Break It Down: PWG Threemendous III

Threemendous III on July 21st, 2012

Opening Match: Famous B vs. Joey Ryan
Excalibur gets a little heated with Ryan before the match for interrupting his show introduction. Ryan cuts a promo about how he doesn’t receive the respect that he deserves. Rick Knox interrupts and wins over the crowd, as usual. Knox ducks a clothesline from Ryan and connects with one of his own. Famous B tries a quick rollup to no avail. He kicks Ryan off the apron but absolutely whiffs on a dive. Ryan lands a dive of his own and takes control in the ring. Famous B comes back with a nice pele kick and both men are down. Famous B connects with a series of kicks and hits a neckbreaker. Ryan responds with a pumphandle exploder and a spinebuster. Famous B hits a nice butterfly backbreaker and lands a dive to the outside. In the ring, Ryan hits a spear, powerbomb, butterfly backbreaker, and connects with a superkick for a nearfall. Famous B answers with a pumphandle backbreaker. Ryan applies the Tazzmission out of nowhere for the win at 10:53. This contest started off hot with Knox’s involvement, but these two had a difficult time capitalizing on that momentum. Honestly, I think this could have been a couple of minutes shorter and more of a sprint. Still, the action was at its best when they were just unloading chains of various moves and they still delivered a decent opener. **½

Match #2: TJ Perkins vs. Roderick Strong
They begin with some chain wrestling and Perkins applies a cloverleaf after a lightning-fast exchange (no pun intended). Perkins lures Strong to the floor and takes him out with a dive. Back in, Strong hits a series of backbreakers and just hurls Perkins into the turnbuckles. Strong connects with a nasty dropkick and takes over. Perkins fights back with a flurry of offense and synchs in an octopus hold. He transitions into an innovative rollup for a two count. Strong attempts a Stronghold but finds himself in another pinning predicament. Perkins connects with a knockout kick for a nearfall. Strong lays in a knee to the midsection and hits a backbreaker. Perkins hurricanranas out of a gutbuster and hits a sit-out powerbomb. Strong responds with a backbreaker and a gutbuster. Perkins connects with a springboard dropkick and hits a brainbuster. Strong catches him with a knee to the face and hits an orange crush backbreaker for the victory at 12:03. I don’t know what more these two could have done in twelve minutes. They had awesome chemistry together and this match fit perfectly into its place on the card. It would be nearly impossible to capture all of the sequences and intricacies of the action with my play by play. My rating might seem high, but this was a great twelve minutes of professional wrestling. ***½

Match #3: Chuck Taylor and Ryan Taylor vs. Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma
I’ll use first names for the Fightin’ Taylor Boys to avoid confusion. Chuck takes advantage of Yuma’s long hair in an early exchange. He even applies a hair-assisted STF. Goodtime snaps off a few armdrags on the Fightin’ Taylor Boys. The RockNES Monsters take over with some double teaming on Ryan. Chuck is holding a pitcher of beer on the apron. Goodtime knocks it out of his hand and beer spills onto a woman in the front row. That’s one of those “only in PWG” type deals. The RockNES Monsters start to use dirty tactics to keep Ryan from tagging out. He eventually connects with a double clothesline and makes the tag. Chuck connects with a springboard dropkick on Goodtime and hits an overhead suplex on Yuma. Goodtime responds with a bicycle kick and the RockNES Monsters follow with Explosive Amnesia. The Fightin’ Taylor Boys catch Goodtime with a lungblower-backcracker combination. Ryan adds an axe kick for a nearfall. Goodtime lands a dive to the floor onto Ryan. Chuck gets Yuma into a splash mountain position and tosses him over the top rope. He follows out with a dive. In the ring, Ryan hits a corkscrew neckbreaker on Goodtime. Yuma pulls Rick Knox out of the ring during the pin attempt. Yuma escapes the Awful Waffle and backslides Chuck with some help from Goodtime for the win at 16:47. In the same vein as the opener, these two teams never really captured the crowd as most tag team matches do in PWG. Of course, the RockNES Monsters were using this contest as a means to turn heel, so they definitely weren’t as animated as usual for the entire match. While I think they have a better encounter in them, Chuck Taylor being back in the promotion is a good sign and the RockNES Monsters’ heel turn should freshen up their act. **¾

Match #4: Brian Cage vs. Eddie Edwards
Cage runs through a chop and takes down Edwards with a shoulder tackle. Edwards snaps off a hurricanrana and hits a senton. He punts Cage off the apron but Cage is able to block a dive with a gamengiri. Edwards falls victim to a russian leg sweep but he recovers with an enzuigiri. Cage blocks a second hurricanrana and hits a backbreaker. He follows with a delayed vertical suplex and takes control. Edwards avoids a lionsault and lands a moonsault off the apron. He connects with a missile dropkick and hits a northern lights suplex. Cage finds life with a burning hammer variant. Edwards comes off the middle rope with a lungblower and transitions into a half crab. Cage counters into a trailer hitch but Edwards reverses into an STF. Cage is able to reach the bottom rope. He escapes a backpack chinbreaker and discus lariats Edwards on the apron. Cage suplexes Edwards from the apron into the ring. Edwards armdrags out of Weapon X and hits a german suplex. He connects with a superkick but gets caught by another discus lariat. Cage hits a pumphandle gourdbuster for a nearfall. Cage follows with Weapon X for the victory at 15:23. Cage is starting to come into his own as a singles wrestler. He’s learning how to incorporate his freaky strength into his matches and the crowd is giving him a great reaction. Edwards seems like one of the easiest wrestlers to work with and I’m not surprised that these two were able to put together a great match. This contest had a similar approach than the Strong/Perkins match yet felt totally different. ***½

After the match, Cage announces that he’s coming after the PWG World Title and quotes Booker T in the process. He even does a spin-a-roonie. I think the crowd will love Cage forever after that.

Match #5: PWG World Title: Kevin Steen © vs. Willie Mack
Steen attacks Mack during his entrance. He somehow manages to powerbomb Mack onto the apron. Steen continues to work over the back. They move the ring a few inches on an irish whip. Steen maintains control after hitting an incredibly agile senton. The hard camera is off-center after another irish whip. They both connect with clotheslines and fall to the canvas. Steen hits a lungblower after a forearm exchange. Mack avoids a corner cannonball and lays in a running bicycle kick. He hits a saito suplex and connects with the MDX. Steen anticipates a slingshot dropkick and locks in a sharpshooter. Mack quickly reaches the bottom rope. He hits a samoan drop but misses a standing moonsault. Steen plants him with a uranagi but finds knees on a swantan attempt. Mack hits an exploder followed by a samoan drop. He gets the standing moonsault this time and adds a top-rope moonsault for a two count. Steen bumps Rick Knox while lifting Mack and then F-Cinqs Mack onto Knox. Early speculation says that Knox might be dead. The crowd agrees, chanting “you killed Knox.” Brian Cage runs into the ring and hits a neckbreaker on Steen. Cage then takes out Mack with a nasty discus lariat. Steen covers Mack and Knox recovers to count the nearfall. Steen hits a package piledriver for a two count. Steen finishes with the Psycho Driver to retain his title at 18:18. It has been well established that Mack was a long-time fan of PWG before he started wrestling. Becoming PWG World Champion would mean everything to him, and the emotion in this match was off the charts. Steen and Mack took the fight to each other for the entire eighteen minutes and they topped their previous encounter by a huge margin. Even the Cage interference worked out well, as they had the crowd in the palm of their hands after the run-in. Finally, the finish really put this match over the top. After the package piledriver didn’t work, Steen resorted to his old tag team partner’s finisher (a move that Mack would know very well from attending shows) to retain his title. This match blew away my expectations. ****

Match #6: B-Boy vs. Drake Younger
Younger is making his debut in PWG with this match. B-Boy connects with a dropkick. Younger snaps off a few armdrags and hits a spinebuster. They trade strikes and Younger hits a flapjack. He transitions into a muta lock and follows with a samoan drop. B-Boy avoids a rolling senton off the apron and Younger splats onto the floor. In the ring, B-Boy connects with a facewash double stomp to the face. He takes over until Younger avoids a double stomp and connects with corner punches. Younger hits a bulldog but B-Boy catches him with an enzuigiri. B-Boy hits a gourdbuster out of the corner. They battle on the apron and Younger hits a michinoku driver. He somersaults off the top rope and takes out B-Boy on the floor. Back in, B-Boy flips out of Drake’s Landing but falls victim to a half nelson suplex. Younger hits a tiger driver for a nearfall. He follows with a brainbuster but B-Boy won’t stay down. They battle on the middle rope and B-Boy hits an implant DDT. They exchange headbutts on the apron. B-Boy connects with a double stomp to the back of the head. He suplexes Younger from the apron to the floor. Younger is busted open pretty badly. In the ring, Younger lures B-Boy to the top rope and hits an avalanche michinoku driver. B-Boy answers with an ace crusher and hits a saito suplex. He adds a shining wizard but Younger pops up! B-Boy hits a dragon suplex and connects with another shining wizard for a nearfall. They headbutt each other and fall to the canvas. B-Boy lays in a stiff forearm but runs into a lariat. B-Boy knees out of a brainbuster and connects with another facewash double stomp. Younger shows fighting spirit and hits Drake’s Landing for a two count. B-Boy answers with a Drake’s Landing of his own for a nearfall. B-Boy finishes with a sick air raid crash for the win at 21:41. There’s a lot that you could say about this match. The strike exchanges were brutal, the head-drops were a sick visual, and so on. They beat each other up for twenty-two minutes and managed to get the crowd to react to the action, despite the fans using a lot of energy during the Steen/Mack match. I think to a certain extent, you can admire what these two were willing to put their bodies through here. Yet I could see how one might think they went overboard on the nearfalls and did too much to exhaust an already tired crowd. This match isn’t for everyone and it’s not a match that can happen every month. However, Younger looks refocused and I’m legitimately glad that his debut went so well. ***½

Match #7: Sami Callihan vs. Michael Elgin
Callihan connects with a bicycle kick before the opening bell and hits a saito suplex. He applies the stretch muffler but Elgin reverses the hold into a small package for a two count. They trade strikes and Elgin hits an exploder. Callihan catches him with two facewash kicks. Elgin tries to block a third one but gets bicycle kicked. Callihan lariats him off the apron. Elgin catches Callihan on a dive attempt and drops him back-first onto the apron. In the ring, Elgin hits a delayed vertical suplex and takes control. Callihan avoids a top-rope senton and hits a death valley driver. He follows with his slingshot splash. Callihan tries a sunset bomb to no avail but superkicks Elgin’s left leg. Elgin fires back with a barrage of clotheslines. Callihan kicks out his bad leg and bicycle kicks him in the face. Elgin avoids a sliding forearm and hits a dead-lift german suplex for a nearfall. Callihan connects with a lariat. Elgin answers with repeated knee strikes to the face. He kicks away another lariat from Callihan and connects with one of his own. Elgin hits a bucklebomb. Callihan escapes a spinning powerbomb and synchs in the stretch muffler. Elgin kicks his way out of the hold. Callihan comes off the middle rope but leaps into a lariat. Elgin hits another bucklebomb followed by a spinning powerbomb for the victory at 15:48. Many people have pointed out already that this match suffered greatly from following Steen/Mack and Younger/B-Boy. Unfortunately, I have to agree with those people. I’m imagining the various exchanges that happened throughout the course of this match with the usual PWG crowd response and it’s hard not to envision a much better contest. Still, there’s a lot to look forward to in regards to how both men might progress in the upcoming months in PWG. **¾

Match #8: PWG World Tag Team Titles: Ladder Match: Player Uno and Stupefied © vs. Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Matt and Nick Jackson
The Young Bucks attack everyone before the opening bell. Uno knocks Nick off the apron and into the third row. Everyone starts brawling around ringside, with multiple chairs being used. O’Reilly back drops Matt onto a propped chair. Nick takes out Stupefied with a plancha. O’Reilly back drops Nick onto the apron. Uno just hurls a chair at Nick. Matt powerbombs O’Reilly from the apron into the second row. Cole brings a ladder into play. Stupefied lands a dive to the floor onto Nick. Cole powerbombs Matt onto the ladder. Uno dropkicks the ladder into Cole but O’Reilly returns the favor. In the ring, O’Reilly and Stupefied stop each other from climbing. Nick lands some insane dive to the floor. Matt powerbombs Uno and hits a ladder-assisted sliced bread. Cole enzuigiris both Young Bucks. He german suplexes Nick into a propped ladder. The Super Smash Brothers stop Future Shock from climbing the ladder with chair shots. Uno suplexes Cole onto the ladder and then poses with Stupefied. The SSB hit a double stomp-side slam combination on O’Reilly onto the edge of two chairs. The Young Bucks take over with a series of clotheslines. Nick airplane spins with the ladder. He purposely levels Rick Knox with the ladder. The SSB hit an alabama slam-backcracker combination on Matt. Knox is carried to the back, bleeding from his head. O’Reilly hits a saito suplex on Stupefied but gets taken out by stereo superkicks from the Young Bucks. They hit a tandem tombstone on Cole. Uno sets up a table at ringside. Cole brainbusters Uno through a propped chair. Stupefied pele kicks Future Shock from the rungs of the ladder. Nick hits Stupefied with a sledgehammer. Future Shock superplex Nick from a ladder through a table. The SSB sandwich Cole in a ladder and suplex O’Reilly into him. Matt DDTs O’Reilly onto the apron and Nick splashes him through the table at ringside. The Young Bucks take out Uno and Cole with superkicks. They start climbing but Rick Knox pushes over the ladder! Knox stops the SSB from diving and TAKES OUT THE YOUNG BUCKS WITH A DIVE! The SSB retrieve the belts and retain their titles at 23:55.

Over their nine years of existence, PWG has garnered quite the reputation, particularly for the fun environment that they’re able to create at every show due to a crowd that has no problem investing themselves in the action because the match quality is so good. This main event perfectly encapsulated the previous statement. In a time where ladder matches happen quite a bit, it’s difficult to “reinvent the wheel” every time. However, I witnessed spots in this match that I’ve legitimately never seen before. Honestly, this stuff has to be seen to be believed. Sure, we can point out some moments of miscommunication and there were times when teams didn’t go for the belts when they had the chance, but I think you can discount those criticisms when looking at this match as an overall package. Finally, the Rick Knox involvement could not have been more epic. Unless you’re totally put-off by weapons, this is required viewing and my PWG match of the year thus far. ****½

The 411: Recent PWG anniversary shows have been stellar, and Threemendous III is no different. Saying that “five out of the eight matches cracked three stars” would be completely misleading here. Those five matches all delivered in a huge way, especially the two title matches. In fact, I think it’s safe to call the main event one of the best matches of the year from any promotion. Additionally, those five matches all brought something different to the table. Threemendous III wraps everything that there is to love about PWG into one package and the show earns a high recommendation.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]