-Taped from Reseda, California
-Your hosts are Excalibur and some people who may soon be future endeavored by WWE
-Brian Cage-Taylor vs. Kenny King
Match in Five Words or Less: Where’s the Berserker Rage?
Match Summary/Analysis: An injured Chuck Taylor is out with his half brother. Brian Cage-Taylor looks like Wolverine. He’s got yellow tights with claw marks. Johnny Ian messes up Kenny King’s ring introduction and takes crap for it. Feeling out process as Hero discuss his live for the Spice channel and Nickelodeon. King ducks a series of moves to show off his athletic ability. Uppercuts by Cage-Taylor. Back drop by King flips over. STO, elbow, and standing moonsault press. Hero comments on King not showing off like this in Ring of Honor. No shit. Cage-Taylor pulls King face first into the top rope. That was different. King springboards in with a neckbreaker into a bridge for two. Stretching submission before choking King out with a shirt. Leg lariat takes King down. Series of punches in the mount position. Leg drop and a chinlock. Backbreaker twisted into a neckbreaker. Choke against the ropes. Charge misses. King with a back drop. Punch exchange. King out of a Weapon X attempt and here come the lariats. Combo kick and a spinebuster. Another charge misses. Shotgun knees by King for two. Chuck Taylor gets up on the ring apron but goes down quickly. Cage-Taylor takes advantage with a discus lariat. 1-2-NO! Spin kick misses for King. King out with a kick. Chucky T grabs King’s leg and then brings him down to the floor, just as Cage-Taylor did the previous night. Outside into the inside vertical suplex. 1-2-NO! Cage-Taylor to the top. Chucky T grabs King’s leg again. Leaping kick and a Royal Flush gets King his first win in PWG. Worst match of the weekend so far, but this was still a solid open to the show. I do hope Kenny King can come back to PWG soon since he showed a lot more than he does in Ring of Honor.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Kenny King/12:44/***
-RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma) vs. Kevin Steen and Akira Tozawa
Match in Five Words or Less: Yuma Has A Death Wish
Match Summary/Analysis: Yuma and Goodtime start immediately since Steen nearly killed them at Kurt Russellreunion 2. It’s odd that Tozawa is having his last PWG match second on the card. Or is it? RockNES Monsters show incredible fire in beating Steen up. Tozawa can’t even get in the ring. Clotheslines by Steen. He invites his partner to join him. They take turns chopping Yuma. Continued double team work. Tozawa kicks Yuma around and yells at Rick Knox. He’s so great. Steen with a hard kick to the back. OW! Blind charge misses. RockNES take advantage with a series of double teams. Goodtime’s kicks to the back are nowhere near as painful though. Steen comes back with a draping DDT on Goodtime. He blows his nose in the head band and tosses it in the direction of Yuma. Beating commences on Goodtime. Goodtime with a hard strike in the midsection. Tozawa gets angry. Goodtime tries tagging Steen. Steen punches him IN THE FACE. Kicks in the corner. He almost chokes Goodtime out of the ring. Steen tries pulling him back in the ring but then just drops him. Steen mocks Goodtime’s attempts at a hot tag in a way that legit made me laugh. Tozawa goes after Yuma and bites him. Steen spears Goodtime into Yuma. Series of forearms. Steen kicks him and delivers a European uppercut. Goodtime sent up and over. Goodtime kicks Tozawa off the apron. Oh God. Here comes Steen. Goodtime out of the package piledriver. Yuma dropkicks Steen. Tozawa kicks Goodtime. Steen powerbombs Goodtime on the apron. Dive by Yuma. Dive by Tozawa. A second dive by Tozawa. What an incredible sequence. Tozawa hits a bicycle kick. Saito suplex gets two. Goodtime drives Tozawa down with his legs. Yuma hits a kick and hits a sexfactor with his legs. German suplex but Yuma can’t hook the alligator clutch. Charge misses. Goodtime sent into his partner. Bicycle kick leads to one of the best lines of the night by Hero. Yuma hits a samoan drop on Steen. DVD sends Yuma on top of Steen. 1-2-NO! Slap exchange and Steen comes out on top. Sharpshooter. Tozawa with a running knee to Yuma. Goodtime with a running knee to Steen. Then the two men double clothesline each other. What in the hell is going on? Steen climbs up top. Boot to the chest by Yuma. He goes for a rana, but… uh oh. Goodtime saves his partner. Dropkick to Tozawa on the outside. Enziguri/acecrusher combo. Tozawa breaks the count at two. He goes nuts on RockNES. Double team neckbreaker by RockNES. Powerbomb attempt but Tozawa ranas his opponent and himself over to the outside. Yuma and Steen battle on the apron. PACKAGE PILEDRIVER ON THE APRON!!!!! Steen covers and you can count to 30. Match ovuh. What a wacky and fun contest this turned out to be. Goodtime and Yuma came off looking quite well with two great matches, and I hope this clinches their spot as a regular team in PWG. Steen and Tozawa are a dream team who should be allowed to team somewhere in this world.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Kevin Steen and Akira Tozawa/17:53/***3/4
-Steen tries to make his peace with the RockNES Monsters. Yuma might as well be dead. Steeen and Tozawa help Goodtime roll Yuma out of the ring. That’s awfully nice of them. Steen then puts over Tozawa since this is his last night in PWG while living in the United States. Steen says Dragon Gate is dumb if they don’t push Tozawa to the moon (paraphrasing). Here comes a standing ovation and streamers. The Young Bucks attack Steen and Tozawa. Chris Hero in for the save. Nick Jackson eats a ridiculous elbow to the back of his head. Bet that wasn’t pleasant. Steen mocks the Bucks and makes foul-mouthed threats. Chris Hero then puts over Tozawa and talks about wanting to commentate his last match. Hero says PWG has become Tozawa’s home. “Please come back” chants. Never have they been more appropriate. Hero then puts over his own match with Tozawa. Hero talks about the changes to the night’s card because of Chucky T’s injury and lays down a challenge for a return match. The crowd? Yeah, they’ll accept it. Tozawa. He accepts it. And it’s on.
-Willie Mack vs. Ricochet
Match in Five Words or Less: Flippy
Match Summary/Analysis: Another change due to Chucky T’s injury as Ricochet was supposed to take his feud with him due west. Mack controls the mat wrestling portion of the contest. They eventually go to a stalemate. Mack with an overhead chokeslam. Hard bodyslam that would make Exekiel Jackson jealous. Leg drop followed by a series of chops. Kick to the tailbone and a second to the chest. Flying kick by Ricochet. Whip in the corner and a back elbow. Spinning enziguri. Standing moonsault for two. Foot stomp and the crowd boos him a bit. Ricochet actually maintains a slow pace. As I say this, he misses a splash off the middle rope. Huge kick to Ricochet. Charge misses. Ricochet with a botched kick of some sort. Mack sends his opponent up and delivers a stiff forearm. Wow. Whip, elbow, and another stiff elbow. Ricochet sent up and over. Enziguri. Moonsault misses. Flatliner. Phoenix splash off the middle rope. 1-2-NO! Whip and double knees in the corner. Back flip off Mack’s chest. Samoan drop by the Mack. Running shooting star press for two. WILLIE MACK DID THIS! Mack turns a cravat into a cutter. Cover for two. He catches Ricochet but is rana’d right on top of his head. Good gravy. Ricochet heads up top. Mack meets him. Headbutt sends him down. Meterora into a standing reverse 450. Shooting star press and Ricochet gets the win. Great little match with a definitive finish. This felt like a perfect showcase of two guys rising up the ladder. What a fantastic weekend for both guys.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Ricochet/12:12/***1/2
-The Cutler Brothers (Brandon and Dustin Cutler) vs. The Dynasty (Joey Ryan and Scorpio Sky)
Match in Five Words or Less: Dynasty Goes Perfect
Match Summary/Analysis: The Cutlers had a weak match with Generation Next relative to everything else on the card. Dustin Cutler gets on the stick before the match and calls the crowd “motherf’ers.” His words exactly. They threaten to leave the ring and not even wrestle the match. They talk about taking out two PWG originals and talk about being better than the Megapowers. To be fair, they never won tag team gold. Crowd is now behind the Dynasty after the Cutlers little diatribe. Ryan and Dustin start. Pair of jabs. An armdrag. One more jab and Ryan departs the ring. Brandon and Sky in the ring next. Huge shoulder tackle takes Sky down. Elbow misses. Back and forth they go. Sky with a nice punt to the head for two. Dynasty works over Brandon’s arm. Sky drops the legs and gets two. Brandon gouges Ryan’s eyes. Pair of chops as the crowd cheers Ryan on. This crowd can’t decide how they feel about Ryan. Another double team and Sky covers for two. Backbreaker and he holds it. 1-2-no. Ryan poses in front of Dustin. Sunset flip by Brandon. Tag to Dustin. Clotheslines for everyone. Back drop on Ryan. Sky with leg kicks. Sky almost kills himself coming off the middle rope. Brandon catches him and tosses Sky into Ryan. Heat segment on Ryan. Some nice heel work from the brothers. Ryan hits a release German suplex on Brandon. Sky in with a big kick. Leg kicks on Dustin. Rana. Whip in the corner and running knees. Missile dropkick off the second rope for two. Sky with a leaping knee strike. Triangle choke in the ropes. Brandon saves his partner… or he tries until Ryan hits a diving flying forearm. Swinging DDT by Sky on Dustin back in the ring. Boot by Dustin on Sky. Bodyslam of Ryan into Sky. Off the ropes. Six Second Abs by the Cutlers. 1-2-NO! Backbreaker into a flatliner. Sky with a bicycle knee. Ryan clothesline Brandon over the top. Dustin clotheslines both Dynasty members. Sky tries a springboard but takes a boot to the midsection. Sky sent into the apron face first. Jumping knee by Brandon. Dustin hits a spinebuster back in the ring. Sky sends Brandon into the post. Tandem piledriver set up. Ryan sends him outside. Sky locks in an ankelock on Dustin. Ryan prevents Brandon from saving his partner. Superkick by Ryan to the side of the head. Ryan hits a huge dive as Dustin has no choice but to tap out. Not a wacky balls to the walls tag team match but very solid. Cutlers looked far better against the locals than they did against Gen Next. There’s something about these guys working with guys for the first time that just doesn’t work out well. Too bad Brandon and Dustin have decided to move on from wrestling because I think they had a lot of potential as a team.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Dynasty/16:38/***1/4
-Eddie Edwards vs. El Generico
Match in Five Words or Less: Finally
Match Summary/Analysis: Ring of Honor tried putting this match together the night after Survival of the Fittest 2010, but Edwards went and got himself hurt. Steen boos Generico loudly and even manages to heckle from the commentary booth shaped like a table. Feeling out process. Series of armdrags followed by ten punches in the corner by Generico. Series of chops. Steen gets line of the night when referencing what Edwards will do to Steen. Chop by Edwards. Edwards kicks Generico into the tree of woe. Running dropkick from the outside. Kick to Generico’s head. Snap suplex for two. Back elbow by Generico. Edwards hits a dragon screw leg whip off the top rope. More focus on the knee. Psychology in an Eddie Edwards match? This is what happens when you get him away from Davey Richards. Generico comes back with the strikes. Edwards kicks him in the leg. Low bridge by Generico. He tries to dive BUT SELLS THE KNEE! Generico goes to the top rope. Somersault dive. Cross body off the top leads to a two count. Generico tries to stretch his knee out. Elbows by Edwards. Generico hits a blue thunder bomb. Edwards with a running leaping kick. Hard chops by Edwards. He goes Kobashi style for fun. Steen applauds. Pancake for two. Half nelson attempt by Edwards takes him in the corner. Generico hits a back elbow. Leaping kick and a backpack stunner. 1-2-NO! Into the half crab but Generico kicks away with his uninjured leg. Again Generico kicks away. Yakuza countered. Edwards rolls over and applies a single leg crab. Generico grabs the bottom rope. Kicks to the leg followed by slaps to Generico’s face. Some taunting. Back and forth with stiff strikes and kicks. Charge leads to an exploder by Generico. Edwrads with a back elbow and lungblower. Yakuza kick by Generico. Superkick and Saito suplex by Edwards. Yakuza kick by Generico. Superkick by Edwards. Kamikaze suplex by Edwards TAKES BOTH MEN UP AND OVER! Both men face off on the apron. Uh oh. They battle. Fans flee for their lives. Yakuza kick met with a boot by Edwards. Michinoku driver ON THE APRON!!!!! 1-2-NOOOOOOOOOOO! The thud Edwards’ head met was flat-out disgusting. Generico heads up top. Edwards hits a boot in the face. Big chop. Elbows knock Edwards down. but he comes right back. HURANCANRANA! LARIAT! 1-2-NO! Off the ropes with a second lariat. 1-2-NOOOO! Powerbomb. 1-2-single leg crab. Edwards leans back, and Generico has no choice but to tap. I’d watch this over Eddie’s match with Davey one million times. I loved this match a lot. Edwards worked the knee off, and it eventually paid off in the end with a submission ending. This weekend has produced some incredible matches, and this was yet another one.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Eddie Edwards/20:49/****
-PWG World Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)(champions) vs. Austin Aries and Roderick Strong
Match in Five Words or Less: Truly Generation Me
Match Summary/Analysis: Austin Aries dives on both Bucks before the bell rings. Why do all Young Buck matches seem to start with general insanity? Gen Next and the Bucks brawl all over the building. Aries with a double axehandle to the floor on Nick Jackson. Referee does an awful job getting control. COME ON REFEREE! Strong takes Matt Jackson into the men’s bathroom. CHOP IN THE BATHROOM! Austin Aries takes Nick Jackson in the women’s restroom. I like how no camera man is filming. Strong rams Matt Jackson into the urinal. Aries and Nick Jackson come out. Nick is covered in toilet paper. Aries shoves the paper in his face. Gen Next is in control as the bell finally rings. Bucks take Gen Next up and over to the outside. Strong taken out with a dropkick. Aries sends Nick’s knee into Matt’s head. Back elbow and leaping elbow drop by Aries. Double team by Strong and Aries. He snaps Nick Jackson by his neck. Matt finally tags in. Hard chops by Strong. Knee to the gut by Matt. Strong catches Matt in a cross body. Overhead slam. Aries with a springboard senton. Last Chancery. Matt Jackson gouges Aries’ eyes. Aries is taken into the Bucks’ corner. Heat segment as they work over Aries’ left arm. Aries tags out to Strong. Right hands and Strong is now taken into his opponents’ corner. Bucks drop elbows. Chop on Nick Jackson. On the apron. Strong goes for a vertical suplex. Shoulder to the midsection. Matt taken up and over. Sick kick and a back suplex on the apron. Matt hits a back elbow. Kick to the face of Strong. Matt takes him over toward the bar area. Heat segment on Strong continues. Kicks to Nick Jackson. Matt deposited to the outside. He recovers quickly enough to take Austin Aries off the apron. Bucks take turns delivering those oh so vicious back rakes and front rakes. It all climaxes with the springboard version. Crowd says they’re sick. Strikes by Strong. Double hip toss. Aries leaps off the apron. Jumping knee on Matt. Chop on Nick. Here’s Aries and it’s forearms for everyone. Back rakes. Nick speared into his brother. Up and over. Forearm. Aries off the top rope with a back rake. Kneebreaker/suplex combo. Chest rake into an STO followed by the pendulum elbow. Aries counters a spear into a Last Chancery. Nick goes for one of his own but ends up in a stronghold. Gen Next hooks in their submissions. Bucks escape. Double team by Gen Next. Matt elbows out of a fireman’s carry. Aries goes for the brainbuster/chop combo. Superkicks delivered but Aries kicks out at two. Aries powerbombed into Nick’s knees. Acecrusher by Matt on Aries for two. Matt calls for a brainbuster. Chop by Strong into the brainbuster by Aries. 1-2-NO! Acecrusher countered. Nick superkicks his own brother. Matt Jackson taken out. Kick to the brain. Aries goes for the missile dive but met with a kick. Strong hits a sick kick. 1-2-Nick breaks the count. Nick and Roddy have a forearm exchange. Nick with a running knee into Roddy. Double superkick. Superkick/DDT combination. 1-2-NOOOO! Aries sends Nick flying. Orange Crush backbreaker by Strong for 1-2-NOOOOO! Doomsday dropkick/powerbomb combination. 1-2-NO! They go for another double team but Matt crucifix pins Strong for three and a retention of their titles. I have way less of a problem with this finish than I do with the finish at DDT4 since I doubt Gen Next are coming back any time soon, and I have a feeling Tozawa and Steen have a bone to pick with the tag team champions. This was a freaking great tag team match. Great combinations by both teams. Gen Next hasn’t lost a single bit of their teamwork. The Bucks continue to show why they might be the best tag team in wrestling right now. This show is starting to reach the level of night one, and we’ve got two huge matches to go.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL PWG World Tag Team Champions- The Young Bucks/18:17/****
-Chris Hero vs. Akira Tozawa
Match in Five Words or Less: Thank You Tozawa
Match Summary/Analysis: The crowd is giving the match a standing ovation before it even starts. Crowd still loves Tozawa still. Patrick Hernandez is confused by the streamers. Chuck Taylor is on commentary and takes credit for this match taking place due to his injury. Hero goes for the STF right away. Into a roll-up for two. Exchange of headlocks. Shoulder tackles but Hero won’t move. Slap in the face. Tozawa finally gets momentum and gets the shoulder block. Hero with a series of chops. Elbow by Tozawa. He again fails on a bodyslam. Hero manages it and gets a standing senton. Tozawa gets his knees up, gets the bodyslam, and hits a standing senton of his own. Chops in the corner. Running forearm in the corner. He charges and Hero flattens him with a yakuza kick. Sweet Jebus. Hero continues beating Tozawa up with stiff strikes. Standing sentons. Dropkick by Tozawa. One dive. Hero… oh my God. Hero figuratively murders Tozawa with an elbow strike that must be seen (and heard) to be believed. Crowd goes silent for the first time this week. Tozawa crawls in at 19. Quick dropkick to the side of Tozawa’s face. 1-2-NO! Back suplex for two. Stomps to Tozawa’s forehead. Kick to the back of the head. Tozawa is taking one hell of a beating. Hero talks trash in order to inspire the man. Slaps to Tozawa’s face. Open hand slap. 1-2-NO! Tozawa wakes up. Crowd chants for him. Boots to the face no sold. One more followed by a- Tozawa rana! Shining wizard to Hero’s back. Charging elbow. Bicycle kick to his back. Hero catches the boot and delivers another hard elbow strike. Strikes followed by a boot. Tozawa hits a back elbow. Cravat suplex sends Tozawa into the corner. Charging elbow. Bicycle kick by Tozawa. German suplex. 1-2-NO! Down Hero goes. Three straight kicks by Tozawa. 1-2-NO! Arm trap but Hero elbows out of it. Cyclone Kill elbow. 1-2-NOOOO! Off goes the pad. Regalplex on top of Tozawa’s head. Ligerbomb. 1-2-NO! The sleeve and other elbow pad comes off. Tozawa backslide for two. La Maestral for 1-2-NO! Elbows by Tozawa. Roaring elbow by Hero. Back drop driver. Tozawa responds with one of his own. Hero meets him with a knee. Discus yakuza kick. 1-2-NOOOOOOO! SAITO SUPLEX! GERMAN SUPLEX! 1-2-NOOOO! Saito suplex but Hero gets right up. Another. Hero wears down. A third one and Hero is not so well. Arm capture German suplex. 1-2-3. Tozawa wins an incredible match, one that I thought that was way better than their first encounter at BOLA. The story of the match was simple. Hero threw everything but the kitchen sink and it wouldn’t end Tozawa.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Akira Tozawa/17:36/****1/4
-Standing ovation for Akira Tozawa. The crowd wants him to come back and says they’ll miss him. I could not agree more with the Reseda crowd on this one. Tozawa thanks the crowd and says he can’t speak English. Tozawa tells the crowd to shut the fuck up one more time before almost breaking down in tears. Hero and Tozawa hug it out. Just imagine having to follow this up. There can’t possibly be any more, right?
-PWG World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli (champion) vs. Low Ki
Match in Five Words or Less: Claudio Reigns Supreme
Match Summary/Analysis: This literally isn’t even fair. And poor Claudio having to follow everything that’s already happened this weekend. I love how Claudio just holds the title belt up during ring introductions now. Ironic these two are meeting since Low Ki is coming off a WWE run, and Claudio Castagnoli may soon be heading up north. Quickly into a triangle choke in the ropes by Ki. Series of kicks by the challenger. European uppercut by the champion. Double boots to Claudio. Charge into the corner. Ki elbows in the corner. Champion departs. Dropkick through the ropes and Claudio ends up in the third row. Ki takes Claudio around the ringside area for kicks. Literally. Claudio places Ki on the top rope but gets elbowed. Stiff kick. Ki actually mocks Claudio. Tilt a whirl backbreaker by the champion. HEY! Camel clutch. Another shot to the back. Claudio really focuses on Ki. Claudio streches the challenger. European uppercut by Claudio. To the outside. Ki sent sternum first into the apron. Another uppercut back in the ring. Another to the back. Backbreaker followed by a second. He spread the challenger across his knee. Ki attempts a comeback but is hit hard with a lariat. Very rarely will you see a Low Ki match where he gets this little offense. Into a powerbomb position. Claudio drops him and swings him around. At least the fans in Reseda can count. This places them a step up on Philadelphia. Bicycle kick for two. Gutwrench suplex. Bearhug as Claudio continues to dominate. Ki elbows out so Claudio just kicks him away with very little regard. Kick to the midsection. Sunset flip into a double stomp. Welcome back to the match Low Ki! Charge misses. Series of kicks. Flying elbows. Uppercut blocked. Three kicks leads to a two count. Kicks to Claudio’s chest. He blocks the last one and wants another big swing. Ki lifts himself up and hooks a dragon sleeper. Claudio placed on the top rope. Boot to the face and a flying European uppercut. 1-2-NO! Crowd seems completely gassed. They’re not cheering nearly as much as they probably should be for this main event. Claudio turns a vertical suplex attempt into a UFO!!! 1-2-NO! Trio of uppercuts. Pop-up version met with Ki’s stomp. Dropkick in the corner. KI CRUSHER! 1-2-NO! Claudio prevents Ki from hitting the double stomp. European uppercut. Fallaway slam attempt countered into a dragon sleeper. Ki headbutts the champion off. Double meet with two feet. RICOLA BOMB! 1-2-NOOOO! Pop-up European uppercut ends Ki’s night and All Star Weekend. MERCY! Fantastic match that really needs to be watched to be appreciated. They didn’t try to top what the previous matches did but instead just had a very good professional wrestling battle. Claudio has had to deal with following so many incredible shows and matches in his time as world champion, and he’s stepped up to the plate and delivered great performances. He’s already got to be considered one of the best PWG champions of all time.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL PWG World Champion- Claudio Castagnoli/20:10/****
-Line of the Night: Kevin Steen during the Generico/Edwards match, “I think Eddie is going to chop him back and probably murder him in the process, which I may or may not masturbate to.”
-Finish of the Night: Claudio decisively pins Ki. That doesn’t happen very often. A very well executed clean finish that made Claudio look like a monster.
-MVP: Akira Tozawa participated in two incredible matches and stole the hearts and minds of everyone in Reseda. I’m going to miss him on every PWG show he doesn’t wrestle on forever, not only because of his wrestling ability but because of his charisma. You want a guy who has “it?” That’s what Tozawa has, not some jacked up tall guy who has “Silent Rage.”
-The Verdict: As much as I think night one is worth your time, night two is even better and is now the single best indy show I’ve seen in 2011. This card had four four star matches and nothing else below three stars. This card also has everything and a lot more. Akira Tozawa’s performance and interaction with the Reseda crowd made this a truly special night that I won’t forget. A very easy recommendation for anyone who considers themselves a fan of indy wrestling.
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