This event also features the PWG debut of Uhaa Nation, the returns of Brian Cage & AR Fox after they missed BOLA due to injury, and a guest appearance by Ronda Rousey in the crowd. So let's not wait any longer to get into the festivities!
1) Biff Busick vs. Tomasso Ciampa
After a year in PWG, Ciampa finally had his breakout performance at BOLA in an impressive bout with Michael Elgin. In my review of those shows, I said that I felt like this would propel Ciampa to the next level in PWG and after seeing this match with Busick, I think it's safe to say I was right. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but the show opened up with "CIAMPA'S GONNA KILL YOU!" chants ringing through my tv screen. Busick & Ciampa then proceeded to tear the house down in what was arguably one of the best opening matches in PWG history. I honestly think this ranks right up there with Steen/PAC and Bucks/Edwards & Strong. This was one of the most vicious matches I've seen recently and the crowd was super hot so it made this even more awesome. Some highlights include a brutal trading of strikes, a half & half suplex off the top turnbuckle, and Ronda Rousey chopping Busick at ringside. Busick has only been on 4 PWG shows, but he's already established himself, this match did alot for him and continued to raise the stock of Ciampa. Awesome opener!
Match rating - ***3/4
2) Cedric Alexander vs. Bobby Fish
I was really looking forward to this one. Alexander is been a favorite of mine for awhile and Fish is part of argubaly the best tag team going today, ReDragon - what's not to love? Things got going and it was just as enjoyable as I expected. Fish worked over the leg early on however he never did enough damage to affect the outcome of the match. There were some great exchanges here such as Fish trying to kick Alexander's legs out from under him only for Alexander to jump in the air, go for a moonsault off the apron, Fish moves, Alexander lands on his feet, Fish runs back in the ring, Alexander springboards off the top rope and meets him with a clothesline. Good match however it wasn't able to follow the barnburner of an opener between Busick and Ciampa.
Match rating - ***1/4
3) Brian Cage vs. Uhaa Nation
The buzz around Uhaa Nation recently has been astounding so it was only a matter of time before he showed up in PWG and needless to say, he lived up to the hype. Cage & Uhaa are ver similar in that they are both muscular yet agile, although I think Uhaa has the slight edge when it comes to speed. None the less, it was just amazing to watch two guys of this size do what they did in this match. There's not much else I can say except to watch this match and be blown away.
Match rating - ***3/4
4) Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae vs. Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano - PWG World Tag Team Title Match
These four have faced off multiple times this year in one way or another. Whether it was Chuck teaming with Trent against Joey & Candice or Gargano facing Candice and Chuck in singles encounters at BOLA. They've all spent alot of time in the ring together in PWG this year. With that being said, this wasn't anything that will blow you away, but it's still the consisently great performance that you should expect from these four. The exchanges between Gargano & Candice were fantastic and seeing Chuck & Gargano team up again was awesome as we got to see alot of their old double team moves. Good tag title match.
Match rating - ***1/2
5) Adam Cole vs. Trevor Lee
The question going into this match was whether or not Lee would be able to defeat yet another former World Champion. I had no idea who would come out on top here so it made for an exciting match. Lee's first match in PWG was amazing. But ever since then, his singles encounters have been good but nowhere near the level of his debut match. Coming out of BOLA, my thoughts on him were essentially this - he's got a ton of potential and is really good for his age, but his matches with Elgin & Gargano showed that he's got some improving to do. That improvement can come from working with more experienced talent and I think that's why PWG has been booking him against so many big names. It's definitely been a smart move because this match was really good and in my opinion was Lee's best overall singles match in PWG this year. There were many great exchanges, some unique reversals, and they told a good story.
Match rating - ***1/4
6) The Young Bucks vs. ACH & AR Fox
HE'S BACK! HE'S BACK! AR FOX IS BACK AND HE HITS A DEATH DEFYING INVERTED FLIP OFF THE TOP ROPE ONLY MINUTES INTO THE MATCH. Yup, it happened. Fox's last appearance in PWG was back in May at Sold Our Soul For Rock N Roll before he got sidelined with an injury that caused him to miss the BOLA tournament. I was so bummed that he missed the tournament so the anticipation for his return was high here. I think Fox must have been really looking forward to coming back to action because dammit, he was the star of this match. Just crazy shit after crazy shit and unbelievable selling throughout the entire match. ACH had his share of memorable moments here as well though as we saw Stone Cold ACH return for a bit to deliver a stunner to Nick. As for The Young Bucks, they were their usual awesome selves and delivered a match full of superkicks and crotch chops. This was just absolute insanity and so much fun. I love a good spotfest and that's exactly what this was.
Match rating - ****
7) Kyle O'Reilly vs. Roderick Strong - PWG World Title Match
This match had been building for three months and it finally came to a head here. Tensions boiled over from the start as both men took the fight around ringside. The action in this one never slowed down and was hardhitting & stiff until the closing bell. This wasn't either of these men's finest work however it was the perfect match to have considering the bad blood between these two. It wasn't technical, it wasn't pure, it was just a fight.
Match rating - ***1/2
Overall thoughts: In my opinion, this was your basic PWG show which is always good. Every match on the card was easy on the eyes and very enjoyable. There wasn't as much variety on this card as there normally is but that doesn't hinder it. The evening mainly consisted of hardhitting bouts and spot fests which is something that PWG does better than any other company. So with that being said, this is a show I recommend checking out if you're a fan of that sort of thing. There's nothing here that's must see although you'd certainly get your money's worth. Busick/Ciampa and Fox & ACH/Bucks were the best matches of the night.
Follow me on Twitter @EthanPWT and this blog @ThePWTruth to keep up with all my future reviews & articles!
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