PWG “Use Your Illusion 3” Review
by Stan aka “SoCal Strong Style”
I arrived 25 minutes late and walked in just as the show was starting. I was elated to find the building nice and cool for once. This had a positive effect on the crowd all night. I didn’t plan on reviewing this show so I didn’t take any notes. Thus, there won’t be much move info in this review.
The show starts with Scott Lost, Babi Slymm, and Frankie Kazarian in the ring. Scott does a very, very funny promo making fun of Joey Ryan. He says he was the “Anvil” to his “Hitman.” Scott has gotten very good on the microphone. Scott then announces his new partner will be Chris Bosh, much to the dismay of Kazarian and Slymm. Scott tries to convince them he is the right guy for the job.Supa Badd/Los Rojos Locos vs Funky Billy Kim/Ronin/Charles Mercury
The team of Supa/Los Rojos out first. Supa Badd is decked out in the full “Hansen Brothers” gimmick complete with the taped glasses and hockey stick. He even hit announcer Travis with the hockey stick during the entrance. Very funny stuff. Out next is the team of FBK (Tommy Williams), Ronin, and Charles Mercury all dressed in X-Foundation shirts. FBK says they are the X-Foundation 2. The match itself was OK, but not the usual great opener I’ve come to expect from PWG. The good of the match was mostly from the Supa/Rojos team. FBK’s team looked lost at times and it really stopped any flow from developing during the match. The Supa/Rojos team got the pin. Post match, Los Rojos Locos take the hockey jersey from Supa Badd by force. He chases them with the hockey stick to the back. Post match FBK rethinks this team being worthy of being called X-Foundation 2. Not a great opener but it did have some very funny moments.
Top Gun Talwar vs Hook Bomberry
For the first time since PWG’s inception, Top Gun was given a chance to work a singles match. The returning Hook Bomberry was the perfect opponent. Hook came out first to a nice reaction and a few “argh” chants. Top Gun out next. In a fit of roid rage, Topgun declares he has been doing roids, coke and lifting weights all day and is ready to go. Very funny. Both guys put in a great effort in this match. It was a hard hitting match with good flow and a nice touch of comedy thrown in. At one point during the match, Top Gun tells referee Rick Knox, “I’m this close to raping you!” The crowd erupted in laughter. Top Gun gets his first singles victory with his pin on Bomberry. Very solid and entertaining match.
Puma vs UK Kid
UK out first and he berates the fans and threatens to leave. Has anyone one in wrestling history ever actually left after saying they would? UK, while not the flashiest in the ring, he does a tremendous job working the crowd. Puma was impressive as usual on the mat. Another very solid match that saw Puma get the win by submission. The crowd loved seeing UK Kid being forced to tap. UK Kid is starting to grow on me. His back and forth with the crowd is very funny.
Scorpio Sky & Quicksilver (AXP) vs Disco Machine & Excalibur (SBS)
Both teams out to very good crowd reactions. Prior to the start of the match, Disco talks ref Rick Knox into doing a dance together in the ring. Very funny. The match itself was very good. Both teams doing good work. The SBS controlled Quicksilver for a good portion of the match. At one point SBS even stole the AXP’s dropkick/piledriver combo and used it on Quicksilver. AXP turned things around in the end and returned the favor with a dropkick/piledriver combo of their own. Very good match that set up the AXP for their first title shot at the next show.
Bobby Quance vs Christopher Daniels
There was a ton of crowd heat going into this match. Most fans in the building were aware of this being Quance’s last match before departing for the Navy. The fans did themselves and PWG proud by giving Quance an overwhelming reaction all night long. The match itself was the best work Ive seen out of Quance since his GSCW days. He was really at the top of his game. Daniels was incredible as always. Lots of great matwork and reversals all match long. They really did a good job in making this match continue to build as it went on. All match long the announcer kept teasing the time limit. Quance ends up getting the clean pin with only 4 seconds left. The pin so close to the end was a nice touch. After the match Daniels acted as if he didn’t know Quance was leaving putting him over even more. Quance then took the mic and thanked the crowd and believe it or not, the net marks for all they have done for his career by spreading the word on his work. That has to be a first in wrestling history. The crowd sent him to the back with a huge “thank you Bobby” chant. This would have been match of the night for me if not for the main event.
Samoa Joe vs Joey Ryan
I missed the start of this match and the entrances due to a McDonald’s run during intermission. I heard Joey did a good promo having to do with the Bible. Something to the effect of him having God on his side. What I did see of this match was very surprising. I think like most people I expected a borderline squash on Joe’s part on Joey. This wasn’t the case at all. The match saw Joey in control for a good portion using speed and reversals to gain the upper hand. Samoa Joe gets the pin after Super Dragon gets involved and breaks up a pin attempt by Joey. This would play a large factor later in the show. What I saw of this match was really good. I did miss the first few minutes though.
Frankie Kazarian (PWG Champion) vs Tony Stradlin in a non-title bout
This match was an unexpected surprise for me. I’ve been a Stradlin fan for quite a while and been wanting to see him in PWG since he was announced for the debut show. He is a really underrated SoCal worker who rarely works outside of UPW. Kazarian and Stradlin put on some really good matches at those UPW Mat Wars shows. This match was even better than those matches. It was a very solid match that gave the PWG fans their first glimpse of Stradlin in the ring. Stradlin didn’t let the fans down. Frankie is doing a really good job in the heel role and worked the crowd very well all evening. Kazarian ended up getting the win after a very hard fought contest. Not a very good crowd reaction during this match. Most of which probably due to Stradlin being a PWG unknown. I for one hope Stradlin is brought back soon. He is a very good worker.
Scott Lost & Chris Bosh (PWG Tag Champions) vs. B-Boy & Super Dragon
This match was AWESOME!!!!!! The return of SoCal’s greatest part-time tag team ever in B-Boy/Dragon had the crowd marking out huge.This was the first title defense for the newly formed team of Bosh and Lost. The crowd was insane for this match the whole time. Crazy crowd heat. A good portion of this match saw Bosh getting completely demolished by the SoCal Dream Team. Bosh’s chest looked as if a cheese grater had been used on it due to all the chops he took. All 4 guys really shined in this action packed battle. Bosh and Lost get the win by pinfall after interference by Joey Ryan. Post match Joey challenges Super Dragon to a 60 minute Iron Man Match to end the feud once and for all. I can’t say enough about how good this match was. It had the fans on their feet and going insane.
A few show notes:
– A fan Ive never seen before was getting trashed by the workers and other fans all night long. Kazarian referred to his shirt as being part of the aids quilt. Very funny stuff.
– Top Gun is fucking hillarious. His “raping the ref” comment had me rolling in the aisles.
– The building was much cooler this time out. It really made a difference when it came to the later matches. The fans were able to keep the high energy going through the main event.
– Scott Lost is getting really good on the microphone. When you combine that with his great in-ring skills, he is destined for greatness in the very near future.
– The Quance sendoff was great. The fans did a good job showing him love and wishing him well.
– Daniels doing the job to Quance was a class act on his part. Being the much bigger name, he didn’t have to. A nice way to thank a guy who is going to be putting his life on the line to defend our country. Daniels is everything that is right about pro wrestling!
– Supa Badd did a great job with the “Hansens” gimmick. He even told me after the match that he watched “Slapshot” earlier in the day to get fired up for it. Supa Badd is the man!
Stan aka SoCal Strong Style
