PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2008 - Stage 1

This will be my last "official" review for the interim. I might pop in for an occasional nonsense post or notes on something I'd seen recently. This was originally intended as a co-review seeing me do the odd numbered matches (2, 4, 6, etc.) and I only ever took shorthand notes on the evens. So that explains why those (1, 3, 5, etc.) may be more fragmented thought and esoteric. My amount of "free" time is limited these days but I do have some other projects currently including an ongoing web show RtW TV and my longtime project Review the World. Enjoy!

1. TJ Perkins vs. Chuck Taylor (Block C) - 3

Height differential lead to some oddness including Taylor looking heteroclite doing springboard shit with that lanky body. Parts came off looking more animated than Eddie Valiant wrestling with a 'toon. CT must be a Gail Kim fan. Fuck finish on a BoLA? Say it ain't so!

2. Brandon Bonham vs. Kenny Omega (Block A) - 4

Didn't know Omega had the best hip swivel since Rude and Hase. We get some sthick early (World of Sport, surfing, dueling armdrags, involuntary high fives, fellatio, etc.) but it's all good. Kenny does some Tom and Jerry selling. Apparently Omega can stop time and space? Wait, so he's Doctor Fate? Unbelievable missile dropkick off the top by KO. Nice little counter of the Croyt's Wrath leading into the finish and a fun little match that kept it fairly light without teetering into absurdity.

3. Austin Aries vs. Nigel McGuinness (Block A) - 6

Nigel perched in corner upside down longer than Drak in Drak Pack or the girl Pillman allegedly fucked on the campus of my alma mater Miami University while she hung upside down wearing gravity boots. Good stuff, not as nuanced as long ROH battle, but snug & contained, no detritus. Loved how AA bounced on apron on Tower of London bump. Took that shit like a beast that is to say like a Platybelodon.

4. Low Ki vs. Roderick Strong (Block B) - 6

Hard-hitting deliciousness. This brought to mind Low Ki forging through wars in the IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational '06. You got the sense he was saving some of the heavy artillery. Strong, who went to the BoLA finals last year, going out early showcases the unpredictable nature of BoLA. Lots of stiff action highlighted by Ki countering Death by Roderick in mid-air with a double-foot stomp that was just unreal. That'll make you drink your ginger ale with a straw. The finish brought to mind MMA as one move on the ground didn't work so Ki transitioned seamlessly into the Dragon Clutch for the tap out.

5. Scott Lost vs. Joey Ryan (Block D) - 4

Fat guy in crowd in neon green Kayne shades -- never laid. Ugly elbow suicida by JR. Lost pin post-superplex looked like Kevin and Winnie cuddling in the barn during that storm. I'd rather be working through this extensive ultimate Smallville: The Complete Series set (62 discs, bitch!) I just got.

6. Bryan Danielson vs. Davey Richards (Block C) - 6

Brian: Richards' testosterone is so high he's practically a walking date rape. I like the dual nature of Danielson that at times he can be this very calm, relaxed, focused tactician but he also exhibits fire better than almost any other wrestler in the world. One of my favorite visuals in PWG history as Danielson does a flying knee off of the apron onto Richards who flies backward into a fan who's desperately trying to run out of the way -- looked like some Saving Private Ryan shit. No sophomore slump as directly after Bryan rams Davey into a chair a hot, busty brunette is sitting in (while she's still in the chair!). I had to pop a few Tylenol after watching Davey's top con hilo out into the crowd. These guys' overblown 45 min. ROH blowoff in Boston I found sort of trying but Danielson is just so good with the subtleties here that I can't help but not dig this. I loved Bryan elbowing Davey's skull into tapioca.

7. El Generico vs. Nick Jackson vs. Masato Yoshino (Block B) - 4

Green tiger trunks on NJ bring to mind my brother and my childhood tag team "Tiger 1 & Tiger 2" that we created after receiving ridiculously tight spandex biker shorts mine orange bengal print and his, of course, neon green. Sol Naciente by Yoshino sees yet another finish via submission.

8. Chris Hero vs. Necro Butcher (Block D - No DQ) - 5

Ugh, that seaweed green and purple get-up on Hero is unsightly. Chemists and doctors are clamoring for a sample from Necro Butcher's jean shorts to run tests. For a No DQ match the first 10 min. thus far have been pretty plodding with not much happening save for lock-ups, etc. The mind begins to race: I could really go for a Dole Whip right now. Hero gets tossed into a row of chairs and lands with all the impact of a teddy bear dropped in a ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese's. I'm at the halfway point of this 30 min. match and thus far it's been tame but I have faith these two can turn it up. Necro's missile dropkick had all the impact of the missiles shot from the old Footski TMNT toy vehicle. Hero uses a soft camera bag like it was a brick or something. We've got our crowd brawl going now but it's being played almost more for comedy than the viciousness of a street fight. Oh no he didn't -- Hero just placed a bag of Sour Cream & Onion Lay's on Necro's head and then head-butted him. Hero does a Buff Blockbuster off of some military crates onto Necro through a table which exploded. Chris tosses a garbage can lid like a frisbee and it nearly decapitates a vampiric fan in the audience. Hero wins with the Hangman's Clutch so yet another submission victory tonight (not that I'm complaining!). Overall a step up from last year's and have heard promising things about Stage 2 so ready to spin that.