Preview: PWG Time Is A Flat Circle (3/23/18)

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla announced due to an issue with PayPal, front row and general admission for PWG Time Is A Flat Circle on March 23 oversold and a bigger venue would be used to accommodate everyone. That venue ended up being changed from the American Legion Hall in California to the Globe Theatre in Broadway, Los Angeles. This is the first time the company will be leaving the American Legion Hall since Kurt Russellreunion 3 in 2012. It’s a welcome change to a business model that needed to appease more fans and reach a wider audience. Los Angeles will be treated to some of the best from around the world and some debuts to PWG. The matchmaking is always the real gem of PWG and the seven matches on this show look to make this one of the best wrestling shows so far this year, with a first time main event for the PWG World Championship.

Joey Janela vs. Rey Horus

“The Bad Boy” Joey Janela has impressed and won over a lot of people since coming to PWG the last year and his style is perfectly suited for Rey Horus. Janela, best known from Combat Zone Wrestling, is a daredevil unlike maybe any other in independent wrestling with his pendant for innovating with steel chairs and other weapons. There will be dangerous top rope risks in this match and Rey Horus would benefit from scouting his opponent before hand since these two have never met one-on-one. Horus is Dragon Azteca Jr on Lucha Underground and he wrestles for The Crash in Mexico as well, there aren’t many better in the air than Rey Horus. We can expect Janela to attempt top rope senton’s but he may crash and burn allowing Rey Horus to pick up the big singles victory he needs to help establish himself.
Predicted winner: Rey Horus

Scarlet & Graves (Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz) vs. Flamita and Bandido

Zachary Wentz and Dezmond Xavier are known as Scarlet And Graves and have branched out from Dayton, Ohio to the rest of the world in the past couple years to become breakout sensations in singles and tag team ranks. Bandido is a twelve year veteran from Puerto Rico and he has been both a teammate and rival to Wentz in Dragon Gate the past few months. Flamita has become a PWG regular and is a former Battle Of Los Angeles competitor, he also may be the best aerialist in this tag team match. It will be a very even contest because what Wentz and Xavier lack in experience they make for with flawless teamwork. It would be terrific if Zachary Wentz and Dezmond Xavier became a regular tag team in PWG and were to challenge for the PWG tag team Championships against The Chosen Bros (Matt Riddle and Jeff Cobb.) It looks like we may see a Spiral Tap from Xavier and a spectacular win for the former AAW Pro tag team champions.

Four-Way: Brody King vs. Jake Atlas vs. Eli Everfly vs. Douglas James

Here we have a match involving four debuts to PWG in a special Four-Way match but one man stands out from the pack. Brody King has only been wrestling for two years but he has the size advantage and was recently photographed at the New Japan Pro Wrestling Los Angeles dojo with new head trainer Katsuyori Shibata. All competitors are making waves in the Southern California Indy scene and trained at the Santino Bros. Wrestling Academy. Twenty-three year old Jake Atlas was the 2017 Southern California rookie of the year and Douglas James has been wrestling UK standout Jordan Devlin in PCW Ultra as of late. Eli Everfly has one of the best finishing moves in wrestling, a double-underhook Canadian Destroyer. This looks like a win for Brody King but any one of these hungry young athletes could make a serious name out of themselves in Los Angeles.

Jonah Rock vs. Jeff Cobb

A clash of the titans would be the best way to describe this heavyweight battle with Jonah Rock and Jeff Cobb both weighing in at almost 280 pounds. That mass will not make it easy for Cobb attempting Suplexes and Rock probably won’t be rag dolled the way smaller men have been thrown by “Mr Athletic.” Jonah Rock has come from Australia to North America and the United Kingdom in a big way with classics against Zack Sabre Jr. PWG has become a mixture of wresters of all sizes and talents but it’s only a matter of time before Jonah Rock faces Walter and Keith Lee as well. Jonah Rock could be on the lookout for Tour Of The Islands and waiting for his moment to nail a massive Frogsplash. Jeff Cobb will have to focus on his PWG tag team Championship with Matt Riddle and what challengers await after this slug-fest.

Will Ospreay vs. Adam Brooks

“The Aerial Assassin” touched down in Australia last year to attempt to raise the worlds awareness of the great wrestling there and amazing matches with Robbie Eagles and Adam Brooks quickly ensued. MCW was the home to the Brooks vs. Ospreay rivalry and it’s taking the world by storm now, most recently at PROGRESS Wrestling in January. The speed and skill between these two is almost unparalleled with that Cruiserweight style, Brooks can hit a top rope hurricanrana one moment and hit a Canadian Destroyer on the apron the next moment. Even if the venue is bigger, fans should still watch out for flying suicide dives. Brooks is one of the most underrated heels today, using the old-school approach of distracting the referee to gain the advantage. This time though the Ospreay could see that coming and out-think while out-flying Brooks one more time. This rivalry is lighting the world on fire but it is just getting started.

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Matt Riddle

Zack Sabre Jr has evolved from young “Technical Wizard” to cocky champion that is capable of breaking down and submitting anyone in the world. Sabre is the current reigning British Heavyweight champion for RevPro and the EVOLVE Wrestling champion although he no longer holds the PWG title and the man that beat him, Chuck Taylor, is now a two-time PWG Champion. Matt Riddle is arguably the most popular performer in PWG whether he is in a tag team or as a singles competitor. Riddle has stacked up wins against the biggest names today from Adam Cole to Drew McIntyre. Sabre and Riddle have an in-ring approach that is so similar, using the ground game to pick apart the opponent but Sabre has the edge in past meetings. Sabre has already defeated “The King Of Bros” twice, with a rollup in RevPro and by submission in an EVOLVE champion vs. WWN Live champion showcase match. Matt Riddle should turn the tide and beat the former champion on route to a PWG World Championship match in the near future.

PWG World Championship: Chuck Taylor vs. Keith Lee

“Limitless” Keith Lee receives his first PWG World Championship match and it’s one of the biggest matches of his 13 year career. Lee has been the face of Beyond Wrestling and he is the current WWN Live champion in EVOLVE Wrestling but the rabid fans in PWG have taken him in as their own. Keith Lee can do almost anything between the ropes from a moonsault to the most huge Sitout Powerbomb in wrestling. Chuck Taylor lost and regained the PWG World championship to Ricochet on Ricochet’s exit from the company. Now that Taylor is on his second defense after beating Best Friend partner Trent? could the fairytale be over for “The Kentucky Gentleman?” The crowd would be in for a shock if Taylor retains, this is a rare instance where the champion is the underdog. It seems likely Lee wins cleanly with the Spirit Bomb but maybe Taylor is more cunning than we all think and he retains with the usage of the ropes or a victory roll. This would hopefully not turn Taylor into a heel, it would just make him resourceful in a tough situation.