Guerrilla Reviewfare: PWG Game Over, Man!

PWG’s last outing was yet another tremendous wrestling show, anchored by the spectacular main event (albeit one that I was too generous towards) that saw PWG’s first tag title change since Mystery Vortex III way back in 2015. Really, the tag team scene gave us the finest parts of Nice Boys given that the next best bout was Marty Scurll & Zack Sabre against the reunited Best Friends. PWG’s April outing however, may have one of the best cards they’ve put together in years. Dick Togo returns to PWG after 5 and ½ years to face Zack Sabre Jr, while the undercard is packed with mouth-watering encounters like Jeff Cobb vs. Keith Lee, Lio Rush vs. Rey Fenix, and Matt Riddle vs. Adam Cole. So all signs point to – at least on paper – PWG continuing their 2017 momentum.

We are TAPED from the American Legion in Reseda, CA… also the site of that wrestling match with Alex Riley and Joey Ryan in GLOW funnily enough.

Your hosts are Excalibur and the gang.

Rey Fenix vs. Lio Rush
Talk about starting the show with a bang. Fenix is coming off winning the PWG Tag belts along with his brother Penta El Zero M (lol), and jumps right back into singles action against fellow flyer Lio Rush. This is one of those matches that looks like a spectacle just on paper, so hard to not be excited right out of the gate.

Lio asks for a handshake, but kicks Fenix in the gut instead and grins about it. He feigns being remorseful about it, so Fenix reciprocates in kind. Things quickly evolve into a crazy fast sequence of stuff, and both end up on the floor after a pair of double clotheslines. Rush sends Fenix back down to the floor with an enzuigiri, but Fenix scrambles back in and hits a nasty pop-up knee. Lio sends him back to the floor again and moonsaults on top of him from the apron, but Fenix fights back by trying to German Lio on the apron. Lio tries to German and further on Sunset Powerbomb him on the floor, but Fenix perseveres and leg drops him on the apron. Fenix tries to brawl with Lio around the ring, but Lio latches onto a fan… so Rey Fenix soccer kicks him from the apron and eventually gets him back inside. Fenix hits an awesome springboard crescent kick to a cornered Lio, followed by a leg drop and a rolling Frog Splash for a two count. Lio counters a reverse suplex with a Tornado DDT, and he crumbles Fenix with a pair of disgusting kicks to the chest. Lio hams it up and tries a third one, but Fenix takes advantage of the showboating… only for Lio to hit a Tope Suicida. Fenix enzuigiris him to prevent a second one, but Lio hits him with a handspring kick and comes down on top of him with a Lope. Lio takes too long with a Tiger Driver, but is able to hit a rolling enzuigiri. Fenix fires back with a disgusting Yakuza Kick in the corner, and hits an 818 to send him back into the ring. Lio catches him coming off the top with a Stunner, but his showboating again is the death of him as Fenix hits a rolling Ace Crusher. Lio does him one better and hits a diving Ace Crusher off the second rope. Fenix fights back with a floatover into a Destroyer, but Lio responds with Reverse Rana! They run at each other and end up collapsing in exhaustion. Fenix hits a NASTY DOUBLE STOMP to Lio’s back that faceplants him, but Lio is barely able to get a shoulder up. Fenix KILLS Lio with a superkick, but Rush kicks out again! Fenix tries a Spanish Fly from the second rope, but Lio stays put and hits one of his own on the mat! Fenix is able to kick out, but Lio stays busy… ONLY FOR FENIX TO HIT AN ISLAND DRIVER! LIO KICKS OUT! Lio rolls out to the apron and catches a diving Fenix WITH A SPANISH FLY ON THE APRON~! FROG SPLASH! Lio Rush pins Fenix in 17 minutes. ***1/2 An incredibly solid opener that was just a splash too long for my tastes. There was a lot of awesome athletic maneuvering here as one would expect, and Lio Rush especially suplemented it with some fun little heel quirks at different points of the match. The match itself reeked of “My Turn, Your Turn” syndrome, but it hardly deterred from the bout as I could watch these two trade wacky moves all night. And you’ve gotta give them props for doing the finish at the right time, as instead of doing a whole new sequence of falsies after the crazy apron spot, Lio Rush sent Fenix inside and hit the Frog Splash for the pin. Sometimes you’ve just gotta keep it simple, even in an environment like PWG where doing the opposite is often better than playing by the rules. So maybe not the dangerous spectacle you’d expect from these two on their best night, but they came up with a great match in spite of it.

Adam Cole vs. Matt Riddle
This is a dream match of sorts for me, as these two are a couple of the most entertaining personalities in wrestling and have the wrestling skills to back it up. We haven’t seen Riddle in PWG singles action since BOLA, so this is a very welcome change of pace as he breaks away from his partner Jeff Cobb to take on Adam Cole.

As one would expect, Riddle is the superior grappler in the earlygoings of the match. Cole jokingly invites Riddle into his guard before flipping him off, which prompts the King of Bros to grab his arm for an early Cross Armbreaker. Riddle rolls with that momentum, beating Cole up around the ring. Cole stomps on Riddle’s foot as he steps into the ring before knocking him into the front row and Dave Meltzer, notebook in tow. Riddle counters the Cole running chinlock with a Yes Lock, but Cole scrambles to the ropes rather quickly. Cole tries the Last Shot, but Riddle counters with the Fisherman’s Buster for a two count. Riddle looks for a senton, but he eats knees and bounces high into the air in an awesome looking spot. Cole’s shit talk earns him a barrage of strikes and a Pele Kick that sends him into the corner. Riddle follows back up with an Exploder and finally hits the Broton for a two count. Riddle hoists Cole up for the Karelin Lifts, right into a Doctor Bomb for a nearfall. Cole counters a Bro 2 Sleep with an Ushigoroshi for a long two count. Cole looks for his enzuigiri, but Riddle counters with an Ankle Lock. Cole sends him into the second turnbuckle and hits a German Suplex, but Riddle kicks out and hits the Bro 2 Sleep and a German of his own for a 2 count. Riddle attempts a Superplex, but Cole knocks him to the mat for Panama Sunrise, only for Riddle to counter out of it. Riddle eats a pair of superkicks and a Shining Wizard for 2. Busaiku Knee gets another nearfall for Cole. Riddle catches a running Cole with a Brostone, right into the Bromission for the submission win in 14 minutes. ***1/4 Nothing spectacular here, but it was really a totally solid professional wrestling match. Both men worked the match around the face/heel dynamic and largely used their charisma and selling to carry the proceedings along. It’s the kind of simplicity wrestling doesn’t deliver often enough, so it’s refreshing to see especially on a PWG show. I don’t think there’s a wrestler on Earth right now that can take and subsequently sell a convincing ass-kicking better than Matt Riddle, and watching Adam Cole be a dick to him throughout it was delightfully entertaining. They both got over Riddle’s explosiveness and danger, giving us a split-second finish that made complete sense and didn’t feel anticlimactic. Hardly rocket science this match, but they did a good job of making the most out of a fairly cut and dry encounter.

Jeff Cobb vs. Keith Lee
Once Keith Lee impressed spectacularly in his debut last month, this match seemed like an obvious pairing to make under the PWG banner. Jeff Cobb is probably the stronger of the two, but Keith Lee is a bit larger overall and has unbelievable athleticism for a man of his stature. And really, who doesn’t love a good Mean Guy Match?

Jeff Cobb – the smaller man in this match wildly – attempts an early single leg takedown that fails. Cobb forgoes a test of strength in lieu of a headlock, but Keith Lee’s strength and speed are just too much for Cobb here in the earlygoings. Keith Lee demands Cobb bask in his glory, so Cobb springs up for a sweet dropkick and says it himself. Lee cuts him off, so COBB HITS A SQUATTING PUMPHANDLE SUPLEX~! Lee hits a step-up Frankensteiner on Cobb, but Cobb is able to get back up and throw some headbutts. Lee won’t go for an Irish Whip, and he whips Cobb into the corner for a DISGUSTING Mongolian Chop. Cobb hits his Moonsault/Shooting Star combo for a 1 count and goes right back after him with a chinlock. Lee pops up and crumbles Cobb with a rabbit lariat for a two count. Lee biels Cobb out of the corner, mainly just because he can. Lee just trots out of the way of a Cobb dropkick, and hits a hilarious big splash to the back for 2. Cobb hits a flash Belly-to-Belly, but LEE POPS UP AND HITS ONE OF HIS OWN! COBB POPS UP AND HITS A DEADLIFT GERMAN! LEE NO-SELLS! HE TOSSES COBB AROUND! Lee hits a pop-up headbutt, but Cobb CRUMBLES HIM with a rebound headbutt of his own! They trade some hoss strikes until LEE HITS THE POOOOUUUUNCCCEE~! The fact that no one uses that as a finisher in 2017 speaks volumes to how far this business as fallen. Cobb headbutts Keith in the gut, so Lee just heaves him up and throws him down wildly. Lee tries the Spirit Bomb, but Cobb spirals out and hits another deadlift German, crawling over for a two count. Cobb hits another German, for yet another 2 count. They head back out to the apron and slug it out until Lee goozles Cobb, who punches him and gives him a German on the apron! Lee hits a Jacknife Powerbomb for a two count out of a Cobb attempt at the 10 Punches. Keith Lee tries to climb the ropes, but Cobb prevents his certain death by giving him a German off the ropes! Cobb throws another German, but can’t keep Lee down until he hits Tour of the Islands for the win in 19 minutes. ***3/4 This match was a hot finishing stretch away from being something legitimately memorable, but as it stands, it’s still a magnificent hoss fight. They told a really good story I thought, using Keith Lee’s size advantage to put Jeff Cobb in one of the first legitimately sticky situations we’ve seen him in. Cobb was struggling the entire way, essentially having his usually-present strength advantage negated by the monstrous Lee. He was getting thrown around at will, toyed with, and generally just having his ass kicked for 10 straight minutes. He was able to get some momentary hope spots, but they all seemed to just serve to piss Keith Lee off rather than doing anything to actually turn the tide. It was only until Keith Lee made a mistake by climbing the ropes that Cobb was able to take advantage, suplexing Lee until he was finally able to wear him down for a huge Tour of the Islands. The match was admittedly rather slow at times and needed something heated down the stretch to really get over that hump, but it still ticks all the boxes you could want out of a massive heavyweight fight. It was simple, hard hitting, and told a great story despite all of the obvious crazy strength spots. Total thumbs up.

Michael Elgin vs. Kyle O’Reilly
These two had one of the better BOLA final matches ever way back in 2013, and given both men’s improvement since then it’s hard to complain about a rematch… even if it comes at the expense of an intriguing Mark Haskins vs. Elgin match that fell through. This is one of Kyle’s first major indy matches since leaving ROH, while Big Mike makes his first PWG singles appearance of 2017.

Kyle tries to work some kicks in the earlygoings, but Big Mike is able to keep on solid ground with some equally stiff forearms. O’Reilly tries a cross armbreaker to break the cycle, but Elgin is wise to the plan and doesn’t go down so quick. No problem for Kyle though, as he goes right to work on Big Mike’s arm to wear him down. Elgin creates separation and sends Kyle to the apron so he can slingshot him back in for an Oklahoma Stampede. They resort to trading elbows in the center of the ring after neither man’s strategy goes much of anywhere, and Kyle’s striking turns out to be the more skilled of the two. Kyle goes back after the arm, but Big Mike won’t go up for the Regalplex despite Kyle’s insistence… so Kyle just wears him down with a couple knees and settles for a Backdrop Driver. Elgin hits a one-armed German Suplex in a GREAT spot, but eventually has to use both to keep the momentum going. Big Mike DOES THE DEAL with a Falcon Arrow, but amazingly Kyle is able to kick out! Elgin takes to much time showboating for a lariat, so Kyle jumps on him with a guillotine. Big Mike is able to shake him off, but not enough as Kyle throws LEATHER with an awesome barrage of strikes that crumbles the big man. Elgin chucks Kyle off of him to avoid a Regalplex, but O’Reilly stays on him… only for Big Mike to eat a Jawbreaker Lariat and clobber him with a lariat of his own! Elgin drags Kyle off the rope for a DVD, but Kyle slithers out and hits a German that Big Mike no-sells for one of his own! Elgin measures up for a running lariat this time, but Kyle is able to wrangle his shoulder up. Kyle tries a split second cross armbreaker that he immediately transitions into a triangle, but has to turn it into a front facelock as he’s in danger of getting powerbombed. Elgin fades, so Kyle breaks and hits a Brainbuster for a nearfall, going right back into the cross armbreaker after. They stumble out to the apron where Big Mike commits murder with a DVD! DEADLIFT SUPER FALCON ARROW! Rick Knox’s disbelief also comes at the expense of my eardrums as Kyle kicks out. Buckle Bomb scores, but Kyle bursts out of it with a Mafia Kick before knocking Elgin to the floor for a diving knee. MISSILE DROPKICK COUNTERED INTO A POWERBOMB! BUCKLE BOMB! ELGIN BOMB! Michael Elgin is your winner at 20 minutes. ***1/2 While this was hardly a matchup I’ll remember as something truly great, it’s a testament to both men’s talent at structuring matches that this felt nothing like its 20 minute runtime. It felt like your ideal midcard match in terms of how much they did and when they did it, but it also never once felt like they were killing time just to say they went long. Kyle O’Reilly worked his usual strategy of going after his opponent’s arm, but Big Mike was just too intense and strong to be kept down by simple limbwork. Both Elgin and O’Reilly paced the match with that story in mind and the climax of Big Mike throwing bombs near the finish ended up coming at the right time and in the right context. All that to really say that I don’t have much to complain about here if we want to put a cap on it.

War Machine vs. The Young Bucks
Given how stacked this card was on paper, it’s a testament to these four that this is probably the match I was most excited for. I stopped reviewing ROH almost 4 years ago, so I haven’t had the opportunity to gush over how AWESOME War Machine is at almost everything there is to be awesome at in the wrestling business. Their rivalry with Keith Lee & Shane Taylor in ROH is a feud that got a criminally miniscule amount of coverage in 2016, and it’s great to see their long overdue debut in PWG finally come to fruition. And given it’s against the Bucks, they’re going to have every opportunity to tear the house down.

“The Young Bucks essentially giving up a Lio Rush in weight to War Machine” says Excalibur during the introductions. Matt and Hanson start things off, but Matt tries to play some mind games in lieu of getting himself killed. He sacrifices Nick to the War Beard, and Nick steps over the top rope to show his obvious size advantage. He tries to tag Matt back in, but Matt wants none of the big man until Nick Too Sweet’s Hanson in the eye. Hanson takes care of that threat really quick, and they end up sending both Bucks to the floor after Rowe bodyslams Hanson on top of Matt. The Bucks take a breather and are able to use their speed and cohesion to send War Machine on rollerskates. The Bucks try Terminator dives, but Rowe and Hanson catch the Jacksons and measure for dives of their own. The Bucks prevent certain death by sliding in and superkicking them, fortunately for them. Nick Spacemans out on top of War Machine almost immediately after. Matt takes the War Beard of Hanson and wrenches in the nastiest Beard Wringer you’ll ever see. They even go as far to hit an assisted double stomp on the famed War Beard. Rowe finally tags in and tries to clean house, and he just eats a barrage of forearms with his forehead from Matt before sending him tumbling like he’s Brad Imes or something with a discus punch. Matt hits an O-Face on Rowe, but the big man stops the hot tag despite it. One Shiranui later, and here comes Nick Jackson. Nick has a SPICY hot tag, cleaning house of the big men with a furious barrage of moves. He takes both men out in tandem with the patented slingshot X-Factor/Apron Moonsault combo. The Bucks try stereo crossbodies, but Hanson and Rowe don’t go down so easy. War Machine eat do-si-do superkicks and another barrage of double teams that send the debutants reeling. Hanson and Rowe make it to their feet before they take a pari of 450’s, and Hanson runs wild with running Avalanches to the Jacksons! War Machine attempts Fallout on Matt, but he counters out as his brother keeps the big men at bay. They try superkicks on War Machine, who don’t take to that too kindly as both men just destroy the former champs. A Hanson splash gets knees though, and a few seconds later he eats a Swanton… but Hanson rolls through and War Machine HITS A SPRINGBOARD LARIAT/GERMAN SUPLEX COMBO~! That move never fails to amaze me. Hanson cartwheels through a tandem lariat and GIVES THEM A SUCK IT before COUNTERING A DOUBLE SUPERKICK WITH A DOUBLE POWERBOMB~! Hanson lies Matt on top of Nick and goes up top for something… AND HE MISSES A MOONSAULT! THEY SUPERKICK HANSON INTO AN ISLAND DRIVER ON ROWE! 450/MOONSAULT ON HANSON! It only gets 2. The Bucks look for a Meltzer Driver on Hanson, but ROWE POWERBOMBS NICK OUT OF MIDAIR! SPIN KICK OF DOOM! HANSON POWERBOMBS ROWE ONTO THE BUCKS! DOUBLE SPLASH FROM HANSON! THE BUCKS KICK OUT! War Machine tries a double chokeslam, but Nick eats a pop-up powerslam instead! TOPE SUICIDA FROM HANSON ONTO MATT! FALLOUT ON NICK! NICK KICKS OUT! Nick escapes with a win, rolling Ray Rowe up for the victory in 21 minutes. **** I’ve said it over and over and over, but it’s very hard to come up with different ways to describe an awesome Young Bucks match at this point. That’s not to say that they’re all the same – because they’re not, no matter what your stereotypical Young Bucks detractor would like to insist – I just dislike sounding like more of a broken record than I already do. I’ve been reviewing PWG in some form for 6 years, and as such I’ve seen so many Young Bucks matches that it’s hard to pinpoint their talents without sounding like a broken record. They are experts at crafting an excellent tag team match, from opening comedy to furious finishing stretch. We’re all pretty aware of that fact now. And they’re even damn good at telling a story if you can believe it, with this match being a prime example of their psychologcial capabilities. Instead of working their usual Elite heel schtick, they took their massive size disadvantage in stride and almost worked as babyfaces in several parts of the match. Nick Jackson took a hot tag and did it phenomenally, but at the same time, Hanson and Rowe threw both Bucks around to the delight of the crowd. War Machine still didn’t work heel, but all the same did their great crowd-pleasing spots to the plucky underdrog Jacksons. Sometimes shades of grey is a bad idea in wrestling because it confuses the crowd and kills the heat, but the Bucks and War Machine made that work with seemingly minimal effort. Instead of turning the crowd against Hanson and Rowe, they turned the crowd FOR the Bucks so everybody got a turn to shine and be cheered while also keeping the battle lines drawn. That’s why I’ll never understand the goofs who drone on about how the Bucks have no psychology or smarts when it comes to wrestling. They clearly do, and if you can’t see that watching a match like this, it’s hardly on them. I mean yeah, they had awesome opponents in War Machine to help them along, but I think you catch my drift. Ranting aside, this was a fantastic debut for War Machine, who passed the Young Bucks test with flying colors, Their teamwork as big brutes was as strong as ever, and I can’t wait for potential battles with the likes of the Unbreakable F’n Machines and the Lucha Brothers. Awesome stuff.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Dick Togo
This is one of those wacky out-of-nowhere matches PWG excels at. 47 year old Dick Togo is a Michinoku Pro legend that many of you will know as a part of Kaientai during the Attitude Era, or from that wacky Michinoku Pro Trios match at ECW Barely Legal. But he’s also a PWG veteran, having wrestled El Generico in an awesome match way back at FEAR in 2011 during his US retirement tour, a match you don’t hear many people talk about these days unfortunately.

You can probably guess how this match starts given both men’s long-standing hardcore resume. Zack tries his hand at tying Togo up, but Togo is game to trade holds with the champion. Zack throws some frustrated strikes at Togo, who just punches him in the face for his trouble. Zack ups the intensity with a few twists of Togo’s ankle before torquing back on a half crab that forces Dick to get to the ropes. Togo finally manages to break free, dropkicking Zack to the floor for an awesome Cannonball Tope Suicida that hits flush. He hits Zack with a gnarly spinning Pedigree from the second rope, but only gets two. Togo tries for a regular Pedigree, but Zack fights out and sweeps Togo’s leg out from under him. Togo responds to an uppercut with an even nastier lariat, but can’t get the win despite his three tries at covers. Zack is forced to ground Togo again, twisting him around with a Stepover Toehold/Ankle Lock combo. Togo ducks a rolling elbow and just necks Sabre with a nasty German. Zack catches Togo with a pair of nasty split second PK’s, using that to take a breather instead of covering immediately. Togo uses that to take advantage, using a furious combo of a crucifix and crossface to send Zack reeling… only for the champ to tie his legs up in a Stretch Plum/Stretch Muffler combo. Ace Crusher scores for Togo, but it doesn’t keep Zack down, causing Togo to hit a Pedigree and go up for the Senton… but it eats knees! Zack shuffles up and hits a PK, but Togo counters another one into a Crossface! Zack counters a furious trade of pins and gets the win with a European Clutch in 22 minutes. ***1/2 I wouldn’t quite say this was on par with Togo’s PWG outing against El Generico, but it was a damn good technical exhibition regardless. They worked an obvious, easy story of Zack Sabre being just too damn skilled for Togo to compete with on the mat, which forced Togo to use a slightly more aggressive, brutish style to combat Zack’s grappling prowess. It made for some fun exchanges, like Togo just punching Zack in the face in lieu of trading uppercuts, that crazy German Suplex, and the spinning Pedigree. It forced Togo to work from the bottom, and that made for an interesting little chess match that didn’t feel nearly as long as its runtime would suggest. Just like the O’Reilly/Elgin match, they filled out their time very intelligently and made the most of every minute, so you’d be hard-pressed to hear me take this match to task on the surface. The finishing sequence especially with the wacky trade of pin combos was a sight to behold, even if selfishly I wanted it to escalate a little so I could really come away from this match with something legitimately memorable. But as it stands, it’s still a great grappling battle and an excellent match for Togo to have on his PWG return.

Reseda Street Fight: Marty Scurll vs. Chuck Taylor
This match of course was set up at the end of the Best Friends/LDRS match at Nice Boys, with Chuck Taylor bringing back the famed Reseda Street Fight to combat Scurll after their rivalry escalated. If my memory serves me right, this is only the second Reseda Street Fight of all time, the first one being a mighty underrated little gem of Chuck Taylor vs. El Generico in 2009. And given these two men were gifted a main event slot, this ought to be something good.

We open with Marty Scurll and a microphone so he can heel out on the crowd and beg for respect. He goes as far as to call Chuckie T a glorified jobber, which rustles the crowd’s jimmies something fierce. This is also Marty’s first PWG match sans his awful top knot, so we’ve got the Lord to thank for that. Chuckie T wastes no time throwing leather with the Villain upon the bell ringing, sending him outside for a few throws of a chair. Marty superkicks a chair in Chuck’s face from the apron before suplexing him on a pile of chairs at ringside. They fight over throwing each other into a wedged chair in the corner, but Chuckie settles for Sole Food before putting a garbage can over Marty’s head and beating him to pieces with the umbrella. Chuckie misses a moonsault though, and Marty sends him down with a garbage can shot. Chuckie pops up from a Piledriver though and uses a German to finally wear the Villain down enough to run his head into the aforementioned chair. Marty scurries away from his doom by walking towards the commentary booth shaped like a table, so Chuckie chases him down and constructs a chair pyramid near the stage of the American Legion. Chuckie measures for a powerbomb off the stage through the apparatus, but Marty shoos him off. Chuckie takes the extra commentary headset and DECLARES MURDER~!, but Marty LAUNCHES HIM OFF THROUGH THE CHAIRS~! Cradle piledriver scores in the ring for a two count as Jerry Lynn cries. Chuckie elbows out of a Chickenwing before hitting a naaaasty suplex into the corner, nearly necking poor Marty Scurll. Chuck goes under the ring for a ladder to set in the corner, but Marty is able to recover and throw a chair on the Kentucky Gentleman’s head. Marty brings a few more chairs in the ring to construct a chair apparatus of his own, using Chuck’s intervention as an excuse to snap his fingers. Marty tapes Chuckie’s left hand to the top rope so he can GUT HIM with a comical amount of umbrellas. Chuckie is able to knee a chair into Marty’s face fortunately before freeing his hand, but he walks right into a backdrop on the ladder! POWERBOMB ONTO THE CHAIRS~! Chuckie kicks out after a very uncomfortable looking bump. Marty uses the umbrella for leverage on a Chickenwing, so Chuckie just bludgeons him with the extra umbrellas to break it. Marty takes the trashcan for another shot, but Chuckie ducks and Rick Knox gets a face full of steel. A Snap Piledriver scores, but the pin isn’t happening with Rick Knox dead beside them. Chuckie goes under the ring and pulls out a present from Greg, which turns out to be thousands of thumbtacks! He tries an Awful Waffle into the tacks, but Marty wiggles out and gives Chuckie a low blow. Marty pulls out some powder, but Chuckie kicks it in his face! Justin Borden comes out to check on him… but MARTY BREAKS JUSTIN’S FINGERS! CHUCKIE GIVES MARTY A DVD ONTO THE TACKS~! JUSTIN CAN’T COUNT! CHICKENWING FROM CHUCKIE T! MARTY DROPS HIM INTO THE TACKS! CHUCKIE NO-SELLS AND PUTS ON THE CHICKENWING!~! MARTY TAPS! Marty Scurll taps to his own move in 19 minutes. **** This was as delightfully chaotic as I’d hoped it would be, and maybe even better if we’re taking the whole package into account. Dustin has fully embraced his hardcore gimmick at this point, which makes for awesome street fights like this, his match with Trent, and his awesome hardcore match with Matt Riddle in EVOLVE. We even had some great bits of psychology, with Marty Scurll being woefully inexperienced in a traditional street fight environment. Hell, even Justin Borden got in on the storytelling with his fingers being snapped due to Marty’s misdirection. The Villain’s cheating was almost nullified by Dustin’s hardcore acumen, despite the usual cavalcade of umbrellas, powder and chickenwings. Dustin set up chair pyramids – even though he took the brunt of the punishment on that end – used tacks, and even used Marty’s usual tactics against him and ended up the better man at the end… even if it came at the expense of poor Justin. A lot of people only watch WWE and thus only know babyfaces as complete dolts who can’t do anything right, so it’s nice to see a pure babyface like Chuck Taylor outsmart the dastardly heel en route to a “clean” victory here. It’s the oldest story in wrestling and is almost astonishingly done wrong these days, so this match was refreshing in a lot of ways despite its no holds barred environment. This was an excellent, excellent main event and Chuck Taylor continues to be one of the most entertaining guys in the business.

Chuck takes the mic after the match and declares that 31 minutes from now it will be his 31st birthday. He can’t think of a better way to celebrate it than pulling thumbtacks out of his ass, and we fade out there!

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

While I thought this show had potential to be a stone-cold classic on paper, it didn't quite turn out that way in execution. But even with that "negativity" being said, Game Over, Man!" still managed to be a legitimately great wrestling show. If there was a WWE - or even ROH at this point - event with the same amount of quality, people would be trumpeting it to high heaven and calling it the Show of the Year. But if you can believe it, this is PWG's WORST show of the year so far. But worst implies this show is subpar, which it most certainly is not. It's actually one of the most consistently GOOD wrestling events you'll ever see. Nothing dips below the ***1/4 range, despite the card not having anything close to a MOTYC. So no, there's not one match you totally NEED to seek out here, but it's one of those shows you'd be an idiot to pass up when you consider how much value you're getting for your money. Like all PWG events, it has something for everyone stylistically, and I would recommend it to you in a heartbeat.