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
After that hot Eddie/Elgin match, the show could use a bit of a cool down match and thats what I figured this would be. It turned out to be even more than that and it almost brought the show to a screeching hault. There were some crazy spots and a few nice exchanges however it didn't piece together well at all. The crowd picked up on this and as a result, some big moves barely got a reaction. This one was missing something.
Match rating - **1/2
4) Sami Callihan vs. Davey Richards
If that tag match brought the show down a notch, Callihan & Richards sure as hell took it back up on here. These two had a classic a few months prior to this out in AAW so I was pretty pumped to see what they could do in front of the ruckus Reseda crowd. This wasn't nearly as good as their AAW encounter, but it was certainly a satisfying successor. These two went 100mph the entire time in this strike filled, strong style influenced encounter. Really good bout.
Match rating - ***3/4
5) Roderick Strong vs. Rich Swann
This was Rich Swann's PWG debut and boy did he ever make an impression. There are certain moments that one will never forget and one of those took place in this match as the fans saw Swann do a series of his epic fast paced manuevers for the first time here about five minutes into the match and the roof exploded off the place. Literally everyone rose to their feet at the same time. A great visual. And that my friends, was the moment Rich Swann got OVER in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. As for the rest of the match, it was your basic veteran/newcomer story with Roddy just beating the shit out of Swann for the majority of it aside from a few comeback attempts. Good debut for Rich.
Match rating - ***1/4
6) Brian Cage vs. Willie Mack
In months prior, these two have crossed paths several times in their pursuit to dethrone Kevin Steen as PWG World Champion which led to this match being made. Both guys are among the biggest men on the PWG roster although they are very different at the same time. Cage has a body builder type build while Mack has more of a Samoa Joe look. Either way, both guys are extremely agile for their size and hit extremely hard which made for a very good back & forth match up.
Match rating - ***1/2
7) El Generico & Kenny Omega vs. The Young Bucks
This match brought back so many memories of past storylines involving the participants. From the night the fans turned on The Young Bucks at DDT4 2009 simply because of how much they loved the team of Kenny Omega & Chuck Taylor to the unforgettable feud between El Generico, Rick Knox, & Colt Cabana and Kenny Omega & Chuck Taylor. And on top of all that, we all know the history between Generico, Rick Knox, & The Bucks. So basically, this match was a throwback to one of my favorite years in PWG history - 2009. If you've only been watching during the highly acclaimed hot period of 2011-present, I highly recommend going back and checking out some shows from 2009. None the less, the backstory to this match made it even more awesome to see. It may have been nostalgia, but that's a rare thing on the Indies so I didn't mind it one bit considering the action here delivered on another level as well. if you've ever seen any of these men compete in the same ring together, you were probably already sold on this match when you saw it on paper. As for new fans, this match was great as all four guys have great chemistry and the crowd was super hot like usual. Match of the night.
Match rating - ****
8) Kevin Steen vs. Ricochet vs. Michael Elgin
The PWG World Champion against the two MVP's of BOLA 2012? I'm sold. Especially considering Ricochet delivered two of the best matches of BOLA weekend against Steen & Elgin. With that being said, I expected this to be bonkers and for the most part, it was. I say "for the most part" because it's not as mindblowing as some matches we've seen in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and it's not quite on the level of these men's respective singles matches. However it's still a super fun main event with enough action and crazy spots to keep you satisfied. I mean, how can you not enjoy seeing Ricochet do a fucking shooting star press off the top turnbuckle to the outside of the ring?
Match rating - ***1/2
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