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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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)
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
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
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
