PWG: Scared Straight Review

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

I was super ready for this and it was just what I expected - chops and uppercuts galore! It didn't get enough time to be a *GREAT* match however it was still a satisfying encounter. Both guys got their stuff in and seeing them face off was pretty cool. I'm just left wondering what could've been! Still a decent bout worth a look though.

Match rating - **3/4

3) The Young Bucks vs. Los Luchas
These two tore shit up on Night 1 of the 2007 BOLA tournament. Here we have the anticipated rematch. Considering the stakes, this has potential to be even better than their previous encounter. The sad thing is that I think that thought process hindered my enjoyment of this, to be honest. The action and exchanges were there, but as a whole it wasn't able to reach the level of their match at BOLA as it ended in a disqualification. The reasoning behind the DQ made sense and the action prior was really fun so I can't complain too much.

Match rating - **1/2

4) Eddie Kingston vs. Necro Butcher
Necro's streak of wacky entertainment and brawls in PWG continues here. They nailed two big spots right out of the gate in the form of a tiger driver on the stage and a suplex off the stage through a pile of chair's. UN-BE-LIEVABLE!!! It got back in the ring and things slowed down before they hit two more chair spots near the end. Human Tornado interferes to help Kingston win. Super fun stuff.

Match rating - ***

5) Joey Ryan & Scott Lost vs. The Briscoes - PWG World Tag Team Title Match
This was good just like what you would expect although it wasn't phenomenal like some PWG tag matches are. Just about on par with the Dynasty/Incoherence match from last month except with a more exciting closing sequence. Some nice counters of both teams' signature moves which build towards them well and yes, there was another run-in during this match, but it was a great way to build towards next month's title match.

Match rating - ***

6) Human Tornado vs. Jack Evans - PWG World Title Match
The story behind this match comes from Dragon Gate Japan where these two faced off and Human Tornado legitimately injured the face of Jack Evans with a vicious kick. Before the match, I knew we would see a different Jack Evans here. He essentially said that he was cutting all the bullshit and that he was going to hurt Human Tornado. This made for a different dynamic for a Jack Evans match and it was certainly a nice change of pace. They worked the story of his face being the target of Tornado's cockily executed offense. Everything here was done extremely well. The only downfall is that it was too short.

Match rating - ***1/4

Overall thoughts: No stand out matches here however it wasn't an uneventful show by any means. Lots of storyline oriented happenings, several memorable moments, and good way to build towards the next event. So, this show on it's own won't do much for you. BUT if you buy it along with some of the pre and post shows, I think you'll enjoy it.

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