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Rich Swann vs. Candice LeRae 1st Round BOLA Match
So this is Swann trying to get redemption on LeRae from the previous night and the winner progresses in the tournament. Swann being the bigger guy is pretty much having his way with her, LeRae tried to make a few comebacks but Swann kept cutting her off. Swann who's usually in there with bigger opponents unleashed a few new moves like a standing Boston Crab and a weird upside down arm/leg stretch. LeRae did eventually make a comeback with the Ball-Plex & the Reverse Hurracarana. She tried to hit the Moustache Ride but Swann threw her off and hit a Frog Splash. He went for his standing 450 but LeRae got her knee's up and rolled Swann up for the win. It was a good opener for the night despite the limitations.
Johnny Gargano vs. Chuck Taylor 1st Round BOLA Match
Another fun match, Chuck Taylor is always a good laugh and can get the crowd going. On Night 1 he was doing commentary for some of the matches and was pretty funny. Here he & Gargano spent the first half of the match fooling around because of their history as former tag partners. Things did get serious with Gargano being thrown in a pile of chairs. Then owner/commentator Excalibur told him its $15 a broken chair to which Taylor jumped on commentary to tell him to take it out of his pay. This fooling around left Gargano enough time to recover and Deadly Drive Taylor onto the stack of chairs. Later on in the match Gargano went for a suicide dive but was caught by Taylor, Taylor went for a release Suplex and I think Gargano was supposed to land on the ring apron but he missed and landed straight on the hard wood floor. This led into the climax which the pair traded hard knee's and Superkicks. Gargano managed to hit La Mistica & GargaNo Escape, then Taylor tapped out.
Ricochet vs. Chris Sabin 1st Round BOLA Match
So this was Motor City vs. Inner City and the pair got duelling chants based off this. I don't know how much Sabin's knee injuries have slowed him down but he seemed to be more into telling a story, interacting with the crowd instead of going full steam with Ricochet. Maybe this is the evolution of a high-flier. Chris Sabin was one of the best 10 years and Ricochet is one of the best now. Anyway the match was pretty good, there were a few cool spots like Ricochet hitting the Northern Lights Suplex and then deadlifting Sabin back up into a vertical Suplex. Sabin did a smooth sequence of jumping backwards off the turnbuckle, pushing Ricochets head down and then throwing him over his own head like a throwaway Suplex. But Sabin held on, rolled through and hit a Jumping Piledriver. Then a Tiger Suplex with a pin. This got a great reaction and would have been well placed in the climax of the match instead of the bunch of kicks he did which did not get more than a murmur from the crowd. Ricochet came back with a Springboard 450. Whilst clashing on the top turnbuckle, Sabin tried to stop Ricochet hit his finisher but got knocked down and Ricochet won it with the 630 Senton. Good match but could have been better.
ReDRAGON (Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Team CZW (Drew Gulak& Biff Busick) Exhibition Match
Really enjoyed this match. Loads of double teaming, good selling and innovative moves in this one. There was a spot where ReDRAGON locked Team CZW's legs together and put them both in armbars. The match went to the outside and Team CZW managed to take advantage and worked over ReDRAGON for quite a while. They were put over as a dominant force here and they even got ReDRAGON up into a Powerbomb and then threw them into each other in mid-air. ReDRAGON of course made a comeback and this turned into a tornado tag for the last 5 minutes. Gulak had Fish trapped in a reverse Dragon Sleeper and O'Reilly tried to break it up but Busick got him in a sleeper. The only thing for it was for O'Reilly to Electric Chair himself on top of Fish to break the hold. The crowd ironically broke out into a "tag team wrestling" chant. The finish came with O'Reilly hitting the German Suplex on Gulak, followed by a forearm and kick. Fish came in with a Backdrop Suplex and then Chasing the Dragon got them the win. Great match-up.
Chris Hero vs. Matt Sydal 1st Round BOLA Match
I didn't really enjoy this one, it was a decent match but it seemed a bit off. Chris Hero looks so out of shape here with his gut spilling out and Sydal was injured for a long time so was pretty rusty. It was a big man, small man match. Hero was hitting a lot of hard forearms and kicks whilst Sydal was doing the majority of the bumping. Sydal got caught in an Alabama Slam position and then reversed it and spike DDT'ed Hero on is head. Sydal then hit the Shooting Star Press for the win.
Adam Cole vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 1st Round BOLA Match
This pair had a battle in the six man tag the previous night, so they go at it again in the BOLA tournament. Cole is annoyed that ZSJ is a better wrestler than him, so Cole declares himself "The strongest man in wrestling" and the crowd chant for a "test of strength." They try a knuckle lock and after a long exchange, Cole surprisingly wins with ZSJ being put on the top turnbuckle. ZSJ goes back to his technical roots and ties Cole up in all kinds of knots. They go back and forth, Cole hits a sweet Backcracker on ZSJ when he jumped off the turnbuckle for a European Uppercut and got caught. The crowd break into a "USA, USA" chant which then gets booed because they like ZSJ more than Cole. The pace quickens and they're both looking for the win, Cole hits a Brainbuster to the knee and high angled Backdrop whilst ZSJ does his Penalty Kick to the chest. The finish comes at a crescendo of ZSJ hitting his trio of running European Uppercuts. But on the last one Cole Superkicks him. Cole goes for the German Suplex but ZSJ rolls through with a Prawn hold, traps the arms and legs and bridges back on his head to get the pin. Cracking match, ZSJ is really getting over with the fans.
ACH vs. Kenny Omega 1st Round BOLA Match
I haven't seen much of ACH but he has a bit of a buzz about him. The pair were having a good time interacting at the start and the crowd were up for this one with about 10 different chants. ACH was getting worked over by Omega at the start of the match and not letting ACH take flight at all. Omega booted ACH in the gut and he flew backwards into the turnbuckle. This set up Omega to get the chainsaw out and rake his stubbly arm across ACH's eyes. ACH finally made his comeback and this was absolutely mental. Some guy in the crowd had a Stone Cold leather vest on and Omega got it and put in on the turnbuckle so he could throw ACH into the big metal skull on the vest. ACH reversed the throw and the skull smash knocked Omega loopy. ACH puts the vest on to the crowds delight and they go threw a whole homage to Steve Austin. Mudhole stomping, Lou Thesz press, the flailing elbow drop. The crowd at this point are going batshit crazy. Omega then comes back and he's turned himself into the Rock. Slinging Rock like punches which then gets countered into a Stone Cold Stunner. The crowd are all out of their seats and going super batshit crazy by now. Even though he didn't win, ACH still calls for the beer and a full pitcher comes over. He ends up on Omega's shoulders, takes a swig and then spits it in Omega's face. The match then carries on as normal, ACH gets a bit more into it with a Corkscrew Ace Crusher and a leaping dive to the outside. They trade Hadouken's but Omega hits a 2nd Hadouken and ACH does a full 180 in mid-air. A giant Bicycle Knee & Croyt's Wrath finishes ACH off. What did I just witness?!
The Addiction vs. The Young Bucks Exhibition Match
So the craziness continues on from the last match. As the ring announcer announces the Young Bucks they double Superkick his head off. As he lays motionless in the ring, the match starts and the Bucks Hiptoss and Drop-Toe Hold, Daniels & Kazarian onto the poor ring announcer. They all stop for a moment of calm and they all start stomping on the ring announcer before he's rolled out of the ring. This was a really good tag team match, both were mastering the double team aspect really well. Addiction hit a cool Neckbreaker into a powerbomb whilst the Bucks hit Kazarian with a Superkick and countered Fade to Black into a flipping Piledriver. They pretty much went through their whole repertoire of moves but none of them could get the win. It took the Bucks to hit a Springboard 450 into a Tombstone Piledriver (Now called the Meltzer Driver) on Kazarian to get the win. A fun tag match to end the night on.
Candice LeRae vs. Johnny Gargano Quarter Finals Bola Match
This was a really good match to start the night. Loads of action from the pair taking high risks like LeRae give Gargano a suicide dive to the outside which she turned into a Tornado DDT. Gargano dropped LeRae from a top turnbuckle powerbomb position, face down onto the turnbuckle. Gargano looked like he was giving LeRae preferential treatment and when he hesitated on a Superkick, she spat in his face. The finish came with Gargano getting Ball-Plexed into the turnbuckle, LeRae followed up with a swinging DDT, then tried the reverse Hurracanrana but was reversed by Gargano into the Hurts Donut. The referee counted 3 but you couldn't see or hear the third count so it looked like 2. The crowd were pissed and reacted angrily.
TJ Perkins vs. Ricochet Quarter Finals Bola Match
Another really good match, there's a theme running here. The pair start off with some high-flying moves to get the crowd going. TJP starts working more on Ricochet's shoulder and arm, looking for the submission for a quick advance. Ricochet weathers the storm and manages to come back with mostly variants of kicks. He doesn't really do any of his aerial antics for the remainder of this one. He converts a TJP Cross Arm Breaker and deadlifts him onto his shoulders, before hitting a GTS to the stomach. TJP comes back with a big Superkick and a Brainbuster. He tries to do something from a Firemans Carry but Ricochet converts into a Meteora and then hits the KO-Kick for the win.
Trevor Lee vs. Michael Elgin Quarter Finals Bola Match
Trevor's back with his oddball charisma. I'm starting to like this guy and he's surprising athletic as well. The match goes back and forth to start but Elgin is such a bull his strength takes precedent. He catches Lee on a dive and Powerslams him to the hard wood floor. Lee is now at the mercy of Elgin and every punch, kick or chop looks like its going to batter Lee to pieces. Lee gets his 2nd wind and tries to bring it to Elgin. He manages to hit a move on Elgin that was absolutely unbelievable. They both run at each other for a flying crossbody, they collide and spin 360 degree's in mid-air and Lee lands on top of Elgin, that was brilliant. Lee also hits a top rope Moonsault to Elgin on the outside. Elgin is throwing everything at Lee to get the win, Top Rope Elgin Bomb & Buckle Bomb but Lee comes back with the reverse Hurracarana. Elgin is wobbling and swinging wildly so Lee capitalises on the disorientated Elgin & rolls him up for 3. The crowd pop big for that one.
Kenny Omega vs. Matt Sydal Quarter Finals Bola Match
This was a much more competitive match for Sydal and he got in a lot more offense. Omega was as good as usual, he got out the chainsaw but Sydal grabbed hold of it by the blades (dangerous), he couldn't keep control and Omega was able to do the forearm rake. Omega is a pretty strong guy, he managed to Vertical Suplex Sydal, get knee'ed in the head, almost drop Sydal but then deadlifts him back up into a Vertical Suplex again. Sydal was using his speed and agility to get Omega in some sticky pinning situations. His kicks also looked particularly painful but on the flipside a lariat he took Omega almost took his head off. I thought Sydal was going to steal one like the previous night but Omega rolled out of the way for the Shooting Star Press. Omega hit his running Bicycle Knee and then landed the Electric Chair Driver Drop for the win. Enjoyable match-up.
AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong Quarter Finals Bola Match
Both were very aggressive from the start. They have history between the pair after a Styles Clash went wrong & hurt Strong's neck. They kind of play it into the story of the match. The crowd are on Strong from the start, taking the piss out of his little wrestling boots with a "shitty little boots" chant. Strong gets an early advantage after dropping Styles spine first on the ring apron. He jumps back into the ring and the crowd chant, "You still stuck." Then Strong works over Styles some more and the crowd break out into a "Puss in Boots" chant. Strong retorts with the Bullet Club gun sign and they chant "Shitty Little Gun!" After hitting about 20 different variants of a Backbreaker, Styles gets back into the match with a combination of punches, chops, kicks and spinning discuss lariat. They go back and forth, Strong manages to hit his Release Suplex to the Knee's and Sick Kick finishers, but Styles manages to kick out. Styles tries to get Strong up for the Bloody Sunday but Strong kicks the referee down on the way up. Styles manages to hit it on the 2nd attempt. Styles tries to get Strong up for the Styles Clash but instead drops Strong straight down, Tombstone Piledriver style on his head. Strong rolls out of the ring to recover and brings a chair back in the ring with him. Styles goes for the Styles Clash again but Strong grabs the chair and smacks AJ on the head with it. Strong tries to hit AJ with the chair again but Styles kicks him in the gut. Styles picks up the chair and holds it ready to hit Strong with it but the referee wakes up and throws the match out and awards it to Strong. It was a very good match but the finish was stupid. The crowd universally boo Strong & the referee out of the building. There must be another encounter planned down the line.
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Zack Sabre Jr. Quarter Finals Bola Match
I thought this was a great match, two fairly even technical wrestlers had an exciting encounter of holds, counters and more counters. The first half of the match neither of them could get a handle on each other. They both countered a neck straight-jacket hold multiple times, upping the stakes each time to make it harder for their opponent to get out of. ZSJ can make the slightest finger crank or kick look so painful. He put an Armbar on KO'R using only his feet and would do a move where he bends KO'R's arm 90 degrees and put his hand flat on the ring canvas and then stamps on the elbow. Sending a nerve jangling reaction through KO'R's body. The crowd were enjoying the action and chanted "We love wrestling!" After a battle of Roundhouse kicks the pair doubled down, ZSJ was looking for his Cross Arm Breaker but KO'R countered and stamped on his face to break the hold. KO'R still hurt, ZSJ hit his vicious PK Kick and a Bridging Dragon Suplex. ZSJ worked over KO'R in the corner, they both started going up the turnbuckle, and it ended up with ZSJ locking in an Avalanche Flying Armbreaker. KO'R escaped, hit a bunch of hard forearms then hit a Pumphandle Slam Driver. Then came the Brainbuster. ZSJ kicked out at 1! KO'R is now pissed off so repeatedly reverse curbstomps ZSJ into the mat. KO'R locked in the Triangle Sleeper and ZSJ passes out. The crowd break out in a "Both These Guys" chant for unified support.
Post match Roderick Strong runs out and attacks both guys. He hits his Release Suplex to the Knee's on O'Reilly. Then goes to get some chairs, when the referee & Excalibur try to stop him, he smacks them with the chairs. Strong sets three chairs up like a little table and Release Suplex's O'Reilly onto the chairs. Strong still not finished puts O'Reilly in the Stronghold submission. O'Reilly's partner Bobby Fish eventually runs out to make the save.
Mount Rushmore vs. ACH, Brian Myers & Chris Sabin Exhibition Match
I think this was supposed to be a 10 minute breather from the BOLA tournament but it was a crazy ride of carnage. The Young Bucks tried to repeat the previous night and Superkick the ring announcer but he moved out of the way and they hit Adam Cole instead. The Young Bucks try to take out the ring announcer but he hits them with a double clothesline. They all end up outside and they all take it in turns to hit big dives and flips. Back in the ring, Brian Myers is giving all of Mount Rusmore a Norman Smiley esque scoop slam, he got so excited he did it to his own team-mates too. Still excited, he does it on the referee but he counters it into a roll-up & Adam Cole makes the count, it was only 2. The crowd start a "That was 3!" chant. They all end up on the other side of the ring and ACH hits his rope flip dive to the outside. He jumps on the stage and declares to crowd surf back to the ring. By the time he got to the front, the Young Bucks were waiting and Double Superkicked his head off. They rounded on ACH and wore him down until he eventually got a hot-tag. Everyone got back in the ring for a mass scramble but it ended up with Mount Rushmore left with ACH. They hit a double Superkick and a Package Piledriver for 2. Then finished him off with the Panama Sunrise and the Springboard Pulling Tombstone Piledriver for the 3. Fun exhibition match where everyone impressed in it.
The ring announcer confirms that Kyle O'Reilly was taken to the hospital so Roderick Strong who would have been his semi final opponent, gets a bye to the final.
Trevor Lee vs. Johnny Gargano Semi Finals BOLA Match
This was Gargano's best match of the tournament so far and it was a great one. It was a fast paced start, lots of counters and action which was ended by Gargano with a Buff Blockbuster from the ring apron to outside on Lee. He gets Lee in a fans chair and unleashed a barrage of chops on him. Lee counters Gargano by putting him in the chair and chopping him so hard Gargano falls backwards. Once back in the ring, Lee has this really good leaping double foot stomp he does on a charging opponent. Lee has got great agility and a high vertical leap which makes the foot stomp and his jumping dropkick look really impressive. They both tried to get each other up for a vertical suplex but I counted 12 counters before Gargano finally got Lee over. There was a really cool sequence that featured a big elbow and roundhouse kick from Lee followed up by a release German Suplex. It didn't hurt Gargano who followed up with a roundhouse kick to Lee. They both went for signature moves but got countered until Lee deadlifts Gargano into a Bridging German Suplex. Gargano start bleeding from the nose but it doesn't bother him as he hits the Lawn Dart & goes for Hurts Donut but only gets 2. They both start running the ropes to the centre and back again trying to catch the other one out. After ten goes, Lee hits that impressive 360 degree mid air spinning slam. He follows it up with the Orange Crush but only gets 2. There's another cool longer sequence that goes into the finish. It ends with a Superkick by Gargano and then a Powerbomb by Lee. Lee goes for the Package Piledriver, but Gargano amazingly spins out of it in mid-air and gets Lee in the GargaNo Escape. Lee rolls him over into a pin for 2. Both now back on their feet, there is a fist punch from Lee, Superkick from Gargano. Roundhouse kick by Lee, another Superkick by Gargano. Lee goes for a Hurracarana, Gargano throws him off and locks in GargaNO Escape for the tap out. Really enjoyed this match, Trevor Lee is going to have a big future.
Kenny Omega vs. Ricochet Semi Finals BOLA Match
Another really good match, fatigue is starting to set in because they looked like they were slowing down a bit. After a flowing sequence at the start, Ricochet managed to hit a Tope con Hilo to Omega on the outside. Ricochet went and joined Excalibur on commentary whilst Omega was down and then WHACK! A chair came flying courtesey of Kenny Omega and took them both out. Omega spent a long period of the match wearing Ricochet down. He got out the chainsaw, gutbuster elbow (Who your gonna call?) and Dragon Suplex. Ricochet got back into the match but Omega returned the favour and hit him with a Tope con Hilo to the outside. After some more back and forth action, Omega hits Ricochet with a Dragon Suplex on the ring apron. Ricochet has had some offense but Omega has had the lion's share of big moves in this match. Omega goes for Croyt's Wrath but Ricochet fights back, so he puts him on the turnbuckle for Avalanche Croyt's Wrath. As Omega goes to throw Ricochet he flips out of it and Ricochet hits him with a spinning Enziguri. Ricochet tries a reverse Hurracarana but Omega blocks it and hits Croyt's Wrath. Omega tries for the Electric Chair Driver Drop but Ricochet rolls through into a pin. Omega goes for his Bicycle Knee, but Ricochet times it well and hits Omega with a vicious Roundhouse kick. Ricochet goes to the top for the 630 Senton for the win but only gets 2 & 9/10's. The crowd go wild so Ricochet goes for the KO-Kick and this seals it for the win. Ricochet's in the final.
Team Biff Busick (Biff Busick, Drew Gulak, Tommaso Ciampa, Bobby Fish, Cedric Alexander) vs. Team Chris Hero (Chris Hero, Rich Swann, Joey Ryan, Willie Mack, Chuck Taylor) Exhibition Match
This was a fun, ten man match, lots of silliness to let the crowd cool down ready for the final. Each member from the two teams had a go in the ring, hitting their signature moves and getting a bit of exposure. The last two were Tommaso Ciampa and Chuck Taylor who started the match on commentary but eventually joined in. After a bit of action, Ciampa decides to stick his thumb up Chuck Taylor arse like its some kind of hold. Ciampa then sticks said thumb in his mouth. The crowd start chanting "You sick fuck!" Fucking gross. Chuck Taylor then says lets slow this down. So they then decide to do the next part of the match in slow-motion and then their team mates join and so do the crowd. So its like watching everything in -2 speed. Ciampa goes for the thumb up Taylor's arse again. Taylor's team-mates have had enough so they all start attacking the other team (still in slow-motion) and they each perform a move in slow-motion. Bobby Fish is bored of the jokes and Roundhouse kicks Chuck Taylor in double speed to break it. The crowd loved this and cheered loud for it. Most of the competitors ended up outside so it was time for everyone to have a go at a flying dive. Gulak & Busick did a Baseball Slide, Mack did a Tope Con Hilo, Fish did a Somersault, Swann did a Corkscrew Plancha & Hero did a Running Backflip over the top rope. Not bad for a fat lad. Everyone got back into the ring for another go at special moves. Willie Mack got Gulak & Busick up for a 2 man Samoan Drop. Chris Hero hit Bobby Fish with the KO Elbow & Ciampa hits a Powerbomb to the knees on Swann. Chuck Taylor went for his slow motion Senton but was caught by Fish who was then put in a Sleeper by Mack. The other 7 wrestlers then continued with the Sleepers so there was one line of wrestlers in a Sleeper hold. Trent? (Baretta) came out and Soul Food'ed the end man Ciampa. Which caused a Mexican wave shockwave through the line of wrestlers and knocked them all down. Chuck Taylor then pulled an imaginary grenade out of his tights, pulled the pin and stuck it down the back of Bobby Fish's tights. Taylor then gave Fish an Atomic Drop which caused the grenade to go off and all of the wrestlers in the ring took a massive bump from the impact of the blast. Rich Swann did a Frog Splash onto Bobby Fish to get the win. Lots of weird craziness in this one.
Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet vs. Roderick Strong BOLA Finals
3 nights, 8 hours of wrestling and its finally time for the BOLA finals. The crowd are shitting on Strong from the start because he took out Kyle O'Reilly and received a bye to the finals. The match started fairly fast as they each tried to get an advantage. Ricochet hit Gargano with a swinging Brainbuster and this took him out of the match. Strong beat down on Ricochet and spent a good 5 minutes wearing him down with his plethora of Backbreakers. The crowd reacted with their "shitty little boots" & "puss in boots" chants. Gargano finally got back in there and made a comeback hitting a duel STO & DDT on his opponents. All three went back at it and they exchanged forearms, Superkicks & Roundhouse kicks in a thrilling spectacle. This got the match jump started and the crowd hit a "This is awesome" chant. Unfortunately it didn't really pick up the pace from there. Ricochet hit his KO-Kick on Strong & Gargano hits Hurts Donut on Ricochet & put him in the GargaNO Escape. Strong broke it up, attacked both of the others and then release Suplexed Ricochet onto a prone Gargano. The crowd duel chanted for Ricochet & Gargano, no-one gave a fuck about Strong which was unsurprising. Strong then hit his Backbreaker to the knee's & then a Sick Kick which turned Ricochet inside out but he still kicked out on 2. Ricochet retaliated on Strong with a kick to the face and a standing Shoot Star Press. A tired Gargano broke the pin up on 2. Ricochet hit his 630 degree Senton on Strong, then rolled through and Gargano caught him in a pinning predicament. After some counters, Ricochet hit a Northern Lights Suplex and transitioned into a deadlift vertical Suplex on Gargano. Ricochet hits the Shooting Star Press on Gargano for 2. Gargano gets back up but Ricochet hits him with a nerve-jangling KO-Kick for the 1-2-3. Ricochet is the winner of BOLA 2014!
Strong gets back in the ring and hits a big boot on Ricochet and then a release suplex to the knee's. He then picks up the BOLA trophy and smashes it on the floor.
It was a good match but it would have been better if it was just Gargano vs. Ricochet. They're obviously trying to get Strong over as a heel. I've just seen he's now the PWG world champion. The crowd were burnt out by the end because they weren't reacting like usual for the signature moves or finishing moves.
All being said these 3 nights along with the NJPW's G1 Climax tournament have to be the best events of 2014. I've seen some new faces, great matches and its been very enjoyable.
Best Newcomer: Zack Sabre Jr.
BOLA MVP: Kyle O'Reilly
Match of BOLA: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kyle O'Reilly
Honourable Mention: Trevor Lee
Won't Be Coming Back: Brian Myers
PWG is the best wrestling company in America bar none, it's a perfect mix of great wrestling and comedy. You'll never not be entertained by one of their shows.
Does sound good. Gonna have to check whether there's a torrent I can download this from.
Can only get night two and three... so that'll have to do. Looking forward to it.
This was PWG's annual premier event for 2014, a 3 night extravaganza tournament. The list of names featured in the tournament is very impressive. AR Fox, Trent? (Barreta) & Brian Cage were all meant to be in it but were injured.
Lineup includes: Drew Gulak, Kyle O'Reilly, Zack Sabre Jr., Adam Cole, Biff Busick, Roderick Strong, AJ Styles, Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins), Candice LeRae, Rich Swann, Chuck Taylor, Johnny Gargano, Michael Elgin, Tommaso Ciampa, Trevor Lee, Cedric Alexander, Bobby Fish, TJ Perkins, Ricochet, Chris Sabin, ACH, Kenny Omega, Matt Sydal, Chris Hero.
Here's my review.
Bobby Fish vs. TJ Perkins 1st Round BOLA Match
This was a very good opener that mixed Perkins' high flying ability with Fish's technical ground game. I thought Fish would advance but Perkins made a clever reversal when stuck in the knee-bar. He bridged back and put Fish's shoulders on the mat for the 3. Perkins was a replacement for Brian Cage on the night and he's made it through to the 2nd round.
Roderick Strong vs. Biff Busick 1st Round BOLA Match
You know what you're going to get with a Roderick Strong match. Lots of chops and lots of variations of a Backbreaker. Biff Busick has made his name in CZW and is starting to branch out a bit, he looks a bit like a smaller Cesaro. Another good hard hitting match with lots of mat wresting to start. They speeded it up with dives to the outside and running lariats and European uppercuts. The finish came with Strong throwing Busick up in the air like a Release Suplex and dropping him down on his knees. I don't know how that couldn't hurt.
Cedric Alexander vs. Trevor Lee 1st Round BOLA Match
Another newcomer in Trevor Lee who's got that oddball charisma going on but looks like a good wrestler. Cedric Alexander I know a bit from ROH, an aerial guy who mixes it up with flying hard kicks. Alexander looked more of a star in there getting in most of the early offence. Lee did hit a cool deadlift Gutwrench Suplex at one point. The match was going back and forth up to the finale which featured Lee running to the corner to flying forearm Alexander. Then Alexander retaliated by running to the opposite corner and flying dropkicking Lee in the face. You would have thought Alexander would capitalise but Lee hooked him for a Suplex, threw him up in the air and then dropped him into a Liger Bomb for the win. Orange Crush they called it.
Worlds Cutest Tag Team (c) vs. Inner City Machine Guns vs. The Addiction PWG Tag Team Title Match
This started with a "fuck TNA" chant from the crowd directed at The Addiction. The ring announcer shouted "TESTIFY!" Joey Ryan took the lollipop from his mouth & asked who wanted a suck. A bloke with a "legalize sleaze" came forward and stuck it in his mouth. The crowd were grossed out and a "you sick fuck" chant started and continued with "you've got herpes." Its a real fun atmosphere for this one. The WCTT are the defending champs and their nitch is that Joey Ryan is joined by Candice LeRae as his partner. She's obviously smaller than all the others but is believable in what she achieves. The Addiction were working heels and spent quite a bit of time working the WCTT down. At one point LeRae goes for a quick roll-up but Daniels counters and wallops her on the jaw to nuclear heat from the crowd. Once the ICMG's got in, the pace quickened. Rich Swann & Ricochet must be two of the best high-fliers in America. Their double teaming is always fun to watch because it's so crazy. Everyone had a good showing in this one and put on an excellent match. The finish came with Swann & LeRae left in the ring after everyone else was wiped out. She bounced off the first rope onto Swann's shoulders and hit a reverse Hurracarana for the win. WCTT retain.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Michael Elgin 1st Round BOLA Match
This was a brutal slug-fest of a match. Elgin's all power moves and Ciampa was trying to match him but couldn't hang for too long. Ciampa had Elgin by the nuts at one point, I thought someone might do an Elgin Marbles joke but it never came. Ciampa did have his moments though. An Air Raid Crash to the apron hurt Elgin and a Powerbomb to the knees almost finished Elgin off. But Elgin had the Niagara Driver & Elgin Bomb in his back pocket and were used effectively. The end came with both men on their knee's exchanging forearms and slaps. A big knee from Ciampa but he couldn't capitalise and Elgin hit two spinning backfists and a massive lariat which turned Ciampa inside out and finished him off. A "This is awesome" chant from the crowd in the final stretch and they were right. Elgin advances.
AJ Styles vs. Brian Myers 1st Round BOLA Match
Myers is the artist formally known as WWE's Curt Hawkins. He got an ok reaction from the crowd but he needed to win them over. The match itself was alright, Myers doesn't have many big spots to excite the crowd so I don't think he will be back after the tournament. AJ was as good as usual doing all of his signature moves. The finish got messy when both fell from the top rope. AJ tried to manoeuvre into a Styles Clash but it ended up like a high angled Boston Crab. Myers immediately tapped. The crowd got what they wanted and AJ Styles gave Myers the Styles Clash post match. The ever forgiving PWG crowd chanted "One more time." & "Kill! Kill! Kill!" After Myers tried to make peace, Styles had none of it, a dropkick & another Styles Clash appeased the fans.
Drew Gulak vs. Kyle O'Reilly 1st Round BOLA Match
I think this was my favourite tournament match from the first night. The had a good twenty minutes to put on a scientific, grappling match. Gulak is a CZW guy but wrestles a more European style kind of like William Regal. He uses of lots of methodical holds, heatbutts and a Karl Gotch Piledriver as his finisher. O'Reilly is your BJJ trained, pseudo MMA fighter, loads of striking and kicks. And he has at least three holds as his finisher. This was basically a battle of wills on who could tough it out the longest. They battered each other to the brink trying not to submit. The finish came with Gulak's Piledriver reversed by O'Reilly into a Triangle Sleeper. Gulak slipped free, so O'Reilly soccer kicked him across the chest. O'Reilly went to side kick Gulak in the head but he ducked so O'Reilly kicked away his arm instead. A stomp to the back of the head & a stiff forearm to the face flattened Gulak. O'Reilly set up the Brainbuster but Gulak still kicked out so O'Reilly slapped on the Arm Breaker for the tap out. Really cool sequence at the end.
Mount Rushmore (Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Best Friends OF Low Moral Fibre (Zack Sabre Jr. Kenny Omega & Chuck Taylor) Exhibition Match
This match was flat out awesome. The Bucks & Cole are so obnoxious it was great, dripping charisma especially Cole who's a braggadocios prick but so excellent at it. ZSJ tried to exchange banter but it came off really lame. As much as he is a great technical wrestler, he can't talk much. The opening 5 minutes was a Sabre Jr. exhibition getting himself over with the crowd, then everyone took it in turns having a little bit of ring time. Rushmore wielding chairs got Chuck Taylor on his own but his injured tag partner Trent? (Baretta) came out and made the save. ZSJ took a mental bump where he got dropkicked from the apron and took a flat back bump into the crowd. He might have fallen onto chairs, people or the hard wood floor, it didn't look pretty. They worked over ZSJ for a while before we had a hot tag and then all hell broke loose. The pace was ramped up and everyone got their signature and team moves in. ZSJ took a double Superkick and brainbuster to a knee and then we had a massive Superkick party. Rushmore hit their springboard assisted Tombstone Piledriver. But the referee was pulled out by Trent? He smacked every member of Rushmore with a chair to set up BFofLMF to hit all their finishers on Adam Cole for the win. Great end to the first night.
Photo credit: Devin Chen