Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s famous Battle of Los Angeles (BOLA) for 2019 is fast approaching. Names such as El Generico, Jeff Cobb, and Ricochet have won this always star-studded affair. This will be the fifteenth edition of the tournament, stacked with international talent. We broke down the first half of the field here, so let’s take a look at what the second half has to offer.
PWG Battle of Los Angeles: The Second Half
Joey Janela, 3rd Appearance
Joey Janela is a bonafide superstar on the independents, though his time and availability for shows like BOLA are ticking down. Despite the vocal naysayers on social media, Janela was signed by All Elite Wrestling. This will be Janela’s third BOLA appearance. In his first, he was eliminated in the first round; in 2018, he made it to the semi-finals. He also made his PWG debut at the 2017 BOLA weekend. Aside from his talents in the ring, Janela is also well known for his popular and viral shows that he’s co-promoted with Game Changer Wrestling.
Brody King, 2nd Appearance
Brody King is currently one-third of Villain Enterprises and one-third of the Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Team Champions. In 2018 he made it to the second round before being eliminated. King made his PWG debut earlier in 2018 at Neon Knights. In addition to the six-man tag team titles, this year he’s also held the ROH Tag Team and NWA World Tag Team Championships with PCO. With Marty Scurll, he held the World Series Wrestling Tag Team Championships. The 6’5 straight edge beast only has four years experience currently under his belt but is already a force to be reckoned with.
Aramis, PWG BOLA Debut
Aramis is a replacement for Barbaro Cavernario and will be making both his PWG and BOLA debut. It will also be his debut in the United States. Aramis is currently one half of the International Wrestling Revolution Group Intercontinental Tag Team Champions with Imposible. A veteran luchador of ten years, he competes regularly for AAA, IWRG, and Promociones MDA as well as other Mexican independents. He’s no stranger to tournaments and he’s won two in 2019. Along with Imposible, they won the tournament to crown the first Intercontinental Tag Team Champions. In a co-promoted tournament for Mexa Wrestling and Lucha Memes, he won the Battle of Naucalpan tournament. This involved big names like Laredo Kid, Flamita and Puma King.
Jungle Boy, PWG BOLA Debut
One of the youngest competitors in the 2019 Battle of Los Angeles is Jungle Boy. Just 22 years old, he will be making his BOLA debut. He debuted for PWG back in January at Hand of Doom. Like Janela, he is also signed to All Elite Wrestling. Both in AEW and other promotions, he is one-half of the tag team A Boy and His Dinosaur with Luchasaurus. At this early stage of his career, he’s perhaps best known for his wild mane and being the son of actor Luke Perry. Jungle Boy has competed in a couple of other tournaments so far this year. He participated in the Bar Wrestling Trios Tournament with Luchasaurus and Solo Darling; he also participated in the All Pro Wrestling/Pro Wrestling Revolution King of the Indies tournament.
Black Taurus, PWG BOLA Debut
Also making his Battle of Los Angeles debut is Black Taurus. Taurus just made his PWG debut in July at SIXTEEN. 2019 has become Black Taurus‘ breakout year. He has begun to work less for AAA and has been working more independents in both the United States and Mexico. Black Taurus has appeared for IMPACT Wrestling, MLW, GCW, and Black Label Pro in the US. In Mexico, in addition to his many years of work for AAA, he’s worked for Promociones Martinez, KAOZ Lucha, and this year’s Expo Lucha. Though one thing that could work against Black Taurus is that he hasn’t competed in any tournaments in several years. The last tournament he participated in was the AAA Rey de Reyes in 2016.
Rey Horus, 3rd Appearance
Rey Horus is one of the more tenured members of this part of the field in terms of PWG experience. Horus made his PWG debut back at Pushin Forward Back in 2017, the same year as his first Battle of Los Angeles. He’s also been known as El Hijo de Rey Misterio and Dragon Azteca, Jr. Horus was the second to wrestle under the name of El Hijo de Rey Misterio; he came into the character following the retirement of the original wrestler under that name. He changed his name to Rey Horus following the original El Hijo del Rey Misterio’s return to pro wrestling. Rey Horus is very active on the independent scene in the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. He’s a member of the stable La Rebelion Amarilla which works mostly for The Crash Lucha Libre but elsewhere as well. You can also catch Horus on MLW and the much talked about Lucha Underground (as Dragon Azteca, Jr.)
David Starr, 2nd Appearance
The man of 1,000 nicknames in David Starr returns to PWG for the Battle of Los Angeles. This will be Starr’s second BOLA appearance, he was eliminated in the first round of 2018. Starr debuted in PWG back in January of 2018 at Mystery Vortex V. In an irregular occurrence, Starr won his debut match against Fred Yehi. However, he has not scored a victory in PWG since that match. For the last couple of years, Starr has concentrated more on Europe, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. He’s found great success for PROGRESS Wrestling, Over the Top Wrestling, wXw, RevPro Wrestling, and Defiant Wrestling. He recently won PROGRESS’s annual Super Strong Style 16 Tournament.
Puma King, 2nd Appearance
Puma King is a last-minute replacement for Laredo Kid. This will be Puma King’s second BOLA appearance. He was eliminated in the first round of the 2018 tournament. Puma King made his PWG debut at the 2018 BOLA. He’s participated in many tournaments in his 12-year career, many for CMLL. In addition to working for CMLL, he’s worked for AAA, DTU, and DDT Pro in Japan. Puma King’s US jaunts include GCW, PCW ULTRA, DEFY Wrestling, Black Label Pro, and MLW. He’s also made appearances for Demand Lucha in Canada and OTT in Ireland. The King of the Jungle is just returning from his latest tour of Japan with DDT Pro and will look to sink his claws into the Battle of Los Angeles.
Jeff Cobb, 4th Appearance
The former Olympic amateur wrestler turned pro wrestler is the current PWG World Champion and won the 2018 Battle of Los Angeles. He made his PWG debut back at Prince in May of 2016. Cobb is also a former one-half of the PWG Tag Team Champions with Matt Riddle as the Chosen Bros. The supremely athletic and talented big man was part of this year’s G1 Climax in which his performance received very good reviews. If Cobb is dominant in BOLA this year and manages to bring home the win, he will become only the second-ever wrestler to win the tournament more than once. The only wrestler to accomplish this feat is the one and only Ricochet.
Dragon Lee, PWG BOLA Debut
Dragon Lee is one of the hottest luchadors in wrestling at the moment. The younger brother of the charismatic RUSH, he is making both his PWG and BOLA debut. Dragon Lee is currently signed to ROH and CMLL and has competed for New Japan Pro Wrestling and The Crash Lucha Libre, along with several smaller indies. He also won the 2019 King of the Indies tournament held by APW and PWR. Lee also participated in 2019 Best of the Super Juniors and Super J Cup for NJPW. He’s also the current CMLL World Welterweight Champion. Dragon Lee may only be 24-years-old, but with lucha libre in his blood, his true potential has yet to bloom.
Penta El Zero M, 4th Appearance
This will be the fourth BOLA appearance for the man known for Cero Miedo, Penta El Zero M. Whether you know him like that, Pentagon Jr., or Pentagon Dark, he’s still one of the best wrestlers today. With his brother Rey Fenix, they were the PWG Tag Team Champions. With AEW exclusivity getting closer, this could be one of the final opportunities to see Penta El Zero M in PWG. In the last BOLA he competed in back in 2017, he made it to the quarter-finals. In 2019, Penta competed in the wXw 16 Carat Gold Tournament. He also won the 2019 Fight Club: PRO Dream Tag Team Invitational alongside Fenix.
Daisuke Sekimoto, PWG BOLA Debut
The poruresu legend from Big Japan Pro-Wrestling rounds out the field of 24 for this year’s Battle of Los Angeles. He too is making both his PWG and BOLA debut. With a career spanning over 20 years, there isn’t much that Daisuke Sekimoto hasn’t done yet. However now he can check off this storied tournament and get the chance to tangle with other world-class wrestlers. Sekimoto’s most recent forays in the United States were back in July. He competed for GCW, ICW, and Beyond Wrestling. A Daisuke Sekimoto match is the very definition of what Americans would call a ‘hoss fight’ or as it’s known in Japanese wrestling, strong style. Aficionados of hard-hitting and real tough-man type matches will enjoy whoever has the luck of working with Daisuke Sekimoto.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
