06/15 Pruett's PWG Is Your Body Ready? Results and Review - Kevin Steen and Drake Younger steal the show, Sami Callihan and Adam Cole go 60 minutes after midnight, Samuray Del Sol impresses, and so much more!

By Will Pruett

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla - Is Your Body Ready
June 15, 2013 at The American Legion Hall in Reseda, CA

This show was set to begin at 8:00pm and didn't get going until 9:15pm. There were a ton of people buying tickets at the door. The standing room sections were packed. Despite the late start, the crowd was super energetic.

We began with Excalibur, the "Liaison to the PWG Board of Directors" running down the rules of the building. This ended with the traditional cry of "We Recycle."

1. The Incredible F*cking Machines (Brian Cage and Michael Elgin) defeated The RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma). Brian Cage, who the Reseda crowd loves, has taken to being a more muscular version of The Red Rooster. His hair looks weird, basically, and I'm pretty sure he has gotten bigger.

This was a classic power display match for Cage and Elgin, who fought against the conniving heel version of The RockNES Monsters. Most of the match featured the Monsters getting over-powered, almost losing, cheating, then finding their way back to offense where the cycle would begin again. Elgin ended this vicious (and very entertaining) cycle with his 360 Powerbomb to get the win for his team.

2. Kyle O'Reilly defeated Davey Richards. I saw these two tear the house down at the WCA show in April on Los Angeles in a more technical and serious match. They tore the house down again in PWG by mixing their technical prowess with a little bit of fun. Richards is very funny when he comes out of his shell. O'Reilly just gets better and better every time I see him.

This match had a lot of technical wrestling up front. They didn't resort to a ton of dives and other craziness. They rapid move flurries were what one expects from top caliber indie workers. Richards and O'Reilly put together a great match and executed it. O'Reilly got the win after hitting a strong series of moves for a near fall, then transitioning into some sort of arm lock. Richards quickly tapped.

After the match, Davey Richards gave his stereotypical Davey post-match promo putting over his opponent. I won't say O'Reilly didn't deserve the praise, but Davey tends to do this a little too often.

3. The Dojo Bros (Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong) defeated Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano. PWG loves Chuck Taylor an awful lot. He captures the spirit of comedy mixed with seriousness perfectly for this crowd. This match was a great example of this. He was chopped repeatedly, so he put on the hoodie Gargano wears to the ring. At one point, just as he was taking it off, he was chopped again. It was funny.

Edwards and Strong seemed to dominate this match. There were hope spots for Gargano and Taylor, but not many. I was surprised at Gargano's connection to the crowd, which I believed would be stronger. Perhaps these things just take more time.

4. Drake Younger defeated Kevin Steen. This match was pretty insane. Younger didn't resort to his standard death match style, but he did take some huge bumps. Kevin Steen was up for the task of taking huge bumps as well. This turned into a very entertaining brawl all over the building.

As one point, fans in the standing room seats were chanting about not being able to see. Kevin Steen suggested they buy front row next time. Kevin Steen is brilliant. The major spots in this match all happened around the ring and some even from the ring apron down into the crowd. It was intense and really fun.

PWG World Champion Adam Cole ran in towards the end and took Steen out with the title. He then went after Drake Younger, but was foiled. Younger was able to follow this attack and get a pinfall over Steen.

Intermission happened, which was a nice chance for everyone to regroup for the next two matches.

5. The Young Bucks defeated A.R. Fox and Samuray Del Sol. I have never seen Samuray Del Sol live and after doing so, I completely understand why WWE has signed him. The man is amazing. He's at a level I've only seem in guys like the younger version of Rey Mysterio. Del Sol is so smooth in the ring and so good at what he does. This match wasn't specifically built to showcase him, but it did. He's just that good.

The Young Bucks are consistently one of the most over acts in PWG. People hate them, but people also really love hating them. The Bucks play the undersized heel role really well. Their skills at working up the crowd and their athleticism combined here for a great effort.

A.R. Fox was great in this match, but he still needs to step up his game in multiple areas. He does a ton of moves, but he doesn't organically connect with the crowd. He is flashy and can fly, but he lacks a little in the charisma department. He was a great part of this match, but also the lesser part of it. He's an amazing talent and I believe he'll get there.

The match concluded (after a whole lot of flying and a whole lot of fun) with The Young Bucks hitting More Bang for your Buck on Del Sol and pinning him.

6. Adam Cole defeated Sami Callihan in a 60 minute Iron Man match. The final score was 6-5. This match began just before midnight. This is where the show got long. It was a really good match, but it was happening from midnight to 1:00am. Maybe I'm just an old man, but it was late.

Cole scored the first fall around 8 minutes in with a low blow. He scored the second by reversing a small package about thirty seconds later. Very soon after, Cole pinned Callihan again to go up three to zero. Cole taunted Callihan by running around the room discussing his three fall lead.

Around 29 minutes in Sami Callihan earned his first fall via his Stretch Muffler submission hold. He transitioned quickly to a rear naked choke for a second fall a minute later. Callihan and Cole then battled with back and forth roll-ups where Callihan was able to score two falls. Callihan was up 4-3 just past the half way point.

Cole managed to tie things up with a Straightjacket German Suplex around 37 minutes, then take the lead with a Canadian Destroyer and pin around 42 minutes. With just 12 minutes remaining, Callihan tied things at 5-5 with a roll-up. At 57 minutes, Adam Cole rolled Callihan up to take the lead with just three minutes to go.

Adam Cole tried to run away and run out the clock, making his way all over the building. Callihan pursued. With a minute left Callihan locked Cole in the Stretch Muffler, then transitioned it into a vicious looking half-crab with about 20 seconds left. The time ran out before Cole passed out in the hold, giving the win to Cole.

The match had its slow points, as one hour efforts often do. The crowd got a little quiet up until the finish. It wasn't amazing, but it was very good. People were engaged and Cole and Callihan worked really hard. The match is totally worth watching and was very very good.

After the match Cole and Callihan hugged and Cole looked to be celebrating Callihan, until he put the boots to him. Kevin Steen ran down from commentary and ran Cole out of the ring. Other members of the PWG roster came out to give a nice Reseda farewell to Sami Callihan. Callihan thanked the wrestlers and fans as the show ended.

Pruett's Pause: This was an excellent show. Yes, it was long and late, but the quality of the wrestling more than made up for it. Sami Callihan an Adam Cole left everything they had in the ring in a very good one hour match. Kevin Steen and Drake Younger had the match of the night. The Young Bucks vs. A.R. Fox and Samuray Del Sol tore the house down. This is not a show to be missed.

The question asked going into this show was if your body was ready. I'm not sure if an answer was ever given, but I can assure you my body was pretty psyched as the show ended. I haven't been to a bad show yet in Reseda. PWG is the best in independent professional wrestling today.