What a way to kick off the evening with this fast paced opening contest. Drake went after the bigger man Cage immediately as he dropkicked him off the apron. This match didn't last long, but it was balls to the wall the whole time. Did its job of getting the crowd fired up which is what an opening match should do.
Match rating - ***1/4
2) Johnny Gargano vs. Kevin Steen
Gargano has only been in PWG for a few months be he is certainly making a name for himself in Reseda. He went at it with Wrestling's Worst Nightmare Kevin Steen and proved he was the real deal. This was a great match and much better than I expected. I knew it had the potential to be good, but it was much more than that. Outstanding match in which Gargano comes out victorious.
Match rating - ***3/4
3) Michael Elgin vs. Roderick Strong
Strong is a PWG veteran as he has competed in every single BOLA tournament in history. While Strong has more experience in this tournament, Elgin made it to the finals last year in his first ever BOLA, so he's no slouch either. This was a very good match. There a few slow spots, but for the most part it was a solid encounter. The final ten minutes was the best part of the bout as Elgin and Strong really turned it up a notch.
Match rating - ***1/2
4) ACH vs. Kyle O'Reilly
Last month at Ten, O'Reilly put on an incredible technically based match with TJ Perkins, but somehow he managed to outdo himself and put on even BETTER match here! I expected this to be good, but ACH & Kyle went out and blew my expectations out of the water. I wasn't that familiar with ACH, but I thought he was mainly a high flyer/spot monkey - I was wrong. Kyle is a master of submissions and ACH hung right there and showed his technical wrestling skills. O'Reilly continues to impress the hell out of me with how he can catch someone in a submission ANYWHERE. Here he reversed a powerbomb attempt from ACH into a guilliotine choke as well as catching ACH in mid-air and locking him in a
cross arm bar! Incredible match! Definitely a match of the year candidate.
Match rating - ****1/2
5) B-Boy, Tommaso Ciampa, & Willie Mack vs. Joey Ryan, Chuck Taylor & Trent? (Best Friends)
This match reminded why I love PWG so damn much. It was so fucking fun. Comedy, insane spots, and great exchanges - this was your classic PWG six man tag! From the start this was hilarious as Best Friends put their hands in and yelled "Best Friends" while B-Boy, Ciampa, and Mack did the same except they yelled "FUCK YOU!" towards Team Best Friends. Chuck Taylor then stuck a chair in the back of his pants since Knox wouldn't let him bring it in the ring. When Taylor eventually got tagged in he acted like he forgot it was there and it got caught on the rope so he couldn't get in the ring. Chuck's hilarious antics continued as he dropped a "grenade" in the pants of Ciampa and when it "exploded" EVERY man in the ring jumped in the air, hilarious stuff and the crowd popped big for it. Beyond the comedy, these guys manged to pull of a huge submission hold that involved ALL six men. This turned into chaos after the first ten minutes as all six men were in the ring. They started poking each other in the eyes and Referee Rick Knox tried to stop them, but was then poked in the eyes as well. This left the match with no referee so Anthony Nese came down from the commentary table and hit the ring. Nese pulled a referee shirt out of his shorts and put it on and played referee. At this point the action really broke down as nearly ever man took turns diving out of the ring onto their opponents. Once all six men were outside the ring Trent got on the top rope, but was met by Ciampa. Trent fought back and SUPERPLEXED CIAMPA OFF THE TOP TURNBUCKLE onto Willie, B-Boy, Joey, and Chuck! Insane spot! After that car crash of a spot, Ciampa set up a chair pyramid similar to what he did the night before. Chuck Taylor got on the mic and tried to get Ciampa not to powerbomb Trent through it, but Ciampa ignored him. Then Brian Cage, the guy Ciampa powerbomb through a chair pyramid last night, came out from the back. Ciampa leans over and volunteers himself for the powerbomb through the chairs!! Cage proceeds to powerbomb Ciampa through the chairs! Holy shit! Ciampa is rolled back in the ring for the three count! Hilariously awesome match! I love PWG!
Match rating - ***1/2
6) Michael Elgin vs. Johnny Gargano - Semi Final Round Match
Gargana has really become the darkhorse of this whole tournament. He's had to face men that are nearly twice his size in every match so far including this one. The previous night he defeated Willie Mack and earlier in the evening he somehow managed to defeat Kevin Steen. The question on everyone's mind is can Gargano do it again? This match and whole tournament has really made me a fan of Gargano. Elgin threw everything he had at Gargano here, but he somehow managed to always fight out of it. This was an awesome match that had multiple near falls. Elgin knocked the shit out of Gargano numerous times with vicious lariats and hard strikes to the head, but Gargana kept fighting back. When Elgin locked Gargano in the crossface in the center of the ring, I was like 'this has to be it'. But Gargano fought his way to the ropes. In the end, a huge powerbomb off the top rope is what put Gargano away. Amazing match that really proved Gargano to be one of the best and toughest going today.
Match rating - ****
7) Drake Younger vs. Kyle O'Reilly - Semi Final Round Match
What better way to continue this awesome show than with two of the hardest hitting guys in PWG squaring off and Kevin Steen joining Excalibur for commentary! I was super excited for this bout as I'm a huge fan of both Younger and O'Reilly. These guys put on the match that I knew they were capable of and it was great! To start the bout, neither man could gain the upper hand which resulted in the two locking heads in the center of the ring before exchanging strikes! Such an epic moment. On a hilarious note, if you've seen PWG before you know that when someone kicks their opponent in the back, Excalibur always says "This is fucking unnecessary". Well, Drake kicked Kyle extremely hard in the back then looked at Excalibur and Steen and yelled "FUCKING UNNECESSARY!" Funny moment. The mood didn't stay lighthearted for long though as Drake and Kyle locked horns once again. This bout saw Kyle go out of his comfort zone and stack chairs on top of Drake before catapulting himself out of the ring where he delivered a somersault onto Drake and the chairs! Drake fought back however and set up four chairs, placing Kyle on them. Drake ran on the apron and cut a backflip, but Kyle moved and Drake ate shit on the chairs! Brutal spot! O'Reilly took full advantage of this opportunity and ran/dove off the apron and delivered his signature flying dropkick to Drake who was in a chair in the crowd recovering. This was yet another awesome match! This show has been absolutely epic so far and it's not even over yet!
Match rating - ***3/4
8) The Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. AR Fox, Rich Swann, & Candice LeRae
Where do I even start? This match was 20 minutes of absolute insanity. All six participants in this match are awesome individually so I knew when you put all of them together it would be epic. It was fast paced the whole match. The action seemingly never stopped. Although it did stop for a moment as Fox, Swann, and Candice led the crowd in singing "ALL NIGHT LOOONG" which is always fun. Everyone liked it except for Adam Cole who visibly got pissed. After the crowd finally calmed down, Cole pointed to Candice and said "Give me the whore!" This shit is getting serious! Candice gets in the ring to "Fuck him up, Candice, Fuck him up!" chants! Candice jumped on Cole and beat his ass. Cole tagged in Nick Jackson who offered a handshake to Candice, but then he slapped the shit out of her! What a dick! The Bucks & Cole play the heels so perfectly! Swann & Fox came in next to show off and do some crazy shit. I can't even do play by play for this match because so much insane stuff happened. AR Fox hit an insane inverted backflip off the top rope to the outside, Candice spiked Matt with a DDT before ascending to the top turnbuckle and cutting a backflip off onto Cole & Nick, Fox ran and dove OVER the top turnbuckle onto The Bucks, one of the Bucks fell into the front row of fans off the apron, Candice dove out of the ring and hit a flying DDT, and so much more. This match was awesome! The end came when Candice was left in the ring alone with The Bucks & Cole, but she didn't back down. In fact, she agged them on saying "Come on motherfuckers!" The Bucks & Cole then hit a triple dropkick on her for the victory! Match of the year candidate, must see match!
Match rating - ****1/2
9) Kyle O'Reilly vs. Michael Elgin
Both men had already wrestled twice on this night, but they still managed to put together an awesome match. It didn't last very long, but it was still a great match. Both men fought hard and showed how much the BOLA trophy meant to them. This was Elgin's second year in a row in the finals of BOLA so he has experience in a match of this caliber. Kyle went for the guillotine chokehold multiple times early on, but Elgin managed to fight his way out of it each time. Kyle kept taking the fight to him however as he went for a sunset flip off the apron, but Elgin hung on. O'Reilly then proceeded to hit a backdrop suplex on Elgin off the apron to the floor! Elgin was able to regain control however as he catches Kyle in mid air and slammed him into the ring. Elgin threw Kyle back in the ring and hit a huge moonsault off the top rope, but Kyle kicked out. The two end up having a showdown in the middle of the ring where one man would get on his knees and allow the other man to hit him with his best strike. That exchange best describes this match. Both men hitting each other with EVERYTHING they had then coming back for more. The strikes these guys hit each other with were so stuff. From Elgin kicking Kyle so hard that his mouth guard flew out to Kyle rocking Elgin with vicious elbows and kicks, it was very physical. This was just a phenomenal back and forth match between two of the best wrestlers on the Indy scene today. In the end, Kyle O'Reilly's hot streak in PWG continues as he wins the Battle of Los Angeles tournament of 2013! So happy for him as he's one of my favorites! The crowd chants "Next World Champ" as Kyle celebrates!
Match rating - ***3/4
After the match, PWG World Champion and O'Reilly's former partner, Adam Cole comes to the ring. He congratulates Kyle and then says Kyle was always the 2ND best member of Future Shock. Cole then tells Kyle that he will never be PWG World Champion, but before he can continue Kyle superkicks Cole in the face! Just as this happen, here come The Young Bucks! They hit the ring and attack Kyle O'Reilly. As they are beating him down, Candice LeRae hobbles to the ring to help Kyle, but she gets beat down immediately by Cole & The Bucks. Kyle gets on top of Candice to cover her up from the beating, but it continues. Then out comes Joey Ryan. Most people in the crowd thought Joey was out here to beat down long time rival Candice LeRae or maybe reform The Dynasty, but Joey says "No one loves a good heel faction like I do, but no one beats this girl up but me!" JOEY RYAN SUPERKICKS ADAM COLE! The Bucks jump on Joey and beat him down. DRAKE YOUNGER HITS THE RING and starts cleaning house on The Bucks. The numbers game becomes too much for even Drake however so they beat him down as well. This brings out Referee Rick Knox who has a chair in hand. Kevin Steen is on commentary and he says he's had enough and leaves the commentary table and heads to the ring to help Knox fight off Cole & The Bucks. Steen gets in the ring and PACKAGE PILEDRIVER TO RICK KNOX! WHAT THE FUCK! Steen stares down Cole & The Bucks and HUGS THEM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RING! What have we just seen?! Steen then kicks Kyle O'Reilly and Joey Ryan before taking Kyle's trophy and breaking it over his knee! Steen, Cole, & The Bucks flaunt in the ring before B-Boy, Johnny Gargano, Willie Mack, Rich Swann, and the rest of the locker room hit the ring and run them off. Steen, Cole, and The Bucks stand at the entrance way together as the crowd chants "WHAT THE FUCK!"
Steen, Cole, and The Bucks finally go to the back as Kyle O'Reilly takes the microphone and says "I'm not gonna let a bunch of fucking dickheads ruin my celebration." O'Reilly goes on to thank the fans and every wrestler in the ring. He says nights like this is why he became a pro wrestler. O'Reilly then proclaims that he is the next PWG World Champion as the crowd chants "Next World Champ!"
Overall thoughts: WOW! Once again, PWG has blown me away. This will go down as one of the best PWG shows EVER. The match quality was outstanding. Every match from top to bottom was great. There were three match of the year candidate bouts on this show (O'Reilly/ACH, Elgin/Gargano, & Cole/Bucks-Candice/Fox/Swann) alone. On top of the match quality, the ending was the icing on the cake. It was nothing short of amazing. NO ONE saw it coming. This is an example of a PERFECT wrestling show. Flawless from top to bottom. I'd definitely go out of my way to get this one. Best show of 2013 hands down. I recommend to every wrestling fan out there. Whether you watch PWG regularly or you've never seen it - Get this DVD! You won't be disappointed!
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