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Guerrilla Reviewfare: PWG Time is a Flat Circle
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It’s safe to say Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s year so far has been a bit low-key. I’d hesitate to say anything about the two shows thus far has been buzzworthy aside from the fabulous Keith Lee vs. Matt Riddle match from Neon Knights, and one of the bigger stories coming from that show was Trent Beretta’s arm injury. However, one of the bigger stories in PWG history happened as they put together this March show; due to accidentally overselling tickets – not the first time it’s happened – PWG announced they would hold a show outside of Reseda, CA for the first time since Kurt RussellReunion III in 2012 to accommodate the people who wouldn’t be able to get into the Reseda venue. And if you don’t count those WrestleReunion shows – which you probably should because they’re all great – it marks the first time a PWG show leaves the American Legion since the Battle of Los Angeles in 2008. For a diehard PWG fanboy like me, it’s a surreal thing to review one of their current shows outside of the recognizable venue. Hell, the Legion was in the GLOW TV show because of PWG if we’re being honest. It’s a legendary building for independent wrestling and has housed some of my favorite moments as a wrestling fan. But since we haven’t left that building for good (yet), I’ll save the sentimentalities for another day.
We are TAPED from the Globe Theater in Los Angeles, CA.
Your hosts are Excalibur and an injured Rick Knox. First impressions of the new building; it’s interesting. The sound is remarkably improved as you can actually hear the words Christian Cole is saying, and the company seems to have shelled out a pretty penny for an actual set on the stage. I mean, it still has that minimal PWG charm to it, but you can tell that they’ve tried to make the new building look like more than just a consolation prize. And I doubt renting it is cheap either considering the way it looks and where it’s located. If you remember that venue CHIKARA ran for a while in Philly right before their shutdown, it looks like the larger version of that actually. Hopefully Super Dragon doesn’t fuck one of his trainees and have to close up shop for a year.
Rey Horus vs. Joey Janela
This ought to be something. Joey is coming off one of PWG’s weaker matches in recent memory against Dalton Castle, but had a real gem of a match the month before with Flash Morgan Webster. This is Horus’ first appearance of 2018 and I think it’s a welcome one, as he is an underrated act in PWG’s midcard when it comes to churning out consistent performances. How he will mesh with the Bad Boy is anyone’s guess, but I doubt it’ll be boring.
Both men fire off early chops before Horus’ Lucha acumen rears its head. Janela does a decent enough job of keeping up and he rolls around in a Small Package with Horus for a few seconds before breaking away. Janela taunts Horus a bit after booting him in the face, which earns him a dropkick to the mouth and a Springboard Arm Drag for his troubles. That sends Janela outside allowing Horus to set up for a dive, but Janela catches him with a chair to the dome as he runs. The building’s acoustics are awesome for chops as they’re just reverbed to high heaven, which makes me excited for a WALTER match in this venue. Joey Janela shitcans Horus now, and he is the first one in the match to pull of a successful dive with an Elbow Suicida. Horus is able to catch Joey with a leg drop coming in though, and that gets him a two count. Janela rolls through a Sunset Flip and dropkicks Horus, who pops right back up and returns the favor. Janela counters a standing Hurricanrana by just holding on, only for Horus to do the Sami Zayn counter with the Code Red. Janela pops up with one last gasp and superkicks Horus before collapsing. Janela catches a Horus springboard, and gives him a Death Valley Driver into the opposite corner for a nearfall. Janela runs to the apron, but Horus intercepts him and sweeps him head first onto the ring frame. TOPE CON HILO OVER THE RINGPOST FROM HORUS~! Janela posts him before they head back into the ring, and he flattens Horus with a double stomp as they head back inside. Horus sets Janela up top and hits with an AVALANCHE VICTORY ROLL! Janela kicks out, so Horus heads back to the top rope for a Double Stomp… only for Janela to move and superkick him. Package Piledriver gives the Bad Boy the win in 12 minutes. *** Nothing overwhelming or anything here, just an easy-to-watch curtain jerker to get the fans good and situated in the new building. The two actually meshed quite well together considering the difference in background and style, so it’s hard to complain much about what I got.
Jake Atlas vs. Eli Everfly vs. Douglas James vs. Brody King
It’s very rare that current-day PWG books wrestlers that I’ve never heard of, but it seems that they’re making a bit more of an effort to book local California guys than they have in recent years. These local guys used to make up a lot of old PWG’s midcards and made for some really fun stuff, so I’m pretty stoked to see what this new breed of guys can pull out. That’s how wrestlers like Candice LeRae, Willie Mack, and Brian Cage got their spotlights after all, and they’re all pretty reputable names in the industry at various levels. We’ve already seen Brody King in a PWG ring, as he had a great debut at Neon Knights against Adam Brooks and really came out of nowhere to become one of PWG’s brighter prospects of the new year. The rest of these guys are complete unknown entities though, so I’m pretty much going in blind.
Eli Everfly is – without hyperbole – one of the smallest men I’ve ever seen in a wrestling ring not billed as a Mini. I would be incredibly surprised if most of the women’s Strawweight fighters in UFC don’t outweigh him as his given weight of 125 might even be a stretch. Safe to say, I want to watch him wrestle Brody King post-haste. He makes the mistake of spitting in King’s face as the bell rings, which goes about as well for him as you’d imagine. Atlas and James get Brody out of the ring quickly and go at it themselves, with Atlas starching Douglas James with a running slap. James fights back with a dropkick, but Atlas hits a gorgeous step-up Lucha armdrag to send James to the floor. He tries a dive, but James intercepts him with an uppercut and springs back into the ring with a Tornado DDT. Cool bit of trivia on commentary as all four men come out of the same wrestling school in SoCal, the Santino Bros school that I think Ronda Rousey did most of her training at. James dives out onto Atlas with a beautiful Tope Con Hilo, and soon finds himself fighting it out in the ring with Eli Everfly. They get in a weird chop exchange before Everfly hits a sweet Lucha headscissor… only to turn around to find Brody King staring at him. Everfly scoots around Brody’s body for a Hurricanrana, but can’t get King off of his feet before Brody hits him with a Pop-Up Cutter. Brody gets all four men in the ring and works them all over to various degrees, ending his big sequence with a Cannonball on Atlas. James hits Everfly with a lariat and tries to go at Brody, who laughs at him figuratively with a lariat. Atlas gets King to the floor though and Pescadoes right into a Hurricanrana! He heads up top for an Orihara Moonsault… and no one’s there. And not in a “Guy X moved” sort of way. He literally just gave a great moonsault to the air, the poor bastard. Atlas is somehow not dead, and he hits James with a Gory Bomb in the ring. Everfly saves the day and he gives Brody a Sliced Bread on the apron. James and Atlas fight it out in the ring, and Atlas gives him a crappy Velveteen Dream rolling Fireman’s Carry on the apron. Everfly sees Atlas on the apron and gives him a SPANISH FLY TO THE FLOOR. Everfly gets James to the apron now and calls for a Destroyer on the apron, but James blocks and gives him an Ace Crusher on the apron. Brody elbows James off of the ring and dives out onto everyone with a TOPE CON HILO~! Atlas apparently just tries to move and ends up hurting his leg because of it instead of trying to help catch King. King hits a double jump Crossbody on James, but Everfly breaks the pinfall up and gives James a double underhook Destroyer. Eli tries a Reverse Rana on King and botches it horrendously, and the crowd has no patience left for the guy. King counters an Everfly Meteora and Piledrives him for the win. *1/2 I feel awful for the rating because these guys really went out there and tried their hardest to make an impact, but this was a disaster. It didn’t actually look like it would be once the match started as these guys – barring Eli Everfly, the poor bastard – looked like they really had their ducks in a row. Everything was moving at a good clip and nothing really seemed out of place. But once Jake Atlas just decided to Teddy Hart Moonsault the air, this match fell apart in spectacular fashion. That entire sequence on the apron was just ill thought-out and so poorly executed that I’m confused as to how they put it together and decided to proceed on with the match in that fashion. It was right at home in 2008 IWA Mid-South, if masochism gets you going. Although Eli Everfly is probably too small to leave an Ian Rotten ring without his immune system imploding. Hell, Atlas nearly broke his own femur because he got cold feet on trying to catch a guy… even if it was Brody King. I think I read the guy dislocated his hip on that spot and it doesn’t surprise me whatsoever. It was that bad. But the obvious crown jewel of this match was ELI EVERFLY. Man, I don’t know if it was nerves or what, but the guy gave one of the worst debut performances I’ve seen in PWG since Curt Hawkins. This poor guy tried his ass off and really tried to make something of himself, but his astonishing ring IQ and lack of wherewithal to do anything cleanly tanked this match before it had a chance to ramp up. I don’t have an issue with his size since the idea of pro wrestling being realistic is about as antiquated as a Buster Keaton film, but watching him nearly break his own body in half on that Reverse Rana – on BRODY KING no less – was one of the most awe-inspiring sights of 2018. I know I said I didn’t mind his size, but I would have greatly appreciated some acknowledgement of said size regardless. By the end, the crowd was just finished with the guy in one of the more harsh treatments of a wrestler I’ve ever seen from a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla audience. I don’t know if it would have happened like that in Reseda, but it happened here and it was easy to see why. I don’t think this match was as dreadful as the Jake Crist vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. Jason Cade match from last June, but it was well on its way before Brody King finally put a cork in it. Maybe in another couple years James, Atlas, and Everfly are going to be household names, but as it stands, they need a ton of seasoning before they have a chance of breaking out of the pack. I really appreciate PWG’s effort here to try and prop up the SoCal indies, but it was one of those experiments that backfired. Brody King is still a star though and I hope PWG still keeps the faith.
Bandido & Flamita vs. The Rascalz
The former Scarlet & Graves, Zachary Wentz and Dezmond Xavier make their debut as a team after Xavier’s less-than-memorable PWG run up to this point. I haven’t seen much of them aside from a few CZW shots here and there, but I hear good things about this PWG run, so I have no reason to not look forward to their debut. Bandido is also another debutant, and given my ignorance of Lucha, one that I’m not too familiar with. He’s also getting rave reviews though for his performances in 2018 and given his partner Flamita is obscenely athletic, this ought to be pretty spectacular. Commentary indicates that this match tore the house down in Dragon Gate a few months before this booking, so that probably explains its presence on this card.
Bandido and Xavier start off, and Xavier fires off a gorgeous dropkick that forces Bandido to retreat to the floor. Flamita takes his partner’s place, hitting an equally gorgeous slingshot Hurricanrana that sends Xavier to the floor now. That brings Wentz into the ring, and he hits Flamita with a spinning crossbody. Bandido boots Wentz out of the ring now, but Xavier intercepts him with a Superkick as he sets up for a dive. Flamita saves the day for his partner, but Wentz finds his way back in and hits a crazy Bronco Buster on Bandido, and eventually the match gets so ridiculous that I have no desire to contract arthritis to type it down. Bandido and Flamita hit a Motor City Machine Guns double team Last Chancery/Dropkick, followed by a sweet stereo Moonsault on Xavier. Wentz tags back in and hits a back handspring knee on Flamita, sending him to the floor so he can step off of Xavier’s back for a Plancha! Dezmond tries a dive, but Flamita intercepts him with a an enzuigiri and gives Wentz an ORIHARA MOONSAULT! SPACEMAN FROM FLAMITA! TORNILLO FROM BANDIDO! The difference in seasoning between this and the previous match is staggering. Although maybe my standards are low since all I was really looking for was a dive that actually hit someone, but baby steps and all. Wentz and Bandido fight it out in the ring, and Flamita monkey flips Wentz into a Powerbomb for Bandido! FLAMITA SENTONS OFF OF BANDIDO’S SHOULDERS~! Xavier saves the pin and cracks Flamita with an enzugiri and a back handspring Pele, but runs into a Crucifix Bomb. Wentz saves the day and hits a HUGE STEP-UP ACE CRUSHER ON BANDIDO~! XAVIER PUSHES WENTZ INTO A SHOOTING STAR ON BANDIDO~! The Rascalz pick up the win in a ridiculous 9 minutes. ***3/4 That was incredible. And like I said in the play by play, this match really makes you realize that there are levels to this wrestling stuff. Compare the debacle of that four-way to the unbelievably fluid and consistency of this encounter. It’s not even worth dipping into a thesaurus and listing off the adjectives to describe it, because it’s really just on a completely different level from 90% of spotfests you’re going to see. I’m sure it helps that these teams have wrestled before and whatnot, but even then, it’s not like many other tandems can sniff this level of athleticism. The only reason this match isn’t given all the stars in the universe is because it’s hard to go crazy on a match that’s not even 10 minutes long, but I can’t say I even mind that much. They filled that time with phenomenal, state of the art spots and made 10x more of an impression on me than 20 minutes of guys like David Starr and Fred Yehi did in January. The perfect debut for two teams I am absolutely stoked to see more of in this PWG environment.
Will Ospreay vs. Adam Brooks
Up until Neon Knights I was a little apprehensive about Adam Brooks, but his performance against Brody King at that event pretty much assuaged every fear I had. He was crisp, his timing was great, and he really showed me something substantial for the first time in terms of putting together a cohesive effort. And I don’t expect that to change here, as he’s one half of the pairing that pretty much got Adam Brooks the PWG booking in the first place. Ospreay hasn’t been seen in PWG since his incredible run at 2016’s BOLA, but he makes a rare appearance to try and duplicate the success he’s had in Australia with Brooks. Ospreay is one of the best workers on the planet bar none, so I’m sure you’ll understand why I’m excited to see how this turns out.
Excalibur gives some great background to these two’s relationship, telling us at home that Brooks moved to England and is apparently rooming with Ospreay there after their matches in Australia. Ospreay gives Brooks a clean break early on, but Brooks shoves the Brit into the corner and paintbrushes him with a slap. Ospreay makes him pay with a Basement Dropkick, but Brooks is able to dodge a dive, sliding into the ring and poking Will in the eye for good measure. Ospreay does his Assassin’s Creed schtick, so Brooks one-ups him with APLOMB. Ospreay doesn’t take kindly to that, and sweeps Brooks off of the apron. Brooks charges after him outside, so Ospreay uses his momentum to SUPLEX HIM ON THE FLOOR~! That was a ROUGH bump to take, yikes. Ospreay takes him back into the ring and stretches him a bit, working the Aussie over casually. Brooks uses the ropes to low blow Ospreay, bringing him inside with a hanging DDT for two. Ospreay catches Brooks up top, but Brooks gives him a CHEEKY NANDOS EYEPOKE. Brooks makes fun of him for not being able to see, so Ospreay handsprings into an enzuigiri to show him what’s what. Ospreay kicks Brooks to the outside for a gorgeous Corkscrew Moonsault to the floor. Ospreay hits him with the Cheeky Nandos kick, and an Emerald Flowsion-like move for a nearfall. Ospreay comes off the ropes right into a nasty dropkick from Brooks, who follows him to the floor with a Fosbury Flop. He rolls him back in the ring immediately for a Slingshot DDT that spikes Ospreay, only getting two. Brooks bites Ospreay to get him off the top rope, but Ospreay hits him with a BIG UPKICK, only for Brooks to send him crashing and burning back to Earth. He follows Ospreay to the apron for the apron Destroyer, but Ospreay knocks him back in the ring and hits a springboard clothesline. Shooting Star follows, but just for 2. Ospreay BACKFLIPS OUT OF A LARIAT INTO A GERMAN!! BROOKS POPS UP… INTO A STUNDOG MILLIONAIRE FROM OSPREAY~! They trade punches from their knees before Ospreay hits his corkscrew kick, but Brooks stops a springboard… only for Ospreay to hit a DEADLIFT LIGERBOMB! That only gets 2. Ospreay heads up top, so Brooks shoves the ref into the ropes to crotch him. Brooks heads up top and hits a SUPER RANA~! SWINGING DDT SENDS OSPREAY TO THE APRON! DESTROYER ON THE APRON! Ospreay took the AJ Styles bump off of that Super Rana and I love him for it. Brooks brings Ospreay brings him back in the ring for METEORA TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! OSPREAY KICKS OUT! PUMPHANDLE… COUNTERED INTO A SPANISH FLY! OSCUTTER! BROOKS KICKS OUT~! RAINHAM-MAKER… COUNTERED INTO A DESTROYER! BUSAIKU KNEE! OSPREAY KICKS OUT! Brooks is frustrated and grabs a chair from the floor, but the ref takes it from him… so Brooks hits a Ripcord Low Blow! SWANTON! OSPREAY KICKS OUT! Brooks takes down his kneepad and hits a Busaiku Knee to the back of the head, but Ospreay kicks out again! RAINHAM-MAKER FROM OSPREAY! SUPER OSCUTTER~! Will Ospreay picks up the win in 25 minutes. **** With a little more focus in the earlygoing, a slightly tighter finishing stretch, and about 3-4 minutes taken off, we’d be talking about PWG’s best match of the year right here. Will Ospreay is so damn good at making his opponents look good, it’s unreal. I think a lot of people solely focus on his high flying and while that’s obviously his bread and butter, his bumping and selling really needs to be commended as well. He makes every high impact move look like a turning point in the match, which works twofold in making his opponents look like killers, as well as making him look like a tough SOB when he makes his amazing comeback. His babyface fire complements his athleticism so well, so his comebacks make much more of an impact than Generic Flyer #1 would. There aren’t many better wrestlers on the planet to make you look like a million bucks than Will Ospreay, but Adam Brooks hardly let Will do all of the work. He played his part as dickhead heel to perfection, but didn’t go overboard. He stuck to the basics, like stealing moves, screwing with the ref, and low blows. It worked tremendously given how explosive Ospreay was to fight back at him, and Brooks’ attitude made that explosiveness more gratifying than it would have been had he just clinically walked through the moves. With that being said though, that low blow spot reeked a little bit too much of a Marty Scurll spot, and it wasn’t really timed in a way that made me think the crowd bought it. I appreciate the idea but sometimes ideas don’t work in execution, and while this one hardly bombed, it felt out of place. Even so, this was a barnstormer of a bout with a really interesting face/heel dynamic to add to the already tried and true Ospreay style. Brooks has really come along in 2018 for me, and I hope to see Ospreay back in PWG soon.
Jeff Cobb vs. Jonah Rock
Jonah Rock is coming off of an All Star Weekend performance against Keith Lee that really put him over the top for me, one of the finest heavyweight slugfests in PWG’s history if I do say so myself. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares in yet another heavyweight tussle with Jeff Cobb, who is as fun to watch as it gets when it comes to throwing people around.
Neither man is able to budge the other early until Cobb fires off a dropkick, which only gives Jonah momentum to squish the Hawaiian with a crossbody off the ropes. Rock follows by careening Cobb into the turnbuckles. Cobb catches him running with a boot though, and dives off of the second rope with an uppercut to create some separation. Cobb casually just BOOTS JONAH’S FACE OFF for no real reason but to do it. Cobb gets Jonah up and effortlessly chucks him back for a DELAYED PUMPHANDLE SUPLEX~! Rock fights back and puts Cobb up top for a SUPERPLEX! They exchange strikes in the center of the ring and just HEADBUTT each other instead until Cobb hits a German, only for Jonah to pop up and lariat him! Jonah is immune to the German Suplex, and he turns Jeff Cobb inside out with a lariat. Jonah heads up top, but misses a Big Boy Moonsault, and Cobb hits the PEOPLE’S MOONSAULT! Jonah dodges the Shooting Star though, and comes down with a senton before heading up top. Cobb dropkicks him though and tries an Avalanche Belly to Belly, but Jonah chucks him off… only for COBB TO CATCH A CROSSBODY! OKLAHOMA STAMPEDE! JONAH KICKS OUT! Tour of the Islands countered into a German! COBB POPS UP! LARIAT! BRAINBUSTER! FROG SPLASH! Jonah Rock picks up the win in 15 minutes. ***1/2 As ever with these two men, a totally entertaining war of attrition featuring two elite heavyweight workers. It doesn’t appear that Jonah Rock was that over with this crowd, a minority of which found themselves chanting “overrated” at him for no other reason than to shout down the quality of the match. I get it if you’re a bit meh on the guy, but just booing and chanting things at a good wrestler for no reason but to show everyone how nuanced your opinions are does nothing but make you a Great Value Green Lantern Fan. I really hope future shows in this venue don’t feature this sort of stuff as PWG crowds are the best in the business, and really don’t need to devolve into 2006 CZW snark. Maybe I’m being dramatic, but given I never have to experience that in viewing PWG events, it felt like something worth addressing. But in positive terms, while this match lacked heat, I thought it was a really entertaining scrap. Jonah is getting better and more acclimated to the PWG environment every time he steps in the ring, and watching Cobb throw the dude around was endlessly great. They worked at a surprisingly quick pace too, forgoing the usual heat segment and comeback formula and instead throwing bombs at each other from the onset. They still built the match accordingly, but did it in a way that actually made sense in the context of the hoss fight this was presented as. That psychology really helped bring some significance to this bout’s simple premise, which I think should be rewarded. It’s a shame some of the crowd didn’t see it that way.
Matt Riddle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
For some reason I’ve never found myself able to get into EVOLVE’s product, so I haven’t seen very much of these guys’ singles output together. They had a fabulous match during Wrestlemania Weekend in 2016 that I saw and given Riddle’s staggering improvement since then, I can only imagine how well they’ve refined their chemistry since.
This is taking place two days after Zack won the New Japan Cup, tapping out Naito, Ibushi, SANADA, and Tanahashi all to win the tournament. You can probably guess where the match starts given the two men in the ring. Riddle works for a cross armbreaker early, but Zack is able to hold on and scoot to the ropes before it’s extended. Zack nearly gets a Kneebar in, but Riddle is able to get to the ropes himself before it’s fully locked in. Riddle catches Zack coming in with a Gutwrench, tossing the Brit back at will to get the first real bit of offense in the match from either man. Zack tries a running Guillotine, but Riddle shakes him off with a suplex without much of an issue, followed by a stiff Broton for a one count. Riddle tries another Broton, but Zack counters gorgeously into a Cross Armbreaker. Riddle counters into one of his own, but Zack floats over to relieve pressure. Riddle uses that change in position to try an Ankle Lock, but Zack grapevines his leg for an Ankle Lock of his own. Riddle uses his strength to try and German him out of the position, but Zack escapes that and hits an emphatic legsweep. Swinging DDT scores for Zack, right into a Rings of Saturn using his LEG. Zack traps him up something fierce, so Riddle scoots to the ropes and GRABS IT WITH HIS TEETH! Zack doesn’t worry too much about it, and just starts pinpointing Riddle’s arm. Bro 2 Sleep scores – kind of – but Zack counters out of a German Suplex with a Kimura before hitting one of his own… only for Riddle to lock in a Kimura of his own. Sabre counters into a Guillotine, but Riddle counters that into a Fisherman’s Buster for 2. Zack counters a Bicycle Knee with an Octopus… countered into Brostone… no, into a Dragon Sleeper… COUNTERED INTO A BROSTONE! Zack kicks out. Riddle tries the Danielson trapped elbows, so Zack rolls to the ropes. Zack catches a kick to the chest and turns it into A TOE LOCK~! RIDDLE CHOPS OUT OF IT! Zack hits a Pele to the arm, but Riddle counters right into a German. I don’t know what intermission did to this crowd but they are just not into anything in the past few matches. Zack goes for a Triangle, but Riddle counters out and chops away. Riddle hits the Powerbomb into the Knee, but Sabre kicks out. Zack reverses the Bromission into a pinfall, but Riddle no-sells a PK! European Clutch… COUNTERED INTO A CHOKE! COUNTERED INTO THE EUROPEAN CLUTCH! ZSJ picks up the win in 16 minutes. ***3/4 Yet another great match harmed by a crowd that didn’t react to much of anything, which is unfortunate as this was a super interesting chess battle with a lot of good moving parts to it. As fun as it is to watch schoolings like Sabre vs. Gordon from Neon Knights, it’s also a delight to watch him meet his match on the mat. Riddle was a damn good grappler when he was an MMA fighter, so naturally that would carry over to pro wrestling and provide something of an equal to Sabre’s otherwise unparalleled grappling skill. Sabre couldn’t take Riddle apart piece by piece like he can a guy like Flip Gordon; he had to scratch and claw his way to any sort of advantage, which made the advantages he did get a lot more dramatic. Zack found himself countered much more frequently here, and it made for some really cool sequences as the match wore on. So instead of tapping Riddle like he had Naito, Ibushi, et al… he had to pull out the European Clutch and use that side of his repertoire to catch Riddle slacking. This obviously wasn’t the best match these two could have together, but it’s always a treat to watch a grappling battle like this as both men can be inserted at any point on a wrestling card and give you something great. I just wish there was a little bit of crowd heat for it is all.
PWG World Title: Chuck Taylor © vs. Keith Lee
When you think about Keith Lee’s tenure in PWG so far, it’s only natural that he would get a title match sooner or later. He’s quite clearly – in my eyes at least – Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s most valuable player, and has been since his very first match. He was the highlight of 2017 really, one of PWG’s weakest years on record, and makes an incredible impression every time he appears. It’ll be interesting to see how he meshes with Chuckie T though, as the Kentucky Gentleman turned heel (kind of) during the finish of his match with Trent at Neon Knights. I didn’t really sense that Chuck Taylor needed to be a heel in any sort of way, but I guess it makes sense if he’s going against Lee here. It’s hard to have a face/face match between two polar opposite wrestlers.
Chuck shoves Keith as the bell rings, which proves to be an issue… so he goes and grabs the mic to ask why the fans hate him all of a sudden. A fan yells “because you’re fucking fat!” in a really harrowing moment in Chuck’s life. Chuck gets tossed on his ass as he comes back in, so he yells at the fans some more. Chuckie gets chopped down, so he moves out and complains to the fans for cheering Keith Lee when he’s going to WWE. This time Keith follows him and kicks his ass through the crowd for his transgressions. Chuck is able to counter out of a lawn dart and post the big man though, taking control for the first time all match. Keith fights out though and tries a Mongolian Chop, but Chuck counters into a Flatliner in a cool little counter. Keith tries Ground Zero but Chuck elbows out, only for the champion to run into a Powerslam for a two count. Chuck starts building some momentum after hitting Sole Food, but he runs right into a Spinebuster for a two count. Keith Lee misses a Moonsault on the follow-up though, and Chuck hits a Double Stomp, followed by a crushing Swanton for 2. Chuck goes right back up and hits a Double Stomp to the back, but only for 2 again. Keith doesn’t go up for the Awful Waffle, and not for the Snap Piledriver either. Weird sequence of strikes follows, capped off by an anticlimactic Pounce into the corners. Chuck tries a quick Small Package, but walks right into a Spirit Bomb for a nearfall. Lee heads to the top rope for a Moonsault, but Chuck crotches him and HITS THE AWFUL WAFFLE! LEE KICKS OUT! Chuck goes to grab the title belt like he did against Trent last month, but Justin Borden stops him from using it. He nearly runs into Ground Zero, but cradles out for two. JACKNIFE SPIRIT BOMB! GROUND ZERO! Keith Lee is the PWG World Champ in 17 minutes. *** Not quite the meandering mess of the Neon Knights match with Trent, but this was yet another Chuck Taylor main event that felt underdeveloped. I’m an unabashed fan of the guy and will continue to be regardless, but something about his title run has failed to deliver. Maybe it’s because he’s a guy better suited to chase than to hold, but it still made for some puzzling stuff in the last few shows. The “heel turn” against Trent seemed to solely set up this match with Lee rather than be anything worth investing into, so when Chuck seemed to turn back by not using the title belt, it had no impact at all. He wasn’t incredibly interesting as the heel either, and didn’t really have enough credible offense to keep the enormous Keith Lee on his toes. However, there were some real good bits of psychology woven in here that I think helped carry the match along. There was the obvious size differential, with spots like Chuck using the top rope Awful Waffle instead of the regular version to at least help suspend dislbelief. He countered some of Lee’s trademark spots too, and escaped that big Mongolian Chop at every point possible to give that some leverage. I liked the spot where Chuck went out of his way to do some top rope moves, which he rarely ever does, just to keep Lee on the mat for more than a few moments. They’re little things, but they were noticeable here during the otherwise dull down moments. That, and Keith Lee’s trademark explosiveness helped this match reach the “good” benchmark, but it’s probably the weakest match I’ve seen Keith Lee have in his PWG tenure thus far.
