Pro Wrestling Guerilla Seventh Anniversary Show Report

Here’s a report from last night’s PWG 7. Thanks to 411 reader Tom Ford for sending this in.

I attended the PWG show last night in Reseda, CA. My first show at PWG’s home stead and it was quite the show. Not a match was a bust. Perhaps slight disappointment. But when you have people chanting “Match of the Year,” You can’t necessarily discount it.

PWG’s “7”

-Pre Show: It took the PWG security staff quite a while to let people into the building. Place was jam packed, they kept stuffing people into seats like sardines. People were still being let in as the third match of the night was ending. They didn’t start letting people in till ten of 8. Show couldn’t have started before 9 with a bell time of 8. That could be my ONLY complaint.

Paul London was on the ring apron eating cookies pre show. El Generico came out and wanted one, which London obliged. The crowd then started chanting “Magic Cookies” and Generico became quite concerned. Was a fun little bit to tide the crowd over.

Excalibur welcomed everyone to the show. He gave a speech about how much they’re going to miss Scott Lost. He said welcome to PWG, where, “WE RECYCLE!” which, of course, brought a “We Re-Cycle” chant from the crowd. All plastic bottles were promptly thrown in the trash.

First match was Johnny Goodtime, Brandon Gatson, and Candice LeRae d. Peter Avalon, Malachi Jackson & Ryan Taylor. Nice high paced opener. Goodtime came out with a Nintendo Power Pad from the old days. He was stomping up a storm like he was playing Track and Field to start the match, only for all three of Gatson, Goodtime, and Candice to be attacked. The heels went to work on Candice before she got the advantage. She worked over, I think Ryan Taylor in the corner with an innumerable amount of elbows and forearms that brought about a “Fuck ’em up Candice” chant. The good guys took control until Avalon entered the ring, demanding Candice. They had a few funny inter-gender spots, mostly Avalon rubbing himself up on Candice from behind in a rear waist lock. Goodtime hit a springboard moonsault to the outside and then picked up a pitcher of beer pouring some into his mouth. Candice went over Malachi with a top rope moonsault, while Goodtime and Gatson took out the others with springboard moves to the outside.

Chris Hero came out for commentary after that for the next match.

Brandon Bonham d. Brian Cage
The crowd started off the night chanting “WHO ARE YOU!” at Brian Cage, to which a small section of his, no doubt, immediate family chanted back “Brian Cage!” By the end of the matchup though, both sides knew who Brian Cage was. Hard fought match. Spotty and with little psychology but the moves were done pretty crisply. The match ended when Bonham hit a Canadian Destroyer. The crowd proceeded to chant “That was Awesome” and “Please Come Back” to Cage.

Akira Tozawa d. Chris Sabin
Pretty fun match. Tozawa stole the match with his facial expressions and screaming. Sabin hit his signature moves, the second rope spring splash to the outside. Sabin had Tozawa in a tree of woe and delivered a baseball slide drop kick. Then went for hesitation drop kick only for Tozawa to pull himself up. Sabin stopped himself and kicked Tozawa in the gut and then went back and nailed Hesitation dropkick. Finish happened after a German suplex, which Tozawa screwed up the bridge, only to lift Sabin back up on his shoulders and deliver another brutal looking German for the pin. Wasn’t crisp but got the job done.

Scorpio Sky d. Scott Lost via KICK TO THE HEAD?!?
Scott Lost hit Scorpio with a drop kick early. He grabbed streamers thrown for his going away party and flung them as he hit the move, making it look so much more awesome.

Scorpio wound up hitting his finisher twice before a screwed referee’s count(He counted two and made his hand softly hit the mat for three, when it shoulda been a three count) which made the kick to the face finish anti-climatic. Lots of near falls. I felt the match started out slow but picked up steam as it went. Neither man was really at a loss, step wise in the ring. Quite a few high spots. Big spot was a belly to belly suplex from inside to outside the ring.

Scott Lost got on the mic and said that he promised his family if he wasn’t supporting himself completely through wrestling by the time he was thirty, he promised he’d quit. But he also said tomorrow he has an announcement to make on twitter, wrestling related. So who knows.

We had intermission. I saw Tozawa at the merch table, along with Chris Hero and Candice. Candice was signing beer coozy’s for five dollars and Hero was meet and greeting. Seems Tozawa had a friend he was just hanging with.

Brian Danielson d. Roderick Strong via CRIPPLER crossface.
Probably the best match psychology wise on the night. Danielson came out to Final Countdown, crowd of course threw in ties. Danielson picked up a tie and motioned to choking out the official with it to a pop. Lots of “Kick his fucking head in” chants and “You’re gonna get your head kicked in” chants directed at Strong.

During some point in the match, Roderick Strong took a tie and started choking Danielson. The Crowd chanted “YOU ARE FIRED!” When Danielson repeated the motion, the crowd chanted “You are hired!” to astonished looks from the American Dragon.

Dragon hit Cattle Mutilation at a certain point in the match. Good mat work. A nice diversion from the high flying spot fest of the rest of the night.

Bryan cut a promo afterwards. I lightly transcribed it. Don’t expert verbatim but I got the major points.

“I can’t use that language, I’m a PG wrestler. I’m here for the kids. See, I’m here cause of kids like this right? But I’m also kinda here for people who want to see other people get their heads kicked in. Looking around, I’ve never seen this building so packed. My music started playing and I couldn’t hear anything. Might be cause the song sucks. Maybe cause all you guys are awesome. PWG, you guys are the best fans around. Sometimes, I get embarrassed about being a sports entertainer, but you guys make me feel proud to be a wrestler. Two great matches are still to come. Have a great evening.”

Davey Richards d. Chris Hero to retain the PWG Heavyweight Championship. After the match, fans in attendance had a “Match of the Year,” chant, which I would heartedly dispute. It was however, a great match. Davey however, wouldn’t sell Hero’s kicks to the face that would have made him more prone/more likely to lose the championship. Lots of stiff strikes, elbows and forearms from Hero throughout the match. Multiple Yakuza kicks. I didn’t expect a title change but they made me believe it could happen. Richards was working over Hero’s Leg after dragon screwing him inside the ring ropes. Davey locked in the Texas Cloverleaf numerous times to Hero getting to the ropes. Hero hit numerous stiff strikes for near falls. Finish came when Davey locked in the ankle lock for the third time, this time with a grapevine, for Hero to tap out. Match was solid, Hero sold his bad leg for most of it, but I’d knock it down a peg for Richards’ Hulking up factor. Still, Richards and Danielson need to have a match, just for them both to hulk up into violent fits of rage and just WAIL on each other. I hope that’s next show.

YOUR MAIN EVENT, the seventh match, of the seventh Anniversary show…

Had a Parental warning that you SHOULD PAY ATTENTION OR BE HURT BY FLYING BODIES. And they were quite right to warn you.

¡Peligro Abejas! (El Generico & Paul London – Champions) d. The Cutler Brothers (Brandon & Dustin Cutler – Challengers) & The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson – Challengers)

This was garbage spot-fest wrestling at it’s finest. London really did a great job keeping everything coherent and interfering at the right time to break up pins. The action was ALL over, and there were TONS of suicide dives to the outside. At some point, the Culter Brothers tossed one of the Bucks onto a pile of bodies from the elevated announcers booth. Two tables(and POPPERS) were introduced to the match. There was a cool spot with the Bucks where Max Buck(What’s his PWG name?) did a cartwheel back flip and then stopped, grabbing a back rack to rack his opponent’s back. At one point someone went flying over a bar stool into the back bar, but they were out of my vantage point.

Jeremy Buck went through the table on a Paul London top rope suplex. The Cutler Bros hit their dual tombstone onto two set up chairs. I believe Jeremy hit a 450 splash through a table for the other broken table. At the end, Generico hit a turnbuckle brainbuster on one of the Bucks as London Shooting Star Pressed the mass of bodies on the outside to retain.

All in all one of the better shows I’ve attended. I would have liked a title change, but that’s not even a REAL complaint. I don’t think I could signal out a SINGLE bad match. The closest thing would be Sabin/Tozawa or Sky/Lost, for their botched finishes, but ultimately, this was quite the spotless show. I would argue that every match on the show is worth watching. I’d say the show averaged out to 3 1/2 stars, and that’s me being rough on my assessment of the show. Certainly one to pick up on DVD when it comes out. Hopefully the internet doesn’t gush all over Hero/Richards though, because while it was a great match, maybe match of the night, it can’t be match of the year. Top ten match? Maybe. Sure. But I’d have to rewatch it.

Still, PWG, two for two on my endeavors. Kurtrusslemania was a great show, and this definitely surpassed that.