This Chaos Column is a recap of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s Battle of Los Angeles Tournament 2012 from the American Legion Post #308 in Reseda on September 2nd 2012. As previously reported there was a good number of wrestling fans coming in from places further out than Las Vegas or Arizona, including some alleged CZW fans; it brought quite an extraordinary atmosphere to the PWG venue, ticking off a few of the wrestlers & other fans along the way. You can read about the First Night of the 2012 BOLA by clicking here.
NIGHT 2 — Sunday, September 2
QUARTERFINALS
1 – Sami Callihan made T.J. Perkins tapout to his version of Claudio Castagnoli’s (WWE’s Antonio Cesaro) Neutralizer submission.
2 – Adam Cole p. Eddie Edwards w/ a Modified German Suplex in which Cole crossed Eddie’s arms at the wrist. Great see-saw action.
3 – Michael Elgin p. Brian Cage w/ the pair of powerbombs to the mat, well after doing another Delayed Vertical Suplex that was clocked at approximately 1:06. Not sure what happened afterwards since I took the break between match to hit the restroom, but it appeared as if Cage was upset at the loss, and then it seemed as if The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)….HAD ATTACKED SENIOR REFEREE RICK KNOX BACKSTAGE AND BROUGHT HIM TO THE RING…only to be broken up by El Generico. This set up a big tag team grudge match later in the night.
4 – Ricochet p. Roderick Strong w/ the Shooting Star Press to cap what looked like the best match of the quarterfinals, because the crowd were the hottest for it.
5 – 6-man tag team action. Willie Mack, B-Boy, & Drake Younger def. Joey Ryan, Davey Richards, & Kyle O’Reilly. Willie led his “posse of Ghetto-clad wrestlers”, while Joey Ryan led his “sleazy recruits” who donned other Joey Ryan trunks. Wild mix of comedy & wrestling, which ended w/ a flurry, capped w/ Willie Mack p. Davey Richards w/ the Piledriver. After the bell, one of the alleged CZW fans really drew the ire of Joey Ryan.
SEMIFINALS, HELD AFTER INTERMISSION
6 – Adam Cole made Sami Callihan tapout to the Figure 4 Leglock submission, and he had to earn it, taking a page of Sami’s book to kick the back of left knee while Sami was on the middle ropes.
7 – Michael Elgin p. Ricochet w/ the pair of powerbombs, w/ the first coming from the middle ropes to counter the Huricanrana attempt, followed by the spin to the mat. Unlike the previous 2 matches, however, Elgin’s attempt at another long Delayed Vertical Suplex ended in Ricochet hitting a countering DDT :57 in.
SM – 6-man tag team grudge match, that initially started as a 3-on-2 Handicap. El Generico, PWG Champion Kevin Steen, & Senior Referee Rick Knox (THAT’S RIGHT, PEOPLE, SENIOR REFEREE RICK KNOX) def. Brian Cage & The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson). Another wild & crazy match that started with the said handicap, then Kevin Steen hit the ring to tag himself in from El Generico. Crazy flurry of action afterwards, ending w/ Matt Jackson eating Kevin Steen’s Package Piledriver, then El Generico’s Ground Brainbuster, then a Running Splash from Rick Knox, who scored the pin to send the crowd into a fury. Match of the night!
M – TOURNAMENT FINAL: Big see-saw battle between Adam Cole & Michael Elgin, including plenty of action outside the ring. It looked like Michael Elgin had it after he hit the powerbombs, but Adam Cole managed to counter it, and eventually hit the Modified German Suplex for the huge win, and he’s going straight for Kevin Steen’s PWG title!
Photo Courtesy of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
WINNER OF THE 2012 PWG BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES TOURNAMENT: ADAM COLE
More photos from the show, click here.