PWG DDT4 5/22/2009

Written by: Jim

DDT4
May 22, 2009

The Hybrid Dolphins vs The Dynasty
A real solid way to start the program. The Dynasty controlled the early going due to jumping the Dolphins with a sneak attack. This was an old school sort of match up until the end with the Dynasty just controlling the pace and heeling it up. Scott Lost is just a highlight reel of great looking moves. The ending with the Dolphins making both men submit was a favorable way to end the first match and leave the fans happy. One of the better shorter matches from PWG in 2009 (Shortest tag match of the night). 3 Stars.

The Men of Low Moral Fiber vs Dark and Lovely
The booking of this match is just bizarre. This is Omega and Taylor’s debut as a team. Since PWG has some plans for them, they naturally get a lot of time to showcase what they can do. That’s fine and makes perfect sense. However, being the two newest heels in the company, their antics were mostly just getting cheers, so it didn’t feel right. Since there was so much comedy by Omega and Taylor, it made Scorpio and Tornado look weak since they were on the defensive for such a long time. Had it been a team like Los Luchas, that would have been fine. However, this was the former PWG World Champion and tag champion. Finally, the match is mostly just a comedic showcase for Omega/Taylor’s debut. Despite this, the match goes on for over fifteen minutes. Really, all you needed was about 5-8 minutes to tell debut the team. The final two or so minutes saves the match from being bad, but it’s still a very poorly booked match. Men of Low Moral Fiber are very over though. 2 Stars.

The Young Bucks (c) vs The Cutlers – PWG Tag Team Titles
Despite a rough beginning with plenty of pauses to set up moves, this turned out pretty well. I’ll give credit to the teams having so much experience together, the Cutlers knowing how to be heels and the crowd being so into it. Out of the three heel teams in the first round, The Cutlers are much more like the Dynasty in knowing they shouldn’t be trying to get pops. The match broke down into a typical Bucks match with all four men hitting their moves. Matt Jackson was the illegal man, but got the pin. It’s disappointing to see that happen, but it happens so often in these kinds of matches that I’ve grown to be numb by it. I preferred the first match a little more since it stuck to the rules more, but this was still a lot of fun. 3 Stars.

Malachi Jackson vs Phoenix Star
This is CK’s debut. If that didn’t spell out that this match would suck, the fact that one half of Los Luchas is his opponent. Several botches in this one with Phoenix actually looking like the better wrestler. That just tells you how bad Jackson is at this point. CK gets in a bunch of his flippy lucha moves that looks so contrived. Phoenix kicks out of the Shooting Star Press that just kills the credibility of the move. Phoenix wins to finally end this match. The crowd seemed to be partially into this, but that’s the only saving grace. At least it was kept short. Probably my least favorite PWG match of 2009. 1 Star.

The Young Bucks (c) vs The Men of Low Moral Fiber – PWG Tag Team Titles
The Bucks and PWG’s decision to continue to book the Bucks in the same formula match time in and time out ends up biting them in the ass with this. Having so many near falls that the Bucks somehow kick out of will end up creating some falls that are questionable. So when Omega and Taylor seem to have the belts won on a few occasions, but for their to be a kick out, the fans turn on the champions. Outside of their repeated formula, the Bucks are capable of putting on an exciting match with Omega and Taylor. I preferred their Against the Grain match a bit more, but this is still a solid tag match. The fans booing the hell out of the Bucks once the match is over is a sight to see though. 3 1/4 Stars.

The Hybrid Dolphins vs The Motor City Machine Guns
With so much of the same thing on this show, this just makes me appreciate Danielson and Strong even more. The first half is just some solid mat wrestling with the Guns mostly in control. It eventually breaks down into the typical frenzy ending that PWG is known for, but there’s enough substance to enjoy it. Danielson’s out of nowhere submission victory over Sabin earns the match bonus points for providing a non-played out finish. 3 1/2 Stars.

Chris Hero (c) w/Candice LaRae vs Joey Ryan – PWG World Title
I heard some negative things about this match, so I’ve been putting off seeing it. As it turns out, I shouldn’t have listened to those people because this match had some great action. The real quality stuff begins midway in when Hero gets hurt. With every hit, he’s reacting as if he’s either coughing up a lung or is about to puke. You’re not just thinking that Ryan could win, but that he could seriously injury the champion. Unlike most of the other matches on this show, the bout has a clear story. Hero’s just trying to hang in there long enough before his body completely gives out on him. For Ryan, while he’s in control for most of the match, he constantly needs to worry about elbows coming out of nowhere. As he finds out the hard way, one well placed surprise elbow and you can be finished. Proving that the Reseda fans are some of the worse in America, a group heckles Hero throughout most of the match. On a night when he wasn’t even supposed to defend the title, Hero ends up putting on a very well booked match. On top of that, it creates some decent build for their Guerrilla Warfare Match. While Hero may have won, the question was if he could beat Ryan when Ryan didn’t have to wrestle twice in one night. Not quite as enjoyable as their Threemendous II match, but it’s still the best Hero title defense of 2009 at that point. 3 3/4 Stars.

The Young Bucks (c) vs The Hybrid Dolphins – PWG Tag Team Titles
What do you do when we’ve already seen two formula Bucks matches? The answer is allow Danielson to beat the shit out of the champions. This felt a lot like a tag team version of Danielson’s great meeting with El Generico at Giant Sized Annual #4. Danielson’s hard hitting is forcing the Bucks to prove that they’re man enough to call themselves champions. They still ended up doing some formula near the end, but it wasn’t enough to hurt the match much. While I still need to see a few title defenses during the Bucks’ reign, this is currently my favorite defense of theirs. Hands down, tag team match of the year for PWG. Meanwhile, it’s a MOTYC for the company as well. 4 1/4 Stars.

Overall
Best PWG show of 2009? Quite possibly. If you’re going to credit one person for making it happen, make it Danielson. The guy wrestled three tag matches and made each one a little different from the others. Chris Hero and Joey Ryan’s PWG Title match is the other reason that this may be the best show. Being one of two singles matches of the night, it allowed the fans to enjoy something other than tag team wrestling. Still, this show really showcases how formula based the Bucks are. It’s not really a surprise that the fans turning on them started on this either.

Worth Checking Out
The Dynasty vs Dolphins
Joey Ryan vs Chris Hero
The Dolphins vs The Bucks
MCMG vs The Dolphins

Avoid
Malachi Jackson vs Phoenix Star
Kenny Omega and Chuck Taylor vs The Young Bucks