PWG Kurt RussellReunion 3 Results 1.29.12

Credit: Daniel Short and WrestlingObserver.com

Attendance was about even with the DGUSA show on Friday, maybe a little more since PWG is local. So I’m thinking roughly 600-700.

WrestleReunion founder Sal Corrente took a moment before the show started to thank the fans for coming to the convention and thanked PWG in particular for being the reason the convention has been a success the past three years in Los Angeles. Excalibur then got the mic. He joked about the Westin folks being morally horrible people (they shoot harpoons at dolphins so they could dump bottles in the ocean instead of recycling) before announcing that, due to being held up in Boston, Eddie Edwards missed his flight and could not make the show. After going into a great rephrasing of the “when life gives you lemons” analogy, he announced that Davey’s new partner would be none other than Harry Smith! (None of the VIP guests were scheduled to have any part in the PWG show, but I guess Harry was very happy with his match with Davey on Saturday that when this situation came up he offered to jump in.)

1. The Fightin’ Taylor Boys (Brian Cage-Taylor and Ryan Taylor) def. Chris Kadillak and Famous B via Ryan Elevated Flip Piledriver on Chris

Nice, solid opening. Both sides worked hard and it was very appreciated. ** 1/2

2. Jimmy Susumu def. BxB Hulk via Mugen

Great Dragon Gate showcase that everyone enjoyed. A better showing for Hulk than the Low Ki match Friday. ***

Davey Richards came out to reiterate what Excalibur announced earlier, adding ho he idolized the British Bulldogs growing up and was proud to have stolen the show last night against the son of the one of the Bulldogs.

3. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) def. Davey Richards and Harry Smith via More Bang For Your Buck on Davey

Another great match with everyone working hard. Harry looked pretty darn good in the match, earning “Please Come Back!” chants after the match. Popular spot was Harry holding Nick up for a long delayed suplex up to the fan count of 34. *** 1/2

4. Willie Mack def. Naruki Doi via Fireman’s Carry Into Sit-out Powerbomb

A potential star-making match and performance for Willie, who has been working up the ladder of established wrestlers over the past half-year. Doi did an excellent job making him look good and reactin to the crowd chants. *** 1/2

5. B-Boy, Candice LeRae, Cedric Alexander, and Mascarita Dorada def. DEMUS 316, Joey Ryan, Peter Avalon, and Ray Rosas via Candice Moonsault on Peter

The really good multi-person match involving Candice that we’ve come to expect and love, only throwing in the minis from last night’s show. Dorada, once again, was the star with his Tilt-A-Whirl moves and lucha dives. He earned “Please Come Back” chants after the match. *** 1/2

Intermission ran quicker and seemingly on schedule than previous PWG shows because of how fast they needed to get through everything before the Royal Rumble.

6. RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma) def. Spiked Mohicans (CIMA and Ricochet) via Goodtime Top-Rope DVD Yuma onto Ricochet

A potential star-making match and performance for the Monsters, who like Willie have been working up the ladder. CIMA and Ricochet more than succeeded in getting them over while all four put forth an excellent match from start to finish. ****

7. Masaaki Mochizuki def. Roderick Strong via Sankakugeri to the Face

There was not much reaction to Mochi at the start and most of the fans were behind Roderick until they saw for themselves that Mochi was much more of a serious contender and threat than Jake Manning was last night. Mochi kicked Roderick all over and it got people to cringe with how stiff they were. Lack of real crowd heat did hamper an otherwise great match. ***

8. El Generico, Masato Yoshino, and PAC def. Akira Tozawa, Kevin Steen, and Super Dragon via PAC Corkscrew Shooting Star Press on Tozawa

Not since the first Dragon Gate in LA show have Southern California fans seen anything that closely resembled the incredible Dragon Gate trios matches and this was outstanding from beginning to end. Fast and furious that had the fans eating it up and wanting more. **** 1/2

Post-match had Dragon wanting a handshake with Generico much to Steen’s dislike. Dragon shook hands with PAC and Yoshino and was about to leave when Generico stopped him. They were about to shake when Steen got hold of the PWG Championship. Generico ultimately hit the ring instead and demanded Steen put the belt down, who instead drapped it over Generico’s shoulder and flipped him off before bowing to PAC and Yoshino. Dragon stormed off at being blown off by Generico, so there’s a great storyline in the works. Fans chanted “Please Come Back!” to Tozawa, who they just love to death.

In terms of quality of matches, DGUSA was perhaps the best of the weekend, but PWG possibly had the best overall show. The main event trios was unbelievable, the Dragon Gate stars helped get some local talent over, the eight-person tag was oodles of fun, and Harry Smith won the fans over with his last minute entry. Plus the ending storyline was very well told and sets up for what could be an excellent program between Dragon and Generico that PWG fans will finally be getting after years of waiting.