The best of the best tournament is one of my favourite things that happens in wrestling every year (although we did not get one last year we get it early this year). Ever since I watched BOTB 2 on the Wrestling Channel I had to see more and I now own a great deal of them. So with this in mind I'm going to have a little look at the tournament and the other matches announced, will share my views and share who I think will win the matches and the tournament overall.
So first lets look at the 2 non-tournament matches announced.
Jun Kasai (c) vs. Danny Havoc-Dream Deathmatch for the UVU title
When CZW re-established a working relationship with Big Japan there were high hopes in terms of talent coming over and boy do we have it. Jun Kasai made huge impacts in CZW early on and now returns at Best of the Best. As a fan of deathmatch wrestling I cannot wait for this match, Danny Havoc is one of my personal favourites and Kasai is just insane. I don't know what type of match it will be but being in Philly they are restricted however this hasn't stopped classics from happening before. This is really a toss up as either man could win, it would be wise for Danny to win the title though as Kasai won the title in Japan by beating Yuko Miyamoto who won it 4 months before the title hasn't been back in CZW full time since late 2009 and it needs to be back. However Kasai retaining would mean he'd be coming back a lot more. Either way we win but since I have to pick one I'm going with Danny.
Winner: New UVU champion Danny Havoc
The Briscoe Brothers (c) & Devon Moore vs. Robert Anthony (c) & Philly's Most Wanted (Sabian & Joker)-6 man tag for CZW Tag & World title
For me this one is already decided, Anthony only won the title in February and won't lose it here so expect him and Philly's Most Wanted to win. Robert Anthony has a lot more he can do as a heel champion and while the Briscoes have been at every CZW show since returning we can only assume that there'll come a time where they'll do a ROH show instead. If you combine that with the fact there is no great depths in the tag division at the moment there's not a lot left for the Briscoes to do. But we can expect this to be a classic match up.
Winners: Still CZW Champ Robert Anthony and New CZW Tag champions Philly's Most Wanted
Now for the 4 opening rounds
Akuma vs. Jonathon Gresham vs. Zack Sabre Jr.-3 Way Elimination
Akuma is in the midst of a push where he hasn't lost yet in CZW so he could very well win this match, however he hasn't really gotten over as much as he should have. However you have two sleepers to deal with as well. While I like Gresham I feel like he hasn't connected with the crowd as well as he should have. And Zack Sabre is making his American debut, a big star in the UK and Germany he's one of the best in Europe. It's the old problem of putting over the international guy in the first round so you get your moneys worth. It wouldn't be a bad move, he could face Adam Cole in the next round in a rematch from CZW's Germany shows which was a fantastic match. So my finally view is that Sabre will win.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr.
Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reily vs. Johnny Gargano-3 Way Elimination
Probably the highest profile match in the opening round. Cole is coming in as CZW Jr. Heavyweight champion and as one of the best heels in CZW, combine that with the fact it's been a real breakout year for him and he could easily win the whole thing. Ironically his ROH tag partner Kyle O'Reily is in this match, the two actually had the best opening match in Chikara's Young Lions Cup last year and could repeat it here if Gargano is the first to go. Speaking of which, Gargano is growing more and more in wrestling becoming a major part of Chikara, Dragon Gate USA and Evolve. A real mix of styles here with Gargano being unique and flashing, O'Reily being a hard hitter and Cole mixing strikes and speed. But since this is CZW's tournament you have to go with Cole here, since he's the champion and one of CZW's own.
Winner: Adam Cole.
Sami Callihan vs. A.R. Fox vs. Jake Crist-3 Way Elimination
Probably the easiest to pick a winner here. Sami Callihan has become a huge star in CZW and is super over. A.R. Fox did have a great year going from unknown to one of the companies biggest up and comers. And Jake Crist is apart of one of the best tag teams on the Indies with his brother as Irish Airborne. For the simple reason that he's usually a tag wrestler and is debuting in CZW Crist is not gonna win here, while he's great in the ring this is likely to be a one off appearance. And we can rule out Fox as well, while he may have become a fan favourite he cannot compete with Callihan. Sami has won the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup and wXw's 16 Carat Gold tournament over the last few months and he's one of the favourites to win the whole thing.
Winner: Sami Callihan
Brandon Gatson vs. Chuck Taylor vs. Daisuke Sekimoto-3 Way Elimination
This is really a pick 'em match in my eyes. Gatson is making his CZW debut and I don't know how he'll go over with the Philly crowd (who can be dicks, let's be honest). Chuck is returning to CZW and has gone to the finals of BOTB before, he was even Jr. Heavyweight champion before. While Daisuke Sekimoto has wrestled in the US several times and in front of the Philly crowd. I expect to see some insane shows of strength from Sekimoto during this match and a little comedy from sexy Chucky T. When it comes to a winner anyone could win. I'll rule out Gatson as CZW may not want to put high hopes for someone who hasn't wrestled in that area before. While I like Chuck and the fact he has history with the company could help him move forward I'm afraid he'll fall victim to the get your money's worth theory I pointed out early. So I'm going with Daisuke
Winner: Daisuke Sekimoto
I don't know how the rest of the tournament will play out but in my view there can only be one winner and that's Sami Callihan. The guy has exploded over the last few months and is just a few wins away from becoming CZW World champion, I think winning the Best of the Best would give him that little extra push he needs. At the least he will be in the finals but I'm going with Sami as Best of the Best X winner.
I plan on doing a few more of these when the time is right. The next planned 'Special look' will be when Chikara announced all 8 opening rounds for this years King of Trios tournament. Until then it's business as usual with this blog. As always cheers for reading.
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