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RADICAN'S TAKE
RADICAN'S PWG DVD REVIEW SERIES: "Battle of Los Angeles 2012 Night One" 9/1 - Richards vs. Elgin, Steen, Callihan, Strong-Younger

Oct 26, 2012 - 8:36:54 PM
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By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

RADICAN’S PWG DVD REVIEW SERIES
BATTLE OF LOS ANGELS 2012
SEPTEMBER 1, 2012
RESEDA, CALIF.
pwg_bola_2012-1a.jpg


Joey Ryan opened the show saying he was bringing sleazy back to wrestling when he faced T.J. Perkins tonight.

(1) T.J. Perkins beat Joey Ryan in a BOLA 2012 First Round match. They did a funny spot where Perkins pulled down Ryan’s tights and his rear end was hanging out. This caused the crowd to chant “No, no, no.” Later in the match, Ryan caught Perkins with a spear through the ropes and Perkins went flying into the crowd. After some back and forth action, Perkins got the pin after a fireman’s carry into a Pele kick for the win. (**3/4)

(2) Roderick Strong beat Drake Younger in a BOLA 2012 First Round match. This was an awesome match. Younger has gotten himself into great shape and these two engaged in a hard-hitting battle. They went to a big exchange and Strong hit a Razor’s edge into a neckbreaker for a nearfall. The crowd went nuts down the stretch as Younger hit a series of big moves on Strong, who got his foot on the ropes after a half and half suplex. The crowd was going totally crazy as they built to the finish, which saw Strong hit a gut buster and then a Gibson driver for the win. (****)

(3) Eddie Edwards beat Kyle O’Reilly in a BOLA 2012 First Round match. There was a nice exchange early with both men tying their legs up and doing headstands while exchanging slaps. They went to a big exchange of kicks later in the match and both men were down after Edwards nailed O’Reilly with a big clothesline. The finish saw O’Reilly counter the single leg crab by rolling over and kicking at Edwards. Edwards fired back and applied the hold while stomping on O’Reilly’s head. They repeated this exchange a couple of times until the ref called for the bell when Edwards held the single leg crab and kicked O’Reilly in the head multiple times. (***1/4)

(4) Brian Cage beat B-Boy in a BOLA 2012 First Round match. This was one of the weaker matches on the card as these two didn’t seem to have good chemistry. Cage hit some impressive power maneuvers during the match, but other than that, this was fairly average. Cage ended up getting the win with a sloppy Weapon X. (**1/4)

(5) Ricochet beat Kevin Steen in a BOLA 2012 First Round match. The crowd was in Steen’s corner during the early going. Ricochet acted cocky early in the match and kipped up three times. This caused Steen to get very angry, so he gave Ricochet a kick and a huge powerbomb and the crowd went nuts. They went to a sequence where Ricochet countered a powerbomb on the apron. He sent Steen to the floor and nailed him with a crazy corkscrew dive over the top where he reversed his rotation in mid-air. This is something everyone should see. Near the end of the match, after a sequence of back and forth action, Steen hit Ricochet with a crazy Liger bomb for a nearfall. Brian Cage ran down, but Steen cut him off and hit a package piledriver. The distraction allowed Ricochet to capitalize and he ended up pinning Steen with a phoenix splash. (***3/4)


(6) Sami Callihan beat Willie Mack in a BOLA 2012 First Round match. This was an intense encounter to say the least. Mack drove Callihan into the corner early in the match and Callihan nailed him with a big slap. They brawled to the outside where Callihan nailed Mack with an exploder into the crowd. The crowd was split with Callihan in control. Mack fired back and took control. They went to a hard-hitting exchange and Mack hit a Samoan drop/standing moonsault combo for a nearfall. Mack went up top, but Callihan superkicked his leg. Callihan applied the stretch muffler a short time later, but Mack rolled him up for a nearfall. The finish saw Callihan hit Mack with two huge lariats, but Mack kicked out at one and got up on wobbly legs. Callihan then finished him off with a huge lariat to advance in the tournament. Both men shook hands after the match. (***1/4)

(7) Adam Cole beat El Generico in a BOLA 2012 First Round match. Cole’s heel work in this match was awesome. He looks so comfortable in this role. Cole jumped Generico before the bell and went after his mask as the crowd booed. Generico fired back and sent Cole outside. He went for a dive, but Cole nailed him with a kick as he came through the ropes. Cole teased a running kick to Generico’s back, but stopped and grabbed a headlock instead causing the crowd to boo. In one of the crazier spots I’ve seen in quite some time, Generico went for his step up DDT off the ropes where he holds his opponents hand, but Cole pitched him off the second rope and caught him with a German with a bridge all in one motion for a nearfall. Generico finally nailed Cole with a running kick and a tiger suplex. The crowd roared as Generico set Cole up for the brainbuster, but he countered it into an inside cradle for the win. Cole’s facials after winning the match outside the ring were fantastic. (***1/2)

(8) Michael Elgin beat Davey Richards in a BOLA 2012 First Round match. This was the match of the night. It didn’t have the heat of their match during WrestleMania weekend in ROH, but it was in the same ballpark as that match as it went on. Elgin frustrated Richards during the early stages of the match with his power. At one point, Elgin hit a delayed vertical suplex on Richards after the crowd had counted to sixty. The crowd exploded once Elgin dropped Richards down to the mat. Richards fired back later in the match and nailed Elgin with kicks. Elgin fired up and told Davey to bring it. They went to the spot they did during their match from WrestleMania weekend with Richards hitting the Kawada kicks and Elgin firing back on him with knee strikes to the head. Elgin finally hit the hellavator on Richards and both men were down as the crowd went crazy.

Later in the match, Richards nailed Elgin with a running kick to the head, but Elgin kicked out at one. Richards nailed Elgin with several more kicks to the head, but he kicked out at the last second. Later in the match, Elgin went for an enzuguri after a big exchange, but Richards caught his leg and turned it into the anklelock. Elgin fought Richards off, but Richards charged at him only to eat a huge knee to the head. Elgin then hit a huge buckle bomb and a spinning powerbomb for the win. (****1/2)

Overall thoughts: (9.0) – This was an excellent show supported throughout by the best indy crowd in the country. The fans were hot almost all night and added a ton to almost every match on the show. On the undercard, there are a slew of really good matches, but the first half of the show was highlighted by the Strong-Younger match, which was shockingly good. It’s not that I didn’t think the match wouldn’t be good, but Younger has gotten himself in fantastic shape and he went to war with Strong in a hard-hitting battle.

I had heard Cole was really good as a heel and have seen bits and pieces of his work in CZW from awhile back, but I was amazed at the heat he got during his match with Generico. Cole does everything as a heel so well from his facial expressions to the way he paces the match to get under the skin of the fans. Cole said he was bringing his heel persona to BOLA this year in videos that were released before the shows were film and if this show is any indication, PWG has something great on their hands with this version of Cole.

The second half of the show had several standout matches, but the Steen-Ricochet match stood out above everything, but the main event. Steen and Ricochet had great chemistry in the ring. Ricochet bumped well for Steen and made his offense look powerful. Ricochet’s high-flying moves were insane on this night as well. He appears to float in slow motion mid-air during some of his dives and this match is well-worth checking out.

The main event between Richards and Elgin was a notch below their WrestleMania weekend encounter, but it was still darn good. Elgin’s power is so impressive and Richards is a good opponent for him to work with given that Richards can sell for him. The spot with Elgin holding Richards in the vertical suplex position while the crowd counted to 60 was crazy.

This show gets a huge thumbs up. If you’ve never checked out PWG before, this is a great place to start. They are red hot right now and deliver the best in-ring product on the independents from show-to-show. The crowd in Reseda was fantastic on this night and if you like a hot crowd mixed with matches you likely won’t see anywhere else, check out this show.

You can purchase this show at HighSpots.com

***

Please click HERE and click “like” to join the Radican’s Wrestling Community Facebook fan page.

Follow Sean on Twitter at Twitter.com/SeanRadican

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com


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