Cero Reviews PWG Game Over, Man!

[cero2k]

PWG Game Over, Man!
April 21, 2017
Reseda, CA

Rey Fenix vs Lio Rush - 7/10
They played around a lot on the idea that these two guys are really similar to each other in terms of agility and style. Chcuk Taylor and Excalibur were joking so much about Lio Rush being so young that Taylor probably went to school with his mom, but among the young jokes, they also made the point that Rush is too young to already have a taped elbow.

The match was athletic as fuck, tons of flips. There were some spots that we completely mistimed and so we had some awkward looking spots. After these guys have been hitting each other with everything, they start to tell a story that they're both dead enough that they're both collapsing and just hitting big moves out of nowhere (among those Rush going for cheap pops doing RKOs and Stunners). There was an ugly looking Spanish Fly on the apron and the Rush hit a frog splash to pin the tag team champion. Rush shouldn't have won, but I'm sure they're building him as the 'rookie that makes it to the BOLA finals'.

Adam Cole vs "King of Bros" Matt Riddle - 7/10
Cole mocks Riddle a lot, Riddle in returns tries to break Cole's arm in every opportunity possible. Most of the match was Adam Cole on control, surely because he cheated there, but offence nonetheless. Riddle would have comebacks here and there, but Cole would cut him off shortly after. One of those comebacks led to a Bromission for the submission win. Good match, but a bit too one-sided for my liking.

Jeff Cobb vs Keith Lee - 8.5/10
Not often we see Cobb as the smaller man in a match. Amateur wrestler vs football lineman. This was a slow match, but a hell of a big lads match. Most of the match was Keith Lee throwing Cobb around, but as the match progressed, Cobb started to chop down Lee (not literally), and while the first German didn't do much to Lee, the 7th and 8th were hurting. Finish was the Tour of the Islands, felt a bit out of nowhere.

Kyle O'Reilly vs "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin - 9/10
The rematch from the 2013 Battle of Los Angeles finals. Story of the match is that Elgin injures his left elbow early in the match, so Elgin's offense is cut in half as he only works with his right arm; moreover, O'Reilly starts targeting that same injured arm working towards the armbar. These guys hit each other with everything they had, tons and tons of strikes. Finish saw Elgin drop a turnbuckle bomb followed by a Liger Bomb for the pin.

The Young Bucks vs War Machine - 8.5/10
A match of big bruisers vs speed demons. Match started with some comedy of the Bucks trying to run away from War Machine or not having any luck fighting against their strength. The Bucks turn things around using their speed and tag team proficiency. The heel/face dynamic was really well established at the start, but as the match went on and War Machine started to gain control, they completely switches and we saw Matt Jackson become the babyface in peril and War Machine cutting him off from making the tag, he did a huge babyface comeback and Nick came in for the hot tag to the cheers of the crowd. The match went on for a while more back and forward until Matt Jackson gets a roll up on Rowe for the win. Good match, probably one of the better one these teams have had together.

Dick Togo vs Zack Sabre Jr - 9/10
Man, Zack makes Togo look tiny. Dick Togo debuted in 1991, Lio Rush was born 3 years later. This was an awesome submission based match, where Zack works the arms and legs, Togo works the arm. This was totally a Japanese styled match starting with all submission work for about half of the match, then as the match gets heated, they start striking each other to death, concluding with both guys racing each other, Zack to lock in a submission that can put Togo out, and Togo looking for an opening to hit the senton. As neither man can capitalize, they start trading roll ups ending with with Sabre winning with the Gedo Clutch (Togo's former tag partner). Awesome match.

Marty Scurll Promo - Marty cut a promo before the match started, mostly putting down Chucky T and the fans.

Reseda Street Fight
"The Kentucky Gentleman" Chuck Taylor vs "The Villain" Marty Scurll - 9.5/10
Awesome hardcore match, not in the cringy Drake Younger style, but some great weapon spots with trashcans, tons of umbrellas, a ladder, and Greg's birthday gift to Chucky T, a bag full of thumbtacks. There was a awesome little story at the end of the match when Knox gets knocked out with a trashcan, and Justin gets his fingers broken, so he can't count a pin, at that point Chuck, who already had to clear wins, realizes that he can't win the match via pinfall and so he needs to either submit or KO Scurll. Chucky not being a submission guy steals the Chickenwing and makes Scurll tap out to it! Huge win for Taylor in this Best Friends vs LDRS feud.

OVERALL THOUGHTS
Awesome show by PWG, a bit of a sleeper for how awesome it was and the noise it made when it happened, likely that post-WM chaos where everyone still talks about the big weekend.