PWG The Curse of Guerrilla Island
October 9th, 2010
American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Attendance: ???
October 9th, 2010
American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Attendance: ???
Your hosts are Excalibur and a revolving door of color commentators
The show starts off with Excalibur doing his usual crowd warm-up in the ring, where he's quickly joined by longtime PWG mainstay Joey Ryan, who rips off a few of the Rock's catch phrases as the crowd is split between hating him for being a heel and loving him for being such a funny guy. Unfortunately the PWG World Champion, Davey Richards, can't wrestle tonight so we'll be crowning a NEW PWG World Champion in the main event four-way between Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Brandon Gatson, and the 2010 Battle of Los Angeles winner Joey Ryan. Shame that Davey couldn't return to defend the belt as the last time he was in PWG he had a five-star encounter with Kenny Omega to win the belt in the first place. Oh well, the show must go on as they say.
Brian Cage-Taylor vs. Johnny Yuma
Cage is accompanied to the ring by Chuck Taylor and Ryan Taylor, who announce they've started a new group called the "Taylor boys", hence the new last name for Brian Cage. Cage has a great look and I wouldn't be surprised if the WWE picks him up for a developmental deal one of these days. His opponent tonight Johnny Yuma is making his PWG debut. Waistlock from Cage to start who dumps Yuma on his head quickly, showing off his power. He works a headlock on Yuma while Chuck Taylor annoys some fans at ringside. Yuma continues to get tossed around for a bit and eats one of the stiffest European uppercuts I think I've ever seen. Satellite headscissors by Yuma takes Cage outside, but as runs for the tope he's met with a kick to the face from Cage which gets a two count back inside. Yuma goes to the top but gets met there by Cage, who hits a towering suspended superplex off the top! Very cool move there that ignites the crowd, who pound the mat in approval. Yes, in PWG the fans are so close to the ring that they can actually pound on the mat. Gotta love PWG's fan interaction. Cage continues to dominate Yuma, lifting him for a few reps like he's a dumbbell. Cage starts laying in stiff forearms again but Yuma sweeps the leg and hits a modified ace crusher. Yuma is fired up now and tries to make the comeback with some big elbows, but he's caught around the waist. Yuma breaks the hold and goes to the top for a sunset flip/backbreaker combination. Yuma takes too much time to play to the crowd as he rises to the top rope and he gets powerslammed off the top because of it. Cage bails to the outside for a breather and Yuma follows him out with a suicide dive. Dueling chants start up as Yuma gets a two count back in the ring. Sunset flip just BARELY misses the 3 count, but Cage follows it up with a stiff discus lariat. He puts Yuma into the Gory Special and then just DRIVES his face down to the mat face-first to finish him off for the win at 11:12. Fun opener here that didn't try to do too much. Sometimes simple works, and it did here as Cage gets his first victory, looking AWESOME in the process, and Yuma makes a nice debut effort to get over with the fans. Nothing you can't see on literally any PWG show though. **1/2
After the match Chuck and Ryan Taylor beatdown Yuma for a bit to send a message to the boys in the back before Johnny Goodtime and Rocky Romero hit the ring to make the save.
Candice LaRae vs. Peter Avalon
Avalon looks like your typical high-school stoner while LaRae is damn cute and a PWG regular. One thing i love about PWG is that they actually push and treat their women's wrestlers as serious competitors and threats, and we regularly see intergender matches because of it. LaRae and the sulty Christina Von Eerie have picked up multiple wins over male opponents in tag team matches during their time in the company. LaRae shakes off a shoulderblock from Avalon and tries to work on an armbar, but Avalon powers out. LaRae gives Avalon a nice monkey-flip and the PWG crowd inexplicably begins chanting "NINJA TURTLES!". I fucking love this company. Avalon avoids a tope but gets a double-axe handle off the apron anyways as they begin brawling outside the ring. Back inside LaRae gets a quick two but then eats a Booker T-esque leg lariat. Avalon mimics Booker T for a minute teasing a spinarooni but he flips off the crowd instead. LaRae locks Avalon up in the Romero special for a bit but Avalon breaks it up and begins working LaRae's back over his leg while the crowd chants "GO NINJA GO NINJA GO!", a line rightout of the second Ninja Turtles movie. Have I mentioned my love for this crowd? Oh they're chanting these things because LaRae's attire is Ninja Turtle-themed. Avalon slaps on a chinlock though and the fun dies down pretty quickly. He misses a leg lariat and gets racked on the top rope for awhile before going outside for a breather. LaRae follows him though and hits the tope suicida, but she hangs on and spins Avalon around to turn it into a tornado DDT on the concrete floor! Ouch! Back in the ring this only gets a two count though. Avalon tries the Rick Rude dance but LaRae tosses him off the ropes for a two count. Big faceplant on Avalon only get two. Gutbuster by Avalon but he lifts her up before the three and hits a huge tiger driver, but only for two. He lifts LaRae up to the top rope but he kicks him and rolls him up with the victory roll for the 3 count and the win at 10:29! Fun little comedy match here that the crowd was really into. Nothing memorable or anything, but good clean fun. **
Rocky Romero vs. Ryan Taylor
Romero recently made his return to PWG after an extended hiatus, and Taylor has already made a name for himself tonight with Chuckie T and Brian Cage. Romero attacks before the bell even rings and we're off. Snapmare/scissor-kick combo by Romero only gets one. Crucifix by Rocky gets two and Taylor bails to the outside for a breather. Back inside Taylor hits a dragonscrew leg-whip and starts laying in kicks. Tilt-a-whirl slam by Rocky and Taylor gets thrown into the corner. Romero with a springboard dropkick and both men slide the outside and start fighting in the crowd (which, keep in mind, is about 5 feet from the ring). They fight all the way up to the announce-team position briefly and they brawl over by the women's restroom for a bit, trading kicks and chops. Back on the apron Taylor delivers a STIFF hammerlock and slams Romero's arm own on the apron. That looked really painful. Back in the ring Taylor goes to work on that same arm, wrapping his legs around it in the center of the ring. Elbow drop gets two. Taylor goes for a leapfrog off the ropes but Rocky drives his knee down to the mat. Dropkick to the shin and a series of big kicks follow. Romero misses an enziguri but just flips back with a back-heel kick and delivers a rydian bomb for another near fall. They trade forearms for a bit and then Taylor hits a clothesline during the criss-cross spot. Cravat twisting neckbreaker gets Taylor another two count. Romero hits a top-rope frankensteiner for another close two count. Romero is fired up now, but he misses a kick and gets rolled up with a bridge for another close two count. Big uranagi from Taylor gets another two. Taylor tries the Go 2 Sleep but Romero blocks it and hits a big leaping shining wizard for the 3 count and the win at 9:51. Fun little match here, but they didn't seem sure of what kind of match they wanted to work in the beginning and the thing suffered a bit as a result. Still, decent action here. **
Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs. Brandon Cutler/Dustin Cutler
This is being billed as a bit of a dream match for the PWG fans as this is the Briscoes first time in PWG in several years and the Cutler Brothers have made a big name for themselves in PWG with their feuds with the Young Bucks and various other PWG tag teams. Let's see if it lives up to that hype. Mark and Dustin start things out with a feeling out process. Quick tag in to Jay who continues working the wristlock on Dustin. A "Fuck 'em up Briscoes fuck 'em up!" chant starts as Jay lays in some forearms and chops. Brandon tags in and hits a nifty German suplex on Jay in mid-air and he tags Dustin back in as they start to isolate Jay in their corner. Mark tags in quickly though and hits a flying knee and a fist drop on Brandon for a two count. Brainbuster gets another two. Big belly-to-belly suplex by Mark who tags Jay back in while Excalibur on commentary claims that the Briscoes are going to rent a car and go see the Raiders game this weekend. Good luck with that. Briscoes follow up with some more double teaming, including a back suplex-moonsault combo that gets two. Mark puts the camel clutch on for a bit and then lays in some forearms before tagging Jay back in again. Dustin Cutler tags in and the Cutlers hit a double shoulder tackle, sending the Briscoes outside. Dustin launches Brandon over the top and takes out the Briscoes outside! But as he goes for a plancha of his own Jay runs back in and hits a big spinebuster. Frequent tags between Mark and Jay, using a variety of kicks and elbows for a series of near falls as the "Man Up!"chant starts up. Jay slaps on a headlock on Dustin for a bit. Brandon and Mark tag in the pace pick up, hurricanrana and a forearm by Brandon. Ace crusher on Jay, who slides back out as soon as he slid in. Iconoclasm by Mark gets two. Things have broken down now and everyone's in the ring. Jay gets draped over the apron and eats a leg drop followed by a gutbuster for a two count that Mark barely breaks up in time. Brandon gets tossed outside and Mark tries a dragon suplex but it's blocked, so he hit's a fisherman's buster instead and then Jay comes off the top with a legdrop for what appears to be a 3 count, but is called only a two count. Mark gets knocked off the apron and is followed by Brandon with a tope while Dustin hits a facebuster for two. The Cutler's go for the tandem tombstone piledriver but Mark breaks it up with a superkick. Forearm exchange, but Dustin eats a double superkick from the Briscoes! The Briscoes finish them off with the Doomsday Device for the 3 count at 16:18. Very good tag match here and while it wasn't exactly an epic, it didn't need to be. Cutlers were a bit sloppy, but they worked well with the Briscoes and this was by far the best match of the night to this point. ***1/4
After the match the Briscoes chug the remainder of a fan's pitcher of beer (did I mention I love these fans?) and say the Cutler brothers put up a great effort.
Chuck Taylor vs. Johnny Goodtime
Goodtime is a PWG regular who seems permanently stuck in the midcard while you should already know who Chuck Taylor is if you pay even mild attention to the indy scene. Quick pace to start off with lots of counters and near falls. Goodtime goes for a missile dropkick but Taylor just casually strolls out of the way. Dueling chants start as Taylor delivers the devastating BACK RAKE OF DOOM! Goodtime gets thrown into the corner right on his neck but Chuck can only get a two count. Taylor tries the bow-and-arrow submission for a bit until Goodtime bails to the outside. Chuck teases a pescado but goes for a moonsault off the apron. Goodtime moves out of the way but Chuck just lands on his feet and launches Goodtime into the apron like a lawn dart. Two count back in the ring. Goodtime reverses a suplex with a corkscrew brainbuster, but he's too hurt to take advantage of it and make the cover. Back on their feet Goodtime hits a slingshot dropkick for two. Goodtime dumps Taylor the outside and tries climbing the ropes but gets dragged down spine-first by Taylor. He tries to recover with a springboard but gets his feet cut out from under him. No problem as Goodtime wraps his legs around Taylor with a headscissors to the outside, where Taylor apparently takes out a fan in the process. Back in the ring he can only get a two count though. They counter suplexes and Taylor hits a uranagi followed by a lionsault! 1-2-NO, Goodtime kicks out. Powerbomb/rollup combo gets Taylor another two and he's starting to get frustrated. Taylor looks to be trying for his finisher, the Awful Waffle, but Goodtime evades it. Goodtime drags Taylor from one corner to the other and then hits a German suplex for a close two count. Goodtime goes to the top but Ryan Taylor runs out and distracts the ref while Brian Cage runs out after and sweeps Goodtime's leg, giving Taylor the chance to hit the Awful Waffle for the win at 11:07. Pretty fun match here between these two but the finish hurt it a bit and I don't think anyone really bought Goodtime as a real threat. **1/2
El Generico vs. Ricochet
Oh HELL YES, now this should be all kinds of awesome. Generico is a PWG veteran while Ricochet had a huge 2010 making a big name for himself on the indies in promotions like PWG, Dragon Gate USA, and EVOLVE. Excalibur informs us of Ricochet's affinity for big butts as the "OLE OLE OLE" chants begin. As far as I know this is the very first singles meeting between these two men. This is a bit of a dream match honestly, imagine Rey Mysterio in WCW in 1998 meeting up with TAKA Michinoku from the WWF, it's kind of like that, only better. Quick lockup in the corner but Ricochet breaks cleanly. Generico doesn't offer the same respect though and lays some chops into Ricochet in the corner instead of breaking. Generico locks on a hammerlock for a bit, but it's quickly broken. Ricochet springboards into the ring with a big hurricanrana that sends Generico outside to catch his breath as Excalibur tells an inside joke maybe 3 people will get. Back inside Generico locks on a variation of an ankle lock, which Ricochet flips out of only to eat a boot to the chest. Ricochet gets a big armdrag from the top and follows it up with another, "out-lucha-ing" Generico as Excalibur puts it. Stiff chops exchange and Ricochet gets a standing moonsault for a quick two. He runs off the ropes but eats a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, but only for a one count. "No me gusta!" chant starts up for no discernible reason other than the intoxication of the crowd. Generico hits a snap-suplex and a stiff right for two. HUGE boot sends Ricochet up and over to the outside. Back in the ring Generico thinks about using an empty beer pitcher as a weapon, but decides against it only to eat an enziguri from a seated Ricochet. Excalibur makes a very good analogy comparing Generico's evolution as wrestler to Jushin Liger's (evolving from the scrappy underdog to an aggresive vet) as Ricochet delivers another hurricanrana followed up with another big enziguri. Generico bails to the outside for a breather while Ricochet regroups in the ring. Ricochet quickly recovers though and goes FLYING over the top turnbuckle to the outside with a HUGE tope suicida! Michael Jordan would be jealous of the airtime Ricochet just got. Back inside he gets a quick two. "This is awesome!" chants start up as he hits a swinging DDT/SSP combo for another near fall. Ricochet misses a 360 phoenix splash and Generico hits him with the blue thunder bomb! 1-2--NOO! Ricochet kicks out just barely! He follows it up with a big knee and a Michinoku driver, but Ricochet kicks out again! Generico goes to the top but Ricochet meets him up there with a big hurricanrana for another near fall. Generico goes for his signature brainbuster, but Ricochet counters with a cradle! 1-2--NOO! Ricochet runs to the corner but Generico gives him a huge exploder suplex into the turnbuckle! Another near fall. They struggle for a bit on the turnbuckle but Ricochet knocks him off and hits a phoenix splash! Another near fall, how are these guys still going? Incredible pace. STIFF kick straight to Generico's head, but he comes back and attempts the top-rope brainbuster, but it's countered. Generico counters the rollup but gets met with a bicycle kick and then a backflip reverse hurricanrana that absolutely PLANTS Generico's head into the mat with force. Finally Ricochet hits the 630 splash (yes, 630 degrees) and is able to put away Generico at 18:52. Ho-ly shit. I'm out of breath just calling that match! Awesome, awesome match here by two of the absolute best high-flyers in the business. This is a HUGE win for Ricochet as he cleanly beats a 2 time PWG World champion and immediately puts himself right into the thick of things. If 2010 and this match is any indicator, Ricochet is going to be headlining major shows in no time. Simply ASTOUNDING action from these two. ****
After the match Ricochet hugs Generico who pushes him away at first, but eventually they embrace to a standing ovation. They deserve it.
Four Corner Survival PWG World Title Match
Joey Ryan vs. Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brandon Gatson
Davey Richards had to vacate the belt because of scheduling conflicts, so tonight we crown a new PWG world champion. First man to get the pin or submission wins and no tags are necessary. All four men made big splashes in last month's Battle of Los Angeles tournament (with Ryan defeating Hero in the finals) so that's why they get this opportunity. Obviously Brandon Gatson stands out here as the odd man out as he's a local boy that's been getting more and more over in 2010 and who PWG seem keen on pushing, letting him work near 20 minute matches with guys like Hero. This should be fun, so let's get to it. Hero goes after Gatson while Castagnoli goes after Ryan immediately with a pescado to the outside. Rollup from Hero gets a quick two in the ring. Claudio and Joey brawl outside while Gatson and Hero battle it out inside. Ryan crawls under the ring in a desperate attempt to escape Claudio, so he slides in the ring and starts tossing around Gatson. Suplex for two. The psychology here is pretty smart as Claudio and Hero, longtime tag partners, are avoiding each other and switching between Joey and Gatson. This goes on for a bit until it appears they're going to come to blows, but Ryan breaks it up, getting great heat in the process. He eats an elbow and then a cravat twisting neckbreaker by Hero for a two. Joey Ryan and Gatson go at it now and Ryan hits a big pumphandle suplex for two, which prompts Claudio to give Joey a T-Bone suplex and toss Goodtime to the outside. Leg drop gets Claudio another two. Gatson hits a stunner on Hero and then delivers a backspring back elbow to Ryan. He tries to do the same to Claudio in the other corner but gets caught with a spinebuster and then Claudio picks him up for the big swing and the hesitation dropkick from Hero. Claudio goes for the cover but Hero has to break it up. Another double team move and Hero goes for the pinfall this time, but Claudio breaks the pin up this time. They stare down for a second but Gatson gets between them and delivers a big spike DDT to Hero for a two count. Joey Ryan breaks it up and hits a powerbomb, but then gets met with a huge boot from Claudio for another two. Really fast paced match here and we haven't slowed down one bit. Cactus clothesline takes Claudio and Ryan outside, and Hero follows them with a huge running moonsault to the outside, taking both men out! Not to be outdone Gatson hits the Space Flying Tiger driver (or the Sasuke Special depending on where you are) and the crowd erupts in appreciation. Back inside Ryan and Gatson trade forearms for a bit on the top, but Claudio just blasts Gatson with a running boot and attempts a superplex, but both men tumble NASTILY to the floor instead. Hero climbs to the top and hits a big moonsault on Ryan for two! Running Liger Bomb! 1-2---NOO! Joey kicks out while Gatson and Claudio, apparently still alive, make their way back into the ring. Hero hits the roaring elbow but before he can attempt the pin Claudio comes up from behind and delivers a deadlift German suplex! He gets up only to eat a superkick from Ryan, but kicks out at 1 and lariats Ryan right out of his boots. Suddenly Gatson hits a 450 splash on Claudio out of nowhere and Castagnoli barely kicks out. Roaring elbow from Hero on Gatson gets two, but he eats another superkick from Joey Ryan and gets rolled up for a two count. Big running European uppercut from Castagnoli on Ryan! Only a two count though. Castagnoli deadlifts Ryan up though and hits a HUGE European uppercut on Joey Ryan and pins him for the 3 count, winning his first World title in the process at 11:12! WOW, they had one hell of a challenge having to follow up the Generico-Ricochet match but they delivered big time. This match was high-octane fun from start to finish without even a second of rest from anyone involved. And unlike many PWG matches, it not only wasn't overlong, it was actually too SHORT! Excellent main event here and a great way to cap off the show and crown a new champion. ***3/4
After the match Hero seems upset about the loss, but he embraces Castagnoli anyways and congratulates him. Castagnoli celebrates for a bit with the fan as we head off the air.
Backstage Chris Hero cuts an excellent promo on his recent struggles in PWG, but promises he won't let what happened tonight happen again.
Bottom Line:
Great show here, probably the best PWG has put on since the great Seven event last July. We got two PWG "dream matches" in the Cutlers/Briscoes and Generico/Ricochet matches and both delivered, especially Generico and Ricochet, and to top it off we have an incredibly fun main event crowning a new World champion in Claudio Castagnoli. You'll be hard pressed to find better a value for 2 hours of excellent wrestling and the usual PWG comedy-fun. Big time Thumbs Up for The Curse of Guerrilla Island.
Score: 8.5/10
REMEMBER! You can find ALL of my reviews and match ratings at my blog:
X's Wrestling Review
Score: 8.5/10
REMEMBER! You can find ALL of my reviews and match ratings at my blog:
X's Wrestling Review