It’s here! After months of waiting, Europe’s biggest and best wrestling festival is finally back around again for three (four if you count Inner Circle!) jam-packed evenings in the Ruhrpott. This time 16 Carat Gold hails from the much larger Turbinenhalle 1 in Oberhausen which means there may well be attendance records broken for German independent shows – with the grander hall fitting in around 1,500 fans.

Last year, rank outsider Absolute Andy shocked the world by taking the 16 Carat Gold trophy home ahead of perennial fan favourite David Starr which catapulted Der Adler into one of the most impressive Unified Championship reigns in recent years. Anyway, to get you all in the mood for this historic weekend’s festivities – here’s the EuroGraps.com primer to all of the wrestlers competing in this year’s tournament:

Avalanche

Tournament Record:

• wXw 16 Carat Gold: Qtr. Finals (2013 & 2014)

If 16 Carat Gold was decided on popularity, Avalanche would be a shoe-in for the final. Alas, the tournament is fought in the ring and unfortunately for the big Austrian his record in recent tournaments has been disappointing at best. Avalanche and Nero crashed out of October’s World Tag Team League with just a single win – and in terms of singles tournaments he hasn’t made it past the first round of 16 Carat for the past two years. Avalanche’s opponent in the first round is Jurn Simmons – whom he has been feuding with since World Tag Team League – in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Avalanche hasn’t been able to get the better of Jurn in their series so far which will cause concern.

Axel Dieter Jr.

Tournament Record:

• wXw 16 Carat Gold: Runner Up (2015 & 2016)

An emotional return to 16 Carat Gold awaits NXT UK’s Marcel Barthel as well as a tricky first round tie with current wXw Shotgun champion Marius Al-Ani. Junior left wXw at the top of his game and his time in the Performance Centre has proven that there’s seemingly no ceiling for the Hamburg man. A happy reunion at December’s 19th Anniversary show with his Ringkampf brethren was a recent highlight but he returns to the fold with his teammates in complete turmoil. Whether this affects him is yet to be seen. Having come second twice in the tournament before, Axel Dieter Jr. will be itching set that record straight.

Chris Brookes

Tournament Record:

• wXw 16 Carat Gold: Qtr. Finals (2018)
• wXw World Tag Team League: Runner Up (2018)
• Fight Club Pro DTTI: Winner (2017)

Brookes and Gresham were something of a revelation in October’s World Tag Team League – reaching the final ahead of early favourites Ringkampf in a losing effort against Jay-FK. Brookes is alone this time – and will be looking to go better than last year’s 16 Carat when he crashed out to Keith Lee in the quarters.

Daisuke Sekimoto

Tournament Record:

• wXw 16 Carat Gold – Qtr. Finals (2009)
• AJPW Champions Carnival – Winner (2016)

Sekimoto hasn’t been seen in wXw since the 15th Anniversary show in 2015 and the scene in Germany has changed immeasurably in the time since. Since then, Daisuke has established himself as one of the finest in Japan and currently holds the top belts in ZERO1 and BJW as well as the Tag Team belts in All Japan. Sekimoto arguably has one of the toughest challenges for his opener – facing the 2017 winner Ilja Dragunov in what is sure to be an absolute barnstormer between the two former Unified champions.

David Starr

Tournament Record:

• wXw 16 Carat Gold: Runner Up (2018)
• wXw World Tag Team League: Winner (2016), Runner Up (2017)
• CZW Best of the Best: Winner (2018)

David Starr should – in effect – be the absolute favourite for this year’s tournament. He’s arguably the finest truly independent wrestler on the planet at this moment and he had the opportunity of a lifetime by getting the chance to name his opponent in the first round of the tournament. Alas, the Philadelphia native opted to face WALTER – whom he hasn’t managed to beat in at least twenty matches. Starr has looked more focused in recent weeks than he ever has – almost verging on obsession – but his record against the big Austrian speaks for itself.

Fenix

Tournament Record:

• PWG Battle of Los Angeles: Semi Finals (2017)
• wXw World Tag Team League: Group Stage (2018)

Fenix was one of the first names announced for 2018’s 16 Carat Gold but was unfortunately pulled when Lucha Underground commitments took priority. However, he’s back (along with his brother Pentagon Jr) for 2019 after an impressive run in World Tag Team League and faces an all-Mexican tie in the opening round versus Rey Horus – a rematch from 2017’s Battle of Los Angeles. If Fenix doesn’t make it to Sunday in the tournament, expect some lucha fun on the rest of the card.

Ilja Dragunov

Tournament Record:

• wXw 16 Carat Gold: Winner (2017)

WWE NXT UK’s newest recruit will look to continue his global tour de force with a second 16 Carat Gold win but will face arguably the biggest challenge of all in Daisuke Sekimoto as his first round opponent. Dragunov managed to catapult himself into the Unified Championship picture with his emphatic win over WALTER in 2017’s final and captured the belt from under the noses of Bad Bones and WALTER at last year’s festival weekend in what is probably one of the most iconic moments in the German company’s history. A second win would be a great achievement for the Russian, who remains one of the most popular members of the wXw roster.

Jurn Simmons

Tournament Record:

• wXw World Tag Team League: Runner Up (2017)
• wXw/PCW/CZW Wrestling World Championships Openweight: Winner (2016)

Jurn Simmons enters the tournament as the real wildcard. Despite having been in wXw since 2014, this year’s tournament marks the first time he’ll be part of the 16 man field – having missed out on an opening round tie with David Starr last year due to a broken ankle. Regardless, Simmons has stepped up his game since his injury and his cut-throat, win at all costs approach means he will be a serious contender for overall honours in the same vein as Absolute Andy from last year.

Lucky Kid

Tournament Record:

• wXw 16 Carat Gold: Qtr. Finals (2018)

Lucky Kid was one of the real standouts of the 2018 tournament – with his quarter-final match with Timothy Thatcher amongst the best of the whole weekend last year. Lucky has spent the following year working all across Europe and improving immensely, meaning that he’ll be one of the most popular wrestlers in this tournament at least.

Marius Al-Ani

Tournament Record:

• wXw 16 Carat Gold: Qtr. Finals (2017)

The sole champion in this year’s tournament, Marius Al-Ani faces an uphill battle from the beginning when he takes on Axel Dieter Jr in the first round. The wXw Shotgun champion has held the belt since the summer but hasn’t been particularly impressive since despite a soft reunion with former teammate Absolute Andy. Will be lucky to get past the first round.

Mark Davis

Tournament Record:

• PROGRESS Natural Progression Series: Winner (2018)
• Fight Club Pro Infinity Tournament: Winner (2018)
• wXw World Tag Team League: Group Stage (2018)

Mark Davis was the first man to qualify at the Road to 16 Carat Gold: London show after getting past Oliver Carter and Francis Kaspin on his side of the tournament. Davis had a sensational 2018 in terms of tournament form and he and Fletcher only just missed out on a berth in the final of October’s World Tag Team League on count back to eventual winners Jay-FK. Singles wise, Davis also had a good run in wXw last summer – his mini feud with then-Shotgun champion Bobby Gunns the highlight.

Pentagon Jr.

Tournament Record:

• AAA Rey de Reyes: Winner (2016)
• PWG Battle of Los Angeles: Qtr. Final (2015, 2016 & 2017)

Pentagon Jr, along with his brother Fenix, was one of the standout performers of October’s World Tag Team league – impressing many with their exploits with Ringkampf and Okami in Group A. Much like his brother, Pentagon Jr. was pulled from last year’s 16 Carat Gold due to filming commitments with Lucha Underground so will be keen to make up on lost time. The IMPACT Wrestling star faces a tough opener against Aussie Open’s Mark Davis in what is sure to be the most hard-hitting bout of the first round.

Rey Horus

Tournament Record:

• PWG Battle of Los Angeles: Second Round (2018)

Rey Horus enters as a complete unknown for many – having only just made his European debut in the past weekend. Rey Horus has been one of the standouts in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and was one of the first to be announced for this year’s tournament. It’s an all-lucha affair in the first round for Horus who takes on Fenix in a rare treat for European fans.

Shigehiro Irie

Tournament Record:

• King of DDT: Semi Finals (2011, 2014, 2016 & 2017)

Shigehiro Irie was the second to book his ticket to Oberhausen via the Road to 16 Carat Gold: London show when he got past Julian Pace and Kyle Fletcher at The Dome. Since he’s moved to Europe on a semi-full time basis, Irie has been a key member of several rosters in the UK & beyond and 16 Carat Gold presents his first real major tournament experience and as such he’ll be keen to get off on the right foot. Chris Brookes awaits in the first round – and they’ll be familiar with each-other by virtue of their match in Rev Pro just over a month ago. Irie is also the only person in the tournament who is also taking part in AMBITION – so fatigue may be a worry.

Timothy Thatcher

Tournament Record:

• wXw 16 Carat Gold – Semi Finals (2018)
• wXw World Tag Team League – Winner (2017)
• wXw AMBITION – Winner (2018)

Timothy Thatcher has every chance of walking out of Turbinenhalle 1 with that famous 16 Carat Gold trophy if his recent change in mindset pays off. With Ringkampf’s morale at an all-time low, Thatcher has decided to finally look out for number one and has no qualms about dismantling his fellow teammates if he’s faced with either ADJ or WALTER in a later round. Thatcher made it to the semi finals last year and was unlucky to not go further if not for the shenanigans of eventual winner Absolute Andy – but at least this time around he’s got the help of protegé Veit Müller if needs must.

WALTER

Tournament Record:

• wXw 16 Carat Gold – Winner (2010), Runner Up (2011 & 2017)
• wXw World Tag Team League – Winner (2017)

Our final name needs little introduction – WALTER must be an absolute favourite to take the whole tournament if he can get past David Starr in the first round and make it 21-0. EuroGraps.com’s (and several other publications too!) 2018 Wrestler of the Year outshone everyone else in Europe last year and his output in the early months of 2019 don’t seem to show any signs of stopping. One concern will be his failing relationship with Ringkampf stablemate Timothy Thatcher but at least this time round he’ll have Axel Dieter Jr in his corner if this all comes to blows.

 

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