I’ll probably do a story next week on the PWG promotion after seeing the 2/27 show in Reseda. Suffice to say it has an awesome atmosphere and the show was close to New Japan big show quality, minus it didn’t have the world title match or blow away match like the IWGP title match or the Ishii match often are. It’s a great mix between established top indie names like The Young Bucks, Chris Hero and Ricochet, ROH guys not under more exclusive deals like Roderick Strong, ACH, Tommaso Ciampa, Cedric Alexander, and Matt Sydal, veterans like Trent Baretta and Chuck Taylor, and guys starting to make indie reps in other promotions like Biff Busick, Speedball Mike Bailey, The Beaver Boys (John Alexander & Alex Reynolds), AR Fox, Josh Alexander, Ethan Page and Trevor Lee. They run in a 400-seat building that sold out eight minutes after tickets were put on sale.
The shows, held at American Legion Hall Post #308 in Reseda, CA, with long lines of people waiting to rush in and grab their seats, feature some of the best wrestlers, best matches and best fans you'll find anywhere. When I attended the show on 2/27, I was sitting with people who flew in for the show from Orlando and New York. After mentioning that fact, that they were in for the PWG show and the UFC event the next night, it was noted to me that the UFC event was just the bonus, and that it was PWG that they primarily came in for, and were coming in for virtually every show.
The audience, mostly male, had beers by the pitcher and were wild, but never in an unruly way. Even though people were packed in like sardines, security problems were non-existent. The atmosphere was loud and rowdy, but not the slightest bit dangerous. The PWG audience acts like they are there to enjoy and enhance the show, but very much are not the stars of the show itself, nor do they want to be.
The show I went to, which was said to be better than usual, but not significantly so, was far better than any WWE show this year, deeper and really better than any NXT special. It was better than the ROH PPV that took place two days later and better than any New Japan show this year aside from the Tokyo Dome show.
While the shows are released on DVD, there are obvious questions. The building is clearly too small for the clientele. This show sold out in eight minutes. It's a company that seems satisfied with what it is, with presenting shows in the same building for years even though the demand for tickets is far greater than the capacity. Unlike most that would take a level of success and try to make it bigger, there seems to be the realization that from a political standpoint, in some ways, they've already become too big.
Dave Meltzers Star Ratings:
The Young Bucks vs. The Monster Mafia ****1/4
Ricochet vs. Matt Sydal ****1/4
Roderick Strong vs. Trevor Lee ****
Biff Busick vs. Mike Bailey ****
Drew Gulak vs Chris Hero ***3/4
Gibt's einen Grund, warum er zu den Matches 2 - 4 keine Bewertung abgegeben hat? Ansonsten freut es mich zu hören, dass ihm die Matches gefallen haben. Mal schauen, ob er nun öfters PWG gucken wird.
Boah, wie geil sieht das denn aus
Könnte echt die zweitbeste Show des Jahres werden
Darf ich vorstellen: Die Bestätigung dafür, dass, sobald ich in den Staaten bin, ich jede gottverdamte PWG-Show besuchen werde!
Viel Glück dabei, ne Karte zu bekommen. Wirste kaum ne Chance haben.