BG Says: PWG All Star Weekend, Night 2

April 2, 2005 – Los Angeles, California

The weekend became significantly less All Starish here because all the ROH talent had to fly out east to participate on the Top of the American Super Juniors Tournament show. So Samoa Joe, James Gibson, American Dragon, Kendo KaShin, Rocky Romero and Alex Shelley were all off this show. ROH would have been lucky had KaShin stayed in PWG considering how badly he ruined their show as Dragon Soldier B. Luckily for PWG the talent under contract to TNA still couldn’t compete in ROH, so Chris Daniels, AJ Styles, Chris Sabin and Petey Williams weren’t going anywhere.

Disco Machine and Excalibur tackle commentary, and as usual be sure to switch the audio channel over to hear them.

VS. VS. VS.
Ricky Reyes VS. Puma VS. Davey Richards VS. Ronin [Elimination Match]
Puma and Reyes go at it before the bell and fight to the floor. Ronin rolls Richards up for 2. Richards comes back with an enziguiri but Ronin catches him with a DVD. Ronin hits Reyes with a back elbow and a big boot. Puma tries his hand at Ronin and hits a leg lariat. Ronin tries to use his weight to regain the advantage and then goes to the eyes repeatedly. He hits a big forearm but Reyes catches him with a clothesline and Richards pins him at 2:28. Reyes hits a back elbow on Richards and Puma pins him for 2. Richards hits Puma with a dropkick and climbs the ropes. He misses a frog splash and baits him to the floor. Puma goes for a baseball slide but Richards counters it to a hanging DDT on the floor. That move belongs nowhere near this match. Back in the ring Richards hits Reyes with the STO and climbs the ropes. He misses the shooting star press and Puma puts him in a cloverleaf to eliminate him at 5:38. Reyes immediately goes after Puma. Puma screws up a powerbomb so Reyes hits him with a DDT for 2. Puma hits a hurricanrana for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. He misses a double stomp and Reyes hits him with a spider bomb for 2. Puma comes back with a German suplex for 2. Reyes hits a neckbreaker and a brainbuster for the win at 8:12. Pretty crappy opener. They should have stuck to the six and eight-man tags.
Rating: *½

VS.
Disco Machine & Excalibur VS. Hook Bomberry & Topgun Talwar
Disco and Excalibur attack before the bell. Disco hits a suicide dive on both opponents and throws them back into the ring. He trades slaps with Hook but loses control when Hook goes after his injured nose. Disco comes back with a dropkick and tags to Excalibur. Talwar tags in so Excalibur bites his hand in retribution for the night before. Talwar bites him back and gets a roll up for 2. He puts on an armbar and tags to Hook. Hook stays on the arm and tags to Talwar. Talwar hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop to the arm. He hits a clothesline in the corner and tags to Hook. Hook hits an armdrag and puts on an armbar. He hits an armbreaker and tags to Talwar. Excalibur catches Talwar with a clothesline and tags to Disco. Disco hits a forearm and pulls a plastic bag from Baja Fresh out of his trunks. He tries to suffocate Talwar with it and hits him with a dropkick. Talwar comes back with a drop toehold into the turnbuckle and tags to Hook. Hook drops an elbow and stomps Disco’s face. Talwar tags in and clotheslines Disco with a Chipotlé bag over his arm for 2. Hook tags in and busts open Disco’s nose. Talwar comes in illegally and stays on the nose. Talwar tags in but Disco rams him into Hook’s butt and tags to Excalibur. Excalibur hits a bodyslam and a second rope double kneedrop for 2. He hits a brainbuster for 2. Talwar comes back with the Chipotlé for 2. Disco runs in and hits a chokeslam for 2. He counters the Chipotlé by dumping Talwar to the floor. Hook hits Excalibur with a dropkick to the face. He hits a Michinoku driver for 2. He puts on a cross armbreaker but Excalibur gets to the ropes. Hook unloads with kicks to the arm but Excalibur ducks an enziguiri and hits a German suplex and Tiger Driver ’98 for the win at 12:07. Solid match with some nice comedy thrown in. This should have opened the show.
Rating: **¾

VS.
Petey Williams VS. Joey Ryan
Williams grabs a headlock to start. He hits an armdrag and puts on an armbar. He hits a crossbody for 2. Lost and Bosh get on the apron but Williams knocks them off. The distraction is enough for Ryan to hit a German suplex. PWG Commissioner So Cal Val comes out and bans Lost and Bosh from ringside. She threatens to take the tag titles away from them if they don’t comply. Ryan shoves Williams shoulder-first into the post. He follows Williams to the floor and does it again. Back in the ring he gets 2. He hits a bodyslam and an armbreaker. He puts on a wristlock but Williams comes back with a shoulder tackle. Ryan casually goes back to the arm to regain control. He hits a northern lights suplex with a hammerlock. He keeps the hammerlock on but Williams comes back with a side Russian legsweep. Williams hits a back bodydrop and a Manhattan drop. He climbs the ropes and hits a double axe handle for 2. Ryan attacks the arm but Williams keeps control with a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Ryan goes back to the arm to block the Canadian Destroyer. He puts on an armbar and rams Williams’s arm into the post. He goes for the Duff Drop but Williams blocks it and hits an elbowdrop to the leg. He puts on the Sharpshooter but Ryan gets to the ropes. He hangs Williams’s arm on the top rope and goes back to the armbar. Williams rolls out and hits the Canadian Destroyer for the win at 13:05. This did a lot more for Ryan than Williams in my opinion, but was a smartly wrestled match all the way through.
Rating: ***

VS.

El Generico, Phoenix Star & Zokre VS. Scorpio Sky, Quicksilver & Human Tornado
Tornado and Generico start. They have a dance off in which Generico’s moves don’t reflect indigenous Mexican dance. Generico stomps on Tornado’s foot and puts on an armbar. Star and Quicksilver tag in. Quicksilver rolls Star up for 2. Sky makes a blind tag and hits a leg lariat to the back as Quicksilver hits one to the front. They sandwich star with kicks but Zokre comes in and hits both with a clothesline. Tornado hits a dropkick on Zokre. Generico hits a backbreaker on Tornado. He tosses Star onto the AXP on the floor and then gets 2 on Quicksilver. He hits a leg lariat on Quicksilver for 2. Zokre tags in and hits a vertical suplex for 2. He hits a double backbreaker and then tags in Star who hits a guillotine legdrop. Star hits an elbowdrop and tags Zokre back in. Zokre hits a back elbow and sandwiches Quicksilver’s head with dropkicks along with Star. That all gets 2. Star tags in and unloads with kicks to Quicksilver. Things get quite sloppy as some of Star’s kicks don’t quite connect but Quicksilver doesn’t convincingly counter them either. Tornado and Zokre tag in. Tornado knocks Zokre to the floor and then pimp slaps Generico out of the ring. Sky tags in and hits something for 2 but the camera misses it. I get the feeling it didn’t look so good. Sky hits a dropkick on Star for 2. Quicksilver tags in and hits a slingshot legdrop. Sky hits a dropkick to the face which gets 2 for Quicksilver. Tornado tags in and Star gets triple-teamed in the corner. Generico goes for a double axe handle but gets sent to the floor. Tornado follows him out with a huuuuuge dive. Sky and Quicksilver go for dives but Zokre catches them both with blockbusters. The AXP catch Zokre with a legdrop/facebuster combo for 2. Generico hits his big boot in the corner on Sky but Quicksilver puts him in the Cristo. Zokre hits Sky with an enziguiri but Tornado dropkicks him down. Generico hits a tiger suplex on Tornado and everyone is down. Tornado comes back with the Regalplex for 2. Star hits a spinebuster on Tornado and climbs the ropes. He misses the Cancun Tornado and Sky hits him with the frog splash for 2. Quicksilver hits the Silver Slice on Zokre for 2. Zokre boots Quicksilver in the face and Generico hits him with the brainbuster for the win at 13:56. Aside from the brief bit of stunted action near the beginning of the match this was some fine lucha action. After the match everyone wishes Scorpio Sky a happy 22nd birthday. I wonder if PWG could get in trouble for selling a DVD with the “Happy Birthday” song on it without paying royalties.
Rating: ***¼

VS.
Christopher Daniels © VS. Chris Hero [TNA X-Division Championship Match]
They trade holds on the mat to start. Daniels grabs a headlock and then floats into the head scissors. Hero finds a great counter to a double leglock but Daniels comes back with an armbar. Hero rolls Daniels up for 2. They knuckle up and Hero puts on the cravat. He starts working over Daniels neck and puts on a chinlock. He gets a crucifix pin for 2. He puts on a front facelock but Daniels goes to the corner to escape. Hero goes back to the cravat and sit on Daniels’s neck. He hits a leaping forearm for 2. He puts the cravat on again and knees Daniels in the face. Daniels dropkicks the knee. He hits a stunner on the leg and puts on a toehold. Hero rolls away and hits a back elbow. Daniels crotches him over the middle rope and dropkicks the knee again. He puts on a leglock and traps Hero’s good leg to keep him from kicking away. Hero gets to the ropes. Great exchange there. Hero hits a back elbow and puts the cravat on again. Daniels counters to a grapevined anklelock but Hero gets to the ropes. Daniels hits a double jump moonsault to the knee but Hero comes back with a roaring forearm. Hero hits a backdrop and a dropkick. He hits a clothesline and a back suplex. He hits Cravat Buster for 2. Daniels hits an enziguiri for 2. Hero gets a roll up for 2. Daniels gets a roll up for 2. He puts on a spinning toehold but Hero counters to a cravat. Hero unloads with forearms for 2. He hits a powerbomb and puts on the Hangman’s Clutch. Daniels gets to the ropes. He sets Hero up top and hits the palm strike. Hero fights Daniels off but misses a double stomp. His leg is completely messed up now and Daniels hits the Angel’s Wings for the win at 19:10. This was just a brilliantly worked match with a completely appropriate finish. Hero tried in vain to damage Daniels’s neck but Daniels was the better man, destroying Hero’s knee and then capitalizing on a horrible mistake by Hero to get the win.
Rating: ***¾

VS.
Jonny Storm VS. Kevin Steen
Steen gives Storm the finger so Storm grabs and twists it. They lock up and Steen easily overpowers Storm. Steen throws Storm over the top rope to the floor and does some push ups. He may be strong but he’s not in great shape and can only do three. Storm gets back in the ring and keeps Steen from throwing him out again by flipping around and slapping him. He sends Steen to the floor a couple times and follows him out with a double jump dive. Back in the ring Steen kicks Storm’s butt but Storm comes back with a hurricanrana. He hits a Japanese armdrag off the second rope for 2. Steen tosses him into the air and hits a gutbuster for 2. Storm hits another hurricanrana but Steen boots him down for 2. He hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. Storm comes back with a dropkick and an enziguiri. He hits a moonsault for 2. He hits a backdrop and a DDT for 2. He climbs the ropes but Steen follows him up and hits a German superplex for 2. He hits a spinning back suplex for 2. Storm gets a roll up for 2. Steen hits a Michinoku driver for 2. He knocks Storm to the floor but Storm pulls him down and hits him with a suicide dive into a swinging DDT. Back in the ring Storm gets 2. He hits an inverted lung blower and then a standard lung blower for 2. He climbs the ropes but Steen catches him coming down and hits a powerbomb for 2. Steen jaws with the fans and Storm hits him with a reverse hurricanrana off the second rope for 2. He climbs the ropes but Steen crotches him and hits the package piledriver for the win at 15:50. I hate when a guy no-sells a death move at the end of a match before hitting his own for the win. Other than that this was pretty enjoyable.
Rating: **¾

VS.
Chris Bosh & Scott Lost © VS. Frankie Kazarian & Chris Sabin [PWG Tag Team Championship Match]
This was billed as Kazarian’s last match in PWG before going to WWE. He said he’d vacate his half of the tag titles and allow Sabin to choose his own partner after he leaves. He and Sabin dive onto Bosh and Lost during their racist tirade. Back in the ring Sabin and Kazarian double-team Lost in the corner for 2. Sabin hits a powerslam and a senton for 2. He hits a clothesline and tags to Kazarian. Kazarian hits a slingshot legdrop for 2. The referee gets distracted by Bosh so Petey Williams comes in to interfere. The referee sees this going on so Kazarian runs in and rolls Lost up for 2. He hits a dropkick for 2. Sabin tags in and gets tripped by Joey Ryan. Lost hits a dropkick and tags to Bosh. Sabin rolls him up for 2. Bosh hits a backbreaker and a fistdrop for 2. Lost tags in and hits the Superman Spear for 2. Bosh tags in and hits a fisherman suplex for 2. Lost tags in and hits a gutbuster. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Sabin hits the Bum Rush and tags to Kazarian. Kazarian cleans house, dumping Lost into the corner and hitting Bosh with a neckbreaker for 2. He knocks Bosh into Lost and hits them both with slingshot DDTs for 2. Bosh hits the uppercut to the groin for 2 when Sabin saves with a dropkick. Lost suplexes L:ost into a backbreaker on Bosh for 2. Kazarian hits a stunner on Bosh. Lost sets Kazarian in the Tree of Woe but Kazarian counters the Superman Spear to a stunner/legdrop combo on Lost and Bosh. That was contrived as all hell. Sabin hits Lost with an enziguiri and Bosh with a powerbomb for 2. Kazarian hits Lost with a hurricanrana from the apron to the floor. Sabin hits a turnbuckle powerbomb on Bosh but the referee is nowhere to be found. Ryan runs in and boots Sabin. Williams runs in to help out, allowing Sabin to hit the Cradle Shock on Ryan and hitting the Canadian Destroyer on Bosh. That gets 2 for Sabin. Lost hits a leg lariat on Sabin and sitting down on a victory roll attempt by Kazarian for the win at 11:54. There were plenty of times when this match was in serious danger of falling apart, but when it was all said and done it was a decent amount of fun.
Rating: ***¼

After the match the locker room empties to thank Kazarian. Sabin gets the send-off duty, saying nice things about Kazarian and calling this his last match on the independents. Ryan grabs the microphone and buries the hatchet by mentioning that the first indy show he ever saw was main evented by Kazarian. He recalls Kazarian helping him on his first day of training. And what would stick time be without Christopher Daniels talking. He talks about seeing Kazarian when he got started in SoCal. John Ian and Excalibur also say some words before Kazarian gets to say goodbye to the wrestlers and the fans. He makes fun of TNA for not giving him any promo time and then cuts the usual farewell speech. Kazarian would wrestle a couple of matches in OVW before coming back to PWG for a title match on the second anniversary weekend. He’d then wrestle on Velocity for a couple months before getting fired and returning to PWG fulltime.

VS.
Super Dragon © VS. AJ Styles [PWG Championship Match]
They lock up and Dragon powers Styles to the corner. They fight on the mat until Dragon hits a head scissors takedown. They knuckle up and kick each other’s thighs. Styles powers Dragon down for 2. Styles hits a running armdrag and a dropkick. Dragon falls to the floor so Styles dives out onto him. Back in the ring he gets 2. He hits a back suplex and a bodyslam. He hits a kneedrop to the face and one to the back of the head for 2. He hits an enziguiri for 2. He rolls Dragon up for 2. He puts on a vertical Mutalock but Dragon fights out. Styles puts on a bow and arrow lock but Dragon gets to the ropes. Dragon drop toeholds Styles to the floor and follows him out with a topé con hilo. Back in the ring Dragon gets 2. He puts on the STF but Styles gets to the ropes. Dragon hits the Curb Stomp for 2. He puts on the Mark Nulty Special but Styles gets to the ropes. Styles hits the Pelé kick and a leg lariat. He hits a pair of clotheslines and a neckbreaker for 2. He hits a pumphandle gutbuster for 2. Dragon hits a hurricanrana and a swinging DDT. He puts on a butterfly hold but Styles gets to the ropes. Styles goes for the inverted DDT but Styles counters to a Psycho Driver attempt. Styles counters that to a dropkick to a basement dropkick. He climbs the ropes and comes down with a flying forearm for 2. Dragon hits a dragon suplex and a tiger suplex for 2. He climbs the ropes but misses a Sky Twister Press and Styles hits the discus clothesline for the win and the title at 19:34. This was pretty much each guy just throwing out move after move without much rhyme or reason, and the lack of a post-match celebration cheapened the title change a bit.
Rating: ***

Highlighting the banana on the main page will reveal the following backstage shenanigans
Joey Ryan is a mess in a dark stairwell after losing to Petey Williams. Chris Bosh and Scott Lost come into the stairwell to try to cheer him up. Ryan can’t remember his match at all. Bosh and Lost can’t really fill him in because they were banned from ringside. Ricky Reyes comes in and tells Ryan that he won and that he’s always a winner. He brings Human Tornado into the stairwell so that Bosh can get racist on him, but the camera fades out before the confrontation.

Los Luchas are outside with So Cal Val speaking in Spanish. El Generico joins them and speaks what little Spanish he knows. High fives all around for everyone!

Frankie Kazarian tries to be a drill sergeant to Chris Sabin and Petey Williams but none of them can keep a straight face through the segment. The segment turns into homage of the Karate Kid before it’s over.

The 411:  All things considered PWG put on a solid show. The national talent had to report to ROH for the Super Juniors tournament, but what was left was more than acceptable. Hero and Daniels put on an exceptional wrestling clinic and everything else with the exception of the opener was above average. Tack on a title change and you’ve got yourself a satisfactory show.
Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]