PWG DDT4 2013 Review
I started watching PWG just one month after this event and I'm finally getting around to checking it out. I should be ashamed of myself because it's El Generico's final night in PWG which is a landmark moment in the company. None the less, I've got the show so let's get into it! The Super Smash Bros are the champions going into the tournament and they are putting their titles on the line during it just like The Young Bucks have done in the past. It's going to be a tough task for SSB to come out of this show as champions, but they've proven themselves many times before. It's sure to be a wild event!
1) The Young Bucks vs. Ricochet & Rich Swann - First Round Match
With the names involved, I expected this to be absolutely nuts and that's exactly what it was. It was one hell of a way to open the show as we got alot of nonstop high flying action that these two teams are known for. To my knowledge, this was the first time Ricochet & Swann teamed up in PWG and it was certainly a memorable affair. Great opening match.
Match rating - ***1/2
2) Super Smash Bros (c) vs. Michael Elgin & Brian Cage - First Round Match
I really enjoyed this one. There was never a dull moment and we got several "holy shit" moments thanks to the Unbreakable F'N Machines' alway impressive strength. The action never slowed down until near the end when Player Dos dove to the outside and dislocated his shoulder. It was a cringeworthy sight as he was unable to get it back in place so it hung limp for the remainder of the match so Stupified had to do the majority of the work himself. The power of Elgin & Cage was too much for him however and we have NEW PWG World Tag Team Champions! This was a very good match. If Stupified hadn't got hurt, this one was on it's way to a much higher rating.
Match rating - ***1/4
3) Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly vs. Eddie Edwards & Roderick Strong - First Round Match
Showing posts with label PWG 2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PWG 2013. Show all posts
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
PWG: All Star Weekend X Night 1 Review
PWG: All Star Weekend 10 Night 1 DVD Review
The show opens with Mount Rushmore (Adam Cole, Kevin Steen, & The Young Bucks) in the ring interrupting Excalibur. The Bucks do the DX crotch chop on the mat right under Excalibur which is hilarious. Cole then flips him off and Mount Rushmore poses in the center of the ring when CHRIS HERO RUNS INTO THE RING! ROARING ELBOW TO KEVIN STEEN! Hero takes out The Bucks and goes for Cole, but he escapes. Hero vows to end Cole's reign as champion tonight and to stop Mount Rushmore for good. Great start to the show.
1) Brian Cage vs. Anthony Nese
These two faced off a few months prior at TEN in a very good bout. For that reason, I was looking forward to seeing them go at it again. In their previous match, Cage got gassed in the long run, but it looks like his conditioning was better this time around. They put on a match that was every bit as good as their first encounter, if not better. Great match! Rick Knox on commentary said it best by stating that this was the opening match, but it could have been a main event in any other promotion in the country. Very true. Also brings to light how stacked this show is.
Match rating - ***1/2
2) Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae vs. RockNES Monsters
This was your basic action packed tag
1) Brian Cage vs. Anthony Nese
These two faced off a few months prior at TEN in a very good bout. For that reason, I was looking forward to seeing them go at it again. In their previous match, Cage got gassed in the long run, but it looks like his conditioning was better this time around. They put on a match that was every bit as good as their first encounter, if not better. Great match! Rick Knox on commentary said it best by stating that this was the opening match, but it could have been a main event in any other promotion in the country. Very true. Also brings to light how stacked this show is.
Match rating - ***1/2
2) Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae vs. RockNES Monsters
This was your basic action packed tag
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
PWG: All Star Weekend X - Night 2 DVD Review
PWG All Star Weekend 10 Night 2 DVD Review
The event was held December 21, 2013. It's PWG's final show of 2013 and the final night in PWG for Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards before going to TNA.
1) Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas vs. Willie Mack & B-Boy vs. RockNES Monsters
This is one of those classic insane PWG multi-man openers. PPRay and Willie Mack & B-Boy are insanely over while the RockNES Monsters continue to be the 2nd most hated tag team in PWG. They get alot of heat. The crowd is on fire for this match though and for good reason. The action never stops. From a sick head stomp off the top rope to a dive over the top turnbuckle to the outside of the ring to a border toss on the ring apron. It was crazy! The most amazing sequence however had to be the tower of doom followed by a double frogsplash followed by a shining wizard! Just awesome, fun stuff! Don't see how anyone can't enjoy this!
Match rating - ***1/2
2) Tomasso Ciampa vs. Anthony Nese
The insanity continues here as Nese strikes Ciampa right out of the gate with a dive out of the ring during his entrance. These two put together a great match that was much better than I thought it would be. Ciampa's personality continues to come out in PWG as he yelled at Kevin Steen on commentary before doing his signature crotch into the ring post. Funny stuff. Steen had just got done putting Ciampa over on commentary then Ciampa steals his move - how ironic! Ciampa has only been in PWG for a few months, but I'm already enjoying his work here WAY more than in ROH. Nese was also very impressive here. A story that developed in the match was whether Nese could lift up Ciampa with one arm. After three separate attempts, Nese finally got him up and slammed him into the corner! Brutal stuff as Ciampa returns
The event was held December 21, 2013. It's PWG's final show of 2013 and the final night in PWG for Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards before going to TNA.
1) Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas vs. Willie Mack & B-Boy vs. RockNES Monsters
This is one of those classic insane PWG multi-man openers. PPRay and Willie Mack & B-Boy are insanely over while the RockNES Monsters continue to be the 2nd most hated tag team in PWG. They get alot of heat. The crowd is on fire for this match though and for good reason. The action never stops. From a sick head stomp off the top rope to a dive over the top turnbuckle to the outside of the ring to a border toss on the ring apron. It was crazy! The most amazing sequence however had to be the tower of doom followed by a double frogsplash followed by a shining wizard! Just awesome, fun stuff! Don't see how anyone can't enjoy this!
Match rating - ***1/2
2) Tomasso Ciampa vs. Anthony Nese
The insanity continues here as Nese strikes Ciampa right out of the gate with a dive out of the ring during his entrance. These two put together a great match that was much better than I thought it would be. Ciampa's personality continues to come out in PWG as he yelled at Kevin Steen on commentary before doing his signature crotch into the ring post. Funny stuff. Steen had just got done putting Ciampa over on commentary then Ciampa steals his move - how ironic! Ciampa has only been in PWG for a few months, but I'm already enjoying his work here WAY more than in ROH. Nese was also very impressive here. A story that developed in the match was whether Nese could lift up Ciampa with one arm. After three separate attempts, Nese finally got him up and slammed him into the corner! Brutal stuff as Ciampa returns
Sunday, April 20, 2014
PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2013 - Night Two DVD Review
PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2013 Night 2 DVD Review
1) Brian Cage vs. Drake Younger - Quarter Final Round Match
What a way to kick off the evening with this fast paced opening contest. Drake went after the bigger man Cage immediately as he dropkicked him off the apron. This match didn't last long, but it was balls to the wall the whole time. Did its job of getting the crowd fired up which is what an opening match should do.
Match rating - ***1/4
2) Johnny Gargano vs. Kevin Steen
Gargano has only been in PWG for a few months be he is certainly making a name for himself in Reseda. He went at it with Wrestling's Worst Nightmare Kevin Steen and proved he was the real deal. This was a great match and much better than I expected. I knew it had the potential to be good, but it was much more than that. Outstanding match in which Gargano comes out victorious.
Match rating - ***3/4
3) Michael Elgin vs. Roderick Strong
Strong is a PWG veteran as he has competed in every single BOLA tournament in history. While Strong has more experience in this tournament, Elgin made it to the finals last year in his first ever BOLA, so he's no slouch either. This was a very good match. There a few slow spots, but for the most part it was a solid encounter. The final ten minutes was the best part of the bout as Elgin and Strong really turned it up a notch.
Match rating - ***1/2
4) ACH vs. Kyle O'Reilly
Last month at Ten, O'Reilly put on an incredible technically based match with TJ Perkins, but somehow he managed to outdo himself and put on even BETTER match here! I expected this to be good, but ACH & Kyle went out and blew my expectations out of the water. I wasn't that familiar with ACH, but I thought he was mainly a high flyer/spot monkey - I was wrong. Kyle is a master of submissions and ACH hung right there and showed his technical wrestling skills. O'Reilly continues to impress the hell out of me with how he can catch someone in a submission ANYWHERE. Here he reversed a powerbomb attempt from ACH into a guilliotine choke as well as catching ACH in mid-air and locking him in a
What a way to kick off the evening with this fast paced opening contest. Drake went after the bigger man Cage immediately as he dropkicked him off the apron. This match didn't last long, but it was balls to the wall the whole time. Did its job of getting the crowd fired up which is what an opening match should do.
Match rating - ***1/4
2) Johnny Gargano vs. Kevin Steen
Gargano has only been in PWG for a few months be he is certainly making a name for himself in Reseda. He went at it with Wrestling's Worst Nightmare Kevin Steen and proved he was the real deal. This was a great match and much better than I expected. I knew it had the potential to be good, but it was much more than that. Outstanding match in which Gargano comes out victorious.
Match rating - ***3/4
3) Michael Elgin vs. Roderick Strong
Strong is a PWG veteran as he has competed in every single BOLA tournament in history. While Strong has more experience in this tournament, Elgin made it to the finals last year in his first ever BOLA, so he's no slouch either. This was a very good match. There a few slow spots, but for the most part it was a solid encounter. The final ten minutes was the best part of the bout as Elgin and Strong really turned it up a notch.
Match rating - ***1/2
4) ACH vs. Kyle O'Reilly
Last month at Ten, O'Reilly put on an incredible technically based match with TJ Perkins, but somehow he managed to outdo himself and put on even BETTER match here! I expected this to be good, but ACH & Kyle went out and blew my expectations out of the water. I wasn't that familiar with ACH, but I thought he was mainly a high flyer/spot monkey - I was wrong. Kyle is a master of submissions and ACH hung right there and showed his technical wrestling skills. O'Reilly continues to impress the hell out of me with how he can catch someone in a submission ANYWHERE. Here he reversed a powerbomb attempt from ACH into a guilliotine choke as well as catching ACH in mid-air and locking him in a
PWG: All Star Weekend 9 Night One DVD Review
PWG All Star Weekend 9 Night 1 DVD Review
This was the first night of PWG's 9th Annual All Star Weekend. It featured the PWG debuts of Jay Lethal, Samuray Del Sol, AR Fox, Johnny Gargano and Trent? As well as the return of Paul London. The main event for the show was a Guerilla Warfare Match between Sami Callihan and Drake Younger in which the winner would face PWG World Champion Adam Cole the following night.
1) Paul London vs. Kevin Steen
Steen and London are both funny as hell so it was only fitting that this match featured alot of comedy. The first part of the match was mainly the two doing comedy stuff, but once the match got started it was pretty good. Don't let the rating I'm giving this one fool you - it's entertaining stuff and served its purpose as the opener.
Match rating - **3/4
2) Johnny Gargano & Chuck Taylor vs. The Young Bucks
And in his debut in PWG, Johnny Gargano won the crowd over immediately. In all honesty, Gargano put in the most outstanding performance here in my opinion. Maybe it's because I'd never seen him wrestle before, but I was really impressed. We all know how good The Young Bucks and Chuck Taylor are, so this was a recipe for a quality tag team match which is exactly what we got. Just an awesome match here.
Match rating - ***3/4
3) Eddie Edwards vs. Jay Lethal
The two men started off with some chain wrestling which was very fun to watch. In fact, I think the best way to describe this match would be "fun". It was such a good bout between Edwards and Lethal. It was Lethal's debut in PWG, but the crowd was behind him just as much or more than they were behind Eddie. In my opinion, the beginning and the ending were the best parts of this match. It seemed to me they made it go a bit longer than it needed to, but that's just me. Still a very enjoyable and great match up.
Match rating - ***1/4
4) AR Fox & Samuray Del Sol vs. Ricochet & Rich Swann
This was the match on the card that I was most looking forward to seeing. Fox & Del Sol were making their debut here and they certainly set out to impress. This match was absolutey insane. Some of the best reversals, counters, and catch wrestling that I've ever seen. The exchange between Ricochet and Del Sol near the beginning of the match was just epic. And the dives... WOW! Just amazing stuff. Ricochet ran and dove OVER the top turnbuckle into the crowd onto Fox which was just insane. I have no idea how he flew that far in the air. Crazy awesome match and the best one of the night for me.
Match rating - ****1/2
5) Roderick Strong vs. Trent?
Wasn't expecting much out of this one, but they really surprised me. I got Night 2 several months ago so I watched it before this DVD and Trent's match on Night 2 with London wasn't that great, but Strong really meshed well with Trent here. This was a very good match especially when compared to Trent's match on the next night. Good stuff.
Match rating - ***1/4
6) Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O' Reilly) vs. Unbreakable F'N Machines (Brian Cage & Michael Elgin)
Future Shock was such an underrated tag team in my opinion. If I'm correct, I believe this was the last time they teamed together before fully going separate ways and what a way to go out! This was a very hard hitting and physical match as one would expect with the names involved. Kyle hung right in there with the big guys while Cole played the sneaky heel which is what he does best. All around great match.
Match rating - ***3/4
7) Sami Callihan vs. Drake Younger - Guerilla Warfare #1 Contender's Match
I had heard mixed reviews about this one prior to buying this DVD so your enjoyment of this match will all depend on your wrestling preferences. If you like hardcore, brutal matches - you'll love this match. And I'm not talking about WWE style No DQ matches with a few chairshots and kendo sticks. I'm talking about slams through chairs and trashcans, thumbtacks, staple guns, and all that shit. This was a super brutal match that featured all of the above things listed. Drake and Sami beat the hell out of each other once again, but this was on a whole nother level. Drake took the worst beating as he got suplexed through a stack of chairs, thrown over the top rope onto a pyramid of chairs, he got two dollar bills stapled to his face, he got dumped headfirst onto thumbtacks and somehow still managed to win. Callihan took a beating as well though as he got slammed in the tacks and took some hard bumps. Again, some will hate this match because of the level of violence and some will love it. Either way, you have to give these guys credit for putting their bodys on the line like this.
Match rating - ****1/4
Overall: On this show, PWG gave fans a little bit of everything. You got a highflying tag match loaded with spots, a few solid technical based matches, some hard hitting tag team bouts, and a hardcore war between Younger and Callihan. The match of the night for me was AR Fox & Samuray Del Sol vs. Ricochet & Rich Swann. Just awesome stuff. It's worth the price of the DVD alone. Nothing's rated under 7 except for the opener which is still entertaining and funny as hell. Another great show from PWG.
This was the first night of PWG's 9th Annual All Star Weekend. It featured the PWG debuts of Jay Lethal, Samuray Del Sol, AR Fox, Johnny Gargano and Trent? As well as the return of Paul London. The main event for the show was a Guerilla Warfare Match between Sami Callihan and Drake Younger in which the winner would face PWG World Champion Adam Cole the following night.
1) Paul London vs. Kevin Steen
Steen and London are both funny as hell so it was only fitting that this match featured alot of comedy. The first part of the match was mainly the two doing comedy stuff, but once the match got started it was pretty good. Don't let the rating I'm giving this one fool you - it's entertaining stuff and served its purpose as the opener.
Match rating - **3/4
2) Johnny Gargano & Chuck Taylor vs. The Young Bucks
And in his debut in PWG, Johnny Gargano won the crowd over immediately. In all honesty, Gargano put in the most outstanding performance here in my opinion. Maybe it's because I'd never seen him wrestle before, but I was really impressed. We all know how good The Young Bucks and Chuck Taylor are, so this was a recipe for a quality tag team match which is exactly what we got. Just an awesome match here.
Match rating - ***3/4
3) Eddie Edwards vs. Jay Lethal
The two men started off with some chain wrestling which was very fun to watch. In fact, I think the best way to describe this match would be "fun". It was such a good bout between Edwards and Lethal. It was Lethal's debut in PWG, but the crowd was behind him just as much or more than they were behind Eddie. In my opinion, the beginning and the ending were the best parts of this match. It seemed to me they made it go a bit longer than it needed to, but that's just me. Still a very enjoyable and great match up.
Match rating - ***1/4
4) AR Fox & Samuray Del Sol vs. Ricochet & Rich Swann
This was the match on the card that I was most looking forward to seeing. Fox & Del Sol were making their debut here and they certainly set out to impress. This match was absolutey insane. Some of the best reversals, counters, and catch wrestling that I've ever seen. The exchange between Ricochet and Del Sol near the beginning of the match was just epic. And the dives... WOW! Just amazing stuff. Ricochet ran and dove OVER the top turnbuckle into the crowd onto Fox which was just insane. I have no idea how he flew that far in the air. Crazy awesome match and the best one of the night for me.
Match rating - ****1/2
5) Roderick Strong vs. Trent?
Wasn't expecting much out of this one, but they really surprised me. I got Night 2 several months ago so I watched it before this DVD and Trent's match on Night 2 with London wasn't that great, but Strong really meshed well with Trent here. This was a very good match especially when compared to Trent's match on the next night. Good stuff.
Match rating - ***1/4
6) Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O' Reilly) vs. Unbreakable F'N Machines (Brian Cage & Michael Elgin)
Future Shock was such an underrated tag team in my opinion. If I'm correct, I believe this was the last time they teamed together before fully going separate ways and what a way to go out! This was a very hard hitting and physical match as one would expect with the names involved. Kyle hung right in there with the big guys while Cole played the sneaky heel which is what he does best. All around great match.
Match rating - ***3/4
7) Sami Callihan vs. Drake Younger - Guerilla Warfare #1 Contender's Match
I had heard mixed reviews about this one prior to buying this DVD so your enjoyment of this match will all depend on your wrestling preferences. If you like hardcore, brutal matches - you'll love this match. And I'm not talking about WWE style No DQ matches with a few chairshots and kendo sticks. I'm talking about slams through chairs and trashcans, thumbtacks, staple guns, and all that shit. This was a super brutal match that featured all of the above things listed. Drake and Sami beat the hell out of each other once again, but this was on a whole nother level. Drake took the worst beating as he got suplexed through a stack of chairs, thrown over the top rope onto a pyramid of chairs, he got two dollar bills stapled to his face, he got dumped headfirst onto thumbtacks and somehow still managed to win. Callihan took a beating as well though as he got slammed in the tacks and took some hard bumps. Again, some will hate this match because of the level of violence and some will love it. Either way, you have to give these guys credit for putting their bodys on the line like this.
Match rating - ****1/4
Overall: On this show, PWG gave fans a little bit of everything. You got a highflying tag match loaded with spots, a few solid technical based matches, some hard hitting tag team bouts, and a hardcore war between Younger and Callihan. The match of the night for me was AR Fox & Samuray Del Sol vs. Ricochet & Rich Swann. Just awesome stuff. It's worth the price of the DVD alone. Nothing's rated under 7 except for the opener which is still entertaining and funny as hell. Another great show from PWG.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
PWG: All Star Weekend 9 - Night 2 DVD Review
PWG All Star Weekend 9: Night 2 (3-23-13) DVD Review
In 2013, I gained heavy interest in independent wrestling. One of the first companies that I heard of when asking around was PWG. Well, its 2014 and I finally got around to checking them out. This is the first PWG event that I've ever seen so I was excited to check it out.
1) Jay Lethal vs. Willie Mack
One thing I noticed early on was how awesome the crowd was. They were on fire! In this match they were evenly split between both competitors as "Let's go Lethal!" chants were met with "Willie Mack!" chants. I've seen Lethal compete numerous times and am aware of how great he is, but this was my first time seeing Willie Mack. I was honestly impressed. The match starts off with Lethal sending Mack to the outside and then delivering three crazy suicide dives to the outside onto him. Also, for anyone who's never seen a PWG show, there are no railings so these guys were basically in the crowd doing this. They get back in the ring and Mack gets control for a bit. When the match first started, I thought that there was no way a guy the size of Willie would be able to do any impressive moves or keep up in a fast pace with Lethal. Turns out, I was wrong. Mack hit a standing moonsault onto Lethal which shocked me. Lethal and Mack kept a good pace and delivered a solid opener. Something to look out for is Mack mocking the Prime Time Players by putting his arm around on Lethal and doing the "millions of dollars" thing. Hilarious.
Match rating - ***
2) Johnny Gargano & Chuck Taylor vs. RockNES Monsters
A good bit of comedy in this match as they wrestle the first few minutes on the apron haha. Yes, the apron. Funny stuff. They get in the ring and the match really gets going and turned out be a really good tag team bout. I was impressed by all four men of which I've never seen compete before. There were some awesome moves hit through out this match. My favorite one being the Tower of Doom on the outside into the crowd. Really good match.
Match rating - ***1/4
3) Paul London vs. Trent?
I'm a long time Paul London fan, but am not familiar with Trent. He didn't really do much to impress me here either. Although, London did what he does best - put on a show. He hit several impressive manuevers during the match which kept this one from being a dud. London has control for the main part of the match and it is a solid affair. Worth a watch to see London do his thing.
Match rating - **3/4
4) AR Fox & Inner City Machine Guns vs. Kevin Steen, Michael Elgin, & Brian Cage (Unbreakable F'N Steen Machines)
I honestly don't even know where to start with this match. It was crazy. Before the match starts something funny happens that is worth mentioning. The ring announcer introduces the Unbreakable F'N Machines and Steen grabs the mic and says "FN? What are we? 12? Say it right." The announcer does say it right this time and introduces them as The Unbreakable Fucking Machines! The match kicks off and its a standard six man tag bout for the first few minutes until it break down and there is action everywhere. This started with all Fox, Ricochet and Swann all diving out of different sides of the ring onto the opposing team and the same exact time. The commentator described my reaction perfectly saying "What the fuck did I just see?" That was the start of a near 15 minute sequence of nonstop action and big moves. These guys left it all in the ring and delivered an action packed match. Steen cuts a good promo afterwards thanking everyone for coming to see them as well as thinking all the other competitors in the match. He also says he got a text from Generico earlier in the day saying he missed this place. Cool stuff, awesome match.
Match rating - ****1/4
5) TJ Perkins vs. Samuray Del Sol
Just a little background for those who don't know, you may know who Perkins is even though you've never seen his face as Perkins wrestles under a mask as Manik for TNA. Also, Samuray Del Sol is now under contract with WWE! I was pumped to hear this news as Sol is an amazing competitor. TJ P and Samuray delivered a phenomenal wrestling match here. It featured lots of high flying manuevers as well as some mat/submission based wrestling. Just as with the previous match, the crowd was chanting "This is Awesome" and that's exactly what it was - awesome.
Match rating - ****
6) Sami Callihan vs. Kyle O' Reilly
Just as most of the other matches, this was my first time seeing these two guys compete. I've heard a lot about Callihan and a little about O' Reilly. Needless to say, they both impressed me. This was a hard hitting, physical, back and forth bout. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole match. These guys left it all in the ring.
Match rating - ****1/2
7) The Young Bucks vs. The Dojo Bros (Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards) - PWG Tag Team Title Match
Wow. This was honestly one of the best tag team matches I've seen in many years, if not one of the best I've ever seen period. Non stop action, crazy combination moves, and SUPER KICKS. I knew of the Young Bucks from their time in TNA, but this match blew everything they did in TNA out of the water. It was amazing. There's not much else I can say, you need to see it for yourself.
Match rating - ****1/2
8) Adam Cole vs. Drake Younger - PWG World Title Match
Cole and Younger had one hell of a card to follow, but dammit they did it in outstanding fashion. This was my first time seeing Cole and Younger compete and I learned alot about both men. Firstly, they blew me away. Great competitors. Secondly, Adam Cole plays the heel perfectly. Thirdly, Drake Younger is a badass. Younger competed in basically a deathmatch with Sami Callihan the night before to earn this match. One of the most brutal matches ever contested in PWG. Younger suffered a huge gash in his head that took 18 stitches to cover up. Yet, he came into this match and gave it his all, diving off the top turnbuckle to the outside onto Cole into charis, taking numerous suplexes landing on his head, and getting back up numerous times after Cole would knock him down. This match told a great story and I think everyone including me thought he was going to win the title. Amazing match, the story and the crowd put it over the top for me. The ending was cheap, but it's expected coming from a guy with the character of Cole.
Match rating - ****1/4
Overall thoughts: BUY THIS NOW. If you've never seen PWG, I highly suggest taking a look at it. I honestly enjoyed this show more than I do WWE shows. Five out of the eight matches are rated 8 or higher on a scale of 1-10, and the other three are solid contests as well. I enjoyed every single match on this show, I watched it in one afternoon as soon as I got it. It's definitely worth the money. PWG definitely impressed and I will be looking into more of their shows soon.
In 2013, I gained heavy interest in independent wrestling. One of the first companies that I heard of when asking around was PWG. Well, its 2014 and I finally got around to checking them out. This is the first PWG event that I've ever seen so I was excited to check it out.
1) Jay Lethal vs. Willie Mack
One thing I noticed early on was how awesome the crowd was. They were on fire! In this match they were evenly split between both competitors as "Let's go Lethal!" chants were met with "Willie Mack!" chants. I've seen Lethal compete numerous times and am aware of how great he is, but this was my first time seeing Willie Mack. I was honestly impressed. The match starts off with Lethal sending Mack to the outside and then delivering three crazy suicide dives to the outside onto him. Also, for anyone who's never seen a PWG show, there are no railings so these guys were basically in the crowd doing this. They get back in the ring and Mack gets control for a bit. When the match first started, I thought that there was no way a guy the size of Willie would be able to do any impressive moves or keep up in a fast pace with Lethal. Turns out, I was wrong. Mack hit a standing moonsault onto Lethal which shocked me. Lethal and Mack kept a good pace and delivered a solid opener. Something to look out for is Mack mocking the Prime Time Players by putting his arm around on Lethal and doing the "millions of dollars" thing. Hilarious.
Match rating - ***
2) Johnny Gargano & Chuck Taylor vs. RockNES Monsters
A good bit of comedy in this match as they wrestle the first few minutes on the apron haha. Yes, the apron. Funny stuff. They get in the ring and the match really gets going and turned out be a really good tag team bout. I was impressed by all four men of which I've never seen compete before. There were some awesome moves hit through out this match. My favorite one being the Tower of Doom on the outside into the crowd. Really good match.
Match rating - ***1/4
3) Paul London vs. Trent?
I'm a long time Paul London fan, but am not familiar with Trent. He didn't really do much to impress me here either. Although, London did what he does best - put on a show. He hit several impressive manuevers during the match which kept this one from being a dud. London has control for the main part of the match and it is a solid affair. Worth a watch to see London do his thing.
Match rating - **3/4
4) AR Fox & Inner City Machine Guns vs. Kevin Steen, Michael Elgin, & Brian Cage (Unbreakable F'N Steen Machines)
I honestly don't even know where to start with this match. It was crazy. Before the match starts something funny happens that is worth mentioning. The ring announcer introduces the Unbreakable F'N Machines and Steen grabs the mic and says "FN? What are we? 12? Say it right." The announcer does say it right this time and introduces them as The Unbreakable Fucking Machines! The match kicks off and its a standard six man tag bout for the first few minutes until it break down and there is action everywhere. This started with all Fox, Ricochet and Swann all diving out of different sides of the ring onto the opposing team and the same exact time. The commentator described my reaction perfectly saying "What the fuck did I just see?" That was the start of a near 15 minute sequence of nonstop action and big moves. These guys left it all in the ring and delivered an action packed match. Steen cuts a good promo afterwards thanking everyone for coming to see them as well as thinking all the other competitors in the match. He also says he got a text from Generico earlier in the day saying he missed this place. Cool stuff, awesome match.
Match rating - ****1/4
5) TJ Perkins vs. Samuray Del Sol
Just a little background for those who don't know, you may know who Perkins is even though you've never seen his face as Perkins wrestles under a mask as Manik for TNA. Also, Samuray Del Sol is now under contract with WWE! I was pumped to hear this news as Sol is an amazing competitor. TJ P and Samuray delivered a phenomenal wrestling match here. It featured lots of high flying manuevers as well as some mat/submission based wrestling. Just as with the previous match, the crowd was chanting "This is Awesome" and that's exactly what it was - awesome.
Match rating - ****
6) Sami Callihan vs. Kyle O' Reilly
Just as most of the other matches, this was my first time seeing these two guys compete. I've heard a lot about Callihan and a little about O' Reilly. Needless to say, they both impressed me. This was a hard hitting, physical, back and forth bout. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole match. These guys left it all in the ring.
Match rating - ****1/2
7) The Young Bucks vs. The Dojo Bros (Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards) - PWG Tag Team Title Match
Wow. This was honestly one of the best tag team matches I've seen in many years, if not one of the best I've ever seen period. Non stop action, crazy combination moves, and SUPER KICKS. I knew of the Young Bucks from their time in TNA, but this match blew everything they did in TNA out of the water. It was amazing. There's not much else I can say, you need to see it for yourself.
Match rating - ****1/2
8) Adam Cole vs. Drake Younger - PWG World Title Match
Cole and Younger had one hell of a card to follow, but dammit they did it in outstanding fashion. This was my first time seeing Cole and Younger compete and I learned alot about both men. Firstly, they blew me away. Great competitors. Secondly, Adam Cole plays the heel perfectly. Thirdly, Drake Younger is a badass. Younger competed in basically a deathmatch with Sami Callihan the night before to earn this match. One of the most brutal matches ever contested in PWG. Younger suffered a huge gash in his head that took 18 stitches to cover up. Yet, he came into this match and gave it his all, diving off the top turnbuckle to the outside onto Cole into charis, taking numerous suplexes landing on his head, and getting back up numerous times after Cole would knock him down. This match told a great story and I think everyone including me thought he was going to win the title. Amazing match, the story and the crowd put it over the top for me. The ending was cheap, but it's expected coming from a guy with the character of Cole.
Match rating - ****1/4
Overall thoughts: BUY THIS NOW. If you've never seen PWG, I highly suggest taking a look at it. I honestly enjoyed this show more than I do WWE shows. Five out of the eight matches are rated 8 or higher on a scale of 1-10, and the other three are solid contests as well. I enjoyed every single match on this show, I watched it in one afternoon as soon as I got it. It's definitely worth the money. PWG definitely impressed and I will be looking into more of their shows soon.
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