The Battle of Los Angeles tournament (the BOLA) is an annual
independent wrestling
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor league for pro wres ...
tournament in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, run and promoted by
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. It is owned and operated by wrestlers themselves, having been created by Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super Drago ...
. Over the years, the tournament has featured numerous notable wrestlers such as famous
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
stars
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...
and
Christopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is the Head of Talent Relations. He is best kno ...
, future
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
world champions
Kevin Steen
Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens.
Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in la ...
(Kevin Owens),
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he worked fro ...
(Daniel Bryan),
Tyler Black
Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins (often referred to as Seth "Freakin" Rollins).
Prior to signing ...
(Seth Rollins) and
Drew Galloway
Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre.
McIntyre is a two-time WWE Champion, one-time WWE Int ...
(Drew McIntyre), future
AEW AEW or aew may refer to:
* Airborne early warning, airborne radar system for detecting aircraft
* Aerosvit Airlines, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine (ICAO airline designator: AEW)
* AEW Capital Management, a property investment management company
...
world champion
Kenny Omega
Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-time ...
and future
Impact
Impact may refer to:
* Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period
* Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US
Science and technology
* Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event
* Impact ...
world champions
,
Pentagón Jr.,
Chris Sabin
Joshua Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by his ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, and is also known for his work in Ring of Honor.
After being trained by Scott D ...
,
Rich Swann
Richard Allen Swann (born February 15, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He is a former Impact World Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Impact X Division Champion and Impact Digital Media Cham ...
,
Sami Callihan
Samuel Alton Johnston (born September 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by the ring name Sami Callihan, currently signed with Impact Wrestling and is a former Impact World Champion. He also wrestled for Luch ...
,
John Hennigan (Johnny Impact),
Austin Aries
Daniel Healy Solwold Jr. (born April 15, 1978), better known by his ring name Austin Aries, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the Control Your Narrative wrestling promotion. He is best known for his time with Impact Wrest ...
and
Eddie Edwards.
The tournament setup
In the first year of the Battle of Los Angeles, there were sixteen participants, with eight opening round matches, four quarterfinal matches, two semifinal matches, and a final. In 2006 the tournament was expanded to 24 participants, which caused the addition of another eight person bracket and created three semifinals matches and an elimination three-way final match. In 2008 the tournament returned to its 16-man format. In 2011, the tournament was completely revamped, taking place for the first time as a one night tournament with only eight participants. Since 2014, the tournament has reverted to a 24-man format held over three nights. The first two nights are all first-round matches, while the third night contains the quarter- and semi-finals before culminating in a three-way match for the championship. All nights also feature non-tournament special attractions, which are usually tag-team matches involving tournament participants from other nights or eliminated wrestlers.
List of winners
Championship match for winner
: – Championship victory
: – Championship match loss
: – Did not receive title match
The 2009 Battle of Los Angeles winner did not receive a title match as the tournament itself was for the vacant PWG World Championship.
Kenny Omega
Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-time ...
defeated Roderick Strong in the tournament final to win the vacant title.
Results
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
The tenth annual BOLA took place on August 29, 30 and 31, 2014, in Reseda, California. Taking place over three nights for the first time in seven years, the tournament featured 24 participants. A. R. Fox and Trent? were originally announced for the tournament, but on August 6 PWG announced that they would have to pull out due to injuries. They were replaced by
Bobby Fish
Robert Anthony Fish (born October 27, 1976) is an American professional wrestler currently appearing on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand and was a member of The Undisputed Era ...
and
Candice LeRae
Candice LeRae Gargano (''née'' Dawson; born September 29, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand. She is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion and was a member of The Way.
LeRa ...
, respectively. On the first day of the tournament, it was announced T. J. Perkins would be replacing an injured Brian Cage.
Finals: Ricochet defeated Johnny Gargano and Roderick Strong via pinfall at 14:41 to win the 2014 BOLA
[
]
2015
The eleventh annual BOLA took place on August 28, 29 and 30, 2015, in Reseda, California.
Finals: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Chris Hero and Mike Bailey in an elimination three-way match at 35:54 to win the 2015 BOLA[
*Elimination order:
:Hero eliminated Bailey via pinfall (27:23)][
:Sabre eliminated Hero via submission (35:54)][
]
2016
The twelfth annual BOLA took place on September 2, 3 and 4, 2016, in Reseda, California.[
Finals: Marty Scurll defeated Trevor Lee and Will Ospreay in an elimination three-way match at 29:15 to win the 2016 BOLA
*Elimination order:
:Scurll and Lee eliminated Ospreay via submission (10:00)][
:Scurll eliminated Lee via submission (29:15)][
]
2017
The thirteenth annual BOLA took place on September 1, 2 and 3, 2017, in Reseda, California. TK Cooper was originally announced for the tournament, but had to pull out due to an injury and was replaced by Joey Janela
Joseph Janela (born July 3, 1989) is an American professional wrestler. Janela is most known for his work with promotions such as All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW ...
. Ricochet became the first person to win the Battle of Los Angeles twice.
Finals: Ricochet defeated Jeff Cobb and Keith Lee in an elimination three-way match at 19:00 to win the 2017 BOLA[
*Elimination order:
:Lee eliminated Cobb via pinfall (18:47)][
:Ricochet eliminated Lee via pinfall (19:00)][
]
2018
The fourteenth annual BOLA tournament took place on September 14,15, and 16 from the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Originally, Matthew Riddle
Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986, in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is currently inactive due t ...
was announced as a participant, but he was replaced by Trevor Lee. Travis Banks
Travis Bligh (born 15 February 1987), better known by his ring name Travis Banks, is a New Zealand professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE on their NXT UK brand. He is also known for competing in promotions such as Fight Cl ...
was also a participant, but he was pulled off due to an injury and was replaced by Sammy Guevara
Samuel George Guevara (born July 28, 1993) is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society. He is a record tying three-time former AEW TNT Champion. He also appea ...
.
2019
2022
2023
References
External links
The Website of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
(Requires Macromedia Flash Macromedia Flash may refer to:
*Adobe Animate, a multimedia authoring and computer animation program formerly known as ''Macromedia Flash''
*Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia software platform ...
)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Los Angeles (Professional Wrestling)
Professional wrestling tournaments
Professional wrestling shows
Professional wrestling in Los Angeles
Recurring events established in 2005
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla