It's that time of year again, where PWG finally releases BOLA and I can finally stop tearing my hair out. This is probably my favourite tournament in wrestling and, no matter what the climate is in wrestling at the time, PWG manages to put together a list of entrants that has me intrigued. Without further ado, let's join Excalibur at the commentary booth shaped like a table and start the show.
Night 1
BOLA Round 1 - Adam Brooks vs Rey Horus
This was a good way to open the show, and I do enjoy a good Loose Ledge match. This match did go a bit too long and could have done with being about 5 minutes shorter but it wasn't the end of the world. Both men are entertaining competitors so they kept the crowd. After a ton of back and forth action, Horus won with a nasty looking Cazadora bomb from the top rope. ***1/2
BOLA Round 1 - Puma King vs Flamita
Well, this was a fucking blast to watch. Puma was immediately over with the crowd. This was pretty much exactly what you think of when you think of lucha libre, two flamboyantly attired masked wrestlers flying around like the laws of gravity don't apply to them. If that sounds good to you, it was, if not, there will be some big dudes kicking fuck out of each other later. Something for everyone in PWG. Flamita picked up the win with the phoenix splash. ****
BOLA Round 1 - CIMA vs Jody Fleisch
These men wrestled each other 19 years ago and here they are to do it again. The match started off strangely with a bit of slightly ill-fitting comedy but they got it together as it went on. They wrestled into the bar area at one stage, where Fleisch backflipped off a wall onto CIMA. Shame you couldn't see a lot as there was no real lighting in that area. CIMA picked up the win with the Meteora. This was probably the weakest match so far but it was still entertaining enough. ***
BOLA Round 1 - Bandido vs T-Hawk
Bandido is the breakout wrestler of 2018. The man does some crazy things. This was a great match that did exactly what it needed to. Both men looked great here and got to show what they are about without ever getting close to outstaying their welcome. Bandido won with his crazy backflip blockbuster. Best match of the tournament so far. ****1/4
BOLA Round 1 - David Starr vs Joey Janela
This one started off a bit disjointed but they managed to pull it together as it went on and it ended up being a very good match. It contained the typical crazy apron bumps you would expect from a Janela match and the finishing stretch was really good. Janela picked up the win with the superkick. ***1/2
BOLA Round 1 - Brody King vs PCO
The living legend and general all-around craziest man on the planet, PCO, makes his debut in PWG. This was the big dudes kicking fuck out of each other that I was on about earlier. PCO seriously gives zero fucks. At one stage he tries to do a moonsault to the apron, only to land on the top rope. This was the craziest fucking thing. In the end, King won with the Psycho Driver. I have no idea how to rate this. Somewhere between * and 1 million stars.
Ringkampf vs Ilja Dragunov & Shingo Takagi
This is Dragunov's first match outside of Europe. I was fucking hyped for this and it turned out I was right to be. This was one of my favourite tag team matches this year and it featured some of the most reliably great wrestlers doing what they do best. This featured great wrestling, hard hitting strikes, great near falls and almost anything else you could hope to see in a tag match. I loved this. ****3/4
Night 1 Grade - B+
A great first night of the tournament that featured three great matches, including a fantastic main event.
Night 2
BOLA Round 1 - Marko Stunt vs Trevor Lee
If you haven't seen Marko Stunt before, he is small. Really small. Trevor Lee is being a top notch dickhead and calls Stunt 'Super Dragon's kid'. Stunt replies by telling Lee he was old enough to fuck his mom. Classic. The match itself was fun but not really anything more than that. Lee won with the double stomp. ***
BOLA Round 1 - Sammy Guevara vs Jonah Rock
This was another good first round match. It will only really be remembered for one moment though, Guevara hitting a moonsault from the opera box. The rest of the match was good though, with Jonah picking up the win via submission. ***1/2
BOLA Round 1 - Robbie Eagles vs DJZ
This was a good match, but not as good as it could have been. Both of these men have had better matches this year and this one kind of felt like they were going at 75%. Having said that, 75% for these two is still pretty good. ***1/2
BOLA Round 1 - Jeff Cobb vs Darby Allin
Allin is the best, and craziest, bumper in wrestling today, and it made everything Cobb did look like it had killed him. There was a moment where Allin tried a Coffin Drop to the apron and I'm still amazed how Allin's back isn't crumbled. This was fun to watch with Cobb winning with a German suplex from the apron to the ring. It looked awesome. ***1/2
BOLA Round 1 - Ilja Dragunov vs Shingo Takagi
I've said it before but I love a good dream match that you didn't really know you wanted. While I don't think this was a blowaway classic or anything, it was probably my favourite tournament match so far. The second half of the match, in particular, was great stuff, with both men throwing bombs at the other to try and pick up the win which led to some really good near falls. In the end Shingo advanced with Made In Japan. ****1/4
BOLA Round 1 - WALTER vs Timothy Thatcher
These two had one of the best matches of the year at a PROGRESS show in February so the question was could this match live up to that one? Well, pretty much. While it definitely wasn't on the level of that match, very little is. This was still an excellent match that featured all of the hard hitting strikes and suplexes that you would expect from these two. WALTER picked up the win with a stiff lariat. Best match of the first round. ****1/2
CIMA, Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus
This is what would happen if you could turn up the speed of real life. There is absolutely no downtime in this and it featured a ton of innovative double and triple team moves, as well as some stuff that I have never seen before. Bandido's rolling springboard German suplex is one of the coolest moves I've ever seen. This was very similar to what you would expect from a Dragon Gate 6-man match and that is very much a good thing. CIMA and the Rascalz picked up the win with the assisted moonsault. Mileage may vary on this match depending on your preference to the style but I fucking loved it. ****3/4
Night 2 Grade - A-
The first half of the show was fun but forgettable, the second was fantastic. There were a few lighting issues that caused an issue but it was nothing major. The DVD edit of this show is breezy as hell too, running at under 2 hours.
Night 3
BOLA Round 2 - Brody King vs Trevor Lee
A good start to the final night of action. Once again Lee cuts a quality promo before the match starts, claiming that King goes to Good Charlotte gigs. The match played out with King trying to use his size to take out Lee. It wasn't to be for the big man though as he fell to the moonsault body press. ***1/2
BOLA Round 2 - Jeff Cobb vs Rey Horus
This was a decent match but it suffered by being too close to the match that Cobb had the previous night with Darby Allin. That match was the better of the two though. ***
BOLA Round 2 - Shingo Takagi vs Robbie Eagles
This was an excellent match that built very well throughout and peaked nicely at the end. I was pretty confident heading in that Shingo was going to win but they did an excellent job of making me seriously doubt myself. Both men got their chance to shine and this was an excellent example of how you can raise your stock, even in defeat, as Eagles looked a million bucks here. Shingo advanced with a modified STF. ****1/4
BOLA Round 2 - CIMA vs Joey Janela
You knew that you were going to get some comedy and a bit of craziness with this one and that is exactly how it played out. This was fun enough but there wasn't really anything to write home about other than the, admittedly good, kickout filled finish. Janela picked up the surprise victory with a superkick. ***
BOLA Round 2 - WALTER vs Jonah Rock
This was one of those matches that benefitted from being short as both men could essentially just throw everything at the match for 5 minutes and have a good big man match that didn't need to slow down. Rock stealing moves from The Rock and Roman Reigns did a great job of making the fans want to see him get a hole chopped into his chest too. WALTER won with a powerbomb. ***
BOLA Round 2 - Bandido vs Flamita
This was a wildly entertaining encounter, which is not a surprise at all really. These two are just so damn smooth in everything that they do, and they are both only 23 years old. This was lucha of the highest quality with each man trying to top what the other had just done, and coming with imaginative new ways to do it. I think this could have gone either way and the crowd wouldn't have minded but it was Bandido who picked up the win with his crazy springboard German suplex. ****1/2
PWG Tag Titles - The Rascalz vs Lucha Bros
The Rascalz are dressed as the Lucha Bros and Xavier does a great impression of Penta. The comedy doesn't last that long though and what we get is a match that is every bit as good as you would expect from these two teams. While it wasn't a classic by any means, it contained all of the highspots you could want. The champions picked up the win with the assisted moonsault. ****1/4
BOLA Semi-Final - Jeff Cobb vs Trevor Lee
Lee tries to talk shit again but Cobb murders him in about 15 seconds. Good stuff. NR
BOLA Semi-Final - Joey Janela vs Bandido
Firstly, your appreciation for this match will be based on how much you like Janela's style. Secondly, this was awesome. Batshit crazy, but awesome. It started out relatively normal but from the moment Janela shouted 'Fuck Cornette!' while hitting a DVD on the apron this went up a notch. Bandido hit his flippy mega German onto a set up chair and it looked like Janela was dead. In the end, Bandido did pick up the win with his moonsault body press blockbuster thing through a bunch of set up chairs. Janela has a death wish. ****1/2
BOLA Semi-Final - WALTER vs Shingo Takagi
It constantly amazes me that Shingo is a Jr heavyweight as he always comes across as a power heavyweight. This was the equivalent of driving two diamond tanks at each other until one of them breaks. What I'm saying is, it was fucking great. This was the best type of nasty, with tons of stiff strikes and suplexes. WALTER looked to have it won but Shingo hit a brutal looking Pumping Bomber to pick up the win and cause Excalibur to lose his mind. Excellent. ****1/2
Team PCO (PCO, Jody Fleisch, Darby Allin, Dan Barry & Puma King) vs Team DJZ (DJZ, Timothy Thatcher, David Starr, Adam Brooks & T-Hawk)
It's clusterfuck time, motherfuckers! I am generally a fan of these matches as they provide a palette cleanser to the more serious aspects of the tournament. It would be impossible to mention everything that happens here but some of the more memorable moments include PCO being shot by finger guns and PCO hitting a tombstone and 2 chokeslams simultaneously. The whole thing was bonkers and thoroughly enjoyable, but if you don't like comedy wrestling then this is definitely not for you. Yeah, I'm not rating this.
BOLA Final - Shingo Takagi vs Jeff Cobb vs Bandido
This match started off surprisingly slowly and, even more surprisingly, Shingo was eliminated in less than 10 minutes. When the match became a one-on-one, though, it became a wonderful thing. They worked really well together but it was the last 10 minutes of the match where they really shined. The finishing section of this contains some of the best and most convincing false finishes of the year and because of this, the crowd was hanging on every move. It really was a wonderful way to finish off both the tournament and this great night of wrestling. My rating would be higher here if the first 10 minutes had been better. ****1/2
Night 3 Grade - A+
It has to be an A+ really as there are 6 matches that are above ****. There isn't much else I need to say really. Watch it.
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