UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber Thoughts

UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber
July 2nd, 2011
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Attendance: 12,947
Gate: $2,300,000

Another month, another great UFC PPV offering. On paper this was a stacked card in terms of name value, and the show definitely delivered on the promise I saw in it initially when the fights were announced. Everything from the prelims on Facebook to the Spike TV prelims to the PPV itself delivered and then some.


Facebook Prelims


Jeff Hougland vs. Donny Walker was a solid fight to kick off the FB prelims. Hougland is just the kind of "convict turned cleaned up MMA fighter family man" story that the UFC loves to push, so I'm sure we'll be seeing more of him in the coming months, especially with a rather dominant win here over Walker. Not a great fight or anything, but a solid ground war for three rounds and a good win for Hougland.


Anthony Njokuani vs. Andre Winner was probably the best fight on the prelims, and a possible candidate for fight of the night. Njokuani continues to look impressive on the Facebook prelims each month, adding another dominant unanimous decision win to his record. Quite an entertaining fight that the Spike TV prelims wound up re-airing because of that fact. Njokuani looked impressive in his stand-up again.


Aaron Simpson vs. Brad Tavares saw another fight go the three-round distance to a decision victory. Average fight here really, both men were content to lay around and try pushing off the cage in the clinch for the most part. The ref wound up breaking them up a few times and they'd exchange a few nice big swings before going right back into a struggle against the cage. Simpson won all three rounds pretty handily, but as I said, nothing overly exciting here outside of a really nice slam from Tavares in the second round.


Takeya Mizugaki vs. Brian Bowles was one of the fights I was looking forward to the most on the card because of my love for a lot of the old WEC guys, but unfortunately this was another fight where there really wasn't much to write home about. Bowles was able to control the pace of all three rounds and while not being overly dominant, he did win the fight rather handily. Mizugaki has to be disappointed with his performance here, but hopefully he gets another chance in the UFC and doesn't get cut because of this loss. He's a fun fighter and he made me a fan during his WEC stint.


Spike TV Prelims


Rafeal Dos Anjos vs. George Sotiropoulous looked to be a good choice for the televised prelims, and Dos Anjos quickly proved that decision wise by knocking out Sotiropoulous with an absolutely devastating right hand 35 seconds into the first round. George barely had a chance to even blink before he was KOed. Great win for Dos Anjos.



To kill some time before the last remaining preliminary fight, Spike TV aires the earlier Njokuana vs. Winner fight, which is well worth watching.


Melvin Guillard vs. Shane Roller was another solid choice for the televised prelims and another fight where you better not have gotten up to grab a drink or take a piss, because it was over within a little over 2 minutes after Guillard knocked Shane Roller out decisively in the first round. I've been a fan of Guillard's for a long time and I was more than happy to see the longtime UFC vet get a big win here.



Main PPV Card


Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim looked to be a solid choice for the opening fight on PPV, and it wasn't long before Condit proved that by handing Kim his first professional loss by strikes via TKO at around 3 minutes into the first round after a huge flying knee. Impressive victory for Condit, and I'd imagine this should do wonders for the argument of giving him a title shot in the future. Yet another fun KO on a card full of them.


Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader had to be the most shocking fight of the night as the Huntington Beach Bad Boy was able to pick up a severely needed win (his first since 2006) quickly in the first round via guillotine choke submission. It was obvious from the pre-fight hype that Bader wasn't taking Ortiz as seriously as he should have, and he paid for it here leaving himself open for an easy submission for Tito. Being a longtime Ken Shamrock fan, I've obviously never been a big Tito Ortiz fan, but even I found myself smiling upon seeing a UFC legend keep his career alive. It's nice to see atleast one veteran still with some gas left in the tank after having guys like Cro Cop and Couture break our hearts with devastating losses over the last few months.


Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman was one of the more controversial fights of the night, with many people upset by Siver's victory by unanimous decision, including the crowd who booed the decision to the high heavens. Dana White's response to the controversy? He claimed both he and Justin Beiber (who apparently was watching the fight with him) had scored all three rounds for Siver. And after all, who are we to question the all-mighty word of DA BIEBZ? Seriously though, pretty decent fight with a bullshit decision. There's no way Siver won all three rounds, two you could easily make the argument for, but Wiman most certainly atleast won the second round as he bloodied Siver with ground and pound on the mat. I was really hoping we could go atleast one PPV without a terrible decision by the judges, but no dice.


Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva was another one of those heart-breaking fights that I mentioned earlier in my rundown of the Ortiz-Bader fight. I've been a fan of Leben's for awhile, but the Axe Murderer is a legend and as a former PRIDE guy I was rooting hard for him here. Unfortunately it didn't matter, because Leben knocked him out with strikes almost immediately, winning the fight in less than 30 seconds. Impressive win for Leben, but another heart-breaking loss for a former PRIDE legend.


Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber was the big main event that everyone had been anticipating for several months, myself included. Definite "big fight" feeling through all five rounds as a fight finally went to the judges again on this show. First round saw both men looking cautious, dipping and diving all over the place and trying to get in a few big swings. First round was extremely close, Faber looked like he caused more damage with the strikes he landed, but Cruz definitely landed more of his strike attempts. Second round was just as exciting and closely fought, but Cruz may have won it based on a big takedown very late in the round. The third round was just as hard to judge with Faber finally getting a hard-earned takedown only to eat some more nasty kicks from the champ. Both guys really started teeing off in the fourth round on one another but I thought Faber clearly got the better of most of their exchanges. The fifth round is probably what sealed the decision win for Cruz here as he scored several big takedowns on Faber. Faber was still in it until the very end though, getting in his fair amount of shots. Probably the best fight of the night here, and while I'm not sure I agree with the unanimous decision win for Cruz, it was clear to everyone here that this was an extremely close and hard-fought contest and a re-match down the line certainly wouldn't be out of the question. Great fight to officially cap off a really fun show.


Overall this was a really fun show from UFC and continued their unofficial annual tradition of great 4th of July weekend shows. The main event was a great fight even if it didn't clearly provide an answer as to who the better man was in my eyes, and the undercard on the PPV was full of knock-outs and submissions, as nearly every fight seemed to avoid going to the judges scorecards (which can only be a good thing). Even the prelims were worth checking out. UFC continues to deliver on PPV even with all of their roster turnaround, and this show gets another easy Thumbs Up from me.

NJPW The New Beginning 2.20.11

NJPW The New Beginning 2011
February 20th, 2011
Sendai Sun Plaza, Sendai, Japan
Attendance: 3,200

So I realize I took just an obscenely long time to get some new puro reviews written, but I've just been super busy catching up with all of the indy stuff I watch. Never fear, many more New Japan, All Japan, and NOAH reviews coming up in the future. This show here was NJPW's major show for February, highlighted by an IWGP Heavyweight title match between Hiroshi Tanahashi and the former champ Satoshi Kojima and an IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title match pitting Prince Devitt against TAKA Michinoku. The tag titles are also on the line tonight, and Tiger Mask IV takes on rival Tomohiro Ishii in a mask vs. mask match. Let's jump right into it.


Tama Tonga vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Two of the better young talents in the company will start us off tonight it seems. Tonga quickly slaps a headlock onto Takahashi before eating a flurry of forearms and dropkicks. Tonga replies with a dropkick of his own and hits a jumping kneedrop for a two count. Tonga applies a deep Boston crab but Takahashi gets the ropes. He hits a missile dropkick off the top on Tonga and a Fisherman's suplex gets him a two count. Tonga hits a sweet corkscrew moonsault and then finishes Takahashi off with a twisting reverse DDT at 5:20. Just your basic quick opening filler match here, but the crowd was really into it and both guys looked fired up for the brief time they got. **¼


Jushin Liger/Ryusuke Taguchi/KUSHIDA vs. Jado/Gedo/Killer Rabbit

For those unaware Killer Rabbit is a character from an online game in Japan called Ameba PIGG and is basically some sort of cross-promotional deal between the two entities. No clue who's actually playing him under the mask. KUSHIDA quickly fights off Jado before Liger and Killer Rabbit tag in. Liger sends Rabbit to the floor and nails him with a baseball slide. He's tossed right back in and the veteran Liger just goes to work on the debuting Rabbit. Springboard dropkick from Rabbit and he's able to work him over in his corner with help from Jado and Gedo. Rabbit does a really silly "bunny hop dropkick", which is exactly what it sounds like. He delivers the ridiculous move a second time and then lets the Jado/Gedo combo work him over. Liger fights them both off and tags in Taguchi. Taguchi hits a blistering trio of brainbusters in a Three Amigoes-like sequence and KUSHIDA jumps back in. Rabbit botches a springboard DDT attempt for a two count and applies a weak version of the Muta Lock briefly. Rabbit misses a senton off the top and KUSHIDA pins him with the Midnight Express at 8:45. Energetic and fun little six man tag here. Rabbit didn't look too good in his debut, but his bunny hop dropkick spot was kind of cute. **¼


Mask vs. Mask Match
Tiger Mask IV vs. Tomohiro Ishii

These two have been feuding intensely for several months by this match, and the stakes have been raised once again by making this a mask vs. mask match. Ishii doesn't traditionally wear a mask, but over the course of the last month and a half he's begun wearing a black version of the Tiger Mask during his feud with TM IV. Tiger is quick to start, laying in kicks before the bell even rings. Ishii is taken off guard at first but then quickly gains control on the outside, tossing Tiger into the steel barricade and nailing him with a chair. Tiger escapes his grasp briefly and tries a tope suicida, but Ishii slams a chair into his face as he dives to the floor! Tiger barely makes it back into the ring at the count of 19 and eats a palm strike from Ishii. Ishii tries ripping at his opponents mask briefly to no avail. Headbutts and a lariat in the corner set up a superplex for Ishii, but Tiger gets his shoulder up at two. Both of them lay in some stiff forearms and then Tiger sends Ishii crashing to the mat with a nasty high kick. Tiger Driver gets TMIV a two count. Ishii blocks a crucifix attempt and then gives him a lariat/brainbuster combo for another close near fall. TMIV blocks a second brainbuster attempt and delivers a Tiger Suplex, but Ishii again kicks out. Tiger lays in a series of kicks to Ishii's head and then delivers a second Tiger Suplex to get the win at 8:45. This feud with Ishii was exactly what Tiger needed, as he's been having much better matches with him than he was having this time last year with anyone else. This one actually surprised me with how much action they managed to fit into such a short period of time. ***


After the match Tiger Mask IV removes the black mask from Ishii's head and celebrates his victory.


Eight Man Elimination Match
Shinsuke Nakamura/Toru Yano/Takashi Iizuka/Yujiro Takahashi vs. Yuji Nagata/Hiroyoshi Tenzan/Wataru Inoue/King Fale

Iizuka makes sure to scare the ever loving shit out of one of the commentators before the match as is his tradition. Tenzan starts with Iizuka in the ring, choking him with his shirt. Nagata tags in next and destroys Takahashi with stiff kicks to pop the crowd huge. Fale hops in the ring next and delivers a brainbuster and diving headbutt on Takahashi for two. Takahashi delivers a dominator powerbomb to Fale and that's enough to eliminate the King at 4:43. Takahashi grabs Tenzan and slams him for two. Tenzan responds with a spinning heel kick and delivers the Tenzan Tombstone Driver to Takahashi to eliminate him at 6:18. Tenzan tags out to Inoue, who sends Iizuka and Yano to the floor before following them out with a tope suicida. Total chaos reigns supreme yet again as half of the men begin brawling into the crowd and around ringside. Once they settle down again Iizuka, Nakamura, and Yano are trading tags and isolating Inoue in their corner. Eventually Inoue is able to tag Tenzan back in, and the veteran goes chop-crazy on Iizuka's chest. Brainbuster gets Tenzan a two count. Tenzan tries locking on the anaconda vice, but it's quickly broken up. Iizuka pulls out his trademark loaded glove and then nails Tenzan in the face with it, sending him crashing to the guardrails and apparently eliminating him at around 13:58. Inoue sneaks up right behind Iizuka though and rolls him up to eliminate him at 14:56. Inoue lays in some chops on Yano but gives him a low blow and then pins him at 15:30. Nagata jumps in and fights off both Yano and Nakamura. Nagata manages to fend off Nakamura long enough to counter a roll-up into one of his own to eliminate Yano at 18:10. That brings us down to our final two, Nagata and Nakamura. Nakamura lays in stiff kicks and knees with fervor. Nakamura puts Nagata into a guillotine choke for a bit and then transitions into a rear naked choke. Nagata breaks it up and hits a brainbuster, but Nakamura kicks out. Nagata tries a huge Saito suplex, but Nakamura gets right back up and delivers a knee-strike right to the back of Nagata's head. Nakamura hits a stiff spin-kick and then finally is able to finish Nagata off with the Boma Ye knee at 21:41! This was another well-worked and fun match up here, the eliminations were fast and frequent so as not to lose the fan's attention, and it worked wonderfully in that capacity. Just a wild match. ***



IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match
Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard/Karl Anderson) © vs. Muscle Orchestra (Manabu Nakanishi/Strong Man)

If you saw those two tag team names on a promotional poster you might think it was a battle of cheesy 80s hair metal bands. Nakanishi and Strong Man somehow were voted 2010 tag team of the year by Tokyo Sports, so naturally they'd be next in line for a title shot. Jim Ross would have a field day calling this match with all of these muscular "hosses" in the ring. Anderson quickly pisses Strong Man off with a friendly "Fuck you!" to start the match, so he pummels him into the corner and tosses him off the top rope. Nakanishi and Bernard tag in now and trade waistlocks and a Greco-Roman knuckle-lock. Bad Intentions begin to focus on Nakanishi's leg, slamming it against the steel post outside. Bernard tries to grab a chair to slam into his leg, but it's attached to about a row of chairs so Bernard just brings the whole row over to slam into his leg! That was awkward, but amusing. The champs continue to isolate Nakanishi in their corner, working over his leg until Strong Man gets fed up and delivers an impressive gorilla press slam on Bernard. Nakanishi fights his opponents off and makes the hot tag to Strong Man, who cleans house legally this time. He and Bernard try to take each-other down with shoulder-blocks but their mutual power negates one another's moves. Strong Man sends Bernard to the floor with a clothesline and then caches Anderson off the top rope with a fallaway slam. Who the fuck is this guy and what has he done with the sloppy, green and disinterested Strong Man we've come to know and hate? Nak tags back in and again gets met with incessant double-teaming from the champs. Things again break down quickly though with all four men in the ring for the finishing stretch. Strong Man gets sent to the floor by Anderson, who follows him out with a pescado. Meanwhile in the ring Nakanishi lifts Bernard up into a torture rack briefly before eating a pair of stereo boots from the champions. Two sloppy German suplexes from Nakanishi, but Bernard kicks out both times. A missile dropkick and a Vader bomb from Muscle Orchestra, but Bernard is in the ropes. Bernard fights off another torture rack attempt while Anderson takes out Nakanishi with an ace crusher, and Bernard finishes it with the Bernard Driver on Strong Man to retain at 18:28. That totally exceeded my expectations for this match, which weren't very high. These teams have weird chemistry together and it just works for some reason, even Strong Man looked good out there tonight. Way more fun than you would think from seeing this match-up on paper. ***¼


After the match Bernard grabs a mic and says that Tokyo Sports got it wrong when they chose Nakanishi and Strong Man as tag team of the year. It just so happens that the man who chose them for the award is sitting at ringside, and Anderson hops the guard rail to get in his face a bit.


IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Match
Prince Devitt © vs. TAKA Michinoku

TAKA is coming off of a shoulder injury here to take on the champ, but ironically enough Devitt is the one with a bandaged up shoulder here. Devitt grabs a wristlock almost immediately and they begin trading holds. From the little Japanese I understand, the commentators are talking about TAKA's stint in the WWF when he won the first tournament for a Light Heavyweight champion in 1997. They go into a swank counter-hold sequence and then kip up to their feet and a round of applause. A dropkick sends TAKA to the floor, but Devitt just tosses him right back in. An eye-poke and a Muay Thai knee give TAKA the upper hand briefly as he chokes Devitt under the bottom rope. TAKA's doing his whole dastardly M-Pro heel shtick tonight quite well. A big dropkick sends TAKA to the floor again, but this time Devitt takes him out with a beautiful somersault plancha over the top rope. Back inside Devitt misses a double-stomp and TAKA takes him down with a crossface submission. Devitt gets the rope break and both men trade jumping kicks. Devitt gets sent to the floor with a kick and TAKA takes him out with a big Asai moonsault. He wastes no time, immediately throwing Devitt back in the ring for a pin but Devitt still kicks out. Back into the crossface on Devitt, and TAKA is really synching in the hold now. Devitt again gets the rope break though and he nearly pins TAKA with a victory roll. Double-stomp off the top to TAKA's back, followed by a double-stomp to TAKA's chest nearly puts the veteran away, but somehow TAKA kicks out. They trade another sick sequence of spin kicks and enziguris, and then Devitt delivers Bloody Sunday on TAKA to retain at 13:17. Another great title defense from Devitt here against the always game TAKA Michinoku. I was a bit shocked by the brevity of the match, but the action through-out was excellent with both men supplying some great counters and pacing. ***½


After the match KUSHIDA comes down to the ring to shake Prince Devitt's hand and congratulate him on the win, as he is next in line for a title shot against the champ now.


MVP/Taichi vs. Togi Makabe/Tomoaki Honma

This is one MVP's first initial appearances for New Japan before he became pretty much full-time up until now. Taichi and Honma start us off with your basic lock-up. It's not long before Makabe is tagged in and Taichi is begging off, tagging MVP in. Both men try to out-power one another with running shoulder-blocks, a battle that Makabe wins. Taichi tags in once MVP has beaten Makabe down for a bit, but he winds up tied up in Makabe's corner anyways with Honma. Taichi lays some kicks into Honma's chest and tags MVP back in. MVP sends Honma to the floor and then takes him out with a pescado. Some fan says something about MVP sucking and MVP responds with a friendly "Your mother sucks!" right back at him. This is kind of an awesome heel duo they've randomly come up with here in Taichi and MVP. MVP hits his "Ballin' Elbow" to no reaction and allows Taichi to try for the (unsuccessful) pin. Honma counters a brainbuster with one of his own and tags Makabe in, who powerslams Taichi and delivers a Northern Lights suplex for a two count. MVP tags in and hits a big Yakuza kick on Makabe in the corner. He tries for the Play of the Day but Makabe counters. Honma tags in and misses a diving headbutt of the top. MVP gives the Play of the Day to both men and then locks in the "Take it to the Bank" crossface submission, which forces Honma to tap out at 11:29. Solid tag match here and an impressive outing from the thrown together team of MVP and Taichi. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing those two tag again in the future. **½


Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito

Two of the better upper midcard/semi-main event level players are pitted against each other here. Goto wastes no time as he enters the ring, feeding Naito immediate forearms and kicks as they brawl to the floor and into the crowd in seconds. Goto kicks him a few more times in some empty seats before the ref convinces him to return to the ring. It's not long before they're back out of the ring again though with Naito tossing Goto into the steel guardrail and then dropkicking him over it. Naito sets up a table but one half of it's legs collapse under their weight before he can get the move off. Never worry though because he just gives a neckbreaker to Goto anyways, and with the way the table is positioned awkwardly now it looks even more painful than if the table had been upright in the first place. Goto nearly gets counted out and eats a swanton from Naito for a two count. Goto hits a huge lariat after some criss-crossing of the ropes and then just goes to town on Naito's chest with blistering kicks and forearms. An elbow-drop gets him two. Naito flips out of a German suplex attempt and delivers a neckbreaker. Naito hits a towering German suplex anyways that drops Goto right on his neck in as nasty of a manner as possible before locking on an armbar variation. Goto nails him with a spin wheel kick on the top rope and then superplexes him off afterwards for good measure. They battle right back to the top rope again, and this time Goto delivers an impressive sunset-flip powerbomb for a very close near fall. Goto follows up with a nasty death valley driver, but again Naito gets his shoulder up. Naito fires back with a flying forearm and the crowd pops huge for him, chanting his name. This guy is just too over to not be a future world champ at this point. Top rope frankensteiner from Naito and it's Goto's turn to kick out at the last possible second. Naito misses a phoenix splash off the top and both men start trading forearms and stiff slaps. Naito gets a series of near-falls and then gets suplexed nearly out of his boots and this crowd is absolutely red hot right now for everything these guys are doing. Finally Goto delivers the Shouten (a vertical suplex/side slam) and that's enough to put Naito away at 17:36. This was outstanding and had the feeling of a big match atmosphere similar to a G1 Finals or title match. They had the crowd in the palms of their hands the whole way through, popping huge for every great counter, hold, and move delivered. If the NJPW brass were skeptical about making these two legit main eventers before, I'm sure that skepticism is gone now as these two put on a possible contender for New Japan match of the year. ****¼


After the match both men shake hands.


IWGP Heavyweight Title Match
Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Satoshi Kojima

Tanahashi won the belt from Kojima back at the annual 1/4 Tokyo Dome show, and Kojima had to win a contender's match against Togi Makabe a few weeks back in order to get a rematch here. Before the match starts Taichi gets barred from ringside and "escorted" to the back by Togi Makabe for being the divine heel bastard he is. Kojima gets the better of Tanahashi early with a persistent front facelock. Tanahashi counters with a dropkick and starts going into a groove of his own, working on Kojima's arm. Kojima absolutely plants him with a huge DDT though and Tanahashi sells it so well that they bring doctor's out to check on his neck's condition. He's okay to go, but then Kojima plants him again with another implant DDT, this time on the thinly padded concrete floor! Back inside Tanahashi keeps trying to mount a comeback, nailing Kojima with a swanton off the top for a two count. Kojima goes to the floor for a breather and Tanahashi wipes him out with a running tope con hilo off the apron! Back in the ring Kojima misses a lariat and takes a flying cross-body from Tanahashi instead. Kojima counters with a big sitout spinebuster and an ace crusher, but he can't keep the champ down. Kojima tries a top rope ace crusher, but again Tanahashi kicks out. Michinoku Driver gets Tanahashi a two count, and he follows it with the frog splash, but Kojima gets his knees up at the last second. They battle to the top rope and Kojima hits a running lariat that sends Tanahashi crashing over the top and to the floor in a nasty manner. Kojima, realizing he can't wint he title on a count-out, grabs Tanahashi and DDTs him onto the entrance ramp before dragging him back into the ring. Kojima suplexes him back in from the apron for another close near fall. Arm-tuck German suplex from Tanahashi and both men are just exhausted by this point, as is the rabid crowd. Tanahashi goes back yet again to working on Kojima's arm, but he turns around right into a lariat that practically takes his head off from Kojima! This is just getting wild. Stiff forearm shots from Kojima and Tanahashi fires back with his own lariat this time. Kojima kicks out of a Dragon Suplex, but then eats two High Fly Flow's from Tanahashi that's enough to finally put him away at 22:22. They had a hell of a task following up the previous match, but they did hit another home run here with the second match on this card that I could genuinely pick as New Japan match of the year so far. I liked this a lot more than their match at Wrestle Kingdom, and it firmly establishes Tanahashi's place once again atop the New Japan mountain as the unquestioned ace of the company. ****¼


After the match Tanahashi is presented with his title and a trophy as the Japanese press take some post-match pictures of the champion to close out the show.

Bottom Line: New Japan returns in February with a simply fabulous show here, one that's rock solid from top to bottom and features not one, but two potential New Japan match of the year candidates. Nothing here is actively bad, and there's a ton of good stuff on the undercard before you get to the amazing pair of main events, so this is an incredibly easy recommendation and a resounding Thumbs Up.


Score: 9/10

ROH Best in the World iPPV (06.26.2011)

ROH Best in the World iPPV 2011
June 26th, 2011
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Attendance: 2,500+

As usual there are some impossibly high expectations for the latest ROH iPPV offering here, but from what I can gather so far those expecations were more than met to some. The big match and main selling point of the show is the ROH World title match between former partners Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards, but there's also some good stuff on the undercard with a four-way dream tag match and Christopher Daniels defending the TV title against El Generico. Enough talking though.


We open the show with Jim Cornette, Kevin Kelly, and Dave Prazak in the ring. They welcome the crowd and say that tonight's show is the highest attendance for an ROH ever, which very well could be true from the look of things. This place is freaking packed just like in the old ECW days. Cornette says that ROH enters a new era tonight since the SBG deal,and he finishes hyping the crowd up and we're off and running into the first match.


Your hosts are Kevin Kelly and Dave Prazak


Tommaso Ciampa vs. Colt Cabana

ROH seems really keen on pushing Ciampa it would appear, but I can't say I've ever been really impressed with his work. Colt is doing his usual opening jobbing duties methinks. No RD Evans at ringside tonight? Blasphemy! Lock-up from both men to start. Colt works his usual comedy match here while Ciampa starts getting fed up of his antics. Cabana stomps on Prince Nana's hand at ringside much to my amusement, but then gets dropkicked by Ciampa moments later. Ciampa hits a running knee into the corner and gets a two count. Ciampa blocks a quebrada attempt with his knees but winds up taking the old flip-flop-and-fly punches from Colt. Cabana hits a stiff butt bump (that's a weird sentence to type), but the younger Ciampa seems to have his number. German suplex from the second rope gets Ciampa another close two. Cabana blocks another German and tries for the Billy Goat's Curse, but Ciampa gets to the ropes. Ciampa finishes him off with his finisher, a powerbomb into a lung-blower combination at 7:38. Not a bad opener by any means, but this is pretty much the same Cabana match you could see on any ROH DVD or show that you've watched in the last year. **


Jay Lethal vs. Mike Bennett

This is Lethal's first show since returning to ROH after TNA let him go, and the first ROH show he's wrestled on since August of 2006. Lethal gets a huge pop from the New York crowd and he looks genuinely happy to be here. The fans get their usual "Fuck TNA!" chant in right before the bell rings and even a "Thank you Savage!" chant as Lethal mimics a few of Macho Man's signature mannerisms while Prazak does an awful Savage impression. Bennett gets a ton of heat from these ROH crowds so he's good in that respect. A nice headscissors sends Bennett to the floor and Lethal follows him out with a lightning fast tope. Bennett distracts the ref so Brutal Bob can slam Lethal at ringside behind the ref's back. Ciampa hits a nasty clothesline off the apron that sends Lethal inside out and he continues taunting the crowd. Bennett starts getting sloppy, spending too much time jawing with the fans. Lethal fires uip with some clotheslines and a handspring back elbow. Lethal goes to the top but Bob knocks him silly again and Bennett gives him a superplex for a close two count. Bennett takes too long on the top and misses an elbow drop, so Lethal feeds him a superkick and get a huge Randy Savage elbow drop off the top rope for a big pop and the win at 9:44. This was a fun little match and a great way for Lethal to return and look dominant. The crowd was so into everything he did and Bennett played his role well, but it was still an extended (albeit fun) squash. **¾


No Holds Barred Barrio Street Fight Match
Homicide vs. Rhino

This is Rhino's ROH debut here after being cut by TNA several months back, and what better way to introduce him to the ROH faithful than in a street fight match? Homicide has the distinct honor of not only appearing live on this PPV on the 26th, but also on a pre-taped PPV broadcast that aired later on the 26th for the brand new Urban Wrestling Federation, which has an exclusive contract with Homicide for the next few months, so take a wild guess at who's probably going to win here. Homicide gets on the mic before the match starts and calls Rhino Prince Nana's bitch. Rhino comes out to a big time pop as I'd venture to guess alot of fans in attendance tonight probably remember seeing Rhino wrestle for ECW in this same building. Rhino overpowers Homicide to start but Homicide counters and sends him to the floor. Huge tope con hilo from Homicide wipes out Rhino on the floor! Back inside it only gets him a one count before Rhino is fighting back. Homicide gets sent to the floor and Rhino tries for a slingshot plancha over the top rope, but Homicide moves out of the way. I don't think I've ever seen Rhino pull out a plancha like that before! Homicide drags Rhino over to the time-keeper's table and tries a powerbomb, but Rhino back drops him off the apron and through the table! Rhino pulls out a ladder and tosses it into the ring. Homicide bites a chunk out of Rhino and chases Nana around ringside, giving Rhino a chance to launch him into the steel guard-rail and then pounce him with a running knee. Back in the ring Rhino starts slamming the ladder into Homicide's throat. Homicide counters a suplex attempt into one of his own, sending Rhino back-first onto the ladder! Rhino tries hip-tossing Homicide onto the ladder, but only a section of his shoulder connects with it, so Rhino gorilla slams him onto the ladder again, bending it in a nasty manner. Shoulder-block off the top rope gets Homicide a two count. Rhino blocks a lariat attempt and delivers a nasty piledriver to Homicide, but he gets the shoulder up at two. Despite looking awesome so far in this match, the crowd still gives Rhino heat because of his association with Nana, chanting "Fuck you Rhino!". That's more heat than most ROH heels get already. Homicide flies off the top but only connects with Rhino's knees. Rhino looks for the Gore, but Homicide counters into an ace crusher! Somehow Rhino kicks out. Homicide brings a table into the ring and it gets propped up in the corner. Big belly-to-belly suplex from Rhino and he tries for the Gore on Homicide through the table, but Homicide blocks it and then pins him with a sunset flip at 10:18! After the match Rhino Gores him right through the table anyways and Homicide ends up having to be helped to the back by medical staff, selling the Gore like a gunshot wound. This was an outstanding hardcore brawl here with these two using a few weapons in some creative spots and with the crowd in the palm of their hands the entire time. Give this another five minutes even and this could have been incredible, but as it stands it's still a flat out fun contest and the post-match Gore re-establishes the move as a dominant finisher to the fans. ***¼


Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs make their way out to the ring next and from the moment they get into the ring, the crowd begins chanting "We want Steen!". Corino cuts a promo about how he's an evil man but he's trying to get better, and now he has Jimmy Jacobs to help him out. Corino says that people deserve a second chance, and then introduces a returning Kevin Steen (who was forced to leave ROH after losing to El Generico at Final Battle last December) who was disguised in the upper deck as a fan. Giant pop for Steen and this has been where this whole Corino angle has been heading for all year. Steen tries to jump the barricade to get in the ring, but ROH refs and officials hold him off. Cornette comes out and Steen offers to shake Cornette's hand, and they do just that. Afterwards Steen leaves the building, disappointing the fans but it makes sense angle-wise.


Michael Elgin vs. Steve Corino

Elgin is a guy who I was initially indifferent about but seem to enjoy more and more with each match of his I watch. He's just a great powerhouse wrestler. High angle Saito suplex from Corino but Elgin just gets right back up. Corino does his usual disgusting "thumb in the butt" spot and Elgin hits the floor for a breather. Corino tries for a tope (probably the first one he's tried in years), but Elgin catches him in mid air and then gives him a tombstone piledriver on the floor! Back inside a northern lights suplex gets Elgin a two count. Corino blocks a package piledriver attempt from Elgin ("You don't do the package piledriver asshole!" says one loud fan in a funny moment) and then drags Corino to the second turnbuckle and applies a Boston crab with Corino tied up in between the second and third ropes! Look at Elgin channeling his inner Jericho. Stiff lariat from Corino, but Truth Martini trips him up at ringside and gets chased off by Jimmy Jacobs. Roll-up from Corino gets two, but Elgin gives him a TKO and a Jackhammer suplex, but he doesn't go for the pin. Instead he powerbombs Corino into the turnbuckle and then finishes him off with a spinning sitout powerbomb at 8:26. Another fun little short match here, but the Steen stuff obviously overshadowed it. Elgin looked impressive again though and this went by quickly. **½


After the match Elgin destroys both Corino and Jacobs in a beatdown. Suddenly Kevin Steen hops the rail though and jumps into the ring to help his friend! Big powerbomb on Elgin from Steen and then it's Truth Martini's turn to eat a superkick. More ROH officials hit the ring as Corino grabs a mic and tells Cornette to wait and let Kevin Steen talk. Steen says that he knows he's not supposed to be here, but he just wants to get the chance to apologize to everyone and try to fix his past mistakes. Steen tells everyone "My name is Kevin Steen...and FUCK RING OF HONOR!". He nails Corino with the mic and then gives him the package piledriver! Ooohhh, swerve. I guess this means Steen is returning as a heel once again, which is probably for the best. Great segment.


Intermission time for the show. We get some video packages to hype some of the remaining matches tonight and a few short backstage promos from Christopher Daniels, Steve Corino, and the Embassy.


ROH TV Title Match
Christopher Daniels © vs. El Generico

Dave and Kevin acknowledge how the TV title has sort of been put on the back-burner as of late as they were waiting to find a new TV deal. Daniels turned heel back at the Wrestlemania weekend shows and aligned himself with Truth Martini's House of Truth faction, so he plays a great spoil to Generico's always lovable underdog babyface. The action almost immediately spills out to the floor where Generico lays in some big chops. Daniels tries to launch him into the steel gaurd rail but Generico leaps onto it instead and moonsaults onto him! Back in the ring Daniels shakes Generico's hand and then eats a slap anyways. Daniels chokes Generico over the second rope and then does the Nature Boy strut, prompting huge "Fuck TNA!" chants. Daniels snaps him over the top rope, calls out a 450 splash...and then just lightly places one knee over Generico's throat. Daniels gets right back up, immensely pleased with himself and tries to start an "I've still got it!" chant. Where the hell has this incredibly playful and fun Daniels been hiding at? Daniels gets sent to the floor again and Generico gets a ton of air on a huge somersault plancha. Back in the ring a Blue Thunder Bomb gets Generico a two count. Daniels locks him into the Koji Clutch, but Generico fights it off so he tries for the Angel's Wings, which Generico counters with a back drop. Daniels hits the Last Rites, but Generico gets the shoulder up! Daniels blocks a brainbuster attempt but eats a Yakuza kick and a brainbuster anyways for a seriously close two count. Generico ties Daniels up in the tree of woe and then hits a flipping COAST TO COAST dropkick on Daniels! He's too close to the ropes though and grabs one to break the pin up. Both men fight to the apron and Daniels just shoves Generico flying off the apron, into the steel guardrail and a photographer at ringside in a nasty spot. Daniels gives him a suplex on the floor for good measure and grabs his title belt, putting it on in the ring and ordering the ref to count Generico out, who barely makes it back in the ring at a nine count. Generico hits another a Yakuza kick on Daniels in the corner and then gives him the top rope brainbuster for the win and the title at 19:31! Generico had seemingly lost some of his focus initially after the Steen feud ended, but that changes tonight with his first ROH singles title. This was a heated, hard hitting contest that saw Daniels cutting loose and playing up the heel antics like never before while Generico hit him with small bursts of big offense. The final flurry was too much for Daniels to overcome though, and Generico will look to bring the TV title with him to the first set of tapings for ROH's new TV show. ***¾


ROH Tag Team Title Elimination Match
Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin/Charlie Haas) © vs. Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero/Claudio Castagnoli) vs. The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe) vs. All Night Express (Kenny King/Rhett Titus)

The Kings come out first with a live performance by the rapper that does their entrance theme. I've always liked their theme, but the guy really wasn't very good live to be honest. Haas and Titus start us off but Titus gets fought off quickly and he tags King in. The fans want Benjamin in so Haas obliges. Benjamin and Haas try isolating King for a while until Claudio tags himself in so the Kings can use the same strategy on King again. Finally King is able to tag out to Titus and work some double-team isolation moves of their own in their corner. Titus gets sent to the corner and the Briscoes tag in and go to work on him as everyone starts jumping in the ring. Haas follows Jay Briscoe out to the floor with a pescado and then Titus wipes them all out with a tope con hilo. Meanwhile Mark Briscoe fights off the Kings in the ring and then launches himself off the top rope with a magnificent soaring moonsault that wipes out half of the teams on the floor! Not to be outdone, Chris Hero is next out with a backwards running moonsault of his own over the top, wiping everyone out again. That leaves Kenny King, but Claudio meets him at the top rope. Both men struggle on the top and out of nowhere Shelton Benjamin leaps from the mat to the top rope and suplexes both men off the top with a double exploder suplex! That was just insane. The Briscoes hop in and go to work on Benjamin while Sara Del Rey helps tend to the Kings. Shelton fights off a side headlock and the Kings tag into the match and go to work on Shelton's legs. Haas gets the hot tag and wipes out almost everyone in the ring and on the apron with forearms and suplexes, but Rhett Titus tags himself in quickly and fights off both of the Briscoes. King tries to help him out but eats a big boot and a double team neckbreaker from the Brsicoes.Titus blocks a Doomsday Device attempt but falls victim to a big Falcon Arrow for a close two. King and Titus hit a double-team kneedrop on Jay and that's enough for them to eliminate the Briscoes at 24:16.

The Briscoes leave disappointed as the Kings and All Night Express pair off in the ring. A nice spin kick on Benjamin gets a two count for Titus. Hero blindly tags in and hits a senton on Shelton for another near fall. The Kings continue their isolation strategy with Shelton in their corner, dishing out a serious beatdown. Shelton hits the swinging spinkick and tries to tag Haas in, but Hero pulls him off the apron. King tags himself in and an STO on Hero gets him a two count. He gives Claudio a spinebuster and catches Hero in the middle of a rolling kick, countering into an overhead leg cradle suplex! The ANX trade quick tags, working over Hero. Stiff rolling elbow gets Hero a near fall, and the crowd seems shockingly quiet for some reason despite the great action they've been watching for nearly half an hour. King hits Claudio with an awesome springboard neckbreaker and Del Rey diverts the referee's attention long enough for Hero to strap on the loaded elbow pad of doom and knock Titus out for the pin at 34:34.

Haas grabs the loaded elbow pad from Hero and tosses it into the crowd immediately after the elimination of the All Night Express. Huge German suplex from Haas on Hero gives him the chance to tag Shelton in, who cleans house. He hits a double DDT on both of the Kings and gets a near fall on Hero. Angle slam from Haas, but Claudio breaks the pin up. Claudio delivers the absolute craziest version of the UFO he's ever done on Haas, and as if that wasn't enough, he gives him an incredible Giant Swing with Hero dropkicking Shelton's face for a near fall so close that it has everyone buying the Kings as the new champs for a second. Claudio gets sent to the floor and Benjamin and Haas deliver a double team spinebuster onto Hero to pin him and retain the titles at 40:10. Once again ROH impresses with their incredible tag team division, this time in an epic four way that showed good pacing by taking it's time going into hyperdrive in the first fifteen minutes or so. Perhaps a bit long, but it's still worth going out of your way to see. ****


After the match the Briscoes return to the ring and take out Benjamin & Haas with steel chairs! The Kings join in on the beatdown as well until the All Night Express hit the ring with weapons to clear off both teams.


ROH World Title Match
Eddie Edwards © vs. Davey Richards

Normally ROH unfortunately tends to drag some of the great angles that fall into their lap out for too long, but for once we've got a match that everyone has been dying to see and it's without a doubt the key and focal point of selling this entire show to both the fans in attendance and those watching on iPPV. I shouldn't have to explain the Wolves past history together, but to suffice to say the journey to this title match between these two longtime tag partners has been simply epic and stands as one of the best builds to a title match I've seen in quite some time. Both men shake hands to start and go into a nice scientific lock up and basic hold exchange. Davey gets a bit more complicated with a high angle Texas clover-leaf submission, but Eddie gets the quick rope break. Edwards hits an awesome gourdbuster variation but it only gets a measly one count. The action spills to the apron and Davey tries a running kick, misses the first one, and then nails Eddie with a stiff second one. He gets right back up and then flies out seconds later with a tope suicida on Edwards into the guard-rail! Back inside Edwards tries for a backpack chinbreaker, but Davey counters right into a nasty cross-armbar. He transitions into a Fujiwara armbar and then delivers a bridging northern lights suplex for a near fall before going into a kimura. Both men climb to the top turnbuckle and begin exchanging headbutts before Davey delivers a superplex, rolls through on the mat and delivers another suplex and then finishes by transitioning back into the cross armbar. Edwards counters into the Achilles lock and I'm just dumbfounded by how smooth all of those transitions were. Eddie catches Davey half-way through a back handspring and slams him with an overhead suplex. Edwards hits a Fisherman's buster for a close two count as an "ROH!" chant breaks out. Edwards hits a lung blower but Davey counters into another cross armbar. Eddie keeps trying to fight the armbar off but Davey is just ferocious. Richards is sent to the floor and Edwards moonsaults off the apron on to him halfway into the first row! Back inside Edwards hits a missile dropkick but he seems to be favoring his leg now. They fight to the apron again and Davey eats a superkick and a 2K1 bomb onto the side of the ring apron! Both men look dead on the floor. But no you see, they haven't killed each other yet. Oh no, instead Eddie guides Davey onto a ringside table and then comes off of the top rope with the deadliest double-stomp I've ever seen right through the table, and possibly his chest! My jaw actually dropped on that spot. Back in the ring Edwards hits another double-stomp to Davey's back, but somehow Davey kicks out. Davey catches Edwards leg in the ropes with a dragon-screw legwhip and then springboards with a double stomp of his own onto Eddie now! Davey keeps working kicks into Eddie's leg like this was an MMA fight and then lays in a flurry of crazy headbutts onto Edwards on the top rope. Edwards gets a dangerous amount of air from an overhead release German suplex off the top rope from Davey and then eats a stiff kick and another German for a near fall. Davey transitions from a powerbomb into the ankle lock and both men take turns trading ankle locks with one another. Both men fall to the outside again, exhausted by this point. They make it back in just barely and a top rope hurricanrana followed by a powerbomb gets Edwards another close near fall. Both men are totally exhausted here, but a huge lariat from Davey seems to awaken some fire in Eddie. Brutal series of kicks to the head from Davey, but Eddie keeps kicking out, refusing to give up. Finally Davey hits without a doubt the sickest kick to Eddie's face that I've ever seen in my life, and that's enough to get Davey the 3 count and fulfill his dream of becoming ROH World champion at 36:01! This was everything that we had been hoping for and more. Both guys busted their asses for thirty six minutes and put on one of the most brutal, hard-hitting and intense matches that I have seen this year or any year. You could literally feel how badly each man wanted to win this contest and seeing Eddie keep fighting through the pain and one brutal kick after another was just incredible and made him look like a tough bastard even in defeat. This was the single moment that ROH had been building up to for nearly a year at this point, and it absolutely delivered everything you could have asked for from this match. This very well could be your match of the year folks. ****¾


After the match Davey is understandably exhausted both physically and emotionally. Both men sell just how crazy that match was by taking a ton of time to get up after the medical staff comes in to check them out. They struggle to their feet and Edwards wraps the ROH World title around Davey's waist and they embrace. Davey grabs a mic and tells Eddie to come back to the ring as he tries to take off, and Davey says that Eddie is one of the best in the world and how he's like family to him, but Eddie says that we've already heard Davey talk about how great everyone else is, but tonight is his night and this is his moment to be the best in the world. Davey thanks his grandparents while looking to the sky and we close out the show with Davey celebrating and basking in a moment that had been building up for many months. What a match and moment.

Bottom Line: ROH delivers yet again on iPPV as they usually do, booking several incredible matches that are well worth the $15 asking price for the show. The first few matches were a bit underwhelming albeit fun (though the Homicide/Rhino street fight was great) but once we got to the TV title match, it was non-stop state of the art wrestling from everyone involved. An intense four team 40 minute war and the best ROH title match since last year's Black/Richards Death Before Dishonor encounter, this show absolutely delivered on it's promise to show you some of the best in the world, and it's an easy Thumbs Up.


Score: 9/10

PWG DDT4 2011 (3/4/2011)

PWG DDT4 2011
March 4th, 2011
American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Attendance: Unknown

Every year Pro Wrestling Guerrilla holds a one night tag team tournament to crown new tag team champions in the spring time. This year however, they've changed things up and the winner of the tournament tonight gets a tag team title shot down the line against El Generico and Paul London. As usual the tournament is stacked with entrants including the Young Bucks, American Wolves, Kings of Wrestling, and Briscoes among others. Let's see if they can live up to the quality of past year's events.


Your hosts are Excalibur and a revolving door of color commentators


For once we don't start the show with Excalibur cracking jokes in the ring, we instead go straight to the action of the first match, or lack thereof. The Bucks are on the mic complaining about their accommodations here in Reseda compared to their deluxe trailers in Orlando, Florida with TNA. They continue to call themselves Generation Me (though they're still billed as the Bucks) and bring up their success in this tournament in year's past, including winning the whole thing two years ago. They seem upset about the makeshift tag team they have to face in front of them, so Gatson shuts them up with a wild over the top rope tope suicida, and we're off and running.


DDT4 First Round Match
Young Bucks (Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson) vs. Brandon Gatson/Willie Mack

If you haven't seen Mack, you're in for a treat as he's possibly the most agile and incredible big man I've ever seen. Mack and Gatson show surprising cohesion early in the contest, trading frequent tags and delivering creative double team maneuvers. The Bucks break up a springboard attempt by Gatson and Matt dropkicks him literally into the front row, sliding back five feet in a chair in an almost surreal manner. Luckily the guy in the front row did not spill his pitcher of beer, so no worries kids. Back int he ring the Bucks take the upper hand, working over Gatson in their corner. Just to get some extra heat the Bucks start pulling out trademark Hardy Boyz double team offense, with Matt Jackson even mimicking Matt Hardy's mannerisms circa 2003. This is one of the reasons I love the Bucks, they're fun to watch and they know how to piss off a PWG crowd like no one else. Nick tries the trademark springboard facebuster but Gatson blocks with a knee and nearly gets the overdue tag to Mack before Matt hits the ring to break it up. Nick slaps on the dreaded sleeper but Gatson counters into a slick STO. Matt taunts him so Gatson gives him a stunner and gets the hot tag to Mack! The crowd is really into Mack and goes crazy as he totally destroys both of the Bucks with running lariats in the corner. Matt tries for the infamous handspring back-rake of DOOM but Gatson breaks it up and delivers one of his own to Matt! He follows it up with the space flying tiger drop (or Sasuke special) to Nick out on the floor and Mack nearly wins it with a standing moonsault onto Matt. Gatson and Mack hit a double team neckbreaker that again nearly gets the pin, but Matt kicks out. Mack blocks the Risky Business double team from the Bucks hits another creative double team neckbreaker with Gatson for a near fall. Gatson gets tied up in the ropes and Nick superkicks Mack's face off to give the Bucks the win to advance at 11:37. Bit of an anti-climactic finish to an otherwise fun and hot opener. Mack and Gatson worked very well together for a first time team and the Bucks did their usual brilliant heel shtick with the PWG faithful and the results were an entertaining (if unexceptional) start to the tournament. **¾


DDT4 First Round Match
American Wolves (Davey Richards/Eddie Edwards) vs. RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime/Johnny Yuma)

Both teams show mutual respect before the bell with handshakes all around. A weak kick sends Yuma to the floor almost immediately and we get a chance to see the awesome picture of the mighty Reptar on the back of his trunks. Yuma sends both of the Wolves to the floor with a pair of headscissors and Goodtime greets them outside the ring with a somersault plancha! Back inside the ring the Monsters double team up on Edwards as Joey Ryan asks Excalibur on commentary the timeless question "What are you more afraid of, a wolf or a Reptar?". Edwards lays in some vicious chops to Goodtime in the corner and he and Davey begin trading quick tags, working over Goodtime in their corner. The Monsters hit a series of dropkicks in the corner on Davey for a two count and the crowd fires up as Davey responds with a snap suplex. Davey chokes Yuma a bit with his boot, heeling it up against the California boys. The Wolves hit a double dropkick on Yuma as he's tied up in the tree of woe. Diving knee from Eddie gets two on Yuma and Davey applies a half Boston crab before transitioning right into a nasty old-school Liontamer. Eddie even cranks back on Davey's neck behind him to put even more pressure on the hold! The Wolves are really establishing themselves here as the wiser, more experienced tandem that's just methodically picking the Monsters apart and having a good time doing it. Everything they throw at the Wolves, they have one better. The Wolves begin to get sloppy in their double team efforts though and Yuma is able to get the hot tag to Goodtime after an extended beatdown. He clears house on Edwards with dropkicks and then hits him with a sloppy kneebreaker for two. Falcon Arrow from Goodtime, but Edwards gets the shoulder up! Back on his feet Edwards superkicks Yuma and gives Goodtime a dragon screw legwhip. Davey tags in and slaps the ankle lock onto Goodtime, who reverses it into a cradle for a near fall. Running knee and a back drop suplex get Davey two as well. Yuma hits Davey with a codebreaker and Goodtime follows with a big frog splash, but again Richards kicks out. Edwards tags in but misses a double-stomp and eats a spin kick. The Wolves hit the ring and deliver the superkick-German suplex double team combo on Goodtime, but he kicks out at two to the crowd's shock! Huge lung-blower from Davey and Edwards sinks in a deep achilles lock on Goodtime, who taps at 20:52. Excellent action from both teams here, the Wolves firmly established themselves as the veterans who had all the answers for this young team, while Goodtime & Yuma played the plucky young hometown babyfaces who just might pull it off perfectly here. ***½


DDT4 First Round Match
Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero/Claudio Castagnoli) vs. The Cutler Brothers (Brandon Cutler/Dustin Cutler)

Claudio is your current PWG World champion here as well to solidify themselves as favorites to go far in this year's tournament. Claudio and Dustin start it off with matching shoulder-blocks, each man trying to display their power in the early going. Hero and Brandon tag in and slow things down with a nice wristlock and Greco-Roman knuckle-lock exchange. Dropkick from Brandon gets two and he tags his brother back in. Both teams are basically just feeling each other out in the opening stages here, with the Kings notably getting the better of the Cutlers on several exchanges. A European uppercut/roaring elbow combo nearly puts Dustin Cutler out and the Kings look like they're having fun. A huge gutwrench suplex from Claudio gets him a near fall. Dustin hits a big tilt-a-whirl bulldog and is able to get the tag to Brandon, who takes out Hero with a spinning heel kick and Claudio with a Thesz press. Jumping ace crusher from Brandon gets a close two and the crowd fires up again. A wheelbarrow/lung-blower combo nearly gives the Cutlers the win, but Claudio breaks the pin up. A pair of roaring elbows from Hero takes out both of the Cutlers and a jumping knee from Claudio gets another near fall. Dustin kicks out of a chokeslam from Claudio and Brandon takes out Hero with a tope. Dustin nearly pins Claudio with a death valley driver but Claudio hits him with the pop-up European uppercut. The Kings hit a huge giant swing dropkick on Dustin, but yet again he somehow kicks out. Finally a pair of stereo big boots from both of the Kings is enough to put Dustin away at 16:21. This was a change of pace from the previous two matches with both teams keeping things more grounded and methodical, but it worked very well in that same context. Another solid tournament match that shows us the Kings outsmarting their opponents yet again. ***


DDT4 First Round Match
Nightmare Violence Connection (Kevin Steen/Akira Tozawa) vs. The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe)

Steen and Tozawa had an incredibly brutal match against one another last December at Cyanide: A Loving Tribute to Poison and decided that they worked so well together they would enter this tournament as a tag team. Tozawa and Jay start us off and the crowd is immediately behind Tozawa. They trade some basic headlock and wristlock exchanges. Steen tags in and bites a chunk out of Jay's nose before eating a dropkick and a headbutt from Mark. They knock Tozawa off the apron and double Steen for another two count. They try for a double hip-toss but Steen counters with a double ear-bite! Steen fights off both Briscoes and tags Tozawa back in, who shrieks with every strike he lays in. The crowd starts mimicking every one of his screams and eventually Tozawa gets fed up and just tells the crowd to "Shut the fuck up" in a hilarious moment. He slaps a sleeper onto Jay but he counters with a big spinebuster. Mark hits a leg lariat on Steen and then follows up with an exploder suplex for another close two count. Tozawa and Jay then go into what might be the greatest sequence of the year as each man lays in their own goofy, shrieking, over-the-top version of kung-fu strikes on one another like crazy screaming monkeys, only to have their level-headed partners try to break them up and get caught up in the chaos. Steen blocks the Jay Driller and gets a close two on him with a powerbomb and a shining wizard. Mark gives Steen a big death valley driver and Jay follows with a senton off the top for another long two. Steen gets Jay up in the Doomsday Device position and Tozawa hits a springboard SHINING WIZARD on him for the win at 9:43! This is everything I love about PWG and wrestling in general, packed into a short near ten minute introductory package. From Tozawa and Jay going into an awesome redneck/samurai kung-fu showdown to the explosive finish, this was non-stop fun. ***¼


DDT4 Semi-Finals Match
The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson) vs. American Wolves (Davey Richards/Eddie Edwards)

These two met in a great match last year in ROH, so expectations are running high for this semi-finals contest. Nick and Davey start off and Nick is quickly sent reeling back to his brother for consolation, so he gives him a kiss on the cheek and the crowd hilariously chants "That was incest!" at him. The opening portion of this contest is totally focused around the personalities of both teams. The Bucks showing their flashy offense and taunting the crowd arrogantly while the serious Wolves look on with disgust and make the two pretty boys pay for their vanity. Stereo tope suicidas from the Wolves send the crowd to their feet. Back inside Edwards hands out loud chops to the brothers Buck. The Wolves continue to outsmart the Bucks with ease, double-teaming Nick behind the ref's back while Matt complains to the crowd. Matt hits a leg drop (shouting "Hogan!" while he does it) for a two count. Davey takes a beatdown from both Bucks for a bit before evading a German attempt from Matt and getting an overdue tag to Eddie. Tiger Suplex on Nick gets a close two count. Nick is barely able to break up the German suplex/jackknife pin combo from the Wolves, and a follow-up Liger Bomb from Edwards won't do the trick either. A tombstone piledriver from Matt gets a close two on Davey while Nick wipes out Eddie on the floor with a tope. We go into the usual superkicks-bonanza sequence in which everyone in the ring eats and delivers atleast one superkick to one another before the Bucks hit a reverse hurricanrana to wipe out the Wolves and send the crowd wild on their feet. Nick low blows Eddie from behind but they miss More Bang For Your Buck and Nick winds up getting German suplexes 360 degrees off the top rope! Double team wheelbarrow-lungblower combo but Nick breaks it up. Eddie tries the achilles lock, but Matt counters into a cradle and gets the cheap win to advance to the finals at 16:07! Definitely the best tournament match so far in the evening, much like the earlier Wolves match this was a very character-driven match until the finishing sprint when all four men went into some signature jaw-dropping sequences. ***¾


DDT4 Semi-Finals Match
Nightmare Violence Connection (Kevin Steen/Akira Tozawa) vs. Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero/Claudio Castagnoli)

Steen makes sure to have the ring announcer call them the "Kings of Sexual Intercourse", as if the crowd wasn't behind them enough. Steen and Hero start us off with the Kings trading quick tags and working Steen's leg on the mat. Steen fights them off quickly though and tags Tozawa in, who sheepishly tries chopping Claudio to little luck. The basic story of the match here, as with most Tozawa matches, it that the guy is simply outmatched by the sheer size and power of his opponents, but he keeps fighting back and kicking out despite their best efforts, refusing to stay down. This beatdown goes on for minutes with the crowd doing their best to rally behind Tozawa. He responds with a nasty high angle back-drop suplex on Hero and gets the hot tag to Steen! Codebreaker from Steen onto Claudio and he follows it with the cannonball splash into the corner for a two count. Tozawa sends Hero to the floor and then hits a pair of lightning fast topes followed by a senton off the apron! Big piledriver from Hero back inside nearly puts Tozawa away, but he feeds off of the crowd and refuses to quit. Bridging German suplex from Tozawa, but Hero barely kicks out. A pair of bicycle kicks from Tozawa triggers a roaring elbow from Hero, but Tozawa gets right up at the count of one! The crowd goes wild as Tozawa is a house of fire! Hero misses a moonsault and Tozawa cradles him with a La Magistral to get the upset win to advance at 16:42! The crowd goes wild for Steen and Tozawa's win. Yet another rock-solid tournament contest here with Tozawa playing off his chemistry with Hero from last year's BOLA tournament and bringing a ton of fire and energy into his comeback. Another good match, shocker huh? ***¼


Joey Ryan, the number one contender for Claudio's PWG World Title, is in the ring now. He says he's focused on his singles career, thus he hasn't entered into tonight's tag team tournament. He wants a warm-up match in preparation for his title shot at Claudio, so he's devised a gauntlet match to take place next, with the winner to face him directly afterwards. So here we go...


Joey Ryan Invitational Gauntlet Match
Brian Cage-Taylor vs. Ryan Taylor vs. Peter Avalon vs. Candice LaRae

There's a 30 minute time limit on the whole thing and we start out with two of the Fightin' Taylor boys, Brian Cage and Ryan. I'm going to just grade this as one big match instead of several small ones. Both men trade some basic mat holds and counter-holds to start off. Both men trade power moves to try and put the other away quickly in order to save energy. Ryan hits a springboard dropkick that sends Brian to the floor and then he topes him right into the third row! Back inside a big swanton nearly gets three for Ryan. A twisting neckbreaker from Ryan is enough to put Cage away, and next out is Peter Avalon. Avalon hits the ring immediately to jump Taylor. He hits a sloppy ace crusher on the ring apron and then follows it with a moonsault. Back in the ring Taylor tries a crossface but Avalon escapes. Taylor tries for the same neckbreaker he used to beat Brian, but Avalon counters into a roll-up and pulls the tights to eliminate Ryan. Out next is the lovely and always popular Candice LaRae. Joey Ryan hits the ring suddenly though and superkicks Avalon, giving Candice the victory tow in the gauntlet and have to face Ryan next at 15:49. Not much of a match obviously, this was clearly the cool-down period on the card before the finals of the tournament, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with having matches like these for that very purpose. **


Joey Ryan vs. Candice LaRae

This is hardly the first time Ryan has wrestled a woman, and he in fact had a very good little match with Christina Von Eerie last year right around this time. Ryan gets on the mic and laughs at his opposition, but Candice doesn't appreciate that and she threatens to make Ryan tap out. Ryan is offended enough that he puts his title shot on the line in this match. The crowd chants "Next world champ!" at Candice, which is bizarre but funny. Candice is cautious to start, picking her spots with cradles and crucifix pinning attempts. A few kicks send Ryan to the floor and Candice follows him out with a tope, grabbing Ryan in mid-air and planting him on the floor with a tornado DDT in the process! Ryan nearly gets counted out but makes it back inside just in the nick of time. A superplex almost wins it for Candice, but Ryan kicks out and she calls for the infamous ball-plex! And she delivers it! BAH GAWD THE BALL-PLEX! Sorry, channeling my inner Jim Ross there. Reverse hurricanrana off the top, but somehow Ryan kicks out again! She misses the moonsault though and eats a superkick before Ryan locks her into the kimura for the submission win at 9:02. This was another fun contest as Ryan always works well against the babyface women in PWG, playing his role as sexist misogynistic pig to perfection. For a brief second people actually thought Candice was going to beat Joey, so you got to give them some credit there. Solid stuff. **¼


DDT4 Finals Match
The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson) vs. Nightmare Violence Connection (Kevin Steen/Akira Tozawa)

The Young Bucks are in the finals yet again, having won the tournament two years ago and made it to the finals last year. Total chaos to start as both teams brawl around ringside at the match begins. Steen hits a frog splash off the apron onto Matt and half the crowd parts like the Red Sea. Steen follows it by powerbombing Nick onto the ring apron, and the crowd chants for another so Steen obliges and gives him one more before Matt fights him off with a chair. So of course Steen powerbombs Matt onto the apron as well. Back in the ring Matt goes for his signature handspring back rake, this time using an actual rake! That's genius. The Bucks drag Tozawa over to the apron and give him a double DDT off the apron onto a steel chair on the floor! The DDT is so devastating in fact that a few referees come out to help Tozawa backstage for some medical attention, leaving Steen alone in the ring to take an epic beatdown from the cocky Bucks. Steen tries desperately for the package piledriver on Nick, but gets beaten down with chairs instead. Chris Hero is on commentary and puts over how hurt Tozawa must be in order to have been convinced to abandon his partner. Steen has been busted open now and the Bucks continue the classic heel beatdown, taunting the crowd all the while. You know when I watch just how great of a pair of heels these two can be, I become even more saddened by their booking in TNA. Suddenly, like a knight in shining armor, out runs Akira Tozawa from the back for a mega-monster pop from the PWG faithful! He hits the ring immediately and snaps off a huge German suplex on Nick while Steen applies a sharpshooter onto Matt. Tozawa is fired up now and he German suplexes Matt right on top of Nick! Another Everest German suplex and a roll-through arm capture suplex from Tozawa, but Nick manages to break it up just in the nick of time! Tozawa hoists BOTH of the Bucks on top of his shoulders (one atop the other) and gives them a double Samoan drop as Hero flips out on commentary! Package piledriver from Steen and a Shining Wizard from Tozawa, but Nick breaks it up or else that surely would have been three! Nick wipes out Tozawa on the floor with a dangerous plancha while Steen tries the sharpshooter once again, but Nick hits the ring and feeds him a nasty superkick. The Bucks start hitting one stiff, nasty superkick after another onto Steen, which is the exact same way that the Bucks defeated Steen and Generico to win this tournament two years ago and is one of the ways they advanced to the finals tonight. Steen somehow is able to withstand this crazy barrage of superkicks and kick out at a two count, which pops the crowd big. Steen just keeps eating one superkick after another, but he won't stay down. Tozawa hits the ring and starts swinging blindly like a madman (or as Hero likes to put it, "Fucking shit up") but he eats a double superkick of his own from the brothers. They hit More Bang For Your Buck on BOTH Steen and Tozawa, and that's enough to finally give the Bucks the win and their second DDT4 tournament title at 20:52. You know I didn't like the idea of the Bucks winning again at first, but you have to understand why it was done considering Tozawa's US excursion is coming to an end very soon and he's returning to Japan. This was an absolutely brilliant match though that played off of DDT4 finals in years past while showing off the incredible fighting spirit of Tozawa yet again and establishing Steen firmly as a man who's nearly impossible to put down in PWG. The story of Tozawa leaving and coming back would have been perfect had they wound up winning the contest, but as it stands this was still just an incredible match that capped off another great tournament and solidifies the Young Bucks yet again as one of the most dominant and talented tag teams on the independent wrestling circuit today. ****¼

After the match Steen offers the Bucks a handshake in a sign of respect, but they just superkick him unconscious instead. The Bucks might need some bodyguards, because these fans are about to rip them apart after that. The Bucks get on the microphone and to my absolute shock, they actually thank the fans for coming out tonight. They explain how important the DDT4 tournament was in elevating their careers two years ago in 2009, and then tell El Generico and Paul London that they're coming for their tag belts ("Paul! Put down that joint! El Generico, spend a day or two in the gym and get a tan for god's sake."). We close out the show with the Bucks dedicating their tournament victory to their beloved boss, Dixie Carter!

Bottom Line: This was definitely one of the best DDT4 tournaments yet in PWG history, and that's really saying something considering the strength of this show in year's past. Almost every match on the card hit the *** mark, and the finals produced an easy match of the year contender so far for not only PWG but the independent wrestling scene in general. Another excellent show from PWG, which is becoming almost old news to say at this point as I can't even remember the last time I watched a PWG show and didn't recommend it. Another easy Thumbs Up.


Score: 8.5/10