PWG "Prince" Match Card & Preview

Just yesterday, PWG finally announced their next event which will take place on May 20th. It is once again named after a fallen music hero that left us in 2016, Prince. The card features Zack Sabre Jr's first title defense since becoming the PWG World Champion and much more.

Two euro's collide for the first time in Reseda. Andrews had a rough weekend at All Star Weekend 12 as he took beatings from both Roderick Strong and Evil Uno, so this is chance for him to rebound although it won't be easy. The Villain is someone who will most likely be extra motivated since his british counterpart Zack Sabre Jr earned a huge achievement in winning the PWG World Championship before he did. This is sure to be a fiery contest.

This. Is. Awesome. Two hard hitting, monsters collide in a dream match that I didn't even know I wanted until I realized that Jeff Cobb is none other than the incomparable Matanza Cueto from Lucha Underground. Cobb has an extensive amateur, freestyle wrestling background and is one hell of a specimen. And Chris Hero, well, you know how phenomenal he is. This is going to be an absolute slugfest.

 

These two Carolina natives debuted in PWG together in a three way match that send shockwaves across the entire Independent circuit. They've wrestled barnburners against each other across the country including 90+ minute matches. This is their first meeting in PWG since their debut in 2014 and I personally think it could steal the show. Both men have somewhat fell off the track and I feel like they will be heading out to wow everyone in attendance, even more so than normal.

 





The Peacock made his way to PWG earlier this year against "The Kentucky Gentleman" Chuck Taylor in a match that I doubt will resemble this one in any way. Adam Cole is an outright asshole and has no shame in that. However, he does have a comedic side in his cocky taunts. I think we will see the former PWG World Champion take a more serious route here as Dalton Castle could easily get under his skin with his mannerisms. It's certainly going to be an interesting pairing.

"War" is the best word I can think of to describe how I think this match will go. Callihan is known as the Death Machine and Roddy is coming off losing his PWG World Title to Zack Sabre Jr. The anger and insanity that will ensue here is gonna be something to behold. An often forgotten fact to remember going into this match is that Callihan made his PWG debut in 2012 alongside Roddy in the DDT4 Tournament and now, here four years later, they clash. Both men have evolved a lot since then and it's definitely going to be a heated contest.

What a task Zack Sabre Jr has in his first defense of the PWG World Championship. "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin returns to Reseda to try to achieve something that has plagued him for the past few years, even during his time as a PWG regular, and that is winning the PWG World Title. Elgin has been in the finals of BOLA twice and had several title matches, but never could he win the belt. So, with that in mind, this is a huge match for him, however as you probably know, this is a match that Elgin has wanted for a long time as he's mentioned wanting to face Sabre on Twitter for quite some time. With his recent hot streak in Japan and Sabre's momentum as the best in the world, I see no way around this being a MOTY candidate bout.

PWG: LEMMY Review

Date: January 2nd, 2016

PWG World Champion - Roderick Strong (Since December 2014 - Black Cole Sun)

PWG World Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks (Since June 2015 - Mystery Vortex III)

Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Hero, & Drew Gulak

The first show of 2016.

1) Brian Cage vs. Chris Dickinson

"I wonder if Chris Dickinson and Rick Knox share the same barber." - Excalibur

Cage was originally supposed to be facing Angelico here, but a minor injury kept the beloved luchador from competing on this particular weekend. SO, Cage got a new opponent in the form of the debuting Chris Dickinson. Dickinson and Cage have met before in Dickinson's home promotion in Rhode Island, Beyond Wrestling however this is obviously their first match together in Reseda. They pretty much went out and busted out all the marbles here. It took a second to get going, but once it did, it was quite the match. Cage & Dickinson dropped each on their heads numerous times with spots that will make you cringe and basically just beat the hell out of each other. Best Cage match in AWHILE. This ended up being my favorite match of the night! Bring Dickinson back!

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Timothy Thatcher vs. Drew Gulak

2015 PWG Year in Review

Wrestler of the Year: Roderick Strong
Despite his dastardly actions throughout the year, there's nobody in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla that had a better year than Roderick Strong. After nearly 10 years of putting his body on the line and being at just about every PWG event, Strong's hardwork paid off as he held the PWG World Championship for the entire calendar year. Having a number of must see title defenses along the way against the likes of Zack Sabre Jr, Mike Bailey, and Chris Hero. And how could I neglect to mention all the moments he was involved in that no one will ever forget such as the returns of Super Dragon & Adam Cole and the formation of Mount Rushmore 2.0. For many years Roderick Strong was a part of PWG, but in 2015, Roderick Strong WAS PWG.

Tag Team of the Year: The Young Bucks
For the third year in a row and fifth time overall, The Young Bucks are your PWG Tag Team of the Year. Despite missing the first few months of 2015 due to their busy schedule in Japan, The Bucks returned in June to dethrone the new beloved duo of Trevor Lee & Andrew Everett to regain the PWG Tag Team Titles and form Mount Rushmore 2.0 with Super Dragon & Roderick Strong on the same night. They would go on to have a hot streak of matches to close out the year battling all the fan favorites in Reseda in breathtaking contests like The Bucks are known for. The Bucks are undoubtedly the greatest tag team in PWG history and they head into 2016 with the tag titles around their waist as they continue to build their legacy.

Top 10 Matches of the Year:

PWG: All Star Weekend 11 - Night Two Review

Night One of the 11th edition of All Star Weekend saw Trevor Lee & Will Ospreay steal the show as well as the respective returns of Adam Cole and Sami Callihan to PWG. After all this insanity, what will Night Two have in store? It's time to find out!

December 12th, 2015

PWG World Champion - Roderick Strong - Since: Black Cole Sun (December 2014)

PWG World Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks - Since: Mystery Vortex III (June 2015)

Commentary: Excalibur, Chris Hero, & Chuck Taylor

1) Chuck Taylor vs. Kikutaro
Kikutaro grabs the mic following the introductions to talk about how happy he is to be back in PWG after seven years away. His last appearance in Reseda came in 2008 at Life During Wartime where he faced off with Necro Butcher, so needless to say, it's been a while. He offers Chuck a handshake only to kick him in the crotch and go for a bodyslam, but CHUCK REVERSES AND FALLS ON HIM! 1..2..3.. WHAT? This thing is over in a matter of seconds! The Kentucky Gentleman heads to the back only to be talked into a rematch as Kikutaro still had the mic in his hand. This was really all the comedy gold you'd expect from two wrestlers like Chuck & Kikutaro who are at the top of their class in their respective countries. Rick Knox takes part in the fun on several occasions..well, I wouldn't call it fun because he got kicked in the groin, but you get the idea! Light hearted way to get the evening off to a good start!

Match rating - **3/4

Post match, Kikutaro wants the mic again and reiterates how glad he is to be here. He also says that he hopes to be back more in 2016 since he's apparently moving to America. Before anyone can rejoice, Roderick Strong runs in from behind and nails him with a jumping knee. Vintage Mount Rushmore. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks follow the World Champion into the ring and stand over Kikutaro before booting him to the floor. Nick Jackson ends this shitfest by laying in the ring and saying that if we aren't down with what just happened, he's got two words for us - suck it.

2) Marty Scurll vs. Timothy Thatcher

PWG: All Star Weekend 11 - Night One Review

After months of waiting, All Star Weekend 11 began shipping this week and arrived at my doorstep exactly one day after the shipping date. On December 11th & 12th, PWG held their year end finale for 2015 in the form of these two events. If you keep up with social media, you've likely heard about all the craziness that took place however this is a review and I'm not spoiling anything right out of the gate. We're taking a look at this event with a clean slate as I've tried to avoid as many spoilers as possible by not watching the previews and such.

None the less, Night One is headlined by a PWG World Title Match that is 10 years in the making as Roderick Strong defends against Matt Sydal nearly a decade after their first much talked about meeting in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. A match that also took place at All Star Weekend, the 3rd edition, to be exact.

On top of that, you've got the return of long time PWG favorite Kenny Omega as well as the continuation of the British Invasion that began at BOLA with Marty Scurll, Will Ospreay, and Mark Andrews all back for their second set of PWG events.

PWG World Champion - Roderick Strong - Since: Black Cole Sun (December 2014)

PWG World Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks - Since: Mystery Vortex III (June 2015)

Commentary - Excalibur, Joey Ryan, & Chuck Taylor

1) Chuck Taylor vs. Mark Andrews
Extremely fun way to start the show here. Chuckie T played the big man for the first time, like, ever so much so that Excalibur referred to him as wrestling like Kevin Nash. I wouldn't exactly go that far, but I will say it was a nice change of pace. The Kentucky Gentleman remained a fan favorite here despite throwing Mark Andrews around like a small child and even taunting the fans at some points. After a few months out of the PWG limelight early in 2015, Chuck is back as a regular and just as entertaining as ever, PWG just isn't the same without him. He hasn't been in the promotion for 8 years for nothing! Lots of back and forth action here, but in the end the Awful Waffle gives Chuck the win over Mandrews and draws a huge pop from the crowd.

Match rating - ***

2) Ricochet vs. Marty Scurll

PWG: All Star Weekend 12 Preview

After much anticipation, PWG has announced the full cards for both nights of All Star Weekend 12 which will take place next month on March 4th & 5th.

 

NIGHT ONE:

 

 It was only a matter of time before this match happened and I'm personally looking forward to what should be a unique contest. (Much like all of Chuck Taylor's matches). Will the fact that Chuckie T referred to Trevor Lee as "fucking dumb" just two or three months into his PWG tenure give Lee some incentive to bring the unbridled fight to The Kentucky Gentleman? Or will we see a playful contest with both men's personalities on display?

Drew Galloway is coming off a failed attempt at wining the PWG World Title and Trent is coming off a loss to Chris Hero in a great match at BOWIE. Needless to say, both men need to rebound, but only one can do so here. These two have faced off previously in other promotions such as EVOLVE so it will be interesting to see who is able to pull out the win in Reseda.

 DREAM MATCH ALERT. This is a match that I've been wanting since Marty Scurll stepped foot into a PWG ring. Hero is still in the midst of one of the best runs of his career and Scurll is on fire as one of the driving forces in the British Wrestling resurgence. Both men are versatile in submissions & technical wrestling, which is what I'm hoping this match is based around. However, if Hero wants to put this thing away as quick as possible, we may see him turn to his strikes which he undoubtedly has an upperhand over Scurll on.

PWG: Bowie Results

Photo Credit: Brian Da Brain

On February 12th, PWG divulged onto Reseda for their second event of 2015 which saw the debut of Dalton Castle, a dream match between Zack Sabre Jr & Trevor Lee, and the announcement of a match we've all been waiting for.

1) Chuck Taylor defeated Dalton Castle

2) Chris Hero defeated Trent? in what was said to be the match of the night

3) Jack Evans defeated Sami Callihan

4) Adam Cole defeated Andrew Everett

5) Zack Sabre Jr defeated Trevor Lee

6) Mike Bailey defeated the returning Evil Uno

7) Roderick Strong defeated Drew Galloway to retain the PWG World Title

After the match, Adam Cole hit the ring and he & Strong assaulted Galloway only for Zack Sabre Jr to make the save which led to Strong finally granting Zack his title match next month at All Star Weekend.