PWG World Champion - Zack Sabre Jr
PWG World Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks
Commentators: Excalibur, Chuck Taylor, & Chris Hero
1) Tommaso Ciampa vs. Dalton Castle
"Is he just gonna do WWF moves now that he's a WWF guy?" -Chuck Taylor
Ciampa is an unexpected guest so the crowd goes wild. Jack Gallagher had to drop BOLA last minute due to flight delays so the Sicilian Psychopath stepped in a night early to add one more match to his final PWG weekend. With these two being polar opposites, it was a lot of fun. Ciampa has a sports entertaintment side to him though, so we got some comedy on his end which was cool. He started running through WWE moves from the pedigree to the spear and really just dominated this thing. Someone like Castle is made for fighting from underneath anyway. His comeback was awesome and including all his signature stuff from deadlift suplexes to the bangarang which would ultimately lead the Party Peacock to victory. Good opener, "Thank You Ciampa" chants ring out.
Match rating - ***
2) Mark Andrews vs. Pete Dunne
These two apparently had some killer matches in the UK. This was okay. Not nearly as good as the, in my opinion, overrated Andrews/Ospreay match from last year. I'm not dissing either match though because they are good debuting showcases for all involved. Dunne lived up to the hype of the Bruserweight and beat the hell out of Andrews all over the legion hall. Mandrews bounces back to get the win when all is said & done. Great back & forth action between the two near the end with several close falls.
Match rating - ***1/2
3) Sami Callihan vs. Cody Rhodes
Some people were underwhelmed by this, but it's actually my favorite match on the show up to this point. The reaction Cody gets is so cool and the dynamic of he & Sami is fucking awesome. Sami is a dark, underground WWE reject. Cody is a pretty boy, son of a son of a plumber. Sami beats on Cody, but Dusty's boy fires back and it's wonderful. The crowd was lit as hell for Cody's first big appearance outside of WWE so the atmosphere was great. This isn't some awesome match or anything however it's super super enjoyable, at least on my end.
Match rating - ***1/4
4) Chris Hero & Tommy End vs. Fenix & Pentagon Jr
PRAISE GOD THIS RULED. This is really everything you would expect it to be. These guys just went out and busted out all the marbles. Great Pentagon/Hero interactions which were built up to perfection. End gets his shit in one last time. Fenix & Pentagon continue to ensue absolute insanity with moves I never thought I'd ever see in my wildest dreams. Hell of a god damn match. So many different characters and personalities, all of which got their individual shine and meshed perfectly. I love wrestling.
Match rating - ****1/4
5) Trevor Lee vs. Kamaitachi
Killer spotfest. Both of these guys rip when they're on point, but have also been known for being sorta sloppy so I figured this would either be awesome or meh and it definitely ended up being the former. So much crazy shit packed into 15 minutes. Lee gets the win with the almighty small package driver.
Match rating - ***3/4
6) Cedric Alexander vs. Mark Haskins
Another fun spotty match here. Cedric is back in Reseda after a while away and I'm so glad that he's getting one more chance before he full times in the E because he's so fucking good and overlooked. Haskins really lucked up by getting him as his debut opponent because Cedric can't have a bad match and this was no different. Haskins taps out Alexander after a very solid 15 minutes to advance to the second round.
Match rating - ***1/4
7) Kyle O'Reilly vs. Matthew Riddle
More debuts! Riddle is in a high profile match in his first PWG appearance which undoubtedly says something about him. Facing Kyle O'Reilly in PWG right out of the gate is a statement and Riddle proved he deserved this chance by going toe to toe and grappling move for move with the former PWG Champion. Lots of limb work, strikes & submissions and all in all, just a fantastic display of this hybrid style of wrasslin. Not a MOTY caliber contest, but something you definitely want to check out. O'Reilly snags the win and looks to go for his second BOLA trophy.
Match rating - ***3/4
8) The Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Ricochet, Matt Sydal, & Will Ospreay
When the crowd starts singing "All Night Long" pre-match like it's 2013 all over again, you know this is gonna be good. Excalibur & Chuckie T are fired up on commentary, the Mount Rushmore/Bullet Club trio is acting as dickish & ignorant as ever, the three best high flyers in the world are on one team at their peak, this is god tier, ladies & gentleman. All the interactions leading up to the big explosion at the end that everyone was waiting for were golden. So much douchebagness from the Bucks & Cole. I love the way these matches are laid out with insanity being teased until things finally bust wide open. Big Dave gave this five stars and while I'm not giving five, I will say it's one of my favorite matches of the year and I thoroughly enjoyed the fuck out of it. On top of that, I will say they accomplished something great by delivering something different than your normal PWG mindblowing six man because some of the sequences here were so innovative that I can't even begin to describe them in text. Like, these guys are really outdoing themselves and just when I think it can't be topped, they top it. Just do yourself a favor and watch this match. There's a shooting star press Meltzer Driver for fucksake. A SHOOTING STAR PRESS MELTZER DRIVER. Get on it. The babyfaces win and Ricochet gives a speech to send the crowd home happy.
Match rating - ****1/2
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