411 PWG Roundtable Preview: Battle of Los Angeles 2007 – 8/31, 9/1, & 9/2

Posted by Bayani Domingo on 08.31.2007

The 411 staff gets together for a preview of the most unpredictable and anticipated tournament of the year. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is pitting 24 of the top Indy talent in the World against each other over the next 3 days as they present the 3rd Annual BoLA tournament.

Welcome one and all to the greatest show West of the Mississippi and the first EVER PWG roundtable. PWG is putting on arguably the biggest Indy show of the year with their Battle of Los Angeles and it was just too big to ignore. The first round alone offers up several "Dream Matches" never seen on the West Coast or even the US that include: Austin Aries vs Roderick Strong in a battle of Ex-GenNext stable mates, PAC vs Jack Evans in a battle of the highest of high flyers, Dragon Kid vs Susumu Yokosuka adding another chapter to their legendary feud from Dragon Gate, Tyler Black vs Alex Shelley who returns to PWG for one weekend only, Claudio Castagnoli vs Doug Williams in a battle of European Super Powers, Necro Butcher vs Kevin Steen in what promises to be a brutal No-Holds Barred match up, and plenty more. The tournament is so big in fact that it is nearly impossible to fit all of the predictions for each first round match up into a single column. Therefore the 411 staff will be previewing the 24 man field and giving their choices for the winners of the 3 "Blocks" and their BoLA champion amongst other things. Oh and it wasn't easy considering the card has changed 5 times in the past few weeks, and 3 times in the past 48 hours. By the time you're done reading this roundtable El Generico might very well be replaced by Norman Smiley. Well enough of the introduction, let's see who we have along for the ride this week:

Andy Clark, The Shimmy Meister,

Michael Bauer, the man of the hauer, too sweet to be sauer, and ECW recapper

Theo Fraser, Nintendophile and Game Zone guest,

Ryan Byers, Impact Crater writer and the man Russo crossed off his X-mas list,

Ari Bernstein, Column of Honor author and RoH defector,

Larry Csonka, the Super Dragon of the 411 Wrestling Zone,

Samuel L. Berman, the Independent Mid-Carder,

And of course, Me, Bayani "The Truth" Domingo,

Now that the staff has been introduced, let's get to a preview of the first round matches for this weekend's shows and the participants making up each "Block". Cards are current as of Thursday 8/30.

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

First Round Match - A Block
Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong

First Round Match - A Block
Jimmy Rave vs. Matt Sydal

First Round Match - A Block
Tyler Black vs. Alex Shelley

First Round Match - B Block
"The Anarchist" Doug Williams vs. "Double C" Claudio Castagnoli

First Round Match - B Block
Jack Evans vs. "The Man That Gravity Forgot" 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)

First Round Match - B Block
"The Professional" Scott Lost vs. SHINGO

First Round Match - C Block
Nigel McGuinness vs. Davey Richards

First Round Match - C Block
Necro Butcher vs. PWG World Tag Team Champion "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen

First Round Match - C Block
Dragon Kid vs. Susumu Yokosuka

First Round Match - C Block
PWG World Tag Team Champion El Generico vs. Tony Kozina

Alright, now on to the predictions:

Block A Winner:

Andy Clark: Block A is definitely the most stacked of the three blocks. I think Bryan Danielson is just too obvious of a winner, and with an opponent like Doug Williams he could face an early exit in the tournament. Matt Sydal could try and play spoiler as he heads on his way to WWE, but I doubt it. Aries and Strong should be a great match and should have some ROH overtones in it. I think the two men I like coming out of this block are Chris Hero and Doug Williams (who I'm picking to advance along with Jimmy Rave and Austin Aries). I think between the two of them I'll go with Hero.
Winner: Chris Hero

Michael Bauer: Very lucky for this group that Danielson is injured, because I have got to believe he was a lock for the finals. Sydal vs. Rave and Aries vs. Strong should be some great matches, but Chris Hero will emerge from a stacked group after knocking off Joey Ryan, Austin Aries, and Jimmy Rave in that order.

Winner: Chris Hero

Theo Fraser: Bryan Danielson would have been my original choice, but seeing as he's going to be out for 4-6 weeks with that horrible eye injury, I've had to reconsider. I wonder how Danielson's absence will affect the booking, if at all? Anyway, I know a lot of people are picking Chris Hero to emerge from the block here, but to me that seems a little too predictable. And as we all know, the BOLA weekend is always about surprises! I personally see Roddy Strong breaking into the finals, to keep him in the limelight after his tag title loss to Steenerico.

Winner: Roderick Strong

Ryan Byers: Well, it certainly is a shame to see our beloved American Dragon go down, because I'd certainly think him to be a shoo-in if he were involved in this block of the tournament. If the World Champion is going to be beaten in a tournament like this, it will most likely be held off until the finals, just because it makes little sense to put somebody over the champ and then bounce that guy from the tourney in the next round. However, with AmDrag out, there doesn't appear to be much of a sure-fire winner. When in doubt, I say go with the biggest star of the lot, and in 2007 I'd slap that label on one Mr. Chris Hero. Having somebody go over him in the finals would provide a much-needed credibility boost, and his size allows him to bring something different in to a finale that will most likely involve two lightheavyweight competitors.

Winner: Bryan Danielson Chris Hero

Ari Berenstein: I would like to think that Danielson, as PWG Champion and being the big independent name that he is, would have gone on to the finals in this year's tournament. Well, I'd like to think that, but he was also wrestling for NWA in Puerto Rico on night 2...so unless "The Best Wrestler in the World" also has the "Best Airline Connections in the World", it wasn't to be. Now if Williams had stayed in the A block I would have picked him to go to the finals. Now I see Joey Ryan making it to at least the finals of the bracket to fight Matt Sydal. Even though Hero is at the top of his game right now in the indies, Ryan has always been a big fixture in PWG whether as a face or as a heel. We MUST HAVE Ryan vs. Aries along the way in a battle of mirror universe hair and mustache styles. However, the sky is the limit for Sydal and I see him making it to night three still in the tournament. If he is indeed signing with the E, then this will be one of his last hurrahs.

Winner: Matt Sydal

Larry Csonka: Just so everyone knows, this isn't so much who I THINK will go to the finals and such, but who I would put there. To be honest, even with Danielson pulling out of the event due to injury, Block A is STIZZACKED with talent. There are just so many guys that could walk out of the block, and if they do I think that the winner of this block is the odds on favorite to win it full out. That being said, I am going with…
Winner: Chris Hero

Samuel Berman: Obviously the entire tournament is difficult to predict, with no clear favorite now that PWG World Champion and generally undisputed king of Independent wrestling "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson is out of action for the weekend. Looking at Block A, there are a bunch of key players who would make reasonable picks for the finals. Aries, Strong, Hero, and former PWG World Champion Joey Ryan would all be realistic choices from their half of the bracket, while Tyler Black or Jimmy Rave could make a Cinderella run from their side of things. Late-breaking addition Alex Shelley has more than proven in the past that he's able to elevate his game to extremely high levels and could absolutely run all the way to the finals. Matt Sydal, he of the pending WWE contract, seems like the longest shot in the bracket, as much as a result of politics as anything else. Though I'm tempted to go with Hero, just because he's been so dominant in tournament action this year worldwide, I'm going to go the other way here and pick Aries to advance out of an absurdly stacked Block A field, as I think he's now second only to Danielson in terms of prestige by an Independent talent, at least in the post-TNA talent pull era. And speaking of which, does someone want to explain Shelley's presence in light of those events?

Winner: Austin Aries

Bayani Domingo: This is one hell of a Block and the hardest to predict out of all of them. You have only two competitors who seem like impossibilities of winning this block and the rest of the 6 all have legit chances of moving on to the finals. Of the 8 wrestlers my money is on Aries, Strong, Hero, and Shelley holding the only real chances of being there in the main event on day 3. As much as I love Hero his booking in PWG has been wildly inconsistent and if I know the booking they will decide Hero doesn't need more of a push this summer. Strong is almost doomed by virtue of already being in line for a rematch for his tag titles at some point, but then again a singles shot might be in the offing. Still, PWG has a way of building up a wrestler, only to shunt them back down the card after they drop the belt. Shelley would be a nice surprise, but for a "one weekend only" deal I doubt he's the guy. That leaves but one…

Winner: Austin Aries

Block B Winner:

Andy Clark: This block is probably the weakest of the three blocks. Claudio Castagnoli's stock has risen significantly over the last few weeks, and if Hero advances to the finals it would pit the two Kings of Wrestling against one another. Jack Evans and PAC should have one hell of a spotfest, but I think a tournament like this could be a breakout opportunity for someone that's known primarily as a high flier. I think both of those men, as well as CIMA and SHINGO will advance, with PAC upsetting Claudio in the Block C finals.
Winner: PAC

Michael Bauer: Geez, this block might look weak, but I'm loving it. Claudio vs. either Jack Evans or PAC is a great second round match. CIMA and SHINGO should also make it to the second round, and now it is not as weak. I can't see PAC making it to the finals, same for SHINGO. Claudio seems way too obvious, so I'll pick a potential upset.

Winner: CIMA

Theo Fraser: Block B is quite a tough one to predict. Claudio Castagnoli is an obvious pick, but ROH seem to be giving him the big push at the moment, what with his Road To The Top Tournament win last month, and PWG wouldn't want to come off as rehashing ROH's ideas. PAC's pulled out some awesome performances in the coming as of late, but I don't think they'll go the whole hog with him just yet. And Evans isn't around enough to benefit from a BOLA win. CIMA was so close last year to walking away with the W, so I predict a repeat performance for him this weekend.

Winner: CIMA

Ryan Byers: Whenever you bring in international talent for a tournament like this, it's best for at least one of them to go all the way to the finals. That way the company a.) gets more bang for its buck and b.) saves one of its regulars from having to do el jobski in a high profile match. With the weakest lineup of American competitors, Block B seems like the perfect pool from which to draw our token international finalist. CIMA already got his chance to go to the big dance last year, so I'd bet he's out. PAC has an outside chance, though after his questionable performance against Davey Richards in ROH, I don't know if the folks booking this tournament will have confidence in him to perform on such a high level. That leaves SHINGO by default, though I don't mean to imply that this would be scraping the bottom of the barrel. He's done very well for himself in DG lately and has extra credibility from his time in ROH, so he's a fine choice to emerge victorious.

Winner: SHINGO

Ari Berenstein: I like Double C, as a PWG crowd favorite, to make it to the block finals, but with his bracket being switched up it will be far from a cakewalk, especially with the UK wunderkind of '07, PAC in the second round. Between he and Evans, PAC brings the better big man-little man match up. Tornado and Scott Lost represent the home grown talent in the bottom half of Block B, but unless Lost brings his favorite Alex "Das Wunderkid" Wright doll to the ring for luck, he's gonna get his block knocked off by SHINGO (CAPTIALIZE!). CIMA made it to the finals this year and I can't quite call for the super upset of The Pimpin Hand of Tornado over him. I say its Castagnoli vs. CIMA in the B finals, with the Most Money Making Man (Money, Money, yeah, yeah!) heading to the finals of the whole she-bang.

Winner: Claudio Castagnoli

Larry Csonka: Just so everyone knows, this isn't so much who I THINK will go to the finals and such, but who I would put there. While I know I talked up block A, a lot, block B is not with out talent. SHINGO, Double C (Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey), Even a and others make this a very strong block as well. I think a SHINGO vs. Double C block final would be good shit, and I will go with…
Winner: "Double C" Claudio Castagnoli (Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey)

Samuel Berman: For me, this comes down to two men: 2006 BOLA finalist CIMA or 2007 ROH Race to the Top Tournament winner Claudio Castagnoli. Claudio would have to get by PAC or Jack Evans while CIMA will probably end up facing off with fellow Dragon Gate talent Shingo (who's actually developed into one of my personal favorite performers over the last year or so). I'm going to go with Claudio, as I don't think they're going to include CIMA in the finals for a second straight year.

Winner: Claudio Castagnoli

Bayani Domingo: Only slightly less unpredictable is Block ‘B'. Claudio, Pac, or CIMA, it really comes down to those three. With Claudio becoming a bigger player in RoH one would think he wouldn't necessarily need the ‘rub' by winning BoLA. CIMA is the biggest star left in the field, arguably, but since he made the finals last year I wouldn't think he would be a 2nd time finalists this year. Then again since I picked him in my column's preview, I guess I should be consistent right? Well my heart wants to go with PAC here I just think that you could move a few more DVD's by setting up an "International Incident" of sorts so I'll go with my earlier prediction.

Winner: CIMA

Block C Winner:

Andy Clark: I think everyone will be looking at the Nigel-Davey first round match up, but this is the block where the true PWG talent needs to go over. Davey Richards should advance to look to repeat as BoLa winner, as should Kevin Steen and El Generico. The battle of the Dragon Gate stars should be interesting, and I think Yokosuka is seen as the higher quality of the two. In the second round we should see Steen and Generico explode and Yokosuka taking out the defending champ. I like Steen going over Susumu Yokosuka to advance to the finals.
Winner: El Generico

Theo Fraser: Block C has a ton of big names, from relative PWG newbie Nigel McGuinness to last year's winner Davey Richards to Super Dragon to Kevin Steen, plus the Dragon Gate contingent of Dragon Kid and Yokosuka. Out of the entire lineup, however, one man stands out as being on the brink of major indy stardom, and that is El Generico. PWG regulars will be well aware of Generico's awesomeness, but with Generico just starting to shine in other companies, now would be a perfect time to pull the trigger and cement Generico as a PWG icon.

Winner: El Generico

Ryan Byers: Now this is the toughest block for me to call. You've got last year's winner Richards, PWG part owner Super Dragon, foreign star Dragon Kid, and perpetual PWG favorite El Generico hanging out in the brackets, all of whom could conceivably make it all the way. However, among those men, I'm going to have to go with Generico. (Even though his style of wrestling is not my cup of tea.) I would imagine that the promotion wants to do a PWG Title rematch between the French Canadian luchadore and Bryan Danielson down the road, and there's no better way to set that up with a strong showing in the tournament. As such, he's the choice that I'm most confident in making, even though any of the men I listed early could conceivably come out on top of this block.

Winner: El Generico

Ari Berenstein: Well, "C" Block in the Los Angeles County Jail is surely one of the toughest, nastiest and surliest group of felons going around, so it should be that the "C" block of this tournament is also the toughest to pick. You know I was "C blocked" once, but maybe it worked out for the best considering NYC lady friends aren't the most notorious for being clean and ...um, never mind. Moving onwards and with plenty of protection, here's the way I see things shaking out. Super Dragon was supposed to be last year's winner and now he's completely out of this year's tournament, so forget that. The focus in PWG these days is on El Generico. So I'll cross my fingers and my other object in my pants that rhymes with "C" block that Generico wastes Tony Kozina to make it to at least the B block finals. Davey Richards won last year, but while I don't see a repeat I do see at least a win over McGuinness, who doesn't really do much for PWG. Steen-Generico, as has been said, is quite the enticing match up as is an all "PWG" flavored Block finals as well. So yes, let's do that, and the winner getting at least an hour of outdoor activities and conjugal visits as well as going onto the finals is:

Winner: El Generico

Larry Csonka: Just so everyone knows, this isn't so much who I THINK will go to the finals and such, but who I would put there. Once again, while I love block A, this is another potentially string and fun block on paper. Nigel McGuinness vs. Davey Richards will be wrestling goodness, NECRO and Steen should be a wild bout and knowing NECRO and the way Steen has been lately, could steal the show based on craziness. There is a lot of good to come from here, and I am calling a Steen vs. Generico block final.
Winner: Kevin Steen

Samuel Berman: Davey Richards, last year's winner, is in this bracket, but I don't think they're even going to get near giving him a second victory. In fact, Richards may be hard-pressed to get by Nigel McGuinness in the first round on Night Two. I think the money match out of this bracket looks to be El Generico taking on partner and fellow PWG World Tag Team Champion Kevin Steen in the Block C Finals, with a trip to the finals on the line. The two have proven to have excellent chemistry in the past, and it would certainly be a dramatic storytelling element to inject into the tournament. I think they go with Generico in that one, if only because it would serve to irritate Steen so much and he's immensely effective as a heel.

Winner: El Generico

Bayani Domingo: I'm ready for a swerve here and I think it could be that Nigel and Susu are the ones meeting in the semis. The question is whether Nigel or Susu matches up better with Aries and PAC. My guess is that Nigel is in it to win it a bit more than Susu is. This is my upset special.

Winner: Nigel McGuinness

BoLa '07 Winner:

Andy Clark: Chris Hero vs. PAC vs. Kevin Steen. I hadn't made my predictions with this match in mind, and looking at it now it's rather odd. I'd be willing to bet I'm wrong on at least one of these men, but I like the idea of this being PAC's big coming out party. I'm not sure if this is elimination or one-fall-to-a-finish, but if it is elimination I see it coming down to PAC and Hero. I'm predicting the 2007 Battle of Los Angeles to be a springboard for "The Man that Gravity Forgot."
Winner: PAC

Michael Bauer: Chris Hero vs. CIMA vs. El Generico. Now, for starters, you have Chris Hero and El Generico, who had a pretty nice fight in the Race to the Top tourney last month. CIMA is the major wildcard here as he could either steal the show or take the fall to not put down one of the regulars. Chris Hero has lost some lust since the beginning of the summer, but El Generico's stock continues to rise. I look for him to win here and solidify another shot against Danielson for when he is healthy.

Winner: El Generico

Theo Fraser: Roderick Strong vs CIMA vs El Generico. Hell, I'd pay to see that! We already know the greatness of the CIMA/Generico combination thanks to last year's event, but add in Strong to ground the combatants and give it his token stiffness, and you've got instant classic written all over it. As I said before, Generico is the one who will benefit the most from this match, so I'm going with a win for the Generic Luchador.

Winner: El Generico

Ryan Byers: Chris Hero vs SHINGO vs El Generico. I may have tipped my hand slightly in my prior blurbs, but I've got a strong feeling that El Generico will take this baby home. PWG fans have fallen in absolute man-love with this guy over the course of the past twelve months, and giving him the BOLA victory would be the feel-good moment to end all feel-good moments in the company. On top of that, as I alluded to earlier, it puts him in prime position to get a rematch for the PWG Title against Bryan Danielson, even though we can't be entirely certain about when that matchup would take place.

Winner: El Generico

Ari Berenstein: Matt Sydal vs Claudio Castagnoli vs El Generico. A guest international talent has not ever won one of these BOLA tournaments and without an international representative in the final three, I don't think that is about to start now. I think the Dragon Gate stars are going to tear it up in night three in a six or eight man tag match along with Williams and PAC maybe going at it in a good ground vs. air match. Sydal has made it to the finals, but I put him there to ultimately put over the eventual winner of this final. Claudio and Generico reprise their ROH Race to the Top finals here, but this time, it's the Mexican-Canadian luchador that will rise to the occasion and be the victor, capping an awesome year in PWG for the Ole man. If this is elimination rules (as it was supposed to be last year but never happened because of Super Dragon's injury), then El Generico will pin both men to the mat.

Winner: El Generico

Larry Csonka: Chris Hero vs. "Double C" Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kevin Steen. This match would be some good shit. The KOW colliding yet again and Steen who has been having a great year battling FOR LOS ANGELES~! BATTLE~! FOR LOS ANGELES~! Anyway these guys could do some damn fine stuff and any one of them winning would be fine, but this has been the year of Hero winning tournaments, so I see him stealing another here and padding his resume.
Winner: Chris Hero

Samuel Berman: Austin Aries vs Claudio Castagnoli vs El Generico. I think Aries is the kind of guy that PWG could get a lot of mileage out of as a main eventer. As a result of him lobbying to leave TNA after May's events, Aries has turned himself into something of a folk hero to the fans of PWG and ROH, being the one talent willing to stand up to TNA and choose the Independent scene out of loyalty rather than necessity. I'm going to say that Aries pins Generico after Steen comes out and hits his partner with a chair or a moonsault or something.

Winner: Austin Aries

Bayani Domingo: Austin Aries vs CIMA vs Nigel McGuinness. Tell me this wouldn't rock your faces, the faces of your friends and family, and the faces of some of the people in your van pool as well. US vs Japan vs Europe, this has all the makings of a true World Cup of Indy Wrestling. Now I'm just as likely to be extremely wrong as this could end up as PAC/Strong/Generico, but I think this is the match that most would cause most Indy fans to "Chocolate Rain" in their RoH boxer shorts. If someone has to go over however I think my earlier prediction might be wrong. I'm thinking that there is a good chance we'll be seeing quite a bit more of one of these guys than the other two and I would still love to see this man match up against Danielson in a month and a half.

Winner: Austin Aries

Dark Horse Finalist:

Andy Clark: Jimmy Rave. Now that he is no longer working ROH or FIP Jimmy Rave can use a new home base. I don't think anyone has ever really taken Jimmy Rave too seriously and a strong showing in this tournament may help him in his post-Gabe career.

Michael Bauer: Davey Richards. The guy did win the tournament before, so I can't call it crazy that they may look to have someone not a current PWG champion who has done well before to take a spot in the finals, looking for another victory.

Theo Fraser: SHINGO. SHINGO has reported that he had an absolute blast wrestling in the US over the last year, and has gone on record as saying that he would like to come back for another extended tour. He doesn't have anything going on right now in ROH, so PWG could be a perfect home for him, if his schedule allows. His time over on US soil improved his game immensely, and he would be a key asset to any roster. Whilst I wouldn't put any money on him going all the way and winning the tournament, I could easily see him scoring the upset and making it to the finals.

Ryan Byers: JIMMYRAVE. I have to agree with Clark on this one. Now that Rave is out of ROH and out of FIP, it would make sense for a company like PWG to make him in to a high profile regular since he would be an exclusive hook that they have to draw fans to their promotion. If they can do that AND reunite him with Prince Nana, I'll buy every PWG DVD until Nana leaves.

Ari Berenstein: Chris Hero. There are actually quite a few Dark Horse finalists in this tournament... Ghost, Aliens vs. Predator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Barb Wire, Usagi Yojimbo and especially Marv from Sin City...oh, wait, wrong Dark Horse. Well, it still holds true with the wrestlers, but I really like Chris Hero as an alternate finalist pick. The A Block is wide open thanks to Danielson being scratched from the field, and a guy like Hero can really take advantage of that. Hero can carftily outsmart Ryan and then use his European and scientific wrestling awareness to make waves to the finals. Finally, the addition of Alex Shelley into the tournament also bring the possibility of a huge spoiler. He could really upset the whole A Block and move onto the finals.

Larry Csonka: Jimmy Rave. I have to agree with some of my colleagues here in that Rave could be the dark horse. If he is truly split from ROH/FIP as they say, he will need a new home for more bookings. While TNA is rumored to have interest in him, he may be trying to build an allegiance with PWG, which isn't the worst of ideas for him or the company. I also agree with Byers, "If they can do that AND reunite him with Prince Nana, I'll buy every PWG DVD until Nana leaves."

Samuel Berman: Joey Ryan. Ryan has been basically treading water since losing the PWG World Title in late-2006. Some fans aren't as high on Ryan as I am, but I think his recent success in winning the NWA World Tag Team Titles is a good start in terms of him getting more national exposure. Putting Ryan (who despite some people's beliefs, can absolutely GO in the ring) in the finals would go a long way towards re-establishing him as a major player in PWG, despite a recent string of losses.

Bayani Domingo: Susumu Yokosuka. If I am indeed wrong about CIMA going over PAC, I think Susu might be the DG guy to make the finals. Susu/PAC and Strong or Aries would still make a damn fine finals and although some may think Susu isn't a big enough name to go to the finals…was Davey Richards a year ago? Just barely.

Most Anticipated First Round Match:

Andy Clark: Jack Evans vs. PAC. There are a lot of interesting first round matches but from a sheer entertainment standpoint I think this one is the most sure thing. At the worst it'll be a fun, indyriffic spotfest with no psychology that will have the crowd oohing and ahing like crazy. At best it'll be a fantastic match between two of the craziest men in wrestling. No matter what everybody wins.

Michael Bauer: Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong. Yes, we have seen these two against each other a lot recently lately, but that has nothing to do with why I am anticipating it. I'm very interested to see what type of heat these two have and what type of match they will have now that they FINALLY get a one on one match after a long time of four ways, tag matches, and the like. Not to mention, this is not the Ring of Honor, so is the heat still there?

Theo Fraser : Jack Evans vs PAC. PAC may not have had a particularly productive weekend in ROH last week, but recently he has been spectacular in PWG. This is a definite dream match for fans of both of these workers, and the great thing is that this isn't the last time they'll be facing each other in PWG, as they're scheduled to face one another as part of the European Vacation II tour this October. If these two bring their A game and are in top form, we could witness something truly special. I've got big hopes for this one.

Ryan Byers: Doug Williams vs Claudio Castagnoli. Believe it or not, I had this slot filled by Tyler Black versus Claudio Castagnoli, but then things had to get shuffled a bit. I'm still going to have to pick Claudio's match as the one that I'm looking forward to the most, albeit for completely different reasons. I wanted to see Castagnoli/Black mainly because I felt that Tyler had a lot to prove as the least-known guy in the tournament and that Claudio would be the perfect person for him to prove it against. Even though the dynamic in Williams/Castagnoli is completely different, I still think that it should be a fine display of professional wrestling and a style of match that you just don't see too much of on the indies these days. Instead of doing a ton of flips and highspots (which frankly I'm getting a little tired of) these two are far more likely to take it to the mat and have a nice, scientific heavyweight style match which will be completely different from anything else on the card. Plus this is the first time that I can recall these two locking horns, which is a huge positive in a tournament in which you have a lot of matchups in which competitors are familiar with one another.

Ari Berenstein: Kevin Steen vs Necro Butcher. Sure, the ROH mark in me says Strong vs. Aries has a real chance of generating some buzz thanks to the heat of their feud, but come on... NECRO BUTCHER is in the tournament! Last year BUTCHER made an awesome impact on the tourny in a battle that engulfed all of the building in Receda. This year he is fighting Kevin Steen! That's gonna be crazy! Steen took an assload of punishment from Super Dragon at Astonishing X-Mas a few years back, and he is one tough mofo who can also dish out the punishment. This match will kill, if not one or the other then one of the fans who may get stuck in the fray!

Larry Csonka: Kevin Steen vs Necro Butcher. I was looking forward to Generico vs. Super Dragon because I felt an on the rise Generico could light the fire of Super Dragon and maybe, for one more night we would have seen the Super Dragon we remember. But that match has been axed due to Dragon being pulled from the Tournament. So I stay with the STEENERICO love and go to Steen vs. NECRO. Steen has been great this year, NECRO is a crazy son of a bitch and this should be a sight to see. Damn you Super Dragon for ruining my fun!

Samuel Berman: Scott Lost vs. Shingo. I know that there are more high-profile contests already on the books (Aries vs. Strong, Generico vs. Super Dragon), but Lost has always impressed me and my feelings on Shingo's talent have more than been made clear. These two could put on the sleeper match of the opening round, if only because it won't begin with the expectations that other matches have. People expect Aries and Strong to tear the house down for twenty-five minutes, so if they put on a pretty good fifteen minute affair, people will end up disappointed. For my money, Lost and Shingo have the talent to put on a fantastic contest, and one that will catch the audience by surprise. Also, though I know I just picked Joey Ryan as my Darkhorse Finalist, don't sleep on Shingo making it out of Block B and getting to strut his stuff against the other finalists, or even Lost joining former partner "Photogenic" Chris Bosh on the BOLA Champions list.

Bayani Domingo: Dragon Kid vs Susumu Yokosuka. I have a buddy driving up for one night on Saturday just for this match. I also heard two other wrestlers say that this would be THE match of the whole tournament. That's enough for me. Plus, I'm a huge Dragon Gate mark. This is going to be one HELL of a tournament.