This was for the Bucks’ PWG World Tag Team Titles.
I think this is a way around this that both amuses me personally and which also represents the reality of the team, save for maybe three pieces of offense in this match delivered by a shapeless void. I don’t intend on covering this team much, I originally only intended on covering the big famous 2014 Guerrilla Warfare match, but when I watched this back just for myself to see if it was as great as I had it down as on paper, holy shit, it was. Absolutely incredible match and performance by the three human beings involved in this match. The Bucks against Candice is as great of a pairing as the Bucks vs. Steen was, for both the same reasons (allows the Bucks to be as despicable as possible, provides a great contrast) and for wholly different ones (the Bucks now as bullies instead of cheap shotting preening little fucks).
Candice is a wrecking ball, a pure ball of energy unlike all but a very select few in PWG history. A maniac bumper, but also so fluid and smooth on her big high flying spots. One of the most sympathetic figures in US indie wrestling history, and it’s only like 50% because of the gender difference. It’s sympathetic selling, deranged bumping, and this sort of unteachable natural underdog fire. Candice only does a few things offensively, but they’re all just absolutely wild, and brings the best out of guys as deranged as the Bucks. Let different types of unhinged wrestlers loose on each other with an obvious story and in front of the hottest regular crowd in the country and, yep, you guessed it, it’s that Reseda Magic.
In the end, Candice’s wonderful manic performance lacks the help it needs to accomplish anything. She is an absolute lunatic, but so are the Bucks. She’s always working basically by herself, and the Bucks have never ever been by themselves before. Math is easy. Candice comes so close to doing it all on her own, only for the exact right amount of bullshit to happen. Once again, the balance struck is perfect. Candice is robbed of the win herself, but in the end, the Bucks manage to get the win entirely fairly following that. You feel robbed, but not in the most obvious sort of way, it’s all about what could have been. The worst sort of anger. A top rope Poison Rana gets caught by the other Jackson underneath, and she’s easy bait for the Cutler Driver and then More Bang For Your Buck for the win.
For obvious reasons, I cannot ever ask anyone to watch this match.
But provided your brain is like mine and you’re able to still watch matches back given certain events (this may become harder later in the decade, it’s relatively easy here because the source of those feelings is essentially a piece of furniture for all he adds to this match), this one is absolutely stellar.
HANDWERK 