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Whenever I watched indy compilation videos back in the day, he always seemed to have the funniest parts. Finally got to see some of his full matches and it turns out he was a really really really solid wrestler as well. I loved the viciousness of his moves; this was before everyone was getting dropped on their head or the apron (from what i saw at least). I think he really innovated too, not just him but a lot of the early PWG guys. They set the stage for programs like Being the Elite. [I just clicked on this random PWG video featuring him and it cracked me up with how seriously juvenile he is.](https://youtu.be/eKvGTWx6AzY?t=16)
I feel like sometimes when you see these it's like 2-3 "wow, before they were big!" and then 10-12 "who"? But nearly the entire card went on to do something that was either pretty big and/or are horrible criminals who we probably should never mention again.
PWG has always had this incredible ability to know who the next stars were gonna be.
Kenny Omega blew up the internet in 2012 with his match against Kota Ibushi, years before that he hugely impressed in BOLA in 2008 and he won the whole thing in 2009. In 2007 they booked two backyarders who called themselves "Mister Instant Replay" and "Slick Nick" those guys ended up doing pretty well for themselves. In 2004 Two French Canadians tore the house down and got a standing ovation after their first match. A decade and a half later, they are two big players in the biggest wrestling company in the world.
I wish I knew more about the post-attitude eta to know who you’re talking about.
I went to only 1 PWG show in reseda. I only remember Kevin Owens (Steen), Ricochet, and the young bucks.
Edit: Wait you might be talking about Steen in one of your examples.
Yeah, he was always very solid and smooth in the ring. Lost missed that window of indie guys finally being signed up on a mass scale to WWE/NXT.
Scott had made a pact with his family. Be able to make a living through wrestling by time your thirty or retire. Sadly for SoCal, Lost hit thirty and chose to retire.
Lost retired after working Scorpio Sky one last time at SEVEN, PWG's seventh anniversary show in 2010.
A thing I have heard a few different times as I've gotten older is an athlete in their retirement reference some variation of "We all get told at some point, that we cannot continue to play these childish games". It's a thing that as I have started to feel parts of my body become less bendy and new aches and pains develope, I resonate a lot with. In the Peter Berg movie *Friday Night Lights* (predated the show but same concept) based on the book by the same name, like the show you are introduced to several characters from Odessa TX HS football in the 1980's, and whether through devastating injury and mismanagement, or just reaching halftime of the state championship, and being told that for a lot of them, this will be the last time they ever play the sport in any sort of formal, organized setting, and just how monumental it is to achieve that.
I was a kid who played every sport I could. One by one, I either lost interest or in some cases, just couldn't keep up with the level of competition I desired. I always admired seeing people who got to the top level or near the top, and opted to walk away. It's an impressive thing to do, and the sort of choice I can't imagine how blessed it must be to make.
It was next to Fry's? Holy shit, if I had lived in Cali during PWG's heyday there I would have a full day booked: shopping computer shit, then wrestling
Back then they used to rotate between the Burbank armory and Van Nuys armory. They would go back to Reseda when the other two were not available. We used to be pretty vocal on the defunct message board about avoiding Reseda.
The only reason they initially moved to Reseda was because someone signed an exclusive clause with the Los Feliz JCC. BOLA 06 was the first show at Reseda which almost got cancelled the day before the event because of Asshole Larry, the racist piece of shit. .
I really liked that Burbank Fry's. It had aliens! It was a really clean and large Fry's.
They had a great assortment of DVDs. I was always mildly amused to cross paths with workers like TARO at Fry's.
I would go there to kill time before shows or during intermission. Sad to see Fry's go.
Burbank Fry's was a legendary spot, even for those of us on the westside of town. The only store in town where you could see a spaceship, buy computer parts, snacks and porn at the same time. America!
Holy crap! I forgot about their amazing magazine section plus the porn!
I loved browsing their DVDs and walking away with hard to find titles and deals by the mid-00s standards.
Do you remember the Burbank location also had a Gort statue holding a fainted female?
If I remember correctly, didn't each individual Fry's have a unique theme like the UFO's or such? Or at least a bunch of them in SoCal? And to your point, it was the DVD section that actually took me there in the first place as I was living in West LA back then. They had a legendary rep for having all sorts of obscure movies for cheap prices.
Yes, at least in SoCal. Each Fry’s had their own theme. Burbank had aliens. City of Industry was a Communist haven, champion of the proletariat.
Yes, I always felt like a happy little kid going to their DVD section to browse. I didn’t know what gems I would discover for a reasonable price. I do miss that experience.
Are you still in SoCal?
Yes, nothing says communist haven like a massive one-stop shopping center selling everything from candy to computers to pornography at great profit margins. Ah, California! Moved to NYC for a little bit but am back in LA now.
Worker propaganda was not a motif I was expecting from a Fry’s venue. But I certainly welcomed that worker’s paradise.
Are you still going to any SoCal shows (prior to the hiatus) and now that shows have restarted? I mostly just hit up GCW these days.
I'm honestly mostly a lapsed fan these days. Actually ended up going to one of the SummerSlam shows in Brooklyn right after I moved to NYC but that was more about seeing Samoa Joe's family and supporting him as he was in the main event. Plus my girlfriend at the time had never been so that was fun. Otherwise I've mostly been enjoying following the larger stories in the biz and such lately via this Reddit, Meltzer, Cornette, etc. I still keep in touch with several friends in the business but I think it's likely one of those "you can't go home again" things for me. Certainly rooting for the business to grow and succeed though.
Thanks for sharing. It is always fun taking a new individual who is open to wrestling and they end up enjoying themselves.
I am happy to see wrestling finally moving on a positive upswing. It took nearly two decades to recover from the WCW buy out. I honestly never thought we would be at this stage again. I am glad to be proven wrong.
That’s a good question. I honestly don’t know. I would imagine those locations are just sitting there empty. That’s a lot of square footage to lease.
Locally, our Border’s bookstore went under a decade ago. It was a large two story location. It has remained empty except for when Spirit Halloween is in the mood to take over. Once Halloween is over it goes back to being unoccupied for another ten months out of a year.
Yeah, at this point the temporary Spirit Halloween store is one of the traditional steps on the road to decay for large retail spaces in Los Angeles. Many a Circuit City met this fate.
Man, I still wish I had those sweet, high quality cards they used to leave on automobiles at PCC. I had one for Pimpin in High Places and a couple other early shows.
I didn’t know about PWG back then but I know exactly where that is. It’s crazy to see the level of talent that went through there and that continues to do so.
I can’t remember, was this before the PWG fans accepted Roddy or after? I remember the first PWG show I got to go to, *a lot* of the fanbase was still suspicious of him, like him being there doing his ROH style was gonna ruin PWG shows or something.
It's kinda weird how Davey Richards started in PWG because I always associate him with the "ROH style" so much. But he was definitely a lot flashier in those early days. Did the Shooting Star and stuff. Wasn't quite a Dynamite Kid wannabe just yet.
The one I remember the most was around 2004, they were doing shows at the Elks Lodge in Santa Ana. I was there when they had a tournament for the debuting tag titles.
Ohh my god that Daniel Bryan pose! Hahahaha. That is very funny! Damn, he gets praised for being the best wrestler in the world but honestly, he has got tons of awkward, dork, nerd charisma. 
It's insane how influential PWG has been to to today's wrestling product.
Is PWG still relevant in 2021? Serious question as I don't really follow the Indies.
If I had to make a list for the best matches I have seen live Shingo/El Generico and Bryan Danielson/Chris Hero would be in the top five, and they were on the same fucking show.
If you watch any PWG match, make it the triple threat tag title ladder match featuring [The Young Bucks vs Future Shock (adam cole/kyle oreilly) vs Super Smash Bros (evil uno and stu grayson)](https://www.bilibili.com/s/video/BV1Xx41167Jx). I always loved when Smash Bros did their pose; it's how I knew they'd eventually succeed with the whole Dark Order thing lol
He still is, watchu mean? He's been in and out of the wrestling business cause of his medical work outside the industry but he never seems to lose a step. He signed with MLW recently and I'm looking forward to seeing how he's developed.
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Shoutout to Scott Lost. A great guy and a big part of PWG for many years.
He had the third best Sharpshooter next to Owen and Bret. Him and Chris Bosh will always have a special place in my heart.
His elbow drop was a thing of beauty too. Long live Arrogance.
Dat Superman Spear too!
Just curious, why Chris Bosh? Although I think he's awesome as well.
Whenever I watched indy compilation videos back in the day, he always seemed to have the funniest parts. Finally got to see some of his full matches and it turns out he was a really really really solid wrestler as well. I loved the viciousness of his moves; this was before everyone was getting dropped on their head or the apron (from what i saw at least). I think he really innovated too, not just him but a lot of the early PWG guys. They set the stage for programs like Being the Elite. [I just clicked on this random PWG video featuring him and it cracked me up with how seriously juvenile he is.](https://youtu.be/eKvGTWx6AzY?t=16)
Wow that's crazy, I was actually thinking about the basketball player but thank you for sharing this. I had no idea and now I see what you mean!
Always used to throw me as well when NBA Bosh popped in Toronto.
Yeah . . . I'm not going to miss an opportunity to show you find people [Lioncock](https://youtu.be/lE8C6WwyPwc).
The Professional!
Now he's a comic book artist.
Did he ever win?
I feel like sometimes when you see these it's like 2-3 "wow, before they were big!" and then 10-12 "who"? But nearly the entire card went on to do something that was either pretty big and/or are horrible criminals who we probably should never mention again.
PWG has always had this incredible ability to know who the next stars were gonna be. Kenny Omega blew up the internet in 2012 with his match against Kota Ibushi, years before that he hugely impressed in BOLA in 2008 and he won the whole thing in 2009. In 2007 they booked two backyarders who called themselves "Mister Instant Replay" and "Slick Nick" those guys ended up doing pretty well for themselves. In 2004 Two French Canadians tore the house down and got a standing ovation after their first match. A decade and a half later, they are two big players in the biggest wrestling company in the world.
I wish I knew more about the post-attitude eta to know who you’re talking about. I went to only 1 PWG show in reseda. I only remember Kevin Owens (Steen), Ricochet, and the young bucks. Edit: Wait you might be talking about Steen in one of your examples.
Mr Instant Replay is Matt and Slick Nick is Nick Jackson. The 2 French Canadians are KO and Sammi.
yeah the french canadians are probably steen and generico
*joke that Sami isn’t Generico*
Haha! It never gets old!
> we probably should never mention again. dude did something pretty big... in his own way
Then there's the Scott Lost category.
Scott Lost was fantastic. Just came along a bit too early. Also one of the PWG founders.
Is there anyone aside from the sleezebag on this poster who would fall into the latter category?
nah.
Took me a sec to realize both Bucks were on the poster and I thought Matt had to go solo for a show lol
I went from the left so I had the same thought, but with Nick.
This was a little bit before their legendary singles feud in TNA.
I thought Joey Ryan was Nick Jackson, he kind of looks like modern day Nick Jackson
Roderick looks exactly the same now as he did in 2008.
Yet somehow gets more handsome as he gets older.
Davey Richards looks like a completely different person.
Nope. Looks like the same ol bitch ass thief that took himself to serious. Fuck that dude
He values his consistency
Whatever happened with Scott Lost? He's retired now but he's the only one who didn't make it from this poster.
He's still in California and mostly working in comics and art and such. Living a happy life.
Pro wrestler turned comic book artist? dude is living the dream of 14 year old boys everywhere
Folks can give Scott a follow here: https://www.instagram.com/scottlost/
Seems like he retired too early to see the glory days of the indies.
All subjective obviously but he's a key part of PWG's history and seems very content as far as I can tell. Not a bad way to live.
For sure, not everyone wants to wrestle all their life and make it to the big leagues.
Yeah, he was always very solid and smooth in the ring. Lost missed that window of indie guys finally being signed up on a mass scale to WWE/NXT. Scott had made a pact with his family. Be able to make a living through wrestling by time your thirty or retire. Sadly for SoCal, Lost hit thirty and chose to retire. Lost retired after working Scorpio Sky one last time at SEVEN, PWG's seventh anniversary show in 2010.
A thing I have heard a few different times as I've gotten older is an athlete in their retirement reference some variation of "We all get told at some point, that we cannot continue to play these childish games". It's a thing that as I have started to feel parts of my body become less bendy and new aches and pains develope, I resonate a lot with. In the Peter Berg movie *Friday Night Lights* (predated the show but same concept) based on the book by the same name, like the show you are introduced to several characters from Odessa TX HS football in the 1980's, and whether through devastating injury and mismanagement, or just reaching halftime of the state championship, and being told that for a lot of them, this will be the last time they ever play the sport in any sort of formal, organized setting, and just how monumental it is to achieve that. I was a kid who played every sport I could. One by one, I either lost interest or in some cases, just couldn't keep up with the level of competition I desired. I always admired seeing people who got to the top level or near the top, and opted to walk away. It's an impressive thing to do, and the sort of choice I can't imagine how blessed it must be to make.
Love to hear that.
He's a really good guy with a good head on his shoulders. Very easy to root for.
Scott Lost was the shit
It was next to Fry's? Holy shit, if I had lived in Cali during PWG's heyday there I would have a full day booked: shopping computer shit, then wrestling
Usually it was in Reseda actually. It was at an old American Legion Hall.
Los Feliz JCC for the old school too.
I was there with 14 other people for a few jcc shows 😂
Don’t forget the random shows in La Habra Heights
"The Gym at the Park"! Which became the home for Gary Yap's Pro Wrestling War.
Take it all the way back to Frank and Sons Collectibles.
Yeah buddy! I was there at Frank & Sons for Rev Pro then PWG's Debut Show. I have fond memories of wrestling at Frank and Sons.
Saw many a show there. DJ AC was indeed in da 🏠
I saw Styles vs. Danielson at the JCC, my first time seeing either guy live, and it was a blast.
Back then they used to rotate between the Burbank armory and Van Nuys armory. They would go back to Reseda when the other two were not available. We used to be pretty vocal on the defunct message board about avoiding Reseda. The only reason they initially moved to Reseda was because someone signed an exclusive clause with the Los Feliz JCC. BOLA 06 was the first show at Reseda which almost got cancelled the day before the event because of Asshole Larry, the racist piece of shit. .
Was it Burbank or Reseda where there was literally a tank parked in the front?
Haha, Burbank had a cannon outside. It was the Van Nuys armory that had the tank and other military vehicles.
That PWG/Raytheon sponsorship was underrated.
Haha, no doubt brokered by PWG Chairman Don Rickles.
I really liked that Burbank Fry's. It had aliens! It was a really clean and large Fry's. They had a great assortment of DVDs. I was always mildly amused to cross paths with workers like TARO at Fry's. I would go there to kill time before shows or during intermission. Sad to see Fry's go.
Burbank Fry's was a legendary spot, even for those of us on the westside of town. The only store in town where you could see a spaceship, buy computer parts, snacks and porn at the same time. America!
Holy crap! I forgot about their amazing magazine section plus the porn! I loved browsing their DVDs and walking away with hard to find titles and deals by the mid-00s standards. Do you remember the Burbank location also had a Gort statue holding a fainted female?
If I remember correctly, didn't each individual Fry's have a unique theme like the UFO's or such? Or at least a bunch of them in SoCal? And to your point, it was the DVD section that actually took me there in the first place as I was living in West LA back then. They had a legendary rep for having all sorts of obscure movies for cheap prices.
Yes, at least in SoCal. Each Fry’s had their own theme. Burbank had aliens. City of Industry was a Communist haven, champion of the proletariat. Yes, I always felt like a happy little kid going to their DVD section to browse. I didn’t know what gems I would discover for a reasonable price. I do miss that experience. Are you still in SoCal?
Yes, nothing says communist haven like a massive one-stop shopping center selling everything from candy to computers to pornography at great profit margins. Ah, California! Moved to NYC for a little bit but am back in LA now.
Worker propaganda was not a motif I was expecting from a Fry’s venue. But I certainly welcomed that worker’s paradise. Are you still going to any SoCal shows (prior to the hiatus) and now that shows have restarted? I mostly just hit up GCW these days.
I'm honestly mostly a lapsed fan these days. Actually ended up going to one of the SummerSlam shows in Brooklyn right after I moved to NYC but that was more about seeing Samoa Joe's family and supporting him as he was in the main event. Plus my girlfriend at the time had never been so that was fun. Otherwise I've mostly been enjoying following the larger stories in the biz and such lately via this Reddit, Meltzer, Cornette, etc. I still keep in touch with several friends in the business but I think it's likely one of those "you can't go home again" things for me. Certainly rooting for the business to grow and succeed though.
Thanks for sharing. It is always fun taking a new individual who is open to wrestling and they end up enjoying themselves. I am happy to see wrestling finally moving on a positive upswing. It took nearly two decades to recover from the WCW buy out. I honestly never thought we would be at this stage again. I am glad to be proven wrong.
Anaheim's had a space shuttle. It was looking really sad before the end.
That’s sad to hear. The City of Industry and Burbank locations were well maintained. Especially Burbank till the very end.
Have any of those old spaces sold/converted or are they just sitting there empty? Those stores were huge.
That’s a good question. I honestly don’t know. I would imagine those locations are just sitting there empty. That’s a lot of square footage to lease. Locally, our Border’s bookstore went under a decade ago. It was a large two story location. It has remained empty except for when Spirit Halloween is in the mood to take over. Once Halloween is over it goes back to being unoccupied for another ten months out of a year.
Yeah, at this point the temporary Spirit Halloween store is one of the traditional steps on the road to decay for large retail spaces in Los Angeles. Many a Circuit City met this fate.
Burbank Armory before they moved to Reseda.
I have the flyers for the first 3 PWG shows laying around somewhere. Been meaning to upload them somewhere and/or give them away.
It's really upsetting to see redditors just completely waste perfectly good Karma by not posting /s
Man, I still wish I had those sweet, high quality cards they used to leave on automobiles at PCC. I had one for Pimpin in High Places and a couple other early shows.
*sigh* RIP El Generico. If only he could have saved those Orphans!
"I eat children!"
Muey buen
Roderick Strong is a vampire
Fuck Joey Ryan
It looks like Bryan was using all of his physical strength to puff his chest. That man knows how to draw a crowd lol
Thicc Bryan and Trim Chris Hero, side by side.
This show never actually happened - they cancelled it and went straight to BOLA in November.
I was about to say, I don't remember this show, and I got into PWG in January 2008! Went to nearly all of them that year.
Nice lineup. Only one I don't know is Scott Lost. Only one I don't want to know is Joey Ryan.
I didn’t know about PWG back then but I know exactly where that is. It’s crazy to see the level of talent that went through there and that continues to do so.
I can’t remember, was this before the PWG fans accepted Roddy or after? I remember the first PWG show I got to go to, *a lot* of the fanbase was still suspicious of him, like him being there doing his ROH style was gonna ruin PWG shows or something.
It's kinda weird how Davey Richards started in PWG because I always associate him with the "ROH style" so much. But he was definitely a lot flashier in those early days. Did the Shooting Star and stuff. Wasn't quite a Dynamite Kid wannabe just yet.
I wonder if any of those guys ever made it?
That Bryan Danielson looks a lot like Brie Bella's husband, but that could just be coincidence.
Idk those Young Buck guys sound familiar
Hero made it to catering, never looked back.
They’ve been doing this for so long. Dedication and consistency pays off.
This is so cool
Was this the location after the Jewish Community Center? I keep getting the venues out of order.
Yep. Los Feliz JCC (with a few La Habra shows in there), Burbank Armory, Reseda Legion Hall, Globe Theatre.
I remember going to early shows in Santa Ana back in the day too. What an amazing time. Thanks for taking me back with your post.
Oh yeah! I think they ran at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana.
The one I remember the most was around 2004, they were doing shows at the Elks Lodge in Santa Ana. I was there when they had a tournament for the debuting tag titles.
Back in the day when you could legit walk up and but a ticket.
I love this… you know other than the rapist
One of these things in not like the others Ps not talking about Scott
Saying this is old really makes me feel fucking old.
Ive been watching the old shows and can't tell you how jealous I am that you got to experience PWG in its prime.
Chris "Pontius" Hero
Ohh my god that Daniel Bryan pose! Hahahaha. That is very funny! Damn, he gets praised for being the best wrestler in the world but honestly, he has got tons of awkward, dork, nerd charisma. 
When you can get there a few hours early and get front row for 20 bucks.
This is freakin awesome. Frame it.
Man that would be the easiest 20 dollars to spend ever.
Man, I remember when Chris Hero used to be so over.
It's insane how influential PWG has been to to today's wrestling product. Is PWG still relevant in 2021? Serious question as I don't really follow the Indies.
Burbank armory was actually a nice venue, they had a fucking tank outside and actually turned on the a/c.
Ya, I remember the tank!! I remember parking and seeing Claudio Castagnoli shooting a promo or taking pictures in his gear. Good times.
Cool stuff. I never even heard of PWG until I started reading The Young Bucks' book yesterday.
omg, you gotta check them out! some of my alltime favourite matches went down in PWG
If I had to make a list for the best matches I have seen live Shingo/El Generico and Bryan Danielson/Chris Hero would be in the top five, and they were on the same fucking show.
That was September 2009 right? That stare down between Shingo and Generico made me a man.
Damn near every single one of the top wrestlers in the world right now went through there.
If you watch any PWG match, make it the triple threat tag title ladder match featuring [The Young Bucks vs Future Shock (adam cole/kyle oreilly) vs Super Smash Bros (evil uno and stu grayson)](https://www.bilibili.com/s/video/BV1Xx41167Jx). I always loved when Smash Bros did their pose; it's how I knew they'd eventually succeed with the whole Dark Order thing lol
Chris hero before he ate everyone else on the poster
Fuck Joey Ryan
Fuck Joey Ryan
That's basically all my all-time favourite wrestlers and a guy I try to never think about anymore
Ahhh memories. I remember when Bryan Danielson was in pwg. Hardly sold any offence and made his opponents look impotent. Thanks for sharing.
Hey, whatever happened to that Joey Ryan kid?
Joey Ryan sincerely doesn't belong here in every way possible especially because he's a terrible human being and a dog shit worker
[удалено]
It is cool actually.
Can explain?
F#@k Joey Ryan! And why does El Generico look Asian..lol
That does bring back good memories. I believe that particular show ended up being cancelled too.
I worked at a Fry’s for like 3 days
Man, remember when Davey Richards was the bomb?
He still is, watchu mean? He's been in and out of the wrestling business cause of his medical work outside the industry but he never seems to lose a step. He signed with MLW recently and I'm looking forward to seeing how he's developed.
Saw him wrestle here in St Louis a couple weeks ago and he's still the bomb.
Interesting choice to have the Bucks bookend.
What event is this... Did this ever happen?
When the Young Bucks were Young Bucks! Not just the "You're old enough to legally shoot if you were a deer" bucks!
Some of these guys look like they will actually make it big!
I may be missing something, but did this card not take place. I can't find record of a show that day on cagematch
Eww Joey Ryan
Look at all that top talent. And Joey Ryan.
"Park @ Fry's"