2016 Battle of Los Angeles - Night Two Review

Battle of Los Angeles Night Two - September 3rd, 2016

PWG World Champion - Zack Sabre Jr

PWG World Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks

Commentators: Excalibur, Chuck Taylor, & Chris Hero

1) Tommaso Ciampa vs. Dalton Castle
"Is he just gonna do WWF moves now that he's a WWF guy?" -Chuck Taylor

Ciampa is an unexpected guest so the crowd goes wild. Jack Gallagher had to drop BOLA last minute due to flight delays so the Sicilian Psychopath stepped in a night early to add one more match to his final PWG weekend. With these two being polar opposites, it was a lot of fun. Ciampa has a sports entertaintment side to him though, so we got some comedy on his end which was cool. He started running through WWE moves from the pedigree to the spear and really just dominated this thing. Someone like Castle is made for fighting from underneath anyway. His comeback was awesome and including all his signature stuff from deadlift suplexes to the bangarang which would ultimately lead the Party Peacock to victory. Good opener, "Thank You Ciampa" chants ring out.

Match rating - ***

2) Mark Andrews vs. Pete Dunne
These two apparently had some killer matches in the UK. This was okay. Not nearly as good as the, in my opinion, overrated Andrews/Ospreay match from last year. I'm not dissing either match though because they are good debuting showcases for all involved. Dunne lived up to the hype of the Bruserweight and beat the hell out of Andrews all over the legion hall. Mandrews bounces back to get the win when all is said & done. Great back & forth action between the two near the end with several close falls.

Match rating - ***1/2

3) Sami Callihan vs. Cody Rhodes
Some people were underwhelmed by this, but it's actually my favorite match on the show up to this point. The reaction Cody gets is so cool and the dynamic of he & Sami is fucking awesome. Sami is a dark, underground WWE reject. Cody is a pretty boy, son of a son of a plumber. Sami beats on Cody, but Dusty's boy fires back and it's wonderful. The crowd was lit as hell for Cody's first big appearance outside of WWE so the atmosphere was great. This isn't some awesome match or anything however it's super super enjoyable, at least on my end.

Match rating - ***1/4

4) Chris Hero & Tommy End vs. Fenix & Pentagon Jr
PRAISE GOD THIS RULED. This is really everything you would expect it to be. These guys just went out and busted out all the marbles. Great Pentagon/Hero interactions which were built up to perfection. End gets his shit in one last time. Fenix & Pentagon continue to ensue absolute insanity with moves I never thought I'd ever see in my wildest dreams. Hell of a god damn match. So many different characters and personalities, all of which got their individual shine and meshed perfectly. I love wrestling.

Match rating - ****1/4

5) Trevor Lee vs. Kamaitachi
Killer spotfest. Both of these guys rip when they're on point, but have also been known for being sorta sloppy so I figured this would either be awesome or meh and it definitely ended up being the former. So much crazy shit packed into 15 minutes. Lee gets the win with the almighty small package driver.

Match rating - ***3/4

6) Cedric Alexander vs. Mark Haskins
Another fun spotty match here. Cedric is back in Reseda after a while away and I'm so glad that he's getting one more chance before he full times in the E because he's so fucking good and overlooked. Haskins really lucked up by getting him as his debut opponent because Cedric can't have a bad match and this was no different. Haskins taps out Alexander after a very solid 15 minutes to advance to the second round.

Match rating - ***1/4

7) Kyle O'Reilly vs. Matthew Riddle
More debuts! Riddle is in a high profile match in his first PWG appearance which undoubtedly says something about him. Facing Kyle O'Reilly in PWG right out of the gate is a statement and Riddle proved he deserved this chance by going toe to toe and grappling move for move with the former PWG Champion. Lots of limb work, strikes & submissions and all in all, just a fantastic display of this hybrid style of wrasslin. Not a MOTY caliber contest, but something you definitely want to check out. O'Reilly snags the win and looks to go for his second BOLA trophy.

Match rating - ***3/4

8) The Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Ricochet, Matt Sydal, & Will Ospreay
When the crowd starts singing "All Night Long" pre-match like it's 2013 all over again, you know this is gonna be good. Excalibur & Chuckie T are fired up on commentary, the Mount Rushmore/Bullet Club trio is acting as dickish & ignorant as ever, the three best high flyers in the world are on one team at their peak, this is god tier, ladies & gentleman. All the interactions leading up to the big explosion at the end that everyone was waiting for were golden. So much douchebagness from the Bucks & Cole. I love the way these matches are laid out with insanity being teased until things finally bust wide open. Big Dave gave this five stars and while I'm not giving five, I will say it's one of my favorite matches of the year and I thoroughly enjoyed the fuck out of it. On top of that, I will say they accomplished something great by delivering something different than your normal PWG mindblowing six man because some of the sequences here were so innovative that I can't even begin to describe them in text. Like, these guys are really outdoing themselves and just when I think it can't be topped, they top it. Just do yourself a favor and watch this match. There's a shooting star press Meltzer Driver for fucksake. A SHOOTING STAR PRESS MELTZER DRIVER. Get on it. The babyfaces win and Ricochet gives a speech to send the crowd home happy.

Match rating - ****1/2

2016 Battle of Los Angeles Review - Night One

PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night One - September 2nd, 2016

PWG World Champion - Zack Sabre Jr (since: All Star Weekend 12 Night Two - March 2016)

PWG World Tag Team Champions - The Young Bucks (since: Mystery Vortex III - June 2015)

Commentators: Excalibur & Chuck Taylor

1) Marty Scurll vs. Pentagon Jr
I can't think of a more fiery way to start off the night. This could honestly main event a show anywhere in the world and it's the opener here at BOLA 2016. Pentagon hasn't been seen since his debut weekend in PWG last summer at this very tournament so the crowd is red hot for him. Marty mocks the Ciero Medo and pokes Pentagon in the eyes to get the first small advantage of the match. Pentagon fired back with a huge plancha to the floor, but a misfired chop that landed on the ring post cost him. Scurll, being the villain, obviously took a lot of shortcuts and that was the story here. Pentagon nails Scurll with a package piledriver for a false finish that brought everyone to their feet. Pentagon goes for another and Scurll counters into the chicken wing for a huge pop and the submission victory.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Ricochet vs. Jeff Cobb
COBB IS A gOd. And Ricochet is a king. So, what would do we have here? More greatness. I swear, Cobb gets stronger every match. He tossed Ricochet around legitamately like a rag doll here. That comparison is thrown around alot in pro-wres, but it's honestly the perfect comparison to how Cobb hoists Ricochet, and the majority of his opponents, around. Ricochet used his speed to keep himself in this thing however he also showcased some power with a powerbomb off the top turnbuckle. Just as Ricochet adapted his style, Cobb did as well by showcasing his agility with a handspring out of a hurricanrana in the opening moments. This was a really fun match, Ricochet escapes the tour of islands with a small package to sneak away with the win.

Match rating - ***1/2

3) Matt Sydal vs. John Hennigan
Aye aye aye. This draggged. BUT it wasn't as horrid as some have made it out to be. It was pretty generic then there was a weird/rough moment near the end which caused the ending to come off flat however it wasn't a complete and utter shitfest. Everything leading up to it was fine, just not flashy or impressive. Not much to talk about. Hennigan wins to the shock and displeasure of many.

Match rating - **1/4

4) Fenix vs. Will Ospreay
What. the. fuck. I may have to watch this again to believe some of the shit that I saw. This was absolutely unreal and probably more than you even expected from these guys. They both landed on their feet off a spanish fly attempt from the turnbuckle. Try to fathom that. There's a reason Ospreay was crowned the Best of the Super Juniors this year and this match showcases his aerial abilities on a new level. Fenix matched him in this acrobatic display that will leave you speechless. Ospreay wins with the same cutter that brought him the BOSJ trophy over in Japan. Will it bring him the BOLA trophy as well?

Match rating - ****1/4

5) Zack Sabre Jr vs. Tommy End
This was a weird one for me. Sabre & End have been two of my favorites over the course of the past year or two and seeing them face off in PWG has been a dream match of mine, but this fell flat. Not that what they did here was bad, it just lacked the story/emotion/feeling needed to get me invested. The grappling & striking was good throughout however there was no clear vision from my end and it felt like they were just throwing stuff out there. It was one of those, a few good parts, but flat as a whole matches. The champion, Sabre, wins via tap out.

Match rating - **3/4

6) Chris Hero vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger
What. A. Time. To Be. A. Live. This is a dream match for the ages. Chris Hero is in prime and Jushin Liger is still killer despite being over the hump. This is Liger's first PWG appearance since 2010 where he & El Generico tore it down at the inaguaral Kurt Russell Reunion event. This particular match here is one of which that I watched twice before reviewing and I'd say that says something about it. I will say right off the bat, though, that it's not some MOTY, OMG moment of a match, but that doesn't mean it disappointed. They worked a simple formula with Hero being the young, dickhead bully. Liger was the resilient, "you still got it" old man that didn't take any shit. They didn't go with anything complex, but they didn't have to because these two are elite. Simply seeing them work a forumla like they did was awesome and provided us with several gasp worthy moments such as Liger popping up immediately after taking a Liger bomb from Hero. This led to the finish with one too many blows to the head finally keeping the legend down.

Match rating - ***3/4

7) The Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly, Bobby Fish, & Dalton Castle
Fun trios contest to end the first night of BOLA. ReDragon were disguised as the boys and played their part as such until about mid-way through the contest. After that, Excalibur started referring to them as O'Reilly & Fish. Other than that, there's not much to really talk about here. Your basic YB/Cole PWG six man tag. Nothing all that special, but fun for what it is. Mount Rushmore-Bullet Club wins with a double Meltzer.

Match rating - ***