It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

wXw’s second largest tournament on the calendar is back once more but this time there’s many a twist! Say goodbye to the two block system and hello to a single elimination 12 team tournament á la 16 Carat Gold. With the field doubling in numbers we’re seeing a much more diverse crop of teams with the vast majority being first timers in wXw tournaments. Added to this, the tournament has seen an unprecedented amount of withdrawals for various reasons. So, with this in mind – take this guide as your chance to get more of a clue about each of the teams in this year’s weekender.

¿Schadenfreude? (Kyle Fletcher & Lucky Kid)

The team of Aussie Open were set to enter the series as the defending champions and much like Monster Consulting, RISE and Cerberus before them – they were seeking to pull off the monumental task of defending the championship all the way through the tournament. However, an injury to Mark Davis in Los Angeles earlier this month has seen arguably the best independent tag team in the world at the moment withdraw from World Tag Team Festival and be stripped of the wXw World Tag Team titles. Kyle Fletcher has able to draft in a super sub from within the Schadenfreude stable with the signing of 2019 16 Carat Gold winner Lucky Kid but the German’s place within the faction is… questionable at best? Both of these men have the skills to go all the way but staying on the same page will be their biggest challenge.

Arrows of Hungary (Icarus & Dover)

Entering the tournament following the withdrawal of Spain’s Team White Wolf, Arrows of Hungary have been around the big European promotions for years yet remain a well-kept secret. The Arrows missed out on a full-time wXw contract at Road To New York City to the Pretty Bastards but have been the best tag team in Berlin-based GWF for the last few years as well as having a good run in the UK with Revolution Pro in 2018. The fast-paced attack of Icarus combined with the brutish nature of Dover sees them enter World Tag Team Festival as a phenomenal force who should not be underestimated. They face Violence is Forever in what is one of the more interesting ties in the first round.

The Work Horsemen (J.D. Drake & Anthony Henry)

This big bruising pair are best known for their work in fellow WWE-partnered promotion EVOLVE Wrestling; where they briefly held the Tag Team gold in 2017. Drake and Henry made their wXw debut back in April with an unsuccessful challenge against Aussie Open at Amerika Ist Wunderbar and were certainly impressive despite falling short.

Purge Club (Ivan Kiev & Pete Bouncer)

The team that rose from the ashes of arguably the most phenomenal force that wXw had ever seen in the form of RISE has spent most of their time since 16 Carat Gold making Lucky Kid and Schadenfreude’s life a living hell. RISE was confirmed as being dead at September’s FAN show in Hamburg once Kiev and Bouncer revealed their Purge Club gimmick by attacking Aussie Open and Lucky Kid with a baseball bat. The Purge Club has been a thing in Hamburg’s MAXIMUM Wrestling for a number of years now so they enter as one of the more experienced teams in the tournament. I can’t wait to see their neon mask entrance in the Turbinenhalle.

Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch

WWE’s representatives in the tournament comes in the form of NXT & 205 Live stars Burch and Lorcan. Both men have a good record in wXw from their independent careers with Burch (as Martin Stone) standing out by virtue of his year-long reign with the World Tag Team titles alongside Doug Williams in 2008/2009 whilst Lorcan reached the World Triangle League final in 2014. The pair’s announcement was met with a …mixed reaction at Shortcut To The Top but I’d say most of the crowd has good amount of respect for their craft despite their political affiliations.

Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher & Veit Müller)

2017 World Tag Team League & 2019 Shortcut To The Top winner Timothy Thatcher shockingly added the World Tag Team Festival to his weekend schedule despite already heading for a Unified World Wrestling Championship bout with Bobby Gunns on the Saturday as well as an AMBITION Superfight against Oney Lorcan on Sunday. The split in Ringkampf has left Müller as somewhat of a middle man in the struggle between Thatcher and WALTER and I believe this will impact their chances as Tim’s attention is likely to be elsewhere. They face NXT’s Lorcan & Burch first out in what is definitely the most hyped of the first round matches.

JAY-AA (Jay Skillet & Absolute Andy)

Following an injury to Francis Kaspin, Skillet has called upon 2018 16 Carat Gold winner Absolute Andy as his partner. Both men tipped the apple-cart with their shock tournament wins last year – both winning by nefarious means. There’s a real veteran’s air about this team and I’m confident that they will go a long way into the tournament by simply bending the rules.

WRSTLING (David Starr & Eddie Kingston)

The team that promoted “wrestling without the E” entered the tournament in order to snatch the wXw World Tag Team Championship for themselves – however Eddie Kingston has had to withdraw on Wednesday morning due to a private matter – with a replacement to announced from within the wXw roster imminently. Although they would have liked to have faced Ilja Dragunov and WALTER in this tournament – they have promised the former champions a shot at the titles should they win. Starr has a great record in wXw tournaments to date but has not managed to win one yet – although the lack of WALTER is to his advantage. A tasty reunion with Jurn Simmons (with whom Starr reached the 2017 World Tag Team League final) and Alexander James awaits in the first round.

Anti-Fun Police (Chief Deputy Dunne & Los Federales Santos Jr.)

An infamous British team makes their first appearance in Germany since the Progress tour in September 2018 and are here to crack down on all the fun that has been reported on previous weekenders. Santos Jr. is reportedly WALTER’s favourite wrestler so he’ll be hoping for some support from the Oberhausen faithful. However cops don’t seem to be very popular with the wXw crowds if Nick Hein is anything to go by. The fun-stopping force have the unenviable task of facing The Workhorsemen in the first round.

Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku)

A late entry to this year’s field. Garrini and Ku join as replacements for the MEXABLOOD team once Bandido was ruled out with a knee injury. The team formerly operated as Sadkampf on the U.S. independent circuit – most notably with Black Label Pro and are making their wXw debut against the Arrows of Hungary on Friday.

Pretty Bastards (Prince Ahura & Maggot)

Another late entry – the Frankfurt-based team were accepted in the tournament when Team Vollgasteren gave up their spot when Julian Pace was attacked at Road to World Tag Team Festival in Neumünster. The Pretty Bastards are somewhat of a left field pick as far as winning the whole tournament but the vast majority of people though the same about Jay-FK in 2018 and look where that left us.

The Crown (Jurn Simmons & Alexander James)

For me, the favourites to win the tournament. The Crown has a great record in wXw since forming at World Tag Team League in 2018 with wins over some of the biggest teams in the company. The tag team championship has eluded the pair to this point but going all the way in this tournament would be a crowning befitting their year to date. Simmons has yet another meeting with eternal rival David Starr as The Crown take on WRSTLING in the opening round – which is sure to see sparks fly.

Some tickets still remain for this weekend’s tournament; see the World Tag Team Festival page on the wXw website for more information.

✏️ @MikeKilby

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