PWG: 200 Review

PWG: 200
Los Angeles, California
March 1st, 2019

The 200th PWG show celebration.

PWG World Champion - Jeff Cobb
PWG World Tag Team Champions - The Rascals (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz)
Commentators - Excalibur & Rick Knox

As of this writing, I'm a solid year behind on reviews, but got my hands on this early so I decided to go ahead and dive into it!

1) Jake Atlas vs. Jungle Boy vs. Trey Miguel

Trey Miguel is debuting and Atlas & Jungle Boy are still cutting their teeth, but all three men rocked it here. This reminded me a lot of the highly regarded Trevor Lee/Cedric Alexander/Andrew Everett three way from Mystery Vortex II in 2014. Just three fresh guys going out to make an impression and doing so very successfully. Crazy multi-man matches are a PWG tradition so this was a great way to kick off a show like this. Jungle Boy wins with a crucifix bomb on Trey Miguel. Sad he only has a few more appearances before going full time for AEW.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Puma King vs. Laredo Kid

PWG: Neon Knights Review

Neon Knights
February 16th, 2018
Reseda, California

PWG World Champion - Chuck Taylor

PWG World Tag Team Champions - Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle)

Commentators - Excalibur

1) Brody King vs. Adam Brooks

"Adam Brooks traveled 18 hours to get here, Brody King traveled 18 minutes." -Excalibur

Brody has a black eye heading into this match and it looks ruff. None the less, this is his debut and they rocked the house in this opener. Things got a little sloppy near the end, but not enough to ruin the fun in what was all in all, a great showing for both guys. You can't really go wrong with a PWG opener as long as you keep the formula simple.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Dalton Castle vs. Joey Janela

"I like my strawberries when they're dipped in chocolate and I got a nice hunny to look at." -Joey Janela

Castle comes to the ring with the ROH Title in tow. I started watching this a week or two ago and had to cut it off for whatever reason so I just started it from the beginning and rewatched it and this wasn't half as bad as I remembered for a 20 minute long Dalton Castle match with no backstory. They did some comedy early on and kept me pretty interested throughout and threw some cool sequences in there. This certainly shouldn't have went 20, but it wasn't a trainwreck at all. Janela is starting to get over well with the PWG crowd and I honestly wouldn't mind if Dalton Castle just stayed in ROH from now on.

Match rating - **1/2

3) David Starr vs. Travis Banks

Always dug David Starr, this is his PWG debut and I'm glad he finally made it here. Travis Banks has yet to impress in his first few showings so this was a little rocky to start, but all in all ended up being a pretty solid match. They brawled outside the ring for a while and threw some bombs in the final few minutes for some near falls that got the crowd hype. Decent showing for both guys.

Match rating - **3/4

4) Zack Sabre Jr vs. Flip Gordon

Alright so I've never been the biggest fan of Flip Gordon, but holy shit. He's insanely athletic and was in major show off mode here which was the perfect opposition for the attitude of ZSJ. And speaking of Sabre, I'm sold on him being a Top 5 PWG All-Timer at this point. He just literally can't have a bad match and on shows like this, he brings it up to that level that makes it feel like an actual PWG show even though the undercard is lacking. So, yeah, this was a great match. Sabre was Sabre and Flip was flippy and vibrant. Some expected a lot more out of this, but I was honestly pleased with what we got. Sabre gains a victory to hopefully up his momentum after losing the PWG Title a few months back and losing to Keith Lee at the last show.

Match rating - ***3/4

5) Keith Lee vs. Matthew Riddle

Sabre/Flip got the momentum going and these two knocked it completely out of the park by following it up with this show-stealing match up. Keith Lee has came in and had nothing but bangers, aside from his match with Zack last month oddly enough, and this was another one on that list. His rise to the top of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has been nuts. Just crazy match after crazy match. Bask in his fucking glory as he & Riddle destroy each other and the crowd eats up every bit of it. Awesome match here and another win for Lee.

Match rating - ****

6) Chuck Taylor (c) vs. Trent? - PWG World Title Match

"I'm gonna kill my best friend." -Chuck Taylor

PWG: Mystery Vortex V Review - Ricochet's Farewell

January 12th, 2018
Reseda, California

PWG World Champion - Ricochet

PWG World Tag Team Champions - Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle)

Commentary - Excalibur, Chuck Taylor, & Rick Knox

First show of 2018 and the entire line up is a MYSTERY. Let's rock.

1) David Starr vs. Fred Yehi

"Welcome to Mystery Vortex V, sorry, I already shit on David Starr." -Excalibur

Two debuts here and two equally long introductions. I've known of a David Starr for a minute so it's sick seeing him finally get a shot in PWG. Neither man can get an advantage early until Yehi hits an exploder suplex on Starr on the floor that put things into motion. This went 18 minutes which normally can be bad for PWG openers, and while it wasn't PHENOMENAL, it wasn't a trainwreck either and they kept my attention for most of the match thanks to the personality of Starr, among other things. Some time definitely could've been shaved off to make it better, but this was really fine how it was. Yehi locks in a koji clutch, and Starr reverses out of it into a pinning predicament to get the win.

Match rating - ***

2) Joey Janela vs. Flash Morgan Webster

"This has bad news bears written all over it." -Chuck Taylor

I've been super iffy on a lot of the recent PWG debuts, but Flash hasn't done me wrong yet and after nearly getting killed by Janela here, I don't see that changing. Dear Lord, this was nuts. From a death valley driver on the apron to the most impactful package piledriver I've ever seen, Janela gave Flash a BEATING. Flash did get some spots in though including putting on his helmet for a dive on the floor which was funny. But in the end, a brainbuster off the top rope that will make your toes curl is what would put him away. Janela with the victory here.

Match rating - ***1/2

3) Rey Fenix vs. Sammy Guevara

These guys came out of the gate with a fever pitch and it was so SCARY. The danger of the Janela match transferred over to this nutty spotfest that saw a 630 senton only two minutes in and neither man able to stand at the five minute mark which was received by a standing ovation. These two threw literally everything out there and more. The finish was sort of weak, but you can't fault them after the craziness that ensued in the duration of this jawn. Guevara gets a huge victory over the former PWG World Tag Team Champion.

Match rating - ***3/4

4) Zack Sabre Jr vs. Keith Lee

PWG: All Star Weekend 13 - Night Two Review

October 21st, 2017
Reseda, California

PWG World Champion - Chuck Taylor

PWG World Tag Team Champions - Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle)

Commentary - Excalibur


1) Adam Brooks vs. Jonah Rock

Now this is more like it! Wasn't a fan of the Brooks match on Night One, but Jonah Rock brought the hype from his match with Keith Lee last night and Brooks matched it. These boys tore it down and had a perfect little PWG opener that ended with a fuckin liger bomb off the second rope followed up by a brainbuster. YES.

Match rating - ***1/4

2) The Young Bucks vs. Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Haskins

This was everything you would expect from a Young Bucks match in Reseda. Absolute pandemonium in every possible way. You had comedy early on including a Marty Scurll run in that saw Rick Knox join in for a "six boots" spot that spawned a tumultuous chant. Then things broke down and it was admittedly a lot crazier than I expected considering it being early in the card and Webster & Haskins being fresh faces. They did an insane Meltzer Driver spot that basically made the YB's give the move to themselves. I don't even have the words to describe it, just check this shid out. The finish was great and played off the leg work/submissions that popped up throughout the match.

Match rating - ****

3) Marty Scurll vs. Joey Janela

PWG: All Star Weekend 13 - Night One Review

October 20th, 2017
Reseda, California

PWG World Champion - Chuck Taylor

PWG World Tag Team Champions - Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero M

Commentators: Excalibur & Rick Knox

1) Brian Cage vs. Flash Morgan Webster

Flash was one of the debuting talents I enjoyed in BOLA so I'm stoked to see him here again. Not so stoked on another Cage opener, but this was fun regardless. It just feels like they've had him in this same role for YEARS. None the less, there was some pretty wild shit thrown in here like Cage giving Webster the Deep Sea Diverticulitus on the ring apron which I lost my mind for. But in the end, Flash would pick up the upset victory by somehow reversing out of the screwdriver into a pinning combination.

Match rating - ***

2) Adam Brooks vs. Mark Haskins

So, neither of these guys are bad, but glory to god this was way too long. It was 18 minutes and felt like 30 minutes. There's no backstory and both men are relatively new, there was no reason for this to go this long. Or maybe I just couldn't invested and it hindered it for me. Either way, this wasn't anything special. A couple of good exchanges here or there and the last few minutes weren't terrible however the first three quarters of the match can't be overlooked. Brooks did some decent heel work and Haskins spent the match fighting back and eventually grabbed the victory via submission.

Match rating - **1/2

3) Trevor Lee vs. Joey Janela

"Trevor Lee is, of course, on the Adam Cole diet plan." -Excalibur

Another attempt at a character based match that didn't quite land for me although it was still better than Brooks/Haskins as it didn't drag at all, if anything it felt like it ended abruptly before they could really get going. Lee gets some INSANE heat and it rules. Janela does some crazy stuff. Then next thing you know, this is over and Janela upsets the Carolina Caveman.

Match rating - **1/2

4) Keith Lee vs. Jonah Rock

"To see a man of that size fly through the air with no control of his body is quite a sight to behold." -Rick Knox