Pro Wrestling Guerrilla returned after a little over a two-month layoff with Mystery Vortex VI on May 10th. While it somewhat feels like PWG is still in a state of transition, their last event, 200 in March, was, in my opinion, one of the top ten single PWG shows of all time.
Generally, PWG doesn’t announce any wrestlers or matches for Mystery Vortex shows, with very few exceptions. This year they did announce there would be a Guerrilla Warfare match, but not the participants. I think with the current state of flux in independent wrestling, this Mystery Vortex was more mysterious than ever. It really felt like there was an energy in the building that you normally only get during the Battle of Los Angeles.
Trey Miguel over Tony Deppen [9’08]
Tony Deppen has been really having a great year and I expected he’d end up in PWG sooner rather than later. He got a great reaction coming out as well. These two worked really well together and the match was pretty much a sprint from the start to the finish. There was lots of trading off moves and it never slowed down. This was a really good opener and the fast-paced highspot oriented match seemingly got a hot crowd hotter. Miguel won with a double knee stomp from the top rope.
Rating: *** 3/4
After the match, while Deppen was getting “please come back” chants, Miguel went to shake his hand and give him a hug. Then Deppen superkicked him and the crowd turned on him.
Chuck Taylor over Orange Cassidy [13’47]
If there was one wrestler I was almost sure would be making their debut at Mystery Vortex it was Orange Cassidy. He is one of the hottest acts in independent wrestling right now. The reaction for him was huge too. I don’t think it can be understated either how big a deal GCW has become for independent wrestling as well, as Orange Cassidy is yet another wrestler who made his name there showing up in PWG.
The first two-thirds of the match was pretty much all comedy. If you’ve seen Orange Cassidy before, you’ve pretty much seen the beginning of this match. The crowd was incredibly hot for everything he did though. He even managed to turn referee Justin Borden face when Borden helped him put his glasses back on. The last third of the match was a much more traditional match and pretty fast-paced. Taylor hit the Awful Waffle for the pin. I really enjoyed this and would have rated it higher, but I felt like I’d seen the match before.
Rating: *** 1/2
Jeff Cobb over Jonathan Gresham to retain the PWG World Championship [14’22]
Both wrestlers had flights to catch so this match went on third. I think the placement somewhat hurt because I don’t think anyone believed before the match that PWG was going to have their championship change hands in the third match on the show with no build to the match. Still, the story they told in the ring had people going nuts for the near falls near the end. Late in the match, Gresham did a tope onto Cobb’s back then he turned into a choke. Cobb while being choked out was able to get in the ring before going down. They did the thing where the ref lifts Cobb’s arm, and on the 3rd time, Cobb managed to grab the ref’s leg. Gresham didn’t see that and briefly thought he won the title. Gresham did an onslaught of running strikes which lead to some great near falls. Cobb eventually hit the Tour of the Islands for the win. This match, along with Cobb versus Bandido from PWG 200, has to be a top contender for SoCal Match of the Year right now.
Rating: **** 1/2
Brody King over Trent? and Jake Atlas [13’35]
As great as the last match was if it wasn’t for a few rough spots this could have been better. Jake Atlas and Brody King are very familiar with each other having both trained together at Santino Brothers. Trent fit in well with them. All three have different styles, but it never felt like that caused any issues and they were all able to be themselves without having to adjust much. King hit the Joey Kaos Gonzo Bomb on Atlas to get the pin. After the match King and Trent were jawing at each other, so that might be coming up in July.
Rating: **** 1/4
Jungle Boy over Puma King [8’39]
Jungle Boy got a big reaction coming out. Puma King worked heel in this. It never felt like this match built any real momentum. It wasn’t a bad match by any means, but it didn’t hit the level of the rest of the show. The finish seemed abrupt as well, as Puma King hit a series of kicks and got the pin.
Rating: ** 3/4
Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) over Rey Horus & Flamita to retain the PWG World Tag Team Championship [10’03]
I feel like every Rascalz match in PWG, especially when matched up against luchadors, has been a showcase of what is possible in pro-wrestling. You can show their matches to non-wrestling fans and they’ll be impressed. This had a ton of action, but the biggest drawback was that Flamita and Rey Horus just seemed to be a random pairing and there was really no danger of them winning. Still, this was a ton of fun. The Rascalz hit the assisted moonsault for the win and continue one of the great tag-team runs in PWG history.
Rating: ****
Darby Allin over Joey Janela in a Guerrilla Warfare match [21’59]
This had a lot of speculation going in as to who would be in the Guerrilla Warfare match. I thought based on what happened at 200, we were going to get LAX versus The Rascalz, but then Santana got hurt. There was speculation that Jon Moxley might appear or even a Super Dragon return as well. Joey Janela and Darby Allin was probably the only matchup that could get as crazy as some of the wilder Guerrilla Warfare matches though.
There were chairs, thumbtacks, a tazer, trash cans, tables, a skateboard covered in thumbtacks, and cinder blocks used in this. Early on, Janela was on the outside of the ring and Allin put a trash can over his own upper body and dived, while in a trash can, from the top rope to the outside. Janela got out of the way and Allin just ate it. Later Janela took a bump on the cinder blocks, and one person in the audience let out a scream like someone just died. Both fell from the opera box balcony through tables to the floor as well. In the end, Allin got Janela in his leglock cradle pin for the victory. This was a really fun spectacle.
Rating: ****
Guerrilla Warfare #PWG #MysteryVortexVI pic.twitter.com/ZL7jcg5vQy
— SoCal UNCENSORED (@socaluncensored) May 11, 2019
After the match, Janela cut a promo saying he didn’t really know what the future held, but if he didn’t die first he was going to give us a summer of memories.
This was another great PWG show, and in my opinion the best Mystery Vortex so far. The show overall wasn’t as good as 200, but 200 is among the all-time greats. I’ve mentioned it before but PWG has really been great at keeping the show quality up while always going through a ton of roster turnover.
Mystery Vortex VI is available for pre-order on DVD and Blu Ray through PWG and should be available from Highspots as well.
