Battle of Los Angeles (2019) was the fifteenth

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). It was a three-night event held on September 19, September 20, and September 22, 2019, at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

Los Angeles 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, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The 2019 tournament featured twenty-four participants and concluded on the third night with Bandido defeating David Starr and

Jonathan Gresham Jonathan Gresham (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler. He performs on the independent circuit. He has previously wrestled for All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Champion, ROH Pure ...

in a three-way elimination match in the final. Aside from the tournament matches, tag team matches took place across three nights and a ten-man tag team match took place on the night three. The tournament featured the PWG debuts of

A-Kid Carlos Ruíz (born May 9, 1997) is a Spanish professional wrestler. He signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Axiom. He is a former one-time and the inaugural NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion as A-Kid and a two-ti ...

, Artemis Spencer, Caveman Ugg,

Daisuke Sekimoto (born February 9, 1981) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He is also known for his appearances in Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max. He is a three-time BJW World Strong Hea ...

, Dragon Lee, Lucky Kid and Mick Moretti. Other PWG debutants at the event included

Alex Zayne Alex Zayne Brandenburg (born October 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler primarily working on the independent circuit under the ring name Alex Zayne. He is best known for his tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He has also ap ...

and

Blake Christian Christian Hubble (born July 22, 1997), better known by his ring name Blake Christian, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He also makes appearances for its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) and on ...

, who competed in a tag team match on night one, and Paris De Silva who participated in a ten-man tag team match on night three.

Background

Original lineup

On June 4, 2019, PWG announced via its official

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

handle that the 2019 Battle of Los Angeles tournament would be held on September 19, September 20, and September 22, 2019, at the

. The following participants were announced for the tournament:

, Artemis Spencer,

Darby Allin Samuel Ratsch (born January 7, 1993), better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is a former two-time AEW TNT Championship, AEW TNT Champion and a former AEW Wo ...

, Mick Moretti,

Orange Cassidy James Cipperly (born May 4, 1984), better known by his ring name Orange Cassidy, is an American professional wrestler and Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, wrestling trainer. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is ...

, Bandido, Caveman Ugg,

Jake Atlas Kenny Sanchez Marquez (born October 5, 1994), known by his ring name Jake Atlas, is an American former professional wrestler known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and WWE. Professional wrestling career As a native resident of Los Angel ...

Tony Deppen Anthony Deppen (born May 3, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently working for Major League Wrestling (MLW), Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Television Champion; and on the independent circuit. Professional wre ...

, Rey Fenix, Lucky Kid,

Joey Janela Joseph Janela (born July 3, 1989) is an American professional wrestler, working for Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), where he is the promoter of the Joey Janela's Spring Break event series. Janela is most known for his work with All Elite Wrestling ...

Brody King Nathan Troy Blauvelt (born March 17, 1987), better known by his ring name Brody King, is an American professional wrestler, singer, and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Hounds of Hell and is a form ...

Bárbaro Cavernario Leonardo Moreno Ayala (born November 6, 1993), better known by his ring name Bárbaro Cavernario, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler), working for Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays a ...

, Jungle Boy,

Black Taurus The Beast Mortos (born March 11, 1987), also known by his former ring name Black Taurus, is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of La Faccion Ingob ...

Rey Horus Rey Horus is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler. Formerly he wrestled for Major League Wrestling (MLW) and Ring Of Honor (ROH). He was also known as the second El Hijo de Rey Misterio, Spanish for "The Son of R ...

, David Starr,

Laredo Kid Laredo Kid (born December 30, 1986) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler. He is signed to both Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. In TNA, he is a former TNA Digital Media Cham ...

, the 2018 winner and 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 ...

Jeff Cobb is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler. As of May 2025, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name JC Mateo and is a member of The Bloodline. He is best known for his tenure in N ...

, Dragon Lee, PENTA EL 0M and

Replacement

Due to a scheduling conflict, Bárbaro Cavernario was replaced by

Aramís Hologram, also known by his former ring name Aramís, is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler). He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Conglomeration. He also makes appearances for Con ...

. Laredo Kid was unable to compete due to participating in the

reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

series '' Exatlon'' and was subsequently replaced by

Puma King Puma King (born July 6, 1990) is a Mexican '' Luchador'' '' enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler working with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), but also as a freelancer in many Mexican promotions such as Lucha Memes, MexaWrestling and man ...

Non-tournament matches

Along with the Battle of Los Angeles tournament, PWG announced several non-tournament matches heading into the event. On August 16, two non-tournament tag team matches were announced for night one:

and Joey Janela versus

and Tony Deppen and

Lucha Brothers The Lucha Brothers were a Mexican professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Pentagón Jr., Penta and Rey Fénix. They are signed to WWE, where Penta performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand while Fénix performs on the SmackDown br ...

(PENTA EL 0M and Rey Fenix) versus MexaBlood (Bandido and

Flamita Flamita (born November 30, 1994) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler). In addition to working for promotions such as Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU) in his native country, ...

). A

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 ...

match was scheduled between the champions

The Rascalz The Rascalz is an American professional wrestling tag team currently appearing in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) consisting of Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz. In TNA, Wentz is a former one-time TNA X Division Champion, and Miguel and Wentz ar ...

(

Dezmond Xavier Deveon Everhart Aikens (born November 2, 1988) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT and Evolve brands under the ring name Wes Lee and is the leader of The High Ryze stable. He is a former one-t ...

and

Zachary Wentz Zachary Green (born April 29, 1994), better known by his ring name Zachary Wentz, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a member of The Rascalz tag team. He ...

) and

Aussie Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events every year, held befor ...

(

Kyle Fletcher Kyle Fletcher (born 24 December 1998) is an Australian professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he is a member of the Don Callis Family stable and is one-half of the tag team Protoshita with Konosuke Takeshita. He a ...

and Mark Davis) for night two. A match between Aussie Open and

The Dark Order The Dark Order is a professional wrestling stable signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The stable consists of Evil Uno, John Silver (wrestler), John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and Brodie Lee Jr., Brodie Lee Jr. The stable previously utilized masked h ...

(

Evil Uno Nicolas Dansereau (born July 20, 1987), better known by the ring name Evil Uno, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is the co-founder of Mystery Wrestling. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member ...

and

Stu Grayson Marc Dionne (born January 25, 1989), better known by the ring name Stu Grayson, is a Canadian professional wrestler. Formerly known as Stupefied or Player Dos, he regularly teamed with Player Uno as the Super Smash Brothers for various indepen ...

) was scheduled to take place on night three, which would turn into a World Tag Team Championship match if Aussie Open were to beat Rascalz for the titles. However, Davis suffered a ruptured MCL and torn ACL while warming up for his match before BOLA, resulting in both of Aussie Open's matches being changed. The match between Rascalz and Aussie Open on night two was changed to a non-title match with A-Kid being announced as Davis' replacement to team with Fletcher. On night three, Rey Horus and Aramis replaced Aussie Open as Dark Order's opponents while Fletcher would participate in a ten-man tag team match later in the night.

Event

Night 1

The 2019 Battle of Los Angeles tournament kicked off with the first round match between debutants

and Lucky Kid. A-Kid applied an armbar on Lucky Kid and hit him with the chops while applying the hold, forcing the latter to submit. Next,

took on the debuting Caveman Ugg. King delivered a ''Gonzo Bomb'' to Ugg for the win. Next,

took on the debuting Dragon Lee. Lee hit a running

knee strike A knee strike (commonly referred to simply as a knee) is a strike (attack), strike with the knee, either with the kneecap or the surrounding area. Kneeing is a disallowed practice in many combat sports, especially to the head of a downed opponent. ...

to Horus for the win. Next, a non-tournament

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

took place pitting

and the debuting

against

and the debuting

. Zayne delivered a running 630° senton to Deppen for the win. The BOLA tournament continued next as

took on

. Allin pinned Taurus with a

cradle Cradle or Cradles may refer to: * Cradle (bed) * Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep Mechanical devices * Cradle (circus act), or aerial cradle or casting cradle used in an aerial circus act * Crad ...

for the win. Next,

took on the debuting Artemis Spencer. Gresham knocked Spencer out by repeatedly hitting him with blows, forcing the referee to stop the match and award the victory to Gresham. 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

. Cobb delivered a '' Tour of the Islands'' to Sekimoto for the win. It was followed by the main event of the night one pitting

( PENTA EL 0M and Rey Fenix) against MexaBlood ( Bandido and

). Lucha Brothers executed a double-team combination on Flamita as PENTA and Fenix respectively delivered a ''

Fear Factor ''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/ dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled '' ...

'' and a diving double foot stomp at the same time.

Night 2

The first round of BOLA continued on the second night as Joey Janela took on the debuting Mick Moretti. Moretti threw a fireball to Janela's face and the referee handed a towel to Janela to recover from it. Janela threw the towel on Moretti's face and hit a

superkick Strikes can be offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional ...

for the win. Next,

took on Jungle Boy. Atlas delivered a '' LGB-DDT'' to Jungle Boy from the ring apron to the outside floor and then tossed him into the ring to pin him for the win. Next, Rey Fenix took on

Aramis René d'Herblay, alias Aramis, is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), '' Twenty Years After'' (1845), and '' The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847–1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers, ...

. Fenix delivered a '' Black Fire Driver'' to Aramis for the win. It was followed by a tag team match pitting

(

and

) against

and A-Kid, a replacement for the injured Mark Davis. Rascalz performed an aided moonsault for the win. The BOLA tournament continued as

defended the

Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended "24/7", as in ...

against Bandido. Bandido delivered a

spike piledriver A piledriver is a professional wrestling driver move in which the wrestler grabs their opponent, turns them upside-down, and drops into a sitting or kneeling position, driving the opponent head-first into the mat. The technique is said to have b ...

to King to win the title and advance in the tournament. However, after the match, King exercised the title's 24/7 rule and rolled-up Bandido and pinned him to regain the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship. Next, PENTA EL 0M took on Tony Deppen. PENTA nailed a ''Fear Factor'' to Deppen for the win. Next,

took on David Starr. Starr hit a

lariat A lasso or lazo ( or ), also called reata or la reata in Mexico, and in the United States riata or lariat (from Mexican Spanish lasso for roping cattle), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when ...

to Cassidy for the win. It was followed by night two's main event, in which Jonathan Gresham and Daisuke Sekimoto took on King's Hawaiian (Brody King and Jeff Cobb). Sekimoto delivered a

German suplex A suplex is an Offense (sports), offensive move used in Wrestling, sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and Bridge (grappling), bridging or rolling to slam the ...

to King for the win.

Night 3

;Quarterfinals The night three began with the quarterfinals of the tournament as Jake Atlas took on Dragon Lee. Lee hit a running knee strike to Atlas for the win. Next, Bandido took on Brody King. Bandido executed a

springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...

'' 21 Plex'' for the win. Next, Jonathan Gresham took on A-Kid. Gresham repeatedly hit A-Kid's knee into the mat, forcing the referee to stop the match. Next, Rey Fenix took on Joey Janela. Janela twisted Fenix's mask to make it difficult for the latter to see and nailed a superkick on Fenix for the win. Next, PENTA EL 0M took on Darby Allin. Allin pinned PENTA with a ''

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

'' for the win. Next, Jeff Cobb took on David Starr. Starr took advantage when the referee got knocked out and hit Cobb with the PWG World Championship title belt and delivered a lariat to Cobb for the win. It was followed by a tag team match in which

(

and

) took on Aramis and Rey Horus. Grayson delivered a diving neckbreaker to Aramis for the win. ;Semifinals Next, the semifinals of the tournament began as Jonathan Gresham took on Joey Janela. Gresham applied an

octopus hold Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring. Some wrestlers use ...

on Janela and attacked him forcing the referee to stop the match and award the win to Gresham. Next, Bandido took on Dragon Lee. Bandido delivered a ''21 Plex'' to Lee for the win. Next, Darby Allin took on David Starr. Starr delivered a lariat to Allin for the win. The penultimate match of the event was a ten-man tag team match pitting Artemis Spencer, Caveman Ugg, Jungle Boy, Orange Cassidy and the debuting Paris De Silva against Black Taurus, Kyle Fletcher, Lucky Kid, Mick Moretti and Tony Deppen. Cassidy spit orange juice in Deppen's face and rolled him up to pin him for the win. ;Final It was followed by the tournament final, a three-way elimination match between Bandido, David Starr and Jonathan Gresham. Gresham eliminated Starr by applying an octopus hold on the latter and repeatedly hitting him with elbow strikes. Gresham tried to eliminate Bandido in the same way by applying an octopus hold but Bandido powered out of it by hitting a

Samoan drop 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 ...

when the referee was about to stop the match. Bandido followed it by hitting Gresham with a

falling powerslam A Powerslam or simply Slam is a professional wrestling body slam move in which the wrestler performing the slam falls face-down on top of the opponent. The use of the term "powerslam" usually refers to the front powerslam or the scoop powerslam. ...

from the top rope and a ''21 Plex'' to win the tournament.

Reception

Steve Bryant of ''

SoCal Uncensored SoCal Uncensored (SCU) was an American professional wrestling stable that consisted of Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky. Daniels and Kazarian formed a tag team during their time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Desc ...

'' stated that the first night of the tournament was not "as good as last year’s night 1" while considering the second night a "letdown". However, he praised the third night, rating it "a great show" and recommended that "if you can only get one night, get night three".

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter' ...

of ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

'' showed heavy appreciation towards the semi-final match between Bandido and Dragon Lee on the third night, calling it a "match of the year candidate" and awarded it the prestigious five-star rating.

Aftermath

After winning the 2019 Battle of Los Angeles, Bandido received a title shot against Jeff Cobb for the PWG World Championship at ''Makings of a Varsity Athlete'', which resulted in Bandido defeating Cobb to win the World Championship.

Results

Tournament brackets

* = Puma King's

was on the line

References

External links

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla official website
{{Battle of Los Angeles Battle of Los Angeles (professional wrestling) 2019 in professional wrestling September 2019 in the United States 2019 in Los Angeles Professional wrestling shows in Los Angeles