by Nick McNulty » Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:41 pm
I'll give a brief review of the show. Try my best not the spoil anything big for the DVD market.
Sadly, Roddy was booked for an ROH show. He was there in spirit, however, as the Bucks and Super Dragon had left a wonderfully simple "Happy B-Day Roddy" flyer on every seat in the hall.
- Team Tremendous vs. World's Cutest
As should be the case with solid wrestlers who truly commit to their characters, Barry and Carr are over in Reseda (I was so impressed that I had to buy a t-shirt at intermission). There was a great balance of comedy of in-ring skill to this match. At one point Carr ended up in the wrong corner and tried to sneak his way back to the other side of the ring. Without going into specifics, I was absolutely stunned by Carr's arsenal of moves. That is a very large, very agile human being.
- Cage vs. Gargano
The match was fine, but not particularly exemplary. It didn't tell a story, rather it was just two guys hitting moves. A botch at the end killed any momentum that they had built up.
- Andrew Everett vs. Rich Swann
Good to see Swann again in PWG. Very athletic contest featuring lots of acrobatic moves. After coming back from his ACL injury, Everett has been a solid part of the roster (a few of us agreed that he looks like a cross between Adam Cole and PAC). Apart from the in-ring story, the most significant news item was that Swann is now using "All Night Long" as his entrance music as Ricochet has moved on to Bruno Mars' "Treasure." Still not sure how I feel about that. Change is scary.
- Ciampa vs. Trevor Lee
Trevor gets better every time I see him, although he has a habit of taking some killer bumps on the apron in every match. The two had a crisp, clean, hard-hitting match. Ciampa attempted to garner heat by stomping a Dodger cap, but his performance was so on-point that it was hard to boo him.
- Hero vs. Speedball
Match of the Night. There was incredible intensity, energy, and emotional commitment from the ring of the bell. It told the story of a veteran underestimating the smaller newcomer, growing frustrated, and wondering what it will take to finally stop this upstart. Similar to his match with Tommy End, Hero is serving as the gatekeeper of PWG. New talent has to go through him to earn their place in Reseda. Speedball was perfectly cast in the role of the energetic young wrestler fighting for his spot in the company. Great contrasting styles were made more intense by the visibly emotional Bailey.
- Tozawa vs. Ricochet
I started going to PWG shows in 2011, so this was my first time seeing Tozawa in Reseda. He owned the crowd from the moment he walked through the curtain. There was a point where he kicked out at one and the place nearly erupted. Great comedy spots ("Ask him!") provided a good change of pace to the supercharged match between the close friends.
- Super Dragon and the Bucks hit the ring to beat down the faces. Dragon is the closest thing we're ever going to get to a true heel in PWG. He's playing the part perfectly as, despite our inherent love for the man, it's easy to hate his character. We chanted for Biff, but, alas, he wasn't in the locker room. Instead, Jack Evans and Angelico hit the ring, setting up the main event.
-Young Bucks vs. Angelico/Jack Evans
Fantastic match to close the night. Jack was sharp and hit some of his classic Generation Next moves. Angelico is much taller and lankier than I expected, with his kicks and strikes almost as impressive as his dives. And what more can you say about the Young Bucks? Their match was what you'd expect from the best tag team on the planet.
*****
The Legion Hall is always a surreal experience, but you could truly feel the love (and humidity) in the room last Friday. Great energy, great camaraderie. Someone near us made a Prince Puma comment and was immediately shot down. One fan (think it might have been Marty DeRosa) started chanting "Olé" and was appropriately booed into submission. It was another stellar show and a great precursor to BOLA. Bring it on!