King Of Extreme 2011: Who’s The Odds On Favorite?

We here at WWCWeb.com had the opportunity to sit down with former King Of Extreme winner Ric Byrne to discuss his opinion on each of the contestants in this year’s annual King of Extreme event. At first we were looking for just a few quotes, but Ric went a step further, actually breaking down the odds on each of the contestants for us. Here’s his take on the contestants.

The commentary contained herein is the express opinion of Ric Byrne, and not that of the World Wrestling Coalition or www.wwcweb.com

Justin Gage
“I watched Justin keenly in his match against Matt Taylor at Heart Attack. He was impressive, but his offensive style is very high risk. This normally wouldn’t be a limiting factor but there’s not always a window of recovery time in KoE. Given the ever-changing rules and conditions of the match, all it takes is one minor mistake to find yourself eliminated. That said, he’s young and new to WWC, so the desire to make a name for himself might propel him into the Final Four.”
ODDS OF WINNING: 8 to 1

Princeton Travis
“Travis repeatedly surprises me, but in this sort of match, he’s going to have the Solar Powers breathing down his neck looking for some payback. The later he enters in Stage 1 the better, as it increases the chances of him being in the ring at the same time as his partner and mounting a joint offense. That said, I can’t count out the Patrick Black factor here, either. If Princeton makes it past the Stage 1 Battle Royal, he has a strong chance of making the Final Four.”
ODDS OF WINNING: 7 to 1

Jake Ashworth
“Jake’s won the KoE before, so he knows what it takes to get it done in this type of situation. That said, The Brotherhood handed the Solar Powers their first tag team loss ever at Heart Attack. Jake’s been known to lose his temper in the past, and that kind of distraction can cost you. I suspect he’ll go out early, but he’ll take one of the Brotherhood out with him.”
ODDS OF WINNING: 6 to 1

Terry Reines
“Terry is solid, a strong, strong performer on the mat. However much that will help him in the Stage 2 Submissions part of the match, this means he’ll be a little out of his element when things get chaotic in the Stage 3 Falls Count Anywhere portion and in the Final Four Ladder Match Stage. If he can keep his head about him after the Submissions round, he stands a solid chance. Could be a good dark horse candidate to win it all if he can let past grudges against Nikita Allanov die.”
ODDS OF WINNING: 5 to 1

Marvel Trice
“Marvel is the Brotherhood member who seems a bit more sadistic – this type of match puts him right in his element. Given that his partner Princeton Travis is also in the match, he stands a very strong chance of making it to the Final Four. Once there, his height gives him a decent advantage so long as he can avoid being grounded in one of the earlier stages. The other thing to figure is that he’s so used to breaking the rules to gain an advantage that I wonder how well he’ll do when the playing field is level.”
ODDS OF WINNING: 4 to 1

Eclipso
“The Masked Man From The Moon has several distinct advantages this time around – he’s competed in this match before, tends to keep a cool head and knows when to explode with the high risk offense and when to pull back and take control of the pace of the match. He’s made it to the Final Four before, and if he can stick tight with his Solar Power teammate Jake, they could both increase each other’s chances of making it to the last stage. Here’s hoping that the Powers’ manager, Will Profit, can counter The Brotherhood’s Patrick Black and make that happen.”
ODDS OF WINNING: 3 to 1

Nikita Allanov
“I almost hate to say this, but here’s a guy with the most potential to not only win the match, but to take someone out along the way. At Resolution, he put JT Stahr out, followed up by injuring DJ Tom Sharp so severely that Tom is looking to be out for at least a year. With that type of momentum on his side, Nikita could easily end up in the Final Four not just as a favorite, but as the only person capable of standing up and climbing the ladder to claim the crown. He has an added bonus of having wrestled against and alongside 3 of the other contestants in the past year, so he has added insight into the opposition that could allow him to play his opponent’s weaknesses into a win in his first KoE appearance.”
ODDS OF WINNING: 2 to 1

Matt Taylor
“It galls me to say this – but here is the hands down favorite to win this thing. Matt has been obsessed with only two things in the past year – Aaron Williams and the WWC Heavyweight Championship. Having forced Williams out of the company in a “Loser Leaves WWC” match at Resolution, Matt’s deranged campaign against Devlin Anderson in order to regain the WWC Heavyweight Title has become his sole focus. His willingness to go to any length or unpredictable extreme coupled with his nearly having won this match in the past, then adding that the King gets a guaranteed title shot makes Taylor the man to beat in this match. If I were in it, I’d focus on getting Matt out early, no matter who I had to ally with in order to do it. Otherwise, I’d be watching him wear the crown later that evening.”
ODDS OF WINNING: 1 to 1

There you have it folks, insight from not just WWC’s current Talent Relations Manager, but a former WWC Heavyweight, Tag, and King Of Extreme champion himself. Keep Ric’s commentary in mind when you head out to see WWC’s 8th Annual King of Extreme event, this Saturday, March 5th in Aberdeen Ohio!