February 18th, 2017
PWG World Champion - Zack Sabre Jr
PWG World Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks
Commentators: Excalibur, Rick Knox, Chuck Taylor, & Joey Ryan
1) Trevor Lee vs. Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes had one of my favorite performances in BOLA 2016 so it's good to see him on the first show of 2017. Trevor felt otherwise though, as soon as the bell rang he charged him with a fucking GERMAN SUPLEX OFF THE TOP TURNBUCKLE. LORTA MERCY. This crowd is rowdy and that popped the top off the building. A perfect start leads us to another super solid Rhodes match that held my interest the entire duration. Trevor did some taunting and referencing Cody's brother as well as his fallen father (which apparently got some heat backstage afterwards), but it made this one all the more intriguing to watch unfold. Cody was flying around in this one, y'all. But in the end, Trevor puts him out with the small package driver.
Match rating - ***1/4
2) Rey Fenix vs. Trent?
Holy hell, these boys went out and killed it. Trent set the tone for the match telling Fenix - "none of that Lucha shit" which of course only made the crowd want it more. It also made them pop harder when Rey Fenix did indeed bust out that lucha shit. Reseda feels super reinvigorated on this show, as do the wrestlers, and it's really sick. Trent is always a sleeper on PWG shows, having killer matches up and down the card that go unrecognized and this is another one of those. Some awesome spots, all well paced and timed out so it never goes into overkill. It's just right and it's great. He even gave Fenix a piledriver on the apron, at one point. This shit was bonkers. Trent gets the win when all is said and done.
Match rating - ***3/4
3) Unbreakable F'n Machines (Michael Elgin & Brian Cage) vs. Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matthew Riddle)
"Isn't it funny to you how Elgin & Cage's combined weight is still somehow lower than what WWE billed Andre the Giant as?" -Joey Ryan
The Chosen Bros became a thing last December. Cobb & Riddle started off their run as a team with a victory over The Young Bucks, the reigning PWG Tag Team Champions and the mecca of tag team wrestling in this day and age. So, even though Cage & Elgin are absolute beasts, they had to be a bit concerned heading into this one. They dominate the less experienced, but more successful team of Cobb & Riddle to start things out, but things eventually bust wide open and we get some insane exchanges. I'm not a big fan of the Elgin/Cage team however this was really freaking good. If I wasn't slightly biased with my distate for the Machines, this woulda probably got four stars. Really well put together and had me marking out on multiple occassions. Cobb & Riddle played their roles perfectly yet again and the pop for their victory was huge once again. Great match.
Match rating - ***3/4
4) Ricochet vs. Lio Rush
This is a dream match. It's crazy to think Lio Rush has only been wrestling for two years, but then again it's not too surprising considering his athletic ability and gymnastics are what he is known for and that's just a piece of what is needed to be successful in the biz. HOWEVER, he has that down pat so this was fun, but not much more. You got your acrobatics and such, cool counters & exchanges, not even that many false finishes though. Rush kicked out of the benadryller and the shooting star press, but it didn't get much of a reaction until he hit the ~FIGHTING SPIRIT~ only to be put away with one of Rico's spinning piledriver variations.
Match rating - ***1/2
5) Marty Scurll vs. Jay White
"Welcome to PWG, bitch." -Marty Scurll to Jay White before slapping him in the face
Much like Lio Rush has acrobatics, but no persona or drawing power, Jay White has grapplefuck, but no persona or character. So, this was pretty akin to Ricochet/Rush except this wasn't a dream match, instead just a newcomer versus a vet. White tried some new things to show some personality like taking Scurll's mask he uses in his entrance, but it wasn't the best attempt and came off sorta flat. Excalibur tried to build him up on commentary in instances like this and the crowd tried to react in kind, it just didn't click. For instance, when Scurll slapped White and hit him with the quote at the beginning of this review, White retaliated with a series of spaced out slaps to follow up which was a good babyface comeback, but there was no emotion shown in this so it had half the impact it could have. None the less, the closing exchanges were tight, got a little stiff here or there, White hit some suplexes, all that good stuff. Scurll taps White out to the chicken wing amidst his flurry.
Match rating - ***
6) Superkliq/Mount Rushmore/Bullet Club (Adam Cole & The Young Bucks) vs. O14k (Sami Callihan, Jake, & Dave Crist)
"Adam Cole, can he get that ample mid section over the top rope?" -Excalibur
The Cole/Callihan anthology continues in this random six man that sees the debuting Crist brothers alongside their mentor Sami Callihan. Alot of people hate O14k just because they are CZW guys, but I don't mind them. They aren't in the league of the Bucks, but they can put on an entertaining match. This was contested under tornado tag rules. Cole & The Bucks were introduced by Cody Rhodes which was GRAND. BC 4 LIFE BABY. Then they go into what was essentially a 15 minute sprint. Pretty enjoyable one, too, although the only notable thing that happened was the epic RKO out of nowhere sequence so watch this for that, for sure. Superkliq with another victory after annihlating the Ohio boys with like 40 superkicks.
Match rating - ***1/4
7) Zack Sabre Jr (c) vs. Chuck Taylor - PWG World Championship Match
For the first time in almost two years, the PWG fans are giving a mixed reaction to Zack Sabre Jr. This is almost weird to see. I'd argue that more people were cheering Chuck in this and Sabre's character began to evolve as this went on. More cockiness, more taunts. It was good stuff, but let me not get ahead of myself. This match kicked off with Chuck rolling Sabre up off a handshake then nailing him with a piledriver for two awesome false finishes that had everyone on their feet. Chuck's hunger for the title and Sabre's change in character were both displayed in fantastic fashion here. They sold a potential Chuck victory well only Sabre to choke him out in a triangle choke causing Rick Knox to call for the bell.
Match rating - ***3/4
After the match, Marty Scurll comes out and basically scolds the audience for cheering Chuck instead of Zack then nails Chuck with his umbrella. Zack joins in on the assault to a huge shocker of a reaction. Before it gets too bad, Trent makes the save and I'VE GOT GOOSEBUMPS LADIES. Sabre & Scurll flip off the audience as they exit and Trent tries to get them to come back in the ring. What a twist to start off the year.
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