King of Europe Cup
The King of Europe Cup (KOE cup) was a European professional wrestling tournament in the style of the Battle of Los Angeles, King of Indies, Super 8, and Ted Petty Invitational tournaments of the United States.[1] The tournament was hosted at the Liverpool Olympia in Liverpool, England on April 28 and April 29, 2007 and was the brainchild of two UK wrestling veterans Alex Shane and Doug Williams. In what was considered a historic event in British wrestling history, the tournament to crowned the KOE cup holder and involved 16 promotions and wrestlers from across the world.
- This tournament should not be confused with the "King of Europe Tournament", held in 2006 by the Austrian wrestling promotion Rings of Europe.
| King of Europe | |
|---|---|
 Tournament winner Nigel McGuinness | |
| Venue | Liverpool Olympia |
| Location | Liverpool, England |
| Start date | April 28, 2007 |
| End date | April 29, 2007 |
| Champion | |
| Nigel McGuinness | |
Interactive aspects
The following ideas were advertised on the web-site prior to the tournament, but were not implemented.
- Prize fighting
For the first time in modern British wrestling, fans were given the opportunity to make voluntary donations for match of the night. This money was then added to a £1000 match of the night cash prize which was donated by event organizers, giving £500 a night for the best match on each day. Fans were given score sheets at the start of the show and were asked to put their top three matches from that night in order. The votes were collected and the three matches with the most votes were decided. The fan donated money was then added to the $1000 prize fund giving grand cash reward.
The participants who fans selected to have the best 3 matches each night then received the prize money at the end of each night with 55% for 1st prize, 35% for second, and 10% for third prize, improving the earnings of the wrestlers who give fans the best matches.[2]
- Match suggestions
At the end of night one, fans were asked upon leaving to select two matches using the eliminated 8 wrestlers from round one. Once again these suggestions were collected and the matches with the most audience votes were made for the following evening.[2]
Qualification
| King of Europe Cup | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Inter-promotional |
| Date | April 28, 2007 April 29, 2007 |
| City | Liverpool, England |
| Venue | Liverpool Olympia |
| Attendance | up to 1700[1] |
Some promotions handpicked wrestlers to participate in the King of Europe Cup, while others held qualifying matches to determine their representatives in the tournament.
Chikara
Chikara held a qualifying match to determine its representative for the King of Europe Cup and Westside Xtreme Wrestling's 16 Carat Gold Tournament.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claudio Castagnoli defeated Mike Quackenbush | King of Europe Cup and 16 Carat Gold Tournament qualifying match | 17:01 |
International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom
Though involved with the pre-show, International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom was not originally scheduled to enter a wrestler into the tournament.[1] However, this was changed in February 2007 when it was revealed that IPW:UK would in fact be entering Pac.
International Wrestling Syndicate
International Wrestling Syndicate held a qualifying match to determine its representative for the King of Europe Cup and 16 Carat Gold Tournament.[3]
| No. | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Generico defeated Jagged and Kid Kamikaze | Three Way Dance to qualify for the King of Europe Cup and 16 Carat Gold Tournament |
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla held a qualifying match to determine its representative for the King of Europe Cup and 16 Carat Gold Tournament.[4][5]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davey Richards defeated Rocky Romero | King of Europe Cup and 16 Carat Gold Tournament qualifying match | 16:39 |
Real Quality Wrestling
Real Quality Wrestling's representative for the King of Europe Cup was determined through a one-night tournament for the vacant RQW Heavyweight Championship.[6]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pac defeated Ashley Reed | Singles match in the quarter-final round of the tournament for the vacant RQW Heavyweight Championship | — |
| 2 | Drew Galloway defeated El Ligero | Singles match in the quarter-final round of the tournament for the vacant RQW Heavyweight Championship | — |
| 3 | Martin Stone defeated Iceman | Singles match in the quarter-final round of the tournament for the vacant RQW Heavyweight Championship | — |
| 4 | Aviv Maayan defeated Jody Fleisch | Singles match in the quarter-final round of the tournament for the vacant RQW Heavyweight Championship | 17:34 |
| 5 | Martin Stone defeated Aviv Maayan | Singles match in the semi-final round of the tournament for the vacant RQW Heavyweight Championship | — |
| 6 | Pac defeated Drew Galloway via count-out | Singles match in the semi-final round of the tournament for the vacant RQW Heavyweight Championship | — |
| 7 | Martin Stone defeated Pac | Singles match in the tournament final for the vacant RQW Heavyweight Championship | 10:38 |
Westside Xtreme Wrestling
Are$ qualified for the wXw spot after winning wXw's point system which saw any wrestler scoring a direct pinfall over another wrestler during one of wXw's shows was awarded one point; and whoever scored three points first would represent wXw in both this tournament and their own 16 Carat Gold Tournament. As the promotion is based on the pure effect of the sport, points are not given for a disqualification, countout, or draw or even if your tag team partner scores the fall. Wrestlers are unable to lose the points.
Participants
Note: Full Impact Pro was entered in the tournament with Roderick Strong as their representative, but they were replaced by World Association of Wrestling.
Reception
King of Europe Cup received mixed reviews upon the DVD release of the event.
Arnold Furious of 411Mania praised the event with "an easy thumbs up", rating it 9.5. According to him, the tournament had "a number of excellent bouts". He felt that "The first night of the tournament seemed a little OTT with an assortment of finishers getting killed. It seemed in a few matches like it’d only end when someone was dead or in the case of Jody Fleisch, in hospital. That said night one contained some thrilling encounters and at the end a great and unexpected effort from Rhino of all people. The second night boasted some improved technical wrestling including a very strong final between Doug Williams and Nigel McGuinness. It’s a pity the semis were skipped over so quickly but the lack of filler meant the tournament needed a strong final and that was the only way to preserve it."[7]
The Wrestling Revolution staff felt that the tournament featured "some great, British-style wrestling, but mostly from just Nigel (McGuinness), Doug (Williams), (Chris) Hero, Claudio (Castagnoli), and Ares" and "The lack of DQ’s was a big surprise". They praised the tournament final between McGuinness and Williams as "an awesome match", but "nothing on this show was truly special", as "many of the matches feel the like the same match over and over, especially on night one" and had "just a whole bunch of enjoyable wrestling matches".[8]
Results
"Taste of IPW:UK" pre-show
Several matches from International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom took place on the afternoon card before the tournament matches in the evening of both dates. The two-hour pre-shows were billed as containing no interval, but due to travel problems for Rhino, the day one pre-show actually had two intervals. These pre-shows gave one of the UK’s fastest growing independent companies a chance to be seen in front of their largest audience ever.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Untouchables (Dave Moralez and Jack Storm) defeated Sweet Justice (Blok Busta and C-Juice) | Tag team match | ||
| 2 | Dragon Phoenix defeated Claudio Castagnoli | Singles match | ||
| 3 | Andy Boy Simmonz (c) defeated Spud | Singles match for the IPW:UK World Championship | ||
| 4 | Pac defeated El Generico (2:1)1 | Two out of three falls match | ||
| 5 | Martin Stone defeated Rhino via disqualification | Singles match | ||
| ||||
| Fall: | Scoring Wrestler | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pac | Pac pinned Generico with a cradle |
| 2 | El Generico | Generico pinned Pac after a Brainbustahhh!! |
| 3 | Pac | Pac pinned Generico after a modified Dragonrana. |
| Winner: | Pac | |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Untouchables (Dave Moralez and Jack Storm) defeated The Entourage (Mark Sloan and Ollie Burns) | Tag team match | ||
| 2 | Dragon Aisu defeated CJ Juice | Singles match | ||
| 3 | Martin Stone defeated The Zebra Kid | Singles match | ||
| 4 | Andy Boy Simmonz (c) defeated Blok Busta | Singles match for the IPW:UK World Championship | ||
| 5 | Swiss Money Holding (Ares and Claudio Castagnoli) (c) defeated The Dragon Hearts (Dragon Phoenix and Spud) | Tag team match for the IPW:UK Tag Team Championship | ||
| ||||
King of Europe
The results of the main King of Europe card for both days are as follows:
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Hero defeated Claudio Castagnoli | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup first round | 14:18 |
| 2 | Go Shiozaki defeated Martin Stone | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup first round | 13:30 |
| 3 | Pac defeated Trent Acid | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup first round | 17:24 |
| 4 | Matt Sydal defeated El Generico | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup first round | 12:25 |
| 5 | Doug Williams defeated Ares | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup first round | 14:08 |
| 6 | Davey Richards defeated Zebra Kid | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup first round | 12:05 |
| 7 | Ryo Saito defeated Jody Fleisch | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup first round | 15:04 |
| 8 | Nigel McGuinness defeated Rhino | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup first round | 14:47 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doug Williams defeated Chris Hero | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup quarter-final round | 16:34 |
| 2 | Nigel McGuinness defeated Pac | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup quarter-final round | 10:50 |
| 3 | Davey Richards defeated Go Shiozaki | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup quarter-final round | 15:51 |
| 4 | Matt Sydal defeated Ryo Saito | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup quarter-final round | 10:03 |
| 5 | Nigel McGuinness defeated Davey Richards | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup semi-final round | 6:51 |
| 6 | Doug Williams defeated Matt Sydal | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup semi-final round | 9:19 |
| 7 | Atsushi Aoki, El Generico and Martin Stone defeated Trent Acid and Swiss Money Holding (Ares and Claudio Castagnoli)2 | Six-man elimination tag team match | 21:42 |
| 8 | Nigel McGuinness defeated Doug Williams | Singles match in the King of Europe Cup final | 18:49 |
| Eliminated: | Wrestler: | Eliminated by: | Method: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trent Acid | Atsushi Aoki | Submission |
| 2 | Atsushi Aoki | Ares | Pinfall |
| 3 | El Generico | Claudio Castagnoli | Pinfall |
| 4 | Ares | Martin Stone | Pinfall |
| 5 | Claudio Castagnoli | Martin Stone | Pinfall |
| Winner: | Martin Stone | ||
Tournament brackets
16 wrestlers, chosen or qualified from sixteen separate promotions around the world, faced off in a single-elimination two-night tournament, to ultimately crown the King of Europe cupholder.
| Round of 16 Night 1 | Quarterfinals Night 2 | Semifinals Night 2 | Final Night 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Chris Hero (CZW) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Claudio Castagnoli (Chikara) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chris Hero | |||||||||||||||||||
| Doug Williams | |||||||||||||||||||
| Doug Williams (Premier Promotions) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Are$ (wXw) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Doug Williams | |||||||||||||||||||
| Matt Sydal | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ryo Saito (Dragon Gate) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Jody Fleisch (1PW) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ryo Saito | |||||||||||||||||||
| Matt Sydal | |||||||||||||||||||
| Matt Sydal (IWA:MS) | |||||||||||||||||||
| El Generico (IWS) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Doug Williams | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nigel McGuiness | |||||||||||||||||||
| Go Shiozaki (NOAH) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Martin Stone (RQW) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Go Shiozaki | |||||||||||||||||||
| Davey Richards | |||||||||||||||||||
| Davey Richards (PWG) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Zebra Kid (WAW) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Davey Richards | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nigel McGuiness | |||||||||||||||||||
| Pac (IPW:UK) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Trent Acid (PWU) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Pac | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nigel McGuiness | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nigel McGuiness (ROH) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rhino (TNA) | |||||||||||||||||||
References
- "TNA, IPW:UK and RQW now added to KOE Cup" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Posted by Sarah Barraclough, Staff Writer at 1 Stop Wrestling. 24 November 2006.
- "King Of Europe (KOE) Tournament" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Posted by Sarah Barraclough, Staff Writer at 1 Stop Wrestling. 14 October 2006.
- "The IWS Joins the King of Europe Cup" Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Posted by Llakor on the SyndicateWrestling.com messageboard. 10 January 2007
- Silverback (26 November 2006). "PWG Presents "Passive Hostility" on December 2!". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Archived from the original on 29 December 2006. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- "PWG Passive Hostility". The Internet Wrestling Database. 2 December 2006. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- "RQW Not Just For Christmas 2006". YouTube. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
- Arnold Furious (8 November 2007). "The Furious Flashbacks – King of Europe Cup 2007". 411Mania. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
- "IPW:UK KING OF EUROPE CUP 2007". The Wrestling Revolution. 29 April 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2023.