This CHAOS COLUMN is a recap of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s “DDT4 Tournament” at American Legion Post #308, Reseda, January 31st. Another standing-room-only capacity crowd was on hand for the annual tag team tournament, even though Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks were at NJPW to defend their IWGP titles as part of The Bullet Club.
ROUND 1
1 – Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Baretta) def. The RockNES Monsters (Johnny Yuma & Johnny Goodtime) Strong opener that ended with Chuck & Trent tapping into their inner Undertaker, with Trent sitting on Chuckie T’s shoulders, and donning an oversized trenchoat, to execute a Chokeslam on Goodtime from the top rope for the pin.
2 – The Unbreakable F’n Machines (Michael Elgin & Brian Cage) def. PPRay (Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas) Peter & Ray did all they could against the bigger tag team, but it wasn’t enough, as Elgin finished off PPA with the Elgin Slam for the pin.
3 – Mt. Rushmore’s “Cole Steen Cole” (PWG Champion Adam Cole & Kevin Steen) def. Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan This was probably one of the more interesting matches, but Cole & Steen weren’t just satisfied with hitting a Superkick/Package Piledriver/Superkick combo on Joey for Cole’s pin. They grabbed Candice, and Steen spit on her.
4 – Inner City Machine Guns (Rich Swann & Ricochet) def. ACH & AR Fox Best first round match hands down, with all the high spots and the energy they brought out from the fans. ACH was able to roll away from Swann’s 450 Splash, but Ricochet timed his own 450 Splash from the top rope perfectly to score the pin.
5 – Non-tournament singles match: Tommaso Ciampa p. Adam Thornstowe (who subbed for the injured Roderick Strong) with a Knee Strike into a STO. The QPro Champion had a solid PWG debut, standing his own ground against the ROH veteran.
SEMIFINALS
6 – Best Friends def. Mt. Rushmore Things looked rather bleak for Best Friends, but Candice wasn’t going to let “Cole Steen Cole” have the last laugh. She spit on Adam Cole to lure him into a chase into the back, allowing Trent to rollup Steen into a Bridging cover for the pin.
7 – Inner City Machine Guns def. The Unbreakable F’n Machines The better of the semifinal matches ended with Swann hitting an Enziguri on Cage to thwart the Weapon X attempt on Ricochet, and the high flyers rolled Cage up for the team pin.
SM – Non-tournament Fatal Four Way between Johnny Gargano, Chris Hero, Kyle O’Reilly, & Drake Younger. Great action from all four wrestlers, but Drake got the win when he pinned Kyle with Drake’s Landing.
M – DDT4 Final. Best Friends def. The Inner City Machine Guns when Chuck p. Swann with a Blue Thunder Bomb hold into a vicious Piledriver. “All of you guys are my new ‘Best Friends’!” Was Chuck’s post-match promo to close the show.
Shot of the Night – PWG: Jan 31st
This was a very strong opener for PWG’s 2014 Season, and there was quite a divide between the different sides of the dedicated fans in attendance, especially when Excalibur–once again–scolded everyone for tailgating in the parking lot of the venue. While I’m not sure if Best Friends can wrest away the PWG Tag Team titles from The Young Bucks, it’s a safe bet that they will give the Jackson Brothers a run for their money. Drake Younger continues to ride a wave of popularity among indie fans, and that will only put alot of pressure on Adam Cole, when he puts his World Heavyweight title on the line in a future show, if not on 3/28. My MOTN goes to the ICMG/ACH & AR Fox match in Round 1, followed by the Fatal Four Way match.
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February’s Wrestling 2014 schedule:
Feb 1st – QPro “Well Worth The Wait”
Feb 10th – WWE RAW
Feb 11th – WWE Smackdown
Feb 15th – AWS “No Time For Valentines Love”