Konnichiwa, the world cup soldiers on with the highly anticipated Japanese qualifiers. When I decided I'd like to write about British wrestling I didn't envision myself writing about 9 Japanese imports and Rampage, but such is the nature of this ridiculous tournament! The decent team of Dave Bradshaw and James R Kennedy join us together on commentary (much to my dismay Shane has left me again! Excuse me while I eat a whole tub of Ben and Jerry's and listen to "Without You" on loop).
Much to my delight, we have done away with the main roster filler matches and can just focus on World Cup. With the storytelling outside of the tournament now taking place on separate episodes of Loaded, hopefully the quality of the product will finally get back on track. This also means we get a gloriously bite-sized 2 hour qualifier to prevent the show outstaying it's welcome. Japanese World Cup 1st Round Match - Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (7:46) We open the show with the perfect way to get the crowd pumped up: the ultimate Japanese wrestling legend, Jushin Thunder Liger! I have honestly not seen much of Liger in the last few years but, as ever, he really hasn't missed a beat. Hoping to take part in many World Cups to come, Liger brought unrivaled tournament experience to the match. Taguchi on the other hand didn't really stand out in his introduction, except when he talked about having the world's best arse (okay, I'm sold!). I really enjoyed this match, mainly due to marveling at everything Liger was able to pull off at 52...from a Somersault Senton to a Surfboard! Although Taguchi got some decent submission based offense in, this was very much a Liger dominated match. Unfortunately for this fan, Taguchi reversed the Brainbuster into a pinning predicament that kept Jushin down for the three. Despite being disappointed in the result, I can certainly see the reasoning in advancing younger talent in the tournament with extra momentum from slaying a legend. Japanese World Cup 1st Round Match - Hiromu Takahashi vs. Yohei Komatsu (9:45) Let's completely expose my lack of wrestling awareness outside of the UK or WWE here. This is my first Takahashi match. It turns out he is probably the world's coolest wrestler. Not only did he claim to have no idea what the tournament was, but he also came out with a stuffed cat called Daryl...whilst still looking badass and intimidating. Unfortunately this made Yo look even more plain in comparison, even with a tempura based gimmick. This match started slow but brutal with a particularly red chested chopfest. From there it only got better with a ridiculous array of brutal power moves (including a particularly nasty release German straight onto the head of Takahashi). After a long ferocious match Takahashi got the well deserved pin after hitting the Timebomb. Another fantastic contest! Japanese World Cup 1st Round Match - Tiger Mask vs. BUSHI (8:07) Next we got to bear witness to Tiger Mask's first match in the UK in 20 years, which is ridiculous! Unfortunately for him, his opponent was BUSHI. The younger man took great pleasure in letting us know that he'd just beaten Tiger Mask in the BOSJ. BUSHI played the role of aggressive heel perfectly in this match. With an early aggressive attack, liberal use of a steel chair to choke his opponent, and some unmasking attempts (everybody's favourite show of disrespect) BUSHI quickly became my personal favourite! Tiger mask was also better than I expected (after hearing mixed opinions) and got in some great offense, the most impressive being a top rope Double Underhook Suplex. BUSHI's heel work was too strong however, and after shoving the ref and scoring a low blow, he hit the MX to advance. What a bastard and what a match! Japanese World Cup 1st Round Match - Sho Tanaka vs. Kushida Last but not least, for first round action, we have some more Tempura and Mr Super Junior himself. Kushida was very much showcased as the obvious favourite prior to the match, with his 2 prestigious title belts and recent tournament victory. We had a special New Japan referee (Tiger Hattori) for the contest, and I don't know why...answers on a postcard. These two were an interesting match up, with Sho using his incredible strength to combat Kushida's fast paced style. Both men impressed in the match; Kushida was as crisp and agile as ever, and Sho kept escaping submissions by deadlifiting his way out (including a Hoverboard lock!). The finish was an elaborate sequence ending in a Back to the Future advancing the favourite further into the World Cup. These two showed amazing chemistry and had easily the best 1st round match. Japanese World Cup 2nd Round Match - Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hiromu Takahashi (12:08) To kick off the second round we had another fairly obvious match to predict. The story was set well regardless though, with Taguchi having the advantage of more rest I had an issue with this match which held it back from being as great as I'd hoped. I would have never expected to be a problem for me, but there was too much arse based offense. For me it just took away from the importance of the contest, and it was all sold so seriously. After the arse fest though the match was good, and fortunately I don't need to get upset about it happening again with Takahashi getting the win with a Victory roll. Japanese World Cup 2nd Round Match - BUSHI vs. Kushida (13:11) This match was the combination I was looking forward to the most. I'd fallen firmly in love with BUSHI after he was such a wonderful dick in round 1, and Kushida is just an incredible wrestler. BUSHI's heel work was even more on point this time around, and he barely reused any spots from his first match. Choking past the 5 count because he knew the ref wouldn't want a DQ win in the tournament was great. I also absolutely adore green mist (or any mist!) in wrestling, and I thought the ref taking the hit and writhing in pain for ages after really added to the match. No referee meant nobody counted 2 pinfalls, and nobody calling tap outs...and this led to my official: Hardest moment to watch! Keeping a Hoverboard lock on BUSHI for so long after tapping (knowing how dangerous a Kimura is) was just savage and set up his victory by Hoverboard when our ref was resurrected. As hard as it is for me to admit, Kushida was the right man to go forward. He's just a bigger star and that's what this tournament seems to be all about going into the finals. This was my match of the night. Rampage vs. Tomohiro Ishii (16:37) It's our main event now, an exhibition match between two ridiculously scary chunks of meat! I was not prepared for how much bigger Rampage was than Ishii...but this certainly didn't mean he was the underdog. This style of match rarely appeals to me, and this was no exception. The longest match on the card was the match with about 5 wrestling moves and that is just not for me. At least 10 minutes of this match was just chops and strikes, I was bored after the first 30 seconds. We also got to see that WCPW classic spot, a brawl in the crowd that the cameras can't get footage of! Even the commentary seemed underwhelmed when the match finished with Ishii's brainbuster. This was my worst match of the night. Overall Thoughts This show was good; not that many of the matches blew me away completely...but none of them were bad. The two men who qualified for the finals were definitely the right picks in terms of star power, but as ever it made the matches a bit predictable. The show being 2 hours long just meant it flew by (we call that "The Smackdown Effect"), and the lack of pointless matches to break up the tournament was such an improvement. Rating: 7/10 Another qualifier is completed, and the brackets are filling up! The return of Loaded is this coming Friday, so hopefully weekly storytelling will make the main roster more interesting and these shows can just be entirely separate. Keep an eye out in the next few days for my reviews of the last 2 qualifiers. Next stop, the USA!
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Willkommen, it's time for another Pro Wrestling World Cup qualifier. This time we are off to Berlin for the German leg. The only aspect of German culture I am familiar with is the beer, so let's all cut this writer some slack with his wrestling knowledge okay!
Joining us on commentary we have Dave Bradshaw and the glorious return of Alex Shane. I'm so happy Shane is back, he may go off topic a lot and generally act like a massive goofball, but I love him! German World Cup 1st Round Match - Cash Money Erkan vs. Rambo Brawn (8:45) Before I start on the match - the pre match talking head promos are all done in German. This unfortunately means I cannot cover them; German lessons were a long time ago and I was hardly fluent even back then. The show opener was unfortunately rather unexciting. The coupling of slow action with the completely alien concept of a German president of Lucha Libre did very little for me. I guess some wrestler's characters just can't be introduced well in a tournament setting. I did like Cash Money though - he showed some decent offense (especially the uppercuts) and has an interesting tall & slender build not often seen in wrestling. Erkan getting the win with a disappointingly glancing kick didn't help matters however, and this opening contest just wasn't great. German World Cup 1st Round Match - Pascal Spalter vs. Bad Bones (13:46) This was by far my favourite 1st round contest, and I was not expecting to feel this way going in. They told such a great story despite the tournament setting, and it's pretty rare that two Heavyweight style wrestlers put on a match this good regardless. I loved how in the early match Spalter was just too big for Bad Bones to handle, and his offense was entirely weight based (maybe the only time I've enjoyed shoulder blocks in wrestling!). Sprinkle on some chop contests, power moves and Alex Shane piling on the Reality TV show puns and I'm yours! The finish of the wily Bad Bones refusing to get up until he was energised enough to counter an Angle Slam into a rollup was the perfect way to show Bones isn't just a dumb hardcore wrestler - and justify his advancement in the Tournament. This was my match of the night. German World Cup 1st Round Match - Da Mack vs. Cem Kaplan (6:08) I was so excited to see Da Mack in action for the first time (for me) since the CWC, but I unfortunately only got 6 minutes of him! Kaplan's striking style seemed a perfect match to Da Mack's nimble, high flying antics...but we just didn't get enough time for the action to truly pick up. Don't get me wrong, I loved getting to see Da Mack escape a submission with a headstand, I just wanted more minutes! I firmly believe these two could have put on a good match, but after the Ace Crusher finish I was left with an overwhelming feeling of "that's all?!" German World Cup 1st Round Match - Lucky Kid vs. Juvenile X (9:01) I'm going to take a moment here to talk about how much better named German wrestlers are than anywhere else in the world; Juvenile X, Pascal Spalter, Bad Bones, Cash Money Erkan! Need I say more? This match up was essentially the same setup as the last match (a high flyer and a vicious thug), but better executed. Lucky Kid's character is the perfect tournament underdog, with some great high flying antics (including a beaut of a Standing Hurricanrana) to get the crowd behind him. Juvenile X just did what Kaplan did in the last match, but better, with more time to look dominant, take control and generally look nasty. An overall good match, and a lovely Dragon Suplex from Kid to finish off the Juvenile and set up a high octane 2nd round. The Hunter Brothers vs. Toni Harding & Ronaldo Shaqiri (6:47) If this match signifies The Hunter Brothers becoming tag division mainstays here at WCPW I will not be complaining! As an exhibition match however, it made little sense to put the Germans against a team yet to debut outside of a dark match. In ring however this match really delivered. The Hunter Brothers showed why they are one of the best teams in the UK with some cracking double team offense and quick tags. Harding and Shaqiri certainly held their own with some fun high flying spots, but bent the rules a little too much to be babyfaces by sometimes entirely ignoring tags! A deserved victory for The Hunters (with a great sequence of top rope Hurricanrana, a splash, and a double pin) hopefully means more of them soon to come. A fantastic, fast paced match that truly maximized it's minutes! WCPW Internet Title Match - Joe Coffey vs. Gabriel Kidd (c) (13:51) Another WCPW show, another lackluster Internet Title match with little to no build. I loved Gabe as the losing underdog, but his title run is doing nothing for me. I just don't ever buy him beating his challengers (especially the Iron King!) and he's yet to have an actual feud. Thanks in part to a particularly loud Scottish stag party, the crowd were firmly behind Coffey, and largely indifferent to Kidd. In ring we basically just watched 2 men chop and strike each other for longer than it was interesting. Gabriel seems to have dropped his "old finisher", the cheeky rollup, and has taken to winning with a Drew Galloway running dropkick (which is a little underwhelming). I lack emotion for this match, I'm just glad I don't have to watch it again. This was my worst match of the night. WCPW World Championship Match - Primate vs. Joe Hendry (c) (4:10) Two Champions collide up next. Unfortunately (for the second time tonight & one of my biggest problems with the World Cup shows) a title match with no build! Champion versus Champion is tough to construct an interesting story around at the best of times, so let's just not bother and just throw them in the ring together. Prior to the match we got a Joe Hendry promo (shush...) that the German crowd seemed distinctly unimpressed by. The term "go away heat" comes to mind, at least for the foreign audience. I am at least glad that before the match we got a long brawl all over the arena so Primate could bring the hardcore a little. Nothing especially extreme or exciting happened, but compared to a match between these two in the ring I think we got a more entertaining contest. If not for the finish this would have been a decent match. Hendry dodged a spear and BARELY touched the ref to put him in the path of Primate. I had to rewatch to see if he even moved the ref it was so pathetic. Then Primate got the better of the exchange and Hendry tapped to a rear choke as the ref came to. The ref then called for the bell and stated that Primate won by DQ...urgh! Why would a ref annoyed at Hendry (for basically nothing) not call the match so he lost the belt. Awful booking that won't lead to these two having another match, as World Cup title matches tend to be a one off. Alex Gracie vs. Kenny Williams (6:54) I went on record, in my last review, as enjoying the Alex Gracie heel turn and wanting to see what comes next. I should have known better! Without the pathetic but entertaining edge that Prospect always had, Gracie is now just an incredibly generic heel. The match was just boring. Kenny hit some of his lovely trademark offense (his through the ropes kick before skinning the cat, one of my favourites), but Gracie was just bland. Obviously the newly turned heel got the win with a "Fall from Gracie"/Unprettier. It seems if you qualify for the World Cup you stop winning, especially if you're Scottish! Not a fun time, would not recommend! German World Cup 2nd Round Match - Lucky Kid vs. Da Mack (9:25) This was almost certainly the match up with the most promise for a ridiculous high flying affair. Lucky Kid's gimmick is not one I'll pretend to understand, somewhat based on the Lion King and pulling odd faces, but I kind of like it. The opening few sequences lived up to expectation with flips and knees galore. Then however the match was taken in a different direction with the story of Lucky Kid being outmatched by the older performer. I expected more of a flippy shit showcase but this was much better storytelling! Lucky Kid eventually scoring a "Lucky" win (with his fantastic Dragon suplex out of nowhere) sets him up perfectly as a tournament underdog. German World Cup 2nd Round Match - Cash Money Erkan vs. Bad Bones (9:25) You will get used to my reviews including regular gushing over Bad Bones, which will probably give you a good indication of how I felt about this match. Cash Money held his own too though, and his height really gave Bones a long way to fall (especially from an incredible Superplex). This was such a big fight, so many power moves from both men. Bad Bones in particular threw the 6' 7" Erkan around like a child! In the end, my boy BB finished the job with a brutal middle rope Codebreaker and made me a very happy man. Overall Thoughts The World Cup matches on this card were some of the better we've had in the tournament so far, and Lucky Kid and Bad Bones are great choices to continue further. Unfortunately the main roster matches were poorly booked, with entirely no build, and it really brought the show down. Oh, and we had no women's match, thus continuing the worrying trend of overlooking the best division on the roster. Another show, another mixed bag. Rating: 5/10 As far as the main roster storytelling is concerned, the sooner the World Cup is over the better. If the aim of the qualifiers was to take all the wind out of sails of WCPW's regular talent, then congratulations! The Tournament is, however, shaping up to be a fun few days of finals, with some of my personal favourites qualifying already. Next stop, Japan! WCPW are here to celebrate their first birthday, with a huge card stuffed with 10 matches. Will it be a party to remember or will it all end with joke candles and stale cake?
The opening video package caught us up with recent events; Rampage winning the Number 1 contender's match, the events leading Prospect's emotional journey coming to an end tonight and El Ligero's dastardly heel turn and joining the Prestige. On commentary, Dave Bradshaw & James R Kennedy were calling the action, as seems to be becoming the norm outside of Pro Wrestling World Cup Qualifiers. WCPW Internet Title Match - Sha Samuels vs. Gabriel Kidd (c) (6:01) We opened the show with a decidedly average Internet Title match. This match had some decent exchanges and good character moments (Sha playing a great bully to Kidd's underdog) but was over before it really got going. Sha getting pinned in a clean and decisive manner after Kidd's other fluke roll-up victories seemed odd and might not help Sha rise up the card as a WCPW newcomer. The match seemed to (disappointingly) draw a line under a feud that had an interesting Twitter build. The Ameen promo after the match was a nice touch (sound levels aside) but I'm hoping we are given something more to build Kidd as a slightly credible champion. Backstage and around the arena we saw clips of Primate grunting and collecting weapons for his Hardcore Title match later tonight, including a barbed wire 2x4 outside in a wheelie bin. A nice bit of hype and spot teasing for the hardcore match, but I personally dislike Primate's monkey persona and for me, the segment only served as a reminder that he's not intimidating in this monster roll. Scottish World Cup Qualifying Match - BT Gunn vs. Kenny Williams (9:01) I'm really glad we finally got this match to fix the brackets that Drew Galloway-Mcintyre so handily ruined! Although this match was also on the short side, it was much more enjoyable than the opening contest, in part due to the hard hitting fast paced offence (especially BT's kicks, Damn!). My only real complaint is, despite the high stakes, Kenny didn't seem to be taking the match that seriously (highlighted by his "Noogie" to Gunn mid-match) which left me even more surprised when he won! Neither man really has an obvious feud going forward, and they had great chemistry. I hope we see this again, preferably with a more personal twist and longer matches. Polo Promotions vs. Moss & Slater (11:13) This match served as a great introduction for Polo Promotion's heel work, as Mark and Jackie made their way to the ring the crowd's reaction was quiet and mixed. As they scurried away after the post match beat down on Liam Slater they were drenched in boos. This match was a little slow paced for my taste at times, but had some great moments - both in terms of sequences, working Jackie Polo's arm, and character work for Polo Promotions. If this feud is allowed to continue long term I honestly think the Polos could gather the most heat on the WCPW roster. And with a Polos victory and the post match potential "injury" of Liam Slater, it looks like we could be in for a hell of a ride, with this match as a perfectly good first step. WCPW Women's Championship Match - Kay Lee Ray vs. Viper w/ Bea Priestley (c) (4:17) I have a lot to say about this match/angle, so grab some popcorn and enjoy my pain as I hammer on the keyboard in a blind fury. The idea of having a title defended by a champion's heavy in their stead is perfectly fine, but a title change in that match makes me feel sympathetic for poor Bea! The storytelling in the WCPW Women's division has been incredibly stilted thanks to the World Cup Qualifiers ignoring the division entirely. The fact that this title change came out of nowhere, to a WCPW newcomer, in a 4 minutes match is baffling. The match itself was too short to write home about. Although Kay Lee Ray looked decent in her handicapped babyface role, she already did it better at Chain Reaction 4 months ago in the same match! The confusion between the heels and a crutch shot from Priestley causing Viper to lose already makes KLR feel like an undeserving champion. I really want to love Women's wrestling in WCPW...but we've either had bad booking or no women's matches at all since Nixon lost the title and left in February! At least if given any time Kay Lee Ray vs Bea Priestley should be a good match. Joe Coffey vs. Moose (17:53) Despite this match having no stakes (besides kind of being a rubber match) and being booked entirely as a showcase of Moose before the US qualifiers, this match was great. This was the first match on the card given enough time to truly shine and Coffey and Moose really delivered with an incredibly fast paced heavyweight contest. Before this match, I had no idea Joe Coffey could hit a perfectly decent Hurricanrana and paired with the incredible agility of moose the two put on a match not out of place on 205 live (without the negative connotations!). If I had 1 complaint with this contest, it was that they fell into the stereotypical Indy trap of almost no selling combinations of huge signature moves. It may be more of a personal preference, but both men kicking out at 1 in the closing minutes of a match goes against most wrestling logic. Regardless, after a strong Moose showing and a big victory, I am really excited for the US qualifiers with the talent selection coming over in a couple of weeks. Jay Lethal vs. Davey Richards (10:28) If you thought the last match had no stakes, you ain't seen nothing yet. The trend of showcasing competitors in the World Cup on "Main roster shows" continues, and on a card with so many short matches I can't help but feel the time could be better spent elsewhere. The match itself was entirely unremarkable. Both men are fantastic wrestlers...but without any reason to fight, in the middle of the card, with only 10 minutes to work with, we were never going to see a classic. More time was spent with Jay & Davey arguing overthrowing a T-Shirt into the crowd than building an enjoyable match. After Jay scored the win with a Lethal Injection, we had another run in from Drake. I don't understand where we are going with Drake's new gimmick of attacking babyfaces after matches...and his continued failure at this is just making look pathetic. WCPW Tag Team Championship Match - Prospect vs. The Swords of Essex (c) (20.00) This match probably has the most intriguing build of any match on the card, Prospect's last match before Lucas Archer leaves, coupled with the long-awaited return of Will Ospreay, meant these 4 guys had a lot to live up to...and I think they did. I firmly believe that The Swords of Essex cannot have a bad match, and I am yet to be proven wrong. Will Ospreay plays the role of "the cocky prick that is annoyingly talented" perfectly. Scotty Wainwright is every loud obnoxious bloke that you've silently hated when you're trying to have a quiet drink at the pub. The match centred around the Swords isolating Lucas Archer, and viciously focusing on his injured knee. Alongside this we had a cavalcade of incredible double team moves, including my personal favourite: the Double Stomp Death Valley Driver. Prospect held their own and Lucas Archer specifically looked so determined to survive - unfortunately, this was not to be after 4 or 5 knee-focused submissions. This was easily my match of the night. Once the match was over we had the moment that all Prospect fans are ready to forget, the surprising heel turn of Alex Gracie. I actually thought they did a great job of concealing that this was coming post match. Both men embracing in the ring and then Gracie teasing an attack at the top of the ramp left me certain that once he left for the back, Lucas Archer and the fans were safe. I was a little disappointed at how tame the attack was when it came though, especially with the fantastic brutal split of NXT's DIY in recent memory. WCPW Hardcore Championship Match - Primate vs. Jimmy Havoc (14:16) The much anticipated first ever Hardcore Title match was up next and had a lot to live up to after the tag match. We had a lot of brutal bloody spots in this match, my personal most cringe-inducing moment was the cheese grater busting open Primate (gross). After taking an understandably ridiculous amount of punishment (2 tables and a chair) Havoc was finished off with a weirdly creative spot, getting spiked through a barbed wire ironing board. I really enjoyed this match, Jimmy and Primate were a great choice to kick off this division. The only booking decision I have to question is, in the middle of this awful war, Primate shoving James R Kennedy's face into the WCPW birthday cake (a little more circus clown than monster). Havoc losing was made much more understandable by commentary selling how recently he put his life on the line (and won!) in the CZW Tournament of Death, which also gives Jimmy a good reason to challenge again in the future. Long live hardcore wrestling. Before the next match, we had a brief backstage segment where Plumpy had to quickly and awkwardly mention that Martin Kirby still has his Magnificent 7 Title shot (which now has it's very own knock-off Money in the Bank briefcase) for the sole purpose of putting it on the line in our next match. Martin Kirby vs. El Ligero (10:21) Starting off we had Joe Hendry (after embarrassingly shushing an already quiet crowd) challenge Kirby to put his briefcase on the line or disappoint the fans as Ligero would not compete. If the Title shot hadn't been forgotten by WCPW until now, this would have been a clever angle! With his new theme and all black Prestige gear, El Ligero feels fresh. To be frank this is the first time I've been at all interested in the Mexican Sensation. This match was used mainly as a showcase of Heel Ligero, which I enjoyed. His offence was much more striking based, and the use of heel spots (especially pulling Kirby up from a pinning attempt to inflict more punishment) only served to add to his character. The match ending with the "photographer" distracting Kirby and being revealed as announcer Stevie Aaron felt like a let down on the show, but I think the angle could be worth it. I've always enjoyed non-wrestlers joining factions and the Prestige having their own personal ring announcer fits them perfectly. WCPW World Championship Match - Rampage vs. Joe Hendry (c) (10:03) Onto our main event; a match that, to me, doesn't feel either exciting or a fresh. Despite being banned from ringside, the entire Prestige interfering was incredibly predictable and only serves to make a once exciting faction feel tired and unoriginal. The match was (as you may have guessed already) half-baked. From Rampage entirely no selling the initial attack from three guys, to the Prestige leaving the ring once the match had started (as they were banned) just to come out again when Hendry floundered...what a load of rubbish. Hendry getting an undeserved victory wouldn't be an issue (as the heel champion), but the way this played out was dire. This was my worst match of the night. Overall thoughts This may be a little harsh, but this show serves as a perfect anniversary of WCPW. An entirely hit and miss show with moments of greatness, glimmers of hope for the future, questionable booking and matches showcasing wrestlers not on the roster. Rating: 5/10 With a variety of World Cup shows coming up next for WCPW, I am more than a little worried with how many divisions will be ignored for the coming weeks-months. The World Cup itself, however, is full of potential and I'm interested to see who's going to make it to the stacked semi-finals. |
Lyle 'Chips' CarrGraps fan for 18 years |