Break It Down: PWG Steen Wolf

Steen Wolf on October 22nd, 2011

Opening Match: Peter Avalon, Freddy Bravo, and Ray Rosas vs. Famous B, Chris Kadillak, and Candice LeRae
Famous B snaps off a few armdrags on Rosas and back drops him. Bravo takes down Famous B with a headscissors and connects with a dropkick. Kadillak unleashes a flurry of strikes on Bravo and catches him with a shotgun dropkick. Avalon connects with a leg lariat on Kadillak and calls out LeRae. She wins a test of strength against him and lays in repeated strikes in the corner. Rosas comes in to take care of things but gets rocked by a forearm from LeRae. Rosas grabs LeRae by her hair and pulls her down to the canvas. The heels isolate her until she flips out of a back suplex attempt from Avalon and makes the tag. Famous B connects with a series of leg lariats. LeRae dives through the ropes and catches Avalon with a tornado DDT on the outside. Kadillak lands a dive to the floor onto Avalon and Bravo. Rosas and Famous B follow with dives of their own. In the ring, Bravo connects with a knee strike on Famous B, who responds with a superkick. Rosas hits a tornado DDT on Famous B and Avalon adds a nice flatliner. Kadillak connects with a shooting star headbutt on Avalon in the corner. An actual shooting star headbutt; I kid you not. Rosas takes down Kadillak with a spear. LeRae hits the ballsplex on Rosas and Bravo. She attempts one on Avalon but he elbows his way out. Avalon misses a leg lariat and falls victim to the ballsplex. Famous B lands a swantan on Avalon and Kadillak follows with a frog splash for the win at 11:48. PWG has seen local talent come through and make their mark. Brandon Gatson, Willie Mack, Brandon Bonham, and Ryan Taylor are all good examples. Well, it looks as though there is a new wave of young talent coming to PWG and I have to admit that they all look promising. Famous B and Kadillak managed to really stand out and Bravo and Rosas were on point when they were in the ring as well. The PWG crowd gave everyone a chance and I think they were impressed by the end of this match. I hope to see all four newcomers back in PWG and I’m curious to see what else they can do in the ring. ***¼

Match #2: TJ Perkins vs. Rocky Romero
They begin with some chain wrestling and neither man can gain the advantage. Romero offers a handshake but instead spits on Perkins’ hand. Romero tries to use Rick Knox during an irish whip but Perkins is able to avoid him. Perkins then accidentally takes out both Romero and Knox with a flying crossbody. Knox chops Romero into a pendulum from Perkins, who transitions into an STF. Romero is able to reach the bottom rope. Perkins lands a dive to the floor and connects with a hesitation dropkick in the ring. Romero answers with a basement dropkick and kicks away at the left leg. He works over Perkins’ left leg and takes control. They both try to fool each other by planting themselves between the top and bottom rope. Perkins connects with a missile dropkick and synchs in an ankle lock. He hits a dragon screw leg whip in the ropes but Romero catches him with a mule kick. Romero hits a tornado DDT. They trade strikes and Perkins hits a sit-out powerbomb. He kicks Romero in the head and there’s some confusion as Romero didn’t kick out of a pin attempt but Knox didn’t count to three. Romero avoids a 450 splash and connects with a knee strike for a nearfall. They exchange ankle locks and Perkins applies a sharpshooter for the victory at 13:32. While these two showed moments of solid chemistry and had a few nice exchanges, there were many points throughout this match where they lost the crowd due to miscommunication. The confused pin attempt down the stretch was unfortunate and quieted the crowd for the rest of the contest. I like both wrestlers, but something just didn’t click here. **½

Match #3: Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma vs. Brian Cage-Taylor and Ryan Taylor
Chuck Taylor is at ringside to support his Fightin’ Taylor Boys. Goodtime ducks a lariat from Cage and snaps off a satellite headscissors. Cage hip tosses him into a backbreaker. Goodtime hits a backbreaker on Taylor while stretching Cage’s back. Yuma catches Taylor with a crossbody and the RockNES Monsters take over with their double teaming. Taylor military presses Goodtime off the top rope and onto the apron. Cage TKOs Goodtime onto Taylor’s knees and the Fightin’ Taylor Boys isolate him. Goodtime uses his feet to lift Taylor up by the arms into a powerbomb. That was insane. Yuma tags into the match and hurricanranas Taylor. He clotheslines Cage over the top rope and takes out the Fightin’ Taylor Boys with a dive to the outside. Yuma attempts a hurricanrana off the apron but Cage powerbombs him into some chairs. Goodtime dives onto Cage and Taylor on opposite sides of the ring. In the ring, Yuma hits a tornado DDT on Taylor. On the outside, Cage german suplexes Goodtime into the second row. Cage hits a pumphandle gourdbuster on Yuma for a nearfall. Goodtime connects with an enzuigiri and a bicycle kick on Cage. He finds knees on a frog splash attempt. The Fightin’ Taylor Boys hit an assisted canadian destroyer on Goodtime. The look on the faces of fans in the crowd is priceless. That only gets a two count. Taylor inadvertently connects with a knockout kick on Cage. Yuma hits a stunner on Taylor and the Sex Factor on Cage. Taylor launches Yuma to the top rope and bicycle kicks him to the floor. Goodtime rolls up Taylor out of nowhere for the win at 12:05. I know that the RockNES Monsters and the Fightin’ Taylor Boys have been in PWG for quite some time but I think this will be the match that I remember both teams by from now on. I don’t think my play-by-play can do the action in this match justice. Both teams just went absolutely crazy for twelve minutes and the usual energy from the PWG crowd just made everything better. These are the kind of matches that have made PWG so special in the past couple of years and I just can’t say enough good things about this match. It’s one of the most fun sprints that I’ve seen in quite some time. ***¾

Match #4: Willie Mack vs. Davey Richards
Mack escapes an early ankle lock attempt from Richards. They have a nice sequence out of a test of strength and Mack connects with an enzuigiri. Richards dodges a plancha and climbs up on the apron. Mack blocks a punt and trips Richards on the apron. They exchange forearms on the floor and Mack uses the ring ropes as a springboard to connect with a lariat. Back in, Richards delivers a running knee to the midsection that sends Mack back to the outside. Richards lays in a few kicks around ringside and takes over in the ring, targeting the left arm. Mack fights back with a russian leg sweep. They trade forearms and slaps. Mack slams Richards to the canvas and hits a leg drop. Richards lays in repeated kicks in the corner but gets caught by a slingshot dropkick. They battle up top and Richards hits a superplex. Mack slowly rises to his feet and just has a demonic look on his face. He connects with an enzuigiri but falls victim to an exploder. Mack quickly answers with an exploder of his own but Richards hits another exploder. Mack powers out of an ankle lock and hits a samoan drop. He lands a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Richards traps him in an ankle lock but Mack counters into a rollup for a two count. Richards hits a german suplex and connects with a flying double stomp. He follows with a knockout kick for a nearfall. Richards hits a dragon suplex and adds another knockout kick for the victory at 16:16. About half-way through this match, I thought to myself that the action was progressing nicely but these two didn’t have the great chemistry together that one would expect. Then things really started to pick up and I quickly changed my opinion. Once again, I must compliment the PWG crowd for sticking with them. Their reactions to Mack’s resilience and Richards’ offense made the finishing stretch something memorable. Mack was able to look strong in defeat and it’s always nice to see Richards in an environment other than Ring of Honor. ***¼

Match #5: Joey Ryan and Scorpio Sky vs. Phoenix Star and Zokre
Los Luchas are making their return to PWG in this match. Apparently, this match is being conducted under lucha rules. Zokre and Sky trade control of a knuckelock and Zokre almost catches him in a cross armbreaker. They both attempt dropkicks and find themselves at a stalemate. Instead of doing a lucha exchange with Star, Ryan decides to punch him in the face. He eventually decides to snap off a hurricanrana on Star and is pretty proud of himself. Zokre lands a dive off the apron onto Ryan. He follows with a lionsault onto Sky in the ring. Star takes down Ryan with a headscissors and Zokre hits a slingshot leg drop on Sky. Ryan blocks a dive from Zokre with a dropkick. The Dynasty isolate him until he gets kneed out of the ring, forcing the tag. Sky lands a dive to the floor onto Star. Ryan pedigrees Zokre onto the apron. Star takes out the Dynasty with a springboard dive. In the ring, Zokre elevates Sky into a spear from Star. Ryan hits a pumphandle overhead suplex on Zokre and follows with a spear. The Dynasty hit a jawbreaker-gutbuster combination on Star. Zokre plants Ryan with a reverse hurricanrana and all four men are down. Zokre blockbusters Ryan onto Star’s knees. Sky hits a jawbreaker on Zokre but gets dropkicked to the floor. Ryan connects with a superkick on Star and Sky follows with a TKO for the win at 13:22. Los Luchas have always been hit or miss for me and while everyone worked hard in this match, I don’t think these two teams had much chemistry together. The lucha rules, which aren’t done at all in PWG, didn’t add anything to the match and were only utilized once in a creative way. I wouldn’t mind seeing what Los Luchas could do against some other current teams in PWG but I just think these two teams were the wrong opponents for each other. **½

Match #6: Ricochet vs. Chuck Taylor
These two are long-time rivals and have had matches in multiple promotions in the past couple of years. Both men try to reach the PWG World Title, which is hanging above the ring for the main event. Taylor tries to leap off of Ricochet’s knee and grab the belt to no avail. Taylor cartwheels out of an armdrag attempt and connects with a double stomp. Ricochet answers with an enzuigiri but runs into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. They exchange leg submissions and Ricochet hits a reverse hurricanrana. They trade forearms and Taylor hits an overhead suplex. Ricochet responds with a springboard ace crusher but gets caught by Sole Food. He recovers with a flatliner and lands a standing moonsault. Taylor blocks a springboard maneuver and throws Ricochet down to the canvas. Taylor lawn darts him into the turnbuckles and hits a uranagi. They battle on the apron where Taylor hits an inverted DDT. He connects with a dropkick through the ropes but Ricochet finds an opening to take him out with a dive. Taylor, not to be outdone, quickly answers with a dive of his own. In the ring, Ricochet snaps off a hurricanrana and lands a space flying tiger drop back to the outside. Back in, Ricochet comes off the top with double knees. Taylor rolls through and synchs in a half crab but Ricochet is able to reach the bottom rope. Taylor hits a powerbomb and goes back to the half crab. He calls for a triple moonsault but misses a regular moonsault. Ricochet hits a tornado DDT and lands a standing shooting star press for a nearfall. Ricochet then lands a shooting star press from the top rope for a two count. He goes back up top but Taylor catches him with the Awful Waffle for a nearfall! Taylor is in disbelief so he resorts to a grenade. Ricochet blocks a charge and lands a 630 for the victory at 20:07. While this match took awhile to get going, the action found its rhythm down the stretch. They managed to play off of their familiarity with each other and generated some genuine nearfalls as the match came to a close. I definitely think that they could have cut five minutes or so from the match and this might not be the spectacle that you were expecting considering some of their previous outings. However, this was still a solid exhibition that was different than any other match on the card thus far. ***

Match #7: PWG World Tag Team Titles: Matt and Nick Jackson © vs. Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly
Future Shock are making their debut in PWG in this match. O’Reilly unleashes a flurry of strikes on Nick and Cole catches him with a basement dropkick. Future Shock apply stereo fujiwara armbars on the Young Bucks. The Young Bucks catch O’Reilly on a plancha attempt but Cole takes them out with a dive. Matt superkicks O’Reilly on the apron and hits an assisted sliced bread on Cole. Nick lands a springboard frog splash onto Cole and the Young Bucks work him over. He flips out of two back suplex attempts and makes the tag. O’Reilly yakuza kicks Nick off the apron and connects with an enzuigiri on Matt. He follows with a double dragon screw leg whip. O’Reilly gets crotched on the top rope and Matt irish whips him hard into the turnbuckles. The Young Bucks now isolate him until he hits a belly to belly suplex on Matt, blocks a springboard splash from Nick, and makes the tag. Cole connects with a double missile dropkick and wheelbarrow suplexes Nick into the apron. He lands a flying crossbody onto Matt and hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker. O’Reilly lays out Matt with a shoulder-capture suplex. Nick dropkicks O’Reilly off the apron and connects with a flying double stomp on Cole. He hits a slingshot facebuster on Cole and lands a moonsault to the floor onto O’Reilly. Matt catches Cole with a backbreaker for a nearfall. O’Reilly reenters the ring and hits rolling butterfly suplexes on Nick. Cole adds a german suplex for a two count. O’Reilly and Matt trade forearms. Matt back flips to escape Ride the Lightning and everyone connects with superkicks. O’Reilly finishes things with a discus lariat and all four men are down as the crowd comes to their feet. Both teams exchange forearms. The Young Bucks lay out O’Reilly with stereo superkicks. Nick catches Cole with a running knee strike and Matt hits a bucklebomb. The Young Bucks hit a tandem tombstone on Cole, maybe paying homage to the Cutler Brothers in the process. That only gets a two count as O’Reilly breaks up the pin attempt. Cole blocks More Bang for Your Buck and Future Shock hit a superkick-brainbuster combination on Matt. O’Reilly applies a guillotine choke. Nick tries to break up the hold but Cole traps him in a guillotine choke as well. The crowd is going crazy. Nick low blows Cole and superkicks O’Reilly. The Young Bucks hit More Bang for Your Buck on O’Reilly to retain their titles at 20:53. This was an excellent debut for Future Shock, rivaling the Super Smash Brothers’ debut from the last show. This was also an excellent example of how you can have a match happen in Ring of Honor and only be semi-interested in it but then be genuinely excited when that match takes place at a PWG show. As usual with the Young Bucks’ matches, the action down the stretch was incredible. The crowd genuinely believed that Future Shock could win the titles at multiple points throughout this contest, which is quite the testament to the quality of this match as Cole and O’Reilly weren’t likely candidates to dethrone the champions in their debut. The tag team scene in PWG is heating up and I’m excited to see where Future Shock go from here. ****

Match #8: PWG World Title: Ladder Match: Kevin Steen © vs. El Generico
Generico spits in Steen’s face, Steen blows snot at him, and they start brawling. That sounds about right. Generico lands a dive to the outside and brings a ladder out from under the ring. Steen throws him into the ringpost and introduces his own ladder into the match. In the ring, Steen reverses a tornado DDT into a backbreaker. He pushes a ladder onto Generico and rams it into his midsection. Generico returns the favor tenfold. Steen back drops him onto a propped ladder, caving the ladder in. He continues to punish Generico’s back, just forcefully throwing a ladder onto his back at one point. Steen irish whips Generico into a propped ladder and Generico wildly ricochets off of it. Generico finally finds an opening and yakuza kicks a ladder into Steen. Steen responds with a ladder-assisted lungblower. He tries to climb a ladder, but the ladder is not functioning due to Generico being back dropped into it. Generico hits a michinoku driver but eats a superkick. He blocks a second superkick and hits another michinoku driver onto the edge of a ladder. Generico follows with a half nelson suplex onto a ladder! He tries to climb but Steen shoves the ladder down. A third ladder is brought into the ring. An old ladder is placed across the bottom rope. Generico tries to climb the new ladder but Steen powerbombs him across the old ladder. Steen tries to climb but Generico recovers in time to stop him. Generico hits an exploder into the turnbuckles. Steen responds with a powerbomb onto the apron. Generico leaps over a ladder and tornado DDTs Steen on the floor. Steen attempts another powerbomb but Generico back drops him over the top rope and through a propped ladder on the outside. Steen recovers in time to stop Generico from grabbing the belt. Steen lays two ladders across the bottom rope. They battle up top and STEEN HITS THE TURNBUCKLE BRAINBUSTER!! He starts climbing a ladder but the Young Bucks run out and start hitting him in the knees with chairs. They eventually leave once they’re satisfied with their work. Generico reenters the ring and starts climbing. Steen meets him at the top of the ladder and they trade shots. Generico sunset bombs him into two propped ladders! Generico climbs a ladder and retrieves the belt to become the new PWG World Champion at 26:54. In the current professional wrestling landscape, ladder matches get booked all of the time. In fact, as I’m typing this right now, there will be a ladder match on a WWE pay per view in two days between Triple H and Kevin Nash with a sledgehammer hanging above the ring. So like I said, ladder matches happen all of the time. However, you’ll rarely see a ladder match that stays as dedicated to the stipulation as this encounter. These two came up with so many unique ways to utilize the ladders and once both men were focused on retrieving the belt, the action played out in a logical yet chaotic way. My play by play fails to do this match justice and it’s just the type of spectacle that needs to be seen. I don’t know if there will ever be a feud in independent wrestling quite like Steen vs. Generico. They had their classic war in ROH at Final Battle 2010 and they now had their classic encounter in PWG as well. This ranks right up there with their tag team match from All Star Weekend 8 as my PWG match of the year. ****½

The Young Bucks attack Generico and Steen after the match. They make fun of Steen for losing the PWG World Title and challenge him to a Guerilla Warfare match. Matt astutely recognizes that he doesn’t have a partner. The lights suddenly go out and when they come back on, SUPER DRAGON IS IN THE RING!!! He curb stomps Matt and hits the Psycho Driver on Nick. Steen announces that he found a partner as Super Dragon walks away.

The 411: Steen Wolf is an incredibly well-rounded show that showcases every aspect of PWG that I love. A new group of local talent impressed in the opener while PWG regulars such as the RockNES Monsters, the Fightin’ Taylor Boys, and Willie Mack were apart of worthwhile matches in the undercard. Ricochet and Chuck Taylor brought their storied rivalry to PWG and delivered a solid exhibition while Future Shock made their mark in their debut against the Young Bucks. The whole show culminates in a must-see main event that not only features a match of the year candidate, but also the return of Super Dragon. Great matches, historical moments, and a hot crowd make this an easy recommendation in a year full of them. It’s amazing to think that the last PWG show I couldn’t recommend purchasing happened in June of 2009.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]