The final night of WhatCulture Pro Wrestling’s (WCPW) worldwide Pro Wrestling World Cup ’17 is upon us. The first of the two Semi Finals will see current Ring of Honor (ROH) Television Champion and current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA facing off against the former WCPW Heavyweight Champion Joseph Conners, whilst the second semi final will be a rematch of epic proportions, as Will Ospreay and King Ricochet continue their incredible rivalry. The winners of each semi final will face each other in the final match of the night, along with all the other non-tournament action on the final night of the worldwide competition.
+ WCPW World Cup ’17 Final: this was a really good match, with some strong selling from one of the competitors in particular. Back and forth strikes, a huge dive and an extended submission spot were the main selling points, before some referee shenanigans added a new layer to it all. This was a really good match, and although maybe not as good as Ricochet/Ospreay, it was certainly worthy of closing the show, and the entire tournament, with a very deserving winner
+ Penta El Zero M vs Mike Bailey: I’ve really become a fan of Mike Bailey over the last three shows here. I had no idea about his visa issues in the US (which is why he is not on any of the major US Indies, shows) but I will certainly keep tabs on him now. Penta, though, is just in a leageof his own when it comes to presentation. Lucha Underground may be the best thing to happen to Penta, even if it has been a bit dodgy of late. All of that stuff aside, this was a really good match, and Penta’s overhand chops may well be the best in the business
+ Ricochet vs Will Ospreay (Semi Final Match): gosh, this was bonkers from before the bell even rung. There were numerous callbacks to their various other matches, and Ospreay did a fantstic job of selling an injured neck throughout the match. Ricochet obviously has the size and strength advantage, but Ospreay plays a fantastic underdog, as in his matches with Mysterio and Bailey over the last two shows. This was a really good match, and I can’t wait for the next time these two get in the ring
+ KUSHIDA vs Joseph Conners (Semi Final Match): much like Conners match with Takahashi yesterday, this was great, but I am certian it was at least 70-30 because of KUSHIDA. This was back and forth, and certainly worthy of being a semi final matchup. Just because I am not a fan of Conners, I can still admit the crowd in WCPW loves the guy
– Joe Hendry (c) vs Jack Swagger (WCPW Championship): the hype video for this was phenomenal, and it played into real events, which nis always a plus. This was my first time seeing Swagger since he left the WWE, and maybe I was just expecting more, but I felt severely underwhelmed. Hendry and Swagger both use Ankle Locks as finishers, so some of the drama came from trading the holds on each other, but I never once bought either of them as able to put a proper submission on the other. This left a bad taste in my mouth
– Alex Gracie vs Zack Sabre Jr. (No. 1 Contendership for WCPW Internet Championship): the crowd was dead silent for this, and I couldn’t help but agree. I am just not into Sabre’s style in WCPW, as Gracie doesn’t have the star power to be invested in Sabre’s constant submission switching. Neither man was overly flashy, which is fine, but neither compensated with anything else of note. This was another dud in a row on a show built around tournament or title matches
– Rampage vs El Ligero: I am not a fan of the bad-guy persona that El Ligero has adopted since joining the group of The Prestige, since he works far better as the comedy good guy. I’m also not a big fan of Rampage (I still prefer Primate, since the Rampage/Primate best of seven series). This match was not technical, not funny and not worth watching
> It is interesting that Conners came to be in the semi finals, because his spot originally went to Michael Elgin. Both Hiromu Takahashi and KUSHIDA would have been very interesting opponents to Michael Elgin, but I think having the smaller man in his spot was for the best
> I love it when wrestling promotions hype up the competitors’ accomplishments from other organisations. The commentators put over Ricochet huge by mentioning him winning the Best of the Super Juniors (New Japan Pro Wrestling) and the Battle of Los Angeles (Pro Wrestling Guerilla).
Should you watch this event: Now that it’s over, this was a really good tournament, especially over these last few days. Both semi-final matches – Ricochet/Ospreay and KUSHIDA/Conners – were good or great, and Penta El Zero M versus Mike Bailey was another highlight. Unfortunately the three other non-tournament matches were not that great, but the main event, and conclusion to the tournament, more than made up for it. Check out all the tournament matches, and Penta/Bailey, but skip the rest.
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