Pro Wrestling Ponderings

Greetings, fellow nerds, and welcome to The Guerrilla Position! Today (or tonight, whatever) we’re going to be taking a look back at the PWG show The Secret Of Guerrilla Island, as well as taking a look at a plausible, possible card for PWG’s upcoming super card, Threemendous II. I’ll be putting together a card that I personally want to see, and hey, you readers can chime in with your own thoughts as well! Here are the results from The Secret Of Guerrilla Island!

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Hello PWG fans and welcome to another highly exciting edition of the Guerrilla Position. I’m your tubby but loveable host, Matt Winton. I’m going to go through each match and talk about it a little bit. Hopefully I’ll add something the press release did not.

First up is the match of The Human Tornado vs. Johnny Goodtime. I’m not very well educated on Goodtime, so I tried to do research. But the man is not on Wikipedia, and as much as I’d love to scour the internet for info on him, I simply do not have the time these days. I have heard good things, however, and I think this match could sneak up on a lot of people, quality-wise. Unfortunately for Goodtime, he’s facing a former 2-Time PWG World Heavyweight Champion, The Human Tornado. Tornado came back from a severe knee injury back at Express Written Consent, losing to old nemesis Chris Hero and the returning Colt Cabana, in a PWG World Heavyweight Title Match. He then wrestled at 100 in a 6-man tag match, and at DDT4, teaming with Scorpio Sky to re-unite their sometime tag team, Dark And Lovely. Now, Tornado is back to going it alone, and really I don’t think it’s any secret who will be winning this match. Goodtime getting a shot to impress is well and good, but it’s the Human freakin’ Tornado. Let’s get serious here for a minute.

Next up is a match of some very, very new blood to PWG. The Cutlers (Brandon and Dustin) vs. Malachi “CK” Jackson and Jerome “LTP” Robinson. Malachi debuted at the DDT4 event, losing to Phoenix Star. LTP has been a topic on the PWG boards for quite a while now, as people have been clamoring for him to get a chance at a spot. True, he was the Fake “Scorpio Sky” back in ‘07, but he did not get a chance to shine under his own gimmick and character. Now, however, he has that shot. And, to be honest, this might be CK and LTP’s chance at making a huge splash in the tag team division. The Cutlers are not exactly a top flight, high caliber team. To my knowledge, they haven’t won a single match in PWG yet. Granted, they’re actually a tag team as opposed to CK and LTP’s randomness or being paired up, but the point still stands: The Cutlers are very, very beatable. They’ve sadly proven that, every time out. Now, the big question is: Can Malachi and Jerome step up? Despite all of this negativity towards The Cutlers, no, I don’t think so. Brandon and Dustin have A LOT to prove to PWG, the fans, and to themselves. If they don’t win this match, I can’t see them ever… EVER being a threat in the Tag Team Division in PWG. I mean they’ve already lost to the current Tag Team Champions, The Young Bucks, two times in a row. For me this match is a toss up, but I’m going to go with my head on this one since I’m not emotionally connected to any of these wrestlers anyways…

Thirdly, we’ve got one half of the PWG Tag Team Champions, Nick Jackson, taking on former 3-time PWG Tag Team Champion and 2006 Battle of Los Angeles winner, Davey Richards. After their tag match at The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies, this should be no less impressive in quality. They seem like the perfect opponents, as Richards is all about power and technique, while Jackson brings the speed and agility. The Young Bucks got the win over Richards and his partner, Roderick Strong, but now this is a singles match. Richards has quite a lot more experience in singles competition over Jackson, and that is a very, very big edge in his favor. There’s no tagging out when you’re getting overwhelmed. There’s no resting and waiting for a hot tag. You’ve got yourself, and only yourself. Can Jackson survive? Personally, I don’t think so. Richards just has too many advantages over Nick in a singles match. However, I do think Jackson will give him a run for his money. It will definitely be a closely contested match, I just think there’s no way Richards loses this one.

This one is a match I have been waiting and waiting for, for a very long time. They’ve met in tag and multi-man matches, but never in singles in PWG. Scott Lost vs. El Generico is actually a very important match in PWG lore. They’re two (relatively) home grown talents, as Lost is part owner, while El Generico really got his first break here in PWG. They are two of the top talents in the promotion and very successful in the tag ranks. Generico is obviously more successful in singles competition, winning the PWG World Heavyweight Title back in ‘07, holding the title from Holy Diver Down where he beat then champion The Human Tornado, holding it to the Giant Size Annual #4, losing to Bryan Danielson. Come to think of it, during that reign, Generico not only became the first and only double champion in PWG history, he did it TWICE, winning the Tag Team Titles with Quicksilver and Kevin Steen. As of late, Lost has been getting a push of sorts, though it’s not a very obvious one. His win-loss record hasn’t changed, but he’s been slowly taking on better and better opponents in singles competition. He has given Bryan Danielson, Roderick Strong and PWG World Heavyweight Champion Chris Hero runs for their money in singles matches, and that’s no small feat. I think it’s only a matter of time being Lost starts racking up the wins and climbing the ranks. Generico, though, has been on or close to the top for quite a while, now. He’s one of the few people who goes 2-0 on double shot weekends. And it’s a consistent 2-0, as well. With that said, I have to reiterate: Generico is one of the most protected wrestlers in PWG. You wouldn’t think it, but Generico hardly ever loses. It’s not obvious and it’s not thrust in front of your face to make you think “Hey, Generico is a big deal”. As much as I would love to pick Lost, unless he’s in line for a major run at the title, I don’t think he will be beating Generico on June 27^th. But if he does, I’ll gladly eat my words and chalk it up as a loss and move on. I think this will be the sleeper match of the night.

Our Semi-Main Event of the evening, I’m guessing, is a No Disqualification Match between The Necro Butcher and Joey Ryan. These two faced off in a No-DQ Match back at All-Star Weekend 3, Night 2 in ‘06. Joey Ryan was the PWG Heavyweight Champion at the time, and he defeated Necro Butcher. At the time, everything was rolling in Ryan’s favor. Now? Not so much. Ryan has been losing more than he’s been winning, and Necro is as good as ever with his hardcore style. Seeing as this match came about from Chris Hero stating Ryan would get a shot if he could defeat Necro in this kind of match… logic would dictate Ryan winning to further the issue with Hero. However, that would then situation Ryan as the face and Hero as the heel trying to thwart Ryan’s chase for the gold. That just… I don’t know. That blows my mind. I’m kind’ve stumped on what to follow that terrible thought up with… wow.

And here we come to what I’m pretty sure will be the Main Event of the evening. Men Of Low Moral Fiber (Chuck Taylor and Kenny Omega) vs. The Hybrid Dolphins (Bryan Danielson and Roderick Strong). Both of these teams had impressive showings at DDT4, but both also lost to eventual winners, The Young Bucks. The overwhelming opinion coming out of that show was that Taylor and Omega stole the tournament, and the show, being highly entertaining and over whenever they were present. The question for MOLMF isn’t whether they can garner fan support, though. It’s if they can defeat a top-tier team. They beat a tag team who hadn’t tagged together in PWG in over 3 years. They came close to defeating The Young Bucks, but came up short. Do they have what it takes to defeat Strong and Danielson? Those two proved that their singles skills crossed over just fine into the tag ranks, showing almost no problems as a first time team. There really isn’t a weak link on their team. Both men have got power, speed, agility, toughness. Strong and Danielson really are an all-star tag team. With that said, Taylor and Omega aren’t slouches themselves, and they really have one thing in their favor that you can never, ever count out: The Awful Waffle/Croyt’s Wrath 1-2 punch. No one, and I mean no one, will ever kick out of that combination of moves. If they hit that on anyone, you can pretty much call the match over right then and there. It’s really hard to call a winner to this match. You would think Strong and Danielson have the advantage, but how long will they really be a team in PWG? They’ve both got a sense of pride, and will never want to lose, so if they’re beat it won’t be due to a lack of effort. As for Taylor and Omega, this could be their ticket to consistent booking in PWG. Separate, they have less than stellar win-loss records. Taylor’s only singles win comes against Candace LeRae. Omega’s only singles win comes against Davey Richards. In a tag team, though, they both seem to feed off of each other’s odd, weird, screwy sense of low moral fiber. Do they have what it takes? I know both teams are itching for rematches against The Young Bucks, and whoever wins I think is set up for a title shot at the Anniversary Show, whenever it ends up being. I’m going to go out on a limb and pick…

Well that does it for me this time. Hope everyone is well and I’ll see you guys next weekend with live results of The Secret Of Guerrilla Island!

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A hoy hoy and welcome, PWG fans. This is the inaugural edition of the Guerrilla Position here at National Sports Reviews. If the name has not tipped you off, this is a column centered around the Southern California Indy Promotion, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. This will be a bi-weekly column to keep you up to date on everything Guerrilla. This week, we’ll be looking back at the DDT 4 tournament won by The Young Bucks, and a fantasy booked card regarding PWG’s upcoming June 28^th show that has zero information at the moment. Let’s get on with it, shall we? Here is a quick recap of the card:

DDT4 First Round Matches

1. Bryan Danielson and Roderick Strong def. Joey Ryan and Scott Lost

Motor City Machine Guns receive a bye into the Semi-Final Round

2. Kenny Omega and Chuck Taylor def. Dark and Lovely

4. The Young Bucks © def. The Cutlers

3. Phoenix Star def. CK Jackson

DDT4 Semi-Final Matches

4. The Young Bucks © def. Kenny Omega and Chuck Taylor

5. Bryan Danielson and Roderick Strong def. The Motor City Machine Guns

PWG World Title Match

6. Chris Hero © def. Joey Ryan

DDT4 Finals Match

7. The Young Bucks © def. Bryan Danielson and Roderick Strong

The first things you’ll notice are that Paul London was NOT Bryan Danielson’s partner as advertised, and due to this, Roderick Strong was tossed in as Danielson’s partner. Chris Hero was then left without an opponent, and he laid out an open challenge that was answered by Joey Ryan. With a team out of the tournament, the Machine Guns were left without a team to face, and got a bye to the Semi-Final round. Zokre did not make it to the show, either, so Los Luchas were replaced by Scorpio Sky and Human Tornado. Zokre’s partner, Phoenix Star, faced CK Jackson. It’s out of order, because they most certainly did NOT finish the first half of the show on a random singles match.

I want everyone to know that I speak of this from second hand information. I did not get to attend this show, I had a family BBQ as it was Memorial Day weekend. I will not speak of match quality, because I’m not a credible source of it. Reports have said this show was strong, especially considering all of the substitutions and changes that had to be made.

The overwhelming sentiment coming out of the weekend, however, was that Chuck Taylor and Kenny Omega stole the show, and the tournament, even in defeat to The Young Bucks in the semi-finals. To lose to a team of that stature in PWG is never a bad thing. This was Taylor and Omega’s first time as a tag team and with both of them being so incredibly over in PWG in single’s, this was expected. It was reported that there were three or four moments in the match where the crowd thought Taylor and Omega had it won. Seeing as they were SO over with the crowd, this caused the Young Bucks to start getting some major, major heel heat.

Sadly, though, they weren’t the only Champions of the weekend to get backlash. PWG World Champion, Chris Hero, was feeling some hate from the fans in attendance who are getting sick of his “Young Knockout Kid” gimmick, getting sick of his constant use of forearms in his matches. This led the crowd to be more behind perennial heel, Joey Ryan, than the baby face Chris Hero. What does this mean for our Hero? He’s coming up on a year as Champion, is that wearing thin with the fans? Being Champion for so long is very difficult when you’re in front of the same crowd every time. ROH can pull it off since they run so many different venues, and the live crowds don’t get burnt out as easily. WWE can obviously do it, since they are in so many different parts of the country, and world.

PWG, however, runs in one-four different venues at a time. 2009, though, has only seen PWG use the Reseda venue. That means that the same people are more or less coming to every show, and seeing the same man on top. Hero is a great wrestler. He can have great matches with a wide variety of opponents. But in trying to get this gimmick over, has Hero made himself too one-dimensional? He’s focused so much on his forearms and strikes, he’s lost the fun edge he had with his mat wrestling, or impressive high flying. It probably does not help his case, either, that he seems to cut a promo after every one of his matches. It worked during the Tornado feud, because it would change from show to show. It got old quick, but he could add in new things to his promos. Now, it’s as simple as “I’m the Champion. I will fight. I will not give up” which is a great attitude to have, but we get it. I hope Hero starts changing it up and winning fans back. But with this backlash growing, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before Hero loses the belt… or turns heel? We’ll have to wait and see.

I’d really like to speak on the Paul London situation, but there’s no real details out there, only speculation. I’ll leave it for another time where I have more information to go on.

Where does all of this leave us? PWG has announced another show set for June 28^th. No matches, no participants, not even a show name as of June 6^th. So what I am going to do is list what I’d like to see, and back it up with an explanation for why. Will the final card be anything like this? I would be severely surprised if any of it happened. Isn’t that the fun of fantasy booking though?

PWG World Title Match

Chris Hero © vs. Roderick Strong

Explanation: Roderick Strong, to my knowledge, was the last guy still on the PWG roster to pin Chris Hero. Back at It’s a Gift… And A Curse. It came at the unnoticed help of Tornado, however. Strong will always be near the top of the card, and with the way he’s been trimming down and getting noticeably quicker, he could be a very over baby face to Hero’s slower and more deliberate pace. Both can obviously strike so this could be a sleeper match to turn out great, instead of just good due to the intensity and crowd reactions towards Hero.

#1 Contender’s Match

Bryan Danielson vs. Paul London

Explanation: You’d think I would save this for the Anniversary show, but nope. I think this match could be easily capitalized on due to DDT4, and would be a great coming out party for London. He’s had the great multi-man match already, but his match vs. Joey Ryan at 100 was lacking, in my opinion. We all know London can hack it in a singles environment. Hell, he’s had multiple show stealing matches with Bryan Danielson alone, not to mention the list of others. This would be a great special attraction to make this show seem more special than just a place holder for the anniversary show. It would also certainly be given time, and let London show he can still hang with the greats on the Indies, as well as work a straight-up match. This would be huge for PWG and I think a great opportunity for them to promote a smaller sized show with such a big match.

6-Man Tag Match

The Young Bucks © and CK Jackson vs. Dark and Lovely and Quicksilver

Explanation: I’m aware this won’t happen. Fully aware it won’t happen. But this would be SO much fun. Young Bucks vs. AXP has been a match I’ve wanted to see for a very long time. I know Quicksilver is retired. He’s not coming back for a random show. I’m OK with that. But let it be known, I want this match to happen. This would be the epitome of the PWG multi-man match. 5 of these guys have proven more than capable of putting on amazing spot fests, and this would be the kind of match to let CK Jackson go out and show some stuff while not having to be a focus of the match of take a brunt of the workload. This would be a great match on a PWG show.

Tag Team Match

The Dynasty vs. Chuck Taylor and Kenny Omega

Explanation: Omega and Taylor are on a huge roll right now, fan support wise, and this would be a great little stop for them en route to getting a Tag Title shot at the Anniversary Show. They’d be facing the top heel team in PWG, and it could really just push their support even more over the top. It’d be some quality tag team action, too, which would be necessary on this singles driven card.

Singles Match

Colt Cabana vs. El Generico

Explanation: For this, there really isn’t one. I don’t think these two men have fought in a singles match, yet, and this has the ability to be comedy as well as technical wrestling and high spots. Pretty much exactly what the PWG style is all about. They could do a lot worse than having this lighten the mood of the show up, as well as having a stand out singles match that didn’t have to focus on fulfilling the crowd’s need for workrate and such, like Danielson/London and Hero/Strong most likely would.

Singles Match

Davey Richards vs. Brandon Gatson

Explanation: Who? I know, Gatson is not a well known indy name. He is a So Cal standout, however, and someone I had the privilege to wrestler a few years ago. He is a great baby face to get the crowd riled up and has a solid array of high flying offense that would easily get the crowd behind him. Insert Davey Richards, who is always game for a solid match, and I’d almost liken this to the match Richards had with upstart Brandon Bonham in 2008 and It’s It (What is It?). There’s been a smattering on the PWG boards of bringing Gatson in, and I think this would be a great time. PWG is losing guys like TJ Perkins and B-Boy (again), and could use the local talent to shore up the roster.

There you go, folks. A lean, 6-match card that has importance but doesn’t over shadow the Anniversary Show that is set likely for late July. You advance issues, start new ones if you so want, and introduce a new face to the crowd for your future. I will definitely post up the official card when PWG announces it. Until, take it easy folks.

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