-Taped from Reseda, CA
-Your hosts are Excalibur and his amazing friends
Match in Five Words or Less: The Penultimate Farewell
Match Summary: Immediate running kick by Taylor. Forearm and a European uppercut. Switch around and armdrag. Cartwheel. Lucha roll into a two count. Ryan begs off. I guess the pace is too quick for him. Ryan backs off and crotches himself in the post. That was different. Taylor up and over as Ryan charges. Quick two count and single leg crab. Ryan grabs the bottom rope. Ryan underneath and a pumphandle overhead suplex. Series of knees in the back. Boot by Ryan and a shot to the back. Choking along the bottom turnbuckle. Chinlock. Taylor gets out. Dropkick connects. Taylor misses a kick but hits a rolling forearm. Running yakuza in the corner and a front chancery suplex. Dropkick off the second rope. Roundhouse kick by Taylor on Ryan. Ryan comes in with a spear. Powerbomb gets two. Whip in the corner. Ryan gets a boot up. Taylor hits an elbow. Cross armbreaker. Ryan counters into a two count. Scissors kick by Taylor. Whip in the corner. Boot by Taylor. Ryan hits a spinebuster. Knee to the midsection by Ryan. Elbow by Taylor. Splash mountain hit. Taylor rolls him up and hits a Regalplex for two. Kick to the head. 1-2-NO! Ryan hits a superkick. Taylor flips him off. Ryan hits a second superkick. A third one turned into a roll-up for two. Ryan has a Tazmission blocked. Flipping neckbreaker out of nowhere and Taylor gets three.
Match Analysis: Not a great match by any means but fine for what it was. Ryan actually amused me with a couple spots and seemed a little bit more inspired than usual. Decent enough start to the show as Taylor can hopefully get pushed into a midcard level position. His strike and submission based offense would seem to fit in well with this roster, and he’s another in a long series of guys who have come improved significantly in 2012.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Ryan Taylor/7:55/**1/4
Mat ch in Five Words or Less: First Of Two
Match Summary: Elgin is scheduled for a world championship three way later on tonight based on his victory over Ricochet within BOLA the previous month. Ricochet actually pinned Steen in the tournament. To the corner and a clean break. Feeling out process. Off the ropes they go. Each goes for their finish. Elgin blocks an armdrag. Edwards can’t send him in the corner. Quick roll-up for two and we start again. Trio of running kicks by Edwards no sold. Exchange of forearms. Chops by Edwards. Elgin with a back elbow. Elgin runs through a chop and hits a shoulder tackle. Clotheslines in the corner by Elgin. Edwards turns it around and hits a number of chops. Back and forth they go. Elgin comes out on top with four consecutive clotheslines. Edwards with slaps and an enziguri. Edwards catches himself. Back elbow. Lungblower blocked. Air raid crash by Elgin. 1-2-NO! Stomps by Elgin. Elgin lifts Edwards up for a stalling vertical suplex. Over a minute later, Elgin drops Edwards. Edwards can’t even stand. Clubbering blows across the chest. Leaping leg drop. In the ring for two. Knees in the back by Elgin. Powerbomb blocked. Back drop by Edwards. Elgin catches Edwards with boots. Enziguri by Edwards. Backpack slap turned into a chaos theory. Edwards on his feet and low bridges Elgin. Running kick to the back. Sick kick nearly takes him out of the ring. Tope suicida into the three rows of chairs. Running kick back in the ring gets two. Elgin takes him in the corner. Boots. Elgin hits the side suplex out of the vertical suplex position. Yeesh. Quite the snap on that. Knee strikes to the head. Edwards with slaps. Exchange. Enziguri by Elgin. Clothesline misses. Frontplex by Edwards. 1-2-NO! Double stomp misses. Roll through into the single leg crab. Elgin kicks away. Grab of the leg. Edwards holds onto the ropes. Chaos theory finally hit by Elgin. 1-2-NO! Elgin climbs to the top rope. Running kick by Edwards. Superplex. Elgin rises up and screams. Clotheslines do nothing. They trade. Elgin nails his arm. Boot to the arm by Edwards. Backfist by Elgin. Clothesline by Edwards. 1-NO! Superkick by Edwards. Tiger suplex. 1-2-NOOOOO! Double stomp by Edwards. Sunset flip but Elgin rolls through. Rana by Edwards. Forearm by Elgin. German suplex sends Edwards head first into the turnbuckle. Rolling elbow. Backfist. Bucklebomb. Twisting powerbomb and Elgin wins.
Match Analysis: Yes, that was the second match of the show. Why would you ask that question? Elgin did not wrestle like a man who had two matches tonight. These guys gave it everything they had for over 15 minutes. Fantastic ROH style main event really early on too. Loved the strikes and the incredible series of counters which came in the waning moment. Outstanding work from both men as both guys have delivered pretty consistently this year.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Michael Elgin/16:02/***1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: Heel Monsters Rule
Match Summary: Apparently, the heel turn has taken based on the chants. The referee rings the bell with all four men in the ring. B-Boy and Goodtime start. Yuma attacks from behind and clear the ring. Goodtime sends Yuma diving awkwardly into B-Boy. Springboard splash to the floor. Yuma sends B-Boy in the ring. Yuma with a shot. B-Boy looks angry and begins no-selling. Cheap slap. B-Boy tells him to hold up and just elbows him right in the face out of the ring. That was tremendous. Yuma has a seat in the front row. Goodtime places him in the ring. Running dropkick by B-Boy. Goodtime tags in legally. Good idea since his partner is knocked out. Goodtime wants the black guy. Crowd says he’s racist. B enters. Punches hit. Kicks miss. Kick to the midsection by B hits. Series of armdrags. Up into the headscissors and roll-up for two. Diving back elbow. Quick cover for one. Goodtime sent underneath. Leg lariat into the neckbreaker by B-Boy. B-Boy stands on Goodtime’s hair and pulls him up by the beard. B-Boy rakes at the face and spits at Yuma. Double teams from the babyface side as they take turns beating Goodtime up. Goodtime whips B in the corner. Forearms for both Monsters. Running knee by Goodtime. Yuma DDTs B on the apron. Heat segment on B. Yuma mocks B and does indeed make things a little racist. B tries to make his way to the corner. Goodtime knocks B-Boy out of the corner. Boot and he drives B into the middle turnbuckle with his boots. Cannonball senton by Goodtime. B dropkicks Goodtime and he ends up hitting a samoan drop on his own partner. B-Boy with a running forearm by Goodtime. Elbow. Clothesline on Yuma. Goodtime attacks from behind. Kick on Goodtime. Stunner by Yuma on his own partner as B-Boy helps. Exploder to Goodtime on top of Yuma. B- Boy with a neckbreaker and Goodtime DDTs Yuma. Goodtime prone in the corner. Yuma caught. B-Boy sends Yuma into his own partner. Two count on Yuma. B back in. Up and over. Superkick. All four men in the ring. B-Boy goes for a tiger driver on Yuma. Rana. B superkicks him. Bicycle kick misses. Enziguri and boot by Goodtime. Acecrusher by B-Boy. All four men down. B makes his way to the top rope. Swanton misses. Goodtime powerbomb. Facebuster with his feet as Yuma hits. Frog splash by Goodtime. 1-2-NO! Goodtime climbs up. B-Boy crotches him. Goodtime knee’d out of the ring. Leaping kick by B on a prone Yuma. Double underhook. B-Boy climbs. Double stomp into the backbreaker. B to the top rope. Swanton. Dive hit on Goodtime. B-Boy lifts Goodtime over. Roll-up and a hold of the tights get the Rocknes Monsters a big victory.
Match Analysis: Good solid tag team match that probably went a little long in the tooth. I like the Monsters as heels. It’s freshened them up significantly in a crowded babyface company. Yuma in particular is a pretty easy guy to hate based on his look, behavior, and mannerisms. Fun little match and most importantly, the right team won.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Rocknes Monsters/16:11/***
Match in Five Words or Less: Even Crazier
Match Summary: Richards with an immediate boot. Forearm exchange. Boot to the gut. Callihan with a slap. Ankle lock countered. Big dive from Callihan. That was the first 20 seconds or so. Running elbow to the head as Richards is prone in chair. Chop. Backrake and he goes to work on the mouth of Richards. Series of high kicks. Running boot blocked. Callihan sweeps him out of the ring. Richards sent back first into the side of the ring. Chop by Callihan. Back in the ring they go. Bodyslam into the ropes. Callihan locks in a reverse trailer hitch. Richards grabs the ankle lock. Callihan stands and drops down. Headbutt sends Richards into the corner. Chop and stomp. Callihan up and over. Dropkick by Richards. Running boot misses once. It does not miss twice as Callihan is kicked down to the floor. Kick across the chest. Back in the ring and a kick to the top part of the leg. Trailer hitch. Richards quickly turns over. Indian deathlock and Richards sits down. Leg kick by Callihan. Richards with a back kick to the midsection. Snapmare. Richards wraps up the right arm. He bridges down. So disgusting. Cloverleaf applied. Boots by Richards. Spinning toe hold. STF. Kicks to the head by Richards. Wow. Richards says he’s better than Bryan Danielson. Crowd goes “No.”Richards goes “Yes” after a snap suplex. Leaping kick by Callihan as Richards is on the top rope. Headbutts send Callihan down. Superkick to the left knee. Exchange of kicks. Richards kicks him in the midsection. Running forearm misses. Enzguri by Callihan. Pair of face washes. Richards goes for the alarm clock. Figure four leglock by Callihan after the dragon screw leg whip. Richards grabs the bottom rope. Running clothesline. Waistlock countered. Boot to the head and a German suplex by Richards. Richards takes Callihan over and eventually gets a cross armbreaker. Stretch muffler by Callihan. Richards into the sharpshooter. Callihan manages an inside cradle for two. Exchange of kicks and strikes. Lariat by Callihan straight into a two count. Callihan misses a splash. Richards hita a running forearm. Bicycle kick by Callihan. Alarm clock by Richards. Running forearm. Callihan placed on the top rope. Superplex. Richards rolls through and hits a brainbuster. 1-2-NO! Richards misses a double stomp. Tombstone piledriver. 1-2-NO! Double stomp. 1-2-NO! Into the ankle lock. Callihan pushes him away. Running kick to the face by Richards. Callihan rises up anyway. Spit. Slap exchange. Kicks to the midsection by Richards. Callihan with a roll-up for two. Stretch muffler. Richards roll-up gets two. Bicycle kick by Callihan. Stalling back drop driver. Lariat. 1-NO! More slaps. Callihan with another lariat. 1-2-NO! Stretch muffler. Richards finally taps to the seated stretch muffler.
Match Analysis: Funny to think this was both shorter and crazier than their AAW match. What a battle between these two men as they tore into each other and kept the pace up for all 17 minutes. Not sure how often I want to see them wrestling against each other but these two times have been quite the spectacle.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Sami Callihan/ 17:22/****
Match in Five Words or Less: Another First Timer
Match Summary: Great to see PWG continue to take advantage of the fact they can put DG USA wrestlers against ROH wrestlers and profit off the stupidity of those promotions. It’s also Roddy Strong versus a fast, energetic guy. That usually equals awesomeness. Eddie Edwards is making his PWG commentary debut. Arm work from both men. Swann applies a headlock. Strong reverses. Swann applies a headscissors. Strong out. Tease of a test of strength. Eventually they lock knuckles, and it doesn’t go well for Swann. Up and over into a monkey flip. Strong on top. Swann continually bridges out. Strong cartwheels out. Swann flips on his feet. Rebound armdrag and a dropkick. Just like that, Swann is over for life in Reseda. 10 punches in the corner. Strong with a chop. Stomp to the back. Chops in different corners. Swann with a forearm. Chop. Strong with a chop of his own. Kick to the ribs. Swann catches himself in the ropes. Strong catches Swann and drops him back first into the side of the ring. Strong tosses Swann side first into the post. Series of kicks by Strong. Vertical suplex. Sitting abdominal stretch. Swann battles out. Forearm by Strong. Spin kick by Swann. Axe kick sucka. Rolling splash met with knees. Strong with a cover for two. Uranagi backbreaker gets two. Chinlock by Strong. Swann backs Strong in the corner. Back elbows by Swann. Strong takes him up and over. Shoulder to the midsection by Swann. He comes in and his back nails the knees of Strong. Yeesh. Chop from Strong. Taunting kicks from Strong. Strong with a series of ridiculous blows to the back. Swann cradles him for two. Knee to the midsection by Strong. Another knee. Chop in the corner. Swann whipped in the corner. Strong with a boot out of the corner. To the middle rope. Swann with a slap. Step-up rana. Strong holds his leg. Elbows from Swann. Corkscrew dropkick. Strong rolls outside. Corkscrew tope con helo hits. Strong tossed back in the ring. Rolling swanton gets two. Swann heads to the top rope and elbows away at Strong. He lands on his feet. Spin kick caught. Strong tosses him in the corner. Knee strike. Running forearm. Backbreaker. Swann blocks the drunk slam. Boot and enziguri out of the corner. Drunk slam. Strong immediately takes him up in the gutbuster. 1-2-NO! Stronghold. Swann rolls him over for two. Spin kick by Swann. Chop by Strong. Slap by Swann. Extended exchange. Chop misses. Lethal Injection hits for Swann. 1-2-NO! Standing 450 splash. 1-2-NO! Swann to the top rope. Frog splash misses. Strong covers for two. Crucifix pin nearly gets three out of nowhere. Jumping knee strike. Orange crush backbreaker and Strong comes out on top in another very good match.
Match Analysis: These two had such great chemistry with each other. Perfect match-up of styles as Swann used his high flying to counter Strong’s hard-hitting. I’d love to see Strong make the switch over to DG USA for a bit just to see him work all the high flyers and back break all of them to death. Not sure how much people have seen of Swann but he got himself over quite quickly and would appear to have established himself as a PWG regular right from the start.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Roderick Strong/18:02/***1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: Mack Is Blonde!
Match Summary: Great to see two of the locals wrestling in the second half of the show in an important position. Crowd is clearly behind Mack. Knee to the midsection by Cage. Shoulder tackle by Cage goes nowhere. Slap and back to the headlock goes Mack. Shoulder tackle by Mack doesn’t work. Slap across the face. Boot and forearm by Cage. European uppercut. Mack hits a leaping shoulder tackle. Cage rolls outside. Chop. Mack enjoys a beverage and spits it in Cage’s face. Shot and forearms by Cage. Mack sent head first into the side of the ring. Chop against the post. Mack with a vertical suplex. Mack sends Cage back in the ring. Backbreaker straight into a bodyslam. Knees in the back. Running neck snap. Knee lift on Cage. Mack face plants Cage. Mack headbutt. Whip in the corner. Running shoulder tackle. Mack hits a spinebuster into the corner. Mack misses a blind charge. Backcracker hits for Cage. Back elbow and stiff kick in the back. Stalling vertical suplex by Cage. He can’t hold him up for long though. Knee lift to the head. Samoan drop by Cage. He kips but misses a springboard moonsault. Boot out of the corner. Float around neckbreaker. Running back elbow. Leg lariat. Bodyslam. Off the ropes with a leaping leg drop. Exploder hits. 1-2-NO! Cage with a boot. Neckbreaker. Blind charge misses. Running forearm and kick hits. Back drop driver gets two. Mack knocks Cage down. Frog splash but he rolls through. Flatliner by Cage. Cage plants Mack into a version of the Psycho Driver. Mack reverses into a samoan drop. Kip up and moonsault press. Mack to the top rope. Cage hits him in the back. Mack with a leaping kick. This sends Cage down to the mat. Spear for two. Moonsault misses. Cage deadlifts him and hits a Hawaiian Smash. Boot and twisting neckbreaker. 1-2-NO! Leaping kick by Cage. Brainbuster from the apron and back to the ring. Discus forearm turned into a powerslam. Sitdown powerbomb gets two for Mack. Punch exchange. Weapon X turned into a sunset flip by Mack. Discus lariat takes out the referee. Mack hits a sitdown powerbomb but no referee. Chocolate Thunder Driver countered. Kick misses. Cage hits a low blow. Weapon X hits.
Match Analysis: Good match that leads me to believe this feud will continue going into next year. I’m glad PWG is emphasizing a feud between two locals. Not the best match of the show but these two had to follow a great deal just in the sixth match of the show. Hoping we get more and even better matches from these two.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Brian Cage/18:00/***1/4
Match in Five Words or Less: Alpha And Omega
Match Summary: Great to see PWG pull this coo off in bringing back Omega to the United States. Nick trips and falls while posing. Generico starts with Matt. Crowd chants the match is awesome before physical contact is made. Some t-shirt shenanigans. Generico chops Nick. Matt is the legal Buck though, so they have a feeling out process to start. Quick exchange of one counts. Matt figuratively shoots Generico in the face. Matt has a kick blocked. Chops from Generico. Matt rolls out of the ring. Nick in next. Shove from Nick. Crotch chops. chop misses. Generico with some of his own. Nick up and over. Shoulder tackle. Up and over. Chop. Armdrag and a dropkick from Nick. Omega finally becomes the legal man. Feeling out process between Nick and Omega. Very quick pace established. Jawbreaker by Omega. Matt with a shoulder tackle. Chops from Omega. Leapfrog. Monkey flip and kick to the back of the head of Matt. Nick with a shoulder tackle. He leaps but gets met with a yakuza kick. High five by Generico and Omega. Duel tope con helos. Omega stomps Nick on the outside. Matt head inside. Omega puts on a hat. Full nelson. Nick grabs the official’s shirt and rakes the eyes. Bodyslam but an elbow drop misses. Omega puts the hat back on. The hat goes backward. Oh no. IT’S TIME TO GO OVER THE TOP! Arm wrestling battle. Omega goes OVER THE TOP. Nick his a frog splash on Omega. Now Matt puts the hat on. Taunting kicks in the corner. Right hands by Omega. Guillotine across the top rope. Heat segment by the Bucks. Omega battles back with strikes on Nick. Bicycle knee sends him down. Wow. Hat tossed. Generico with multiple clotheslines for everyone. Nick back dropped. Atomic drop on Nick. 10 punches in the corner…Nick drops him head first on the top rope. Generico has his face raked across the top rope. 10 punches in the corner. Generico shoves him away. Chop but he gets taken down. Right hands by Matt. Choking in the corner. Bucks continue working Generico over. Generico chops his way back. Jawbreaker by Matt. Double hip toss and dropkick. No pose though. That’s disappointing. Nick with a springboard splash. Ring my bell and a chinlock. Backrakes by the Bucks. Generico catches him and hits a back suplex. Omega heads to the top rope and hits a cross body. Polish hammers for them. He ducks and dodges. Low dropkicks. Double bulldogs but only two. Full nelson. Croiyt’s Wrath countered. Back elbow nails Omega. Rana by Omega. 2K1 bomb. 1-2-NO! Nick whipped in the corner. Back elbow by Nick. Spinning kick. Tag to Matt. Elbows to the back of the head. Blue thunder powerbomb by Generico gets two. Yakuza misses. Nick hits a leaping kick. Quesa dora facebuster. 1-2-NO! Matt with a running clothesline. Superkick. Corkscrew acecrusher. 1-2-NO! Generico meets Nick on the top rope. Matt grabs his leg. Generico rolls and tags Omega. Right hand. Nick battles back and sends him off. Omega catches a diving Nick with a dropkick. Jesus. Superkick by Matt. Superkick on Generico. Nick hits one on Omega. Omega tells them to stop. Enziguri on Matt. Nick’s foot sent into Matt. Dragon suplex on Nick. Dragon suplex on Matt and he bridges over for two. Running elbow misses. Up and over. Powerbomb into the enziguri. They call for double 450 splashes. They miss. Omega ranas them both over. Generico with yakuza kicks on both men. Half nelson suplex by Generico leads to the haduken on Nick by Omega. 1-2-NO! Finishers countered. Spike tombstome piledriver. Nick rolls over. 1-2-NO! Bucks go for the finish. Omega goes for Croiyt’s wrath and they flatten the referee. Matt with a low blow. Omega sends Matt into his brother. Generico hits an exploder on Nick in the corner. Yakuza kick. Generico hits a top rope brainbuster on Matt as Omega hits a Croiyt’s wrath FROM THE TOP ROPE! Rick Knox leaves the booth and counts three.
Match Analysis: Just a seriously fun and awesome tag team match between four of the best wrestlers in the world. It’s a shame Omega can’t come back more often, but it was a treat to see him on this night. The Bucks don’t have bad matches anywhere but especially in Reseda. I could watch these four battle another 20 times and probably never got tired of it. Best match of the year and one of my favorite PWG matches of the year.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: El Generico and Kenny Omega/26:03/****1/4
-Omega thanks everyone and puts both the promotion and fan over.
Match in Five Words or Less: Next Up, Adam Cole
Match Summary: Elgin and Steen get in each other’s faces. Ricochet is a mere distraction. Shoving between Elgin and Steen. Pele kicks for both of them right away. Duck and dodge. Headscissors and dropkick on the champion. Tope con helo on Elgin. Corkscrew splash and a kip up on the outside. Well, that’s ridiculous. Stalling senton on Steen. Series of kicks. Boot locked. Steen can’t go end over end. Ricochet in the corner. Chop. Whip but a charge misses. Step-up kick. Acecrusher follow-up on the champion. Elgin comes back in with a springboard back elbow. Ricochet misses an enziguri. Elgin deadlifts him. Ricochet lands on his feet. Back elbow. Swinging DDT blocked. Elgin sits down on a backbreaker. Steen hits a running senton on both men. Cannonball on Elgin. Steen brings Ricochet up and over. DDT back in the ring. Cover for two on Ricochet. Elbow in the corner on Elgin. To the other side for a chop on Ricochet. Toe kick. Chop. Headbutt. Elgin gets his boot up. Right hand by Ricochet. Challengers take their turns. Steen runs through a clothesline. Double clothesline but Elgin no sells. Clothesline of his own. Clubbering blows and a knee by Elgin. Stalling vertical suplex broken up by Ricochet. Running shooting star press hit on Elgin for two. Elgin set up. Phoenix splash misses. Steen applies a sharpshooter. Boot to the face by Elgin. Samoan drop/fallaway slam combination. Good God. Elgin comes off the top rope but is met with knees to the lower back. Elgin put in position. Ricochet with a right hand on a prone Steen. Steen and Ricochet battle. Into the firemen’s carry. Finlay roll on top of Elgin. 1-2-NO! Steen climbs again. Swanton met with knees. Steen with a clothesline. Elgin hits a Bossman slam. Backfist blocked. Pele kick turned into the sharpshooter. Ricochet to the top rope. METEORA! Forearms on Elgin. He refuses to be whipped. Roll-up gets two. Clothesline misses. Ricochet rolls. Elgin plants him. 1-2-NO! Steen pulls out Elgin and powerbombs him against the ring apron. Spin kick by Ricochet. To the top rope. Shooting star press to the outside on Elgin! Steen gets hit with one back in the ring. 1-2-NO! Ricochet climbs to the top rope. Elgin stops him from diving. Chop to the chest. Shove by Ricochet. Steen crotches Ricochet. Back elbow on Elgin. Backfist by Elgin. Bucklebomb. Ricochet caught and bucklebombed into Steen. Twisting powerbomb but Ricochet turns that into a reverse rana. Nasty powerbomb by Steen. Package piledriver and Steen retains in a borderline war.
Match Analysis: I’m glad we got a shorter main event than usual considering the length of some of the other matches. Very good three way as all three men integrated themselves well. None of the typical three way match clichés were used here. Props to Elgin for pulling off two matches and for a great flurry of action the final couple minutes. The final two moves from Steen looked nasty.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL PWG World Champion-Kevin Steen/11:29/***1/2
-Steen calls for the microphone and announces the next show is December just like Christimas. All Steen wants is Cole’s head and balls on a stick. Well then.
The Verdict: Like you even need to ask.
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