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 1st 2012. A capacity crowd was on hand for Night 1, and about 80-90% of them returned for Night 2. Out of the 5 consecutive BoLA tournaments that I have gone to, the outcome of the tournament matches were the most surprising of them all, and there were multiple times where–even from the 2nd Row–the action outside the ring were too close for comfort, and most of them didn’t move far enough. In addition, with 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. Once again, Excalibur, who was on crutches due to an injured right knee, had to remind the fans NOT TO TAILGATE OR BRING IN ALCOHOLIC DRINKS at the premises of the legion hall.
Referees: Sparky Ballard & Justin Borden (Why no Rick Knox? Read down!)
Excalibur’s guest commentators: Joey Ryan, Kevin Steen, Davey Richards, & Roderick Strong
ROUND 1 MATCHES HELD ON NIGHT 1 — Saturday, September 1
1 – T.J. Perkins p. Joey Ryan w/ the Superkick, followed by what looked like a Modified GTS.
2 – Roderick Strong p. Drake Younger w/ the Death By Roderick, followed by a Butterfly Suplex in a match where the crowd got really hot for the see-saw, hard-hitting action.
3 – Eddie Edwards made Kyle O’Reilly tapout to the Single-Leg Boston Crab submission, w/ the stomps to the side of the head. Another match where the crowd got hot, and Kyle gave it everything he had w/ the injured torso or lower back.
4 – Brian Cage p. B-Boy w/ what looked like his “Weapon X” finisher in a slow but methodical match.
5 – Non-title match that was held after intermission. Ricochet p. PWG Champion Kevin Steen w/ the Corkscrew Moonsault. Brian Cage ran in late in the match to distract Kevin Steen. While “Mr. GMSI” ate the Package Piledriver, his distraction was enough for Ricochet to take advantage, leading to the final outcome.
6 – Sami Callihan p. Willie Mack w/ the 3rd Running Lariat or Clothesline in a hard-hitting match.
SM – Adam Cole p. El Generico w/ a rollup to counter the Ground Briainbuster attempt in another wild & crazy match–one that brought quite the applause from Kevin Steen on commentary w/ Excalibur.
M – Michael Elgin p. Davey Richards w/ the pair of powerbombs–first to the corner, then the spin to the mat. Very hot crowd reaction to the see-saw, hard-hitting action that easily made it the best match of the first round, including one crazy spot where Michael Elgin held Davey Richards in a 1-min. Delayed Vertical Suplex!
Shot of the Night - PWG BOLA 2012 Night 1
For The Night 2 Recap, click here
More photos from the show, click here.