The first round matches for the 2023 Battle of Los Angeles tournament have been announced by Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.
It was previously reported there may be a Triple Threat in the opening round due to only 17 competitors being announced, as there was in 2008 where they did 1 Three-Way Dance in the first round instead of 8 singles matches. The Three-Way Dance for the 2023 BOLA has been confirmed by PWG, and it’s a big one with Bandido vs. Black Taurus vs. AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo.
SB KENTo, the 18th entrant, will face Lio Rush. Mike Bailey is unable to compete on BOLA Night 1, but has agreed to compete in his first-round match on Night 2. Rather than canceling a match, the plan for the 18th entrant was announced, and it was decided that one of the Night 1 matches will determine who faces Bailey in his Night 2 first-round match.
Other first-round highlights include a Husband vs. Wife match between Jonathan Gresham and Impact Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace, PWG World Champion Daniel Garcia vs. Titus Alexander, and NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team & Impact World Tag Team Champion Alex Shelley vs. Masha Slamovich, among others.
Garcia, who won the PWG World Title from Bandido in May after winning the 2022 BOLA earlier this year, will give the tournament winner a future title shot.
PWG has announced the following first round matches for the 2023 Battle of Los Angeles, which will take place at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, January 7 and Sunday, January 8:
* Bandido vs. Black Taurus vs. AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo
* PWG World Champion Daniel Garcia vs. Titus Alexander
* Konosuke Takeshita vs. Michael Oku
* Impact Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace vs. Jonathan Gresham
* Aramis vs. Shun Skywalker
* Impact World Tag Team & NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champion Alex Shelley vs. Masha Slamovich
* Lio Rush vs. SB KENTo
* Latigo vs. Komander
* Mike Bailey vs. TBA (on Night 2)
N1 2023 BOLA:
Bandido vs. Black Taurus vs. El Hijo del Vikingo
Titus Alexander vs. Daniel Garcia
Michael Oku vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Jordynne Grace vs. Jonathan Gresham
Aramis vs. Shun Skywalker
Alex Shelley vs. Masha Slamovich
SB KENTo vs. Lio Rush
Latigo vs. Komander— PWG (@OfficialPWG) December 15, 2022
