-Taped from Reseda, CA
-Your hosts are Excalibur and the usual band of jackals
Match in Five Words or Less: Getting Their Shit In Early
Match Highlights: Immediate brawling between both teams. Goodtime dropkicks Cage-Taylor out of the ring. He climbs to the top rope. Cage pulls him to the outside. Yuma blocks Taylor with an elbow strike. Cage-Taylor drops Goodtime head first on the apron. Tope suicida by Taylor. Cage-Taylor hits a leg lariat on Yuma as he attempts a dive of his own. Goodtime hits a headscissors on Taylor. Cage-Taylor sent into the post. Yuma hits a pescado but gets caught. Yuma dives on all three men. Keep in mind. We’re five minutes into the show. Some innovative double team work from the Monsters. Goodtime uses Yuma as a battering ram. Taylor and Cage-Taylor hit a quick series of moves to get the advantage. Yuma hits a running DDT on Taylor. Cage-Taylor tosses Yuma to the outside. Stalling vertical suplex on Goodtime. He starts squatting before dropping him. Heat segment on Goodtime continues. Cage-Taylor hits a twisting springboard moonsault! Good God. Yuma has to break the count, but he gets tossed again. Hot tag to Yuma. Elbows. Cage-Taylor rams Yuma into the corner. Taylor hits a running dropkick to the face. Yuma with slaps. Knee to the midsection and a kick to the back. Kick by Cage-Taylor. Camel clutch. Quick roll-up for two. Blind tag. Ugly O’Connor roll by Yuma. Yeesh. Kick from Taylor. He hesitates and delivers a kick to the chest. Yuma hits a fisherman’s suplex. Cage-Taylor blocks the tag. Goodtime takes Taylor out. Enziguri by Yuma. Goodtime hits a German suplex. Falcon arrow. 1-2-NO! Uppercut and a low kick by Taylor. Mushroom stomp/neckbreaker combo from the Monsters. Goodtime lifts Yuma for a battering ram. Cage-Taylor lifts them both up in a suplex. Wow. Yuma with strikes on both men. Facebuster blocked. Atomic drop by Taylor leads to the discus lariat by Cage-Taylor. 1-2-NO! Yuma gets a boot out of the corner. Goodtime hits a bicycle kick on Taylor. Yuma gets a roll-up for two. Taylor kicks Goodtime and leg sweeps Yuma. Axe kick misses. Double team DVD. Taylor rolls out of the ring. Miscommunication. Enziguri/cutter combination finally lead to victory for the RockNES Monsters.
Match Analysis: Boy, was PWG not messing around on this night. Right away, we get a very good match to begin this tournament. Oddly enough, as improved as Goodtime and Yuma have been, Brian Cage-Taylor looked like the standout performer. He’s developing a connection with the crowd and has a great moveset which he seems to add to every month. It helps he’s a freaking machine. Until he undoubtedly gets signed by WWE because of his look, I hope PWG uses him well.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: RockNes Monsters/13:09/***1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: A Shocking Win?
Match Highlights: O’Reilly and Sky begin. Ryan nails O’Reilly from behind and hits a powerbomb. Drunk slam from Sky gets two. Cole has no chance to save his partner. Spear by Ryan and Sky covers for two. Ryan tosses Cole again. Kick on Sky and an enziguri by O’Reilly. Back elbows by Cole as he makes the save for his partner. Whip reversed. Back elbow and a leg lariat off the middle rope. Right hands from Future Shock. Ryan shoves his partner and meets the same fate. Sky shoves Ryan and tells them to stop. Double kicks. Knee by O’Reilly. Kick to the back. O’Reilly hits a running leg lariat. Knee drop by O’Reilly. Double team flapjack. Double dropkicks. Back elbow by O’Reilly on Sky. Into Cole’s boot goes Sky. Bodyslam. Sky hits a running rana. Ryan hits a series of stomps. Crowd chants “L.A. Dodgers” since Ryan is an Angels fan. Future Shock go back to punching Ryan back and forth. Ryan brings Cole into the corner. Heat segment on Cole. Cole out of a suplex. He rolls to the corner and makes the tag. Boot by O’Reilly on Sky. Fast combo of moves ends with a leg sweep. Dynasty misses a clothesline and gets double leg whipped. O’Reilly hits a dropkick off the ropes on both men and gets two on Ryan. Sliding dropkick on both men. O’Reilly pulls the middle rope down so Cole can hit a tope suicida. Big boot to the side of the face on Ryan. He puts him on the top rope. Back suplex. Big splash by Cole gets two. Boot by Sky and a dropkick. Double team codebreaker/samoan drop. Sky hits a boot. Suplex blocked. Pele kick by Cole. Boot by Sky. Double big boots. Regalplex by O’Reilly gets two. Back and forth with right hands. Double superkick by Future Shock. Ryan superkicks Cole. Crucifix pin by Sky gets two. Bicycle knee into the superkick. Cole hits a superkick on Ryan. Superkick on Sky while he’s in the firemen’s carry position. Discus lariat gets the win for Future Shock.
Match Analysis: This was a little sloppy in spots but still very enjoyable. I like that instead of following the formula of tag team matches that each match is trying to break up the monotony. So far, we’ve started hot and heavy with both. Good pace and flow to the tournament so far. I only wish Future Shock was able to stay a team in other promotions.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Future Shock/11:39/***1/4
Match in Five Words or Less: Bring On The Violence!
Match Highlights: Strong and Mack start out slow since they’ve met twice before, and these are two completely new teams. Sloppy running Rana by Mack. Exchange of armdrags. Forearm and chop. Mack hits a running kick. Callihan knocks Generico off the apron and attacks Mack. Mack sent hard into the corner. Strong sent running with a forearm. Clothesline by Callihan. Double vertical suplex. Hard forearm to the back on Mack. Over for a cover and two. Callihan picks Mack up by the mouth. Series of chops. Mack gets angry and begins no-selling chops. Shots to the face. Enziguri by Mack. Generico misses a clothesline. Takedown by Callihan. Fake dive and a leg lariat by Generico. Ole! Right hand in the corner. Strong breaks up the punches in the corner. Elbow on Strong. Chop for Callihan. “Si!” chants. Choke in the corner on Callihan. Slaps by Mack. Running back elbow and a hard forearm in the corner. Mack tries doing a tribute to Human Tornado, but Roddy Strong will have none of that. Generico drop toeholds Strong in the corner. Both Generico and Mack dance around before hitting low kicks. Generico and Tornado were of course 2 Skinny Black Guys. Mack hits a palm strike on Callihan on the top rope. Callihan blocks a superplex. Sunset bomb blocked. Superkick to the knee and Mack falls hard. Strong works Mack’s knee and chops at him in the corner. Callihan and Strong maintain control. Callihan distracts Generico as Strong rams Mack’s knee into the side of the ring. Callihan and Strong are showing tremendous chemistry. Series of running boots by Callihan. Mack hits a mini-pounce. Generico hits a series of clotheslines on Callihan. Cross body off the top rope. Strong with clubbering blows. Mack hits a hard forearm as Generico tosses him. Blue thunder powerbomb on Callihan. Yakuza but Strong pulls him back. Callihan hits one of his own. MDX by Mack. Forearm by Strong. Yakuza by Generico. Half nelson suplex on Callihan gets two. Callihan hits a back drop driver on Generico. Running forearm by Strong. Boot by Callihan into the drunk slam by Strong. He kicks Mack out of the ring. Generico sent into the corner. Exploder into the corner on Callihan. Strong catches Generico. Kick by Callihan into the backbreaker. Rolling cover gets two. Mack tosses Callihan out of the ring. Forearm by Strong. Mack hits a Laurinitis crusher. Generico hits a brainbuster. Done.
Callihan accepts Kevin Steen’s open challenge for the PWG world championship later tonight. At least he didn’t hit the microphone against his head.
Match Analysis: There was a bit of a slower pace to this match as opposed to the first two, but that doesn’t mean this wasn’t the best match of the first round so far. Maybe it’s because of Strong and Generico, but Callihan looked awesome here. He was crisp and connected on everything. Callihan takes a lot of guff on Pro Wrestling Ponderings, but he’s put on a series of solid performances in countries across the world the last 9-10 months. Mack did not look strong early but came around.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: 2 Husky Black Guys/17:05/***3/4
Match in Five Words or Less: Upset City
Match Highlights: The Super Smash Brothers have won exactly one match in their PWG career while the Young Bucks have probably won at least 50, including multiple PWG tag team title defenses. Matt spits in Uno’s face right away. It is worth nothing the Young Bucks have been in the finals of this tournament three years in a row, including two overall tournament victories. Nick Jackson continually tells Stupefied to suck it. Stupefied does the same motion. They take turns working the arm. Headscissors by Stupefied. He catches Matt with a sledge. Uno comes in for a double team back elbow. Moonsault/fist drop combination. Uno claps his hands against Matt’s head. Bodyslam. Pose. Matt gets bodyslammed. Double stomps. Pose. Uno hits a diving spear. Vertical suplex. Headbutt to the midsection by Uno. Jawbreaker by Nick. Right hands as Matt tags in. Uno hits a shoulder stunner and gets two. Chops. Nick sweeps Uno’s legs but begs off. Headscissors by Matt and Nick hits a dropkick. He rams Uno’s shoulder into the side of the ring. Choking. Shoulder blocks in the corner. Uno claps but has his eyes raked. Stomps from Matt. Continued shoulder work by the Bucks. Matt uses the back rake. Nick trips off the top rope as he celebrates. Knees from Matt. Right hands. Boot blocked. He uses Rick Knox for help and hits an enziguri. Matt rams Uno in the corner. Uno hits a back elbow. Matt tossed outside. Big boot by Nick. Matt sweeps Stupefied off the corner to prevent a hot tag. That was sweet. Uno hits a flatliner on Nick. Stupefied hits a cross body right away. Springboard moonsault on Matt. Springboard dropkick on Nick. Dragon suplex on Matt gets two. Stupefied sent into Uno. Assisted sliced bread as Matt DDTs his own brother. Nick sent to the ropes. Boot on Stupefied. Rolling kick on Uno. Bucks hit superkicks on Uno. Stupefied tries to flip out but gets hit as well. Nick hits a double stomp and pescado. Matt hits an acecrusher off the top. Nick covers for two. Uno hits a reverse rana on Matt. Uno kicks Stupefied into a belly-to-belly suplex. Wheelbarrow into a backcracker by Stupefied. Oh my God. Slap by Matt on Uno. Uno responds. Forearm exchange. Uno tells him to stop. Superkick blocked. FATALITY blocked. Matt goes low and pulls Knox out of the way. Sitdown powerbomb on Stupefied. Buckle bomb into the enziguri of Nick. Tandem tombstone piledriver. 1-2-UNO BREAKS THE COUNT! Double superkick on Uno. More Bang…Stupefied gets a crucifix pin. 1-2-3!
Match Analysis: This first round has been pretty unbelievable so far. All I can say about this match is wow. The Bucks and Smash Brothers really capped the first round off tremendously. Great action. So many exchanges and fantastic false finishes. The Bucks losing is pretty dramatic considering they’ve lost exactly one match in three previous DDT tournaments. This show is already a thumbs up, and we’re only done with the first round!
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Super Smash Brothers/14:46/****
Match in Five Words or Less: Out Of Nowhere
Match Highlights: Generico and Yuma, two of the best bumpers in indy wrestling, begin. Generico takes him into the corner. Clean break and he says something I couldn’t quite decipher. Crowd liked it though. Yuma mocks Generico with an OLE! Crowd does not like that. Chop along the ropes. Mack in with a series of punches. Mack: That’s how we do it on the west side (racial epithet deleted). Well then. Yuma quickly tags in Goodtime. Mack talks some garbage at Goodtime. Waistlock blocked by Mack. He sends Goodtime down and applies a chancery. Goodtime stands on his head and reverses. Chop. Yuma gets off the apron. Boot from Mack and a chop. He teases one chop. Goodtime flinches. Double chops by Mack. Running dropkick sends him outside. Goodtime runs in to tag his partner. Generico with a right hand and forearm. Tilt a whirl backbreaker gets two. Sweep of the leg by Goodtime into a leg drop by Yuma. Goodtime hits one of his own. Forearm. Chop. Generico responds with one of his own. Boot and Good time is sent into the turnbuckle head first. Enziguri by Goodtime. Mack sent into the corner. Hip attack by Yuma. Goodtime hits a springboard dropkick. Yuma pulls him out and covers for two. Mack slaps Yuma. Palm thrust by Yuma. Goodtime taken up and over. Generico and Mack coordinate and hit double tope con helos. Mack hits a cravat acecrusher for two. Samoan drop into the standing moonsault. 1-2-NO! Yakuza kick attempt sends Generico crashing to the floor. Goodtime and Yuma hit a series of double teams. Cover for two. Dropkick by Yuma. Stomp by Goodtime. Generico back down. Enziguri/acecrusher combo. Yuma slowly covers, but Mack kicks out. Bicycle kick sends Mack in the corner. Yuma sweeps the leg. Generico breaks the count. Goodtime sends him outside again. Running spear by Goodtime. Double stomp to the head and a tope con helo. Mack hits a spike tombstone piledriver out of nowhere to get the victory.
Match Analysis: Pretty interesting booking as the new team on the block picks up two immediate victories and beat the team I predicted to win the whole thing. Great semifinal match from these two as the Rocknes Monsters showed off what they could do as a team. Even though they lost, they’ve really come together as a duo, and I hope rumors of Goodtime taking time off from wrestling are proven false because he and Yuma are just hitting their stride.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: 2 Husky Black Guys/12:21/***1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: Smashing The Future
Match Highlights: Code of honor is followed between Uno and Cole. Similar to the previous match, we get a feeling out process. Crowd wants Uno to go evil. Into the corner. O’Reilly tags. Uno rolls away and sends Stupefied inside. Things stay basic between Stupefied and O’Reilly. Uno rejoins the proceedings. Shoulder block. O’Reilly hits a dropkick. Snapmare by Cole into a chinlock. Shot to the midsection by Uno. Cole responds in kind. European uppercut by Cole. A second one. Uno comes back with chops. Another uppercut sends Uno down. Chinbreaker on Cole. Cole sent into the turnbuckle. Stupefied hits a springboard senton for two. Suplex blocked. Kick to the chest and back suplex by Stupefied. Cole brings him back into the Future Shock corner. O’Reilly hammerlocks the arm and hits a backbreaker. Stupefied sent in the corner. Whip in the corner. Stupefied hits a boot and swinging DDT. 1-2-NO! Assisted elbow drop into a side suplex by the Smash Brothers. Chop from Uno. Shot to the midsection. To the straight chops. O’Reilly sends Uno in the corner. Hard whip front first. Snapmare by Uno. Double stomp. Cover for two. Crowd wants a moonsault. O’Reilly hits a chop and kicks to the chest. Uno hits a forearm. O’Reilly responds in kind. Uno hits a knee to the midsection. O’Reilly hits a knee strike. Stupefied knocked down. Cole knocked down. Uno hits an elbow strike. Running knee by O’Reilly. Slap exchange. Kawada kicks by O’Reilly. Uno with chops. Discus elbow by O’Reilly. Enziguri by Uno. Both men are down. Stupefied and Cole enter. Stupefied with elbows. Clothesline and back elbow by Cole. Forearm exchange. Double kicks. Double tope suicidas on their respective opponents. Cole hits a neckbreaker out of the DVD position for two. Cole whipped in the corner. Stupefied sent up and over. Double knees on Cole by Stupefied. 1-2-NO! Stupefied fakes a dive. Uno runs but gets caught with a kick by Cole. Stupefied battles both Future Shock members. Series of kicks by Cole and O’Reilly. 1-2-NO! O’Reilly kicks Stupefied out of the suplex position. Cole rams his neck into the knee. Uno clears the ring and hits a leaping knee on Cole. Snapmare. MOONSAULT! 1-2-NO! Crowd wants to see it one more time. Cole hits an enziguri. O’Reilly hits a pair of butterfly DDTs. DDT into a German suplex by Cole. 1-2-NO! Stupefied holds his partner. Cole nailed with a kick. Double stomp to the head and Uno hits an acecrusher on O’Reilly. Stupefied hits a backbreaker. Uno drives him down with a reverse DDT. 1-2-Cole breaks it up! Stupefied hits the post. Uno punches Cole. O’Reilly hits a discus elbow. Uno hits a bicycle kick. Series of superkicks. Stupefied hits a double pele kick. Uno hits a double back suplex. Double charging elbows. O’Reilly catches a guillotine choke on Stupefied. Cole applies one on Uno. Double northern lights suplexes and then back into the guillotines. Series of forearms by Future Shock. Double kicks in the corner. Stupefied hits a sliced bread off the top rope. FATALITY! Cole can’t break the count, and this match is finally over.
Match Analysis: Why aren’t the Smash Brothers booked in more places? Why aren’t Future Shock still a team? These are the questions I want answered after this match. In a tournament like this, it’s usually the semifinals that suffer the most because it’s the middle match of three for some of the wrestlers. Yet, these two delivered the best match of the night and one of the best contests I’ve seen in 2012. For sure, it’s the PWG match of the year (yes, even over the six man tag from KR 3). Goddamn great this was.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Super Smash Brothers/19:43/****1/4
Match in Five Words or Less: Battle Of The Crazies
Match Highlights: Callihan attacks Steen even before the bell rings. Hey, when in Rome… Steen hits a forearm and into the corner he goes for more. Into the corner goes Callihan. Steen knocks him down. Callihan sent head first into the side of the ring. Headbutt exchange. Forearm by Steen. Callihan with a forearm. Steen rakes the eyes. He takes a Super Dragon mask and punches Callihan in the face with it. Chop sends Callihan flailing into some chairs. Callihan sends Richards back first into the side of the ring. Forearm by Steen. Callihan spits at Steen. Steen wipes his face and nails Callihan. Bicycle kick by Callihan. Callihan sends Steen into some chairs and charges with a running clothesline. Steen rams Callihan back first into the post. Callihan rams Steen into the post. Pair of chops and he tosses something at Steen. They grab each other’s faces. Forearm by Steen. Callihan chops the ring post. Steen crotches him along the steel, kisses him, and drops him. Steen puts Callihan’s vest on. Back in the ring. Steen puts chewed gum in his mouth. Jesus H. Steen pops the collar of the vest. AAAAAAAA! Front first into the corner goes Callihan. Steen bites his middle finger. Running senton. Steen tries whipping Callihan but gets spat upon again. Chops from Steen. Callihan whipped front first once again. Slap across the face. Callihan whipped. Enziguri on Steen. Springboard splash. Callihan hits a kick to the side of the head. Clotheslines. Diving shoulder tackle and Callihan tosses chairs around. Steen powerbombs Callihan into the side of the ring. Cannonball. Crowd wants a moonsault from Steen, just as they did for Uno. Because one fan in particular won’t buy his shirt, he won’t do it. Steen swantons Callihan but is met with knees. Back drop driver by Callihan. 1-2-NO! To the apron. Callihan goes for something. Strike exchange. Kick blocked. Steen hits a Michinoku driver on the apron! Two more powerbombs into the apron. 1-2-NO! Sleeper slam. 1-2-NO! Callihan spits at him. Steen hits a package piledriver. 1-2-3.
Steen makes fun of some moron fan who chants “overrated.” Rightfully so. Steen tells a little story and says he likes Callihan just a little bit. But he still hates him a little too. Steen talks about taking over the respective companies and meeting again in PWG. He mocks the amount of times he’s wrestled Generico before shaking Callihan’s hands. I guess we can expect Callihan back in PWG at some point.
Match Analysis: This was more Kevin Steen decimating Sami Callihan than anything else, but it was a fine way to break up all the tag team matches. Callihan bumped like a mad men in both of his matches and earned a return to PWG in my opinion. Good match but thanks to the high standards of this show, one of the “worst.” It’s a compliment to the rest of the show that this wasn’t nearly as excellent (and didn’t need to be since it’s all about the tournament).
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL PWG World Champion-Kevin Steen/13:12/***1/4
Match in Five Words or Less: A Crowning Moment
Match Highlights: Generico and Stupefied begin. Steen does his Roderick Strong impression, and Excalibur mocks him as well. Feeling out process as Kevin Steen talks about Community. Kevin, if you’re reading this, watch the show. It’s great. Uno and Mack take their turn. Chops by Uno. Mack politely asks him if that’s all he has. He strikes Uno hard on the way down. Stupefied reenters as Mack limps around. Shoulder tackles in the corner. Snapmare into a single leg dropkick. Chancery and Uno joins in for a double vertical suplex. Fist drop by Uno. Snapmare by Uno. They pose. Dropkick by Stupefied. Mack hits a beautiful dropkick. Generico hits a forearm. Stupefied rammed into the turnbuckle. Backbreaker. Split-legged moonsault gets two. Double boots by 2 Husky Black Guys. Generico and Mack pose. West side something or other. Mack stomps away at Stupefied’s midsection. Snap suplex by Mack. Generico hits a double sledge on Stupefied. Series of chops. Out of a suplex and an enziguri by Stupefied. Uno hits a boot and a leg lariat. Tope on helo by the big man. Mack hits a huge dive to the floor. Stupefied with a tope con help on two men as Generico rolls into the ring. Springboard moonsault! Ole! Uno sent back in the ring. Steen is crying at Excalibur’s line about Generico being a big boy. Uno rolls him into the flatliner. Jawbreaker by Generico. Mack limps inside. Uno sent into the corner. Running clothesline. Springboard dropkick. Exploder. 1-2-NO! Uno rammed in the corner and placed on the top rope. Uno shoves him off. Double stomp. Generico hits a yakuza kick and half nelson. Big splash by Stupefied. LARIAT BY MACK! Uno clotheslines Mack over, and Uno stays on the apron. Yakuza kick by Generico. Stupfied nails him from behind. Thrust kick. Stupefied HITS AN EXPLODER THAT SENDS GENERICO INTO MACK! Stupefied sends Generico back in the ring. Falcon punch. Alabama slam into the backcracker but Generico won’t die. Chops in the corner by Stupefied. Generico hits a yakuza kick. Brainbuster countered into a victory roll. 1-2-NO! Mack kicks Uno. Samoan drop but instead of the standing moonsault he climbs all the way up. Moonsault! HE GOES UP AGAIN! 1-2-NO! Into the corner. Uno with back elbows. Big right hand. Stupefied puts Generico on the top rope. Generico sends Stupefied backwards. Top rope brainbuster blocked. Stupefied hits a reverse rana. Uno punches Mack down to the floor. FATALITY! SMASH BROTHERS WIN!
Young Bucks attack after the match. Steen clears the ring with a chair. Matt talks about this being their tournament and being the kings of DDT4. Matt says they should have been in this match. Bucks want a rematch against Steen and Super Dragon. Steen demands the microphone and calls Nick a very naughty name in response. Steen says he and Dragon will gladly beat them up again. Steen tells the Bucks to go home and then they’ll talk. Steen dismisses them. Steen puts over the Smash Brothers big time. He talks up Willie Mack as well. As for El Generico… Steen flips him off and calls him a really nasty name. Awesome. We get a handshake between the finalists.
Match Analysis: These two teams were beat up and clearly injured. Despite these facts, all four men put together a match worthy of being called the finals of the 2012 DDT4 tournament. El Generico is obviously one of my favorite wrestlers in the world, but Uno, Stupefied, and Willie Mack absolutely stepped up here. You won’t find a tournament much better than this. Thankfully, a new and fresh team was allowed to be put over here. Congrats to the Super Smash Brothers. This is a crowning achievement in their careers… but not the last.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: 2012 DDT4 Tournament Winners- Super Smash Brothers/18:12/***3/4
The Verdict: For what seems like the millionth year in a row, the DDT4 tournament was one of the best indy shows of the year. Thanks to some new blood, there was a much fresher feel to this year’s version. All eight teams performed exceedingly well. I sincerely hope the Smash Brothers can start getting more respect on the indy scene. This isn’t some podunk indy they’re excelling in. It’s PWG. Other companies need to get a clue (maybe get over themselves) and give these guys more opportunities. To answer the question you’ve all been wondering, this is an easy thumbs up show.
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