RADICAN’S PWG DVD REVIEW
ALL STAR WEEKEND 8: NIGHT 1
MAY 27, 2011

(1) Willie Mack beat Kevin Steen. There was some comedy during the early going with Steen telling Mack he’d always wanted to wrestle Mark Henry. They did a lot of stalling before the action picked up. Steen got the heat on Mack for a long period of time before Mack mounted a comeback and the crowd really got into the action. Mack got the sharpshooter on Steen, but he got the ropes. At one point, Mack went up top, but Steen cut him off and hit the package piledriver, but Steen couldn’t pin him because he rolled to the outside. Steen rolled Mack back inside the ring and covered him, but Mack got his foot on the ropes. Mack then surprised Steen with a rollup for the win. (***)

Steen shook hands with Mack after the match.

(2) Joey Ryan & Scorpio Sky beat Brian Cage-Taylor & Ryan Taylor (w/Chuck Taylor). After some back and forth action Joey and Ryan tagged in and exchanged forearms. Joey hit a powerslam on Ryan for a 2 count. At one point the Cage Taylor & Taylor hit a doomsday device variation to the outside on Joey and the crowd went nuts. The finish saw Joey and Sky isolate Cage Taylor and nail him with a combination of kicks. Sky then hit a TKO for the win. There were a couple of botched spots in the match, but overall it was a very good undercard match. (***)

(3) Chuck Taylor (w/Ryan Taylor) beat Kenny King. Taylor did some odd selling screaming like a girl while King worked over his arm during the early stages of the match. Ryan grabbed King’s leg from the outside a short time later and the ref ejected him from ringside. Taylor got the upper hand and worked over King, but he missed the hand grenade elbow drop. King picked up the grenade and nailed Taylor with a clothesline in a comedy spot. The finish saw King go up top, but Cage-Taylor pushed him off and Chuck covered him for the win. The finish was a bit off and these two didn’t seem to have much chemistry in the ring. (**)

(4) PWG Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) beat The RockNes Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma). The RockNes Monsters locked the Young Bucks in a x rated submission during the early stages of the match. They then made the Young Bucks kick each other low much to the delight of the crowd. The Bucks took control of the match and isolated the smaller Yuma for a long period of time. Goodtime got the hot tag and ran wild to a big pop from the crowd. The action broke down the stretch with a ton of nearfalls. Matt and Nick finally pinned Goodtime with a tandem superkick to the head. This was good, although there were a few too many nearfalls. (***1/2)

(5) GenNext (Roderick Strong & Austin Aries) beat The Cutler Brothers (Dustin & Brandon Cutler). The crowd was hot for the reunion of Strong & Aries. The Cutler Brothers are a very good team based out of California that are worth checking out if you’ve never seen them. The Cutler Brothers isolated Strong after some initial back and forth action. Strong eventually made the tag to Aries and they took turns nailing Dustin with some hard chops to the chest. Dustin ended up taking a sustained beating as Aries and Strong tagged in and out of the match to work him over. Dustin finally made the hot tag and Brandon ran wild. The Cutlers isolated Aries, who couldn’t get to his own corner to tag in Strong. Aries finally tagged in Strong who obliterated Brandon with chops in the corner. After some back and forth action, Strong finally finished off Dustin with the sick kick for the pin as Aries took out Brandon with a dive to the outside. This was a really good match with good crowd heat. (***3/4)

After the match, the Young Bucks attacked Strong and Aries. Alex Shelley ran down to make the save in a GenNext shirt. Shelley then cut a promo making fun of the Young Bucks. He said the time for them to face each other will come soon. The fans went nuts for that comment. Shelley then said his scheduled opponent, Low Ki, isn’t in the building, but Eddie Edwards is there to face him. He put over Edwards as one of the best wrestlers in the world and the crowd went nuts again.

(6) Eddie Edwards beat Alex Shelley. Edwards missed a moonsault during the early stages of the match and Shelley smiled at the crowd. Shelley began working over Edwards with a neck crank. A fan chanting boring and Shelley flipped off the fan and the entire place booed the fan as well. The crowd then chanted this is awesome. Edwards fired back and the fans went nuts after he caught Shelley with a dive through the ropes. Later in the match, Shelley took control and got the border stretch, but Edwards countered it into a rollup for a 2 count. Edwards went on the attack and nailed Shelley with a running dropkick on the outside. Both men exchanged kicks down the stretch. Edwards ate a German, but popped up and nailed Shelley with a big clothesline. Edwards followed up with a powerbomb and a 2K1 bomb for the win. This was a very good back and forth contest with both guys delivering a crowd-pleasing performance in the ring. (***3/4)

After the match, Edwards helped Shelley up to his feet and the fans chanted “PWG. Edwards left Shelley alone in the ring. Shelley got on the mic and teased that he should be booked to team with Chris Sabin against Edwards & Richards at some point in the near future. The crowd predictably went crazy.

(7) Kevin Steen & Akira Tozawa beat El Generico & Ricochet. This was a red hot tag match with awesome crowd heat. Generico went after Steen before the bell and they had to be separated by their partners. The match eventually settled in with Steen and Tozawa tagging in and out to work over Generico. Generico eventually made the hot tag and Ricochet began working over Tozawa. With the ref distracted, Steen interfered and nailed Ricochet with chops before biting his ear. Steen mocked Generico and made Ricochet give him the finger while he was tied up in a submission with Tozawa posing behind him, which was awesome. Later in the match, Steen had Ricochet in the sharpshooter. Generico tried to kick him off, but Steen spit in his face. Generico then obliterated Steen with a running kick to the face. The action broke down and Ricochet hit a picture-perfect phoenix splash on Tozawa, but he kicked out at the last second. The finish saw Ricochet accidentally nail Generico with a kick on the apron. Steen eventually folded up Ricochet and suplexed him into the turnbuckles for the pin. Steen & Tozawa have fantastic chemistry in the ring and this match is well-worth checking out if you haven’t seen them before. Heck, even if you haven’t seen them team before you should watch this match. It was darn good. (****1/2)

Generico and Ricochet argued after the match. Generico and Steen then went face-to-face, but Generico ended up leaving the ring. Steen and Tozawa then posed for the crowd. The fans went nuts and pounded the mat. Steen then left Tozawa alone in the ring and the crowd went nuts for him as he pounded the mat along with them.

(8) PWG Champion Claudio Castagnoli beat Chris Hero. Both men shook hands after the bell rang. Castagnoli went for an uppercut against the ropes, but Hero got out of the way. The announcer mentioned Hero and Castagnoli hadn’t wrestled against each other in a singles match since 2007. They did some mat wrestling with neither man able to gain the advantage. Claudio worked Hero’s ankle while standing on his other foot. Hero finally got his leg free and used it to twist out of the hold. Both men traded monkey flips and ended up in a double pin for a 2 count out of the Greco Roman knuckle lock.

Both men ended up in the headstand position with their legs locked. The ref eventually had to untie their legs. Both men exchanged a fist bump before going back at it in the middle of the ring. They did some really nice exchanges and traded arm drags. Hero sent Claudio to the outside and went for a dive, but Claudio got out of the way. Hero caught himself in the ropes and flipped himself back into the ring. Both men slapped hands in the middle of the ring before going at it again. Hero went for a rolling elbow, but Castagnoli ducked it. Castagnoli got the upper hand on the mat and went after Hero’s arm. Hero escaped and Castagnoli went for an uppercut, but Hero ducked it. The crowd isn’t really into it at this point and they might need to pick it up soon after maintaining a slow pace during the early stages of the match.

Hero monkey flipped Castagnoli face-first into the mat. Castagnoli caught a kick from Hero and nailed him with a European uppercut. Hero went to the outside before getting back into the ring. Castagnoli immediately took him down to the mat, but Hero got the ropes. Both men exchanged some hard slaps as things picked up. Castagnoli sent Hero to the mat with a big strike to the face. Castagnoli wrapped Hero’s arm around the rope and snapped it down. He then went to work on Hero’s arm on the mat, but Hero got his foot on the ropes. Castagnoli went right back to work on Hero’s arm on the mat. Hero fought his way out of an arm submission and hit a chinbreaker. Hero nailed Castagnoli with a series of hard chops. Claudio blocked another strike from Hero and snapped him arm-first down to the mat before going back to work on Hero’s arm.

Castagnoli went for a springboard uppercut, but Hero got out of the way and covered Castagnoli for a 2 count. Castagnoli immediately applied an arm submission, but Hero managed to bail to the outside. Castagnoli followed Hero into the crowd and tossed him back into the ring, but Hero rolled out of the ring. Castagnoli dragged Hero to the apron and snapped his arm over the top rope. Castagnoli tied up Hero in another arm submission and wrenched his fingers backwards, but Hero got the ropes. Hero hit a big strike out of nowhere that staggered Claudio.

Hero fired back, but Castagnoli caught him with an uppercut on the apron. Castagnoli went for a dive, but the ropes broke when he bounced off them. Castagnoli ripped the top rope down angrily before nailing Hero with a dive over the second rope, which was now the top rope. Hero recovered and ran into the ring. He nailed Castagnoli with a couple of chops and went for a rolling elbow, but Castagnoli caught it and tossed him onto the ropes. Castagnoli nailed Hero with a kick and gorilla pressed Hero down onto the second rope.

Both men exchanged kicks in the center of the ring. Castagnoli finally ducked a kick and nailed Hero with a big kick. Hero got up and nailed Castagnoli with a roaring elbow that left both men down on the mat. The crowd clapped as both men struggled to get to their feet. Hero got up and hit a series of chops before catching Castagnoli with a springboard moonsault for a 2 count. Castagnoli blocked another roaring elbow, but ran right into another from Hero for a 2 count. Hero hit a couple of big boots, but Castagnoli wouldn’t go down. Castagnoli caught a third kick attempt and drove Hero into the mat before nailing him with a German that left both men down on the mat as the crowd clapped. Castagnoli swept Hero’s legs out from under him and caught Hero in the airplane spin as the crowd counted the rotations. I’m getting dizzy just watching this. Castagnoli finally let go of Hero after 18 revolutions. Castagnoli followed up with a bicycle kick for a 2 count. Castagnoli went for the UFO, but Hero blocked it. Castagnoli blocked a rolling elbow and hit 2 European uppercuts. Both men exchanged counters in the middle of the ring. Castagnoli finally blocked a roaring elbow and countered it into a modified Angle slam for a 2 count.

The crowd applauded as Castagnoli went back on the attack. Castagnoli went for the Ricola bomb, but Hero countered. Hero eventually caught Castagnoli with a running boot that sent Castagnoli to the outside. Hero followed up with a springboard moonsault off the apron to the outside and the crowd applauded. Hero hit a boot off the top and followed up with a KO elbow for a nearfall. The crowd chanted “kings of wrestling” with both men slow to get to their feet. Hero got up first and applied a stretch plumb in the middle of the ring. Hero tried to turn it into a kimura, but Castagnoli got the ropes.

Hero taunted Castagnoli and slapped him. Both men exchanged tops. Hero hit a couple of chops and continued to taunt Castagnoli. Castagnoli fired up as Hero continued to pepper him with blows. Hero got a running start, but Castagnoli caught him with the pop-up European for a nearfall. Castagnoli then lifted up Hero and nailed him with the UFO for a nearfall. Castagnoli put Hero on the second turnbuckle. He tried to lift Hero, but Hero fought back. Hero grabbed a cravat and drove Castagnoli down to the mat. Both men were down on the mat as the crowd applauded. Hero went for a moonsault. Claudio got out of the way, but Hero landed on his feet only to eat a big clothesline from Claudio. Claudio ran right into a discus elbow. Hero hit another discus elbow and a rolling boot for a nearfall. Hero hit the cyclone kill, but Castagnoli kicked out at the last second.

Hero took off his elbow pad and went for a neckbreaker, but Claudio caught him with a backslide for a 2 count. Hero went for a Ricola bomb, but Claudio nailed him with a European uppercut and both men were down. Both men exchanged forearms once they got to their feet. Hero ducked a clothesline and hit a springboard forearm, but Castagnoli caught Hero with a European uppercut and both men were down again. Castagnoli crawled over and covered Hero, but only got a 2 count. Castagnoli picked up Hero and hit a huge lariat, but he kicked out at one. Castagnoli hit another big lariat, but Hero kicked out at 2. Castagnoli followed up with the Ricola bomb, but Hero kicked out at the last second and the crowd applauded. Hero staggered around the ring. Castagnoli caught him with a 2 European uppercuts. Castagnoli then squared up Hero and nailed him with a third European uppercut for the pin. (***1/2)

After the match, they showed Hero backstage. Hero talked about the time and effort he put into training for the match. He said he had been all over the world recently. Hero said every single day he got in the gym and this is the result. Hero said in the last 2 years very few people have pinned him. Hero talked about his long tag title reign with Castagnoli in ROH. Hero complained about the top rope breaking. He called it bush league. Hero talked about his long title reign in PWG and said once he tried to get it back, the rope broke. Hero said he’s got Willie Mack tomorrow. He said Mack is young and hungry, but he’s angry. Hero said he was going to turn Mack’s black chest blood red. Hero closed by saying he’s got to something to redeem himself this weekend. This was a good, intense promo from Hero after a lengthy main event.

Overall thoughts: (8.0) – There’s a ton of value on this card with an all-star cast of independent talent. The real draw for PWG is their ability to create unique matches that fans don’t see in other major independent companies. This was a stacked card and it delivered tons of satisfying action and the crowd heat for the matches creates a fun atmosphere.

There’s a lot to be said for a card with only one match doesn’t live up to expectations with Kenny King and Chuck Taylor not having much chemistry together in the ring. Other than that, there were several great tag team and singles matches on the card. In a match you’ll only see in PWG, Kevin Steen & Akira Tozawa vs. Ricochet & El Generico delivered a MOTYC that had the crowd going crazy. Steen and Tozawa are my favorite tag team in the world right now and they have such great chemistry in the ring together. The Generico-Steen feud took another step during the course of the match as well, but the in-ring action was superb and all four men delivered huge here.

Other matches on the card that were very good were Strong & Aries reuniting to take on the Cutler Brothers in another match you’ll only see in PWG. It’s nice to see the local talent get a chance to shine and outside of the match featuring too many nearfalls, the Cutlers held their own against Strong & Aries before taking the loss. Shelley-Edwards then presented another unique matchup that also delivered in a big way with Edwards getting a nice spotlight win and a big push during his initial run in PWG.

The main event with Claudio Castagnoli defending the PWG Title against his partner Chris Hero was very good, although it dragged in spots and the top rope breaking didn’t help out matters either as both men were forced to work around an unexpected hindrance. The match itself featured a lot of good submission wrestling and Castagnoli eventually had to empty the kitchen sink to beat Hero in the end. I was expecting more out of this match, but it was still very good.

This show is well-worth picking up given the quality of the action and unique matches up and down the card. If you’ve never seen PWG before, you’ll get a taste of what the company offers on some of their bigger cards. This wasn’t the best PWG show I’ve seen this year, but PWG sets the bar high and this was still a very good show in front of a crowd that kept the heat going for most of the night, although the fans seemed to tire for parts of the main event.

You can purchase this release at HighSpots.com.

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com

We suggest these recent related articles...

RADICAN'S Beyond Wrestling "Greatest Rivals Round Robin" review 9/26 - incredible show of the year contender, Busick-Edwards top-flight MOTYC, more!

RADICAN'S "The Pull List" (Vol. 5) "Young Bucks Too Sweet Journey" doc review, The Flash season 1 Blu-Ray, Top Ten MOTYC for 2015

RADICAN'S "THE PULL LIST" (Vol. 4) - step by step guide to social media and conduct, "Madden NFL 16" review, "Furious 7" Blu-ray w/The Rock & Ronda Rousey, more!