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RADICAN’S PWG “MAN ON THE SILVER MOUNTAIN” REPORT
JUNE 16, 2017
RESEDA, CALIF.
AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE AT HIGHSPOTS.COM
(1) Trevor Lee vs. Chuck Taylor. Lee had the ring announcer introduce him as TNA’s Trevor Lee. Lee caught Taylor with his big flipping powerslam early, but Taylor fired back on the floor and tossed several chairs at Lee. Lee fired back and hit a PK from the apron the to the floor. Lee hit the mushroom stomp a short time later, but made a cocky cover and only got a 2 count. Taylor slipped on the turnbuckles, but he still managed to deliver a superplex on Lee. They went back and forth and Lee caught Taylor with a dropkick off the ropes for a 2 count. Lee hit a big German with a bridge at one point for a near fall. Lee went for another PK to the floor, but Taylor caught his leg and tripped him face-first into the apron. Taylor went for a German, but Lee landed on his feet. He charged at Taylor only to eat a belly-to-belly suplex into the turnbuckles for a near fall. Lee blocked an awful waffle attempt. Taylor hit a big running cross-body a short time later and Lee was unable to reverse it, as Taylor got the pin! This was a fun opening match.
Winner: Chuck Taylor
Star rating: (***¼) – This was a fun opener that the crowd was into. It was short, but it continued Taylor’s momentum.
(2) Jason Cade vs. Jake Crist vs. Desmond Xavier in a Three-Way match. This is Cade’s PWG debut. Crist was dressed like he was he was hitting some high scale bars with a vest and collared shirt. Crist got sent to the floor and Cade and Xavier went at it at a fast pace. All three men took turns hitting dives a short time later. Cade hit a HUGE tope con hilo to wipe out Crist. Xavier and Crist also hit tope con hilo’s. Cade then hit a fosbury flop to the floor. Xavier his a Sasuke special to the floor. Crist then teased a dive and then posed on the ropes. The fans booed. WOW! What a sequence that was. Excalibur mentioned Dave Crist was out with a lower back injury. The match continued at an insane pace. Cade hit a springboard lung blower on Xavier. He then went back and forth across the ring to work over Xavier and Crist, but Crist ended up cutting him off. Crist ended up throwing a bunch of superkicks. They did a spot where everyone ended up down on the mat after a flurry of DDTs. All three men went at it trading blows in the middle of the ring. Cade tripped Crist into the corner and hit a double stomp. He then flipped off the turnbuckles into a Canadian destroyer on Crist, but Xavier broke it up! Xavier hit Cade with a back handspring Pele kick a short time later, but he managed to kick out at the last second. Crist hit a double underhook destroyer on Xavier off the top, but Cade broke it up at the last second! WOW! These guys are nuts! Xavier hit a low level meteora and an insane corkscrew senton for the pin on Cade.
Winner: Desmond Xavier
Star rating: (***¾) – This was insane fast-paced wrestling at its finest. I cannot believe some of the stuff these three did in this match. Crist’s double underhook destroyer off the top was nuts, but Xavier literally looked like he spun around 1,000 times hitting the finish. I really enjoyed this match.
(3) Keith Lee vs. Lio Rush. Lee picked up Rush and put him on the turnbuckles during the early going. He then patted him on the cheek gently and backed away. Lee kept patronizing Rush, who finally slapped his hand away and then slapped him across the face. Lee told him to calm down and bask in his glory, but Rush went for a kic. Lee caught it and flipped him over. Rush tried to toss him into the ropes, but Lee wouldn’t move. Lee tried to use the ropes for leverage for a headlock takedown, but he still couldn’t get Lee down. Rush finally began to target Lee’s midsection and he began to show some weakness. Lee went to the ropes after a series of kicks to the midsection, but he didn’t go down. They went to an exchange off the ropes and Lee ended up hitting a pounce that sent Rush face-first into the second rope! Rush sent Lee to the floor and hit a dive through the ropes, but Lee just stumbled backwards and looked at Rush with disdain. Lee then laughed at Rush’s plight and tossed him back into the ring. Lee dominated the action and went up to the second turnbuckle, but Rush popped up and nailed him with a series of strikes. He then got Lee up on his shoulders and hit a DVD. WHAT!? He then hit dragon’s call off the top and Lee did the Big Show kickout at 1. OMG! Rush grabbed Lee’s nipples at one point, but Lee swatted his hands away and nailed him with a double chop.
Lee hit a big splash in the corner a short time later. He then nailed Lee with a HUGE double chop and Rush teased throwing up. Lee went for another splash in the corner, but Rush got his boot up. Rush hit a flurry of strikes, but Lee blocked a kick and hit a headbutt to the back of Rush’s head. Rush finally took down Lee with a series of kicks and some of them missed, but he finally took him down and made the cover for a 2 count. Rush tried to pick Lee up and he suddenly lifted Rush like it was nothing and slammed him down to the mat for a 2 count. Lee slowly went up top and went for a moonsault off the second turnbuckle, but Rush got out of the way. Rush went after him, but Lee nailed him with a huge rolling elbow. Lee went for a clothesline, but Rush countered it into Rush hour for a near fall! OMG! Rush went up top slowly, but Lee was already on his feet before Rush could get up top. Rush climbed up top anyway and Lee was waiting for him smiling when he got to the top. Lee tossed Rush to the mat. He went to the second turnbuckle. He told the crowd to bask in his glory. Lee then hit a frog splash, but RUSH KICKED OUT AT 1!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Rush hulked up and then collapsed. Lee made the cover for another 1 count. Rush went for the Batista fire up sequence, but walked right into an unbelievable spirit bomb from Lee for the win.
Winner: Keith Lee
Star rating: (****) – This was a great match with Lee imposing his size on Rush and Rush trying to find ways to chop him down to the ground. Lee has an incredible presence in the ring and it was a blast to watch these two play off each other given their size difference in this match.
(4) Unbreakable F’N Machines (Michael Elgin & Brian Cage) vs. War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe). Elgin and Hanson went at it right away. They began trading blows. Cage and Rowe got into the ring and began exchanging blows as well. The action spilled to the floor and all four men brawled on the outside. Both teams brawled on the floor for several minutes. Hanson ended up isolating Elgin inside the ring. The pace picked up and Cage and Elgin worked together to hit a combination of moves on Rowe. Elgin hit a gorilla press on Rowe at one point, as he took a sustained beating. Elgin and Cage passed Rowe back and forth in the vertical suplex position. Cage finally dumped him down to the mat as the fans went nuts. Hanson got the hot tag and ran back and forth across the ring hitting big lariats in opposite corners on Elgin and Cage. He kept going and going and the fans fired up. Rowe recovered and picked up Hanson and tossed him into Elgin in the corner. He then hit a powerslam on Hanson that sent him into Cage in the opposite corner. Hanson and Rowe continued to work over Cage and Hanson came off the top with a splash. Rowe made the cover, but Elgin saved the pin. Elgin broke up a double team move with a big kick on Hanson on the apron. Cage and Elgin then lifted Rowe up for a double hellavator for a 2 count! All four men took turns clotheslining each other. All four men then got to their feet and collapsed and the fans applauded.
Rowe got isolated and Cage hit a pump-handle face buster. Cage and Elgin hit lariats at the same time from the front and back. Elgin and Cage hit a lariat/German combination on Rowe, but Hanson saved the pin. Hanson went at it alone against Cage and Elgin. He managed to wipe out Elgin with a clothesline and then Cage. Hanson went up top and hit a flipping senton to wipe out Cage and Elgin and the fans went nuts. War Machine went for a pop-up power slam on Cage and Hanson wiped out Elgin with a dive. Rowe made the cover, but Cage managed to kick out at 2. Hanson went up top, but Elgin hit a belly-to-belly suplex. He wiped out Rowe with a HUGE lariat. Cage lifted Rowe and gave him to Elgin up top. Elgin hit an Elgin bomb off the top. Cage then hit Rowe with the F5 for the win. WOW!
Winners: Brian Cage & Michael Elgin
Star rating: (****) – Some of the power spots didn’t come off smooth, but overall this was a fantastic battle between four heavyweights. The power spots were awesome and the crowd really fired up for the big clothesline sequence late in the match. This was a TON of fun to watch.
(5) Matt Sydal vs. Sami Callihan. They went at it right away and came to a stalemate. Sydal offered a handshake, but Callihan flipped him off. Sydal missed an enzuguri, but hit a kick a short time later. Sydal cussed Callihan out and began nailing him with some big kicks. He hit a roundhouse kick to Callihan’s head. Callihan fired back and caught Sydal with an inside out clothesline on the apron. Callihan got a drink and hit a running chop on a seated Sydal. Callihan hit another running chop. He then went further around the ring to hit another running chop, but Sydal caught him with a knee lift. Callihan caught Sydal, but Sydal ended up countering him with a hurricanrana that sent Callihan flying into a pile of chairs. Callihan and Sydal began tossing chairs into the ring from opposite sides of the ring. The ref went to the floor and tossed several chairs into the ring and told them to have at it and the fans fired up. They went back and forth and Callihan hit an exploder into a chair for a 2 count. Callihan charged at Sydal with a chair, but got caught with a big leg lariat that sent the chair into his head. They went back and forth and Sydal hit a standing moonsault onto Callihan, who had a chair on his chest. Both men flipped each other off and Callihan hit a stiff roll of the dice style clothesline for a 2 count.
Callihan got a prawn hold for a 2 count. He hit a bicycle kick to Sydal’s back right away and then a huge running lariat for a 2 count. Both men went back and forth again and Sydal hit a step up poison hurricanrana for a 2 count. Sydal put a chair over Callihan and then nailed him with a second chair. Sydal went up top, but Callihan popped up and hit him with a chairshot to the knee. Sydal countered a powerbomb into a rollup for a 2 count. They went back and forth and Callihan got the stretch muffler. He then began hitting some kicks to Sydal’s head and he tapped out.
Winner: Sami Callihan
Star rating: (***1/2) – The crowd seemed a little down at times for this match, but it was all action from start to finish. The finish came out of nowhere, so the crowd didn’t really react strongly to it. If they had paced this a little better and built things up, the match would have gotten over more.
(6) Jeff Cobb vs. Trent. Cobb hit a belly to belly suplex right off the bat. He hit another one that sent Trent flying across the ring. Cobb then ragdolled trent back and forth before tossing him over his head. The fans applauded his feet of strength. Trent tripped Cobb face-first into the apron and went on the attack. He grabbed a chair and hit Cobb with it. Trent went up top a short time later, but Cobb tripped him into his arms and transitioned right into another big suplex. Cobb dipped low while holding Trent and hit another big belly to belly suplex. The fans fired up and chanted for both men. Cobb continued to dominate Trent with power moves, as the announcers pointed out how tough Trent is. Cobb whipped Trent into the corner and he flew over the top to the floor. Cobb looked surprised by his own strength. Cobb set up for a dive, but stopped short. The fans booed and Cobb went to the floor. Trent tossed a chair at Cobb. Cobb fired back and appeared to have the upper hand back inside the ring. Cobb went for a standing SSP, but Trent got his knees up. Trent hit an enzuguri, but was slow to follow up. He went for a tornado DDT, but Cobb blocked it. Cobb then lifted Trent up into the suplex position, but Trent turned it into a hurricanrana!
Trent set up and went for a flip dive, but Cobb caught him. Cobb muscled him up and hit an apron bomb. Holy s–t! They battled to the apron. Trent set up for a piledriver on the apron and hit it. I don’t think wrestlers should ever do that move. There’s just too much room for error. Trent struggled to get Cobb back into the ring. He set up and hit a running knee strike to Cobb’s head. He set up Cobb and hit the cradle piledriver. Trent made the cover, but Cobb kicked out! Trent went right into the crossface. Cobb got to his feet and got Trent up onto his shoulders before delivering a powerslam. WOW! Trent and Cobb began exchanging blows. Cobb caught Trent coming off the ropes. He popped him up into a gutwrench suplex for a near fall! Cobb hit a deadlift German a short time later and took his time before going back on the attack. Trent slapped Cobb across the face only to eat a clothesline Cobb lifted Trent up and hit a big powerbomb and then an Angle slam. He went for another powerbomb, but Trent slipped out and hit the dude buster! Trent fell forward and was slow to make the cover and Cobb kicked out at the last second! WOW! Trent tried to hit some blows on Cobb, but there was nothing behind them. Trent suddenly hit a big slap to Cobb’s face. He spit in his face. Cobb fired back and NAILED Trent with a sick headbutt to the chest. Cobb hit 2 German suplexes and then a gutwrench suplex. WOW! Cobb popped Trent up and hit the tour of the islands for the win.
Winner: Jeff Cobb
Star rating: (****¼) – This was a tremendous match with Cobb showing off his power and dominating Trent most of the way. Trent showed a lot of fire with his comebacks, but Cobb was incredible here and Trent made his power moves look great. This was a tremendously fun match to watch.
(7) LDRS (PWG World Champion Zack Sabre Jr. & Marty Scurll) vs. ReDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly). Fish and Sabre traded leg submission attempts before coming to a stalemate. O’Reilly and Scurll went at it a short time later. O’Reilly got an arm submission, but Scurll managed to get to the ropes. Fish hit a slingshot senton on Scurll a short time later for a 2 count before tagging O’Reilly into the match. Scurll caught O’Reilly in a cross-arm breaker and tagged in Sabre. Neither team could get the upper hand got long during the early going. Sabre offered a clean break on O’Reily. He then knocked Fish off the apron as Scurll nailed O’Reilly with a kick from the apron. ReDRagon quickly fired back and hit a double kick on Scurll. Scurll tripped Fish from the outside and he went after him. Fish managed to fend off the double team and he botted Scurll off the apron. Sabre kicked out of a pinning combination and he sent Fish right into a chair toss from Scurll. Scurll followed up with a superkick from the apron to the floor and the fans gave LDRS a mixed reaction. Scurll went to work on Fish back inside the ring. Some fans chanted for Scurll, but part of the crowd tried to drown them out with booes. Sabre nailed O’Reilly with a kick to send him off the apron to the floor. Fish continued to take a beating from LDRS. O’Reilly nailed Sabre with an elbow after ducking a running kick on the apron. Fish began nailing Sabre with kicks and he went to the outside. Scurll ran across the ring and knocked O’Reilly to the floor before he could tag out.
Fish hit an exploder on Scurll into the turnbuckles. He struggled to get to the corner and finally made the hot tag. O’Reilly hit several kicks and Sabre fired back with a slap. O’Reilly hit several kicks and a slap before sweeping the leg to send Sabre down to the mat. O’Reilly grabbed a kneebar and Sabre grabbed one as well. Both men began slapping each other until Sabre hit a kick to O’Reilly’s head. Kyle did the sleazy Kyle dance after blocking a sunset flip before applying an armbar on Sabre. He transitioned to a triangle. Scurll went for a kick, but Sabre grabbed an ankle lock for a double submission. Sabre was about to tap out, but Scurll blocked his hand from hitting the mat. He then kicked O’Reilly several times to break up the submission. O’Reilly hit a sick knee strike to Scurll’s head and he spilled to the floor. ReDRagon hit a series of tandem moves on Sabre, but he managed to kick out at 2! They set up for chasing the dragon, but Scurll dragged Fish to the floor. Scurll and Sabre hit a double just kidding superick to O’Reilly’s legs. LDRS went to town on Fish hitting a series of big strikes capped by a PK from Fish for a near fall. Fish fended off Scurll and Sabre and the fans fired up. Scurll eventually snapped Fish’s fingers apart and went for the chicken wing. Sabre went for the octopus hold. Both teams went back and forth trading submissions. Sabre ended up kicking O’Reilly into Fish to break up the string of dueling tandem submissions. Fish and Scurll exchanged blows from their knees as the fans chanted for both of them. Scurll popped up and hit a superkick on Fish, but Fish caught him with a big flying knee off the ropes and both men were down.
Fish and Scurll both tagged out at the same time. O’Reilly and Sabre went at it exchanging blows in the middle of the ring. LDRS hit a Michinoku driver/dropkick combination, but Fish broke up the pin! Scurll hit a pumphandle neck breaker on Fish over his knee. Scurll distracted the ref and Sabre nailed O’Reilly with it. Sabre made the cover, but O’Reilly kicked out at the very last second. LDRS put the boots to O’Reilly. O’Reilly fired up while taking repeated kicks. O’Reilly did the ode to Nigel, but ate a forearm from Sabre, so he did another ode to Nigel and hit a double clothesline! ReDRagon hit chasing the dragon on Sabre, but he kicked out. Scurll hit Fish with the Bullet Club umbrella. Sabre tied up O’Reilly in a double arm submission. Scurll came over and snapped his fingers apart. Sabre then began kicking O’Reilly in the head while holding the submission and he tapped out.
Winners: Marty Scurll & Zack Sabre Jr.
Star rating: (***¾) – This was good, but it took a long time to get going. The first half of the match dragged a bit, but things picked up nicely leading to the finish.
After the match, the fans booed. Chuck Taylor came down to the ring and ran off Sabre and Scurll. The PWG title was in the ring and Taylor grabbed it and looked at it. The fans chanted for Taylor. He put the belt down and grabbed the mic. Taylor said he was sick and tired of the tag matches and he told Sabre to put the title on the line at the next show. The fans fired up and clapped. Taylor said if Sabre beat him, he’d never get another title shot in PWG again. Sabre came back out and took the mic on the floor. He eventually told Taylor to suck his d–k. Sabre dropped the mic and left. Taylor held up the title and it appears the match is on for the next show.
Overall thoughts: (8.5) – This was a strong show from PWG. There wasn’t a bad match on the card and most of the matches were in the four star range or just below. The undercard had a fantastic Lee-Rush match that played to Lee’s strength as a big man. Rush was a great foil for him as well making several spirited comebacks and taking some bumps that made Lee looks like a monster.
War Machine vs. The Unbreakable F’N Machines followed Lee-Rush with an incredible tag match that saw both means going back and forth trading power spots. These four went to war and set Reseda on fire with some great power based exchanges. This was a lot of fun to watch and it ended just when it seemed like it was getting going.
Jeff Cobb vs. Trent was the match of the night. Trent is underrated and I can’t wait to see him as a singles wrestler in the NJPW Hvt. division in the near future. Cobb showed incredible power and Trent made some fantastic comebacks and seemed to have Cobb finished off, but Cobb’s power was just too much for him. This was one of the best if not the best Jeff Cobb singles matches I’ve seen.
The main event was very good, but it just couldn’t hold up to the rest of the card. The first half of the match between LDRS and ReDRagon was very slow to get going. The second half of the match got better and LDRS got some good heat using heel tactics during the course of the match. They built up to a good finish before moving onto the post-match.
After LDRS vs. ReDRagon was over, Taylor came out and ran off Zack Sabre and Marty Scurll before challing Sabre to a match for the PWG Title with the stipulation that if he loses, he never gets another shot at the title. This was a great way to end the show and build towards a big Taylor-Scurll title match at the next show. The only problem was that Sabre was very difficult to hear on the mic, so I’m assuming he accepted Taylor’s challenge based on what I heard.
Overall, this was a great show with a string of excellent matches. This show gets a high recommendation for purchase.
You can purchase PWG’s “Man on the Silver Mountain” release on DVD & Blu-Ray at HIGHSPOTS.COM. For more information on PWG visit their website by clicking HERE.
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Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow Sean on twitter HERE. Follow and like Radican’s Wrestling Community Facebook.com HERE
Did they use the Rainbow song “Man On The Silver Mountain” at the show?