Battle of Los Angeles (2011) was the seventh

Battle of Los Angeles The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

produced by

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. As of 2024, it is on an extended hiatus. It was created by pro wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super ...

(PWG). The event took place on August 20, 2011, at the American Legion Post #308 in Reseda,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It marked the first time that the Battle of Los Angeles tournament was held over one night. The event concluded with a tournament final in which

El Generico Rami Sebei (born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Sami Zayn. Sebei made his professional wrestling debut in 2002 under the ring name Stevie McFly. Pr ...

defeated

Kevin Steen Kevin Yanick Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. As of A ...

. The card included non-tournament matches aside from the tournament which saw

The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Matthew Massie and Nicholas Massie, who perform under the ring names Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson. , they are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), whe ...

(Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) retain the

World Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...

against

The Kings of Wrestling The Kings of Wrestling was a professional wrestling stable that worked on the independent circuit. It was formed in Chikara as a large stable, but also appeared in numerous promotions mainly as a tag team of Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. ...

(

Chris Hero William Christopher Spradlin (born December 24, 1979), better known by his ring name Chris Hero, is an American professional wrestler and trainer. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer. Hero has worked for a number of indepen ...

and

Claudio Castagnoli Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders and a former AEW World Trios Championship, AEW World Trios Champion. He also per ...

) and The Dynasty ( Joey Ryan and

Scorpio Sky Schuyler Andrews (born April 2, 1983), better known by the ring name Scorpio Sky, is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former two-time AEW TNT Champion and ...

) defeat The RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma) to become the #1 contenders for the World Tag Team Championship. The event featured the PWG debut of veteran wrestler

Dave Finlay David John Finlay (, born 31 January 1958) is a Northern Irish former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a trainer and assistant coach at the Performance Center, as well as a producer. He is best known for his tenures with World Cha ...

Background

In July 2011, PWG announced the 2011 Battle of Los Angeles as an eight-man tournament to be held on one night unlike previous editions which took place across two or three nights. The participants announced for the tournament included

, the

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Roderick Strong Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his ring name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Paragon stable and is a former one-time AEW I ...

, Eddie Edwards,

and

Willie Mack Willie McClinton Jr. (born January 5, 1987) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Willie Mack, currently appearing in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Juggalo Championship Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, Major League Wres ...

. Aside from the tournament, it was announced that The Dynasty ( Joey Ryan and

) would take on The RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma) at Battle of Los Angeles. The winning team would receive a title shot against

for the

at ''The Perils of Rock N' Roll Decadence''.

Event

Quarterfinals

The tournament kicked off with a match between

and

. Mack reversed a '' Deathblow'' attempt by Hero into a

backslide Backsliding, also known as falling away or described as "committing apostasy", is a term used within Christianity to describe a process by which an individual who has converted to Christianity reverts to pre-conversion habits and/or lapses or f ...

and pinned him for the win. Next, the

PWG World Champion The PWG World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) professional wrestling promotion. It was introduced in 2003 as the PWG Championship. The inaugural champion was Frankie Kazarian. The cu ...

took on the debuting

. Steen injured Finlay's left leg by repeatedly smashing it into the ring post. Finlay's leg injury worsened when he tried to block a senton by Steen, allowing Steen to apply a

Sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

and make Finlay submit for the win. Next,

took on

. Castagnoli countered a

hurricanrana Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...

attempt by Generico into a sunset flip but Generico reversed it and pinned Castagnoli with a bridge for the win. It was followed by the last quarterfinal match between

and Eddie Edwards. Edwards pinned Strong with a

small package In professional wrestling, a pin is a move where a wrestler holds an opponent's shoulders to the mat in an attempt to score a fall. A pinfall is a common victory condition, where the attacker pins an opponent and the referee makes a three count ...

for the win. Next, The Dynasty ( Joey Ryan and

) took on The RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma) to determine the #1 contenders for the

PWG World Tag Team Championship The PWG World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the tag team division of the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) promotion. It was created and debuted on January 25, 2004, at PWG's Tango & C ...

. Sky pinned Goodtime with a roll-up for the win. After the match,

(Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) attacked both teams and cut a promo in which they insulted the crowd and said that they had no opponents for that event. Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli) interrupted them and challenged Young Bucks to a match for the World Tag Team Championship later in the night which Bucks accepted.

Semifinals

The first semifinal match took place between El Generico and Willie Mack. Generico hit a '' Yakuza Kick'' to Mack and a '' Brainbustah!!!'' for the win. The next semifinal took place between Kevin Steen and Eddie Edwards. Steen made Edwards submit to the Sharpshooter for the win. Next, The Young Bucks defended the World Tag Team Championship against The Kings of Wrestling. Matt Jackson pinned Claudio Castagnoli with a roll-up while putting his feet on the ropes for the win. After the match, Kings of Wrestling attacked Young Bucks and delivered a ''

KRS-1 Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

'' to Matt.

Final

The tournament final took place between Kevin Steen and El Generico. Generico got a near-fall after three ''Yakuza Kicks'' and a ''Brainbustah!!!'', leading to Generico hitting another brainbuster to Steen on the apron to win the 2011 Battle of Los Angeles tournament. After the match, the referee Rick Knox awarded the Battle of Los Angeles trophy to Generico and a little fan wearing Generico's mask who insulted Steen. Steen broke the trophy and retreated from the ring.

Reception

Ryan Rozanski of ''411Mania'' rated the event 8.5 out of 10 and praised it as "one of the most consistently entertaining installments of the tournament." He appreciated El Generico's tournament match against Claudio Castagnoli as a "great outing". The World Tag Team Championship match was considered "worthwhile". He stated that the tournament final between Generico and Kevin Steen was "a fantastic thirteen-minute war".

Aftermath

After winning the Battle of Los Angeles, El Generico opted to challenge Kevin Steen for the PWG World Championship. At ''The Perils of Rock N' Roll Decadence'', The Young Bucks attacked Steen after the latter retained the World Championship against

Davey Richards Wesley David Richards (born March 1, 1983), best known under the ring name Davey Richards, is a retired American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, TNA Wrestling and Ring of Honor, and for ...

, prompting Generico to make the save for Steen. Steen low blowed Generico and then Generico challenged Steen to a

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...

for the title at ''Steen Wolf'', which was later made official. Generico went on to defeat Steen in the subsequent match to win the title. The Dynasty received their World Tag Team Championship opportunity against The Young Bucks at ''The Perils of Rock N' Roll Decadence'', which they failed to win.

Results

Tournament brackets

References

External links

2011 Battle of Los Angeles official website
{{Battle of Los Angeles 2011 in professional wrestling Battle of Los Angeles (professional wrestling) Professional wrestling shows in Los Angeles August 2011 in the United States 2011 in Los Angeles