Daniel Garcia’s departure from this year’s Battle of Los Angeles came about thanks to a request by All Elite Wrestling.
In the first round of the tournament hosted by Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Garcia lost to Titus Alexander, who would lose to Konsuke Takeshita in the second round.
Takeshita would make it to the tournament finals, where he would lose a 27-minute war to ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey.
Request
Given that he is the reigning PWG World Champion, Garcia’s early elimination came as a shock to the fans in attendance.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer stated that AEW did not want Garcia to lose clean, and requested the DQ finish.
While Garcia came up short this year, he won last year’s Battle of Los Angeles, ironically defeating this year’s winner Mike Bailey in the finals.
Night Two
Garcia’s elimination from the tournament allowed him to exit the running without dropping a fall, but also freed him up for night two of the event.
On the second night, Garcia, would make a surprise appearance among the rest of the Jericho Appreciation Society.
That show saw Chris Jericho make his PWG debut, teaming with Garcia, Matt Menard, Angelo Parker and Sammy Guevara to defeat Jonathan Gresham, Evil Uno, SB Kento, Michael Oku, and Kevin Blackwood.
Jericho got the pinfall on Blackwood, and after the match, said he and the JAS had a “f***ing blast.”
The former AEW World Champion added that PWG is the modern-day ECW in that the show has passion and allows indie wrestlers to hone their skills in front of a rabid crowd.
