CZW: Down With The Sickness 2013 Review

CZW Down With The Sickness 2013 Review

Beaver Boys vs. Caleb Konley & Shane Hollister - ***
Biff Busick & Sozio vs. O14K - **3/4
Juicy Product vs. 4 Loco - **1/2
Danny Havoc vs. Rory Mondo - Ultraviolent Rules Match - **1/2
Pepper Parks & Cherry Bomb vs. Greg Excellent & Candice LeRae - **1/4
BLK Out vs. Osirian Portal - CZW World Tag Team Title Match - **3/4
Drew Gulak vs. Chris Dickinson - CZW World Title Match - ***1/2
AR Fox vs. Andrew Everett vs. Shane Strickland vs. Alex Colon - Ladder Match for the CZW Wired Title - ****

I bought this show solely to see the Ladder Match for the Wired Title so I wasn't disappointed considering that match delivered on the level that I expected it to. The undercard isn't anything to rave about however the Gulak/Dickinson World Title Match is really good and I enjoyed the opening bout featuring the Beaver Boys facing the unlikely duo of Konley & Hollister. The rest of the card isn't anything special, but I think the two main events make this event worthy of a recommendation if they interest you.

PWG: All Star Weekend V Night Two Review

PWG All Star Weekend V Night Two Review

1) Kevin Steen vs. Joey Ryan - No DQ Match
Steen attacked Joey from behind to begin the bout and things quickly spilled to the outside from there. These two fought all around the building and used various weapons such as guardrails, chairs & chains to punish each other. Some notable spots include Joey back dropping Steen onto the railing, Steen propping up a guardrailing & running up it, and the move that ended the match, a package piledriver onto two upright chairs. Really good match that saw some interference from Ronin & Karl Anderson although it didn't effect the finish. Great way to start the show.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) TJ Perkins, Rocky Romero, & Ronin vs. Karl Anderson, NOSAWA, & Lil Cholo
This one had a lot of underlying stories involved. Whether it be the Anderson/Ronin issue that developed earlier in the evening or the past between TJP & Ronin, there were many storylines wrapped into one here. None the less, this was your basic six man tag which isn't a bad thing. The action was solid throughout and very enjoyable.

Match rating - **3/4

3) Davey Richards vs. Chris Hero

PWG: All Star Weekend V Night One Review

PWG All Star Weekend V Night One

1) Disco Machine vs. NOSAWA
I've never really viewed Disco as a major player in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla however he's really been killing it in these opening matches in 2007. That trend continued here as he faced off with the Lucha standout Nosawa. There's not much to really say here aside from the fact that it was pretty much the perfect opening match. Action packed and fun from bell to bell.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Roderick Strong vs. Rocky Romero
Speaking of guys who've been on a roll, Rocky Romero is another guy that's truly been tearing it up in PWG in the months leading up to this event. With outstanding bouts against Claudio & Alex Shelley leading up to this match, I think it's safe to say Romero had a good bit of momentum. That momentum came to a hault though when Roderick Strong made his return to PWG here to face off with Azucar. Out of all of Romero's PWG matches around this time, this was probably the best one. These two went at it full speed from the opening bell in a match that showcased alot of strong style action along with some submissions. Great stuff.

Match rating - ***3/4

3) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Human Tornado (w/ Candice LeRae)

PWG: 70/30 Review

PWG 70/30 Review

Joey Ryan opens the show with a promo on Ronin. He disses people that wrestle in opening matches and tonight he's gonna show everyone how easy it is to win an opening match.

Excalibur is on commentary and Disco Machine is back joining him after one show away from the commentary booth.

1) Joey Ryan vs. TJ Perkins
After the dreadful Tuxedo Match at Album of the Year, I'm totally uninterested in anything involving Joey Ryan, but TJP is a great technician so I gave this one my full attention. I'm actually glad I did too because this was a very solid opener. Both guys worked hard and put together a solid match that featured a great kick exchange that earned a loud applause from the crowd. Just as this one was getting good, Joey rolls up TJP and uses the ropes to get the cheap victory.

Match rating - **1/2

2) Alex Shelley vs. Rocky Romero

PWG: Album of The Year Review

PWG: Album of the Year Review

The show opens with Dino Winwood in the ring. He announces that Excalibur is the new commissioner of Food & Beverage. Excalibur comes out and gets into it with Dino about a number of things. The first ever DDT4 tournament is announced and Excalibur strips El Generico & Quicksilver of the tag team titles which means the titles will be up for grabs in the tournament. This is a pretty historic opening segment if you think about it. Frankie Kazarian ends up coming to the ring and calls out Disco Machine. Kazarian challenges Disco to a match for his share of PWG. Disco accepts and the first match of the evening is under way!

1) Frankie Kazarian vs. Disco Machine - Winner Gets 1/6 Ownership of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

Best of AJ Styles in IWA Mid South - Disc 1 Review

I recently bought an 8 Disc AJ Styles set from Highspots and instead of posting everything in one huge review, I decided to separately post them by disc. The first four disc are AJ's best matches from IWA Mid-South. This is the first of those discs.

1) AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels - 2002 Ted Petty Invitational Night One - 11/1/02
I don't think there's a better way to start this set than with a Styles/Daniels match. They never cease to amaze me no matter how many times I see them square off. The case was no different here which actually surprised me. Considering that IWA is a smaller Indy company, I didn't expect Styles & Daniels to leave it all in the ring like they did. This match was the definition of a lost gem because it's every bit as good as their famous bouts in TNA. Ian Rotten called it the best match in IWA Mid South history at the time on commentary. It was THAT good. Words won't do it justice but there's one exchange that I just have to mention. AJ went for his signature inverted DDT, Daniels countered out and went for the last rites, as he went for it, AJ reversed immediately and nailed Daniels with the inverted DDT. Exchanges like that are what made this match (and all Styles/Daniels matches) so great, they knew each other so well that they do multiple never before seen counters that will make your jaw drop. Some other highlights here include several picture perfect moonsaults from Daniels and AJ somehow managing to kick out of Angel's Wings. Awesome match!

Match rating - ****1/4

PWG: Holy Diver Down Review

In my quest to get my hands on as much PWG as possible, I picked up this show along with 2 others in Highspots 3 for $20 deal. It's something I recommend checking out. Shows from 2005-2007 are included except for All Star Weekends & BOLA's. None the less, back to the subject of this column, HOLY DIVER DOWN! This is the single earliest single PWG show I've bought. I've seen some stuff from the early years, but it's all been on comps so I was pretty excited about getting this event.

The commentators for the evening are Disco Machine (PWG Co-Founder), TARO (long-time rival/friend of Super Dragon), and Dino Winwood (PWG Commissioner). I was disappointed that Excalibur wasn't in the booth for this show, but I've heard Disco Machine and Dino commentate before so I'm sure they'll do a fine job here. TARO being on board definitely peaked my interest as well considering I just watched his epic series of matches with Super Dragon from RevPro back in the day.

The show kicks off with Dino Winwood in the ring. He calls out Joey Ryan who is met by an array of boos until Dino mentions the fact that Joey lost the PWG Title at the last event which was met by cheers from the audience. Dino introduces Joey's opponent for the evening and it's PWG Co-Founder, Top Gun Talwar as he makes his return to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.

CZW: Best of the Best 13 Review

After seeing glimpses of CZW on various compilations, I decided to invest in a few full individual shows. This is CZW's Annual tournament in which wrestling is the emphasis as opposed to the ultraviolent stuff. There are 12 participants in the tournament including the likes of Drake Younger, AR Fox, Chuck Taylor, Caleb Konley, and Biff Busick. I've seen some matches from past Best of the Best and was blown away so I was really pumped to see this whole show. This being Drake Younger's final CZW show made this a must have for me as well.

They introduce the participants to start the event. Drake Younger is the most popular out of the bunch as you may expect. "Drake" chants rang through the arena until he made his exit along with the other entrants.

DJ Hyde came to the ring to loud boos, but before he could really say anything, Kevin Steen jumps the railing and nails him with a package piledriver. I remember seeing news of this happening on Twitter and was pretty pumped. Wish I wouldn't have seen it now so I could have felt the element of surprise. None the less, it was still a great moment. Steen says he's here to see Drake Younger win the whole tournament. I am too, Steen!

1) Chuck Taylor vs. Lucky 13 vs. Buxx Belmar
The only man I was familiar with prior to this match was Chuck Taylor so all the other guys had a chance to impress here and they did just that. This was your basic multi-man opening match in which the action never slowed down. There were several nice spots and even some comedy which is a given when Chuck is involved. Super fun start to the show. Really enjoyed this one.

Match rating - ***

2) Azrieal vs. Biff Busick vs. Caleb Konley
There were a wide variety of styles encompassed in this match which made for some pretty unique exchanges. Busick used his uppercuts to take out the two smaller men in this match while Azrieal tried to use his speed & agility. A minor story going on here was that of Azrieal's former partner Alex Colon not being included in this year's tournament. Colon came out and recieved a dive from Azrieal for his troubles however he would recover and end up costing him the match. Busick picked up the win here with a vicious suplex. Another fairly fun match, although not as good as the opening bout.

Match rating - **3/4