Views from the Hawke’s Nest: PWG All Star Weekend 6 – Night 1

January 5, 2008
Van Nuys, CA

Commentators: Excalibur , Bryce Remsburg, & Eddie Kingston,

Excalibur announced Dino Winwood was not here. Excalibur says he’s in charge. Roddy and Evans are now having a best of three series instead of just one match to determine which one gets another PWG show. Excalibur then announced Susumu Yokosuka and Cima were late to the show. Their punishment is that they have to wrestle each other. Super Dragon was supposed to face Yokosuka but now has the night off. Excalibur then invited Bryan Danielson out to find out what his match is for the night. Excalibur said he no longer has a match with Cima because he missed BOLA. Excalibur said he will have a match he has never had in PWG before. Low Ki came out and the crowd popped.

Bryan Danielson© vs. Low Ki [PWG World Championship]
Bryce Remsburg is the referee!

They were on the mat the whole time early on. Ki gave Dragon a clean break, but Dragon did not return the favor. Dragon went after Ki’s ear, but that just angered Ki. They ended up on the floor and traded lots of strikes. Dragon started going after Ki’s left arm. He applied a number of submissions to the now-injured arm. Dragon also started slapping and chopping him. Dragon was trying to go for Cattle Mutilation, but Ki avoided it and nailed a brutal koppou kick. Ki started a comeback. Ki got a couple of nearfalls, but then Dragon got a cross armbreaker on the injured arm. Ki got to the ropes. Dragon went for a tope suicida, but Ki blocked it with an enzuigiri. Dragon was hung up in the ropes, and Ki gave him a ghetto stomp. Ki got another nearfall after some brutal kicks. He then went for the Phoenix Splash, but Dragon got his knees up. Ki did not rotate fully on the Phoenix, and it looked really sloppy. Dragon then applied the triangle choke. Ki reversed it into a desperation pinning combo, but Dragon kicked out. Dragon reversed a Cattle Mutilation into another desperation pinning combo, but Dragon kicked out. Dragon went for the super back suplex, but Ki bit his way out of it. Dragon was in the Tree of Woe, and Ki hit a ghetto stomp: 1…2…NO! KI KRUSHER: 1…2…NO! DRAGON SLEEPER! He hammered down the elbows, and then applied it again…Dragon taps out!

Despite being overlong, I found the great majority of this match to be compelling and it had an absolutely killer finishing sequence. I think Low Ki’s style works better for sub-15 minute matches, but this match did not bore me as I feared it would.
Match Rating: ***3/4

El Generico vs. Karl Anderson
This is the first time these two have been opponents in either a singles or tag match according to Excalibur.

Machine Gun attacked before the bell, but Generico came back quickly enough. Machine Gun then cut him off with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Machine Gun worked him over briefly, but Generico came back and hit a diving hurricanrana. He followed it up with an Asbury Flop. They got back in the ring and started going back and forth. Machine Gun killed him with a lariat for a nearfall. Generico came back; he went for a springboard move, but Machine Gun reversed it into a spinebuster. Generico connected on a Yakuza to the back of the head and then a half-nelson suplex: 1…2…NO! Machine Gun avoided a brainbuster and picked up a nearfall on an Oklahoma Roll. Generico came back with another Yakuza and then hit a brainbuster: 1…2…3

I really enjoyed this as they worked a fan-friendly pace and the crowd responded to pretty much everything they did. The substance was not inspired or anything, but it was always fun. This match could be even better right now (2014).
Match Rating: ***

Ronin vs. Scorpio Sky
They were going back and forth a lot early on. Sky took Ronin out with a pescado. Back in the ring, Ronin hit a pop-up forearm to cut him off. He worked Sky over briefly before Sky came back. Sky hit a tope con hello. Sky then hit a diving crossbody for a nearfall. They went back and forth. Sky hit a scoop slam and then a frog splash for a nearfall. Ronin came back and got a nearfall with a folding powerbomb. Sky came back with an Ace Crusher, sliding kick, and a TKO jawbreaker: 1…2…3!

Much like the last match, they worked a fast paced match that was heavy on movez and light on story. It mostly worked for me despite not really being a fan of either guy. The crowd was into it pretty much the whole time as well.
Match Rating: **3/4

Age of the Fall (Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs) vs. The Dynasty (Joey Ryan & Scott Lost w/ Jade Chung)
The Age of the Fall got the first advantage after Tyler dumped Ryan to the floor. Ryan was then worked over. Ryan eventually hit Jacobs with a dropkick, and Lost then made a hot tag. Lost dominated for a bit, but the teams eventually started going back and forth. The match really slowed down as the Dynasty worked over Jacobs. I guess a second heat segment with a different team being worked over was necessary. I’ve never seen a match structured like this before. Lost and Jacobs eventually dove each other and knocked heads. Tyler tagged in and made comeback. He took out the Dynasty with an Asbury Flop. AotF gave Joey a Doomsday Hurricanrana Device: 1…2…NO! Jacobs nearly killed himself on that. Tyler and Jacobs hit jim with more double team movez. Jacobs then had him in the guillotine. Jade had Bryce distracted while Ryan distracted. Lost then was able to save Ryan. Dynasty hit Jacobs with a big double team move for a nearfall. This match is too long. Jacobs ate a double superkick. Ryan avoided a big boot from Tyler and then hit Jacobs with a dive. Lost then ate a buckle bomb and big boot. Ryan tossed Black into an Ace Crusher. The Dynasty then dropped the Hammer: 1…2…3

Despite some strong moments, this match felt like a mess a majority of the time. If they cut out about half the time and tightened up some sequences, I think this could have been a real strong match. As it is, it was real disappointing.
Match Rating: **1/4

Best of Three Series: Match #1
Jack Evans vs. Roderick Strong
They went back and forth at the start. Roddy got the advantage after Evans missed a dive. Roddy then worked him over briefly. Evans actually got control soon after and then worked Roddy over. Weird. Roddy managed to get him to the floor and then tossed him into some chairs. Roddy then worked him over as previously scheduled. Evans caught him with a springboard spinning shin kick. Evans then made a comeback. Roddy came back with a cloverleaf. Evans got to the ropes and hit a reverse ‘rana. 630: 1…2…3

My reaction to this match was pretty much exactly the same as my reaction to the last match. There were some good moments, but the structure was very bizarre and the match did not add up to a cohesive whole. I would have though the natural dynamic between these two would lead to an automatic good match, but that is clearly not the case.
Match Rating: **1/4

Muscle Outlawz (Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino) vs. The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson)
This could be insane.

Doi was the first to get worked over. Matt then got worked over. This segment lasted a long time. Nick sporadically tried to interfere, but it never worked. Matt eventually hit a couple of movez on the Outlawz and tagged out to Nick. Nick made a big comeback. The Bucks hit some big dives. All four men went down after some movez. The Outlawz ran though Nick for a bit. The Bucks came back. They hit stereo 450s. Matt ate a super Doi Fives. Yoshino then gave Nick Torbellino and Lightning Spiral. Sol Naciente! Nick submitted.

This was not insane. Unfortunately, this show does not have the environment necessary for these types of matches to live up to their potential.
Match Rating: ***

TJ Perkins vs. Alex Koslov
This is not an intriguing match on paper.

They ended up on the mat early on. TJP seemed to be getting control, but he missed a dive. Koslov then hit him with a superkick. Koslov worked TJP over after that. Next time I can’t sleep, I’ll be sure to throw this match on again. After a lifetime long time, TJP caught Koslov with a dropkick during the latter’s attempt to come off the top rope. TJP made a comeback. The match slowed to a crawl and became insufferably boring. They traded some submission attempts. This is so bad. Koslov eventually hit a springboard Russian legsweep and then applied the Red Scare. TJP tapped out almost instantly.

There is nothing worse in wrestling for me (besides all the awful homophobic, racist, sexist, transphobic, etc stuff) than boring matches that go one too long. This was exactly that.
Match Rating: DUD

Cima vs. Susumu Yokosuka
Both men were in the Typhoon stable at the time.

Yokosuka got control of the match relatively early on. Cima eventually hit a backstabber and started to come back. Cima went for Venus, but Yokosuka reversed it into an exploder. Cima came back with Venus and the Iconoclasm. Yokosuka hit a big lariat, but Cima came back and got a nearfall with a Perfect Driver. Yokosuka hit a DVD off the middle rope for a nearfall. They did a ridiculous no-sell sequence that would remind you of a CZW deathmatch but without the weapons, blood, and guts. Yokosuka hit the Jumbo No Kachi, but Cima reversed the pin into a crucifix pin: 1…2…3!

There was not a lot to this match that I especially cared about, but it was perfectly acceptable for the most part. The closing sequence was unnecessarily obnoxious though.
Match Rating: **3/4

Chris Hero, Candice LeRae, & The Necro Butcher vs. Human Tornado, Eddie Kingston, & Claudio Castagnoli
If Hero’s team wins, Hero gets a match with Tornado. If Tornado’s team wins, he gets a match with Candice.

The match started as a wild brawl around the ring. The match spilled outside the building. Necro started throwing rocks at his opponents. Candice also threw rocks. Claudio charged at Hero but did a banana peel slip and landed on his ass. This was great. They made their way back to the ringside area and actually in the ring. It continued to be a crazy brawl. Hero eventually got isolated and a tag match with rules broke out. That is such a pet peeve of mine. Why are they all agreeing to follow the rules now. Hero eventually escaped, and Necro tagged in. Necro’s comeback mostly consisted of headbutts. Necro gave Kingston a super ‘rana. Hero saved Necro from a pinfall. Hero and Tornado then went at it again. Tornado fell to the floor, and Claudio got a nearfall on Hero with a TKO. Hero killed Claudio with a discus boot. Tornado accidentally hit Kingston with a pescado. After a very labored setup, Hero hit a moonsault to the floor on all of his opponents. Necro then took out Claudio and Tornado with a somersault plancha. Candice went to the top rope and hit Kingston with a missile dropkick. Hero ate the Backfist to the Future after he saved Candice and then hit the backdrop driver: 1…2…3

This match was great fun overall but there were some moments that dragged it down a little bit. I would have erased the entire Hero heat segment personally. There was no need for it, and it only needlessly extended the match. It also hurt my suspension of disbelief because that was the section of the match where the wrestlers decided to follow rules of a tag match for no reason whatsoever. However, besides that, I really enjoyed this. The finish was pretty deflating for a main event though.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Check out a full/organized list of all the wrestling show reviews I’ve done at 411mania.

Check out some of your favorite PWG wrestlers in free matches!
The Briscoes vs. The Hardys
Daniel Bryan vs. Tommaso Ciampa (from 2011)
Johnny Gargano vs. Drew Gulak
The Young Bucks vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Super Dragon & Excalibur
Claudio Castagnoli (Antonio Cesaro) vs. Kevin Steen
El Generico vs. Chris Hero
The Young Bucks & Petey Williams vs. Paul London, Brian Kendrick, & Jay Lethal
The Young Bucks vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
Low Ki vs. Super Dragon
Johnny Gargano vs. Eddie Edwards
Akira Tozawa vs. Johnny Gargano
Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Chuck Taylor vs. Arik Cannon
Chris Hero vs. CM Punk
Bryan Danielson vs. Drake Younger
Akira Tozawa vs. Brian Cage
AJ Styles & Matt Sydal vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Colt Cabana
Akira Tozawa vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly
ACH vs. AR Fox

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The 411: This show was a mixed bag with an inconsistent flow. There were enough good things to give this show a slight recommendation, but it’s nothing to get too excited about.
Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]