WWE Survivor Series 2014 Review

STING has arrived in WWE!!!

WWE Survivor Series 2014

Dallas, Texas 11/23/14

This show actually had TWO matches on the WWE Network Kickoff Show. The first match saw Fandango, who is still dancing, but has tweaked his gimmick, as he’s now a Salsa Dancer, with Rosa Mendes as his partner. He defeats Justin Gabriel in a relatively short match. The second match featured former partners colliding.

2.) Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter): **1/2

Of course, these two were once a tag team known as The Real Americans. I thought this was a fine pre-show match. It’s really sad to see how far Cesaro has fallen since his big victory at WrestleMania XXX. Not much to say about this match, expect that Jack Swagger gets the win.

PPV

The show kicks off…..with an in-ring promo….involving Vince McMahon, The Authority, & John Cena (is this RAW?!?!). I’m not going to give you an extensive recap (because that would be a waste of time). The gist of it is that they basically remind everyone of the stipulations of the Main Event. If Team Authority wins, then everyone on Team Cena (save for John Cena himself) is fired, but if Team Cena wins, then The Authority will be removed from power. Vince McMahon then adds that while Triple H & Stephanie McMahon will still be corporate heads of WWE, they could no longer intervene with the lives of the Superstars & Divas if they lose. Vince also adds that, should The Authority lose, only John Cena can bring them back.

1.) WWE Tag Team Titles – Fatal Four-Way Match – Goldust & Stardust vs. The Usos vs. Los Matadores (with El Torito) vs. The Miz & Damien Mizdow: ***1/4

Survivor Series properly kicks off with a Fatal Four-Way Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles. As you would expect, this was a pretty good opener. Things started slow, but definitely picked up down the stretch. The big story here was that the crowd hated The Miz, and LOVED Damien Mizdow, but he didn’t see much action, as The Miz wouldn’t tag him in. Things eventually broke down, and Damien Mizdow would take advantage of the chaos, tagging in and scoring the pin to capture the WWE Tag Team Titles from himself & The Miz. Again, almost a perfect opener, and the crowd popped HUGE when Mizdow got the pin.

2.) Survivor Series Elimination Match – Alicia Fox, Emma, Naomi, & Natalya vs. Paige, Cameron, Layla, & Summer Rae): **

So this match is happening for….reasons. It’s not a total surprise, as they usually always have a Survivor Series Elimination Match involving the Divas. This match wasn’t that good, and not a lot of people cared. The story was that everyone on Paige’s side got eliminated, until it was eventually a 4-on-1 advantage against Paige, who was pinned by Naomi. Not much else to say.

3.) Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose: ***1/4

This match came about after Bray Wyatt cost Dean Ambrose his Hell In A Cell Match with Seth Rollins, literally using smoke & mirrors (well, technically a hologram…..a freaking hologram!!!). Despite the awful start to this feud, these two were actually having a really solid match. Then Dean Ambrose got a chair, and threatened to hit Bray Wyatt. They basically did the same thing that happened in the John Cena/Bray Wyatt feud, except Ambrose actually hit Wyatt with a chair, causing the match to end in a DQ. After the match, Ambrose continues the assault on Wyatt. He hits Dirty Deeds on Wyatt on top of a bunch of chairs, puts him through a table, and buries him under a table & several chairs, before climbing a Ladder to pose on top of it. If you guessed that this pretty much set in stone a TLC Match between these two at the Tables, Ladders, & Chairs PPV, then you would be correct! That match would be officially announced before this show even went off the air.

4.) Adam Rose & The Bunny vs. Slator Gator (Heath Slater & Titus O’Neal): N/R

So the story here is that Adam Rose has been having some issues with The Bunny, who is probably the most prominent member of The Rosebuds. This match was set up in a backstage segment earlier in the show. Not much to say here. It was basically a filler match that went under three minutes. The Bunny got the win for his team, to the dismay of his partner, Adam Rose. The Bunny celebrated with the rest of The Rosebuds after the match.

Before the next match, we get a Roman Reigns interview (via satellite). He says he’ll be back in action next month.

5.) WWE Diva’s Title – AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella): N/R

As Brie Bella’s period of servitude is coming a close, her sister Nikki Bella is getting a one-on-one shot at AJ Lee for the Diva’s Title. This was pretty much a segment, as right as the match starts, Brie Bella gets on the apron, and KISSES AJ LEE!!!!! WOAH!!!! This distraction allows Nikki to hit Rack Attack for the win and the Diva’s Title. This was basically a play off of the Daniel Bryan/Sheamus World Title Match from WrestleMania 28. After Nikki Bella turned on her twin sister Brie at SummerSlam, feuded with her, and had Brie be her personal assistant for 30 Days, The Bella Twins are seemingly, inexplicably, back together. Typical WWE…

6.) Survivor Series Elimination Match – Team Cena (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, The Big Show, Erick Rowan, & Ryback) vs. Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, WWE United States Champion Rusev, WWE Intercontinental Champion Luke Harper, & Mark Henry with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Lana, and J & J Security): ****1/4

Here we are. This match is for all of the marbles, as they say. If Team Authority wins, everyone on Team Cena is fired, except for John Cena. If Team Cena wins, however, then The Authority will be removed from power. I won’t recap the whole match, but I’ll go over the big moments. Mark Henry gets eliminated almost immediately with a knockout punch from The Big Show. Ryback then gets eliminated (which was a bit of a shocker, as he had just returned from injury). Rusev then got eliminated by count-out, after going through an announce table while trying to splash Ziggler. Erick Rowan then got eliminated. At this point, things took a horrible turn for Team Cena, as The Big Show knocked out John Cena, leading to the team captain being eliminated. The Big Show walks out on the match, meaning that it’s now three-on-one with The Authority against Dolph Ziggler. Luke Harper & Kane are eventually eliminated by Ziggler, and it comes down to Ziggler vs. Rollins. They have a great sequence for a few minutes, but Triple H interferes when Ziggler has the match won. He hits Ziggler with a Pedigree and calls his crooked referee Scott Armstrong to do the count, but then we here crows. The lights go down, and STING shows up!!!! STING IS HERE IN THE WWE!!!! He takes out Armstrong, and has a long stare down with Triple H. The Game goes for a shot, but Sting counters, and hits a Scorpion Death Drop!!! He then puts Ziggler on top of Rollins, and Team Cena wins!!!!! The Authority is out of power!!! Cena celebrates with Ziggler, while the fans sing the “Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Heeeey…Goodbye” song to Triple H & Stephanie McMahon.

This is the kind of match that WWE excels in. The stakes were high (even though the stipulation wouldn’t last very long), the action was really good, and the crowd was into this from start to finish. Everyone played their parts well, particularly Triple H, as his reactions during the match really put over its importance. This match was a drama-filled roller coaster, as their were many twists & turns. Cena being eliminated when he was unexpected, and Ziggler played a perfect underdog. Of course, the WWE debut of Sting was the biggest story here, and it was indeed a great moment.

Overall: 6.5/10

So this was basically a one match show. WWE had a lot riding on the Main Event, and it certainly delivered, with a ton or drama, some great action, and the WWE Debut of Sting, which is itself a huge moment not just in WWE History, but in wrestling history in general. Unfortunately, besides that match, and Damien Mizdown becoming one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, this show was pretty bad. There was a solid Dean Ambrose/Bray Wyatt match that, while still a good match, could have been better if not for a DQ (though it did result in a rematch being set for the next PPV almost immediately, so that’s good). The Diva’s Survivor Series Elimination Match was bad, and the other two matches got no rating because they were either just “segment matches” or total filler. The fact that the show started with a promo says a lot. This was basically one PPV quality match on top of a Sunday Night edition of RAW.

WWE Hell In A Cell 2014 Review

Dean Ambrose seeks revenge against Seth Rollins!

WWE Hell In A Cell 2014

Dallas, Texas 10/26/14

Before I begin, I should mention that there was a pre-show match on the WWE Network Kickoff Show that featured Bo Dallas against Mark Henry. There really isn’t much to say about it, as Henry made quick work of Dallas, beating him in around 30 seconds, give or take.

1.) WWE Intercontinental Title – 2/3 Falls Match – Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro: ***3/4

The show properly kicks off with a battle for the Intercontinental Title in a 2/3 Falls Match. You know that whenever you have these two guys in a match, it’s going to be good, at a bare minimum.  This was a very good opening match. Great action throughout this match. Ziggler would end up beating Cesaro in two straight falls to retain the Intercontinental Title.

2.) Nikki Bella vs. Brie Bella: **3/4

Back at SummerSlam, Nikki Bella turned on her sister Brie Bella while the latter was having a match with Stephanie McMahon. It’s been almost a year since that feud (as I type this review), and I still remember how bad it was. Who could forget Nikki saying that she wished Brie died in the womb? How about when they got into it with Jerry Springer? Good times (not really). The stipulation for this match is that the loser has to be the winner’s assistant for 30 Days. Despite all of the crap on RAW leading up to this, the match itself was surprisingly solid. There were a few rough points, but on the whole I think it was much better than most would have thought coming in. The crowd wasn’t into it initially, but they seemed to be invested by the end of it. Nikki Bella would get the win, which means that Brie Bella would have to be her personal assistant for 30 Days.

  

3.) WWE Tag Team Titles – Goldust & Stardust vs. The Usos: ***

The Rhodes Brothers won the WWE Tag Team Titles back at Night of Champions. This is a chance for The Usos to get the titles back. I thought this was a fine match. It wasn’t great, and it wasn’t terrible. It was a pretty solid tag team match. Exactly what you would expect from these guys. Goldust & Stardust would eventually get the win to retain their WWE Tag Team Titles.

4.) Hell In A Cell #1 Contender’s Match – John Cena vs. Randy Orton: ***3/4

I’ve lost track of how many times these guys have faced off over the years. In fact, this is the second time these two have wrestled each other inside Hell In A Cell (they had a WWE Title Match inside the structure in 2009). The winner of this particular encounter will face Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Title at a future date. Despite the stale nature of this match, it still ended up being pretty solid. John Cena always gives it his all in a big match situation, and Randy Orton looked pretty good in here as well. We saw a number of weapons used in here, including the steel steps, chairs, and a table. In the end, Cena picks up the win over Orton with a Super Attitude Adjustment off the top rope through a table! Cena now is the #1 Contender to the WWE World Title.

5.) WWE United States Title – Sheamus vs. The Miz (with Damien Mizdow): **1/2

If you’ll remember Night of Champions, Sheamus was defending the United States Title against Cesaro, while The Miz was challenging Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Title. After that PPV, the champions basically swapped challengers, as Ziggler retained against Cesaro earlier in the night, and now The Miz is challenging Sheamus. This was a pretty standard match. It was honestly felt more like a match on RAW, and that’s not good. The action was ok, but everyone was paying more attention to Damien Mizdow’s stunt double antics on the outside (which are great, by the way). Sheamus eventually retains the United States Title.

6.) Rusev (with Lana) vs. The Big Show: **1/2

Rusev has seemingly been running through the gauntlet of patriotic Americans as of late. He defeated Jack Swagger at SummerSlam, and Mark Henry at Night of Champions. Now he has his biggest challenge yet in the form of The Big Show. This was an ok match. It was about as good as you would expect a match between these two to be. A fine big man match. Mark Henry came out at one point and tried to get involved, but Rusev takes him out, and makes The Big Show pass out to The Accolade for the win.

 

7.) WWE Diva’s Title – AJ Lee vs. Paige (with Alicia Fox): **1/4

So these two have traded the Diva’s Title back & forth four times since Paige made her debut the night after WrestleMania XXX. Most recently, AJ Lee recaptured the Diva’s Title from Paige in a Triple Threat Match at Night of Champions that also involved Nikki Bella. Alicia Fox accompanies Paige to ringside for some reason. For some reason, these two just haven’t produced the kind of singles matches that we hoped for. I think I liked the match at SummerSlam, but that’s about it. AJ Lee eventually gets the win to retain the Diva’s Title, while Paige gets into it with Alicia Fox after the match.

8.) Hell In A Cell Match – Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins: ****

This is a match that a lot of people have been looking forward to since The Shield broke up and the Rollins/Ambrose feud started. These two are having the type of deeply personal feud that you want to end inside Hell In A Cell. We saw it all in this match. They brawl at the top of the structure. Shortly thereafter, they both take a high fall off the side of cage through the announcer’s tables!! That looked cool & scary at the same time. They eventually get back in the ring and weapons become a factor. Tables, Chairs, and other weapons are used. Finally, it looks like Ambrose is going to finish off with Cinder Blocks (a callback to a Street Fight they had on RAW), when the lights go out. We then hear a weird chant, and what appears to be a hologram in the middle of the ring, with smoke coming out of it. Bray Wyatt then shows up out of nowhere and decks Dean Ambrose. He lays him out, which allows Rollins to get the cheap victory. If this had a decisive finish, it could have been a Match of the Year Contender (at least in my opinion). I was really loving this match. Aside from blood, this had the feel of an old school Hell In A Cell Match. The finish was, of course, ridiculous & absurd in so many ways. If they want to do a Ambrose/Wyatt feud, that’s fine, but there were so many better ways to do it. It just left a bad taste in your mouth. Still, I really enjoyed this, despite the stupid finish.

Overall: 7.0/10

If you look at the first half of this card (pretty much everything up to, and including, the John Cena/Randy Orton match), things were going decently well, and this had the makings of being a solid show. The opener with Ziggler vs. Cesaro was really good, Nikki Bella vs. Brie Bella was better than expected, the WWE Tag Team Title Match was perfectly solid, and Cena vs. Orton was very good, despite the staleness of the match. Unfortunately, the rest of the card up into the Main Event was incredibly average….like RAW average. People will have a lot of differing opinions on the Main Event. Personally, I was really enjoying the match until the finish, which is one of the most frustrating finishes to a WWE PPV Main Event in recent memory. This show had a few bright spots, but WWE left a lot to be desired.

PWG Don't Sweat The Technique Review

Zack Sabre Jr. challenges Roderick Strong for the PWG World Title!!

PWG Don’t Sweat The Technique

Reseda, California 4/3/15

1.) Biff Busick vs. Brian Cage: ***1/2

The show kicks off with a battle between two hard-hitters. As you would expect, these two beat the crap out of each other. A pretty solid opener from these two. While things got rough towards the end, with one or two botches, this was still a good match. Cage would end up getting the win.

2.) “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Trevor Lee: ****

Lee is coming off unsuccessfully challenging Roderick Strong for the PWG World Title at From Out Of Nowhere, while Bailey made his debut on the same show. This match was freaking crazy!! These two took each other to the limit with a ton of crazy spots, the biggest of which saw Bailey hit a reverse hurricanrana on Trevor Lee onto the freaking ring apron!!! It was like these two were really trying to kill each other. Of course, the crowd went insane for a lot of these spots. Eventually, Lee would survive the madness, and pick up the win with a God’s Last Gift. This match has to be seen to be believed. It’s not the best match on the show, but some of the spots in here were just incredible.

3.) Non-Title Match – PWG World Tag Team Champions The World’s Cutest Tag Team (Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan) vs. The Beaver Boys (Alex Reynolds & John Silver): ***1/2

The PWG World Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line here, which makes sense, since Reynolds & Silver lost in their debut at From Out Of Nowhere. This actually ended up being a pretty good tag team match. Reynolds did his ejaculation gimmick once or twice, but unlike their first match, that was kept to a minimum. The action in here was actually really good. This was a much better performance for The Beaver Boys compared to their initial debut. They just work really work well together as a team. Of course, Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan looked very solid as well. In the end, The World’s Cutest Tag Team would get the win. Given this was a non-title match, they could have given the win to Reynolds & Silver to set up a future title match, but the result really doesn’t bother me.

4.) Chris Hero vs. Tommy End: ****1/2

Tommy End has come over to the U.S. for several weeks of shows across the independent scene. He competed the previous weekend during WrestleMania Weekend in San Jose for Evolve/WWNLive, and put out some impressive performances. On this show, he has a big challenge ahead of him in Chris Hero. I wasn’t sure what to expect coming in (given my only expose to End was his recent work in Evolve/WWNLive, and, I think, one match in PROGRESS Wrestling), but these two ended up having an incredible match!! They just beat the crap out of each other with a ton of hard strikes. It was a really brutal affair, and the crowd ate it up. Excalibur really put over Tommy End on commentary as well, with helped a good deal. Awesome stuff from these two. End put up a great effort, but would eventually fall to Chris Hero. As I said, this was an incredible match. Definitely go out of your way to see this one.

5.) ACH vs. “Sicilian Psychopath” Tommaso Ciampa: ***1/4

We come back from intermission with a match featuring two talents from ROH (though Ciampa would actually finish up with ROH the next night in San Antonio, Texas). Nothing spectacular here, but a pretty solid match between these two. ACH once again broke out his inner Stone Cold, which I don’t think will ever get old. In the end, ACH would get the win over Ciampa.

6.) Love Gun (Chris Sabin & Matt Sydal) vs. The Monster Mafia (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander): ****

Sabin & Sydal scored a huge upset back at Black Cole Sun in December, defeating The Young Bucks in their first match as a team. They’re now known as Love Gun, and here, they’re taking on The Monster Mafia, who are looking to rebound after loosing their debut match to The Young Bucks at From Out Of Nowhere. A great match from these two teams. We saw some great tag team action, as you would expect, but we also saw comedy, particularly from Ethan Page. At one point, he mooned Josh Barnett & members of The Four Horsewomen (sans Ronda Rousey), who were sitting in the front row. In hindsight, it’s difficult to talk about this match, as it was later revealed by Josh Alexander that a nasty bump he took in this match ended up leading to more neck issues, and eventually, his retirement from wrestling a few months later. Still, this was a great tag team match that sees Love Gun getting the win.

7.) Andrew Everett vs. Ricochet: ****

Ricochet took on a veteran high-flyer in Matt Sydal at From Out Of Nowhere. On this show, he’s taking on the young high-flyer Andrew Everett, who’s making his return to PWG after suffering a serious knee injury in the Spring of 2014. A pretty great match from these two. It was awesome to see these two go at it, and we saw a lot of cool action and slick exchanges. They also told a really good with story with Ricochet, who at this point is a veteran, going up against the (relatively) younger Andrew Everett. Towards the end, Everett attempts a Double Rotation Moonsault (that looked crazy!), and Ricochet took advantage and scored the win. Extremely entertaining contest.

8.) PWG World Title – Roderick Strong vs. Zack Sabre Jr.: ****3/4

Zack Sabre Jr. made a big splash in his debut during the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles. Now he’s back, and he’s challenging Roderick Strong for the PWG World Title. This match was nothing short of AMAZING!!! I loved this match! Zack Sabre Jr. is an incredible wrestler. I’ve never seen anyone with the technical skill that he has. He’s so smooth with his submissions and transitions. You need to watch him to just appreciate how good he is. Then there’s Roderick Strong, who’s just been consistently fantastic for what seems like ages. The chain grappling, the back & forth action, the counters…all of it was just amazing. It was just an extremely fun & exciting match to watch. Matches like this remind me of why I’m a fan on pro-wrestling. The crowd being insanely into it as well just added to the atmosphere. In the end, Strong was finally able to get Zack Sabre Jr. to tap out to the Stronghold to retain the PWG World Title, ending the show with an incredible contest.

Overall: 9.75/10

I’ve noticed that some people had been slightly down on PWG in 2014. The shows were still great, but they didn’t seem to have the quality of events from 2012 & 2013 (which is true to an extent). There were people wondering when the next truly amazing PWG show would occur. Well, I can confidently say that this was a Show of the Year Contender. This was simply an incredible night of wrestling. You had two amazing matches in Roderick Strong vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the PWG World Title (which is a Match of the Year Contender) & Chris Hero vs. Tommy End (in any other year, this would be way up there as well). They are well worth going out of your way to see. Not only that, but the undercard was also pretty great as well. Out of the Eight Matches on this card, I had five of them at **** or better, which is just incredible to think about. While I don’t think this will top NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9, this will definitely be one of the best shows of 2015, and a show that needs to be seen.

PWG From Out Of Nowhere Review

A new era begins in PWG!

PWG From Out Of Nowhere

Reseda, California 2/27/15

With Ring of Honor pulling their contracted talents (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, & Michael Elgin) from appearing in PWG, it signaled the end of an era. With that, came the opportunity for PWG to inject some fresh faces into the promotion. They didn’t disappoint, as we have a number of talents making their PWG debut at the promotion’s first event of 2015!

1.) Biff Busick vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey: ****

The show kicks off with Biff Busick taking on the debuting “Speedball” Mike Bailey, who has made appearances in places like CZW, Beyond Wrestling, and other promotions across the Northeast & Canada. He’s also faced Busick a few times before. This match certainly didn’t disappoint. This was a freaking great. What an opening match! Busick’s popularity in Reseda continues to rise, while Bailey definitely won the crowd over with his performance. If you’ve never seen Mike Bailey before, you need to. Some of the things he can pull off inside a wrestling ring are just incredible. In the end, however, Busick would pick up the victory.

2.) Cedric Alexander vs. “Sicilian Psychopath” Tommaso Ciampa: ***1/2

Up next we have a battle of ROH stars. While it wasn’t quite as good as the opening match, this was still a very good match. Really solid action from both guys, as you would expect. In the end, Alexander would get the win after hitting the Lumbar Check.

3.) Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent?) vs. The Beaver Boys (Alex Reynolds & John Silver): ***

The Beaver Boys mainly make their home in CZW, though they’ve recently started to branch out to other promotions. Reynolds & Silver are making their debut against Chuck Taylor & Trent?, aka Best Friends. As you may have guessed, this quickly turned into a comedy match. Most of it surrounded Reynolds pretending to ejaculate on Trent?, and then wiping up the “cum” on a rag, and then fighting over the rag. There was good action in here, but I really wasn’t into the fake ejaculation stuff, as far as comedy stuff goes. It was a fun match, though some may have liked it a tad more than me. It did its job, I suppose.

4.) ACH vs. AR Fox: ***1/4

Here we have a battle of high flyers! When these two are teaming up, they’re known as The African American Wolves. Another pretty solid match. It was entertaining for what it was, though based on reactions I’ve seen from a lot of other people, AR Fox’s stock has seemingly gone down in the last year. He’s still a fun high flyer to watch, but I guess people are getting tired of him…probably because he really hasn’t changed all that much. Still, as I said, the match was entertaining. ACH broke out his Stone Cold shtick again, which was pretty fun. In the end, ACH would get the win with a bridging German Suplex, which he’s won a few matches with on occasion on ROH.

5.) Chris Hero vs. Drew Gulak: ***3/4

I had my concerns about Drew Gulak when I first heard he was coming into PWG, as I wasn’t sure if his style would fit in this company, in front of those fans. However, if there’s anyone who can help him out in that regard, it’s Chris Hero. This was a very good match. It had everything from hard strikes to really nice counters, and everything in between. I think this was probably Gulak’s best PWG outing to date. With that said, he still fell to Chris Hero, who put him away with a brutal jumping piledriver.

6.) Ricochet vs. Matt Sydal: ****1/4

These two had a match back at Evolve 32 for the Open The Freedom Gate Title. However, Sydal was just coming off of a long layoff, and was still getting used to things on the independent scene again. Now, Sydal is at full strength. As you would expect, this was a pretty great match! I thought these guys meshed really well together, and it showed in the quality of the match they produced. Lots of amazing action from both guys. In the end, Ricochet would pick over the win over Matt Sydal.

7.) The Monster Mafia (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) vs. The Young Bucks: ****1/4

In what was probably the most anticipated debut of the night, The Monster Mafia of Ethan Page & Josh Alexander make their (some say long overdue) debut in PWG, and they’re taking on The Young Bucks. Another really great match on this show! As you would expect, The Young Bucks were awesome, but The Monster Mafia looked very impressive in this match. They certainly won over the crowd as well. A particular note is that Dave Meltzer was in attendance, and you knew The Young Bucks were going to be working extra hard. The match ended with The Young Bucks blowing a kiss to Dave Meltzer before hitting The Meltzer Driver for the win.

8.) PWG World Title – Roderick Strong vs. Trevor Lee: ****

It’s been a really interesting ride for Trevor Lee in PWG. It was around this time last year that he made his PWG debut, and now he’s in the Main Event challenging for the World Title. While this wasn’t quite as good as the previous two matches, it was still a pretty great Main Event. Roderick Strong is an incredible athlete, and Trevor Lee really showed a lot against the PWG World Champion. Lots of cool action in this one. Eventually, after a really hard fought affair, Strong would get the victory, retaining the PWG World Title.

Overall: 8.75/10

Many people were wondering how PWG would look after the exodus of contracted Ring of Honor talent. I think it’s fair to say that, so far, they’ve put some of that doubt to rest. A really good show from PWG. Mike Bailey, The Beaver Boys, Drew Gulak, & The Monster Mafia all got a chance to shine in their own unique way. Of course, we had a ton of quality matches, with the final three matches really standing out. A strong (no pun intended) start to 2015 for PWG.