Just like Night Two's opener between Candice & Swann, this was a great way to start the show as the action never slowed down. This one didn't last long, but they packed alot into the time they had. Some highlights were Gargano dropping Candice face first on the top turnbuckle, Candice hitting multiple highflying manuevers, and Candice locking Gargano in his own submission, the Gargano Escape. This one was on it's way to getting a higher rating, but the finish was a little controversial and took away from the match a bit. This was still a very enjoyable opener though. Fun stuff.
Match rating - ***
2) TJ Perkins vs. Ricochet - Second Round Match
This bout starts off with some referee shenanigans that had the fans chanting "three way dance" in reference to Rick Knox joining the match. THAT would have been fantastic. None the less, this one got going with some nice technical wrestling which was a change of pace for a Ricochet match. Although there wasn't much highflying here, there was a good bit of fast paced action
which was probably expected because TJP and Ricochet are two of the quickest guys in PWG. It was nice seeing them go at it in this first time ever match. Solid match.
Match rating - ***1/4
3) Michael Elgin vs. Trevor Lee - Second Round Match
I was really looking forward to this one. Michael Elgin had the tournament match of the night on Night 1 with Tomasso Ciampa so I was hoping that would carry over into this match with the hottest new star in PWG, Trevor Lee. This wasn't quite as amazing as I expected, but these two still put on a damn good match. Lee showed off some fantastic offense like usual and wowed the crowd by hitting a deadlift german suplex on Elgin. Lee ends up picking up the upset victory with a roll up. Good match.
Match rating - ***1/2
4) Kenny Omega vs. Matt Sydal - Second Round Match
Here we have yet another first time dream match that you won't see anywhere else except PWG. This was excellent for what it was. Considered this show is going to have like 12 matches on it, it's understandable that some of these first few matches won't go too long. Despite that, these guys did alot of awesome stuff with the time they had. It started off a bit slow, but things really picked up during the second half of the match. Very good bout.
Match rating - ***1/2
5) AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong - Second Round Match
These two tore the house down earlier this year in ROH so I was super excited to see them go at it again. This one felt like a heated rivalry as they went after each other with elbows from the opening bell. I think they were kind of playing off the fact that Styles injured Strong in their match earlier this year and it added alot to this bout. Just when this one was getting good, a bogus DQ happened. DQ's are rare in PWG so I'll let it slide simply because it's a fantastic way to draw more heat onto Roddy. This one was good while it lasted.
Match rating - ***1/2
6) Kyle O'Reilly vs. Zack Sabre Jr - Second Round Match
"Best in the World! Best in the World!" Those chants rang through the legion hall in Reseda as these two world class athletes locked up in the PWG ring and I tend to agree. I've been singing the praises of Kyle O'Reilly for a while now and this match furthered that claim. As for Zack Sabre Jr, this weekend was my first time seeing him compete and he's blown me away. With that being said, it's probably no surprise to anyone that this match was fantastic. I don't think there are any better technicians today than these two and it was showcased here as we saw outstanding chain wrestling, a variety of never before seen submissions/holds, and some very stiff strikes. Sabre Jr seems to pull a new trick out of his playbook every time I see him wrestle and that trend continued here as he countered out of a chokehold on the top rope and hit O'Reilly with a flying cross arm breaker. Just amazing stuff. Things got even more crazy as Kyle hit a sick michinoku driver that planted Sabre's head into the mat before stomping him in the head Bryan Danielson style and locking in the triangle choke which forced Sabre to tap out. Awesome match. A definite MOTY candidate.
Match rating - ****1/4
After the match, O'Reilly hugs Sabre in the corner as the crowd and turns around to a RUNNING KNEE FROM RODERICK STRONG! Strong nails Sabre with a vicious knee in the corner before hitting O'Reilly with a backbreaker. Strong heads to the outside and begins setting up chairs in the ring. Rick Knox and Excalibur try to stop him, but they both recieve chairshots. Roddy then proceeds to sling Kyle in their and send him crashing through three chairs! Holy shit! Kyle's body literally flattened all three chairs which were standing up.
At this point in the show, it was announced that Kyle O'Reilly would no longer be able to compete in the tournament because of the assault he suffered at the hands of Strong. This means Roderick will be recieving a BYE to the final round.
7) The Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Chris Sabin, ACH, & Brian Myers
After such a heated segment, something was needed to lighten the mood and this match did just that. I never thought I'd say that about a match involving The Bucks & Cole considering the heat they were drawing at this time last year, but the crowd is really starting to turn around on them since they lost all their belts. This match was one of those crazy PWG spotfest with a ton of awesome fan & referee interaction. The Bucks go to superkick ring announcer Angelo Trinidad for the second night in a row, but he ducks and DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE TO THE YOUNG BUCKS! Angelino then gives The Bucks and Cole the crotch chop! Sabin, ACH, & Myers take full advantage of this by taking turns diving to the outside, but The Bucks & Cole recover and hit a triple dive onto the babyfaces. This match featured mark out moment after mark out moment as Brian Myers bodyslammed everyone including Rick Knox, but Knox countered and rolled Myers up while Adam Cole did the count! 1..2.. KNOX KICKS OUT! Wait, what? Moments like this are why I love PWG, so much fun. The insanity continues as ACH hits his always astounding inside/out dive then climbs on the stage and yells "CROWD SURF!" He proceeds to get crowd surfed to the ring, but The Bucks are waiting on the ring apron, SUPERKICK TO ACH ON TOP OF ALL THE FANS! This all happened in the opening 5-6 minutes so there were a ton more awesome moments/spots, but I can't remember them all. This match was absolutely crazy and I loved it!
Match rating - ***3/4
8) Trevor Lee vs. Johnny Gargano - Semi Final Round Match
These two went full speed from the moment this match began as a fast paced exchange in-ring led to Gargano hitting an epic running blockbuster neckbreaker off the apron to the floor on Trevor Lee. That was the pace of this whole match. These guys never slowed down and just beat the shit out of each other with a variety of moves through the entire 15-20 minutes of this bout. The awesome action combined with the extremely close series of near falls in the final few minutes made for an outstanding match. This was easily Lee's best match since his fantastic three way debut match. There were a few minor slip ups here and there which kept this one from creeping into four star territory, but it don't let that take away from this match because it was still great.
Match rating - ***3/4
9) Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega - Semi Final Round Match
This one started off in chaos as Ricochet dove to the outside onto Omega only a few minutes in then retreated to the commentary booth. Ricochet and Excalibur are talking on commentary when all of a sudden a chair flies in and hits both of them. Never turn your back on Kenny Omega! The action gets back in the ring and slows down for a bit, but they soon turned it up and this ended up being the awesome match that I was expecting. So many jaw dropping counters and manuevers such as Omega hitting a dragon suplex on Ricochet on the ring apron and Omega going for a Croyt's Wrath off the top rope, but Ricochet somehow managing to land on his feet. Awesome match.
Match rating - ****1/4
10) Willie Mack, Chris Hero, Joey Ryan, Chuck Taylor, & Rich Swann vs. Tomasso Ciampa, Biff Busick, Drew Gulak, Cedric Alexander, & Bobby Fish
I'm sure you've probably already heard about how absolutely fantastic this match was thanks to how fast word spread about the minute long slow motion sequence that has to be seen to be believed.
Beyond the slow motion sequence, this match was just so much damn fun all around. The action was off the charts throughout as we got a fast paced technical exchange between Chris Hero & Drew Gulak to start off, tons of dives including one from Chris Hero, and a Chuck Taylor grenade spot to end the insanity. What more can you ask for? Some may say I'm overrating this one, but this is entertainment in wrestling at it's finest. These guys had Reseda rocking the whole time. Great, great stuff.
Match rating - ****
11) Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong - Final Round
The first thing I'd like to mention is how much heat Roddy got here during his introduction. It's been building since ELEVEN, but his major heel turn happened earlier this evening and PWG did a fantastic job booking it because he's getting almost as much heat as Adam Cole used to get. As for the match, it went a bit longer than I expected which wasn't a bad thing because it was super fun to watch. All three men went full speed from the opening bell and hit alot of innovative multi-man spots throughout the match such as Gargano diving into the ring for a spear only for Ricochet to dive OVER him to the outside onto Roderick Strong. There was also an awesome exchange that saw Ricochet counter out of a top rope hurricanrana by landing on his feet which led to an epic striking exchange between all three guys that left each man exhausted as they fell to the mat. There was also a good amount of storytelling here because of all the things that had transpired earlier in the evening. Excalibur and Chris Hero did an awesome job of laying out the back story to this match on commentary by mentioning the fact that Rick Knox was reffing this match with a broken wrist thanks to Roddy's chair shot on him earlier this evening. That led to the question of whether or not it would play a factor in the match because of Knox having a grudge against Roddy or even because he would have to count slower because his arm was wrapped. This was an all around great three way match and very fitting way to close out the tournament. In the end, Ricochet picks up the win to become the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles champion!
Match rating - ***3/4
After the match, Roderick Strong attacks Ricochet with a sick kick followed by a vicious backbreaker. Roddy then proceeded to slam the BOLA trophy to the mat which broke a piece of it off the top. Strong exits the ring to "ASSHOLE" chants from the audience. He's getting major heat now!
Ricochet finally recovers and grabs the mic to give his victory speech. He starts off by mentioning his first ever match in PWG against Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro) at the 2010 Battle of Los Angeles tournament. Ricochet explains how the crowd took him in on that night and how much it meant to him. Ricochet closes by saying that whether it's the shitty little man Roderick Strong, the current champ Kyle O'Reilly, or even Brad Maddox who was sitting front row - he will be the next PWG World Champion.
Overall thoughts: This was an awesome show. From top to bottom, I was entertained thoroughly. Every match delivered in some way and the ongoing story throughout the night of Roderick Strong's villanous side coming out was interesting to watch unfold. Beyond the action and stories told, there were alot of great memories on this show that I doubt anyone will ever forget. Some of these include the slow motion spot in the 10 man tag, ACH crowd surfing only to get superkicked, Rick Knox getting rolled up and Adam Cole counting the pin, and most of all, seeing Ricochet's 4 years of hard work and outstanding performances in PWG pay off as he won the 2014 BOLA tournament. This show reminded me of why I love PWG. It had everything you can ask for in a wrestling show - awesome matches, comedy/entertainment, and storytelling. I highly recommend picking this show up along with the other two nights. Great stuff from PWG yet again.
Thanks for reading and be sure to follow @ThePWTruth and @EthanPWT on Twitter! Also, if you want to order this DVD, head over to prowrestlingguerrilla.com!
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