PWG 'Threemendous IV' results and live report

Southern California's Pro Wrestling Guerrilla held its twelfth anniversary show on Friday night, "Threemendous IV." The event featured a big return, a big debut and the continuation of a big angle. The end result was one of the tightest events they've run in a while and a show that you should probably check out when it hits DVD.

The full results and thoughts from Friday night's show:

Excalibur kicked things off with an opening address, as per usual. Interesting to note that his official title is now "Liaison to the Board of Directors." He complained that he urged the Board of Directors to sanction or punish Mount Rushmore 2.0 for their heinous actions at the end of the last event, "Mystery Vortex 3." Excalibur revealed that the Board of Directors instead opted to give the four men (the Young Bucks, Roderick Strong and Super Dragon) a stiff rebuke, meaning that Mount Rushmore 2.0 basically has free reign to run roughshod over PWG. Foreshadowing for later in the evening, perhaps?

Team Tremendous (Dan Barry & Bill Carr) def. The World's Cutest Tag Team (Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan)

One thing that PWG has always excelled at is a fun, raucous opening match to get the crowd pumped up. This match delivered in spades. Team Tremendous continues to shine everywhere they go, making a slew of new fans with each match they get. This set the tone for the evening, as all four wrestlers had a short, extremely fun match, playing off all their strengths. Candice keeps getting better and hitting harder, which is a lot of fun to see. Team Tremendous hit their doomsday shiranui to get the pin.

(It is worth noting that Dave Meltzer was in attendance and sitting in the front row. Before this match started, the crowd insisted that Joey Ryan give his blow pop to Meltzer, but the Wrestling Observer founder politely declined, much to everyone's chagrin.)

Brian Cage def. Johnny Gargano

The only two matches on the card that didn't come together exceptionally well were the next two on the card, which halted the momentum somewhat, but it's good that they didn't come later in the evening and potentially kill the crowd. Cage and Gargano were both trying their hardest and the match started well, with Gargano taking the attack right to Cage with intensity to try and make up for the size disparity. Unfortunately, these two didn't really end up gelling well together and for whatever reason, they both seemed off during the match. Cage eventually hit the Weapon X for the pin.

Andrew Everett def. Rich Swann

I don't know when this happened, but Rich Swann appears to have a new gimmick of sorts, with a shaggy haircut, a more intense demeanor and a swank new jean vest for his entrance, which has a Metallica ... And Justice For All patch on the back and another patch that reads, "WILL WRESTLE FOR FOOD." This match never really got firing on all cylinders, largely because the wrestlers appeared to be telling two different stories. Everett was sort of smug and not taking anything seriously, while Swann was pissed off the whole time and really taking the fight to him. A variation on this would be done to better effect later, but Everett never really changed it up and got to the second part of whatever story he was telling. He did, however, get the win after hitting a shooting star press.

Trevor Lee def. Tomasso Ciampa

This was an incredible match. Both men came in pissed off and looking to hurt the other. Just a brutal match that never let up. You're going to want to check this one out, trust me. Lee eventually hit a small package driver for the win.

"Speedball" Mike Bailey def. Chris Hero

For me, this was the match of the night. Hero is really on to something here, portraying the pissed off old samurai who can't believe some goof in a gi and no shoes is stepping into HIS ring. I felt this was easily a four-star match and Hero has always been a guy who loves giving newer wrestlers a chance to shine. This was really something special. Hero hit a succession of elbows on Bailey and was going for a big move to put him away, but Bailey hit a desperation roll-up and got the win.

Ricochet def. Akira Tozawa

This was Tozawa's big return to PWG since going back to Japan full-time, so the crowd was destined to be into this. They had a wonderfully fun little match that was built around two terrific friends just trying to one-up one another. Lots of big, athletic moves that culminated in Ricochet hitting a spinning cradle Michinoku Driver for the pinfall.

At the end of the Tozawa-Ricochet match, Mount Rushmore 2.0 (sans Roderick Strong, who was of course at the Ring of Honor iPPV) came out to wreak havoc on the two men, as Super Dragon came out to do some violence and was joined by THE YOUNG BUCKS IN SUPER DRAGON MASKS.

SUPER BUCKS pic.twitter.com/84kWKNa9wW

— Bill Hanstock (@sundownmotel) July 25, 2015

The PWG locker room emptied out, but all caught the wrong end of a Mount Rushmore 2.0 beatdown. Finally, a returning Jack Evans and a debuting Angélico ran out to clear the ring and referee Rick Knox called for the bell, starting the wild main event.

PWG World Tag Team Championship Match: The Young Bucks (c) def. Jack Evans and Angélico

Pretty much nonstop action in this one, which was a giddy sprint. One of the highlights included Evans hitting a move and going for the pin with his bridging cover, then getting hit by a swanton. Angélico had some crazy dives and the Bucks retained after hitting a Meltzer Driver onto the floor, then hitting More Bang For Your Buck on Evans.

Overall, this was a delightfully compact show, with something for everyone and no real lulls. Definitely worth checking out whenever it hits DVD. I can't wait for this year's Battle of Los Angeles in August, which will feature the debuts of several Lucha Underground stars ... including Pentagón Jr.