 |
| Sekimoto takes Los Angeles Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
- Jungle Boy - The third and final caveman to enter the tournament will do so as a fan favorite but also as a competitor who is taken off the list of actual favorites to win because he's an All Elite Wrestling signee. Boo. Luke Perry's (pbuh) son has become an extreme SoCal and PWG mainstay, and had he not hit the bigtime, well, he might be taking this whole tournament home. He is less knuckle-dragging, club-carrying caveman, and more like Tarzan, so expect some big aerial pyrotechnics from the curly-haired firebrand. He may not win, but he'll go far.
- Black Taurus - Although he's a PWG regular, I was first exposed to him at AAA TripleMania, where the dude looked like he was chiseled out of granite. More of a base than a flyer, Taurus will look to bulldoze his way to a tournament win. Given the heavy influx of Mexican talent in the tournament, it wouldn't be shocking to see a luchador win the whole thing. Of those involved, Taurus might be the guy.
- Rey Horus - Horus was no shock as he's been a West Coast and PWG regular for awhile. The masked icon, also known as El Dragon Azteca, Jr. in Lucha Underground, comes in looking to dazzle a crowd familiar with him and hungry to see him go far in the tournament.
- David Starr - Fresh off wrestling Joey Janela in a 60-minute iron man match at Beyond Wrestling's Americanrana, Starr will bring some technical wizardry to the fray. Honestly, his inclusion will be worth it if he gets to wrestle at any time Jonathan Gresham. I'm not sure if they've wrestled before, but they certainly haven't done so on this big a stage.
- The Laredo Kid - Before Fyter Fest, he was a AAA up-and-comer and a dude the Cleveland territory loved and knew about. After that and TripleMania, the whole world knows that the Laredo Kid is one of the top high-flying wrestlers in the whole world, let alone Mexico. For a tournament that has this large a lucha component, it would've been crazy not to include him.
- Jeff Cobb - The Champion and last year's winner will come back to defend his crown and make sure none of these upstarts will get a guaranteed shot at his PWG World Championship. Fresh off his G1 where he slapped up against Tomohiro Ishii and outwitted Toru Yano, Cobb will be one of the biggest and strongest competitors in the entire fray. No doubt he will look to throw his weight around and make sure he's still king of the mound.
- Dragon Lee - The eternal rival of Hiromu Takahashi will look to collect some hardware while his foe is recovering from a nasty neck injury (get well soon, dad of Daryl). BOLA has a collection of the best aerial wrestlers in the world, from Mexico or otherwise, in this tourney, so you know it had to have Lee.
- Pentagón, Jr. - Hey, his flippy brother is in it too, so why not the Cero Miedo man. Penta will come in as a heavy favorite to make the finals, even if his AAA and AEW commitments will keep him from cashing in his shot at Cobb's PWG Championship. He's one of the most familiar and fearsome wrestlers in the whole thing.
- Daisuke Sekimoto - The final announced wrestler is the first Japanese entrant into the tournament, which was a little surprising. That being said, Sekimoto puts an exclamation point on this field. He is perhaps the only entrant who can match size with Cobb, and he is a dream match partner for basically everyone in the fray.
