This CHAOS COLUMN is a recap of PWG’s “Sold Our Soul to Rock & Roll” show at American Legion Post #308, Reseda, on May 23rd 2014. This PWG show drew plenty of celebrities to the legion hall. Members of the cast of “True Blood”, Actor Clark Duke (“Kick-Ass” & “Hot Tub Time Machine”), & Barry from “Two & a Half Men” were among another capacity crowd, who fought through the Memorial Day Weekend traffic to get to the show.
(Celebrity sightings based on social media posts by fellow wrestling fans, & those who worked the show.)
* Excalibur did a brief tribute to Drake Younger, with the crowd doing a “Thank you, Drake!” chant at the start of the show.
1 – Roderick Strong p. Brian Cage
Very strong opener that saw Roddy bloody Brian’s nose early on, before eventually finishing him off with the DBR Gutbuster/Sick Kick combo for the pin.
2 – Rich Swann p. AR Fox
See-saw, high-flying battle that ended with Rich hitting a Corkscrew Splash for the pin.
3 – World’s Cutest Tag Team (Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan) def. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent? [Trent Baretta])
Another see-saw battle that saw the Best Friends duo hesitate to do battle in the ring w/ Candice. There was also a point where Chuck went to the back, then came out in drag to “cancel things out” with Candice. Speaking of Candice, she & Joey took out Trent late, with Joey hitting the Superkick, then Candice hitting the Headscissors DDT for the pin.
4 – Rocky Romero made his “Forever Hooligans” partner, Alex Koslov, tapout to the Cross Armbreaker submission
Most fans will probably say that this was the weakest match on the card. Maybe it was, to me, but the “Forever Hooligans” duo gave a great show, battling one another.
5 – Ricochet p. ACH
Another see-saw, high-flying battle that saw both wrestlers bodysurf with the fans on the Eastern side of the ringside area (or between the ring and the stage, closest to the hard camera). Plenty of counters and high spots in this match, but Ricochet hit the 630 Senton to score the pin.
SM – Mt. Rushmore of Pro Wrestling (Kevin Steen & The Young Bucks) def. Johnny Gargano, Trevor Lee, & Cedric Alexander
Crazy tag team match that saw wrestlers spill from the ring, and into the crowd twice. The turning point of the match was Nick & Matt Jackson turning up the “Superkick Party”, hitting one to counter a move by Trevor Lee, then they teamed up with Steen to hit the Cutler Driver for the pin. After the bell, Kevin Steen addressed the rumors of him going to WWE, but it wasn’t clear on what he said from my vantage point.
M – PWG Championship match between Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly — KO or Submission Only
Brutal match that saw both men do battle in and out of the ring. Adam went to pick on Kyle’s right knee, while Kyle went for Adam’s left arm. Things nearly took a turn for the worse when Referee Rick Knox took a bump, and that sent the rest of Mt. Rushmore running in to break Kyle’s Guillotine Choke Hold, before being cancelled out by Best Friends, & The World’s Cutest Tag Team. Kyle managed to overcome Adam’s big barrage, going for the neck area with repeated strikes, then locked in the Triangle Chokehold or Armbreaker for the tapout.
*** NEW PWG CHAMPION, KYLE O’REILLY ***
Shot of the Night PWG 05-23-14
I hope those celebrities enjoyed the show, because I think that may only draw more of them to whichever the next show may come, if it isn’t the 11th Anniversary Show later in the Summer. Whether Cole goes for his rematch or not remains to be seen, but it wouldn’t be surprising if one of the feature matches for the next show is The Young Bucks v. Candice & Joey for the tag team titles. MOTN goes to the Adam Cole/Kyle O’Reilly match, followed by the Ricochet/ACH match, then the Swann/AR Fox match.
