Truth B Told 8.30.07: PWG Battle of Los Angeles ’07 Spectac-U-lar
Posted by Bayani Domingo on 08.30.2007
You are officially 24 hours away from THE Indy Tournament of the year. But hurry up and read quick because by the time you get to the Asian chick the line-up will have already changed again.
A Little History
In September of 2005 Pro Wrestling Guerilla ran their first ever Battle of Los Angeles Tournament. The two day tournament featured 16 of some of the most prominent names on the Indy circuit including AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Jamie Noble, Bryan Danielson, Jack Evans, Frankie Kazarian, Super Dragon, and many more. In the tournament finals Chris Bosh surprised the entire field by beating AJ Styles in the finals. Bosh won the trophy and went on to challenge for the PWG Title on numerous occasions. Unfortunately he lost 7 of his next 8 matches and ultimately the BoLA win went for naught.
One year later BoLA '06 featured an even larger and more diverse field of combatants as 24 men did battle over a 3 night tournament. Names such as Chris Hero, Austin Aries, Colt Cabana, Claudio Castagnoli, Roderick Strong, Delirious, and Chris Sabin were joined by 3 debuting members of the Japanese promotion, Dragon Gate. CIMA, Genki Horiguchi, and Dragon Kid made their PWG debuts in the tournament with CIMA losing in the finals to Davey Richards. Davey went on to cash in his "wild card match" to challenge B-Boy and Super Dragon for the Tag Titles instead of going after the World Title. Davey took on Roderick Strong as his partner and finally beat B-Boy and SD for the belts on All-Star Weekend 4...only to lose them back the next night. Again the BoLA win was seemingly squandered on a one day tag team title reign.
Now, one year after the last Battle of Los Angeles...or...363 or so...but who's counting? The 2007 edition is ready to commence this very weekend. The card has been shuffled since the beginning as Rocky Romero was replaced by Austin Aries after losing his spot in a match in which Aries put his salsa collection on the line. The spicy Latin music...not the spicy Latin dip. Chris Bosh unceremoniously and out of the blue retired, he was replaced by the high flying technico known as Necro Butcher. Then the tournament favorite and uncrowned King of Indy Wrestling, Bryan Danielson pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Tony Kozina. Don't feel bad if you've never heard of him. Then word broke just before submitting this article for the 3rd time that yet another change was made. Alex Shelley was signed to replace Super Dragon who still isn't 100% healthy. What makes this a huge surprise is the fact that Shelley is a TNA wrestler who was supposedly taken out of PWG by TNA themselves but has managed to make it on the roster for this weekend.
Intriguing I know. But that just covers a few of the men involved this year. Let's take a look at the rest of the field shall we?:
The Participants
Block "A"
Chris Hero - His chances of coming out of Block A have greatly increased with Danielson's injury, Hero is now a favorite to make the finals out of what was considered the most ‘stacked' of all the blocks by virtue of being recognized as one of the most accomplished and versatile wrestlers in the tournament. Too bad he has to wrestle that "douche bag" Joey Ryan who is a threat to cheat his way past any opponent. Oh, I don't think Hero would fancy a "mustache ride" on Friday night.
Joey Ryan - The longest reigning PWG champion ever. Although one of the weakest competitors in the tournament, also one of the craftiest. Never bet against a guy with a ‘big stake' in the company. Although a long shot to make the finals he's even money to eek out a victory in the 1st round.
Austin Aries - A recent replacement is also one of the favorites now that AmDrag is injured. His recent shift from facing Nigel to facing Strong might indicate good things for Aries as he's one of the hottest Indy wrestlers on the scene now after the "Emancipation of Aries" from TNA. Probably the most well rounded of all the wrestlers in the tournament along with Hero. While not a "fan favorite" since he hasn't been a PWG regular, one of the most recognizable wrestlers in the tourney.
Roderick Strong - Former Tag Team Champion and one of PWG's MVP's this year due to his high level of performance, results, and effort on a monthly basis. Along with Hero he looks to be a favorite of this block, at least according to most SoCal PWG fans considering how much he helped put over the tag titles. Right now he seems like THE fan favorite for Block A.
Jimmy Rave - Making his PWG debut. No one expects a finals appearance from this ‘rookie' due mainly to the success of most newcomers, but you never know. Bump up his chances of a finals appearance ten fold if Prince Nana somehow magically appears.
Matt Sydal - Rumors of a WWE developmental contract have negatively affected his chances of winning the tournament in many people's eyes. Then again Sydal has found minimal success in PWG this far and has been a long shot anyways. Still, a 2nd round appearance seems likely and perhaps a dance with "The Anarchist" is in the making.
Alex Shelley - Out of thin air he appears in the tournament and is being touted as a "one weekend only" deal, never the less, Alex Shelley replaces much of the star power that Danielson's absence had left this Block. Could a match against one of his former Gen Next stable mates be at hand? Either way, you don't have Shelley magically fall in your lap for one weekend only and job him out in the first round, it looks like Shelley may be a near lock for a Semi-Final match if he can get past Sydal or Rave.
Tyler Black - Black's record stands at 1 –1 after an improbable win over Joey Ryan a few short months ago. Black was a near lock to go out in the first round when faced with Claudio, then his fortunes changed with a new pairing against a relatively unknown Tony Kozina and NOW he faces his biggest challenge to date in PWG with Alex Shelley at hand. Sorry Tyler, but it looks like Super Dragon's decision to sit this one out due to not being 100% may have cost you a shot at the semi's.
Block "B"
Doug Williams - The one guy who stood to benefit the most from Danielson's departure. While I was predicting either a straight loss or at best a time limit draw it looks like "The Anarchist" may have an easy ride into round 2. That was until he was moved from Block A to B recently. It was out of the frying pan, into the cooler...and now back into the fire as he faces a streaking Claudio. One of the most accomplished technical wrestlers left Williams may be one of the few debuting wrestlers to make waves in a suddenly wide open tournament.
Claudio Castagnoli - PWG semi-regular has found little singles success, but coming off a big push in RoH may be on either the biggest run of his life, or more disappointment at the hands of a high flyer in the second round or Puro star. A crowd favorite, but still a long shot to make the finals.
Jack Evans - Jack has taken a lot of falls in his PWG career. As a semi-regular he is always a threat, but as a regular DG participants his ability to commit to long stretches of booking make him a long shot to make the finals.
PAC - Former Tag Champ and crowd favorite he has a better than average chance of making the semi-finals. Being tagged as a favorite to win this block along with CIMA there is a good chance he may have enough support to not only make the semi's but make a well deserved finals appearance as well.
CIMA - Despite a small group of fans on the message boards touting a Human Tornado upset, it seems almost a lock for last year's Runner Up to at least make the semi's this year. The biggest star out of Dragon Gate and their "Open the Dream Gate" Champion CIMA may very well be on his way to another finals appearance. If he manages to make it past PAC or Claudio into the finals I predict an upset and a win this year for DG's "Ace".
Human Tornado - Crowd favorite and this year's odd's on winner as the "Local Guy most likely to upset the field" Human Tornado is in for a long tournament. Even if he manages to best CIMA, he still has SHINGO or Lost to contend with, then either a higher flyer than himself in PAC or a harder hitting and more money making man in Claudio. Good luck Htizzle.
Scott Lost - Without Bosh Scott is truly Lost. While some are predicting an upset of SHINGO, which is quite possible, no one expects anything more than a possible 2nd round loss. He could be this year's "Local Guy who needs the Push", but something tells me Lost will lose out.
SHINGO - He's 0 for 2 thus far. He needs a win over Lost to move on to a possible clash against his factional rival leader, CIMA. My money is on SHINGO finally taking a win and leading us to the 2nd Dragon Gate style match up of the tournament. SHINGO vs CIMA might sell a few more DVD's than Lost vs Tornado.
Block "C"
Nigel McGuinness - One of the biggest names to debut in this year's tournament, Nigel could parlay his success in BoLA into bigger things in PWG if he returns. Now that his match up has been changed from a sure win over Rocky to a possible loss to Aries, into a ...I don't know...versus Davey there is a good chance Nigel may have a date with the 2nd round after all. Nigel is a big name for PWG and my guess is that he goes farther in the tournament than any other "rookie" this year. Hell, maybe he can be better than a JTTS on the West Coast.
Davey Richards - Last year's winner, this year's newest ‘tweener and facing one man who will not be intimidated by the man who would be Benoit. Davey is a threat in PWG because he's hard hitting, versatile, and still a craft character. Yet only in PWG does Davey even stand a chance against Nigel.
Necro Butcher - Replaces Bosh, in the ring, not on the mic. Unless Necro hates Mexicans too. I don't think we have a CZW correspondent here at 411 so I'll just guess not. Still, probably 1st round fodder as Necro is STILL looking for his first PWG win.
Kevin Steen - "Mr. Wrestling" is facing the man he was scheduled to face last show. I don't expect the results to be any different for this former PWG Champion. Steen is now one half of Steen-Erico and the PWG Tag Champions and a 2nd round ticket seems likely.
Dragon Kid - Kid made it to the 2nd round last year and was felled by Strong. This year he returns but faces his long time rival and nemesis, Susumu Yokosuka. Smart money is on a first round exit, but don't count out the perpetual underdog.
Susumu Yokosuka - Another debuting wrestler and a favorite to make the 2nd round. A date with El Generico may be in the offing. Most people are predicting since DK went to the 2nd round last year, it will be Susu's turn this year. *Random fact: Susu in Tagalog (Filipino) means breast feeding. Yes...Susu is INDEED ‘tits'.*
El Generico - PWG's MVP, without a doubt. You could argue for Roddy or Rocky, but Generico has meant everything to PWG this year and it looks like a lot of people are picking "The Generic Luchador" as the winner of the whole enchilada. Which he would enjoy since he's from Tijuana anyways. A win over the newly transplanted Tony Kozina is a guarantee and with an easier path to the finals it looks like El Generico may just be destined for a shot at the title after all. It sure beats the test his tag partner has to go through.
Tony Kozina (replacing Danielson) - With Danielson gone, there are is pretty much no one left who could fill such huge shows. Here is where "Tornado" Tony Kozina steps in. yeah, pretty much 1st round fodder, but this at least will be a feather in Kozina's cap and may ensure his continued booking in PWG with a strong showing here.
There you have the roster. A great group of wrestlers and with or without Danielson this is STILL the most talent field in a tournament in probably the past few years in all of wrestling. While much of the talk has been who is going to win the finals, the first round match ups looks awesome. With no "official" brackets we'll just take a look at the first round that has been announced so far and my take on the match ups...like you care...but it's my column damn it...go get your own:
THE 1ST ROUND
I have a special guest this week as none other than RoH enthusiast and East Coast Correspondent Samuel L. Berman is here on the scene for his special take on the first round action and his predictions for the tournament finals. I'll give you a quick run down of my thoughts first and then Sammy gets his $.02:
Night 1 of the 2007 Battle of Los Angeles on August 31, 2007, will feature:
First Round Match - A Block Chris Hero vs. Joey Ryan
This won't be pretty as this will be a mix of comedy/technical wrestling that PWG has become famous for. If there is any justice in this world and PWG wants to save some premiere matches for the 2nd and 3rd rounds they resist going with a long Joey run in the tournament and get serious with a Hero win. Still with the smart money on a Hero win, you never can tell with PWG and Joey's odds are actually better than even here.
Samuel Berman: Actually one of the most exciting match-ups of the first round as far as I'm concerned. Hero and Ryan are both consummate performers, and I think if they let both guys go out there and heel up against each other, that the results will be exceedingly entertaining. I got to see Ryan in a heel vs. heel matchup with Chuck Taylor in Mid-South earlier this year and it was absolutely hilarious. Hero's experience and talent put him on another planet than Taylor, so I see no reason to lower my expectations for this one. The fun part is that both guys (when they're not deciding to go over the top with their shtick) can actually wrestle at a high level, so the possibility remains that they could do a fifteen minute mat clinic if they chose. Not that I think that's particularly likely, but still.
Winner: Chris Hero
First Round Match - A Block Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong
A marquee match up in the first round, it looks like the Ex-GenNext feud will continue in PWG. Aries is the bigger name, but Strong has been very important to PWG in the past year, even holding the tag titles with PAC after winning them at the DDT4 tag tournament. While Strong seems like a sure win due to his status in PWG, don't forget that PWG has a history of their former champs unexplainably slipping back down the ladder after they drop their titles. The Fan Favorite here is Strong, but anyone outside of the live audience would assume that the bigger name and talent might win out here.
Samuel Berman: Now I know that a lot of people are predicting greatness here, and far be it from me to question professionals like Aries and Strong, but the drama in their matches is reliant on the storyline they're involved in over in Ring of Honor, not anything PWG-related. I'm not completely sold on the idea that they'll go all out and put on a show-stealer without the crowd heat that has accompanied their work elsewhere. I think Strong is good, but I actually don't think he's the potential superstar that others seem to. Aries, for my money, is the best singles wrestler on the Independent scene outside of "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson, so if I were doing the booking, he'd actually win this one in something of a walk to make him look as dominating as possible. With former guest players like Homicide, Samoa Joe and AJ Style as well as regulars like "Photogenic" Chris Bosh, Disco Machine and Quicksilver now unavailable to compete, PWG could get a lot of mileage building a lot of their promotion around Aries.
Winner: Austin Aries
First Round Match - A Block Jimmy Rave vs. Matt Sydal
Almost a dead match here as neither guy is even being picked to make it to the semi-finals. But hold on, a last minute change means that the winner of this match could face Tyler Black or Tony Ko....okay, Tyler Black. If that is the case then there is a good chance for one of these men to make it to the semi's and even upset the entire block by making it to the finals. Okay, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself but for what could be the end of Sydal's Indy run and the beginning of a possibly new Rave Era in PWG, this match suddenly becomes relevant. Odds are for the man who might not be going to the "e" going over here. But a Sydal vs Shelley 2nd round match seems more intriguing.
Samuel Berman: Sydal's WWE contract status limbo would seem to spoil the results here, as putting him over a newcomer with potential like Rave's would be a somewhat counterproductive decision. That said, though Rave seems to be looking for a new home promotion after his split with ROH, some still feel that Rave's ouster is a bit of old school kayfabe and that he'll actually be returning to ROH competition soon. However the real life situations shake out, Rave looks like the likely winner here, possibly foreshadowing big things for him in PWG. These two have had decent contests in ROH in the past, and with both now having additional ring time under their belts to develop, should be able to improve on their past work here.
Winner: Jimmy Rave
First Round Match - A Block Tyler Black vs. Alex Shelley
Good luck Tyler, you're facing one of the most popular wrestlers that PWG had prior to his departure last spring. With Shelley being given permission to participate, and NO I don't know what the deal is, it looks like Shelley may yet stand a chance of marching all the way to the finals after all. This may be a real under rated match as we'll finally see Black up against some top level talent. But make no mistake, the smart bet is on Shelley.
Samuel Berman: In a series of last-minute changes, Black has gone from facing Claudio Castagnoli to Tony Kozina to a returning Alex Shelley. In truth, Shelley is the biggest star of that trio, and I can't imagine TNA green-lighting his return to PWG competition (even on a one-time-only basis) only to have him lay down for a relative newcomer like Tyler Black. For the record, I like Black and think he's immensely talented, he's just not in a position to go over a TNA regular, especially one with Independent credibility like Shelley's. Shelley should advance here, allowing him to compete on Night Three in another tournament bout rather than a hastily assembled multiple-man contest. Also, a win for him would set up a pseudo-dream match in Shelley taking on former Embassy stablemate and tag team partner Jimmy Rave.
Winner: Alex Shelley
First Round Match - B Block "The Anarchist" Doug Williams vs. "Double C" Claudio Castagnoli
Doug, Doug, Doug. From almost assured first round loser to near lock for the 2nd round, back to an underdog. Facing CC is no easy task, even for the best technical wrestler in Europe, especially with Claudio not only being a crowd favorite but also a lot of people's picks to come out of Block B as the winner. Where Black/Claudio could have been a real show stealer, expect this to be a technical masterpiece that will make people remember that European wrestling at one point used to be more popular than Puro. Yeah, I remember that...it was a good month. My money is still on Claudio taking the duke as the seasoned PWG regular.
Samuel Berman: This match might actually be better than Williams vs. Danielson would have been, if only because Williams, though talented, is a little bland in the ring. Danielson has always had more trouble pulling charisma out of his opponent than Claudio, who has enough in-ring emotion for four. I think that Williams winning would be fun, but Claudio's made an absolute quantum leap this summer in Ring of Honor, and it seems likely that his efforts will carry over here as well. Claudio will more than likely be a PWG regular going forward, while Williams seems poised to return to Europe and make only sporadic appearances stateside. This one is a no-brainer in my mind.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
First Round Match - B Block Jack Evans vs. "The Man That Gravity Forgot" PAC
This match is sure to be spottier than Lita's chin 30 minutes into an "After Party" on the Luchagor's tour. One of THE most anticipated matches of the tournament due to the claims of fans that these are the two best high flyers in the business today. All due respect to Brent Albright and Bobby Dempsey. Jack is a semi-regular who is often unavailable due to Dragon Gate commitments. PAC is a regular who recently lost the tag titles to Steen-Erico. PAC also finished up a tour of DG that saw him win almost every match he was in AND get the pinfall as well. Could a match up against DG's ‘Ace' CIMA be in the works for the semi's? Possibly, and if that happens look for PAC to pull an upset victory over the man who handpicked him for his squad.
Samuel Berman: I was looking forward to this one far more a week ago before PAC's reportedly mediocre outing in New York City in front of the ROH faithful. Not that I think one bad match will end PAC's career or anything, but if there were ever a guy who would NOT reign in a spotty guy like PAC, it's Jack Evans. Both guys are good, and this should defy the laws of physics on a bunch of levels, but a classic probably just isn't in the works, especially with PAC probably looking to keep things closer to the vest to quiet his critics. This one is hard to pick due to the near identical styles of the two guys. Both would end up having pretty much the same match against whoever they face next, so I'm going to go with the guy who's recently held PWG gold, as it's the only real separation I can make between these two.
Winner: PAC
Night 2 of the 2007 Battle of Los Angeles on September 1, 2007, will feature:
First Round Match - B Block CIMA vs. Human Tornado (with Candice LeRae)
I would consider this HT's audition for a possible DG tour next year, look for CIMA to pull the semi-upset over the man many are picking to pull the first upset over a big name by a local talent. Still, I can't imagine last year's runner up going out in the first round to a former champ who has been merely a mid-carder for months. CIMA vs Lost/SHINGO seem like the bigger sell and I wouldn't get caught up in the "local guy should win again" hype.
Samuel Berman: I know there are a lot of people who like Tornado, but I'm not to be counted amongst them. I think CIMA losing here would be the story of the tournament, and because they're just NOT going to go that way, I'm not going to pay this one any more attention than to say that CIMA is awesome. Whoever defeats CIMA will end up losing to will get a HUGE rub from it, and I don't think Human Tornado is the guy who deserves that.
Winner: CIMA
First Round Match - B Block "The Professional" Scott Lost vs. SHINGO
As a buddy of mine said, "Look...if you are a part owner of the company and you can book yourself against CIMA...you do it". Hard to argue, but then again something tells me that Lost isn't exactly the majority owner of PWG. Although if anyone is in need of a push it is Scott Lost now that his tag partner Bosh has retired. Still, SHINGO is winless in PWG thus far and one would think that a meeting with CIMA is in the offing. If you can get at least 2 authentic Dragon Gate matches on a DVD set, you do it. SHINGO for a minor upset is my call.
Samuel Berman: I really, really, really like both of these guys and think this is the sleeper match of the entire tournament. Lost, who is now a de facto singles wrestler with the retirement of former Arrogance teammate Chris Bosh, will be looking to establish himself, while Shingo is already one of the most talented in-ring performers from Dragon Gate, despite having only started wrestling something like three years ago. Shingo's stint in ROH helped him round out an offensive arsenal that is easily one of the most solid in the tournament and if he were going to be a PWG regular in the coming year, I'd consider him one of the tournament favorites. As it is, he's probably a long shot, but the potential second-round match with CIMA puts him over the top here. That match should be spectacular.
Winner: Shingo
First Round Match - C Block Nigel McGuinness vs. Davey Richards
Nigel is the bigger name, Davey has the bigger prescence in PWG, but neither man is being picked to win the tournament. Davey's chances of repeating seem slim, but even Nigel is getting the kind of love one would expect because both Super Dragon and El Generico are in his Block. Don't sleep on this as Block C is my pick to give us the best matches of the tournament. This will be hard hitting and in the end I could see Nigel going on to the next round to face Kevin Steen.
Samuel Berman: Davey is the defending BOLA champion, so having him drop in the first round would be a very interesting move. Nigel is one of the top singles competitors in the world, but is making what I believe is his PWG debut in this contest. Though I personally don't think that Davey is even near Nigel's level, PWG booking would seem to disagree (which is fine). Davey advances to defend his title on Night Three, but Nigel looks strong and probably gets an invitation back to the West Coast.
Winner: Davey Richards
First Round Match - C Block Necro Butcher vs. PWG Tag Team Champion "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen
Necro is a hell of a nice guy, a hell of a brawler, and a hell of a substitute for Chris Bosh. Still, no one expects him to pull out the upset here and a Steen win is almost a lock. This is going to be a brutal affair however and this could seriously hinder Steen's chances of getting past Nigel in the 2nd round as he'll be in a tag match the 1st night, and out and out brawl in the 2nd and another tough test in Nigel the very next night.
Samuel Berman: Necro is fun in a ‘golly, I haven't seen a bar room brawl in a while' sort of way, but putting him over anyone is completely counterproductive. The thing about Necro Butcher is that whoever he faces should have to pull out their entire arsenal (including some new, dangerous tricks) to win, but should eventually put the crazy man down. I see this one playing out similarly to last year's Super Dragon vs. Necro Butcher affair, which was No DQ and was the main event of the second night. Steen will get the duke with a Package Piledriver through a table or a moonsault off of a ladder or something like that.
Winner: Kevin Steen
First Round Match - C Block Dragon Kid vs. Susumu Yokosuka
I've heard it from a few fans and even a few wrestlers, but THIS right here could be the match of the tournament. These two have a long and storied history in Dragon Gate and this is the match I am most looking forward to. Most people have Susu going on to the 2nd round since Kid made it last year...I won't disagree with that logic.
Samuel Berman: This should be a solid Dragon Gate style contest (for obvious reasons), but probably won't be as off-the-charts as some are expecting. The wrinkle here is that these two are teaming up on Night One to take on Steen & Generico for the PWG World Tag Team Titles, so I'd expect some level of dissention there by one of these two, leading to a ‘who's the weak link?' sort of affair here. Dragon Kid being the weak link is silly because he's the dramatically smaller competitor, so I'll give him the win in an "upset" that won't actually be that much of one.
Winner: Dragon Kid
First Round Match - C Block PWG Tag Team Champion El Generico vs. Tony Kozina
Is it just me or did Generico's road to the finals just get a little easier. Not that Kozina is a slouch, but c'mon...facing Super Dragon vs facing Tony Kozina?? Now it looks like Generico might just be a near lock for the semis, but will it be against Nigel or Steen?
Samuel Berman: I mean is this match even in doubt? When Generico was facing Super Dragon I still had him advancing, and now that he's facing last-minute replacement Kozina, he seems like even more of a lock to get to round two. Kozina winning here over the former PWG World Champion and current tag champ would be the upset of the tournament.
Winner: El Generico
...And More
Night One will feature a Tag Team Title Match pitting the PWG Tag Team Champions El Generico and Kevin Steen against Typhoon members and Dragon Gate wrestlers, Dragon Kid and Susumu Yokosuka. No one expects a title change here, but what is interesting is that all these men are in Block C. A possible Steen-Erico confrontation in the semi's might take place but that just seems so cliche' this early on in their title reign that this match could have tons of applications concerning the rest of the tournament. Look for Steen-Erico to retain but if Susu takes the pin and wins the next night against Kid, expect that an upset might happen over a certain masked wrestlers in the quarter finals. It would be hard to believe that a DG guy won't make the finals this year and if CIMA isn't the guy then Susu is. Also more than likely we'll seen Top Gun Talwar, Scorpio Sky, Ronin, the Youngbucks, and possibly NEMESIS or Los Luchas in action as well in the opening matches. There will also probably be a few extra matches on night two and three with the losers of the previous nights competing in tag team action. There will be a few of the BoLA participants booked for a show in Northern California on Night 2, Joey Ryan, Jimmy Rave, Matt Sydal, Roderick Strong, and Claudio Castagnoli are just some of the names. Actually for those who can't make it to BoLA and live in Fresno, go check out Pro Wrestling Live on myspace for details, the show actually looks good. The big question is, how will these guys being booked in NorCal affect the booking for Night 2? No idea ... yet.
Predictions
Don't you love this section? Where I pretend that I know what the hell is going to happen and I drop all this logic for why wrestler ‘A' and ‘B' will win and ‘C' and ‘D' don't stand a chance. Well to be honest, I have no idea because PWG's booking is so damn whacky and they often don't know until the last minute who they want to go over. Chances are even last year's results were skewed due to a last second injury to both Jack Evans and Super Dragon in the semi-finals match. Still some predictions are in order and if that is the case then I'll name off the men I think will make it to the quarter finals (or at least should for the sake of DVD sales):
Quarter Finals Block A
Bayani has: Chris Hero, Austin Aries, Matt Sydal, Alex Shelley
Berman has: Hero, Aries, Jimmy Rave, Alexy Shelley
I know a lot of people have El Generico taking the whole tournament, but I hate going with the crowd. That and with Generico holding the tag title it doesn't seem necessary to give him another shot at the World title considering he should be due for a rematch anyways. Danielson actually told him after taking the title from him that all he had to do was ask. With that I'm going with Nigel taking the block and Aries outlasting Shelley in what should be an awesome match. I don't think Shelley needs a finals appearance and the possibility of Aries taking the whole tournament would be logical as he is the 2nd biggest name on the card....arguably. Still Shelley should have a great run up until the semis. I had to really really think about it and I really believe that PAC has just as big of a chance of going over CIMA as the other way round, but at this point PAC doesn't need the win to be "over" and he should be in line for a rematch for his tag titles not a singles match against Danielson. A win by CIMA makes a lot of sense since he won't bet a shot at the title for several months which allows Danielson to heel up and also gives him a decent title reign. Plus, adding an international star like CIMA to the list of past winners would really wonders for the legitimacy of the tournament. Do I really expect CIMA to win? Of course not, but thats how I'd book it. Let CIMA win and challenge Danielson in a couple of months as they just had a time limit draw a few months back. Would PWG let CIMA hold the title? Probably not. Actually I would say Aries (strongly agree with Sammy that Aries will probably win the finals), Strong, and PAC are more likely winners, but sometimes...you just gotta give it up to a fellow Asian brutha. No matter how you slice it though I doubt we'll end up with any less than three stellar athletes in the finals and this could be a great match so long as each guy gets enough rest on the 3rd night. Which will be difficult to do considering that the 3 finalists will have to wrestle three matches each that night. There is a reason this is being touted as the most talented field in the Indies this year and perhaps....ever. Well it would have been had Danielson not been knocked out by the biggest Japanese Margaret Cho impersonator I've ever seen in my life. Let's just wait to see if Tony Kozina busts out the MMA elbows in the first round.
In Case You Want to go
for those of you within a 200 mile radius or even more, I would assume you have already gotten your tickets and are planning your trip down to SoCal as you read this...in a different window of course. Btw, I hear the Marriott by the Burbank airport is nice. For those who haven't and are have been convinced after reading this that this is a "MUST SEE" event, you can still get tickets to the show. Unfortunately Front Row and 2nd row tickets are sold out. 3rd, 4th, and General Admission tickets are still available however both on-line and at the door. You actually only have till 12pm today to get them on-line so if you don't...just roll to the show. PWG never turns people away, just plan on getting there at least 2 hours early to ensure yourself a seat or risk the chance of standing all night long. For more details check out www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com, or at the BoLA Mini-site. Oh yeah, the rest of the details:
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's "2007 Battle of Los Angeles" takes place at the Burbank Armory on Friday, August 31, 2007, at 8:00 PM; Saturday, September 1, 2007, at 8:00 PM; and Sunday, September 2, 2007, at 8:00 PM. The Burbank Armory is located at 3800 W. Valhalla Dr., Burbank, CA, 91505.
The Truth
The truth this week is that this is one of.... it is THE most anticipated Indy show this year. Just look at the line up. Losing 4 guys in the tournament to various retirements, injuries, and prior commitments, and still managing to sign Necro, Aries, *cough Kozina cough*, and more importantly Alex Shelley, it almost makes up for Danielson not being there. Well shoot, it's not like you'd notice because these are 24 of the top Indy names out there and if you are within a 300 mile radius and still don't manage to make it down to Burbank this week. Well shoot...hope you enjoy those "Heat" matches on wwe.com.
Coming Up Short
Hey looks, it's CM Punk as the #1 contender...yet again. After losing 3 straight times to John Morrison he is STILL not being shunted back down the card. Is it just me or is this actually more nepotistic booking than anyone not named Cena or HHH has gotten in quite some time. Oh well, at least this time Punk is going to win right? Right? Who knows? And at this point...who cares? To me, they've missed the bus on Punk and it's going to get a hell of a lot more than another match with Morrison to get me to care about him. I love how WWE takes a popular Indy guy and makes him look like a jobber, just to build him back up and claim all the responsibility for him looking good again for themselves. To me, the whole notion of Punk being anything more than a "C" show JTTS has come up way short.
6 Degrees of…
Double C continues his reign of dominance and is reaching near Satrang like levels of success.
Good to see my 6DO counterpart Louis Jones is also Canadian. It's true, we are taking over. At this rate, forget just Wisconsin, pretty soon the entire US of A will be known as the 11th province. Or the 4th territory. We're not picky.
Happy to be back in the winner's circle. I have noticed that in the recent past, winners have chosen the 6DO nominees based on their race/religion, and I thought I'd get in on the action. Being Jewish (yes, Jewish and Canadian, what a combo), let's connect The Jew of Jews, Billy Crystal, to my favourite Jewish wrestler, Barry Horowitz. Oy gevalt!
Okay, I'm saying it now, but I'm not letting anyone win this thing unless they can properly connect these two using only Jews. No Catholics, no Protestants, no Amish...Jews...and plenty of them. OY VAY!!
Whatchu talkin' bout readers?
Mike Oberegger didn't mind the detour last week:
"I guess I should apologize to some of you for departing from my usual cynical, smart ass meandering about the pitfalls of today's booking."
No need to apologize. Great column, as usual. I come for your interesting insights, but stay for the asian bitches.
Take care, keep up the good work.
Mike.
Yeah, it always comes back to the Asian bitches.
Ron M. understands the societal aspects of wrasslin':
Yeah, I still read a column here and there. But boy is it rare anymore. Anyway, I really dig this last one you wrote. I really can't add much more to what you said except that I agree. ჼThis part in particular: "But there are those people that understand and can
commiserate. A group of people you can sit around and bitch about the industry for literally hours on end. You can just shoot the shit about blown spots, forced pushes, and bad promos and in the end actually feel better"
. No doubt about it. I've also had some long nerdy discussions about positive things, but indeed the last 2 hour deal (about 6 years ago) involved alot about the IC title getting flushed down the toilet.
Around this time a group of "college friends" became general go-to friends as a larger group formed and we did watch wrestling amongst other TV shows
and movies. A good friend from that group and I ended up dropping out
but stayed in the area to be away from home for a while. Once we both moved back home I remember how he lamented that watching Family Guy or some other show just isn't the same without those people around.
It's just one of those things.
-RM
There really is no better time to get hooked on wrestling than in college. Especially when someone wonders aloud, "Hey...you think that would hurt? Lemme try it on you...c'mon...". yeah, that always sounds like a good idea....who knew my left shoulder would still be gimpy 5 years after that Cattle Mutilation.
Hey Bayani, how goes it?
Good article this week. It's strange how wrestling has become more about the social aspect than the actual grappling for me too. Being from accross the pond, (speaking of which, there seem to be more and more of us, both on 411 and in the US Wrasslin' scene these days. Time to re-colonise methinks!), Raw and PPVs start in the wee hours of the morning. Myself and a couple of good friends tend to stay up and watch. We don't really know why, and we have more fun complaining than we do watching the WWE product, but it has become a sort of tradition in its regularity.
And you're right- it'd much more enjoyable to watch Raw with a mate than to sit alone and watch ROH. Even with bonus Shimmer matches.
If you're having a roundtable for the PWG BOLA, can I join in? At the very least, the tournament brackets look amazing! Here's hoping that Brian Danielson needs to save his energy to win the NWA title. And jobs in the first round.
Take care!
-Luke Southworth
There is nothing quite like watching a good Big Daddy V squash match with a friend and both swearing to God he looks like that one dude with the blonde mohawk ...oh well. Luke missed out on the round table since it's usually a staff thing...btw, cheap plug but Friday will feature the first ever PWG round table hosted by yours truly for BoLA '07. But fear not because Luke is going to get the first shot at a new segment this week...trust me...can't miss it...I even bolded the title. Swank, I know. Oh, speaking of missing out, looks like sending a giant topless Japanese lesbian into a ring against the ‘Best in the World" in what was a super stiff match might not have been the best decision by Gabe over in RoH. Danielson is hurt, misses out on BoLA and his chance at the NWA title. Wow...maybe they should reconsider the Jolly Nippon Giant and give the RoH strap to someone safer...like Pelle.
I'm wondering if you were serious in this quote, minus the unicorns obviously:
"Why is no one making me a snazzy banner for me? With hot asian bitches and like…transforming robots and…I dunno…a unicorn and shit."
Now you see I'd be more than happy to make you one if you're game, just let me know and I'll get to work on it right away. If you want to see some of my stuff, just look no further than Hidden Highlights. Anyways, I'm out....and what not.
PS: Is it just me or did that second paragraph start like a bad blackmail note?
~Dan
Well Dan, I took a gander at the HH last week and I was fairly impressed...I wouldn't mind trying out a banner...even sans the Unicorns....but it's hard to imagine Asian bitches and Transforming robots without the Unicorns. Oh well.
Special BoLA ‘O7 Guest Spot Featuring.....Luke Southworth
I figured that since TBT makes claims at being the 8th most reader friendly and interactive Wrestling column on 411...on Thursdays...that I might as well grant Luke a his wish and feature his picks this week. So here was Luke's response to my invite:
Well done. That was just about spot on Britishness.
Why doesn't good wrestling get a proper TV deal by the way? It's just annoying. We get 1 and a half hours of year old ROH a week, with WWE and TNA rapidly deteriorating.
Anyroad.
As tempted as I am to say Williams, Pac and McGuinness, I can't see it.
With no AmDrag, Roderick Strong should win Block A, Claudio for Block B, and Steen for Block C.
Claudio to win overall, with the other 2 back into a tag-team feud.
Cheers for the reply, be well!
-Luke
I'd say that's a pretty good guess, although most people are picking Generico over Steen in Block C, also there were quite a few changes since Luke's E-mail. Tony Kozina was added to replace AmDrag and Super Dragon dropped out in order to make room...for one weekend only...for the return of...ALEX SHELLEY!! Still Strong and Claudio are pretty good choices for the first two blocks and Steen might just surprise a few people. Tune in this weekend as I will be reporting LIVE all weekend from BoLA and we'll see just how spot on Luke was with his predictions.
6 Degrees Results
Honorable Mention
Hey
Well, here we go
1) The Grand Wizard managed Superstar Billy Graham to㷢the WWF title
2) Billy Graham was in the movie "Fist Fighter" along㷢with Matthias Hues
3) Matthias Hues was in "Star Trek VI: The㷢Undiscovered Country" with Kurtwood Smith
4) Kurtwood Smith was in "Quick Change" with Bill㷢Murray
5) Bill Murray was in "Ghost Busters" with William Atherton "It's true, this man has no dick".
6) William Atherton was in "Die Hard" with Alan Rickman
1) Alan Rickman was in "Dogma" along with Matt Damon
2) Matt Damon was in "The Ocean's Movies" with Andy Garcia
3) Andy Garcia was in "The Untouchables" along with Kevin Costner
4) Kevin Costner was in "Tin Cup" with Don Johnson
5) Don Johnson provided a voice in "GI Joe: The Movie" as did Sgt Slaughter
6) Sgt Slaughter inducted "The Grand Wizard" to the WWE Hall of Fame
Louis Jones gets points deducted for just sneaking in his entry under the wire.
B--
I'm back! I've had a nice long sabbatical but I wanted to get my name out there one more being I saw you hinting at the impending 6DO tournament. So I've supplied an entry for old times sake.
Alan Rickman to The Grand Wizard
1) Rickman was the voice of God in Dogma, which also starred Jason Lee, as Azrael a demon of hell...
2) Lee co-stars with Ethan Suplee in the NBC show My Name is Earl...
3) Suplee starred as Ashton Kutcher's roommate in the Butterfly Effect...
4) Kutcher's show Punk'd once featured on skit on Triple H...
5) Triple H graduated from Killer Kowalski's wrestling school...
6) Kowalski was one of many men managed by the Grand Wizard of Wrestling... Mark Satrang
Finally Mark has come BACK....to TBT. He's still shaking off the ring rust though as an Ashton Kutcher link is almost always death.
#3
Derek Serkies
Very interesting 6DO this week.
1. Alan Rickman was in Die Hard with Bruce Willis
2. Bruce Willis was in The Last Boy Scout with Halle Berry
3. Halle Berry was in Bullworth with Warren Beatty
4. Warren Beatty was in Dick Tracy with Madonna
5. Madonna was in Shanghai Surprise with Prof. Toru Tanaka
6. Prof. Toru Tananka was managed by The Grand Wizard
A "Dick Tracy" reference...solid. I was hoping for a link to that infamous villain, "Jaw Jack". Oh wait...that was just Lita's old nickname.
#2
Double C is staying in fighting shape for the "King of 6DO" tournament next month:
I am once again submitting 2 entries this week:
#1 -
1. Alan Rickman was in the 1999 movie "Dogma" with Matt Damon.
2. Matt Damon starred in the 2006 movie "The Departed" with Martin Sheen.
3. Martin Sheen starred in the 1995 movie "The American President" with Michael J. Fox.
4. Michael J. Fox starred in the 1993 movie "Life With Mikey" with Cyndi Lauper.
5. In Cyndi Lauper's video for 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun', the role of her father was played by Captain Lou Albano.
6. In the 1970's, Captain Lou Albano was one of the three WWF managers that made up The Three Wise Men Of The East, the other two being 'Classy' Freddie Blassie and The Grand Wizard Of Wrestling.
#2 -
1. Alan Rickman starred in the 1999 movie "Galaxy Quest" with Justin Long.
2. Justin Long was in the 2006 movie "The Break-Up" with Geoff Stults.
3. Geoff Stults is currently dating the lovely and quite smokin' hot Stacy Kiebler.
4. In March 2001, Stacy Kiebler, aka Miss Hancock, became the valet to Shawn Stasiak.
5. Shawn Stasiak's father is Stan "The Man" Stasiak.
6. On December 1, 1973, Stan "The Man" Stasiak beat Pedro Morales to win the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship, and Stasiak's manager at the time was the Grand Wizard Of Wrestling.
Oh man, "Galaxy Quest", now THAT is going obscure. Plus any mention of my future ex-wife Stacy Keibler is a sure crowd pleaser.
#1.
Ok, connecting Alan Rickman to the Grand Wizard of Wrestling
1.)Alan Rickman stars in uncoming movie "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of
Fleet Street " with Sacha Baron Cohen.
2.)Sascha Baron Cohen, playing his Borat Character was interviewed on "The
Early Show with Harry Smith"
3.)Harry Smith the interviewer shares the name with Harry Smith, son of Davey-Boy Smith of the British Bulldogs
4.)The British Bulldogs were managed at wrestlemania 2 by Captain Lou∀Albano
5.)Captain Lou Albano was part of the 3 wisemen of the East during the 1970's with Classy Freddy Blassie and The Grand Wizard of Wrestling
Thanks
Dave Dunn
Man, I feel so dirty, letting all these Canucks dominate 6DO...I feel like I need a shower now. Oh well, the Harry Smith link was pretty damn ingenious so what can I do. Well Dunn Dave. I mean...well Done. Looks like you won yourself a nomination for next week and the opportunity to enter the 6DO tournament of Champions if you're interested...ya hoser. HA!!
Left Overs…
It's late, I'm tired from the bajillion re-writes due to PWG's constantly changing the card so the bullets points...are short...and few...enjoy:
Triple H looks more natural now than in years. Finally...Steph's boobs are bigger than his now.
You know, if Randy can get away with it....why not me? It's official, this weekend I'm rockin' the emo black t-shirt, knee high boots and tighty black undies. Oh man, and wrist tape...almost forgot that...without it...that ensemble just looks gay.
TNA announced to their wrestlers that they are moving to a 2 hour time slot in October. Which is great...that means that we're almost assured of at least another 2.75 minutes of wrestling per show now. Huzzah!!
I read the spoilers for TNA already. Let's just say my faith has been restored in Vince Russo's booking. My faith being that Vince Russo is slightly autistic.
Is it just me or is Kurt Angle going to be facing a lot of "black" at the next PPV? Black Machismo, the Black hole Slam, Killings and Pacman (aka Chocolate Rain). One would think that not only is Angle up against a mighty Nubian challenge, but also stealing the ONE good gimmick that Lita had left going for her. Oh well, at least she can still do that thing with the ping pong balls...I mean...Softballs.
From Gunner Scott to NWA Champion. Not bad for Brent Albright, although had he stuck in the "e" he was just as likely to face the "Repo Man" at a SNME as he was in Puerto Rico.
Beth Phoenix looks like her vagina would have a six-pack. That's a buff ass bitch.
Random Asian Bitch Lookin' "Cute" Pic of the Week
This is the kinda Cutie you'd like to bring home to meet your mom. Then hope for some road head on the way back to your apartment
Jimmy Rave may be in TNA after being rumored to be working "No Surrender" and the upcoming Impact! Taping. He worked with Russo's "Ring of Glory" promotion a while back. It was a religious federation. How Russo managed to not be struck down by a bolt of lightening for his ungodly booking is probably explained in there somehow.
Pimpin' In High Places
Man...I am tired...but...read these columns cuz' these guys wrote ‘em and if you don't...well, I'm told we'll have to split the staff room with the Games section. I hate it when they jam up the bandwidth with all their Starcraft stuff while I'm trying to surf for porn:
Ask 411 is manned by Cook again this week, which must be some kind of record. I'm still waiting for Napier to come back and challenge Cook for his old spot again...or at least his old coffee mug. "World's Best Dad" indeed Cook....
J-Link hates Hard Justice. The TNA version...not the T n' A version. Because that movie was a HIT, I gave it 3 thumbs up. *wink*
A-Matt stole my idea to embed a BoLA hype video for this week. Oh well, I guess it's my fault for being on Thursdays...PRIME TIME BABY!!
Evo Scheme features the Sensational Sherri Martel. No relationship to Rick I believe.
Short plug for this week as he talks about some kind of tournament back East. I mean, Far East...I hope Danielson wasn't booked in that one too.
*phew* something is Rank up in this mutha...oh, it's only RAW.
CoH and Ari talks about RoH this week...but you know...it's okay if you like East Coast feds. I prefer the California feds...where every match is served with Avocado and mango salsa. I don't know why...but everything else is around here.
Threat x 3 discuss amongst other things, Matt Sydal going to the "e". some like it, some don't...I think Sydal would be great in ECW...after all Kelly Kelly is due another hook up, right? Oh that Kelly Kelly is Slutty Slutty.
D-Dubya thinks CM Punk got screwed on Sunday. I'm sure he did...I hear Maria is totally into "pity fucks".
Sammy has an underrated match from last year's BoLA. CIMA vs M-Dogg 20. Not to spoil it for you, but CIMA wins. Mainly because people know who CIMA is. Just kidding Matt...no, not really. I guess I'm just bitter you gave up those swank black velvet tights.
Damn it, Alex Mattis totally stole my BoLA '07 hype video for his column yesterday. Lucky for me...no one reads it. So it's like it never happened. I want to say I'm kidding...so I will. Who loves ya A-Matt? Okay, so here we go again for everyone who didn't read Alex's column...(oh yeah, thanks to Tigerdriver98 who didn't give me persmission to use the clip but...hell, he'll have to find me to collect the royalties)
Yeah, try to tell me you're not impressed. So to sum up this week's column....open up another internet window, buy a plane ticket, gas up the car, go beg, borrow, and steal an RV, whatever it takes, but get your ass to BoLA this week...STAT. If not...well we have a Round Table coming up tomorrow along with a "Buy or Sell" dedicated to PWG and my LIVE reports all weekend long. Oh yeah, BoLA overload...bitches. Btw, thanks again to Sammy and Luke this week. I'll make sure to savor the first nacho from Mama Talwar in your honor guys.
