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Guerrilla Reviewfare: PWG All Star Weekend X – Night 1

February 24, 2014 | Posted by Jake St-Pierre
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Guerrilla Reviewfare: PWG All Star Weekend X – Night 1  

We are TAPED from the American Legion in Reseda, CA.

Your hosts are Excalibur and everybody else.

We fade in to Mount Rushmore taunting and whatnot, Excalibur not even able to get a word in edge wise. Chris Hero comes in, and it’s on. Steen and the Bucks eat elbows, but Cole ducks out. Hero wants their title match RIGHT GODDAMN NOW, but Cole skips out after teasing it. Hero cuts a promo and we’re off…

Anthony Nese vs. Brian Cage
The first match between these two featured Brian Cage sucking wind about two minutes in, but hopefully he’s adjusted enough to the retarded amount of muscle on his body.

Nese starts out stiff with a few slaps and chops, but Cage is all “fuck that” and strongmans him around. Nese ranas Cage out of the ring and DIVES OUT WITH A MOONSAULT! Nese follows up with a Misawa missile dropkick in the ring for a two count. Cage has Nese laying horizontally on the top rope, AND KICKS HIM UP INTO A DVD ON HIS KNEE! Nese flips out of a German Suplex and comes up with a sweet double stomp, but runs right into a straight jacket neckbreaker for a nearfall. Nese dives in with an Asai Moonsault for a close 2 count. This is going along much, much better than their match at TEN. Tilt-A-Whirl slam gets Cage another two count. Cage and Nese head up top, but Nese counters a back superplex into a crossbody. Nese begins his comeback, and knocks Cage down with a leg lariat. Nese gives Cage a mean superkick out and tries to dive out onto him, but Cage catches him in a suplex. Nese knees himself out of it and looks to dive out from the ring, but CAGE CATCHES HIM AGAIN AND SUPLEXES HIM ON THE FLOOR! Nese isn’t down for long, as he rocks Cage with a jumping knee in the corner for 2. PUMPHANDLE POWERBOMB BY NESE! CAGE KICKS OUT! Calling that a pumphandle powerbomb is a longshot. It wasn’t a botch, but still. Pop Up Powerbomb scores for Cage, INTO A BUCKLE BOMB! WEAPON X…COUNTERED INTO A CODE RED! DISCUS LARIAT FROM CAGE! Cage is your winner in 12 minutes. ***1/4 This was a great opener and a good bit more enjoyable than their TEN match. Cage has adjusted to working with the muscle mass and seems back to his old ways with great matches like these. Hell of a way to start the show.

The RockNES Monsters vs. Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae
Joey and Candice have proved to be quite the team, and I’m always down for an excuse to look at Candice. Johnny Goodtime has shaved his Caveman beard, which makes him look ridiculously different.

Goodtime takes out Candice before he and Joey even touch, allowing Yuma to jump Joey. Candice escapes Explosive Amnesia and dropkicks Goodtime out of the ring. Yuma earns a kick to the face while Goodtime gets hung up in the ropes with a neckbreaker. TOPE DDT ONTO GOODTIME! JOEY SPEARS YUMA! TOPE SUICIDA ONTO GOODTIME! That was quite the sequence. Yuma takes a Pumphandle Suplex and a Spinebuster for two. Goodtime suplexes Joey out of the ring with him, leaving poor Candice to be victimized by Johnny Yuma, who is hilarious on Twitter might I add. Joey cracks Yuma with a superkick and tags in Candice, who goes up top only to meet Goodtime. Candice gets him in the Tree of Woe and gives him a double stomp! Swinging DDT hits on Yuma, right into a Black Widow on Goodtime! Candice SWINGS over Goodtime to avoid a boot from Yuma! SHE GIVES GOODTIME A BALLSPLEX ON TOP OF YUMA! Joey tries to walk Candice on the ropes for a rana, but Goodtime crotches her! GOODTIME THROWS CANDICE ONTO JOEY OUTSIDE! Goodtime dives out of the ring with a double stomp! This match is awesome. Candice finds her way back in and looks to give Goodtime a top rope rana, but GOODTIME FUCKING POWEROMBS HER ON A ROPE HUNG JOEY! Explosive Amnesia scores on Joey, but Candice KISSES GOODTIME TO STUN HIM! Goodtime asks for more, but turns right into a superkick! Candice moonsaults Goodtime for the win in 10 minutes. ***1/4 I thought this was a blast, personally. Joey is so much more fun to watch when he has somebody else to carry the slack in a tag team, and it doesn’t hurt that Candice is a pretty damn good worker. RockNES’ time as a top team in PWG has passed, but for matches like this, they are still a big asset to have. Another tremendously fun sprint.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Drake Younger
So continues Super Dragon’s quest to murder Drake Younger, I guess. In all seriousness, I highly advise you to watch Drake’s episode of The Kevin Steen Show. The dude might be the nicest guy ever and I haven’t even met him. The story of All Star Weekend IX will bring a huge grin to your face, I promise. The guy might be my favorite in wrestling for his attitude, to be honest…it helps that I enjoy him a lot as a worker too.

Ciampa jumps Drake before the bell, but Drake ain’t having that shit as he KILLS Ciampa with a belly-to-belly in the corner. DRAKE DIVES ONTO HIM WITH A SOMERSAULT SENTON OUTSIDE! CIAMPA HITS PROJECT CIAMPA~! Drake starts coming back and tries to crossbody Ciampa off of the stage, but Ciampa catches him and hits a Fallaway Slam on the floor! Ciampa knees Drake on the apron, but DRAKE GIVES HIM A DEATH VALLEY DRIVER ON IT! Drake dives into the ring with a swinging DDT, and hits a Frog Splash for a 2 count. Drake looks for a lariat, but Ciampa counters into an Air Raid Crash for two. Tiger Driver scores for Drake, but Ciampa counters Drake’s Landing into a Dragon Suplex! Knees in the corner! COP KILLA FROM CIAMPA! DRAKE KICKS OUT! Project Ciampa…countered into a Guillotine! TOMMASO GOES TO THE TOP AND HITS A SUPER AIR RAID CRASH! DRAKE KICKS OUT! DRAKE WINS WITH A ROLL UP OUT OF NOWHERE! That’s it in 12 minutes. ***1/2 As good a match as this was, I think they could have done a lot more with a bit more time and freedom. That’s not to say the match was poor of course—it was actually pretty awesome for what time they did get—I just think that PWG could have gotten more bang for their buck (ha) had about 5-7 extra minutes been attached to this. As it is, it’s still fantastic for its place on the card so I’m happy.

Johnny Gargano vs. Davey Richards
I won’t comment on Davey’s idiocy, but I will comment on how fucking awesome this match is going to be.

It’s your usual fare to start. In all this madness, Davey convinces Rick Knox to do a little RICK RUDE GYRATING!~! Things head out to the apron, and Gargano somersaults onto Davey on the floor. They fight around the ring because fuck you, and they head inside for more rest holds. Gargano hits a mean enzuigiri in the corner, and brains Davey with a roundhouse for 2. Davey cracks Johnny with a kick and hits a German for a two count. Alarm Clock scores for Davey, but he EATS a superkick from Gargano! ANKLE LOCK BY DAVEY! Murderdeathkill Kick to the face! HEADBUTT MISSES! GARGA-NO ESCAPE! DAVEY COUNTERS INTO AN ANKLE LOCK! GARGANO COUNTERS INTO ONE OF HIS OWN! GARGA-NO ESCAPE FROM DAVEY! TOMBSTONE FROM DAVEY! GARGANO KICKS OUT! Davey headbutts Gargano up top, but Gargano KILLS HIM WITH A SUNSET POWERBOMB! LAWN DART! DAVEY KICKS OUT! SUPERKICK! HURTS DONUT! DAVEY KICKS OUT! GARGA-NO ESCAPE!~! TRANSITION TO AN ANKLE LOCK! STEP OVER GARGA-NO ESCAPE! Davey taps after 19 minutes. ***3/4 The counters sure were good, but something was really missing here. Davey seemed like he was going through the motions, and Johnny didn’t do much to carry him either. It would be one hell of a TV main event, but in PWG, it’s just par for the course. But of course, these guys’ 80% is most guys’ 110%, but I still feel like these guys could have had a ridiculous match if they wanted. They made the crowd happy, and it WAS a great match, I just feel like they were holding back more than they should have. This show needs a huge kick in the ass and while this helped, it didn’t re-invent the wheel. Great stuff in a vacuum, though.

Best Friends vs. Dojo Bros
Trent Baretta has improved leaps and bounds since his first PWG appearances, so I’m all for his inclusion here. But then again, you can suck and still be awesome by association with Chuckie T.

The Dojo Bros taunt is the most charismatic thing Roderick Strong has done since he…drank beer in the front row of an ROH show? I don’t know. But it was fantastic. Trent and Roddy start things off, and it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. Chuckie chooses not to chop Roddy despite Trent’s insistence, and pays for it. Eddie and Roddy give Chuckie a real asskicking. Chuckie hilariously finds Trent for the hot tag, and Trent comes in accordingly. Chuckie hits a beautiful handstand senton for a one count. NO SELLING!~! SUPERKICK/BACKBREAKER SEQUENCE OF DEADLY DEATH! Eddie moonsaults off of the apron onto Chuckie, and hits Trent with a Misawa missile dropkick! Trent takes a Fisherman’s Buster and a Funplex for 2. Chuckie knees Roddy out of the ring, and the Best Friends hit STEREO TOPE CON HILOS! RUNNING HUG FROM THE BEST FRIENDS!~! They are really good friends, I must say. I doubted their credibility at first, but I was wrong. Chuckie hits a Lionsault on Eddie for a two count. STRONGHOLD/ACHILLES LOCK! Trent pushes Roddy off onto Eddie to break up both holds. Eddie goes up top, but TRENT RUNS UP AND GIVES HIM A SUPER GERMAN SUPLEX! RODDY BREAKS IT UP! Trent looks for his Piledriver, but RODDY FUCKING SICK KICKS HIM INTO A CODE RED!~! NEARFALL!~! Holy SHIT. Trent dodges the Dominator/Double Stomp, and RODDY EATS THE PILEDRIVER FROM TRENT! SOLEFOOD ON EDDIE! BUSAIKU KNEE FROM TRENT! BEST FRIENDS CHOKESLAM! Chuckie and Trent win in 19 minutes. ***3/4 I was tempted to call this a disappointment, but that teaches me to judge a match before it ends. They turned it up at the end and that Sick Kick/Code Red from the Dojo Bros got a real reaction out of me. I’m very interested to see how PWG handles what is obviously a great tag team between Chuck and Trent. If you’d have told me back in April that Trent would be one of the most entertaining parts of a PWG show, I’d have slapped you like the bitch you were. And then once February hit, I would have apologized for being out of line. This was fantastic.

ACH vs. Michael Elgin
I don’t even want to give this an introduction, honestly.

They trade pins and whatnot to conclude in the first GENERIC INDY STANDOFF!~! of the night. ACH nearly whiffs a springboard, but has enough ridiculous athleticism to get the move off perfectly anyway. ACH dropkicks Elgin out of the ring and looks to dive out with a Rana, but Elgin catches him and powerbombs him into the ringpost. My favorite thing about Elgin is that he’s strong enough to make heat segments interesting, when most bigger wrestlers tend to have a problem keeping my attention at that point. A 30 second vertical suplex scores for Elgin, but alas, a nearfall. Elgin brains ACH with an enzuigiri on the apron, sending a limp ACH back in the ring. ACH buys himself some time with a standing double stomp. ACH kicks Elgin from the outside, but botches a slingshot cutter. It looked like Elgin had a brainfart there, but at least they didn’t repeat the spot. Black Hole Slam scores for another Elgin nearfall. ACH hits a Crucifix Bomb for a two count. ACH looks for a sunset powerbomb, but Elgin is having none of it. ACH dodges the corkscrew senton and hits a Magnum Driver! Only 2. ACH goes up top, but ELGIN BRAINS HIM WITH A DROPKICK! DEADLIFT FALCON ARROW!~! HE’S DONE THE DEAL! ACH KICKS OUT! NO ONE EVER KICKS OUT OF THE FALCON ARROW! BUCKLE BOMB! REVERSE RANA FROM ACH!~! BIG BANG ATTACK! ELGIN KICKS OUT~! DRAGONFLY! ELGIN KICKS OUT! Elgin German Suplexes ACH into the corner! FLASH KICK FROM ACH!~! SUPER RANA FROM ACH! ELGIN COUNTERS INTO A JACKNIFE POWERBOMB! BACKFIST FROM HELL! ELGIN BOMB! That’s it in 18 minutes. **** This was about on par with their ROH match last year in Pittsburgh. ACH is such an animated wrestler that even his down time is interesting, and couple that with Elgin’s aforementioned ability to make heat segments interesting, this match didn’t do much to make me tune out. ACH is the future of professional wrestling and if he isn’t on top of everything in 5-6 years, there is no peace in this rotten world. I have nothing but great things to say about the guy and I hope he gets an extended run with a championship of some kind in 2014. The dude deserves it 5 times over. Michael Elgin is always tremendous, so I don’t really have much to say about him that hasn’t been said in one of my earlier reviews. This was the kick in the ass the show needed.

The Young Bucks & Kevin Steen vs. AR Fox, Rich Swann, & Ricochet
Oh dear God.

Do not let your eyes deceive you; that is Kevin Steen in full Young Bucks regalia. Only a real man wears baby blue and pink with the word “fuck” plastered on the back. I think Chuck taylor is actually my favorite PWG guest commentator, by the way. Ricochet takes control doing what? FLIPS. He follows up with about 5 back handsprings. Steen totally shakes off dropkicks from Ricochet and Swann, but finally goes down after a triple dropkick. AR FOX DIVES OUT ONTO MOUNT RUSHMORE WITH AN IMPLODING SENTON! TRIPLE POWERBOMB ON THE APRON FROM MOUNT RUSHMORE! They throw Fox, Swann, and Ricochet in, but all three COME OUT WITH TOPE CON HILOS! Steen DESTROYS Ricochet with a DDT from the apron into the ring. Steen does his oh-so-graceful version of the Young Bucks backrake, including two somersaults and what started out as a decent cartwheel. Steen takes an armdrag from Fox, who also gives Nick a headscissors take down. Fox misses the leg drop to the apron, but MATT BRAINS HIM WITH A FUCKING SUPERKICK! STEEN CHUCKS HIM INTO THE CHAIRS! Swann eventually tags in and counters a pop up powerbomb with a rana on Steen. Ricochet gives Nick a 619 to the gut, and FOX DIVES OUT ONTO MATT OVER THE RINGPOST! LETHAL INJECTION FROM SWANN! SSP FROM RICOCHET! Only 2. POP UP POWERBOMB ON RICOCHET! CANNONBALL! Ricochet kicks out. Ricochet eats a superkick from Matt, but EATS A DIVING CODEBREAKER FROM FOX! NICK KILLS FOX WITH A SUPERKICK! SWANN EATS A SLEEPER SUPLEX! STEEN TAKES METEORA!~! Everyone is down and the place goes fucking nuts. Ricochet eats Early Onset Alzheimer’s, but the Bucks walk into a double Ace Crusher from Fox! THEY SUPERKICK FOX OUT OF MID-AIR IN A TOPE SUICIDA!~! RICOCHET DIVES OUT WITH A FUCKING DOUBLE JUMP SHOOTING STAR PRESS! SWANN HITS A FROG SPLASH ON NICK! SHOOTING STAR PRESS FROM RICOCHET! STEEN BREAKS IT UP! STEEN KILLS FOX WITH A STUNNER! RICOCHET HITS STEEN WITH A DDT! LO MEIN PAIN ON NICK! JUMPING 450 ON NICK FROM SWANN! FOX HITS A 450! RICOCHET MISSES THE 630!~! PACKAGE PILEDRIVER!~! POP UP TANDEM TOMBSTONE FROM MOUNT RUSHMORE! That’s finally it in 21 minutes. ****1/4 As if this was going to be anything else. These DGUSA-esque six man tags are my favorite part of PWG this year and I credit them for being the best in-ring part of the promotion in 2013. Some might say they’re repetitive, or they blend together, but I’ve loved every one of them. It’s crazy how these moves are pulled off with such precision that you can sequence them believably in a wrestling match and not fuck them up. I want to specifically point out that I think Ricochet is a STAR. I think he’s by far the best worker out of the group and I hope he gets recognized with something big one day…if he doesn’t die first. That sentence is a testament to his ability because Fox and Swann aren’t slouches. I just believe that Ricochet leaves them in the dust with his singles work. The guy is a monster. As for the match, it’s pretty well-known that I’m a mark for these things. It wasn’t as good as the one with Candice at BOLA, but then, not much this year was.

PWG World Title: Adam Cole (c) vs. Chris Hero
Oh fuck YES. This is an awesome main event in any company and it helps that the crowd is rabid for Hero too.

Adam Cole shakes Hero’s hand without telling him to “suck his dick”. Baby steps Adam. After that, we get your usual chain wrestling that is made better by Hero’s penchant for going insane on the mat. Hero obviously schools him to start off. Cole talks shit from the outside, but Hero outsmarts him on the chase and elbows him to the floor. Cole bodes Hero outside again, this time finding himself on top with a ROPE HUNG NO HANDED PILEDRIVER! That move is nasty. Cole predictably takes control from there. “Claudio was always better than you” says Cole, so Hero goes FUCKING CRAZY and rips him a new one. Hero cracks him with a low dropkick to a seated Cole for a two count. Things head to the outside, where Hero continues his onslaught. MAFIA KICK! COLE KICKS OUT! Hero KILLS Cole with a punch to the face, but only gets two. Cole comes back with a brainbuster on the knee, but only for 2! Hero boots Adam Cole on the top and HITS AN ELECTRIC CHAIR CYCLONE KILL!~! COLE KICKS OUT! Cole goes back to the top rope again but knocks Hero down this time. He totally misses a splash and TAKES A CRAVAT SUPLEX! BACK DROP DRIVER FROM COLE! MAFIA KICK FROM HERO! COLE KICKS OUT! FLORIDA KEY! HERO KICKS OUT! HERO ACCIDENTALLY MAFIA KICKS RICK KNOX! HERO’S WELCOME FROM HERO! Hero pulls out the Golden Elbow Pad, but Cole kicks his knee out from under him. Cole doesn’t hit Panama Sunrise, but ends up superkicking Hero anyway for what would figuratively probably be a nearfall. Knox is out, even though he’s taken worse bumps before and come back to fuck shit up anyway. Cole puts the Elbow Pad on his foot and KILLS HERO WITH A LOADED SUPERKICK! PATRICK HERNANDEZ IS HERE! HERO KICKS OUT!~! LOADED SUPERKICK TO PATRICK HERNANDEZ! Hero KILLS COLE WITH A KNEE! HERE COMES MOUNT RUSHMORE! ELBOWS FOR EVERYBODY! ROARING ELBOW ON COLE! COLE KICKS OUT!~! This is overbooking done right. SUPERKICK TO THE DICK BY COLE! PANAMA SUNRISE! Cole retains the belt in 22 minutes. **** I’m sure some will dislike the constant interference from Mount Rushmore, but I feel like it made for some of the better moments of the match this time around. Interference and overbooking is extremely enjoyable if it’s done right, and I think it was here. Hero looked like he hadn’t missed a beat and really pulled out all the stops, and hopefully he’ll be able to carry that into 2014. Cole is obviously one of the best (if not THE best) things going in wrestling right now and he’s going to be a WWE main eventer in 5 years at this rate. I can’t rave enough about him honestly. Once Cole finally loses the belt (hopefully to Drake!), the place is going to come unglued. He’s been the best champ PWG has ever had I think, and this match only kept that going. Awesome stuff.

Hero cuts a fiery promo after the match that involves telling a fan that he’s going to bring Norman Smiley to Reseda so the fan can suck his big black dick. And we end after your usual Hero hype promo.

The 411: This was a very, very good show. The crowd wasn't as good as I was used to, which made for a little less organic enjoyment, but the wrestling goods were there. I find it ridiculous that my brain is accustomed to like, 4 **** matches a show from this company, so before the last 3 matches, I was a tad underwhelmed. Once the last 1/3 of show happened, I was all in, so don't worry. This wasn't up to the craziness of BOLA or the last All Star Weekend, but it was still all the goodness you'd come to expect from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Highly recommended, as usual.
 
Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]  legend

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