CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCAST IPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPRSS
Pro Wrestling Torch
Pro Wrestling Torch Reaches The Most Wrestling Fans Every Week: #1 in iTunes • #1 on iPhone and iPad • #1 on Android • #1 on Kindle
GOT THE PWTORCH APP YET?
iPhone & iPad
Android
Amazon Kindle
Windows Phone
PWTorch Phone App
DVDs - VGames - Books
Tape Review: PWG, "Zombies Shouldn't Run," Aug. 6, 2005, with Styles vs. Steen, Daniels vs. Hero

Feb 28, 2006 - 8:46:00 AM
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO BOOKMARK US & VISIT US DAILY


By Chris Vetter, Torch Contributor

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla returned to their home in Los Angeles, Calif., on Aug. 6, 2006. PWG likes to pick some goofy names for its shows, and this one is dubbed "Zombies Shouldn't Run." PWG runs its shows in what appears to be an elementary school gym.

The crowd is about 300, and the PWG fans are always hot and into the action. However, the lighting isn't great here; the view from the hard camera is a bit dark, but the ringside 'fan cams' look good. I purchased a tape of this event, which does not have commentary. The DVDs have the option to turn on commentary.

One thing I really don't like about PWG shows is they cut entrances to the ring. PWG officials have explained to me that they don't want to pay rights to play music in the background, so they cut the intros altogether. I really think cutting the intros takes away from the event. In this case, the show ends IMMEDIATELY after a title change in the main event... leaving the viewer a bit shortchanged.

PWG rarely has backstage footage. This tape didn’t have any.

(1) TJ (Puma) Perkins defeats Hardcore Kidd at 10:46. Good opener. Hardcore Kidd ran down the crowd and the city to get some heat. Perkins wore red & white & blue pants. Hardcore Kidd wore a white short with black pants; he's bigger and far more muscular than Perkins. The match began, and Perkins took over immediately, hitting a missile dropkick, a hurricanrana, and a dive to the floor on Kidd. Back in the ring, Perkins hit a hurricanrana and several punches to the face.

Hardcore Kidd hit a gutbuster over his knee and a catapult headplant to Perkins' groin. Perkins hit a spin kick to the thigh. He tied Hardcore Kidd in the Tree of Woe, and he nailed a basement dropkick to the face. Hardcore Kidd hit a sideslam for a nearfall at 4:30. Perkins came back with an awesome flip senton off the ropes, then he hit a Stinger Splash. Kidd's manager tripped Perkins, allowing Hardcore Kidd to take over.

Hardcore Kidd hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee, then some elbow shots to the ribs. He tossed TJ headfirst on the apron, and they brawled on the floor. In the ring, Perkins hit some slaps. Kidd hit several chops, knocking Perkins down at 9:00. Perkins came back with a Tornado DDT for a nearfall. Hardcore Kidd hit a sitdown powerbomb for a believable nearfall, and the crowd applauded the kickout. Perkins hit two consecutive 450 Splashes for the pin.

(2) Rocky Romero defeats Davey Richards at 18:34. Wow, this was an excellent match, and an impressive match for being second on the show! The ring announcer accidentally introduced Romero as his tag partner, "Ricky Reyes," and the crowd booed him. Funny. The crowd was hot for both of these guys. They opened with some good standing switches and mat reversals, then a standoff. Richards is much larger, and he hit a nice shoulder tackle for a nearfall. Their hands were tied in a knucklelock, and Romero hit a nice suplex and some kicks to the thighs as they were tied up.

At 6:00, they started shoving each other, and Romero nailed several stiff, stiff spine kicks. Romero applied a single-leg crab. Richards nailed a hard enziguri, and the crowd popped and cheered for him. Richards took over with a snap suplex, some spine kicks, and he planted his knee in Romero's back. Romero hit some open-hand slaps at 10:00, and they both went down. Romero hit a flying double knees to the head off the apron to the floor.

Romero grazed Richards on a Mafia Kick for a nearfall, and he hit some more chops, then he applied a mid-ring Octopus, but Richards made it to the ropes. Richards fought back with a nice T-Bone Suplex at 13:30, then a flying forearm, a clothesline, and both men were down. Richards applied a cross-armbreaker, but Romero made it to the ropes.

Romero hit a hurricanrana for a nearfall. Richards hit a butterfly suplex for a believable nearfall at 16:00, then he applied a Fujiwara Armbar, but Romero reached the ropes. Romero applied a Front Guillotine Choke, but Richards powered out. Romero applied another Front Guillotine Choke, but this time he applied a bodyscissorslock around Richards' waist, in the center of the ring, and Richards passed out! Very good, hard-hitting match.

(3) Disco Machine & Excalibur & Ronin defeat Top Gun Talwar & Hook Bomberry & Mr. Excitement at 16:37. Fun six-man tag. Mr. Excitement wore white basketball shorts, and he has a good physique. Top Gun wore blue, and he is the goofy West Coast version of Colt Cabana. Excalibur is all in black, with a black mask. Ronin is a bit heavier, dressed all in red. The crowd is taunting Ronin with a "Hello Kitty" chant. Excalibur spoke on the mic, and he talked about how Kevin Steen was going to win the title tonight. SoCalVal came out, and she said the Aerial Express aren't here tonight, so she picked a new opponent.

Ronin and Hook Bomberry started, and they traded basic armbars. Ronin hit some hard chops; Hook hit a hurricanrana and a dropkick. Top Gun squared off with Disco Machine at 3:30, and this is some comedy, and the crowd laughed and applauded. Disco hit some armdrags and punches to the face. Mr. Excitement tagged in at 6:30 and faced Excalibur, and they brawled on the canvas, then they fought to the floor. In the ring, the heels worked over Talwar, with Ronin hitting a snap suplex for a nearfall. Excalibur applied a Camel Clutch, and he pulled on Talwar's face. Disco hit a nice back suplex.

Hook Bomberry made the hot tag at 12:00; both he and Mr. Excitement ran in the ring and beat up the heels. Hook hit a basement dropkick on Disco's face. Top Gun hit a clothesline in the corner on Disco Machine. Excalibur hit a German Suplex for a nearfall on Hook. Mr. Excitement hit a high back suplex on Excalibur, dropping him on his head for a nearfall at 15:00. Ronin and Mr. Excitement traded stiff forearms, then Ronin hit a Death Valley Driver. Talwar hit a sitdown powerbomb on Ronin. Disco Machine nailed a chokeslam across his knee on Talwar to score the pin. Good quick action.

(4) Joey Ryan defeats Claudio Castognoli at 14:14. Good match. Ryan wore his black karate pants. Claudio wore a purple shirt and black pants, and he's much taller than Ryan. Claudio applied a number of armbars, and it frustrated Ryan. They traded cravates. Claudio was simply out-mat wrestling Ryan, and the crowd was enjoying it. Claudio picked up Ryan for a delayed vertical suplex, for a 32 count, and the crowd applauded. Ryan fired back with a standing neckbreaker at 4:30.

Ryan choked Claudio in the ropes, and he dominated with some kicks, stomps and clotheslines, then he hit a dropkick to the face for a nearfall at 7:30. In a cool spot, Ryan went for a Front Guillotine Choke, but Claudio reversed it into a flip-up European Uppercut. Cool spot. They traded stiff forearms, and Claudio hit some European Uppercuts and a backbody drop. They brawled to the floor. The crowd chanted, "Double C!" Claudio nailed a top-rope flying European Uppercut for a nearfall. Ryan hit two German Suplexes, then a fisherman's suplex for a nearfall at 11:00.

The crowd was hot! Claudio nailed a Burning Hammer/inverted DVD for a believable nearfall. Ryan hit a second-rope swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. Claudio hit a European Uppercut to the back, then a roaring European, and Ryan stalled on the floor. In the ring, the ref was accidentally hit. Ryan threw powder in Claudio's eyes, and he applied a modified sleeper, and Claudio tapped out. Good match, great crowd involvement.

(5) Christopher Daniels defeats Chris Hero at 18:51. Very good match. Daniels got on the mic, saying he was upset he wasn't in the main event, getting a title shot. He ran down the PWG roster, and he noted that he beat Hero in April. He said Hero didn't deserve a title shot, so the TNA X Division Title was NOT on the line. He said he won't put the title on the line until there is someone worthy of carrying it. The match started, and the fans alternated with a "Fallen Angel," "Let's Go Hero" chant, and Daniels stalled & stretched.

Hero hit some quick armdrags, and Daniels stalled some more and yelled at a fan. Hero applied a cravate, and he worked on the left arm. Daniels pulled Hero to the mat by his hair at 5:30. Overall, Hero was out-mat wrestling Daniels and focusing on the left arm. Hero hit a plancha to the floor. Back in the ring, Hero hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker at 9:30. Daniels took control with a back suplex for a nearfall, and he stomped Hero. Daniels hit a basement dropkick to the back of the head for a nearfall. Hero came back with a one-legged dropkick, and both men were down at 13:00.

Daniels cranked on the head & neck, and he applied a modified sleeper. He hit a nice Arabian Press, and he applied a Crippler Crossface, but Hero reached the ropes. Daniels placed Hero on the top turnbuckle, and he nailed some uppercuts to Hero's jaw. Hero hit a missile dropkick, and both men were down at 17:00. They traded punches and Hero hit a dropkick, and he fired up! He hit a powerslam for a nearfall, then a standing powerbomb for a nearfall. Daniels nailed a Death Valley Driver and scored the pin. Very good match, but I thought the finish came out of nowhere.

(6) Super Dragon defeats Quicksilver at 24:37. Good match. Dragon immediately went to work on the left leg, and he tied up Quicksilver's legs. This was slow early. Quicksilver applied a cross-armbreaker. Dragon hit a spine kick and a shoulder tackle. Quicksilver came back with a headscissorslock. Dragon hit a doublestomp on the back. Quicksilver hit a nice dive over the top rope to the floor, landing in the chairs, at 4:30. On the floor, Quicksilver hit some chops and forearms. In the ring, Quicksilver was still in charge, nailing a basement dropkick to the back of the head, and he was being cocky, in a babyface way. Quicksilver went for a springboard move, but Super Dragon caught him with an open-hand slap to the face.

Super Dragon unloaded some chops, forearms, and a hard backhand slap to the face. He choked Quicksilver. On the floor, Dragon hit a hard chop at 8:00. In the ring, they traded more chops, and Dragon missed a Kawada Kick in an awkward moment. Dragon hit a nice back suplex, and he tied up the left leg. He applied a butterfly submission hold on Quicksilver's arms, but Quicksilver made it to the ropes. Super Dragon tied Quicksilver in the Tree of Woe, and did the 'Oh Canada' groin stomp. Super Dragon applied a Figure Four at 15:00, and the crowd let out a Flair "Woo!" Quicksilver made it to the ropes.

Quicksilver hit a snapmare driver for a nearfall, then a nice springboard forearm for a nearfall. They fought on the top turnbuckle; Super Dragon hit a headbutt, knocking Quicksilver down, and Super Dragon immediately hit a senton splash, and they were both down at 19:00. Super Dragon hit a German Suplex and a buttefly suplex for a nearfall, and the crowd rallied behind Quicksilver. Quicksilver hit a reverse headscissors takedown for a believable nearfall at 21:00.

Quicksilver hit a flip, off the top rope, to the floor, drawing a "holy sh--" chant. He rolled Dragon in the ring and he got a believable nearfall. They fought on the top turnbuckle, and Super Dragon hit a sideslam for a nearfall. The crowd was hot! Super Dragon nailed the Psycho Driver/modified piledriver for the pin. This match started slow, but was awesome in the final minutes.

SoCalVal introduced Dino Winwood as the new PWG co-commissioner. Joey Ryan attacked Winwood and tried to bodyslam him! Dino somehow hit a Death Valley Driver!

(7) Human Tornado & El Generico defeat Scott Lost & Chris Bosh at 16:53 to retain the tag titles. Bosh got on the mic and said that Lost got pinned in their last match because he was too exhausted from having sex all night. The heels jumped the faces, but the faces hit simultaneous dropkicks and cleared the ring. Generico and Lost started, with Generico hitting his cool variety of armdrags. Human Tornado got in, and he hit a nice headscissors, then a hard spinning enziguri for a nearfall. Generico chopped Bosh.

Bosh avoided a Mafia Kick and he hit a low blow at 4:30. The heels began to work over Generico. Lost hit a spin kick for a nearfall. The heels made some illegal tags. Lost pulled Generico to the floor, and he gave him a suplex on the floor. Bosh hit a nice headscissors takedown to the floor on Genrico. He tossed Generico into the chairs, and he slammed Generico's head repeatedly against a wall! In the ring, Lost missed a spear, and he landed on the floor. Generico made the hot tag to Human Tornado at 9:30, and Tornado hit a Monty Brown Pounce on Lost. Bosh hit a backbreaker over his knee on Tornado.

Generico hit a moonsault on Lost, who was tied in the ropes. Generico then went to the top turnbuckle and he hit a moonsault to the floor on Bosh! Human Tornado immediately dove over the top rope onto the heels, deep into the crowd, at 11:30, and the crowd chanted, "PWG!" In the ring, Human Tornado hit an inverted DDT on Bosh. Lost hit a top-rope elbow drop on Tornado for a nearfall. Lost put the two faces on top of each other, and in a cool spot, he put them in a double sharpshooter, and the crowd popped.

Genercio hit a basement dropkick on Bosh, then he nailed the Mafia Kick in the corner at 15:00. Tornado hit a Plant DDT on Lost for a nearfall. Generico hit a flip powerbomb on Bosh, and all four were down. The crowd sang the "Ole" song to rally Generico. Generico hit a brainbuster on Lost, and Human Tornado covered Lost for the pin. Another very good match.

(8) Kevin Steen defeats A.J. Styles at 18:56 to win the PWG heavyweight title. Good match, but not the best on this card. Steen attacked Styles, hitting a European Uppercut and a shoulder tackle. Styles hit a flying forearm off the apron to the floor. Styles hit a spine kick on the floor, then some field goal kicks and stiff forearms. In the ring, Styles hit a backbreaker over his knee, then the big standing dropkick to the face for a nearfall at 3:00.

Styles applied a Muta Lock, cranking on Steen's head, then he twisted Steen's knee. Steen choked A.J. in the ropes, and he hit a neckbreaker on the second rope for a nearfall. He repeatedly kicked and punched at the back of Styles' neck, and he shouted a warning, "stop hitting my knee!" Styles fought back with the Kip-up Rana, but Steen immediately took control again, hitting a nice back suplex for a nearfall and a flip guillotine legdrop for a nearfall at 10:30. Someone began chanting "overrated" at Steen, so more fans began chanting "Mr. Wrestling."

They traded chops and forearms, and Styles hit an enziguri. Styles hit the Phenomenon/backflip-into-inverted DDT, and Steen bailed to the floor. In the ring, Styles hit a pumphandle back suplex, then a pumphandle backbreaker for a nearfall. Steen went for the Package Piledriver, but Styles escaped it. Steen wrapped A.J. around his back and he hit a sideslam for a nearfall at 15:30. Styles came back with a nice standing neckbreaker. Steen pulled the ref down on top of him as a shield, but then he hit Styles with a low blow.

Steen hit a Gorilla Press Gutbuster over his knees for a believable nearfall. Steen nailed his top-rope moonsault for a believable nearfall. Steen was sitting on the top turnbuckle when A.J. nailed him with the Pele Kick at 18:30. Styles hooked Steen for the Styles Clash, but Steen reached out and grabbed the ropes to escape; Steen immediately rolled up Styles, held onto the ropes for leverage, and scored the pin to win the title.

Final thoughts: Running time 2 hours, 49 minutes. There is a lot to like about this PWG show. Romero-Richards was great, Daniels-Hero was strong, and the tag title match was hot. I thought Super Dragon vs. Quicksilver started a bit too slow, because they knew they had a long match, but it really finished hot. The main event was good, but not as good as the above mentioned four.

I stated my main complaint at the top. It would be nice to have the entrance music before and after the matches. It was really too bad the show ended so abruptly right after Steen's title win. The title switch hadn't even 'sunk in' to viewers before the show was over. By not showing the footage -- not making a 'big deal' out of the title change, I think PWG has conditioned fans to not care about title changes. (But another one of PWG's problems is that the title belts are hot potatoes. Seriously, how many teams held the tag titles this year in PWG?)

PWG has some strong wrestling, and they had a standout year. I wish they would add some serious commentary and invest money to improve the lighting of their ring. But the wrestling is great, the crowd is hot and knowledgeable and into all the action, and the shows are enjoyable to watch.

This show earned a big 'thumbs up' from me. Purchase this DVD at www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com or the tape at www.smartmarkvideo.com for $15.


We suggest these recent related articles...
RADICAN'S Beyond Wrestling "Greatest Rivals Round Robin" review 9/26 - incredible show of the year contender, Busick-Edwards top-flight MOTYC, more!
RADICAN'S "The Pull List" (Vol. 5) "Young Bucks Too Sweet Journey" doc review, The Flash season 1 Blu-Ray, Top Ten MOTYC for 2015
RADICAN'S "THE PULL LIST" (Vol. 4) - step by step guide to social media and conduct, "Madden NFL 16" review, "Furious 7" Blu-ray w/The Rock & Ronda Rousey, more!
prowrestling.net
CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE PW.NET HEADLINES


CLICK TO EMAIL THIS ARTICLE
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTING

NEW! SIGN UP FOR FREE PWTORCH BREAKING NEWS EMAIL ALERTS
BECOME A PWTORCH VIP MEMBER
-FORMER MEMBERS LOGIN HERE TO RENEW
-NEW MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
SELECT BY ARTICLES CATEGORY
SEARCH PWTORCH.COM



CLICK HERE FOR LIST OF UPCOMING PRO WRESTLING EVENTS
MORE HEADLINES AT AFFILIATE SITES
MMATorch
LATEST HEADLINES - CLICK TO READ CLICK HERE FOR MORE MMATORCH HEADLINES


PWTORCH POLL - VOTE NOW!
RAW POLL 10/12: Vote on Monday's show
 
pollcode.com free polls


RAW POLL 10/12: What was the Best Match on Raw?
 
pollcode.com free polls
MCNEILL LIVECAST POLL: TNA will have a 32-person tournament to determine a new Hvt. champion - your thoughts?
 
pollcode.com free polls
CENA POLL: If John Cena takes a year-end break, who should win the U.S. Title from Cena?
 
pollcode.com free polls
VOTE IN OR SEE RESULTS OF PREVIOUS POLLS



LATEST HEADLINES - CLICK TO READ CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE INC HEADLINES

_
LATEST FREE AUDIO SHOWS - CLICK TO LISTEN VIEW MORE PWTORCH LIVECAST EPISODES
DOWNLOAD PWTORCH LIVECAST APP
SUBSCRIBE TO PWTORCH LIVECAST IN ITUNES


ABOUT US

THE TORCH REACHES MORE COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT FANS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered pro wrestling full time since 1987 starting with the Pro Wrestling Torch print newsletter. PWTorch.com launched in 1999 and the PWTorch Apps launched in 2008.

He has conducted "Torch Talk" insider interviews with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Jesse Ventura, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, more.

He has interviewed big-name players in person incluiding Vince McMahon (at WWE Headquarters), Dana White (in Las Vegas), Eric Bischoff (at the first Nitro at Mall of America), Brock Lesnar (after his first UFC win).

He hosted the weekly Pro Wrestling Focus radio show on KFAN in the early 1990s and hosted the Ultimate Insiders DVD series distributed in retail stories internationally in the mid-2000s including interviews filmed in Los Angeles with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrara and Matt & Jeff Hardy. He currently hosts the most listened to pro wrestling audio show in the world, (the PWTorch Livecast, top ranked in iTunes)


REACHING 1 MILLION+ UNIQUE USERS PER MONTH
500 MILLION CLICKS & LISTENS PER YEAR
MILLIONS OF PWTORCH NEWSLETTERS SOLD
PWTORCH STAFF

EDITORS:
Wade Keller, editor
(kellerwade@gmail.com)

James Caldwell, assistant editor
(pwtorch@gmail.com)

STAFF COLUMNISTS:
Bruce Mitchell (since 1990)
Pat McNeill (since 2001)
Greg Parks (since 2007)
Sean Radican (since 2003)

We also have a great team of
TV Reporters
and Specialists and Artists.

PWTORCH VIP MEMBERSHIP

PWTorch offers a VIP membership for $10 a month (or less with an annual sub). It includes nearly 25 years worth of archives from our coverage of pro wrestling dating back to PWTorch Newsletters from the late-'80s filled with insider secrets from every era that are available to VIPers in digital PDF format and Keller's radio show from the early 1990s.

Also, new exclusive top-shelf content every day including a new VIP-exclusive weekly 16 page digital magazine-style (PC and iPad compatible) PDF newsletter packed with exclusive articles and news.

The following features come with a VIP membership which tens of thousands of fans worldwide have enjoyed for many years...

-New Digital PWTorch Newsletter every week
-3 New Digital PDF Back Issues from 5, 10, 20 years ago
-Over 60 new VIP Audio Shows each week
-Ad-free access to all PWTorch.com free articles
-VIP Forum access with daily interaction with PWTorch staff and well-informed fellow wrestling fans
-Tons of archived audio and text articles
-Decades of Torch Talk insider interviews in transcript and audio formats with big name stars.


**SIGN UP FOR VIP ACCESS HERE**

CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCASTIPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPRSS
VIP SIGN-UP
VIP LOGIN
THE TORCH: #1 IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE | © 1999-2013 TDH Communications Inc. • All rights reserved -- PRIVACY POLICY