Throwing out some picks for B2...
"Too Cool" Chris Hopper vs Howard King
I had never seen King and his politician gimmick in IWF, so both guys were new to me. It's interesting because Phantom Republican is a political-minded character, but here we have a wrestler who is actively in office. Like a few others, I thought his first RP was the better of the two, while Hopper was pretty consistent and got some digs in here and there. I'll give it to Hopper, but can see it going either way.
Larry Tact vs "Dead End" Derek Martin
Not going to predict my match, but I'm glad to have had the chance to go against Bob. He's a longtime player in this game of ours, and the couple times I've been able to face him, it never fails to be fun. All the best!
'Suite' Pete Whealdon vs gideon
I liked the concept of gideon's character, and backed by his sister there's a real great combination. Whealdon was not the funniest guy I've seen in this tournament, but hooked gideon into the mustache thing which helped him. I can see some people thinking some of his work, particularly in second promo, may have been reaching a little, but when you've been the Horowitz IWF of the early 2000s, this fits right in. I would have liked to see more in gideon's first RP -- an extension of the note or something else -- to put him over the top. I'll say this one goes to 'Suite' Pete, but again I could see the judges swinging this the other way.
'Triple X' Sean Stevens vs Jason Murray
I've seen BYW gimmicks before, but Jason Murray pulled it off better than most. Maybe it's the tournament setting, but I thought he framed the character well, and did a good job introducing the audience to the duo. Triple X's first promo felt a little flat to me; the cursing rampage is part of his character, I get that, but it felt like he wasn't able to unleash on Murray the way I'm accustomed to reading Stevens. That could just be the high quality standard Jay's set for the character, though. I did think the second Stevens' promo was better than Murray's second -- Murray was less creative and, I felt, rehashed, while Stevens brought more fire and the part with Ivy seemed more polished and superior to Murray's interplay with Bronte. Overall, I'll choose Triple X, but Murray's efforts made it closer than I expected.
Spooky Doom vs Carl Brigsby (j)
Spooky's adventure is just beginning...
Classy Mike C vs Johnny Niles
I'm thinking neither guy brought their best stuff this round, for whatever reason. I'll go with Classy Mike C because I thought he put in more effort, but definitely needs to step it up next round.
Leyondo de Ocho vs Alex LeBlanc
I liked both of these characters. Ocho has a fun thing going with the video game tie-ins, while LeBlanc did well making his analogy, and bringing a more serious approach. I'm going to say Ocho gets away with the win.
Space God (j) vs Orphan
Orphan proceeds to show everyone that Space God is no Galactus.
Castor Strife vs Jaguar
Castor brings something unique to the tournament. If someone was reading Castor for the first time here, they may love or hate the first RP, given the figurative and literal artistic references and 'high-mindedness' of the character. I thought it was solid work, and the second one provided a glimpse of Castor's knowledge of the other participants, and his view of the field. They did everything needed, while Jaguar did, well... nothing.
Sammy Brown vs Cyanide Harvey
Generic and not a lot of effort here, from either participant. If Harvey has only been on the scene for a few weeks, we need more from him if he's to be viewed as a threat. What is it that brought him to ULTRATITLE, if he's had such minimal experience? Why does he think it's a good idea to enter? How does he think he can advance in a tournament filled with veterans? These are all questions that were not answered. I think Sammy Brown will have a chance to build, because I pick him to advance, but I doubt he will have the luxury of doing the minimum to squeak by against his Round 2 opponent.
Eddie Whiskey vs Chris Walker
Not much Eddie Whiskey had to do here, but note a second mustache in Bracket 2.
KC Colossus (j) vs Khristain Keller
Kristain Keller fells the Colossus.
The Seargent vs Gemini
Sarge brought some quality work here, giving us a nice background and showing why he's in this thing, after his long absence. I liked how he held close his history and made it mean something, instead of just referencing it in passing. I was curious to see how Gemini's RPs would be, because there's that line between ridiculous crazy and crazy enough that I referenced in my B1 predictions. Having heard rumors he killed a cameraman and stitched his mouth in an 'I Quit' match, I thought this may be headed for the too crazy category. In reading the RPs, I didn't think it was. I thought he brought a little humor, a stunt or two like with the taser, and only a little of the crazy showing. I may even have wanted a little more, as I'm not sure the humor fit as much to me. Both were good, but I think Sarge was also better and emerges with the victory.
Derrick Allen vs Christopher Ryan Eagles
When CRE showed up at an Allen 'autograph signing,' I was just waiting for shenanigans to commence. He didn't disappoint with shenanigans, but he did cross the line. Derrick Allen wins.
Dr. Silver vs Erik Mateo
I have to wonder if actually piecing together what Erik Mateo was saying caused me to lose IQ points. That said, it is pretty unique. It's also ridiculous and, really, after a certain point you have to wonder how Tom manages to do this for entire promos. In this case, if each RP was a little shorter, it may have been more effective. My mind can only take so much. Doc Silver was spot on with the ruthless, conniving old bastard we all know he can be, and I'm looking forward to the war of words, and ensuing bloodbath, with Anarky in Round 2.
Anarky vs Terminator (j)
Uh, yeah... Anarky.