Break It Down: PWG As The Worm Turns

As The Worm Turns on February 27th, 2010

Opening Match: Johnny Goodtime and Jerome Robinson vs. Malachi Jackson and Ryan Taylor
Goodtime and Taylor trade control to start. Goodtime connects with a dropkick but gets met with a flurry of kicks. They trade pin attempts and find themselves at a stalemate. Malachi lays out Robinson with a forearm, evoking a strong reaction from Excalibur on commentary. Robinson misses a handspring moonsault but is able to connect with a dropkick. Goodtime catches Malachi with two slingshot dropkicks. He adds a slingshot leg drop and Robinson lands a springboard senton. Taylor catches Robinson with a clothesline and he is isolated. He plants Malachi with an enzuigiri and makes the tag. Goodtime hits a backbreaker on Taylor and throws Malachi to the floor. Taylor catches Goodtime with a series of kicks but gets stomped to the canvas. Goodtime hits a falcon arrow on Taylor but falls victim to a modified snapmare driver. Robinson lays out Taylor with the Owen Hart Special for a nearfall. Malachi hits an ace crusher on Robinson but gets caught with a double stomp from Goodtime, who proceeds to dive out onto Taylor. Robinson lands the Cancun Tornado onto Malachi for the win at 14:11. This match featured the crazy action we’ve come to expect from the locals. However, it also had some uncharacteristic sloppiness that usually doesn’t plague these contests. Nothing occurred that completely ruined the crowd’s reaction but it was still noticeable. Nevertheless, the action was still solid and the finish garnered a great reaction. **¾

Match #2: Brandon Gatson vs. Scott Lost
Lost attacks before the bell. Gatson comes back with a spin kick but gets caught with a corner double stomp. Lost hits a Superman Spear and works in his judo throw. He locks in a sharpshooter while Gatson is in the ropes. Gatson dodges a roundhouse kick and connects with a lariat. He hits a neckbreaker and floats over into a DDT. Lost falls victim to a slingshot ace crusher but answers with one of his own. He connects with a flying elbow drop and follows with a flatliner. Gatson avoids a dive and lands a space flying tiger drop to the floor. In the ring, Gatson hits his front flipping side slam for the victory at 10:33. I feel as though this was just a sampling of what they could do together. They were going along nicely and Gatson made his comeback with a space flying tiger drop. From there, they went straight to the finish. I could imagine these two having a worthwhile finishing stretch with some fantastic exchanges. Still, the match was fine for its spot on the card and effectively put Gatson over. **½

Match #3: Chris Sabin vs. Roderick Strong
This match was originally supposed to happen at last year’s Battle of Los Angeles, but a neck injury made Sabin miss the show. Sabin avoids a chop and retreats to the floor. He armdrags out of a backbreaker but gets driven onto the apron. Strong is now able to connect with some chops and hit a backbreaker. He adds a gutbuster but Sabin just pastes him with a kick. Sabin takes control, working in multiple quick pin attempts. Strong comes back with a yakuza kick and hits a powerslam. He follows with a backbreaker. Sabin counters a gutbuster with a hurricanrana but falls victim to a backbreaker. Strong attempts to lock in the Stronghold but Sabin rolls him up for a nearfall. Sabin connects with a missile dropkick and hits a tornado DDT. Strong walks into a powerbomb and gets kicked straight in the chest. Strong recovers with a gutbuster, backbreaker, and yakuza kick for the win at 15:18. As expected, they had great chemistry together and delivered an excellent match. Sabin did a fine job of heeling it up and getting the crowd more into the match. He would attempt to avoid Strong’s offense and try for a quick pin attempt whenever possible. Strong didn’t tone down his offense at all and the story worked extremely well. This was pretty much what you’d expect out of these two and that certainly isn’t a bad thing. ***½

Match #4: Brandon Bonham, Candice LeRae, and Joey Ryan vs. Christina Von Eerie, Brandon Cutler, and Dustin Cutler
The faces taunt Brandon with their pushups. Ryan punches the Cutler Brothers but kisses Von Eerie. LeRae’s teammates military press her into Brandon. Ryan is low bridged to the floor and the heels work him over back in the ring. He catches Brandon with a pumphandle suplex and makes the tag. Bonham kicks Dustin to the floor and follows out with a dive. Von Eerie hits a facebuster on LeRae. Ryan hurricanranas Brandon and connects with a dropkick. Ryan finds success with a boobsplex while LeRae hits a ballsplex. They follow with stereo dives to the outside. Bonham catches Dustin with a flying double stomp. Dustin answers with an ace crusher and the Cutler Brothers utilize some double teaming. They do a tower of doom spot in the corner. Bonham and Brandon lay each other out with clotheslines. Ryan spears Brandon but falls victim to a lungblower. Von Eerie hits a pedigree on Ryan. LeRae avenges him by catching Von Eerie with a Mustache Ride for the victory at 16:27. This was generally a fun match but I’m not sure if it needed to last sixteen minutes. Everyone managed to work in some entertaining spots and PWG continues to make intergender matches work. You’ll know whether or not you’ll enjoy this contest by reading the list of participants. **½

Match #5: Chris Hero vs. Alex Shelley
As you would expect, they trade control on the mat to start. Shelley snaps off a few armdrags and works over the right shoulder. Hero connects with a flash kick and adds a dropkick through the ropes. He takes control until Shelley catches him with some quick pinning combinations. Shelley lays in multiple chops and lands a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Shelley connects with a flying kick but gets caught with a yakuza kick. He flatlines Hero into the middle turnbuckle and nearly finds success with a quick rollup. Hero responds with another yakuza kick and an elevated slam. He follows with a rolling neckbreaker. Shelley reverses a Hero’s Welcome into a backslide for a two count. He connects with a superkick and hits Sliced Bread #2 for a nearfall. Hero MURDERS Shelley with a roaring elbow and hits a Hero’s Welcome for the victory at 17:03. There were numerous aspects of this match that I thought were perfectly executed. The beginning mat work was as solid as you would expect from these two. Shelley’s comeback was incredibly unique with him utilizing multiple variations of a rollup. Once the rollups didn’t work, he took the fight to Hero with a series of chops. That progression lead nicely into the finishing stretch. This match was also unique for Hero only using one roaring elbow throughout the entire duration. However, when he finally connected, it sounded gruesome. Honestly, I enjoyed just watching the intensity escalate and the extremely smart wrestling makes this contest stand out. ***¾

Match #6: PWG World Tag Team Titles: Matt and Nick Jackson © vs. El Generico and Chuck Taylor
The Young Bucks attack before the bell. Nick rips off his shirt as a tribute to Hulk Hogan. Generico falls victim to stereo dropkicks. Taylor sends the Young Bucks to the floor and follows out with a dive. 2 Skinny Black Guys of Low Moral Fiber maintain their momentum until Generico finds himself in the wrong corner. The Young Bucks isolate him until he suplexes Nick into the turnbuckles and makes the tag. Taylor cleans house with clotheslines and dropkicks. Generico sends Nick to the floor and follows out with a dive. Taylor lands a moonsault onto Matt but gets caught with a spin kick from Nick. The Young Bucks follow with their neckbreaker-backbreaker combination on Taylor and catch Generico with stereo superkicks. Nick hits an ace crusher on Generico and adds a running knee. Taylor connects with a springboard dropkick on Nick but falls victim to a standing sliced bread from Matt. Generico catches Matt with a michinoku driver. Taylor hits Sole Food on Matt and Generico adds a half nelson suplex for a nearfall. Generico follows with a corner yakuza kick and Taylor hits the Awful Waffle for another nearfall. Nick catches Generico with a slingshot facebuster and lands a moonsault to the outside. Taylor springboards off the middle rope but Matt meets him with a spear. The Young Bucks land their frog splash-moonsault combination on Taylor. Matt hits a facebuster on Generico. A series of superkicks ensues. Generico connects with a corner yakuza kick on Matt and hits a brainbuster for a two count. Nick wins a strike exchange against Taylor. Matt escapes and Awful Waffle and sends Generico to the floor. The Young Bucks hit More Bang for Your Buck on Taylor to retain their titles at 18:21. Add Taylor to the list of tag team partners that Generico has wrestled the Young Bucks with and had a great match. As usual, the action in the second half of the match was phenomenal and they had the crowd biting on some nearfalls. It’s scary to think about how many quality matches the Young Bucks have had during their current reign. They are also amazing in the heel role, especially now that they can play off of the fact that they work for TNA. Excellent tag team match and I expected no less from these two teams. ***¾

2 Skinny Black Guys of Low Moral Fiber show some dissention after the match. Generico offers a handshake but Taylor turns him down.

Match #7: PWG World Title: Kenny Omega © vs. Davey Richards
Richards connects with a boot before the bell. They avoid each other’s offense and find themselves at a stalemate. Omega spin kicks Richards to the floor and follows out with a dive. In the ring, Omega lands a flying crossbody but gets caught with an Alarm Clock. Richards applies a cloverleaf and snaps back on the left leg. He misses a diving headbutt but catches Omega with a powerbomb. Richards goes back to the cloverleaf but Omega makes the ropes. They trade strikes. Omega blocks a handspring kick with a spin kick. He follows with the Kotaro Krusher and a uranagi. Richards connects with his handspring enzuigiri. They trade yakuza kicks on the apron and Richards Alarm Clocks Omega off. Richards follows with a dive to the outside and lays in some kicks back in the ring. Omega finds no success with the stop enzuigiri but is able to snap off a hurricanrana. He hits another uranagi along with a dragon suplex. Richards gets caught with a springboard dropkick but escapes Croyt’s Wrath. They trade offense and Omega hits a reverse hurricanrana. Richards pops up with a clothesline and both men are down. Richards connects with some brutal kicks. Omega flips out of a top rope german suplex and hits the Hadouken. He adds a 2k1 bomb for a nearfall. Richards blocks a top rope Croyt’s Wrath with a sunset bomb. He follows with a german suplex for a two count. Richards connects with a knockout kick and locks in a cross armbreaker. Omega turns it into a pin attempt for a two count. Richards missile dropkicks Omega’s bad arm and lands a shooting star press. Omega turns another cross armbreaker into a cloverleaf. Richards counters into a close rollup. Omega hits another reverse hurricanrana along with Croyt’s Wrath. Richards kicks out of the pin attempt and synchs in the Kimura. Omega turns it into a pin attempt for a two count. Richards transitions into a cross armbreaker to become the new PWG World Champion at 26:12. This was an absolute war and a terrific main event. Richards wore out Omega by dissecting his left leg and arm. As always, Richards was effective at making his body part work count later on in the contest. I will admit that I enjoyed their latest encounter in ROH a little more. My only gripes with this match are that Omega was spotty at best with his selling and the finishing stretch almost went on too long. I hate to even call the latter a gripe, as the crowd was with them the whole time. Richards has been the most consistently awesome wrestler on the independents for quite some time and it’s nice to see him finally win a world title. Even though Omega’s reign was short, he lost his title in a fantastic match. ****

Richards gives a speech after the match. He talks about how he got his start in PWG and calls the promotion his home. He puts over Omega and they shake hands. Omega says that Richards deserves the belt more than anybody else and congratulates him. The fans enter the ring and raise Richards up on their shoulders.

The 411: As The Worm Turns is a tremendous show. When dealing with PWG, that is usually the norm. The Motor City Machine Guns return and put on two great singles matches. The Young Bucks continue their streak of great title matches. Richards and Omega end the show with an epic main event and a significant title change. The locals flesh out the rest of the card with solid action. You really don’t have to think twice about this one. High recommendation.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]