The Battle of Los Angeles Is Gonna Be HYPE

Two guys overdue for a PWG debut are coming to the Battle of Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla hasn't even run its anniversary ELEVEN event yet, and it has already started rolling out the details on the annual Battle of Los Angeles tournament. PWG has followed Absolute Intense Wrestling's lead and expanded the field to a whopping 24 wrestlers. Additionally, the event has been camped into three whole days, August 29-31. No details as to seeding have been announced yet; 24 wrestlers could mean eight wrestlers get byes, or it could mean that, like the AIW JT Lightning Tournament, the final will be a triple threat match. While details haven't been announced yet, the names have begun to drop:

Matt Sydal - Sydal's first announced date since being released from WWE is a huge one, yet not surprising. He's a PWG veteran, and he should fit right back in. I just hope he doesn't try to go too hard, since he's been on the shelf for the last two years-plus.

Drew Gulak - Gulak was the first name-debut to be announced. I'm actually surprised he hasn't debuted for PWG before now, but he should fit right in. That being said, I hope that TJ Perkins comes back so he and Gulak can give the world the lightning grapple that it deserves.

Trevor Lee - Not surprising at all given the headway he's made in PWG since debuting earlier this year. He's actually drawn the most rave reviews of the North Carolina wrestlers, and since he came over with Cedric Alexander and Andrew Everett, well, that fact is a feat.

Chris Sabin - Not surprising either, but still titillating. I wonder if Alex Shelley will also get the invite, since New Japan is on a break between August 10 and September 5. Reuniting the Motor City Machine Guns would provide quite the pop.

Johnny Gargano - He's the first "regular" regular to be announced. He's automatically on the shortlist of favorites to win the thing too.

Brian Myers - The former Curt Hawkins is the second recent WWE release to make the trip out west. Trent? basically made his bones out in PWG. Myers could have quite the weekend.

Michael Elgin - Another regular who could win the thing, he added the ROH World Championship to go with his AIW title. What's the PWG Championship?

Biff Busick - Busick will join Gulak from the Beyond/CZW nexus to make his PWG debut as well. Honestly, he's the one guy who makes the most sense in the PWG environment. I expect a huge weekend from him.

So far, the names announced are pretty tight. With 16 left to go and a lot of the usual suspects remaining, it'll be interesting to see if any other name guests get announced. Still, even if the field gets filled with PWG regulars like ACH, Adam Cole, and Kyle O'Reilly, the three day event should still be pretty wild.