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GWF (German Wrestling Federation) carried out the second edition of the Light Heavyweight World Cup on March 2, 2019, at the Festsall Kreuzberg in Berlin. This was the second major event of the year of GWF after Global Warning 2019 that took place on January 26th.
The show consisted of seven matches where one of the five titles of the company was in dispute. Tarkan Aslan successfully retained the GWF World Championship by defeating Orlando Silver. This was the third successful title defense for The 'Lion King' who became champion after defeating Chris Colen in November 2018.
The Light Heavyweight World Cup 2019 consisted of eight wrestlers who had to face each other in singles first round matches. The four winners would go to the final that would consist of a Fatal Four Way Elimination Match. The champion was El Phantasmo (Canada) who defeated A-Kid (Spain), Cem Kaplan (Turkey) and Angelico (South Africa) in the finals.
In a show of this magnitude, almost all the matches were up to the mark, but only a few will be remembered over the coming months. Here are the three best matches of GWF Light Heavyweight World Cup 2019:
#3. John ‘Bad Bones’ Klinger vs. Cash Money Erkan
The fifth match of the night was a duel between a former GWF Middleweight Champion (Klinger) and a former GWF Berlin Champion (Erkan). 'Bad Bones' emerged victorious from this match and is now a potential option to be a contender for the GWF World Championship.
Erkan tried to intimidate his opponent from the start with his height (Erkan's height is 200 cm, while Klinger's height is 180 cm). Klinger didn’t fear him at any time and began attacking him.
After a lukewarm dominance of Erkan, Klinger reacted by throwing his rival on a pile of chairs in the zone where the fans were located. Back in the ring, Erkan took advantage of a distraction from the referee to attack, but Klinger responded with a Spear.
Finally, Klinger got the victory after applying a Codebreaker followed by an Elbow Drop from the top to Erkan, who then received the pin.
#2. Tarkan Aslan vs. Orlando Silver
The GWF World Championship was on the line in the sixth match of the night. Tarkan Aslan defeated Orlando Silver and successfully retained his title. It wasn’t an easy duel for The Lion King as he faced a former GWF World Champion like Silver, who although is Mexican, has developed almost his entire career wrestling for GWF and around Germany.
The start was intense as both competitors weren't able to get a clear advantage. The action moved to the area where the fans were seated and this was when Silver began to dominate. Back in the ring, Aslan had difficulty standing and this was taken advantage of by Silver, who attacked first with a submission maneuver followed by a Samoan Drop.
Aslan recovered with a surprising Powerbomb and was close to getting the victory. Silver didn’t stay behind and counterattacked with a DDT Tornado, while Aslan responded with a Running Knee. Orlando then tried to climb to the top of the corner but was surprised with a cutter by Aslan. Pinfall and victory for Aslan, who remained as the monarch of GWF.
#1. El Phantasmo vs. A-Kid vs. Cem Kaplan vs. Angelico
The final of the GWF Light Heavyweight World Cup 2019 consisted of a Fatal Four Way Elimination Match between the four winners of the first round. El Phantasmo (Canada) qualified for the final after eliminating Jonny Storm (England) in the first round. A-Kid (Spain) qualified for the final after eliminating Justin Wylde (Hungary). Cem Kaplan qualified for the final after eliminating Lucky Kid (Germany). And finally, Angelico qualified for the final after eliminating Matt Cross (USA).
The start of the match was really exciting with high intensity and numerous Superkicks. The first great moment of the match was created by El Phantasmo. The Canadian rope walked around the ring and executed a Springboard Hurricanrana. A-Kid answered with a perfectly timed Moonsault from the top of the corner to the other three opponents who were by ringside.
After a lot of action at ringside, the four wrestlers got back inside the ring. The Phantasmo was close to being eliminated after a Spanish Fly by A-Kid. Then, A-Kid applied a Crossface on Kaplan, but El Phantasmo surprised and quickly eliminated A-Kid after performing a Pile Driver.
Kaplan came close to eliminating El Phantasmo but was later attacked by Angelico. After an oversight by Kaplan, El Phantasmo surprised the Turkish wrestler with a superPinfalln fall and elimination as only Phantasmo and Angelico remained.
The final stretch of the match was full of chops, Superkicks and other maneuvers that wore them down to equal measure. Angelico began to dominate after delivering a Turnbuckle Powerbomb. It was an almost certain win but Phantasmo somehow escaped by putting his foot over the bottom rope.
Angelico tried to take flight from the top of the corner, but Phantasmo intercepted him with a Superkick followed by a Frog Splash. Phantasmo got the three count and was crowned champion of the second edition of the GWF Light Heavyweight World Cup defeating former champion Angelico.
