1) Brian Cage (w/ Chuck Taylor) vs. Kenny King
This was one of Kenny King's few appearances with PWG and my first time seeing him compete in Reseda. I'm a fan of his TNA work and I'm inclined to see that I enjoyed this more than anything he's done in TNA in quite some time. That's probably not shocking though because PWG makes everything better. None the less, this was a very fun opener with both guys getting to show their stuff. Chuck Taylor's involvment on the outside was hilarious as he was there to support his brethren Brian Cage-Taylor. Yes, this was during the Fightin Taylor Boys era of Chuck & Brian's career and it was great looking back on it. Unfortunately this didn't end well for the Taylor's as King hit a vicious kick to the face of Mr GMSI that allowed him to pick up the victory and bloodied Cage's nose in the process.
Match rating - **1/2
2) Kevin Steen & Akira Tozawa vs. RockNES Monsters
After an extended stay in America and nearly a year in PWG, it was time for Tozawa to head back to Japan. With that being said, this was his final match in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla for the time being. The story of Tozawa picking up antics from Steen was great and seeing them absolutely destroy the Monsters only for them to keep fighting back was very enjoyable to watch. Steen hits a jaw dropping package piledriver on Johnny Yuma on the ring apron for the victory. Solid, enjoyable tag match.
Match rating - ***
After the match, Steen puts over Yuma & Goodtime and shakes their hands before turning his attention to Tozawa. Steen says he thinks PWG is Tozawa's home and says if Dragon Gate doesn't give him a title then they're crazy. Streamers fill the ring as the crowd chants "Please come back!" Tozawa nods his head at the audience when out of nowhere The Young Bucks hit the ring and attack him. CHRIS HERO runs down from the commentary booth and cleans house on the Bucks. Steen says if it's the last thing he does he's gonna... do things to The Young Bucks that I don't feel comfortable typing. Haha. Steen leaves the ring leaving Hero & Tozawa alone which immediately brings back memories of their epic match from the 2010 Battle of Los Angeles. Hero starts discussing that match and challenges Tozawa to ONE MORE MATCH! Hero/Tozawa 2 will take place later in the night!
3) Ricochet vs. Willie Mack
I was pumped for this match from the get go. Both men were killing it at the time and thankfully this match continued that trend. Ricochet always does well against big guys with this match being no exception. My favorite exchange came when Ricochet springboard off Willie only to get slammed which allowed Willie to knip up and do a STANDING SHOOTING STAR PRESS! HOLY SHIT! 1..2...RICOCHET KICKS OUT! From that point on, this match was awesome as both guys threw everything they had at each other. Really good one that I wished could've went longer because these guys were headed towards four stars.
Match rating - ***1/2
4) Joey Ryan & Scorpio Sky vs. The Cutlers
For whatever reason, I just couldn't get fully into this one. The Cutlers were HOT in 2009 & 2010, but they weren't too good here. They just didn't seem too motivated. Maybe that's why this was one of the last times we saw them in PWG. This was still a solid tag match although it could have been much better if things would have been more crisp on the Cutlers part.
Match rating - **3/4
5) Eddie Edwards vs. El Generico
MICHINOKU DRIVER ON THE RING APRONNN!! That's the main thing I remembered coming out of this match up. Things started off pretty slow with both guys working each other over in various ways. However they would really pick things up during the last half of the match as we got alot of action and several false finishes. Some won't like the no selling near the end although it was done well and I enjoyed it as it set up what would be a crazy final stretch. The great thing here was how they incorporated the leg that Eddie worked over early on into the finish as Edwards wins with a half crab. This was a fantastic match that was every bit as good as you would expect.
Match rating - ****
6) The Young Bucks vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
This match featured quite possibly the most chaotic start to a match in PWG history as Aries dove onto the Bucks during their entrance which led to a brawl around ringside. The fight ended up raging into the bathrooms which was pretty hilarious. They ended up back in the ring after a few minutes as things settled down after the hot start. This was a very good tag team match that definitely outshine the other two on the card. The Bucks picked up a cheap victory that left me wanting to see a rematch between these two teams because things were really getting good when it happened.
Match rating - ***3/4
7) Chris Hero vs. Akira Tozawa
After the last match these two had, there was alot of anticipation going into this one. Especially since it was Tozawa's last match. This had the same basic story of their first encounter with Hero just beating the shit out of Tozawa however he could never put him away. In the end, Tozawa mounts a comeback and hits an array of back drop drivers to pick up the win. This wasn't on the level of their first match, but to their credit, it's hard to re-create a classic and Tozawa had already wrestled once on this evening. Still a good high impact match and a fitting final bout for Tozawa as he finally pinned Hero in singles action.
Match rating - ***1/2
After the match, Kevin Steen comes to the ring to check on both men. Hero has a bloody mouth from the beating he took. Streamers fill the ring as Tozawa asks for the mic. Tozawa begins tearing up as he thanks everyone and the crowd chants his name. Amazing moment that reiterated the fact that PWG is Tozawa's home away from home. I hope he returns soon.
8) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Low Ki - PWG World Title Match
Based off what I've heard about some things that took place prior to this match, I didn't really know what to expect. Apparently Ki didn't want to put Claudio over which makes no sense to me considering Ki had just returned to the company and they had been trying to build up Claudio as a credible champ. I'd also heard that this was the most disappointing dream match of 2011. And while I wouldn't go that far, I will say that this was nowhere close to how good I expected it to be. The things I had heard about this match did somewhat hinder my enjoyment of it, but it is what it is. Decent match, sorta underwhelming main event though.
Match rating - ***1/4
Overall thoughts: So here are the positives, this show is worth adding to any PWG faithful's collection solely for the fact that it's Akira Tozawa's final show. His farewell is emotional and he wrestles two matches. If that's not enough for you, the Generico/Edwards match is absolutely awesome. It's my favorite match on the show. The big negative is that the main event dream match was disappointing, and rightfully so considering it's part of the reason why Ki hasn't been back in PWG since. Despite that, I'd still recommend checking out this show for Tozawa's farewell, Generico/Edwards, and even undercard matches like Ricochet/Willie & Bucks/Roddy & Aries which were very fun.
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