Retro Rowe: PWG Smokey and the Bandido 2018

PWG: Smokey and the Bandido
October 18, 2018

(Originally Written in November 2019)

Survivor Series 2019 is tonight, but I don't feel like watching it. Instead, let's take a look at a PWG DVD taped last year, featuring a slew of guys who are having a great 2019, or are poised for a big 2020. I honestly don't remember how this DVD made it onto my shelf, must have been an impulse buy at a live event.

From the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, California The house is packed. Our hosts is Excalibur.

Darby Allin vs. Trevor Lee

Lee cuts a promo beforehand, making excuses for losing to Jeff Cobb in seconds. Lee runs Allin down for coming across like a backyard wrestler. Lee gives Allin a chair and dares him to do the only trash wrestling move he knows. Allin thinks about it but tosses the weapon, Lee ambushes with an attempted German, but Allin lands on his feet and goes on a flurry. Allin's flipping stunner gets 2. Allin's suicide dive sends them into the fans. Lee tries to shove the ref into Allin on the ropes and hits a blind low blow to gain control. Lee launches Allin over the ropes for a wild fall. Allin slugs his way out of a backbreaker stretch. Allin manages a springboard crossbody and mounts the wrist for targeted blows and headbutts. They trade counters and Allin springboards into a tornado body press for 2. Lee answers with a backbreaker off the buckles. Allin lights up Lee's chest and delivers a Destroyer for 2. Allin hits a COFFIN DROP TO RINGSIDE! Back to the ring, Lee counters with a nasty backbreaker for 2. A fan tosses duct tape to Lee, and he ties Allin's hands behind his back (aaaaahhh, this is very much like what happened with Allin vs. Chris Jericho on AEW Dynamite in 2019). Lee launches Allin into the air for a terrible landing on his shoulder and head. Allin, hands tied and all, manages a standing dropkick, springboard shoulder tackle, and tope suicida! Allin runs into Lee's leaping double stomp to the chest and it's over at 13:59! Tons of fun to see Allin tinkering with underdog spots before reaching a bigger audience. Lee came across like a true d!ckhead. For a company that gets sh!t on constantly for being "indie-riffic" this featured a ton of great babyface/heel character work, ***½.
Winner: Trevor Lee

Retro Rowe: NJPW Climax 2018 (Part 15)

NJPW G1 Climax 28 (Night 15)

August 5, 2018

-From Osaka, Japan. Our hosts are Kevin Kelly and Rocky Romero.

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii and SHO) vs. IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson and Shota Umino

It's kind of funny how much of a size advantage Robinson has over the rather scary Ishii, and he wins a running-the-ropes exchange with a shoulder block. Umino tags and Ishii no-sells everything he does. SHO tags and continues to beat up on the young lion. Umino gets tired of being disrespected and finally hits Ishii hard enough for a reaction, and follows with a missile drop-kick. Robinson returns and dominates Ishii with a cannonball. Ishii is selling injuries from his Omega match and is in a daze while Robinson jabs him. Ishii saves himself with a vertical suplex and tags in SHO, who gets dropped hard. Umino gets a hot tag of sorts and manages a spinebuster on Ishii. Robinson spinebusters SHO and sets him up for Umino's missile drop-kick. Ishii saves SHO From the Boston Crab, and Robinson dispatches him with a crossbody to the floor. Umino hangs with SHO for a while but succumbs to a bridged German suplex at 8:12. Just a match, but a good showing for the young guys, **.
Winners: SHO and Tomohiro Ishii

Retro Rowe: NJPW Climax 2018 (Part 14)

NJPW G1 Climax (Part 14)

August 4, 2018 

(Originally written in August 2018)

-So, when the G1 Tournament first started, I felt like I had to either review the entire thing (which was never going to happen) or none of it. I feel like recapping some of the later shows in the tournament might be a good compromise. Full disclosure, I'm skipping ahead of several shows in the tournament because it started while I was away and I have been unable to catch up, so it's getting to the now or never portion of the summer.

-From Osaka, Japan. Our hosts on the English broadcast are Kevin Kelly and Rocky Romero.

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Loa) vs. CHAOS (SHO and YOSHI-HASHI)

YOSHI-HASHI's shoulder is taped up so he's an easy target for Fale and has to fight an uphill battle. He has a better time against Loa, who suffers combination offense from CHAOS. Loa regains his composure and hits a delayed vertical suplex on SHO. Loa remains largely in control of the match until he hits his modified piledriver, eloquently known as "Apeshit" for the win at 5:33. Not much to this opener, as the CHAOS guys were presented as too banged up or inexperienced to hang, *½.
Winners: Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Loa

Retro Rowe: NJPW G1 Special in San Francisco 2018

NJPW G1 Special in San Francisco

July 7, 2018 

-From the Cow Palace in Daly City, er "San Francisco", California. Our hosts on the English broadcast are Jim Ross and Josh Barnett. Fan attendance seems to have filled the floor area and parts of the lower bowl, not sure if this is considered a success or not.

CHAOS (Rocky Romero, Sho, Yoh, YOSHI-HASHI, and Gedo) vs. Bullet Club (King Haku, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens)

Haku still looks like he could murder you just by looking at you. Haku is too tough for Sho to handle. Romero tags and is not intimidated by Loa's size advantage or smack talk, and delivers a hurricanrana. Owens drives Romero into the turnbuckles for a vicious Stinger Splash by Tonga! Romero kicks out of Haku's piledriver, but gets stuck in the Bullet Club corner. Romero saves himself with a double head scissors counter and YOSHI-HASHI gets a hot tag to clean house. Tonga cuts off the comeback, but Gedo gets him with jabs and chinbreaker. The match breaks down and it's "let the bodies hit the floor" time. Haku pops the crowd by grabbing Gedo in the Tongan death grip and serving him up for Tonga's stun gun for the win at 9:20. The Tongan family reunion elevated this above being an average filler opener, **�.
Winners: Bullet Club

Retro Rowe: NJPW New Beginning in Osaka 2014 Review

NJPW New Beginning in Osaka

February 11, 2014

-From Osaka, Japan.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:
The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) (c) vs. Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA)

I find it interesting that the Young Bucks are heels almost everywhere they go now, you'd think their flashy offense and small size would make them natural baby faces. They make their heel act work by letting their talents go to their heads, but it's still a bit backwards. Nick and KUSHIDA show off with a stalemate sequence. Shelley tags and fights out of the Bucks corner with quick hip tosses and arm drags. Shelley hits a stunner onto the rope but gets tripped off the apron, but KUSHIDA saves with quick attacks, including a seated senton off the apron. The Time Splitters work together to set up a chancery/drop-kick to the face spot. The Bucks rebound to drop-kick Shelley off the apron and isolate him with creative blind tags and even knocking KUSHIDA off the apron to prevent a tag. KUSHIDA gets the inevitable hot tag and shows off his athleticism while cleaning house. He puts one Jackson through the guard rail with a top rope dive, but fails to pin the other Jackson with a Frog Splash. KUSHIDA counters into a Tornado DDT on Nick for only 2. The Young Bucks fluster KUSHIDA with quick attacks (including a Sliced Bread #2 off each other). Nick accidentally hits Matt with an enziguri, but Matt still counters Shelley's flying cross body. Shelley arranges another enziguri miscue, leading to a series of shots to the head. Matt still kicks out! Nick barely saves Matt from being pinned after a moonsault. The Young Bucks deliver a springboard Tombstone piledriver combo on Shelley, but KUSHIDA saves the match. KUSHIDA back handsprings into dual super kicks and suffers More Bang For Your Buck for the loss at 13:02. Hot opener and ambitious spot-fest here. It's hard not to respect the Young Bucks after that performance, ***1/2.
Winners and still IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: The Young Bucks

Retro Rowe: NJPW/CMLL FantasticaMania 2014 Review

NJPW Presents CMLL FantasticaMania
January 19, 2014

-From Tokyo, Japan. I will gladly admit I haven't watched much Lucha, so this review could get hairy.

Maximo and Mascara Don vs. Taka Michinoku and Taichi

Maximo is playing a flamboyantly gay gimmick and flirts with Taichi. They exchange arm drags, with Maximo scoring a head scissors takedown. Mascara Don squares off with Michinoku in a more serious fashion. Taichi stops Mascara from a running dive and chokes him with a hammer at ringside. Taichi gets away with using his weapon in the ring, as he and Taka isolate Maximo. Taichi tries to remove Mascara's mask and gets pretty close (to massive crowd heat). Maximo makes a comeback and lands a nice suicide dive on Taichi. Taka scores a flying cross body on Maximo, and Mascara sets up a dive onto everyone else (including his partner). Back to the ring, Taichi rips his pants off to signal the end, but gets caught in a Mascara torture rack. Mascara lands a double missile drop-kick and clotheslines Taka for a near fall. Mascara stumbles through a springboard but holds Taka still for a French kiss from Maximo. Mascara forces Michinoku to submit to his Don de Mariposa at 10:15. Energetic opener that got the crowd going, **3/4.
Winners: Mascara Don and Maximo

New Japan Wrestle Kingdom 2014 Review

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VIII

January 4, 2014

-From Tokyo, Japan.

Originally written in January 2014.

IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship:
The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) (c) vs. The Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA) vs. Suzuki-gun (Taka Michinoku and Taichi) vs. Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero)

The Time Splitters drive an effin' DELOREAN onto the stage. That's badass and they know it. Suzuki-gun try to top that entrance with an entourage of girls. It's a bit surreal seeing all these American independent stars performing in front of a gigantic crowd at the Tokyo Dome, with major league production values. Koslov attempts to sing the Russian national anthem but is interrupted by Young Buck super kicks. The match is off and running with quick double team spots by the Bucks. The Time Splitters signal dives, but the Hooligans trip them up. Romero goes nuts with repeated clotheslines on Shelley, and Koslov lifts him for a running knee to the chest. Koslov gets in his Russian dancing but Suzuki-gun toss him and take turns mocking his customs. Everyone locks up for a quadruple suplex. Cue the diving sequence! The Bucks top it off with a superplex to the floor on the others. Everyone is nearly counted out, which incites some laughter from the crowd. The match breaks down with everyone picking their spots in the ring. The Young Bucks hit a nasty looking springboard Tombstone piledriver combo for a near fall. They finish Taichi with MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK at 10:35. Nothing like a good spot-fest to open any show, ***.
Winners and still IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions: The Young Bucks