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.
1) Joey Ryan vs. Top Gun Talwar
I don't even know what to say about this match. Talwar stated beforehand that "This is gonna get gay." However I had no idea that Joey Ryan's ass would be exposed for a good part of the contest. Despite that, there was a good amount of humor in this match. Enough to get the show off to a somewhat enjoyable start. The commentary was pretty funny too. The 3 man commentary team is definitely a nice change of pace.
Match rating - **
2) Ricky Reyes vs. Ronin
The opening match was pure comedy, but here we have two guys that went at it with chops and kicks from the opening bell. The striking didn't last long though as Reyes went to work on Ronin's leg which was smart since he's the bigger man. In the end, it wasn't enough to earn him the victory as Ronin nailed him with a death valley driver after a solid back and forth exchange with a few near falls. Decent match.
Match rating - **1/2
3) Frankie Kazarian vs. Karl Anderson
Here we have two guys that are well known across the world of wrestling today going at it before they became what they are today. This was the solid match you would expect from these two. There were some great spots such as Anderson springboard over the top rope only to recieve a superkick in mid-air from Kazarian. They also mixed some comedy into the bout as Anderson had a hat that he put on & off throughout the match, but eventually Kazarian would kick it out of the ring where it sailed over the crowd where it was apparently caught by TARO who mentioned it on commentary. Fun match!
Match rating - ***
4) Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Chris Bosh & Scott Lost
I had the feeling these guys would tear the house down and indeed they did just that. This wasn't one of those tag matches with a ton of false finishes, instead it was nearly 30 minutes of fantastic tag team wrestling from bell to bell. Both teams showcased why they were two of the best tag teams in the world at the time and it was a joy to watch. Great tag team match.
Match rating - ***3/4
5) Disco Machine vs. Bino Gambino - 2/3 Falls Match
At this time in PWG history, they recorded commentary after the show so during this match we got to hear Disco commentate his own match which was pretty funny. As for the match, the first two falls happened in the first 45 seconds so the stipulation was pointless. None the less, the final fall was enjoyable despite being nothing special. This was one of those matches that was in the middle. It certainly wasn't bad, but it wasn't necessarily great either. Solid bout.
Match rating - **3/4
6) Kevin Steen vs. PAC
After seeing these two face off a few years ago at EIGHT, I heard alot about their first encounter in PWG which led me to buying this DVD so I could see it for myself. This bout was every bit as good as the match that would go on to have four years later. Steen tried to ground PAC early on which allowed him to showcase a side of him we don't normally see as PAC held his own on the mat. Once things came off the mat, it turned into a battle of oneupsmanship. So many jawdropping manuevers and counters such as PAC running and trying to hurricanrana Steen off the top rope only to be caught by a huge powerbomb off the top. Steen went for another big move off the top turnbuckle by locking PAC in for a package piledriver up there, but it backfired as PAC finally got the hurricanrana he was looking for earlier in the match which ended up leading him to victory after two shooting star press sentons. Awesome match!
Match rating - ****
7) Human Tornado (c) vs. El Generico - PWG World Championship Title Match
Former tag team partners, Human Tornado & El Generico collided in the main event here for the PWG Title. Tornado attacked Generico before the bell even rang and that set the tone for the rest of the match because the action never slowed down. They put together some innovative moves that I hadn't seen before such as Tornado suplexing Generico onto the top turnbuckle, pulling him out, and dropping him on his head with a vicious neckbreaker. This match didn't steal the show, but it was a very good main event. Plus Generico winning is a groundbreaking moment in PWG history because he became the first person to ever hold the tag titles and the World Title at the same time.
Match rating - ***1/2
Overall thoughts: I really enjoyed this show. It's obviously different than current PWG as far as the atmosphere goes however you can still it's PWG from the humorous commentary and the great wrestling. Steen/PAC, MCMG/Arrogance, & the significance of the main event make this DVD worth picking up. With that being said, this gets a recommendation from me. Good show.
Follow me on Twitter @EthanPWT along with this blog @ThePWTruth!
2014 Independent Wrestling & New Japan Year in Review: http://theprowrestlingtruth.blogspot.com/2014/12/2014-pro-wrestling-truth-awards-part-3.html
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