PWG DDT4 2012 4/21/2012

Written by: TJ Hawke

April 21, 2012
Reseda, California

Commentators: Excalibur, Rick Knox, Kevin Steen, Joey Ryan, & Roderick Strong

Quarterfinal
The Fightin’ Taylor Boys (Ryan Taylor & Brian Cage-Taylor) vs. RockNES Monsters (Johnny Yuma & Johnny Goodtime)
I feel like I have seen this match a hundred times for some reason. They’ve only met at one previous PWG event (Steen Wolf), and the Monsters won that match.

The Taylors tried for the Doomsday suicide dive on Goodtime early, but Goodtime escaped. Cage then gave Goodtime a F-Cinq on the apron, and then Ryan hit Goodtime with a suicide dive. Yuma wiped out Cage with a slingshot dive. Cage caught him though, but then Goodtime took out everyone with a Fosbury Flop. Back in the ring, Cage gave Goodtime a vertical suplex for a long time, and he even started doing some squats during the suplex. Cage is looking like he wants a developmental deal. The Taylors started to work over Goodtime after that. Cage hit a double jump Lionsault for a nearfall. You read that right. Goodtime managed to tag in Yuma, but the Taylors easily got the advantage on Yuma. Out of nowhere, Yuma hit a snap fisherman suplex on Ryan. Cage got back in the ring, but Yuma hit him with a step up enzugiri. Hot tag to Goodtime. German suplex to Cage: 1…2…NO! FALCON ARROW (HE’S DONE THE DEAL!): 1…2…NO! Goodtime put Yuma into the Fireman’s Carry position for some offense, but Cage then gave both of them a German suplex! Cage then killed Yuma with a discus lariat for a nearfall. Goodtime gave Taylor a Brogue kick to the back of the head and a double stomp to Cage. Yuma avoided a bicycle kick, and the Monsters gave Ryan Weapons Grade Balonium. Yuma avoided a Weapon X attempt from Cage. The Monsters then gave Cage an enzugiri/Ace Crusher combo: 1…2…3!

This was a fun opener. Brian Cage felt like a breakout star in this match, and his performance here made me understand why PWG booked him for a PWG World Title match in the next show. Cage looked and acted like a star, and the Reseda treated him as such. He’s going to be one to watch going forward, whether he ends up in FCW or not.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Quarterfinal
Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. The Dynasty (Joey Ryan & Scorpio Sky)
O’Reilly ate a powerbomb from Ryan and a Drunk Slam from Sky: 1…2…NO! Spear from Ryan: 1…2…NO! The Dynasty are trying to win quickly. O’Reilly came back with some kicks. Cole got into the match and hit a middle rope leg lariat on Sky. Future Shock then gave Sky a bunch of punches. Future Shock dominated the match for a bit. Cole went to the top rope, but Sky hit a leaping super hurricanrana on him. Ryan tagged in to a very mixed reaction. Cole was worked over for a bit, but he eventually escaped and tagged in O’Reilly. O’Reilly gave the Dynasty a dragon screw legwhip at the same time, and then he gave both of them a missile dropkick. Cole then hit both Ryan and Sky with a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Ryan ate a super back suplex and a Tamina Snuka Splash. Sky recovered and saved his partner. O’Reilly gave Sky a bridging Regal-plex: 1…2…NO! All four men started trading forearms until Future Shock hit stereo superkicks. Ryan then hit a superick on Cole. Cole came back with a superkick for Ryan and Sky. Future Shock then hit a Discus High Low on Sky: 1…2…3!

This was another fun match. I don’t have too much else to say to be honest. Future Shock is the better team as far as I am concerned, so I’m glad they are moving on. Scorpio Sky seems talented enough to be getting a singles push in PWG. If he lived on the east coast, he would be getting booked all over the place.
Match Rating: ***

Quarterfinal
Sami Callihan & Roderick Strong vs. Two Husky Black Guys (El Generico & Willie Mack)
Callihan is making his PWG debut here. The crowd loved the name for the team of Generico and Mack. Mack defeated Roddy in an OK match at the last PWG show.

Mack and Strong started out the match. Once Mack got the advantage, Sami interfered to give his team the advantage. Sami started to chop Mack a lot, but that just pumped up Mack who hit a spinning enzugiri. Generico tagged in and took down Sami with a leg lariat. Generico and Mack hit stereo House Parties on Sami and Roddy. Mack was trying for ten punches in the corner on Sami, but Sami escaped and superkick Mack’s leg. That allowed the rudos to start working over Mack. Sami started to mock Mack, and that lead to Mack hit him with a pounce. Generico tagged in and ran wild. Generico gave Callihan a Blue Thunder Powerbomb for a nearfall. Sami came back with a brogue kick. Mack gave Sami a My Dick Explodes! Yakuza to Roddy! Half-nelson to Sami: 1…2…NO! Sami came back with a backdrop driver on Generico: 1…2…NO! Roddy and Sami hit Generico with a Brogue Kick/Drunk Slam combo for a nearfall. Generico came back with an exploder to Sami in the corner. The rudos came back with a superkick/backbreaker combo on Generico: 1…2…NO! Mack came in with a pop-up Ace Crusher on Roddy. Brainbuster from Generico: 1…2…3!

Sami got on the microphone after the match and accepted Kevin Steen’s open challenge for the PWG World Title. Steen was making fun of Callihan the entire match on commentary.

This was the most enjoyable match from the first round so far.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Quarterfinal
The Young Bucks (Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson) vs. The Super Smash Bros. (Player Uno & Player Dos)
The Young Bucks have won two previous DDT4s and they made it to the finals of the other one they were in. The SSB started their PWG careers 0-2, but they defeated the Bucks and the Monsters in a three-way at World’s Finest.

The SSB were in control early on, as Excalibur and Joey Ryan discusses how Gillian Jacobs was at the show. Joey Ryan then name-dropped Chris Bauer from The Wire as his friend. The Bucks were able to use one of their trademark tag team moves to cut off Player Uno. The Bucks started to work over Uno after that. Uno gave Matt a big boot and was ready to tag out, but Nick pulled Dos off the apron. Uno gave Nick a flatliner and then tagged out to Dos who ran wild. Dos killed Matt with a release Dragon suplex: 1…2…NO! The SSB used a DDT/Diced Bread combo on the Bucks to get a nearfall. Nick came back with a Trouble in Paradise on Uno, and then the Bucks killed Uno with a double superkick. Dos went for a double Pele kick, but the Bucks gave him a double superkick. Nick wiped out Uno with a suicide dive. Dos came back with a reverse hurricanrana on Matt, and SSB then hit an Alabama Slam/Backstabber on Nick: 1…2…MATT MAKES THE SAVE! Awesome sequence. The SSB tried to hit Fatality on Matt, but the Bucks blocked it. The Bucks gave Dos a Buckle Bomb/Enzugiri Combo: 1…2…NO! SPRINGBOARD DOUBLE TOMBSTONE ON DOS: 1…2…UNO MAKE S THE SAVE! Early onset Alzheimer’s to Uno! The Bucks set up Dos for a More Bang for Your Buck, but Dos reversed a Finlay Roll from Matt into a crucifix pin: 1…2…3! The crowd approves.

The Bucks are so perfect as a heel team in PWG, and with the SSB being so over as faces, the dynamic of this match was a lot of fun. SSB only had one win in PWG before this match, so defeating the Bucks in the first round is a big deal. This closed out a very consistently fun first round.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Semifinal
The RockNES Monsters (Johnny Yuma & Johnny Goodtime) vs. Two Husky Black Guys (El Generico & Willie Mack)
The Monsters had so much rest that they actually changed their gear.

All four men looked a bit slow, selling the exhaustion of the first round. Yuma did the Ole cheer, and the fans booed. Goodtime actually left the apron to boo with the fans. The Husky Black Guys were in control early. The Monsters were getting flustered, seemingly. Generico gave Yuma a big tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. The Monsters were able to cut off Mack and work him over for a bit. This match is missing something so far. It reminds me of the Mack/Generico match from the 2011 BOLA. Mack sent both Monsters to the floor. Mack and Generico then hit stereo somersault planchas. Holy Fuck. Goodtime’s head smacked a chair hard when he caught Mack on that one. Back in the ring, Mack hit a cravat Ace Crusher: 1…2…NO! Samoa Drop/Standing moonsault combo from Mack: 1…2…NO! Goodtime avoided a Yakuza kick from generic, and Generico spilled to the floor as a result. The Monsters hit Mack with Weapons Grade Steamroller and Balonium for a nearfall. The Monsters then hit Mack with the enzugiri/Ace Crusher combo on Mack: 1…2…NO! Goodtime hit Mack with a Mushroom stomp and then hit Generico with a somersault plancha. Right after that out of nowhere, Mack hit Yuma with a tombstone piledriver: 1…2…3

This match was missing a little something, but it ended up being really fun near the end. The RockNES Monsters seemed primed to take the tag titles in 2012, but they seemed to have lost some momentum.
Match Rating: ***

Semifinal
The Super Smash Bros. (Player Uno & Player Dos) vs. Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly)
Roderick Strong doing commentary on this match FTW!

Nothing of note really happened early on in the match. O’Reilly hit a nice dropkick on Uno to cut him off. Cole was acting somewhat heelish in the beginning of the match, as Future Shock started to work over Uno for a bit. Uno was able to escape their offense tough and tag in Dos. Dos killed O’Reilly with an awesome swinging DDT. The SSB worked over O’Reilly. O’Reilly came back on Uno with some Kawada kicks, but Uno gave him an enzugiri. Both men went down. Dos and Cole tagged in. They traded some offense until they both decided to hit their other opponents with suicide dives. Back in the ring, Cole gave Dos a Matt Cross neckbreaker for a nearfall. Dos came back with Meteora: 1…2…NO! Cole blocked a dive from Uno. Cole and O’Reilly killed Dos with multiple kicks for another nearfall. Uno saved his partner and hit Cole with a moonsault: 1…2…NO! The crowd exploded for that moonsault, and they wanted to see it happen again. O’Reilly hit two Butterfly suplex, and then Future Shock hit Uno with an assisted DDT/wheelbarrow German suplex combo: 1…2…NO! The SSB hit a combo move that resulted in Uno giving O’Reilly a stunner (I couldn’t describe how they got to that point) for another nearfall. All four men traded some big kicks, which ended with a double Pele from Dos. Uno then hit Future Shock with double back suplexes. Future Shock came back with stereo guillotine chokes. The SSB reversed them into bridging northern lights suplexes for a pair of nearfalls. Future Shock reversed them back into guillotine chokes, but the SSB made the ropes. O’Reilly was trying to hit Dos with a super backsuplex, but Dos reversed it into a super Sliced Bread #2! FATALITY TO O’REILLY: 1…2…3!

I don’t know why, but I wasn’t into this match as much as I expected. The match definitely succeeded because most of the fans were going nuts at the end, but it didn’t work for me as much. I may be alone in thinking that. (and based on other people’s feedback, I am alone). Regardless, it was a great effort from all four men, and I am glad to see the Super Smash Bros. booked to look so strong in PWG.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Kevin Steen© vs. Sami Callihan [PWG World Title]
This is a first time matchup. Of course PWG makes it happen. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t announce it in advance or something. Oh well. I guess that’s what makes PWG so likeable 90% of the time.

They start brawling in the ring right away. Sami went to the top rope early, but Steen knocked him to the floor. They brawled around the ring. Steen took a fan’s Super Dragon mask and wore it while he beat the shit out of Sami. Sami reversed Steen into some chairs to get back into the match. Steen started to wear Sami’s denim vest, as he went back to beating the shit out of Sami, now in the ring. Sami avoided a splash in the corner and hit the BOING splash. Sami followed that up with a high kick to the head, a silverking lariat, and a suicide dive. Steen came back with an apron powerbomb and a cannonball splash in the corner. Steen went for a senton atomico, but Sami got his knees up. Sami then hit a delayed backdrop driver and a sliding D: 1…2…NO! Sami tried to piledrive Steen on the apron, but Steen escaped the attempt. They traded strikes on the apron until Steen hit a Michinoku Driver on the apron, followed by two more apron powerbombs. Ouch. That got a nearfall. Steen followed it up with a Sleeper suplex: 1…2…NO! Steen mocked him, so Sami spat in his face. Steen then killed Sami with a package piledriver: 1…2…3!

Steen got on the microphone after the match. A fan chanted overrated at Sami Callihan, and Steen just mocked that fan mercilessly. Steen told Sami he now likes Sami a little bit after that match. Steen suggests that they meet one more time in the “best wrestling company in the world.” The fans approve, so Steen tells him “Welcome to PWG.”

I really liked this match a lot, and it made me want to see more Callihan in PWG. While I was cynical when I heard that Callihan/Steen for the first time was given away with no build (at this point, I consider ‘announced in advance’ to be build in PWG), this match was kind of perfect in making me want to see the rematch in PWG. Steen is great at kicking ass, and Sami takes a fantastic beating. I may not have this as highly rated as some matches, but this was my favorite match of the night.
Match Rating: ***1/2

DDT4 2012 Finals
The Super Smash Bros. (Player Uno & Player Dos) vs. Two Husky Black Guys (El Generico & Willie Mack)
Excalibur and Steen spent the first couple of minutes doing Roderick Strong impressions, and then they discussed the merits of various NBC sitcoms. Steen didn’t like Community, so Excalibur appropriately called Steen a “fucking idiot.” Meanwhile, the wrestlers spent the first couple of minutes selling exhaustion of the tournament so far. Steen compares Willie Mack to Samoa Joe. Excalibur, “I’ve never seen that.” Mack hit an awesome dropkick on Dos. Generico tagged in and hit a split-legged moonsault for a nearfall. Generico and Mack then did some posing, a la the Super Smash Bros. Uno tagged in and hit Generico with a Tope Con Hello. Mack had a great look of disbelief after that. Mack then hit a plancha onto both of them. Dos then hit a somersault plancha onto Uno and Mack, but Generico avoided it and crawled into the ring. Generico took out everyone with a springboard moonsault, “El Generico is a BIG BOY!” That was the second time I heard Excalibur bust out that line, but apparently Steen had never heard it before, because he couldn’t stop laughing. Back in the ring, Mack hit Uno with the My Dick Explodes and then an exploder suplex, but Dos made the save. Uno gave Mack a double stomp, Generico killed Uno with a yakuza and a half-nelson suplex, Dos hit Generico with a frog splash, and then Mack turned Dos inside out with a lariat. Uno took Mack to the floor with a Cactus Clothesline. Generico gave Uno a Yakuza on the apron. Dos gave Generico an exploder off the apron onto Mack. The SSB gave Generico an Alabama Slam/Backstabber combo: 1…2…NO! Generico have Dos a Yakuza and went for a brainbuster, but Dos reversed it into a rollup for a nearfall. Mack gave Uno a Samoan drop and two top rope moonsaults: 1…2…NO! Generico tried to give Dos a top rope brainbuster, but Dos reversed it into a super reverse hurricanrana!!! Uno knocks Mack off the apron, and they then hit Generico with FATALITY: 1…2…3!!!

The Young Bucks attacked everyone after the match, but Kevin Steen chased them off with a chair. Matt says they were robbed in the first round, because this is their tournament. Matt says he wants a rematch against Kevin Steen and “Super Fa****.” That was not called for, and I hope that word is never used again in PWG. Oh, wait, Kevin Steen then says the word again two seconds later. Sigh. What year is it? Steen dismisses them and then puts over the main event, Player Uno, Player Dos, and Willie Mack. Then he says Generico is still a piece of shit.

This was a really good match and a great way to end what is usually my favorite tournament of the year. The SSB are an incredibly underexposed tag team, and I am ecstatic that PWG is pushing them so hard. Generico and Mack also did a great job in this tournament, and I would be more than fine with them teaming up again in PWG (they also need to do a proper rematch from the 2011 BOLA as well).
Match Rating: ***3/4

I was all pepared to go on a rant about Matt Jackson using such a disgusting homophobic slur, but he has since apologized.

Final Thoughts: I didn’t love this show quite as much as I expected, but that was mostly due to several people telling me it was definitively the best indy show of the year (which unfairly skewed my expectations for several matches). Basically, this show had good to very good wrestling top to bottom, and unlike World’s Finest, there were no matches holding the show down. This is an easy thumbs up show. Buy it as a $15 DVD at the PWG Store or as a $9.99 MP4 at Highspots. I got the MP4 myself and it worked fine.