The scene is the American Legion Hall #307 in Reseda, CA. To many this may be just another lodge, but to the wrestling fans of Southern California this is the home of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Friday night’s show was the opening of the 2014 year for PWG, and they came out swinging. The annual Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament – DDT4 – to determine the number one contender for the Young Bucks championship gold was a night of hard hits, high spots, and a flurry of fan interaction. This was a night to remember, for both SoCal fans and PWG history.
Match 1 DDT4 Quarter Finals:
RockNESS Monsters Johnny Yuma & Johnny Goodtime vs. the Best Friends Chuck Taylor & Trent?
The Monsters are an interesting tag team. Goodtime is generally well-liked by the fans yet Yuma is downright hated, which he plays into extremely well. The Best Friends, on the other hand, are so over with the fans it’s impossible not to jump out of your seat when “500 Miles” by the Proclaimers hits the sound system. The match starts hot with BF showing off their impressive mix of solid wrestling skill and agility. Taylor is the more grounded of the two while Trent goes over the top rope and lands with a swift kick to the face onto Goodtime. Their enthusiastic love for one another as best friends sees a mid-ring hug followed by a double elbow drop. The Monsters fight back valiantly when Goodtime picks up Yuma and throws him back first into a fallen Taylor in the corner. Soon enough Taylor returns the favor and tosses Yuma into his own partner in the corner. Trent appears seemingly from out of the sky and hits tremendous DDT. From the ropes Yuma lands an impressive backwards hurricarrana on Trent, followed closely by pushing Taylor face first into the mat with his knees. The match ends with the BF’s “secret weapon” – a trench coat. Trent puts on the coat and is hoisted upon Taylor’s shoulders, giving the appearance of one giant. Goodtime is thrown with an arm drag from the top rope and the BF get the win with one foot on Goodtime’s chest, advancing to the Semi-finals amidst crowd frenzy.
Match 2 DDT4 Quarter Finals:
PPRay Pretty Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas vs. the Unbreakable F’N Machines Brian Cage & Michael Elgin
If you are unfamiliar with these teams, just do a quick Google search. What you’ll find is that the Machines outweigh PPRAY by over 200 lbs. But what PPRay lacked in size they more than made up for in charisma. Coming to the ring to 80’s hit “Obsession,” the team of Pretty Peter and “Sexy Jesus” – as the fans pronounce him – Rosas are both hilarious and completely determined. Which they would need considering Cage’s thighs are larger than Avalon’s entire frame. The match begins with PPRay knocking the Machines outside the ring from behind. They fly over the ropes but are easily caught. They try again and are easily caught yet again. Cage and Elgin tests their strength by holding Avalon above their heads for over 60 seconds, handing Avalon back and forth to each other with ease. PPRay attempts a quick kick assault on Cage in the corner, but is eventually overpowered and Cage powerslams them both to the mat, one on tops of the other. Elgin counters Cage’s strength by doing squats with both in his arms. PPRay fight back with all their might delivering double kicks to Elgin, but he simply slams one of them and powerbombs the other on top of his fallen teammate. For good measure, both Machines hit their finishers twice and pick up the decisive victory.
Match 3 DDT4 Quarter Finals:
2/4th’s of Mount Rushmore PWG Champion Adam Cole & Kevin Steen vs. Candice LaRae & Joey Ryan
If you’re wondering what a woman is doing in this match, it’s worth noting that Candice is not your average “diva.” Dubbed the First Woman of PWG, Candice can take as well as she can give. And Cole and Steen were certainly pleased to give. Candice comes out flying though and hits a senton onto Cole on the outside. But never to be a gentleman, back in the ring Cole taunts Candice with a hip thrust to the face. After taking several good shots from Cole, Candice gets the hot tag to Ryan. But Cole has tagged in Steen and he delivers a brutal powerbomb on Ryan right on the edge of the ring. Candice will not go down easily and nails Cole with a beautiful hurricarrana/DDT combination, followed by her trademark “Dickplex” to the Champ. When Cole and Steen do take control, it’s a swift and powerful beat down of both Candice and Ryan. Ryan hits Cole with a superkick but Candice is fallen in the corner of the ring. Again, never to take it easy on her, Steen runs to the corner and summersaults his 250lb body into her. It’s too much for the fan favorites to take and Cole gets the pin with two times the superkick and a brainbuster to Ryan. Following the match, Cole continues his quest for heat by spitting in the face of the fallen Candice.
*Quick mention here: Cole/Steen’s entrance music is “Call Me Maybe” and Ryan/Candice’s theme is “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” PWG has the BEST entrance themes around.
Match 4 DDT4 Quarter Finals:
ACH & AR Fox vs. the Inner City Machine Guns Ricochet & Rich Swann
There is something to be said about an entire audience on their feet singing every word to “All Night Long.” But that’s exactly what this match brought: everyone on their feet. It was by far the most evenly matched competition of the night as all four men mix high-flying agility, swift speed and a risk-taking attitude for the ages. This match was all over the place – Fox hits a backwards senton type move to the outside, Swann flips over the top ropes, Fox moonsaults off the apron, ACH pins Swann to the mat with a quick stomp to the palms of his hands, Fox delivers a kick to the face onto Swann from the second rope. There were not even any tags in the first half of the match. Finally it settles down and Swann gets the hot tag to Ricochet who nails Fox with a huge cutter for the near fall. The crowd has erupted into “Tag Team Wrestling” and “This is Awesome” chants. Not one butt in a seat. Ricochet hits a brainbuster on ACH and the match yet again floods to the outside. ACH triple flips his way over the top rope onto his opponents. As the men return to the ring, Swann attempts his trademark standing 450 but misses. Luckily Ricochet is right behind him and springboards off the ropes to hit his own 450 and the victory. The crowd is absolutely stunned and inspired and the standing ovation lasts for several minutes. The match of the night comes to a close with all four competitors hugging in the ring.
Match 5:
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Adam Thornstone
Thornstone is a newcomer to PWG so he would need an impressive showing to gain the loyalty of the rabid crowd. Ciampa is a beast that is already loved and when he begins the showdown by kissing his opponent on the cheek – the Kiss of Death – the crowd begins with a “Ciampa’s Gonna Kill You” chant. Ciampa, known for his brutal knee-based maneuvers drops his kneepad immediately and it is clear he has no intention of taking it lightly on the rookie Thornstone. He hits multiple knees to the head and Thornstone attempts to use some speed to counter the big man. Eventually the two face off with back and forth slaps to the chest. Thornstone hits three consecutive superkicks on Ciampa but is yet again overpowered and takes a “White Noise” type move on the edge of the ring. Continuing his trademark offense, Ciampa gets the win with a simple knee to the face. Defeat aside, Thornstone was immensely overmatched and, unfortunately, did not show well in front of the PWG audience.
Match 6 DDT4 Semi-Finals:
Adam Cole & Kevin Steen vs. the Best Friends
The match doesn’t even get underway as a massive brawl ensues all over the building. The BF’s come out fighting swiftly, much to surprise of Cole and Steen. Eventually the teams make their way to back to the commentary stage. Always the showman, Taylor stops for a second to get in a few thoughts on the headset. Trent makes his way on the stage too and the BF’s double flip into the crowd. Fans were on their feet the entire match, not just out of excitement but attempting to get out the way of the rabid competitors. Back in the ring, the agile big man Steen does a Swanton and soon a spinning body slam from the top to Trent. Cole flips Taylor into a series of chairs at ringside and gets back in the ring. But running onto the apron is Candice, returning the spit to the face to Cole. With the distraction, Trent reverses Steen’s pin attempt and the BF’s seal the victory! The crowd jumps to their feet in a sea of excitement. It’s the upset of the night! The Best Friends move on to the finals!
Match 7 DDT4 Semi-Finals:
The Unbreakable F’N Machines vs. the Inner City Machineguns
The show seemed to run long by the end of the night, and that’s because for a solid 15 minutes the crowd was chanting back and forth “Fucking Machines!” – “Inner City!” before this match even started. Ring announcer Angelo Trinidad did his best to be patient while awaiting his opportunity to announce the contest. It’s the battle of the big men taking on the high flyers so the match is filled with a solid mixture of agility and heavy hitting. Ricochet and Swann hit a double drop kick on Elgin, but not to be outdone by the smaller team, Cage hits an amazing lionsault from the second rope onto Swann. Elgin goes for a second rope moonsault and misses but Ricochet is able to land a standing shooting star press. The Machines again test their strength passing Swann back and forth above their heads and Cage does curls with Ricochet in his arms. The crafty Swann is able to duck out of the way causing Elgin to kick Cage who stumbles down. Cage takes a hurricarrana from Swann followed closely about another shooting star at the hands of Ricochet. The match is at a standstill and seemingly could go in favor of either team. Cage hits a clothesline; Swann a superkick, Elgin a powerslam, Ricochet uses his knees off the top rope to face plant Elgin. A little miscommunication causes Cage to DDT his own partner and a double set of 450’s sends Swann and Ricochet to the finals.
Match 8 Four Way to determine the PWG Champion Number One Contender:
Johnny Gargano vs. Chris Hero vs. Kyle O’Reily vs. Drake Younger
This match doesn’t event start without the crowd chanting “This is Awesome.” And it’s not only awesome, it’s so evenly matched that there is no predicting the outcome. The match opens with the four men attempting to out mat-wrestle one another, pair up and slug it out and each hit the ropes one after the other with a kick. Twice they tangle up in a human centipede of submission maneuvers. Each time the four square off yet again in respective corners. Soon Hero takes control with a superkick to Gargano. Three of the four have stumbled to the floor and Drake starts the high-flying with a moonsault. No matter where one man lands, there is always another man to pick up another move. Gargano spears his way through the ropes into Drake who then flies to the outside onto Hero. O’Reily attempts to slow down the action with a flurry of slaps to Gargano and another submission attempt. Hero is mostly in control still with a series of forearms to the back of the heads of the others. It seems that every section of the crowd is chanting one name and it’s impossible to pick a favorite. O’Reily and Gargano exchange superkicks but Hero is there to pick up the scraps. Drake then comes out of nowhere and hits an over-the-shoulder slam onto O’Reily, a piledriver and back drop. With his three competitors exhausted, the clever long time Indy darling finishes things off with a brainbuster and, in a somewhat shocking ending, Drake wins! Drake wins! The ecstatic yet humble Younger falls to his knees as the sounds of “Next World Champ” flood over the Legion.
Match 9 DDT4 Finals:
The Best Friends vs. the Inner City Machineguns
It’s clear from the entrances that both teams are hurting from their earlier fights, but it doesn’t show in their in-ring performance. Swann takes out Trent with a flip to the outside as Ricochet hits a series of hurricaranas onto Taylor. The action is quick and the Best Friends take over soon, flipping to the outside on the Guns (Not without an endearing “I love you, I love you too” moment). There are superkicks everywhere, dropkicks every which way and Swann goes crazy with chops in the corner. Taylor hoists Ricochet onto his shoulders for what looks to be a Razor’s Edge, yet turns it into a powerbomb instead. Swann comes back wildly but takes a double chokeslam from the BF’s. Both teams are equally in support of their partners and with Swann down, Ricochet delivers a Pele kick to Taylor and follows it up with an astonishing swinging DDT. Taylor comes back quickly though with a unique piledriver/powerbomb combination and takes the win. The Best Friend’s sweep the tournament. Friendship always prevails!
The crowd jumps to their feet, hands raised high in applause. Nine matches of one-of-a-kind maneuvers, near falls and boisterous chanting haven’t exhausted anyone. Instead, a frenetic energy comes over the Legion like a tidal wave. As the fans file out, they are just as excited as they were waiting in the cold entry line just a few hours earlier. There is no stopping a PWG crowd and with shows like the one delivered this night, there is absolutely no stopping Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.
Read more: http://www.pwmania.com/pro-wrestling-guerrilla-ddt4-results-january-31-2014#ixzz2sCyQ9tyu
