By Derek Burgan, Torch Media Guy

Torch DVD Review
Super Dragon: Evolution 4
Four Disc DVD Set




Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has been called the “ROH of the West” because of the fact they have used many of the same performers as Ring of Honor, including C.M. Punk, Samoa Joe and Bryan “The American Dragon” Danielson along with stressing high workrate. While PWG has many great matches, they also have a more laid back approach along with adding a lot of humor to their shows. I have reviewed the PWG release Kee_ the _ee out of our _ool and had a blast listening to the commentary track as the guys were truly funny, sort of a wrestling version of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. PWG is also known as being the home fed for indie sensation Super Dragon. To me, Dragon is possibly the only wrestler I know that combines the stiff realism of a guy like Samoa Joe with the high flying moves of Jack Evans.

Super Dragon: Evolution 4 is a four disc DVD set collecting 15 of Dragon’s finest matches between March 2004 and February 2005. Many indie promotions are represented here including CZW, Revolution Pro, IWA Mid South, Chikara, Jersey Championship Wrestling, Pro Wrestling War and, of course, PWG. This is almost like a great sampler of all the top indies from coast to coast. Dragon’s opponents read like a who’s who list in indie wrestling as well, including B-Boy, Jack Evans, El Generico, Kevin Steen, BJ Whitmer, Scorpio Sky, Arik Cannon, and Chris Bosh. The bells and whistles start early as the menu screens and accompanying music are just incredible. There is also a Super Dragon music video before the first match which came out fantastic. Whoever did the production work on this DVD set deserves major props.

On to the DVDs!




Disc One

(1) Super Dragon vs. Babi Slymm from Revolution Pro 3/6/2004. Slymm has a street thug gimmick and brings a ton of bling bling with him to the ring. In a true “Holy Shit” moment, Dragon hit a Randy Savage-like flying elbow drop from the top rope to the floor on Symm. That’s just SICK. Dragon finished off Slymm at (20:45) with the Pyscho Driver II (pump handle piledriver). Fantastic indie match, and the crowd, which seemed to be about 50/50 before the match, were all chanting “Dragon! Dragon!” at the end. This was straight out of Rocky IV. I had to decide early on what to do with all these reviews, and realized to do full out reviews for every match on this DVD would cause the review to be an unreadable 25 pages long. So I’ll give you a couple thoughts on each match.

Suepr Dragon, about to do another crazy move

(2) Super Dragon & Excalibur vs. Chris Bosh & Quicksilver from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla 4/17/2004. Excalibur is a masked wrestler in the vein of Dragon except much thinner. Quicksilver was masked as well while Bosh was mask-free. Excalibur called out Bosh early by saying “if he got a tan, you could see his stretch marks.” OH! Tons of highflying moves throughout the match by each guy along with some stiff action, including Quicksilver hitting Dragon with a piledriver that looked like it should have paralyzed Dragon. Finish came after Dragon hit Quicksilver with the Super Pyscho Driver (Torture Rack into a piledriver) and Excalibur made the pin at the 22 minute mark.

(3) Super Dragon vs. Chris Bosh from Revolution Pro 6/12/2004. Bosh and Dragon just seem to work well together, as everyone who has watched the bonus matches on the Ultimate Insiders DVD already know. The crowd totally marked out for Dragon doing is trademarked Curb Stomp to the back of Bosh’s head and I can’t believe someone in the WWE hasn’t totally stolen that simple, but great looking, move. Even the name is cool. At the (25:30) mark, Bosh slipped out of a Super Psycho Driver attempt and reversed a small package for the win.

BONUS MATCH: Super Dragon vs. El Generico for WXW in Essen, Germany 3/19/05 You can watch this match by clicking the “?” on the match select screen. The German crowd is absolutely rabid and it is fun just to watch them at times as it is the match itself. Ringside seats are literally ringside as the fans bang on the mat and scream “Super Dragon” in English (which sounded like “Soup-ah Dragon”,) and was almost surreal to watch. Match went a little over 19 minutes and had Dragon destroying El Generico with lariats as the crowd chanted “Dragon’s gonna kill you!!” Dragon then hit an awesome looking Super Psycho Driver for the win.

Easter Eggs: There are several great Easter Eggs available on disc one including a riotous G.I. Joe cartoon in which all the voices were re-dubbed. Possibly the greatest wrestling Easter Egg ever made.

Yo Joe!

Disc Two

(4) Super Dragon vs. B-Boy from Jersey Championship Wrestling 6/27/2004. This was the finals of the JCW J-Cup, which is basically JCW’s version of the Super J Cup from Japan in which many of the world’s top cruiserweights compete in a tournament. I believe the Chris Benoit DVD from the WWE has a bonus match with Benoit against Eddie Guerrero in a Super J Cup match. Anyhoo, B-Boy is another indie sensation based out of the West Coast who has always impressed me on the few occasions I have been able to see him. Hard hitting action throughout the match and at the 21 minute mark, B-Boy actually kicked out of a pin attempt after the Super Psycho Driver. Wow! The two men then traded a series a stiff chops, headbutts and kicks that looked straight out of a Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe match. Dragon got the momentum after a stiff lariat and then finished off B-Boy with a Psycho Driver II. (23:30)

If you would like to see the entire 2004 JCW J-Cup, and not just the finals, Click HERE.

Popular fan favorite, B-Boy

(5) Super Dragon vs. B-Boy vs. Bobby Quance vs. Exaclibur from Combat Zone Wrestling 9/11/2004. Believe it or not, this is the first CZW match I have ever seen. This is also the first match on the DVD that has commentary. The guy calling the match is Eric Gargiulo, who I haven’t seen since the early days of ROH. Dragon got right into the face of a fan in the front row on his way to the ring, which was a running theme throughout the DVDs. Exacalibur came out and shot a promo saying that last time he was in CZW he issued a challenge to wrestle Goldberg. CZW management told him to set his sights a little lower, so Excalibur said he wanted to wrestle a member of the Road Warriors and added, “specifically, Road Warrior Hawk.” Immediately Eric G said, ”Oh, that’s not right! The ref went up and whispered to Excalbur and Excalibur remarked, “he’s dead?”

”he’s dead?”

”he’s dead?”

I really shouldn’t have laughed at that. Excalibur then told the crowd, “it appears Hawk is dead… dead scared of me!” After B-Boy and Bobby Quance were announced, Chris Hero came out to do guest commentary. We’re already at four stars and the match hasn’t even started yet.

Both Hero and Gargiulo had great comments on why, during a four way match, would any wrestler tag out since you have to be in the ring to make the pin. Hero had a valid explanation when he speculated, “cause they’re stupid.” Early on there was a stiff series of slaps between B-Boy and Super Dragon, which gave Eric the chance to have the call of the night by saying “bitch handin’ slaps out there!” There was an absolutely wild finishing sequence that had Quance attempting a shooting star press on Dragon, but Dragon rolled out of the way, and as Quance was coming down he was hit with a stunner by B-Boy. That was f---ing great. B-Boy got up to be immediately nailed by a Tiger Driver by Excalibur. Then, Excalibur started to do a throat slash and he was grabbed by Super Dragon and given a Psycho Driver! This was cool because Dragon grabbed Excalibur’s arm as he was doing the throat slash and Excalibur was still in that position when given the Psycho Driver. Just an amazing visual. Dragon then pinned Excalibur. (21:25) Great, great match.

(6) Super Dragon vs. Arik Cannon from the IWA Mid South Ted Petty Invitational 9/17/2004. Holy smokes, it’s Joey Eastman - from Totally Tool Wrestling - as the ring announcer. Also, we have Dave Prazak and C.M. PUNK on commentary! During Dragon’s entrance, in which he had a hip hop song playing, both Prazak and Punk commented on they assumed Super Dragon was black due to his choice of music. Totally un-P.C. and completely hilarious. The crowd popped huge for Dragon doing the Curb Stomp and chanted, “one more time!” Dragon obliged. Cannon got the advantage and did a Curb Stomp on Dragon. Oh no he didn’t! A pissed off Dragon got revenge by then giving Cannon a THIRD Curb Stomp. Dragon hit Cannon with everything in his arsenal, including the Violence Party (series of Samoa Joe-like stiff kicks and punches), along with a double stomp to the head off the top rope, but Cannon kicked out of everything. Cannon ended up getting the win after hitting a second Glimmering Warlock (Shining Wizard to the back of the head.) Good stuff. (13:40) After the match the crowd chanted “F--- you Cannon!” while flipping Cannon off. Very Madison Square Garden-like.

If you would like to see the entire 2004 Ted Petty Invitational, which has drawn huge raves from every person I know who has seen it (including Torch Indy Guru Chris Vetter and Torch Japan’s Keith Lipinski), Click HERE. You’re going to see a great tournament, excellent commentary and an all star line-up of wrestlers including Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, and American Dragon. It’s safe to say YOU WANT THIS DVD SET.

Super Dragon, setting up the Curb Stomp

Super Dragon, in the middle of the Curb Stomp

Super Dragon, finishing the Curb Stomp

(7) Super Dragon vs. Jonny Storm from IPW UK 9/25/2004. This match was voted England’s Match of the Year for 2004. Unfortunately this match suffers from its camera work when compared to the very good production values of CZW and IWA Mid South. The small crowd was lively though and Dragon won via Psycho Driver in sudden death overtime. Solid match.

(8) Super Dragon vs. B.J. Whitmer from IWA Mid South 10/21/2004. Prazak and Punk on commentary again, and these two are just magic together. Prazak commented early on the little amount of fans at the event by saying many just came early dressed up as chairs for Halloween. In a priceless moment, Prazak described Dragon’s offense by saying, “now hooking in for a weird looking Scorpion Deathlock, now going for an Indian Deathlock…” and Punk injected, “He’s going for the Curb Stomp, Ace. Watch some tapes will ya?!” Brilliant! Whitmer and Dragon had a great stiff FOREARM BATTLE, won by Dragon after a Roaring Forearm, and after the exchange was over Punk and Prazak had a must-listen-to moment goofing on the whole exchange. Dragon won the match after a doublestomp to Whitmer’s head followed by a Dragon Suplex. (11:40) Two discs into the set and not a bad match yet. So far, so good.

Disc Three

(9) Super Dragon vs. B-Boy from the IWA Mid South Strong Style Tournament 10/22/2004. Dave “the new L’il Naitch” Prazak is ring announcer for the match before going back on commentary with Eddie Kingston. The two are a good pair, but not as good as Prazak and Punk. Dragon hit a great looking Curb Stomp two minutes into the match. Another impressive match between the two which B-Boy won after hitting Dragon with three straight back drop drivers. B-Boy went to pick up Dragon after the third driver, but Dragon was out. The ref came over and checked on Dragon, and then called for the bell. B-Boy won by knockout. (13:20) After the match Ian Rotten came out and checked on Dragon while several other wrestlers helped Dragon to the back. Great angle with Dragon, of all people, needing the assistance. It would be similar to Triple H needed help on Raw, which I predict will happen on the first Monday of never.

Click HERE if you would like to check out the IWA Mid South Strong Style Tournament in full.

(10) Super Dragon vs. Joey Ryan from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla 10/23/2004. No commentary for this match and it is a one hour Iron Man match. Joey Ryan was billed as “the Technical Wizard.” After one hour the two men were tied at three pins a piece. The ref consulted with both men and called for a Sudden Death overtime. Dragon hit Ryan with a Psycho Driver on the floor! Wow!! Dragon then pinned Ryan to win the match. Very good match.

(11) Super Dragon vs. Jack Evans from Pro Wrestling War 11/12/2004. The match had a girl referee, which shouldn’t be weird, but is. As expected, Evans stole the show with his antics, including “serving” Dragon by doing a crazy dance after taking a bump. The match itself was filled with the usual assortment of Dragon’s moves, which looked twice as good as normal - thanks to what seems like the bone-free body of Jack Evans – and high flying acrobatics by Evans. The interaction with the fans was good as after someone yelled out to Jack, “Dragon owns you,” Evans replied, “Dragon ain’t owning nothin’ but a cheap ass mask.” Finish of the match came went Dragon went to the top rope to jump off with a doublestomp, but Evans crotched Dragon and instead hit a hurricanrana of his own. Evans then went up top and finished off Dragon with a crazy flippity-do move that was spectacular to watch. (17:25) Tremendous match.

For more of the “Aerial Emperor” Jack Evans check out Jack’s website or this great Jack Evans Compilation DVD from Ring of Honor.

Jack Evans, doing a flippity-do move onto Super Dragon

Disc Four

(12) Super Dragon & Excalibur vs. Scorpio Sky & Quicksilver from Combat Zone Wrestling 11/14/2004. Commentary for the match is with Eric G and Rick Feinberg. A fan flipped off Dragon on the way to the ring, so Dragon got right in the guy’s face, grabbed the guy’s sign (that was right in front of the fan) and ripped it in half. CLASSIC!! Every guy in the match was wearing a mask. Feinberg claimed he couldn’t tell the difference between Scorpio Sky and Quicksilver since they were both wearing outfits that were yellow and black. Feinberg said, “I’ll just call them Killer Bee #1 and Killer Bee #2.” Fast paced tag match that was a blast to watch. Dragon gave a nice looking Curb Stomp to Quicksilver in the corner, and Quicksilver’s face hitting the turnbuckle adds a lot to what was already a cool looking move. Dragon won the match after hitting Quicksilver with a sick looking Barry White Driver. (20:20)

(13) Super Dragon vs. Mr. Excitement from Revolution Pro 12/5/2004. This was billed as Mr. Excitement’s “retirement match.” Mr. Excitement is a Savio Vega-like wrestler whose ring gear was a shirt which resembled the Puerto Rican flag and shorts. Decent enough match. No commentary and only “okay” camerawork take it down a notch though. Mr. Excitement won the match after a superplex. (23:35)

(14) Super Dragon & Excalibur vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico from Combat Zone Wrestling 12/11/2004. Excalibur and Dragon were announced at a combined “895 pounds” which caused the announcers to speculate they were adding in Dragon’s ego. OH! Both Steen and El Generico are from the Internet Wrestling Syndicate, and are getting a lot of buzz from the online community. I’ve seen Generico (who is billed as the Generic Luchador) before and liked him a lot but this is the first I have ever gotten a chance to check out Steen. The match built up seeing Steen and Dragon go at it, and when they finally did they both delivered. In a spot I loved, the two traded forearms until Dragon ran off the ropes and hit a running forearm. Steen then ran off the ropes as well, but Dragon followed and hit Steen with another forearm as he bounced off the ropes. Fantastic!! Dragon also it a great looking missile dropkick on Steen while, at the same time, hitting Generico with a senton. Just awesome stuff. Generico hit Excalibur with his trademark brainbuster on (that’s right, on ) the top turnbuckle. Dragon polished off Generico with a Psycho Driver. (19:20)

After the match, Steen came into the ring and helped up Generico, only to lay him out with a package piledriver that looked crippling. Excalibur and Dragon ran in for the save but after Steen left, jumped Generico themselves. Excalibur hit a Tiger Driver followed by Dragon putting Generico’s head in a steel chair and hitting a doublestomp off the top rope. Dragon then gave Generico a small package for another three count and celebrated like Kurt Angle when he won his Gold medals. This was incredible and the match itself is well worth going out of your way to see.

Indie wrestler El Generico (the Generic Luchador)

Indie wrestler Kevin Steen

(15) Super Dragon & B-Boy vs. Ebessan & Billy Ken-Kid from Chikara 2/18/2005. Ebessan and Billy Ken Kid got a video promo before the match. B-Boy brought part of a tree trunk with him to the ring, which was actually the head of another wrestler he and Dragon had beat earlier in the night. Only in Chikara. Dragon and B-Boy played the heels throughout the match, constantly cheating, and even threatening to walk out. Ebessan did some fantastic Ric Flair spots, including the Flair Flp, but played the babyface-in-peril for an almost unwatchably long stretch. You wouldn’t think it, since Ebessan looks like a complete goof, but this was a heck of a match. B-Boy and Billy had a terrific finishing exchange with a series of reversals ending with Billy pinning B-Boy with a backslide. Much better than I made it sound. (19:10)

Overall Thoughts: There are not enough superlatives I can heap upon this DVD set. FOUR DISCS of matches, and not a stinker in the bunch. Without a doubt, the best non-WWE produced DVD I have ever watched. A lot of people I run into ask what the big deal is with Dragon, and I guarantee that if you watch Evolution 4, you will understand. Dragon, even under a mask, has a sort of charisma that very few in wrestling carry. Dragon’s offense combines the best of the stiff strikers and high flyers and his signature movies (including Curb Stomp, Pyscho Driver and Violence Party) are among the best in indie wrestling today. Click HERE to purchase the collection or head on over to www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com and check out all the other DVDs they have to offer.

Special thanks to Keith Lipinski for his help with this review.

Torch Media Guy Derek Burgan has been writing for the PWTorch website for almost four years. If you have any questions, corrections, feedback, comments and ideas, he can be reached at: derek@gumgod.com

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