This Is Your Tournament News Update

The biker boys are in Trios this year, and they brought a cop Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Okay, so the Mae Young Classic pretty much is tapped out on news unless you want spoilers. I could give them to you, but would you really want them? Besides, if you did, you know where to find them on Twitter Dot Com. What about the other tournaments that haven't happened yet? Well, have I got some news to pass along about three slates of interest: the CWF Mid-Atlantic Weaver Cup, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's Battle of Los Angeles, and Chikara's King of Trios.

I'll start with North Carolina's premiere independent wrestling promotion. CWF Mid-Atlantic has already announced half of its slate for the Weaver Cup, a 16-man single elimination tournament. To refresh your memory, those guys are Mick Moretti, UTAMARO, Lucas Calhoun, Logan Easton Leroux, Aaron Epic, Alex Daniels, Matt Knicks, and Stevie Fierce. The next group of names are all people familiar with CWF-MA might dig. Chet Sterling, Ethan Sharpe, Cain Justice, Mitch Connor, Cam Carter, Smith Garrett, Roy Wilkins, and Chip Day will round out that field. I'm only familiar with the last two guys on the list. Wilkins wrestled Trevor Lee in the infamous 105-minute match for the latter's Championship last year. Day is a name known all around the Southern indies. He's competed in the Scenic City Invitational among other highlights. All in all, it's an interesting field if mostly unknown to those outside of the Carolina know.

Onto BOLA, PWG has announced via its Twitter the pairings for round one. They are as follows:

NIGHT ONE

• Brian Cage vs. Dezmond Xavier
• Rey Fénix vs. Rey Horus
• Flash Morgan Webster vs. Marty Scurll
• Matt Sydal vs. Penta El Zero M
• Jonah Rock vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
• Flamita vs. Ricochet

NIGHT TWO

• Sammy Guevara vs. TK Cooper
• Donovan Dijak vs. Trevor Lee
• Jeff Cobb vs. Sami Callihan
• Matt Riddle vs. Michael Elgin
• Mark Haskins vs. Travis Banks
• Walter vs. Keith Lee

Right away, the highlight matches leap off the page. Fénix/Horus and Flamita/Ricochet are no-brainers for those who love flips and fast-paced highspots. The real hammer, however, is Walter/Lee. That match puts two of the biggest, most capable HOSSES in the same ring. I'd say I'd be shocked if that match didn't headline night two, but PWG also announced non-tournament action. Night one's non-tourney action will feature the South Pacific Power Trip (Cooper/Banks) taking on the Young Bucks and Dijak and Keith Lee will take on the Chosen Bros of Cobb and Riddle. Night two's non-tourney matches are even more explosive. Sydal and Ricochet will team up to take on Scurll and Sabre, but the match that will close the show and probably elicit a seventh star from Dave Meltzer is a six man tag. On one side of the ring will stand the PWG Tag Team Champions, Penta and Fénix, and their partner Flamita. On the other... the Elite. That's right, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks will take on the lucha all-stars. So why is Omega in a trios match and not the tournament? Your guess is as good as mine, but I get the feeling PWG wasn't going to have him win the whole thing, and, well, that'd be like WWE allowing AJ Styles or Braun Strowman to compete in a non-company tourney and not having them win the whole thing.

Finally, Chikara has announced another trio and the first entrant in its annual Rey de Voladores tournament. The trio is another native team, House Bike Cops. Dez Peloton will team up with Officer Warren Barksdale for the tournament. Barksdale already regularly teams with Officer Bruno Meloni and Officer Magnum (who is a literal dog), but I'm guessing transfer fees for Magnum are too great? Either way, it should be a fun team. Dez Peloton was actually quite fun when I saw them at Trios last year, and Barksdale has turned into one of the best young talents in the company. Finally, the first RdV entrant is another Wrestle Factory graduate, The Whisper. I don't know much about him since he came up during this 18th season (and I unfortunately haven't had the chance to follow much), but he comes with high expectation. The RdV tournament is an eight-man tournament competed in two parts. The first consists of two four-person elimination matches that lead to a one-on-one final. Last year, Aerostar took the title.

So things are starting to come together. All that will be left soon enough is the wrestling, the sweet, sweet wrestling. No matter what tournament is your flavor, it all should turn out pretty damn spiffy if you ask me.