All Star Weekend 11 News & Notes - Adam Cole, Sami Callihan, & Kyle O'Reilly return to PWG + more!

So, All Star Weekend 11 was this weekend and it was bonkers. Of course, the majority of us are going to have to wait a few weeks to see the festivities when the DVD comes out, so this post will be free of all match result spoilers. As you can tell by the title, there WILL be spoilers as far as returns and other happenings however I will keep all match results away so there will still be some sort of mystery.

I'm back........ #ASW11 @OfficialPWG pic.twitter.com/vmi9F1QPEF

— Sami Callihan (@TheSamiCallihan) December 12, 2015

Night One saw the surprise return of Sami Callihan who recently departed from WWE after a two year stay in NXT. The Callihan Death Machine wrestled his final match before reporting to Florida in June 2013 against Adam Cole in the form of a 60 minute Iron Man Match for the PWG World Title at "Is Your Body Ready?" Callihan spent only a year in PWG, but that year was packed with memorable moments including his BRUTAL series of contests with Drake Younger and a match with Kyle O'Reilly that has become known as the start of O'Reilly's rise to the top of PWG. With all that in mind, the reception Callihan got was astounding. He didn't just appear and leave, however. Callihan came to fight and he got one as he faced off with Drew Gulak in an unannounced contest. Welcome back, Sami!

Photo credit: Mikey Nolan

The mid card of the evening was filled many noteworthy topics. From The Wolves return to Will Ospreay & Trevor Lee tearing the house down to Kenny Omega reminding Reseda why he is & always has been PWG at heart by bringing the chainsaw back, this time in physical form as you can see in the picture above. What a time to be alive!

It's pretty magical that on the same night that Callihan returned, so did his long time rival and the man he faced in his last PWG match, the longest reigning PWG World Champion of all time, Adam Cole BAY BAY! The Young Bucks took it upon themselves to attack Matt Sydal after his match with Roderick Strong and they would soon pay the price. The lights went out and Super Dragon appeared in the center of the ring. Or so we thought... the mask is taken off to reveal none other than Adam Cole in fine form. Cole, one of the original founders of the Mount Rushmore stable, would then officially rejoin the group, much to the chagrin of current World Champion Roderick Strong. You would think he'd be happy that the group has grown however, Roddy seemed to be very skeptical on the idea. We would see this come to fruition in a post match segment posted on PWG's YouTube channel.

Night One had the world talking, but PWG wasn't done. Night Two got thrust into action with Chuck Taylor & Kikutaro in a match that started, ended, then restarted. Kikutaro, who made his first PWG appearance since 2008, announced after the match that he would be moving to the US next year.

I've been a PWG regular since my debut in 2013. Tonight won't be a goodbye.. but it may be a see ya later. Let's make it one to remember!

— Johnny Gargano (@JohnnyGargano) December 12, 2015

The night continued with a number of barnburning contests including the match that many fans in attendance voted as the match of the weekend, Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay. Not to mention, what may have been the last match in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla for Johnny Gargano as he and Tommaso Ciampa went to battle with Michael Elgin & Brian Cage. If this was the last time in Reseda for Johnny Wrestling, thanks for all the great matches in the past two years, go kill it in NXT like we know you will!

Then came time for the main event. A Guerrilla Warfare Match between Mount Rushmore 2.0 and Chris Hero, Mike Bailey, Joey Ryan, and the returning & beloved Candice LeRae. As you'd expect, the general consensus of this match was that it was pure chaos. Rick Knox, Justin Borden, and even Kikutaro played key roles in the contest that would feature a moment for the history books.

Last year on December 12th, Roderick Strong claimed to not be in attendance only to run down to the ring and attack Kyle O'Reilly after he had defended the World Title against Ricochet. This led to an impromptu Guerilla Warfare match where Roddy beat O'Reilly for the belt and sent him packing, not to be seen in PWG again. Until now. One year after that unforgettable night, Kyle O'Reilly descended upon Reseda with a vengeance. Not only did he return face to face with his nemesis Roderick Strong, he returned face to face with a rival that he's been linked to for years, Adam Cole. O'Reilly & Cole rivaled each other for over a year in PWG before their feud most recently spread to ROH, so seeing them stand face to face in the center of the PWG ring once again had to be special.

Needless to say, it was an eventful weekend for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. If you want to read the match results, those can be found here. Also, as always, be on the look out for our full reviews of both nights of All Star Weekend as soon as the DVD drops!

All Star Weekend 11 Night One & Two Results

Night One Results (12/11/15):

Chuck Taylor defeated Mark Andrews

Ricochet defeated Marty Scurll

Michael Elgin & Brian Cage defeated Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards

Sami Callihan defeated Drew Gulak

Trevor Lee defeated Will Ospreay

Kenny Omega defeated Mike Bailey

The Young Bucks defeated Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa to retain the PWG World Tag Team Titles

Roderick Strong defeated Matt Sydal to retain the PWG World Championship

After the match, Adam Cole returned under a Super Dragon mask and rejoined Mount Rushmore. It was Cole's first appearance in PWG since December 12th, 2014.

Night Two Results (12/12/15):

Chuck Taylor defeated Kikutaro

Timothy Thatcher defeated Marty Scurll

Ricochet defeated Mark Andrews

Michael Elgin & Brian Cage defeated Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa

Trevor Lee defeated Matt Sydal

Kenny Omega defeated Will Ospreay

Chris Hero, Mike Bailey, Joey Ryan, & Candice LeRae defeated Mount Rushmore (Roderick Strong, Adam Cole, & The Young Bucks) in a Guerrilla Warfare Match

During the match, Kyle O'Reilly made his return to PWG.

PWG All Star Weekend 11 Match Cards

PWG broke the internet once again this afternoon with announcements for the upcoming All Star Weekend events which are only a month away. The cards are as follows:

Night One - December 11th, 2015:

Roderick Strong vs. Matt Sydal - PWG World Title Match

The Young Bucks vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa - PWG World Tag Team Title Match

Kenny Omega vs. Mike Bailey

Michael Elgin & Brian Cage vs. Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards

Ricochet vs. Marty Scurll

Trevor Lee vs. Will Ospreay

Chuck Taylor vs. Mark Andrews

Night Two - December 12th, 2015:

Mount Rushmore 2.0 (Roderick Strong, Super Dragon, & The Young Bucks) vs. Chris Hero, Mike Bailey, Candice LeRae, & Joey Ryan - Guerrilla Warfare Match

Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay

Matt Sydal vs. Trevor Lee

Michael Elgin & Brian Cage vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa

Timothy Thatcher vs. Marty Scurll

Ricochet vs. Mark Andrews

Chuck Taylor vs. Kikutaro

Josh Alexander speaks on his final night in PWG

Photo credit: Mikey Nolan

Former PWG World Tag Team Champion Josh Alexander, who as you know retired in July, recently published a piece about his final run of shows on the Independent scene. Of course, one of those stops was in PWG where he competed multiple times in the first half of 2015. It was a bummer to see his run in Reseda cut short, but it's clear that it was a time he'll never forget as you can tell by this excerpt from his blog:

Next stop was the mecca known as PWG. I loved the match, andit was everything PWG always is. Just a fucking blast. Not much else I can say. I felt lucky every time I got to wrestle there. Candice & Joey are two of the most awesome people in all of wrestling, and to be honest Candice is one of the best in wrestling male or female. After the match, I was genuinely surprised at the reaction I received from the fans. So many people at PWG all the way on the other side of the continent knew my story. I felt like they knew the sacrifices I made, and rather than judge me for walking away, they wanted to give me a hero’s goodbye. It was honestly touching coming from a crowd that hadn't had much time to get to know me. It's just another reason why The PWG crowd is as admired as the promotion itself. Special thanks to the Young Bucks. I would have never got my opportunity there if it wasn't for them. 

The full article discussing his final matches in AAW, AIW, & Alpha-1 and the aftermath of his retirement from pro wrestling can be found here! And with that, we here at Guerrilla Fanfare offer one more #ThankYouJosh!

2015 Battle of Los Angeles - Final Stage / Night Three Review

Date: August 30th, 2015

PWG World Champion - Roderick Strong (since Black Cole Sun - December 2014)

PWG Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks (since Mystery Vortex III - June 2015)

Defending BOLA Champion - Ricochet (2014 winner)

Commentators: Excalibur, Chuck Taylor, & Biff Busick


Jack Evans starts the show by cutting a promo. He's finally gotten a mic to use instead of yelling at the top of his lungs. Jack says he was talking with fans about their bets on who would win the tournament and none of them picked him. OOOOOH! "But you know who one of those chumps did pick? This punk ass Brian Cage!" JACK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Evans runs down Cage and says he may be a body builder, but to him that's just a male beauty pageant contestant. To close off his statement, Jack gets right up in his face and says Cage will never be the athlete he is.

1) Jack Evans vs. Brian Cage - First Round Match

"We're starting an hour and a half late, Jack Evans coming in with a 20 minute promo, Brian Cage is not feeling it!" - Chuck Taylor

And all of that pre-match chatter leads to Jack Evans getting absolutely destroyed by Brian Cage. Numerous lariats that turn him inside out (literally) and a guerrilla press over the top rope to the floor are just a few of the ways Mr GMSI chose torture Jack. This was an awesome squash that saw Jack get ZERO offense until he got Cage into a perfect bridging pin to get the surprise victory.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Chris Hero vs. Biff Busick - First Round Match

AVALANCHE PILEDRIVER

2015 Battle of Los Angeles - Stage Two Review

Date: August 29th, 2015

PWG World Champion - Roderick Strong (since Black Cole Sun - December 2014)

PWG Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks (since Mystery Vortex III - June 2015)

Defending BOLA Champion - Ricochet (2014 winner)

Commentators: Excalibur, Chuck Taylor, & Chris Hero



"Who buys Night Two without buying Night One? If you're one of those assholes, go buy Night One, you pervert!" - Chuck Taylor

1) Rich Swann vs. Marty Scurll - First Round Match

"Banzai drop by Marty Scurll. Classic British technique." - Chuck Taylor

Photo credit: Mikey Nolan

Extremely hot opener here that begins with Marty nailing Rich Swann with his umbrella before introductions can even be made. The action never slowed down and this was the finest opener you could ask for, with an amped up crowd to boot. In the end, Rich's words would come back to bite him as "the fish and chips eating motherfucker" would force him to tap out to the chicken wing. Party Marty is headed to round two!

Match rating - ***1/4

2) Jack Evans vs. Angelico - First Round Match

"Poor guy (Jack Evans). He's spent too much time with Teddy Hart, he's completely lost his fucking mind." - Chuck Taylor

Drunken Kung Fu from Jack Evans

2015 Battle of Los Angeles - Stage One Review

Date: August 28th, 2015

PWG World Champion - Roderick Strong (since Black Cole Sun - December 2014)

PWG Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks (since Mystery Vortex III - June 2015)

Defending BOLA Champion - Ricochet (2014 winner)

Commentators: Excalibur, Chuck Taylor, Chris Hero & Joey Ryan


The month long wait is over! BOLA began shipping this past Wednesday and I was privileged to receive my copies on Saturday. It's three nights, 11 hours, & 4 discs and my coverage of it starts now with the first evening of competition!

1) Brian Cage vs. Aerostar - First Round Match

Cage is sporting the bald head courtesy of his bad luck in Mexico where he lost a hair v hair match against Alberto El Patron. Aerostar is making his debut and he gets a nice pop after being billed from the cosmos. That pop came from the crowd and from Chuck Taylor on commentary, speaking of that, yes, CHUCK IS BACK! Excalibur introduced as the show began and Chuck boasted "We did it guys!" This makes me happy. PWG & Chuck have been meant to be since 2008 and it just wouldn't BOLA without him, especially after all the memories he's created at the event over the years. None the less, this opening contest between two men who are both known for their tenures in Lucha Underground was very easy on the eyes. A number of high flying manuevers and lucha exchanges including Aerostar's amazing free fall dive making it's debut in Reseda. After five or six minutes, Cage puts Aerostar away with a must see move in the form of a Steiner Screwdriver.

Match rating - **1/2

2) Biff Busick vs. Andrew Everett - First Round Match

Busick is fired up and BAH GAWD I LOVE IT. Since I'm mentioning things I love, I have to say that Excalibur "doing his homework" has made his commentary even more enjoyable because he's reference a lot of past occurences in the DUB G and it rules. Anyways, this thing gets going and turns out to be quite the match up. Busick is as on point as ever with crisp strikes, intensity, and suplexes. The action is kept at a good pace with them building up extremely well to every big mark out moment and there were several of them. Everett missed a phoenix splash only to hit it a few minutes later for a nearfall. Busick seemed to just get more pissed off as time went on and ended up grabbing Everett by the face and slapping the shit out of him. Everett kept working away at Biff though. He springboards to the top rope, shooting star pre--UPPER CUT IN MID AIR! FUCK! This sets up Biff's high impact finishing run that gets him the win. Great match that I'm probably gonna watch again.

Match rating - ***3/4

3) Will Ospreay vs. Mark Andrews - First Round Match

News, Notes, & Results from Night Three of BOLA 2015

CAUTION: ****SPOILERS AHEAD****

- Rey Mysterio was in attendance

- Christian Cole was the ring announcer for the second consecutive night

Second Round Match: Jack Evans defeated Brian Cage

Second Round Match: Chris Hero defeated Biff Busick

Second Round Match: Marty Scurll defeated Trevor Lee

Second Round Match: Zack Sabre Jr defeated Pentagon Jr

Second Round Match: Mike Bailey defeated Tommy End

Second Round Match: Will Ospreay defeated Matt Sydal

INTERMISSION

Non Tournament 8 Man Tag Match: Roderick Strong, Super Dragon, & The Young Bucks defeated Ricochet, Rich Swann, Angelico, & Fenix

Semi Finals: Chris Hero defeated Jack Evans

Semi Finals: Mike Bailey defeated Will Ospreay

Semi Finals: Zack Sabre Jr defeated Marty Scurll

10 Man Tag Match: The 5 Man Band (Chuck Taylor, Trent?, Drew Galloway, Drew Gulak, & Aerostar) defeated Team Ciampa (Tommaso Ciampa, Andrew Everett, Timothy Thatcher, Mark Andrews, & Drago)

FINALS: Zack Sabre Jr defeated Chis Hero and Mike Bailey in an elimination match to win the 2015 Battle of Los Angeles

- Tommy End, Drew Galloway, Marty Scurll, Mark Andrews, & Will Ospreay joined their fellow European in the ring to celebrate his victory as he hoisted the trophy after the match.

- Roderick Strong came out with his title to staredown Zack Sabre Jr to close out the show

News, Notes, & Results from Night Two of BOLA 2015

- Excalibur & Chuck Taylor on commentary once again

- Christian Cole makes his first appearance as ring announcer for the evening

First Round Match: Marty Scurll defeated Rich Swann

First Round Match: Jack Evans defeated Angelico

First Round Match: Chris Hero defeated Timothy Thatcher

Non-Tournament Match: Fenix & Aerostar defeated Pentagon Jr & Drago

- Fans threw money at the luchadors after their match

First Round Match: Tommy End defeated Drew Gulak

First Round Match: Mike Bailey defeated Drew Galloway

First Round Match: Zack Sabre Jr defeated Ricochet

Mount Rushmore 2.0 (Super Dragon & The Young Bucks) defeated Andrew Everett, Biff Busick & Trevor Lee in Guerrilla Warfare after a thumbtack covered stomp to the head from Dragon to Biff Busick

- Rushmore attacked Rick Knox, Chris Hero, & Excalibur after the match

News, Notes, & Results from Night One of BOLA 2015

Credit goes to our friends at WrestlingHeads as well as staff members such as Mark (@seethekidwin) who are live in attendance, for these tidbits and results.

- Chuck Taylor has returned and is on commentary for the evening
- Melissa Santos, best known for her work on Lucha Underground, is doing ring announcing duties
- Konnan is in attendance
- Dave Meltzer is in attendance

2015 @OfficialPWG #BOLA is starting with @Msmelsantos & @ShutUpExcalibur in the ring. pic.twitter.com/3fmzGZsYRl

— Joey Ryan (@JoeyRyanOnline) August 29, 2015

First Round Match: Brian Cage defeats Aerostar with a Steiner Screwdriver

First Round Match: Biff Busick defeats Andrew Everett in a hard hitting contest

First Round Match: Will Ospreay defeats Mark Andrews in a reportedly insane match

2015 Battle of Los Angeles Preview & Predictions

It's that time of year again! PWG returns with it's 11th annual Battle of Los Angeles tournament, a three night extravaganza that encompasses the greatest Independent wrestling talent from around the WORLD in one building for a weekend of action where they will all be fighting for the trophy with ever growing prestige. Over the years, names like TNA's Davey Richards, Dragon Gate Japan's CIMA, WWE's Sami Zayn (as El Generico), and NJPW's Kenny Omega have won the tournament with stars such as AJ Styles, Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro), Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan), and Kevin Steen (Owens) all having past history in the tournament despite never winning it.

The tournament originally began as a two night event in 2005 in which AJ Styles & Chris Bosh battle in the finals. In 2006 & 2007, the tournament got even bigger and went to three nights with talent from Dragon Gate making their presence felt. In 2008, PWG went back to the two night format and eventually dropped down to one night in 2011 before building back up to two nights in 2012 & 2013. Following the success of the prior years shows, 2014 saw BOLA expand to three nights and host arguably it's most stacked line up ever which is really saying something when you look at how loaded some previous editions of the event have been. You had Ricochet, AJ Styles, Kyle O'Reilly, Adam Cole, Zack Sabre Jr, Kenny Omega, & Chris Hero, among others, all under roof fighting for the same trophy. It was an undoubted success and produced arguably the best three PWG shows of the year.

With that taken into consideration, it seems as if PWG decided to up the anty even more this year by sticking with the three night format and offering an even more diverse line up than last year. You have PWG originals, the best on the American Indies, talent from Lucha Underground & AAA fame PLUS the UK's finest. Nearly every corner of the world is represented here and every style will be showcased. Technicians & strikers like Chris Hero, Zack Sabre Jr, Tommy End, Biff Busick, Timothy Thatcher & Drew Gulak. Luchadors like Drago, Aerostar, Fenix & Angelico. Dangerous individuals like Pentagon Jr and Super Dragon, who will be in non tournament action. Highflying stars like Ricochet, Rich Swann, Matt Sydal, Andrew Everett, and the UK's own Will Ospreay. And that's just for starters!

To give the entire rundown, here's how the tournament works:
There's 24 competitors in this single elimination tournament. First round matches take place on Nights 1 & 2 with the quarter, semi & final round matches taking place on Night Three. To top all the tournament action off, there will be a number of non-tournament contests that are mindblowing simply on paper. Speaking of those, we're gonna kick this preview off running down the non-tournament bouts with predictions from our staff along with the results from the reader's vote we took via polls on here and Instagram.

Ricochet & Rich Swann vs. Jack Evans & Angelico

First up, you have the team of Ricochet & Rich Swann, the Inner City Machine Guns, taking on Jack Evans & Angelico on Night One. All four of these men are involved in the tournament itself so it's going to be interesting to see how they pace themselves in this contest considering they are all fast paced, quick individuals. ICMG may have the advantage on paper due to how long they've been teaming and competing singularly in Reseda however I'd venture to say that Jack & Angelico will be much more well rested as Ricochet is going to be coming off a HUGE match in New Japan with KUSHIDA. With Jack & Angelico looking to prove themselves as a team in the Guerrilla after losing to The Young Bucks last month, I'm thinking we may see somewhat of an upset here. Either way, this match is going to rule on so many levels.




Ethan's pick to win: Ricochet & Rich Swann

Alex's pick to win: Ricochet & Rich Swann

Big Boy's pick to win: Jack Evans & Angelico

Reader's pick: Jack Evans & Angelico (100% of the vote)

MAN! Jack & Angelico really must have won over the hearts of many at Threemendous IV because they completely shut out the Inner City Machine Guns in the reader's vote. Although not as many people voted in this as in some of the other matches due to the poll being accidentally left off the actual site thus leaving the Instagram votes to speak for themselves, it still says alot that those who did get the chance to vote all picked Jack & Angelico over two PWG veterans.

Mount Rushmore 2.0 (Roderick Strong & The Young Bucks) vs. Zack Sabre Jr, Tommy End, & Marty Scurll

In the main event, non tournament attraction of Night One, you have the evil geniuses behind Mount Rushmore 2.0, The Young Bucks & PWG World Champion Roderick Strong taking on The UK's finest, Zack Sabre Jr, Tommy End, & Marty Scurll. Boy, oh, boy. This is gonna be insane. You will have a number of first time exchanges in this one such as End/Roddy and Scurll/Roddy, but you also have the history between Zack Sabre Jr and all three members of Mount Rushmore as he has been at odds with them since the day he stepped into PWG one year ago. It was on Night One of the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles in fact, when Sabre stepped in to help Chuck Taylor & Kenny Omega battle The Young Bucks & former Mount Rushmore member Adam Cole. Sabre's team came out on top so I'm sure The Bucks will be looking for revenge here. On top of that, Sabre & Roddy developed quite the rivalry earlier this year in PWG and elsewhere as they battled for the World Title in a highly praised contest at Don't Sweat the Technique and then just as recent as a few weeks ago, tore the house down at an EVOLVE event. The next chapter of their rivalry unfolds in this contest that will also see Marty Scurll's first taste of PWG action.

Ethan's pick to win: Mount Rushmore 2.0

Alex's pick to win: Zack Sabre Jr, Tommy End, & Marty Scurll

Big Boy's pick to win: Mount Rushmore 2.0

Reader's pick to win: Mount Rushmore 2.0 (77% of the vote)

Mount Rushmore's dominance has spread like fire despite not even competing in any matches yet. They've wreaked havoc and took out virtually the entire PWG roster on TWO occassions so it comes as no surprise that they dominated the reader's vote for their first match as a team. It was the same story in our staff's vote as you can say aside from Alex who thinks the Euro squad will be able to knock Mount Rushmore on it's head for the first time since their formation. Only time will tell.

 

Pentagon Jr & Drago vs. Fenix & Aerostar

PWG: Threemendous IV Review

Date: July 24th, 2015

Champions: PWG World Champion - Roderick Strong (Since Black Cole Sun - December 2014)

PWG World Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks (Since Mystery Vortex III - June 2015)

Commentators: Excalibur, Rick Knox, Joey Ryan, Chris Hero, & Dan Barry

PWG returns just one month after Mount Rushmore 2.0 formed and shocked the world as the video spread around the internet. What's next in this new era of PWG? Where do Andrew Everett & Trevor Lee go after losing their tag titles in their first title defense? What's next for Mike Bailey after losing in his PWG World Title Match? How will The Young Bucks fare in their fourth tag team title reign? Who will Super Dragon strike next? PLUS Akira Tozawa returns to face long time friend & competitor Ricochet and much more. So, needless to say, there's a lot to look forward to!


1) World's Cutest Tag Team (Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae) vs. Team Tremendous (Dan Barry & Bill Carr)

PWG: Mystery Vortex III Review

It's been awhile, but I'm back. The delay has sucked however I've been getting a lot of things done to make this site even better so I feel that it will ultimately all be worth the wait. Plus, with Threemendous IV shipping out on DVD next week and BOLA just around the corner, I think business is really about to pick up and we'll see my initial goal for this site fulfilled so expect more content in the remainder of the year.

That starts here as I take a look at the fourth PWG event of 2015, Mystery Vortex III: Rock and Shock the Nation. As you likely know, Mystery Vortex events are just as they are advertised - a mystery. No matches are announced prior to the event which makes for some surprises unless of course you aren't there and end up reading the spoilers or the back of the DVD case when you get it. Regardless, I'm hyped on this card so let's get right into it.

Date: June 26th, 2015

Champions: PWG World Champion - Roderick Strong (Since Black Cole Sun - December 2014)

PWG World Tag Team Champions - Andrew Everett & Trevor Lee (Since DDT4 2015 - May 2015)

Commentators: Excalibur, Rick Knox, Chris Hero, Joey Ryan & Ethan Page

1) Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano

Threemendous Throwback: Threemendous II Review

With Threemendous IV, the 12th Anniversary show, on the horizon. I decided to throwback to a few past events in the weeks before the upcoming celebration. On July 31st, 2009, PWG celebrated six years as a company with their event Threemendous II. The event is headlined by a Guerrilla Warfare Match as Joey Ryan tries to stop Chris Hero's World title reign from eclipsing his record championship run in 2006. Excalibur is on commentary with Joey Ryan to start the evening.

1) Johnny Goodtime, Jerome "LTP" Robinson, & Brandon Gatson vs. The Cutler Bros & Charles Mercury
This was the perfect way to start this show considering PWG has always been known for having crazy multi-man opening tag matches. This match mainly consists of newcomers to PWG at the time and they certainly made an impression. There were some not so smooth exchanges here and there, but for the most part this was a highly entertaining opening spotfest. Just a bunch of crazy stuff to get the crowd going. I really miss Johnny Goodtime & LTP in PWG. Here's to hoping they'll start getting booked again sooner or later.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Alex Shelley vs. Scott Lost

PWG: DDT4 2015 Review

Hello, I'm Big Boy and this is my first review ever. I'm 19 years old and I'm a huge pro wrestling fan. Let me start off by saying thanks to Ethan (@EthanPWT) for allowing me to post this review here, much appreciated. I recently got into independent wrestling in March of this year and really haven't looked back. I only watched WWE but ever since I saw a PWG preview video on YouTube, I've been hooked. That leads me here. I hope whoever reads this enjoys my thoughts and opinions!

Match 1: Beaver Boys (Alex Reynolds and John Silver) vs Team Tremendous (Dan Barry and Bill Carr) - First Round Match

Team Tremendous are making their PWG debut with this match and I'd say they made a good impression. I'll start off by saying that 4 matches on this show had camera issues where only the hard camera was working and this was one of those matches so that was kind of a bummer and honestly turned me off from the get go. Nonetheless, this was a decent match with a bit of comedy involved. For instance, at one point in the match, Dan Berry from Team Tremendous had John Silver in the corner and he gave him some chops and said something like "what did you do with the girl?!?" Yeah, their gimmick is that they are detectives who solve crimes through the art of pro wrestling. I dig it. Beaver Boys pick up the win and advance in the DDT4 tournament. Decent opener, camera issues aside.  

Match Rating- ***1/4

Match 2: Biff Busick and Drew Gulak vs Inner City Machine Guns (Rich Swann and Ricochet) - First Round Match

2015 Battle of Los Angeles Entrants

This is a list of the entrants in the 2015 Battle of Los Angeles tournament thus far. PWG has been announcing them on their official Twitter account @OfficialPWG in the past week so stay tuned there for up to the second updates. I just figured it would be cool to have all them listed in one place with a little history on each entrant for people who need to catch up. I'll update this list as more entrants are announced.

1) Will Ospreay - 1st BOLA appearance and PWG debut
2) Marty Scurll - 1st BOLA appearance and PWG debut
3) Timothy Thatcher - 1st BOLA appearance and PWG debut
4) Mike Bailey - 1st BOLA appearance
5) Chris Hero - 7th BOLA appearance ; finalist in 2010
6) Biff Busick - 2nd BOLA appearance
7) Mark Andrews - 1st BOLA appearance and PWG debut
8) Brian Cage - 3rd BOLA appearance
9) Ricochet - 4th BOLA appearance and 2014 BOLA Winner
10) Tommy End - 1st BOLA appearance
11) Trevor Lee - 2nd BOLA appearance ; Semi Finalist in 2014
12) Pentagon Jr - 1st BOLA appearance and PWG debut
13) Drew Gulak - 2nd BOLA appearance
14) Angelico - 1st BOLA appearance
15) Trent? - 2nd BOLA appearance
16) Andrew Everett - 1st BOLA appearance
17) Fenix - 1st BOLA appearance and PWG debut
18) Rich Swann - 3rd BOLA appearance
19) Jack Evans - 4th BOLA appearance ; Semi Finalist in 2006
20) Drago - 1st BOLA appearance and PWG debut
21) Matt Sydal - 4th BOLA appearance
22) Aerostar - 1st BOLA appearance and PWG debut
23) Zack Sabre Jr - 2nd BOLA appearance
24) Drew Galloway - 1st BOLA appearance and PWG debut

I'm also planning to do a detailed Battle of Los Angeles preview for this year's tournament just like I did last year so be on the look out for that within the next month or so!

Akira Tozawa, Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, & more set to return to PWG!

As you probably already know if you follow PWG on Twitter (@OfficialPWG), the upcoming 12th Anniversary show, Threemendous IV, will see a number of returns (and debuts). The most notable being the former TNA World Tag Team Champions, The Wolves will be making their triumphant return to Reseda. Davey Richards has credited PWG for giving him his first big break back in 2005 and he was a noteworthy part of the Guerrilla for many years as he is a former World Champion, Tag Team Champion, AND Battle of Los Angeles Winner. His partner, Eddie Edwards, made his presence felt in Reseda throughout 2011-2013 and it's certainly exciting to know he's coming back. These two had their farewell at All Star Weekend X in December of 2013, both nights of that event are available on PWG's website.

On top of those two, Jack Evans will be making his first PWG appearance since 2008 and the Dragon Gate stalwart Akira Tozawa is going to be coming back as well. I think it's safe to say that international influence that PWG had in 2006-2007 is making a comeback and in a major way. You have Jack Evans & Angelico coming from the Lucha world, Akira Tozawa coming from Japan, plus Marty Scrull & Will Ospreay coming from the UK for BOLA. Not to mention the recent rise of the UK's own Zack Sabre Jr in Reseda. It's really a wonderful thing to see because in my opinion it continues making PWG the must-see non WWE promotion in America as the best of the best on the Indies as well as around the world are under one roof.

With this announcement from PWG comes one of my own. In order to prep for all these returns, I plan to start a column series called "PWG Profiles" where I will take a look back at the past of all the returning competitors. I already have one for Jack Evans in the works and plan to get to work on Davey, Eddie, and Tozawa profiles soon. I figure it will be a cool way for newer fans to learn some about what these men have already done in PWG in route to their return. I also think it will be a nice trip down memory lane for long time fans. So, as the weeks itch closer to Threemendous IV, be on the lookout for those articles! And most importantly, get pumped for a summer of awesome PWG action!

PWG Don't Sweat the Technique Review

On April 3rd, PWG returned with it's second event of 2015, Don't Sweat the Technique. It features the return of Zack Sabre Jr as well as the Reseda debut of Tommy End who hasn't competed under the PWG banner since 2006 when the promotion held a show in Germany. Excalibur & Rick Knox are on commentary to start the evening so let's get right into this highly anticipated event!

1) Brian Cage vs. Biff Busick
Apparently this match was supposed to go on later in the show however Cage had a flight to catch as he's been main eventing alot in Mexico recently so they are opening things. This one started off hot with Busick going for a running flip off the apron and CAGE CATCHES HIM IN MID AIR! I was marking out only moments into this thing! These two have clashed in various forms over the past few months so there wasn't anything you've never seen before here. Both men got their signature stuff in and the result was a decent opener. Not as good as past openers from Busick like he had against Mike Bailey and Tommaso Ciampa, but still a satisfactory contest.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Trevor Lee vs. Mike Bailey
WOW! These two very nearly killed each other. Lee starts off aggressive by charging Bailey. He's clearly wanting to get himself back on track after falling short in the main event last month. Bailey fights back and gets the audience all fired up with his standing kicks that he kept going for atleast 10-15 seconds straight. Speedball chants began ringing through the legion hall at this point.  One other notable moment around this time was Lee going for a german suplex and Bailey landing on his feet and nailing him with a kick to the head. After a nearfall or two in the ring, they end up outside on the apron and to quote Excalibur "SHIIIIIITTTTTT!" Lee goes for the german suplex he's been longing for, but Bailey ventures onto his shoulders. REVERSE HURRICANRANA ON THE RING APRON!!! Holy shit chants erupt. Mike Bailey isn't done though, he gets back on the ring apron and SHOOTING STAR KNEE DROP ONTO LEE ON THE FLOOR! He is officially over as hell in Reseda! Bailey goes for the shooting star press and Lee gets his knees up. Trevor Lee is up and SMALL PACKAGE DRIVERRRRRR! 1...2...3 - Trevor Lee picks up the victory over Mike Bailey in an absolute barnburner of a match.

Match rating - ***3/4

3) Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan vs. Beaver Boys (John Silver & Alex Reynolds)

DDT4 2015 News & Notes - Chris Sabin out due to injury, TJ Perkins returning, Live Results + more

As you may have already seen, PWG announced on Twitter yesterday that Chris Sabin will be unable to compete at tonight's DDT4 event because of a back injury he suffered. A replacement was immediately named in the form of Speedball Mike Bailey who will be teaming with Matt Sydal. Talk about a dream team! It just sucks that this dream team had to come at the price of Love Gun & Chris Sabin. Hopefully, Sabin will be back in competition soon though.

Bailey was originally scheduled to face Johnny Gargano in a non-tournament match which leaves a slot open that will be filled by none other than long-time PWG veteran, TJ Perkins. It was just last summer that we saw TJP advance to the second round of BOLA and compete in two solid contests against Bobby Fish & Ricochet respectively. I can't wait to see what kind of match he and Johnny Wrestling can put together. PWG always delivers when put in tough situations and this was no different. Sabin is out so Speedball stepped up to join forces with Matt Sydal for the first time ever and Gargano will now face TJ Perkins in what I would call a technical/hybrid wrestling dream match!

With all those announcements out of the way, I'd like to go ahead and give a shout to some friends who will be live at the show tonight. Follow them on Twitter for results, thoughts, pictures & what not. If you want spoilers, that is. Mark (@seethekidwin) and WrestlingHeads.com (@wrestlingheads) will both be tweeting out results & such. Give them a follow and keep up with all the action on what promises to be another wild event!

2015 DDT4 Preview & Predictions



Photo credit: @BrianDaBrain

The 9th Annual DDT4 Tournament will take place on May 22nd as announced by PWG several weeks ago. As of this writing, it's only TWO weeks away! This tag team tournament has been a staple in PWG since 2007 with past winners including Roderick Strong & PAC (Adrian Neville), The Young Bucks, El Generico (Sami Zayn) & Paul London, and Chuck Taylor & Trent.

This year's tournament is especially interesting because there are only two teams with prior experience in DDT4. The first being Ricochet & Rich Swann, the Inner City Machine Guns, who competed in the tournament in 2013 & 2014 and made it to the finals last year only to be defeated by the Best Friends. The second & final team with prior experience in DDT4 is Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae, the World's Cutest Tag Team, who were eliminated in the first round of last year's tournament by Adam Cole & Kevin Steen.

The other thing that makes this year's tournament intriguing is that last year's winner's the Best Friends, Chuck Taylor & Trent?, aren't in the mix. And neither are the 2009, 2011, & 2013 winners The Young Bucks. This makes for a huge opportunity for everyone involved, especially all the new teams.

With all this being said, I (Ethan) decided to take a look at all the entrants in this year's tournament and give my insight on who I think has the edge as well as introduce everyone to some of the newer teams with a little help from Running Enzuigiri's Mark Anthony. On top of that, I've put together a small predictions panel with myself & a few friends giving thoughts on who will emerge victorious in the biggest tag team tournament in North America. 

Let's start things off with a glance at the eight teams who are entered into the competition.

Team #1 - Team Tremendous (Dan Barry & Bill Carr)

The first team announced for DDT 4 are the boys hailing from the 69th precinct, Dan Barry and Bill Carr, Team Tremendous. If you're not familiar with Team Tremendous, just think buddy cop film in a ring, these two are hilarious are oozing with charisma, but don't let that take away from their wrestling talent, these guys will surprise the hell out of you in the ring with moves you'd have no idea they could pull off like Bill Carr's Canadian Destroyer (Carr is a big guy!) and Dan Barry's Irish Car Bomb (YouTube that), they'll fit in perfectly with the PWG style and have faced 3 of the teams in this year's DDT tournament, so I'd say chances of them making a big debut and taking the whole thing are kind of good. This won't be the last time we see Team Tremendous in PWG, that's for sure.
- Mark Anthony

Team #2 - Biff Busick & Drew Gulak

PWG DVD's on Sale at Highspots

Highspots.com, a long time distributor of PWG & other Independent Wrestling DVD's, is running a spring clearance sale that includes over 100 DVD's marked down to just $5. Included in that sale are a number of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla shows. Below, I've compiled a list of all the events included in the sale. Click here to go directly to the sale page where you can browse the entire selection of DVD's on sale.

Free Admission (Just Kidding) (2004) - Danielson/Lost, Steen/Generico, Evans/Daniels.

Guitarmageddon (2005) - Steen & Excalibur/Dragon & Disco Machine, Daniels/Generico, Hero/Lost, Joey Ryan/Alex Shelley.

Straight To DVD (2005) - Steen/Styles/Bosh, Dragon & Richards/Sabin & Petey Williams, Joey Ryan/El Generico.

Chanukah Chaos (2005) - Styles/Hero, Lost/Sky, Dragon/Steen brawl.

2007 Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 - Shelley/Tyler Black, PAC/Jack Evans, Claudio/Doug Williams, Steen & Generico/Dragon Kid & Susumu Yokosuka

2007 Battle of Los Angeles Night 2 - CIMA/Human Tornado, SHINGO/Scott Lost, Steen/Necro Butcher, Generico/Kozina, Dragon Kid/Susumu Yokosuka

2007 Battle of Los Angeles Night 3 - Shelley/Sydal, Claudio/PAC, CIMA/Shingo, Generico/Dragon Kid, Roddy/Shelley and much more.

The High Cost of Doing Business (2007) - Danielson/Jack Evans, Hero/Kingston & Tornado, Roddy/Generico, Claudio/TJP, Young Bucks/Joey Ryan & Scott Lost.

Schadenfreude (2007) - Danielson/Roddy, Generico/Jack Evans, Hero/Tornado.

Dia De Los Dangerous (2008) - One night tournament to crown a new PWG World Champion including Karl Anderson, Roderick Strong, Human Tornado, Frankie Kazarian & Necro Butcher. Joey Ryan & Scott Lost/Hallowicked & Delirious. Candice LeRae/Daffney.

Scared Straight (2008) - Tornado/Jack Evans, Eddie Kingston/Necro Butcher, more.

1.21 Gigawatts (2008) - Hero & Candice/Tornado & LuFisto (Street Fight), Super Dragon psycho drivers Jade Chung, Steen & Generico/Joey Ryan & Scott Lost, Claudio/Hero.

DDT4 2010 - Teams involved include El Generico & Paul London, The Young Bucks, Chuck Taylor & Scott Lost, The Cutlers, & more. Akira Tozawa's debut with YAMATO against The Briscoes. Plus Chris Hero faces off against Brandon Bonham.

Titannica (2010) - Davey Richards/Roddy, Bucks/Briscoes, Generico/London.

DIO! (2010) - Generico & London/Steen & Kendrick, Lost/Tozawa, Hero/Gatson.

BOLA 2010 (Both nights) - Generico/Tozawa, Hero/Tozawa, Hero/Daniels, Claudio/Ricochet.

Cyanide (2010) - Generico & London/Hero & Claudio, Roddy/Chuck Taylor, Steen/Tozawa.

A Threemendous Summer - Upcoming Events Schedule

Last week, PWG announced five upcoming shows for the summer. This means there are currently six Pro Wrestling Guerrilla events on the calendar for the next four months. The first being the 9th Annual DDT4 Tag Team Tournament. The next being "Rock & Shock The Nation" on June 22nd. In July, PWG presents their 12th Anniversary event, Threemendous IV, on the 24th. And finally, in August, the 11th Annual Battle of Los Angeles takes place on the 28th, 29th, & 30th. The full schedule can be found in list form below:

DDT4 - May 22nd

Rock & Shock The Nation - June 26th

Threemendous IV - July 24th

Battle of Los Angeles Nights 1, 2, & 3 - August 28th, 29th & 30th

It's certainly an exciting time to be a fan of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. With both of their annual tournaments plus the anniversary show already on the calendar, this summer promises to be just as big or bigger than last year and that's saying something!

Last year, we saw the war between The Young Bucks and Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae, the farewell of an all time great in Kevin Steen, the debut of men who are now mainstays in Zack Sabre Jr and Biff Busick, PLUS the return of Kenny Omega, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Chris Sabin, Matt Sydal & TJ Perkins.

It's going to be tough for PWG to top the memories & moments they created last summer however they seem to always find a way to follow themselves up so it's almost guaranteed to deliver. With all the new characters & athletes that have arrived in recent months, there's sure to be many fresh match ups & storylines. Plus, there's a show(s) every single month! It's a packed schedule and I couldn't be more hyped!

Tweet us your thoughts on the upcoming events and what you expect to take place in PWG this summer. Whether it be a return, a debut, a breakout star or a match you want to see - tweet us your thoughts @TheTeamPWG on Twitter!

PWG Don't Sweat the Technique Live Report/Review

Hey everyone, Mark Wilder here with my live report of PWG's Don't Sweat The Technique event. It was insanely fun last Friday. Wildly regarded as the best show in some time. I was there and here is the run down. 

Completely packed house. Show started around 8:45. 

Brian Cage defeated Biff Busick in the opening bout. Both men clobbered each other. Very fun and very hard hitting. If I remember correctly, Cage won after turning Biff inside out with a huge lariat.

Speedball Mike Bailey vs Trevor Lee was up next. These two tore the house down. Lightning fast action and insane high risks including Bailey hitting a reverse frankensteiner to Lee on the ring apron. Each man got all their shine in before Lee took the win with a small package muscle buster variation.

World's Cutest Tag Team vs Beaver Boys next. This was a better match from the Beaver Boys compared to their last PWG appearance and the best Cutest Tag Team match in some time. The action was mostly even. Candice LeRae took a beating complete with a thrilling comeback. Cutest Tag Team won via a Super Balls Plex from LeRae. 

Tommy End vs Chris Hero, last match before intermission. This one had great atmosphere. Dueling "Hero!" and "Tommy!" chants set the tone. This match built itself on striking, Tommy with the knees and kicks, Hero with the big boots and elbows. Each man with their tough man personas out to prove who can take the greater beating. After exhausting each other, Hero put Tommy away via a Tombstone Piledriver. The crowd gave the match a standing ovation and pleaded for Tommy End to come back. 

Intermission 

ACH vs Ciampa started off the second portion of the show. This started off lighthearted with both men playing an invisible basketball game with one another. Both men were having fun throughout, especially ACH. Ciampa would bring the match back to serious and this seemed to be the back and forth build to the finish. ACH won with a 450 Splash.

Chris Sabin and Matt Sydal vs Monster Mafia

This was the solidifying match for Monster Mafia in PWG. Ethan Page worked the crowd magnificently, particularly the Horsewomen crowd. At one point shouting "MMA sucks!" at them. This would cause a back and forth antagonistic war between Page and that section for the duration. It escalated to Page pulling his trunks down and mooning the entire section. The match itself was excellent. Sydal and Sabin took the dominant beating, but were able to get the comeback victory over the heels who had Reseda in a frenzy. Sydal took the victory pin with a shooting star. 

 

Andrew Everett vs Ricochet

This was just all sorts of out of control and also continued Ricochet's great match momentum in PWG. These men left it all in the ring. High spot after high spot, reversal after reversal, insane high risk after insane high risk. The crowd was eating out of the palm of both men's hands. Ricochet won with  one of his crazy driver variations. I was unfamiliar with the move. 

Main Event 

PWG Championship

Zack Sabre Jr vs Roderick Strong 

The crowd was hot for this one! A good portion of the crowd was unfamiliar with Sabre, and with only seeing the Union Jack trunks, turned to pro-USA support for Roddy. Sabre had his fans in numbers too and the dueling chants stayed hot throughout the match. This blended incredible mat wrestling and hard striking perfectly. The best PWG Main Event I've seen in the 4 straight shows I've been to. Sabre is magical with what he is able to do just in the center of the ring. So many false finishes and teasings of tap outs. The energy was explosive. I knew going in that the chances of Sabre beating Roddy were slim, but I completely lost myself in the match and could taste that Sabre victory on my tongue. Some false finishes were so convincing! Roderick, proving throughout the match that he could go toe to toe with Sabre's style, beat Sabre at his own game. Strong reversed his submission attempt into his nasty Strong Hold, causing Sabre to tap. The crowd surrounded the ring immediately to cheer the contest, while "Match of the Year!" chants broke out. 

I spoke to Sabre after the show. He was glowing, so excited, pleased and happy. He told me it all just makes him want to move to Los Angeles. He wants to come back to PWG as soon as possible. 

From top to bottom this was a thrilling card. I'd consider it a must-see show. The DVD is available to preorder now on PWG's website. 

From Out of Nowhere News & Notes

It's always cool to hear of certain wrestlers making backstage visits to wrestling events on word on the street is that two notable names were around at last month's From Out of Nowhere event. The first being Bobby Fish. Despite not being on the card as his ROH contract bars him from competing in other promotions, Bobby Fish was still backstage at From Out of Nowhere on February 27th. Considering he was in the region for ROH's 13th Anniversary PPV that would take place just days later, it comes as not much of a surprise. With Fish's run in PWG being cut short and limited to the final 5 shows of 2014, I'm sure he still enjoyed being in Reseda to see how the rest of the boys were doing.

Also in attendance was long time veteran Christopher Daniels. I'm not sure what role, if any, Daniels & Kazarian will be playing in PWG in the future since they have yet to be booked in 2015 despite returning for several shows last year. I could see them coming around for the anniversary show and possibly BOLA. Only time will tell.

You can check out my full review of PWG's first show of 2015, From Out of Nowhere, which featured a barn burner between Ricochet & Matt Sydal and Monster Mafia & The Young Bucks along with a great main event between Roddy & Trevor Lee by clicking here!

Welcome to Team PWG!

Hello everyone and welcome to my latest project, Team PWG!

As many of you know, I've been a massive PWG fan since I discovered it in 2013 which has led me to start a blog/fansite for my favorite independent wrestling promotion. I don't want to get ahead of myself though because this all really started as an Instagram account that I still run called "Team PWG" where I post nothing, but PWG related clips & pictures. With the success of that and the amount of views my PWG reviews get on my main blog, Pro Wrestling Truth - I decided to start up a blog solely dedicated to PWG coverage.

Of course, I can't do this all on my own so I'm going to be bringing in a few friends to help me out here and there. The first being a guy who attends PWG every month, Mark Wilder (@seethekidwin). He will be doing live reports/reviews of the shows he attends so be on the look out for that in the days after a show takes place.

A main feature of this site will obviously be reviews as that's mainly what inspired me to do this. To start, I've archived all the PWG shows/compilation DVD's that I've ever reviewed on a tab at the top of the page. I haven't seen every single PWG show, but I've reviewed around 50 plus compilations and I'm planning to attempt to fill out the missing shows with help from others in the coming months/year.

News, notes, updates, & insight will also be featured predominately here. Columns such as previews for the big shows of the year like BOLA and DDT4 or just articles on current things happening in PWG will be something you can look out for. "Throwback Thursday's" and "This Day in PWG history" are also concepts I plan to implement on this blog in the future.

My mission is simply to 1) give fans of the promotion a place to come for reviews, analysis, & perspective 2) give new fans a place to learn about the past, present, & history of PWG and 3) to just have fun covering the promotion that made me get heavily into wrestling all over again.

With that being said, I hope you enjoy what I plan to bring to you on this blog and I'd love to hear your thoughts, critiques, and criticism's on the content we feature and just the idea as a whole.

One last thing I have to mention is that we will be bringing graphics to the site soon along with other pages include a "Roster/Alumni" area and an "About" tab. I planned to have everything set up before I officially launched this blog, but I already have several great articles that are ready to post and would be useless if I let too much time go by. So, you're going to be able to watch us grow and I can't wait to see where this site goes! Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks for supporting me this far! You can follow this new blog/project of mine on Twitter @TheTeamPWG, myself @EthanPWT, Mark @seethekidwin, and my other main blog @ThePWTruth! Thanks again!