BOLA 2015 - Discussion Thread

[Prince Bálor]

* Brian Cage beat Aero Star

* Biff Busick beat Andrew Everett

* Will Ospreay beat Mark Andrews

* Jack Evans and Angelico beat Ricochet and Rich Swann

* Trevor Lee beat Trent Baretta

* Matt Sydal beat Fenix

* Pentagon Jr. beat Drago

* The Young Bucks and Roderick Strong defeated Tommy End, Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre, Jr.

Source

 

[Prince Bálor]

PWG Battle Of Los Angeles Night 2 Results (8/29): Quarterfinal Matches Set

- Here are results from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's 2015 Battle of Los Angeles, Night 2 in Reseda, California:

* Marty Scurll def. Rich Swann

* Jack Evans def. Angelico

* Chris Hero def. Timothy Thatcher

* Fenix & Aero Star def. Dragon & Pentagon Jr. These four apparently tore the house down, and there were people on Twitter saying the match was so good fans were literally throwing money in the ring.

* Tommy End def. Drew Gulak

* Mike Bailey def. Drew Galloway

* Zack Sabre Jr. def. Ricochet. Ricochet noted on Twitter that he was dedicating the match to Lil' Sebastian from Parks & Rec.

* The Young Bucks & Super Dragon def. Biff Busick, Andrew Everett & Trevor Lee in a non-tournament six man tag match. They did the double Indy Taker spot with Dragon coming off the top rope for the spike.

- The following quarterfinals matches have been confirmed for Sunday's Night 3 event in Reseda, CA:

- Brian Cage vs. Biff Busick

- Will Ospreay vs. Pentagon Jr.

- Trevor Lee vs. Matt Sydal

- Marty Scurll vs. Chris Hero

- Jack Evans vs. Tommy End

- Mike Bailey vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

 

[Prince Bálor]

 

[Prince Bálor]

PWG Battle Of Los Angeles Night 3 Results (8/30): And Your Winner Is...

PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3 Results
August 30, 2015
Reseda, CA

* Jack Evans def. Brian Cage

* Chris Hero def. Biff Busick

* Marty Scurll def. Trevor Lee

* Zack Sabre Jr. def. Pentagon Jr.

* Mike Bailey def. Tommy End

* Will Ospreay def. Matt Sydal

* The Young Bucks, Roderick Strong & Super Dragon def. Angelico, Fenix, Rich Swann & Ricochet. So basically it was Mount Rushmore 2.0 vs. Team Lucha Underground.

* Chris Hero def. Jack Evans

* Speedball Mike Bailey def. Will Ospreay

* Zack Sabre Jr. def. Marty Scurll

* Chuck Taylor, Trent Baretta, Aero Star, Drew Galloway & Drew Gulak def. Tomasso Ciampa, Timothy Thatcher, Drago, Mark Anderws & Andrew Everett.

* Zack Sabre Jr. def. Chris Hero and Mike Bailey in the tournament finals. This was an elimination match, and Hero pinned Bailey before Sabre tapped out Hero.

I cannot wait to watch this!

 

[Prince Bálor]

Cannot wait to watch BOLA!

 

[Prince Bálor]

Night 1 was great!

- Melissa Santos looked as gorgeous as ever! She's simply a Goddess. She was the special guest ring announcer, by the way.
Now, onto the card...

- Brian Cage vs Aero Star was a decent show opener, for what it was. **
Oh boy, was Aero Star off his game here. This was botchy and sloppy at times, which hurt the match for me... But, dayumn, son!
Mr. GMSI damn near murdering Aero Star with that Steiner Screwdriver was so freakin' brutal and basically redeemed the match all by itself. #ThankYouCage

- Biff Busick vs Andrew Everett was good. ***¼
It was a fun clash of styles, for sure. Biff is a serious mat technician, while Everett is more of a flippy and cocky guy. I like both of them, actually.
So, they kept tension building and ultimately delivered a good match and had the crowd invested. Also, there was a BOTCHAMANIA moment!
That happened when Everett went for the Phoenix Splash, but missed terribly. I wasn't sure if I should LOL like a mad man, but I did chuckle a bit.
Anyways, Biff won after a flurry of moves, hitting a European Uppercut on Everett in mid-air when Everett went for the Springboard SSP, but Biff just killed him dead. He followed it up with a Half-and-Half Suplex and a Running European Uppercut. Biff was an absolute maniac here, loved it!

- Will Ospreay vs Mark Andrews was fun-tastic. ****
Oh boy, talk about fun. This was a fun-tastic spotfest and an absolute sprint, [and I'm a sucker for that stuff] as both men made their PWG debuts.
After a really fun back-and-forth match that showcased a lot of what both Ospreay and Andrews do well, Ospreay won via Imploding 450° Splash.

- Angélico & Jack Evans vs Ricochet & Rich Swann was entertaining. ***
I'll admit, I was slightly disappointed by this match, because I thought it would be a lot better given the names involved.
The work was crisp, but I thought the pace would be just manic with the PWG faithful going berserk over all the drama, but nah... Oh, well.
Los Güeros del Cielo won when Angélico hit a dive over the ring post onto Ricochet, while Jack 'I invented Lucha Libre' Evans hit a 630° Senton on Swann.

- Trevor Lee vs Trent? was good. ***¼
This was probably a post-intermission match, 'cause the crowd seemed a bit snoozy and the match kind of suffered because of that.
But, it definitely wasn't bad. It started out slow, but they kicked it up a notch down the homestretch and made it enjoyable.
Trevor Lee picked up the win via Small Package Driver outta nowhere.
Also, Trent's Slingshot Boot Rake spot needs to die. I like the dude, but that spot is cringe-worthy AF.

- Pentagón Jr. vs Drago was pretty darn good and entertaining. ***½
Pentagón is sterling. He is a star! His charisma, his sinister ways are just off the hook. He is something else, man. Such a treat to watch.
And that's not to say Drago wasn't awesome here. Because Drago rules, too! I always mark for these two dudes.
The match went around 12 or so minutes and while they didn't invent the wheel with this one, it was totally fun to watch.
Pentagón advanced via Running Package Piledriver.

- Matt Sydal vs Fénix was great. ****¼
This was MOTN as far as singles matches go. Sydal has been having a great 2015 and Fénix is always fun to watch, so we were in for a treat.
Despite the two not working together before, they meshed well and delivered a strong performance here. Everything was crisp and spot on.
I also really loved Sydal doing some subtle heel stuff here. For instance, a prayer pose and saying 'NAMASTE' before bridging into a submission hold, or yelling 'PEACE' before nailing Fénix with a running knee in the corner. That, right there, was simply marvelous. Loved it!
As far as Fénix goes, one of the things I loved here was him throwing the 'PUTO' bomb, I don't know why, but I love Spanish swear words!
Also, him hitting a Lethal Injection and then transitioning into a Dragon Sleeper was too effin' sweet!
Ultimately, Sydal hit an Inverted Frankensteiner and followed it up with a Shooting Star Press for the win.

- Roderick Strong & The Young Bucks vs Tommy End, Marty Scurll & Zack Sabre Jr. was a freakin' amazing ME! ****½
This was my favorite match of the night. It was fun-tastic. The work was crisp, the guys had a great chemistry and it was just awesome!
After some manic action, Mount Rushmore 2.0 defeated Euro Trash when Scurll and End ate Double Meltzer Driver, followed by Superkick/Jumping Knee on Sabre and Roddy finally put him away with a Sick Kick and The End Of Heartache!

 

[Leo C]

Watched the whole thing over the last few days, and it was just great wrestling. Amazing stuff. Can't miss.

 

[Prince Bálor]

Night 2 was awesome!

- Melissa Santos was not on BOLA Night 2. Booo!

- Marty Scurll vs Rich Swann was a good show opener. ***¼
The Villain attacked Swann WITH AN UMBRELLA before the bell and then hit a Suicide Dive into the crowd.
Scurll was in control for the better part of the match and was getting cheered on despite playing the heel.
Swann was fighting back here and there and seemed a bit more aggressive, which I liked, even though I'm not really a fan of the guy.
I loved seeing Scurll destroying Swann's hands, he snapped the fingers on his left hand, then Swann flipped him the bird with his right and then Marty would proceed to snap that finger, as well. Ultimately, Scurll picked up the win via Crossface Chickenwing.

- Jack Evans vs Angélico was decent for what it was. **
Okay, let's get the facts straight here. As a wrestling match, this sucked hairy balls. But, it was fun to watch because Evans was high/drunk AF.
Jack clearly didn't wanna be there, hence why he was cutting pointless promos and jaw-jacking with the crowd (threatening to whip everyone's ass after the show, fighting like Jackie Chan as the Drunken Master, then going for an outside dive and intentionally overjumping Angélico by a long shot, etc), Angélico on the other hand did wanna be there, but Evans ruined what I thought would be a great match. Jackass Evans won with a KK Crane Kick. Post-match, Evans decided to shit on the crowd for the reasons I'm not sure of. But, he still loves Angélico. Thanks to Jackass, it's safe to say Angélico won't be booked in PWG again. Shame.

- Chris Hero vs Timothy Thatcher was great. ****
Hero and TT delivered. I really enjoyed these two just brutalizing each other. It felt like a legit fight. Hero defeated Thatcher with Hero's Welcome.

- Fénix & Aero Star vs Pentagón Jr. & Drago was tip-top. ***¾
This LUG/AAA tag match was so fun to watch and they just went balls to the wall for like 16 minutes. The action was non-stop.
Fénix was doing some crazy, death-defying stuff and was the star of this match. Needless to say the other guys had some awesome spots.
For instance, Pentagón had a Gory Bomb/Package Piledriver spot and it was out of this world! Ultimately, Fénix and Aero Star won when Fénix hit his Fénix Driver on Drago.

- Tommy End vs Drew Gulak was disappointing. *½
It doesn't hurt if you skip this one. The first 7-8 minutes consisted of front facelocks and hugging, and yeah, grapplefuck would work with Thatch, Biff and Sabre for instance, but it didn't click this time around. I mean, Tommy was trying to do something cool here and he lashed out some of his lethal kick combos, but Gulak stunk it up here. Ultimately, End won with a Hero-esque Elbow outta nowhere.

- Mike Bailey vs Drew Galloway was great and MOTN. ****¼
The story of size disparity was off the charts here, as Galloway was showing no mercy towards the much smaller man in Bailey.
But, ultimately, Speedball's resiliency and speed got him the win (just like it did with Hero). Great, enjoyable stuff.

- Zack Sabre Jr. vs Ricochet was great. ****
Sabre is awesome. Richochet is so damn versatile, he wrestled a great technical match here. It was a nice change of pace from his usual high-flying.
The match featured a great psychological warfare and Sabre just happened to know a bit more about the technical side of things.
Sabre won with a Prawn Hold.

- The Young Bucks & Super Dragon vs Biff Busick, Andrew Everett & Trevor Lee was a great Guerilla Warfare match. ****
The ME was a spectacle and everyone involved totally threw caution to the wind. It was bonkers, loved it!

 

[Prince Bálor]

Night 3 was ace! BOLA 2015 is at the top of my list for show of the year candidate.

- Jack Evans vs Cage was a decent show opener, for what it was. **
Jackass Evans cut a pre-match promo about how he'd win BOLA, a lack of professionalism in PWG and how he's a superior athlete than Cage.
It was long and he was crapping on everyone. Cage was murdering him for the majority of this short match, till Evans scored the flash pin.
I'm giving it this generous rating because of Cage. He's a machine! Oh, and Cage attacked Evans post-match and hit a Steiner Screwdriver on him.
#ThankYouCage

- Chris Hero vs Biff Busick was very good for the time given. ***½
They just went balls to the walls for 9 minutes and brutalized each other, loved it! Hero advanced when he hit a terrifying Avalanche Piledriver.

- Marty Scurll vs Trevor Lee was very good. ***½
Scurll was targeting the shoulder of Lee, as Excalibur and Chucky T talked about his shoulder after last night's hellacious Guerilla Warfare match.
Lee was selling the shoulder like a baws and every time he made a comeback, Scurll put an end to it with a counter to reinjure his shoulder.
After some hot back-and-forth, The Villain won with his Tornado DDT into the Crossface Chickenwing combo.

- Zack Sabre Jr. vs Pentagón Jr. was tip-top. ***¾
They had a good technical match, with some whacky submission holds I've never seen before and the atmosphere for this match was just amazing.
I also loved seeing Zack getting bested at his own game for a little bit. Ultimately, Zack won reversing a Suplex into a Kimura to tap Pentagón out.

- Mike Bailey vs Tommy End was a great kick-fest clinic, loved it. ****
Speedball won with his Shooting Star Double Knee, followed by a big Roundhouse Kick.

- Will Ospreay vs Matt Sydal was very good and entertaining. ***½
It wasn't up to par with either man's first round matches, but still a pretty darn good contest. Ospreay advanced via Imploding 450° Splash.

- Mount Rushmore 2.0 vs Angélico, Fénix, Ricochet & Rich Swann was a great multi-man tag with manic pace. ****
I loved this. Mt. Rushmore 2.0 scored the win when Roddy hit The End of Heartache on Swann.

- Chris Hero vs Jack Evans was good. ***
I enjoyed Hero killing Evans. Also, Evans always kicking out at 1 made for an entertaining story. A Rip Cord Elbow advances Hero the finals.

- Mike Bailey vs Will Ospreay was good. ***¼
This would've been awesome if the guys were fresh. But, it was good, nonetheless. My only compaint would be the lack of leg work on Bailey's part, when Ospreay was limping and selling the leg the entire time. Speedball advanced to the finals with his Roundhouse Kick to the face of Ospreay.

- Zack Sabre Jr. vs Marty Scurll was tip-top. ***¾
The work was crisp and all, and I enjoyed it, but given the stakes involved, there was a little too much goofing around for my taste.
Ultimately, Sabre put The Villain away after reversing the Chickenwing and locking in the Armbar.

- The 5 Man Band vs Team Ciampa (aka I'mma Fuckin' Kill'em) was awesome, loved it!
It featured everything I love about PWG. It was a comedy spotfest that everyone enjoyed before the finals. There was an extended segment of slow motion and low blows like as you'd expect and above all, it was just great fun. Chucky T's team won when Everett and Andrews just couldn't do a Shooting Star Press in slow motion which led to the Chucky and Trent finishing off Everett and Andrews. We got a big ten-way hug post-match.

- Zack Sabre Jr. vs Chris Hero vs Mike Bailey was a great ME. ****
Bailey got eliminated first after 3 consecutive Piledrivers from Hero and Sabre tapped out Hero to his sick Armbar.

 

[Leo C]

Sabre/Scurll was not good imo. I think it would've been a big improvement had they switched Scurll for Pentagón.