CHIKARA: Best of 2008 Review

1) Eddie Kingston vs. Shane Storm - Two Eyebrows Are Better Than One - 1/28/08
This was extremely intense. Apparently it took place on the pre-show of this particular event which blows my mind because I'm not sure anything else could've followed it. Storm ends up bleeding and his mask is soaked with blood during the bout. Both men took an absolute beating from each other here. Sick headbutts, back drop drivers, dangerous suplexes. Just an awesome brawl with alot of mark out moments. Crazy start to the set.

Match rating - ***3/4

2) Team IWS (El Generico & The Super Smash Bros) vs. The F1rst Family (Arik Cannon, Darin Corbin, & Ryan Cruz) - King of Trios Night One - 3/1/08
Just by looking at Team IWS, I'm sure you can tell this match was a ton of fun. It was pretty much just an exhibition for both teams with the action never slowing down which made for a highly entertaining contest. It had one of those insane closing sequences with a bunch of nearfalls which ruled if you're into that kind of stuff. Both trios displayed a number of great combination manuevers here as well. This delivered!

Match rating - ***1/2

3) FIST (Chuck Taylor, Gran Akuma & Icarus) vs. Da Soul Touchaz - King of Trios Night One - 3/1/08
The trios fun continues here. FIST do what they do best and isolate Marshall Rockette of the Soul Touchaz. He was the youngest and most inexperienced member of the team so that made alot of sense. Nice little heat segment which leads to Willie Richardson getting the hot tag and cleaning house. Chuck goes for a crossbody and Willie nails him - "NO DICE CHUCKIE T!!" proclaims Mike Quackenbush. After the two teams traded momentum for a bit, FIST ends up stealing another victory after Chuck nails a member of the Soul Touchaz with the Awful Waffle which got a huge pop from the crowd. Very fun match.

Match rating - ***1/4

4) Mike Quackenbush, Shane Storm, & Jorge Rivera vs. El Pantera, Lince Dorado, & Incognito - King of Trios Night Two - 3/2/08
This was a mixed bag. You had guys who were unbelievably smooth like Quack, Lince, & Pantera then you had Incognito & Storm. Jorge, the former Skayde, was solid here although certainly not his best performance. Shane Storm grew on me in watching the Best of 2005 & 2006 sets, but this match showcased his negatives as he tried to do things he had no business doing and nearly botched. He didn't though, which IS a positive, there were just several things that weren't so smooth. All in all, this was enjoyable for what it was. As I said before, it had a few rough moments in some exchanges although for the most part it was a good lucha exhibition that's very easy on the eyes.

Match rating - ***

5) Eddie Kingston, Ruckus & Joker vs. Team Japan - King of Trios Night Three - 3/2/08

PWG: Passive Hostility Review

1) Matt Sydal vs. Ronin
The show kicks off with the sound of TARO cracking open a coke to mix with his Jack Daniels. If that's not a sign that this will be a wild one, I'm not sure what is. Here we have a match that looks to be quite good. It may look like a waste of Matt Sydal on paper when you consider all the other people he could have faced, but as I've said before, Ronin is capable of having a solid match and I think the speed/size dynamic with Sydal will make for just that. The crowd is hot to start and they do some shenanigans with Ronin sitting in the front row to take a breather and Sydal following it up by taking a chair from a fan and sitting in the ring to watch him. They don't messs around long before getting right into the action and it never slows down. It's fast paced and pretty well done aside from being a bit awkward at times. A sloppy small package is made up for by Ronin TURNING SYDAL INSIDE OUT AND ONTO HIS HEAD WITH A LARIAT! FUCK! Sydal makes it up and gets death valley drivered. Ronin wins. Well then. Fast paced, action packed opener that only went a few minutes.

Match rating - **1/2

2) Davey Richards vs. Rocky Romero - WXW 16 Carat Gold Qualifying Match

PWG: All Star Weekend IV - Night Two Review

Date: November 8th, 2006

Commentators: Excalibur & Disco Machine

PWG World Champion - Joey Ryan (since Astonishing X-Mas: December 2005)

PWG World Tag Team Champions - Davey Richards & Roderick Strong (since All Star Weekend IV Night One)

1) Human Tornado (w/ Candice LeRae) vs. Petey Williams
It's Human Tornado so this was a lot of fun. Crazy to think Petey, a guy who was a top TNA X Division star at the time, was in the opening matches of both ASW shows on this weekend, but he did a good job with it. The crowd is hot just like on the previous night which always adds to things. Basic opener with Tornado getting the win. Petey was still unable to hit the destroyer during this match so he nails Tornado with it after the fact for a huge pop.. wha? Tornado is the most over guy at this point, why'd they do that? Just as I'm thinking this, Joey Ryan sneaks in and grabs his World Title belt back after Tornado stole it from him a few shows ago. Makes some sense now.

Match rating - **1/2

2) Christopher Daniels vs. Colt Cabana
This was pure comedy and in that regard, it was phenomenal. Easily the most entertaining Daniels match I've seen from that aspect. They do a ton of shenanigans here, many involving the referee. Foot stomps, eye pokes, three person waist locks, yeah.

Match rating - ***

3) Arrogance (Chris Bosh & Scott Lost) vs. Frankie Kazarian & M-Dogg 20

PWG: Horror Business Review

                               

Date: October 26th, 2006

Commentators: Disco Machine & TARO

PWG World Champion - Joey Ryan

PWG World Tag Team Champions - Super Dragon & B-Boy




1) Rocky Romero vs. TJ Perkins
It's the third match in what has become a pretty good series of contests between these two men who trained together for years. I can't really say anything about a match between TJ & Rocky that I haven't already said. They have great chemistry and the result is a very solid technically based contest. I wouldn't say this was their best match however it lived up to the quality of their previous meetings and was a good way to start the show.

Match rating - ***

2) Ronin vs. Shingo Takagi
SHINGOOOO! It's his PWG debut here. He's only been in the sport for three years at this point so he's on a US excursion to gain experience. I'm just bummed that they chose Ronin as his opponent. This wasn't bad at all though. The crowd really got into Shingo, especially for fighting spirit spots like the one near the end where Ronin nailed him with two death valley drivers for the victory.

Match rating - **1/2

3) Chris Bosh vs. Human Tornado (w/ Candice LeRae)
You can't really go long with either of these men. This wasn't high in quality, but it was entertaining which is expected. Bosh cut a promo beforehand and blames the tag title lost from a few weekends ago at Self Titled, on Scott Lost. Bosh says his path back to the PWG World Title starts here. There's not much to really talk about when it comes to the match aside from the fact that Bosh took it upon himself to suplex Candice into the chairs in the crowd. That was pretty crazy. Candice has been giving it her all in PWG for nearly 10 years now, so it's crazy to look back this far and see her still be willing to do spots like this.

Match rating - **1/2

4) Matt Sydal vs. Scorpio Sky (w/ Jade Chung)
I figured this would be fun and while it had it's moments, I'd say it was an overall disappointment. The interference and heel heat stuff was what it was, but the match just didn't seem to flow well. The best part was Sydal's comeback run at the end when he started hitting some of his stuff. Jade slid her boot in it at one point and Sky tried to hit Sydal with it only to nearly hit Jade which leads to her using to break up a pinfall. This was all unbeknowst to referee Aaron Hasaan that Disco & TARO have been ribbing on commentary all night.

Match rating - **1/4

5) Davey Richards vs. Scott Lost
The undercard had been underwhelming to this point after the opener, so I hoped these two would save it. At first, it looked like we'd be getting an average little match. I honestly wouldn't have been surprised if Davey nearly squashed Scott since this was his first appearance since winning BOLA. Well, I was delightfully wrong as these two went into an awesome 8 minute sequence of events near the end that turned this contest immediately around. Hard hitting, crisp counters, and several nearfalls. Matches like this remind me of something I say in nearly every review involving him - Scott Lost was SO good. Talk about misused. Not by PWG as much as the independent scene and ROH as a whole. None the less, Davey ends up getting the win after a good match. Had they produced a more intriguing opening half, this would probably on the higher end of three stars because that last section was great.

Match rating - ***1/4

6) Super Dragon & B-Boy (c) vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli - PWG World Tag Team Title Match
I almost forgot about this match and I have no clue how. On paper, it looks great. First off, it's KOW, they rule. Hero & B-Boy also have chemistry from their matches in IWA MS. And Claudio is Claudio and Dragon is Dragon. All these guys are extremely versatile for the most part which made for a match that never really got dull. You had heat segments, lucha exchanges, strike exchanges, traditional wrestling, high flying cheap heel tactis, and even a fighting spirt spot near the end. Essentially, a little bit of everything. Dragon & Claudio, of all people, had a lucha exchange early on that was crazy to see. Dragon ends up slinging himself over the top rope and immediately nailing a flip off the apron to the floor on Hero. Innovative spots like that made this one even more enjoyable. Near the end, Claudio got on fire and nailed a flipping slam on B-Boy off the top rope then hit a massive dive on Dragon on the outside that sent him into the crowd. Hero & B-Boy are back in the ring going at it while Dragon slings Claudio towards the ring apron. Claudio bounces up and springs his back off the ropes and nails Dragon. This was just highly entertaning from start to finish. Match of the night.

Match rating - ***3/4

7) Joey Ryan (c) vs. El Generico - PWG World Title Match
Ahhh. These Joey Ryan title defenses from 06 are a mixed bag. Many HATED them because of the interference you pretty much expected and while that hasn't bothered me thus far, it has reduced my excitement and interest in the match because I know what's eventually coming. This one was pretty fun. Joey had been messing with a girl in the crowd so when Generico got control after a huge floppy dive, he carried Joey around and let her & other fans slap him. The bout got carried back into the ring and Generico started running through his stuff. Joey kicks out of the helluva kick/half & half combo, regains control, and goes for the duff drop. It's time for the brainbuster as Generico reverses, but Joey fights out. Generico looks to go for a hurricanrana at this point and JOEY REVERSES WITH A POWERBOMB for a nearfall. They do some stuff with Knox stopping Joey from cheating and inadvertantly putting him in pinning predicaments which made for a few close falls THEN came the interference as Generico accidentally helluva kicks Knox. Jade Chung & Scorpio Sky run down. Joey gets some sort of spray and shoots it in Generico's eyes. Chris Bosh comes down dressed as El Generico and Knox is dazed so he counts the three as Joey has the faux El Generico covered. Sigh.

Match rating - **3/4

Human Tornado runs down after the match and nails Joey with a chair. Tornado gets a nice ovation, picks up the title, and seemingly leaves with it. Cool little cliffhanger to end the show with.

Check out my PWG fansite - TeamPWG/GuerrillaFanfare! It features news, results, a show review archive, plus it's where I will be posting reviews of all future events!

Follow @TheTeamPWG for all your Guerrilla Fandom

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Show after this: All Star Weekend IV - Night One

Show before this: Self Titled

Thanks for reading!

PWG: All Star Weekend IV - Night One Review

Date: November 17th, 2006

Location: Legion Hall - Reseda, CA

Commentators: Excalibur & Disco Machine

PWG World Champion: Joey Ryan (since Astonishing X-Mas - December 2005)

PWG World Tag Team Champions: Super Dragon & B-Boy (since Self Titled - October 2006)






1) Colt Cabana vs. Petey Williams
Man, this crowd is hot. It's almost like a modern day Reseda crowd. Cabana does some good comedy early on. Petey plays the cuntish character he's been playing in PWG by continuing to tease the Canadian Destroyer, but never hitting it. This was a decent enough opener. The crowd was hype, they did a little comedy, and had a few nice exchanges. Cabana wins.

Match rating - **1/2

2) Ronin vs. M-Dogg 20 (Matt Cross/Son of Havoc)
What the fuck is this crowd on?! Jeez, they were on fire here. M-Dogg set Reseda ablaze as he ran through his stuff on Ronin after being dominated for a short period of time. This only lasted a few minutes unfortunately however it still ruled thanks to how well the crowd responded. Ronin has been getting a ton of heat for just being Ronin and M Dogg came in with a bunch of flashy stuff that wowed the crowd. It was a pretty great dynamic. Ronin wins with a vicious death valley driver after kicking out of a phoenix splash.

Match rating - **3/4

3) Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs (w/ Lacey)

PWG: Self Titled Review

After the 2006 Battle of Los Angeles, PWG returned to Reseda on October 6th, 2006 for "Self Titled"! Davey Richards took his BOLA win and used it to get himself & Super Dragon another shot at the PWG World Tag Team Titles that belong to Chris Bosh & Scott Lost. That match goes down in the main event of the evening.

Disco Machine & TARO are on commentary. The lighting is much better than at BOLA. The legion hall looks exactly like it does currently in 2015. This is cool.

Quicksilver is in the ring for some reason to start the show. I'd find out later that he was named "interim commissioner" for the evening. He doesn't say anything of note aside from joking with a few fans before going to the back.




1) Ronin vs. Chasyn Rance
The crowd is being just as hard on Ronin as they were at BOLA by chanting "Fuck him up, new guy!" towards Chasyn Rance. Things were a little rough to start out, but this ended up being a fairly decent opener. Rance got to put his offense on display which was nice and included a driver variation, a dive, and a spikerana. Ronin ends up putting him away with a death valley driver if I remember correctly.

Match rating - **1/4

2) TJ Perkins vs. Rocky Romero
If you've seen these two face off before, you already know this was superb. They are so familiar with other and have such talent in the technical/scientifc aspect of wrestling that this was just a clinic. Lots of mat work and awesome counters. It wasn't a match with a story so to speak. It came off more as a clinic between two skilled technicans and the out of nowhere ending with a pinning combination played off that. Good little contest.

Match rating - ***1/4

3) Murder City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) vs. Cape Fear (El Generico & Quicksilver)

PWG: 2006 Battle of Los Angeles Night Three Review

Night One was solid. Night Two was crazy. That leads us here to Night Three. What adjective will aptly describe what takes place on this night? On the surface, it looks to be superb. 11 matches that will encompass the quarter, semi & final round matches. Talent from the Indies, Dragon Gate, & TNA. PLUS a star studded multi man match. I can't wait any longer.

1) El Generico vs. Chris Sabin - Second Round Match
This was such a fun match. Sabin tried to play into Generico's offense early on by trying arm drags and stuff. Generico outdoes him and Sabin heads to the outside. They traded momentum a lot in this opening contest and got the show off to a great start. Generico went for the helluva kick and was met with superkick which made for an awesome counter. Sabin would set Generico up for the stalling dropkick in the corner only for Generico to follow him across the ring and nail him with a helluva kick. This was the beginning of the end as Generico perched him up top and executed the top rope brainbuster for the win.

Match rating - ***

2) Kevin Steen vs. CIMA - Second Round Match

PWG: 2006 Battle of Los Angeles Night Two Review

Night 1 saw Chris Sabin, El Generico, Dragon Kid, CIMA, Kevin Steen, & Roderick Strong advance to the second round. There weren't any outstanding match ups despite Roddy & Rocky Romero putting on a very good contest and everything else being solid. On this event, we find out who else will advance to the quarterfinals on Night 3 as well as who will walk out with the gold in PWG as The Dynasty puts all their respective titles on the line. Joey Ryan defends against Human Tornado, Excalibur, & Petey Williams and Chris Bosh & Scott Lost defend against B-Boy & Homicide and The Briscoes.

Excalibur & Bryce Remsburg are your hosts on commentary. Last night's head commentator Disco Machine is in the opening match of the evening against Austin Aries!

1) Austin Aries vs. Disco Machine - First Round Match
Disco does some dancing early on only to get serious with some fast & furios offense as he hits a Super Dragon esque dive through the ropes at the corner of the ring onto Aries. That was about the peak of this one though, to be honest. Considering that was in the opening minutes, that tells you where this went from there. Well, actually, it didn't go anywhere from there which was the main thing that held this one down for me. It just stayed in second gear after the opening moments, it felt like. Aries picks up the win.

Match rating - **1/4

2) Davey Richards vs. Ronin - First Round Match

PWG: 2006 Battle of Los Angeles - Night 1 Review

The sixth edition of PWG's anthology sets just made it's way into my DVD collection. It covers the final 8 shows of 2006 including the 2006 BOLA tournament as well as All Star Weekend IV along with the first 2 shows of 2007. This is the first show in the compilation and it's the first night of the 2nd annual Battle of Los Angeles Tournament.

The historical significance of this show is big as it's Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's debut in the legion hall in Reseda that has become so synonymous with amazing wrestling in recent years thanks to the folks at PWG.

Disco Machine & TARO are on commentary for the evening with Rick Knox & Bryce Remsburg taking care of refereeing duties. The line up is loaded, so much so that Disco & TARO are saying this is the biggest set of shows in PWG at the time. The fact that Chris Sabin and Colt Cabana are facing off in the opening contest just goes to show how stacked things are. And to think Bryan Danielson was supposed to be invovled prior to injury. He would have perfectly rounded out this line up that also originally included Mark & Jay Briscoe. So, enough talking about it, let's see if this could live up to expectations.

1) Chris Sabin vs. Colt Cabana - First Round Match
This was a pretty fun opener. It's hard to go wrong with anything these two did in 2006 respectively so it's no real surprise that they put on an entertaining contest here despite it being fairly short. Cabana did some comedy however he didn't over do it. Sabin got most of his signature stuff in including my personal favorite, the running stalling drop kick in the corner. I don't think this was the best match that Sabin & Cabana could have as it ended rather abruptly after the two traded pinning combinations although it was a decent start to the show.

Match rating - **1/2

WWE: WrestleMania X7 Review

Earlier this week, I had the urge to watch some early 2000's WWE stuff. It was one of my favorite times in wrestling which probably comes as no surprise since it's what I grew up watching. This led to the question of what to watch. Unfortunately, I don't have the network so my catalog isn't as wide as most of you however I recently got the WrestleMania anthology that features WM's 16-20. I've watched three of them so I decided to go with one that I hadn't watched at all and 17 stood out so here we are!

The downfall to this anthology is that it has the same menus & music for every Mania instead of a unique set up for each of them. That's a minor gripe, of course, because it's only the selection menu, but hey, let's move on. They air the video package hyping the event. JR & Paul Heyman are on commentary - ohhhh yeah! I picked the right event!

 
1) Chris Jericho (c) vs. William Regal - Intercontinental Championship Match
They showed a video package highlighting what led to this match which was a nice touch considering I had no clue of any back story. Regal was the commissioner at this time and Y2J kept screwing with him by peeing in his tea cup and such. That led to this match where both men came hot out of the gate. Regal slows things down by targeting Jericho's injured shoulder and slamming it into the ring post. I say he slowed things down, but they never really slowed down per say. Certainly not long enough to tell much of a story. This was a decent opener albeit somewhat anti climatic. I feel like these two had a much better match in them. It just felt like they tried to fit everything into the small time they were given and it came off as rushed. Y2J wins rather abruptly with a lionsault.

Match rating - **

Backstage, there's a limo pulling up. There's a WCW 1 tag on it. Oh fuck! It's Shane McMahon. To my surprise, the Monday before this was when Shane announced that he'd bought WCW. I bet the buys were through the roof for this PPV after that!

PWG: Threemendous II Review

With Threemendous IV, the 12th Anniversary show, on the horizon. I decided to throwback to a few past events in the weeks before the upcoming celebration. On July 31st, 2009, PWG celebrated six years as a company with their event Threemendous II. The event is headlined by a Guerrilla Warfare Match as Joey Ryan tries to stop Chris Hero's World title reign from eclipsing his record championship run in 2006. Excalibur is on commentary with Joey Ryan to start the evening.

1) Johnny Goodtime, Jerome "LTP" Robinson, & Brandon Gatson vs. The Cutler Bros & Charles Mercury
This was the perfect way to start this show considering PWG has always been known for having crazy multi-man opening tag matches. This match mainly consists of newcomers to PWG at the time and they certainly made an impression. There were some not so smooth exchanges here and there, but for the most part this was a highly entertaining opening spotfest. Just a bunch of crazy stuff to get the crowd going. I really miss Johnny Goodtime & LTP in PWG. Here's to hoping they'll start getting booked again sooner or later.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Alex Shelley vs. Scott Lost

Best on the Indies: Chris Hero - Interviews With A Hero DVD Review

Best on the Indies: Chris Hero - Interviews with Hero (Deluxe Edition) Review

I've been wanting to check out Smart Mark Video's Best on the Indies series for quite some time and I figured there'd be no better place to start than with this huge six disc set chronicling Chris Hero's career up to 2011. The main features are two shoot interviews, one conducted in 2003, the other in 2011. All together, it adds up to over 7 hours of interview footage where Chris discusses everything from his training in 1998 all the way through his Independent career in the 2000's up to right before he signed to WWE in 2011.

Disc 1: 

2003 Interview
 
The presentation begins with the first ever shoot interview that SMV did with Hero in 2003 and holy throwback! They start things off discussing how he got into the wrestling business and his childhood/teenage years as a fan. Hero says he got out of wrestling around 9th grade until his senior year when he started watching again which led him to wanting to get into it after graduating high school. His first real training came at Les Thatcher's school despite having some prior, but it was from a guy who didn't know what he was doing. Interesting notes from this area of discussion include the fact that Nigel McGuinness and BJ Whitmer were both at the same training class Hero attended at Les Thatcher's school. That's really cool seeing how far all three guys have come.

IWA Mid-South is the next topic and really, the main topic considering that's where Hero worked prominently in 2000-2003. His feud with Punk is discussed and Hero reveals that their 93 minute 2/3 Falls match is his favorite of their series. I recently watched that match and can attest that it is a must see encounter. Hero talks about his friendship with Punk and tells the same story he would tell years later on the documentary that WWE did on Punk where he brought up the Deftones to start a conversation with Punk only to be shut down with a "Oh yeah? The Deftones suck."

Beyond Wrestling: When Satan Rules His World Review

Hey hey hey! It's Beyond Wrestling time! I've reviewed their previous two shows "King of Arts" and "Scorned" over on the main section of the site since they were MP4's however I got the actual DVD of this one so I figured I'd show the dvd reviews blog some love and post this here. Sorry if it gets confusing, but I try to make it as easy to find as possible. The best way to keep up is by following us on Twitter @ThePWTruth where I post every time something new is posted whether it be here, on the main blog, or on Team PWG! None the less, let's get into "When Satan Rules His World"!


1) Nation of Intoxication (Danny Havoc, Devon Moore & Lucky 13) vs. Team Pazuzu (Jaka, Angel Ortiz, & Mike Draztik)
This way better than I expected it to be. I was pumped to see Danny Havoc in Beyond and I knew all the names here were solid workers, I just didn't expect the high impact opener that we got. I loved how they put this match together as they brawled through the crowd early on and Lucky 13 hit a moonsault off the stairs. Then, things finally get back in the ring and tags start being made which leads to Team Pazuzu taking control of the bout. This builds up towards the hot tag for Havoc which leads to a crazy closing sequence from all six men. Reverse rana, death valley driver, dragon suplex. Great stuff to end a very fun opener.

Match rating - ***1/4

2) "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams vs. Conor Claxton
Two more awesome guys here. I loved Hot Sauce when I first saw him on "King of Arts", the first Beyond event I watched, and the crowd is massively behind him as well. Conor Claxton has been the breakout CZW star of 2015 so I'm interested to see what he can do here because I haven't seen him in any regular matches. He & Williams put together a pretty strike based contest in which Claxton looked like the under dog who wouldn't quit and I think he won over the Beyond fans based solely off that. This didn't last too long, but it was a successful outing, I'd say.

Match rating - **1/2

3) Symbiote (Davey Vega & Rickey Shane Page) vs. The Minute Men

Site News & Updates

It's been awhile since I've formally updated everyone on things and I feel the need to do so considering I've began alot of new projects that affect where I post some of my DVD reviews that I'd normally post here.

Most notably, I recently started up a site dedicated solely to the coverage of my favorite wrestling promotion, PWG, along with help from a few friends. I will be posting all my future reviews there, BUT I will also continue posting them here for a few months until all the regular readers of this blog get used to the change. I also may continue posting old show reviews here as well then adding them to the review archive on Guerrilla Fanfare which is where you can find links to every PWG DVD that I've ever reviewed. I'm excited about this venture and hope you'll come along for the ride. Follow us on Twitter @TheTeamPWG for updates & fun stuff! Also be on the look out for some YouTube content in the next few months (hopefully)! Click on the banner below to check out the blog!

Secondly, I've recently began going the MP4 route to save some money and be able to cover more wrestling. This throws a monkey wrench in the title of this site so it's kind of weird when deciding whether to post the reviews here or on my main blog. Well, recently, I've went with the main site and posted a few Beyond Wrestling reviews that I feel I should link you to below:
Beyond Wrestling: King of Arts Review
Beyond Wrestling: Scorned Review

I'll try to add images on the sidebar of this site to keep you updated on show reviews that I've posted elsewhere although I've also considered just publishing them twice. We'll see how it goes. The best way to keep up though is to just follow the blog on Twitter @ThePWTruth where I tweet out links to EVERYTHING I write whether it be here, on the main Pro Wrestling Truth site, or on Team PWG.

I think I've covered everything and done so in a short, effective manner so I'll go ahead and sign off from here. Thanks for supporting and reading, as always. This has grown way more than I ever expected and I can only thank you all for that!

PWG: Don't Sweat the Technique Review

NOTE: This review is also up on my PWG Fansite. I figured I would continue posting my PWG reviews here until everyone is used to the change. Enjoy!

On April 3rd, PWG returned with it's second event of 2015, Don't Sweat the Technique. It features the return of Zack Sabre Jr as well as the Reseda debut of Tommy End who hasn't competed under the PWG banner since 2006 when the promotion held a show in Germany. Excalibur & Rick Knox are on commentary to start the evening so let's get right into this highly anticipated event!

1) Brian Cage vs. Biff Busick
Apparently this match was supposed to go on later in the show however Cage had a flight to catch as he's been main eventing alot in Mexico recently so they are opening things. This one started off hot with Busick going for a running flip off the apron and CAGE CATCHES HIM IN MID AIR! I was marking out only moments into this thing! These two have clashed in various forms over the past few months so there wasn't anything you've never seen before here. Both men got their signature stuff in and the result was a decent opener. Not as good as past openers from Busick like he had against Mike Bailey and Tommaso Ciampa, but still a satisfactory contest.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Trevor Lee vs. Mike Bailey
WOW! These two very nearly killed each other. Lee starts off aggressive by charging Bailey. He's clearly wanting to get himself back on track after falling short in the main event last month. Bailey fights back and gets the audience all fired up with his standing kicks that he kept going for atleast 10-15 seconds straight. Speedball chants began ringing through the legion hall at this point.  One other notable moment around this time was Lee going for a german suplex and Bailey landing on his feet and nailing him with a kick to the head. After a nearfall or two in the ring, they end up outside on the apron and to quote Excalibur "SHIIIIIITTTTTT!" Lee goes for the german suplex he's been longing for, but Bailey ventures onto his shoulders. REVERSE HURRICANRANA ON THE RING APRON!!! Holy shit chants erupt. Mike Bailey isn't done though, he gets back on the ring apron and SHOOTING STAR KNEE DROP ONTO LEE ON THE FLOOR! He is officially over as hell in Reseda! Bailey goes for the shooting star press and Lee gets his knees up. Trevor Lee is up and SMALL PACKAGE DRIVERRRRRR! 1...2...3 - Trevor Lee picks up the victory over Mike Bailey in an absolute barnburner of a match.

Match rating - ***3/4

3) Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan vs. Beaver Boys (John Silver & Alex Reynolds)

CZW: Jon Moxley - Parental Advisory Explicit Violence 5 Disc Set Review

After months of having the majority of this review done, I'm here with the full thing. This is a five disc set that Highspots released that covers Jon Moxley's entire CZW career along with a few random matches from IWA Mid-South and NWA Force-1. It's time to take a look back at the early years of a man now known as Dean Ambrose.

1) Jon Moxley vs. Roderick Strong - IWA Mid South: 2008 Revolution Strong Style Tournament - 12/5/08
Being a fan of both guys, I was looking forward to this one right off the bat. This was a first round tournament match and didn't go very long although there were some good exchanges here. All in all, it's not anything special, but it was cool seeing these two lock up considering it will likely not happen again any time soon.

Match rating - **

2) Jon Moxley vs. Jon Dahmer - CZW: Total Havoc - 3/14/09
Much like the match with Roddy, this was pretty short. The reason this one was kept short was probably because it was the opener. Mox & Roddy made good use of the time they had however and the result was a decent opening match. Moxley wins with a DDT on a steel chair. Another rather short yet enjoyable match. Hope things pick up soon.

Match rating - **

3) The Switchblade Conspiracy (Jon Moxley & Sami Callihan) vs. Brain Damage & Drake Younger - CZW: An Eye For An Eye - 4/11/09
I said in the previous match review that I hope things would pick up soon. Well, my wish was granted as we got one hell of a match here. The first two matches on the set were pretty short and weren't brutal at all so when chairs, tables, & a fork came into play, I knew this one would be the first hardcore bout on the DVD. There were number of brutal moments here such as Moxley digging a fork into Damage's head and lip. If I remember correctly, all four men got busted open at some point in the match. The most jaw dropping spot saw Moxley throw Damage off the top turnbuckle to the floor through a table. I say through a table, but Damage hit mainly the floor although the table did break despite him only catching half of it. Good hardcore brawl.

Match rating - ***1/4

4) Jon Moxley vs. Brain Damage - CZW: Blood Pressure Rising - 5/9/09

PWG: 2010 Battle of Los Angeles Night One Review

Commentators: Excalibur, Austin Aries, Chris Hero, Chuck Taylor, Rick Knox, & Joey Ryan

Excalibur is in the ring to start the show and begins running down the card when The Young Bucks hit the ring. They protest their first round match which sees them face each other and try to get themselves counted out. Rick Knox won't have it and the match gets underway. Excalibur goes up to the stage to join Austin Aries on commentary and just as he does so DOUBLE SUPERKICK TO RICK KNOX! Double DQ is called by Patrick Hernandez and The Bucks are going to get off easy after all. Or so they thought! The Cutler Brothers come from behind the curtain and confront them which leads to the first actual match of the evening!


1) The Young Bucks vs. The Cutler Bros
If you've ever seen these two teams face off, you know this was great. They always seem to find a way to not make their matches feel repetitive. This match in particular was extremely different from the others as they delivered some awe inspiring counters that I'd never seen before. They had counters for each other's counters for each other's counters. It was unbelievable. The crowd was fired up the entire time and rightfully so considering this was just a month after these two teams were involved the classic three way Guerrilla Warfare match at SEVEN with El Generico & Paul London. None the less, The Cutlers pick up their first ever pinfall victory over The Young Bucks in a great opener.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Brandon Gatson vs. Ryan Taylor

CHIKARA: Best of 2006 Review

More CHIKARA? Yes sir! It may seem like overkill, but I've enjoyed going back & rewatching all the Best Of's so much that I decided to purchase the only ones that I don't already own. First up was 2005 earlier in the month, and now we take a look at the Best of 2006 compilation.

1) Team DDT (KUDO & MIKAMI) vs. Team Kaentai Dojo (MIYAWKI & Yoshiaki Yago - TWGP Night 1
This was a pleasant surprise to start out the set. I figured this would be good due to KUDO & MIYAWAKI being involved however I had no clue that this would blow the roof off the place. I was completely unfamiliar with Yago & MIKAMI, but they won me over with this outstanding performance. KUDO started out the bout against Yago with a sick strike exchange that was honestly unlike anything I've seen in wrestling. It was more like a MMA style exchange as the kicks thudded and they blocked each other's strikes with their arms. This viciousness ended momentarily only to kick in again in the insane closing sequence that has to be seen. An all around awesome match here. Everything was crisp and executed with precision. Kicks upon kicks, vicious lariats, dragon suplexes - all that good stuff.

Match rating - ***3/4

2) FIST (Gran Akuma & Icarus) vs. Shane Storm & MISTER ZERO - TWGP Night 2
Throwback to the 2005 season finale as Storm & Akuma are in the same ring. Boy, I was ready for this and it certainly delivered. It was interesting to see how the audience would react to Akuma being unmasked and he still got a ton of heat. In fact, he & Icarus got even more heat than they did in 2005. I think it's safe to say after seeing this that 2006 was when the massive boos started for Icarus. To think they would last all the way up through 2010-11 truly blows my mind. None the less, this match was pretty great. FIST attack early to try and get control and after a wild opening sequence, they do just that. This leads to the comeback from Storm & ZERO. In the midst of this, FIST regains the advantage and Icarus goes up top with ZERO. What is this? SPINNING PEDIGREE TO THE FLOOR! Did not expect this big of a spot here! Craziness! This kept ZERO down for the remainder of the match and allowed FIST to finish off Storm.

Match rating - ***1/4

3) Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Milano Collection AT & Skayde -TWGP Night 3
This is a rematch from last year which has me excited considering how much I enjoyed that encounter. It ended in a DQ just as things were heating up so with this being the match to crown the first ever Campeones Da Parejas (CHIKARA Tag Team Champions), I expect them to top it in a big way. Everything that made the first match so good was put on display here times two with both teams displaying some unbelievable team work. It had the same format as their previous encounter with KOW being outwrestled early due to their cockiness which led to cheap tactis & teamwork earning them the advantage. After a small period of KOW working over Milano & Skayde, the faces began their comeback which is where we got some great exchanges. This match didn't reach the level that I expected it to however it was certainly a worthy encounter to crown the first ever Campeones Da Parejas. KOW make CHIKARA history.

Match rating - ***3/4

4) Mike Quackenbush vs. Ares - WXW Championship Match - Naked

Best of AJ Styles in IWA Mid-South Review (Discs 2 & 3)

This is the second & third discs of a multi-disc set I got from Highspots. The first four discs feature Styles' best matches from his tenure in IWA-Mid South in the mid 2000's. I reviewed the first disc that featured a phenomenal (pun intended) match with Christopher Daniels. My review of that disc can be found here. That leads us to the next two discs which I've reviewed below.

Disc 2: Best of AJ Styles In IWA Mid-South - Part 2

8) AJ Styles vs. Chris Hero - Winter Wars 2003 - 12/19/03
This was the first ever meeting between these two men in any promotion. Prior to this match, I had only seen them face off once and it was 2 years after this encounter out in PWG at their Chanukah Chaos event. That match was good however I felt like they only scratched the surface of what they could do. I felt like this match was just as good as their PWG encounter that would happen two years later if not a bit better. The first half of the match saw AJ work over the leg of Hero in a number of ways including dropping him knee first on a chair. Hero sold it very well throughout the entire match. He finally was able to create some separation by hitting a backbreaker on Styles with the only downfall being that he used his hurt knee to do so. It ended up being the turning point in the match though as things were more evenly matched from that point. Styles was never able to hit the Styles Clash in this match despite several attempts. Hero came up with several unique counters to the move, one of which earned him a victory as Hero rolled out of the move and locked in a crossface variation to get the win via submission. Solid match, very well executed.


Match rating - ***1/4

9) AJ Styles vs. Michael Shane - 12/20/03
After Styles' match with Hero, Shane came down to the ring and had a staredown with him which was a nice precursor to this bout considering it took place just one night after the encounter with Hero. For that reason, I expected this one to be intense and blow me away since it had somewhat of a backstory, but unfortunately it was just an average bout. Not really much to talk about here aside from the finish where Styles hit a Styles Clash off the top rope for the victory.

Match rating - **1/4

10) AJ Styles vs. B-Boy - April Bloodshowers - 4/9/04

CHIKARA: Best of 2005 Review

I think it's safe to say at this point that 2015 will go down for me as the year that I discovered CHIKARA. With my most recent order, I've now purchased every Best of set from 2005-2012. I honestly never thought I'd get this into CHIKARA, but it happened and I'm certainly glad it did. So, to give a little background and foreshadowing - I've been up, down, and all around in my CHIKARA binge since January. I began with Best of 09 & 10 then purchased 11 & 12 then the 12 Large Tourney & Best of 07. Now, I'm here with the Best of 2005 in my DVD player and the Best of 2006 & 2008 on my shelf ready to be watched & reviewed after this so settle in! Nine discs of CHIKARA action are going to be reviewed in the coming months and we start here with this two disc "Best of 2005" set that can be purchased from Smart Mark Video.

1) Knight Eye For The Pirate Guy vs. Mano Metalico & Crossbones - Tag World Grand Prix 2005 Night One - 2/18/05
This wasn't a match that you would expect to be on a Best of set although it was still quite fun. If you've ever seen any of the men involved, you know that they are the big characters and do their fair share of comedy. That was displayed here well and it didn't last long so I can't complain however as said before, it's not something I'd put on a Best of Compilation. Eddie Kingston & Dave Prazak on commentary was fun to listen to.

Match rating - **

2) Team Toryumon X vs. Team Osaka Pro - Tag World Grand Prix 2005 Night Three - 2/20/05
I expected more comedy here, but we ended up getting quite the exciting tag match with some great action. Considering that Ebessan is involved, there was indeed some comedy however they didn't over do it. The team of Skayde & Milano put on a real show with Team Toryumon X holding their own as well. Solid tag team bout.

Match rating - **3/4

3) Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, & Arik Cannon) vs. Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, & Sabian - Remain in Light - 3/18/05

PWG: DDT4 2010 Review

Date: May 9th, 2010

Commentators: Excalibur, Rick Knox, Chris Hero, & Chuck Taylor

Champions:

PWG World Champion - Davey Richards

PWG World Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks

1) The Young Bucks vs. Johnny Goodtime & Jerome LTP Robinson - First Round Match
OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD, WHY AREN'T GOODTIME & LTP BOOKED IN PWG ANYMORE? This was awesome and the best possible opener you could ask for. This caught me completely off guard as I'm used to seeing Goodtime team with RockNES Monsters partner Johnny Yuma only to find out he worked as a singles guy and with a LTP for nearly a year prior to that. I'm certainly happy I found this out because maaaan, this shit rocked the house. I can't say much more. Fantastic opener. I'll likely go back and watch this one again. We're only one match in and everyone has a tough act to follow.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) El Generico & Paul London vs. Chuck Taylor & Scott Lost - First Round Match

PWG: Scared Straight Review

The fourth PWG event of 2008 "Scared Straight" sees the regime of Human Tornado continue as he, Claudio Castagnoli, & Eddie Kingston run roughshod over Reseda once again. Tornado defends his PWG Title against Jack Evans while Eddie Kingston battle Necro Butcher in a wild brawl. Also featured are two tag team matches in a qualifier series for the 2nd annual DDT4 tournament.

Date: March 7th, 2008

Commentators: Excalibur, Joey Ryan, Dino Winwood, & Eddie Kingston

PWG World Champion: Human Tornado - 2nd Reign

PWG World Tag Team Champions: Joey Ryan & Scott Lost - 2nd Reign

1) Scorpio Sky & Ronin vs. TJ Perkins & Hook Bomberry
This is another match in a mini tournament to qualify for the 2008 DDT4 Tournament. Both of these teams have 2 points so a win is a big deal here. Despite that, these are probably the two least interesing teams in the tourney so this wasn't that great although it wasn't particularly bad either. It ends in a DQ thanks to cheap tactics by TJP & Hook as they made it look like Ronin brought a chair into the match. The best thing about this was that they continued further add an identity to the characters of TJP & Hook. Other than that, this was a meh opener.

Match rating - **

2) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Roderick Strong

PWG: Dia De Los Dangerous Review

DIA DE LOS DANGEROUS!

Date: February 24th, 2008

Commentators: Excalibur & Dino Winwood

Champions: PWG World Champion - VACANT

PWG Tag Team Champions - Joey Ryan & Scott Lost

This is the fourth PWG event of 2008 and a pretty historic one as a new PWG World Champion will be crowned. Low Ki defeated Bryan Danielson for the belt in January and defended it successfully against El Generico earlier in February only to get injured and have to relinquish the belt. That led PWG to create a one night tournament to crown a new champion. That tournament takes place here. Roderick Strong gets a BYE to the finals because he was already the #1 Contender. The participants in the tournament are Frankie Kazarian, Karl Anderson, Necro Butcher, & Human Tornado. This show also features the return of Delirious and Hallowicked to PWG. Let's get into it!

1) The Young Bucks vs. Scorpio Sky & Ronin - DDT4 Qualifer Series
Around this time, PWG was running a little qualifer series with all the lower card tag teams with the team with the most points at the end of the series getting a place in the upcoming DDT4 tournament. This was one of those matches and it got the evening kicked off in great fashion. Fast paced action that never slowed down and brought the crowd to it's feet on several occassions. The most memorable moment here was Scorpio Sky going for a shooting star press of the stage onto all three of the other participants. Good opener.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Karl Anderson vs. Frankie Kazarian - Championship Tournament Match

PWG: Guitarmageddon Review

Date: June 11th, 2005

Commentary: Excalibur & Disco Machine

PWG World Champion: AJ Styles

PWG World Tag Team Champions: Arrogance (Chris Bosh & Scott Lost)
Chris Bosh & Scott Lost start the show with one of their always entertaining promos. It ranged from Bosh completely insulting the audience while eating beef jerky to Scott Lost asking which girls in the audience wanted to have sex with them. This leads us to the opening match of the evening.

1) Arrogance (Chris Bosh & Scott Lost) vs. Hook Bomberry & Top Gun Talwar - PWG World Tag Team Title Match
The outcome here was pretty obvious from the get go considering Arrogance have been champions for nearly a year at this point however all the bright personalities involved made for a fun match none the less. It was formatted basically with the heels eventually isolating one guy which led to Top Gun getting the hot tag. In a way, this exceeded my expectations because there were some pretty sweet moves here such as Bosh countering out of the Chipotle and nailing Top Gun with a backbreaker. This may have went a minute or two too long, but it still wasn't a bad way to start the show.

Match rating - **1/4

2) Davey Richards vs. Human Tornado vs. Puma (TJ Perkins) - Elimination Match

CHIKARA: Best of 2007 Review

My quest to watch as much CHIKARA as possible because of how awesome it is continues as we travel back in time to 2007. If I had known that I would become so hooked on this promotion, I would have started from the beginning with these "Best of" sets instead of going from 2009-2011 then back to 07. It's too late for that now though so just enjoy the ride!

1) Team TNA (Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley & Sonjay Dutt) vs. BLKOUT (Sabian, Ruckus, & Joker) - King of Trios Night Two
Ah! Sabin & Shelley were two of my favorite guys to watch at this period of time so I was pumped to see them in CHIKARA here. Shelley seems like someone who would have been a perfect there. I'm surprised he didn't become a mainstay. None the less, this was the debut weekend for "Team TNA" and they certainly impressed in this particular match. What I liked was that they played heels here which was completely different from what they were in TNA at the time. The X Division was mostly all loved and seeing three of it's finest athletes get the chance to do something a little out of the ordinary here was cool. Shelley got some good arm work in early on and his team defined themselves as heels by using sneaky & cheap tactis. BLKOUT would do some of their own later on in return however and we got a pretty competitive match as a result. Just great wrestling all around like you would expect fromthe names involved. I know they don't get talked about much, but Sabian & Ruckus have always been fun to watch and they hung right there with Sabin, Shelley, & Dutt. The finish to this match was awesome as Dutt & Shelley dove to the outside on opposites sides of the ring while Sabin hit the cradle shock. Excellent start to the set.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, & Shane Storm vs. El Pantera - King of Trios Night Two
I knew this would be a ton of fun right from the get go as Excalibur & Larry Sweeney were on commentary and ended up being a wonderful pairing. As a PWG fanatic, it was super cool seeing Excalibur calling CHIKARA action here considering their my 2nd favorite Independent promotion. And this was certainly vintage CHIKARA action for him to call as the signature style that the company has become known for was put on display here. There were a few minor slip ups from Storm, but other than that everything was very well done. This was a fun trios match as you can always expect from CHIKARA. It's not mindblowing, just fun action.

Match rating - ***

3) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Ricochet - King of Trios Night Three

CHIKARA: 12 Large Summit Tournament Review

In 2011, CHIKARA decided to implement it's first ever singles title aptly named the CHIKARA Grand Championship. How to decide who the first champion would be? A tournament. A 12 person tournament. A tournament held in honor of one of the brightest personalities to ever grace a CHIKARA ring - Larry Sweeney. This tournament is the 12 Large Summit and it is chronicled in it's entirety in this three disc set which I've reviewed in full below. Enjoy!

1) Mike Quackenbush vs. Hallowicked - Aniversario & His Amazing Friends - 5/21/11
The tournament begins with a teacher vs student match up between two long time members of the CHIKARA roster. This was everything you'd expect it to be. Fine technical wrestling to start out with Quack targeting the arm of Hallowicked. There were some lucha exchanges here as well though with Quack also nailing several high flying manuevers including an isai moonsault to the outside. The final moments featured big moves, unique counters, and nearfalls however it would end during the midst of a flurry of pinning combinations. Hallowicked gets the surprise victory and gains two points. Nice match to get things going.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Brodie Lee vs. Vin Gerard - Aniversario: The Legendary Super Power Shows - 5/22/11
This is an odd match on paper. Lee & Gerard are largely known as friends and beyond that, the vast size difference makes for a mismatch in Brodie's favor. Despite all that, this was still a fun match. It went around seven minutes and they packed some good stuff into that time. Brodie got his signature stuff in and Gerard played the sly heel and ended up picking up a cheap victory with a quick roll up.

Match rating - **1/2

3) Sara Del Rey vs. Icarus - The Case of the Bulletproof Waldo - 6/24/11
I was really interested in how the crowd would react here considering Del Rey is part of the most hated stable in CHIKARA, BDK and Icarus has been hated for quite some time. The crowd ended up siding with Del Rey which came as a bit of a surprise considering Icarus won a portion of the crowd back over the previous fall in the Cibernetico match. Del Rey dominated the early portion of the match with a wide variety of kicks & strikes however Icarus would take control and keep it for a good while until the closing back & forth exchanges began. Pretty solid match up here. Sara picks up two points!

Match rating - ***

4) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Hallowicked - The Case of the Bulletproof Waldo - 6/24/11

PWG: TEN Review

This event was held to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Pro Wrestling Guerilla. The company started in 2003 and has grown to become one of the best wrestling companies in the world. This event featured veterans and newcomers alike along with match stipulations which the promotion has become known for including a three way Guerilla WarFare Match between Kevin Steen, Drake Younger, and Adam Cole for the PWG World Championship. The main event of this show is a Three Way Tag Team Ladder Match between The Young Bucks, Ricochet & Rich Swann, and Eddie Edwards & Roderick Strong for the World Tag Team Championships!

1) B-Boy, Candice LeRae, and Willie Mack vs. Peter Avalon, Joey Ryan, and Ryan Taylor
Over the years, PWG has become known for awesome six man tag openers so what better way to open the tenth anniversary show than with one of those fast paced six man tags! This lived up to expectations as it was packed with tons of action and spots. It honestly may be my favorite PWG opening match ever. I'm a big fan of Candice along with B-Boy and Willie Mack so that team was the obvious favorite for me. The action wasn't the only thing that made this match awesome, it also featured a surprise run in by a PWG veteran. During the match Ryan Taylor was on the outside with Candice LeRae when a fan started helping her up. Taylor gave him an elbow to the face which totally shocked me. I was like "he just hit a fucking fan!" Come to find out that "fan" was Scott Lost! After he recovered he caught Taylor on the apron and delivered an Ace Crusher! Crazy stuff! Surprises, tons of dives, ballplexes, and tittyplexes - this was just plain awesome!


Match rating - ***1/4

2) Brian Cage vs. Anthony Nese

PWG: Matt Rushmore Review

Here, PWG is coming off one of their best shows ever in the form of Night 2 of the 2013 Battle of Los Angeles. Can they keep the momentum from that night going? Let's find out.

The show opens with Mount Rushmore interrupting Excalibur. They throw trash in the ring and say the fans paid to see them and no one else. In turn, Excalibur makes The Bucks match with Joey & Candice a title match. This leads to The Bucks trying to superkick him, but Steen stops them and says he needs him for commentary.

1) Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas vs. B-Boy & Willie Mack
These two teams would take part in a killer opening bout later in the year however this match was nothing like it. Willie seemed like the only guy who was motivated to making this one good. There was once nice exchange near the end, but it dragged on and on prior to that. Pretty underwhelming opening match.

Match rating - **1/4

2) Kevin Steen vs. ACH

PWG: Is Your Body Ready? Review

1) Rocknes Monsters (Johnny Goodtime & Johnny Yuma) vs. Unbreakable F'N Machines (Michael Elgin & Brian Cage)
This a pretty big mismatch on paper. Not as uneven of a match as the F'N Machines/PPRay match we would saw at the 2014 DDT4 Tournament, but still a mismatch none the less. Yuma and Goodtime held their own here however as they had Cage & Elgin on the rocks on several occassions. They found unique ways to get the advantage throughout the match. For instance, Elgin has Yuma up for a powerbomb on the outside and Goodtime grabbed him with a leg scissors from in the ring and slung him to the floor. Both teams worked hard here and got the show off to a good start.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Kyle O'Reilly vs. Davey Richards
This was Davey's first PWG appearance since the 2012 Battle of Los Angeles which saw he & trainee Kyle O'Reilly join Joey Ryan and embrace their sleaziness. It was clear that both guys still had some of that left in them as we saw it come out early on. Things would soon get serious though and these two put together a fantastic match. It's no surprise that they had great chemistry together as this was a student vs teacher match up and it was very well done. My favorite part about this match was the strikes. Kyle and Davey are two of the best strikers in the game and it was put on showcase here. Outstanding match that was much better than their previous encounters in ROH.

Match rating - ***3/4

3) Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano vs. Dojo Bros (Eddie Edwards & Roderick Strong)

PWG: Failure To Communicate Review

1) Joey Ryan vs. Ryan Taylor
Unfortunately, I can't give much insight into this match because I started this event and only got through this bout before being interrupted. With that being said, I didn't get back to watching it until several weeks later so I can't remember much that happened however I did write down my rating for it luckily. I remember this being a pretty solid opening match though.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin
With Kenny Omega coming in last minute, the card got shuffled around alot which led to Michael Elgin wrestling two matches. The first being this one. Considering he had a World title match later in the evening, some may have expected Elgin to go easy in this match, but he did the exact opposite. Elgin was on a HOT streak in 2012 and this match shows why. He slugged it out with Eddie Edwards in this insanely good match. Hard hitting from start to finish. Great match.

Match rating - ***3/4

3) B-Boy & Famous B vs. RockNES Monsters

PWG: 2007 Battle of Los Angeles Night Three

The most stacked show of 2007 took place on -- in the form of Night 3 of PWG's Battle of Los Angeles tournament. I don't think I need to say anything further because the line up of this show speaks for itself. Excalibur and Disco Machine are on commentary. Let's get into this epic event!

1) Roderick Strong vs. Joey Ryan - Quarter Final Round Match
Joey Ryan used cheap tactics to advance to this round on Night 1 where he defeated Chris Hero & he tried to do the same here as Jade Chung at ringside got involved on several occassions. It didn't phase Roddy however as he took the fight to Joey Ryan in this action packed opening match up. This one only went around 9 minutes, but it never slowed down and thus was a pretty entertaining way to get the show going.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Alex Shelley vs. Matt Sydal - Quarter Final Round Match
Now, THIS is the good stuff! The opener was decent, but it's nothing compared to this match between Alex Shelley and Matt Sydal. Things started out technical however it soon turned into a battle of one upsmanship as Shelley & Sydal threw everything they had at each other. Counter after counter, near fall after near fall, this match had me on the edge of my seat. The most jaw dropping moment came at the end where Sydal went for a shooting star press only for Shelley to catch him in mid-air with an ace crusher. Shelley follows it up with a tiger suplex and his finisher to put away Sydal. Awesome match!

Match rating - ****

3) Claudio Castagnoli vs. PAC - Quarter Final Round Match

ROH: Kevin Steen - Ascension To The Top Review

1) Kevin Steen vs. B-Boy - Do Or Die IV
Back in the day, ROH had events called Do or Die which were basically tryout shows for talent wanting to get into the promotion. On this particular one, alot of talent from Southern California/PWG came out including Super Dragon, Excalibur, and of course, Kevin Steen and B-Boy. This was every bit as solid of a match as I expected it to be. They told a basic story, hit some good spots, and packed some nice action into the 10 minutes or so they were given. I'd say this was a good tryout for Steen. The only thing that will surprise you here is who won.

Match rating - ***

2) Kevin Steen vs. El Generico - The Homecoming
This was Steen's official ROH debut although the match wasn't included on the actual DVD release of The Homecoming. I thought this was a pretty good match however it was just a taste of what the two men could do together. There were some really good exchanges though, particulary the finishing sequence where they repeatedly reverse each other's finishers then Generico picks up the win out of nowhere with a backslide. Nice little match that was very cool to look back on.

Match rating - **3/4

3) Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The Briscoes - Fifth Year Festival: Philly

PWG: From Out of Nowhere Review

It's PWG's first event of 2015 and also the beginning of a new era. An era without Kevin Steen, Adam Cole, or Kyle O'Reilly - three men who were mainstays in PWG over the past few years. It's an era led by 10 year PWG veteran, Roderick Strong as he capped off 2014 with a World Championship victory over Kyle O'Reilly on his way out of the door. Roddy's first opponent/title defense comes in the form of a relatively new face in PWG, Trevor Lee.

Speaking of new stars, this event features alot of them. With the aforementioned names being kept away due to contract stips & injuries plus Joey Ryan, Candice LeRae, Johnny Gargano, Chris Sabin, & Andrew Everett over in the UK, many people wondered who would fill the void. PWG soon answered that question by bringing in three of the hottest properties on the Canadian scene in the form of Mike Bailey and Monster Mafia (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander). On top of that, New England/CZW standouts, The Beaver Boys make their debut. This event also features the PWG return of Drew Gulak who brought his technical prowess to Reseda over the summer.

1) Biff Busick vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey

PWG: Black Cole Sun Review

For the first time in forever, I've fallen slightly behind on PWG so this weekend I decided to play catch up by ordering the last event of 2014 along with the first event of 2015. This, of course, is the latter. Black Cole Sun was held on December 12th and in my opinion will be looked on as a historical show in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla history. It was the end of an era as we saw Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly, the two men who debuted in 2011 and went on to dominate & carry the company through the past few years, have their final match for the foreseeable future in the promotion due to the new ROH contract clause.

Cole & O'Reilly began in PWG as a team and took part in many outstanding matches including the classic Threemendous III Ladder Match in July of 2012. From that point on, Cole & O'Reilly competed primarily in singles action and came into their own respective characters. Cole would win the 2012 Battle of Los Angeles and become the PWG World Champion, a title which he held longer than anyone in PWG history, until none other than the 2013 Battle of Los Angeles Winner Kyle O'Reilly defeated him for that belt in May of 2014.

On this particular show, Adam Cole faces Cedric Alexander while Kyle O'Reilly defends his PWG World Championship against Ricochet. Going into this event, fans in attendance didn't know what to expect as it wasn't billed as the two men's final appearances in the company, so let's forget about that for a moment as we get into the happenings of this event.

1) Chuck Taylor, Johnny Gargano, & Bobby Fish vs. ACH, AR Fox, & Rich Swann

CHIKARA: Best of 2012 Review

1) Mike Quackenbush vs. Green Ant - The 13th Hat
It's the first match of the first event of the season and the funplex is PACKED. All the chair seats are normally filled, but this time there are also alot of people standing behind the seats around the walls. CHIKARA! CHIKARA! I don't think there's a better way to start the year off than with this teacher/student match up that always deliver. This match represented alot the things I've come to love about CHIKARA. They stayed on the mat and showed everyone the technical side of their offense while also displaying the fluidity that CHIKARA athletes are known for. This was an extremely well done submission contest that had several call backs to their previous encounters. In the end, Fire Ant picks up the win to finally earn himself some points in his series Quack. He's still down 2-1, but this was an awesome to start the season for a guy that Bryce Remsburg predicted would be the star of the year.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) FIST (Chuck Taylor & Icarus) vs. 3.0 (Jagged & Shane Matthews) - Campeones De Parejas - Green Ice

WXW: Burning Heart - Best of Zack Sabre Jr Review

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Claudio Castagnoli - 30 Minute Iron Man Match - WXW: 100 - ****

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Bryan Danielson - WXW: 16 Carat Gold 2009 - **1/2

Zack Sabre Jr vs. TJ Perkins - WXW: The Vision 2010 - **3/4

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Masaaki Mochizuki - WXW: Open The German Gate 2010 - ***1/4

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Jon Ryan - AMBITION 1 - ***

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Davey Richards - WXW: 16 Carat Gold 2011 - ****1/4

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Chris Hero - WXW: Kreuzugg ZXI - ***3/4

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Dick Togo - WXW: 11th Anniversary - ***3/4

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Big Van Walter - WXW: Live in Hamburg 2012 - ***

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Johnny Moss - WXW: 16 Carat Gold 2013 Day 1 - ***1/2

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Tommy End - WXW: 16 Carat Gold 2013 Day 3 - ***1/2

Overall thoughts: Pretty solid set here. Things started off in great fashion with the iron man match with Claudio. It wasn't the MOTY candidate that I expected however I really enjoyed it. That match, the Richards match and the Hero match are the reasons to look into this set. Everything else here is solid, but nothing to rave about really. The only negative is that the Danielson match is very underwhelming. If you liked Sabre's performances in PWG and Evolve last year, I'd say this is worth a look, just don't expect a set filled with matches as good as what he did during his US stay because there's only one or two that come close to that level.

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Alpha 1 Wrestling: The Ultimate Collection Review

1) Brodie Lee vs. Player Dos - Stage 1
The crowd was on Brodie's case from the get go here which immediately identified him as the heel. He played it very well as his gameplan wasn't to wow the crowd, it was simply to stop Player Dos/Stupefied from doing so. Dos hit a few high impact moves that reeled Big Rig early on however that would be it for awhile as Brodie grounded him and wore him down. The action would regain a high pace near the end though, which in turn earned Dos the victory. Pretty fun match! Also cool seeing these two lock up considering it's impossible for it to happen now with Brodie in WWE as Luke Harper.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Michael Elgin vs. Cloudy - The Next Level
Here we have another big man vs little man match up if you will. Once again, the bigger man, Elgin, is the heel. Guess the A1 fans love their underdogs! None the less, this one was formatted similar to Lee/Dos except Cloudy wasn't able to make the comeback that Dos was. Despite that, he did put in a valiant effort and the result was a decent encounter. Nothing remarkable though.

Match rating - **1/2

3) Player Uno vs. Ethan Page
The first venue change on this set happened here as we traveled to a match that took place outside. It was a nice change of pace, to say the least. That's the only thing really worth talking about here though. Aside from Page and the guy who accompanied to ringside shit talking a few fans, this was just a basic bout that didn't last too long. It was enjoyable while it lasted.

Match rating - **

4) Sonjay Dutt vs. Ethan Page - Proving Grounds 2