PWG An Inch Longer Than Average, Los Angeles, CA
This is at the Westside Jewish Community Center with about 155 fans in attendance, PWG’s fifth-ever show and years before Dave Meltzer proclaimed it the only indie on the planet that mattered because he didn’t want to watch video of any of the other ones, and refused to accept that many of the matches that PWG booked had happened elsewhere first and it was just the local bringing in a touring match.
Now don’t get hard, I don’t hate Meltzer, and in fact I think it’s kind of sweet that in a world of expanding video and later live streaming options, Dave chose to treat it like the territory days without magazines. If it didn’t happen in the Los Angeles area, brother, it didn’t matter.
(Requests open and tips always appreciated!)
This is also before they figured out how to do commentary on PWG shows that wasn’t a couple of bored guys talking over everything later with zero attempt at mixing the sound, so I really mean they are talking over the action.
This is actually supposed to be Samoa Joe vs Hardkore Kidd (Aaron Aguilera, who was also Jesus in WWE and stabbed John Cena so he could go film a movie), but before HK can come out, commissioner Paul T, who was involved in early PWG, I wanna say 2003-04. They talk over his promo, which is great production. Then there’s some of that fun racism of the time, that real zany stuff. Anyway, Paul T introduces a replacement, CM Punk, who is making his SoCal debut. Punk is allegedly “a very big name on the East Coast”; to people in California, Kentucky and Indiana were the East Coast still. Might still be.
A very tired Excalibur notes that they’re recording their commentary at 4:38 am.
Little circle, Joe throws a high roundhouse kick, Punk steps back and avoids it. Lock-up, Joe to the hammerlock, then a side headlock. Over to a standing wristlock, reversed by Punk, fireman’s carry from Joe into an armbar.
Punk stands up, little trip, one count. Excalibur notes Samoa Joe “likes the beers” but “doesn’t drink to excess.” Punk off the ropes, drop down, Punk with a headlock takeover after stopping short instead of going to the other side of the ropes.
Standing up in the headlock, Punk sent off the ropes, ducks a kick but gets caught with a nasty backdrop driver! Punk whipped to the corner, running knee from Joe connects. Snapmare, chop to the back, kick to the chest, off the ropes with the big kneedrop. Classic Joe. VINTAGE! Joe was really starting to get his style and aura cooking at this point, really putting it together.
Big backbreaker from Joe. Joe trying to turn over a Boston crab, but Punk is blocking, so Joe just kicks him in the spine until he stops blocking. There’s that goofy Boston crab with the legs up high, hands around the knees, that probably does have a name but neither me nor Excalibur can remember right now.
Punk trying to fight back here, throwing some shots, hits a missile dropkick to the back. Punk hadn’t abandoned the flying to the point he would later, never entirely but he was still doing more jumping and shit at this point. It was never his strong suit, and he figured that out as he sanded down the edges, as wrestlers do.
Punk trying to get on the knee of the big man. Joe wants to fight out of that leglock, but Punk hangs on as much as he can. More knee work before Joe finally gets the bottom rope to force a break.
Snapmare from Punk and he stomps the knee, then a dropkick to the face. Kneebreaker from Punk. Chops from Punk, those annoy Joe so he turns it around, and then Punk turns it around for an eye gouge. Smart move, probably.
There’s the STJoe in the corner. More mild commentary racism. Joe wants the ole chant but doesn’t really get it so he moves on. Joe eats a banana that someone brought because it’s Pro Wrestling Gorilla. It is not, of course.
Back in the ring. Joe going for a power bomb, Punk armdrags out, then a shining wizard hits. I would like to salute all of you who like me lived through the shining wizard era of indie wrestling. It overlapped with the beginnings of the Canadian Destroyer era, which at this point is basically a meme move, and nobody does the shining wizard anymore.
Joe with a short lariat, just obliterates Punk. Joe with a bow and arrow submission now, Punk falls on him for a two count which is the only end result of a bow and arrow, really. A little trade of offense and pin attempts, Joe winds up with a rear naked choke but Punk has the bottom rope quickly.
Joe puts Punk up top, but Punk hammers on the back with forearms. And now it’s a Pepsi Plunge attempt. It’s not gonna happen, of course. Joe’s weight blocks as much as anything. Punk tries a sunset flip bomb or something, but winds up on the apron because Joe doesn’t budge, but then Punk comes back with a dragon screw from the second rope, something Joe did to him in Connecticut in their first match three months earlier.
This match hits a fair few of the same beats as that one, actually. Not as much focused arm and leg work because it’s not part of what they’re doing in this company. Joe gets two on a power bomb, then floats into the STF, something he surely taught fellow UPW alum John Cena.
Punk again gets the rope, and now Joe wants to do the Island Fucking Driver. The Island Fucking Driver fails, Punk goes to the knee, shining wizard blocked and Joe gets the dragon screw, STF, and Punk taps out. Basically the finish they did in ROH in August. You gotta remember that even if 2003 wasn’t the ancient days, it was well before everyone saw everything immediately or close to immediately, you were still waiting a while for home video, people were making DVDs but still VHS tapes, too.
This is better than the ROH match. Probably a few things factoring in there. They had any familiarity with working together this time, and also they weren’t beholden to the overall stories of Ring of Honor, which I think they used to their benefit for this match. They hit a lot of the same beats, as I said, but not so much centering on Joe’s knee or Punk’s arm, and thus the match flowed more. It is very much a wrestling match for the sake of a wrestling match, and Punk never did quite fit into PWG (or seem to like it very much).
Tape Machines Are Rolling 