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RADICAN’S PWG “BOWIE” DVD REPORT
FEB. 12, 2016
RESEDA, CALIF.
AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE AT HIGHSPOTS.COM
This show is a tribute to the late Davie Bowie. Excalibur and Joey Ryan opened the show on commentary.
(1) Dalton Castle vs. Chuck Taylor. Castle wanted to lock up, but he ended up bridging backwards away from Taylor before hitting his wacky pose on the mat. Castle then popped back up and they finally locked up. Taylor appeared to be sick of Castle’s tactics and said he wanted to fight. He took Castle down with a shoulder tackle off the ropes and went to go off the ropes, but Castle tripped him. They went back and forth trading counters as both guys went for a bodyslam.
They eventually came to a stalemate and the fans lost their minds. Castle wanted a handshake, but Taylor kicked him in the gut. Castle tossed Taylor to the floor and teased a dive, but stopped and strutted across the ring. Castle turned around and Taylor had a chair, but he ended up putting it down. Castle got the upper hand and hit the peacock headbutts. Castle charged at Taylor a short time later, but Taylor tossed him over his head into the turnbuckles for a 2 count.
Castle fired back with several jumping knees in the corner. He caught Taylor coming off the turnbuckles a short time later and tossed him over his head for a 2 count. Taylor hit a big uranagi and went up top for a moonsault, but Castle got out of the way and hit a dead-lift German with a bridge for a near fall. Castle sent Taylor to the floor a short time later with a running knee to the head on the apron.
Taylor fired back and nailed Castle with a gorgeous flip dive to fire up the fans. Wow! Castle fired back and caught Taylor with the 619 Style hurricanrana on the floor. They went back in the ring and Taylor ended up countering Castle with a rollup for the win.
WINNER: Chuck Taylor.
Star rating: (***) – This match seemed designed to give fans in Reseda a chance to see Castle do his thing with all his quirky mannerisms and signature spots. The action picked up quite nicely down the stretch before Taylor pinned Castle with a rollup in his PWG debut.
(2) Chris Hero vs. Trent Beretta. Hero was wearing old-school Denver Nuggets gear. Trent ducked through the ropes when Hero wanted a handshake. Hero ended up coming to the corner to shake hands with him. The fans chanted sportsmanship after they shook hands. The fans chanted Hero’s gonna kill you at Trent and he didn’t seem pleased. Hero took a shoulder tackle from Trent and laughed. Hero then went for a shoulder tackle and Beretta tripped him. That was great. Hero got up and they began to trade big chops. Hero eventually blocked a kick from Beretta and nailed him with a jumping knee to the head. OMG!
They went to the floor and began trading chops again. Hero eventually teased a chop and decked Trent with a short right. Hero tossed him back into the ring, but Trent fired right up and hit a huge dive through the ropes. Trent tossed Hero into the ring and began working him over as the announcers wondered if Hero’s head had hit the stage after he got nailed with a dive through the ropes. Trent was teasing a move on the apron, which gave Hero time to pop up and deck him with a running kick to the head. Hero kicked Trent through the ropes and he went right into the fans. Hero sent Trent into the ring, but then nailed him with a running kick to the head from the floor! Hero then went to work on Trent back inside the ring. Hero went for a big senton, but Trent got his knees up. Trent was slow to get up and Hero went right after him with a punch to maintain the upper hand. Trent suddenly fired back with some big open hand strikes, but Hero pushed him away and nailed him with a huge kick.
Trent finally blocked a rolling elbow from Hero and hit a big double stomp out of the corner. OUCH! Trent went on the attack and hit a big swinging DDT off the turnbuckles for a 2 count. Hero flipped over the ropes to the apron, but Trent sent him to the floor with a superkick. Hero landed on his feet and Trent sent up and went for a flip dive, but Hero caught him. He teased a powerbomb, but instead dropped Trent and hit a rolling elbow. Holy s—! The fans fired up huge and chanted “Chris Hero ain’t nothing to f— with.”
Trent surprised Hero with a back slide for a 2 count. They went at it up top and Hero rolled through on a hurricanrana, but Trent got up and hit a running knee strike for a near fall! Wow! The fans fired up as both men were slow to get up. Hero blocked Trent and went for a piledriver, but Trent fought out of it. Hero fired right back and hit the cyclone kill for a 2 count. Trent hit a weak slap and Hero sent up Trent in the corner and nailed him with a huge bicycle kick to the head. Hero sent Trent up for a piledriver off the turnbuckles. Trent tried to block it and eventually got free. Trent went for a sunset bomb, but Hero nailed him with a big elbow to the head. Trent ran at Hero in the corner, but ate another huge bicycle kick. Hero went up top, but Trent ran the ropes and hit an avalanche German and followed up with a big running knee for a near fall. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Trent went up top, but Hero rolled out of the way. Trent got off the ropes and hit a big superkick for a 2 count. Hero then fired right back and hit the short piledriver for a near fall. WOW! The fans fired up huge as Trent was down on the mat. They went back and forth and Trent hit the dude buster for a near fall. Holy s—t! Trent went for a hurricanrana, but Hero blocked it and hit a huge Styles clash into a modified piledriver for a near fall! Hero picked up Trent, but he countered him into a rollup for a 2 count. Hero rolled through and deadlifted Trent into a tombstone for the win. OH MY GOD!
WINNER: Chris Hero
Star rating: (****1/2) – This match was utterly amazing. They built it up slow at first with some good back and forth action leading into some great near falls late. Trent hitting the dudebuster for a near fall was a great moment. The counter sequence leading into the finish was awesome as well. What a war!
Jack Evans got on the mic before hit match with Sami Callihan began. He ran down the fans and said there’s no way God created whatever they are. He said PWG had once again put him up against the worst competition possible. Callihan got in the ring, but the ref stepped in his way. Evans took a shot at Callihan’s mom and he told him his mom is dead and he’s going to kiss him on the mouth. The crowd chanted Sami’s gonna kill you after the opening bell rang.
(3) Sami Callihan vs. Jack Evans. The fans chanted kiss machine at Callihan, who backed Evans into the corner and kissed him on the lips much to the delight of the crowd. The fans chanted “holy s—” and Evans fired back with a kiss of his own. The announcers said Evans went for the cheek and didn’t commit to the lips. They then went at it hot and heavy with an exchange off the ropes before coming for a stalemate. They did a crisscross spot and both guys got blown up. The fans applauded as both men tried to recover. Evans took a pitcher of beer from a fan and drank some of it. Evans stumbled around and Callihan asked for quiet. He then went and got a pitcher of beer from a fan. Callihan chugged the pitcher until it was empty. Evans’s pitcher was much fuller than Callihan’s. Evans went up to the top rope and started chugging, but ended up throwing up.
Callihan tossed a chair in the ring. Evans went to the floor and stumbled around before getting back into the ring with a chair of his own. Both men sat face-to-face in the chairs. Evans twirled his hands and blocked a right. Evans did some drunken Kung-Fu and continued to overwhelm Callihan. He finally knocked Sami out of his chair with a heart punch. Evans then hit a hurricanrana on Sami into the chair. He then used the chair to hit a spinning kick on Callihan. Evans blocked an eye poke on the apron and hit a big heart punch. He then hit a space flying tiger driver to the floor to wipe out Callihan. This is crazy! Evans went for a handspring elbow, but Callihan caught him on his shoulders and slammed him face-first into the apron.
They battled on the floor and Evans eventually fired back and hit a 450 splash off the apron to the floor on Callihan. OMG! Callihan fired back inside the ring and hit a half and half suplex for a near fall. Evans fired back and hit a standing sky twister for a 2 count. They went back and forth and Callihan ended up hitting a pair of big running knee strikes in the corner. Callihan hung Evans upside down in the corner and nailed him with several kicks. Callihan then climbed up top and Evans suddenly popped up and hit a northern lights suplex. Evans then hit a phoenix splash off the second rope, but Callihan got his hand on the rope to break up the pin! Wow!
Evans went for a moonsault foot stomp. Callihan caught his leg and got a stretch muffler, but Evans countered with a rollup for a 2 count. Callihan eventually caught Evans with a stuffed piledriver, but Evans kicked out at the last second! Evans suddenly surprised Callihan with a crucifix pin for the win.
WINNER: Jack Evans
Star rating: (***1/4) – The drunken Kung-Fu bit from Evans at the start of the match was funny. Once things got serious, this was quite a good back and forth contest that saw Evans escape with another PWG win.
(4) Adam Cole vs. Andrew Everett. Cole offered a clean break and hit his pose and said Adam Cole baby! Cole kept trying to hit his pose and Everett finally shut him down with a dropkick and a series of arm drags. Cole fired back and tossed Everett to the floor. Cole took Everett back inside the ring. Taylor said Cole would run around like a doofus and put Everett in a chin lock and that’s exactly what Cole did. They went to an exchange off the ropes and Cole caught Everett with a big neck breaker over his knee. Cole undid hit drawstring and said he was going to make Everett his valentine, but Everett got up and mounted a comeback. Cole went for the leaping code red out of the corner, but Everett flipped out of the way and then took him down with a hurricanrana. Everett hit a springboard dropkick that sent Cole to the floor. Everett hit a crazy springboard SSP to the floor to wipe out Cole. OMG!
Everett hit a falcon arrow back inside the ring, but Cole managed to kick out at 2. Everett landed on his feet and tried to avoid a superkick from Cole, so Cole hit a superkick to his leg and a big running knee to the head for a near fall. Cole then applied a figure 4. Taylor noted that this was Everett’s first singles match since his surgery. Everett struggled, but managed to get to the ropes. They went back and forth and Everett caught Cole with a springboard kick for a 2 count. Everett charged at Cole and took a huge superkick for a near fall. Everett caught Cole with an inverted frankensteiner and went up top. He connected with a HUGE SSP press for a near fall. Cole blocked a top rope hurricanrana a short time later and hit the Panama sunrise. He then hit a big brainbuster over his knee for the win.
WINNER: Adam Cole
Star rating: (***1/2) – This was a strong singles match with Cole getting heat from the crowd with his heel act and Everett mounting some nice comebacks. They had a great near fall late with Everett hitting a huge SSP off the top. Cole eventually got the win, but both men looked very good here.
(5) Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Trevor Lee. The fans chanted “BITW” at Sabre before the formal introductions. Lee pulled his knee pads up during early going, so Sabre took him down a short time later, took down one of his knee pads, and wrenched on his knee. Lee then had the ref help him pull his knee pad up. Sabre countered Lee a short time later and tied him up in a virtual pretzel. Lee managed to free himself of the combination leg and arm submission. The fans chanted for both men as Lee regrouped on the outside. Both men traded strangleholds and Sabre ended up freeing himself and sliding under Lee’s legs all the way to the floor and the fans applauded.
Lee threatened to quit if the fans chanted “f— TNA” again. Sabre told Lee to shut the f— up, which was funny. Sabre applied a hammerlock with his legs and bridged over on it. He continued to work over Lee’s limbs in casual fashion. Lee finally got to the ropes and the fans applauded. Sabre twisted Lee’s arm backwards and then stomped on it a short time later and the fans applauded. Lee finally freed himself and sent Sabre flying throat-first over the middle rope to the floor. Lee went on the attack and tossed Sabre across the ring with a HUGE biel. WOW! Lee got a nasty arm submission on Sabre, but he managed to get to the ropes.
The fans chanted for both men and Sabre fired back and got a great pinning combination for a near fall. Sabre got up, but ran right into a huge lariat from Lee! Lee pinned Sabre’s arm down and then pinned Sabre so he had to go against the pressure, but Sabre managed to kick out at 2. Sabre went after Lee’s arm with a couple of kicks, but Lee took him down with a bicycle kick. Sabre fired back and snapped Lee’s arm down. He then hit an arm capture dragon screw. Sabre went for a series of uppercuts in the corner and Lee trying to surprise him with a jumping double stomp, but Sabre managed to block it! The spot didn’t come off the way they intended I believe, as it looked like Sabre took a double stomp. Sabre then followed up with a huge penalty kick for a near fall. They went back and forth and Sabre hit a big release dragon suplex. Sabre then hit a tornado DDT, but instead of finishing it, he sat down with a key lock.
Sabre charged at Lee and applied a triangle, but Lee dropped him down right across his knee. Lee then connected with a double stomp off the ropes a short time later and the fans applauded. They went back and forth and Lee connected with a superman elbow. Sabre then slid around Lee a short time later and climbed around Lee. Eventually Sabre hit a tiger suplex with a bridge for a 2 count. Sabre then held on and applied a behind the back dragon sleeper! Lee rolled through on Sabre and nailed him with a superkick and both men were down! Sabre and Lee sat across from each other and slapped each other across the face.
They continued to exchange forearms and chops. Both men continued to trade blows back and forth. Lee got the upper hand and hit several big uppercuts, but Sabre suddenly tripped him and came off the turnbuckles with a diving European uppercut. Sabre charged at Lee, but Lee caught him with his spinning power slam for a 2 count. Sabre blocked a Superman elbow. He then flipped around Lee into a guillotine. Sabre then worked on Lee’s arm, but Lee flipped him around into a short powerbomb for a 2 count. Lee then nailed Sabre with a PK from the apron to the floor. Sabre countered a suplex and applied an octopus submission. He then transitioned to a nasty arm/leg combination submission for the win.
WINNER: Zack Sabre, Jr.
Star rating: (****1/4) – Just a tremendous technical wrestling match. It took a little bit to get going and was slow in spots, but they really turned the heat up nicely during the second half of the match. It was fun to see Lee try to match Sabre on the ground and even have a little bit of success at times. They had some really good back and forth counter sequences late before Sabre pulled off the win with a great submission. It’s just a treat to watch Sabre maneuver around and get submissions the way he does.
(6) Mike Bailey vs. Evil Uno. The announcers mentioned Player Uno had undergone a metamorphosis since last we saw him in PWG. Uno slammed Bailey and booted him in the face. Bailey fired back a short time later and slammed Uno to the mat. Uno fired back after an exchange and tripped Bailey to the mat before backing off. They went back and forth and came to a stalemate. Uno offered a handshake and then hit a big DDT on Bailey. The fans booed and then chanted Evil Uno. Bailey countered Uno and hit a back flipping knee drop on Uno. Holy s—!
Uno ended up dragging Bailey to the floor where he nailed him with a sick spinebuster right into the apron. OMG! Uno followed up with a vertical suplex on the exposed floor and the fans gasped. He then took a chair and sat right on Bailey’s chest with it. Bailey finally ducked a chop on the floor and Uno hit the ringpost. Bailey went for a kick back inside the ring, but Uno caught his leg, gave it to the ref, and hit a neck breaker. Uno hit the end of days a short time later, but Bailey managed to kick out at 2. Uno used the ref as a distraction when Bailey was making a comeback and hit a big slam. He then hit his signature pose on the ref as he was kneeling. The fans booed. Bailey hit several chops and Uno kept walking at him. Uno then fired back with a flurry of strikes and kicks that sent Bailey into the corner. Bailey fired back and caught Uno with a spinning heel kick that left both men down on the mat. Both men traded running helluva kicks in the corner as the pace picked. Bailey caught Uno with a corkscrew enzuguri and a one man sliced bread for a 2 count. Holy s—!
Uno begged off and Bailey set up and nailed him with a series of kicks. Uno fired back with a leg capture choke slam for a 2 count. Bailey fired back and hit a running corkscrew press for a 2 count a short time later. Bailey then hit a reverse hurricanrana that sent Uno to the floor. He went up top and Hit a crazy corkscrew press to the floor that he turned into a modified snow plow. Wow! Uno fired back and hit a back breaker over his knee out of the one-winged angel position for a 2 count. Uno punched Bailey low and hit a flurry of moves capped by a big leaping piledriver for a near fall. Holy s—!
Bailey went up top a short time later. Uno cut him off and got him on his shoulders. Uno then hit a middle rope tombstone! HOLY S—! Uno was slow to cover Bailey, who kicked out at the very last second. Uno hit a moonsault off the top and sold his leg. He then made the cover and Bailey kicked out at 1. WTF??!! Uno sold shock and Bailey popped up and nailed him with his signature back and forth kicks. They went back and forth and Bailey caught Uno with two huge kicks. He then hit a shooting star knee press off the top and finished off Uno with a roundhouse kick to the head for the win.
WINNER: Mike Bailey.
Star rating: (****1/4) – Just a fantastic back and forth affair with Uno taking shortcuts and Bailey refusing to stay down. The avalanche tombstone near fall down the stretch was nuts. This match was a blast to watch. What a return for Evil Uno!
Roderick Strong cut a promo prior to the main event. The fans chanted “shut the f— up” at him. He asked Knox what he was doing out here. He said he wanted another ref. He said Knox can’t ref his matches. Another ref came out to take his place. Strong said Galloway knew what he was going to do. Strong said he was going to kick Galloway’s ass. Strong went for a cheap shot, but Galloway blocked it and the match was on.
(7) PWG champion Roderick Strong vs. Drew Galloway. The action quickly spilled to the floor where Galloway dropped Strong right over the ring apron. Galloway picked up Strong and tossed him like a lawn dart into the bottom part of the ceiling that sticks out. Holy s—! He then tossed Galloway into the exit doors. Strong fired back and hit a big running dropkick through the ropes. Strong tried to dive at Strong, but he caught him coming off the ropes and hit a falling slam. Wow that could have gone bad given that Galloway was falling down as Strong was in the air. Strong fired back a short time later and hit a back breaker over the apron! Strong worked over Galloway inside the ring a short time later with some big kicks and strikes. Galloway continued to try to mount a comeback, but Strong cut him off each time.
A fan in the back of the crowd taunted Strong and Strong went to confront him. Galloway tried to attack him from the apron, but Strong fended him off. Galloway tried to catch him by surprise with a rollup inside the ring, but Strong kicked out and nailed him with a big dropkick. Galloway tried to fire back again, but Strong picked him up and slammed him right down on the mat. Galloway finally caught Strong going for a sick kick and nailed him with a buckle bomb and both men were down. Galloway went on the attack a short time later. He hit a big lariat off the top and the fans fired up.
Galloway went for a spinning slam that didn’t come off smoothly. Strong managed to crotch him up top a short time later. Galloway ended up hung upside down in the corner. Galloway tried to pop up, but Strong nailed him with a big kick from the apron. Galloway popped up again and tossed Strong down to the mat. Galloway hit a big slam on Strong in the corner and nailed him with a sick kick of his own for a 2 count. Strong tried to escape to the back, but Galloway followed him and chopped him back into the ring. Strong fired back inside the ring and hit a big jumping stomp on Galloway that was almost like a modified curb stomp.
Strong lit up Galloway in the corner with chops. Strong hit a superplex and hung on for a gut buster. Strong went for a sick kick, but Galloway nailed him with a huge lariat. They went back and forth and Galloway hit the future shock DDT for a near fall. Wow! They battled up top a short time later and Strong ended up tripping Galloway down to the mat. Galloway favored his leg. Strong lit up Galloway with a series of big moves capped by a Gibson driver for a near fall. Wow!
Galloway caught Strong going at him and hit a big tombstone for a near fall. Galloway ended up missing a charge in the corner and he went shoulder-first into the ringpost. Strong tossed one of the titles out into the ring. He then the ref took the PWG Championship away from him. Strong then grabbed the third belt he had with him and blasted Galloway with it for a near fall. Galloway hit a big running kick, but Strong fired back with three jumping knees and end of heartache for the win.
Winner: Roderick Strong to retain the PWG Championship
Star rating: (***1/2) – This was a very good match, but it just didn’t compare to the previous matches on the show. The crowd also seemed exhausted by this point as well, although they were still into the match, they weren’t red hot for the mostly back and forth hard-hitting action.
After the match, Cole came down to the ring and put the boots to Galloway. Strong set up several chairs inside the ring. Sabre ran down to help Strong. He went for end of heartache through the chairs on Sabre, but Sabre countered it into a standing arm submission. Cole then ran into the ring and kicked Sabre off of Strong. On the outside, Strong said Sabre would get his title shot. Sabre promised the fans to become PWG champion. He then shook hands with Galloway to close the show.
Overall thoughts: (8.5) – Overall, this was a really good show. The one match that is a must-see is Hero vs. Trent, which set an incredibly high bar for the rest of the card going on in the second spot on the show. There wasn’t a bad match on the card and with every match clocking in at three stars or more and several others in the four star range, this clearly was a very good show in the ring.
The show got really good when ZSJ vs. Trevor Lee and Mike Bailey vs. Evil Uno went on back-to-back. Both were excellent matches, but they also were very different from each other. Sabre vs. Lee was more of a technical affair with counter wrestling mixed in while Uno vs. Bailey was a very good back and forth action with Uno using short cuts to maintain the upper hand. These two matches are well-worth checking out.
The back and forth main event between Galloway and Strong featured some good hard-hitting action, but I wasn’t totally sucked into this match like some of the best matches on the card. The fans really want to see Sabre take the PWG Championship from Strong, which put Galloway in a tough spot here having to get the fans invested in a match which was clearly designed just to save Sabre vs. Strong for the title for another date.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable show that was easy to watch. The lack of strong storylines holds the product back somewhat, as it’s almost all about the in ring action. PWG doesn’t run many shows, but they seem to have a stable roster right now and it would be fun to see what the company could do stringing a storyline or two across the span of a year. Recommended.
You can purchase PWG “Bowie” on DVD/Blu-ray by clicking HERE or by visiting Highspots.com. You can also purchase this show on VOD/MP4 at DIYWrestling.com. For more information on PWG visit ProWrestlingGuerrilla.com.
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