(So irl out of character note here. At a high school I worked at the wrestling team had this tournament they had gone to that had this weird tournament that I could best describe as reverse world cup format where they do a bracket first and then a round robin group stage second. It was such a weird thing that it has stuck with me and I have wanted to use it for something fire pro related and I thought it would work as a way to give another title to UCW so I created the grand tournament that will come next for UCW.)UCW MAGAZINE ISSUE 6
We’ve made it through the 12th UCW card which means its time for the new rankings. These are the most impactful rankings yet as UCW has introduced a new annual tournament for a new championship known as The Grand Tournament. The GT will use the rankings to seed 16 wrestlers in what sounds like a weird different style of tournament. The winner will get the UCW Grand Tournament Championship belt and be #1 contender for the CWC Openweight Combat Wrestling Championship. Tournament results can also have effects on the rankings but not on records. The week long tournament consists of two parts and to me looks like a reverse world cup format. The first part is a bracket stage and the second part is a group stage. So in the bracket stage each wrestler will wrestle two matches with matchups following the bracket which is set up in the typical 1-16 seeding but goes in two direction one for those that win the first match going forward like normal on the bracket and those that lose the first match go backward. The wrestlers who win both there bracket matches will be in group 1 of the group stage and will have a round robin tournament for 1st-4th place. Those that win the first but lose the second will be in group 2 and compete for 5th-8th. Those that lose the first match but win the second will be in group 3 and compete for 9th-12th. Finally those that lose both tournament matches will be in group 4 and compete for 13th-16th. I have attached my own drawing of the bracket to better illustrate.
Champion: Ricky Valdez (UCSS)W: 1 Mr Muay Thai 2x, 10 King Felix, 11 Eliza Faulkner, 16 Lamont Aldren
L: 4 Carter
Ricky Valdez won the CWC Openweight Combat Wrestling championship after his second win over Mr Muay Thai. Valdez has an impressive resume in UCW and has a real chance to be the first champion to defend the title. Next up is the 1st Grand Tournament where Openweight title will not be on the line but Valdez will be the favorite to be the 1st Grand Tournament Champion.
#1. Mr Muay Thai
W: 4 Carter, 9 Machado, 15 Van Horne, UR Bergeron
L: C Valdez 2x
The former Champ has run into a wall, Mr Muay Thai has twice lost to Valdez now and makes him underdog in the Grand Tournament. All his previous victories also slid down the rankings this week, Mr Muay Thai’s resume is weakening but he is a former champion and that can’t be taken lightly. He still has a chance to earn a chance at a rematch for the title through the regular UCW rules but also could earn one through the GT first but that may not matter if he doesn’t find a new approach against Valdez first.
#2. Timor Dragunov (AAW)W: 4 Carter, 6 Turney, 20 Barret, UR RNA, UR Rodrigues
L: 3 Manatì
AAW Monster Timor Dragunov is the hottest fighter in UCW right now with back to back wins against fighters currently in the top 6. With the strong recent resume, Dragunov is on the precipice of title fight and is a top pick to win the Grand Tournament.
#3 El Manatì
W: 2 Dragunov, 7 Sterling, 12 Tomasi, UR Monroe
L: 4 Carter
Having not fought since the last rankings El Manatì’s ranking remained static. El Manatì’s strong UCW resume has kept him from falling. Starting in the toughest region of the bracket round, Manatì could prove he still belongs at the top of the bracket.
#4 Roy Carter (Warrior Pro)W: C Valdez, 3 Manatì, 5 Miller, 9 Machado
L: 1 Muay Thai, 2 Dragunov
The debut CWC Openweight champ has fallen on hard times since becoming champ. Carter is on a two fight losing streak but being against the top two ranked UCW fighters is not something Carter should let keep him down as he has the strongest set of in UCW as all four are against top 10 fighters including the current champ.. Carter will have to wait until after the Grand Tournament to turn the streak around as only one member from tag teams will enter the tournament and his stable mate Worthy will be the one representing in the GT. No word yet on who made that call but Carter could have been a favorite to win.
#5 Ernest Miller (SWA)W: 9 Machado, 13 Sokolov, 15 Van Horne, 18 Bosch
L: 4 Carter
Having not lost a match since his debut, Miller has won four consecutive UCW matches and has gotten himself in the top 5 of UCW. All four of his wins come over ranked opponents only two other UCW fighters can say that. If he can win out the bracket round, Miller could find himself within reach of a title shot.
#6 Adrienne TurneyW: 7 Sterling, 14 Camacho, 16 Aldren
L: 2 Dragunov, 8 Worthy
D: 12 Tomasi
#7 Leona Sterling (Phoenix Rising)W: 10 Felix, 12 Tomasi, UR Rodrigues
L: 3 Manatì, 6 Turney
D: 19 Omar
#8 Byron Worthy (Warrior Pro)W: 7 Turney, 12 Tomasi, 20 Barrett
L: 14 Camacho, 16 Aldren
D: UR RNA
While his teammate is on a losing streak, Byron Worthy hasn’t lost his last three fights and won the last two. This winning streak may be why he got the nod over Carter. Worthy will have a chance to carry this hot streak to win a tittle of his own.
#9 Yan MachadoW: 15 Van Horne, UR RNA, UR Bergeron
L: 1 Mr Muay Thai, 4 Carter, 5 Miller
The Brazilian Youngster doesn’t have a bad loss as they come from top 5 opponents, but he doesn’t have a signature win to justify his top 10 position only having one win over a ranked opponent. Never having won two consecutive matches isn’t Machados biggest problem as injuries could derail his young career. His second injury is causing him to miss the Grand Tournament where we could all have finally seen who Machado is as a fighter.
#10 King Felix III (PCP)W: 19 Omar, UR Monroe
L: C Valdez, 7 Sterling
D: 18 Bosch
#11 Eliza FaulkerW: 13 Sokolov, UR Ogawa, UR Bergeron
L: C Valdez, 15 Van Horne, UR Monroe
After beating her mentor in an official UCW match, Eliza Faulkner has been on the rise winning three consecutive matches finally winning against a ranked opponent. The quality of her wins are similar to Machado but the quality of her losses are not and leaves questions on having such a large jump in the rankings (4 spots from 15) but having beat a higher ranked opponent and everyone else in front of her losing paved the way. The Grand Tournament will show if Faulkner has actually improved to be in the top half of UCW or had she just been lucky with match ups.
#12 Jamie Tomasi (UCSS)W: 13 Sokolov, 16 Aldren
L: 3 Manatì, 7 Sterling, 8 Worthy
D: 6 Turney
#13 Zilya SokolovW: UR Akatsuki, UR Rodrigues
L: 5 Miller, 11 Faulkner, 12 Tomasi
#14 Anaba Camacho (UCSS)W: 8 Worthy, 15 Van Horne
L: 6 Turney
D: 19 Omar
#15 Keith Van Horne (Wrestle Parade)W: 12 Faulkner, 19 Omar
L: 1 Muay Thai, 5 Miller, 9 Machado, 14 Camacho
#16 Lamont Aldren
W: 8 Worthy, UR Rodrigues
L: C Valdez, 6 Turney, 12 Tomasi, UR RNA
#17 Hu Chung Hee
W: 19 Omar, UR Bergeron
Hu Chung-hee, the Astral Ark turned UCW fighter, secured a victory over a ranked opponent in his second match allowing him to enter the rankings and with the draws and losses that happened in the matches around him he was able to make his way up to 17. Due to Machado’s Injury and to keep teammates from fighting each other, Chung-hee also finds himself in the 1st Grand Tournament. He is an X-factor in the GT as so little has been seen of him in UCW and could be a very exciting entry.
#18 Victor Bosch (SWA)W: UR Monroe
L: 5 Miller
D: 10 Felix, UR Akatsuki
#19 Anwar OmarW: UR Bergeron
L: 10 Felix, 15 Van Horne, 17 Chung-Hee
D: 7 Sterling, 14 Camacho,
#20 Iceman BarrettW: UR RNA
L: 2 Dragunov, 8 Worthy
D: UR Ogawa
Unranked:
Ruthless Nicole Alger (UCSS), Candance Monroe (Phoenix Rising), Kinji Kaii, David Moon, Patrick Sabre, Noi Sudham, Fuji Akatsuki (SWA), Carlos Ogawa, Sophia Rodigues (SWA), Mackenzie Bergeron (UCSS)
The Limbtakers find themselves just outside the rankings and could find their way back onto the rankings after the next UCWs. The next group of unranked fighters are new to UCW with only one to matches to their name. Depending on who they get matched up with next they could slip into the next rankings with a 2-0 start like Chung-hee or could wait one more rankings after having three to four UCW matches to their name. The last group of the unranked are 0-6 duo Rodigues and Bergeron have been in UCW since the Beginning and are still trying to find their first win.
