Break It Down: PWG The Curse of Guerrilla Island

The Curse of Guerrilla Island on October 9th, 2010

Excalibur is in the ring with Joey Ryan, who receives a mixed reaction from the crowd. Apparently, not too many people want to see him win the PWG World Title tonight. Ryan uses a “pro wrestling promo” application on his phone to cut a promo. The general idea is that Ryan believes he will leave tonight as PWG World Champion.

Opening Match: Brian Cage-Taylor vs. Johnny Yuma
Before the match, Chuck Taylor, Ryan Taylor, and the newly-named Brian Cage-Taylor form an alliance. They are now known as the Fightin’ Taylor Boys. This is also Yuma’s debut in PWG. Cage controls early on until Yuma catches him with a few kicks and a senton. Cage military presses Yuma and connects with a vicious uppercut. Yuma sends him to the floor with a headscissors but Cage blocks a dive. In the ring, Cage hits a delayed superplex and takes over. Yuma fights back with a stunner and various strikes. He sunset flips Cage onto his knees. Cage catches Yuma coming off the top rope with a powerslam. Cage misses a lionsault and Yuma hits an innovative facebuster. Yuma follows with a dive to the floor but walks into a discus clothesline back in the ring. Cage hits a gory special flatliner for the victory at 11:12. Solid opener that made Cage look strong after forming a new alliance with Chuck and Ryan Taylor. Unfortunately, Yuma’s debut was somewhat overshadowed by Cage’s new direction but I’m confident that he’ll receive more opportunities in PWG. Aside from being disjointed at times, this was an enjoyable contest that allowed Yuma to introduce his offense with Cage showcasing some new moves as well. **¾

Chuck Taylor and Ryan Taylor come out after the match to congratulate Cage-Taylor. The Fightin’ Taylor Boys attack Yuma until Johnny Goodtime and Rocky Romero make the save. “Coincidentally the opponents of Chuck Taylor and Ryan Taylor tonight came out and made the save.” Excalibur is awesome. Goodtime and Yuma are actually regular tag team partners outside of PWG.

Match #2: Peter Avalon vs. Candice LeRae
Avalon starts by showing off his power advantage. LeRae finds an opening to monkey flip him. They exchange slaps and LeRae dropkicks Avalon to the floor. Avalon avoids a dive but gets caught with a double axe handle from the apron. In the ring, Avalon takes control until LeRae crotches him on the top rope. Avalon retreats to the outside. LeRae dives out onto him and hits a tornado DDT. Back in, LeRae connects with multiple forearms but Avalon responds with a twisting neckbreaker. He spends too much time showing off and LeRae catches him with a ballsplex from the middle rope. LeRae hits a gory special slam but falls victim to a gourdbuster. Avalon hits a tiger driver but pulls LeRae’s shoulders up before the three count. LeRae catches him with a victory roll for the win at 10:26. Exactly what you would expect given the participants. The comedy was alright and the actual wrestling was fine for what it was. Regardless of the situation, I hate when someone doesn’t take a guaranteed three count and ultimately loses the match. Avalon looked like a moron and it appears as though he’ll be in a comedy role for quite awhile. **

Match #3: Rocky Romero vs. Ryan Taylor
Romero attacks before the bell with a knee strike. He lays in multiple kicks and snaps off a hurricanrana. Taylor manages to avoid another kick and retreats to the outside. Back in, Romero hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and connects with a springboard dropkick. The action goes to the floor and dangerously close to the commentary equipment. They trade strikes at ringside and Taylor hits an arm wringer on the apron. Taylor uses the ringpost to work over the left shoulder and continues to attack it back in the ring. Romero comes back with his kicks and hits a sit-out slam. Taylor answers with a flipping neckbreaker. Romero hurricanranas him off the middle rope but misses a crossbody. Taylor hits a uranagi. Romero escapes a Go 2 Sleep and hits an inverted DDT. Romero catches Taylor with a flying knee strike for the victory at 10:59. They filled their eleven minutes with predominantly back and forth action, making this a decent exhibition. However, I would have liked to see Taylor continue to work over Romero’s left shoulder, as the arm wringer on the apron looked brutal. With better structure and more time, we could have been onto something here. **½

Match #4: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Brandon and Dustin Cutler
I was disappointed that this match didn’t happen at DDT4 and I’ve been looking forward to finally seeing these two teams wrestle. The Briscoes try to out-wrestle Brandon, but he settles for showing off his exercise techniques. Brandon elevates Jay into a back suplex from Dustin. The Briscoes answer with some double teaming on Brandon. Mark plants him with a belly to belly suplex and Jay follows with a dropkick. The Briscoes biel Brandon across the ring and continue to work him over. He catches Jay with a knee strike and the Cutlers follow with stereo shoulder blocks. Dustin launches Brandon to the floor and onto the Briscoes. Jay blocks a dive from Dustin with a spinebuster. The Briscoes showcase their stereo shoulder blocks and isolate Dustin. He hits his backbreaker-flatliner combination on Jay and makes the tag. Brandon snaps off a hurricanrana on Mark and hits an ace crusher on Jay. Mark responds with an iconoclasm and Jay adds a yakuza kick. Brandon sends Mark to the floor and hits a guillotine leg drop on Jay. The Cutlers follow with a sloppy Six Second Abs. Mark hits a fisherman buster on Dustin and the Briscoes follow with a top rope leg drop-side slam combination. Brandon lands a dive to the floor onto Mark while Dustin hits an F5 on Jay. Mark clotheslines Brandon to the floor and superkicks Dustin. The Briscoes connect with stereo superkicks on Dustin and hit the doomsday device for the win at 16:15. This was a great first-time encounter between these two teams. They had an interesting dynamic where the Cutlers had to resort to their agility to gain the advantage due to the Briscoes’ toughness. The Briscoes were on their game and held nothing back while on offense. With the Cutlers unsuccessfully challenging for the PWG World Tag Team Titles last month and losing here, hopefully they stay in the hunt to eventually win the titles. I’d be interested in seeing what these two teams could do in a rematch. ***½

Match #5: Johnny Goodtime vs. Chuck Taylor
Goodtime snaps off a hurricanrana and hits a neckbreaker. Taylor casually avoids a missile dropkick but can’t dodge a moonsault. Goodtime charges at Taylor, who sends him into the turnbuckles with authority. Taylor takes control, dumping Goodtime across the apron and connecting with an enzuigiri. Goodtime comes back with a corkscrew brainbuster and a slingshot dropkick. He sends Taylor to the floor and headscissors him into a fan. That was unintentionally hilarious. In the ring, Goodtime connects with a missile dropkick but gets caught with Sole Food. Taylor hits a uranagi and follows with a lionsault. Goodtime sends him into the corner and hits a german suplex. Ryan Taylor comes out and distracts the referee while Brian Cage-Taylor crotches Goodtime on the top rope. Taylor hits the Awful Waffle for the victory at 11:01. These two showed solid chemistry together and were able to keep the back and forth action interesting. The finish wasn’t exactly ideal, but it did a fine job of cementing the Fightin’ Taylor Boys as a unit. Goodtime is starting to give Brandon Gatson and Brandon Bonham some competition for best local in PWG. ***

Match #6: El Generico vs. Ricochet
Ricochet mocks Generico’s mannerisms early on. He might have good intentions but Generico does not look happy. Generico doesn’t give a clean break and tries to ground Ricochet to no avail. Ricochet snaps off a slingshot hurricanrana and Generico retreats to the floor in frustration. Back in, Ricochet snaps off a few armdrags and connects with a leg lariat. He lands a standing moonsault but walks into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Generico hits a suplex and just slaps him. Ricochet gets tied up in the ropes and Generico blasts him with a yakuza kick and sends him to the outside. Generico brings a beer pitcher into the ring and debates using it, but ultimately decides to throw it out. Ricochet snaps off a hurricanrana and connects with an enzuigiri. Generico retreats to the floor. Ricochet jumps over the ringpost and catches him with a dive. In the ring, Ricochet hits Meteora, possibly a reference to his stablemate CIMA. He follows with a tornado DDT and a standing shooting star press. Generico hits a blue thunder bomb and a michinoku driver. He goes up top but Ricochet catches him with a hurricanrana. Generico connects with a corner yakuza kick and hits an exploder into the turnbuckles. He adds a half nelson suplex for a two count. Ricochet lands a phoenix splash and connects with an impressive pele kick. Ricochet cartwheels into a reverse hurricanrana and lands a 630 splash for the win at 17:51. Incredible match that resulted from two amazing performances. If the plan was to cement Ricochet as a permanent attraction in PWG, they succeeded. Generico expressed his frustration perfectly, using his more impactful offense and even debating whether or not to use a beer pitcher. Ricochet executed his offense well and the PWG crowd is really starting to get behind him. This is simply eighteen minutes of smart, jaw-dropping wrestling and definitely a match to seek out. ****

Match #7: PWG World Title: Joey Ryan vs. Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brandon Gatson
Due to other commitments, Davey Richards had to vacate the title. These were the four semifinalists in this year’s Battle of Los Angeles. Claudio lands a plancha to the floor onto Ryan. Gatson catches Hero with some strikes but falls victim to a suplex from Claudio. Ryan connects with a series of dropkicks before walking into a mafia kick from Hero. Claudio and Hero tease a confrontation until Ryan interrupts. Hero hits a rolling neckbreaker on Ryan but gets speared off the apron. Ryan hits a pumphandle suplex on Gatson. Claudio picks up Ryan into a gutwrench suplex and dumps Gatson to the floor. Gatson reenters the ring and unleashes his signature offense. Claudio stops his momentum with a giant swing. While Gatson is swinging, Hero catches him with a basement dropkick. Hero and Claudio work together to take out Ryan. They tease another confrontation but Gatson interrupts this time. Ryan powerbombs Gatson but eats a bicycle kick. Claudio clotheslines Ryan to the outside, taking himself out as well. Hero catches them with an innovative dive over the top rope and Gatson follows with a space flying tiger drop. In the ring, Claudio attempts a superplex on Gatson, but they lose their balance and fall to floor. Hero lands a moonsault onto Ryan and hits a liger bomb. He connects with a roaring elbow on Gatson. Claudio dead-lift german suplexes Hero but gets caught with a superkick from Ryan. Claudio shrugs off another superkick and clotheslines Ryan. Gatson lands a 450 splash onto Claudio. Hero nails Gatson with a roaring elbow. Ryan superkicks Hero and almost catches him with a small package. Claudio tries a springboard uppercut but Ryan blocks it with a superkick. Claudio blocks a second superkick and connects with a popup european uppercut to become the new PWG World Champion at 11:10. Many people will dislike the short duration, but this match did a lot of things right. I appreciated how they incorporated the finishes of their BOLA matches, with Ryan superkicking Claudio off a springboard attempt and trying to beat Hero with a small package. The Hero/Claudio confrontation was teased well and it sets up an interesting program revolving around the PWG World Title that makes sense. A lot of quality action was packed into the eleven minutes. My only complaint was that Gatson looked like an afterthought and hopefully he can regain some lost momentum in 2011. Overall, despite its short duration, this was a very good main event that gave the PWG fans a world champion that they will be happy with (for now). ***½

Hero takes Claudio’s belt away from him. After some contemplation, Hero puts the belt across Claudio’s shoulder. Ryan slaps Claudio in the face and runs to the back. Claudio shrugs it off and celebrates with his new title. The crowd comically chants “please come back”.

A backstage promo by Hero is shown. He is frustrated that he didn’t win the PWG World Title. He is going to do something about it…even if the champion is his tag team partner. Elsewhere, Ryan claims that Claudio has awoken a “sleeping giant” and will now have to deal with the “real” Joey Ryan. Finally, we hear from Claudio himself. He tells the PWG fans not to worry…he will be back.

The 411: The Curse of Guerrilla Island is a noteworthy show that lays the foundation for future PWG events. The Fightin' Taylor Boys were established as a unit, with Chuck Taylor and Goodtime providing a solid match. Ricochet was cemented as a permanent fixture in PWG after an incredible showing against Generico. Claudio became the new PWG World Champion in a great main event and also has some challengers lined up in Hero and Ryan. Not to mention the Briscoes and Cutlers coming through in a match that I've been waiting to see for awhile. Quality wrestling with significant storyline advancement. Easy recommendation.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]