BG Says: 2nd Annual PWG Bicentennial Birthday Extravaganza, Night 1

I need to direct everyone to Shanesphotos.com. If you don’t end up buying this DVD (though you really should) and don’t go to his photo gallery you’ll never know what Mr. Excitement looks like. In all honesty Shane does great a great job as a photographer so head on over and check out his work. Bayani Domingo also gets a shout here for being a huge PWG supporter and knowing the SoCal scene better than I could ever hope to. Check out his work here.

July 9, 2005 – Los Angeles, California

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

VS.
Davey Richards VS. Shannon Ballard
Yeesh, it this an odd pairing of what? At least it’s the put-together Ballard that gets all the singles matches. They fight on the mat to start. They knuckle up and Richards gets a top wristlock. Ballard counters to a wristlock of his own. Richards hits a dropkick and a pair of armdrags into an armbar. He gets a head scissors takedown and goes back to the armbar. Ballard hits a cheap shot so Richards unloads with chops. He misses a spear and rams his shoulder into the post. Ballard follows him to the floor and hits a shoulder breaker. Excalibur notes that that move actually is no more devastating on the floor than it is in the ring. They go back into the ring so Ballard casually slams him back to the floor. Richards’s arm is too messed up to hit a vertical suplex so Ballard stays in control. He drops a knee on the shoulder and counters a sunset flip to a cross armbreaker. Richards gets to the ropes. Ballard shoves Richards to the floor again and he falls onto his arm at the only part of ringside that has no mat. Ballard tries to ram Richards into the post again. Richards blocks that so Ballard hits a drop toehold on the floor. Back in the ring Ballard rams Richards’s arm into the turnbuckle repeatedly. He goes for a crossface but Richards gets to the ropes. Ballard stays on the arm and kicks Richards’s back. Richards pops up and hits Kawada kicks. He hits a buzzsaw kick for 2. Ballard hits an armbar takedown and puts on a crossface. Richards rolls to the ropes to escape. Richards blocks a clothesline and hits an enziguiri. Ballard kicks the arm and hits an overhead suplex. Richards no sells it and hits a clothesline and a back elbow. He hits a DDT and a forearm. He hits another clothesline for 2. He climbs the ropes but Ballard dodges it and puts the crossface back on. Richards gets to the ropes. Ballard hits an exploder into the turnbuckle for 2. He gets a backslide for 2 but Richards comes back with the D.R. Driver for the win at 12:59. Shannon isn’t bad at all, he should just wrestle on his own. Richards’s selling was pretty spotty but the drama got the crowd into the show.
Rating: **¾

VS.
Phoenix Star & Zokre VS. Hook Bomberry & Topgun Talwar
The midgets’ valet is sleazily delicious looking. Hook and Star start. Hook hits a dropkick but Star comes back with a mule kick. Star hits a spinebuster for 2. Zokre tags in but Hook pokes his eyes. Talwar tags in and puts on a wristlock with his pectorals. Zokre hits a shoulder tackle and an armdrag. He gets a sunset flip for 1. They flip around each other until Talwar goofs and then hits an armdrag. He gets a sunset flip of his own for 2. He hits a clothesline and tags to Hook. Hook hits a back suplex for 2. Talwar tags in and hits a shoulder tackle for 2. Hook tags in Sleazy Catorsé chokes Zokre and spanks him while Talwar distracts the referee. Hook hits a neckbreaker for 2. Talwar tags in and the match has seemingly fallen apart. Talwar hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. Hook tags in and puts on a chinlock and slams Zokre to the mat. Zokre comes out of the corner with a DDT and tags to Star. Talwar tags in and walks into a leg lariat. Star hits knee strikes to both opponents simultaneously and Zokre jumps over the turnbuckle to follow them to the floor. Sleazy McSleaze runs in and hits a leg lariat on Star in front of the referee. No admonishment takes place. Talwar crotches Star on the top rope and hits the Chipotlé for 2. Zokre hits Talwar with a facebuster for 2. Hook hits a Michinoku Driver on Zokre for 2. Star hits a dropkick on Hook and a spear on Talwar. Zokre puts a Mexican surfboard on Hook and Star pulls him off and hits the inverted Olympic Slam onto Zokre’s knees. Zokre gets a sunset flip on Talwar with a far-too-big handful of trunks for the win at 12:01. What a mess.
Rating: *

VS.
Joey Ryan VS. Mr. Excitement
Ryan’s wearing some very strange gear here. He attacks with forearms before the bell. Excitement comes back with forearms of his own and hits a leaping forearm in the corner. He hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop. He hits another elbowdrop and a third out of the corner for 2. Ryan bails and hits a cheap shot to regain control. He goes to the eyes and hits a dropkick. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Excitement comes back with a sunset flip for 2 but Ryan cuts him off with a clothesline. Excitement hits a back suplex and calls for another. Ryan blocks it and hits a backdrop driver. Excitement hits a butterfly suplex and puts on a guillotine choke. Ryan gets to the ropes. Excitement goes for the exploder into the turnbuckle but Ryan counters to an overhead suplex. Excalibur comments on Ryan’s poor choice of gear as Ryan exchanges forearms with Excitement. Excitement hits two roaring forearms but Ryan comes back with a Manhattan drop and a northern lights suplex for 2. He sets Excitement up top but Excitement blocks the Duff Drop and goes for a second rope exploder. Ryan fights him off but misses a moonsault. Excitement hits the exploder into the corner for 2. He hits another but Chris Bosh and Scott Lost run out to the ring. Bosh distracts the referee as Lost hits Excitement with a superkick and drags Ryan on top of him for 2. Excitement goes after Lost allowing Ryan to hit him with Bosh’s tag title belt for 2. Ryan distracts the referee allowing Lost to hit a northern lights suplex onto Bosh’s knee. That gives Ryan the win at 9:50. This was fine buy Ryan looked unmotivated. The overbooking was quite fun, however.
Rating: **

VS.
Petey Williams VS. Ricky Reyes
They lock up and trade holds. Williams hits an armdrag and puts on a headlock. Reyes comes back with a kick to the chest. Williams kicks the back but misses an elbowdrop. Williams hits another armdrag so Reyes bails. Williams follows him out and hits a hurricanrana on the floor. Back in the ring he gets 2. Reyes opens up with kicks and hits a running forearm. He hits a knee to the gut and a backbreaker for 2. He hits a back elbow but Williams rolls him up for 2. Reyes forearms him down and hits a butterfly suplex for 2. He kicks Williams’s back and puts on a surfboard stretch. He kicks the back again and whips him hard into the turnbuckle. He hits a side slam for 2. Williams hits an enziguiri and both men are down. Williams hits an inverted lungblower and a clothesline. He hits a back elbow and a backdrop. He hits a running forearm and a second rope dropkick to the back. He puts on the Sharpshooter but Reyes gets to the ropes. Williams misses a legdrop and a crossbody. Reyes hits a spiderbomb for 2. He hits a back heel kick but Williams catches him with a DDT. Williams climbs the ropes but misses a diving headbutt. Reyes blocks the Sharpshooter and the Canadian Destroyer and hits a dead lift T-bone suplex. Williams blocks the dragon sleeper so Reyes sets him up top. Williams goes for a super Canadian Destroyer but Reyes blocks it and hits a swinging reverse DDT. He locks in the dragon sleeper and Williams taps at 13:15. Surprisingly fun match!
Rating: ***

VS.

Kevin Steen, Disco Machine & Excalibur VS. Human Tornado, Super Dragon & El Generico [Elimination Match]
It’ll be interesting to see if this match can live up to the tag match from Guitarmageddon. Tornado and Generico have a beige theme going on. It’s a shame Super Dragon didn’t join in. Disco and Generico start and trade holds. Disco gets a roll up for 2. He starts to use a Super Dragon move so Dragon attacks. Generico hits a backdrop and tags to Tornado. Steen tags in and out immediately, fearing the retribution Tornado would exact after having the N-bomb dropped on him last month. Steen attacks Tornado from behind and all hell breaks loose. When things calm down Excalibur hits a bodyslam on Tornado. He hits a kneedrop and tags to Steen. Steen chokes Tornado in the ropes but Tornado comes back with a head scissors takedown. He hits a dropkick and tags to Generico. Generico goes for the swinging DDT but Steen blocks and hits a European uppercut. Disco tags in and runs into a series of armdrags. Tornado tags in and hits a backbreaker. Dragon tags in and hits a double stomp off the top for 2. He kicks Disco’s back and snaps on the leggy nelson. Excalibur tries to break it up but Dragon won’t let go. He hits a back elbow and a snap suplex for 2. Generico tags in and chops Disco in the corner. Tornado tags in and stomps Disco in the corner. Generico tags back in and hits a backbreaker for 2. Tornado tags in and hits a legsweep and a standing moonsault for 2. Generico tags in and hits a back elbow and a standing twisting senton. Tornado tags in and runs into a forearm. Excalibur runs in and hits a kneedrop on Tornado before dragging Disco into the SBS corner. Steen tags in and tosses Tornado across the ring by his hair. Tornado hits the Pimp Slap and a roundhouse kick. He dances his way into Steen’s crotch and then Dragon & Generico come in and put some pressure on Steen’s nether region. They hang Steen in the Tree of Woe and stand on his crotch as Tornado hits a dropkick to the face. Steen comes back with a backbreaker and tags to Excalibur. Excalibur puts on a chinlock, ending a period of non-stop action.

He releases to hit a backbreaker for 2. Disco tags in and comes off the second rope with a senton for 2. He hits a snap suplex for 2. Steen tags in and gets Generico to distract the referee before hitting a low blow on Tornado. He puts on the leggy nelson to anger Super Dragon. Tornado hits a swinging Bulldog on Steen after kicking off Disco and Excalibur on the corner. Generico tags in and cleans house. He hits a backbreaker and an ugly split-legged moonsault on Disco. Excalibur tags in and hits a vertical suplex for 2. He puts on a camel clutch before switching illegally with Disco Machine. Disco hits a bodyslam and tags to Steen. Steen hits a double stomp but Generico crotches him on the middle rope. Generico moonsaults Steen out of the ropes and tags to Dragon. Dragon dropkicks Excalibur off the apron and gets a head scissors takedown on Disco. He hits a backbreaker on Disco for 2. He goes for the Curb Stomp but Excalibur breaks it up. Dragon & Tornado clothesline Disco & Excalibur to the floor and follow them out with stereo dives. Generico quickly follows up with a dive onto Steen. Steen catches Generico with a slingshot Complete Shot for 2. Tornado hits Steen with a Regalplex for 2. He shouldn’t have mugged for the fans. He huts the Shoryuken and Dragon follows up with a German suplex and a tiger suplex for 2. Excalibur hits Dragon from behind and Disco hits a chokeslam on Tornado for 2. Excalibur crotches Dragon on the top rope and hits a German superplex. Generico sees it coming and hits Excalibur with the Van Terminator. Steen hits a neckbreaker on Generico and Tornado is left alone with the new SBS. Steen hits him with a powerbomb, Excalibur hits him with a lariat and Disco hits him with the Chokebreaker to put him out of the match at 25:10. Generico pulls the prone Super Dragon to safety as the referee tries to reestablish some order. The referee starts counting our heroes out of the ring to compensate for the bad fall Dragon took after that German superplex. Steen tries to attack Generico but falls to the floor. Excalibur goes after Dragon leaving Generico and Disco in the ring. Generico hits the corner Yakuza kick and a half nelson suplex. Dragon hits a tiger suplex and Generico tosses Steen to the floor. Generico hits the swinging DDT on Excalibur and Dragon hits him with the Curb Stomp. It only gets 2 when Disco saves. Steen pulls Dragon to the floor and Disco hits Generico with a swinging DDT. Steen hits him with a fisherman buster and Excalibur hits the Tiger Driver ’98 to eliminate Generico at 29:42. The new SBS just stare at Super Dragon, who doesn’t seem to have a prayer at this point. Disco hits a string of elbows and stomps Dragon with Excalibur. Excalibur hits the Tiger Driver ’98 and Steen hits the package piledriver for the win at 32:10.

This was as good as any Dragon Gate spotfest but with the PWG wrestlers you’re used to. After the first elimination things slowed down as the evil SBS just viciously picked apart Super Dragon and his new friends. You basically get two great matches in one here; 25 minutes of non-stop stiffness and spots followed by seven minutes of heart wrenching drama as Super Dragon suffered from a terrible head injury but continued to take horrible punishment to the head. After the match Steen hits a low blow on Generico and a 450 splash on Super Dragon. Can anyone help Dragon stop the new SBS?
Rating: ****½

VS.
Christopher Daniels © VS. Chris Sabin [TNA X-Division Championship Match]
Daniels stalls to start. Sabin hits a series of armdrags and Daniels bails again. Back in the ring Sabin targets Daniels’s arm. Daniels hits a cheap shot but walks into a hurricanrana. Daniels bails again and pulls Sabin’s face into the apron. Sabin does the same to Daniels and hits a dropkick from the apron. He hits an armdrag into an armbar and slams Daniels’s arm to the mat. He kicks the arm for 2. He hits a back heel kick but Daniels hiptosses him to the floor. Daniels rams Sabin’s face into chair after chair and rolls him back into the ring. He hits a neckbreaker for 2. He puts on a half nelson and slams Sabin to the mat by his hair. He tries to snap Sabin’s neck and goes back to the half nelson. Sabin gets a sunset flip for 2. He hits a back bodydrop and a clothesline. Daniels catches him with a DVD for 2. He hits a neckbreaker for 2. He hits the uranage but misses the triple jump moonsault. Sabin hits a Manhattan drop and a chinbreaker. He hits a dropkick and chops Daniels in the corner. He stomps a mud hole in Daniels and hits a swinging DDT for 2. Daniels goes to the eyes but Sabin hits an enziguiri and a running powerbomb for 2. He goes for the Cradle Shock but Daniels pulls the referee into Sabin and rolls him up with a handful of tights for the win at 15:27. This was predictable and dull. Daniels is in a funk in PWG and Sabin didn’t do much to pull him out of it.
Rating: **½

VS.
Chris Bosh & Scott Lost © VS. Scorpio Sky & Quicksilver [No Disqualification/Masks VS. PWG Tag Team Championship Match]
Lost & Quicksilver start. They trade holds and Quicksilver gets the advantage with an anklelock. Lost gets to the ropes. Lost comes back with strikes to the arm and puts on an armbar. Bosh and Sky tag in and trade holds themselves. Sky hits a hurricanrana for 2. He jumps off Bosh’s back and hits another hurricanrana for 2. Lost tags in and runs into an armdrag. Lost counters a dropkick to a gutbuster and mocks Sky. Sky comes back with a dropkick for 2. Quicksilver tags in and the AXP hit a leg-assisted powerbomb, as called by Excalibur, for 2. Quicksilver hits a back elbow for 2. He puts on a chinlock and tags to Sky. The AXP sandwich Lost with kicks for 2. Lost hits a dropkick and tags to Bosh. Quicksilver tags in and hits a dropkick to the face for 2. Lost comes in and hits a low blow and Bosh hits a backbreaker. Lost hits a vertical suplex for 2. Bosh tags in and gets a roll up for 2. He puts on a hammerlock and tries to rip off Quicksilver’s mask. He puts on a headlock but Quicksilver rolls back for 2. Bosh hits a fisherman suplex for 2. He slams Quicksilver into the corner and tags to Lost. Lost hits a bodyslam but misses a standing moonsault. Quicksilver hits a standing moonsault for 2. Lost hits a leaping clothesline and tags to Bosh. Bosh puts on a camel clutch and tags to Lost. Bosh drop toeholds Quicksilver onto Lost’s knee for 2. Lost hits the Superman Spear but Quicksilver comes back with the Silver Slice. Sky and Bosh tag in and Sky cleans house. He hits a knee to Bosh’s gut and a clothesline on Lost. He hits a swinging facebuster on Bosh for 2. Lost catches him with a gutbuster for 2. Sky hits a DDT and tags to Quicksilver. Bosh tags in and walks into a clothesline. Quicksilver hits a climbing enziguiri for 2. Sky climbs on Quicksilver to hit a Shining Wizard on Bosh. He hits an elevated legdrop for 2. Lost hits a spear on Sky and puts on the Scorpion Deathlock. Quicksilver breaks it up with a clothesline. Sky sunset flips Lost onto his knees and holds him for a Quicksilver dropkick for 2. The AXP hit a standing dropkick/powerbomb combo for 2. Quicksilver hits a reverse Silver Slice on Bosh an follows up with a sunset bomb to the floor. Yeesh! It turns out that Bosh and Lost are on opposite sides of the ring so Sky and Quicksilver dive out onto them. Bosh kills Quicksilver with a chair shot while his head is against the post, keeping the referee from seeing Sky pinning Lost in the ring. Sky tries fighting off both Lost and Bosh. He hits a backbreaker on Lost as Quicksilver is escorted to the back. He hits an Ace Crusher on Bosh and puts on a dragon sleeper. Joey Ryan runs in and hits a superkick on Sky. Dino Winwood comes in the ring and hits a powerbomb on Ryan. Bosh hits the Van Dam uppercut on Winwood and Lost puts him out with a superkick. Bosh hits a stunner on Sky and Lost slams Sky onto Bosh’s knee for 2. Lost hits a northern lights suplex onto Boshs knee for 2. Sky is bleeding through his mask as he crotches Lost up top by hitting a head scissors takedown on Bosh into the ropes. He hurricanranas Lost off the turnbuckle and hits a neckbreaker on Bosh for 2. Bosh hits the Screwdriver on Sky for 2. Lost violently accosts the referee and helps Bosh hit a Hart Attack backbreaker. Lost goes for the Scorpion Deathlock but Sky counters to a roll up for the win and the titles at 26:54. This match gets a LOT of hype. Sorry fans, I don’t really see it. They had a harder time clicking than I expected. They were obviously trying hard but something unseen kept them from having a great match. The drama was there in support of Sky but it didn’t translate into a match that was very fun match. Some of the spots in this match were unbelievable, however.
Rating: ***

After the match Bosh and Lost have a hard time parting with the title belts. Bosh gives Sky his belt. Lost looks to follow suit but then knocks Sky out with his. Bosh and Ryan try to pull him off for a second but then decide to hold Sky as Lost rips off his mask. The fans don’t react to the unmasking as well as PWG hoped I’m sure. Lost continues to beat Sky bloody until Mr. Excitement chases Arrogance away. He tries to cover Sky’s face with a towel but Sky isn’t having it. The crowd appreciates Sky’s integrity.

VS.
AJ Styles © VS. Frankie Kazarian [PWG Championship Match]
Kazarian was between the tow lowest rungs on the WWE totem pole at the time, just finishing up in OWV and getting ready to debut on Velocity the following weekend. It’s also significant for being a WWE contracted wrestler taking on a TNA contracted wrestler. This is an appropriate match for the second anniversary as it’s a rematch of the main event of the first PWG show. They feel each other out to start. Styles grabs a headlock but Kazarian counters to the head scissors. Styles gets a roll up for 2. Kazarian focuses on Styles’s arm with wristlocks and armbars. Styles gets a head scissors takedown but misses a dropkick. He uses Kazarian’s own momentum to dump him to the floor. Back in the ring Styles hits a bodyslam and a kneedrop for 2. He hits a very loose neckbreaker for 2, barely making contact at all. He hurricanranas Kazarian into the corner and puts on a chinlock. He hits a crazy looking backbreaker for 2. He kicks Kazarian’s back and hits a Perfect neckbreaker. He puts on a cravat and holds on through a bodyslam. He rams Kazarian hard into the turnbuckle but Kazarian gets a roll up for 2. Kazarian kicks Styles to the floor but Styles crawls back in. Kazarian hits the electric chair drop for 2. He hits a Manhattan drop and a neckbreaker for 2. He puts on a modified Mexican surfboard and kicks Styles’s back. He hits a dropkick and they trade forearms. Styles climbs the ropes but Kazarian hits a jumping thrust kick to cut him off. Styles fights him off but Kazarian blocks the elbow. Styles hits the Pelé Kick and in a nice continuity moment blocks a takedown attempt and hits a backdrop driver. He hits a pumphandle gutbuster for 2. Kazarian blocks a blind charge and goes for the Styles Clash. Styles blocks but can’t block a dropkick. It gets 2 for Kazarian. They clothesline each other down. Styles stuns Kazarian on the top rope, knocking him to the floor. He hits the backflip off the apron and hits the reverse DDT on the floor. They both lay on the floor for a while before Styles tries to get back into the ring. Kazarian pops up and pulls Styles to the floor with the Wave of the Future and both men get counted out at 21:29. That’s politics for you. Total bullshit finish aside this was a very solid match.
Rating: ***¼

The 411:  This was a no nonsense show. There were no backstage promos, no pre-match promo from Arrogance and very few post-match happenings. A lot happened too, as there was an amazing six-man tag, the return of the only two-time champion and Scorpio Sky lost his mask after winning the tag titles. The six-man is enough for me to recommend the show, but really aside from the HookGun vs. Luchas tag match there’s nothing here that isn’t worthwhile in some way or another.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]