WhatCulture Pro Wrestling has announced the first four competitors for their Japanese preliminary tournament for the ongoing Pro Wrestling World Cup 2017. Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA, Bushi and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi have been announced, with four more names to be revealed soon, for the show on July 9th in Manchester, England. The Japanese stretch of the tournament is being run in conjunction with New Japan Pro Wrestling and their UK partner RevPro.
For those that don’t know, the Pro Wrestling World Cup is an ongoing tournament put on by WhatCulture Pro Wrestling that will feature 64 wrestlers competing in 8 preliminary events around the world.
The England qualifier took place on March 21st to kick off the series with Will Ospreay and Zack Sabre Jr. advancing. The Scotland qualifier took place on March 23rd with Drew Galloway and Joe Coffey advancing. Obviously Galloway, who is currently signed with WWE NXT as Drew McIntyre, will be a problem for WhatCulture booking in the tournament. There are also events scheduled for Mexico (4/30), Canada (5/14), Germany (7/2), Japan (7/9), United States (TBA), and Rest Of The World (TBA).
You can actually watch all of the tournament matches from the England show on the WCPW YouTube channel for free, as well as several bonus matches including Drew Galloway vs. Ricochet and an ROH Championship match between Christopher Daniels and El Ligero.
