PWG: 2017 Battle of Los Angeles - Night Three Review

 

September 4th, 2017
PWG World Champion - Chuck Taylor (since 7/7/17)
PWG World Tag Team Champions - Fenix & Penta El Zero M (since 3/18/17)

Commentators - Excalibur & Chuck Taylor

1) Ricochet vs. Dezmond Xavier

This was a fun opener with Ricochet playing the veteran like almost always these days. Xavier is super similar to a young Ricochet so it was cool to see them mixing it up in Xavier's first ever BOLA. Rico has really become a gatekeeper and it's wild especially when you think back to his matches with Generico that are almost seven years old. But none the less, Ricochet and Dez trade flippy shit. Rico advances with a flat liner.

Match rating - ***

2) Marty Scurll vs. Travis Banks

I'm mad burnt out on Scurll at this point and new talents in PWG normally take a minute to get over so this could've easily been a big flop. Banks managed to keep me pretty interested though and this wasn't bad at all. He gets the shocking victory with a roll up and this totally doesn't overstay it's welcome so I can't complain.

Match rating - **3/4

3) Keith Lee vs. Donovan Dijak

"These two are doing their damnest to break this ring." -Chuck Taylor

Okay holy fuck, who allowed this to be so insane? Best match of this whole tournament by a long shot that gave me flashbacks to peak PWG. Just two hungry, fresh talents out with something to prove and a fire hot crowd behind them eating it all up. So much crazy stuff here from a chokeslam to the apron to Keith Lee landing on his feet off a sunset flip, and everything in between. They also upped the aggression with loads of shit talking throughout the match. They also played off the fact that they teamed together on Night One very well by bringing out the gear they wore and Dijak establishing himself as a shitbag by using it to distract Keith. This was stiff, this was high impact, this ruled. Lee advances and he is quickly becoming THE GUY in Reseda.

Match rating - ****1/4

4) Zack Sabre Jr vs. Rey Fenix

PWG: 2017 Battle of Los Angeles - Night Two Review

2017 Battle of Los Angeles - Stage Two
September 3rd, 2017

PWG World Champion - Chuck Taylor (since 7/7/17)
PWG World Tag Team Champions - Fenix & Penta El Zero M (since 3/18/17)

Commentators - Excalibur & Chuck Taylor

1) Donovan Dijak vs. Trevor Lee

Dijak kicked off his first PWG weekend in an insane fashion last night and continues it here with a hot ass opener. Lee hits a fucking german on him off the second rope from the bell and that completely set the tone for this one. Just crazy, crazy stuff with a super into it crowd. Dijak gets the win, thank the lord because Trevor Lee doesn't have good matches in PWG any more unless it's with a hot newcomer like Dijak.

Match rating - ***3/4

2) Sammy Guevara vs. Joey Janela

WHAT THE FUCK. All I have to say is burning hammer ON A CHAIR for a two count. This was absolutely ignorant in the best possible way. Joey Janela is known for being reckless and he was nothing short of that here in his PWG debut showing everyone how much it really means for him to have this opportunity. Guevara was the perfect first opponent for him because even though he's only one show in, he's already developed a heel aurora about him so the crowd ate up all the belligerent, wild offense and attempts of Janela. Good stuff.

Match rating - ***3/4

3) Travis Banks vs. Mark Haskins

Super hot start to the show comes to a halt here. I've never seen Banks before and this is technically Haskins' second BOLA, but you'd never know it. He's easily been the most forgettable of the Brits to come through in the past few years and it's a shame because I've heard great things about his work elsewhere. He just hasn't defined himself in PWG so his matches hold almost no weight and with Banks being in his debut match, this came off as nothing more than a decent little exhibition. Then the finish got botched and fully tanked this one for me. Sad day.

Match rating - **1/2

4) Leader of the New School (Zack Sabre Jr & Marty Scurll) vs. Ricochet & Matt Sydal

Sabre & Scurll bumrush Ricochet & Sydal during their entrance. Aggressive heel Sabre and Scurll is still hot and it rules. Ricochet and Sydal had a MOTY candidate earlier this year with the Bucks and Penta & Fenix, but have been pretty quiet since. This was a good comeback match, I guess you could say because they looked awesome here and the crowd was feeling it heavy. Sydal got isolated early which built towards the Ricochet hot tag. Lots of great tag team work on both ends here albeit nothing that will blow your skirt completely up. They did a thing where Sydal had to hit an SSP on Ricochet to get him out of the chicken wing which was really cool. It probably would've meant more in a higher stakes match with more emotion, but it was still sick. The finish ruled with Sabre & Sydal trading different pinning combinations for close falls before Sabre finally got the victory whilst flipping off the crowd. Ricochet was like a millisecond too late to break it up. Sabre & Scurll scurry off afterwards.

Match rating - ***3/4

5) Sami Callihan vs. Jeff Cobb

Poor Jeff Cobb. Amazing night for him last night and now he has to face one of the least interesting faces in PWG right now. Never thought the crowd would have so little of a response to Callihan, but literally nothing he does gets any sort of reaction. The stretch muffler was locked in amidst a quiet crowd. It was bad. Cobb did his best here though and the finish was indeed awesome. I hate that Callihan kicked out of tour of the islands the first time, though. Anyways, Cobb catches him with a second one after a cool little exchange and gets the win.

Match rating - **1/4

6) Michael Elgin vs. Matthew Riddle

This match had to fight an uphill battle since Callihan/Cobb was pretty much a stinker. They did a good job of bringing life back to this show and this crowd, though. Plenty of make you jump out of your seat moments like Elgin hitting a hurricanrana and other crazy acrobatic moves. The final few minutes were nail biting with a tombstone piledriver switch off until Riddle was finally able to hit it for the win. Elgin has made it to the final round of BOLA twice, but this year he's out in round one! Big win for Riddle and great showing for him here.

Match rating - ***1/2

7) Keith Lee vs. WALTER

This was an absolute slugfest and very smartly worked. They gave you just enough of what you wanted to see, but left some to be desired. And since I'm writing this in retrospect, it's a good thing because they would clash again later down the line. But as said before, this was exactly what you'd expect and even though the finish abrupt, this was still a great match. Keith Lee advances.

Match rating - ***1/2

8) Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs. Rey Fenix, Penta El Zero M, & Flamita

This was exactly what you would expect from a dream match such as this. Omega is back for his yearly appearance in PWG and the roof blows off the place for the first ELITE match ever in Reseda. So much crazy stuff here, I can't even begin to recap it all. Not a MOTY candidate, but loads of fun and an awesome main event to finish off the night.

Match rating - ****

Final thoughts: Only thing really worth taking a look at here is the main event. There are several other solid matches like the LDRS/Rico & Sydal tag, Lee/Walter, & Guevara/Janela, but nothing absolutely must see and everything else besides those are skippable.

PWG: 2017 Battle of Los Angeles Night One Review

September 1st, 2017

PWG World Champion - Chuck Taylor (since July 7th, 2017)
PWG World Tag Team Champions - Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero M (since March 18th, 2017)

Commentators: Excalibur & Chuck Taylor

The Battle of Los Angeles has become more than just a tournament for PWG. It's literally a spectacle that culminates the best of independent wrestling and gives you a peak at who is going to be that next big star to head to WWE or NJPW. With past winners including current WWE/NXT stars like Sami Zayn & Adam Cole and current NJPW stars like Kenny Omega, the tournament holds a high level of prestige.

But for PWG itself, it's the most important part of the year and has honestly become more like the start of a new year/era each time it rolls around. For the simple fact that, you get a lot of new and returning faces, and a true glimpse as to where PWG is heading within the next year calendar year. It's like the start of a new year/season and for me, it's a perfect time to really view the landscape of PWG at the moment and for the coming year.

1) Brian Cage vs. Dezmond Xavier

"The baby blue badass, big Brian Cage." -Chuck Taylor

Brian Cage in BOLA openers has been a thing since like 2013 and it has admittedly gotten sort of old however this was an exception. Xavier has only had a few matches in PWG since debuting this year, but this was definitely his best yet. Finally seeing him against someone outside of the Callihan/CZW bunch allowed him to show some separation from the stigma a lot of those guys have. He played the perfect role in this match and neither man did too much or too little. They kept it short & sweet. Xavier taunted Cage early saying "it's BOLA 2017, I'm gonna need to see more than that" to which Cage responded with a set of frankensteiners. That really set the tone for this match. Cage muscled Xavier around, Xavier used his speed to try to tire down Cage. In the end, Xavier monkey flips Cage for the victory. Big win for him considering this is Cage's fifth BOLA tournament, having made his first appearance in the tourney in 2010.

Match rating - ***1/4

2) Marty Scurll vs. Flash Morgan Webster

This was straight up way better than I expected. Scurll cut a pre-match promo to remind everyone he's the reigning BOLA champion having won the tournament last year. He then tells Webster that he's Mr. PWG and he has five seconds to get out of his ring. This sets up the perfect babyface retaliation for Flash who headbutts Scurll and everyone thought he got a three count out of it, but Scurll's foot was on the ropes. This match starts out WHITE HOT with both men throwing caution to the wind with a lot of crowd bumps. Scurll literally throws Webster from the ring to the floor into the audience at one point. They made you think the debuting Webster really had a chance with how they built everything. Good stuff. Scurll eventually taps Flash out with the chicken wing in the center of the ring. Another great showing for a first time talent in BOLA.

Match rating - ***1/2

3) Rey Fenix vs. Rey Horus

Many people gave this the title of match of the night, but I just didn't see it. Fenix is currently one half of the tag team champions and Horus is in his second PWG appearance ever. This was certainly a notch up from Horus' debut against Sammy Guevara. They busted out a ton of crazy stuff, the only negative was that it lost it's flow on a couple occassions which is what kept me from going higher with my rating. However, this still ruled and was a pretty great lucha showcase and completely different from the previous two matches. Fenix gets the win and advances.

Match rating - ***1/2

4) The Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matthew Riddle) vs. Keith Lee & Donovan Dijak

Here comes the emotions. This is Donovan Dijak's first AND final weekend in PWG before he heads to NXT, but as some of you may already know, it was a highly acclaimed weekend for him as he reportedly had two MOTY candidate contests. This being the first one and I will see that it definitely lived up to expectation although I wouldn't put the MOTY label on it BUT this still fucking ruled. Four guys beating the dog shit out of each other. Two monsters against an olympic athlete and former MMA fighter, where can you go wrong? Cobb & Riddle already have a victory over the Young Bucks since they started teaming in PWG and this match completely put them over to me because 1 - it was amazing and 2 - they won. Awesome stuff here, definitely check this one out.

Match rating - ****1/4

5) Matt Sydal vs. Penta El Zero M

The crowd really needed a breather after that last match so they were pretty quiet here despite this sorta being a dream match. Plus, Sydal & Penta were involved in the insane three way tag title match back in March so you'd think this would have a lot of hype, but it just felt like your average, solid mid card match from the two. Nothing bad albeit nothing spectacular either. Penta gets the win.

Match rating - **3/4

6) Zack Sabre Jr vs. Jonah Rock

After his classic with Chuckie T last month, ZSJ is STILL on fire as a heel despite losing the title and I fucking love it. He's taunting Jonah Rock from the get go and it's literally the best thin ever. Jonah is in his PWG debut, arguably his biggest match to date, actually, as this is his first appearance on American soil. Jonah does have some slight connection to PWG in the past though, as he was a member of TMDK in NOAH over in Japan with Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls, both of whom had one off appearances for PWG back in 2008 or so. But yeah, this was really good. Zack played cocky submission specialist like always. Jonah tried to over power him. Simple, but super solid stuff. Sabre advances.

Match rating - ***3/4

7) Ricochet vs. Flamita

"God damn unnecessary." -Chuck Taylor

This was not the mind blowing spot fest that you would expect from these two. However, that does not mean this was bad. In fact, it sorta exceeded my expectations. We got some jaw dropping fast sequences, but this was structured more like a wrestling match than a performance with it getting way more brutal than one would expect. Ricochet has really changed his game over the years and it's sick to see. Flamita is in his debut weekend here and in the main event which is CRAZY, but he is the first Dragon Gate guy to roll through Reseda since Akira Tozawa's stint. None the less, this was a great match, just not what you'd expect from a PWG main event, but I wasn't disappointed. Ricochet hit a neckbreaker on Flamita on the apron and apparently fucked up his back pretty bad. Flamita hit a 450 and somehow dislocated his finger and Knox put it back in for him thankfully cause it looked NASTY for a minute. In the end, Ricochet triumphs over Flamita in his PWG debut. Can the King become the first ever two time BOLA winner?

Match rating - ***3/4

Final thoughts: Good first night of BOLA '17. Only one must see match, but everything else is more than solid and worth a look. We got the introduction of some new talents (Webster, Flamita, & Dijak) and the solidifcation of a few others (Cobb, Riddle, & Lee) and I'm sure there will be more of this throughout the tournament which makes me stoked.

PWG: Pushin Forward Back Review

July 7th, 2017

PWG World Champion - Zack Sabre Jr (since 5/3/16)
PWG World Tag Team Champions - Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero M (since 3/18/17)

Commentators - Excalibur

1) Rey Horus vs. Sammy Guevara

"Who the hell is Brian Cage?" -Sammy Guevara

Debut weekend for both of these men and they certainly put on a show here. It went a little long for opener and for this sort of exhibition style, but it was still enjoyable. Guevara showed a good bit of personality which I didn't expect however it definitely works for him. Lots of flashy stuff thrown into 15 or so minutes.

Match rating - ***

2) The Young Bucks vs. Unbreakable F'n Machines (Michael Elgin & Brian Cage)

"The Biz has Clizzed up!" -Excalibur

Nick Jackson's high pitched "Break it Down" in the mic as the crowd is chanting "The Elite" made my life. This is a rematch from DDT4 2013 where the Bucks defeated Elgin & Cage to regain the tag team titles. Pretty sure that gave them the definitive shortest title reign in PWG Tag Team history, but I'm not entirely sure. Either way this match is four years in the making and it's sorta surprisingly great. I've been burnt out on UBFM for a minute, but the Bucks pulled a helluva match out of them here AND put them over. They really are the greatest tag team in the world.

Match rating - ***3/4

3) Keith Lee vs. Lio Rush vs. Trent?

Keith Lee & Lio Rush met last month so this is a sorta a rematch with Trent thrown in. They run the smaller guys team up to take out the big guy story. Then Rush turns on Trent when he asks for a hug. HUGE BOOS. Then Keith Lee demolishes em both. Solid stuff.

Match rating - ***1/4

4) Sami Callihan vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. Dave Crist vs. Jake Crist

"Rick Knox has utterly lost his mind." -Excalibur

This match is the start of Rick Knox being the low-key MVP of the night. It's a Callihan and friends four way so you know it's just spots. Knox got in on the fun and hit like five dives and a front flip off the top turnbuckle to the floor. It's fucking bonkers. Classic PWG fun. Dezmond Xavier wins and yay because I like him more than anyone else in this match, at the moment.

Match rating - ***

5) Ricochet vs. Trevor Lee

First time ever match here that I've been wanting to see for a while. Now I'm kinda not as stoked on it, though, because Lee has gotten stagnant for me. It's still really good, though. They go with a straight moves fest instead of trying to develop some story thank god cause I doubt I could sit through that right now. Plus, ZSJ/Chuck is gonna give us a banger in that regard later. But, yeah. This was as awesome as you'd expect. Ricochet wins after a bunch of STUFF.

Match rating - ***3/4

6) Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Chuck Taylor - PWG World Championship Match

"No I'm not counting that, you hit him with the fuckin' belt!" -Rick Knox to Zack Sabre Jr

YEAH BABY. Round two between these two. Zack has ran through everyone from Kyle O'Reilly to Dick Togo during his reign as champion, but the light hearted beloved Chuckie T continues to be a thorn in his side. This starts off real slow and I love it. Just Zack toying with Chuck, out wrestling him, bullying him, etc. It makes you want a Chuck win even more. Zack targets the left arm and they work it all the way to the end. Chuck pops a awful waffle out of no where for the first near fall then things really shift into high gear. Zack bullies a ring crew guy into taking the bottom rope off because Chuck keeps finding ways to reach it out of submissions. Crowd was literally chanting "holy shit" at one point just because of Chuck reaching the ropes out of that hold where Zack stretches his opponent's arms in ungodly ways. Everyone was out of their set for the final 15 of this. Just fantastic stuff all the way around. Sabre resorts to trying to get DQ'd. Knox won't do it AND he won't count when he hits Chuck with the belt. WHAT A HERO. Chuck brings tacks in only to eat them several times, but he mounts a comeback and pins Zack with the awful waffle. NEW CHAMP and it feels so rewarding. Chuck has been dedicated to PWG for nine years and was one of the reasons I got hooked on this promotion in the first place so this really brought a tear to my eye.

"My first match in PWG was nine years ago, and son of a bitch if I'm not gonna defend this for nine more." - Chuck Taylor

Match rating - ****3/4

BREAKING: Pro Wrestling Guerrilla announces venue change for 'Time Is A Flat Circle'

Current PWG World Champion Chuck Taylor
Photo cred: Mikey Nolan

As some of you know, the next event on the PWG calendar, "Time Is A Flat Circle" takes place on March 23rd during the same weekend NJPW will be in Los Angeles for their Strong Styled Evolve event. Moments ago on PWG's Twitter account they released the info that the show will now not be held at the acclaimed Legion Hall in Reseda, but would instead be at Globe Theatre in Los Angeles!

This announcement came with the discovery that they accidentally sold more front row tickets than they had available so they are moving to a bigger venue to accomodate.

I'm not sure if this is a one off thing or a permanent thing,  however, I'm extremely stoked on it. Based off pictures that I found when researching the place, the Globe Theater looks like an insanely nice venue that will give PWG an entirely new professional vibe and definitely more room for the audience.

This is the first time an event has been held outside of Reseda since the annual string of Kurt Russell Reunion shows in 2010, 2011, & 2012. And those are the only three shows that have been held outside of Reseda since 2008. So, this is essentially the first new venue for the company in over a decade and what a card they have to kick it off with as it includes a slew of debuts, the returns of Flamita & Will Ospreay, plus Chuck Taylor defending the World Title against Keith Lee.

PWG: Man On The Silver Mountain Review

June 16th, 2017
PWG World Champion - Zack Sabre Jr (since April 2016)

PWG World Tag Team Champions - Fenix & Penta El Cero M (since March 2017)

Commentators - Excalibur

Why does the title of this show make me think of John Silver, the Beaver Boys, and their ever short-lived run in PWG last year?

1) Trevor Lee vs. Chuck Taylor

This is the second meeting between these two and this one is under vastly different circumstances as Chuckie T is on his first big run as a main eventer so it's shocking to see him in an opener. It's a good change of pace, though, because I was dreading another Trevor Lee opener after he somehow managed to bring his match with Keith Lee last month down to a subpar level. This little banger with Chuck certainly set the mood off right, though. Fun stuff all around and the finish was so fucking clever as Chuck pinned Lee with a crossbody which holds a lot of weight since one of Trevor's calling cards is always the reverse crossbody into a pin. Brilliance.

Match rating - ***1/4

2) Dezmond Xavier vs. Jason Cade vs. Jake Crist

Three way between some newcomers here and this one got a lot of heat from most reviewers, but dang if I didn't really enjoy this. Yes, it was nothing but spots, but it was fun as hell to me. I didn't see the difference between this and other three-ways like Alexander/Everett/Lee from years ago that got so much buzz. I think it's just because of the rep some of these guys have, particularly Crist, that leaves people sour. But it is what it is. Xavier gets the win here after a wild match that never slowed down, and rightfully so because I think he's the best one out of this bunch. This kept the show going at a good pace, as well.

Match rating - ***1/2

3) Keith Lee vs. Lio Rush

This ruled so hard. Keith Lee owned his role as the bigger man and Lio Rush owned his role as the smaller man. Simple formula executed to perfection equals a hell of a match. Little things like Rush finally getting some steam only to attempt a dive on Lee and not even move him were the tipping point for me. This was built up so perfectly with Lee dominating, Rush hanging in there and building up a flurry of offense, only for Lee to shut him down. The ending with Rush kicking out of some big moves at one, only to be unable to mount any offense and fall flat was the perfect anti-climatic finish. Lee finishes Rush off with an insane ass sit out powerbomb.

Match rating - ****

4) Unbreakable F'N Machines (Michael Elgin & Brian Cage) vs. War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe)

This show was on a roll and now it comes to halt for me. I just can't get into either of these teams, but this was not all that bad. Just a slug fest from start to finish and it didn't go too long which was a dread/worry I had so I can't complain too much. Short, sweet, and to the point. Elgin & Cage get the victory.

Match rating - **3/4

5) Sami Callihan vs. Matt Sydal

Chuck Taylor: "The Nightmare on Helm Street, that's what Shane Helms called it in WCW."
Excalibur: "Well, do you think that's what Sami Callihan calls it?"
Chuck: "He might, he's white trash just like the Hurricane."

This was weird. Decent little sprinter between two veterans, I guess is the best way to put. I feel like the only reason they are on shows anymore is for name value. Matt Sydal does deliver from time to time, though. I'm probably being too harsh. Any way, yeah, this was what it was, nothing memorable, but pretty packed with action. Callihan wins for god knows what reason.

Match rating - **1/4

6) Jeff Cobb vs. Trent?

So, after Callihan/Sydal and nothing else on this show being all that enthralling, I took a breather from this show that ended up lasting a few weeks. I sadly don't remember much about this match aside from it being the solid outing you'd expect, but not quite to that next level that I feel they could take it in the right setting. Below is the rating I had jotted down for it. Cobb comes out with the win after a competitive match.

Match rating - ***1/4

7) LDRS (Zack Sabre Jr & Marty Scurll) vs. ReDragon (Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish)

WELL I WILL BE DAMNED. This was awesome. I totally didn't expect either considering my breather from this show spawned me trying to watch this match & finish this show on several different occassions and not even being able to make it a few minutes in. When I turned this on tonight, though, it FLEW by. Guess my attention span just sucks and I have too much going on personally to focus. None the less, this seriously rocked. Sabre is still crushing his role as cocky heel champ. O'Reilly is in his secondary run in Reseda, but still does his act flawlessly and has a special heart in the fans eyes for his initial run in the promotion. Scurll also thrives in PWG and he & Fish more than play their parts well in this match led by two all time PWG greats. Amazing, gritty wrestling with plenty of submissions. Kyle having both Sabre & Scurll locked in two different submissions at the same time is must see. I swear, Kyle & Zack can't have a bad match together, or even a subpar match moreso. In the end, the LDRS come out on top and leave the ring with a chorus of boos despite the killer match.

Match rating - ****1/4

-Sabre & Scurll continue to beat on Kyle & Bobby post-match. CHUCKIE T makes the save and runs them off. Verbal exchange between Chuck & the champion. They face off next month at the anniversary show PUSHIN FORWARD BACK.

Final thoughts: Lee/Rush and LDRS/ReDragon are well worth your time. The openers are solid, just skip UBFM/War Machine and Callihan/Sydal.