# Battle of Los Angeles (2019)

Battle of Los Angeles (2019) was the fifteenth Battle of Los Angeles professional wrestling tournament produced by Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). It was a three-night event held on September 19, September 20, and September 22, 2019, at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
The 2019 tournament featured twenty-four participants and concluded on the third night with Bandido defeating David Starr and Jonathan Gresham 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, Artemis Spencer, Caveman Ugg, Daisuke Sekimoto, Dragon Lee, Lucky Kid and Mick Moretti. Other PWG debutants at the event included Alex Zayne and Blake Christian, 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 handle that the 2019 Battle of Los Angeles tournament would be held on September 19, September 20, and September 22, 2019, at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The following participants were announced for the tournament: A-Kid, Jonathan Gresham, Artemis Spencer, Darby Allin, Mick Moretti, Orange Cassidy, Bandido, Caveman Ugg, Jake Atlas, Tony Deppen, Rey Fenix, Lucky Kid, Joey Janela, Brody King, Bárbaro Cavernario, Jungle Boy, Black Taurus, Rey Horus, David Starr, Laredo Kid, the 2018 winner and the World Champion Jeff Cobb, Dragon Lee, PENTA EL 0M and Daisuke Sekimoto.

### Replacement

Due to a scheduling conflict, Bárbaro Cavernario was replaced by Aramís. Laredo Kid was unable to compete due to participating in the reality competition series Exatlon and was subsequently replaced by Puma King.

### 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: Alex Zayne and Joey Janela versus Blake Christian and Tony Deppen and Lucha Brothers (PENTA EL 0M and Rey Fenix) versus MexaBlood (Bandido and Flamita). A World Tag Team Championship match was scheduled between the champions The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz) and Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) for night two. A match between Aussie Open and The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) 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 A-Kid 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, Brody King took on the debuting Caveman Ugg. King delivered a Gonzo Bomb to Ugg for the win.
Next, Rey Horus took on the debuting Dragon Lee. Lee hit a running knee strike to Horus for the win.
Next, a non-tournament tag team match took place pitting Joey Janela and the debuting Alex Zayne against Tony Deppen and the debuting Blake Christian. Zayne delivered a running 630° senton to Deppen for the win.
The BOLA tournament continued next as Darby Allin took on Black Taurus. Allin pinned Taurus with a cradle for the win.
Next, Jonathan Gresham 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 Jeff Cobb took on the debuting Daisuke Sekimoto. Cobb delivered a Tour of the Islands to Sekimoto for the win.
It was followed by the main event of the night one pitting Lucha Brothers (PENTA EL 0M and Rey Fenix) against MexaBlood (Bandido and Flamita). Lucha Brothers executed a double-team combination on Flamita as PENTA and Fenix respectively delivered a Fear Factor 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 for the win.
Next, Jake Atlas 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. Fenix delivered a Black Fire Driver to Aramis for the win.
It was followed by a tag team match pitting The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz) against Kyle Fletcher and A-Kid, a replacement for the injured Mark Davis. Rascalz performed an aided moonsault for the win.
The BOLA tournament continued as Puma King defended the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship against Bandido. Bandido delivered a spike piledriver 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, Orange Cassidy took on David Starr. Starr hit a lariat 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 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 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 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 The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) 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 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 when the referee was about to stop the match. Bandido followed it by hitting Gresham with a falling powerslam from the top rope and a 21 Plex to win the tournament.

## Reception

Steve Bryant of SoCal Uncensored 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 of Wrestling Observer Newsletter 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

Night 1 (September 19) :
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
| 1 | A-Kid defeated Lucky Kid | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 18:31 |
| 2 | Brody King defeated Caveman Ugg | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 10:52 |
| 3 | Dragon Lee defeated Rey Horus | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 14:30 |
| 4 | Alex Zayne and Joey Janela defeated Blake Christian and Tony Deppen | Tag team match | 14:39 |
| 5 | Darby Allin defeated Black Taurus | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 11:32 |
| 6 | Jonathan Gresham defeated Artemis Spencer | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 13:09 |
| 7 | Jeff Cobb defeated Daisuke Sekimoto | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 15:26 |
| 8 | Lucha Brothers (PENTA EL 0M and Rey Fenix) defeated MexaBlood (Bandido and Flamita) | Tag team match | 18:08 |
Night 2 (September 20) :
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
| 1 | Joey Janela defeated Mick Moretti | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 12:29 |
| 2 | Jake Atlas defeated Jungle Boy | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 19:05 |
| 3 | Rey Fenix defeated Aramís | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 13:13 |
| 4 | The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz) defeated A-Kid and Kyle Fletcher | Tag team match | 22:27 |
| 5 | Bandido defeated Puma King (c) | Singles match for the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 10:40 |
| 6 | PENTA EL 0M defeated Tony Deppen | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 14:33 |
| 7 | David Starr defeated Orange Cassidy | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament first round | 18:06 |
| 8 | Daisuke Sekimoto and Jonathan Gresham defeated King's Hawaiian (Brody King and Jeff Cobb) | Tag team match | 22:47 |
| (c) – the champion(s) heading into the match ||||
Night 3 (September 22) :
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
| 1 | Dragon Lee defeated Jake Atlas | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament quarter-final round | 10:55 |
| 2 | Bandido defeated Brody King | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament quarter-final round | 10:40 |
| 3 | Jonathan Gresham defeated A-Kid | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament quarter-final round | 18:03 |
| 4 | Joey Janela defeated Rey Fenix | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament quarter-final round | 15:58 |
| 5 | Darby Allin defeated PENTA EL 0M | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament quarter-final round | 16:24 |
| 6 | David Starr defeated Jeff Cobb | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament quarter-final round | 11:15 |
| 7 | The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) defeated Aramis and Rey Horus | Tag team match | 14:48 |
| 8 | Jonathan Gresham defeated Joey Janela | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament semi-final round | 8:30 |
| 9 | Bandido defeated Dragon Lee | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament semi-final round | 11:53 |
| 10 | David Starr defeated Darby Allin | Singles match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament semi-final round | 5:39 |
| 11 | Artemis Spencer, Caveman Ugg, Jungle Boy, Orange Cassidy and Paris De Silva defeated Black Taurus, Kyle Fletcher, Lucky Kid, Mick Moretti and Tony Deppen | Ten-man tag team match | 25:49 |
| 12 | Bandido defeated David Starr and Jonathan Gresham | Three-way elimination match in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament final | 23:26 |
* ↑ Eliminations were as follows: Eliminated Wrestler Eliminated by Elimination Move Time 1 David Starr Jonathan Gresham Knocked out after receiving elbow strikes 9:12 2 Jonathan Gresham Bandido Pinned after a 21 Plex 23:26 3 Winner: Bandido

### Tournament brackets

| First round | First round | First round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals |
| Artemis Spencer | Artemis Spencer | TKO | | | | | | |
| Jonathan Gresham | Jonathan Gresham | 13:09 | | | | | | |
| Jonathan Gresham | Jonathan Gresham | 13:09 | Jonathan Gresham | Jonathan Gresham | TKO | | | |
| | | | A-Kid | A-Kid | 18:03 | | | |
| A-Kid | A-Kid | Sub | A-Kid | A-Kid | 18:03 | | | |
| Lucky Kid | Lucky Kid | 18:31 | | | | | | |
| Lucky Kid | Lucky Kid | 18:31 | | | | Jonathan Gresham | Jonathan Gresham | Sub |
| | | | | | | Joey Janela | Joey Janela | 8:30 |
| Rey Fénix | Rey Fénix | Pin | | | | | | | Joey Janela | Joey Janela | 8:30 |
| Aramís | Aramís | 13:13 | | | | | | |
| Aramís | Aramís | 13:13 | Rey Fénix | Rey Fénix | Pin | | | |
| | | | Joey Janela | Joey Janela | 15:58 | | | |
| Joey Janela | Joey Janela | Pin | Joey Janela | Joey Janela | 15:58 | | | |
| Mick Moretti | Mick Moretti | 12:29 | | | | | | |
| First round | First round | First round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals |
| Brody King | Brody King | Pin | | | | | | |
| Caveman Ugg | Caveman Ugg | 10:52 | | | | | | |
| Caveman Ugg | Caveman Ugg | 10:52 | Brody King | Brody King | Pin | | | |
| | | | Bandido | Bandido | 10:40 | | | |
| Puma King* | Puma King* | Pin | Bandido | Bandido | 10:40 | | | |
| Bandido | Bandido | 10:40 | | | | | | |
| Bandido | Bandido | 10:40 | | | | Bandido | Bandido | Pin |
| | | | | | | Dragon Lee | Dragon Lee | 11:53 |
| Jake Atlas | Jake Atlas | Pin | | | | | | | Dragon Lee | Dragon Lee | 11:53 |
| Jungle Boy | Jungle Boy | 19:05 | | | | | | |
| Jungle Boy | Jungle Boy | 19:05 | Jake Atlas | Jake Atlas | Pin | | | |
| | | | Dragon Lee | Dragon Lee | 10:55 | | | |
| Rey Horus | Rey Horus | Pin | Dragon Lee | Dragon Lee | 10:55 | | | |
| Dragon Lee | Dragon Lee | 14:30 | | | | | | |
| First round | First round | First round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals |
| PENTA EL 0M | PENTA EL 0M | Pin | | | | | | |
| Tony Deppen | Tony Deppen | 14:35 | | | | | | |
| Tony Deppen | Tony Deppen | 14:35 | PENTA EL 0M | PENTA EL 0M | Pin | | | |
| | | | Darby Allin | Darby Allin | 16:24 | | | |
| Darby Allin | Darby Allin | Pin | Darby Allin | Darby Allin | 16:24 | | | |
| Black Taurus | Black Taurus | 11:32 | | | | | | |
| Black Taurus | Black Taurus | 11:32 | | | | Darby Allin | Darby Allin | Pin |
| | | | | | | David Starr | David Starr | 5:39 |
| Jeff Cobb | Jeff Cobb | Pin | | | | | | | David Starr | David Starr | 5:39 |
| Daisuke Sekimoto | Daisuke Sekimoto | 15:26 | | | | | | |
| Daisuke Sekimoto | Daisuke Sekimoto | 15:26 | Jeff Cobb | Jeff Cobb | Pin | | | |
| | | | David Starr | David Starr | 11:15 | | | |
| Orange Cassidy | Orange Cassidy | Pin | David Starr | David Starr | 11:15 | | | |
| David Starr | David Starr | 18:46 | | | | | | |
| Final | Final | Final |
| Jonathan Gresham | Jonathan Gresham | Pin |
| BandidoDavid Starr | BandidoDavid Starr | 23:26 |
* = Puma King's Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship was on the line