Matt and Nick Jackson © vs Kevin Steen and El Generico – PWG
PWG World Tag Team Titles Match
01/12/2013
You cannot begrudge a ‘local boy’ done good. In a global phenomenon such as wrestling, belonging in terms of proximity to a promotion or venue is rare, yet when you build your name, your persona and your wrestling identity in a place which has a specific three letters on the marquee, the fans begin to feel like you are one of their own. Even though they want to see you achieve to the best of your ability, though that inevitably means outgrowing them, there is still going to be that small shard of bitterness and regret that the next time you will see them, that feeling of intimacy will be gone, or even worse, it will be when they are on the way down, spat out by the corporate machine.
When El Generico showed up for the annual PWG DDT4 tournament at the start of 2013, his departure for the WWE was imminent. What better event to see out his time in PWG than at the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament, an event he had won alongside Paul London. This time, he teamed with a man that had been up and down the road with him many times, both as friend and as an enemy, Kevin Steen. The Canadian duo saw themselves past The Briscoe Brothers and Future Shock (Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly) respectively to make their way into the final. With the punch-them-in-the-mouth arrogance of their opposition, The Young Bucks, and the fans’ legitimate love for Generico, this promised to be a truly great sendoff. Young Bucks using their title belts as a weapon pre-bell, eliciting a ‘Fuck the Young Bucks’ chant, just set the tone from the very beginning.
PWG shows have a specific, and very diehard, audience, both in the building and who follow along via DVDs and the internet. With an apron bump by Nick Jackson within the first three minutes, there aren’t many punches that are pulled in terms of big time moves and impressive spots; a generally divisive style, but one that is often exciting to see in motion. Your mileage on this match can probably be measured by the extent you enjoy watching a handspring into a back rake – something that works for me.
In a booking move that is simple, but very effective, Generico plays the face in peril role, a position that seems him subjected to many of the Buck’s more derisory manoeuvres, including multiple nonchalant pins. A tag following an exploder suplex into the corner finally allows the crowd favourites to finally take the fight to their opponents, with Generico landing a somersault senton to the outside. We even get a double Sharpshooter spot, apropos for a Canadian team, even if Roderick Strong on commentary does point out – rightly – that Generico’s version is awful.
Thirteen minutes in sees the first Young Buck’s superkick, and the tally rises sharply in the next minute as both Bucks go to town on first Steen and then Generico. With Steen out on the floor courtesy of a somersault dive, Generico is left alone and vulnerable. More Bang For Your Buck (rolling samoan/450 splash/moonsault combo) soon follows, as a member of the crowd gets close to the ring and implores Generico to ‘kick out!’.
A millisecond before the hand drops for three, he manages just that. Could the impossible actually be on? It wouldn’t be the first time someone won a title on their last night in a company, and you feel a sense of the crowd suddenly beginning to believe. A Steinalizer on Matt is followed by a Helluva Kick and Brainbuster drops Nick hard into the turnbuckle.
It’s just a shame the Young Bucks superkicked the referee after Generico kicked out of the MBFYB.
We get the visual three count, and even a neat little exchange between Rick Knox (the substitute referee) and Matt, as the count is interrupted, Matt is superkicked by the referee and we get an oh-so-close nearfall. It was never going to be. A package piledriver from Steen that was supposed to roll Matt into the waiting arms of Generico saw the masked luchador rolled into a small package for the flash three count.
Just for a moment, PWG drew the fans in to believing that perhaps, just perhaps, El Generico might win the title with Kevin Steen on his final night in the promotion. People wanted to believe in it; that is the beauty of wrestling. Maybe if he won the title, we could believe that he’d be there at the next show, booting people in the face and dropping them head first on turnbuckles. Instead, we got the locker room emptying and true respect from the loyal PWG fans before Generico would rise again in the WWE as Sami Zayn. Rarely has a ‘you deserve it’ chant had such genuine and legitimate feeling behind it.
