‘Ambition’ is a ”strong desire to do or achieve something”. It is the ”desire and determination to achieve success”. Arguably, there is not a more fitting word to describe the concept of the tournament than ambition. However, it does not only describe the struggle of the fighters, but the growth of the show in itself as well. What started in The Saint (now known as the KULTTEMPEL) is now an annual tradition at the 16 Carat Gold weekend of wXw. Last year’s tournament even saw a crowd bigger than some of the earlier 16 Carat Gold tournaments. But what is it that makes it so special?

First of all, let’s step back and take a closer look at the origin of AMBITION. The actual idea dates back to years before the event started in 2010. It is the same year as iconic matches such as Zack Sabre Jr.’s battles with vs. Munenori Sawa at 16 Carat  and vs. TJP at wXw’s first US show. The great reception that these shoot-style matches received in a (at the time) hardcore based promotion showed that the concept was really worth consideration. Bryan Danielson’s short stint on the independent scene in 2010 included a quick visit in Oberhausen and thus it seemed like the right place and time to do such a tournament. The vision became a reality. He went and won the first-ever edition in the finals against Johnny Moss – having an excellent bout with a then-largely unknown (at least internationally) Tommy End which got a decent reaction online. In the following years, illustrious names like Rico Bushido, Alexander Wolfe, Zack Sabre Jr., Sasa Keel, Carnage, Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher added themselves to the roll of honour.

Usually, you don’t see storyline/skits on these shows. AMBITION tries to keep everything as realistic as possible by presenting it like a ‘legitimate’ combat sport. It actually starts with the PRIDE-esque introduction of the wrestlers on the stage whom are selected by virtue of possessing some sort of legitimate fighting or combat sports background. While this style it is not as popular in Europe as it is in Japan (and probably won’t ever be but this is a whole another story) –  it seems like more fans want to see a more realistic approach to pro wrestling which brings us to the actual in-ring style and the atmosphere associated with it.

It is so interesting to be part of the crowd at an AMBITION event because it is so different to the other shows of the weekend. Everyone is glued to the squared circle and follows every motion with only the odd bit of polite applause and the occasional exclamation of awe. wXw commentator and former AMBITION champion Rico Bushido said on one of the wXw Roundtables that the crowd is ”in on the joke”. As such, you do not get very long matches in AMBITION where every kick, strike, suplex or hold could be the end of the match. You also get the impression everyone strikes, kicks or throws harder than usual which is a very cool element. Also, the matches seem to happen on the fly which means you get a wide range of styles clashing.

At this years 16 Carat Gold weekend wXw are bringing in Yuki Ishikawa who is one of the pioneers of shoot-style wrestling. Unfortunately I did not grow up watching him, but I can only imagine how special it is to those who did. Among others he paved the way for shoot wrestling when he launched ”Battlarts”, a promotion no longer in business, but still with a great reputation. Further, his matches against Alexander Otsuka, Daisuke Ikeda & Munenori Sawa are among his finest work. Currently he resides in Canada where he is one of the coaches at the Battle Arts Academy. Among several other great students (including 2019 competitor “Punch Drunk” Istria), Timothy Thatcher trained at the academy so it is only fitting we get Ishikawa vs. Thatcher in an exciting teacher vs. student tussle at AMBITION 10. What a way to celebrate the 10th edition of the tournament with this special Super Fight.

One top of that we have the tournament proper which has one of the most diverse and interesting line ups of all time with seven nationalities represented. We’ve got a relatively new field as a whole with only Laurance Roman and Rico Bushido having competed in AMBITION before. Joining them, we have two names which are particularly familiar to British wrestling fans in Danny Jones (kickboxer and protegé of Mike Bird) and former TETSUJIN winner Chris Ridgeway, White Wolf Wrestling’s grappler A-Kid, Hamburg Catch wrestler Veit Müller, the aforementioned Battle Arts student Istria and former MMA fighter Shigehiro Irie – who is the only man in both the 16 Carat Gold tournament and AMBITION this year. Regardless of who lifts that illustrious trophy on Saturday afternoon – we’re bound to see a brilliant show.

✏️ @Spoilex16

📷 @MikeKilby