PWG 2012 Battle of Los Angeles: Night One Review

The 2012 edition of the Battle of Los Angeles gets under way!!

PWG 2012 Battle of Los Angeles: Night One

Reseda, California 9/1/12

1.) 2012 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match – TJ Perkins vs. Joey Ryan: **3/4

Joey Ryan starts off with a promo before the match, he talks about BOLA, makes a racial joke towards Willie Mack, and talks about how this is his 12th Year in Wrestling. The match itself was pretty decent. They told a good story in the ring with Perkins using his speed & technical ability to his advantage. TJ Perkins advances to the next round.

2.) 2012 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match – Roderick Strong vs. Drake Younger: ***3/4

One of the good things about PWG is that you get to see first time match-ups that you won't get to see in other Indy Promotions. This match was filled with lots of stiff, hard hitting action, which is what you would expect from a match involving these two. Roderick Strong advances to the next round.

3.) 2012 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match – Eddie Edwards vs. Kyle O’Reilly: ***1/2

These two had a very exciting and technical match-up. Both guys looked really good (providing us with some unique offense) and provided a great contest. Eddie Edwards advances to the next round.

4.) 2012 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match – B-Boy vs. Brian Cage: ***1/4

Although this was a little slower than the previous matches, it was still good (with the slower pace giving people a change to catch their breath) for what it was. Brian Cage advances to the next round.

5.) 2012 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match – Ricochet vs. Kevin Steen: ****

Another match that you will only see in PWG. These put on a great contest, playing the big man vs. little man story well. Brian Cage interferes and it ends up costing Steen the match. Ricochet advances to the next round.

6.) 2012 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match – Sami Callihan vs. Willie Mack: ***1/2

It's Sami Callihan's Birthday and he gets Happy Birthday Chants. The match itself was pretty good. Another first time encounter, I believe. Sami Callihan advances to the next round.

7.) 2012 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match – Adam Cole vs. El Generico: ***3/4

This is Cole's first singles match in PWG, after teaming for several shows with Kyle O'Reilly as part of Future Shock. Cole's a heel in this one. For a match that went only 11 minutes, this was awesome!! The match felt like it went full throttle from start to finish. The last part of the match was just fantastic. Kevin Steen's reactions on commentary (because he hates El Generico) just added to it even more. Adam Cole advances to the next round.

8.) 2012 Battle of Los Angeles First Round Match – Michael Elgin vs. Davey Richards: ****3/4

Here we have a rematch from the Match of the Year these two had in ROH during WrestleMania Weekend. While it was not as good as that match, this was still pretty great. Both guys gave 110% in the ring and put on a fantastic match. Michael Elgin advances to the next round.

Overall: 9.5/10

For it just being Night One, comprised completely of first round matches, this was an awesome show!! Every match on here was good, with certain ones being really good. This whole show just came together really nicely. Definitely worth checking out.