These were some of the best matches of the year in the U.S. It’s really a shame this wasn’t streamed live and people will have to wait for the DVD release, because people would be raving about almost every match on the show. This was better than even day two of BOLA last year, which was the best PWG show I’d seen.
– Dalton Castle defeated Tommaso Ciampa, who subbed for Jack Gallagher who had a flight issue.
Ciampa did some WWE star big moves (Superman punch, Pedigree) but couldn’t finish Castle, who won with the Bang-a-Rang. Excellent bout. Super hard hitting and Castle did a great job building his delayed German suplex spot.
– Mark Andrews defeated Pete Dunne with a reverse hurricanrana off the top rope and shooting star press.
It’s amazing how good Andrews is in this environment. Dunne made a super impression. Tons of crazy counters. I thought Andrews kicking out of three tombstone piledrivers was a bit much but other than that this was up there with the best U.S. matches this year.
– Cody Rhodes defeated Sami Callihan after hitting Cross Rhodes.
Rhodes came out in specially made PWG BOLA trunks to endear himself to everyone. You could see this was a guy who had something to prove and he pretty much did. A hard hitting great match, nonstop action, Rhodes even did a double springboard plancha. His wife did the ring announcing calling him the star that left them in the dust.
– Fenix & Penatgon Jr. defeated Chris Hero & Tommy End when Fenix pinned End after a springboard 450.
I know several people who thought this was the best match of the weekend which speaks volumes when you consider how spectacular tonight’s main event was. Hero did this great Lucha Libre high spot early like he was a 170 pound acrobatic style guy. Fenix came out dressed up like Pentagon and he was super over with constant chants. In the move of the weekend, he stood up on Pentagon’s shoulders near the ropes and did a super high moonsault out of the ring onto both of them.
– Trevor Lee defeated Kamaitachi with a fisherman buster.
Lee got easy heel heat being announced as TNA Superstar Trevor Lee. The big move was Kamaitachi doing a senton off the top rope to the floor.
– Mark Haskins defeated Cedric Alexander with an armbar in an excellent match.
I was very impressed with how Haskins transitioned into a sharpshooter at one point and other cool reversals. Excellent match.
– Kyle O’Reilly defeated Matt Riddle when Riddle essentially pinned himself while having a submission on O’Reilly.
Excellent grappling style match. Riddle got the “please come back” chants. Everyone raves about Riddle for good reason. I know he’s got the issue with failing pot tests in UFC years ago which caused WWE not to sign him yet, but whether it’s New Japan or TNA, they should be on the phone with him yesterday because he has the potential to be one of the biggest stars in the business. He has incredible natural charisma.
– Will Ospreay, Ricochet & Matt Sydal defeated The Young Bucks & Adam Cole when the members of the winning team did simultaneous shooting star presses on all three members of the losing team.
You would expect a lot given who was in this match but it blew away any expectations. It had great spots, super heat, great timing with one exception and the last few minutes were mind blowing. Essentially you have the most physically talented wrestlers in the world on one side working with a team that knows this audience perfectly and all did everything under the sun.
Sydal & Ricochet topped the Meltzer Driver. The place was chanting five star match when it was over. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a tag team match this good.