More Tournament News, Because You Haven't Had Enough Already

Dijak will get his chance to throw people around Reseda this year
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Okay, so, at present time, no fewer than four tournaments are on the docket for the rest of the summer, and all of them are insanely good on paper so far. CWF Mid-Atlantic won't be announcing the other half of the Weaver Cup field for another two weeks. However, some huge names dropped for the Mae Young Classic, the Battle of Los Angeles, and King of Trios. The first announced two awesome but predictable names and a third highly-touted wrestler from out of leftfield. The second loaded up on wrestlers who either have a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla pedigree or in the case of the third, someone who was bound to debut there anyway. The last is a uniquely native Chikara trio but an indisputably important one.

Starting with the corporate women's tournament, Dot Com dropped the latest article today on the newest competitors. Bianca BelAir was already reported here via NXT taping spoiler. The other three names are far more interesting. Kairi Sein and Dakota Kai are the first two wrestlers covered, and their arrivals in the tournament were foregone conclusions. If those names are unfamiliar to you, then you might know them better as Kairi Hojo and Evie, respectively. Sein, known as the Pirate Princess in STARDOM, will automatically be a favorite to win the whole damn thing given how much hype has surrounded her signing. Kai will probably go pretty far as well. She provides a fun spark of frenetic kicking energy.

The third name announced came as a bit of a surprise, given she was part of that ill-fated World of Sport reboot that WWE wanted desperately not to happen. Piper Niven, better known as Viper, has thrown her name in the Mae Young Classic ring. Like fellow BritWres scene veteran Toni Storm, Niven has experience in STARDOM. My one concern is that WWE might see her build and turn her into a one note fat joke, because if Mickie James and Molly Holly were "fat," then someone like Viper might be in trouble. Still, the MYC is so far away from the gravity of Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn that she'll be portrayed for being an awesome force of nature than anything else.

Also, Wikipedia has a curious name on the list of competitors of the MYC. Australian wrestler and recent Performance Center signee Demi Bennett is on the list. I'm not sure if it's a mistake or if someone in the know confirmed her for the shindig. I don't know much about her except that some folks in the know regard her well. While Bennett may or may not be in, Niven, Sein, and Kai join Storm, Princesa Sugehit, Lacey Evans, Sarah Logan, Abbey Laith, Jazzy Gabert, Tessa Blanchard, Taynara Conti, Vanessa Borne, Kativa Devi, and BelAir as confirmed participants. Shayna Baszler remains dangling in the breeze until her status goes from "leaked in an interview" to "confirmed."

Shifting gears, PWG announced on Wednesday the three latest entrants into the Battle of Los Angeles. The first name is Rey Fenix, who currently holds the Tag Team Championships with his brother, Penta El Zero Em (Pentagón Jr./Dark). The insane high-flyer will be entering his third tournament, and maybe this year, he'll advance past the first round. The second name is Dezmond Xavier, who is a mainstay in Combat Zone Wrestling and other indies. He made his PWG debut this year. Finally, Donovan Dijak, the former Ring of Honor Top Prospect, will make his PWG debut in this year's tournament. He had the best reaction to getting booked, leaning into his reputation as being one of indie wrestling's most notorious Twitter vanity searchers:

I found this tweet by vanity searching.

— Donovan Dijak (@DonovanDijak) June 28, 2017

Dijak is the latest in HOSS potential for BOLA this year. Walter and Dijak's eternal rival Keith Lee are also in the fray, as well as smaller but still excellent competitors Flamita and Travis Banks.

Finally, Chikara just announced the next team in its King of Trios slate, happening in England, and it's another Golden Trio entry. Juan Francisco de Coronado, Chikara's Grand Champion, and the team of Cornelius Crummels and Sonny DeFarge, los Campeones de Parejas, will attempt to add medals to their current haul of title hardware. Obviously, this team will be formidable, and in the case of Crummels and DeFarge, ridden with germs too. Will they take advantage of immune systems weakened by jet travel? Only time will tell. Also, Banks' replacement on House Calamari has been named. Joining Kid Lykos and Chris Brookes will be Elijah Dahl of Attack! Pro Wrestling, the promotion that brought Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews to initial prominence. They will join defending Champion Sendai Girls (Meiko Satomura, Dash Chisako, Cassandra Miyagi), The Rot (Hallowicked, Frightmare, Kobald), The Xyberhawx (Razerhawk, Sylverhawk, Nytehawk), The Throwbacks (Mark Angelosetti, Dasher Hatfield, Simon Grimm), The Furies (Fire Ant, Travis Huckabee, Solo Darling), and House White Wolf (Zayas, Adam Chase, and A-Kid) in the annual tournament.

Of course, as more people start populating tournaments, and you don't feel like fishing out the Twitter reactions, you can find them here.