RADICAN’S 12/16 PWG “Mystery Vortex IV” Report – Young Bucks vs. Cobb & Riddle in non-title action, DBE vs. ReDRagon tag classic, Sabre vs. Scurll main event

By Sean Radican, PWTorch columnist


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RADICAN’S PWG “MYSTERY VORTEX IV” REPORT
DEC. 16 2016
RESEDA, CALIF
AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT HIGHSPOTS.COM

This was a mystery show that featured a roster of unannounced talent and six matches that were unveiled when the show was taped. This was PWG’s first show after BOLA 2016.

(1) Candice LeRae vs. Trent. Trent took Candice lightly early, but then slammed her hard into the mat after she rolled him up for a near fall during the early going. Trent seemed to feel bad and offered a handshake, but LeRae slapped him across the face. She then hit a dive into a swinging DDT on the floor. Trent blocked a running boot attempt from the seated position on the floor. He then popped her up and hit a powerbomb on the apron, which caused the fans to boo. The fans then chanted for him to do it again. What savages! Trent got a smile on his face, but ended up firing LeRae back into the ring. Trent jawed with Legion Larry, who shined his strobe light on him much to the delight of the fans. LeRae then rolled Trent up for a near fall only to eat a huge lariat after he kicked out. Trent worked over LeRae and cut her comeback attempt off at one point with an eye poke. LeRae finally mounted a comeback and hit the violence party in the corner, but Trent flew back out of the corner a short time later and hit a HUGE running knee strike and they were both down.

Trent missed a charge into the corner and hit the ringpost before spilling to the floor. LeRae went up top and nailed him with a big splash to the floor and the fans applauded. Trent got LeRae up on his shoulders, but she countered and hit a poison hurricanrana for a near fall. They went back and forth. LeRae eventually for the Mrs. Gargano escape, but Trent got to the ropes. She went for the ball-plex, but Trent countered and hit a wheelbarrow suplex. Trent looked upset with himself once again for hitting a big move on Candice. Trent went for a violence party of his own in the corner and the fans booed. Trent went for an avalanche razor’s edge, but she turned it into a hurricanrana. LeRae followed up with the ball-plex, but only got a 2 count. She applied the Mrs. Gargano escape. The fans went nuts. Trent went for the ropes and she got it again. Trent then folded her up and hit a big piledriver. He then hit a dude buster for the win.

Winner: Trent

Star rating: (**3/4) –This was fine for what it was. Trent playing the reluctant to engage with a female role in this match has been done over and over in intergender wrestling, so that took this down a bit in my eyes.

(2) ACH vs. Trevor Lee. Lee jumped ACH during the introductions. They did some comedy with ACH hitting a low blow and making comedic faces when the red questioned him. Lee fired back after snapping the middle rope into ACH’s face. ACH got whipped into the corner, but he slid and put his foot on the turnbuckle and went right into a kick to Lee’s head to finally get the upper hand. ACH blocked a TOF attempt and eventually hit a running kick to Lee’s chest later in the match. He followed up with a slingshot ace crusher for a 2 count. Lee ducked under a dive from ACH and then caught him with a leaping double stomp for a 2 count.

Lee raked ACH’s eyes and returned the favor with a running kick from the apron to the floor. Lee yelled and the fans yelled back at him. The fans yelled and Lee caught ACH with a TOF off the top. The fans changed delete, but ACH got his knees up on a swanton attempt. ACH hit a stunner and a brain buster for a near fall. Lee countered ACH coming off the second turnbuckle into his signature spinning power slam. He then hit a small package driver for the win.

Winner: Trevor Lee

Star rating: (***1/2) – This started slow and then got real good down the stretch as they went back and forth. The fans getting behind Lee doing Hardy spots was something to behold. The finish was crazy as well. This was a fun match!

(3) Pete Dunne vs. Matt Sydal. This was Sydal’s return to PWG after being released from police custody in Japan. The ref patted down Sydal like he was a suspect. They did some chain wrestling early. Sydal got the better of Dunne and celebrated, so Dunne got up and bit his fingers. Sydal hit his signature leg slice driver for a 2 count to get the upper hand. Dunne fired back and hit a DDT through the middle rope to the mat for a 2 count. Dunne slapped Sydal across the face and Sydal made a smoking motion and returned the favor. Dunne caught Sydal with a rebound German and then began working him over. He tied up Sydal’s leg and brought one of his arms backwards before biting Sydal’s finger. The fans slowly chanted Peter, but Dunne was not fazed. Dunne went off the ropes, but Sydal popped up and caught him with a leg lariat that left both men down.

They went back and forth. Dunne blocked a spinning DDT and dumped Sydal to the mat for a 2 count. Sydal countered a suplex right into a spiked DDT. He followed up with a meteora for a near fall. They traded strikes back and forth in the middle of the end. Dunne caught Sydal going for a moonsault out of the corner and hit a tombstone for a near fall! Dunne lifted Sydal’s arm and stomped on his head several times but fell down in exhaustion. They went to the floor and Sydal nailed Dunne with a kendo stick. He went for a SSP, but Dunne got his knees up! Dunne hit several kicks to Sydal’s head, but Sydal got to his feet. Dunne went to go off the ropes, but Sydal ran behind him and hit a poison hurricanrana. Sydal went up top, but Dunne cut him off. Sydal hit an avalanche poison hurricanrana a short time later. He then hit a SSP for the win.

Winner: Matt Sydal

Star rating: (***1/2) – This was another good back and forth match. They seemed to lose the crowd late with all of the near falls. It didn’t help that both guys were acting like heels either. That being said, there was some great action down the stretch and some cool counter spots leading into the finish.

(4) ReDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. Death By Elbow (J.T. Dunn & Chris Hero). Each match is a surprise to the crowd, so this one got a big holy s–t chant before it started. Fish and Dunn went back and forth during the early going and Fish arm dragged Dunn right into his head. Hero tagged in and got a huge ovation before he went at it against O’Reilly. Hero and O’Reilly traded running pump kicks and then connected at the same time before coming to a stalemate. Hero eventually got cut off and ReDRagon began working him over. Dunn eventually ran in to help Hero, which led to a big sequence that saw Hero wipe out Fish with a big elbow to the back of the head. Everyone was down and Hero got up first and tagged in Dunn, who went to work on Fish. Hero and Dunn hit an assisted senton on Fish. Hero then hit a discus slap to O’Reilly’s face that sent him to the floor. Hero slid around Fish on the floor, tapped him on the shoulder, and slapped him across the face. Fish tried to mount a comeback, but Hero obliterated him with a pair of elbows. Fish then managed to counter a suplex and he hit one of his own and both men were down on the mat. Hero and Fish both tagged out. Dunn managed to knock O’Reilly off the apron before he went after Fish. Fish caught Dunn with a sick Samoan drop to counter a flipping attack. He then tagged in O’Reilly, who ran wild.

O’Reilly knocked Hero off the apron and got a knee bar on Dunn, but he got to the ropes. O’Reilly hit a German, but Dunn got up and rolled right into an ace crusher on O’Reilly. He then tagged in Hero, who went to work on Kyle. Hero eventually got cut off and ReDRagon nailed him with a series of kicks for a 2 count. The action broke down and Fish managed to fend off Hero and Dunn. He eventually suplexed Dunn into Hero. He made the cover on Hero for a 2 count and the fans fired up for Fish! WOW! Hero got Fish up on his shoulders a short time later. He hit a death blow and Dunn followed up with a double stomp off the top to the back of the head for a near fall. All four men went at it a short time later once O’Reilly got back into the ring exchanging kicks and strikes. The exchange continued until O’Reilly wiped out Dunn with a big knee lift to the chin. Everyone was down and Fish made the legal tag to O’Reilly. Hero and Dunn hit an elbow strike/brainbuster combo on O’Reilly, but he managed to kick out at the last second. Dunn and Hero hit a series of sandwich elbow strikes on O’Reilly. They stood Fish and O’Reilly up and continued to hit them with big elbows. Dunn and Hero sent Fish to the floor. They then continued to nail O’Reilly with stereo elbows. Fish tripped Dunn from the floor when the set up for another double elbow. O’Reilly rolled up Hero for a near fall. O’Reilly got caught with a short piledriver from Hero a short time later. Hero went for a Gotch piledriver, but O’Reilly got a front chancery. Dunn tried to elbow him off, but he wouldn’t let it go. Fish then grabbed a sleeper hold. Dunn was out and ReDRagon hit chasing the dragon on Hero. O’Reilly then tapped out Hero with a cross-arm breaker while Fish held off Dunn with a guillotine choke.

Winner: Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish

Star rating: (****1/2) – This was an excellent tag match. Both teams went back and forth and had some great hard hitting exchanges. The elbow party down the stretch thrown by Death By Elbow was fantastic. These teams had really good chemistry and this match delivered big.

(5) Adam Cole vs. Chuck Taylor in a PWG World Championship #1 Contender match. During the introductions, Excalibur announced Adam Cole as weighing over 1,000 pounds. At one point Cole almost got his hands on Excalibur, but Taylor cut him off and Excalibur took his headset off and tickled Cole’s stomach before punching him in the face. Taylor then hit a flip dive off the stage to the floor to wipe out Cole. Taylor hit his slow senton over the top to the mat on Cole a short time later back inside the ring and the fans chanted holy s—t. Cole appearing to be playing dead. He got up and charged at Taylor, but ate a big boot. Taylor went for a dive, but Cole spit some liquid into his face. Some fans chanted Cole is beautiful and others responded no he’s not. Cole got a running start and then grabbed Taylor in a headlock on the mat. Taylor countered Cole and hit a DDT a short time later. Taylor hit another DDT. Cole blocked a third DDT attempt. They went back and forth and Taylor hit a third DDT for a 2 count. Cole no-sold sole food from Taylor and hit a superkick.

Taylor then countered Cole and hit a falcon arrow for a 2 count. Excalibur sold shock and said nobody kick out of the falcon arrow. They went back and forth and Taylor hit an awful waffle for a near fall. Taylor went for an inverted awful waffle, but Cole countered out of it and hit a series of moves capped by a straightjacket German for a 2 count. Cole almost hit the ref with a superkick, but stopped. He then hit a low blow on Taylor with the ref’s back turned. Cole followed up with a panama sunrise, but Taylor kicked out at the last second! Cole started to undo his tights, but Taylor bit his crotch. Taylor lifted Cole a short time later and hit a second awful waffle for the win and the fans went nuts!

Winner: Chuck Taylor to become the #1 Contender to the PWG World Title

Star rating: (***1/2) – This started slow and they did some comedy early. I like this version of heel Adam Cole better than the version seen in ROH. Cole just seems more comfortable playing this expanded version of his heel character. They did some nice near falls late to build up to the finish. The crowd was definitely into this match, but I believe if PWG paced their undercard a little better, important matches like this one would benefit and the fans would be more into the near falls.

(6) PWG World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle in a non-title match. Riddle and Nick had a back and forth exchange. Riddle slid around Nick into an arm bar, but he quickly got the ropes. Cobb and Matt tagged in. Cobb tossed Matt around like a ragdoll. He then did the same to Nick when he ran into the ring. Cobb and Riddle tagged in and out to work over Matt. Riddle went after Matt and got caught with a surprise superkick from Nick. The Young Bucks then wiped out Cobb on the apron. They set up for the double Terminator dive and hit it before leading the fans in a that was awesome chant. The Young Bucks went for a pair of apron bomb on Riddle and Cobb. Matt hit one on Riddle, but Nick couldn’t lift Cobb. It took both Matt and Nick to lift up Cobb and they nearly dropped him before hitting an apron bomb. Cobb is a gigantic man. The Young Bucks isolated Riddle and went to work on him inside the ring a short time later. They went to work on Riddle’s exposed foot. At one point Nick held it up and Matt nailed it with a superkick, which drew a big reaction from the fans. Nick punched Riddle across the face while smiling wide for the camera, which was hilarious. Riddle fired back with a chop to the face from his back. Nick then raked his eyes to keep the upper hand. Riddle cut Nick off, but Matt dragged Cobb to the floor. He then taunted Riddle and told him to tag him in. Nick then hit a springboard x-factor on Riddle thanks to the distraction from Matt for a near fall. Riddle finally made the tag a short time later and Cobb went to town on The Young Bucks.

Cobb hit some sick suplexes on Nick and then Matt. Matt flipped out of a suplex from Cobb and Nick made a tag. Nick ran wild with kicks and elbows on Cobb and Riddle. He went for a bulldog/clothesline combination, but Cobb somehow caught him and tossed him with an overhead German. WOW! Matt and Nick hit a double superkick on Cobb a short time later. They countered Riddle and hit a double superkick for a near fall and the fans fired up. Cobb was out on the floor and Matt and Nick went to town on him with a flurry of double team maneuvers. They hit their signature tandem senton atomico against the ropes, but Cobb broke up the pin. Nick took too long doing the too sweet pose after wiping out Cobb with a dive and Riddle nailed him with a springboard apron. Matt blocked bro to sleep and the action broke down. Riddle went down and The Young Bucks went back and forth with Cobb. Cobb no sold a superkick and hit a double clothesline. Riddle got the bromission on Matt, but Nick eventually escaped Cobb’s clutch and broke up the submission. The fans went nuts with all four men down. WOW! Riddle and Matt exchanged chops and blows from their knees. They got up and continued to exchange. Matt too sweet’d Riddle in the eyes. He hit him with a superkick a short time later. Cobb got the tag and was about to hit a pop-up suplex, but Nick ran in and nailed him with a superkick. Matt and Nick went back and forth hitting superkicks on Cobb and Riddle, but they both blocked a pair of superkicks and applied stereo ankle locks on The Young Bucks. Matt and Nick held hands to avoid tapping. Matt tapped out and Nick held onto the ref so he couldn’t see it. Matt eventually kicked Cobb away. Nick distracted the ref and Matt nailed Riddle with a low blow. They set up for an IndyTaker on Cobb, but Riddle caught Nick and hit Bro to sleep! Cobb then hit a double German on The Young Bucks! WOW! Riddle hit bro to sleep on Matt. Cobb then hit tour of the islands! Nick tried to make the save, but he couldn’t and they got the win!

Winners: Matt Riddle & Jeff Cobb

Star rating: (****1/2) – This was fantastic. Cobb is a blast to watch, as he has insane strength. The Young Bucks were perfect for him to show off his suplexes in this match. They had some fantastic back and forth exchanges. The highlights of the match were Cobb no-selling a double superkick and hitting a double clothesline and the stereo ankle lock submissions Cobb and Riddle got on The Young Bucks at one point. It looked like The Young Bucks were going to cheat their way to another win, but they ended up losing in the end.

(7) PWG World Champion Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Marty Scurll. This is a matchup of the last two BOLA winners, as Sabre won in 2015 and Scurll won in 2016. They had a great exchange on the mat early. Scurll went for the chicken wing, but Sabre escaped and went for a PK before they came to a stalemate. Scurll got the upper hand and set up Sabre’s elbow at a bad angle before stomping down on it. Sabre fired back and put Scurll’s head between his feet before doing a 360 spin. They went back and forth on the mat again. Scurll got Sabre in a dragon sleeper, but Sabre escaped and got a hold of Scurll’s arm. He put it between his legs and did a 360 spin to end the sequence. Sabre bullied Marty around the ring and hit some big uppercuts, but Scurll fired back and slammed him down to the mat. Scurll went after Sabre’s arm again. He set it up on the mat and stomped down on it. Scurll had Sabre tied up, but Sabre countered it and got an arm submission. These two are fantastic on the mat. It’s like watching a game of chess. Scurll got a Gory special a short time later and held onto it for a long time before driving him into the corner. They went at it up top until Scurll hit a superplex and the fans applauded. The fans seemed to boo each time someone tried to start a song to rally behind ZSJ.

Sabre ended up on the floor and Scrull nailed him with a superkick from the apron. He tossed Sabre back into the ring and Sabre countered a jackknife pin into a choke, but Scurll kicked out. He then slammed Sabre into the ropes before going back on the attack. Scurll set up for the chicken wing and the fans fired up. Sabre was very slow to get up as the fans chanted chicken wing. Sabre got up and nailed Marty with a big uppercut to block his chicken wing attempt. They went at it at a fast pace and Sabre slid around Scurll and got an octopus. Sabre got to the ropes, so Sabre let go and kicked his arm off the rope. Sabre then hit a half and half and both men were slow to get up. Sabre got up and went on the attack. Sabre set up Scurll’s arm and stomped down on his elbow at a bad angle. Scurll got Sabre’s fingers, but Sabre blocked it. Sabre went for an arm drag off the ropes, but Scurll slipped around him. Scurll went for a chicken wing and Sabre fought to counter out of it and eventually he was able to. Sabre blocked a fake out superkick. He went for a back bridging pin, but Scurll kicked out and got the chicken wing! Sabre fought and managed to get to the ropes. They went back and forth trading strikes. Sabre hit a half and half, but Scurll fired back and surprised Sabre with a brainbuster that left both men down on the mat! Scurll hit a couple of superkicks on Sabre, who was on his knees. Sabre threw him a double peace sign, so Scurll snapped his fingers apart. Scurll fired back and hit a liger bomb. He then got on top of Scurll, but Scurll countered and got an inside cradle for a near fall! Sabre hit a PK for a near fall a short time later, but couldn’t hook the leg because of the work on his fingers. Scurll told Sabre to bring it and pushed him. They began trading big uppercuts. They hit some absolute bombs on each other as they continued to trade.

Sabre told him to bring it and slapped Scurll hard across the face. Scurll fell over. Sabre hit a big running kick. Scurll tried to surprise him by getting up quickly, but Sabre got the octopus hold. Scurll then countered it into a tombstone and both men were down! Sabre went for a diving uppercut, but Scurll caught him in the chicken wing. Sabre immediately escaped and turned it into a bridging pin for the win. Scurll got a cross-arm breaker and snapped Sabre’s fingers back again. He kicked Sabre’s head several times. Sabre rolled ever and eventually rolled through into a pinning combination for a 2 count. Sabre accidentally backed Scurll into the ref in the corner. He went for a kick on Scurll, but connected with the ref instead. Scurll hit a big slam for a visual pin on Sabre. The fans chanted for Dustin to come to the ring, but he didn’t. Scurll got the umbrella, but seemed hesitant to use it on Sabre. The fans booed and he tossed the umbrella down. Scurll went and got the PWG Title for some reason, but Sabre cut him off with a big uppercut. Sabre grabbed the belt and seemed to think about using it. Another ref ran down and grabbed the belt away from Sabre. Scurll threw powder in Sabre’s eyes when the new ref checked on the downed ref. He then grabbed an inside cradle for a near fall. Scurll argued with the ref and Sabre surprised him with a triangle. Sabre transitioned the hold and Scurll went for the umbrella. Sabre tossed it away and grabbed a double arm submission while he pounded on Scurll’s arm for the win.

Excalibur announced that Sabre would defend the title against Chuck Taylor next. After the match, Scurll grabbed the title away from Sabre. They had some words, but ultimately Scurll put the title over Sabre’s shoulder. Taylor came down to the ring and Sabre put the belt in front of him on the mat. They shook hands. Taylor went to leave and they shook hands again.

Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. to retain the PWG World Championship

Star rating: (***1/2) – There were a couple of issues with this match. It wasn’t a bad match, but it was long and it dragged at times. Once things picked up during the second half of the match, it got really good. Then the finishing stretch took place and they lose me. I don’t understand why these two couldn’t have a straight up finish instead of going to ref bumps and weapon usage. It wasn’t a very logical sequence either. Why would Scurll drop his umbrella to go get the title and hit Sabre with it? Once they got past that portion of the match, they went to a nice finishing sequence.

Overall thoughts: (8.5) – This was a really good show overall. There were several matches in the ***1/2 star range with ACH-Lee, Dunne-Sydal, and Cole-Taylor all being good matches on the undercard. The two tag matches on the show were both incredible and that is where you’re really get value for your money if you purchase this show.

Hero & Dunn vs. Fish & O’Reilly was a fantastic hard-hitting back and forth contest that set the crowd on fire. The crowd was really hot for this one and it was a thrill to see an act created in Beyond Wrestling on a stage like PWG. Even though Dunn & Hero fell short, the elbow party they threw on O’Reilly and Fish was the highlight of the match.

The Young Bucks vs. Matt Riddle & Jeff Cobb match was great as well. The Young Bucks are almost perfect opponents for Cobb because they can bump like crazy for him. I liked how they had trouble lifting Cobb up at certain points during the match. . The highlights of the match were Cobb no-selling a double superkick and hitting a double clothesline and the stereo ankle lock submissions Cobb and Riddle got on The Young Bucks at one point.

The main event wasn’t great, but Sabre and Scurll put on a clinic on the mat at times. The match dragged at times and the bells and whistles down the stretch took away from it a bit, but overall they got it back on track leading into Sabre getting the win.

This is a show well-worth ordering. The action up and down the card is really good and you won’t get many chances to see tag matches as good as YB-Cobb & Riddle and RD vs. DBE. Thumbs up!

You can purchase PWG’s “Mystery Vortex IV” on Blu-Ray or DVD by clicking HERE or by visiting Highspots.com. For more information on PWG, visit ProWrestlingGuerrilla.com.

You can also watch Highspots titles such as The Kevin Steen Show, Best Friends, CZW, PWG, and more at HighspotsWrestlingNetwork.com subscription service, which is now available on Roku. Highspots has really ramped up their offerings on the Highspots Wrestling Network in recent months. Right now for just $9.99 per month, you can access the HSWN and watch new releases like A Look Beyond: Michael Elgin, Hitting the Highspots with Matt Riddle, and An Officer & A Gentleman: Sami Calliahn.

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