PWG: Battle of Los Angeles 2008 - Stage Two Review

PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2008 - Stage 2 DVD Review

1) Brandon Bonham vs. Nigel McGuinness
Bonham impressed me on Night 1 with his match against Kenny Omega and he had the chance to do so again here against one of the best in the world, Nigel McGuinness. This was match was good for what it was. It only lasted 10 minutes (if that), but it was fun while it lasted. While Bonham wasn't able to pull the upset, he left a good impression and took the fight to Nigel leaving him with a bloody nose. Decent opening match.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Low Ki vs. Masata Yoshino
I had high expectations for this match, but unfortunately they weren't able to get enough to create a great match. Just like the opening match, it didn't get much time which doesn't bother me all that much since there are three rounds of the tournament being contested on this show so everything can't go long. I just think one of these opening matches should have gotten a bit more time. This was fun while it lasted though. Enjoyed it a bit more than the opening bout, hence the slight rating increase.

Match rating - ***

3) Bryan Danielson vs. TJ Perkins
Being a big fan of both guys, I expected this to be really good and it turned out to be absolutely fantastic. The first ten minutes consisted of mat wrestling and alot of technical exchanges. TJP began working over Bryan's leg and continued that as the battle spilled to the outside. Bryan got the upperhand and went for a dive off the apron, but TJ moved and Bryan landed in some chairs. TJP then slammed Bryan's leg into
the ring post taking back control of the match. The action went back into the ring and was pretty competitive for the rest of the match. Perkins continued to try to go hold for hold with Bryan, but as Kenny Omega on commentary said "Perkins can counter, but Bryan Danielson has counters for counters." Beyond the outstanding technical wrestling, the other thing I loved about this match was how well Bryan sold his injuries. He got Perkins in Cattle Mutilation late in the match, but he only put pressure on one of his legs because the other had been getting worked over by Perkins. This caused Perkins to be able to get to the ropes. Bryan then took TJP to the top rope, but Perkins fought out from under him and pushed Danielson off the top turnbuckle to the floor! Damn! Nasty spill to the outside. Perkins was looking to get the count out victory as he dropkicked Bryan every time he got to the apron until Bryan ducked and catapulted himself over the rope to roll up Perkins for the win! One hell of a match that told a fantastic story!

Match rating - ***3/4

4) Chris Hero vs. Scott Lost
After Danielson and Perkins tore the house down, Hero and Lost had alot to follow, but they started it off with a bang as Lost dropkicked Hero as soon as the bell rang. The action was very fast paced throughout and fun to watch. It featured alot of strikes. From Lost's kicks to Hero's vicious elbows, it was a strike heavy match. Lost hit a sick ace crusher on the floor that really turned the match in his favor. Despite that, Hero fought back and nailed Lost with a brutal roaring elbow then locked him in the STF for the victory! Very good match!

Match rating - ***1/2

5) Low Ki vs. Nigel McGuinness
I was so nervous for Nigel going into this match. He had been bloodied during his opening match earlier in the night with Brandon Bonham, but I was unsure how bad the injury was. Well, when Nigel got in the ring, I saw it and was immediately sketched out. Nigel's left eye had huge swollen bump under it and it was purple. His nose was swollen a bit as well. With a guy like Low Ki, he could kick Nigel in the side of the head and cause some serious injury so Nigel was very touchy in this match. Nigel's injury didn't take away from this match however, it was just as great as I expected. As weird as it may sound, the injury may have added to the match because of how much interest it peaked inside myself and others as to how Nigel would respond to Ki's offense. Low Ki targeted Nigel's eye/nose after about five minutes stomping and rubbing his boot on the injury. That made me cringe! Nigel scooted out of the ring and recovered. The match soon turned into a strike battle as the two trade chops and forearms in the middle of the ring. Nigel begins bleeding a bit from his nose again - not sure if it was from the stomps or strikes. Somehow it fires Nigel up and knocks Ki to the ground with a vicious lariat! This is awesome! Nigel is a fucking beast. Nigel fights hard throughout the match, but in the end Low Ki comes out on top with the dragon clutch submission hold that causes Nigel to tap out. Another damn good match!

Match rating - ***3/4

6) Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Hero
Danielson was going into this match with an injured knee after his match with Perkins earlier in the night so this one told a good story. This was a really good match as one would expect from these two guys. Hero targeted the leg of Bryan and hit him with multiple roaring elbows, but Dragon fought back every time even with some strikes of his own. Danielson once again proved that he's one of the toughest guys in pro wrestling. Despite that, one man can only take so much and Hero was able to cause Bryan to submit and advance to the final round. Good match.

Match rating - ***1/4

7) Austin Aries, Davey Richards, & Roderick Strong vs. El Generico, Nick Jackson, & Necro Butcher vs. Chuck Taylor, Kenny Omega, & Joey Ryan
This match was even crazier than I expected. And no I don't mean there were a ton of spots because there weren't. This was just absolutely insane and filled with tons of comedy. From the beginning when Chuck Taylor stole a fans sunglasses, hat, and camera then tried to take a picture of Necro Butcher - I knew this would be hilarious. In this match we also learned that Joey Ryan's bandana is worn in tribute to his dog, Scout. The bandana then was ripped off and Aries put it in his tights. He took it out and ended up getting thrown at someone in the crowd as well as on the ref. Speaking of the ref, he took some hits in this one, mainly from Necro Butcher who apparently wasn't wearing his contacts and he hit the ref by accident in the beginning. Then Aries started doing reverse armdrags on everyone, but Necro took over doing hiptosses on EVERYONE, his opponents, his partners, AND the referee. So hilarious. The most breathtaking moment in the match though came when Davey Richards threw Kenny Omega into the ropes and they completely snapped! Omega fell hard to the floor! WOW! I've never seen anything like that happen. The match continued with no ropes and Omega took some time to recover, but just when everyone thought he was gone, he stood on the concession table and got a microphone. Omega told all of the wrestlers who were in the midst of a big brawl to stop. He told them there's no need to keep wrestling the match because "We're all losers anyway". This leads to everyone else in the match chasing Omega around the arena! They chase him through the crowd as Roddy throws a chair at him. Omega retreats up the stairs and makes it past Aries & Richards then glides to the outside of the arena where Chuck Taylor and Generico chase him through the grass. This was an absolutely hilarious match and possibly the wildest in PWG history. Once again PWG shows that they not only provide the best wrestling, but also the best entertainment aspect as well.

Match rating - ***1/2

8) Low Ki vs. Chris Hero
I've stated that some of the other matches on this show were stiff, but damn - this was the stiffest and most brutal match of them all. The match was pretty even and technically based for the first few moments, but it soon turned into Low Ki's favor when a stiff kick to the face busted Hero's nose open. That was so brutal to watch. It looked like Hero's nose was busted across the bridge of it as well as blood flowing out of it. This gave Low Ki a target and he continued with kicks and strikes. Hero fought back however with some very stiff strikes to Ki's head. Then Low Ki hit his most vicious kick of the match that sent Hero to his knees. As he sat there you could clearly see blood dropping out of his nose to the mat. Man this match is brutal. The closing sequence of near falls and false finishes had me on the edge of my seat. This was just an awesome match. I was unsure about how it would turn out since the ropes hadn't been repaired yet and there was only one up, but these guys put together the best match of the whole tournament.

Match rating - ****1/2

Overall thoughts: This was a really good show. I'm inclined to say I enjoyed it even more than Night One, but in reality they are both great shows. Some outstanding matches on each night, so I'd recommend picking up Stage 2 along with Stage 1. They were both very good shows and I enjoyed watching & reviewing them.

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