1) Adam Page vs. Lance Lude
I'm familiar with Page from his work in ROH so I figured this would be pretty good despite being totally unfamiliar with Lance Lude. Page got a nice reaction from the crowd while Lude didn't get much of a reaction at all. Once the commentators began talking, I learned that this was Lude's debut so that explains that lack of reaction during his entrance. This match never really got off the ground in my opinion. Every time it was about to take
off, a slip up would happen and throw me off. There were minor errors such as Lude going for a roll up, but Page's shoulders never got all the way down so the ref didn't count and Lude going for a monkey flip type manuever, but slipping and not going for the cover. Little things like that held this back from being a solid match. Page did some impressive stuff here though such as a standing shooting star press which kept this from being a complete dud.
Match rating - **
2) Los Ben Dejos & Jake Manning vs. Worst Case Scenario & Chase Brown
Pretty funny mic exchange between Brown & Manning before this bout got under way which led to a run in from Worst Case Scenario. This was originally supposed to be a singles bout, but when WCS ran in and Los Ben Dejos made the save, this turned into a six man tag. Los Ben Dejos really stood out here. They seem like a great tag team and put in an impressive performance in this match. And oddly enough, I was pretty fond of Chase Brown. His quirky remarks such as running into the ring after an action packed exchange and yelling "I'M STILL THE LEGAL MAN!" cracked me up. Fun little six man tag match.
Match rating - **3/4
3) Trevor Lee vs. Shane Strickland
This was the match I was most looking forward to on the undercard and as soon as it got underway, I was reminded of why. I was first exposed to Trevor Lee when he debuted in PWG earlier this year and he really impressed me. That being said, I really wanted to see more of his work so seeing him on this DVD was a drawing factor. This show is from 2013 so it was before Lee debuted in PWG so I was really interested to see him here. As for Strickland, I'd heard of him, but never seen him compete so he had the chance to impress me here since I was already invested in the match because of Lee. The match started off a bit slow with both guys basically just feeling each other out. Once things got going on though, these guys turned up the heat. Several great exchanges here with alot of counters. Lee impressed me here just like he did in PWG. However, he played a different role here as he was the heel in this match and he did a damn good job of it. Lee bent the rules throughout and even pushed the ref into the ropes causing Strickland to lose his balance on the top rope. Strickland made a good impression on me as well. Good match.
Match rating - ***1/2
4) Amber O'Neal & Ivelisse vs. Mia Yim & Amanda Rodriguez
Here we have two PWX regulars each paired with a PWX newcomer. O'Neil and Rodriguez had a feud in PWX during the summer of 2013 and it will be reignited in this tag team match. I've heard alot about Yim & Ivelisse so I was interested to see what they brought to the table. And while they both impressed me here, this match really wasn't anything special. Pretty basic tag match that went around 10 minutes, if that.
Match rating - **1/2
5) Andrew Everett vs. Rich Swann
Earlier I said that Lee/Strickland was one of the reasons I bought this DVD and here you have the second reason I bought this DVD. Swann is someone I've been watching tear it up in PWG and DGUSA for months while Everett is a guy that I've just been exposed to and needless to say, I've been impressed. That being said, this was somewhat of a dream match for me. The two start off with some comedy then get right down to business with a fast exchange of manuevers, but after that the match slows down to a very methodical pace and is kept that way until the final few minutes. This wasn't quite as awesome as I was expecting, but it was still enjoyable. I hope to see these guys face off in the future and get more time to work with. I think they could create something special. Decent match, none the less.
Match rating - ***
6) Chip Day & Zane Riley vs. Corey Hollis & Marcellus King
The only person I'm familiar with here is Corey Hollis so I really had no idea what to expect going into this match. It was pretty action packed throughout and there were several nice exchanges. No one really stood out here aside from Chip Day who was pretty impressive along with Corey Hollis, who I already knew was talented. Pretty good tag match here.
Match rating - ***1/4
7) Cedric Alexander vs. Johnny Gargano
Now THIS is the good stuff! Throughout this review I've touched on reasons why I bought this DVD and we've just arrived at the main reason - Alexander vs Gargano! These two tore the house down here in what was an awesome match. Things were good right from the get go as the two went at it in a more technical exchange, but both men soon began looking to get the advantage and we got some damn good exchanges. My favorite had to be the strike exchange in the center of the ring that was filled with stiff kicks and elbows. It was so epic because both guys gave everything they had and fell to the mat afterwards as the crowd began chanting "This is Awesome!" Beyond the great exchanges, this match was built very well such as Gargano going for a dive early only to recieve an elbow from Cedric then near the end of the match Gargano went for the dive again and finally nailed it. Little things like that stood out to me. Just a fantastic match all around. Great effort from both guys.
Match rating - ****
8) Caleb Konley (c) vs. Drew Myers - PWX World Title Match
After Gargano and Alexander tore the house down, I really didn't expect this match to be able to follow it, but I was wrong. Konley and Drew Myers put on a match that was worthy of the main event slot on this show. Drew Myers really impressed me here considering this was my first time seeing him compete. I'm pretty familiar with Konley and he put in a great performance here as well. The commentators did a fantastic job detailing the story that led to this match up which really added to the bout because of how much emotion was in it. Everything here was superb from the storytelling to the in-ring action. Very good main event.
Match rating - ***3/4
Final thoughts: This show got off to a rocky start with Page/Lude, but after that this slowly transformed into a very solid show. The six man tag was very entertaining, Lee/Strickland was the first standout match, then Gargano/Alexander and Konley/Myers tore the house down thus proving why they deserved to be in the main event slots on the card. If you're interested in checking out PWX or just a new Indy company, I'd recommend checking this show out. It's only $5 on Highspots right now so go pick it up. The two main event matches alone are worth that price. Good show.
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