WhatCulture Pro Wrestling announced on Sunday that it will be holding a 64-man single elimination tournament that it is calling the 2017 Pro Wrestling World Cup.
WCPW broke the news at a press conference, held in advance of its True Destiny Internet pay-per-view held later that day.
Jim Ross and Matt Striker will be the commentators for the tournament, which will consist of eight qualifying "groups" sorted by geographical areas. Two wrestlers advance from eight groups to the eight-man final bracket, which will play out during a four-day series of events August. 23-26. WCPW will air the final two events, August 25-26, live from Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The entire tournament will be posted for free on the WCPW YouTube channel.
Announced participants for the tournament include some major names, such as Zack Sabre, Jr., Marty Scurll, Will Ospreay, Alberto El Patron, Rey Mysterio, Jr., Penta El 0M (formerly known as Pentagon, Jr.), and Caristico (formerly known as the first Mistico in CMLL and first Sin Cara in WWE).
Five qualifying groups were announced at the news conference, and are as follows:
ENGLAND -- Nottingham, March 21
Participants:
- Zack Sabre, Jr.
- Marty Scurll
- Will Ospreay
- Rampage Brown
- Zack Gibson
- Martin Kirby
- Jimmy Havoc
SCOTLAND -- Motherwell, March 23
Participants:
- Drew Galloway
- Joe Coffey
- Lewis Girvan
- Kenny Williams
- Joe Hendry
- Mark Coffey
- BT Gunn
- Liam Thomson
CANADA -- Hosted by SMASH Wrestling in Toronto (Date & Participants TBA)
MEXICO -- Coventry, England, April 30
Participants:
- Rey Mysterio Jr.
- Alberto El Patron (aka Alberto Del Rio)
- Caristico
- Penta El 0M (aka Pentagon Jr.)
- Rey Fenix
- El Hijo del Dos Caras
- Drago
- El Ligero
GERMANY -- Berlin, July 2
Participants
- Bad Bones
- Axel Dieter Jr.
- Juvenile X
- Crazy Sexy Mike
- Cash Money Erkan
- Lucky Kid
- Tarkan Aslan
- Pascal Spalter
Notable attendees at the press conference included Paige, the currently injured WWE female wrestler and the fiancee of Alberto El Patron.
