Lio Rush's Battle Of Los Angeles Replacement Announced

Lio Rush may be out of Pro Wrestling Guerilla's popular Battle Of Los Angeles tournament, but that opened the door for an independent wrestling star on the rise.

Rush announced on Thursday that he'd be unable to compete in this weekend's BOLA tournament due to the facial injuries he sustained during his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title match at Wrestle Kingdom 17 with "The Man Of The Hour" noting he'd be out several weeks for recovery. However, PWG took to Twitter on Thursday to make the following announcement.

"Unfortunately, Lio Rush suffered an injury that will keep him from competing in BOLA. Bryan Keith will make his PWG debut as he enters the 2023 Battle of Los Angeles to take on SB KENTo!"

Bryan Keith is a top Texas talent and competes in New Texas Wrestling as well as the Freelance Wrestling promotion out of Chicago. Keith will give any crossover fan serious Spaghetti Western vibes as the Greenspoint, Texas-based star looks straight out of "Red Dead Redemption." Along with BOLA, Keith has an upcoming match with Kevin Ku in Fargo, North Dakota, but he's a star who's gotten very high praise from veterans like Davey Richards. "The Bounty Hunter" and SB KENNTo are set to face one another on night one of the tournament.

Last year's BOLA ended with Daniel Garcia facing "Speedball" Mike Bailey. The current AEW star came out victorious against Bailey in the final. Both Bailey and Garcia are set to compete in this year's tournament as well.