It was definitely a match with the two of them working each other over until one of them was done, though they took their time getting there. At the same time, it felt like they were draining each others’ energy bars, which tends to be the case in a match like this. The good thing is that they did pull me into the struggle and that is the point of something like this. Hard hitting match, but very much the indy style if that makes sense.

Here are Excalibur, Ronin and Disco Machine for a chat. They are here because they are starts and want Kevin Steen to win the PWG World Title tonight. Steen is so focused on his match that it is time to bring in some extra help, which is apparently Ronin (or Hello Kitty according to the fans). On top of that, their scheduled opponents, Los Luchas, aren’t here tonight so cue So Cal Val to introduce their new opponents.

Ronin/Excalibur/Disco Machine vs. Gunning For Exciting Hookers

That would be Gunning For Hookers (Top Gun Talwar/Hook Bomberry) and Mr. Excitement. Before the match, Talwar takes off his thong (over his singlet) and throws it to the crowd. Talwar beats Hook in a game of Rock Paper Scissors to earn the right to start and seems to make various sexual gestures. For some reason Hook starts with Ronin instead, showing that Rock Paper Scissors is worthless around here (bunch of crazy people).

Hook takes Ronin into the corner and then takes him down as this is one sided so far. Back up and Ronin drives him into the corner for a heck of a chop, only to charge into some raised boots. That’s enough for Ronin to bail to the corner and it’s off to Talwar vs. Disco. The test of strength is teased but Disco seems worried about the Dangah Zone (as it says on Talwar’s singlet). The test doesn’t last long as Disco’s head winds up on Talwar’s chest, which shoves him away.

An exchange of headlocks doesn’t go anywhere so Disco takes him down into a rollup for two. Excalibur and Excitement come in for the third singles section of the match and they start with the forearm off. A spear down sets up some right hands to keep Excitement down so Talwar dives in for the save. Excalibur is sent outside and into a wall but is sine enough to send Excitement into it as well.

Something like a World’s Strongest Slam on the floor plants Excitement as Ronin beats up Talwar inside. Disco comes in for his gyrations (like a guy named Disco isn’t going to gyrate) before it’s back to Ronin for two off a snap suplex. We hit the reverse chinlock for a bit before Disco can come in for a kneeling cover. Ronin (draped in the HELLO KITTY chants) elbow Talwar but Hook comes in (sans tag) with a missile dropkick to put Ronin down.

The hot tag brings in Hook, who comes in with Excitement to start cleaning house. Everything breaks down until Hook starts hammering on Disco. Excalibur comes back in to German suplex Hook so it’s Excitement coming in to throw some (exciting) suplexes of his own. Excitement and Ronin slug it out with the latter getting the better of things, meaning Talwar has to make another save. Talwar powerbombs Ronin (prompting an exchange of swears) for two more before Disco chokebreakers Talwar for the pin at 16:41.

Rating: C. This was more long than it was good and that is not the best way to go. You can only get so much out of six people doing pretty basic stuff to each other until the ending and that was the case here. There were a few good enough moments, but I never got into it as Excalibur and Ronin (along with Hook) are just people with names and nothing but their clothes to make them stand out.

Post match Excalibur says Ronin proved himself and might be able to join the team. Excalibur is so impressed that he will NEVER call him Hello Kitty again.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Joey Ryan

Ryan looks rather young and is billed as the Technical Wizard. On the other hand, Castagnoli is still a rich guy with hair and sideburns. Castagnoli takes him down without much trouble and grabs a headlock but Ryan switches into a wristlock. They fight over control of said wristlock before trading cravates with Castagnoli getting the better of things. Some rolling arm cranking has Ryan in trouble and Castagnoli spins around to work on the arm even more.

A rather delayed suplex (the fans eventually stop counting) drops Ryan again as this is one sided so far. Ryan finally gets in a shot of his own and chokes on the rope, setting up a suplex for two. More choking on the rope ensues and Ryan hits a neckbreaker onto the knee. A dropkick mostly connects to give Ryan two but a tornado DDT is countered into a pop up uppercut. The slugout goes to Castagnoli and he sends Ryan outside, setting up a running uppercut.

Back in and a top rope uppercut gives Castagnoli two but the Riccola Bomb is countered into a crossface chickenwing. Some rolling German suplexes into a fisherman’s suplex gives Ryan two and he’s a bit stunned at the kickout. Castagnoli is back with something like a reverse TKO but gets caught on top, with Ryan hitting a super swinging neckbreaker for two. Back up and some big uppercuts put Ryan on the floor, with Castagnoli shoving the referee away like a schnook. Ryan throws the powder in his eyes and it’s the crossface chickenwing for the tag at 14:16.

Rating: C+. The match was ok, but at the end of the day, Ryan just isn’t very good in the ring. I know the technical wizard thing seemed to be more of an evil joke but this was just another Ryan match: he can do the basics well enough, but there is nothing to him that makes me want to see anything he does. Castagnoli is very good as usual, though he didn’t have much to work with here.

Christopher Daniels vs. Chris Hero

Daniels is TNA X-Division Champion but this is non-title. Before the match, Daniels says he has just about had it with this company, because they are taking him for granted. Why isn’t HE getting a Heavyweight Title shot? Every month he comes into this oven that pretends to be an arena and face people like El Generico. Who is next? Davey Richards? Hook Bomberry? Daniels even remembers beating Hero before, so why are we doing this again?

Actually, what has anyone done to deserve a title shot? The free shots end right now, meaning this title isn’t on the line until someone shows they are worthy of his title. Hero grabs the mic and says excuse me Mr. Overpronounciation. He’s fine with proving himself here in a non-title match, as long as he gets a title shot once he wins here. Hero brags about his 93 minute match and promises to win here before winning the title next time.

We finally get to the bell and the fans seem rather split to start. Daniels hits the stall button and goes to stretch in the corner, as the fans aren’t as pleased with him as they just were. Daniels: “ARE YOU AGAINST STRETCHING??? Do you want me to pull a hamstring???” Hero stretches and the referee asks him if he’s ready. Hero: “What would you do if I said no?” An early (as in two minutes in) armdrag takes Daniels down, with a fan telling Hero to watch the hair.

More armdrags have Daniels frustrated and it’s time for another standoff. Three more armdrags send Daniels bailing out to the floor as they’re doing a nice job of building so far. Back in and Hero cravates him down into a wristlock, sending Daniels over to the ropes. A hair pull gets Daniels out of another wristlock so Hero tops it with a top wristlock instead. Again that means a shout of a hair pull from Daniels, which actually has the referee admonishing Hero.

This time it’s Daniels trying an armdrag but getting countered into a cravate instead. Some cradles give Hero two each and we’re right back to the armbar. Hero tosses him over the top and out to the floor in a big crash, setting up a slightly bigger dive. Back in and Hero changes things up a bit with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, only to get neckbreakered across the top to put Daniels in control for the first time.

A basement dropkick gives Daniels two and an elbow to the face gets one, making me wonder how absorbing punishment works around here. Back up and Hero hits a quick dropkick, only to get taken down by a neckbreaker. Frustration is starting to set in so Daniels grabs a chinlock to blow some off. With that not working, Daniels grabs a Crossface, again sending hero over to the ropes.

Speaking of the ropes, Daniels puts him on top, only to get shoved down. Hero nails the top rope dropkick and they’re both down for a needed breather. The comeback is on with Hero striking away and snapping off a powerslam for two. Daniels is right back up with a Death Valley Driver but Hero gets his foot on the rope….which Daniels shoves away so the referee counts the pin at 18:56.

Rating: B. I wasn’t wild on the ending, but it does open up the door for a rematch while keeping Hero looking strong. This took its time and was telling a story of Daniels trying to break Hero down but not being able to finish him while Hero took his time and kept amping up his offense throughout. I dug this one and you can see what people liked about Hero so much here.

Super Dragon vs. Quicksilver

Dragon takes him down and starts working on the leg, which is broken up rather quickly. That’s fine with Dragon, who takes it to the mat to pull on the neck and leg at the same time. They go to the exchange of front facelocks until Dragon gets back to the leg. Quicksilver’s arm crank is countered into Dragon kicking him in the head as this is pretty one sided so far. A headlock takeover drops Quicksilver again, giving them a not exactly well earned round of applause.

Quicksilver gets a headscissors as this is a rather slow technical off to start. Back up and Dragon is sent to the floor for a huge dive, leaving fans wondering if the two of them would like Cheetos. They get back inside (Dragon and Quicksilver, not the fans) with Quicksilver knocking Dragon down for two and then seeming to slowly kick dirt on him.

Something like a Phenomenal Forearm is slapped out of the air and Dragon strikes away in the corner. Quicksilver is sent outside for a beating from Dragon, including a rather hard posting. Back in and a figure four necklock keeps Quicksilver in trouble but he manages to lose a slugout. Dragon starts cranking on the leg before switching to a full nelson with the legs. After cranking away, Dragon sends him outside again, only to follow him with a headlock instead of a dive.

Back in and Dragon stands on Quicksilver’s crotch in the Tree of Woe, followed by a not so great Figure Four. A grab of the rope breaks that up and Quicksilver gets in a shot of his own for the double knockdown (they like those around here), setting up a falling forward cutter for two on Dragon. The springboard clothesline gets the same as the comeback is at full speed. Quicksilver puts Dragon on top but gets shoved down, setting up a heck of a top rope backsplash for two.

A tiger suplex gets the same and it’s another double knockdown. This time it’s Quicksilver sending him into the middle buckle and a headscissors driver out of the corner (that looked nasty) for a rather near fall as this keeps going. With nothing else working, Quicksilver takes him to the apron for a top rope sunset bomb out to the floor, leaving them both down again.

Dragon is out so Quicksilver slaps him a few times and takes it back inside…for two. They fight up top with Quicksilver grabbing a Black Widow up there, which is reversed into a heck of a super backbreaker for another near fall as this is getting a good bit ridiculous. A Razor’s Edge flipped down into a piledriver is finally enough to finish Quicksilver at 24:41.

Rating: B-. I really, really could have gone for the commentary here as it felt like a match with a big story behind it. This felt like two people who hated each other getting their chance to beat the fire out of each other. It only worked to a certain degree as the match went too long and the kickouts were pretty ridiculous by the end. I got the emotion, but the details (which were probably recorded on a track I can’t get) would have helped it a lot.

Here is So Cal Val, apparently the commissioner, who says we need a co-commissioner around here to deal with Joey Ryan. This brings out Dino Winwood (a large man in a white coat whose name I had to find elsewhere as his entrance, and name, are cut off), but here is Ryan to lay him out. The piledriver is broken up though and Winwood hits a Death Valley Driver. Winwood promises to not be your normal commissioner and poses with Val.

Tag Team Titles: Arrogance vs. Two Skinny Black Guys

That would be Chris Bosh/Scott Lost vs. El Generico/Human Tornado and the titles are vacant coming in. Before the match, Arrogance seems to hold a raffle for some boots, won by a rather large fan. With that out of the way, Bosh explains that Lost lost the Tag Team Titles last month because a certain woman wore him out. Tornado and Generico are given the chance to walk away now but then get jumped to start fast.

Stereo dropkicks put Arrogance on the floor, allowing Generico to tease a dive before landing back inside. We officially start with Generico armdragging Lost a few times, with the third going into an armbar. Tornado comes in for a hurricanrana into the corner and an enziguri connects for two. It’s already back to Generico, who gets to chop Bosh for a change. The diez punches in the corner look to set up the Helluva Kick but Bosh gets a fist up for a well placed low blow.

A dancing fist drop lets Lost come back in and grab a chinlock, followed by Bosh grabbing one of his own. Generico punches back up but Lost trips him from the floor before that can get anywhere. In case that wasn’t enough, Bosh whips Generico through the chairs and rams his head into the wall over and over. Then he breaks the count and does it again for a bonus. Back in and Lost misses a heck of a charge into the post, allowing Bosh to miss a charge so Tornado can get the hot tag.

A bigger than expected Pounce drops Lost and Generico adds a moonsault as Lost is caught in the ropes. There’s the big dive to take Bosh down again and Tornado adds a heck of a dive of his own. Back up and Generico gets posted, leaving Tornado to hit a reverse DDT onto the knee to drop Bosh. Tornado dives into a backbreaker though and Lost comes off the top…with an umbrella for an elbow drop.

Lost grabs a double Sharpshooter of all things, which is kicked away due to reasons of that can’t last long. Generico and Bosh go up, with Generico backflipping out of a superbomb and hitting the Helluva Kick. Lost blocks the tornado DDT though and it’s a northern lights suplex into a backbreaker for two more, with Tornado making the save this time. One heck of an implant DDT drops Lost but Bosh makes another save. Generico suplexes Bosh into a sitout powerbomb and everyone is down again. Back up and Tornado suplexes Lost, setting up the brainbuster to give Generico the pin and the titles at 16:47.

Rating: B. This did a better job of building things up, though the ending could have been better. What mattered here was having Generico and Tornado hang in there against the more established team and come away with the titles anyway, which told a nice story. It’s no classic, but Generico and Tornado should make for some fun champions.

PWG World Title: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Steen

Styles is defending and Steen is better known as Kevin Owens. Steen wastes no time in hammering away to start and the trash talk is on in a hurry. Some slow kicks take too long though and Styles knocks him to the floor for the big dive. Styles forearms away on the floor, setting up the drop down into the dropkick back inside. Steen has to fight out of a chinlock, meaning Styles reverses it into a headlock for a change.

A Muta Lock makes it even worse for Steen before it’s off to a regular leglock. Back up and Steen cuts him off in the corner, setting up a quick choke on the ropes. Steen hammers on the back in a variety of ways before getting back to the choking. A neckbreaker gets two but Styles nips up into a hurricanrana. That just means a drop toehold from Steen, setting up the running flip legdrop.

The fans get into a MR. WRESTLING (Steen’s nickname)/IS OVERRATED dueling chant as Steen chokes in the corner again. Styles manages a springboard moonsault into the reverse DDT and it’s time to chop it out on the floor. Back in and a belly to back suplex gets two on Steen, who is right back with something like a Samoan drop.

This time it’s Styles grabbing a neckbreaker for two more before going up top, but Steen pulls the referee onto him to bock a 450. Steen is back with a fireman’s carry gutbuster into a moonsault for two but Styles Peles him on top. The Styles Clash is loaded up, only to have Steen reverse into a cradle with a grab of the rope for the pin and the title at 19:00.

Rating: B. Another good one here, though the ending felt a bit rushed this time. The good thing is Styles could get a solid match out of anyone, with Steen being more than capable of doing the same. The title change felt big, as Steen cheating to get the title is the right way to go for him. Styles is on to bigger and better things in TNA so letting Steen get the nice rub here is as good of a way as you can go. Nice main event, though I don’t know if it was bigger than the rest of the card, which isn’t a good feeling.

The show ends less than ten seconds after the bell.

Overall Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but the solid action in the bigger matches was more than enough to carry things. You can tell that the promotion is still at the point where it is getting hot and there are already things going on to make it feel important. It’s definitely giving off more of a fun vibe and while commentary would have helped, I got enough of the idea to have some fun here. Good show, and I’m glad I have a large stack of the DVDs/downloads to go through.

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WrestleReunion VI
Date: January 28, 2012
Location: The Westin Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 900
Commentators: Excalibur, Marty DeRosa

I’m not completely sure on the name of this show as I’ve seen it as both WrestleReunion VI and Pro Wrestling Superstars: Los Angeles but I’ll take the one with Roman numerals. As you can probably guess, it’s a big time indy reunion show featuring a bunch of wrestlers from years past, which can make for some interesting matchups but often some lackluster performances. Let’s get to it.

Here are Mick Foley and Mike Tyson to open things up so there is certainly some star power. Foley talks about his history with Tyson and mentions being a guest referee tonight. Now usually he promises to call a match right down the line and tonight he’s refereeing the New Age Outlaws vs. the Steiner Brothers. This time though Foley needs our help “because Rick Steiner has never liked me and Scotty is out of his f****** mind.” I’ve been watching Mick Foley for about thirty years and I don’t think I can remember three times I’ve heard him use an F bomb. I mean he’s right, but it’s rare.

Usually he’s going to get physically involved, but tonight he isn’t crazy enough to do that. This time though, he has Mike Tyson watching his back so he’s safe to head to St. Louis for the Royal Rumble (that gets a heck of a pop). Tyson takes the mic and talks about various wrestlers he likes, including Billy Graham and Sid Vicious. I really can’t make out most of what he’s saying, but that’s Tyson for you.

We get our first commentary and…..well actually Excalibur is quite good at this kind of show so it should be fine.

Arik Royal vs. Adam Page

This is one of the things I love about watching old shows because Page is 21 years old here and absolutely nothing. Excalibur tells DeRosa to calm down a bit and save some energy, which makes me chuckle for reasons of the future. The bigger Royal goes after the arm to start as commentary actually talks about something interesting, with a discussion of the pressure of having to follow Foley and Tyson.

Royal hits a headscissors into an armdrag but misses the backsplash, allowing Page to miss a standing shooting star. We get a standoff for a bit until Royal nails a spinwheel kick. Royal goes up but dives into a dropkick to the floor. Page tries a running shooting star off the apron and hits Royal’s chest with his head for a nearly terrifying landing. Page takes his necklace back and goes inside…..but we’ve got VADER. I think we’ll call this a no contest at about 4:00 as this is going to be a massacre.

Rating: C-. The ratings are going to be a little bit lighter this time around as this is a one off legends show and not about the match quality. I’ve seen Royal before and he did fine in both matches so he seems to have a little something going for him. Then there’s Page, who would go on to become a huge star on national television. That’s one of the things I love about watching a show like this: seeing someone who is nothing here but would go on to bigger things. Not much of a match of course, but VADER, so we’re fine.

Royal jumps Page post match….and then decides to go after Vader. Well maybe that’s why Page became a bigger star. Vader runs him over so Page tries to come in for a German suplex. Excalibur: “ARE YOU ANTONIO INOKI PAGE???” Destruction ensues but Royal gets up to help double team Vader in the corner.

A double suplex isn’t happening though and Vader mauls Royal again. Royal manages to trap Vader’s arms so Page can go up….but then Vader breaks free and hits Royal in the head. Page gets caught on top and it’s there’s a Vader Bomb. Royal gets chokeslammed and Page gets powerbombed as the Vader stuff went on a good bit longer than the match itself.

New Age Outlaws vs. Steiner Brothers

The only meeting ever here, with Mick Foley (“The hardcore legend and friend of Mike Tyson!”) as guest referee. Road Dogg does his usual stuff and hands it off to Billy Gunn to take it home. Gunn: “IF YA SMELL……” Hang on because that’s not right. Gunn knows he screwed up so let’s try it again. Gunn: “AND THAT’S THE BOTTOM….” No again, but he gets it right on the third time. You can tell he’s serious here too because he’s in the Kip James trunks. Then we get very serious because Scott Steiner grabs the mic and drops his first homophobic slur of the night.

We get a few F bombs to the fans and it’s time to go. Actually hang on because Foley realizes that he’s in over his head here and says he’ll be cowering in the corner. Billy and Scott finally get things going with Scott unloading in the corner. Well at least hitting some slow knees to the ribs. Billy fights out of the corner by punching Scott in the face and it’s off to Dogg. Rick comes in with a double clothesline though and we get the old Steiner Brothers pose.

The Outlaws bail to the floor (Wouldn’t you?) until we settle down to Rick biting Dogg’s pants in the corner. That’s enough to send Dogg outside to ring the bell because he isn’t standing for Rick’s tongue going…..uh, somewhere. Dogg: “I’m not saying we can’t have a drink later and talk about it, but in here, I’m not standing for it!” Ring announcer: “Ladies and gentlemen, referee Mick Foley has just informed me that he is authorizing tongue in the a** for this match!”

We settle back to Rick backing Billy into the corner, with Gunn’s trunks coming down a good bit in the process. Gunn gets in a right hand but misses a charge in the corner, allowing Rick to bite him right in the middle of the back of the trunks. That sends Gunn over to grab Dogg around the waist, giving us the expected reaction. It’s off to Dogg, who wants Scott for no logical reason. He has to stay with Rick, who he drives into the Steiner corner so Scott can come in for some shots to the ribs. Well he got what he wanted.

Dogg’s bouncing punches manage to put Scott down for two, with the fans saying YOU STILL GOT IT. I’ll let you figure out which one they’re talking about. Scott is back with a spinning belly to belly suplex and Rick gets in some choking from the apron. Foley: “MIKE TYSON FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHERE ARE YOU???” Scott suplexes Dogg and goes into the pushups, earning a cheer despite not being so nice earlier in the night.

Rick slaps on the crossface of all things as Marty gets his Mike Tyson history wrong (by saying that Mike Tyson called Steve Austin “Cold Stone” on Raw when it was at the Royal Rumble). Dogg fights up and gets the hot tag off to Gunn for some house cleaning. The belly to belly cuts that off and it’s time for Scott to get in Foley’s face. That means Mr. Socko…..who goes flying after a single Scott glare. The distraction lets Gunn hit the Fameasser for a pretty fast three at 11:32.

Rating: C. All things considered, this was not half bad whatsoever. They were actually working a bit and while of course it wasn’t great (they’re old and mainly retired), they did some goofy stuff to bridge the gap. The Foley being scared stuff helped a lot and I liked it well enough. For a one off dream match, I’ve seen far, far worse.

Post match Rick finds Socko and has some Alex flashbacks (look it up).

Colt Cabana vs. Fit Finlay

Under World Of Sport (British) rules and a fan who won an auction gets to handle the introductions. There are three five minute rounds and you can win by pin, submission or knockout. There are no closed fists allowed either, which probably won’t make that much of a difference but it’s certainly a rule. Another fan gets to be Cabana’s corner man but Cabana says we’re about two minutes away. The referee goes over the rules, with Cabana asking if a kick low is legal (Cabana: “WHAT ABOUT A KICK TO THE D***?”).

We get the bell to start the first round, as commentary still hasn’t actually explained the rules here. Finlay grabs Cabana’s leg so Cabana bails into the corner in a hurry as commentary explains the idea of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. A shot to the face rocks Cabana again and the corner man has to check on his face.

That seems to be ok so Finlay takes him down into a toehold. Finlay grabs a nerve hold and ribs at Cabana’s face because he’s kind of an awesome villain. Back up and Finlay starts in on the arm, with commentary almost calling Finlay a grizzled young veteran (like that would ever work for a UK wrestler). Cabana finally comes back with a headlock takeover and one fan calls it boring. Round one ends but Cabana doesn’t want to let go of the headlock that he worked so hard to get in the first place.

After the corner man gives Cabana some water and towels him down, we’re ready to go with round two. Some uppercuts rock Cabana as Excalibur says he suffers from knowitallism. Finlay stomps on the fingers and kicks him in the face before sending Cabana outside for a needed breather. The corner man adds some slaps (despite NOT being in the corner) and we get some Cabana sneering. Finlay heads outside to yell at a fan so Cabana tells the corner man to slap Finlay in the face.

Thankfully that isn’t going to happen so Finlay doesn’t get to do something so horrible that I can’t come up with a good metaphor for the level of violence. Back in and Finlay hits some elbows to send him outside, setting up a whip into the barricade. They get back inside for some arm cranking/stomping into a keylock to keep Cabana down. The round ends with Finlay evening things up by not letting go of the arm either, which does not seem good for Cabana either.

Finlay goes extra evil by jumping Cabana during his meeting with the corner man. The Fujiwara armbar goes on to start the third round but Cabana fights up. That earns him an arm first whip into the corner and it’s back to the armbar with a knee in the shoulder. A Jake Roberts short arm clothesline sets up the running seated senton but Cabana reverses into a sunset flip for a creative counter. The Flying Apple (which might not have been named yet) connects but it’s too early for the Billy Goat’s Curse. Finlay kicks him shoulder first into the post and then does it again for a bonus. The Celtic Cross finishes Cabana at 15:16.

Rating: C. This didn’t really feel like some kind of special British match as it was really just Finlay working the arm and the a regular finish. The rounds didn’t change much either and I was a bit disappointed with the whole thing. It was fine as a regular match, but they seemed to be going for something special here and it just wasn’t there.

7OH!4 vs. Unholy Alliance

7OH!4 is Caleb Konley/Cedric Alexander, with commentary saying they are the next CM Punk/Colt Cabana or Motor City Machine Guns. Eh they were names but hold on a second there. The Alliance is Tajiri/Mikey Whipwreck, former ECW Tag Team Champions but unfortunately minus James Mitchell/Sinister Minister. Konley grabs a wristlock on Mikey to start but he’s right back with a hiptoss into a headscissors despite not being the size of a guy you would expect to use a headscissors.

We hear about some rookie named Zack Ryder to come out of Mikey’s school as Tajiri comes in to a rather big reaction. Tajiri misses a swinging kick to Alexander’s face so it’s a hammerlock to take Alexander down instead. Back up and Alexander’s headlock doesn’t work and Tajiri starts firing off the kicks to the arm. Mikey comes in to pick Alexander up so Tajiri can nail a dropkick to the face. There’s a double gutbuster to Konley and stereo kicks to the head have him on the floor as the fans are rather pleased.

Mikey’s slingshot dive takes out both of them and the referee begins a rather slow count. Tajiri however won’t dive so Mikey comes back in and gets enziguried into a Downward Spiral for two (with Excalibur getting in the beta version of combiNATION, because I can’t escape the thing). Konley grabs the cravate to hold Mikey down for a bit, followed by the basement clothesline to give Alexander two. Tajiri spits at Alexander (with commentary thinking it’s Konley) and it’s a double Russian legsweep to drop Mikey for two.

Hold on though as Tajiri comes in to….pull Mikey’s pants up and then head back to the apron. Well at least he’s polite. Embracing the power of raised pants, Mikey superkicks Alexander (THE PANTS WORKED!) and it’s back to Tajiri to clean house. Everything breaks down and Tajiri’s superkick gets tow on Konley. Mikey snaps off a pretty nice Frankensteiner on Alexander and a low makes it worse. The referee checks on Alexander and Tajiri mists Konley, setting up the Whippersnapper for the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C+. I know Mikey and Tajiri were a big deal in the dying days of ECW but they were a rather nice team who still looked good here. You don’t get something like that very often and it was fun to see them working so well. Alexander and Konley were still really young here so losing to a team with some credibility, even if it was twelve years old at this point, was fine. Pretty good match here too so well done on a little surprise.

Demus 3:16 vs. Mascarita Dorado

Minis match and Dorado is better known as El Torito. Demus is a good bit bigger and is probably about Rey Mysterio size. A wristdrag takes Demus down to start and frustration is already setting in. Demus knocks him down without much effort so Dorado starts rolling around as we hear about the WWF Light Heavyweight division. Dorado pulls him into the cross armbreaker but Demus powers him up with ease because the size difference is a bit much here.

Back up and a rather spinning headscissors sends Demus outside, setting up the big suicide dive. Dorado manages to throw him back inside for a fireman’s carry, which is a little more impressive than you might think. A fireman’s carry slam sets up a moonsault but the second moonsault only hits raised boots. Demus grabs a tilt-a-whirl into a Dominator (cool) and there’s a giant swing to send Dorado down again. They head outside with Dorado being dropped onto the timekeeper’s table and Demus takes him back in for a pop up powerslam.

There’s a heck of a toss as Excalibur talks about Wolverine debuting back in the 1960s. Dorado bounces up out of the corner with a double springboard headbutt, followed by a crazy spinning (as in he spins around Demus about ten times) into a headscissors to the floor. That earns the HOLY S*** chant, setting up the top rope hurricanrana to take Demus down again. Back in and a top rope hurricanrana, with Dorado landing on his feet because, sets up another very spinning hurricanrana into a small package for the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C+. Yeah this was fun and Dorado is one of those things that has to be seen to be believed. He can do all kinds of stuff out there and makes it look easy, which is about as cool as you can get. Demus was a good target for Dorado as he is so much bigger, allowing Dorado to do all of his spots out there. Throw in getting in and out fairly fast and this was a lot of fun. Not great, but it was the kind of match that fit in perfectly on a show like this.

Dorado having a salsa version of the Mission Impossible theme makes it even better. The fans throw in the money so Dorado slaps him in the face with a dollar. That might seem rude, but Demus picks the dollar up and, ahem, cleans himself with it so Dorado is better….I guess?

Tommy Dreamer vs. Kevin Steen

Street fight and for you younger people, Steen is better known as Kevin Owens. The fans seem split here and it’s an exchange of hammerlocks to start. Dreamer’s shoulder bounces off of Steen (Steen: “IN YOUR DREAMS!”) and it’s time to hammer on Dreamer for a bit. Steen drop toeholds him down and hits the flipping legdrop to the back of Dreamer’s head. Back up and Dreamer kicks him low in the corner to send Steen outside, setting up the running flip dive off the apron.

A bottle of water to the head rocks Steen again but Dreamer gets crotched on the barricade because Dreamer spends too much time pointing at the crowd (as Dreamer tends to do). They brawl through the crowd and Steen hits him over the back with a well stolen crutch. Dreamer gets taken up onto a camera table and gets knocked down onto (not through) another table in a big crash. Back into the crowd with Dreamer hitting him in the head with a Steen DVD.

Dreamer sends him into the barricade and then heads backstage to grab the usual assortment of weapons. A hockey stick to the back rocks Steen again and there’s….something made of wood over Steen’s head. Dreamer gets sent into a plastic tray in the corner and Steen hits him in the knee with a stick. The Sharpshooter goes on (because Steen is Canadian) but is broken up in a hurry. Dreamer misses a charge into the post so Steen puts a stop sign over him to set up the Cannonball, which is not the brightest move in the world.

That lets Steen tie him in the Tree of Woe and this isn’t going to end well. Indeed, as Steen hits a running dropkick to a chair in the face. Commentary starts making Steven Segal references as Dreamer catches him on top with a superplex. Dreamer wins the big slugout so Steen goes low in a smart move. The Even Flow gets two but Dreamer catches him on top to break up a moonsault.

Now it’s Steen in the Tree of Woe so Dreamer can hit him low with a stick. There’s the running basement dropkick to drive a stop sign into Steen’s face and now it’s time to grab a piece of barricade. That takes too long though and Steen superkicks him off the apron. The fans want to see someone use a hammer but they settle for Dreamer kicking a rope for a low blow. With nothing else working, one of the fans gives Dreamer a HUGE hammer, which he uses to crush the bell between Steen’s legs. Steen is fine enough to shove Dreamer onto the piece of barricade inside and a Swanton finishes Dreamer at 19:24.

Rating: B-. This was a pretty hard hitting street fight, though it did run a good bit longer than it should have. What mattered here was the idea of the old hardcore legend vs. the new breed and that worked out rather well. I’m not wild on these matches most of the time but this one was pretty fun, which is about all you can hope for in this kind of a situation.

Post match Steen is ready to say something to Dreamer but Raven runs in to hit Steen low and DDT Dreamer for old times’ sake. Steen to Raven: “You’re a f****** a**hole!” Steen to Dreamer: “Thank you.”

Intermission, which is cut from the video.

Roderick Strong vs. Jake Manning

Manning is an adult Manscout and comes out to a John Cougar Mellencamp song, which I believe was used in the Waterboy. After Manning gives the referee some lessons on how to properly call a match, he takes Strong down to the mat for a headscissors. They grapple on the mat for a bit with Strong getting the better of things but that is broken up in a hurry. Manning takes him back down by the arm as commentary talks about how it might be difficult to find footage on Manning, who rarely leaves the southeast.

Strong is back up with a shot to the face and unloads with the chops in the corner. A belly to back suplex sets up a chinlock on Manning but he’s right back up with a kick to the face. Manning drops an elbow for two and drives Strong into the corner for the choking. They head outside with Manning sending him into the apron for two, setting up the next chinlock. That’s broken up as well and they go with a pinfall reversal sequence for some near falls each. Strong is back up with a dropkick and they’re both down for a breather.

It’s Strong up first with a bunch of running forearms into a belly to back suplex for two more. Manning comes back with an (oddly appropriate for reasons that I can’t figure out) airplane spin. Strong isn’t having that and hammers away but Manning is right back with a backbreaker into a Downward Spiral for three. Only two of them count though due to the foot being on the rope though, meaning Strong can come back with an enziguri. The Angle Slam gets two and it’s the backbreaker into the Sick Kick to finish Manning at 11:04.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that I like to see on a show like this, as Strong is a much bigger name than Manning but they went back and forth well enough here to make you believe that Manning could pull it off. The match worked well as Strong can have a good match against anyone and Manning held up his end despite being known for little more than his gimmick. Good stuff here, with a nice battle of the generations.

Davey Richards vs. Harry Smith

That would be Davey Boy Smith Jr., freshly released from WWE, and this could be interesting. They go with the technical exchange to start (shocking I know) with Richards getting him down into a modified surfboard and rolling him up for two. That’s broken up for a standoff and they lock up, with Smith absolutely towering over Richards. It’s back to the mat with Smith grabbing a short armscissors and rolling him around a bit.

That’s reversed into something like an Indian Deathlock from Richards to crank on the leg. Make that a Muta Lock with commentary thinking Richards would do well at Subway. Smith slips out and cranks him down by the arm, setting up a full nelson. That’s broken up as well as Richards rolls out with an armdrag, only to get pulled into a spinning belly to belly for two. More arm cranking has Richards down again but he sends Smith to the floor. There’s the running kick to the chest from the apron, setting up the suicide dive.

Back in and a missile dropkick sends Smith into the corner. It’s time to start working on the leg, with Davey kicking away and grabbing a Trailer Hitch. Richards stomps on both knees at once and it’s a dragon screw legwhip into a half crab. Now it’s an STF as the fans start shouting various things. Smith fights up and kicks him into the corner, setting up a powerslam for two.

Smith crotches him on top and grabs a delayed superplex for a slightly delayed near fall. A superkick and a powerbomb give Smith two more each but Richards kicks him down again. The top rope double stomp gets two and we hit the ankle lock. That’s broken up with a roll into the post, allowing Smith to grab a cross armbreaker. Richards rolls into another ankle lock, which Smith reverses into one of his own.

The grapevined version is countered into a Sharpshooter, which Smith reverses into his own Sharpshooter. Smith grabs a small package for two but Richards BLASTS him with a knee for the same. Back up and Smith tries a powerbomb but Richards reverses into a sunset flip. Smith sits down on it ala his dad against Bret Hart, only to have Richards slip out into a cradle for the pin at 17:26.

Rating: B. It was good action throughout and Smith looked good in defeat, but egads I had forgotten how hard it is to get invested in a Richards match. He is so ultra serious all the time, though at least he wasn’t doing his “get kicked in the head and scream a lot without selling anything” and writing it off as strong style. This got the crowd going and I certainly didn’t hate it though, which is some high praise for a Richards match.

Post match Richards says he can’t believe the people up north let Smith go. Richards talks about the similarities between the two of them, including idolizing the same people growing up. Respect is shown and Smith says it’s better to hear these fans chant his name instead of Michael Cole every Monday night. Wrestling will always be #1 for him, even if he jumps into MMA (which he didn’t).

El Generico/Great Sasuke vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are actually young here and come out to MMMBop, which is rather frustrating. Matt does the Randy Savage finger spin and Nick parodies the Spinarooni (there’s your 90s reference). The fans go NUTS for Generico and it’s a shame that he retired so soon after this. You know Excalibur is right there with all of the Sasuke history because this is his thing.

Generico reveals a half Generico/Sasuke mask and takes Nick down to start. An exchange of wristlocks goes nowhere so Nick drives him into the corner and starts in on the arm again. We hear about how completely and utterly amazing the Bucks are as Sasuke comes in to headlock Nick. Some kicks to the ribs have little effect on Sasuke (the only time Sasuke and Rick Rude will be compared), who elbows Nick in the head. Generico comes back in and gets taken into the corner so Matt can talk a lot of trash.

A few quick armdrags have Matt in trouble as we hear about Sasuke making a documentary about mouthwash (or something). Generico hammers away on Matt in the corner and fires off chops against the ropes for a bonus. Matt is back with the headscissors to hold Generico in place, allowing Nick to kick him in the mask and into the barricade. Back in and Matt laughs at Generico, setting up the slow motion stomping.

We hit the front facelock until Nick comes back in for some shots in the corner. A handspring rake to the back sets up a slingshot hilo as Excalibur talks about how the Young Bucks have a supernatural feel for the DMZ on the thirty third parallel in the ring. Generico rakes the Bucks’ chests to escape but it’s still too early for the tag. Matt’s waistlock keeps Generico in trouble but he manages the exploder suplex into the corner.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Sasuke to clean house as everything breaks down. Sasuke dropkicks Nick through the ropes and Generico hits the big running flip dive to crush Matt. Back in and a Blockbuster gets two on Matt and Sasuke takes a LONG time to go up for a Ram Jam (from The Wrestler), allowing Matt to roll away. The Bucks take turns kicking Sasuke in the back of the trunks but it’s back to Generico for the Blue Thunder Bomb to Nick.

The Helluva Kick is broken up but Nick kicks Matt in the head but mistake. Sasuke crushes Nick with a springboard missile dropkick, only to have Nick low bridge him to the floor. A wheelbarrow faceplant gives Matt two on Generico and Risky Business gets the same. More Bang For Your Buck is countered into a half and half suplex and Sasuke is back with a powerbomb to Nick. Matt superkicks Sasuke though and everyone is down again.

Nick comes back in to knee Sasuke off the apron but Generico sends Nick’s kick into Matt’s head. You know the Bucks aren’t selling that though and it’s a double superkick into the assisted Tombstone for two on Generico with Sasuke making another save. Nick misses a moonsault and Sasuke hits a big flip dive onto Matt on the floor. That gets the fans back into it and Generico’s Swanton gets two on Nick. Now the Helluva Kick can connect to set up the brainbuster onto the buckle to finish Nick at 21:12.

Rating: B. This was better than I was expecting and it was nice to see the Bucks actually lose for a change. You don’t usually see the dream team beating the regular partners so this was quite the surprise. It really is a shame that Generico retired, as he is quite the star. You can see how influential he was too, as a lot of people would copy his style, almost down to the move at times.

Wrestle Royal

20 man Royal Rumble and Ken Shamrock is a ringside enforcer. Matt Classic (I hear Colt Cabana is a big fan) is in at #1 and Lanny Poffo is in at #2 for one of the most unique matches I can remember seeing in a long time. Commentary makes it clear that entrants will be STRICTLY timed, after an apparent issue last year. Classic slowly hammers away at the back and grabs a claw but misses the bottom rope splash. Poffo actually manages the moonsault (not bad for 57) and goes for the mask.

Rock Riddle (the original Mr. Wonderful, who I’ve never actually seen wrestle) is in at #3 as we seem to have 90 second intervals. Riddle doesn’t actually get in the ring as Classic and Poffo continue their slow motion fighting. The timing is already a bit off as Carlos Colon (The Youngster!) is in at #4. Colon gets to hit both guys in the head as commentary continues its running joke of Classic feuding with every old wrestler ever. Riddle finally comes in (I wasn’t betting on the flower print gear) for a few shots of his own as Gangrel is in at #5.

Brawling continues as Gangrel (getting a rather strong reception) bites Poffo in the corner. The clock is even further all over the place as Jesse Hernandez is in at #6. Classic gets beaten up some more but gets choked in the corner by Gangrel. Mando Guerrero is in at #7 and gets quite the reception as he beats on Classic. They finally start teasing some eliminations (and no you cannot expect any kind of serious quality out of this) until Kevin Sullivan is in at #8.

Stick shots abound until Colon headbutts the stick out of Sullivan’s hands. Colon stabs Sullivan in the stomach with said stick and then beats Gangrel in the back. Piloto Suicida (still active today) is in at #9 as the ring is really getting full. The rapid fire entrances (now barely at a minute) continue as Tommy Dreamer is in at #10 (OF COURSE Dreamer is working twice) to hammer on Gangrel as commentary talks about how these two are some of the youngest in the match. Everyone is still in as Dreamer beats on Classic, apparently as payback for all of those boring Madison Square Garden main events.

Robbie E., the reigning TNA TV Champion, is in at #11 and promises to become the youngest ever winner of this match. Then Dreamer tosses him in a hurry for a funny bit. Virgil (to Ted DiBiase’s music) is in at #12 as Poffo, Colon and Guerrero were all put out somewhere. Greg Valentine, coming out to Sharp Dressed Man of all things, is in at #13. Classic is doing Hindu squats as Sullivan hits Suicida with the bell. Valentine has Dreamer in the Figure Four as Gangrel drops elbows.

Konnan is in at #14 to go after Sullivan, with commentary (thankfully) bringing up the Dungeon of Doom. Dan Severn is in at #15 and this could be interesting. Gangrel goes after Severn in a hurry as the ring is too full again. Jimmy Hart, with a lot of padding, of all people is in at #16 and wisely walks around the ring for a bit.

Godfather, with his ladies, is in at #17 and Gangrel eliminates himself to join in. Hart was eliminated off screen and Brutus Beefcake is in at #18 (dang I miss that theme) and goes after Valentine to ruin the Dream Team reunion. Bradley Ray Schreak (an auction winner) is in at #19 as Sullivan is out. Beefcake grabs the sleeper on Schreak as Suicida is out. Schreak gets a haircut, including with the big scissors, as Severn gets rid of Virgil. The match completely stops for the haircut until Schreak wakes up and panics over his hair being gone.

That’s enough for an elimination and it’s Raven in at #20 (with Dreamer waiting on him) to complete the field. The final grouping is Classic, Dreamer, Valentine, Konnan, Severn, Godfather, Beefcake and Raven. Hang on though as Raven doesn’t want to get in, only to have Kevin Steen come out and jump him from behind. Steen throws Raven in for a DDT from Dreamer, who tosses Raven without much trouble. Dreamer, ever the genius, jumps out to beat on Raven some more and beats him to the back with Steen. Classic is eliminated and there goes Konnan.

We’re down to Severn, Valentine, Beefcake and Godfather (I love indy wrestling) but Shamrock distracts Severn, allowing Valentine to toss him. Severn pulls Valentine out and we’re down to two. The Ho Train misses Godfather but he low bridges Beefcake out for the win at 23:12.

Rating: C. Fun. What other word is there to describe something like this? They weren’t trying to do anything serious here and it was all about having people get a quick payoff and come out to a pop. It worked at the Gimmick Battle Royal in 2001 and it works at any show like this. I had a good time with it and that’s the entire point of this kind of match. It’s a lot of fun, and well done on doing what they should have.

The women come in to dance with Godfather, who hits his catchphrase (while clearly having a blast) to wrap up the night.

Overall Rating: B. I’ve seen a good number of these reunion style shows and this was one of the better ones, with a nice mixture of old vs. new and some legends matches thrown in there as well. They had some big names included and while they might have had a better option as the main event (though it did fit the reunion theme), this was a lot of fun. It’s longer than it needs to be (at nearly three and a half hours, not counting intermission), but I had a good time with it and that is entirely the goal with something like this.

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IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

7^th Anniversary Show
Date: March 21, 2009
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Lenny Leonard, Dave Prazak

This is another in my long selection of DVDs and this is one that shouldn’t need much more of an explanation. I know a good bit more about ROH than PWG so this is nice for a change, though this is an era that I haven’t seen much of over the years. Your two big matches are Nigel McGuinness defending the World Title against Kenta and Kevin Steen/El Generico defending the Tag Team Titles against the American Wolves (Davey Richards/Eddie Edwards). Works for me so let’s get to it.

Bobby Dempsey knows that Larry Sweeney is getting to pick his next two opponents with the first one coming tonight. It doesn’t matter who is in front of him because he’s running through them and then coming for Sweeney.

Kenta warmed up in the empty arena earlier today.

I guess that’s our show intro as there is nothing else before we head into the matches.

Kenny King/Rhett Titus vs. Erick Stevens/Roderick Strong

Titus is Addicted To Love, basically making him a male stripper. The fans however remind him that he is a virgin and Titus isn’t pleased. Strong and King start things off with a fight over the wrist control, as you do in wrestling most of the time. King gets in a headscissors on the mat but Strong is back up with the armdrags into the armbar. Stevens comes in and the fans don’t seem overly pleased, but they are right there with the WOOing for the chops.

King brings Titus in, with Stevens running him over with the shoulder. Titus gets taken into the corner for the alternating chops and is then sent to the apron, where King gets in a knee to Stevens for a breather. A suplex into some forearms to the head gives King one and it’s back to Titus, who is perfectly fine thanks to the magic of wrestling. Titus’ dropkick gets one and it’s an atomic drop into a running clothesline from King to rock Stevens again. The chinlock….mostly goes on as Stevens is up to his feet before King really gets things set. Why waste time with something that isn’t going to work anyway?

Titus comes in for a hip swiveling suplex but Stevens hits him in the ribs. A powerslam to King and a kick to Titus still isn’t enough for the hot tag so Stevens ducks a right hand and brings Strong back in. Everything breaks down and Strong’s backbreaker (pick one) gets two on Titus. Something like a Fameasser gives Titus the same on Strong but a Razor’s Edge doesn’t work.

Instead it’s back to Stevens, with King knocking Strong off the apron instead of making another save. Some running knees to the back send Stevens into the buckle as everything breaks down again. Stevens throws Titus into the air for a hard clothesline but Titus is up to save King from a superplex. The yet to be named Sick Kick saves Stevens from a powerbomb/Blockbuster and Stevens hits the Doctor Bomb to finish Titus at 8:53.

Rating: C-. The match was energetic while it lasted but there were some times where you could tell they weren’t sure what to do. This is before Strong and King would become established names so it was about as good as you were going to get here. For an opener to a major show though, it worked out well enough.

There is no pay per view intro and we jump straight to the

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright

Claudio is better known as Cesaro and these two have been feuding for awhile without either of them getting a decisive win. Castagnoli jumps Albright before the bell and hits a running knee, only to get forearmed down into the corner. Neither can hit a hiptoss so Albright flips over him and hits a dropkick out to the floor, setting up the required dive. Back in and Albright hits a delayed vertical suplex on the much bigger Castagnoli. Albright charges into some boots in the corner and misses a charge, sending him crashing into the ropes.

The uppercut against the ropes lets Cesaro choke on the ropes, meaning he can shout about the horribleness that is the USA. We hit the neck crank on Albright for a bit, followed by a hard clothesline to drop him again. Albright fights out of another neck crank and throws Castagnoli with a suplex, only to walk into a leg lariat. The third neck crank goes on but another clothesline is countered with a Rock Bottom. Commentary completely ignores this to talk about the World Title match some more, giving me some rather annoying Nitro flashbacks.

Albright grabs a scoop powerslam for two but Castagnoli pump kicks him down for two more. A springboard…something is pulled out of the air so Albright can hit an Air Raid Crash (running White Noise) for his own two. Albright gets the same off a neckbreaker but Castagnoli sends him into the corner and grabs the swing. Back up and Albright snaps him down into a Crossface, sending Castagnoli into the ropes. Some dishonorable reliving of the nose annoys Castagnoli so much that he uppercuts Albright off the top for two.

They head outside with Castagnoli walking into an exploder to put them both down again. Back in and Albright snaps off a headscissors into the Crowbar (Fujiwara armbar), sending Castagnoli to the ropes again. Speaking of the ropes, Castagnoli drops him throat first across said ropes to take over. Castagnoli goes up so Albright superplexes him back down and we have one minute left. They slug it out and that’s the time limit at 14:58 (close enough).

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going and Albright caught up after Castagnoli dominated a good portion of the first half. After that it was back and forth stuff and the time limit wasn’t mentioned until near the end, meaning it was more than waiting on the time to expire. Good stuff here and you can see where people saw the star power in Castagnoli on his own.

Post match they have to be separated until Castagnoli says Americans are cowards. He wants five more minutes and Albright says it’s on.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright

The Crowbar goes on again but Castagnoli reverses into one of his own. The fans get behind Albright as he rolls out but Castagnoli kicks him low for the DQ at 1:00 of overtime.

Post match Castagnoli hits the Riccola Bomb (double arm trap sitout powerbomb) and grabs a chair. After beating up security, Castagnoli stomps the chair onto Albright’s head, more or less guaranteeing another rematch.

Mike Quackenbush found out that Bryan Danielson is a great wrestler but he’s ready to face Jerry Lynn. Jerry is on his way to the World Title shot against Nigel McGuinness, but tonight, Quackenbush’s hand is being raised.

We look at Larry Sweeney slapping and spitting at Bobby Dempsey (seemingly his lackey), earning himself a beating inside a cage in what felt like a big face turn.

Bobby Dempsey vs. Adam Pearce

A local news anchor named George Oliphant is guest timekeeper. Pearce has Shane Hagadorn and Sara Del Ray with him and is one of Sweeney’s guys. Before the match, Pearce makes the anchor introduce himself and insults his bowtie. Pearce brings up John Stossel and shoves George into the corner but here’s Dempsey to cut things off as we’re ready to go. The handshake results in a cheap shot from Pearce….but Dempsey grabs a Death Valley Driver for the pin at 28 seconds. Well that was a surprise.

Post match Dempsey does the Hulk Hogan shirt tear. The fans seem to like Dempsey as he poses with Oliphant.

Mike Quackenbush vs. Jerry Lynn

Lynn drives him into the corner to start and we get a clean break. The waistlock goes on but Quackenbush slips out without much trouble. They go into the expected battle of wrist control with Quackenbush cranking on the arm. A hiptoss gets Lynn out of trouble and we go to the standoff. Lynn headscissors him into the corner but can’t get a bulldog as Quackenbush takes him down into a double leglock. That’s reversed as well and Lynn works on the arm until Mike (I’m done with typing that long name) springboards into a hurricanrana for the escape and takes it to the mat.

Lynn reverses again and this time it’s an armbar on Mike. Back up and Mike is sent outside, meaning it’s a springboard dropkick to put him down. They switch places and Lynn hits the slingshot legdrop over the middle rope (or “legdrop thing” as commentary calls it) but Mike sweeps the leg to put him down on the apron. Mike tries a hurricanrana on the floor but gets caught and swung HARD into the barricade to put him down again. Back in and Lynn hits a tornado DDT and German suplex for two.

The cradle piledriver doesn’t work though and Mike grabs a crucifix for two of his own. They trade reversals until Lynn sends him into the corner for a collision of heads. Mike goes up but has to roll through a slam back down. Lynn goes up as well and hits a sunset bomb to bang Mike’s head again for two more. The cradle piledriver is blocked again and it’s a belly to back piledriver to plant Lynn. Not that it matters as Lynn is right back with the cradle piledriver for the pin at 9:36.

Rating: B-. This was the technical style match that you expect to see from Ring of Honor and it isn’t surprising given who was in there. Lynn and Quackenbush are both known technicians and the story they were telling here made it clear that Lynn was on his way to the World Title picture. It might not be the most interesting story, but they had an idea and stuck with it so points for following through.

Post match Mike takes some time to get up but they shake hands.

We recap the Necro Butcher leaving the Age of the Fall and being replaced by Delirious. From what I can tell, Austin Aries is now an associate of the team but hasn’t officially joined. He’ll be in a six man tag though, facing off against three former members of the team. I think. The story was kind of all over the place and they didn’t exactly make the story clear here.

Age of the Fall/Austin Aries vs. Delirious/Necro Butcher/Tyler Black

This is Ultimate Endurance (elimination rules and No DQ) under Revolution Rules (each fall has to be by a different method than the previous. For example you can’t have two pins in a row, but you can have pin, submission, pin). The Age of the Fall is Brodie Lee (looking YOUNG here)/Jimmy Jacobs and Black is better known as Seth Rollins. The non-Age of the Fall has Daizee Haze with them just in case there weren’t enough people around. Delirious charges into an elbow from Lee to start but it’s quickly off to (the barefoot) Butcher for the slugout.

Everything breaks down in a hurry and Delirious pulls Jacobs in for some revenge. The triple teaming is on and Butcher dives to the floor to take everyone down again. Everyone fights to the floor as commentary explains the rules for the first time. Delirious steals something from a fan to rub in Jacobs’ face and Lee blasts Butcher in the face with a big boot. Everyone gets back in with Aries and the Age being whipped into each other, followed by Delirious hitting a Cactus Clothesline to Lee.

Black busts out the big flip dive onto the pile, who happened to be standing there for his big flip dive. Butcher adds his own flip dive off the top but comes up holding his ankle. Haze, wearing Delirious’ jacket, goes up but Aries pulls her down. That brings in Delirious for the save with a cobra clutch, which Aries breaks up in a hurry.

Aries misses a running corner dropkick but here’s Lee to make the save, earning himself a hurricanrana out of the corner. Delirious hits some running knees in the corners to Lee and Aries until Lee is back up to save Jacobs from the cobra stretch. The swinging Boss Man Slam (always looks good) plants Delirious and Aries’ brainbuster finishes him off at 7:05. Since that was a pin, the next fall has to be submission, countout or knockout.

Lee kicks Black in the face to put him outside, followed by a slow motion Boss Man Slam to send Butcher into the ramp. Back in and Jacobs and Aries get in a bit of a fight over who gets to beat up Black. Since Black is smart enough to take advantage of it, he beats on both of them until Lee makes the save. Butcher comes back in to sent Aries and Jacobs outside before slugging away at Lee in the corner. The fight takes them to the floor as well as commentary can’t understand why Butcher doesn’t wear shoes.

Butcher and Lee go into the crowd (With ROH being smart enough TO GO SPLIT SCREEN!!! WHY IS THIS SO FREAKING HARD FOR EVERY OTHER COMPANY????) with Butcher getting in a good right hand to the face. Aries and Jacobs double team Black but stop to wonder where the other two are. The referee wants to know too but since they’re that far gone, both Butcher and Lee are eliminated at 11:41.

So pinfalls are allowed again as Black is double teamed some more. Aries stops to tell a fan that they’re ugly and Jacobs pulls out some of Black’s hair. That’s enough as Aries and Jacobs get in a fight over who gets to beat up Black but are smart enough to let it go and beat on Black again. Black is sat in a chair at ringside but they get in a fight over who gets to go for the suicide dive. This time they actually slug it out, allowing Black to springboard in with a double clothesline.

The Phoenix splash hits Aries but Jacobs catches Black on top. Aries holds Black in the Tree of Woe for a running hip attack and a slingshot dropkick gets two. The Contra Code (sitout Sliced Bread) is broken up though and Aries’ running dropkick hits Jacobs by mistake. Aries is back up with a shinbreaker to Black and throws him on his head with a release belly to back suplex.

Thankfully Black can still move and blocks the brainbuster with some knees to the head. Black nails the buckle bomb and the low superkick sets up the End Time (Jacobs’ guillotine choke) to get rid of Aries at 17:55. So we’re down to Jacobs vs. Black and it cannot end with submission. Jacobs brings in a chair but Black takes him down to start the brawl. A heck of a chair shot to the back puts Black down again so Jacobs pulls out his trusty railroad spike.

Black kicks it away but Jacobs nails a low blow, setting up the Contra Code for two. The End Time goes on again and Jacobs is dumb enough to let go even though there is no submission. Black powers up though and hits God’s Last Gift (fisherman’s buster into a small package) for the pin at 20:53.

Rating: B. Yeah this was good and the best thing on the show so far. The Age of the Fall was pretty much done at this point and would be done for good in June. Black is clearly the breakout star though and is moving up the ranks in a hurry. Good match here with a nice mixture of wrestling and brawling, so well done on the whole thing. Jacobs is someone who has grown on me as I’ve seen more of his work, though he still seems more like the guy who always comes up short more than anything else.

Nigel McGuinness is warming up for the main event.

Ring of Honor is coming to Nashville. By that we mean the show has taken place and we have clips, one of which seems to include Kenny Omega.

Jay Briscoe has been here since day one and he is ready to face D’Lo Brown, who he grew up watching. No disrespect to Brown, but he is going to have to man up.

Bison Smith/Jimmy Rave vs. Bryan Danielson/Grizzly Redwood

Smith and Rave are part of the Embassy with Prince Nana and Ernie Osiris. Before the bell, Nana says we need to think Barack Obama for his economic stimulus package because that money has allowed him to rebuild the Embassy. That includes the Crown Jewel of the Embassy, which sets up a huge entrance for Rave (making a big return). Bryan charges to the ring but gets caught by Smith in a spinning backbreaker. Redwood, the rather small lumberjack, fails to make the save but we have a surprise run-in return to take his place.

Bison Smith/Jimmy Rave vs. Bryan Danielson/Colt Cabana

The fans are VERY happy to see Cabana and he starts with Rave, who is pelted with toilet paper instead of streamers. Feeling out process to start with Rave seeming a bit tentative so Cabana shoulders him out to the floor. Some shoulders to the chest give Cabana two back inside as commentary goes over Cabana’s ROH history. Danielson comes in for the surfboard, sending Rave’s head into the ropes for the save. Some kicks in the corner connect as we hear about Bryan’s history against Smith.

Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s an STO to Cabana on the apron as Smith gorilla presses Danielson into the corner. Rave stomps Danielson down for two and we hit the chinlock. It’s back to Smith for the hard shoulder and he cranks on the neck as well. Bryan finally gets in a kick to the face and dives over for the hot tag to Cabana, though the fans don’t respond that loudly. The Flying Apple connects but Smith’s running shoulder (Prazak: “That’s the Flying Bison.”) cuts him down.

Everything breaks down again and Danielson sends Smith outside. The slingshot dive is pulled out of the air and Smith comes back in with a claw slam onto Rave’s knee to Cabana. A running knee gets two and Smith claws Cabana until Bryan breaks it up with a knee. Cabana and Bryan baseball slide Smith over the barricade, setting up a heck of a dive from Bryan. That leaves Cabana to elbow Rave in the head but Rave pulls him into the heel hook. Cabana slips out in a hurry and grabs the Superman Cover for the pin at 10:35.

Rating: C+. This worked for a double surprise, though having both teams include a special appearance kind of left them in a tough place. That being said, Smith seemed like a monster and you don’t want him losing either, meaning that Cabana going over Rave was the only way out of it. Granted any match from 2009 with Danielson is going to be entertaining and the fans loved Cabana so it was a pretty strong reaction to everything.

Post match Cabana says he loved hearing Copacabana when he came out here, but there is only one song he wants to hear right now and it belongs to Danielson. The Final Countdown begins and the fans seem rather appreciative, including singing the lyrics as Bryan and Cabana pose (which is always cool).

Jay Briscoe vs. D’Lo Brown

Mark Briscoe is here with Jay and it’s still weird to see Brown as kind of a legend. And without his head shaking everywhere. Before the match, Brown talks about being future endeavored from WWE after a very uneventful comeback and a complete waste of time. So what does he think of those guys up north? Thank you. He thanks them for wishing him good luck because his future endeavors are now here in Ring of Honor. Feeling out process to start with Briscoe taking over off a test of strength.

Brown drives him into the corner but gets shouldered out to the floor in a hurry. Back in and Brown’s running knee is blocked so they slap hands and reset. An exchange of legsweeps get one each and Brown isn’t sure what to do with Briscoe. A dropkick puts Brown down but he has the referee step aside and gets in a cheap low blow. Brown stands around for a good bit before hitting Jay in the head. Jay is fine with a slugout but Brown drops him with a big shot to the jaw.

They chop it out for a change and this time Brown goes to the eyes to cut him off. The cobra clutch keeps Jay in trouble before Brown goes with three straight standing clotheslines for two. Jay is sat on the apron for some forearms, plus a springboard dropkick to the floor. Brown goes back to the apron but gets dropkicked out of the air, leaving both of them rather staggered.

Back in and Brown gets Downward Spiraled into the top turnbuckle, followed by a hard clothesline for two. The Jay Driller is blocked though and Brown grabs a good Sky High for two. Jay is right back with a Death Valley Driver for his own two so it’s up top for a missed guillotine legdrop. Brown is right there with a rollup (including tights) for the pin at 12:38.

Rating: C+. Perfectly watchable match here, though it’s weird seeing Briscoe waiting to break through to the next level instead of being one of the biggest stars the company has ever seen. The match was good enough action and I’ve always liked Brown so we’ll call it a learning experience for Jay, which you have to have at one point or another.

Post match Mark yells a lot, both at the referee and Brown. Jay isn’t pleased either.

We recap the American Wolves (Eddie Edwards/Davey Richards) vs. Kevin Steen/El Generico (Kevin Steen/El Generico, better known as Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn). The Wolves injured Mark Briscoe at Final Battle and Steen and Generico made the save. Then the Wolves attacked them again, including Steen’s bad knee. Then they attacked Steen and Generico again…three months later. I think we’re missing something in there.

Tag Team Titles: American Wolves vs. Kevin Steen/El Generico

No DQ and the Wolves, with Sara Del Ray and Shane Hagadorn in their corner. The champs hit the ring in a hurry (chasing off the ring announcer mid introduction. Steen hits a Cannonball to Edwards, followed by the yet to be named Helluva Kick. The Wolves are on the floor so Steen hits a big dive as I don’t think the bell ever rang. Generico throws some chairs into the ring and then throws Davey into the barricade. They get inside and it’s a drop toehold to send Eddie face first into the chair.

Steen puts another on the back of Eddie’s head for a running flip legdrop. Generico’s running flip dive only hits chairs and Davey Tombstones him onto the chairs (more like a Tombstone into a powerslam but close enough). It’s time to start in on Owens’ knee as thankfully they aren’t bothering with tagging in a No DQ match. There’s a dragon screw legwhip to take the knee out again and some kicks to the ribs to keep him in trouble. Richards grabs a title and says they’re the next champs, which is enough to bring Steen back to life.

Granted he is knocked right back down, but at least he was up for a second. Steen low bridges both of them to the floor though and it’s Generico hitting a double springboard flip dive to take everyone out. That means the OLE chants start up again, even as Generico hits Eddie in the ribs with a chair. Instead of the rope walk armdrag, Generico drops down and pelts the chair at Eddie’s head. Well that was effective.

A splash out of the corner gives Generico two….and it’s time for a ladder. Hagadorn: “THAT IS CROSSING THE LINE!” Generico’s split legged moonsault onto Davey onto the ladder gets two and Steen limps around to pick the ladder up again. The ladder is set up against the rope but Eddie kicks Steen in the face. Generico kicks him down but the springboard flip dive hits the ladder.

Eddie throws Generico into the air for a kick to the chest and a chair to the head into a German suplex with a flipping jackknife cover gets two with Steen lightly shoving the Wolves for the pin. Back up and Steen powerbombs Davey out of the corner and suplexes Eddie into the corner. The Cannonball hits both Wolves at once and Sami goes Coast to Coast with a springboard flip dive into a ladder for two of his own.

Steen hits the pumphandle driver to drive Eddie through a chair but Davey sends Generico hard into the barricade. Back in and Steen misses a dive off the top to bang up the knee again. Davey calls Steen fat and hits him in the knee with the chair, setting up the Texas Cloverleaf. That’s broken up by a diving Generico but he accidentally chairs Steen in the head. Richards’ shooting star press misses though and Steen unloads on him with chair shot to the knee. The Sharpshooter makes Richards scream…and tap at 17:07.

Rating: B+. Now that was a surprise as I would have bet on the Wolves taking the titles here. That’s one of the fun parts about watching these older shows without knowing the results: you get a surprise ending like this and have a cool moment which could just as easily have been spoiled. These four beat the heck out of each other with some good violence so the idea of Steen returning the favors on the knee and winning the match as a result was a great way to finish things off. This was a lot of fun and I can see why the tag division was well received for a long time.

Post match the champs pull themselves up but the Wolves jump them again. Eddie chairs Steen in the head and a belt shot drops Generico. The Wolves put Generico through the table hard but the bloody Steen is back up. That doesn’t last long either as they tape him to the ropes and chair away at the knee, followed by a Conchairto to knock him silly. The Wolves pose with the belts and the champs are destroyed. It takes a good while to cut Steen free and he has to be carried out of the arena. The Wolves would win the title the next month.

Buy All Star Extravaganza with Bryan Danielson vs. Jerry Lynn! And some other stuff!

We recap Kenta vs. Nigel McGuinness for the ROH World Title. Kenta pinned him in a tag match and gets a title shot as a result (or he might have already had it). If there is anything else, it isn’t important enough to show here.

Ring of Honor World Title: Kenta vs. Nigel McGuinness

Nigel, with a bad arm, is defending and has the title on backwards as is his custom. We get the Big Match Intros and we’re ready to go. Kenta takes him up against the ropes and slaps him in the face, which doesn’t set well with Nigel. Nigel tries to do the same but gets slapped again. A kick to the arm takes Nigel down but he is back up with a headbutt. The big lariat is loaded up, which only hurts the arm again. Nigel is sent shoulder first into the post and it’s off to a logical armbar. That’s broken up so Kenta hits some kicks to the arm and head, with Nigel telling him to bring it on.

Kenta does just that and Nigel goes down in the corner, as you might have expected. Nigel slips out of a Kimura by getting to the rope so it’s time for more kicks. Kenta misses a top rope stomp to the head though and it’s a Tower of London (hanging cutter) to the floor. Back in and Nigel kicks him between the shoulders and an arm wrench takes Kenta down. Nigel slowly strikes away, including some headbutts to Kenta’s arm.

A suplex by the arm gives Nigel two and it’s off to the crossface chickenwing. Nigel takes him down with a dropkick but bangs up the arm on the landing, meaning the near fall is delayed. More arm cranking ensues with Nigel bending backwards into kind of a makeshift Rings of Saturn. Kenta fights up again and hits a running boot to the chest, followed by a not very snappy suplex. There’s the keylock again but Nigel makes the rope for the pretty fast save.

The running boot in the corner misses though and Nigel kicks him down. Another kick to the chest cuts off Nigel’s charge so Kenta goes up top, only to get knocked outside in a big crash. Kenta misses a big boot against the barricade and hits his own to knock Nigel over the barricade. Nigel is draped over the barricade for the BIG double stomp to the back and they’re both down again. It takes Nigel a long time to get back in and Kenta hits a fisherman’s buster for two.

The running knee (which Daniel Bryan copied) gives Kenta two more and it’s off to a pinfall reversal sequence. Nigel gets the London Dungeon (Zack Gibson’s Shankley Gates….which you might know better as a seated armbar) but Kenta backs to the rope. Another Tower of London drops Kenta for two but he blocks a third attempt. Instead Kenta runs the ropes for a super Falcon Arrow for a very near fall. The Go To Sleep is countered so Kenta settles for a heck of a bridging German suplex for two.

Go To Sleep connects on the second attempt for a very close two with Nigel getting a foot on the rope. They go to the floor with Nigel hitting (mostly) another Tower of London to the apron/floor. Back in and another Go To Sleep is blocked so Nigel hits his own Go To Sleep for two more. The London Dungeon goes on again but Nigel lets it go to pull him back to the middle. That lets Kenta roll him up for two but another Go To Sleep is blocked. It’s back to the London Dungeon but this time Nigel bends backwards to put Kenta’s back over his knees, this time for the tap at 26:20.

Rating: A. This was GREAT as they beat the heck out of each other for the better part of half an hour. Commentary pushed the idea that Nigel was practically wrestling without arms so he had to come up with another way to hang onto the title, including a submission that involved using his hands and knees. Kenta was a monster here too with the strikes looking great. I don’t know how they screwed him up in NXT but it must have been an amazing series of injuries. They pulled off a heck of a trick here by sucking me into a match where I already knew the ending. Check this one out because it’s really great stuff.

Kenta gets the big applause as commentary thanks the fans for the last seven years to end the show.

We’re not quite done though as the DVD includes the ROH Video Wire, which is a collection of bonus videos.

From March 13 in Collinsville, Illinois.

Here’s Ric Flair for a special appearance….or at least his entrance as we cut off after about thirty seconds.

We see some highlights from a show on March 18.

Back to Collinsville with Jimmy Jacobs vs. Delirious. Jacobs says Delirious has failed him for the last time and pulls out the spike, which hits Daizee Haze instead. Delirious blocks the spike to his own head and stabs Jacobs instead. We’re clipped to Delirious hitting a bunch of running knees to the head in the corner before stopping to stare at Daizee. They have the big hug and the fans certainly seem to approve.

Nigel McGuinness is ready for a tag match between himself/Davey Richards vs. Kenta/El Generico, which would have been the night before the Anniversary Show.

From Indianapolis, Indiana on March 14, Bison Smith beats up Bryan Danielson with referees and agents having to separate them.

Claudio Castagnoli talks about Brent Albright wanting to step up his game but getting kicked in the face like a stupid American.

From the same Indianapolis show, the American Wolves jump Kevin Steen and El Generico but get chased off by someone with a chair.

The American Wolves promise to take the Tag Team Titles from Steen and Generico at the Anniversary Show.

Kevin Steen and El Generico are ticked off at the Wolves, with Steen saying someone else injured his knee eight years ago. He’ll be back up for the fight though because hurting his knee isn’t going to stop him.

That was a rather random assortment of videos and it felt a lot more like a commercial for the Video Wire than something that really added much to the show. It’s hardly anything that brings it down though either, making it pretty much a meaningless bonus feature.

Overall Rating: B+. There is a reason that this version of Ring of Honor is held in so much esteem and it was on display here. This was a heck of a show with the last two matches cranking it up to another level. It was a bit long at times and there are some matches which could have been trimmed a good bit, but I had a really good time with this and it was one of the better ROH shows I’ve ever seen. I could go for more from this period and that’s not something I get to say very often. Check this one out if you have the chance.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6