Travis Banks has had to pull out of this year’s Battle of Los Angeles tournament.
Pro Wrestling Guerilla announced today that Banks won’t be able to wrestle in BOLA due to an injury. He’ll be replaced by Sammy Guevara, and two of the first round matchups have been shuffled. Banks was supposed to face Shingo Takagi in the first round, but Takagi will now take on Ilja Dragunov. Jonah Rock, who had been matched up with Dragunov, will now wrestle Guevara in the opening round.
Banks suffered a dislocated shoulder in July. He provided an update on the injury this week, noting that he initially thought he would be cleared to wrestle sooner rather than later but that hasn’t been the case and he still doesn’t have a return date to give everyone.
BOLA 2018 is taking place at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles from September 14-16. Banks is the second person to drop out of the tournament, with Matt Riddle having been replaced by Trevor Lee last month due to Riddle signing with WWE.
Travis Banks, Flash Morgan Webster, Jordan Devlin, Tucker, Drew Gulak, Ashton Smith, James Drake, and Tyson T-Bone were the final eight wrestlers announced for the tournament. They join Zack Gibson, Joe Coffey, Jack Gallagher, Dave Mastiff, Kenny Williams, El Ligero, Joseph Conners, and Amir Jordan in the 16-person field.
Banks, who is from New Zealand but is a standout wrestler on the UK scene, is the current champion for PROGRESS Wrestling. Dave Meltzer reported earlier this week that he was one of the names that WWE had attempted to sign recently.
Webster made his WWE TV debut on this week’s episode of 205 Live, teaming with Cedric Alexander & Mustafa Ali to defeat Gulak, Drake & Conners. Devlin, Tucker, Drake, and Tyson T-Bone were part of the first UK Championship tournament in 2017.
First round matches in this year’s tournament will take place at Download Festival on June 8-10. It will continue at Royal Albert Hall on June 18th, with the winner challenging for Pete Dunne’s WWE United Kingdom Championship the next night.
Here are results from the last two days of PROGRESS events in New Orleans. First up, here are quick results from the show held on 4/6:
James Drake and Zack Gibson defeated Tyler Bate and Trent Seven to retain the PROGRESS tag team titles.
Will Ospreay defeated Mark Haskins.
Ringkampf (WALTER and Timothy Thatcher) defeated Keith Lee and David Starr.
Jeff Cobb won the Thunderbastard match which included Chris Brookes, MJF, Rickey Shane Page, Austin Theory, Parrow, Darby Allin and Joey Janela.
Jinny and Mercedez Martinez defeated Toni Storm and Shazza Mackenzie.
Matt Riddle defeated Jimmy Havoc.
Pete Dunne defeated Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster in a triple threat match.
Travis Banks defeated Shane Strickland to retain the PROGRESS title.
And here is what went down earlier today:
– Chris Brooks defeated Rey Horus
Solid opener. Brooks got the advantage after a sucker punch. Horus made a comeback with a head scissors to the floor and a flip dive over the turnbuckle to take out Brooks. Brooks won with an octopus stretch.
– Toni Storm defeated Mercedes Martinez to retain the PROGRESS Women’s championship
Really good match. Extremely hard hitting early with Mercedes getting the better of Toni with hard forearms and chops. Toni hit a tremendous snap German suplex. Mercedes got a near fall with a fisherman’s buster. Toni got the win with an armbar.
Will Ospreay came out for a promo. He came out to a huge ovation. Will stated that he re injured his neck in the match with Matt Riddle but still wanted to compete. He first suggested a reverse battle royal which got a huge reaction. Then he wanted to have a mixed tag team match for some fun. Out came Kay Lee Ray to be his tag partner.
– Austin Theory and Jinny defeated Will Ospreay and Kay Lee Ray
A lot of comedy early with Jinny using a voodoo doll on Kay Lee Ray to attack Ospreay. Turned into a pretty good match Ospreay clearly not doing as much due to his neck injury but still took a couple of hard shots to his neck. Jinny picked up the win after a second rope facebuster on Kay Lee Ray.
– Mark Haskins, Jimmy Havok, and Flash Morgan Webster defeatd Keith Lee, Matt Riddle, and David Starr
This match was a lot of fun. Lot of comedy early with Jimmy Havok biting Riddle’s feet and Lee’s knee. Ton of big moves by Lee and Starr. The finish was the kiss of death combination Acid Rainmaker and STO on David Starr by Havok and Haskins.
– WALTER defeated Zach Sabre Jr. to become the number one contender for the PROGRESS championship
This match was insane. WALTER chopped Zach about 15 times during the match causing Zach’s chest to turn bright red. Zach would try and get submissions over and over but WALTER would keep powering out and continue to chop him all over the ring and outside. Zach tried a rollup bridge and was caught in the rear naked choke and submitted to a huge reaction.
– GYV (Zach Gibson and James Drake) defeated Rickey Shane Page and Ethan Page to retain the PROGRESS tag team titles
Rickey Shane Page cut a promo saying that due to the blood test required by the Louisiana State Athletic Commission that he was able to find his brother to tag with him. Out came “All Ego” Ethan Page to a good reaction. Ethan then cut a promo saying that also found out they were related and Page and Diamond Dallas Page for a good laugh. Zach Gibson and James Drake came out to a ton of boos. This was an ok match. Lot of teasing the hot tag to Rickey Shane Page included a funny spot where RSP ran into the ring to attack Gibson and Drake but untied the tag rope so he was holding it and was therefore legal. The finish came when Eddie Dennis came out and distracted RSP casuing the GYV to hit a double facebuster for the win.
Eddie Dennis then cut a promo calling Mark Andrews a sell out for wanting to work for WWE and stated he had a plan to get Andrews.
– Travis Banks defeated Jeff Cobb to retain the PROGRESS title
This was another really good match. Cobb was suplexing Banks all over the place. Cobb teased a people’s moonsault when Banks got the knees up. Banks hit Cobb with a Kiwi Krusher for the pin. After the match WALTER came out and chased Banks out of the arena and motioned he was coming for the title.
Really good show. The PROGRESS shows have been a ton of fun over the past two days and they stated they wanted to come back to the United States soon.
PROGRESS Wrestling presented their biggest show of the year on Sunday night, headlined by Super Strong Style 16 tournament winner Travis Banks getting his shot at Pete Dunne’s PROGRESS title. Here’s a rundown of the event:
– #CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) defeated British Strong Style (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) in a ladder match to win the PROGRESS tag titles
This match was action-packed from the opening bell. There were lots of crazy spots and bumps, including a few flip dives from #CCK and Bate’s amazing Undertaker-style dive over the top rope.
The finish came after Bate and Brookes fought on top of the ladder. Bate went to hit the Tyler Driver ’97 off the top of the ladder onto another one that was bridged on the bottom rung of the ladder and the bottom rope, but Brookes fought him off and backdropped Bate over and onto the ladder set up at the bottom.
Brookes then grabbed the belts for #CCK to win the titles.
– PROGRESS Women’s Champion Toni Storm defeated Dahlia Black to retain her title
Both exchanged holds and chain wrestled to start. Black looked impressive with a cannonball and kicked out of Storm’s Strong Zero, but Storm came back with multiple piledrivers to retain in a good match.
Jinny attacked Black with a chair after and started stomping it into her previously injured leg.
– Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Marty Scurll
This was a great match. Making his first PROGRESS appearance in a while, Scurll answered what had been advertised as an open challenge by Sabre to a huge pop. Scurll used his umbrella to hit Sabre before the match started and they exchanged strikes, slaps, chops, forearms, and brutal submissions.
Sabre was going after Scurll’s arm and bending it in horrible positions as usual. Scurll got a modified chicken wing with Sabre’s legs tied up, then ZSJ snuck the pin with his bridging roll-up.
Post-match, Scurll thanked the fans and said he wouldn’t be back for a long time due to his commitments in the USA.
– It was announced between matches that PROGRESS would be holding a show at Wembley Arena in London on September 30th, 2018. This was a huge announcement for British wrestling and the fans went crazy for it. The arena is the same venue where NXT TakeOver: London took place.
– Jimmy Havoc defeated Mark Haskins in a deathmatch
They got off to a quick start and this was hard-hitting and bloody. Havoc was bleeding early on from shots with a frying pan. There were some insane spots, including a Death Valley Driver from Haskins to Havoc off the stage and through a table. Havoc also hit a powerbomb on Haskins through a cinder block set up between two chairs.
Haskins’ wife Vicky came out and gave him a barbwire bat to use, which was brutal. Thumbtacks and staple guns were involved as well. The finish came when Havoc hit Haskins with an Acid Rainmaker with the barbwire bat and a normal Rainmaker for the three count.
– WALTER defeated Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher to win the Atlas Division Championship
WALTER became a two-time Atlas Division Champion in what was a contender for match of the night. All three men were exchanging chops, European uppercuts, kicks, and suplexes. There was an incredible spot where WALTER double German suplexed both Riddle and Thatcher, with Riddle landing high and hard on his shoulder.
Riddle went for a tombstone on WALTER, but he countered it into a sit-out tombstone piledriver/Steiner Screwdriver-esque move to win the title from Riddle.
– Mark Andrews defeated Eddie Dennis, Flash Morgan Webster, James Drake, Zack Gibson, Chief Deputy Dunne, Jack Sexsmith, and Strangler Davis in an eight-man scramble number one contender’s match
Really fun match that was fast-paced throughout. Andrews hit his shooting star press on Webster to get the victory.
Webster teased a heel turn on Andrews after the match but shook his hand instead, then a shocker came when Dennis (Andrews’ long-time partner and friend for years) turned on him and laid him out with his finisher.
– Travis Banks defeated Pete Dunne to win the PROGRESS World Championship
The emotion was high in this one. Banks started quickly with a running clothesline, chops, and a cannonball in the corner. Dunne played his heel role expertly, interacting with the crowd and hitting Pedigrees. There were some brutal apron bumps with Dunne hitting a Pedigree and Banks hitting his Kiwi Crusher.
Trent Seven and Tyler Bate got involved by hitting sledgehammer shots and finishers, but Banks still kicked out. Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos came out to make the save and fight off Seven and Bate. The second rope had broken at some point, but they still dove over the top rope onto them.
Banks made Dunne tap out to his submission finisher to become the new PROGRESS Champion. The fans erupted with cheers as he won.
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has announced the first four entrants in this year’s Battle of Los Angeles. Three of the competitors will be making their PWG debut, and all four will be appearing in their first BOLA tournament.
Flamita, Keith Lee, WALTER, and Travis Banks were the first four entrants announced via PWG’s Twitter account. Flamita, WALTER, and Banks will be wrestling in PWG for the first time. In recent years, the tournament has totaled 24 participants.
Flamita is an independent wrestler in Mexico who also works for Dragon Gate. He wrestled in AAA for a number of years as well before departing last year amid controversy over him using the Octagon name.
The Austrian-born WALTER wrestles for the wXw promotion in Germany, and gained some more recognition earlier this year through his performances in their annual 16 Carat Gold tournament.
Lee, who has been a regular for EVOLVE after leaving ROH, has been gaining notoriety on the independent scene this year with a number of amazing performances against the likes of Ricochet and Donovan Dijak. Banks (who is from New Zealand) has been rising similarly fast and has become one of the top stars on the UK indie scene.
This year’s Battle of Los Angeles is slated to take place on September 1-3 in Reseda, California.
It’s WrestleMania week! What else do you need to know?
Well, the final build for WrestleMania took place on TV, there are seemingly countless matches going on in Orlando, and WWE’s 2017 Hall of Fame class will be inducted on Friday night. These are our favorite wrestlers this (Mania) week. Who’s yours?
This week’s panel —
Alan4L (Dr. Keith Presents host and Figure Four Weekly writer)
I don’t know much about Keith Lee except that his recent matches in PWG, EVOLVE, and at Joey Janela’s Spring Break have been getting a lot of buzz for all the right reasons. Sadly for me, I’m not a millionaire which means I don’t have FloSlam, and Reseda is a bit of a ways from Brisbane, Australia, so I haven’t seen all these matches everyone’s talking about.
In fact, I’ve only seen as many Keith Lee matches as I have arms (I have two arms). What I have seen recently though is the mini-doc on Keith Lee that EVOLVE put up on YouTube, and that’s all I need for Keith Lee to become my favorite wrestler this week.
Besides being an awesome, incredibly agile and adaptable powerhouse, Lee has that elusive yet essential quality to really go far in wrestling, charisma. In the short doc, Lee comes across as incredibly well-spoken, commanding, and genuinely nice. Like he just seems like a really chill guy. Also, he got into wrestling the same way that I did, because his grandmother loved wrestling. So that’s neat. I can’t wait to see more of Keith Lee, and bask in his glory.
Travis Banks
By Will Cooling
This will be a pick masquerading as a plug….or a plug pretending to be a pick. I’m not sure. I had the pleasure of talking to “The Kiwi Buzzsaw” for this month’s Fighting Spirit Magazine and got to see him perform at a recent Fight Club Pro show.
He’s a surefire superstar of the future. Banks is both somebody who has a keen mind for the business and is a tremendous performer. The story of how he worked 24/7 to make the move from New Zealand to the UK to further his career his genuinely inspiring…and slightly bemusing for somebody who remembers what a wasteland the British scene was in the ’90s and 2000s.
Then you hear how hard and smart he worked to build his reputation in not just Britain, but in America and Japan too, and you realize this is somebody with the self-belief and determination to get to the very top in the business.
And he can more than back it up in the ring. He’s got one of the best physiques you’re going to see anywhere on the indies and can go just as hard and fast as the elite talent in the WWE UK division. Those who get to see him on WWN Live and FloSlam, or at WWE Axxess, are in for a treat.
Zack Sabre Jr.
By Alan4L
I’ve been watching this man work his craft live since 2009 when I first saw him with his old helmet of hair in wXw that year. He literally never disappoints. Not even once. He’s one of the most engaging live wrestlers I’ve ever experienced. When I think about what’s to come in the next few days and I think about all the incredible matches and wrestling I’ll see…I just can’t look past the fact that the wrestler I can rely on the most to deliver is Zack.
His matches this week are against ACH (which ended up being tremendous), Jimmy Havoc (who he broke in with under Andre Baker), Michael Elgin, Pentagon Jr., Max Smashmaster, and Mark Haskins. It’s a lock that at least a couple of those matches will be among the best in Orlando this week. So consider this a preemptive pick!
Kurt Angle
By Ryan Frederick
My favorite wrestler this week is a man being enshrined into the WWE Hall of Fame this weekend, Kurt Angle.
Angle headlines the class of 2017, and he is back with the WWE after being away for over ten years. He’s been through his highs and lows, more lows than highs, but he rightfully deserves to be honored, and I’m glad to see it happen.
Angle has one of my favorite matches in the history of WrestleMania, against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 21 in 2005. He is a former WWE Champion, and with his demons seemingly behind him, and with this honor being bestowed upon him, it is possible we may see more of Angle in the coming months, whether in the ring or some other capacity. For this, and for Angle being one of my favorite wrestlers over the last 15 years, he gets my honor this week.
John Cena
By Joseph Currier
If there was any question about which match I’m most excited for at WrestleMania, that ended with John Cena’s promo on this week’s episode of SmackDown. The build to Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse has blown away my expectations, and Cena’s intensity on SmackDown was the most obvious high point of it.
The match may not be as good as I want it to be, but I can’t wait for it to happen. Cena and Miz are two of the best professional wrestlers in the world right now, with the dynamic of the mixed tag helping to make it stand out as something different from the rest of the card.
