March 18th, 2017
2nd show of 2017 and better than almost any show in 2016
PWG World Champion - Zack Sabre Jr
PWG World Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks
Commentators: Excalibur, Chuck Taylor, Sami Callihan & Rick Knox
1) Sami Callihan vs. Brian Cage vs. Keith Lee
Callihan was originally supposed to face Adam Cole tonight, but if I remember correctly, an injury kept Cole from competing so Sami got to interject himself into match on the card and he chose this opener. Keith Lee is making his debut here and I'll say right out of the gate, he's the next PWG breakout star. The things this big man can do is unreal and he got a chant literally 20 seconds into this thing, and for good reason. Cage & Callihan are known for having some stinkers, but they really killed it in this one and Keith Lee being involved also upped the anty. Just a great barnburner of an opener and the start of something special.
Match rating - ***1/2
2) Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle) vs. O14k (Dave & Jake Crist)
This was your basic tag match here. Nothing out of this world, but nothing bad either. The Crist Bros had a few wow spots that got the crowd fired up however Cobb & Riddle were the clear favorite here. Several nice hot tags for them throughout the match and one little stalemate with everybody throwing kicks then hitting the mat from exhaustion. It looks like O14k is gonna pick up a win then the Chosen Bros fire back out of nowhere with the tour of the islands and a submission hold from Riddle and they chalk up another victory.
Match rating - **3/4
3) Trevor Lee vs. Lio Rush
This was soooooo close to being better than Lio's match against Ricochet last month. I have been waiting for Rush to have that one insane, unforgettable match in PWG and it didn't happen in his debut, and I didn't expect it to happen here, but it almost did! This was good stuff, Lee jumped Rush before the bell and just beat the hell out of him. He tried to get cheap victories by letting Knox count him on the outside and it was awesome. Lee literally slung Rush from pillar to post, inside out. It was good stuff. Rush fires back, Lee chops him down, Rush fires back, Lee chops him down. It gets a little competitive, Lee rolls up Rush in a small package, 1..2..--- RUSH REVERSES - 1..2..3.. FUCK THAT WAS A GREAT FINISH. Rush beats Lee at his own game in a huge upset. Loved that. Had this went a little longer, boyyyyyyy. Still a good one, though.
Match rating - ***1/4
4) Shane Strickland vs. Dezmond Xavier
Two more debuts here! I've seen Shane Strickland a couple times and he can definitely get rowdy. I've also heard the tales of Dezmond Xavier so I'm expecting something good out of this one. Unfortunately, it didn't quite reach the level they were going for or the level it could have. You could tell the butterflies were there and rightfully so, because this is a pretty large amount of pressure, but they damn sure put in their best effort and delivered some must-see exchanges that I had never even seen before, which is something that's hard to do in this day and age of flippy shit. It just didn't flow in some parts and there were a few hiccups, but this is definitely worth watching because Strickland & Xavier both brought some insane stuff to the table. Like, dear lord, this was buck wild at a few points. I'd like to see a rematch between the two in Reseda once they've settled down in the enviroment. But until then, Strickland remains on top as he plants Xavier with a driver variation that scared the hell out of myself as well as everyone in attendance.
Match rating - ***1/4
5) Leaders of the New School (Zack Sabre Jr & Marty Scurll) vs. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent?)
This story is just getting started and when the turn of Sabre officially happened at Only Kings Understand Each Other, I was iffy despite the fact that the crowd did indeed go with it, but all bets were off when Sabre & Scurll entered the ring for this match and the boos were echoing. It is crazy to see Sabre take Roderick Strong, his greatest rival's role as the biggest bad guy in the company. But it's happened and it's great. Sabre is so easily a dickhead because of his natural cockiness and demeanor. The vicious side of him like this has shown in the past when he would get irritated with Roddy and jump at him and now as a heel, it is SO much more effective as he mocked Chuck with the title in the introductions and it was epic. So much old school team work from the Leaders in this, it made me fall in love with Sabre & Scurll more than ever before. Just fantastic stuff and arguably the best they've done in PWG. So many false hope spots for Trent to make the tag to Chuck. Chuck finally gets the tag and all hell breaks loose, it's super back & forth. Chuck & Scurll fight to the back as Trent & Sabre battle it out in the ring and to everyone's surprise, Trent pins the PWG World Champion when all is said and done. CRAZY. Chuck comes back to the ring and celebrates with his best friend, but Scurll comes back out to ruin the party. Sabre acts hesitant to join in on the beat down until Scurll slaps him across the face and seemingly manipulates him back into his villanious ways. Scurll powerbombs Chuck through some chairs and challenges him to a match next month. Chuck accepts and makes it a RESEDA STREET FIGHT BABY. 2009, whassup? Awesome stuff here.
Match rating - ****1/4
6) The Young Bucks (c) vs. Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs. Penta El Zero & Rey Fenix - PWG World Tag Team Championship Match
"Everybody is cart wheelin' in Reseda tonight!" -Excalibur
THIS. WAS. THAT. PWG. SHIT. Best tag match in years, to be completely honest with you. I enjoyed this tons more than the highly beheld Rushmore/Ospreay, Sydal, Rico contest that Big Dave gave five stars. To me, this is your classic PWG tag team contest in every single sense of the word. That match and all the other matches these three teams have had with each other in Reseda over the past year or two have been fun, but none compare to this one. The opening exchange with one man from each team in the ring which gave us two different triple threat match ups, essentially, was super unique and awesome. The story of this being the last championship The Young Bucks still have after losing both the ROH & NJPW Junior Tag Titles gave this some extra story and incentive. Props to Sami Callihan on commentary for bringing that into consideration. This also even had some comedy in the early stages with Penta & Fenix doing the suck it and wearing the YB's gear, next thing you know all the times are doing each other's mannerisms and it's wacky as hell and the kinda stuff you only get in PWG. And on top of all of that, the spots in this match were absolutely nuts and somehow also innovative. We got a canadian destroyer on the fUCKING RING APRON from Ricochet to Penta for christsake. Not to mention, Sydal head scissoring Fenix from the apron to the floor, Ricochet's flying cutter on Fenix while Penta had him on his shoulders for a double team attempt, and numerous other batshit crazy things that took place in this match. The icing on the cake was the complete shocker of the finish that got the biggest pop since Sabre won the PWG belt as Penta & Fenix pin Ricochet to win the PWG World Tag Team Titles, dethroning The Young Bucks. UN-BE-LIEVABLE. Nick & Matt's reaction was priceless as they start throwing chairs in the ring and getting in the new champions' faces. Looks like we have another rivalry going into the heart of 2017 and I am fired UP.
Match rating - ****3/4
