Card ST Change 2 DVD Thoughts

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Card ST Change 2 DVD Thoughts

Postby JustJay » Fri May 12, 2006 10:43 am

I just got the Card Subject to Change 2 DVD (along with both European Vacation DVDs and an older show thanks to the Highspots deal) and while it was written off as a pretty subpar show live (due to the lineup shuffling general odd format) it plays as immensely more enjoyable on DVD.

Ronin, Disco Machine, Nemesis vs. TJ Perkins, Bino Gambino, Fergal Devitt

This match is a pretty marked improvement over the old Disco/Ex vs. Hook/TopGun openers, and it was kind of a neat touch that TJ brought in the two best wrestlers from the other SoCal promotions he works in with Bino (EWF) and Devitt (Inoki Dojo) . Fergal started off and showed some really impressive matwork, with Disco Machine and Excalibur actually (and uncharacteristically) putting him over fairly heavily. Bino played a fun "pure kiddie" babyface in peril, something PWG could really use longterm. Nemesis of course, is also a breath of fresh air in PWG with his ridiculous pose routines and lucha goofiness. I want to see him face Abyss, for some reason. Anyway, this was kept at a fast pace and kept my interest, which is really all I ask for with openers.

Colt Cabana vs. Alex Koslov

This was the match I enjoyed watching the most on this DVD. Colt, when he's motivated, is a master at seamlessly incorporating his new British style with comedy spots and straight face/heel wrestling. Koslov is also great as the guy who knows he has a gimmick that can be comedy but plays is straight anyway. Really great chain wrestling in this one too- Koslov has all the tools to be an elite worker and will probably be the next guy ROH will "swipe" in a year's time. The key word here is "blending" - classic straight face/heel action with some new-age funkiness. The only thing I didn't like about this match was the ending, as it seemed a bit off, for some reason.

Scorpio Sky/Human Tornado vs. Quicksilver/El Generico

This was an attempt at getting multiple storylines over, and it didn't really succeed. The main reason was the stalling, just way, WAY too much of it in the beginning. When you see these four guys in the same match, you generally expect a fast-paced "US lucha" style, and while it eventually became that, seeing them attempt to do a "sports entertainment" match took me out of it for the majority. I am a huge fan of Sky's new heel act though, and if he keeps it up I can definitely see him as a future BOLA winner or PWG champion.

Excalibur vs. TopGun Talwar

Ex vs. Talwar is one of those "great idea in theory" matches. "Hey, both these guys are really funny, let's put them together!" Then you actually watch them wrestle, and it's like, ehhh, not such a good idea. I find TopGun hilarious, but his schtick doesn't work so great against another comedy worker, and Excalibur is pretty weak as a singles wrestler when he doesn't have someone to bump him around. However, I fully endorse the use of the Heart Punch as a finisher.

Super Dragon/Davey Richards vs. Los Luchas

This was actually going at a really good clip, with Los Luchas being all firey and pissed off because of what happened at the previous show. Their offense was a little sloppy, but hey, when you're pissed off technique isn't the most important thing. I was really digging it before Zokre got concussed. The camera misses the guilty kick, but you can see the lights aren't on in Zokre's head after it happens.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Scott Lost

This match, I think, is proof of how underrated both Lost and Kazarian are as high-level singles wrestlers. Lost was supposed to take this show off to heal nagging injuries, and Frankie was supposed to wrestle Chris Hero, yet here they go out, on no notice, and do a high-impact, back-and-forth match with really solid psychology. Hats off to both guys, here.

Chris Bosh vs. AJ Styles vs. Joey Ryan vs. Kevin Steen

Every show, they put Joey Ryan in incredibly ridiculous situations where on paper, he couldn't possibly retain the title, and somehow he squeaks it out. The chair stuff was a pretty nice tactic, even if the finish didn't go off quite as planned. Short and sweet for an elimination match, with everyone getting their characters over and running through their stuff. Too bad the camera missed whatever humiliation Jonny Fairplay endured.

Super Dragon/Davey Richards vs. Chris Hero/Claudio Castagnoli

Despite the epic length of this match, there wasn't a whole lot of hype for it following the live show, because it was very uncharacteristic of PWG tag title matches. These matches generally follow the same formula: opening spots, heat segmant, tornado finisher series, then the ending. This match was more like, to use a cliche, a "human chess match." Dragon and Richards were fairly cocky in the beginning, until Hero and Claudio caught them by surprise. From there, it was both teams being unwilling to make a mistake and relying on creative submission holds and strikes to wear the other team down. The Kings and the champions both got heat segments on each other before things did break open a bit. However, even the closing segments were still extremely even, until Claudio finally slipped up by going for the Ricola Bomb too early, allowing the champs to neutralize Hero and for Davey to put Claudio away with the SSP.

Anyway, to sum the match up, if you're not a fan of a match with a ton of matwork, avoid the main event. However, it's definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of epic, Japan-style tag matches, and it definitely did not feel as long on video as it did live.
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Postby Paul Burns » Fri May 12, 2006 11:24 am

Good review, shame the Topgun/Ex match was a dissapointment, as I'll agree on paper it looks like a match I absoloutely NEED to see.
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Postby SoCalAndy » Fri May 12, 2006 2:51 pm

Too bad the camera missed whatever humiliation Jonny Fairplay endured.


I saw the camera film the moment, but I'm pretty sure it was edited off the DVD seeing as Excalibur and Disco still comment on it on the audio track. Good move in my mind, as I can't stand Fairplay.
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Postby CheMateo » Sun May 14, 2006 5:14 pm

I got my copy of Card Subject to Change 2 earlier in the week. I thought Joe may have been exagerating about the picture quality but it does seem better. I didn't think Excalibur vs Talwar was as bad as Jay made it out to be. But Excalibur's match against B Boy at ASW 3 would be his best match this year.

I really enjoyed the Dragon/Richards vs. Kings Of Wrestling match live and it is still cool on DVD. The 50 minute match to me was awesome and never slowed down. If there is ever a rematch it would be cool to see them break the 60 mintue barrier. I liked the change in style, it was different from Dragon and Richards previous title defenses as those past ones had more of a brawling flair while this one was more methodical.

I really detest these comments about this show not being great becasue it was changed around. A load of bollocks, I think that is part of what made this show so fantastic is things were changed around where you didn't know what was happening next and these changes that were made were awesome and everything was pulled off without missing a step.

There was mentioning about Fairplay, I saw him get his so I don't care that the footage was not included. I just would have liked to have seen Ronin deck that tool. But no complaints. Awesome show.
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Postby shyboy13 » Mon May 15, 2006 9:05 am

I thought the picture quality was great. I couldnt believe it when I saw it. I think the film quality has acutally now exceeded that of CZW and ROH's. The only thing that was hurting it was the glare from those lights but I'm sure that will be fixed in time.
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Postby JustJay » Mon May 15, 2006 3:42 pm

Yeah, the lights were stronger than usual for that show...I remember them practically blinding me from where I sat. The glare ruined some of the digital pictures I took as well.

Luckily, the facemelters dimmed to a more reasonable level for both Globetrotters and All Star Weekend, and were shut off completely for Beyond Thunderdome.
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Postby KickToKill » Tue May 16, 2006 6:57 pm

This show is way better than the England & Germany Shows
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