Let’s turn the calendars back.
It’s 2016 at the American Legion Post #308 in Reseda, California. There are between 300 and 400 people packed shoulder-to-shoulder in this cramped, hot legion hall with little-to-no air conditioning at the end of the summer to witness one of the biggest annual tournaments on the independent wrestling scene – Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s Battle of Los Angeles.
Some of the names taking part in the three-day tournament include the Lucha Bros, Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr., Adam Cole, The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, Pete Dunne, Tommaso Ciampa, Ricochet, and even the legendary Jushin Thunder Liger
Over the next three days, fans in attendance get to witness some of the best professional wrestling in the world featuring some of the hottest names available. This will range from high-flying showcases to technician battles, striking wars, and even some comedy to help close out the weekend.
While the Battle of Los Angeles historically involved many big independent and international names in the wrestling industry, the 2010s in particular saw every show put on monthly from the Southern California indie promotion featured talent that are still active today and among the top talents in the world still active in 2026.
The biggest North American promotions anyone booked at PWG worked for during this period was either TNA or Ring of Honor, while managing to book major names from Europe, Mexico, and Japan on occassion.
PWG became such a hotspot, even Hollywood celebrities made their way to Reseda to see what all the ruckus was about. Joe Manganiello, Sofia Vergara, Danielle Fishel, and Ronda Rousey are among a few of the names spotted in attendance at PWG shows across the 2010s as the independent promotion was at its peak.
It also became a key promotion WWE sent talent scouts to, especially during the height of the NXT Black and Gold Era. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have spoken multiple times about meeting William Regal, who began working as a talent scout for WWE after stepping away from in-ring competition, whenever he stopped by PWG shows to see who was on it and if anyone caught his eye.
In spite of its popularity, PWG was one of many independent promotions hit hard by the COVID-19 shutdown. It wasn’t able to put on shows for well over a year before it was able to start back up, this time at the Globe Theater in Los Angeles, California, due to ticket demand surpassing the Legion hall’s capacity. While it was able to continue putting on the kind of shows fans had come to expect, the start of AEW and multiple talent raids by multiple companies had drained the independent scene at the time, even if several of those promotions allowed talent to continue taking indie bookings.
By 2023, though, PWG co-founder, co-owner, and independent wrestling legend Super Dragon announced the promotion was going on “indefinite hiatus” due to his girlfriend’s battle with cancer. It has remained on “hiatus” since as of January 2026, which has since seen the Globe Theater close its doors and no update provided on the status of Super Dragon’s girlfriend’s health.
Since then, the independent scene has missed that one “all-star” promotion that brought in the hottest names available to let them show what they could do.
Deadlock Pro-Wrestling appeared to be on its way to filling that void, with the North Carolina-based indie featuring a mix of prominent talent working along the U.S. East Coast. Unfortunately, the promotion’s founders and content creators James Darnell, John Blud, and Anthony Douglas announced DPW would be going on an “indefinite hiatus” as well amid rising show costs and multiple other promotions such as Prestige Wrestling also going on hiatus or closing their doors completely.
All this is to say that PWG has left a massive void on the indies that has yet to be filled.
Some fans could argue Game Changer Wrestling more than fills that void between showcasing talent local to whichever country or area of the U.S. they were running a show along with a core group of talent seen fairly regularly at GCW shows. However, it could also be argued between GCW’s branding and focus on deathmatches that it has more in common with ECW and CZW than PWG.
Anyone who was anyone in wrestling not already signed to WWE or to an exclusive deal with another promotion worked in PWG. WWE, AEW, TNA, and New Japan are four of the many promotions packed with talent who wrestled in PWG between 2010 and 2023.
As mentioned previously, the 2016 Battle of Los Angeles lineup was just one example of how loaded the monthly PWG shows had become during the 2010s. One month, fans in attendance could see Kevin Steen and El Generico have one of their rivalry’s most legendary ladder matches, the next, a chaotic, hilarious ten-man tag that involved slow-motion and thumbs being shoved into posteriors.
It truly was wrestling’s equivalent of underground punk rock and the three years without PWG has definitely been noticeable.
This isn’t because of a lack of talent. If anything, it is the opposite in January 2026. It took several years for the indies to recover from the formation of AEW in 2019 and the scene being gutted of most of its high-profile talent. While it hurt in the short run, it opened the door for new names to emerge and emerge they have.
Some of the names that could easily be featured on a modern PWG-style show include 1 Called Manders, Gringo Loco, Titus Alexander, Labron Kozone, Sinner and Saint, Violence is Forever, Cara Noir, and Man Like DeReiss. It is just as deep on the women’s side of things, as well, with Shotzi Blackheart, Priscilla Kelly, Brooke Havok, Brittnie Brooks, VertVixen, Millie McKenzie, and Hyper Active.
The real question is what promotion could capture similar lightning in a bottle PWG was able to on its way to becoming what it did on the indies.
Part of what worked in PWG’s favor was that there really wasn’t any other independent promotion quite like it out there. Getting booked on one of these shows was a pseudo-endorsement of a talent’s ability, especially if they were brought back. The crowd felt just as important to making the show, whether it was quietly focusing on two technicians trading holds or losing their minds, chanting until their voice is horsed and slamming their hands on the edge of the ring since the crowd was packed together so closely.
While that sort of environment can be difficult to replicate, it can be done and one promotion will, in all likelihood, be able to recapture that magic one day. As for what promotion is able to fill that void, or if PWG is able to make a triumphant return in the future, professional wrestling will be better for it when that promotion finally emerges.
