The Independent Mid-Card 05.08.07: Lost vs. Richards
Posted by Samuel Berman on 05.08.2007
We're staying out West for another week for no real reason other than that I feel like it.
Well hello again, loyal readers. It's Tuesday again, so you know it's time for another stop in The Independent Mid-Card. Last week we took our first look at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, arguably the top West Coast Independent. Considering I've loaded up on ROH content in this column over the past few months, I figured I'd give PWG another slot this week, as I've been increasingly impressed and entertained by the shows I've picked up from them. Mixing that with wanting to highlight one of the performers I saw a week or so ago in Chicago, I ended up with this week's matchup. Hope you enjoy our extended West Coast vacation here in this week's IMC.
Scott Lost vs. Davey Richards
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla – Horror Business – La Habra Heights, CA – October 21, 2006
The Wrestlers:
Scott Lost – Serving both as a major in-ring player as well as being a member of the company's ownership group, "The Professional" Scott Lost is probably best known for his work as a part of the tag team Arrogance with "Photogenic" Chris Bosh. The duo is known for both their crisp double team work as well as their cocky attitudes, and have put down some of the best teams in the world during their tenure in PWG. Lost himself is a four-time PWG World Tag Team Champion, having held the belts twice with Bosh and twice with former PWG World Champion Joey Ryan (also a member of the Dynasty). In the ring, Lost works a high-impact style that usually builds to his use of the famed Sharpshooter submission hold.
Davey Richards – A major player in PWG for some time, Richards splits his time between his work for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and as a member of the Ring of Honor roster. Less than two months before this match, Richards had won the prestigious Battle of Los Angeles Tournament by defeating Ronin, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong and eventually Dragon Gate star CIMA in the Finals. In ROH competition, Richards had been recently linked to Pro Wrestling NOAH's KENTA and had begun to serve as KENTA's American protégé, explaining the similarities in their styles (both men's offenses rely heavily on kicks and other stiff strikes).
The Match:
As is the norm with PWG events, the full entrances are not included on the DVD. However, all introductions are done in the ring, so we do get a bit of lead-up to the actual match. "The Professional" Scott Lost is announced first and is greeted by a smattering of boos as well as one guy trying to start a ‘you got pinned!' chant. It doesn't take. Davey Richards is introduced second and is recognized as the 2006 Battle of Los Angeles Tournament Winner. He gets a nice ovation from the crowd. The bell is called for in short order as some fans remind Lost that Richards had recently defeated him during the ECWA Super 8 Tournament.
(As a personal aside, I want to note how strange it is for me as an ROH fan to watch other Independent promotions for one simple reason: no Code of Honor. I have seemingly gotten very used to seeing wrestlers shake hands before their matches and always find it a little jarring when it doesn't happen in PWG or OVW or IWA Mid-South.)
The two men circle as the crowd continues to get on Lost's case. Crowd member: "Don't get pinned!" Davey Richards: "He will…" The crowd claps to get the energy flowing as both men continue to circle. Davey seems psyched by the crowd while Lost calls for them to be quiet. Both men continue to stall as a ‘Fuck him up, Davey, fuck him up!' chant begins. Finally, the two men lock up in the center of the ring. They stay locked up as they push each other to the ropes, ending with Lost forcing Richards to the corner. The ref calls for the break and it looks to be clean until Lost slaps Davey across the face and backs away. More circling leads to another lockup and this time Davey forces Lost to the ropes. Davey goes for a kick to the head on the break, but Lost ducks it and slaps him across the face again. Lost talks some trash, so Davey spits at him, prompting Lost to call for a test of strength. Davey: "You want a test of strength with me??" Lost puts hits hand up as Davey literally has a conversation with a fan, promising to kick Lost's ass. Davey reaches up for the test of strength, but then lets go and gets a kicking combination and a Saito suplex that sends Lost scurrying to the corner to recover.
Davey picks up Lost and gets an armwringer into a series of chops that ends with a stepover into a stiff kick to the chest. Davey follows up with a snap suplex, but it only gets a one count as Lost has rolled to the ropes. Lost ducks out to ringside to regroup and calls for a ‘timeout'. The referee's count reaches nine and Lost climbs back in. The two men circle again and Lost calls for another test of strength. This one goes somewhat better for him as he turns an wristlock into a hammerlock and then rolls Richards up with a schoolboy cradle for a one count. Davey then counters to a cool legscissors armbar so Lost is forced to grab the ropes to break. Davey then talks some more trash: "Come on you fucking pussy, come on!" When reminded by a fan that PWG tries to put on a "family show", Davey apologizes, calling Lost a "big sissy" instead. A big "he's a sissy!" chant then breaks out as the two men circle again.
Lost fakes out another test of strength and gets a kick to the midsection. A series of strikes then puts Richards down and Lost stomps the back a few times. However, Davey is able to reverse a cross-corner whip and Lost takes a chest-first bump into the turnbuckle. Davey follows up with a backbreaker and then tosses Lost hard to the floor. Davey follows him out, but Lost regains control with a knee to the midsection and then whips Richards face-first into the ringpost. The two exchange a few more strikes on the outside with Davey getting the best of it before rolling Lost in and covering for two.
Richards continues the assault with another kicking combination but it only gets one on the cover. Davey then locks in a figure-four headscissors as the referee enthusiastically asks Lost if he's had enough. The ref is so over the top here that Richards actually encourages him to calm down in a funny moment. Lost rolls over and is able to counter into a modified surfboard stretch. Davey is able to get one of his legs free and gets it to the ropes for the break, but Lost continues to stomp the back as he gets up. Davey goes deadweight on a suplex attempt by Lost and then gets a series of knees and tries one of his own. Lost is able to float over and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Davey goes to the eyes to counter and goes to run off the ropes. However, Lost runs with him, confusing Davey and planting him on the mat with a running Ace Crusher. That was actually a pretty nice spot. Both men take a moment to recover and then Lost jaws with the fans for a moment. Fan: "Only sissies wear pink!" Lost: "I'm wearing gold you dumbass…" Lost then suplexes Davey and goes for the cover, but it doesn't even get one. I'm not wild about that particular no-sell by Richards. Lost is obviously frustrated as well and grabs a headlock on the mat. Davey fights his way to the ropes and Lost is forced to break.
Lost picks up Richards and smashes his head into the turnbuckle. A series of chokes on the bottom ropes follows. Davey either sold those amazingly well or comically over the top; I haven't quite decided which. Lost then gets a backbreaker and a backdrop suplex for two. Lost follows with a jumping stomp to the face and then picks Davey up. The two men exchange some stiff strikes in the middle of the ring until Davey gets a yakuza kick and then comes off the ropes only to be met with a dropkick to the face from Lost. The subsequent cover gets two for the Professional. Lost then goes for a suplex near the ropes with Davey again going deadweight on him to counter. Finally, after fighting over a suplex for a bit, Davey is able to lift up Lost and dump him chest-first on the top rope. Lost crashes down to the canvas and rolls to the apron to recover, but gets met with a running boot from Richards when he makes it to his feet. Lost falls to the floor at ringside and Davey takes a moment to recover before running the ropes and flying into him with what was probably supposed to be a diving elbow smash but ends up being a sort of twisting tope. Either way, the damage is done. Davey calls for some fan support on the floor and then rolls Lost back in before following with a picture-perfect springboard dropkick. Davey does his forward flip nip-up and waits for Lost to recover. Lost makes it to his feet, but gets met by another kicking combination. This one ends with a running thrust kick to the face and a German suplex attempt, but Lost is able to counter that with a back elbow. Lost then comes off the ropes, but Davey catches him in a fireman's carry and turns that into a gutbuster and then hits a bridging German suplex for two.
Richards goes for the Stretch Muffler (over the neck leglock) but Lost kicks him in the face repeatedly to block it. Davey ends up stumbling back into the corner but gets a stiff boot up to block a blind charge. Davey then grabs Lost's leg and does a nifty rolling maneuver into the middle of the ring before locking in the Stretch Muffler for real. Davey really wrenches in the hold, but Lost refuses to tap and reaches the ropes. Davey gets Lost up for a suplex, but Lost gets a hard knee to the face to break it up. Lost then Irish whips Davey off the ropes and when Davey goes for his handspring enziguiri, Lost is able to cut him off and get him in an inverted fireman's carry. Davey slips out of it and grabs a waistlock, but Lost reverses to one of his own and then gets what amounts to a pumphandle half-nelson Angle Slam. Lost climbs to the top and get his Lost in Space jackknife elbowdrop for a very close two count. Lost then goes for some sort of double underhook maneuver, but Davey elbows out of it and then ducks a clothesline before hitting his handspring enziguiri. Lost stumbles into the corner and is met with a running elbow strike from Richards. Davey then tries to get a lariat off the ropes, but Lost cleverly kicks him in the arm to block and then gets a beautiful superkick, but Davey no-sells it and hits a discus clothesline when Lost comes off the ropes himself. It only gets two as Lost is able to roll his shoulder off the mat.
Davey pulls Lost towards the corner and goes up to the top, but Lost recovers and gets a punch to the face to cut him off. Lost follows him up and looks for a superplex, but Davey headbutts him off. Davey does a headfake and then tries a shooting star press, but Lost gets the knees up and Davey rolls over to the corner. Lost comes running with his Superman Spear (running flying spear to the corner) and then gets a torture rack backbreaker for a close two count. I would definitely have bought that as the finish. Lost goes for the Sharpshooter, but Davey kicks him in the face to block it. Lost comes charging, but Richards catches him and slams him back into the turnbuckle. Davey gets a series of shoulderblocks in the corner and then puts Lost on top. Davey follows him up for a superplex of his own, but stalls a little too long and Lost is able to headbutt him off and follow with a diving shoulderblock attempt. Davey sidesteps it, however, and locks in a Fujiwara armbar. Lost rolls through to break it and gets a forearm to the face. Lost then whips Davey off the ropes, but Richards ducks a clothesline and gets a flying headscissors into another armbar. Lost flips forward after a bit to relieve the pressure and then gets a double-leg takedown into the Sharpshooter. Davey looks to be in trouble, but crawls to the ropes to break the hold. Lost picks Richards back up and goes to lift him into a fireman's carry, but Davey slips out and goes for the D.R. Driver II (double-underhook brainbuster). Lost tries to counter it into a short-arm clothesline, but Davey reverses back to a DDT and then locks in the 14:59 (armlock with a reverse headscissors) and that gets the submission at 18:43. Davey is announced as the winner, but is still clutching his back and laying on the mat as we cut out.
The Analysis:
On some level, it's still hard for me to accurately assess PWG matches (and matches from a lot of other Independents for that matter) as the small crowd size can make a dramatic match seem less so due to a "lack" of crowd participation. The truth is that smaller crowds never come across as raucous on DVD as they do live, and so while there were spurts of volume from the audience, it was certainly more noticeable during this match how many conversations were taking place between the wrestlers and the fans. Sometimes it actually doesn't help for every word that the fans say to be picked up by the cameras. In some places it was funny (as it was when the fans called Lost a "sissy"), but in others it took away from the in-ring action.
The opening of the match was slow at best, with both guys doing a lot of stalling before any real action took place. The match as a whole ran about nineteen minutes, but could easily have been trimmed to a sleeker and more action-packed fourteen or fifteen had Lost and Richards not stalled as much at the outset and done as much ‘selling out of exhaustion' towards the end. Parts of the match were downright frustrating to watch, not because of anything wrong with the action, but simply because of the methodical pace that Lost and Richards were working. I have seen faster-paced performances from each guy, so I know that it's not a matter of being unable to work a quicker match. See, for example, Richards' match with Jack Evans from ROH's Glory By Honor V, Night 2, which I discussed a couple of months ago in this column. In that match, Davey worked a more frenetic pace, and it helped to create a more entertaining match.
All that being said, please don't think that I disliked the match completely. Lost and Davey both have credible offense and are fun to watch. Their interactions with the crowd, though tedious at some points, were a fun element of the match and further help to prove wrong the notion that some fans have that Richards has a bland persona. Lost, to his credit, is a fun if economical heel, though his gimmick works best as a part of his tag team with Chris Bosh.
In summation, this was certainly a solid outing and a good chance for each guy to showcase his offense. However, it seemed as if they were merely doing stuff to each other rather than building to something bigger. Lost did work the back some in preparation for the Sharpshooter, but nothing that I'd consider a sustained offensive focus. Richards didn't so much as stomp on Lost's arm throughout the match, relying more on homerun submission holds. Though they paid off in the end, it would have been nice for him to hit a shoulderbreaker or an elbow smash on an armwringer or even hold a steady wristlock along the way.
The Aftermath:
At the very next event, All Star Weekend 4 – Night One, Davey Richards and his hand-picked partner Roderick Strong would unseat Richards' former co-champion Super Dragon & B-Boy to win the PWG World Tag Team Titles. Their reign would be short-lived however, as the former champs would regain the belts the very next night in a four-way match that also featured Motor City Machine Guns of Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin as well as The Kings of Wrestling, Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli. Since his most recent, however brief, taste of PWG gold, Richards has lost subsequent bids at both the PWG World Tag Team Titles as well as the PWG World Title. Richards continues to be a featured member of the PWG roster as well as a contributor in Ring of Honor where he is a part of the recently formed No Remorse Corps faction. Richards has also re-formed his partnership with Super Dragon and the duo will compete in the upcoming tournament to crown the new PWG World Tag Team Champions. Their first round opponents will be the unlikely team of Roderick Strong and European phenom "The Man That Gravity Forgot" PAC.
Scott Lost continues his work as one of PWG's principal owners as well as one of the company's key in-ring performers. He and fellow Dynasty member Chris Bosh remain one of the most dominating and talented teams in PWG and together as Arrogance will compete in the company's upcoming Tag Team Title Tournament where they will face Dragon Gate's Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino in the first round.
The Final Word:
I have to say that I'm really starting to get into PWG and I'm finding the storylines to be interesting and the wrestling to be of a very high caliber. That being said, my one real gripe with the company is how far behind on DVD releases they are. Having just recently released the last 2006 shows, the reality that I may have to wait a few months for the recent All Star Weekend 5 shows is a sobering one at best.
In related news, I hope that PWG will land on its feet, so to speak, with the recent announcement that TNA will be pulling its talent from appearing for the company. I hope that PWG, like ROH, will prove to have a wide enough talent pool and fanbase to keep business strong in light of current events.
To see this week's match, Horror Business is available for purchase at prowrestlingguerrilla.com. Elsewhere on the show is a great PWG World Tag Team Title match pitting Super Dragon & B-Boy against The Kings of Wrestling as well as a fun World Title defense by Joey Ryan as he takes on El Generico. Last week's match (El Generico vs. Chris Sabin) is also available at PWG's website on the Battle of Los Angeles: Night Three DVD. I forgot to mention that and it beared noting here. That show, by the way, is a must-own, with a dynamite Generico vs. CIMA matchup as well as a slew of other great tournament matches.
While you're here at 411, be sure to read some of the other great columns we've got on the site. As always, there's Ari's Column of Honor that's so big this week that it needed a second part. Stu's got his Friendly Competition column just as Matt Adamson has his Destiny for your weekly dose of Puro. Matt also filled in on the most recent edition of The Shimmy. Oh, and of course there's Bayani's Truth B Told. Gotta get a plug in for that. And finally, Brad & Jake have a new review up for ROH Battle of the Icons as well as JD having a whole slew of ROH DVD Reviews. I'm not sure if I've said it before, but JD is one of my favorite reviewers anywhere in the IWC, not just on 411. Be sure to read everything of his that you can.
I'm also going to start putting more random stuff in my blog, so be sure to check that out.
The new ROH Roundtable should be up on Thursday, so please be sure to check that out. We've got a special look at the upcoming PPV taping in the works, so rest assured that this week's Roundtable is not to be missed.
I'm pretty sure that covers all my bases, so I'm going to head out and watch Floyd beat De La Hoya again. Viva Mayweather!
