The Independent Mid-Card 02.05.08: Shelley vs. Sydal

Alex Shelley vs. Matt Sydal
Tournament – Second Round Match
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla – Battle of Los Angeles 2007: Night 3 – Burbank, CA – September 2, 2007

The Wrestlers:
Alex Shelley – A technical savant who has been considered amongst the best in the world for some time, Alex Shelley had in the past appeared for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla primarily as a part of the Motor City Machine Guns tag team with fellow Michigan talent Chris Sabin. Though the two have long been a part of Total Nonstop Action, they first gained notoriety as a team in Japan while wrestling for the ZERO-1 MAX promotion. The duo also notably took part in a highly-regarded match with Jay & Mark Briscoe for the ROH World Tag Team Titles in April of 2007, a match that I personally voted as my Match of the Year for 2007. However, any hopes of a rematch in that case were dashed when TNA talent was pulled from competing for Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in the wake of ROH’s move to Pay-Per-View. It was, then, incredibly shocking when Alex Shelley was announced as the replacement for an injured Super Dragon mere days before the Battle of Los Angeles Tournament was slated to begin. Though there was little in the way of explanation for Shelley returning despite TNA sanctions, the card was quickly reshuffled to set Shelley on a collision course with up-and-comer Tyler Black. Shelley was able to emerge victorious on Night 1 of the event, advancing him to the tournament quarterfinals on Night 3.

Matt Sydal – One of the more notable high-flyers in North America, Matt Sydal had previously appeared for PWG in the 2006 Battle of Los Angeles Tournament, though he was unsuccessful in his bid to defeat “Mr. Wrestling” Kevin Steen in a first round matchup. Sydal would lose a pair of other matches in late-2006 PWG action, with Scorpio Sky and Ronin both besting the St. Louis native. Sydal would not appear for the company in 2007 until it was announced that he would once again take part in BOLA. By that time, however, Sydal had signed a developmental deal with World Wrestling Entertainment, and would be working a select few Independent dates before reporting to Ohio Valley Wrestling to begin his contract. On Night 1 of the tournament, Sydal was able to defeat the debuting Jimmy Rave in a match that was actually something of a sub-par outing for both men.

The Match:
A very cool graphic introduces the match. PWG made an effort to up the production values on the 2006 BOLA set, and 2007 is an even bigger improvement. The crowd is already chanting for Shelley. We cut to the participants already in the ring and the announcements begin for this Block A Quarterfinal matchup. Matt Sydal is announced first, hailing from St. Louis, Missouri and weighing 175 pounds. He is actually booed pretty lustily by the crowd. Alex Shelley, hailing from Detroit, Michigan and weighing 207 pounds, is introduced second. Shelley is checked by the referee and the bell is rung to start things off.

The two men circle and Shelley offers a handshake. Sydal slaps hands with him but both men are hesitant to grab a knucklelock. They continue circling as the crowd claps, finally grabbing a knucklelock. Shelley twists his way into a top wristlock, but Sydal counters into a wristlock of his own. Shelley rolls through and gets a drop toehold into a hammerlock on the mat. Sydal works back to his feet, but Shelley grabs a headlock. Sydal sends Shelley off the ropes, but Shelley gets a single-leg takedown and goes back off the ropes. They go into the beginnings of a leapfrog sequence, but Shelley puts on the breaks and locks Sydal in a bow-and-arrow stretch. Sydal flips out into a cover for a one count, but Shelley kicks out. Sydal then goes for a modified crucifix cradle, but that only gets a one count as well. Sydal gets a weak kick to the stomach and then takes Shelley down to the mat for a twisting leg crush. He rolls Shelley right over into a modified STF before rolling forward to alter the hold into a bow-and-arrow of his own. Shelley, ever the opportunist, starts biting Sydal’s hand to force the break.

The referee begins to count to try and end the biting, but a kick to the midsection from Sydal is just as effective. Sydal gets in a chop to the chest and a falling sideslam before hitting an elbowdrop for one. Sydal pulls Shelley to his feet by his hair and then kicks away at him in the corner. A cross-corner whip leads to a running back elbow from Sydal. To continue the assault, Sydal comes running again, this time with his signature clothesline into the corner, landing him on the apron on the follow-through. Sydal preens for the crowd a bit before hopping back into the ring and pulling Shelley out of the corner to make the cover for two.

Sydal picks Shelley up in a front facelock and forces him to the corner. He goes for a cross-corner whip, but Shelley floats over on the blind charge. Sydal goes for a quesadora, but Shelley reverses into a wheelbarrow suplex, prompting the crowd to chant his name. To his credit, Sydal sold that like he’d been ejected from a car crash. Shelley comes running with a back elbow to Sydal in the corner and then hops right out to the apron. Shelley hits a running enziguiri from the apron to the corner and then pops right up to the top before flying off and landing a beautiful spinning back elbow on the way down. The cover gets two.

Shelley locks in a modified chinlock and then switches to a more traditional variety, but Sydal is able to work up to his feet and force Shelley into the corner. Sydal gets in a pair of chops to the chest, but Shelley reverses out of the corner and hits a harder chop of his own, much to the crowd’s delight. Shelley hangs Sydal in the tree-of-woe and then stands on his chin for a bit while working the crowd into a frenzy. Shelley then retreats to the opposite corner before running in with a baseball slide dropkick to the face. Shelley calls for one more and indeed follows up with another dropkick. Sydal is able to unhook himself, but is able to do nothing more than writhe in pain on the mat. Shelley makes the cover for two when Sydal bridges out of it. Another pinfall attempt leads to another bridge out by Sydal at two. Shelley goes for the cover a third time, but this time when Sydal goes for the bridge, Shelley hops up to his feet and steps on Sydal’s chin. Sydal’s shoulders end up back on the mat and the referee gets to two before he rolls a shoulder up more traditionally. Shelley walks away, making sure to motion for the crowd to indicate his intelligence.

The crowd begins to clap again as Shelley picks Sydal up off of the mat. A bodyslam lands Sydal on the canvas like a sack of potatoes. Shelley follows up by locking in a kneeling full-nelson, but Sydal works his way back to his feet. Sydal elbows out, but comes off the ropes right into a mule kick from Shelley. Shelley then comes off the ropes with an over-the-knee jawbreaker. Shelley goes for a German suplex, but Sydal flips all the way over and lands on his feet. Sydal then ducks a clothesline attempt and gets a step-up enziguiri to daze Shelley. Another step-up enziguiri still doesn’t take Shelley off his feet, so Sydal goes off the ropes a third time, but this time Shelley closes the gap and sends Sydal flipping backwards with an amazing running lariat. Sydal’s sell of the move is a true thing of beauty.

The referee begins to count but both guys quickly get to their feet, meeting in the middle of the ring to exchange strikes. Shelley gets the best of things with a series of forearms, and is even able to duck an enziguiri attempt by Sydal when he comes off the ropes. Shelley disrespectfully blows snot on Sydal and then goes to run the ropes, but Sydal trips him up on the rebound and rolls him up with a la majistral cradle for two. Crowd absolutely bought that nearfall, and rightly so. Sydal gets a kick to the midsection and then whips Shelley off the ropes, meeting him on the rebound with a quesadora right into a victory roll for another close two count. The audience bit on that attempt, too.

Sydal whips Shelley cross-corner, but Shelley slingshots him over the top on the blind charge. Sydal lands on the apron, however, and blocks a right hand, hitting a shoulderblock through the ropes to counter. Sydal climbs to the top and comes down with an attempt at a double axehandle, but Shelley catches him with an inverted atomic drop. Shelley goes for Sliced Bread #2 (springboard backflip reverse DDT) but Sydal counters. Shelley lands on his feet, but Sydal catches him with a mule kick. Sydal bounds up the ropes and flips backwards right into an inverted facelock and lands the Slice (guillotine legdrop into a cover from an inverted facelock position) for two. That whole sequence was executed beautifully.

The crowd again chants for Shelley as Sydal retreats to the opposite corner. Sydal comes running, but Shelley catches him and plants him face-first into the middle turnbuckle with a Flatliner (reverse STO). Shelley slips out to ringside, but then climbs right up to the top rope, only to have Sydal cut him off and take him down to the mat with a hop-up Frankensteiner that comes absolutely out of nowhere. Sydal crawls over and covers, but it only gets two. Sydal picks Shelley up and puts him on the top, but Shelley is able to counter with strikes and headbutts, sending Sydal crashing to the mat. Shelley follows him down with a big cross body block, but Sydal goes with the momentum and rolls through. Sydal goes for a spinning kick to the face, but Shelley ducks, only to have Sydal immediately try to follow up with a standing moonsault. Shelley, who has seemed to be a step ahead this entire match, kicks him in the midsection mid-move and then hits him with a falling powerbomb for two. Sydal rolls backwards on the kickout and immediately gets pasted in the face with a superkick that sends him flipping backwards. Shelley goes right over to the corner and climbs to the top, making a throat-slashing gesture before coming down with a Five Star Frogsplash (high-impact frogsplash) for an incredibly close two count. Shelley looks right into the camera with a face that says ‘what do I have to do to beat this guy?’.

Shelley stalks Sydal as he gets to his feet and locks in a waistlock. They go into a series of standing switches until Shelley mule kicks Sydal in the knee to break. Shelley goes for another powerbomb, but Sydal shifts his weight and takes Shelley to the mat with what amounts to a bombs-away senton for two. Sydal goes for the spin kick again, but Shelley ducks it again, but can’t avoid a third one and this time Sydal hits the standing moonsault cleanly. The referee is right there to make the count, but it still only gets two. Sydal rolls Shelley onto his back and climbs to the top, but Shelley pops up and catches Sydal mid-Shooting Star Press, landing him face-first on the mat with an Ace Crusher. A released Tiger Suplex (double underhook belly-to-back suplex) further knocks Sydal for a loop and then Shelley finishes him off with It Came From Japan II (cross-legged brainbuster) for the pinfall at 12:41. The crowd gives both guys a standing ovation as Shelley is announced as the winner. We then hard cut to Sydal getting some help to the back as the fans chant for him.

The Analysis:
It occurs to me that this is a very notable sort of matchup; that is, one between a WWE contracted wrestler and a TNA contracted wrestler. Though not unique (a number of similar matches took place during Ring of Honor’s fabled “Summer of Punk” angle as well as in numerous other instances), this match is incredibly rare in that it features a TNA contracted talent beating a WWE worker. In fact, the only other such occurrences that I can think of came during the end of James Gibson’s ROH run, when he lost a decision to “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels in the Survival of the Fittest Tournament and then went on to lose to protégé (and then-TNA worker) Roderick Strong a week or so later. Perhaps readers can think of other such matches.

As for this match specifically, it’s a fine example of the better work by both men. The crowd was clearly behind Shelley, a circumstance that allowed Sydal to segue more definitively into the heel persona he had begun to cultivate in late-2006. Though perhaps not rife with the psychology associated with working a specific body part, there was still a lot of internal continuity here, especially the sequences leading to Sydal’s attempts at the standing moonsault and Shelley’s building towards using the bridge-out against Sydal. I also liked that instead of one big move putting Sydal away, that Shelley was able to string together a series of high-impact finishing maneuvers, making the final pinfall academic in a match that had featured a number of hot nearfalls.

One of the knocks on Matt Sydal is that his small size leads to his offense often looking ineffective against bigger opponents. Having him in there with a wrestler like Shelley, who is also relatively small, but can wrestle more like a heavyweight, helps to make Sydal’s offense look all the more credible and realistic. At that point, all that both men need to do is avoid making major errors in execution. This match featured a lot of high-impact offense, all of which hit cleanly, a true credit to both guys’ talents. In particular, Shelley’s superkick, Sydal’s hop-up Frankensteiner, and the entire finishing sequence each came off looking absolutely perfect, and were probably the most memorable spots of an excellent matchup.

The Aftermath:
Neither Alex Shelley nor Matt Sydal has returned to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla since the end of the 2007 Battle of Los Angeles Tournament, with Shelley going on to lose to Roderick Strong in the tournament semifinals. In TNA, Shelley is currently mired in a feud that seems him teaming with Sabin as well as “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal against Team 3D and Johnny Devine. The crux of that issue is Team 3D’s hatred of the company’s X-Division, and the above sextet of wrestlers will have a Streetfight to settle the matter at TNA’s upcoming Against All Odds Pay-Per-View. Shelley continues to appear for a variety of Independent companies, including All-American Wrestling in metropolitan Chicago and UWA Hardcore in Toronto.

Matt Sydal had his farewell match from Ring of Honor as the dark match main event of the company’s Man Up Pay-Per-View taping. That match saw him lose to longtime rival Delirious, the man with whom he had debuted in ROH in 2004. Since moving on to OVW to begin his WWE developmental contract, Sydal has become a fast rising start in his new promotion, even going so far as to win the OVW Heavyweight Title from Mike Kruel, a belt that has previously been held by wrestlers like CM Punk, Brent Albright, Rob Conway, Batista, and John Cena. Though he has already survived a number of title defenses, currently Sydal’s championship is under attack from former champion Jay Bradley, with the issue between the two men being far from settled.

The Final Word:
I cannot mention enough that I consider Alex Shelley to be the MVP of BOLA in 2007. Though he didn’t win the tournament, Shelley was in my mind the must-see attraction in a field that was depleted by injuries and pull-outs. His matches with Black, Sydal and Strong were amongst the best in the entire tournament, and in each case helped to further Shelley’s case as one of the top talents anywhere in the world.

To see this week’s match, the 2007 Battle of Los Angeles is available at prowrestlingguerrilla.com. Night 3 is clearly the best night of the tournament, featuring a lineup of good matches in the quarterfinals and semifinals and then continuing into a fantastic 12-man tag team match and a truly fantastic tournament final that sees Roderick Strong, El Generico and Dragon Gate’s CIMA face off in a three-way affair. I promise you no hyperbole when I say that BOLA Night 3 is one of the best Independent shows by any promotion in 2007.

While you’re here on 411 this week, be sure to check out our other great columns and reviews. Ari has Column of Honor, Bayani’s got Truth B Told and Short’s got The Navigation Log. Buy or Sell has more from Ari & Bayani as they go toe-to-toe on news from ROH & PWG. Mike Campbell has The Tiger’s Take on ROH cutbacks, while Alex Mattis covers the same issue in The Best of the Rest. In terms of reviews, Dunn’s got looks at ROH Motor City Madness 2007 and RB looks at ROH’s highly-regarded Manhattan Mayhem II event. Oh, and Brad’s got a great new BG Says: Special Edition that looks at one of the best angles in PWG history. And yesterday was his birthday, too. For those scoring at home, this review drops him to like eight or so.

This week’s Buy or Sell will feature Larry going one-on-one with Matt Short, so be sure to check that out. ROH Roundtable is still on hiatus until Sixth Anniversary Show weekend.

Weekly iTunes flyby as follows:

1. “Leader of Men” by Nickelback – from The State
2. “Turn My Head” by Live – from Secret Samadhi
3. “Learning to Fly” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – from Greatest Hits
4. “Breathe” by Prodigy – from The Fat of the Land
5. “Ramona” by Guster – from Keep It Together

There’s always great stuff going on over at The Cool Kids’ Table, so be sure to swing by this week. And yes, the rumors are true that we will be moving over to thecoolkidstable.net very soon! Keep on the lookout for news on that move over the next couple of weeks. Remember, that’s The Cool Kids’ Table. Viva la rebel podcast!

The new apartment seems to be coming together well, which is a nice change of pace from some other things lately. I don’t want to talk about the Patriots losing or the Santana trade, because both will just irritate me further, so we’ll bypass those for the moment. At least pitchers & catchers report in a couple of weeks. Then we can get back to sports that won’t depress me quite so much. And at least my mom still loves me, no matter how psychotic I may be.

Oh, and happy birthday again, Brad!

273 to 6. Get Started. The Cool Kids’ Table. Ole!