PWG All Nude Revue 2/12/2005

Written By: Jim

All Nude Revue
February 12, 2005

Frankie Kazarian vs Tony Stradlin
Stradlin’s ready to prove that his last two wins weren’t a fluke. If he can get a win over Kazarian, he’ll earn himself a title shot. In the pre-match promo, Stradlin mentions how he had never beaten Kazarian before. Uhh…the entire story of Stradlin’s debut against Kazarian was that Kazarian had never beaten him. I get that Stradlin is now a heel while the Arrogance turn has made Kazarian a face, but you don’t always need to make the heel look like the one against all odds. Decent match follows with Stradlin hitting one of his two cool moves. Arrogance comes out late in the match to distract Kazarian for an easy roll up win for Stradlin. This would end up being Stradlin’s last PWG match before being signed by the WWE. Thanks to the lame finish, it’s also his worst match. His first match against Kazarian had some major problems, but it was still pretty fun. This was just mindless fighting until the finish out of nowhere. Kazarian continues to struggle to put on anything meaningful. At least there’s the new Arrogance feud to rely on. 2 Stars.

Ricky Reyes vs Roderick Strong
This is Roddy’s PWG debut. He’s still a few months away from his breakout match against CM Punk, so no one cares too much. What’s the deal with his tights? I’ve never understood what the long black dick shape background for his name on the side of the tights was supposed to be. Strong chops while Ricky kicks. Repeat over the course of the entire match. As a result, the match is a lot of fun. It’s hard not to love a match where it looks like they’re really beating the shit out of each other. On top of that, there’s some good selling by both men. Reyes wins by a roll up since Strong is still a nobody. 3 Stars.

Top Gun Talwar, Hook Bomberry and Los Luchas vs Human Tornado, Ronin and Ballard Brothers
So…much…crap. Tornado’s left arm is in a sling, so I guess that great selling against B-Boy was more realistic that I thought. Tornado’s so fucking over though. Even though no one else besides Top Gun and Tornado got a reaction, the reaction for Tornado was big enough that PWG would have been stupid to not push him. Even with the injury, Tornado’s the star of the match, mixing in comedy and one arm attacks. Top Gun lives up to the “All Nude Revue” name by putting on a Rear Naked Choke…with his tights down. After an exciting end with everyone hitting their big move, Bomberry forces Tornado to tap out with an arm bar on Tornado’s hurt arm. I can’t say I’m thrilled that Tornado lost, but it made perfect sense. All of these multi-men matches with Ballards seem to run together. It’s a step up from the six man at Card Subject to Change, but it’s still a match for mostly bad workers. Give Tornado some quality opponents! 2 1/4 Stars.

Alex Shelley vs El Generico
PWG debut for Alex Shelley. On paper, this looks beyond awesome. However, it’s just a series of moves without any real story. Sadly, the moves aren’t too exciting. Even more disappointing is that I believe this is their only singles match ever. Shelley gets the random win with a DDT variation causing Generico to go 1-2 in PWG. Check out MCMG vs Cape Fear from Self Titled to see some great Generico/Shelley action in PWG. 2 Stars.

Kevin Steen vs Christopher Daniels
PWG without Kevin Steen would be one depressing place. Steen carries the match with his small comedy, asshole tendencies and working over the neck of Daniels. All Daniels has to do is not fuck up. It’s not the great match that they could have, but it’s more than good enough for the position on the card. Due to arguing with Rock Knox, Steen ends up losing with a La Magistral cradle. Perfectly acceptable quality wrestling once against from Steen. 3 1/4 Stars.

After the match, Steen attacks Daniels, showing his frustration and viciousness. It takes Hook Bomberry and Top Gun Talwar to pull him off. Steen demands a match next month with the two men who he hates the most – Daniels and El Generico. Disco Machine comes out and agrees to put it on, only with one addition. Next month will be Kevin Steen vs El Generico vs Christopher Daniels vs AJ Styles~! Daniels is not pleased. YAY~! Crossover promotional feuds are fun.

Arrogance (c) vs Aerial Xpress – PWG Tag Team Titles
Arrogance has already dumped the random slut. Disco Machine talks with Arrogance before the match, admitting the their tag titles are gone. He has a solution to the problem though. Disco presents Arrogance with two regular belts and a bunch of bananas (Get it? They’re a Guerrilla company, muah. ) This doesn’t please Arrogance though. Onto the match, it’s pretty slow going. It takes awhile, but you eventually get some great face-in-peril work by Scorpio Sky. Just like in their Use Your Illusion IV match, Arrogance cheats every chance they get. Once Quicksilver gets the tag, things heat up with all four men hitting their moves. At the end, Bosh gets a roll up pin on Sky with Lost holding the hands for extra leverage. Of their three matches together, it’s easily the weakest match. However, it’s still solid action and it makes me want to see them in another match. PWG is finally building up a tag feud that means something. 3 1/2 Stars.

After the match, Scorpio Sky attacks the ref and throws chairs all around the ring. It’s a good showcase of how the frustration is slowly changing Scorpio. Meanwhile, Quicksilver isn’t as upset and seems to have some genuine concern for the referee. Good foreshadowing of future events.

Super Dragon (c) vs Samoa Joe – PWG World Title
The second match of their trilogy. Joe Vs. Punk II this is not. However, it’s a step back in the right direction for Super Dragon. Not only is he in the main event, but he manages to pull off the match of the night. I realize that Davey Richards probably got his “I must nearly be counted out in every match” idea from Super Dragon. It seems like Dragon gets in the spot every match. It’s that fear of being counted out that serves as the story of the trilogy. I have mixed feelings on the finish of Dragon winning by count-out. On one hand, it’s a story and it succeeds in keeping interest going into a third match without either man really winning. On the other hand, it’s a count-out. Who wants to see a count-out in a main event? I don’t know what I would have done, but there has to be a better way to accomplish their goal, but have a less insulting finish. The crowd made it perfectly clear, they don’t like being screwed over like this. We’d eventually get the finish, but in a vastly less entertaining match. Of the trilogy, this is the best match. Like I said though, it manages to get Dragon’s title reign back on track. 3 3/4 Stars.

After the match, the red Super Dragon comes out and Curb Stomps the real Super Dragon. Disco Machine runs out and runs the fake SD out of the ring.

Extras
Normally I don’t comment on these, but Frankie Kazarian cuts a short interview where he promises to bring in a partner for a tag match at the next show. The mystery partner knows Arrogance very well…

Overall
On paper, this show looked really great. However, most of the matches failed to be as good as I was expecting. Stradlin vs Kazarian isn’t as good as their previous match, Arrogance vs AXP isn’t as good as their previous or next match and Generico vs Shelley was a bore. There are some positives though. Dragon vs Joe was their best match together, Steen continues to entertain, storyline advancement in the AXP/Arrogance feud and another red Super Dragon appearance. If your expectations aren’t too high, you should enjoy the show. If you’re like me, you’re left disappointed to some degree. I prefer Card Subject to Change over this.

Worth Checking Out
Arrogance vs Aerial Xpress
Samoa Joe vs Super Dragon
Ricky Reyes vs Roderick Strong (If you’re into a hard hitting match)

Avoid
Tony Stradlin vs Frankie Kazarian
El Generico vs Alex Shelley