This was the debut of both Steen & Generico in PWG. They were originally supposed to face The Aerial Express in a tag team match, but they didn't show so Steen & Generico ended up having to go one on one with each other. Steen seemed pretty happy about this as he went on the attack right away. Both guys were setting out to impress here as they pulled out all the stops to put on a great mid-card match. Alot of fun action here and as usual Steen was very entertaining with his trash talking throughout the match. Really good bout.
Match rating - ***1/2
2) El Generico & Quicksilver vs. Scott Lost & Chris Bosh - Beyond The Thunderdome
Very good tag team match here. Both teams impressed me, particulary Bosh & Lost who hit a ton of sick double team moves. I've always been a mark for Lost so it's no surprise that I enjoyed his work here. Generico tore the house down here as well though along with the other two competitors. After a lot of back and forth action and several near falls, Generico & Quicksilver pick up the win. Great match.
Match rating - ***3/4
Some hilarious segments featuring El Generico and Colt Cabana aired here. In one, they sat in a chair and threw money at an old lady sweeping the floor as if she was a stripper. In the other, they did the same to Excalibur while he was reading a book. The two acted as if they were sexually pleased by watching him read as Cabana groaned "Yes, yes turn the page!" Then they walk into Candice LeRae's locker room to find her undressing and they aren't even phased. Cabana says "This is gay, let's get out of here." Just hilarious shit. You can't go wrong with some comedy from Cabana & Generico.
3) El Generico vs. CIMA - Battle of Los Angeles 2006 - Semi Finals
This was easily the most technically based match on the DVD thus far. That isn't a bad thing though, it was a nice change of pace. A nice display of the catch as catch can style along with some submissions during the early of the bout. The two soon took to the air with some jaw dropping moves such as Generico diving through the turnbuckles and planting CIMA with a DDT on the floor. The closing sequence featured alot of near falls with each man hitting their big moves on the other, but neither were able to get the pin. Another great match.
Match rating - ***3/4
4) El Generico vs. PAC - All Star Weekend IV
Things have been fantastic so far, but I was expecting this DVD to be taken to a whole nother level with this match. The match these two had at All Star Weekend V which took place a year after this bout, is one of my favorite matches of all time. With that being said, it left me eager to see this match since it was their first encounter in PWG. I had high expectations and I'll go ahead and say it from the start - they blew me away. This was even better than I expected. The chemistry that Generico & PAC have is just amazing to watch. I can't even begin to call all of the things they did in this match because this review would be pretty lengthy. There were so many jaw dropping moments and breath taking manuevers that I had to give the DVD a rest after watching the match - it was that awesome. As for which match of their's from PWG is better - I honestly can't decide. Both are absolutely epic and need to be seen by anyone who calls themselves a wrestling fan. If you're a fan of Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn in WWE NXT, you need to seek this match out. Amazing match.
Match rating - ****1/2
5) El Generico & Kevin Steen vs. PAC & Roderick Strong - Giant Sized Annual #4
Here El Generico is the PWG World Champion and he's challenging for the tag team titles with partner Kevin Steen. This match oozes with unbelievable talent so I was hyped for it. I was just excited to see PAC & El Generico in the same ring again. On top of that, Kevin Steen and Roderick Strong are involved?! Oh man! These guys went all out here and produced an awesome tag team match. As if I expected nothing less from PWG & these four guys. Action packed, fantastic wrestling. Not much else I can say here. Generico picks up the win and becomes a double crown champion in PWG as he holds both the PWG World Championship and the PWG World Tag Team Titles. Awesome match.
Match rating - ****1/4
6) El Generico vs. Bryan Danielson - PWG World Title Match - Giant Sized Annual #4
After his exhausting tag team title victory, El Generico was met by a challenge from Bryan Danielson. The American Dragon came to the ring with a bloody bandage around his head bearing the scars of his match with Necro Butcher earlier in the evening. Danielson coaxes Generico into putting his title on the line and we've got an impromptu PWG World Title Match on our hands! This one only went about 10 minutes or so, but considering both men had already competed in physically demanding matches on this night, I was fine with it. Despite the somewhat short time, these two pulled out all the stops and produced a great match. Dragon took it to Generico and took alot to put him away, but after repeated knees to the head and locking him in the Cattle Mutilation for the second time - Bryan Danielson becomes the new PWG World Champion. Generico lost, but looked super strong in defeat. Great match.
Match rating - ***3/4
7) El Generico vs. Nigel McGuinness - 2007 Battle of Los Angeles - Semi Finals
I was interested to see how Generico's style would mesh with Nigel's and they ended up working well together. It was a pretty basic match, but it was still a fun watch. There's nothing here that will blow you away though, just a good wrestling match between two outstanding competitors. Generico picks up the win by rolling up Nigel. Solid match.
Match rating - ***1/4
Some vignettes from the feud between El Generico and Chuck Taylor & Kenny Omega aired at this point in the DVD to prepare us for the upcoming match. I had already seen most of these, but they were still funny to go back and watch.
8) El Generico vs. Kenny Omega - Express Written Consent
The segments that aired before this match set the stage for it perfectly. The vignettes showed El Generico having problems with Omega & Taylor backstage only for referee Rick Knox to come to his aid. That ended up playing into this match as Omega & Knox started arguing near the end about the count so Omega threw Knox into the ropes and Knox nailed Omega with a clothesline that turns him outside! That was so awesome haha. There was alot of comedy in this match and I think most will enjoy it since the backstory is shown before it. The action in the final sequence is on point though as there are alot of near falls. I reviewed this match a few months ago and gave it a higher rating originally, but I'm lowering it a bit because it doesn't hold up well. It's still entertaining, but not worthy of the high rating I gave it originally. Guess I loved it so much that it led me to overrate it. Just goes to show how enjoyable this bout is. Fun match.
Match rating - ***1/4
9) El Generico & Human Tornado vs. The Young Bucks - Threemendous II
This was your basic tag team match to start off with each team trying to isolate one member of the other team in order to earn the advantage. Some good wrestling here, but nothing out of this world. They turned it up near the end and produced a fantastic closing sequence with alot of action. Good match. This bout also featured the first time someone ever kicked out of More Bang For Your Buck which is epic in itself.
Match rating - ***1/2
10) El Generico vs. Shingo Tagaki - Guerre San Frontieres
I've heard this match get alot of praise so I was really excited to finally see it for myself. Needless to say, it lived up to expectations. Both men hit each other with everything they had in their respective arsenals, but it wasn't enough to put the other man away. There were alot of near falls at the end that kept me on the edge of my seat. Karl Anderson on commentary portrayed how awesome this bout was simply by saying "I'm getting chills right now." It was THAT damn good. Phenomenal match.
Match rating - ****1/2
11) El Generico vs. Chuck Taylor - Reseda Street Fight - Speed of Sound
This match was nuts! Generico and Taylor were embroiled in a heated feud for several months in PWG. Alot of the segments were included on this DVD to set the stage for this match which is a nice touch for new fans. The match started off hot with Taylor & Generico brawling around ringside and even fighting into the women's bathroom! Things really got crazy when they got up on the stage where Taylor dove over a table off the stage onto Generico. The two continued fighting in the crowd where Generico hit a running DDT off the wall! That was amazing! Back in the ring, the two came up with several nice spots including Taylor bodyslamming Generico through a chair. The final spot was the most jawdropping and dangerous of them all though as Taylor powerbombed Generico off the top rope through a table then delivered the Awful Waffle to him in the remains of the table! Holy shit! Awesome street fight!
Match rating - ****
12) El Generico & Kevin Steen vs. The Young Bucks
Wow, this one was just fantatsic from beginning to end. The early exchanges were very fun to watch as Generico & The Bucks are so fluent in the ring. The final 15 minutes of this match are what makes this go from outstanding to classic. I've never seen so many near falls in one match and that's not a bad thing. With every near fall, the crowd (and myself) got even more into the match. These guys nailed each other with every move in their arsenal, but it wasn't enough to pick up the win. Finally The Bucks get the victory after nailing Kevin Steen with atleast 10 superkicks. I didn't count because I was in utter shock. They kicked him atleast 6 times and he kicked out so they started superkicking him again which finally put him away. Steen got a bloody nose in the process, but damn that was amazing to watch. This whole match was just phenomenal. A PWG classic.
Match rating - ****3/4
13) El Generico vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger - Kurt Russell Reunion
This is a dream encounter for many people including myself. Liger is a living legend and to see him going up against Generico in a PWG ring is just unbelievable. The two waste little time kicking this match into high gear as most of the bout was action packed and never slowed down for a second. My favorite moment was Generico hitting Liger with the kick in the corner and pulling him out for the brainbuster, but before he can Liger hits the brainbuster on him! Brilliant move! This was the great match that you would expect from these two. If it would've went longer, it could have been a classic, but regardless - this was very good for what it was.
Match rating - ***1/2
14) El Generico & Paul London vs. The Young Bucks vs. The Cutler Bros - Guerrilla Warfare Match for the PWG World Tag Team Titles - SEVEN
I've watched this match multiple times because of how awesome it is so I had no problem going back and watching it again here. Spot heavy, weapons filled, insane brawl - that's the best way to describe this. From The Cutlers throwing Generico off the stage onto London & The Bucks to the phenomenal finish that saw London hit a shooting star press off the top turnbuckle to the outside while Generico hit one of The Bucks with the top rope brainbuster - it was nonstop jaw dropping action. There were alot of spots here using a variety of weapons including chairs, tables, and whatever else they could find in the legion hall. The best word to describe this is pandimonium. Awesome match.
Match rating - ****1/4
15) El Generico vs. Ricochet - The Curse of Guerrilla Island
The story here was Generico possibly facing a turning point in his career depending on how he reacted towards Ricochet being the first guy to come into PWG and match his speed & agility. That story was portrayed perfectly here as Ricochet got the advantage early on and Generico visibly showed frustration. These two went back and forth trying to prove who the better highflyer was and it was just amazing to watch. There were alot of awesome sequences here as you would expect from a match involving these two. Words won't do this one justice. Fantastic match.
Match rating - ****1/4
16) El Generico vs. Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro) - 2011 Battle of Los Angeles
With the fantastic series of bouts these two have had in WWE recently, I had high expectations for this one. Thankfully, those expectations were met. Even back in 2011, these two had an amazing chemistry and it was put on display here. There was a minor botch or two, but it doesn't take away from what was an outstanding match. The bout started off slow, but it soon picked up and by the end of the match, Claudio and Generico had every fan in Reseda on their feet. Just an awesome match that's very fun to watch.
Match rating - ****
17) El Generico vs. Kevin Steen - Ladder Match for the PWG World Title - Steen Wolf
I've seen this match multiple times and it never gets old. In my opinion, this is one of the best matches in PWG history. There was a big fight atmosphere in Reseda as Generico and Steen went to war and beat the living shit out of each other. This was one rollercoaster ride of a match which featured multiple jaw dropping ladder spots that will take your breath away. I personally think this is the best match these two ever had and that's saying something because they had so many epic encounters during their rivalry. I'll just sum this match up in one word - Classic.
Match rating - *****
Overall thoughts: I'll say it from the start. Go get this DVD. It's filled with phenomenal matches and several PWG classics. Nearly half the matches on here are rated at **** or above which means the majority of the matches on here are must-see. There's not one single bad match on this set. Everything ranges from really good to completely awesome. If you're a fan of Sami Zayn's work in WWE on NXT, I HIGHLY recommend checking this out. I'd honestly recommend this to any wrestling fan though. Phenomenal DVD, one of my favorite compilations that I own. And as I said before, I highly recommend checking this out.
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