PWG: Eight DVD Review

PWG Eight Review

This is PWG's 8th Anniversary show. It features the return of PAC (Adrian Neville) and CIMA to PWG as well as TWO World Title matches! Also, starting with this review going forward, I'll be including who's on commentary for each match since PWG has guests join Excalibur for commentary through out the night.

1) Kevin Steen vs. PAC
What a way to start the show! Steen jawed back & forth with PAC and the fans before the match as well as during it which was absolutely hilarious. There was alot of comedy before the match began such as a test of strength because Steen kept remarking how big PAC had gotten. This led to one fan chanting "We Want Wrestling!" to which Steen responded with "THIS IS WRESTLING YOU
FUCKFACE!" And that's why Kevin Steen is awesome. That and how awesome he was in this match. PAC was just as amazing however. Some of the most outstanding moves here include PAC corkscrewing off the top rope to the outside and landing on his feet only for Steen to powerbomb him on the apron! Ouch! Some other moments that stood out were PAC's inward 630 splash and Steen's hanging DDT off the top rope that spiked PAC's head into the mat. Awesome match!

Match rating - ****

2) Brian Cage vs. Brandon Gatson
After Steen and PAC tore the house down in the opening match, these guys had alot to follow, but they managed to put together a very good match. Some innovative manuevers here such as a tarantula submission hold on the apron and a lariat that turned Gatson inside out on the apron. A good bit of action on the outside here as well. Good match. And I have to note how small Cage looks here, if you know what he looks like now (in 2014), you'll be shocked to see how much smaller he is if you buy this DVD (it took place in 2011). Three years makes a big difference!

Match rating - ***

3) El Generico & Ricochet vs. Alex Shelley & Roderick Strong
This match was exactly how I though it would be - batshit crazy. It started off with a fast paced opening sequence between Roderick Strong and Ricochet, but soon slowed down a bit and turned into Shelley & Strong working over Generico. Then Ricochet got the tag and everything was absolutely insane for the final ten minutes or so. Ricochet dove over Generico AND the top turnbuckle to the outside of the ring into Shelley which was absolutely unbelieveable. Also in this match, Ricochet somehow countered out of a brainbuster attempt from Roderick Strong into a hurricanrana! This was just an amazing match with too many outstanding moments to name in this review, just plain awesome!

Match rating - ***3/4

4) Peter Avalon vs. Ryan Taylor
This was my first time seeing them compete in singles action as they are normally in tag matches. They put together a very entertaining match that ended up having a screwy ending. Avalon brough a chair into the ring, but before he could use it, Brian Cage ran up to the apron and took the chair. Ryan Taylor recovered, but Avalon ended up pushing him into Cage who was holding the chair which allowed him to pick up the win. Fun match!

Match rating - **3/4

5) Joey Ryan & Scorpio Sky vs. RockNES Monsters (Johnny Yuma & Johnny Goodtime)

Commentary - Excalibur & Peter Avalon
The way this match started foreshadowed how crazy the rest of the bout would be as Joey Ryan & Scorpio Sky dove over the top rope onto Yuma & Goodtime during their entrance. The two teams brawled on the outside for a bit then out of nowhere Scorpio Sky runs on the apron and dives off into the crowd onto the Rocknes Monsters! This match never slowed down and was action packed until the end. Just so much stuff happened here. The Young Bucks were the determing factor in this one however as they distracted the ref while Joey was trying to go for a pin. This allowed Yuma & Goodtime a chance to recover and pick up the win. Despite the screwy finish, this was an extremely entertaining match.

Match rating - ***1/2

6) The Young Bucks vs. Kevin Steen & CIMA
Just like the previous match, this one started with a bang as The Young Bucks attacked CIMA & Steen as they were making their entrance. The Bucks got the early advantage by double powerbombing Steen onto the apron. That spot looked really rough as the back of Steen's neck caught the brunt of the slam. From that point on, The Bucks isolated Steen and tried to finish him off. Eventually CIMA got the tag and everything broke down into insanity. Tons of big moves from both teams. The ending was very innovative as Steen hooked one of the Bucks in a sharpshooter then CIMA hit a double footstomp off the top rope while Steen still had the sharpshooter locked in. Steen & CIMA get the submission victory. Awesome match!

Match rating - ***3/4

7) Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro) vs. Chris Hero - PWG World Championship Match
This was a nice change of pace from most of the other bouts on the card. Hero and Claudio put on a slower match with alot of submissions and technical wrestling. Claudio began targeting the knee of Hero and worked it over the majority of the match with alot of innovative submissions and slams. Several of them will make you cringe as Claudio jerked Hero's leg in the total opposite direction it's supposed to go at one point as well as slamming him close to the ropes causing his knee to come down over the rope. The ending sequence was fantastic as well. Alot of strikes were involved which made for an exciting finish, but in the end it was Claudio's neautralizer submission hold that earned him a submission victory to retain his title. Great match!

Match rating - ***1/2

After the match, Kevin Steen comes down from the commentary booth and challenges Claudio to a match for the World Title. Claudio declines and leaves. Steen begins talking about how it's PWG's 8th Anniversary when out of nowhere Claudio hits the ring and nails Kevin Steen with a big kick to the head! Claudio calls for the bell and it rings. WE'VE GOT A WORLD TITLE MATCH! Claudio goes for a powerbomb, Steen reverses, SHARPSHOOTER! Claudio is tapping, but the referee is down. HERE COME THE YOUNG BUCKS! DOUBLE SUPERKICK TO STEEN! Claudio covers Steen, a referee runs to the ring 1...2... STEEN KICKS OUT! The Young Bucks are back on the apron, but JOEY RYAN AND SCORPIO SKY ATTACK THEM ON THE OUTSIDE! This is insane! Steen gets to his feet, Claudio hits the ropes, BIG LARIAT TO STEEN! Claudio goes for the powerbomb, Steen reverse into a sunset flip 1..2.. CLAUDIO KICKS OUT! Steen superkicks Claudio then sets him up.. PACKAGE PILEDRIVER TO CLAUDIO! 1..2..3.. KEVIN STEEN IS THE NEW PWG WORLD CHAMPION! The crowd explodes in approval! Wow! That was awesome! That was one of the most hyped moments in PWG history, the crowd in attendance loved that finish!

Overall thoughts: Another awesome show from PWG. They really know how to give the fans what they want. There wasn't any bad matches on this show as usual. Five of the seven matches were rated 8 or higher so that right there tells you how great this show was. I definitely recommed checking this show out, it's fantastic. And if you're a Kevin Steen fan, this is the show for you. He has three matches in one night, got alot of mic time, and won the World Title. Great stuff!

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