BG Says: PWG Card Subject to Change

January 22, 2005 – Los Angeles, California

Your hosts are Disco Machine & Excalibur.

Disco Machine kicks off the show in the ring. He talks about being injured and being unable to make money. He called Commissioner Paul T and asked if there was any way he could earn some scratch. Paul T couldn’t be there tonight, so he’s named Disco the Junior Executive Vice President Commissioner in Training for the evening.

VS.
The Ballard Brothers & Ronin VS. Topgun Talwar & Excalibur & Supa Badd
The Ballards had been kicked out of PWG, and had returned to the company under masks as Los Rojo Locos. After a win over Excalibur & Disco Machine los Locos were unmasked by Topgun Talwar and Supa Badd, who had formerly been their ally. Human Tornado and Ronin defeated Talwar and Excalibur to get the Ballards reinstated in the company, and thus we have this match. Everyone brawls to start. The Ballards brawl with each other for some reason until Excalibur and Badd break that up. Excalibur puts a camel clutch on Ronin and Badd dropkicks his face. Talwar follows suit with his own dropkick. Talwar hits a Manhattan drop and a clothesline in the corner. He hits a basement shoulder block and tags to Excalibur. Excalibur puts on a surfboard stretch and hits an elbowdrop for 2. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Supa Badd tags in and hits a step kick. He hits a kneelift and puts on an abdominal stretch. Excalibur adds some pressure to the hold but pulls to hard and falls to the floor. Talwar tags in and the heels all pound on Ronin. Ronin hits a faceplant and tags to the Ballards. They hit a double elbowdrop for 2 on Excalibur. They hit an old fashioned school boy on him and then hit a facebusting dropkick for 2. Shane hits an elbowdrop for 2. Shannon tags in and hits a clothesline. Shane jumps off his back and hits a clothesline as well. The Ballards try to hit a hockey puck into Excalibur’s nuts but Talwar makes the save. Badd hits Shane with a bodyslam and a legdrop for 2. Talwar hits a back elbow for 2. Excalibur hits a big boot for 2. He hits a running knee in the corner but his tornado DDT is blocked. Shannon fights everyone off and makes the tag to Ronin. Ronin unloads with forearms and a back elbow. He hits an elbowdrop and everyone hooks up in triple suplex position. Excalibur bails and the babyfaces hit the suplex. The Ballard splash hits knees and Supa Badd hits a chokebreaker on Shane for 2 when Shannon saves. Shannon hits a brainbuster for 2. Talwar hits the Chipotle Drop on Shannon. Ronin hits a DVD on Talwar for 2. Excalibur sets Ronin up top and hits a German superplex. Shane comes out of nowhere with a Tree of Woe dropkick on Excalibur. Supa Badd puts a torture rack on Shannon as Shane reverses a Doomsday Device attempt to a victory roll for 2. Talwar clotheslines Excalibur by mistake and gets hit with a double flatliner. The Ballards hit the double inverted DVD for the win at 12:47. The ending sequence to this was great, everything leading up to it was crap.
Rating: *3/4

After the match Excalibur goes to attack Talwar with a chair but Disco Machine stops him. Excalibur slaps Disco down to get to him. Disco doesn’t care how many matches Talwar has cost Excalibur, and he’s suspending him for one show. The opening match will be weird without him.

VS.
Colt Cabana VS. Tony Stradlin
They lock up and Stradlin powers Cabana to the ropes. He grabs a wristlock but Cabana goes to the mat and shoves him away. Stradlin puts on a full nelson and pins Cabana for 1. He goes for a roll up and Cabana crawls away. Cabana grabs a hammerlock but Stradlin reverses to a nifty leglock. Cabana rolls over and puts on an armbar. Stradlin again goes for a roll up and Cabana again crawls away. Cabana reverses a sunset flip to a roll up that Stradlin crawls away from. He trips Cabana, damaging the knee. Cabana tries to do the same to Stradlin but Stradlin dodges it and Cabana falls to the floor. Back in the ring Cabana puts on a cravat. He works over Stradlin’s face and drops it onto his knee. Stradlin comes back with a roaring forearm and a clothesline. Stradlin hits a kick to the knee and a kick to the head before hitting a running knee to the head for 2. Cabana gets an artful roll up for 2. He hits a neckbreaker for 2. Cabana climbs the ropes but Stradlin cuts him off with a roundhouse kick. He hangs Cabana on the top rope and nails him with a senton for 2. Cabana dodges a big boot and hits a swinging suplex. Stradlin reverses the Colt 45 to a roll up for the win at 10:42. This came off as an early version of the matches that Cabana would later have with Nigel McGuinness, and it blew by in what felt like no time. Stradlin is putting together a nice little streak by reversing indy stars finishers to that roll up of his.
Rating: ***

VS.
B-Boy VS. Human Tornado
They lock up and B-Boy grabs a headlock. Tornado hits the pimp slap and ducks a clothesline with style. He hits another pimp slap but B-Boy comes back with a headbutt. Tornado bails and takes a seat in the front row to recuperate. Back in the ring B-Boy hits a stiff kick to the back. Tornado hits a hurricanrana and a leg lariat. He hits a dropkick but B-Boy comes back with a spinebuster. He hits a snap suplex and a kneedrop. He reverses a roll up to a kick to the face for 2. He puts on the Koji clutch but Tornado gets to the ropes. B-Boy hits a wrist-clutch exploder for 2. There was really no need for Tornado to kick out of that. B-Boy puts on a chinlock but Tornado gets to the ropes and bails. B-Boy drags him back into the ring and gets pins him for 2. Tornado hits a big boot but misses a second and B-Boy hit a German suplex for 2. He puts on the Mark Nulty Special but Tornado gets to the ropes. Tornado comes back with a neckbreaker and a running boot. He hits a discus clothesline and a bulldog. He hits a swinging DDT for 2. B-Boy clobbers him and hits an enziguiri. He hits the Shining Wizard and the Cross Special brainbuster for the win at 11:14. Solid match, but it slowed way down after that exploder.
Rating; **1/4

After the match B-Boy shows Tornado respect for finishing the match after pretty much losing the use of his arm due to the exploder.

VS.
Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero VS. Scorpio Sky & Quicksilver
This is a number one contender’s match. The Aerial Express cost the Pitbulls the tag team titles last month when the sought revenge on Arrogance, drawing a disqualification due to interference. This lead to a huge brawl between these two teams after the match. They brawl on the floor on their way to the ring. Reyes kicks away at Sky in the ring but Sky comes back with kicks of his own. On the floor Reyes hits Quicksilver with a vertical suplex so Sky dives out onto him. The match finally gets underway with Sky and Quicksilver choking Reyes in their corner. Romero pulls Quicksilver to the floor and throws him into the wall. Sky hits a running forearm on Reyes for 1. Quicksilver tags in and hits a running elbow for 2. Romero starts beating on Quicksilver until Sky breaks it up. Sky tags in and hits a dropkick for 2. Reyes comes back with kicks but Quicksilver cuts him off. The AXP double-team Reyes for 2 when Romero breaks it up. Reyes and Quicksilver trade kicks until Quicksilver grabs a chinlock. Romero breaks it up so Quicksilver dropkicks Reyes’ head. He hits a gutwrench suplex for 2. Sky tags in and puts on a chinlock. Reyes comes back with a side suplex and an overhead suplex. He hits a German suplex and makes the tag. Romero cleans house on the AXP with kicks. He hits a leaping kneestrike for 2. He goes for a sunset flip but Sky sits down and grabs the ropes in the corner for the win at 8:15. Annoyingly short, as the intensity in the match was amazing. This deserved at least ten more minutes.
Rating: **1/2

VS.
American Dragon VS. Chris Hero
This is the third version of this match I’ve watched recently, but the first to occur chronologically. Hero grabs a wristlock but Dragon reverses to his own. Hero kips up a bunch of times and gets his back on. Dragon tries to do the same but has issues. Hero puts on an armbar and Dragon finally manages to kip up and escape. Good for him! They have a super pose-down that finds Dragon jealous of Hero’s pose. He goes for the Delirious slide near the turnbuckle but falls to the floor on his ass. Back in the ring Dragon does Hero’s pose to get his confidence back. They criss cross the ring and it unfortunately leads to nothing. Dragon goes for a chinlock but Hero uses his slippery hair to escape. He puts on a camel clutch but Dragon uses his slipper beard to escape. He puts on a camel clutch of his own and floats into an armbar. He puts on a wristlock so Hero pulls on the beard. The best part of the match for me happens here, as I can actually hear referee Rick Knox say to Dragon, “I’m admonishing him.” Hero puts on his own wristlock but Dragon comes back with a dropkick. They knuckle up and Hero grabs a cravat. Dragon gets a headlock and they criss cross again. This time Hero uses it to hit a roaring forearm for 2. He hits a bodyslam and a senton for 2. Dragon hits a back heel kick and kicks away. He blocks a blind charge but Hero catches him on the second rope with a dropkick. Dragon gets tied up in the ropes so Hero kicks at his knee. Dragon falls to the floor and Hero follows him out. He snap mares Dragon’s knee into the post and rolls him back into the ring. Hero hits the KneeDT and puts on an STF. Dragon gets to the ropes. Hero puts on a leglock so Dragon pulls back on the arm to escape. Hero comes back with a splash to the leg for 2. Dragon kicks back at Hero’s face but Hero responds with chops. Dragon hits stiff kicks to the back but Hero comes back with a spinning toehold. He stays on the knee and then washes it in the corner. Dragon hits an enziguiri and chops away. He uses the bad leg to kick the chest and then hits a running knee. He goes for the Mexican surfboard but opts to simply stomp the thighs. He puts on a Mexican chinlock but Hero fights away. Dragon sets Hero up top and brings him down with a superplex. Hero hits a dragon screw and puts on the Rivera cloverleaf. Dragon gets to the ropes. Hero fires up the airplane spin and Dragon shouts that it’s his move. Hero ends up more dizzy than Dragon so Dragon puts the move on himself until his knee gives out. He rolls Hero up for 2. Hero reverses to his own for 2 but Dragon reverses back for the win at 25:17. The comedy here was good, but the wrestling in the match was pretty dull compared to the matches they’d go on to have.
Rating: ***

Arrogance comes out for their match. They want to know who they’re wrestling for the tag team titles. Disco Machine has apparantly lost the tag team titles and allowed them to be auctioned off on e-Bay. To make up for losing the belts he’s put Arrogance against a team that they can have a great match against.

VS.
Chris Bosh & Scott Lost (c) VS. Phoenix Star & Zokre [PWG Tag Team Championship Match]
Bosh and Lost attack before the bell. Los Luchas come back with stereo dropkicks. Arrogance bails so Star follows them out with a springboard plancha. Back in the ring Zokre gets hit with a knee to the gut and a Mexican armdrag by Bosh. Zokre hits a hurricanrana and trips him to the floor. He slingshots Lost into the ring and tags to Star. Star hits a fireman’s carry and a dropkick. He blocks a blind charge and reverses a clothesline to a DDT for 2. Awesome. Lost tags to Bosh who walks into an armdrag. Star hits a back heel kick and a Pele kick. He springboards into a fist to the nuts and Lost runs in with a roundhouse kick. Bosh tags in and hits a fisherman’s suplex for 2. He hits a fistdrop for 2. Lost comes in illegally and hits a vertical suplex for 2. He hits the Superman spear and tags to Bosh. Lost dumps Star and everyone brawls on the floor. Lost shoves a strobe light in Zokre’s face and then puts the boots to him. Back in the ring Lost gets 2 on Star. Bosh tags in and star hits both of them with one dropkick. That was so cool! Zokre comes in with a swinging DDT on Lost and an inverted DDT on Bosh. Bosh catches him with a clothesline into a backbreaker. He hits Star with a clothesline on the floor. In the ring Star knocks Bosh into a crucifix pin from Zokre getting 2. Lost hits a northern lights suplex onto Bosh’s knee for 2. Star hits Lost with an inverted Angle Slam. Zokre launches Bosh into a spear from Star. Zokre hits an Asai moonsault onto Arrogance on the floor. Back in the ring Los Luchas hit a double inverted package piledriver. They go for their finisher but Valentina screws up Zokre’s portion of it. Arrogance hit a Hart Attack backbreaker on Star. Zokre breaks up Lost’s sharpshooter but gets dumped to the floor, allowing Bosh to hit Star with a screwdriver for the win at 11:45. After a disappointing showing last month Arrogance is back to having quality matches. Los Luchas really impressed me here with their unique style.
Rating: ***1/4

Frankie Kazarian comes out and warns Arrogance that Valentina is bad news. He demands that they choose between her and the First Family. Bosh and Lost have a hilarious huddle on the subject and then inspect Valentina’s crotch. Upon completion the bait Kazarian into a stone cold beating. Good choice, as the First Family had been pretty dead for a while at this point. Lost and Bosh actually bring this up.

VS.
Super Dragon (c) VS. Homicide [PWG Championship Match]
Samoa Joe couldn’t make it for the title shot he earned by beating American Dragon, so a Internet poll was put up to decide who’d challenge for the belt. Homicide won, so here we are. These two previously met in the tag title tournament that saw Homicide make it his mission to pretty much destroy Dragon. They trade headlocks and Dragon gets a single leg takedown. He puts on a leglock but Homicide reverses to a cross armbreaker. Dragon gets to the ropes. They trade armdrags and go for their finishers but have to beg off. Dragon hits a dropkick and Homicide bails. Dragon follows him out with a suicide dive. They trade chair shots and no-sell everything. Homicide tears at the mask but Dragon comes back with the Mark Nulty Special in the ring. Homicide gets to the ropes. Homicide hits a swinging DDT and puts on a chinlock. He hits a knee to the gut and Dragon bails. Homicide comes off the apron onto Dragon with a double stomp. Back in the knee Homicide hits his running knee in the corner for 2. Dragon unloads with forearms and climbs the ropes. Homicide crotches him and brings him down with a butterfly superplex for 2. He hits the Ace Crusher for 2. Dragon comes back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and the Curb Stomp for 2. Homicide dodges a German suplex and hits a dropkick. Dragon bails and Homicide follows him out with the tope. Dragon gets back into the ring at 19 and Homicide pins him for 2. Homicide puts on the STF but Dragon gets to the ropes. Homicide dumps Dragon to the floor and pins him for 2 when he crawls back into the ring. Dragon unloads with forearms and a headbutt putting Homicide down. Homicide blocks a brainbuster and puts on a butterfly hold but Dragon gets to the ropes. He pins Dragon for 2 and climbs the ropes. He hits a diving headbutt and tries to rip the mask off. He hits a clothesline in the corner and another Ace Crusher for 2. He sets Dragon up top but Dragon shoves him off and hits a senton for 2. He blocks the Cop Killer and puts on an armbar. He hits an enziguiri and Psycho Driver II Driver for the win at 19:36. The last thirty seconds were strong, the rest of the match was nothing special at all. Dragon’s title reign continues to sputter along at a disappointing speed.
Rating: **1/2

The Extras button on the main page will reveal following backstage shenanigans.
Excalibur talks Topgun Talwar down for keeping him from the pay window, which he actually shows us. Talwar has also caused Disco Machine to turn his back on him. Neither of them have heard the last of him.

The Ballard Brothers are excited to be back in PWG as themselves. NHL may be out of action, but the Ballards are in full action. They claim they were never Los Rojo Locos, except the day they were unmasked. And that was just a coincidence. It was probably the Aerial Express.

American Dragon tells Chris Hero that he’s really upset with him for using the airplane spin. He claims that nobody can do it as good as him because he never gets dizzy. That’s funny, because I could have sworn that on the last show Samoa Joe hit the muscle buster on him BECAUSE he was dizzy from doing the spin. Dragon congratulates him for working the knee and work out a high five situation.

Scott Lost replays his match with action figures. Then he goes on to have simulated sex with Valentina. She walks up to him causing incredible embarrassment.

The Reference
American Dragon vs. Chris Hero was orginally billed as a Barbed Wire Exploding Cage with Circus Elephants Firing Rocket Launchers Death Match. The title of the show was typical of wrestling companies because wrestlers may get injured or pull off shows before bell time, leaving them forced to change the card. This warning keeps them from liability to false advertisement.

The 411:  While the show didn't produce anything in the ring that I'll want to watch again, it was entertaining the whole way through. The matches were kept pretty short (too short in one case) and everything between the main event and the opener was fun to watch. Mild recommendation for this manic show. You can pick it up at Highspots.com as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has sold out of it.
Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]