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Tape Reviews
TTDR: PWG Pimpin' in High Places
Posted by The Paradise City Surf Ninjas on Mar 9, 2004, 23:29
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Very few promotions on the independent scene create instant buzz, yet it has happened twice in the past two years. Ring of Honor grew a devoted fan following almost immediately on the East Coast when they debuted in 2002, and now on the West Coast comes Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Thanks to their tasty premium blend of lucha libre and hard-hitting strong style, along with their chortle-inducing press releases, PWG has set the hearts of many smarks aflutter. The question I always seek to answer when I do these reviews are- is the hype deserved? And can you REALLY believe it�s not butter? Hopefully we�ll find the answer to one of these questions in my newest fanalyis �PWG �Pimpin� in High Places.�
Since this is my first PWG tape, and first Southern California wrestling tape in general, I decided to enlist an expert to the scene for help with this review, the premier authority on West Coast wrestling- SoCal Uncensored�s Steven Bryant
Steve: Thanks for having me.
Zokre vs. Phoenix Star vs. Puma
Steve: Phoenix Star and Zokre are two of the young guns of SoCal, both having been rookies in 2003. They both trained together at Gil�s Garage, a famous lucha school in Southern California, where one of their teachers was the one and only Super Boy. They have feuded all over the place, and have tagged together all over the place. Puma first broke onto the scene in late 2000 as Pinoy Boy, and was named the 2001 Southern California Rookie of the Year. About two years ago he began training at New Japan�s Inoki Dojo in Santa Monica and has even done a New Japan tour (as Pinoy Boy).
Jay: All three men circles each other, with Zokre and Puma making the first move, reversing holds on the mat. Phoenix and Zokre go at it, but Puma breaks it up with a hard kick to the head. Lot more flippin� and flippin� leads to Phoenix nailing a Stinger Splash on Zokre in the corner, Puma tries to take advantage but takes a flying headscissors. Phoenix follows up with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Puman and a double dropkick to the other two combatants. Puma recovers and tosses Phoenix out of the ring, and then hits a hard snap suplex on Zokre for a quick two count. Puma keeps Phoenix out of the ring and nails Zokre with a leg lariat. Phoenix tries to get back in, Puma tries to cut him off, but Phoenix catches him with one of those wacky lucha bouncy armdrags off the top. Phoenix tries to catch Puma with a tombstone, Zokre tries to slip out, so Phoenix turns into a front slam, but Zokre catches Puma with a facebuster on the way down! Phoenix then nails Zokre with a REVERSE Angle Slam for two, broken up by Puma. Undettered, Phoenix presses his advantage on Zokre with a CODE RED, again broken up by Puma. Side suplex by Puma, and he locks in a bow-and-arrow on Phoenix �AND ZOKRE COMES OFF THE TOP WITH A SENTON BOMB! RUNNING SSP by Zokre on Puma! Two count! Zokre off the ropes, Phoenix kicks him and Zokre goes FLYING through the ropes! Nope, Zokre hangs on, Phoenix tries to bring him back in- AND ZOKRE CATCHES HIM WITH A REVERSE DDT! Puma breaks up the count though, and hits a German Suplex on Zokre. THAT gets two, so Puma tosses Zokre, and hits a Tombstone on Phoenix Star, which is enough to finish.
You wouldn�t believe it from the amount of play-by-play I did, but that match was only about 5 minutes long. They crammed a LOT of spots into that time, and all of them hit perfectly, which is a rarity in indy wrestling. Some of the action I saw here was pretty mindblowing, and the action was kept at a constant, fast pace, but in the end it was basically a short collection of spots with no selling or meaning. Good choice for an opener though, because stunt matches always get the crowd hyped up.
Winner: Puma
Rating: **1/4
Steve: I thought this was a very good opener to get the crowd into the show, and that was the whole point in the match, as it didn�t lead to, nor was it ever part of any type of feud between any of the three.
Aerial Express (Scorpio Sky and Quicksilver) vs. Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero)
Steve: This is sort of an �up and comers versus the returning veterans� match. After dominating the SoCal scene, the Havana Pitbulls spent the last year in Mexico and Japan only to return to find Aerial Express tearing up their house. Scorpio Sky was the 2002 SoCal Rookie of the Year runner up and Quicksilver was the 2003 SoCal Rookie of the Year winner (though this match happened in 2003, so that wasn�t known yet). Both came from Revolution Pro�s Rudos Dojo. The Pitbulls on the other hand started out as Los Cubanitos and have been around for quite some time. They were brought into the Inoki Dojo by Justin McCully and Rocky Romero wrestled a New Japan tour, and both have wrestled for EMLL in Mexico.
Jay: Romero and Quicksilver start out, with Romero quickly taking the luchador to the mat with a chinlock. Quicksilver quickly (haha!) reverses to a rollup for two and transitions into a bodyscissors. That ends in a stalemate, so Romero shoots in again with a takedown and a front facelock. That�s reversed by Quicksilver, so Romero takes him down again with a fireman�s carry, which is turned into an armbar. Quicksilver takes down the leg, but Romero reverses and locks on a surfboard, not only that but getting his opponent�s shoulders down for two! That�s a smart move right there. Test of strength now, but Quicksilver takes advantage with kicks to the gut, putting Romero on the match for a chinlock. Romero escapes and we have another stalemate. We get another off of a takedown sequence and the tags are made. Reyes grabs a waistlock on Scorpio Sky, reversed by Sky, who takes Ricky down with a fireman�s carry. Reyes and Sky exchange more reversals on the mat and we get ANOTHER stalemate. This is seriously getting old. Northern Lights backdrop by Romero, who then neutralizes Sky with an armbar. Now we get a wristlock and BLAH BLAH DO SOMETHING!
Fast forward another five minutes, and finally something interesting happens, as Quicksilver takes Romero down with a rana and basement dropkicks him in the face. That only pisses Rocky off, so he goes to town on Quicksilver with roundhouse kicks to the chest. Quicksilver recovers with a springboard flying headscissors, sending the Pitbull to the outside. Oh lord, more headlockery, so I�m going to FF again. Irish whip, and Reyes fakes out Sky on a monkey flip and kicks him in the head. Off the ropes again, same thing, except this time Sky is smart enough to lock his legs around Reyes� head for a satellite headscissors. Both Pitbulls are on the outside now, so the AXP nail them with stereo somersault planchas. The AXP nail Reyes in the chest with kicks, Quicksilver comes off the ropes, Romero kicks him in the back, and now the Pitbulls are in control. Butterfly suplex by Reyes, who tags in Romero. Romero keeps up the pounding and locks in a cross-armbreaker. Here comes some Pitbull double-teaming: irish whip in the corner � Romero crotches Quicksilver on the post and Reyes kills him with a running legdrop. Flying knee by Reyes, hard lariat by Romero, cover for two. Quicksilver is sent into the corner, takes down Romero, and hits a springboard splash. Reyes tries to break up the count, but hits his own parter, and here�s the hot tag. Leapfrog/front slam combo by the AXP, and Sky gets a Rude Awakening on Romero. Romero turns the tide with a Saito suplex, broken up by Quicksilver. Romero catches �Silver though, and hit Demolition�s old finisher for three.
This was an okay 10-minute match, the problem is though, it went TWENTY. The entire first half of this match is slow-paced, pointless matwork that didn�t lead anywhere, and to be blunt, it bored the crap out of me. From two reputedly very good teams, this was an extremely dull match that was tough to sit through. This is the first time I�ve seen both teams though, so I�m not going to judge either team just yet (as I know now by the El Generico Precedent). I�ll attribute it to either an off night or a lack of chemistry, but this was not a good match.
Winners: Havana Pitbulls
Rating: *1/2
Steve: I actually disagree completely- this was actually my favorite match on the show. I haven�t seen it on video, but live it came off really well. The Pitbulls have always been known for their matwork and psychology based matches, and it was fun seeing them try to stretch out the �young punks� then later AXP showing the Pitbulls they can hang on the mat.
Excalibur vs. Chris Bosh- Hair vs. Hair match
Steve: These guys have been feuding since PWG�s debut show when Excalibur gave Bosh a legit concussion during their match. Excalibur is best known for his matches with Super Dragon in Revolution Pro, where he has somce been banished from, sadly. Chris Bosh is a rookie, who came out of Revolution Pro�s school.
Jay: Excalibur rips off his shirt Hogan-style before the match, so already he rules. Bosh jumps Excalibur to start, but whiffs on a dropkick. Excalibur tries for a high knee, that misses, and a second Bosh dropkick hits, sending Ex to the outside. Somersault dive by Bosh, and he sends Ex back in. Bosh nails a quick backbreaker, followed up with a fallaway slam. NICE backbreaker from a side suplex position by Bosh gets a two count. Iris whip by Bosh, and he uses Ex�s dreadlocks to pull him back into Christian�s reverse neckbreaker. Bosh lights up Ex with chops in the corner, another whip, but Bosh eats boot and Ex wraps him up in a TRIANGLE CHOKE IN THE ROPES! Awesome! Flying kneedrop to the back of Bosh�s head! Excalibur pins him with one finger, and that gets two. Seeing desperate measures are required, Ex slaps on the dreaded VULCAN NERVE HOLD but amazing that doesn�t get the submission. Bosh Flair flips over the ropes off an irish whip, and hits a charging Excalibur with Jerry Lynn�s guillotine legdrop. Bosh then slingshots in with a hurricanrana, and charges with a clothesline, but Ex kicks him low (CHEAT TO WIN~!) and takes him down. Excalibur locks in a Dragon Sleeper, but Bosh escapes, sunset flip attempt- and Ex STOMPS him in the face. Ex goes to a triangle hold now, Bosh escapes again, but Excalibur quickly killifies him with a Tombstone. Chops in the corner, irish whip by Ex, but Bosh springs up to the ropes and hits a high crossbody. Double-KO spot ensues, and the count is on.
Both men are up, Bosh turns the momentum his way with a twisting Baldobomb for two. Bosh keeps up the aggression with a Michinoku Driver and a Superfly Splash for another nearfall. Bosh then tries PULLING EXCALIBUR�S HAIR OUT, but Ex is having none of that shit, RIPPING BOSH�S FACE OFF with a lariat. Both men are back up off of a ten count, Bosh tries for the quick pin with a schoolboy, BUT EXCALIBUR WITH THE SHINING WIZARD OUT OF NOWHERE! Brainbuster by Excalibur gets�two. Half-nelson suplex by Excalibur, but he�s too tired to capitalize. Ex goes for the Tiger Driver, but Bosh reverses into the MOTHERFUCKING STEINER SCREWDRIVER~! Excalibur is DEAD, but falls to the outside. Bosh loses it and dropkicks the referee, and BLASTS Excalibur in the face with a wastebasket.
AXP run in for the save�or DO THEY? Nope, it�s heel turn city- SPIKE PILEDRIVER by the Aerial Express! They go all 1997 RVD, saying they want to work for a respectable company, a company that �uses West Coast guys instead of sucking East Coast dick!� Bosh then gives the standard �I don�t give a fuck about the fans� speech, and despite losing the match, he shaves Excalibur�s head. Fellow PWG owners and Team Chismo members Disco Machine and Super Dragon make the save and brawl with the AXP.
Now this was one hell of a match- a ton of hate, an excellently paced back and forth flow, some sick spots, and great crowd heat equal something that�s a ton of fun to watch. The selling was also extremely well-done, as both men were visibly hurt and slowed-down after all the high-impact moves as the match wore on, making them seem more devastating and important. The post-match turn has to be seen to be believed- the heat was crazy and the brawl at the end only added to the authenticity of the animosity. (Man, was that a Don King statement or what?) Either way, this is definitely a must-see match.
Winner: Excalibur
Rating: ***3/4
Steve: The match did a great job of continuing their feud, and even bringing it up a notch with addition of AXP and Super Dragon and Disco Machine. The feud is still going to this day, as a matter of fact. In my opinion, this has been PWG�s best job of setting up an angle to date.
Jay: Backstage, Excalibur vows revenge � �I�m gonna get you back. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, it might not even be six months down the line, �till you wake up one morning, and you have to take the biggest shit of your life, and here I come, poppin� out of the toilet- SURPISE N*GGA! Waiting, with a FUCKIN� BRICK, to BASH YOUR FUCKIN� HEADS IN! NOBODY DOES THIS TO ME, YOU HEAR THAT? NOBODY!� Excalibur is your new rudo hero, �nuff said.
M-Dogg 20 and Jardi Frantz vs. The Ballard Brothers (Shane and Shannon)
Steve: The Ballard Brothers first started wrestling in SoCal during the gold rush of 1849. They had to wrestle bears, and sometimes Hardkore Inc. Well, maybe they haven�t been around quite that long. The Ballards were actually the 1999 and 2000 SoCal Tag-Team of the Year. In PWG Jardi Frantz does a pot smoker gimmick, as one APW LA show fans just decided he looked high and started chanting �stoner� at him. He took it and went with it. M-Dogg is straight edge, which makes it hard for the team to work together.
Jay: The Ballard Brothers have been de-Hansonized since I last saw them, and are now Canadian, which makes them evil, somehow. Frantz works a wristlock on Shane (since they�re identical, I�m just gonna guess which is which) and armdrags him over. Frantz then grabs a hammerlock, pushed off by Shane. Shane ducks a Frantz spinkick, but gets caught with chops. Frantz sends him into the corner, flips out of it, and sweeps Shane down. Shane kicks him off, Frantz kips up, and tags are made. Shannon works a headlock on M-Dogg, but gets taken down. Irish whip, M-Dogg gets caught with a waistlock, release German-no! M-Dogg lands on his feet! Flipping dropkick by M-Dogg on Shannon, and he goes to work in the corner. Irish whip to the other corner, Shannon puts the brakes on, but takes a Japanese armdrag from M-Dogg. M-Dogg asks for a tag, but Frantz is too spaced out on weed to realize it. Shannon tries to take advantage but eats a pair of ranas. This time Frantz tags in and the faces double-team a bit. M-Dogg suplexes Ballard, and Frantz immediately follows with a springboard kneedrop. Back elbow by Frantz, who covers for two. Frantz slaps on a surfboard variation which is broken by Ballard, but Frantz immediately re-applies the hold. Tag to M-Dogg, who nails a clothesline on Shannon. Shane has had enough and nails M-Dogg with a clothesline off the ropes, despite being illegal. Reverse Giant Swing/dropkick combo and the heels are finally in control. The Ballards stomp away, bur M-Dogg fights back with a dropkick- accidentally knocking his own partner off the apron! Shane recovers and nails a Colt 45 to keep control. Side suplex attempt by Shane is turned into a sunset flip for two, but the heels immediately cut off a comeback. Nebraskan tumbleweed by Shane, and the Ballards set up for another doubleteam. Double backbreaker by the Ballards, who continue the assault. Shannon slaps on a camel clutch, but quickly releases for another weird double-backbreaker variation I definitely can�t call properly. M-Dogg Jackie Chans out of the corner and hits a fireman�s carry neckbreaker, and there�s the hot tag! Springboard thrust kick by Frantz! Dropkick. Holy shit-RUNNING NO-HANDS TWISTING MOONSAULT by Frantz! Not to be outdone, M-Dogg hits the SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP! Slingshot legdrop by Frantz back in the ring, going for the 450�NO! Frantz lands on his feet- hit with a clothesline by a Ballard! M-Dogg makes the save on a cover, and hits a DISGUSTING Michinoku Driver II, but Ballard saves. Frantz comes in with a kick to the gut, and a DOUBLE-SPRINGBOARD TORNADO DDT! UNREAL! M-Dogg sweeps Ballard's leg and hits a lightning-quick standing moonsault for another two count. M-Dogg trips up, let�s say, Shane, and Frantz goes for a dropkick, but hits M-Dogg instead. Frantz and Shane exchange rollups, but M-Dogg hits Frantz on the kickout by accident, and Shane gets rope-assisted a schoolboy for the victory. Post-match, straight-edge M-Dogg finally gets sick of his grass-loving partner and they have a pull-apart brawl.
It�s kinda funny how the tag match with two �spotmonkeys� and an unheralded veteran team totally blew away the tag match with the two most highly regarded teams in SoCal. Unlike the Pitbulls/AXP match, the face/heel roles were far more clearly defined, they didn�t waste a ridiculous amount of time with pointless matwork, the story of the dissension between M-Dogg and Frantz was very well �told (the space cadet missed tag was a very nice, subtle touch) and there were some INSANE highspots nicely sprinkled into the contest. Jardi Frantz is definitely a guy I�d like to see get more exposure on the indy scene- he definitely has some serious in-ring charisma and has incredible coordination and athletic ability. The star of this match in my eyes, though, was M-Dogg 20. He�s improved 100x since his CZW days- he�s far more relaxed in the ring, no longer tries ridiculous contrived spots, and has improved his moveset. In short, he�s now an actual wrestler instead of a gymnast in a wrestling ring. A few more years down the line, mark my words, he�s going to be a premier player in indy wrestling. Overall, this was a fantastic tag match, hindered only by a few mistimed spots by the Ballards.
Winners: Ballard Brothers
Rating: ***1/2
Steve: I also thought this was a good match. I did think the other tag match was better, but this one very entertaining as well. Unfortunately the M-Dogg and Jardi stuff hasn�t gone anywhere yet, as Jardi missed the tag tournament and hasn�t been back since.
BJ Whitmer vs. Samoa Joe
Steve: Samoa Joe really needs no introduction, but I�ll throw a little bit in anyway. Samoa Joe started in late 1999 and was the 2000 SoCal Rookie of the Year. He was pushed right away in UPW, SoCal�s biggest promotion, and beat Chris Daniels for the UPW title. He held the title for almost a year before losing it to Mikey Henderson. He then began working in Zero One in Japan, then Ring of Honor and the rest is history. BJ Whitmer I don�t know a whole lot about. This was his first SoCal match and he�s never impressed me enough to where I�ve thought �man, I�d sure like to know more about him.�
Jay: Joe starts off by backing Whitmer into the corner with some feigned strikes, but Whitmer quickly regains his confidence and locks up. Joe escapes a wristlock and grabs one of his own, but Whitmer rolls through and reverses again. Joe trips up Whitmer and locks in a front facelock. Whitmer escapes and the two go to a test of strength, which Joe wins. Joe locks in an armbar, but Whitmer headbutts him to break. Joe is unfazed and quickly takes Whitmer down again with another armbar, but Whitmer reverses with a cheap headbutt against the ropes. Whitmer takes over with a neckbreaker and hits the chinlock. Joe gets back to his feet and goes to town with some stiff forearms and chops. Joe takes him down with a Fujiwara armbar. No tapout, so Joe puts him in the corner, but Whitmer turns the momentum around with forearms. Whitmer comes in with a molasses-quick flying forearm in the corner, he tries a second time and Joe SMACKS HIM DOWN LIKE A BITCH with an STO. Joe finally makes this match interesting with stiff back chops, followed by a spinal tap and a big splash for two. Joe grabs a Boston Crab, transitioned into the Stylin� Crab, but BJ makes the ropes. Joe finally gets sick of BJ�s uselessness and unloads on him with nasty forearms, but BJ fires back with the high knee, which is no sold. A forearm shot off the ropes drops Joe for a nearfall. Whitmer then tries the Exploder Suplex, but Joe kicks out at 2.9. Another Exploder attempt is reversed to a rollup for 2, but Joe quickly gets to his feet and hits a NICE enziguiri for a nearfall of his own. Joe FUCKS HIM UP with the Kawada kicks, but BJ ducks one and nails a Saito suplex. Whitmer stupidly tries his own Kawada kicks, so Joe does the HUNDRED HAND SLAP~!, covers for two, but gets a cross-armbreaker for the tapout.
The love indy promoters and �Net nerds have for BJ Whitmer continues to boggle my mind, because personally, I think the guy is frigging terrible. What�s so special about him? He�s a very average tech worker, with absolutely no distinguishable charisma in or out of the ring, nothing unique in the way of moveset, and has NEVER proven he can get over without the G-d push from the booking crew. Heck, check tapes of IWA shows from 2003, where he was CLEARLY leeching off of Danny Daniels� well-earned heel heat. Joe tried to bring his A game to this one, with the E. Honda thwacking goodness and neato-keen submission work, but Whitmer couldn�t keep up with him, and all it ended up being was a random m�nage of head drops and strikes. Whitmer�s strikes looked TERRIBLE compared to Joe�s, and Joe tried to work the arm to set up for the finish, but Whitmer didn�t sell the arm at all either. A shame, what could have been a good match ruined by Whitmer�s Orton-osity.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Rating: *3/4
Steve: Did someone forget to tell BJ Whitmer there was a crowd there? Like Jay, I have no idea what people see in him, but maybe I�m just not seeing the right stuff.
Super Dragon, Colt Cabana and Adam Pearce vs. Joey Ryan, CM Punk and Frankie Kazarian (PWG Champion)
Steve: This match was setup last show when Pearce attacked Kazarian, and Cabana came out for the save only to turn on Kazarian, leading to Joey coming out to have to make the save, but Super Dragon came out to attack him, then Punk came out for the save. Whew. Joey Ryan and Super Dragon have had an ongoing feud in PWG ever since the heavyweight title tournament, as have Pearce and Kazarian.
Jay: Before I say anything, I must say what a joy it is to be reviewing a Colt Cabana match again. If more people in the world were like Colt Cabana, the world would be a far better place. If you asked me to name a true shining light for humanity, the first person I would name would be �Colt Cabana.�
First, we go through about 20 tags before we finally settle on a starting combination of Joey Ryan and Colt Cabana. Joey shoots in with an amateur takedown and a front facelock, reversed by Cabana. Colt grabs a bodyscissors, powered out of by Ryan, but Colt turns it into an armbar. Ryan reverses the armbar, but Colt gets a headscissors. Ryan escapes and shoots him into the ropes, met with a shoulderblock, but he comes back with a dropkick and an armdrag. Tag to Frankie, who goes to work on the arm. Irish whip, Frankie takes Colt down with a shoulderblock. Another whip, and Colt armdrags him over and tags in Super Dragon. Frankie quickly takes advantage with a leglock, and they start slapping the crap out of each other. Tag to CM Punk, and it�s time for the BATTLE OF THE ASSHOLES~! Or not, since Dragon bails immediately. Dragon tags in Adam Pearce, who immediately wails away with punches. Whip sequence ends with a big dropkick by Punk, and he grabs a snapmare takeover into a headlock on the mat. Pearce gets back to his feet and unloads with chops in the corner. Punk Flair flips off a whip in the corner and hits a top rope tomahawk chop on Pearce. Some more armdraggery ensues, with Punk firmly in control of Pearce. Frankie hits a double axehandle to Pearces arm, and so does Joey Ryan! Bodyslam by Joey-oey-o, and here comes Punk again. Wait no, tag to Frankie, who gets kneed in the gut by Pearce. Super Dragon tags in now, an d CRACKS him with a chop. Koppo kick by Dragon, and Cabana chimes in with a running knees to the chest! Dragon tries a monkey flip- no! Frankie lands on his feet! Double low blow to Cabana and Pearce, pump kick to Dragon! There�s the tag to Punk! LA CASA DI FUOCO TIME!
Punk drops Pearce with a big spinebuster and unloads with rights on Cabana. Joey Ryan comes in with a flying clothesline off the top! Ryan gets whipped in by Cabana, and Pearce with a cheap shot kick to the head. Cabana holds Ryan in place DOUBLE STOMP OFF THE TOP RIGHT TO THE CHEST! Dragon and Cabana work over Joey in the corner and tag in Pearce. Pearce pounds away, and Cabana comes back in. Suplex on Joey gets two. Dragon back in now, with dueling �Dragon� and �Joey� chants firing up. VIOLENCE PARTY TIME! That gets another close two. Dragon tries for a surfboard, Joey fights it, so Cabana dropkicks him in the head! Dragon adds insult to injury with a stomp to the head, and Pearce tags in. The match starts breaking down as Pearce tries for a superplex, but Joey turns it into a RUSSIAN LEGSWEEP OFF THE TOP! Joey tries for a sunset flip on Cabana, but Colt locks in the IRON CLAW~! I love it! Dragon and Cabana whip Joey in- ENZIGUIRI TO CABANA! RELEASE GERMAN TO DRAGON! �JOEY! JOEY!� HOT TAG!
Frankie�s in, and he immediately catches Pearce in a DRAGON SLEEPER! Pearce escapes. Sunset flip by Frankie gets two, crucifix roll by Pearce gets two. Double-KO, and it�s finally BATTLE OF THE ASSHOLES TIME! FOREARM! FOREARM! BAM! BAM! DRAGON DESTROYS PUNK WITH A LARIAT! Dragon tries to charge the faces on the outside, but Joey cuts him off with a kick to the head! STEREO DIVES! Punk tries for the Shining Wizard back in the ring, Dragon blocks, but Punk hits a DDT! Cabana kills Punk with an atomic drop and a cradle suplex! Joey�s back in, Cabana charges him, nobody home, Cabana ends up on the ropes, and JOEY CATCHES HIM WITH A SWINGING NECKBREAKER OFF THE TOP! Look out Joey! PSYCHO DRIVER 2~! TWO COUNT! Dragon and Pearce hook up for a double powerbomb on Kazarian, but PUNK JUMPS OFF PEARCE�S BACK AND HITS A SHINING WIZARD ON DRAGON! Big brainbuster by Punk, but he�s caught with a Kryptonite Krunch across the knee by Cabana! Cabana holds Punk up in an Electric Chair- Dragon dropkicks Punk, but PUNK TAKES CABANA OVER IN A REVERSE RANA ON THE WAY DOWN! Ryan and Dragon are on the top, but Pearce shoves Joey to the floor! Frankie sees it- FLUX CAPACITOR TO DRAGON! PEARCE BREAKS UP THE COVER! Twisting flatliner by Frankie to Pearce- 2.9! The ref gets distracted by Pearce�s manager, who just slid the belt in the ring! Frankie turns around- into a SICK Piledriver on the belt! THREE COUNT! After the match, Frankie isn�t moving, so he gets stretchered out on a table.
This match was definitely entertaining all the way through, with two great heat segments culminating in a super-hot ending. There was definitely a clear feeling that both teams would do whatever it took to win, at any cost. This is very clear when the face team occasionally resorted to heel tactics in order to gain the advantage, such as the double low blows and Ryan delivering the same cheap shot kick Pearce gave him at the beginning of the match. Speaking of Joey Ryan, he was definitely the star of this match. He took a tremendous shitkicking, sold everything like death, and timed his comebacks perfectly. Combined with a high-impact moveset and superstar looking, 2004 could definitely be his breakout year. I dug the ending �it brought back the Piledriver as a deadly move, and showed that Pearce had just crossed a line in his quest for the title. Definitely a fitting climax to a dramatic and intense main event.
Winners: Colt Cabana, Super Dragon, Adam Pearce
Rating: ****
Steve: I remember after seeing this match live, there was some stuff I didn�t like about it, but looking back I can�t remember what that was. The continuation of the feud between Joey Ryan and Super Dragon was really well done and so was the continuation of the Adam Pearce and Kazarian feud. I think Pearce going to the extremes he did showed the hate he had for Kazarian, and the importance of that belt to him. Really well done in the storyline department.
The tape closes with the heel team gloating over their win and the faces promising payback. This was pretty standard stuff, although Punk made a noticeable faux pas when he repeated the �where honor and fighting spirit is supposed to be revered� line he used in ROH.
Final Thoughts:
Jay: Before I get into my final opinion on the wrestling aspect of this show, I have to address two major concerns of mine regarding the video production. The first is that commentary should not be a DVD-only extra feature, it should be REQUIRED, especially for people new to the product such as myself, who have no clue who or what the faces, heels and angles are. The second point is that PWG has to hire a better director, because the over-reliance on the hard camera (the moving cam was only switched to maybe 10% of the total show) is incredibly tedious, and when the moving cam does pop in, it�s very awkward and jarring visually.
As far as the wrestling goes, it�s a little bit hit-and-miss on this tape. There are a couple of real clunkers on this one, but they�re mostly offset by some really exciting and dramatic highspot matches and a couple of super-hot angles. There are a quite a few PWG shows that look much better on paper, but if you�re a completist this is definitely still a solid show. I know I�ll definitely be picking up An Inch Longer than Average very shortly, as well as the show with Osaka Pro talent, 88 Miles Per Hour, when it�s released.
Overall recommendation: Opposable digits tilted at a 65 degree angle.
Steve: If you haven�t checked out PWG before, I wouldn�t recommend starting with this show. The show before it, �An Inch Longer Than Average� and the show after it, �The Tango & Cash Tag Team Tournament� were both far superior shows. That�s not to say I thought PIHP was a bad show, just not a good starting point in terms of storylines, or seeing how good the fed can be. Also check out http://www.socaluncensored.com for the latest PWG and SoCal in general news and results.
PWG tapes, DVDs and t-shirts can be bought directly from their official website and VHS copies can also be found at Smart Mark Video.
If you like Jay or hate Jay, he really doesn�t give a crap either way (hey, that rhymes!) but if you want to talk to him for some reason, his email is here.
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