Lio Rush won't be competing in wXw's 16 Carat Gold after all.
According to the promotion, WWE pulled Rush out of the tournament due to his schedule with the company and so a replacement has been named: Jeff Cobb. Cobb will be competing in Rush's place, meaning the 16-man field is complete once again.
Unfortunately WWE has pulled @itsLioRush from #wXw16Carat due to his WWE schedule. We are as dissapointed about this as you are. We are excited to confirm @RealJeffCobb as Lio’s replacement for #wXw16Carat.
— wXw Germany (@wXwGermany) March 3, 2020
Tickets, info, schedule, FAQ: https://t.co/dyUeDvuS9x pic.twitter.com/vbQ4k9rK4E
Below are the first round matches for the 16 Carat Gold tournament.
* Marius Al-Ani vs. Cara Noir
* Jeff Cobb vs. Alexander James
* Bandido vs. Julian Pace
* Daniel Makabe vs. Eddie Kingston
* The Rotation vs. Puma King
* Chris Ridgeway vs. Mike Bailey
* Black Taurus vs. Shigehiro Irie
* Lucky Kid vs. Jurn Simmons
The tournament has been running every year since 2006 when Baron von Hagen won the tournament. Since then, notable names such as Kassius Ohno, Walter, Shingo Takagi, Sami Zayn, Zack Sabre Jr., Ilja Dragunov and Aleister Black have gone on to win the entire tournament.
Previously announced for the three-day event is Timothy Thatcher teaming up with Yuki Ishikawa to face NXT UK Champion Walter and Daisuke Ikeda. It was also recently announced that Melanie Gray suffered an injury and will not face Amale for the wXw Women's Championship during the three-day event.
