SoCal’s own btwnchaosnorder gives a recap of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s Battle of Los Angeles 2011 at the American Legion Post #308 Reseda. Another capacity crowd for the latest PWG show, complete w/ a tournament trophy for the winner of the 8-man, 1-night tournament; where all the wrestlers involved put up quite a clinic on counter-wrestling, and how to really get a wrestling crowd going. Daniel Bryan & CM Punk know that real well. Throughout the night, however, Kevin Steen’s PWG World Heavyweight Championship was not on the line.
ROUND 1
1 – Willie Mack p. Chris Hero w/ a Reversal Backslide to end a chop-fest, complete w/ a lot of stiff strikes.
2 – Kevin Steen made Fit Finlay tapout to the Sharpshooter on the picked-apart left knee. Steen did a great job picking on a body part throughout this match. Finlay, sans his classic WWE Shillelagh, got the “Please come back!” chant.
3 – El Generico p. Claudio Castagnoli w/ a roll-up into a Bridge cover, countering the Ricola Bomb from the top rope. Lots of great chain wrestling & counter-wrestling that made it the best match of the 1st round.
4 – Eddie Edwards p. Roderick Strong w/ a Small Package or Cradle rollup in a see-saw, high-energy match that saw both men go for a series of covers in the end.
NON-TOURNAMENT TAG TEAM ACTION
5 – The Dynasty (Joey Ryan & Scorpio Sky) def. The RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime & Johnny Yuma) when Scorpio Sky scored a reversal pin on Johnny Goodtime. Back-and-forth action that saw plenty of great action from the regional stars. Joey Ryan came out w/ a Christian “Hit the switch!” shirt, while Scorpio Sky came out with John Cena’s “Perseverance” shirt, that drew out “CM Punk!” chants from those fans who rooted for WWE’s Hardcore Straightedge Superstar, especially those wearing Punk’s “Best in the World” tees. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), however, cut the celebration short, and cut a promo about being the greatest tag team in the world that put them above both Impact Wrestling & WWE. BoLA w/o The Bucks? They called out anyone who wanted to challenge them later tonight, and that was answered by The Kings of Wrestling duo Hero & Claudio.
SEMIFINALS
6 – El Generico p. Willie Mack w/ the Ground Brainbuster in a short, high-octane match.
7 – Kevin Steen made Eddie Edwards tapout to the Sharpshooter in another high-octane match.
NON-TOURNAMENT TAG TEAM ACTION #2
SM – The Young Bucks def. The Kings of Wrestling when Matt Jackson got the reversal p. on Claudio Castagnoli, w/ his feet on the middle ropes, that was not caught by Referee Patrick Hernandez. The brothers had to overcome some sore loins after getting them stretch out real badly by the KoW.
FINAL
M – El Generico p. Kevin Steen w/ the Ground Brainbuster on the Apron in a high-octane match that saw alot of counter-wrestling, and plenty of bad blood between the two, making it my match of the night. Kevin Steen tried to intimidate a kid who wore an El Generico mask among the crowd, while trying to unload on his big nemesis, then broke the tournament trophy into pieces after the match. Despite all of that, El Generico brought the kid into the ring for a good photo op, then cut his best manageable promo to end the show.
Shot of the night from the 2011 PWG Battle of Los Angeles Tournament
Now this is how I cap a 8-show, 9-night stretch spanning from the 8/12 EWF show, going through WWE SummerSlam and the post-PPV editions of Raw & SmackDown, then finishing w/ PWG. Tickets are already available for the next PWG show on 9/10, forming the first half of another PWG/NWA Hollywood Doubleheader Weekend, which will likely be my next 2 shows to attend, as I could use the 2-weekend break.
For more shots from the show, please visit my gallery here