Over the course of three nights from March 30th to April 1st, Fight Club: PRO will present their 2nd annual Dream Tag Team Invitational at three different venues across the UK. Starting in Wolverhampton on night one, then on to Manchester for the second installment before holding the finals in Birmingham on night three, the shows are scheduled to be packed with incredible talent from the UK scene as well as an eclectic mix of international stars.
While much of the card is yet to be announced for the shows (or determined, in the case of the latter stages of the tournament), we now know the eight tag teams participating and the early details for the lineup promise a weekend of explosive action.
Night One (Starworks Warehouse, Wolverhampton):
Dream Tag Team Invitational 2018 First Round Match: Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix)
The Lucha Brothers are looking to redeem their loss in last year’s Dream Tag Team Invitational finals, where they fell to CCK (Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos) after an impressive showing throughout the tournament. Meanwhile, Aussie Open is a team who are making serious waves right now, not just in FCP, but everywhere they are booked across the UK. With recent victories in FCP against Team SPLX and Travis Banks & Jonah Rock, Aussie Open will be hoping to score an early upset to send a statement and make an impact, but the more experienced Lucha Brothers will be a hard mountain to climb and will be determined to taste victory this time around.
Prediction: Lucha Brothers
Dream Tag Team Invitational 2018 First Round Match: Briscoe Brothers (Jay & Mark Briscoe) Vs Scarlet & Graves (Desmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz)
The Briscoes are unquestionably one of the most successful tag teams in the pro wrestling world and this will be their debut in FCP, so despite their opponents being the former CZW Tag Team Champions, Scarlet & Graves (Desmond Xavier and Zachary Wents), we are likely to see a successful start for ‘Dem Boys’, Mark & Jay. The match will likely degenerate into a back-and-forth brawl and is sure to be an exciting outing for both teams and an explosive start for the Briscoe Brothers. They may even get all the way through to the finals in their debut weekend.
Prediction: Briscoe Brothers
FCP Title Match: Chris Brookes (c) vs. Meiko Satomura
There are few promotions who book mixed gender matches with the frequency and success of Fight Club: PRO. Having provided a solid platform for the likes of Nixon Newell, Viper, Kay Lee Ray and many more, FCP and in particular its Champion, Chris Brookes, have turned combat-based gender equality into an art. Here, Brookes will have his hands full against Meiko Satomura, the owner of Japanese women’s promotion Sendai Girls and a world class striker and technical grappler, who used to be a regular opponent of Asuka before her jump to WWE. This match is likely to be a blistering paced blend of power, brutality and graceful technicality, which will leave Satomura looking strong but being ultimately unable to snatch the title from Brookes’ grasp.
Prediction: Chris Brookes To Retain (Barely)
British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) vs. Team SPLX (Angelico, Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle)
One of the potential contenders for match of the weekend so far is this huge six man tag match which will see the standout stars of WWE’s UK division against three of the most talented indie workers from around the globe. Angelico, Jeff Cobb and Matt Riddle are certainly a team with a varied skill set and big name value, but the experience factor of British Strong Style as a unit and their success rate in FCP in particular makes me think that this will be a win for the UK boys. It’s definitely a close one to call and could easily go either way, but one thing is for sure: the array of talent in this match will guarantee an engaging instant classic which will have fans in attendance and watching at home perched firmly on the edge of their seats. With Cobb rumoured to be on the radar of WWE after his backstage visit to SmackDown Live last month and the continually rising stock of Riddle and Angelico respectively, everyone will be at the top of their game, but Dunne, Seven and Bate will want to establish their dominance before Moustache Mountain break off into the tournament.
Prediction: British Strong Style
Night Two (Manchester Academy One):
Travis Banks and Aussie Open Vs Meiko Satomura and Scarlet & Graves
There will be plenty of heavy hitting and high flying mixed into this six person tag match. It is bound to be a high octane, high drama affair, with Banks and Satomura providing some heavy-duty striking and the two tag teams showcasing their aerial skills. This will be a solid all-rounder, with a bit of something for everyone and will probably serve as some kind of retribution for Satomura after the previous evening’s encounter with Banks’ CCK partner Chris Brookes.
Prediction: Meiko Satomura and Scarlet & Graves
Dream Tag Team Invitational 2018 First Round Match: Gentleman’s Club (Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy) vs. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate)
It would be hard to bet against Moustache Mountain, who very rarely lose in FCP, or so it would seem. The duo were ousted in the first round of the tournament last year by CCK, but it would be surprising to see them eliminated early on for a second time. With recent wins over the likes of Team SPLX and Aussie Open, Bate and Seven look set to take the tournament by storm this year, plus the Gentlemen’s Club has not had much success in Fight Club: Pro, having suffered a loss to CCK last year in their only previous match for the company. Bate and Seven will likely win this one and go on to some outstanding dream matches for the team in the later rounds.
Prediction: Moustache Mountain
Dream Tag Team Invitational 2018 First Round Match: CCK Vs Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle)
Cobb & Riddle make for an excellent pairing and have huge potential as a team, but they find themselves against CCK, who have not only had incredible success in FCP but actually won the tournament last year, making them the natural favourites – especially in the early stages. That being said, in much the same way that I expect Moustache Mountain to reverse their fortunes from last year, I also wouldn’t be surprised to see the same happen with CCK, losing early on in a surprise upset for the Chosen Bros.
Prediction: Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle
Fatal Four Way Match: DASH Chisako vs. Kay Lee Ray vs. Kris Wolf vs. Millie McKenzie
You can count on the women of FCP to pull out all the stops when they are given the spotlight and this whirlwind of a match will be a sight to behold. With daredevil dives and plenty of powerful blows, this match will be nonstop action from the start and will keep a brisk pace throughout. DASH Chisako will be looking to make an impression in her second visit to England (her first having been at last year’s Chikara King Of Trios tournament), but the other three women all have something to prove. 17 year old Millie McKenzie has not had a win in FCP since her win over Kay Lee Ray and Jessicka Havok in September last year, while KLR’s last win for the company came at the expense of McKenzie three months earlier. Kris Wolf has not been seen in FCP since her loss to Kay Lee Ray last May, which had been her debut, so a win for any one of these women will be a huge coup at this point.
Prediction: DASH Chisako
Night Three (NEC Arena, Birmingham):
Pete Dunne Vs Meiko Satomura
While we can fully expect all three of Satomura’s matches over the weekend to be great, this one will certainly be a show-stealer. The superb technical grappling skills of both competitors will guarantee a submission and joint-manipulation clinic. Dunne is the current WWE UK Champion and will no doubt be determined to represent the great tradition of British technical wrestling against the Japanese star, however I think that this one is going to be one of the most evenly competitive matches of the weekend, with neither being able to outdo their opponent and maybe even reaching a stalemate at some point in the proceedings. Some dirty tricks by Dunne may backfire and cost him the match, or else I could see the match going to a draw, but I think it most likely that Satomura will ultimately end the weekend on a high note.
Prediction: Meiko Satomura
Overall Tournament Prediction: Moustache Mountain to win after some awesome matches against the likes of the Briscoe Brothers.
