my detailed recap of last night:
Normally PWG's annual major tournament the Battle of Los Angeles (BOLA) is a multi (2 or even 3) day tournament. This was the first time ever that BOLA was a one day tournament, but I liked it because it cost me less money to go to BOLA and the tournament was stacked instead of containing alot of participants who likely had no chance at winning the tournament anyway.
I got to the Legion Hall with perfect timing- right as they were at the end of admitting the front row ticket holders which meant I got in right away without having to stand in line for awhile first.
I sat in the center of the front row on the merchandise table side of the ring which is the same side of the ring me and Cman sat front row last month for Eight. Last night marked the third straight year I sat front row for BOLA (although in 2009 I only attended the second night of BOLA.)
Willie Mack defeated Chris Hero in the opening first round match via a sudden reversed backslide. PWG alumni the Human Tornado was there sitting near the stage and, during the match at one point when Hero was sitting on the mat in one of the turnbuckle corners, Mack pointed to the Human Tornado and said "this is for you" and in tribute performed House Party on Hero (who once had one of the greatest feuds in PWG History with the Human Tornado over Candice Michelle.)
Although the brackets indicated they were going to fight the final match of the first round, PWG Champion Kevin Steen vs Dave "Fit" Finlay instead was the surprise next match. Finlay (who did not dance in the ring, carry the Shillelagh, or get accompanied by his "son" Hornswoggle) got a deserved standing ovation from the PWG crowd. Steen vs Finlay was a no-nonsense match as Finlay entered the ring and immediately shoved Steen in the chest before John Ian even made the official introductions.
Normally if PWG brings in someone of Finlay's status, it is at their major annual show at Wrestle Reunion in January at a hotel near LAX. So it was pretty cool sitting in the front row of Reseda watching Finlay taking on Steen. IMO this was the best of the four first round matches and Finlay showed again (like he did earlier this month against Sami Callihan at EVOLVE which I watched on IPPV) that he can still wrestle and put on a great performance. But, as most expected, Steen got the victory to advance.
The next first round match saw El Generico defeat Claudio Castagnoli. The ending sequence of this match was simply incredible and the crowd in the Legion Hall was almost as loud as I have ever heard it and I am talking Threemendous II type of loud (and PWG's crowd in Reseda is notoriously loud as the Legion Hall allows fans to buy beer by the pitcher- there really are people walking around with pitchers of beer throughout every show like as if the Legion Hall is a dine in pizza joint or a biker bar. One wrestling magazine once called PWG's Legion Hall "the drunkest place on earth"as opposed to nearby Disneyland being "the happiest place on earth." So basically the crowd is often alot of fun and gets lively alot. But last night I personally only had one $3.00 plastic cup of Bud Light- just like at Eight last month- that I bought before the show even started.)
The final first round match saw Eddie Edwards defeat Roderick Strong. Good match but in all honesty probably not as good as the one that will take place at ROH's next IPPV next month.
I was surprised that the Dynasty next wrestled the RockNES Monsters since it was the only tag match announced and so I thought it would take place between the Semi-Finals and the Final match. On another thread in the WWE forum, I mentioned what Joey Ryan said to the crowd about the tryouts he, Scorpio Sky, and the Young Bucks had with the WWE earlier this week and I thought Ryan's comments were absolutely hilarious.
The Dynasty won to set up a title match against the PWG World Tag Team Champions the Young Bucks which is a match that was originally scheduled for Eight before both Low Ki and Davey Richards had to pull out of Eight and before CIMA was added to Eight.
Afterward, as I earlier mentioned on this thread, the Young Bucks made a "surprise appearance" to address the recent controversy about their not shaking hands at their recent WWE tryout earlier in the week. The Young Bucks said they were bigger than TNA, the Young Bucks said they were bigger than the WWE, and the Young Bucks said they were bigger than the Battle of Los Angeles which they were not even booked for.
The Young Bucks then said they brought their gear so it was too bad there was not a tag team in the back who could face them. This brought out the KOW who were available for the second half of the show since they both lost in the first half of the tournament. Hero said the Young Bucks were not as good as they claimed since they recently lost a match to Eric Young and Shark Boy which set up a bonus match for the next half of the show.
After intermission, El Generico defeated Mack and Steen made Edwards submit to his sharpshooter to set up the BOLA finals.
Next was the match between the Young Bucks and the KOW. The Young Bucks and KOW had never wrestled against each other at PWG and I think they set up this bonus match as a way of PWG giving the fans what they wanted before the KOW's apparent departure to the WWE.
Some fans prefer comedy in their matches and some fans- i.e. IMO many ROH fans- prefer their matches be all serious. I think a good mix throughout a show is great. But I wish this specific match was a little less comical. Although I did laugh alot- especially at this one move I can not even begin to describe where Claudio had both of the Bucks stuck together between his legs- I just think a long awaited match involving PWG greatest tag team ever (the Bucks) and PWG's arguably greatest champion ever (Hero) and PWG's most recent champion (Castagnoli) should have had a little less comedy for this particular major matchup, just IMO.
Since it was a title match, the Bucks won but they did not win clean as Matt Jackson had his feet on the ropes to pin Claudio. But it was the KOW who left looking the strongest as they gave Matt Jackson their finisher not once but twice after the match to leave walking out while the Bucks were the ones left lying on the mat.
(on a side note, the PWG World Tag Team Championship belts really need to get fixed - especially the one Nick Jackson was carrying last night as it is in a bad state of disrepair.)
The tournament final was Steen vs Generico. Watching Steen vs Generico in front of me was amazing. And it wasn't just taking place in front of me in the ring, but literally
right in front of me as the action spilled outside to my seat area. There was a little kid (my guess is about 5-6 years old) wearing an El Generico mask while sitting on his dad's shoulders and Steen was telling the kid to watch what he was about to do to his idol throughout the match. But, in the MOTN, El Generico (who had participated in the previous 6 BOLAs- his previous best had been losing in the finals of BOLA 2006 along with Roderick Strong to CIMA) won BOLA.
Afterward, El Generico brought that little kid wearing his mask in the ring and positioned his fingers to give Steen the middle finger and Steen reacted by breaking El Genrico's trophy. Afterward the crowd called on El Generico to make a speech, but El Generico isn't really known for his microphone skills and I mostly only understood the word "gracious."
Unlike last year's BOLA where the crowd reacted by almost rioting when Joey Ryan won, they were really pleased with El Generico's victory and there were alot of loud "Ole!" chants and fans slapping their hands on the ring mat (which you are allowed to do in PWG- no guard rails separate the front row fans from the ring- anytime during a match) to show appreciation of the great action.
Since El Generico won, Legion Larry announced that beer would now be half priced at the bar for the rest of the night (even though the night was almost ending, but they will still sell you beer even when the show is over.)
Afterward, as I mentioned on another thread, I got the main camera guy to go backstage to give Steen his new upcoming LOTF art and was immediately told that Steen loves his new art! I also got to talk to both Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong at the bar as well.
As usual, I had a great time at PWG. Their next show is their September show scheduled for September 10th at the Legion Hall. I again have a front row ticket, but I am not completely sure I am going yet (but I probably will go.)
I sat in the center of the front row on the merchandise table side of the ring which is the same side of the ring me and Cman sat front row last month for Eight. Last night marked the third straight year I sat front row for BOLA (although in 2009 I only attended the second night of BOLA.) 