Saturday, July 6, 2013

PWG All-Star Weekend 9: Night One Review

Sami Callihan & Drake Younger kill each other for a World Title Shot


PWG All-Star Weekend 9: Night One
Reseda, California 3/22/13

1.) Paul London vs. Kevin Steen: ***1/4

I think it speaks volumes about this weekend of shows from PWG when Kevin Steen & Paul London are the opening match on Night One. They had a fine match. It was a bit slow in the beginning, which took me out if it, but the action later on and the comedic moments, such as London challenging Steen to a duel, made up for it.

2.) Non-Title Match – The Young Bucks vs. Johnny Gargano & Chuck Taylor: ****

This is Gargano's debut match for PWG. Really great contest. I'm liking Gargano more & more every time I see him. He works great with Chuck Taylor, as they have worked together for years in CHIKARA and Dragon Gate USA as F.I.S.T. & Ronin respectively. Do I really need to go on about how great The Young Bucks are? Would love to see these two teams do again with gold on the line.

3.) Eddie Edwards vs. Jay Lethal: ***3/4

Given how long he's been in wrestling, this is Jay Lethal's PWG debut. This is also the first time (to my knowledge) that Edwards & Lethal have wrestled each other, in PWG or ROH. Very good match. Lethal & Edwards meshed well as opponents and it made for a great outing. Would love to see these two have a rematch in ROH.

4.) AR Fox & Samuray del Sol vs. The Inner City Machine Guns (Ricochet & Rich Swann): ****1/2

These four men are all native to Dragon Gate USA & Evolve. This was a fantastic match. The exchange between Ricochet & del Sol in the beginning was incredible, and these four men delivered in spades. Definitely the best match on Night One and a contender for match of the weekend.

5.) Roderick Strong vs. Trent?: ***1/4

I guess he's just going under Trent? because WWE owns "Baretta" and he couldn't decide what to call himself. The match itself was fine. They did a good job when you consider what they had to follow, but Roderick Strong never has nothing less than a good match, so Trent? was in good hands. I think he'll get better in adjusting from the WWE Style to the Indy Style with time.

6.) Future Shock vs. The Unbreakable F’N Machines: ***3/4

It's funny that Adam Cole's a heel now in PWG, because I think a heel Future Shock was a opportunity lost in ROH. The match was pretty good. What you would expect from these guys.

7.) Guerilla Warfare #1 Contender’s Match – Sami Callihan vs. Drake Younger: ***

This is the final match in their Best-of-Three Series, and the winner will Main Event Night Two against Adam Cole for the PWG World Title, while the loser gets a match with Kyle O'Reilly. All I have to say is WOW. This has to be the most disgusting pro-wrestling match I have ever seen in my entire life. Younger took a massive beating and just kept coming. Chairs, Staple Guns, and even Salt were used in this match. These matches are the reason why I don't watch CZW. I'm glad Younger wrestling his last death match this year, because he'll be crippled if he keeps wrestling matches this violent. Though I gotta say, Reseda loves Drake Younger....and they love Sami Callihan to. 

After Younger finally gets the win, he & Sami shake hands, but as Younger celebrates he gets attacked by PWG World Champion Adam Cole.

Overall: 8.75/10

This card has some great stuff on it, but it's also a mixed bag. Despite both being solid, the Trent? match dragged the show down a bit and I feel like London/Steen could have been a little letter (though the match was still pretty good). The Younger/Callihan match was brutal by all means, and it might turn some people off to this show, but it shouldn't. Whether you like, hate, or despise the main event, the rest of the card is solid. The stars of Dragon Gate USA really shined on this show with two fantastic matches, and the ROH guys had solid performances as well.

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