I recently bought an 8 Disc AJ Styles set from Highspots and instead of posting everything in one huge review, I decided to separately post them by disc. The first four disc are AJ's best matches from IWA Mid-South. This is the first of those discs.
1) AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels - 2002 Ted Petty Invitational Night One - 11/1/02
I don't think there's a better way to start this set than with a Styles/Daniels match. They never cease to amaze me no matter how many times I see them square off. The case was no different here which actually surprised me. Considering that IWA is a smaller Indy company, I didn't expect Styles & Daniels to leave it all in the ring like they did. This match was the definition of a lost gem because it's every bit as good as their famous bouts in TNA. Ian Rotten called it the best match in IWA Mid South history at the time on commentary. It was THAT good. Words won't do it justice but there's one exchange that I just have to mention. AJ went for his signature inverted DDT, Daniels countered out and went for the last rites, as he went for it, AJ reversed immediately and nailed Daniels with the inverted DDT. Exchanges like that are what made this match (and all Styles/Daniels matches) so great, they knew each other so well that they do multiple never before seen counters that will make your jaw drop. Some other highlights here include several picture perfect moonsaults from Daniels and AJ somehow managing to kick out of Angel's Wings. Awesome match!
Match rating - ****1/4
In my quest to get my hands on as much PWG as possible, I picked up this show along with 2 others in Highspots 3 for $20 deal. It's something I recommend checking out. Shows from 2005-2007 are included except for All Star Weekends & BOLA's. None the less, back to the subject of this column, HOLY DIVER DOWN! This is the single earliest single PWG show I've bought. I've seen some stuff from the early years, but it's all been on comps so I was pretty excited about getting this event.
The commentators for the evening are Disco Machine (PWG Co-Founder), TARO (long-time rival/friend of Super Dragon), and Dino Winwood (PWG Commissioner). I was disappointed that Excalibur wasn't in the booth for this show, but I've heard Disco Machine and Dino commentate before so I'm sure they'll do a fine job here. TARO being on board definitely peaked my interest as well considering I just watched his epic series of matches with Super Dragon from RevPro back in the day.
The show kicks off with Dino Winwood in the ring. He calls out Joey Ryan who is met by an array of boos until Dino mentions the fact that Joey lost the PWG Title at the last event which was met by cheers from the audience. Dino introduces Joey's opponent for the evening and it's PWG Co-Founder, Top Gun Talwar as he makes his return to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.
After seeing glimpses of CZW on various compilations, I decided to invest in a few full individual shows. This is CZW's Annual tournament in which wrestling is the emphasis as opposed to the ultraviolent stuff. There are 12 participants in the tournament including the likes of Drake Younger, AR Fox, Chuck Taylor, Caleb Konley, and Biff Busick. I've seen some matches from past Best of the Best and was blown away so I was really pumped to see this whole show. This being Drake Younger's final CZW show made this a must have for me as well.
They introduce the participants to start the event. Drake Younger is the most popular out of the bunch as you may expect. "Drake" chants rang through the arena until he made his exit along with the other entrants.
DJ Hyde came to the ring to loud boos, but before he could really say anything, Kevin Steen jumps the railing and nails him with a package piledriver. I remember seeing news of this happening on Twitter and was pretty pumped. Wish I wouldn't have seen it now so I could have felt the element of surprise. None the less, it was still a great moment. Steen says he's here to see Drake Younger win the whole tournament. I am too, Steen!
1) Chuck Taylor vs. Lucky 13 vs. Buxx Belmar
The only man I was familiar with prior to this match was Chuck Taylor so all the other guys had a chance to impress here and they did just that. This was your basic multi-man opening match in which the action never slowed down. There were several nice spots and even some comedy which is a given when Chuck is involved. Super fun start to the show. Really enjoyed this one.
Match rating - ***
2) Azrieal vs. Biff Busick vs. Caleb Konley
There were a wide variety of styles encompassed in this match which made for some pretty unique exchanges. Busick used his uppercuts to take out the two smaller men in this match while Azrieal tried to use his speed & agility. A minor story going on here was that of Azrieal's former partner Alex Colon not being included in this year's tournament. Colon came out and recieved a dive from Azrieal for his troubles however he would recover and end up costing him the match. Busick picked up the win here with a vicious suplex. Another fairly fun match, although not as good as the opening bout.
Match rating - **3/4
Highspots presents: Claudio Castagnoli - A Very European Collection 6 Disc Set
After being blown away by the in-ring abilities of Cesaro in WWE, I began looking back on his work before he signed to WWE. The first pre-WWE part of Claudio's career that I checked out was in PWG where I saw him have fantastic matches with the likes of PAC (Adrian Neville), El Generico (Sami Zayn), Doug Williams, & Chris Hero. From that point on, I was hooked on Cesaro's wrestling. This led me to purchasing this 6 disc set released by Highspots.com which highlights Claudio's time in IWA Mid-South and Combat Zone Wrestling. It features a total of 47 matches against the likes of CM Punk, Alex Shelley, Chris Hero, Jimmy Jacobs, El Generico, Sami Callihan, Drake Younger, Sara Del Rey, Michael Elgin & many more. I can't wait to get into so let's get started.
1) Swiss Money Holding (Claudio Castagnoli & Ares) vs. Chris Hero & Mark Wolf - IWA Mid South: We Are Family - 7/4/03
This DVD gets off to a great start as Claudio enters the ring wearing a badass suit while Chris Hero comes out to "Rape Me" by Nirvana. Unfortunately that was the only real highlight of this match. Claudio & Ares did some solid heel tag team work here by dominating the majority of the match and using some nice double team moves. Hero got worked over most of the bout which built towards him finally getting the hot tag to Wolf. Wolf comes in cleaning house only to recieve an inadvertant elbow to the jaw from Hero which ends up costing them the match. All in all, the match was pretty basic aside from a unique double team manuever by Claudio & Ares where Ares wheelbarrowed Claudio up and drove him shoulder first into Hero in the corner. Everything else was basically just body slams, arm drags, and rest holds. The match was your typical heel heat format early on with the babyface comeback at the end never really happening. Not a "bad" match per say, but it was pretty dull. Could have been better if they had gotten more time because the finish felt like it came out of nowhere although it was a logical way to end the bout.
Match rating - **1/4
2) Swiss Money Holding (Claudio Castagnoli & Ares) vs. Steve Stone & Beef Wellington III - IWA Mid South - 7/12/03
1) The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Sin Cara vs. Cody Rhodes - Intercontinental Championship Match
There was a vast number of styles in this match which caused for a slow start with some miscommunication however it turned into a solid opening bout. The exchanges between Cara and Mysterio were great, Rhodes held his own, and Miz played his role very well. Some nice action & nearfalls followed by a clever victory from Miz ends this fun opening match.
Match rating - **3/4
2) Daniel Bryan & Kane vs. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth - Tag Team Title Match
The first thing I noticed about this match was how over Daniel Bryan was. I remembered him being popular and the Team Hell No stuff being hilarious although I didn't realize his major popularity went back this far. The fans loved him so much that every time Kofi Kingston hit a move on him, they would boo. It was crazy. None the less, this was an enjoyable little bout that did what it set out to do which was showcase more tension between Bryan & Kane only for them to win the belts in accidental fashion.
Match rating - **1/2
3) Antonio Cesaro vs. Zack Ryder - United States Championship Match
After the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles rocked the wrestling world in August, PWG returned on October 17th with it's "Untitled II" event. At BOLA, Roderick Strong took his feud with Kyle O'Reilly to a new level by planting him through some chairs thus taking him out of the tournament. That comes to head at this event as they face off in the main event for the PWG World Championship. Can Roderick Strong finally accomplish the one thing he hasn't been able to accomplish in his 8 years in PWG?
This event also features the PWG debut of Uhaa Nation, the returns of Brian Cage & AR Fox after they missed BOLA due to injury, and a guest appearance by Ronda Rousey in the crowd. So let's not wait any longer to get into the festivities!
1) Biff Busick vs. Tomasso Ciampa
After a year in PWG, Ciampa finally had his breakout performance at BOLA in an impressive bout with Michael Elgin. In my review of those shows, I said that I felt like this would propel Ciampa to the next level in PWG and after seeing this match with Busick, I think it's safe to say I was right. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but the show opened up with "CIAMPA'S GONNA KILL YOU!" chants ringing through my tv screen. Busick & Ciampa then proceeded to tear the house down in what was arguably one of the best opening matches in PWG history. I honestly think this ranks right up there with Steen/PAC and Bucks/Edwards & Strong. This was one of the most vicious matches I've seen recently and the crowd was super hot so it made this even more awesome. Some highlights include a brutal trading of strikes, a half & half suplex off the top turnbuckle, and Ronda Rousey chopping Busick at ringside. Busick has only been on 4 PWG shows, but he's already established himself, this match did alot for him and continued to raise the stock of Ciampa. Awesome opener!
PWG It's It (What Is It?) Review
On June 8th 2008, PWG held it's final show before the fifth anniversary event, Life During Wartime. The main event is a three way match to determine the #1 Contender to the PWG World Championship. Excalibur and Dino Winwood are on commentary for the evening.
1) Scott Lost vs. Mikey Nicholls
Here we have the debuting Mikey Nicholls taking on PWG veteran/co founder, Scott Lost. I had never heard of Nicholls prior to this, but he certainly impressed me in this match. This bout was everything an opener should be. It got the crowd hot and got the show off to an exciting start. In the end, Lost hit an ace crusher on the apron followed by a superplex to finally put away Nicholls after several near falls. Good opener!
Match rating - **3/4
2) Hook Bomberry vs. Scorpio Sky
