PWG- Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 Review

Nine matches, three hours. Thanks PWG.
-Taped from Reseda, California
-Your hosts are Excalibur, two former Ring of Honor employees, a current Ring of Honor employee, a PWG referee,
-Excalibur warms the crowd up as he is prone to do. He encourages the fans to keep drinking. Makes sense. No bringing out of all the talent in t-shirts this year. How are we supposed to get a group photo? He runs down some of the matches taking place on this night. Aries gets a surprisingly big pop. Are they just not watching Ring of Honor? Young Bucks come down the aisle at the mention of their name. They say they have better things to do (TNA PPV the next night). Bucks say they’re the best tag team in the world. They claim to make a lot more money in Orlando. I call shenanigans on that. Matt Jackson wants Rick Knox to count them out. Excalibur says PWG thinks ahead and calls the Bucks snot-nosed brats. He’s shootin’. No double anything. There must be a winner. And it’s happening right now.
-2010 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match: Matt Jackson vs. Nick Jackson
Matt whispers in his brother’s ear. Double superkick on Knox. I guess that’s a double disqualification.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: No-contest/:50/N/R
-Should I even count this as the opening match of the tournament? I guess technically. More of an angle to set up what’s about to happen. This is also the first no-contest of any kind to take place during the history of the actual BOLA tournament.
-Cutler Brothers come down with a referee. They’re ready for a fight, and we have ourselves a bonus tag team match here on BOLA, night one.
-The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs. The Cutlers (Brandon and Dustin Cutler)
Cutlers starts quickly on the Bucks with fisticuffs. Nick tossed outside. Slingshot spinebuster by Dustin on Matt. They nearly get a tandem piledriver, but Matt escapes. Dustin dragged outside. Brandon hits a huge dive! OH MY! Here we go. Matt and Dustin back in the ring. Off the ropes. Matt gets a kick and Brandon is swept out of the ring. Back suplex by Dustin. Whip is met with a boot. Matt goes for an acecrusher, but Dustin crotches him. Rana from the top. Brandon hits a top rope elbow. Nick catches Brandon in a superkick while Matt nails Dustin in the head with a chair. Dropkick by Nick in the back. Dropkick to Brandon. Choke along the top rope. Amazing how they’ve slowed the pace down after the Cutlers went crazy to start the match.  Choke by Matt behind the referee’s back. Stomp by Nick. Matt Jackson mocks one Matt Hardy with a pose before elbowing Brandon in the arm. Even funnier now. Hopefully Matt Jackson doesn’t go crazy and start making wacky Youtube videos.  Stomp by Matt. Head first into the boots of Nick. Bodyslam by Matt. Springboard splash. Snapmare into a sitting abdominal stretch. Matt in with a right hands. Jabs. Brandon fires with shots of his own. Matt rams him back in the corner. Nick rams him in the corner multiple times before preventing Brandon from making the hot tag. More right hands by Mat. Choking by Nick. Slap to the back by Matt. Knocks Dustin off the apron. Brandon with a back elbow. Right hands to both Bucks. Punch by Matt. Dustin out of a back suplex and a hot tag. Matt in the air for a low blow. Facebuster on Nick. Slingshot spinebuster on Nick. Dropkick combination by the Bucks. NO SOLD! Double clothesline by Dustin. Powerbomb of Nick into Matt. Cutlers go for a double team. Bucks hit a double team acecrusher. Matt misses a dive. Nick misses a knee in the corner. Hung up on the ropes. Dustin puts him in the ring. Brandon accidentally leg drops  his brother. Baseball dropkick by Matt. Nick hits a dive. These two teams are so great. Spear by Matt on Brandon. Knees up. Nick sent into Brandon’s knees. Six second abs (double team lungblower) for two. Matt flips out of a clothesline and hits a twisting facebuster. Dustin and Matt Jackson tag in. Strike exchange. Kick to the midsection by Matt. Whip in the corner reversed. Superkick blocked. Matt gets a superkick. Running knee by Nick. Double team 450 splash. 1-2-NO!  Brandon breaks the count. Matt hits a superkick. Nick hits a superkick. Double superkick on Dustin. No sold. Nick’s foot sent into Matt. Double team piledriver reversed. Bucks lift Dustin. Superkick by Nick to the brain. Dustin finally lifts Matt up. TANDEM TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER! Cutlers FINALLY defeat the Young Bucks in a two-on-two tag team match.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Cuter Brothers/12:28/***1/2
-While this wasn’t technically the opening match, it may as well have been considering the opener was just a pretext to get both Bucks out of the tournament. Some great stuff all around from these two. It’s amazing how every match these teams have feels different. Different counters, moves, and combinations. I appreciate the work put in and hope the Cutlers can take those PWG tag titles soon. Also, the ending with the piledriver was awesome.
-2010 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match: Brandon Gatson vs. Ryan Taylor
Feeling out process. Taylor slaps Gatson in the face. Takedown to the outside. Back and forth outside the ring. Gatson gains control with a springboard acecrusher back in the ring. Whip takes Gatson over in the corner. Pair of kicks. High kick is blocked. Taylor bridges out. Leaping knee. STO from Gatson into a cross armbreaker. Strikes in the corner. Bodyslam. Whip in the corner. Springing elbow. Gatson blocks a foot. Forearm exchange. Gatson hits a straight dropkick. Abdominal stretch and a kick to the back. Chops by Gatson. Rake of the eyes by Taylor of his own. Irish whip which Gatson reverses. Spinning back elbow by Taylor. Shots by Gatson. Knee by Taylor. Round house kick misses. Kick to the back of the head by Gatson. Whip. Gatson takes a Flair flip. Huge clothesline sends Gatson end over end to the floor. Huge dive. Taylor’s back may have hit the floor. Irish whip. Gatson ducks and hits a DDT. Clothesline eventually takes Taylor over. Gatson hits a Sasuke special. Strike exchange on the apron. Leaping knee strike by Taylor. Wants the referee to count Gatson out. When Gatson rolls back in, Taylor yells at the referee. Gordbuster across the top rope. Forearm by Gatson. Boston crab in the ropes. High crossbody off the top rope. Elbow off the second rope. Neckbreaker and Gatson rolls over into a neckbreaker. Rolls over but Taylor blocks another neckbreaker. Springboard splash. Backbreaker. Strikes by Gatson. Clothesline ducked. Taylor hits a roundhouse kick. Gatson reverses a move. I can’t even see what happened there. Submission hold locked in by Taylor. Reverse triangle sleeper is what Excalibur called it. Go with that. Strike in the corner. Whip into the corner reversed. Taylor catches Gatson in a Go 2 Sleep. Pair of kicks. 1-2-NO! Gatson sends his opponent over. Punch to the back of the head. Springboard splash. Argentinean backbreaker into a DDT.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Brandon Gatson/13:58/***
-Match felt very clunky at sloppy times, particularly in the earlygoing. Once they settled down, the match turned out pretty well. These guys know each other from previous bouts, and it shows.
-2010 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match: Joey Ryan vs. Chuck Taylor
I smell comedy. Taylor and Ryan argue about Twitter to start. I’m not even joking. Series of shoulder tackles by Ryan. Clothesline over the top. Tope suicida. Chris Hero is amazed at the shape Ryan is in. I am as well. Ryan maintains control outside of the ring. Big right hands as they go around the ring. Ryan tries an ugly dive and misses. Kick to the back and a dropkick by Taylor. Shot to the chin and an elbow to the back. Butterfly suplex. Headscissors applied. Elbow drop by Ryan missed. Senton hits for Taylor. Headbutt. Double chops  in the corner. Choking in the corner. Ryan with a series of right hands. Knee by Taylor. Short slam. Quebrada misses. Taylor goes for soul food. Ryan hits a spear for two. Taylor charges and misses. Series of back elbows by Ryan. Taylor with a boot. Powerslam by Ryan. Taylor gets a boot up. Jumping DDT. Crossface camelwing into the chickenwing. Ryan puts his feet on the bottom rope. Ryan goes for a piledriver. Taylor takes him in the corner. Powerbomb reversed. Jack knife pin by Taylor gets a nearfall. Call for the finish. Ryan elbows out of it. Taylor hits a dropkick. Tope con helo wipes everyone out. Back in the ring. Taylor springboards into a Ryan spinebuster. Strike exchange. Knee by Taylor. Whip in the corner. Ryan takes him over. Kick to the back of the head. Guillotine across the back of Ryan’s head. Ryan hits a stunner. Back elbow by Taylor. Roll-up for two. Soul food. Ryan hits a superkick. Big boot by Taylor. Another superkick by Ryan. One more gets Ryan the win.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Joey Ryan/11:54/**1/2
-Not a whole lot to this match. It was perfectly acceptable but nothing extraordinary.
-2010 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match: Paul London (PWG world tag team champion)(w/Mr. Finnegan, the space salad owl) vs. Roderick Strong
Is Mr. Finnegan the first wrestling owl ever? And when is he going to wrestle Jack Swagger’s soaring eagle? Anyone who reads this in 2020 is going to be awfully confused by all these bird references. London is of course wearing his old tights with an enormous bulge emanating from his midsection area. London demands the referee search him. “Search his package” chant. Well done Reseda.  London makes him touch it. Mat wrestling to start. Crowd wants London to teabag Strong. The space owl remains observant as London applies a headscissors. Strong heads outside because of how close he was to London’s groinal area. London in the amateur wrestling position. He wants Strong on top. Strong is ever so careful and even spits in his hand. Waistlock. London up on his feet. Into the corner. Chop misses. Strong wipes his hand on the referee’s shirt. Crowd chants “penis.” Test of strength. London tries to bring Strong closer to his nether regions. Strong heads outside again. Strong with a kick that goes low. London says it was legal. This match is going to do wonders for London’s luck with the ladies. London with a waistlock takedown. Strong counters into a front facelock. London grapevines the legs. Indian deathlock. Strong teases the referee by going up and down and forcing him to count. Kickout into a roll-up. “Hybrid penis” chant. We have a winner for best chant. Close the polls. Arm work. Off the ropes. Strong roll-up for two. Headscissors by London. Front chancery. Another chop misses. London roll-up for two. Big chop. Chop to the face sends London outside. Chop to London. Another one but the owl is unfortunately the ones who eats it. London takes control. Bodyslam on the floor. Back in the ring. Springboard dropkick. Butterflies the arm. Strong turns it into a nearfall. Snapmare. Perfect neckbreaker off the second rope. Roll-up for two. Vertical suplex countered. Another roll-up by London. Bodyscissors into a two count. Leg lariat by London gets two. Snapmare into a chinlock. Shots to the midsection and a back elbow. Chop to the face. More chops. London with a legsweep. Sliding dropkick for two. Another pinfall for two. Strong with one of his own. London applies a camel clutch. Strong rolls over into a nearfall. Strong gets a boot up. Enziguri. Jumping knee. Forearm misses for London. Chops by Strong. Running forearm into the corner. Whip. Clothesline misses. Dropkick by London gets two. Strong tosses London to the floor. Places London on the apron. London with a punch. Knee to the midsection. Draping DDT for two. London heads to the top rope. Strong with a right hand. Battle on the top rope. Sick kick as London is on the top rope. Acecrusher gets two. Gutbuster reversed into a roll-up. London applies a stronghold. Strong roll-up for two. Takedown into a stronghold of his own. London remains in the hold for a minute or two before reaching the rope. UGH! JUST END THE MATCH! London claps his ankles against Strong’s head. Springboard whatever misses. Charge misses. Kick but London with another roll-up. Gutbuster but London out. Knee, sick kick, gutbuster. Slide sick kick. Finally, Strong picks up the win and advances to the next rope.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Roderick Strong/21:44/**
-This was 21 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. I have no idea what this was or was supposed to be, but a good match it sure wasn’t. I’m not going to sit here and say I didn’t laugh at some of the shenanigans contained in the first five minutes. So much absurdity and a good time was being had by all. The problem is there was no payoff to the gag of London having an enormous bulge in his pants, and I could almost forgive the lack of payoff if a good match happened. It did not. Whatever Paul London was in 2002 and 2003, he’s not anymore. I can’t think of a Roderick Strong match I’ve rated this low in a long long time. The best thing I can ultimately say about this match is the right guy won. May Paul London never be in another singles match in PWG again.
-2010 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Ricochet
These two have met in Chikara, but that was a lifetime ago. Claudio overpowers Ricochet to star. Back and forth they go with various holds. Off the ropes. Shoulder tackle by Ricochet. Does nothing. Tease of another shoulder tackle, but he hits a pair of dropkicks instead. Claudio takes him to the corner and puts him on the top rope. Slap to the face. Back and forth they go again. Ricochet with a slap. Sunset flip. Huge stomp puts Ricochet down. Forearm. Headscissors by Ricochet. Dive caught. Gutwrench slam ON THE APRON! Claudio lifts him back into the ring with ease. Armdrag by Ricochet. Off the ropes. Claudio counters a leaping DDT and just DROPS Ricochet on the mat. European uppercut. Forearm to the chest. Pulls him out and pins him for two. Vertical suplex turned into a small package. Knee strike and a pair of elbow drops.Leg drop to the back of Ricochet’s head. Knee drop before putting a knee in the back. Sunset flip. Claudio lifts RIcochet up and tosses him over his shoulder. Incedible. European uppercuts. Off the ropes and a bicycle kick. Another European uppercut. Ducks a charge. Knee by Claudio. Ricochet on Claudio’s shoulder. Bounces off the top rope and hits a hurancanrana. Double knees to the face. 1-2-NOOO! SWEET JEBUS! Kick to the face. Springboard caught. UFO! 1-2-NO! Big swing! Running European uppercut for two. Screwdriver submission but Ricochet quickly reaches the ropes. Chinbreaker and boot to the face by Ricochet. Headscissors. Claudio takes him over. Guilliotine on the top rope. Brings himself back in. Claudio tosses but Ricochet rolls through. Knee to the gut. Springboard front flip kick. Off the ropes. LARIAT! Ricochet goes inside/out. RIcola bomb… no! Sunset flip! 1-2-NO! Superkick to the midsection. One to the face. Headbutt by Claudio. Pop-up European uppercut! 1-2-NO! Into a submission hold where every limb is wrapped up. Wow.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Claudio Castagnoli/12:04/***3/4
-Immediate “Please come back” chants for Ricochet. I think PWG management will oblige.
-One of the more innovative matches of 2010. Even though these two have met before, this match felt fresh. Claudio showed off his power. Ricochet showed off his speed and balance. I loved the dichotomy involved with this match. Ricochet was the underdog but refused to die. Claudio proved to be too much in the end. Best match of the night so far.
-2010 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match: Austin Aries vs. Rocky Romero
Austin Aries tells everyone cheering for him to shut their mouths. Seriously, after his horrendous match with Brian Kendrick the year before, why is he being brought back?  Chants  of “We aren’t sorry.”  These fans come up with some of the best chants ever. Lock-up but Aries does the “azucar” dance. Feeling out process. Romero nearly locks in a cross armbreaker. Aries headlock. Goes for a roll-up. Romero ties himself in. Aries takes a walk on the outside. Romero with a headlock. Aries takes him in the corner with an elbow. Whip in the corner. Aries wraps himself up and invites Romero to grab his hand. Announcers make “Lady of the Lake” references. I’m confused. Romero rakes the eyes with his feet. Kick to the midsection and snap suplex. Along the ropes. Aries with a pair of overhand chops. He blows on his hand. Romero reverses with chops of his own. Snapmare and a kick to the back. Wrings the arm. Kicks to the chest. Headlock. Irish whip. Series of ducks. Romero with a flying cross armbreaker. That was cool. Aries does get to the ropes though. Aries goes for a handshake. Knox obliges. Romero hesitates. Aries goes for a kick. Romero has an enziguri blocked but does get a side kick. He dances. More dancing. Aries demands music. The fans hum a tune so Aries can dance. Fans not approving of the dancing skills of the former Ring of Honor champion. Romero with an impressive dance. Romero shucks and jives some more. Big left hand. Rakes across the face. Irish whip and a back elbow. Diving elbow drop for two. Twists Romero into a pretzel. Into a nearfall. Back rake. Kicks to the leg by Romero. Aries gets a dragons crew leg whip. Knee DDT. Flips over and drives Romero’s knee into the mat. Claps the hands. Body shot. Forearms. Charging forearm into a nearfall. Bodyslam and a fist drop. Strike exchange. Romero comes out on top. Kick by Romero. Knee by Aries. Headlock and a thumb to the eye. Romero leap frogs under and sends Aries down face first. High kicks. Irish whip. Romero catches himself in the ropes. Aries dive misses. Sliding dropkick by Romero. Right hand. Off the apron with a knee strike. Aries crumples into some chairs. Back into the ring. Knees into the corner. Whip. Romero with a forearm. Aries hits a forearm. Goes for a superplex. Romero tosses him off. Leapfrog off the middle rope. Aries sends Romero over head first into the top turnbuckle. Running dropkick attempt met with a boot in the face. Running high knee for two. Cross armbreaker. Aries locks himself in the ropes. Kick to the spine. 818 blocked. Aries dumps him. Missile dive met with knees. Leaping DDT. That was awkward. Whip in the corner. Aries takes him over. Romero armdrags him into the middle turnbuckle. To the top rope. Romero goes for a flying cross armbreaker again. Aries holds on. Missile dropkick hits Romero flush. Running dropkicking the corner. Cover  for two. Last chancery. Knees to the head. Up on their feet. Romero blocks and hits a jumping knee. Strike exchange. Romero goes for punches. Forearm by Aries. Block and a knee breaker into the back suplex. Another running dropkick. Brainbuster blocked. Cross armbreaker. Aries rolls over and applies last chancery. Romero kicks his ankle. Triangle sleeper. Aries drops him down. Punt to the head. Brainbuster gets Aries the win in another long match.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Austin Aries/20:06/**3/4
-Every match seriously feels like it’s going about three hours long, and it’s showing. Crowd isn’t as into this show as they have been in previous ones. Romero and Aries had a solid if unspectacular match. Not much more can be said. I think having them go 20 minutes was a huge mistake because of how long a number of other matches on this show have gone. I think PWG shows turn out best when they go no longer than about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Right  now, we’re on pace to eclipse that by a wide margin unless the next three matches go less than 40 minutes.
-2010 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match: Brandon Bonham vs. Brian Cage
Interesting placement for this match. Not exactly two of the bigger names, but I was mildly impressed by Brian Cage. I thought Cage was headed to WWE. Anyone with knowledge about these things, please e-mail me what the deal is. Cage attacks before the bell rings. Series of forearms. Bonham blocks an Irish whip. Knee by Cage. Bonham leg lariat doesn’t hit. Sitting flatliner by Cage. Forearm exchange. Bonham slides out of the ring. Baseball dropkick by Cage. Back in the ring. Stretches him out. Sunset flip but Bonham rolls through and kicks Cage in the face. Backbreaker. Flips him over and tosses him down. Irish whip and Cage guillotines him along the top rope. Gordbuster on the top rope. Kick to the face. Two count. More kicks while holding the arm. Rams Bonham into the corner. Shoulder tackles and chops. Irish whip and a tilt a whirl slam. Shots to the midsection by Bonham. Whip chest first goes Bonham. Charge met by boots. Bonham springboards but Cage turns it into a spinebuster. Sitting abdominal stretch. Down into a pin for two. Kick to the midsection. Knee. Gutbuster. Headbutt. Series of strikes in the corner. Knee to the head. Bonham up and over. Forearms. Springboard stunner for two. Cage drags Bonham down by the hair. Double chops . Bonham on the apron. Cage climbs to the middle rope and suplexes him over. That was different. Knee to the back. Punch exchange. Kick by Cage. Backbreaker. Knee off an Irish whip. He uses the foot to choke Bonham. Irish whip. Bonham roll-up. Up. Cage counters, powers him up, and drops him. Reverse Boston crab. Bonham grabs the ropes. Chops by Bonham. Forearm. Irish whip. Dropkick attempt. Cage drops him. Off the ropes and Bonham rolls through… with something. No idea what the hell happened there. Punch to the midsection and a kick to the side of the head. Cage placed on the top rope. Kicks by Bonham. One more leaping kick. Hesitation dropkick. Cage too close to the ropes. Bonham pulls him out, covers, but only gets two. irish whip. Cage rolls under. Bonham rolls under. Cuthroat exploder by Bonham. 1-2-NO! Irish whip. Cage sends him over and nails a discus lariat. Pumphandle slam for two. Bonham counters out of snake eyes. Angle slam for two. into the corner for more chops. Cage placed on the top rope. They battle. Gordbuster. Moonsault off the top for two. Cage goes for a powerbomb. Kick to the head. Hammer of the Gods. 1-2-NO! Another hammer of the Gods. 1-2-3.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Brandon Bonham/14:41/***
-Good match between two of the young guns in PWG. Cage has shown a lot in two appearances even though he looks more  like someone TNA and WWE would be interested in. Don’t let looks fool you. Cage has the potential to be a very good performer for many years to come in PWG. Very enjoyable little. Unfortunately, with the exception of one match, I haven’t been overly impressed with anything else on night one.
-2010 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match: El Generico (PWG world tag team champion) vs. Akira Tozawa
Generico versus Japanese men tends to equal magic. See what happens here. Speaking of magic, Chuck Taylor is on commentary with Excalibur. Lock-up goes to the corner. OLE! Another lock-up. Tozawa flips over and screams. Headlock by Generico. Sent off and a shoulder tackle. Tozawa goes for the flying hip attack. Generico sees it coming. Headlock by Tozawa. Lots of screaming as well. Irish whip and a shoulder tackle. Generico goes for a flying hip attack. Settles for three armdrags in a row. Stomps in the corner. Strikes in the corner. Ten punches in the corner. One more chop. Forearm exchange. Irish whip and a leg lariat by Generico. Chop exchange. Generico off the ropes. Flying hip attack. Pair of dropkicks. No hands tope to the outside. Stomp to the back of the head. Generico sent into the buckle head first. More chops. Choking along the bottom rope. Cravat. Knee strikes. Snapmare into a chinlock. Knee and Generico kicked down. Standing senton. Sitting abdominal stretch into a roll-up for two. Forearm exchange. Tozawa appears to come out the winner until Generico clotheslines him over the top. Tope con helo. OLE! Clothesline ducked into a blue thunder powerbomb by Generico. Two count. Kicks by Tozawa. Michinoku driver nearly ends Tozawa’s life. Tozawa takes Generico into the corner. Running forearm. Generico goes for a running yakuza kick. Backdrop driver by Tozawa. Generico takes him over. Head first Generico goes. Headbutt off the apron for two. Waistlock in the corner. Forearm. Generico placed on the top rope. Dive but Tozawa gets his knees up. Waistlock reversals. Generico with a yakuza kick. Tozawa hits a bicycle kick. Generico with another yakuza. Rana by Tozawa. Rolls through and a shining wizard leads to a two count. Colliding forearms. Both men not doing very well. Forearm by Generico. Whip in the corner. Generico hits an exploder into the corner. Half nelson suplex.1-2-NO! He calls for the top rope brainbuster. He pulls Tozawa’s tights down. They battle. Awkward moment as they sort of fall. Tozawa manages to guillotine Generico on the top rope. Tozawa to the top rope. Generico catches him with a yakuza kick. Tozawa out again. German suplex. 1-2-NO! Crowd getting behind Tozawa. Shots across the head and a dropkick by Tozawa. Deadlift German suplex attempt. Generico slaps him in the face. Put of the brainbuster. Tozawa hits a deadlift German suplex. Generico doesn’t appear to get his shoulder up, but the referee only counts two. He clutches the arms, hits another deadlift German suplex, and provides us with the upset of the tournament so far as Tozawa advances into the next round
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Akira Tozawa/17:58/***
-Very clunky match. There were some really fun sequences and moves throughout, but it seemed like Tozawa and Generico were wrestling on different planes at other times. A bit of a disappointment, and it seems like that’s been the story of the entire tournament so far.
-2010 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match: Christopher Daniels vs. Chris Hero
I should just mark an approximate time, give a star rating of ***1/4-***1/2 and see if anyone notices. Chris Hero was basically a different wrestler the last time these two met one-on-one back in Ring of Honor in late 2006. They also met in PWG at All Star Weekend – Night Two in late April 2005. Daniels wants a handshake. Hero obliges. Fans chant “Fuck TNA.” Daniels gets them to chant “PWG.” A wise man that Daniels. Feeling out process. “Chris is awesome” chant. Nice. We get a headlock/cravat battle. Hero even swings Daniels out by the cravat. Hero lets Daniels back in as a way of showing sportsmanship. Hero wants a handshake. Daniels slaps him in the face. Elbows by Hero. Off the ropes and a hard back elbow. Whip in the corner. Daniels makes Hero eat boot. Running boot. Elbow to the back of Hero’s head. Chop by Hero. Thrust to the throat by Daniels. Choking along the middle rope. Stomps. Continued strikes. Back suplex. Rakes the eyes. Elbow by Hero. Continued strikes. Thumb to the eyes sends Hero to the third row. Daniels with more strikes on the outside. Back inside for a modified camel clutch by Daniels. Forearm by Daniels. Shot to the back. Hero small package for two. Another roll-up for two. Double chops by Daniels. Bulldog on to the top rope. Headscissors. Kicks to the face. Punches to the midsection by Hero. Strike exchange. Snap suplex by Daniels. Arabian moonsault immediately into the crossface. Steps on the back of Hero’s neck while flipping fans out. Who does he think he is? Super Dragon. Daniels to the top. Hero slams him down and kicks him in the side of the head. Running forearm followed by a yakuza kick. Suplexbomb. Cravat. Series of knee strikes. Boot misses. Hero into the cravat. Lifts Daniels off his feet. Drops him down and gets two. Palm strike while Daniels on the top. Cravat but Daniels shoves him away. Leapfrog. Enziguri. Places Hero on the top rope and a palm strike of his own. Iconoclasm. 1-2-no. Daniels rams Hero into the middle turnbuckle. STO. Uranagi. Best. Moonsault. Not doing it. Hero roll-up and nearly gets three. Goes for Hero’s welcome. Daniels goes for a backslide. Hero rolls through and gets a Ligerbomb. 1-2-NO! Daniels with a kick to the midsection. Angel’s wings. 1-2-NO! Series of chops. Hero off the ropes with a roaring elbow. 1-2-NO! Daniels with a slap. Hero with a boot. Elbow misses. Daniels snapmares him. Hero with a counter  into Hero’s Welcome. Then into a Dragon sleeper. DANIELS TAPS!
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Chris Hero/18:18/***1/2
-This is pretty much what I expected from these two. It was a fine match and actually shorter than a lot of what else has been on the show. Pretty amazing how that works. Not sure this was a main event level match, but it was still decent  and didn’t insult my intelligence…unlike certain matches which took place this evening.
-Christopher Daniels wants a microphone. He puts Hero over, puts PWG over, puts everyone over. It’s just a big old lovefest between Christopher Daniels and Chris Hero.
Final Thoughts: I always say I don’t like to evaluate an entire tournament based on one night because it’s the completist in me. I was disappointed in many of the matches that took place on night one. Everything seemed to be off. The crowd wasn’t into everything like they usually are. It never felt like this show got into any sort of rhythm or flow. There was a lot of sloppiness in combination with matches going way too long. I think it’s fitting that the two best matches were also the shortest. Still, there would be enough to give this a minor thumbs up as a standalone show. Thankfully, I’ve got what will hopefully be a better night two on the docket coming up soon.
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