RB Report: PWG Holy Diver Down

PWG Holy Diver Down
24 February, 2007

*In case you don’t know, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla are a California-based independent company run by the wrestlers Super Dragon, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Disco Machine, Excalibur and Topgun Talwar. Their DVDs can be bought online from prowrestlingguerrilla.com.

*I haven’t seen a PWG show since Guitarmageddon back in 2005, so I’m pretty excited for this. I’ve only seen about four PWG shows in the past and they were all from 2004/2005, so I’m familiar with pretty much nothing.

*As usual, Dino Winwood is in the ring to welcome the fans. He calls out Joey Ryan, who has recently lost the PWG Championship to Human Tornado. The sound’s awful and I don’t have much of an idea of what’s going on. Hard cut to…

*Joey Ryan vs. Topgun Talwar
Topgun’s wearing a thong over his singlet. He pulls Joey’s pink trunks down to start and spanks him. That was something I wish I didn’t see. This is all about COMEDY ANTICS~! I’m not into it. Topgun continues to work the ass. Too much man-ass for my liking. He takes Joey around ring-side and asks fans if they want to spank him. None take up that offer. JYD headbutts to the ass. Joey takes control and the match and the pace slooooows down. Joey goes up top and Topgun crotches him. Back to the ass he goes. Rear naked choke by Topgun. Joey fights out of it. BODY SLAM by Ryan. He misses a top rope leg drop, but a superkick finishes Topgun off(11:26).

Rating: MINUS FIVE STARS for Joey Ryan’s ass being on display for about nine-tenths of the match. Even without that, the match was still total ass, no pun intended. I wasn’t into the wackyness.

*Ronin vs. Ricky Reyes
Ronin is a fat, fat man. Reyes has a head the size of a planet. I’ve never seen Ronin before and I’ve never seen a Reyes singles match that I like. Needless to say, I don’t have high hopes for this one. Dueling chants for both men. This has to be the only place where Reyes is over. They start out fast with Reyes charging with a running knee. Ronin dominates with strikes and BIG MAN AGILITY~! Overhead butterfly suplex to Reyes. Reyes then takes control until Ronin busts out a jawbreaker. Body slam and elbow drop to Reyes. Reyes targets the legs of Ronin. He suplexes the big man and goes back to the left leg. For a loooong time. I always mark for the Indian Deathlock. Ronin comes back with more forearms. They’re like the only thing he’s done all match. It’ls like Nigel McGuinness with his lariats. Reyes kicks him in the head and he’s down. Back to the leg! A Reyes ‘rana is countered to a powerbomb as the fans chant “Ronin”. More forearms! DEATH VALLEY DRIVAH! It only gets two. Reyes takes out the knee with a dropkick. He follows a DDT with a spinning neckbreaker. LARIATOOOO from Ronin. Two-count. Enziguri from Reyes. Ronin blocks a charge and another DVD gets the 1-2-3 over Reyes(10:00)!

Rating: *. Crowd was hot, but the action was dull. Reyes is a boring, boring man. Ronin’s indy-tastic offence was fun to watch.

*Karl “The Machine Gun” Anderson vs. “The Future” Frankie Kazarian
Kazarian bores the snot outta me. Anderson is one-half of the current NWA World Tag Team Champions, alongside Joey Ryan. He’s a large man. Stiff tie-up to start out. Mat stuff and STAND-OFF~! Anderson stalls for a couple minutes and gets back in. Know who he reminds me of? Adam Pearce, who coincidentally had a feud with Kazarian back in PWG’s early days. Kazarian tries to go for Jerry Lynn’s apron legdrop, but it misses and Anderson slingshots over the top rope and nails a lariat. He stomps away. Kazarian mocks Anderson’s resemblance to Bill Goldberg and comes back with a spear. Anderson blocks a Jackhammer. Spoilsport. He pounds away again. HE ATTACKS HIS HAT! Does this man have no morals?! Kazarian gets whipped over the top rope. Back in, Anderson goes to the top rope and misses a flying senton. That looked hurty. Crowd gets behind Frankie. LEGDROP! Spinning neckbreaker gets two. Frankie channels STEVE BLACKMAN and nails a SICK pump kick right to the face of Anderson. Powerslam by Anderson gets two. Someone – I THINK it’s Scorpio Sky – runs in and attacks Frankie which allows Anderson to roll him up for the victory(12:59).

Rating: This was fun stuff. Nothing special, though. **.

*Arrogance (“Photogenic” Chris Bosh & Scott Lost (w/ Jade Cheung)) vs. Murder City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)
Sabin is the current X-Division champion and together the MCMGs are the ZERO-1 Junior Tag Champions. I think. They’re currently at the top of my MOTY list with their match against the Briscoes in ROH. I’m looking forward to this one. Sabin and Lost start things out. They go all around the ring in a tie-up. Sabin breaks clean in the corner. They exchange holds and Sabin gets the upper hand. He works over Lost’s arm. Sabin continues to dominate and the MCMGs exchange quick tags. Good strategy. Lost breaks a top wristlock and Bosh gets tagged in. Bosh can’t compete with Shelley’s expertise on the mat, so, like his partner earlier, Shelley gets the upper hand. CRAVATE by Shelley. He works the arm of Bosh. Shelley locks in the Border City Stretch early. Lost runs in the break it up, but Sabin cuts him off and locks in a Texas Cloverleaf. Both submissions are broken and order is restored. Sabin is tagged in and the MCMGs show why they’re such an awesome tag team. Kick to the back of Bosh’s head by Sabin. Shelley in and the bust out an utterly fantastic double team sequence. Legdrop to Bosh by Shelley. Sabin is tagged and comes in with an Eddy-esque slingshot senton. Shelley is tagged back in and does the same. “Ow, my dick!” – Bosh. Sabin back in. Double hiptoss is rolled through into double Boston Crab. Lost takes them both out with dropkicks and Arrogance finally take their chance to dominate with SHOTS TO THE COCKS! Lost tags in. Rib-breaker to Sabin and a body vice. Lost tags Bosh in, but Bosh decides he’s still too tired. Awesome. Lost works a headlock, but with help from the fans, Sabin HULKS UP! Lost cuts him off, however, and Bosh is now ready, so he is tagged in. Backbreaker. He metaphorically cuts the ring in half and isolates Sabin. Fisherman’s Suplex gets two. Lost in. Sabin comes back with punches, but Jade grabs his leg and Lost forearms him down. Bosh tags in and Arrogance try to double team Sabin, but he gets out of everything they throw at him. Enziguri to Bosh and leg lariat to Lost. Sabin is tagged in and he’s a HOUSE EN FUEGO! REVERSE LUNGBLOWER OUT THE CORNER TO LOST! TIGAH SUPLEX! Only gets two. Bosh comes off the top with an axe handle, but gets caught with a kick to the stomach and an atomic drop. Top rope legdrop to both men from Sabin only gets two on Lost even though Bosh is the legal man. Shelley continues to work over Lost, so I’m assuming they’re pretending he’s the legal man. Top rope senton to Lost gets two. Shelley misses a Shiranui and Bosh hits a backbreaker. Powerbomb and Sharphooter to Shelley. Lost locks Sabin in one. They get broken up. Bost tags out to Lost. SUPER ATOMIC DROP to Lost from Shelley! Sabin in. Springboard tornado DDT only gets two. Shelley comes in with a flying cross body to Lost. Bosh in and a STONE COLD STUNNER! Shelley hits one of his own and both men tag out. Chop battle. Ace crushers to both men’s partners. SICK backbreaker to Sabin from Bosh. One for Shelley, too. All four men are on the outside. They brawl. Stereo topes to Arrogance. Superkick/enziguri combo to Bosh. Shelley covers, but Lost breaks it up with an elbow drop. Leg lariat to Sabin. I can’t even remember who the legal men are. Both MCMGs roll up Arrogance and that’s enough for the win(27:40).

Rating: Great match. Around half-way through the match I was thinking this was gonna end up a ****+ affair, but after Shelley’s hot tag, the match match slowed down, went too long, lost all momentum and the crowd just deflated. There was some confusion with legal men too, which ALWAYS annoys me in tag matches, unless it’s Chikara with their wacky lucha tags. It told a nice story in the early going with Shelley and Sabin just owning Arrogance with their superior mat skills, but their tendencies for flashy double team moves eventually losing them possession in the middle of the match. Call it ***1/2.

*Bino Gambino vs. Disco Machine
This is the first time I’ve ever seen Bino. He cuts a promo and Disco backslides him for the 1-2-3. That was short. Bino then slams Disco and gets the 1-2-3. They continue fighting. Is this 2/3 falls or something? They fight on the outside and go back in. Slug-fest. Failed chokeslam attempt on Bino. Disco runs into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Bino chokes away. Bino making fun of the fans is awesome. Missile dropkick from Disco and Bino bails. Disco follows and they brawl to the back of the room. Disco gets thrown into chairs, almost breaking a fans legs in the process. Some fan thinks he’s too cool to stand up. What a wank. Legdrop on the apron to Disco. AXE HANDLE SMASH from Bino. I always hated that move when I was young, it seemed like everyone in early-90s WWF done it. They do a double clothesline spot. There’s something else I’ve not seen since early-90s WWF! Rolling suplexes from Disco finishes in a facebuster. Powerslam gets two. Chokeslam into a backbreaker only gets two! Top rope bulldog gets the win for Disco after about twelve minutes of action.

Rating: Fun stuff. Bino has a new fan and I’ve always liked Disco. **1/2.

*”Mr. Wrestling” Kevin Steen vs. “The Man That Gravity Forgot” Pac
I’ve only ever seen Pac twice – in Chikara’s Rey De Voladores and his ROH match with Matt Sydal – and he mildly impressed me in both. I wasn’t blown away though. However, I’ve heard about how awesome his work in PWG has been, so I can’t wait to see this. Steen is always great. I do not believe for one second that gravity just forgot Mr. Pac. “Welcome back” chant for Pac. Steen looks disgusted at it. Steen slaps away a handshake and takes Pac to the mat. They fight to a stalemate. Steen works a long side headlock. Pac fights out and armdrags Steen into a armbar. Vicious keylock-type move from Steen. Pac finds an inventive way out of it and tries a surfboard, but Steen breaks the attempt and forearms Pac. Steen stomps Pac down and puts Pac in a surfboard. Pac flips round into a pin attempt, and gets one. Flippy stuff from back. Pac goes for a wheelbarrow, but Steen wings it into a sick backbreaker and nails a senton for two. Steen uses his size and strength advantage to brutalize Pac. To the outside they go. Steen chops away. Steen stops to play with kids. He continues beating Pac around ring-side. I hate it when Steen talks to the camera. It’s like he does it about twenty times in all his matches. Back in, ‘rana to Steen. He dropkicks Steen, but Steen lands on top of him. He misses a standing sky twister press. Steen lands a SPINNING DOUBLEEE STOMPPPP-UHHH! STEEN is truly the man that really defies gravity. Somersault legdrop and UNDERTAKER PIN gets two! He stands on Pac’s hair and pulls him up. VICIOUS! Fans are chanting “Pac”. Pac kicks at Steen from the ground but Steen just drops himself onto him. That was awesome. Pac comes back with shots to the mid-section, but a Steen lariat turns him inside out. Pac lands RIGHT ON HIS HEAD via German Suplex from Steen. He puts Pac on the top rope, but Pac fights him off and lands a hurricanrana. Steen tries to dive at him, but misses and lands on the outside. Pac goes up…CORKSCREW SHOOTING STAR PRESS TO STEEN! “HOLY SHIT!” – the fans. Back in. Quebrada into a tornado DDT from Pac! Steen counters a ‘rana into a stiff powerbomb. Steen attempts the Package Piledriver, but can’t get Pac up. Enziguri from Pac. He rolls through a DDT into a front headlock and a body vice. REVERSE HURRICANRANA! That only gets two. Steen busts out an enziguri himself. SICK rope-assisted DDT on Pac. Steen goes up top. Pac jumps all the way up to the top rope for a ‘rana, but Steen counters to a SUPER SIT-OUT POWERBOMB! Somehow, that only gets a two-count. Steen goes back up. Pac gets up too and crotches Steen. Pac follows Steen up. Steen goes for a top rope Package Piledriver, but Pac counters it to a ‘rana. Again, only a two. Pac goes back up. SHOOTING STAR SENTON! Only a two. Wow, talk about overkill. A corkscrew SSP finally puts Steen away(21:56).

Steen puts Pac over HUGE on the mic after the match.

Rating: ****. Just a tremendous display from both men. I’ve not seen Pac’s matches with El Generico, but I hear they were just as good and perhaps better than this, so that makes me REALLY want to see them now. The only thing I didn’t like about the match was the ending. The move that ended it looked weaker than the two previous moves that Pac busted out onto Steen. The match should’ve ended at the shooting star senton, the crowd didn’t seem to react to the final fall as much as they did to the previous near-falls. It told a little story of Steen using his size advantage to dominate Pac and somewhat underestimating him, giving him time to get his air back and whatever. Pac realised he wasn’t going to beat Steen on the mat, so he had to use his blinding speed to put the big man away.

*PWG World Championship
The Human Tornado vs. “The Generic Luchadore” El Generico
These two used to be tag team partners, known as 2 Skinny Black Guys. I’m guessing Tornado is a heel now. The match starts with the two brawling in the crowd. Tornado throws Generico into the ring and does his corner dance/kick/split kick spot. Yakuza kick from Generico gets two. Generico chops away and poses a lot. Leg lariat from Tornado. Dropkick sends Generico into the ropes. Tornado stomps away. Generico rests over the bottom rope and Tornado dropkicks him. Generico continues to get pounded. Hurricanrana sends Generico to the outside. He gets back in and lands a suicide dive to Tornado. Back in, split-legged moonsault gets two on Tornado. Backbreaker from Tornado after some back-and-forth action. A back elbow and a bulldog gets two on Generico. BLUE THUNDAH DRIVER from Generico only gets a two-count. Michinoku Driver II gets two. Generico hits another Yakuza, but Tornado shakes it off and we have a DOUBLE YAKUZA and both men are down. They slug it out. Rope-assisted neckbreaker from Tornado. Tiger Driver to Generico. Tornado blocks the BRAINBUSTAH and Generico runs into a superkick. Generico plants Tornado with a half-nelson suplex. Tornado bitch slaps him and lands a brainbuster of his own. They fight on the top rope. Generico gets thrown off. Tornado climbs off, but Generico charges with a Yakuza. He follows with a capture belly-to-back suplex, Tornado’s own signature move. Brainbuster! That only gets two! Two Yakuza kicks in the corner to Tornado. Generico puts him on the top rope. He gets him up….BRAINBUSTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~! Generico gets the 1-2-3 and the PWG Championship(13:17). Fans pop huge.

Tornado refuses to shake Generico’s hand. BOOO!

Rating: **1/2. Fun match, that was brought down by a total lack of feeling or emotion.

The 411: The majority of this show was very, very average - much like most PWG shows I've seen, to be honest - but the DVD is an easy recommendation, if just for PAC-Steen and MCMGs-Arrogance. Thumbs in the middle, leaning up for Holy Diver Down.
Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]