After going through the history of the last 12 years, it is now time to take a closer look at this years 16 Carat Gold tournament and from what it looks like it promises to be one of the most interesting and star-filled to date.
Pre Show match / Alternate Four-Way: Julian Nero vs Ivan Kiev vs Emil Sitochi vs Julian Pace
If one regular tournament Match ends in a draw (eg double count out) the winner of this “Alternate four-way” will be the replacement. Julian Pace is the newest graduate of the wXw Wrestling Academy and has proven to be an excellent addition to the roster. Ivan Kiev is trying to prove his place in RISE and secure another spot for the stable. Sitochi is a veteran of the European Wrestling scene and a former wXw Shotgun champion. Nero is a former teammate of last years tournament winner, Ilja Dragunov. He will try to connect to the former glory of their ex-stable Cerberus. The winner of this match will replace the injured Jurn Simmons in the tournament and has to face David Starr.
Prediction: Julian Pace
https://twitter.com/wXwGermany/status/970630220821692416
First Round Match: Travis Banks vs Mark Haskins
The former OTT Wrestling champion Mark Haskins against the current PROGRESS World Champion and CCK member Travis Banks. This match has happened all around the world and now it´s coming to wXw and Germany. One of these two men will be out of the tournament and will be adding British / New Zealand greatness to other matches on the cards of Night two & three. The winner will be going on to make his path to the next round of Europe´s biggest wrestling tournament.
Prediction: Travis Banks
First Round Match: AVALANCHE vs Keith Lee
Ring breaking mass will be colliding in a wXw ring for the first time. Keith Lee has been making his name as an international Independent Superstar all around the world. He is able to put on a great match with men of his size and with men that are half his size which makes him so great. And this might be one of the last chances to see him in an Independent ring. His opponent is the former Cerberus member AVALANCHE. The German monster of a man has had wars with Ilja Dragunov and was the last man standing inside the steel cage at “Back To The Roots” multiple times.
Prediction: Keith Lee
First Round Match: Chris Brookes vs Alexander James
This match could be named “the battle of the long boys”, 6`1″ vs 6´4″. The other member of CCK is in this match. Brookes is a former RevPro and PROGRESS Tag Team champion. In 2016 he held the wXw Shotgun Championship for seven days, before losing it to David Starr at the 16th Anniversary show. The man across the ring will be the “Prince of Pro” Alexander James, he debuted in 2010 and was trained by DJ Hyde, Rich Swann, Ryan McBride and Adam Cole.
Prediction: Chris Brookes
First Round Match: Da Mack vs Matt Riddle
Da Mack is the newest member of RISE and had the chance to wrestle Cody Rhodes in last years 16 Carat. Riddle is a former UFC fighter who is participating in his second 16 Carat Gold in a row. After being eliminated in the Semi-Finals by WALTER last year he is looking to make it to the finals this year. Matt Riddle is producing his own show later this year under the name of “Matt Riddle´s Bloodsport” where all matches will be contested under Knockout & Submission only rules. That will be a very interesting mix of fighting and wrestling and could be reminiscent of Pancrase wrestling.
Prediction: Matt Riddle
First Round Match: Jonah Rock vs Timothy Thatcher
The Australian Sensation Jonah Rock is currently on a European Tour where he wrestled for promotions like Fight Club: PRO, PROGRESS or Riptide. He quickly became a PWG regular which could be considered a big accolade in Indy Wrestling today. The 29-year-old was also part of the NJPW Australian tour where he faced Minoru Suzuki on one of the four nights. He will be fighting the former EVOLVE Champion and current wXw Tag Team Champion Timothy Thatcher. This is a match between two men that will leave everything in the ring to show their willingness to get into the next round of Europe´s biggest Wrestling tournament.
Prediction: Jonah Rock
First Round Match: Matt Sydal vs Lucky Kid
This will be the high-flying spectacle of the night when the former WWE and NJPW Superstar Matt Sydal will go one-on-one with RISE member Lucky Kid. Sydal is a highly decorated veteran of the Wrestling business, he is the current Impact X-Division Champion and former NEVER Open Weight Six Man Tag Team Champion, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (with Ricochet) and former WWE Tag Team Champion. Lucky Kid is the wild highflyer of RISE who will try to defeat this world travelled veteran. The age factor might be on his side but is the experience level of the man fka Evan Bourne just too high?
Prediction: Matt Sydal
First Round Match: Absolute Andy vs Marius Al-Ani
A match that has personal animosity within it. The two former Tag partners of A4 are facing off after Andy turned on Al-Ani during the World Tag League last year. Al-Ani got attacked by Andy again after his match with Pete Dunne at the 17th Anniversary show when Andy executed a vicious F-5 to the ring-post. Al-Ani was out of the current wXw “We Love Wrestling Tour” for nearly two months. He returned for the Road to 16 Carat and qualified himself by defeating Mike Bailey in Bielefeld. This match will not be about who is the better Wrestler, it will be about revenge and redemption.
Prediction: Absolute Andy wins by DQ
First Round Match – Last Man Standing Match: Winner of the Alternate Four-Way vs David Starr
This match is build by an ongoing feud between these two that started months ago. They teamed in the wXw World Tag League as “Massive Product” but lost in the finals to RINGKAMPF. A rematch was scheduled for wXw´s show in London, but it never happened due to Simmons getting sick. The match was then changed into a singles match between Starr and WALTER. After some discussions, Starr and Simmons had a match at the 17th Anniversary show to settle their differences, which Starr won. Jurn tuned on his former partner after the match, subsequently turning heel in the process. He attacked nearly every opponent after his matches with a Kendo stick in the following months, setting up this Last Man Standing match for the 16 Carat Gold tournament. The winner of this one could be a very clear favourite to reach the finals. UPDATE: Jurn Simmons suffered a broken ankle joint and will not be able to compete in the tournament. As mentioned above, the winner of the four-way match will replace the former wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion.
Prediction: David Starr
