Pro Wrestling Guerrilla – Battle of Los Angeles 2007 Night 1 Results

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla – Battle of Los Angeles 2007 Night 1
Friday August 31st, Burbank, CA. Start Time: 8:50
Approximate Attendence: 420 – 450

The Armory in Burbank is absolutely sweltering as the crowd enters, approximately 90+ degrees and would hardly cool down during the night. The heat would affect the crowd and matches all night long. PWG World Champion Bryan Danielson (with an eye patch) came to the ring to cut a short promo about being sorry he missed the tournament, but would be back in October to defend the title. PWG Commissioner Dino Winwood and Food and Beverage Commissioner Excaliber then come out to show off the new BoLA trophy and introduce all 24 men and pose with it. Show starts a little under 1 hour late while the remaining guard rails are put in:

1. Opening Match – Youngbucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) Defeated Los Luchas (Pheonix Star & Zokre) by pinfall, via “Jackson 5” combo (450/Moonsault) on to both Luchas after they are both stacked up on each other. Surprisingly good opener, fast paced and well received by the crowd. ***

2. 1st Round Match-up for BoLA ’07 – Joey Ryan Defeated Chris Hero, via Reversal of Decision by Referee. Scott Lost tried to interfere and give Joey Ryan a pair of ‘knux’, Hero intercepted the ‘knux’ and hit Joey with a “Hero’s Welcome” for the pin. Referee Rick Knox announced Hero as the winner, but saw the ‘knux’ on Hero and reversed his decision. After the decision the crowd immediately turned on the match and Hero laid out Joey with the ‘knux’. **1/4

3. 1st Round Match-up for BoLA ’07 – Roderick Strong Defeated Austin Aries by pinfall, via Small Package off a reversal of a Brainbuster attempt. Good match that got good time, but no crowd heat due to their lack of history in PWG as well as the actual heat inside the building. ***1/2

4. 1st Round Match-up for BoLA ’07 – Matt Sydal Defeated Jimmy Rave by pinfall, via Shooting Sydal Press. Very bad to mediocre match with plenty of miscommunication and blown spots. Rave’s PWG debut was not impressive at all. *1/2

5. 1st Round Match-up for BoLA ’07 – Alex Shelley Defeated Tyler Black by pinfall, via Shiranui (Sliced Bread #2). Match started slow but built up nicely into the match with the most crowd heat all night. Black was impressive as a semi-heel in this match as crowd was strongly for Shelley. ***3/4

***Intermission***

6. 1st Round Match-up for BoLA ’07 – Claudio Castagnoli Defeated Doug Williams by pinfall, via Ricola Bomb. Good match that was very technical/euro styled including an extended battle of European Uppercuts which lasted for almost 5 straight minutes around the ring and even over the rails and into the crowd. ***

7. 1st Round Match-up for BoLA ’07 – PAC Defeated Jack Evans by pinfall, via Corkscrew Shooting Star Press. Very good match that lived up to the expectations of most fans as these two high flyers wrestlers a near perfectly clean match…at least as clean as can be expected. Very good back and forth action that literally knocked Jack Evan’s shoes off towards the end. ***3/4

8. PWG World Tag Team Match – Steen-Erico (Kevin Steen & El Generico) Defeated Typhoon (Susumu Yokosuka & Dragon Kid) by pinfall to retain the titles, via Package Piledriver/Brainbustaaaa combo on Dragon Kid. Great match, probably MotN and had good crowd heat despite the sweltering temperature inside the armory and the lateness of the match. Fairly one-sided until the end where Dragon Kid/Susu had 2 near falls on Steen-Erico, one being very believable. Size difference was enormous, as El Generico couldn’t play “baby face in peril” at all during any part of the night. Steen played heel during the match as everyone else played face. ****

Night 2 begins tonight at 8:00 pm at the Burbank Armory in Burbank, check www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com for more details.