Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s Against The Grain takes place Friday, October 2!

Posted By: SoCalUNCENSORED.com 09/16/2009

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s Against The Grain takes place on Friday, October 2nd 2009 at 8:00PM at American Legion Post #308 in Reseda, CA, and will feature:

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Tag Team Championship Title Match
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson – Champions) vs. Men of Low Moral Fiber (Kenny Omega & Chuck Taylor – Challengers)

— Heading in to DDT4 earlier this year, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks, were, by far, the fans’ favorite tag team in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. On the other hand, the Men of Low Moral Fiber, Kenny Omega and Chuck Taylor, were a debuting dark horse tag team united by a common cause: They hate small children, they hate orphans, and above all else, they hate El Generico, who has consistently been one of the most popular wrestlers in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla for nearly five years. To say the odds of winning over the fans were small is an understatement. What’s more, thanks to an extensive poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., we know that the overwhelming majority of people polled love small children, orphans, and El Generico, with less than 1% of respondents feeling ambivalent, and a fraction of a tenth of a percent answering with hatred. With all of this information in mind, it makes the reaction that Matt and Nick Jackson, The Young Bucks, received at DDT4 entirely perplexing.

After The Young Bucks defeated Omega and Taylor, the crowd erupted in a chorus of boos. Fans in attendance thought that not only had the wrong team won, but that the Men of Low Moral Fiber were robbed. Allegations of poor officiating spread like wildfire, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, the epicenter for The Young Bucks-mania that is currently sweeping the professional wrestling world, became the one place on earth where the Jackson brothers were reviled. What lead to this 180-degree turn by the crowd? Were they swayed by the rhetorical abilities of Messrs Omega and Taylor, and now found that they too hated children, orphans, and El Generico? Or was it possible that everyone in attendance at DDT4 was a part of that fraction of a tenth of a percent that the Pew Research Center spoke to? The world may never know, but what is certain is that the challengers to the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Tag Team Championship, Kenny Omega and Chuck Taylor, are the fan favorites heading in to Against The Grain.

However, fan favoritism will only get you so far, which The Young Bucks had learned in every match since the very beginning of their Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Tag Team Championship title reign, up to DDT4. There comes a point where, damn the fans, a team needs to buckle down and prove they deserve to be on top, which Matt and Nick Jackson did at DDT4, and did again at Speed of Sound. Sure, the crowd has seen the double back handspring, double dropkick combination before, but the crowd has also seen a bodyslam before. Why? Because it’s an effective move. The Young Bucks have learned to stop doing what will please the fans, and keep doing what will win them matches. Remember, The Young Bucks got to the top by playing to the crowd, now that their entire focus is on keeping the titles, they may be unstoppable.

Kenny Omega and Chuck Taylor have told The Young Bucks to enjoy their title reign while it lasts; it’s coming to an end at Against The Grain on October 2nd. Matt and Nick Jackson have much the same message for the Men of Low Moral Fiber; enjoy the fans while they last, they’re a fickle bunch.

Singles Match
El Generico vs. Chris Hero

— After losing the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Championship title to “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson at Guerre Sans Frontières, Chris Hero admitted that his strategy of knocking out opponents with elbow strikes was not entirely effective, and that he would be adopting a different approach in the future. No one, except Hero of course, is sure what approach the former World Champion will be taking, but if there’s anyone with knowledge of just about every style of professional wrestling, it’s Chris Hero. His mat-based approach to the sport has always been troubling for opponents, and then when Hero combined his technical ability with brute force, he became the longest reigning champion in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla history. Now that he is once again reinventing himself, his opponents will find less value in researching Chris Hero’s previous battles and more in increasing their improvisational ability.

However, just as Chris Hero is a master of technique, two-time former Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Double Crown Champion El Generico is a master of thinking on his feet. El Generico has built his career on the fact that more often than not, he is able to anticipate and react faster than his opponent, though his recent knee injury may force El Generico to reinvent himself, as well. Since returning from his injury, Generico has been defeated in his last three singles matches, an area where the generic luchadore traditionally excels. With the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles approaching, and facing a former World Champion with a chip on his shoulder, El Generico finds himself with his back against the wall. If he truly has lost a step due to his knee injury, a loss against Chris Hero could very signal the end of an era. If he can prove that there are no lasting effects from the injury and come away with a victory over Hero at Against The Grain, then El Generico will have taken a very meaningful step toward reclaiming the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Championship.

Singles Match
Brian Kendrick vs. Roderick Strong

Singles Match
Kenny King (Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Debut) vs. Davey Richards

Singles Match
Scott Lost vs. Joey Ryan

— To say that the relationship between former three-time former Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Tag Team Champions Scott Lost and Joey Ryan has been tumultuous would be an understatement. At one point during their second reign, Scott Lost actually defeated Joey Ryan in a ladder match for sole possession of the World Tag Team titles. Though the relationship would remain acrimonious for a few years, Lost and Ryan would reunite, as The Dynasty, in an effort to destroy Super Dragon. As The Dynasty they would recapture, and lose, the World Tag Team titles for a third time, but Joey Ryan began to focus more on regaining the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Championship title for himself than he did on regaining the Tag Team titles with Lost.

This became very apparent at 2009’s DDT4, where after Lost and Ryan were eliminated in the first round, rather than showing any distress about losing another opportunity to become Tag Team Champions, Joey Ryan instantly turned his attention to stopping Chris Hero‘s World Championship title reign, which was about to surpass Joey’s reign as the longest in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla history. Ryan would then go on to face Chris Hero at Threemendous II in a Guerrilla Warfare Match as a last-ditch effort to stop Hero’s reign. Immediately after Scott Lost was defeated by Alex Shelley, rather than console his friend and partner about the loss of the match, and without asking for help, Joey Ryan began laying out a plan of how Scott would help Joey defeat Chris Hero later on that night. This act of selfishness on Joey’s part proved to be the last straw, as Scott left the building during intermission, and Chris Hero would successfully defend his title against Joey Ryan later that night.

Since then, Scott Lost has concentrated on his own quest to capture the elusive Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Championship. After defeating El Generico at The Secret of Guerrilla Island and Human Tornado at Guerre Sans Frontières, Scott Lost has defeated two former World Champions in recent months. A victory over Joey Ryan at Against The Grain would make it three victories over three former champions, and give Scott Lost a huge boost heading into the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles, where the tournament winner will also become the fifteenth Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Champion. On the other hand, with Chris Hero out of the picture, Joey Ryan is also intent on winning the tournament, and the title, at the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles. Not only would a victory over Scott Lost give Joey momentum heading into November, it would also prove, in Joey’s mind at least, who the real star of The Dynasty was.

2009 Battle of Los Angeles Qualifying 4-Way Match
Dustin Cutler vs. Shane Haste vs. Charles Mercury vs. Jerome “LTP” Robinson

2009 Battle of Los Angeles Qualifying 4-Way Match
Brandon Cutler vs. Brandon Gatson vs. Johnny Goodtime vs. Malachi Jackson

— With the influx of so much great young talent in recent months, the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Board of Directors saw fit to give two of these new additions a place on one of the biggest stages in independent professional wrestling, the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles. But who was most deserving of spot in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s annual tournament? In terms of the best record as a singles wrestler, Johnny Goodtime scored a pinfall victory over Charles Mercury at The Secret of Guerrilla Island, so he could be the top choice. But then Goodtime lost to Charles and The Cutler Brothers in a six-man tag team match at Threemendous II, and again to Brandon and Dustin Cutler in a tag team match at Speed of Sound. And then there’s Charles Mercury, who has looked extremely effective since his return to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. But what about The Cutler Brothers, who have competed exclusively in tag team contests, but came within a hair’s breadth of beating The Young Bucks at DDT4? What about Shane Haste and Jerome “LTP” Robinson, who were a part of the winning team in the 9-man 3-way tag team match at Guerre Sans Frontières? And what of Brandon Gatson and Malachi Jackson, who though winless in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla thus far, have turned more than a few heads with their performances?

Obviously, there is no simple answer to who amongst these hot prospects is most deserving of the chance to make their mark on the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles, so the Board of Directors have made it as easy as possible: Two, single fall, 4-way matches will determine who of these eight men will secure the first two entries into the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles. May the best man win.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s Against The Grain takes place Friday, October 2, 2009, at 8:00 PM at American Legion Post #308 in Reseda, CA. American Legion Post #308 is located at 7338 Canby Ave., Reseda, CA 91335. Front Row tickets are $25, and General Admission tickets are $20. Online tickets orders are subject to the PayPal Service Charge (2.9% + $0.30). Tickets purchased in advance allow for priority admittance to the venue, along with guaranteed event seating. Online tickets sales for this event will end on September 29, 2009 at 11:59PM. Any remaining tickets will be available for purchase at the door. Video recording devices are not permitted. Card subject to change.