Truth B Told 5.15.08: PWG’s DDT4-Play

Posted by Bayani Domingo on 05.15.2008

The best damn PWG coverage on the ‘net is back this week with a preview of the upcoming DDT4 Tag Team Tournament this weekend. Insight and analysis so good you would SWEAR I had Mama Talwar held hostage.

Last week's little column, which inadvertently turned into a lecture…fine, I'll admit that…it went horribly awry, but it is a topic near and dear to my heart, was actually a well placed lead-in to this week's column which is a preview for the upcoming DDT4 hosted by PWG this weekend. There are really three kinds of people who willprobably read this column each week; 1) those who enjoy PWG and are familiar with the product and want to see just how wrong I am about my predictions, 2) those who have heard about PWG and want to know more about what the company and especially this tournament is about, and 3) those who don't give a shit about the company or perhaps Indy wrestling, but you have nothing better to do because it's Thursday afternoon and you're just killing time until happy hour. Let's be honest, that last one is like 35% of you, and I'm right there with you. Bring on the Jaeger bombs and Hooter waitresses!! But for those who aren't familiar with PWG I'll give you a little explanation of the company to put things in proper context:

What is a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla?

I'll tell you what it isn't, it isn't Che Guevara hitting Topes and Hurricanranas on unsuspecting Cuban diplomats. It also wasn't the rejected name of Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero's first tag team either. Then again it could possibly be Moscow the Communist Bovine's future arch nemesis in CHIKARA…but then that would be spelled entirely incorrectly. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is the 2nd biggest Indy Company in the country after RoH and the most significant Indy fed on the West Coast. If pressed to describe what PWG's style and attitude is like I would say that PWG is basically 50% RoH, 20% WWE, and 10% CHIKARA, 10% Puro, and 10% Lucha Libre. Think of PWG as if RoH didn't take itself so seriously. PWG is a good mix between: Athletics, Workrate, Sports Entertainment, and Comedy. While most people would say RoH produces more MoTY Candidates than PWG does (and I'd probably agree), PWG does a good job or supplementing that with comedy and characters that even a WWE "fan boy" could appreciate. Just look at Joey Ryan, Karl Anderson, El Generico, Human Tornado, and the old "Arrogance" as characters who you could easily see translate to a WWE ring. PWG is the slightly less polished RoH, but without as much hype. So there you go. Now that we are done with that let's take a look at the tournament this weekend shall we?

Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament (DDT4) – The History

This is the second year that PWG has held their DDT4 tournament and their 3rd overall Tag Team Title Tournament in their short history. The first tournament held (The Tango and Cash Invitational) was held in 2004 to determine the first ever Tag Team Champions and was won by the "Strong Style Thugs" made up of B-Boy and Homicide. It would be 3 years later when PWG would have to run another tournament, this time calling it DDT4, in order to award the tag titles after the team of El Generico and Quicksilver (Cape Fear) had to vacate the titles after Quicksilver would suffer a concussion that would ultimately lead to his retirement from the ring.

On May 20th in 2007 the tag titles were awarded to Roderick Strong and PAC after the culmination of a two day tournament in which they beat the prohibitive favorites, Super Dragon and Davey Richards, the Dragon Gate duo of Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino (Muscle Outlaw'z), and arguably the best tag team in wrestling, the Briscoes brothers in the finals. Also taking part in that tournament were: Arrogance (Scott Lost and Chris Bosh), The Trailer Park Boyz (Josh Abercrombie and "Spyder" Nate Webb), The Havana Pitbulls (Rocky Romero and Ricky Reyes), and The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli). Ironically Strong and Pac were the only team in the tournament to not only not have been a regular tag team at the time, but also never to have tagged together prior to winning the tournament. Strong's original partner, Jack Evans, was injured at the time and had to pull out of the tournament as a result. The '07 DDT4 tourney was considered one of the most talented fields of tag teams ever assembled on the Indy circuit and easily the most prominent tag tournament that year.

It was announced earlier this year that the DDT4 tournament would return and would not be an annual event in PWG based on their success last year. Originally the tournament was to name tag champions after the belt was vacated, however at the time of the announcement there were already Tag Team Champions (Super Dragon/Davey Richards) so it was not exactly clear what the prize for the tournament would be although it was speculated that it would be for a tag team title shot or #1 contendership. It wasn't until El Generico and Kevin Steen won the titles in a surprise last minute match with "The Dynasty" that it would later be announced that the tag titles would be defended in each and every match in the tournament. This would mean that the tag titles could change hands up to 3 different times during the 2 day tournament and ultimately the Tag Titles would be the prize for the winner of the tourney.

Rules and Regulations

There are few rules and regulations in DDT4 but it is your basic 8 team, single elimination tournament. So far all of the matches have ended "clean" with no DQ or count outs. One would assume there are no "no contests" or double disqualifications but since we have only had one tourney before who is to say it won't happen this time since PWG doesn't have a rule book or anything made up. The format is usually 4 first round matches on Night 1 with the semi-finals and finals happening on Night 2. the losers of the first round will usually end up wrestling in an 8-man tag match during the second night with the usual "heels vs faces' format taking place. An interesting point is at this time out there are really no set "heel" teams in DDT4 although "The Dynasty" are traditionally "heels" they have been working more ‘tweener or "face" as of late with Super Dragon playing more of the sneaky heel part. Also one would assume that 2.0 will debut as heels considering they have been dubbed the "Canadian Arrogance" by some.


The DDT4 Field



The original roster of teams has changed slightly as an injury to the injury prone Mark Briscoe has taken the Briscoes Brothers (one of only two returning teams) from the tournament. Also an injury to Davey Richards almost put the other returning team in jeopardy but it looks as if Davey will be healthy enough to wrestle in the tournament as he recently just worked the RoH shows last weekend. So far, and barring any PWG-esque catastrophes, this is the 8 team field for the tournament:

Los Luchas (Phoenix Star & Zokre) – Los Luchas qualified for the tournament by winning the Round Robin Qualifier Series held a few months prior to the tournament after outlasting the Youngbucks, TJ Perkins and Hook Bomberry, and Scorpio Sky and Ronin. Los Luchas are currently the reigning NWA World Tag Team Champions after beating "The Real American Heroes" Joey Ryan and Karl "Machine Gun" Anderson. This is the highest profile spot the Luchas have had in PWG as they are consistently in the Tag Title mix but have yet to attain gold in PWG.

El Generico & "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen – Steen-Erico qualified for the tournament after beating "The Dynasty" at 1.21 Gigawatts for the tag team titles. The match was originally schedule to be Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli for the belts AND slots into DDT4 but after Kingston "No-showed" the match was given to El Generico and a partner of his choosing. Steen returned after a long hiatus in surprising fashion to take the titles from Lost and Joey. This is Steen-Erico's second tag team title reign and they have chosen to defend the belts throughout the tournament. Going in this team has to be considered the early favorites to win the tournament and thus retain the titles as they are a huge crowd favorite and have proven to be successful in both PWG and in RoH.

Ronin & Scorpio Sky – Sky-Nin snuck into the tournament after Dino Winwood decided that the remaining 3 teams that didn't make the tournament out of the Red Robin Series all deserved a 2nd chance. Sky and Ronin are SoCal regulars who have partnered and faced each other in several different companies over the years. There have been some speculation however that this last minute inclusion was more of a result of PWG not being able to secure booking for another team they may have had planned, hence, why have a Round Robin Series in the first place if you allow a losing team a slot anyway? But an opportunity is an opportunity and this may be on surprise team that makes it farther than you would expect.

The Dynasty (Scott Lost & Joey Ryan) – Former Tag Team Champions and two-time champs at that (including 1 title reign as "The X-Foundation") Lost and Joey are going into the tournament with grudges against both Steen-Erico, who cost them the tag titles in a surprise match, and SDD (Super Dragon/Davey) who they claim were "ducking them' for months by no-showing and using injuries as an excuse not to face them prior to them being stripped of the tag belts and awarded to The Dynasty. Also Dragon recently has been attacking The Dynasty and just two shows ago put their valet, Jade Chung, on the shelf after a vicious Psychodriver during their tag title match that ultimately cost them their belts. Both guys are also SoCal regulars and stand a good chance of adding a 3rd title reign to their resumes.

2.0 (Jagged & Shane Matthews) – Team 2.0 is a little known, but up and coming, team from Canada who wrestle mainly out of International Wrestling Syndicate, based out of Montreal, Quebec Canada. IWS is the company that gave Steen and Generico their big breaks. While 2.0 has wrestled primarily in Canada they have also made some appearances in CHIKARA, most recently in the "King of Trios Tournament", however PWG is arguably the biggest company they have worked for in the states and this is their big chance to make names for themselves across the Indy circuit. Will it be PWG's chance to "feel the flow of 2.0"? man, that sounds like a commercial for tampons doesn't it?

Jack Evans & Roderick Strong
– Evans and Strong have been tagging together for years in both RoH and in Dragon Gate as part of the now defunct, Generation Next. They have teamed together multiple times in PWG and most recently have settled a rivalry in a "Best of 3" match series which culminated in Roderick Strong beating Jack Evans and winning a World Title shot….which he promptly lost. This is the 2nd tournament that Evans and Strong have been entered in for DDT4 and hopefully this time they will actually get to wrestle in it as a team. Strong previously won last year's DDT4 with PAC and is going for a "win streak" here.

Kota Ibushi & KAGETORA
– No DDT4 tournament is complete without a team from Japan and this time a team from…DDT. How ironic. Ibushi is making his West Coast debut but has recently worked some RoH shows and even has a win over one of the current tag team champions, El Generico. KAGETORA is making his U.S. debut after spending time in both DDT and El Dorado in Japan. Ibu-TORA…KAGE-bushi?? Are currently the UWA World Tag Team Champions in El Dorado. Coincidentally El Dorado is still part of the Dragon Gate system that has a working relationship with PWG so their inclusion in this tournament may have something to do with that business arrangement.
**UPDATE** - Kota Ibushi has a broken ankle...CURSES!! He will be replaced by none other than DDT wrestler and high flyer extraordinaire: El Blazer. El Blazer wrestles as like 15 different characters all over Japan and is considered one of the most exciting high flyers on the Japan Indy scene. A big blow for some fans as El Blazer is not that well known in the states, but very well could be soon. El Blazer and KAGETORA both spent time together in the Dragon Gate system and have wrestled each other all over Japan so their cohesion and familiarity could work in their favor.

Super Dragon & Davey Richards
– Davey and Dragon don't get along. Davey has been a disappointment to fans after several "no-shows" and Super Dragon has been oft injured in the past few years and had shown to be as much of a liability as he is a dominating force in PWG. That being said SDD has had the single most dominant tag title reign in PWG during '05 and '06 and look to regain that momentum going into this year's DDT4.

The Odds Maker

Everyone has some kind of theory about who is going to come out of this tournament as tag champions, but having followed this promotion closely for the pat 4 years I feel like I have a slightly perspective. I'm not going to insult your intelligence by keeping this purely "kayfabe" but I really see there being only a few real potential winners here out of this tournament and I'm basing this on the assumption that this won't be a quick 1 month title reign. Having some kind of idea of how PWG booking words and knowing how a wrestler's past history and "reliability" also plays a part in the way they are used I'm going to try and handicap the "Elite 8". So here goes my ranking and odds for each of the 8 teams in the tournament:

El Generico & "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen

Why they WILL win: Because Steen-Erico are the best tag team that PWG has in this entire tournament and having them win the title only to lose it at the very next show seems horribly shortsighted. If PWG doesn't have a World Champion right now then they will need their Tag Champs to really step up and toe the line for them and right now there isn't a better team for the job than Steen-Erico as they still have name cache' and can bring the goods until "management" figures out what to do with the World Title.

Why they WON'T win: Right now the World Title scene is in disarray because there is really only one wrestler built up enough to hold the belt, Chris Hero, and having him hold the title without a win over Human Tornado seems rather flat and pointless. With so many other regulars/semi-regulars either being injured, unreliable, or difficult to book it would make sense to push Generico and Steen as singles competitors again to secure at least two more contenders for the World Title. While Steen has been taking time away from PWG and his weekly travels in order to spend more time at home with his family it would seem unlikely that he would be able to maintain the same travel schedule and still spend that quality time at home, although Steen-erico are the odds on favorites I think Steen's family commitments may keep the titles off them when all is said and done.

Odds: 3 – 1


The Dynasty (Scott Lost & Joey Ryan)

Why they WILL win: Because they own 1/3 of the company. Okay, seriously they have improved dramatically as a team since reuniting and they offer the company stable champions who will put PWG first and foremost above all else. As a team they are popular with the fans and have some ready made feuds in the works which would also gain more heat if they were wearing the belts to boot. Though they have been working semi-face or ‘tweener lately, they are more than capable of turning fully ‘heel' and cheating their way to the top.

Why they WON'T win: We've seen this before, they just held the titles recently and they are running out of fresh opponents if Kingston doesn't make it back. Although they are set to feud with Dragon/Davey there is no guarantee that feud will take place unless all the stars align and they manage to get everyone healthy AND at the shows at the same time. While "The Dynasty" are the safest choice, they are also the least intriguing when it comes to shaking up the tag title picture.

Odds: 3 – 1

Los Luchas (Phoenix Star & Zokre)

Why they WILL win: Los Luchas are the most seasoned tag team in this entire tournament as both wrestle exclusively in tag teams and with each other all over the Southwestern U.S. they are the current NWA Tag Team Champions and have proven time and time again to be one of the most underrated, entertaining, and innovative tag teams on the West Coast. Their big win in the Red Robin Tournament may be enough to carry them to victory as it has been said for the past year that PWG needs to be able to build up more local talent that will put their at the top of their priority list. If PWG can figure out their World Title sooner than later and put together a solid tournament then the tag championship will not be as heavily relied upon and chances are PWG may be willing to give Los Luchas a chance to run with the ball.

Why they WON'T win: Los Luchas aren't the biggest name in the tourney and their history of "poor attendance" could be a big detriment to them. While LL seem to always be on the cusp of tag team gold they have yet to break out from the pack. Chances are that "The 6" will decide they still aren't big enough names to carry a company with no true World Champ yet. The other caveat is that they are NWA World Champions and as such have another pressing priority that may come before or on par to PWG that "management" may want to shy away from.

Odds: 5 – 1

2.0 (Jagged & Shane Matthews)

Why they WILL win: They are the "Canadian Arrogance" after all…at least according to some. I don't know much about 2.0, but from what I've seen neither has the technical ability of Scott Lost and both are simply playing a slightly watered down version of Chris Bosh. Not to say they aren't entertaining, but neither has the charisma of the "Photogenic one" in my opinion, at least not yet. PWG is looking for new and more reliable talent and if they are looking to book and have more control over some rising stars then putting the titles on 2.0 would be a step in that direction. They would only have to worry about their commitments to CHIKARA and not have to worry about RoH and Japan wresting them from their roster. PWG loves surprises and perhaps the rise of 2.0 will be one of those. Besides, it's not like they don't have another Canadian Tag Team success story on the roster, right?

Why they WON'T win: They are an unknown commodity and booking to give them a title reign almost "sight unseen" seems a bit rash. Most newcomers not named Low Ki need to earn their way up the ladder and pushing 2.0 to the moon without at least 2 really great matches before hand seems to be a bit rushed. Rookies never get the "Goldberg push" in PWG it seems. Unless you're from Pismo beach that is.

Odds: 6 – 1

Jack Evans & Roderick Strong

Why they WILL win: Strong and Jack are arguably the two most seasoned of tag teams in the tourney and their double team moves and mix of strength and speed are unmatched in the tournament. Roderick Strong has won this thing before and is as reliable as they come in terms of delivery good matches time and time again. Jack Evans, though not as much of a regular as once before, is still one of he most "over" wrestlers in PWG today.

Why they WON'T win: RoH already let the cat out of the bag by announcing Jack will have some "International Dates" and won't be back for a while. This might be a smoke screen and Jack may still be able to make All-Star weekend at the least it seems almost impossible for this team to win the tourney if Jack will be in Japan. That being said the chances of Jack not even showing up and someone replacing him to team with Strong is also a possibility and wouldn't be much of a surprise at all. This team is likely to win their first match and perhaps even make the finals which theoretically improves their odds of winning although they have almost no chance of actually winning the final match.

Odds: 8 – 1

Super Dragon & Davey Richards

Why they WILL win: Because it's Super Dragon. He can win any title at any moment because he is he epitome of PWG. He and Davey once OWNED the tag division and every team they faced, if they can stay healthy and focused they can do it again. They are also the most physically imposing team in the entire tourney.

Why they WON'T win: Super Dragon and Davey both have "reliability" issues as far as I'm concerned, but for two very different reasons. Super Dragon is winding down in his in-ring career as he is constantly injured and beat up and he can't be relied on to be able to not only wrestle 3 full matches in two days, but also hold up over a long schedule with the company riding on his ample back. Davey has seemingly made PWG his 3rd priority after Japan and RoH and with his multiple absences one would have to wonder if the "6" are willing to put him in such an important position again until he is able to commit to PWG as a high priority.

Odds: 8 – 1

Ronin & Scorpio Sky

Why they WILL win: These guys are local and don't have any commitments outside of Southern California so the likelihood of them being called off to another fed is unlikely. Ronin and Sky both had big pushes stalled going into the last two BoLA's and right now they could use a big win in order to get back into the consciousness of the fan's minds. If you look at the history of PWG's tag title lineage these guys are in line with some of the other makeshift SoCal teams (Bosh/Quicksilver, SD/Excalibur, Human Tornado/El Generico) that used to rule the tag team division.

Why they WON'T win: If PWG doesn't have a World Champion for a few more shows then they will need the Tag Titles to pick up the slack until they crown one. Although SkyNin may be popular local guys they just don't have the big name cache' to move DVDs. Also it would be pretty hard to believe that these two guys are the best team out of this talented field without a lot of help from some run-ins and shenanigans.

Odds: 12 – 1

El Blazer & KAGETORA

Why they WILL win: PWG would probably consider letting this team go over Steen-Erico or SDD just for the shock value of having this team win the title in the semi-finals and there being a chance of the title being taken oversees. I don't see that happening, but stranger things have happened.

Why they WON'T win: This team is probably never going to be seen in PWG again after this tournament so putting the belts on these guys make no sense. Hell, if they won't let CIMA have the World Title and he's in PWG like twice a year, then what chance does KAGEBlazer have of holding the tag straps?
Besides it would seem almost retarded to have a last minute thrown together team like this beat a well established team in PWG after a last minute replacement. Regardless of how familiar they are with each other in the minds of most fans since they don't know the history of these two as rivals then they won't see them as more than a last second throw in. Had Ibushi managed to stay in the tournament I would probably give them good odds of winning in the first round.

Odds: 20 – 1

Tourney Predictions

There aren't really any brackets to speak of right now so one would have to guess as to what they might be based on that spiffy little graphic above. If that is the case then the brackets might look like this:

Bracket "A"
Los Luchas vs 2.0
Strong/Evans vs Sky/Ronin

Bracket "B"
The Dynasty vs El Blazer/KAGETORA
Steen/Generico vs Super Dragon/Davey Richards

If this is the case then I would probably guess that the Semi-finals will be:

Los Luchas vs Strong/Evans

The Dynasty vs Steen/Generico

I had to pretty much scratch everything that I had written over the past week about Steen-erico and KAGEbushi going at it since Generico is now familiar with Ibushi, but with Kota out I can't see El Blazer/KAGETORA going to the semis. More than likely the Dynasty go over them and perhaps have a hand in SDD losing so that Dragon/Davey return the favor in the semis.

If I just happen to be right about the brackets as well as the semis then I think we'll end up with Steen-Erico in the finals versus either Los Luchas or Strong/Evans, but my gut tells me it'll be Strong/Evans if nothing else because it seems like a more marketable match-up, although I really think Los Luchas deserve a push to the finals and even a chance at a title run, I think "management" will want a more recognizable main event for their show. That being said I think in that scenario Steen-erico retain, although if Los Luchas sneak into the finals my money would actually be on them instead. Mark my words, if the Luchas make it to the finals they'll take the gold.

Finals: Steen-erico vs Los Luchas

Gotta go with my gut here and hope that PWG does what's right for the company and shores up the World Title scene first while letting the SoCal guys have a good run with the title:

So that makes my prediction as to the winner of DDT4 and the NEW PWG Tag Team Champions: Los Luchas

The Rest of the Card

You really have to take this all with a grain of salt here as most of these matches will be tossed around a bit because of the injury to Human Tornado and him being unavailable for the show. As of today (Thursday) PWG has yet to update their card so this is what the singles matches look like for each night:

Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament Night 1 – Saturday 8:00 pm, May 17, 2008

Singles Match
Hook Bomberry vs. Nemesis

Your classic PWG opening match, this should be fun if technically flawed. NEMESIS is coming off his best match in quite a while after presumably "retiring" Bino Gambino, at least for a while. Hook is coming off a failed attempt to team with TJ Perkins to qualify for DDT4.

**UPDATE**: Due to a change in all of the matches with Human Tornado being injured the PWG website changed the line-ups to say that Austin Aries, TJ Perkins, and Jay Briscoe will all be present. No idea what this means but more than likely with 4 tag matches already set and the opening Hook/NEMESIS match that gives you 5 matches already on the card. Count on possibly two more singles matches filling out the rest of the line-up with some combination of TJ, Jay, Aries, and some other local SoCal wrestler. While this isn't as exciting as before PWG is focusing on the Tag matches anyways. It'll be more interesting to see what they do with Night 2 because they could always make the losers compete in tag matches instead of the 8-man.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Championship Title Match
Human Tornado (Champion) vs. Austin Aries *** No chance in hell of this happening but as of yet Aries has no replacement opponent***

No idea what this will end up as but rest assured whoever Aries takes on will probably have an ass whoopin' ahead of them. Unless PWG can pull off a miracle and grab a top shelf "free agent" to replace Tornado in his matches I fully expect a regular local SoCal guy to step in here. Where is "Machine Gun" when you need him? That's right, making love to "hot Asian chicks" in Japan. That boy loves him some Asian bitches.

Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament Night 2 – Sunday 5:00 pm, May 18, 2008

Singles Match
"New Guy" Brandon Bonham vs. TJ Perkins

Bonham is inexplicably over in PWG, the guy has a decent enough look, shiny new tights and a fairly basic moveset including some kicks and top rope moves, solid, not spectacular, but the man is over. Image a slightly less charismatic Spanky. It's weird because sometimes all it takes is timing and the "New Guy' from Pismo Beach got lucky. The question is can he go 3 for 3 in this match and stay undefeated against the Heelish TJ Perkins? I bet you TJ's blonde highlights that he can.

**UPDATE**: Due to a change in all of the matches with Human Tornado being injured the PWG website changed the line-ups to say that Austin Aries, Necro Butcher, and Jay Briscoe will all be present. They didn't give any matches for those three but all of them will be active. Take that for what you will as right now that really makes Night 2 looks like a 6 match line-up unless we don't have a typical 8-man Night 2 match which may be a possibility. I could see an El Blazer vs KAGETORA singles match instead to help fill out the line-up.

The PWG Title Curse…now what?

So…anyone hear that Human Tornado broke his knee cap and tore up his ACL…entering the ring. Yikes. I bet you after reading that Kevin Nash stood up wherever he was and just started a slow building clap. Right now the prognosis for Tornado is that he'll be out AT LEAST a year. So any talk about him holding on to the title and waiting it out is out the window. Right now there has been no announcement made about the PWG World Title but I will tell you right now that Tornado will have to be stripped of it and probably at the show this weekend. No announcements have been made as to the title situation and likely won't be until Saturday. Of course I'll keep everyone updated via "Live Update" after each show but until then get ready for some kind of tournament to take place at some point. Will it happen this weekend? Perhaps they'll wait until the June show or the Anniversary Shows in July. Maybe even make it the prize at this year's BoLA at the end of August. No telling right now but for me the sooner they settle it and crown a champion the better. A company is defined by the man they put at the top to represent them and not having a champion for an extended period of time is ri-doc-ulous. Smackdown is trying that and for two weeks it might have worked, but imagine what would happen if they went through with Judgment Day this weekend and failed to crown a champion. Total anarchy.

The Details

Straight from www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com:

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament takes place Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 8:00PM and Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 5:00PM at the Burbank Armory. The Burbank Armory is located at 3800 W. Valhalla Dr., Burbank, CA, 91505. Front Row tickets are $30 for each night, or can be purchased in a 2 night package for only $50. General Admission tickets are $25 for each night, or can be purchased in a 2 night package for only $40. Any remaining quantity of tickets will be available for purchase at the door on the day of each event. Card and participants are subject to change.

You can also purchase tickets via paypal when you go to the DDT4 mini-site. All you need is your paypal receipt print out and it actually gets you in the door quicker as those who are buying tickets at the venue usually get in after everyone else.

Hopefully I'll see some of you there…of course I won't recognize you, nor you me, but if you would like a visual then imagine a cross between Hines Ward from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Rufio from "Hook". Yeah, that'll do.

The Truth

To be honest I kind of feel like this year's field of competitors are weaker than last year's tournament. Partially due to injuries (and how about PWG announcing Ibushi being out a mere 2 days before Night 1) and partially due to the difficulty in booking talent for a two day tournament. It seems like everyday the pool for top notch talent is getting smaller and smaller, and everyone is competing now for the same guys. That being said I don't doubt that the tournament will be entertaining as all of the teams involved will really try their best to put on the greatest performances they can, however it just remains to be seen what will happen with the World Title and if that will overshadow the tournament itself. If I had my druthers…which I think I left in my coat back at home….I would push for Los Luchas to finally get their titles as they have improved so much over the years and seem to finally be committing to PWG in a bigger way. Aside from 2.0 they would be the freshest team to hold the titles as first timers. I think we can go ahead and rule out KAGEbushi and Jack/Roddy in this tournament but I still think both teams will seriously impress. The real pity here is that Tag Team wrestling in generally has kind of been forgotten in wrestling and now that it is getting it's chance in PWG to shine, there is another "Black Cloud" hanging over the company. Was that a racial joke? Perhaps. But I guess PWG is in for a real turning point this weekend. Stay tuned to 411mania for all the latest recaps and results.

Coming Up Short

Jay Briscoe is a quitter. Let's just be honest about that, though I can't blame him it just seems like "I don't want to be champion without my brother" seems like a flimsy excuse. If you're a pro wrestler you wrestle, you don't just stop doing that because you can't have the partner of your choice anymore. But I guess they had to explain dropping the title somehow and I guess they didn't want to simply have the belt change hands and give AoTF the titles because they cheated to get it. Also it was kind of a "semi-swerve" on the fans who thought Aries might be siding with AoTF or they would walk off with the belts. I hear it was a good match, but ultimately pointless. I really hate it when titles are either vacated or stripped because it is a waste of a "rub" someone could have gotten from winning it clean instead. Still I think the "Tag Challenge Tournament" they are putting together underscores a very sad fact; tag team wrestling in RoH has really gone down hill. When Pelle Primeau have a 12.5% chance of being your tag champion then you have a problem.

I don't want to rag on RoH, but it's there own fault for trying to push the "Stables Wars" at the expense of keeping certain tag teams strong. Looking at the field of 8 teams you have really only 4 teams that have regularly teamed together and 3 teams that are completely thrown together because they are usually singles competitors. Hero and Pearce are only tagging together because they are in the same stable, but hardly seem like a cohesive unit, then again the Vulture Squad are jobbers, and the NRC did nothing significant with the belts when they had it before. I just hope for the sake of sanity they put the titles on Steen-Erico and let the titles run on their own without the whole AoTF/Aries storylines intertwining. Let's get back to a strong focus on the Tag Team Titles because lately the interweaving with the "Stables Wars" has kind of left it coming up short.

6 Degrees of…



Tenchi Masaki is pulling out some random folks to nominate. If it wasn't for a TV program I saw last week I would have no idea who this guy was.

Next time, Korean pop mega-star Rain.

Trust me…that was the least "questionable" picture I could find of Rain. The other ones were much more shirtless, oiled up, and wind blown…seriously, they were so sketchy that even JT would have given them "three thumbs up". Ick. Let's see if we can't erase that from our memory banks with some pictures of a different kind of "Rain". No…not the Chocolate kind.



There, that's better. Too bad Ms. Banks isn't currently with TNA, but I guess that just leaves her more time to concentrate on SHIMMER. I bet Byers loves that. Okay kiddies, get to work or else someone is going to win this week and request Chuck and Billy.

Whatchu talkin' bout readers?

John Reid

I completely agree with you B. Some WWE fanboys, err, the 411 mania crew, almost wet their pants seeing Regal win the WOTW. Screwing over the fans does not mean he earns that much credit. In that case WCW should win a lifetime achievement award.

The problem with that is far too often we confuse visibility with greatness. That's why you have so many people saying TNA sucks without even seeing the matches. Same with ROH. I admit that until now I never really saw a lot of Japanese or Puerto Rican wrestling. Thanks to Youtube and DVDs I am able to enjoy some of the greatest Lucha Libre stars and it's great to see matches with little fluff.

I enjoy all types of wrestling and I don't mind sports entertainment, but I just ask the promotions not to insult our intelligence.

The real divide I see with most wrestling fans is that a lot of fans really do enjoy the "Sports Entertainment" aspect of wrestling and like the glitz, glamour, and gloss that the WWE brings because they make things feel like a big deal and that it seems more high class to watch a well produced show rather than sit in a sweaty gym with the unwashed masses at an Indy show. I'll admit that not every Indy show I go to is a great time or great performance, but I guess I can just appreciate it on another level because I feel the intimacy of the venue and the connection to the performers supplements the fact that it's sometimes ‘Backyard-ish'. I would never bash wrestling fans for enjoying what they enjoy…except CZW fans. Weirdos. But I would just say that I find it hard to believe that 1 and only 1 company in the world could offer you the kind of entertainment you seek and that no other company in the world could provide the same thing. That goes for "fans boys", "smarks", and "elitists" alike.

6 Degrees Results

Boy…sure is lonely this week.

#2

Tenchi Masaki

Hey Bayani,

1) Billie Piper is currently playing a high-class escort named Belle, the main character in the BBC series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl", which apparently is the secret life story of Ashley Massaro, who worked for Bella Escorts in the same role.

What?
Oh right. Six degrees. Right then.

1) British actress and pop star Billie Piper is best known for her role as Rose Tyler, the companion of the Ninth and Tenth incarnations of the Doctor, in legendary sci-fi series Doctor Who. The Tenth and current Doctor is played by David Tennant.
2) The Doctor (Tennant) had to infiltrate a school under the guise of a substitute science teacher in order to battle a race of aliens called the Krillitanes, who had disguised themselves as the faculty and were lead by the headmaster as played by Anthony Stewart Head.
3) Much like Ms. Piper, Anthony Stewart Head is better known in these parts for another role he portrayed, that being Rupert Giles, the Watcher of Buffy Summers in the series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who was played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.
4) After leaving her stakes and Hellmouths behind, Sarah appeared in the movie "Southland Tales" in which she co-starred with Dwayne Johnson.
5) Also known more prominently by another role, Dwayne Johnson famously got the chance to put the People's Lips on a Canadian Dish, Toronto's own Trish Stratus, while he was still The Rock.
6) Trish would later be involved in another "kissy-fit" with her biggest fan, Mickie James, who would also get into it with Ashley Massaro, making all kinds of freaky three-way fun for all. No confirmation on the going rate for that sort of thing from Ms.
Massaro's "agent".

Wow…that's detailed. I'll be honest though, I'm taking a few points off for the "Southland Tales" link as it was a movie so bad that even my girlfriend refused to finish watching it and she's the biggest Rock fan I know. Its kind of like being so bored with the dialogue for a porno that you refuse to stay and watch the 'money shot'

#1.

Right here is another go, with an all Female line up this time.

Ashley Massaro won the 2005 diva search a contest that in 2004 was won by Christy Hemme.

Christy Hemme challenged Trish Stratus to a match at WrestleMania 21.

Trish Stratus had 'Time to Rock & Roll' by Lil' Kim as her theme music.

Lil Kim has remixed a number of songs include Gimme More with Britney Spears

At a performance at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, Britney Spears had a highly-publicized kiss with Madonna.

Madonna was the star of the 1996 film Evita in which Billie Piper has an uncredited bit-part.

Thanks

Andrew Jones

I would totally give Billie Piper credits for her "bit parts". Or…I wish I had ‘bit' her parts. Or…no…that's all I got. Okay Andrew you win this week by a very narrow margin. I just realized that this was possibly the most "whorey" 6DO we've ever had. Well, we're actually one Lita short. Well Andrew up to you to pick someone whose pictures don't make me feel uncomfortable when I see it in my ‘photobucket'.

Left Overs…

Umaga may be switching brands soon. My sources tell me it'll be a switch to…Head and Shoulders. But he doesn't have dandruff. Exactly.

Bret Hart was recently down in FCW talking to some of the "Development Talents" down there. He spent a few minutes meeting and greeting with everyone and about 5 minutes into his speech his mic was cut, he was pushed into a locked closet, and HBK came out to finish his pep talk.

Has anyone else ever imagined a scene where Vince McMahon is having sex with a random Diva Search contestant while they are both wearing Bret Hart masks just so he could actually say, "Bret Hart screwed Bret Hart"? Oh…that's just me then?

CM Punk can't even beat The Miz?!?! For the love of Jebus. I figure this is a set up to get Punk to cash in his MitB shot after Kane gets beaten down, but c'mon. I don't care what anyone says, just having him show up on shows all the time isn't a "push" if he keeps losing. The only place I'd push Punk now is into a shower. That dude looks like you could catch herpes from him over AIM.

This isn't wrestling related but…I recently came across a product in a store called an "Amish Fudge Smoothie". It cost me a dollar. I'm fairly sure in Pennsylvania it would have cost me at least $75…after some negotiating.

Jeff Hardy returned to RAW this week and as punishment for his actions he was put into a match with Umaga…and won. That'll learn him. I don't think the big punishment here should be wrestling with Umaga…it should be being forced to cuddle with him. Seriously…how many wellness violations do you think we'd have if you had to let Umaga spoon you? Okay, one. But Orton is taking time off from "burn out" anyways.

Much like her breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Torrie Wilson has been officially purged from the WWE roster. The WWE will now brush their teeth, pop some tic tacs, and pretend like nothing happened. Oh shit…is that a tooth?

Roxxi LaBald was forced to have her head shaved at "Sacrifice" last weekend. she found surprising comfort in talking with one of the only members of the roster to routinely go through the trauma of having his head completely shaved on a nearly weekly basis. Roxxi then responded with, "No Kip…not THAT head" .

LAX won the TNA Tag Team Titles and picked up a new mouthpiece, Hector Guerrero, to boot. They are now carrying the entire "Latino Nation" on their backs. Which is different than how they usually travel…which is 12 to a pick up truck. What? I live in LA.

I hear TNA may be looking at bringing "Dark Angel" Sara Stock into the mix. I don't know who or what a Sara Stock is…but I assume you get one by boiling down a pot full of Sara and then dropping it down into a low simmer. Mmmm…delicious.

Apparently the first and second hours of RAW last week were the second and thirst most "time-shifted programs" in the cable top 20. I have no idea what that means exactly…but I assume whatever it means there is only one man responsible for that. "Sorry Carlito, but Ziggy says you can't jump out of the lower mid-card until you've successfully put Cody Rhodes over".

Looks like Matt Morgan WILL be an American Gladiator after all under the nickname, "The Beast". Graphic artists here at TBT have rendered a drawing of what they believe Morgan's costume will look like upon his debut.

HHH is being considered for the role of "Thor" in an upcoming movie in 2010. So far HHH has been in to run some scenes, mainly the one where Loki is complaining that Thor is holding him down because Odin keeps booking him strong.

I'm hoping ‘Gladitors' pick up Traci Brooks as well under THIS old gimmick. Oh what a team she and Morgan would make.

The Great Booty Debate 2008

Last week's landslide victory for the Latinas evens the score up this week as we head into the stretch run of the tournament. Or…not, depends on if I get tired of spending an hour each week trying to find pics of hot Latina chicks that aren't showing the "naughty bits" that Ashish frowns on us publishing in his fine website. This week we have Ayame Misaki vs Jessica Burciaga.

Random Asian Bitch Lookin' Good Pic of the Week



See? This is why I hate Barney…that purple bastard has just ruined that color for me forever.

Random Latina Bitch Lookin' Good Pic of the Week



I'd make a "Thunder Cat" reference…but that sounds like a nickname for a queef.

The strength of Kurt Angle's neck is what's keeping him from being able to perform in his chosen profession right now. Which is ironic because the strength of Ashley Massaro's neck is what's keeping her IN her chosen profession.

Sunny not being brought into TNA because of some bad reports that some workers gave after running into her at a convention. It seems that not only has her attitude drastically changed now that she was seen in the "e" and in RoH, but she's upped her price for a "Cambodian Creamsicle" to $35.

Nick Hogan…whatcha gonna DO BROTHER when your butthole gets ripped wide open on YOU!! Just kidding, he's probably going to "County", which isn't so bad. Worse comes to worse he'll get roughed up a bit and end up having to join a prison gang to survive. I'm going to suggest the "Latin Kings" Nick…just a throwing it out there…Chico.

Pimpin' In High Places

I heard a rumor the other day that I wasn't the only columnist on this site…seriously? Since when did that happen?:

Ask 411 covers a variety of topics this week. None of which are "what the hell did Jackie Gayda have on Jeff Jarrett?" Seriously, I'm still lying awake at night over that one.

Jules covers "Spotfests" this week. The name of he next "WWE Girlz Gone Wild" DVD. It isn't? Why not?

Csonka R's up "Sacrifice" this week and it looks like Larry isn't too pleased. Then again, maybe it's not the booking or the woman shaving (which is usually a crowd pleaser), but maybe he's still smarting from last week's Sports FoF when he was upset by the "Comeback Kid" himself…ME. Don't let the dirty jokes and obscure references to illegal sexual acts fool ya…I'm a Beast, baby…a BEAST!!

AC V.1 gives his first hand account of last weekend's RoH show. I'm surprised he went with no Bobby Dempsey in sight…that just screams "bush league" to me. Oh, "Bush League"…another fine title for a "WWE Girlz Gone Wild" DVD.

CoH covers the Madness that is sweeping through the great state of New York. RoH madness that is. Although if you said, "Reefer Madness" that would also have been acceptable.

J-Weezy is making me feel…awkward. Seriously…awk….ward. I guess the "Bro-mance" will come to an end once I have to crush his newbie ass in this week's "Buy of Sell". This week we focus on PWG and well…it's like having Zach Gowen challenge you...to a bicycle race. Poor lil' fella.

D-Dubya continues his fantasy booking of a TNA vs WWE war. The first casualties are probably the cruiserweights and Divas. I could just see HHH picking up the dead carcass of Jamie Noble and using him as a shield. Or the still living carcass of Funaki.

And for shits and giggles let's give a nod to Politics FoF this week for pointing out that Hillary is playing the Lucy to Obama's Charlie Brown and G-Dubya is playing the ‘Screech' to John McCain's……Mr. Belding? Sorry, that joke kinda went awry.

You know what my weekend plans are. Hopefully I'll have time for a quick stop at "Porto's" for a sammich and something wrapped in dough and fried. Or maybe a salad. Man, I think instead of dieting and exercise it would be cheaper and easier just to hire Bobby Dempsey to follow me around so I look that much sexier by comparison. Oh wait…no need for that, I'm going to an Indy show all weekend. Score.

Till then, the Truth will set you free.

-B