Break It Down: PWG The Perils of Rock N’ Roll Decadence

The Perils of Rock N’ Roll Decadence on September 10th, 2011

Opening Match: Peter Avalon vs. Brian Cage-Taylor
Rick Knox beats both men in a test of strength. Look up “deceptively strong” in the dictionary and you’ll see a picture of him. Then again, you’d have to find a dictionary that has phrases in it, which is nonexistent, much like my play-by-play on this match thus far. Avalon snaps off a satellite headscissors and lands a standing moonsault. He connects with a leg lariat and lands a dive to the floor. In the ring, Cage catches him with a vicious alabama slam. Cage takes control until Avalon comes back with a tornado DDT. Avalon lands a springboard crossbody. He tries another springboard maneuver but eats a boot. Avalon recovers with a flatliner on the apron. Cage responds with an olympic slam for a nearfall. He suplexes Avalon from the apron into the ring. Avalon connects with an enzuigiri and hits a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Cage blocks a leg lariat and connects with a discus lariat. Cage locks in a cloverleaf while standing on Avalon’s head for the win at 11:30. Both men played their roles well and did a good job of getting the crowd into the match. Cage brings a lot of unique offense to the table and I’m glad that he won as decisively as he did. Avalon definitely has his place as well and these two delivered a solid opener. **¾

Match #2: Willie Mack vs. Ryan Taylor
They trade control of a wristlock and Taylor eventually hits an arm-wringer. They exchange armdrags and find themselves at a stalemate. Taylor connects with a few stiff forearms but runs into a dropkick. Mack lays in some chops but gets caught by a springboard dropkick. Taylor punts him in the head and takes control. He connects with a knockout kick on the floor and lands a dive to the outside. In the ring, Mack pounces Taylor out of nowhere. Taylor hurricanranas out of a powerbomb attempt but falls victim to a TKO. Mack connects with a lariat. Taylor answers with two knockout kicks for a nearfall. He hits a saito suplex and adds another knockout kick for a two count once again. Mack hits a spinebuster and lands a frog splash for the victory at 16:22. These two had some trouble making this match flow and it might have overstayed its welcome at sixteen minutes. Taylor seemed off his game, throwing out sloppy kicks and taking the crowd out of the action at times. Mack thankfully brought them back and was clearly the standout here. **¼

Match #3: Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma vs. Player Uno and Player Dos
The Super Smash Brothers are making their debut here. Uno predictably wins a shoulder block battle against Yuma. Dos hits a slingshot senton on Yuma and follows with a suplex. Goodtime blind tags into the match and hits a slingshot leg drop on Dos. He catches Dos with multiple palm strikes and the RockNES Monsters connect with stereo basement dropkicks. They isolate Dos until he lands a springboard moonsault onto Yuma and makes the tag. Uno dead-lifts Yuma into a suplex and the Super Smash Brothers work him over. He catches Dos with a tornado DDT and tags out. Goodtime connects with a slingshot double stomp on Uno and hits a falcon arrow on Dos. The RockNES Monsters hit a stomp-neckbreaker combination on Uno. Yuma misses a dive and falls to the floor. Dos goes up top but Yuma crotches him on the top rope. Goodtime hits a dragon suplex on Uno but Dos catches him with a frog splash. Yuma drives Dos head-first into the canvas and all four men are down. The RockNES Monsters hit an enzuigiri-ace crusher combination on Uno. Dos connects with a double pele kick. He overhead suplexes Yuma into the corner and onto Goodtime. Yuma recovers with a dive to the floor onto Dos. Back in, Uno catches Yuma with a falcon punch. The Super Smash Brothers follow with their alabama slam-lungblower combination for a nearfall. Goodtime boots Dos off the apron. The RockNES Monsters hit the Weapons Grade Bolognium on Uno for the win at 17:16. I would be absolutely shocked if the Super Smash Brothers weren’t brought back after their performance in this match. They instantly connected with the PWG crowd, which is always a good thing. I wanted to see them used more in Ring of Honor back in 2009 and I don’t think PWG will waste this opportunity with them. The RockNES Monsters held their own as well and continue to thrive as a team. This was basically two extremely unique teams showcasing what they could do for seventeen minutes and everything came together perfectly. Hopefully the Super Smash Brothers will be back soon. ***½

Match #4: Eddie Edwards vs. TJ Perkins
Davey Richards is on commentary. Everyone brace yourself. They begin with some chain wrestling and Perkins connects with a dropkick. Edwards responds with a spin kick and follows with a flying knee strike from the apron. Perkins hits a neckbreaker and connects with a nice hesitation dropkick. Edwards hits a slingshot lungblower along with a sit-out gourdbuster. He catches Perkins with a kick to the chest and a running dropkick. Edwards takes control until Perkins lures him to the floor and follows out with a dive. In the ring, Perkins connects with a missile dropkick. Richards has Excalibur dying of laughter on commentary at this point. Perkins lands a standing corkscrew senton and connects with a knockout kick. Edwards answers with a flying knee strike and both men are down. They exchange strikes and both men fall to the canvas once again. Edwards hits a dragon screw leg whip followed by a backpack chinbreaker. He transitions into a half crab but Perkins reaches the bottom rope. Perkins blocks a hurricanrana attempt with a powerbomb. Edwards counters a tiger suplex into a victory roll for a nearfall. He goes back to the half crab but Perkins reverses into a triangle choke. Perkins transitions into a cross armbreaker but Edwards rolls him up for the victory at 13:53. This looked like an intriguing matchup on paper and they delivered a worthwhile exhibition for the time given. In fact, considering its place on the card and the success of the previous match, I think having a shorter contest here was for the best. The constant reversals down the stretch were entertaining to watch and I find these two to be much more interesting in PWG than Ring of Honor. I definitely wouldn’t mind more frequent appearances from Perkins in PWG. ***¼

Match #5: El Generico vs. Rocky Romero
Generico can’t figure out Romero’s kicks early on. Generico snaps off a few armdrags and connects with corner punches. He hits a backbreaker along with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Romero escapes a tornado DDT and connects with a mule kick. He lays in more kicks and starts to work over Generico’s left shoulder. Romero argues with Rick Knox in Spanish and attempts to de-mask Generico, two things that won’t sit well with the PWG crowd. He even sends a shout-out to Alex Koslov, who is apparently in the crowd. Generico fights back with a series of clotheslines and lands a dive to the floor. Back in, Generico lands a flying crossbody and hits a blue thunder bomb. He misses a corner yakuza kick and Romero hits a tornado DDT. Romero escapes a michinoku driver and connects with a shining wizard. He starts kicking away at Generico’s shoulder, which only makes him angry. They trade strikes. Generico overhead suplexes Romero into the turnbuckles and connects with a corner yakuza kick. He attempts a brainbuster but Romero traps him in a cross armbreaker. Generico is able to get his foot on the bottom rope. Romero connects with a knockout kick and goes up top. Generico follows him up and hits a turnbuckle brainbuster for the win at 17:40. As expected, these two had excellent chemistry together and put on a very good exhibition. It’s incredible how much the PWG crowd loves Generico and Romero smartly showcased his arrogance throughout the match. He did a great job of working over Generico’s left shoulder and went back to the injured body part as the match progressed. While I don’t think anyone expected Romero to win, he was an effective opponent for Generico, who is on his way to a PWG World Title match. ***½

Match #6: PWG World Tag Team Titles: Matt and Nick Jackson © vs. Joey Ryan and Scorpio Sky
As usual, the Young Bucks attack before the opening bell. Matt hits an impressive backbreaker on Sky and Nick adds a dropkick. Ryan pulls Nick to the floor, allowing Sky to take him out with a dive. Ryan hits a spear on Matt and lands a dive to the floor onto Nick. In the ring, Ryan hits a pumphandle exploder on Nick followed by a german suplex on Matt. Nick catches Ryan with a tornado DDT and the Young Bucks isolate him. Rick Knox has to wrestle Sky to the canvas at one point in order to enforce the legal man rule. Ryan connects with a superkick on Nick and makes the tag. Sky snaps off a headscissors on Nick and belly to belly suplexes Matt to the floor. Nick tries rolling thunder but the Dynasty catch him with a gutbuster-chinbreaker combination. Ryan hits a spinebuster on Nick but falls victim to a facebuster. He escapes More Bang for Your Buck and Sky hurricanranas Nick off the middle rope. The Young Bucks win a superkick exchange against Ryan. Sky connects with a flying knee strike on Nick and hits an ace crusher on Matt. He applies a dragon sleeper on Matt but Nick breaks the hold with a superkick. All four men are down. Ryan spears Nick off the apron and to the outside. Sky and Matt trade forearms and kicks. Sky hits a TKO for a nearfall. Nick catches Sky with a running knee strike and the Young Bucks follow with their tandem tombstone. Ryan pulls Rick Knox out of the ring during the pin attempt. Nick plants Ryan with a reverse hurricanrana and Matt adds a facebuster. Sky sneaks in a small package on Matt for a two count. Matt low blows Sky and the Young Bucks follow with More Bang for Your Buck to retain their titles at 17:10. This match had been building for quite some time and I’m happy to say that it came through in spades. Everyone knows how good the Young Bucks are right now and the Dynasty worked extremely well with them. I often find myself saying this about the Young Bucks’ matches but the action down the stretch was incredible, especially with the unique exchanges that these two teams were able to produce. The champions now move on to face Future Shock, which should definitely be a match to watch out for. However, the Dynasty should be commended for their effort here as they were a big part of this match’s success. ***¾

The Young Bucks attack the Dynasty after the match but Kevin Steen makes the save. Steen seems to want a shot at the tag team titles as well. He calls out “Jim Cornette’s walking wet dream,” leading to…

Match #7: PWG World Title: Kevin Steen © vs. Davey Richards
Richards connects with a dropkick and lays in more kicks. Steen returns the favor with a dropkick of his own. He hits his flipping leg drop but gets caught by a handspring gamenguiri. Richards starts working over Steen’s right leg. Steen hits a lungblower followed by a corner cannonball. He steals a fan’s El Generico shirt and chokes Richards with it. Richards punts Steen from the apron and lands a dive to the floor. In the ring, Richards connects with a missile dropkick. They have a stiff forearm exchange and Richards hits an overhead suplex. Steen responds with a rope-assisted DDT and powerbombs Richards onto the apron. Steen hits his pumphandle neckbreaker but finds knees on a swantan. Richards connects with a running kick but runs into a powerbomb. Steen transitions into a sharpshooter but Richards is able to reach the bottom rope. Richards hits a dragon screw leg whip in the ropes and connects with a flying double stomp. He applies an ankle lock but Steen reverses into an ankle lock of his own. Richards counters into a sharpshooter but Steen sneaks in a small package for a two count. They battle up top and Richards lays in a series of headbutts. He hits a superplex and transitions into a falcon arrow. Steen finds himself in an ankle lock and eventually falls victim to a german suplex. Richards connects with kawada kicks followed by a knockout kick for a nearfall. He hits a tiger driver but Steen won’t stay down. They battle on the apron where Steen hits a package piledriver. Both men fall to the outside. Back in, Steen connects with three superkicks and hits a sleeper suplex for a nearfall. Steen follows with a package piledriver and locks in a rear naked choke to retain his title at 21:12. This main event was novel in that it pitted the PWG World Champion against the ROH World Champion. These two had some very good matches in Ring of Honor over the past few years and this outing was no different. They managed to keep most of the action back and forth and the crowd was pretty vocal throughout in one way or another. I guess there’s really not much more to say. Steen is on an absolute tear right now and if you put him in the ring with the likes of Richards, you’re guaranteed to get something worthwhile. If you liked their previous matches you’ll certainly enjoy this one. ***¾

The Young Bucks run out and attack Steen. El Generico of all people comes out to make the save. Generico points at Steen and then points at the PWG World Title. Steen responds by low blowing Generico. He proposes a ladder match at the next show for the PWG World Title.

The 411: The Perils of Rock N' Roll Decadence is another consistently solid show from PWG. The Super Smash Brothers made an awesome debut and already look to be a permanent fixture in PWG for the foreseeable future. Eddie Edwards, TJ Perkins, El Generico, and Rocky Romero were showcased in two excellent exhibitions that each added something different to the show. Finally, the two title bouts ended up being the best matches of night and closed out the show well. Once this show gets going, it maintains its momentum until the end. PWG once again earns a strong recommendation and that's certainly nothing new.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]