PWG: “Use Your Illusion 4” preview by Paul
Newberry
Howdy stranger! Welcome to yet another edition of Pro
Wrestling Guerrilla: Thoughts and Predictions! The
most popular unofficial text based English language
PWG preview on the net!* (*pending litigation)
Coming off, what has got to be considered one of PWG’s
greatest shows to date, Use Your Illusion 3, on
October 23rd 2004 is set to drop the second half of
their epic two part Rock N’ Roll revolution, Use
Your Illusion 4! Featuring a Bunyan-esque 60 Minute
Iron Man Match between long time rivals, Super Dragon
and Joey Ryan, the west coast debut of the east coast
sensations Chikara Pro Wrestling, the new PWG Tag Team
Champs battle the hottest team on the west coast as
Scott Lost and Chris Bosh wage war with the Aerial
Express! Plus PWG World Champion Frankie “The Future”
Kazarian does battle with “The Dangerous Players”
assassin, Ricky Reyes! All this and more. Yes PWG is
set to be knock, knock, knocking, not on Heaven’s Door
but you on your ass, mofo!
On to the card! :
Track One: Live And Let Die
PWG Tag Team Championship Match
Scott Lost and Chris Bosh vs. The Aerial Express
(Quicksilver and Scorpio Sky)
Last time! On as the Guerrilla Turns!
:
The Federal Express: After months of recent PWG
inactivity, at UYI3 the AXP returned and once again
embarked on the long and winding road to the PWG Tag
Titles. But in order to earn a title shot, they had to
go through the formitable team of Disco Machine and
Excalibur. After a dead even hard fought battle, the
AXP were able to defeat SBS after they spiked
Excalibur with their feared running
dropkick/piledriver combination. It was now clear the
AXP were indeed back and they were hungry for the gold
(and I don’t just mean Rold Gold brand pretzels
either!)
The Chizamps are Here: At “UYI3” NBA
Commissioner David Stern pried his lips off Kobe’s ass
long enough to announce that with the first and only
selection in the 2004 PWG Draft, Scott Lost had
selected 6’10” Power Forward Chris Bosh out of Georgia
Tech University as his new championship partner.
Unfortunately, that particular Chris Bosh wasn’t in
attendance and was in fact not a trained professional
wrestler. However as luck would have it, a suitable
replacement Chris Bosh just happened to be on stand
by, was then named Scott’s new championship partner.
With Bosh already having a scheduled match that night
against B-Boy, Lost figured he’d have the night off…
that is until PWG commissioner and Melissa Auf Der
Maur fan, Paul T. ordered that Bosh’s match be changed
to a tag bout, with Lost/Bosh defending their titles
against B-Boy and a partner of his choosing.
Later that night, B-Boy’s partner was revealed to be
Super Dragon. Thus reuniting the seemingly unstoppable
dream team that had previously defeated Bobby Quance
and Jardi Frantz (in what was later named the 2003
SoCal MOTY) and a team widely regarded as the worlds
best in The Briscoe Brothers. It was clear that the
new champs would be in for the fight of their lives…
In arguably the greatest tag match in PWG history,
Lost/Bosh were on the business end of the ass kicking
of a lifetime. Super Dragon flat out murdered Bosh
with some of the sickest chops and strikes ever
witnessed. However the champs never backed down from
their fearsome opposition for a second, they took
everything SD/B-Boy had and were still able to keep
bringing the fight to the challengers with an
impressive array of tandem maneuvers. After a slight
bit of help from Joey Ryan (who prevented Super Dragon
from hitting a Super Psycho Driver on Bosh) Lost was
finally able to do the impossible and make Super
Dragon tap out to the sharpshooter. Much like
Argentina defeating The USA Basketball dream team,
Lost/Bosh had done what no other team had ever been
able to accomplish, they’d defeated SoCal’s own Dream
Team, and it was clear… a new force in tag team
wrestling was born.
So on October 23rd at PWG’s “Use Your Illusion
4” The new tag champions will have to once again
defend their titles. This time, it’s against one of
the hottest teams in wrestling, The Aerial Express!
Can Scott Lost and Chris Bosh hold on to the gold?
(And in the process defend the PWG tag titles for a
record 2nd time?) Or will the AXP’s momentum prove too
much to overcome?
Past history? Bosh and The AXP have quite a
long history, just look at some of the different
combinations of AXP Vs. Bosh/partner du jour
AXP Vs. Bosh/Rising Son
AXP Vs. Bosh/Super Boy
AXP Vs. Bosh/King Fuji
AXP Vs. Bosh/Super Dragon
AXP Vs. Bosh/Johnny Paradise
AXP Vs. Bosh/Babi Slymm
AXP Vs. Bosh/El Gallinero 4 (Chuck Mercury)
AXP Vs. Bosh/Hydro (Ronin)
AXP (as The Bosh Brothers) Vs. Bosh/Lil Cholo
AXP Vs. Bosh/UK Kid
Also numerous singles meetings, from the legendary and
often forgotten Coco The Mime Vs. Justin Timbersnake
Oct. 2002 match, to the Quicksilver Vs. Chris Bosh Rev
X 2003 MOTY, Sky Vs. Bosh from APW-LA to their
meetings more recently in Rev Pro, PWG and AWS. I
would list them all… but I don’t have a freaking month
to do so. Let’s just agree they have some history…
ok?
Scott Lost and The AXP have a bit of history as well;
Lost has recently toured Japan’s Osaka Pro with
Scorpio Sky. And their tag matches in PWG, AWS, WPW
and others, as well as a singles match in APW-LA, and
just as recently as a few days ago when Lost met Sky
in an excellent, first round Revolution J match… that
some say stole the show.
PWG Records: Scott Lost is 11-7, Chris Bosh is
6-8, 1-0 as a duo, Quicksilver is 7-7, and Sky is 6-6,
3-1 as a duo
Fun Fact! : Chris Bosh and one of his opponents
in this match, Quicksilver are former PWG Tag Team
Champions. Remember that… it’ll be on the test
later.
My Thoughts: After their super impressive match
last month, one can’t help but eagerly await another
team up from the new team of Scott Lost and Chris
Bosh. They showed a very surprising amount of tag team
continuity for a first time team… and after seeing
some of those simply awesome double teams (like the
suplex into the backbreaker, a Hart Attack in a
backbreaker. Wow that’s a lot of backbreakers) one
could only wonder what they will have up their sleeves
this time around! (Possibly even more BACKBREAKERS!
Maybe a backbreaker… into another backbreaker and
followed by backbreaker! That’d be Backbreakalicius!)
Speaking of tag team continuity and affordable long
distance, their opponents this time also possess a
literal ton of it. I’d say you’d be hard pressed to
find a more cohesive unit in wrestling than The AXP.
As I said last time, I can’t really remember an AXP
match that I haven’t really enjoyed.
Also, it’ll be interesting to see how Scorpio Sky
(also a practitioner of the backbreaking arts) matches
backbreakers with the backbreaking duo of Lost N’
Bosh. Judging from all the backbreakers used the
recent RevPro Scorpio Sky Vs. Scott Lost match
(excellent match by the way) I’d be willing to bet
that you could probably form a backbreaker drinking
game based on this match up alone! (Every time someone
performs a backbreaker TAKE A SHOT! Every time they do
a tandem backbreaker… TAKE TWO SHOTS! And so forth!
Try it at home! Tell em’ some guy on the interweb said
it was cool! That’s how I ended up with a skydiving
license!)
Err as for match itself, with the experience these
guys have with each other… they could probably be
asleep and still produce something memorable here. I
say this is a potential show stealer…
My Prediction? : Lost and Bosh
retain
Fun PWG Non Fact: According to the
extremely credible “Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500” BJ
Whitmer is a former PWG champion! Bet you didn’t know
that! Yeah, I must have missed that show
too…
Track Two: Get in the ring
PWG Championship Match
Frankie Kazarian © vs. Ricky Reyes
Backstory! : The PWG Title has been in serious
turmoil as of late. It all began at PWG’s “The Next
Show” where Frankie Kazarian had a gigantic title
defense against the indomitable Samoa Joe. However
before a positive victor could be declared, Joe’s
rivals Super Dragon and American Dragon interfered and
ended up costing Kazarian the match by way of a DQ.
This led some to question, both Franklin Q. Kazarian’s
reign as PWG champion and Paris Hilton’s sudden
inexplicable burst of popularity.
All of this didn’t sit well with Samoa Joe, who is of
course always on a quest for gold and fine Korean
barbeque wherever he goes. So at “Use Your Illusion 3”
Samoa Joe he little doubt as to his contender status
as he shot right back up to title contention after a
hard fought victory over Joey Ryan. This put him back
in line for a title shot at PWG’s UYI4 and a chance to
prove he really defeated Kazarian and was the
uncrowned champion of PWG and NBA Street. However due
to prior commitments, Samoa Joe would be unable to
attend PWG’s “UYI4” So he did the next best thing and
elected his “Danger Players” stable mate Havana
Pitbull Ricky Reyes to do his dirty work for him!
So on Oct. 23rd it’s The Dangerous Players Vs. The
First Family. Will Kazarian be able to endure the
vicious attack of The Havana Pitbull and retain his
prized sash of bananas? And what role will Babi Slymm
and his feared PIMP Juice play into this? And when you
see one Dangerous Players member… could the other
members be far behind?
Past History? Interestingly enough, they have
met a few times in the old SoCal IWC Promotion circa
2000. Including a match on Oct 13th 2000 where
Kazarian defeated Reyes to win the IWC Championship.
As well as probably a few times in UPW and maybe EWF.
I’ve read in an old interview that Frankie lists The
Pitbulls as his favorite opponents.
PWG Records: Frankie Kazarian is 14-4-1
overall, 13-3-1 as a single; Ricky Reyes is 7-3
overall, 2-1 as a single.
My Thoughts: Interesting match. On one side
you have, the undisputed king of wrestling cool (never
mind that lame ass, studio gangsta on UPN claiming
he’s cool, dat sucka ain’t down! That fool wouldn’t
know cool if it slapped him up side his bitch ass.
Frankie’s the OG) Frankie Kazarian. Arguably one of
the PWG’s MVPs, and his PWG track record should speak
for itself. From Adam Pearce, American Dragon,
Hardkore Kidd, Colt Cabana, an excellent match last
show with Tony Stradlin among many others. Match The
Kingpin of cool up against anyone… and you’ll get
something worth watching (He’s like the Tom Hanks of
PWG! From Bosom Buddies, Joe Versus the Volcano, to
The Terminal… pure gold! well except for “The Money
Pit” that one kinda blew)
On the other side you have Havana Pitbull Ricky
Reyes. A very versatile wrestler, and while yes, he
still maybe best known as one half of the amazing
Havana Pitbulls tag team, he’s also had a hell of year
as a solo worker as well. Already this year as a
single, he’s been in the very prestigious ECWA Super 8
Tourney, Made a huge impact in the east coast with
ROH, worked in IWA:MS, MLW, NJPW and not to mention
having a terrific year here in his home base of SoCal
with PWG and NJPW-USA. So far this year he’s produced
some outstanding solo outings, including a brutally
stiff encounter with Samoa Joe, He gave Teddy Hart a
Fight Club quality ass kicking at The Inoki Dojo, An
excellent U Style-esque bout with Apollo Kahn at PWG:
The Musical. He’s also impressed against the likes of
Rocky Romero, PUMA, and many others. So by no means
overlook him as a singles wrestler because he happens
to be apart of one of the best tag teams in the world
right now… or he may stiff yo punk ass like he did
Teddy Hart.
So match the natural cocky heel coolness of Frankie
Kazarian with “The Cuban Wrecking Machine” Ricky Reyes
(Really put any nationality before WRECKING MACHINE
and it sounds totally bad ass) and I believe you’ll
see something a little different here from anything
else they’ve produced in PWG. It’ll be interesting to
see where they take with this one (because it’s late
and you need a jacket…)
My Prediction? : Kazarian retains, because much
like Mr. Bond, Mr. Kazarian has a nasty habit of
surviving.
Track Three: Civil War
Chikara Pro Wrestling invades PWG!
Mike Quackenbush, Gran Akuma & Icarus Vs. Jigsaw,
Larry Sweeney & Hallowicked
Who da hell is this bitch? :
For those who may not be familiar with Chikara. Let me
take this time to let her introduce herself…
“Hey y’all, my name is chikara & im single and
looking, i love sports and hangin’ around having a
good time, im looking for a fun guy who likes sports
and cars, a nd who wont mind telling people he has me
as a girlfriend! lol i always get drunk and wake up
not knowin wut happen…sumtimes i wake up naked?lol i
think i got done…lol btb im very passionate about
life and junk, also I’ma c0llege student studying to
be a chemical engineer! if ya like whatcha see give me
a holla! ” Err sorry wrong Chikara…
The Chikara in question here is a wrestling
promotion/training camp located in Allentown,
Pennsylvania, run by Indy veteran Mike Quackenbush
(recently with the help of Indy god Chris Hero)
They’ve created a revolutionary hybrid form of
wrestling, using a unique blend of lucha elements,
American storytelling, exotic characters and the
comedy of 80’s era Eddie Murphy. In fact I’d dare say
that Chikara is the one promotion in the world that
rivals PWG in the comedy and Home Economics
departments (featuring many a comedic based event
title of their own such as “”Retribution Rumble of
Revenge and Rebellion to Remember” “Kid’s Eat Free on
Tuesdays” and my personal favorite, “A Sandwich called
Destiny” and many a wacky gimmick… like PRIVATE EYE!
He’s an eyeball that’s a detective! Get it?)
They have really exploded on the scene as of late.
During the past year Chikara’s students like Eddie
Kingston, Jigsaw, Hallowicked, Mr. Zero, Team FIST and
more have been invading major promotions such as CZW,
JAPW, JCW, IWA: MS and Germany’s WXW and producing
nearly show stealing performances (more often than not
in their signature 6-man man tags) where ever they
roam
So on October 23rd, Chikara’s version of the A-Team
hits the road and is set to rock the West Coast for
the first time. As Mike Quackenbush and Team FIST take
on Hallowicked, Jigsaw and “Sweet and Sour” Larry
Sweeney! GET READY… for SOMETHING!
Let’s meet the teams! : (Stats and styles portions
taken from ChikaraPro.com)
Lightning” Mike Quackenbush
Stats: 6’0” – 191 lbs. – 12 years experience
Style: One part Luchador, one part Puroresu Junior
Heavy, one part British technicianbr>
Mike Quackenbush should need no introduction to
dedicated followers of Indy wrestling. His list of
credentials is as long as Schindler’s List (both the
movie and the list!) Known for using his own truly
unique style and a wide array of CRAZY (with a capital
CRAWAZY!) submissions, he’s a real spectacle to
behold. He’s also no stranger to SoCal, as he was a
part of Revolution Pro’s Revolution J 2002 where he
defeated two of SoCal’s best (Joey Ryan and B-Boy)
before falling to that darn Super Dragon in the semi
finals. Most recently known his show stealing match
with PWG favorite American Dragon as part of IWA:MS
TPI 2004.
TEAM F.I.S.T.:
Gran Akuma:
Stats: 5’10” – 192 lbs. – 2 years experience
Style: International-style High Flyer
Icarus:
Stats: 5’10” – 174 lbs. – 2 years experience
Style: Lucha influenced Junior Heavyweight
Chikara’s top techinco tag team. Frequent allies of
Mike Quackenbush, and have also teamed with Quack in
6-mans in CZW, IWA:MS, WXW and others. The masked
Akuma likes to finish with the “Yoshi Tonic” (Code
Red) The wild haired Icarus was formerly known as
masked wrestler Ichabod Slayne, until he lost his mask
on 12/10/2002 to Blind Rage. He likes to finish with
the spilt legged moonsault. That’s pretty much all I
could find on them. I know they are entertaining in
ring performers/soft shoe tap dancers from what I’ve
seen however…
Team RUDOS:
Hallowicked
Stats: 6’1” – 192 lbs. – 2 years
experience
Considered to be the top student of the initial
Chikara class. He relies more on the lucha-style
submissions than a lot of other lucha-based Indy
workers these days. In Chikara he teams with
UltraMantis Black as part of the Dark Breed tag team.
Has worked for IWA:MS semi-frequently, including a
spot in this year’s TPI tournament. He was also the
winner of the 2002 Chikara Young Lions’ Cup.
Larry Sweeney
Stats: 5’9” – 183 lbs. – 1 year of
experience
A relative newcomer to the world of wrestling. But
Sweeney has already rose to be perhaps Chikara’s top
heel and just recently won the 2004 edition of
Chikara’s prestigious “Young Lions’ Cup” beating among
others Chris Hero (!) in the Semis and Jigsaw in the
finals. He now leads the top heel group in Chikara,
“Sweet and Sour International.” He’s an “80’s style
heel” complete with wacky ring gear (A man wearing
PINK!) and arrogant attitude. I’m sure SoCal (and West
Hollywood) will just love him…
Jigsaw
Stats: 6’1” – 173 lbs. – 2 years
experience
The human Jigsaw puzzle! Another one of their top
students, Jigsaw competed in CZW for the Trifecta
elimination tournament (facing PWG’s own Excalibur)
and JCW for J-Cup (which was won by SoCal’s own Super
Dragon), he had what was considered a breakout match
with Rorschach at the 2004 Young Lions’ Cup (in which
he was a finalist) Also was involved in a major feud
with Larry Sweeney (one of his partners for this
match) Likes to finish with “Money In The Bank” that’s
not what he calls it, but that’s what EZ Money called
it, no not the wrestler EZ Money, but the movie “Easy
Money” with the OG of comedy, Rodney Dangerfield
(RIP… had to work that in somewhere. Rodney
ruled..)
Fun with Facts! : Chikara is the Japanese word
for “strength and power”
(Special thanks to PCN’s Jay Doring for help with this
info and assorted spiritual guidance/cherry pop tart
preperatation tips. But for more information check
out: http://www.chikarapro.com)
My Thoughts: It’s a daunting task to put these
kind of matches into words. But first off let me just
warn you… do not attempt to play the lucha drinking
game while watching this match. You will be either:
inebriated, hammered, blotto, wasted, crapulous or
possibly hooched-up in just a few minutes time. So
just say no okay? Because these matches are filled to
the brim with arm-drags, head scissors/ranas, wacky
dives, and KrAzy submissions. Really wild stuff, kind
of like a scramble Match for you ROH fans (all two of
you) only probably more entertaining overall. Not much
more to say… only if you’ve never experienced Chikara,
be prepared for a serious treat here.
Hmm appears I have some space left… so umm have you
ever seen the 1987 movie “Running Out of Luck”? It
stars Rolling Stone, Mick Jagger as himself! He goes
to Brazil to shoot a video and is kidnapped and sold
into white slavery on a banana plantation while a
replacement Mick Jagger replaces him! He finds not
only love, adventure and McDonalds food but also finds
himself along the way. My gosh… it is the most
unintentionally hilarious movie ever. CHECK IT OUT
NOW! Thank me later…
My Prediction? : Tough one but I’ll go with
Team Quack.
Track Four: Estranged
60 Minute Iron Man Match
Joey Ryan vs. Super Dragon
A Tale of two guerrillas:
Our story begins in one night in March of 2003, It
was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it
was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of
incredulity, is was the season of light, it was the
season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was
the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we
had nothing before us… and a young man by the name of
Joey Ryan was set for a match of GSCW’s Proving
Grounds, but hadn’t a clue as to his opponent, he had
first been announced as facing Tony Kozina, but that
is changed to Joey Ryan Vs. Nikki (Sara Del Ray) but
due to “politics” that was canceled as well. Leaving
Joey without any opposition! Ryan then got a little
cocky and threw up an open challenge to anyone in the
back! Well, that challenge was then answered by the
Osiris of SoCal, Super Dragon! Ryan had clearly bitten
off more than he could chew and was unprepared for
such a mammoth challenge. Yet he still managed to put
up quite a fight. He finds some success by focusing
his attack on the arm of Super Dragon, and he nearly
gets the victory after nailing the “duff drop” But
that wasn’t quite enough and Joey was overwhelmed by
the sheer force of Super Dragon, eventually falling to
the Super Natural Driver. Little did we know what the
future had in store for these two…
We pick up our story several months later on August
30th 2003 at PWG’s Bad Ass Mother 3000 Stage two.
Earlier in the show, Joey Ryan had defeated Adam
Pearce, and Super Dragon had beat Colt Cabana… and the
brackets lead us to right into Super Dragon Vs. Joey
Ryan 2: Electric Boogalu.
Both were clearly more prepared for each other this
time around, Ryan wasn’t going to be overwhelmed by
Dragon again, as he stood up to Dragon and gave as
good as he got. After what can only be described as a
wrestling clinic (considered by many to be PWG’s best
match of 2003) Super Dragon looked to have finished
off Ryan with The Super Natural Driver (same move that
beat him before) but wisely Joey fought his way to the
ropes and hung on for dear life. Buying him enough
time to kick out of a pinfall attempt. Then Joey
rolled to the outside, but Dragon followed and pulled
him up to the apron, and set him up on the turnbuckle,
for 2nd Rope Psycho Driver to the floor… but Ryan
fought out of it and was able to reverse it into an
amazing Duff Drop to the floor! Joey had totally
obliterated Super Dragon; he then rolled him into the
ring and was able to down the mighty Super Dragon. The
victory really broke Joey Ryan out to another level,
and truly solidified his place as a SoCal Main Event
Player.
However, even in defeat Super Dragon ended up with the
last laugh, as Joey Ryan still had one more match to
go that night, as he squared off with Frankie Kazarian
for the PWG title. Ryan put up a hell of a fight, but
was still far too wounded from his earlier match with
Super Dragon, and fell easy prey to Kazarian’s “Flux
Capacitor” It appeared that even in victory… Super
Dragon would still defeat Joey Ryan.
The next month at PWG’s “AYAPTR?” Joey Ryan had a
number one contender’s match against “Scrap Iron” Adam
Pearce. Ryan looked to have the match going his way,
but thanks to the distraction of Excalibur and Disco
Machine, Super Dragon was able to sneak into the ring
behind the referees back and plant Joey with the Super
Natural Driver and cost him the match and a shot at
the title. Ryan hungry for retribution, laid down the
challenge for a no rules, anything goes match, which
was dubbed… “Guerilla Warfare”
At on November 15th 2003 at PWG “An Inch Longer Than
Average” the match was on like Donkey Kong sucka. And
in what was without a doubt the greatest live
spectacle this writer has ever witnessed. The two put
a display of brutality not to be forgotten with
chairs, tables and ladders a plenty. Once again,
Ryan’s attack again was focused on the arm of Super
Dragon. While Super Dragon employed the time tested
“Hulk Smash!” technique, to much success (including a
curb stomp on a chair!) until that game plan backfired
on him, as Ryan blocked a lariat by putting a chair in
front of it! Which rendered Dragon’s right arm useless
for the rest of the match (somewhat neutralizing his
striking attacks and leaving him more susceptible to
the Duff Drop) This was just the opening Joey was
looking for, as he then relentlessly attacked the
wounded arm of the Dragon, wrenching it in the
guardrail and later smashing it with a chair. Joey
locked in an arm bar and screamed for Dragon to “TAP”,
but Dragon refused to surrender. Frustrated at his
inability to subjugate the Dragon, Ryan went for a
table and set it up on the turnbuckle with another one
set up in the ring. Then Duff Dropped SD off of one,
sending him crash into the table set up in the ring.
Joey covers… and unbelievably Dragon kicks out! Then
much like Daniel-san in Karate Kid 3, he went for the
move that won it for him in the past (Duff Drop to the
floor… Crane Kick in Daniel-sans case) but also like
Daniel-san the big move is blocked and Ryan is sent
crashing to the floor. Had Ryan blown his last shot at
victory? SD sensing the momentum turning, sets a chair
up between the ring and the railing, places Ryan on
top and comes flying off with a huge senton! Rolls him
in the ring, and covers… but pulls him up after 2!
Then Super Dragon wove a tapestry of violence on Joey
Ryan, which as far as we know, is still obit in outer
space right now over Ohio. Finally after a grueling 30
plus minute contest, Super Dragon finally puts Ryan
away with a Psycho Driver on a stack of a ladder,
table pieces and guardrail. But even that couldn’t put
this feud to rest…
Many tag team meetings followed, from a huge 6-man
grudge match at “Pimpin’ In High Places” to Double
Dragons Vs. X-Foundation at Tango and Cash (which many
claim stole the whole tournament) to SD and Joey Ryan
even reluctantly having to join forces at PWG’s 88
Miles Per Hour in order to defend PWG against the evil
forces of AXP Deluxe.
Then, the feud seemed to take a backseat to more
pressing issues, as The X-Foundation went through
problems of their own, and Super Dragon was enjoying a
PWG Tag Title reign with partner Excalibur… that is
until The X-Foundation earned a tag title shot and
their paths crossed again…
June 19th 2004 at PWG’s “Rocktoberfest” SBS and
X-Foundation met once again, and after this one was
over, neither team would ever be the same… again. Got
off to a quick start as Super Dragon nailed Ryan with
a Psycho Driver early, effectively eliminating him
from the match, leaving Scott Lost all alone… later in
the match Lost was finally able to tag in the still
dazed Joey Ryan. The X-Foundation looked to have
regained control. That is until Ryan went to tag Scott
Lost… and Lost refused. Earlier in the match, Joey
wasn’t there for Scott because of Super Dragon… now
Scott wasn’t there for Joey. Now with a 2-1 advantage,
SBS got cocky and instead of pinning the beaten down
Joey Ryan. They tried to inflict even more punishment.
Excalibur applied a surfboard on Ryan, while SD went
upstairs to try an inverted 450. But somehow Ryan
reversed Excalibur’s hold and rolled him up for the
1-2-3 and the PWG tag team titles! Joey Ryan once
again won the match, but again was defeated by Super
Dragon, who had for all intensive purposes cost Ryan
his long time tag partner.
Then once again, pressing issues had put the feud on
hold once again, as Joey Ryan had to settle the score
with Scott Lost, and Super Dragon had developed an
intense rivalry with Samoa Joe. Niether found much
success in those feuds, as Ryan was never able to
score a victory over Lost, nor had Super Dragon gained
victory over Samoa Joe. Then surprisingly enough, Ryan
and Dragon paths crossed with one another’s new rival
at PWG’s “Use Your Illusion 3”
Joey Ryan was set to go up against Samoa Joe in what
he called the biggest match of his life. Joey took a
hell of a beating, but still really brought the fight
to Joe, and even showed Super Dragon up by being until
to beat the 20 count back into the ring (while SD had
suffered a count loss in his meeting with Joe) Ryan
showed the heart of a champion as he kept fighting and
kicking out of what looked like sure pin falls (even
the massive Island Driver) Ryan was wrestling the
match of his life and looked as if he was about to
pull off a huge upset… that is until Super Dragon
reared his head and showed up on the ring apron to
distract Samoa Joe. But Joe, Samoan whipped Ryan into
Super Dragon on apron, which left Ryan open for a
massive lariat, which finally put Ryan away. Once
again, Super Dragon had cost Joey Ryan his big
victory. It’d appeared that no matter what, Super
Dragon was always there to spoil Joey’s moment. He’d
embarrassed him in GSCW, He gave him bad stock tips,
He cost him the PWG title, PWG Tag Titles, played a
part in the separation of the X-Foundation, He
recommended him “Garfield: The Movie” and now he’d
robbed him of the biggest match in his career. But as
Confucius say “Our greatest glory is not in never
falling, but in rising every time we fall” This time,
Joey wasn’t going to take it laying down, he had
finally had enough; it was time to get the monkey off
his back for good…
Later that night, Super Dragon teamed with B-Boy to
take on Ryan’s rival Scott Lost and Christopher
Boshowitz. In what could have the greatest tag team
bout in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla history, SD/B-Boy gave
their foes the beating of a lifetime. Just when it
looked as if Super Dragon had the match won, by
setting up Bosh for a Super Psycho Driver, Joey Ryan
ran out and prevented it, and ending up costing, Super
Dragon the match. Earlier in the show, Dragon had cost
Ryan a match against the man Dragon was never able to
beat (Joe), so now Ryan retaliated, and cheated Dragon
out of a victory over the man Ryan could never beat
(Lost)
Then, it happened… Joey Ryan knowing full well that he
had to end this feud for good, challenged Super Dragon
to the ultimate test of endurance and wrestling
ability… a 60-minute Iron Man match! (Only fitting,
the feud that began with a challenge; would conclude
with one)
The stage has been set, on October 23rd, at PWG’s
“Use Your Illusion 4” We will finally witness the
culmination of one of the greatest feuds in the
history of West Coast. Will Joey Ryan finally be able
to conquer the Dragon and achieve avengement for all
the past hardships? Or will Super Dragon’s complete
and utter dominance once more prove too great of a
challenge to surmount?
Super Dragon-Joey Ryan The Complete Match History:
Super Dragon/B-Boy/Excalibur Vs. Joey
Ryan/Smelly/Pinoy Boy – “Gonzo Show” 4-27-02
Super Dragon/Taro Vs. Joey Ryan/Scott Lost – RevPro
03/08/03
Super Dragon Vs. Joey Ryan – GSCW 03/29/03
Super Dragon/Disco Machine Vs. Joey Ryan/Nikki –
RevPro 05/10/03
Super Dragon/Joey Ryan/Scott Lost Vs. Taro/Angel/Mr.
Excitement – RevPro 06/14/03
Super Dragon/Excalibur Vs. Joey Ryan/Scott Lost –
APW-LA 08/16/03
Super Dragon Vs. Joey Ryan – PWG 08/30/03
Super Dragon Vs. Joey Ryan – PWG Guerrilla Warfare
11/15/03
Super Dragon/Adam Pearce/Colt Cabana Vs. Joey
Ryan/Frankie Kazarian/CM Punk – PWG 12/13/03
Super Dragon/Ronin Vs. Joey Ryan/Johnny Paradise –
RevX 12/29/03
Super Dragon/American Dragon Vs. Joey Ryan/Scott Lost
– PWG 1/25/04
Super Dragon/Joey Ryan/Scott Lost/Disco
Machine/Excalibur Vs. Top Gun Talwar/Mercury/Bosh/AXP
– PWG 3/7/04
Super Dragon/Excalibur Vs Joey Ryan/Scott Lost – PWG
6/19/04
The current win/loss tally is Super Dragon with 7
wins, Ryan with 3 wins and one tie (The APW-LA
tag)
PWG Records: Super Dragon is 16-6 Overall, 8-2
as a single and Joey Ryan is overall 10-12 overall,
4-5 as a single
Iron Man match experience? : Super Dragon a won
three-way 60:00 Iron man match over Bobby Quance and
Jardi Frantz – APW in December 2002. Said to be a
really good match.
This will be Ryan’s first iron man match. His longest
singles to match to date is I believe the 11/15/03
Guerrilla Warfare match with Super Dragon, which went
31:47.
My Thoughts: First off, let me just express my
admiration for this feud (I only hope I did it justice
in my above write up) one of the best I’ve ever had
the pleasure to witness, I actually see a lot of
parallels between it, and my favorite feud ever, the
legendary ECW: Raven Vs. Dreamer saga. With Joey Ryan
playing the underdog to perfection and Super Dragon
bringing the dominant asshole character to a whole new
level. I recommend that everyone do themselves a favor
and purchase the Super Dragon Evolution 3 DVD set at
PWG’s website and experience this thing for
yourself.
As for the match, really this is one of those matches
that speak for itself. If you’ve seen their now
classic (and I don’t use that term in the masturbatory
ROH way) previous encounters, you know right away how
much damn potential this one has. As those matches
were just expertly worked and each featured excellent
storytelling and more drama than a twice divorced
mother of four with a drug problem. I can hardly
fathom, what they will be able to pull off in 3600
seconds! A true epic match up if there ever was one,
this one could do down as the both men’s magnum opus.
Don’t miss it…
My Prediction: I’ll go with Joey Ryan. He’s
due…
But that’s not all! Also appearing will be:
The red hot Puma! (9-1 in PWG single action
and 10-7 in Easter Egg hunts!)
The 2nd most hated kid in SoCal (behind that Smart &
Final Kid): The UK Kid!
Straight off a very impressive performance last show:
Former NWA:Wildside star Tony Stradlin!
Everyone’s favorite recreational drug abuser: Top
Gun Talwar!
And even more! WOW!! PWG is giving us all this and
its not even CHRISTMAS!
So there you have it, all in all it’s shaping up to
be one a hell of a show. Should prove to be a very
unique experience as well, as we will see the first
Iron Man match in SoCal since the legendary Bret Hart
Vs. Shawn Michaels match from Wrestlemania 12! Also
our first chance to witness the incredible spectacle
that is Chikara live! Plus all the best from the
Guerrilla! So if you happen to be in the area or on
the planet earth, be sure to check this one out live!
Don’t the mistake of missing what could be the
greatest match ever in PWG!
If you can’t make it… and even if you can… don’t
forget:
Merchandising, merchandising, merchandising! Where
the real money is made! Be sure to purchase such
products as PWG-the T-shirt (Comes in Green or Red!
How’s that for freedom of choice? What a country!)
PWG- The Home Video series! (Including the newly
restocked TANGO and CASH Invitational!) You can
purchase these fine products at the live event, or
from the comfort of your own home from http://www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com!
And (possibly?) coming soon: PWG-the Coloring Book!
PWG-the Lunch box! PWG-the “Guerrilla Os” Breakfast
Cereal! PWG- The Streak Sauce! PWG: The Dating manual
as written by Joey Ryan! PWG-the Flame Thrower! For
you high school kids… PWG: The Home Pregnancy test!
And finally PWG: The Designer Fragrance! Now you can
smell like a real gorilla! (And from attending these
shows, I know that a few of you already
do!)
THANK YOU all so very much for reading and also to my
good friends at http://www.paradisecityninjas.bravehost.com for posting this as well!
Please leave any feedback, questions, Burt Bacharach
lyrics, Deleted “Smiths” singles, or whatever you’d
like add here or send it to PO Box: NewberryPCN@Yahoo.com! I’d be glad to
hear it!
So until next time this is Paul Newberry saying,
“Be sure to drink your ovaltine!”
