Pro Wrestling Guerilla is a promotion that more than any other, speaks for itself. It’s a company that can release a card and have people salivating. Put tickets on sale and the front row is sold out within five minutes. The injury bug causing the tag team champions to not lose the belts in the ring? Who cares when they can put their newest and most over team over that night in one of the best matches of 2012? PWG plays by different rules than any other North American independent wrestling promotion. It is fitting they’re on the left coast because in so many ways, they are the exception to almost every unwritten rule in indy wrestling. Their 2012 was on the surface not all that different from 2009, 2010, or 2011. But look deeper and you’ll see just how much PWG has changed.
Kevin Steen won the PWG world title once again at World’s Finest and carried the promotion on his back yet again. He became the second man to hold the PWG world and tag team titles at the same time. Unfortunately, he had to forfeit the tag belts due to Super Dragon once again becoming injured. Steen took on some of the new blood such as Willie Mack and Brian Cage while also taking on a very familiar face in Michael Elgin. On the other side Adam Cole was plucking along as a team wrestler until his performance in a ladder match at Threemendous III made everyone stand up and take notice. Then the Panana City Playboy walked out for the first round of the 2012 Battle of Los Angeles, and a singles star was born. Cole won zero singles matches as a PWG roster member before August 31, 2012. By December 31, 2012, he had won five and ended the year as world champion.
The other huge story of the year was the Super Smash Brothers finally getting a chance in a major indy after being off the grid the last couple years. SSB made a strong stand for MVP and tag team of the year with their performances in DDT4, Death to all but Medal, and Threemendous III. With a significant amount of help from the Young Bucks, SSB rose almost as quickly as Adam Cole did in the singles division. They may not have “storylines,” but there is no promotion that delivers in the ring better than the company out of Reseda, California.
MVP: Kevin Steen
This is the second company for which Steen is the MVP. Unlike Ring of Honor, this was very competitive. The Young Bucks, SSB, El Generico, and Adam Cole were all considerations. Steen really is the bridge that brings everything together as he was in big time matches all year and was able to put over both Ricochet and Adam Cole strongly. As great as Cole is, his victory being over Steen was made all the more important because IT’S KEVIN STEEN! As a wrestler turned commentator, he’s by far the most entertaining. In every position, Steen delivered. Best of all, he didn’t have to wrestle seven times on each show this year. It’s a close race, but based on his holding the world title most of the year and match quality, Steen is the choice for MVP.
Tag Team of the Year: The Super Smash Brothers
They should probably share this award with the Young Bucks given that they were connected at the hip with them through most of the year. However, SSB really does deserve to be mentioned on their own based on the work they put in and where they’ve come from. After an extended Chikara stint and some time in Ring of Honor, they spent a great of 2011 in obscurity. Thankfully, they have risen to prominence once again as a top level tag team. They’ve become the junior versions of Steenerico except they have their own pizzazz. Player Dos is an underrated athlete and Uno moves well for his size. I’m a huge mark for SSB and hope their PWG success can begin infesting other indy feds as well.
Breakout Star and Promo of the Year: Adam Cole
Again, similar to Ring of Honor, Adam Cole broke out in a big way essentially over three shows. The moment he walked out as a heel to wrestle El Generico was the moment he got made. His performances at DDT4 and in the ladder match at Threemendous III certainly deserve kudos, but being able to advance from just being a wrestler and more into a personality is a major step in his development. What does it say about a promotion that they can book a guy to lose almost every tag match he’s in and then book him to win the 2012 Battle of Los Angeles…and the the world title…against Kevin Steen of all people…in a Guerilla Warfare match…at the last show of the year. Any other promotion and this is pure lunacy. But PWG is the exception to the rule.
Oh and THIS PROMO is why Mr. Cole is promo of the year. Seriously, if I’m a WWE scout, I’m buying a beach house with all the potential money this guy could draw for me as a smarmy heel.
Honorable Mention: Excalibur
It’s no secret that I love almost every PWG DVD. I’ve recommended all of them ever since Threemendous II back in 2009 for God’s sake. As good as the wrestling is, I cannot imagine enjoying a DVD nearly as much without Excalibur on commentary. Maybe he’s not always the most professional and perhaps he deviates from talking about the matches a little too often, but he brings fun and excitement to commentary, perfectly representative for PWG. As I’ve hinted at many times in this column, what works for PWG generally only works for them and would work for no other independent wrestling company. Excalibur’s commentary plays into that.
Wrestler to Watch in 2013:Brian Cage
I could see Cage going into so many directions next year. TNA. WWE. If Cage is around for all of 2013, I have to believe he should get a PWG title reign. Cage has the look of someone a mainstream federation would look for but he can absolutely hang with the best wrestlers on the independent scene. Because of his impressive feats of strength, unique connection to the crowd thanks to his unusual catchphrase, and the need for PWG to use their locals better, Cage is the man to watch next year.
Match of the Year: Ladder Match-PWG World Tag Team Championship: The Super Smash Brothers (Player Uno and Player Dos)(champions) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs. Future Shock (Kyle o’Reilly and Adam Cole
I wondered how these men were alive after watching this spectacle. Just when you think everything that could be done in a ladder match has been done, someone takes it to the next level. Leave it to these six wrestlers. This was an important match for so many reasons as the Bucks officially passed the top tag team torch to SSB and Adam Cole’s performance in this match led to a singles push. A spectacle in so many ways.
From my review…
Match Highlights: No way I’m catching everything here folks. You’ll never believe this but the Bucks attacked the champions before the bell even rings. Future Shock double team Matt in one corner. Uno forearms Nick into the fans. O’Reilly with a knee to the midsection. Cole hits a big kick. Future Shock take turns forearming Matt. Nick hits Uno with a chair. Uno sent in head first. Matt hits Stupefied in the back. Cole hits Matt with a chair next. Superkick by Matt on O’Reilly. Stupefied slams Nick on the apron. Springboard double stomp. Boot by Matt on Cole. Back drop into a chair as Matt breaks the darn thing. Nick hits a pescado on O’Reilly. Powerbomb attempt countered with a back drop. Excalibur screams about something but the camera man missed it. Cole sends Stupefied into the post. O’Reilly with kicks on Nick. Matt wears Future Shock out with a chair. Stupefied kicks both the chair and Matt down hard. Nick drops him face first. Uno tosses a chair in Nick’s face. Backrake on Matt. O’Reilly with a forearm on Matt as Uno tosses the chair at Nick. Matt powerbombs O’Reilly INTO A ROW OF CHAIRS! GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY! Bucks stand triumphant in the ring. Cole introduces the ladder. He nails the Bucks on the rebound. Stupefied with a tope con helo on Nick. Cole sends Matt’s head backwards into the ladder. Uno dropkicks the ladder into Cole. Just please don’t hit Cole’s beautiful face. DROPKICK FROM THE APRON TO THE FLOOR BY O’REILLY. SWEET BABY MOSES! O’Reilly sets the ladder up in the ring. Stupefied brings him off. Low dropkick to the leg. Stupefied climbs. O’Reilly with a leg kick. O’Reilly puts the ladder down. Stupefied counters. Chop and forearm. Leg kick. Nick harpoons a ladder and sends both men down. Nick climbs. Uno teeters the ladder. Nick recovers and hits a dive. Uno climbs for the belts. Matt from behind. Powerbomb countered. Matt low blows him. Bucklebomb into Nick’s boot. Matt hits a sliced bread off the ladder. The Bucks climb. Cole enziguris Nick. Matt meets the same fate. O’Reilly dropkicks Matt off the ladder officially. Cole puts the ladder in the middle turnbuckle, Nick ducks. Lungblower and Cole German suplexes Nick into the ladder. Future Shock each bring in individual ladders and climb. Uno and Stupefied bring in chairs. Stupefied appears to nail O’Reilly in the head. Without Nigel McGuinness telling him to put his hands up, it’s really not as important. I’d also call what they did stupid… but we haven’t even scratched the surface. As I say that, Cole gets slammed into a ladder spine first. O’Reilly breaks up the pose and kicks away. Stupefied with a dropkick. SSB put two chairs back-to-back. Uno sets O’Reilly up in a sidewinder. Double stomp by Stupefied sends O’Reilly spine first into the ladder. Nick shoves Rick Knox on the outside. Uno and Stupefied each get sent into different corners with lariats. Series of clotheslines hit and miss for both teams. Nick with a running knee on Stupefied. Bulldog/clothesline combo by Nick. Nick puts a ladder around his neck and begins hitting everyone. Knox even takes another ladder shot… RIGHT IN THE HEAD! Nick is bleeding and still hitting people with the ladder. His brother isn’t immune. Uno punches Nick. Alabama slam into the knees of Stupefied. Rick Knox is taken to the back and he’s bleeding. Cole and Uno battle on the ladder. Stupefied and O’Reilly go up as well. Both ladders get taken down. Everyone eventually sent down. Bucks hit a double superkick on O’Reilly. Nick torn down. Discus forearm on O’Reilly. Tandem piledriver. Uno takes the Buck down with the help of a chair. Uno sends the ladder in the corner. It’s table time. Fans help with the set-up. Cole prevents being powerslammed. O’Reilly with a series of kicks to the face. Kick by O’Reilly leads to a brainbuster by Cole through a chair. Stupefied matrixes under Future Shock and springboards off the ladder on both men. No one is in the ring but two ladders are set up. Stupefied puts another table in the ring. Nick nails Stupefied in the back with some sort of hammer. They put Stupefied on the ladder. Up the ladders they go. Nick sent flying. Stupefied exits the ring. Future Shock set up Matt for…SUPERPLEX THROUGH THE TABLE! SSB clear some of the plunder. Cole is put between the two parts of one of the ladders. Cole put in the corner. Oh my God. O’Reilly gets knee’d. O’Reilly gets suplexed into the ladder with Cole. Nick prevents FATALITY. Matt goes low on Uno. Springboard DDT on the apron on O’Reilly. Nick splashes O’Reilly through the table. Cole tries to get himself unstuck. Matt tosses a ladder across the back on Uno. Now the big ladder comes in. Matt climbs up the ladder. Uno grabs the foot. Superkick by Nick. Uno grabs it again. Superkick. Uno no sells. Double superkick. Superkick on Cole who is still stuck. More for Uno. Stupefied comes off the top rope and gets superkicked coming down. Unbelieveable. Both Bucks climb. Knox teeters the ladder and crotches both Bucks. Knox tells SSB not to dive… SO HE DOES HIMSELF! TOPE CON HELO! SSB go up and finally grab the belts.
Match Analysis: None required. This is the PWG match of the year.
Winner (s)/Time/ Rating: STILL PWG World Tag Team Champions-Super Smash Brothers/23:57/****3/4
Feud of the Year: Rick Knox vs. The Young Bucks
Although PWG does not do a lot of storylines, when they do, they even do payoffs better than many of the other wrestling companies. The Knox/Bucks feud has simmered over the years. As senior referee, Knox should be an impartial observer. I probably shouldn’t even know his name. But when thinking about the PWG experience, Knox is such a key part of it. As much as the Bucks, Steen, Excalibur, and the building they run in Reseda. After some physical interactions, in particular a double clothesline at Death to all but Medal that almost nuked the building, he finally wrestled his first match. This is the feud that united Kevin Steen and El Generico! This is the feud that led to a tope con helo from Knox. I loved the six man tag from BOLA earlier this year because it encapsulated everything I love about PWG and also proved the “dream card promotion” can tell a few stories of its own.
Show of the Year: DDT4
This was a tough selection, but I reread through some of my reviews, and it’s clear I cherished and enjoyed this show most of all. Simply based on it being my first ever live experience, Death to all but medal will have a special place for me, but DDT4 is PWG’s most consistent show from open until close. Almost of the tournament matches are very good to great. There’s a great pay-off with SSB coming through and winning in the main event. I gave so many matches ***1/2-***3/4, it’s ridiculous. Also ridiculous is the first ever Steen/Callihan match happening. When we talk about dream matches that certain promotions can’t deliver, this is one of them. PWG can because A. they don’t have contracts and B. they don’t have iPPV. Put it altogether and you get magic on many of these shows.
You can find my full show review HERE.
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Three Positives of PWG in 2012:
- SSB’s ascension really helped the tag team division and made them a feel good story.
- Adam Cole freshened up the main event scene big time. I think people were almost getting tired of seeing El Generico and Kevin Steen end every show. Cole should help break up the monotony and is an actual heel character for people to want to see get beat for the title.
- PWG continues to put matches and cards people want to see. From bringing in the Dragon Gate stars in January to booking one of the few Kenny Omega North American appearances in 2012, this promotion actively seeks to please its fans and give them what they want. Although not all companies play by the same rules as PWG, they could certainly take a page. PWG is the only company that understands its position. It’s not going to take over the world or get a television deal. They’re happy being an indy that runs once a month on the west coast. They’re not afraid to take risks or book the best possible shows, but they also have an understanding of the audience they’re serving. People fawn over PWG because of their cards and the talent, but no promotion is more in step with their fans.
Three Negatives of PWG in 2012:
- I know people think I harp on Joey Ryan too much, but the man really does drag every card he’s on down a peg. He had a singles match with Candice LaRae that was a borderline abomination. Combine his poor Andy Kaufman impression with a promo that dragged on forever, and you’ve got one of the few eye-rolling PWG moments. He has obviously meant a great deal to the promotion as one of the “PWG 6” and fulfilling many roles. However, I’m glad another wrestler can get a chance instead of Ryan running through his usual schtick on shows. As I’ve said a million times, I hope Ryan makes a million dollars in TNA and never comes back to PWG.
- As great as it is to see all of the stars of Ring of Honor and DG USA come together for dream matches that can’t happen anywhere else, I’d still love to see guys like Willie Mack, Brian Cage, Ryan Taylor, Famous B, Ray Rosas, Chris Kadillak, and the RockNes Monsters get more opportunities on shows than simply being on the midcard.
- These negatives in the grand scheme of things are really more nitpicks, but as someone who likes to travel to wrestling shows, I’d love for PWG to announce a set of dates in advance. It’s particularly important for DDT4 and BOLA because with more time given, I think people would make it to Reseda, particularly if those are double shot weekends. The only reason Chris GST and I were able to make it to PWG is through guess work and good luck.
Three Bold Predictions for PWG in 2013:
- Super Dragon comes back one more time in a retirement match where he puts over Willie Mack.
- Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong end the PWG world tag team title reign of the Super Smash Brothers (Edit: I’ll say the Young Bucks based on DDT4 2013).
- Sami Callihan exits the indies in the early portion of 2013, and this leads to the west coast debut of ACH. ACH advances deep into BOLA and is in a main event level position by the end of the year.
For more information on PWG and their upcoming shows, check out PWG’s website. To buy all PWG DVDs, check out Highspots. Below is a list of contact information for both the website and me.
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