Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG)

[9.0] "The single greatest Indie promotion and one of the most important and influential movements of this century for the artform."

"Gonna leave only comments on promotions since its too hard to rate promotions, personally, due to a variety of reasons such as how every company has its highs and lows (for the most part) and it's hard to balance out. Before I start, I want to make it clear that I don't consider myself a supporter of promotions as I think that support should be directed towards the talent no matter what, tribalism is lame. I've mainly seen matches from this promotion aside from a few shows I've rated. But even with that, I can say that there's a lot that I like, I love that their shows would have fans surround the ring as you watched the matches up close (I wish I had a chance to go back in time and watch them for myself), the variety this product showcased was amazing as they showed serious and comedy acts and different in ring styles from technical to high flying, they've also help boosted the careers of many talent who are still going strong today, some matches, shows, promos, etc. from this company are all timer level, just a shame that the company ceases to exist anymore, it was a fun and unique promotion that I got a kick out of whenever I watched it."

[10.0] "The promotion that helped launched the careers of 90% of today's modern roster. Ciampa, Gargano, LeRae, Owens, Generico, Young Bucks, Kyle O'Reilly, Adam Cole, etc. This was basically the modern equivalent of a farm system. The Chikara of the West Coast. RIP PWG (2003-2023) We Hardly Knew You."

[10.0] "PWG it's my favourite indie promotion EVER and one of my favourite promotion in general. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's 2014 - 2017 years made me fall in love so deeply with a certain kind of wrestling (and some wrestlers) and I'm SOOOO grateful for this"

[10.0] "Once WWE had stopped trying in 2003 the wrestling landscape began to change as the independent promotions in America began to boom and each different one had something to offer, CZW/IWA-MS had the deathmatches, ROH had the hard hitting wrestling and then there was PWG. PWG brought back the fun. The early years of PWG while not fault free really offered a nice alternative, filling in that Dream Match style of card with frequent talent and comedy style sprinkled in. Once 2009 had hit, the American wrestling world just was fully devoid of fun, nothing was hitting the mark for any promotion, except for PWG. PWG took over as THE home to the best wrestling and it only kept getting better and better, each card leaving a lasting impression on the live crowd and DVD buying audience and this peak lasted until 2018. I always appreciated its style, the insanely passionate crowds, the loose storytelling & love of tournaments and just a promotion where everything was always about having fun and it forever will be a genuine bright spot in wrestling history."

[10.0] "Hands down my favorite wrestling promotion of all time. The king of the indies that never failed to put on a good show. COVID fucked the business sadly. Hopefully they come back in the future."

[7.0] "A great promotion on some shows, but it suffered greatly from the decline of the Indy Wrestling. Some periods were highly rated, others much less so. The average is a 7, an excellent promotion with some important historical peaks."

[5.0] "I never really got PWG. It felt like a mixture of aal the other indies around the time but they had the benefit of a bigger audience in California's big cities and towns. It was like they tried to do everything at once and it never worked. It tried to be funny but failed a lot of the time. The serious matches were probably the best part but it wasn't funny and wacky enough to be Chikara and not serious enough to be ROH. They've had a lot of big names but most of them worked better in other promotions. The main draw was Super Dragon but then there were a lot of goofy promos and characters that ruined what could've been a truly bigger and more groundbreaking promotion than it was."

"PWG is always a guaranteed fun show. You never know what wild spots or surprises they'll bring. It's definitely one of my favorite wrestling companies because of their mix of high energy and creativity. My all-time favorite match has to be the three-way ladder match between The Super Smash Bros, The Young Bucks, and Future Shock. It was absolute chaos and pure excitement!"

[10.0] "Defined what Pro Wrestling would become in the 21st century. Depending on who you are, that's either a damning condemnation, or incredibly high praise. I pick the latter. PWG's twenty year run played a huge part in creating countless stars of the modern era, and even beyond it's golden years in the 2010s, that batting average was still extremely high, with their roster full of guys (and eventually some gals.) who'd go on to become bigger, national stars over the following years. It's been said a billion times before, and I'll gladly be one of those billions. Greatest indie company ever."

[10.0] "Greatest independent wrestling company in the history of wrestling. This Los Angeles indies company gave us more then 50-100 5 star matches for me. Chris hero vs Bryan at fronterie ppv of 2009 pwg one of the best matches ever, so is zsj vs Walter"

[10.0] "Man, I love this company, it has given us some of the greatest matches in independent wrestling history."

"yo can we get the fucking mark below me out of here lmao. bro is rating it a 3/10 having never seen a match and basing his beliefs off what jim cornette says."

[10.0] "The PWG match catalog is crazy fun when you see what they have. PWG was the birthplace of bright young stars who would end up making it big like The Bucks, ZSJ, Walter, Kyle O'Reilly, Candice LeRae, and so much more amazing talent. Overall, I love PWG and think that they have an amazing roster and always put on amazing shows."

[6.0] "While I can appreciate and recognise the importance and historical influence that PWG has given to the pro wrestling scene as a whole, it is a promotion that I really struggle with watching. There is 100% a place for a promotion that is solely dream matches and spot fests, but I have always found it difficult to enjoy most of the matches they put on. I have no issues with silly moments or comedy wrestling. I don't have problems with matches that have a whole bunch of moves and kick outs. But PWG shows are always well over the line for those things and it is such a struggle to watch. And I understand their production is probably more out of necessity than a choice, but trying to watch the shows is something I don't typically enjoy either."

[10.0] "Honestly PWG is just a factory for indie dream matches, and they remained consistent since the birth of the promotion, no faults in my opinion."

[10.0] "Best promotions for indie wrestling. A lot of great matches and the championship are very prestigious. Hope they will be back asap!"

[10.0] "PWG was the modern renaissance of indie wrestling injecting back into the mainstream of the pro wrestling world and its historical significance in shaping the modern wrestling world of the last 10 - 15 years cant not be understated."

"not sure if there's any truth to this but ive heard rumors that this company shut down. shame as I was getting into indue wrestling and this company looked amazing"

[9.0] "This company changed indie wrestling forever and has some all-time greats. So many legends have worked here as well. Like El Generico, Kevin Steen/Owens, and Adam Cole Baybay. I know that PWG has died down these last few years and is nowhere near its prime anymore. But this company dang sure had the best wrestling for well over 10 years. Plus the PWG crowds are absolutely the most ruckus and legendary ever. Their reactions in matches are amazing and we won't forget it. (9 out of 10*)"

[8.0] "PWG's influence on the modern form of pro wrestling is undeniable. At its peak, it not only featured the fun/accessible wrestling in an intimate environment, but it also featured some of the most innovative in-ring work in the world. PWG's match-making ability is still quite strong even if they've lost the power of their Reseda homebase. Since AEW launched, PWG's relevance has waned but their events are still well-booked and full of surprises. The "Battle of Los Angeles" is still a king-making event for wrestlers, and success in PWG can still augur well for its winner. PWG is hurt a bit in 2023 by its relative paucity of events, but it remains a brand and a promotion that wrestling fans should trust."

[9.0] "Possibly the greatest indy promotion ever, the lack of prestige and the onslaught of comedy keeps thhis from being a 10, but its legacy will forever be a strong one."

[10.0] "This is my favorite promotion ever. So many stars have worked here including A lot of my favorite wrestlers of this generation such as, Bryan Danielson, El Generico, Kevin Steen, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, etc. Prime PWG is generational, current PWG is amazing. Overall probably my fav promotion ever and the only one that comes close is ROH."

[6.0] "Fun promotion but hard to follow. Always brining in a mix of established indy guys and some new talent you should expect to see signed in a few years. BOLA was always exciting with the highest quality matches and Mystery Vortex was a great idea. Problem with it is that it is difficult and expensive to follow as a fan."

[5.0] "Although with gigantic potential, it is sad to say that PWG is the American version of CMLL. They found their comfort zone and never left it. All non-American fans will never be able to see live a BOLA or any show, just buying dvds or blu-rays... in 2022. Now they are available on demand in a network, but the best indie promotions in the whole world have been doing that the last ten years and now they broadcast live all of their shows."

[5.0] "Maybe you like it for samy zayn, Kevin owens, akira tozawa or maybe you like it for high high spot fests. These can't buy me t rate. For me it was never a good promotion or even close enough. So rating it as a below average one."

[5.0] "PWG has hosted many talented wrestlers who have worked incredibly hard for the promotion, but Super Dragon is honestly just a terrible booker. He doesn't really come up with storylines other than 'go out and have good match', and he doesn't know how to best utilize talent. He brought in WALTER and had him lose in his very first match. He brought in Drew Galloway and had him lose in his very first match. It's kind of hard to buy into these guys as being big unstoppable monsters when they lose in their first match, don't you think? You can argue that wins and losses don't matter, but if wins don't matter, then what's the point? Wrestling is about more than workrate, it's also about wrestlers having personas and doing what you can to get those personas over, of which PWG fails. As for the matches, PWG has really shaped the modern indie style of excess: overloading finisher kickouts and false finishes in every match until they become meaningless. At PWG, it often feels like the inmates are running the asylum, with guys going out to have GIF-able matches rather than build towards a cohesive whole. The positive is that you do get many unrestrained dream matches between some of the best talents out there. The negative is that it gets old after a while as you quickly start to realize that nothing means anything. The goofy comedy stuff also makes it difficult to take the matches seriously, giving off more vibes that none of this really matters and it's all for play."

[10.0] "The greatest indy promotion ever. PWG literally is a hotspot for great talent, and also some great wrestling. Truly the best wrestling in North America from 2012-2018, and I don? t think it was close. My name says it all, and this review may be biased, but I could care less. I love this promotion so so much, and it? s been a huge part of igniting my love for wrestling again. So glad I was introduced to this, and so glad to be able to own a ton of DVDs from the company. Tons of amazing talents in AEW, WWE, NJPW, ROH, and IMPACT have wrestled in PWG. Guys like Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn give credit to PWG for them getting their jobs in WWE, and rightfully so. PWG is such a wonderful promotion, and was one of the best in the world from 2006-2018. It has it all."

[5.0] "A fun indy promotion but their house style has probably influenced some of the most blatant attempts at fan service and spotfests in recent memory. Might be a bad influence on the industry as a whole if you prefer more grounded and realistic styles of wrestling. The attempt at creating artificial scarcity with their footage doesn't really land well with me either, but to each their own I guess."

[10.0] "PWG was instrumental in getting me back into wrestling. I still watch today but their run from 2013-2017 represents my favorite stretch of wrestling put on by any company ever, with almost every relevant wrestler today having been passed through their halls during that period. Excellent combination of strong style, flippy shit, funny shit, hardcore shit, experimental shit...all on the same card. Excalibur is pitch-perfect on play-by-play. And the crowd is fantastic. Great quote from Dave Metlzer: "The atmosphere was loud and rowdy, but not the slightest bit dangerous. Some would compare the audience to the glory days of the ECW Arena...but they are entirely different. Perhaps if that ECW audience had evolved for two more decades, this is what they would have turned into, but probably not...While there were the occasional funny chants, the primary difference is the ECW Arena audience acted like they were a major part of the show, similar to the current 150 or so fans at the NXT shows in Orlando that always sit in front of the camera, although without the critical nature and aggressiveness of a Philadelphia crowd. The PWG audience acts like they are there to enjoy and enhance the show, but very much are not the stars of the show itself, nor do they want to be...It's clearly an audience that is there to have fun and make the matches, whatever the type they are, come across as good as possible. The audience was older, and smarter in a pro wrestling sense, than an NXT crowd. These people were the real insiders and pretty much kill the stereotype that the fans who know everything become jaded and hard, because this audience was clearly a level above any I've seen, had no illusions about what they were seeing, but reacted in a way that enhanced everything on the show.""

[6.0] "I feel like their shows are really hit and miss compared to some of the other shows with talent of their caliber. I never know if the show is gonna be a ten out of ten or hardly watchable."

[10.0] "PWG can be likened to an open mic night for aspiring musicians, poets, and yes - calm down Cornette cultists - comedians. What I mean by that is open mic nights live and die on the strength of the raw talent in the independent scene at a given time. Given how mid to major companies like AEW and WWE act as a sort of vacuum of promising talent these days, companies like PWG have suffered as a result. By nature, however, PWG allows fresh faces a literal canvas to hone their craft and I believe PWG has proved it enough over the years that if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Sure, the style may not be for everyone but because PWG rarely does angles and storylines so I don? t mind one bit talent going out there and doing spotfests. Even in PWG the best talent still rises above and can make their matches stand apart. 10/10 promotion. Also the best fans in the world. Even if a match isn? t great they? re still respectful and attentive, unlike many modern crowds that will try to get themselves over and hurt the overall presentation."

[6.0] "Few promotions have been as hurt by the pandemic as PWG, and not being able to run shows has hurt them almost as much as all the top indy talent getting snatched up by either the WWE or AEW."

[7.0] "2020 is not the best year to rate PWG but making a mix of nowadays situation and the past, it's still one of the best indy in the world for obvs reasons."

[10.0] "I don't think any other promotion had an atmosphere like PWG had. That tiny venue in Reseda, CA feels like home for some reason. I guess, it's because of incredible matches I have witnessed there. There is no doubt, that PWG was the best indie wrestling promotion ever. Year 2019 was the ultimate downfall of this company. Their couple last shows were nowhere close to the quality of their best work throughout all these years before. PWG will be in my heart forever."

[9.0] "PWG completely envelops everything that has brought popularity to independent wrestling. High-flyers, submission specialists, and brawlers alike have all made names for themselves in a PWG ring. The company's annual tournament, Battle of Los Angeles, has featured spectacular matches by countless high-profile wrestlers. Kevin Steen (Owens), Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan), and A. J. Styles all headlined PWG events. As time has passed, newer, younger workers have been able to carry the torch. This has been proven true in the company's tag team division. Most notably, The Young Bucks worked PWG shows early in their careers, leading to the most successful tag team run in PWG history. The Kings of Wrestling, The Lucha Brothers, and The Briscoes have all competed there. 17 years since the company debuted, PWG has not missed a beat."

[10.0] "PWG and ROH have been the standard for indie wrestling in the US for over a decade; and even though most of the people would say that this two companies are on a low point compared to where they once were, I personally think that even now that PWG has lost some of his stars to other promotions such as: AEW, WWE and NJPW they still have a stacked roster for their shows. There are not huge names like Danielson, El Generico, Steen, The bucks... But still, they have some of the best in the world in the form of: Bandido, Jeff Cobb, Dragon Lee, Joey Janela, Tony Deppen... And with the recent WWE firings such as Chris Hero, they have even more star power to add to their shows. So, I? ll say: don? t sleep on PWG."

[7.0] "At their prime, they were a pretty niche promotion that was focused on spotfests and high spots. Mostly completely devoid of serious wrestling, but considering the size of PWG, it didn't need to focus on that. These days PWG is a shadow of their former self as most if not all of their rotating wheel of top talent have been closed in with tight contracts and that need for spotfests doesn't really work when other companies can do the job better, and with higher production values."

[7.0] "What has happened to my favorite promotion? Is it the amount of talent signing with bigger promotions? Did the wrestling quality decrease? Or do I just miss Reseda?"

[7.0] "Watched a lot of PWG back in the 00's but at random, never felt like something to watch on a monthly basis, in ring wise it was always great but production always kept it from being must see."

[7.0] "Just few years ago, PWG was still very hot, but then after 2018, the company has declined a lot. Not 100% their fault as their top stars left for big promotions, but after they moved their old venue in Reseda to the new one. The aura, the magic that used to make PWG what it was were faded away. The show was still pretty decent at best, but no longer must-watch. Feel like many matches now are the exact the same and uncreative. Used to enjoy this a lot, now I don't do really much."

[4.0] "PWG is solely responsible for tipping the balance of American indies away from providing a legitimate and authentic alternative to the anodyne WWE and TNA products and into high gimmickry, overabundance of spots and a cheeky, cynical toying with kayfabe that borders on the obnoxious. In 2019 they are the same as they ever were, but the spawn they have influenced have now lapped them. Too bad."

[7.0] "It used to be better, but PWG is still great. I do wish they would focus more on creating storylines and strong characters."

[7.0] "A few years ago (2010-2013) PWG was undoubtedly the best company in the United States but have declined over the years. You can still see good matches from time to time there, however, the events have become a spotfest without interesting stories and rivalries. They have sacrificed many things to focus on a specific type of audience."

[6.0] "On paper PWG sounds amazing and can be a lot of the time but the in-house style makes for some tiresome shows. I always find myself enjoying the start and by the end, I'm bored and don't care. A lot of the time the matches feel thrown together regardless of chemistry and it can lead to some stinkers. The booking isn't great (Don't tell Super Dragon I said that) and each show is random. I know that's what PWG is like but they used to do it much better."

[4.0] "I've watched every show this year but I never enjoyed one match, it feels like an indie stars reunion and nothing else. The fact that no match has stories behind and tells none in the ring is the main reason I don't dig the product. I'm just not the target I guess. The audience is on fire tho"

[8.0] "PWG shows always have a great atmosphere and the wrestlers always try hard. But the matches can sometime be overrated. There are often times when wrestlers work their matches purely to get pops, and don't even try to tell a story."

[6.0] "My issue with this promotion is that most of the time it is just a spot show unfortunately, despite the fact they get access to a lot of great wrestlers. Too often finishers are kicked out of with no good build up to it, and in a way I really feel like this negatively affects professional wrestling as a whole which is why I had an issue with the promotion. However as you have probabaky noticed I did give the promotion a 6/10 which means satisfactory, and so far it sounds like I? m going to give it a 1/10, . The reason I do give it credit, is that it has a great fanbase with a crowd who is always excited and involved in the match, which is something a lot of companies don? t have, yet improves the atmosphere so damn much! So I hope you all understand I why I am giving it this rating. I purely don? t agree with the amount of kick outs and the fact there a lot of the time their isn? t even a build up to these big moves which is where I have a problem with the promotion in all honesty. This is just my personal opinion though."

[8.0] "The atmosphere and crowd alone make PWG worth it. Even as someone who isn't too big a fan of their match style, getting swept up by the excited fans is as easy as it is enjoyable."

[8.0] "One of the most prominent, well-regarded and influential independent wrestling promotions in the US today, PWG features a product essentially entirely focused on what happens in the ring, and maintains a high standard for consistent in-ring quality. They have a high-octane in-ring style with performers typically going all-out and trying to make an impression. While they could potentially expand to larger venues, iPPV, etc. at this point, by remaining in the position they're in now they've forged an image as the "cool" company with highly-coveted (and often hard-to-get) tickets for fans and coveted roster spots for workers. Occasionally the in-ring product can be a bit too self-indulgent for my taste, with talent sometimes focusing a little too much on popping the crowd, and I do wonder if the company's strict adherence to its own traditions (DVD-only distribution model; until recently only running the same small venue) might work against it in the long term. But at the end of the day, the in-ring product is strong, talent top-notch and any given PWG event will have something to get the fans talking."