PWG 11 DVD Review

On July 26th, 2014, Pro Wrestling Guerilla held its eleventh anniversary show, 11.

Around the time this show took place, PWG had announced the 24 competitors for the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles, which hyped up BOLA, but really hurt the hype for 11.

11 did have a little help. The PWG returns of Frankie Kazarian and Brian Kendrick were announced for the show, as well as The Young Bucks defending their PWG World Tag Team Championship in a Guerilla Warfare Match against World’s Cutest Tag Team. It was also a sad night for PWG, as they said goodbye to Kevin Steen, before he went to join WWE.

Still, many looked at 11 as an afterthought, and with BOLA on the horizon, the PWG roster set out to make sure that 11 was one of the best shows of the year.

How good was the show? How did The Young Bucks fare in their Guerilla Warfare Match? Let’s break the matches down:

Rocky Romero vs. Tommaso Ciampa

This was a very good opener, as the styles of Ciampa and Romero worked pretty well together. Ciampa got the win with a discus lariat.

This match was a little better than the one that Romero had with Michael Bennett a few weeks ago for ROH, but I’m just not a fan of Romero by himself.

This match worked really well as an opener. It had a few comedy spots, a few highspots, and it got the crowd into the show early on.

Interesting note: Ciampa had a pretty bad sunburn. It’s pretty easy to see during pre-match introductions, but it becomes even  more evident later on, as he cringes a little more than usual when he lands on his back. I give him a lot of credit for toughing it out. Anybody who has ever had sunburn knows how painful it can be to move, let alone wrestle a high-energy guy like Romero.

ACH vs. Cedric Alexander

This was a really good match, and it got a couple of “This is Awesome” chants.

These two bring so much to the table. They suck you in with the promise of some high-flying moves that you might have never seen before (ACH had a ridiculous over-the-top rope move in this one), but then they blow you away with how good of a wrestling match that they have.

Companies all around the US should be flying these guys in to wrestle for them. They are two of the best talents out there.

Best Friends vs. Michael Elgin and Johnny Gargano

This match was originally supposed to be Best Friends vs. The Unbreakable F***ing Machines (Elgin and Brian Cage), but Cage got hurt and was forced to miss the match. So, Gargano joined Elgin to make the Unbreakable F’n (because Gargano doesn’t curse) Shabangs.

As for the match, it was unbelievable. I am a huge fan of tag team wrestling, and this match had some great tag team spots.

Best Friends got the win, thanks to Trent? delivering a sick cradle belly-to-back piledriver off the middle-rope to Gargano.

This match is worth a watch for anybody, but tag team lovers should definitely check it out, then we can be BEST FRIENDS!

Trevor Lee vs. Kevin Steen

This match had a party atmosphere. Unfortunately, it was a going-away party for one of the best.

It all started with tons of streamers raining down on Steen, and Steen rolling around and wrapping himself in them.

Steen hit all his greatest hits in this match, as the crowd went crazy for each and every move.

Lee was absolutely fantastic throughout the match. He took each move and sold it like it killed him, while mixing his offense in as best he can, and looking like a guy who could spoil Steen’s farewell, which is exactly what happened.

Lee got the win when he went for a fisherman’s suplex, Steen reversed it into an inside cradle, and Lee rolled it into an inside cradle of his own.

After the match, Steen joked with the crowd as if he was going to just leave, but he laughed and grabbed a mic.

Steen started by calling Lee the future of PWG.

Steen then announced that he had recently heard from El Generico, and that the orphans in Mexico were out of control. Steen said that he would be heading down there to help Generico with the orphans, while the crowd laughed and applauded. Steen then listed all the people he wanted to thank, including the crowd, and he walked off.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Brian Kendrick

Awesome match between the two returning heroes.

Both guys are 35-or-older, and they looked as good as any of the young guys in PWG.

Kazarian got the win with an incredible Flux Capacitor.

Adam Cole vs. Roderick Strong to determine the #1 Contender for the PWG World Championship

The PWG crowd’s relationship with Cole is always entertaining, and the crowd was doing their best to antagonize Cole before the match even started.

Strong had a renewed intensity throughout the match, and these two had incredible chemistry. There were a couple of sequences that really excited the crowd.

A Sick Kick and a backbreaker got the win for Strong.

Really good match. The only knock is that it was a little short, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Chris Hero for the PWG World Championship

This match was too long. Way too long.

I want to give credit where it is due. O’Reilly and Hero had a good match. The PWG crowd is so into O’Reilly, and Hero is Hero. The size difference between them was immediately noticeable, and they played into it, with Hero destroying O’Reilly for much of the match.

I just feel that they could have taken five minutes away from this match, and they could have let Cole and Strong go five minutes longer.

O’Reilly retained in his first title defense, making Hero tap to the Cross Arm Breaker.

After the match, with O’Reilly still laying on his back, Roderick Strong came out and picked up the title belt. He held it for a second, before helping O’Reilly to his feet, handing him the title, and holding O’Reilly’s hand up in victory. However, Strong then ran off the ropes and hit O’Reilly with a Sick Kick, followed by a backbreaker. Strong started to leave, but then came back and hit O’Reilly with another backbreaker.

Strong is never really a face, but this was a heel turn. It makes him a bit more interesting, especially with him getting set for a feud with O’Reilly, who is the biggest face in PWG, rivaled only by Candice LeRae.

The Young Bucks vs. World’s Cutest Tag Team in a Guerilla Warfare Match for the PWG World Tag Team Championship

The much-talked about main event of Eleven was exactly what people said it was. These two teams fought hard. They used weapons, they used candy, nothing was off limits with the tag title on the line.

The story of Candice LeRae in PWG is truly incredible. She’s insanely over, and it’s all thanks to the great chemistry she has with pretty much everybody on the roster.

Another reason this match was great, The Young Bucks. I don’t think I need to explain myself, but I will anyway. The Young Bucks are the greatest tag team in the world. You can argue me on that, but I don’t know why you would want to be wrong.

This match was a microcosm of Candice’s story. She got absolutely destroyed for the whole match, including when she took a superkick from Matt Jackson, who was wearing a special shoe that was covered in thumb tacks. However, Candice pulled out the win, pinning Matt after a Ballsplex, after dropping some thumb tacks down his pants.

This match was violent, with the perfect amount of comedy mixed in. It was everything it was hyped to be, and if you bought this DVD for only this match, it would be well worth it.

After the match, World’s Cutest Tag Team had a short celebration before heading to the back, while Kevin Steen and Adam Cole joined The Young Bucks in the ring.

Steen initiated a group Too Sweet, and a group hug. Steen turned his back, and just looked to soak in the atmosphere, but Cole got on the mic and quoted one of the most emotional and iconic moments in wrestling history, saying “We’re sorry, we love you”, before he and The Young Bucks hit a triple-superkick on Steen.

The crowd chanted “Thank you, Steen”, and he recovered and walked off to huge cheers.

Roderick Strong promo

The DVD closed with a backstage promo from Strong.

Strong talked about how he has been the “gatekeeper” of PWG for many years now, but he is sick of playing that role. He said he is now the #1 Contender, and he is ready to do something that he has never done before, become PWG World Champion.

This solidified Strong’s heel turn. Reports out of BOLA weekend say he did a good job in that role. I think this is the role Strong belongs in, and I hope it does him, and Kyle O’Reilly, some good.

Overall Impression

Honestly, looking at the card on paper, it does not appear to be a huge PWG show. However, there’s a reason that they wrestle the matches. This show was brilliant.

If you care to see an awesome match from ACH and Cedric Alexander, tag team wrestling at its finest from Michael Elgin, Johnny Gargano, and Best Friends, and the coming out party of Trevor Lee on a big stage, you need to buy this DVD. That’s before you get to the end of the show, which really had three main events, and see some more fantastic matches there.

This show is definitely must-see, as PWG put forth a huge effort before heading into their biggest show(s) of the year.

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