Pro Wrestling Guerrilla "All-Star Weekend Night 1"
April 1, 2005 at the Jewish Community Center of Los Angeles, California
450 Fans in Attendance, With Optional Commentary by Disco Machine and Excalibur

Top Gun Talwar, Hook Bomberry, Ronin, and Davey Richards vs. Disco Machine, Excalibur, Phoenix Star, and Zokre

The point of this match? Nothing, really, just 8 man mayhem to "break in" the fans. And introduce Davey Richards, who is debuting. To that effect, each man brings his share of offense, but most of this can be classified as standard segments interspersed with stiff shots and the occasional multi-man highspot. The finishing spot is a treat, though, as Excalibur nails a bridging German suplex to Top Gun Talwar, only for Davey Richards to go up top and hit a Shooting Star Press onto Excalibur for the win.

Analysis: Solid and entertaining, nothing was done really well or different, but it's what I've come to expect from the opening match of an independent event: not so great, but not bad by any means, and pretty entertaining. The spots were flashy enough to get over with the crowd, the actual wrestling and occasional stiffness was enough to make it a solid match, but the overall tendency to not try as hard to craft a memorable match and only hit stiff strikes and highspots relegates it to first-match status. All told, this match was a good (and at times great) way to open the show, but little else. **¾

Chris Sabin vs. Chris Hero

Nothing too extraordinary in the opening moments: basic mat wrestling, test of strength's, flippy armwringer reversals, etc. Hero wears down Sabin's arm in a variety of grapples and submissions, while Sabin opts to go another route to pick apart an appendage (Sabin chooses Hero's head) by using some very impactful, do-or-die moves. To that effect, Sabin hits several stiff shots, including a sick Enzugiri, and a very nice brainbuster that gets 2½. The crutch, of course, is that Sabin can only dish out so much high-impact punishment before he tires himself out, and all the while Hero bides his time, absorbs the punishment, and continues to slowly and methodically break down Sabin's arm. In the end, Hero ends up with the better plan of action, as he finally gets Sabin to tap out to a Crossface-like maneuver.

Analysis: A good story, and at times a very good technical match. Yet, honestly, my interest varied from bored to mildly piqued until the halfway of the match. Both men used clever psychology, but little flow. In essence, they knew what to do, but sometimes they didn't know how to do it. The best example I could think of to illustrate my point would be when both men are doing a wonderful job telling the story of how their different ways of wearing down each other are both working and not working, yet at times they seem unsure of what to do next in terms of actual moves. Also, honestly, sometimes they didn't look like they were trying that hard. Once the men found the yin (the actual match in terms of wrestling moves) to their perspective yang (knowing how to tell a good psychological story in terms of selling), the match really picked up, but they sure did take long enough. ***

Jonny Storm vs. Petey Williams

Canada meets England! Mother country versus colony!Who will win??? More importantly, will I care? Surprisingly, I do. Petey Williams plays a surprisingly good tweener, although it's a bit more akin to heel-that-thinks-he's-a-face, while Storm didn't have much of a notable character in this match but was still over since everyone hated Petey and Storm was pretty good anyway. A classic segment was when both men were down, Storm was obviously being cheered heavily, and Petey groggily gets up and says "Come on! I'm feeding off your energy!" As one could guess, both men are soon busting out athletic maneuvers and stiff shots that get increasingly close near falls. In the end, Jonny reverses an Avalanche Canadian Destroyer into a Sitout Hurricanrana for the win.

Analysis: A very entertaining (surprisingly solid?) match. Both men found a very nice pace for what they were doing, although mid-match onward relied a bit too heavily on highspots. While Petey played a good character and Storm was excellent in playing up the pain he was in when Petey had control of the match, the psychology was a bit lacking, and the "big" moves never really ended up affecting the grand scheme of the match. Despite some obvious flaws, though, I'm fine with something that's decent as a match and highly entertaining as a spectacle. ***

The Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero) vs. Kendo KaShin and Puma

The story is your basic "long-time tag team" vs. "two people that are good, but just have never teamed up together" shtick. That said, KaShin asks to be referred to as "Dragon Solider B", but I'll still label him as Kendo KaShin because that's just how badass I am. Or maybe it's just because I hate that name. Both teams dabble in a bit of both heel and face work, like when Puma wards off Kendo's heelish tactics only to occasionally give in, evidenced when Puma puts Romero in a Tree of Woe position and teases a dropkick, only to nail Romero in the nardsack. The Pitbulls nail their double-team offense to good effect, and Kendo works in a good comedy moment when he saves Puma from defeat by yanking the ref's foot and claiming that a nearby camera guy did it. After both teams get their fair share of nearfalls, Rocky Romero hits a rollup for the win.

Analysis: Good, but I think it went a bit longer than it should have. Some parts were very good, but others felt like nothing else but filler. KaShin played a good dickhead heel, Romero and Reyes played good "cheat to win" heels, and Puma played a good "eventually gives in to the dark side" heel. In fact, the best aspect of the match was just seeing four mean guys be mean to each other. Not generic, but not too exceptional, and while it did go longer than it should have, sometimes it was done just right. ***

James Gibson vs. "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson

Both men chain wrestle a bit, with Gibson taking Dragon by surprise with an armbar, only for Bryan to use the immense power granted to him by his beard to power out of it. Dragon focuses on tearing apart Gibson's back, while James seems transfixed by Dragon's magical beard and attempts to wear down its magicalness by laying into Dragon's head. Bryan dips into a bit of the heel work, with a less than nice face pull for an added effect to his submission, only to get angry at the official for nearly disqualifying him and saying "I have 'till five, referee." Both men then spend several long, blissful minutes building up a match slowly and methodically while all the while keeping the audience in the palm of their hands. Dragon eventually hits the Dragon Suplex, and rolls into the Cattle Mutilation, only for Gibson to get to the ropes. American Dragon starts an airplane spin, and gets in forty revolutions before letting go. Yes, forty. I got dizzy just watching. Gibson and Danielson sell it expertly, with Dragon dropkicking a turnbuckle while Noble grabs the referee, gets him in a small package, and then acts like he's won. After going through some chain pins, Noble emerges victorious.

Analysis: As one would expect, two great wrestlers that wrestle great together. The match was fantastic, with an awesome story that mixed both Noble's redneck tenacity and Dragon's semi-arrogance into a near-perfect package, while the psychology was slow and methodic and yet never produced a dull moment. Point-blank, I disliked virtually nothing about this match, and anything wrong would just fall under nit-picking. A real testament to both men's skills. ***¾

"The Future" Frankie Kazarian and the Aerial Express (Scorpio Sky and Quicksilver) vs. Arrogance (Scott Lost and Chris Bosh) and Joey Ryan

Pre-match, Arrogance cuts one of their great, racist promo's. Cheap heat, but done well. All six men seem to be specializing in double-team maneuvers, as they come into play constantly. Arrogance and Ryan nail a good triple-team move on Kazarian when Ryan and Lost hit a double arm drag, which Frankie counters by landing on his feet, only for Chris Bosh to punch Kazarian in the crotch and hold the pose ala an Ass Punch. In the insane spot of the night, Bosh and Ryan hit dual powerbombs to the Aerial Express, who were standing on the second rope, which in turn allows the Express to hit an Avalanche Backdrop to Scott Lost, which in turn allows Lost to execute a superplex to Kazarian. It gets a more-than-warranted "Holy ****" chant. In another insane moment, Kazarian hits the Flux Capacitator on Lost off the second rope and to the outside, onto everyone else, including the Express's manager and even the referee. Kazarian ends up with a decisive victory after hitting simultaneous Wave of the Future's on both members of Arrogance.

Analysis: The first quarter of the match was pretty standard, with the remaining 75% a big spotfest, but one that was well strung together, at the very least. Nobody was really "colorless", as they all brought a unique attitude to the match, but at certain times, every last individual felt a bit bland. Even so, the numerous "impact" moments were pretty original and nicely orchestrated without being too redundant. The team-on-team interaction was nice, and while it didn't exactly beat out Gibson/Daniels, realistically, it couldn't. And I think all six men knew that, which lead to a good match, as all six went out and wrestled the type of match that showed only a few of their flaws while being wildly entertaining at many points. ***¼

TNA X-Division Championship Match: "The Fallen Angel" (c) Christopher Daniels vs. Alex Shelley

Both men had a lot to prove going into this match, and get to doing just that with some huge moves. To start, Shelley tries a lariat but walks right into an Exploder Suplex, only to respond with a sickening and twisting Fisherman Buster. From there, it only gets more brutal. Both men hit a lot of hard offense, with neither emerging the clear victor and both emerging badly weakened by the end of their power-fest. They end up going into a series of rollups, with Daniels pulling out the victory.

Analysis: A very worthy encounter, for both men. The finish made perfect sense, as both men really wore each other down and looked to be on the verge of collapsing by the time it was over. To that effect, the match was very dramatic, and even more intense. Both men played their individual characters to a tee, without having to delve too heavily into heel or face tactics. Although the match had little flaws, nothing was really revolutionary. I've come to expect a certain measure of quality from both men, and while they didn't go above and beyond, they did deliver everything I expected them to and even a little bit more. ***¼

#1 Contendership Match for the PWG Championship: "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

AJ starts out, surprisingly, by manhandling the Samoan Submissionist with moves like a body slam, suplex, and even a backbreaker. Of course, AJ hits the kip-up rana, but it soon comes back to haunt him as it allows Joe to slide out of the ring and regain his composure. Joe then dominates AJ in a manner most stiff, including a brutal Face Wash and his lethal kicks and chops. Joe even counters a rollup attempt by AJ into a rear naked choke. AJ counters with the Stylin' DDT off the top rope, but is eventually caught and STO'D after attempting a clothesline into the corner. AJ gets increasingly desperate, and while he actually begins putting holes in the big man's armor, Joe is always ready to respond with his brute strength. In another great segment, Joe hits a sickening lariat of a nearly Stan Hansen-level of brutality, and AJ literally looks like he's been killed when Joe pins him, even though AJ kicks out. After another crazy stiff-fest and some signature moves from both men, AJ is able to reverse the Muscle Buster and hit the Styles Clash to pick up the win.

Analysis: This would be my first AJ/Joe match, so it might suffer from a "first time" bit of over-rating. I honestly wouldn't know, but I do know I really liked what I saw. If I could describe it in one word, it would be "brutastic". Possibly "stifftacular". Both men were just brutal with each other, and stringed together some amazing sequences. There was plenty of stiffness, but maybe too much at times. Everything was really believable, and the story told was very good, making a very high-octane, emotional match that quickly pulled me in and never once let my attention slip. ***½

PWG Championship Match: Super Dragon (c) vs. "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen vs. El Generico

Both Dragon and Steen stare each other down, and simply exude raw hatred. El Generico hams it up by butting in and trying to force both of them to notice him, only to get shoved away. All three men then stiff each other quite crazily, and continuously interrupt each other's pin attempts. A good opening segment is when Generico tries his Tornado DDT, only for Steen to counter into a vicious backbreaker. For most of the match, Dragon/Steen feed off their raw hatred of each other, Steen/Generico focus on how they know each other very well, and Dragon/Generico capitalize on how Generico is a never-say-die type of wrestler, which allows Dragon to bust out his stiffest offense. To that effect, Dragon hits a combination dropkick/senton to Generico and Steen, Steen and Generico counter a lot of each other's offense and even use each other's moves, and Generico is blasted with two sickening Curbstomps. All three men hit their finishers at different points of the match, with Generico getting his in first and nailing one of the sickest turnbuckle brainbusters I've ever seen him hit, which Super Dragon sells wonderfully. Steen is next, hitting the Package Piledriver to Generico after having to endure some very painful Generico offense. Super Dragon busts his finisher out last, after incapacitating Steen, and destroys El Generico with a sickening, neck-shattering Psycho Driver that allows Dragon to pick up the win and retain his championship.

Analysis: Like Joe/Styles (but in a league all its own, of course), most of the match was good from bell to bell and sickeningly brutal for nearly its entire entirety. All three men just obliterated each other from the time the Steen/Dragon stare-off ended to when Generico got spiked on his head like a football. Not much flow or psychology, but more than enough to keep me from blasting the inner workings of the match too much. Nothing seemed far-fetched or out of place, but at times I felt like all three relied too heavily on neck and head bumps and could've really shown their diversity if they wanted to. Yet they simply wanted to focus on trying to kill each other, and to that effect, it was a classic encounter, a welcome treat, and a very, very worthy main event. ***½

Final Thoughts: Preached as one of the best events to "break into" PWG, I can now personally verify those claims since this was my first event, and not only am I impressed, I'm also hooked. PWG has a charm all its own- to best describe it, everyone feels unique even though I've watched them many other times. It brings together the wildly popular and brings out the best of them, while supplementing those great talents with some home-brewed stars that even out the ranks and balance everything perfectly. Think of it this way: I didn't consider Danielson one of ROH's biggest players, even though he was. I didn't think of Steen and Generico as two of the biggest Canadian imports on the scene, which they are. When they stepped into the PWG ring, that's what they felt like: PWG wrestlers. There's no denying it: PWG isn't the ROH of California. They're not the anything of California. They're PWG. And they ****ing rock.

Which is why this gets my personal stamp of approval, a very recommended watching to fans of PWG and newcomers alike, and a more-than-deserved ***½