Views from the Hawke’s Nest: PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2016

Instead of doing three separate reviews for the 2016 BOLA, all three shows are reviewed in this very article.

 

Stage One

First Round Matches

Pentagon Jr. vs. Marty Scurll

Pentagon oozes charisma and is usually pretty fun to watch if rarely ever spectacular. Marty Scurll is a beloved figure for no discernible reason beyond having a very over character. This seemed like one that could go either way. If they kept things modest and short, it probably would be fine. If they went for epic, it could have been a disaster.

Luckily, they went for the former, and the match was a perfectly serviceable opener. Both guys were quite over. They worked a fan-friendly pace. They minimized the dancing. It was all fine. It was nothing memorable though and still could have stood to be 3-4 minutes shorter. Marty won via chickenwing. (**3/4)

Jeff Cobb vs. Ricochet

This was a fun and easy-to-watch kind of match. It was loosely kept together by the generic story of the much stronger/bigger guy taking on the flippier/smaller guy.

Cobb does a good job of moving his body and pacing himself, but he could stand to add a bit of a mean streak to his work. His calmness works sometimes; it would be nice if he just killed some fuckers every once in a while though.

Ricochet held back from being Shtickochet here thankfully and actually concentrated on being a pro wrestler. He occasionally got obnoxious in other ways though like with doing deadlift power movez with JEFF COBB. However, this was probably the least annoying Ricochet has been in a while.

Overall, this probably could have stood to be more focused on the broad story instead of drifting towards back-and-forth for most of the match. It basically erased what makes Jeff Cobb special when he does 50/50 with a little fucker who insists on doing power movez for reasons that defy all reason and rational explanation. Ricochet won via reversing Tour of the Islands into a fruit roll-up. (***)

Matt Sydal vs. John Hennigan

This was not a disaster or anything, but it was a very poor showing from both gentlemen.

Hennigan basically lived down to the worst feelings on his work. There was no intensity or physicality. Everything about his work felt aimless and random.

Sydal put close to no effort into this one and seemed content to join Hennigan in the bare minimum territory. These two are too good to allow a match like this transpire between them.

All of this was compounded by the fact that the crowd did not care. It was hard to blame them for that reaction since the wrestlers gave them no reason to care. Hennigan won cleanly via Starship Pain. (*)

Will Ospreay vs. Fenix

The big spots here were cool and impressive, but this was a major letdown overall. There was nothing keeping the match together. There was a general calm to everything that took away from what should have been an intense match in a big tournament. There was no intensity and minimal sense of urgency. It just seemed to be about stalling until they got to the next big spot. These two are far from perfect wrestlers, but their physical effort has rarely been in question. It was here though. Billy Ostrich won with the Thug Bait. (**1/2)

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tommy End

This captured a lot of what has made Zack Sabre Jr. frustrating in key spots during 2016. That physicality, urgency, and focus CAN be there. He just wastes far too much time in the first half of his matches doing nothing. The idea that Zack comes in cool, calm, and collected now makes sense. However, it is boring and undermines his work later in the match. End was game but followed Zack’s lead and got dragged down with him. In the end, this was fine. It just could have been more given the effort put in for the final minutes. Zack won with his very wacky submission that I continuously forget the name of while writing. (**1/2)

Chris Hero vs. Jushin Liger

While this probably would have been better with a healthy Chris Hero, this was still neat to see and a success overall.

They got by with less here given who they were for sure. There was no substantive in-ring story, and they did not deliver anything too memorable. However, the general story of Hero being disrespectful towards the legend was good enough.

It would have been great to see Liger get a mini-run in this tournament, but Hero winning clean was probably the right call all things considered. (***)

 

Non-Tournament Match

Dalton Castle & The Boys (Boy #1 & Boy #2) vs. BULLET CLUB (Adam Cole, Nick Jackson, & Matt Jackson) from PWG 2016

This was a shit show. While it was mildly amusing during the first few minutes and a fine change of pace, the joke went on for far too long given that the idea of reDRagon playing The Boys did not really have anywhere to go or any reason to exist. The execution was also hilariously bad, as Kyle and Bobby’s timing on all the spots was completely off. Oh well. Bad job, PWG. (*3/4)

 

Stage Two

First Round Matches

Dalton Castle vs. Tommaso Ciampa

This was a prime example of two talented guys doing a bunch of dancing for no real reason to start which completely undermined what they were theoretically trying to accomplish later on. Sure, it got a pop, and the fans loved the wrestlers for it, but what did it actually do fpr the match? What did it set up? Did it tonally make sense? Did it even serve to create an interesting dichotomy between goofy and serious? (No, it did not.) In other words, this was a typical Tomato Camper match post-ROH. He successfully endeared himself to the crowd for reasons that have little to do with putting on an impressive wrestling match. Dalton won cleanly. (**1/4)

Mark Andrews vs. Pete Dunne

This match did a lot of things right and a few important things wrong.

The broad story of Pete Dunne dedicating himself to being the bruiserweight is fantastic. It’s a great way to distinguish himself in an ever-crowded indie talent pool and to give every match with a junior an instant story to work with.

That being said, he needs to work on his in-ring execution of that character. The calmly paced stronger guy is a very tough thing to pull off (even Jeff Cobb struggles with it). He would be much better off if he worked like he was actually worried about if he won and wanted to kill some fools.

When you combine that internal strategic issue with the downright questionable decision to make this a kickout fest (Mandrews legit kicked out of a back-to-back tombstone spot), this became slightly underwhelming. It was fine all things considered. This matchup should just be such a layup though that it becomes extra frustrating when it underdelivers. Andrews won with the SSP. (**3/4)

Cody R vs. Sami Callihan

This was clearly the match of the weekend up until this point in the tournament. Why? They worked the #SamiSprint.

Sami is terrible at so many things that have to do with professional wrestling. However, he is very fucking good at his namesake: The #SamiSprint. It features urgency. Physicality. Great pacing. Lots of action. These are all good things.

Kudos to them for figuring out which match to work for this weekend and doing it well. That is a concept that many wrestlers fail to execute in PWG these days. Cody won via Cross Rhodes. (***1/4)

Kamaitachi vs. Trevor Lee

This was a good one (beyond Trevor’s “I work for TNA!” heel spots). Trevor was playing the brutal heel, and Kamaitachi did some suicidal craziness to keep the match competitive for himself. That is a damn fine story for a match, and it was executed well here. When you combine that with a good pace and compact time frame, you have a recipe for a good match. Trevor won via small package driver. (***1/4)

Cedric Alexander vs. Mark Haskins

This match featured some good things. They took the match seriously (no dancing to be seen). There was the story on the edges was Haskins going for an arm, and Haskins ended up winning by applying an armbar on said arm. That is always nice.

Unfortunately, the journey to get there was incredibly boring. They did not pace the match well. The memorable moments were spread way too far apart. The chinlocks contributed nothing to the match. It was a slog. While that should not prevent people from appreciating the good of this one, it was also too overwhelming to ignore. (**1/4)

Matthew Riddle vs. Kyle O’Reilly

This match was going very well for a while (about 2/3 to 3/4 of it), but it did eventually overstay its welcome. The intensity and pacing were on fucking point for a while. They did a great job of working methodically without making it boring. It just felt like two fighters being cautious yet aggressive at the same time. However, it never really evolved from there, and they became too reliant on FIGHTING SPIRIT~! spots in the closing stretch. This was solid overall. It just could have been much better. And Riddle got screwed of course. (***)

 

Non-Tournament Matches

Fenix & Pentagon Jr. vs. Heroes Eventually Die (Chris Hero & Tommy End)

This was a very successful match. Hero and End played the big fuckers, and Pentagon and Fenix played beautiful babyfaces who did cool shit and showed great fire. The timing of the control changes and major spots was excellent, and they did a fine job of pacing the match out so that it did not peak too soon. Good job, everyone! Fenix won with a springboard 450 on End. (***1/2)

Matt Sydal, Will Ospreay, & Ricochet vs. The Bullet Club [Adam Cole & The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson)]

PWG has done a number of high-profile trios and triple threat tag matches over the years. It’s a match type that makes sense for them since it’s not a company that fosters an environment that would put a premium on selling. The preference is to showcase a shit-ton of movez. With that in mind, a lot of these matches have failed (succeeded less than others) over the years for simple reasons.

The ones that have succeeded have not wasted any time in the ring. They get right to the good stuff and progressively get crazier until the finish. The ones that have failed to one degree or another have wasted a ton of time in the early goings only to set up an endless back-and-forth sequence that does not have anything to pay off.

This match was unfortunately far more of the latter than the former. It was fine all things considered, but there have been some legitimately fantastic versions of this match that PWG have done over the years that deserve the love more. The babyfaces won after stereo shooting star presses. (**3/4)

 

Final Stage

Non-Tournament Matches

The Young Bucks(c) (Nick & Matt Jackson) vs. Fenix & Pentagon Jr. [PWG World Heavyweight Championship]

This delivered big time and was probably the best match of the weekend. The key was that they skipped the obligatory heat segment and essentially just worked a tornado tag. They timed everything well. They minimized the dancing. They progressively got crazier and crazier until the Bucks hit Fenix with a tope con hilo Meltzer Driver which was fucking nutty. Fenix survived that and helped to save Pentagon from defeat via regular Meltzer Driver. However, they then ate a billion superkicks and did not get back up. This match should serve as a guide for how to do “PWG style” well. (***3/4)

Team Bro-Cat Psycho Kitties (Sami Callihan, Matthew Riddle, Brian Kendrick, Tommaso Ciampa, & Pete Dunne) vs. Jushin Liger, Chuck Taylor, Cedric Alexander, Jeff Cobb, & Tommy End

If you need any more proof about what PWG fans want these days, just look at this match. This came across like the fucking indie Wrestlemania main event to end all indie main events in the sense that everything done was exactly what the fans wanted, and they responded in kind.

Some of the stuff worked for sure. We got sex-positive anal spots, and we got a ton of forced anal pentration spots. We got Liger proving to be a wrestling god. We got a minute of Cobb vs. Riddle that was genuinely light years ahead of their AIW match. And so much more. It was excessive to the last degree, but it was completely eaten up.

It wouldn’t be such an indictment of the PWG environment though if it wasn’t by far the most over thing all weekend. If that’s the primary thing you want from wrestling, PWG gave it to you if nothing else. (***)

 

Quarterfinals

Trevor Lee vs. Dalton Castle

This was okay. It had a handful of odd moments, and Trevor really put an increased emphasis on the “I work for TNA!” gimmick which is frankly just sad to experience in 2016. That’s not a thing to use to get heat for in 2016. It’s pathetic stuff. Dalton also just did not step up this weekend like he could and should have at all. It felt like a match you work to save yourself for later on which is whatever. The finish at least led to a chuckle. Dalton said “Fuck TNA!” and then Trevor immediately hit the most TNA move ever: the Canadian Destroyer. (**1/2)

Ricochet vs. John Hennigan

This was fine and inoffensive for the most part. Hennigan actually looked like he was trying here, and Ricochet continued to avoid being the most obnoxious version of himself. He even avoided doing a bunch of dumb power spots here! They got in and got out fairly quickly which is always nice.

The finish was dumb though. Hennigan did a ref bump/low blow combo to set up for his finisher which Ricochet proceeded to kick out of before going on to win. Be less creatively bankrupt, indie wrestlers. (**3/4)

Cody R vs. Marty Scurll

This consisted of Party Marty cheating, working Cody over, a brief comeback by Cody, a bizarrely constructed sexual assault spot with Brandi Rhodes, and then Cody losing via low blow. OTHER THAN THAT, Cody actually has a good sense of how to work in PWG clearly. He “gets it” here more than most wrestlers in PWG these days for whatever that is worth. (*3/4)

Chris Hero vs. Mark Haskins

This was one of the better matches of the whole tournament. Hero jumped Andrews at the bell, and then just mauled him. Andrews had a handful of well-timed comeback spots that showed him desperately trying to get back into the match. In the end though, it was Hero’s overconfidence that caused him to methodically go for Rubik’s Cube only for Andrews to catch him with a victory roll for the win. This was GOOD. (***1/2)

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Mark Haskins

This felt like a complete miscalculation on their part. It was a slow and methodical match after a run of quickly paced matches that put a premium on urgency. On one hand, you could argue that a change of pace was a good idea. Maybe it was, but it certainly did not work out well in execution.

Speaking of miscalculations, Mark Haskins abandoning the high-flying component of his game has made him even less tolerable. Some people have the gift of making grapple-heavy contests interesting and entertaining. He is not one of those fine people. It’s great that he’s physically capable of doing that, but he either needs to refine his implementation of it or combine it with the more exciting and fun things he’s capable of doing in the ring. Haskins won cleanly via submission. (**)

Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

It was quite well done for the position that it was in. Ospreay came out and was throwing out a bunch of high-flying spots in an attempt to put Zack away early. It was a great strategy and loads of fun. Zack was able to slow it down to bring it more to his speed. This was a great strategy but less fun to watch. Ospreay ended up having Zack’s bridging pin scouted though and was able to reverse it into a pin of his own to steal the win. This was a smartly worked tournament match. (***1/4)

 

Semifinals

Trevor Lee vs. Mark Andrews

This was a solid match and told the story of a semifinal tournament match well. Trevor was better rested and took less damage during his matches. Andrews took a ton of damage during his matches, and he was also attacked by the coward Chris Hero after their match earlier in the night.

Thus, Trevor dominated much of this match, and Andrews was left to throw out some sporadic movez to give himself a chance. He failed in the end though, and Trevor won with God’s Last Gift. (***)

Marty Scurll vs. Mark Haskins

After the first 3-4 minutes, this match seemed to be on its way to being the hidden gem of the weekend. Scurll repeated his successful strategy of jumping his opponent with the UMBRELLA attack. Haskins, knowing he couldn’t afford to get too far behind so early, came firing back with his high-flying arsenal finally. This was all smart, well executed, and over. Yay.

Scurll responded to Haskins by going after his leg. This made sense but took away what was fun about Haskins’ work in the match. Then to compound the issues, this match proceeded to come to screeching halt and become a true slog. They had something good and blew it. It was a genuine shame. Scurll ended up winning, but the match became so deflating given the promising start that it was hard to care. (**1/2)

Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet

This was the toned-down version of their very popular 2016 matches in Evolve and NJPW. It got off to a semi-intriguing start with Ricochet quickly foregoing the planned-out gymnastics routine to attack Ospreay mid-handspring move. From there though, not much of note really happened, and the match felt fairly ordinary. It was inoffensive though. Ospreay won with the Thug Bait. (**3/4)

 

Final

Marty Scurll vs. Trevor Lee vs. Will Ospreay

After the ten-person comedy showcase match, this felt like a complete afterthought. There was no well-told story, the action was uninspired (despite the fine effort), and the energy had all but been completely sucked out of the building. If it was not for the beautiful and passionate post-match promo from Marty, this all probably would have been a complete waste. BOLA somewhat overdelivered this year, but this was an underwhelming conclusion to say the least. (**)

 

Read over 280 PWG match reviews!

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

The design of BOLA gives it a really small margin of error for success. It gets loaded up with high-profile and high-priced independent talent, and that should theoretically mean that the tournament should always deliver big time. Right away, the shows are positioned behind the eight ball due to the weight of expectations. Then there is the undeniable fact that the Reseda atmosphere is just clearly not what it once was on anywhere close to a consistent basis. To compound those issues, the talents this year were simply not matched up and some bizarre choices were made in regards to who advanced in the tournament. Despite all of that though, BOLA was surprisingly easy and fun to watch for the most part. There were plenty of solid matches here and there, and the whole seemed ever-so slightly greater than the sum of its parts. With that in mind, this tournament gets an ever-so slightly thumbs up!