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Whamoo Casino Review & Free Bonus
Sign up with Whamoo Casino and test slots in freeplay - No Deposit Required! Additionally, take advantage of 300 Free Spins and up to 600 EUUSD Welcome Bonus. Exclusive promo codes apply. Click on the link below and start playing for free!
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About Whamoo Casino [Full Review]

Whamoo is a brand new, fun-loving online casino that has recently opened its premises for gamblers from many countries around the world. It does however promise to be more than just an online casino, as Whamoo describes itself as a lifestyle and feeling.
The rush you feel when the reels spin. The sound you make when that spin turns into a huge win. That’s Whamoo. Yet Whamoo is so much more than that. This online casino promises all you would expect from a reputable online casino – but then improved further. A massive game library? Check. Live casino? Check. Full mobile compatibility? Check. An entire VIP bonus programme for loyal customers? Check. Whamoo is a casino which comes with the entire package which players have come to expect of a casino provider.
On paper Whamoo sounds like a great online casino. But being a newcomer on the scene, there are of course always some open questions. How reliable is Whamoo? What can you expect from this brand new casino when it comes to the available games? How cooperative is their online help desk? What kind of welcome bonuses are there for new players who wish to open an online account?
In our extensive Whamoo review, we will try to answer all of the above questions and guide you through this brand new casino. So do read on and let’s explore this exciting new addition to the world of online gambling!
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A fully licenced online casino

Whamoo is a fully licenced online casino and a safe place for gamblers to put down their wagers. The website of whamoo.com is operated by DialMedia Ltd, a company registered by the Malta Business Registry with number C86642, on the registered address of Depiro Point, Block A2, Triq Mons G. Depiro, Sliema, Malta.
As gambling operator, DialMedia Ltd. fully licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) under licence number MGA/B2C/542/2018 issued on 10/04/2019.
What does this say about the reliability of Whamoo?
The MGA licence is one of the better ones you can find in the online casino world as Malta is the major European nation when it comes to online gambling. It is home not only to most of the world’s top online casinos, but also to many software providers and other businesses providing auxiliary services in the gambling industry.
A Malta Gaming Authority licence is not handed out with ease, as a company needs to fulfil many criteria before being granted one. The national gambling authorities of this Mediterranean island and EU member state check for example if all games which are made available are indeed fair and honest. They also check whether a company has enough cash reserves to pay out lucky winners of casino games and hold regular audits to ensure that there are no irregularities.
If an online casino has a MGA licence, it means that all the important criteria when it comes to safety, honesty and reliability are fulfilled and that it is a safe place to gamble. For us, the online casino licence is always a first thing we check before we even would consider playing somewhere. With this crucial criteria being fulfilled, we can thus move forward in our Whamoo review and look at all the other things this casino has to offer. And to be honest, the whole Whamoo package looks quite promising! Three of the main selling points of the Whamoo online casino are:

• Compile your own welcome bonus package and decide between free spins or a deposit bonus – or a combination of both.
• Hundreds of games from top casino software developers, including an exciting live casino platform.
• Recurring reload bonuses every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Whamoo clearly sounds like a promising casino when looking at the selling points, but do these points hold up when we test out the casino in real? Let’s continue our review of Whamoo with one of the most important aspects of every online casino: its game library. Which casino games can we find back in the Whamoo game collection? How honest and fair are these games? These are all legit questions which must be looked into before you can decide whether or not an online casino is suitable or not.
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Games from top software developers

When checking the list of Whamoo’s software providers you can only feel relieved as this brand new online casino only has games from the world’s top casino games developers. Especially for a newly opened online casino it is important to show to the public that you are talking serious – and you can only do that by adding the most popular games from the top software providers to your game library.
It’s not only about fun. Sure, these top software developers are known for making some of the most fantastic video slots, stellar table games. They have the most exhilarating and professional live casino tables to which you can connect in just a few clicks. But it’s more than just playing fun, graphics and game design.
By only having games from the top software companies, you are giving your players a clear message that you are only satisfied with the best quality games. Perhaps the most important aspect is game reliability, honesty and fairness. All games from the top software companies are fully tested and accredited by regulatory bodies. These gaming authorities check whether games indeed turn out completely random results and give gamblers a honest shot at winning. This is perhaps even more important than just a fantastically designed game, as in the end what matters most is reliability and honesty inside a casino.

RNG

The games which can be played at Whamoo Casino all have a piece of code called a Random Number Generator (RNG). With a random number generator, the outcome of every game is completely random and independent from previous results. It means that every card being dealt on the table, all dice which are thrown during a game, and every ball spinning around in the roulette wheel is never predetermined. Let’s put it this way: if you throw a single dice with the numbers 1 to 6 on it, you have indeed an exact 1 out of 6 chance that it will land on your predicted number.
A random number generator is absolutely crucial when it comes to delivering fair game results and giving gamblers a honest chance at winning. By having games from the top software providers, Whamoo makes sure that you can trust the fairness of every casino game you play. The good thing is that not only are the game results subject to occasional audits by regulatory authorities, but that these software providers also pro-actively test their own games to ensure they fulfil the highest industry standards. They hire independent testing agencies such as eCOGRA to check their games, both in virtual simulations and real-time results.
Let’s take a look at the software providers whose games have already been added to the Whamoo game library. As these are some of the best known software developers in the world, chances are that you have heard about some of these names before!
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NETENT GAMES

Also known by its full name of Net Entertainment, NetEnt is one of the largest casino game developers in the world. NetEnt is a Swedish company which was founded in 1996, which makes it one of the oldest companies in the relatively young world of online casino gaming. It is so big, that the company is even listed on the local NASDAQ stock exchange in Stockholm, Sweden!
NetEnt is best known for its vast video slot portfolio, of which many games are also playable at Whamoo. Having NetEnt games in your casino game library is almost a must for every online casino, as besides Whamoo some 300 or so more online casinos have NetEnt games available, which tells you something about the popularity of this company. Just like Whamoo itself, NetEnt has a full gambling licence in the EU member state of Malta, which means that all games are subject to regulatory oversight and can be trusted for their fairness. NetEnt also works closely together with independent testing labs to ensure that their games meet the highest standards.
Some popular NetEnt games which you can play at Whamoo are Jack and the Beanstalk, BerryBurst, Twin Spin, The Vikings, Wings of Riches, Aloha!, Fruit Shop, Jacks or Better, Gonzo’s Quest, Dazzle Me, Wild Bazaar and of course the eternal favourite of Starburst.

PRAGMATIC PLAY GAMES

Pragmatic Play is another major company in the online gaming world. The casino games of Pragmatic Play are always popular with the players, so it is no surprise that Whamoo has chosen to add quite a few Pragmatic Play games to its online collection. Pragmatic Play focuses mostly on online video slots, although they also make some exciting live casino games which are hosted in their own studios.
Being only founded in 2015, Pragmatic Play is a relative newcomer within the game developing industry. Yet in those few years time, the company already managed to reach to top heights with Pragmatic Play being considered to rank among the top game providers. Quality and safety are of immense importance for Pragmatic Play. Therefore, all games are documented and tested by independent auditors and testing labs such as QUINEL, BMM and Gaming Labs.
Popular Pragmatic Play games which can be played at Whamoo are John Hunter and the Aztec Treasure, Great Rhino Megaways, Leprechaun Song, Lucky Dragons, Mustang Gold, The Champions, Vegas Nights, Aztec Gems, Buffalo King, Starz Megaways, Triple Jokers, Magic Crystals, Sugar Rush, Beowulf and many more exciting video slots.
Of course, many baccarat, blackjack and roulette variants are available in Whamoo’s Live Casino which is powered by Pragmatic Play software. You are connected by high resolution video feed to professional dealers and croupiers in one of the Pragmatic Play casino studios where you can experience the thrills of a real life casino behind your computer or mobile phone. It’s almost like you are standing in Vegas!

STAKELOGIC GAMES

Stakelogic is another popular software developer which has added its games to the Whamoo game library. As one of the best-known developers in the software industry, it is always a good sign that Stakelogic games are available to play given that this company has made some exciting video slots.
Using HTML5, Stakelogic games are of course fully mobile compatible, which means you can play them on your smartphone as well. The company has also made some exciting new 3D slots which are not only gorgeous to look at but also wild fun to play. As an off-shoot company from gaming giants Novomatic, Stakelogic certainly is a reputable software developer which can be trusted when it comes to fairness and reliability.
Popular Stakelogic games are Epic Slam, Wild Stallion, Magic Wheel, Super Wild Arcade, Fruit Spinner, Lucky Gems Deluxe, Hot Fruits, Grand Slam Deluxe, Runner Runner, Turbo 4 Player Jackpot, Dragons and Magic, Big 5 Jungle Jackpot, Mariachi and The Big Cash Game.
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High limit gaming options

Whamoo is an online casino which is not only suitable for gamblers on a tight budget, but also for the true high rollers. You can place bets as low as a few cents, or as high as several thousands of euros or dollars at this online casino. Depending on your game of choice, whether its a jackpot video slot or classic table game, there are countless of options to bet big for maximum excitement and chances of winning top prizes. Further down in this Whamoo review, we will discuss some of the high limit games which are available.
Highrollers should also note that Whamoo comes with its own VIP programme in which you can quickly work yourself to the top category if you bet big. You can get instant access to your own dedicated casino manager and will get invites to high stakes tournaments. There are special weekly cashback bonuses as well for the true high roller gamblers at Whamoo. We will discuss the VIP program more in depth a bit further down this Whamoo review.
For now, let’s take a look at all the high roller games which are available at Whamoo Online Casino!

Endless rows of jackpot video slots

If you are a real lover of video slots you will be glad to hear that Whamoo has several hundreds of online video slots available. Although some of these slots are more suitable for beginning players or those on a tight budget, there are plenty of slots available where you can bet up to 100 euro/dollar per spin. This makes for some exhilarating and thrilling slot game action which will please any high stakes gambler out there!
Of course, Whamoo also has its share of jackpot slots where you have a shot at winning the progressive jackpot which can run well above a million euro or dollar! These premium slots, such as those using the famous Megaways system, offer countless of opportunities to place maximum bets at your video slot of choice.
Check the Whamoo game library whether or not your favourite slot is available as well, or try one of the many exciting new game additions! It is easy to browse through the Whamoo website. You can sort slots by software provider, or use the search function to check for your beloved title.

Join for some high stakes blackjack action

Blackjack has always been one of the most popular games among high rollers and the reasons why are quite clear. You can often bet high amounts of money on a single play and you can as a player slightly influence the outcome of a game as you need to decide whether you want to stand or hit another card.
At Whamoo, there is plenty of high stakes blackjack action. There are both normal blackjack games such as American Blackjack and multihand Blackjack, as well as blackjack tables in the live casino. In the live casino, which is powered by Pragmatic Play software, you can play several blackjack variants. Bets of up to several hundreds of euros or dollars, or even higher for the real VIPs, are possible.
Beat the hand of the dealer and hit that score of 21. Maybe it will be your lucky day playing blackjack at Whamoo Online Casino!

Grab a seat at the roulette table

There is plenty of roulette action at Whamoo as well. You can choose between virtual roulette versions, or opt for a seat at a roulette table in the live casino, where you are connected to a real-time croupier by video feed. Especially in the live casino high bets of up to a thousand dollar or more are possible, making roulette a big favourite among the real high stake gamblers.
Of course, Whamoo Casino has all of the the standard roulette versions of American Roulette, French Roulette and European Roulette. Most of these games are developed by software giants NetEnt.
In the live casino, there is also Roulette Macao Live, where you will be connected to a gaming environment which makes you feel like you are playing in the famous casinos of this Chinese gambling mecca. Live Speed Roulette, Live Roulette Auto and Roulette Azure are popular Pragmatic Play live casino versions of roulette which are available to Whamoo players.
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Whamoo's unique bonus package

One area in which Whamoo stands out as online casino is its great bonus package. Of course, there is a great welcome bonus for newly registered users. But the fun doesn’t stop there! At Whamoo casino, it is bonus day almost every single day of the week. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays the casino has recurring bonus offers if you reload you bankroll on one of those days. This makes Whamoo not only an attractive casino at the moment you sign up, but also at all those moments when you come back to play again.
300 free spins or a €200 deposit bonus

The Whamoo welcome bonus

We start of discussing the Whamoo welcome bonus which is called the “Welcombo” bonus by the casino. On a picture the Welcombo might not look too appealing as its packed in a carton takeaway box you might get at a certain fast food restaurant, but trust us on this: its contents are truly fantastic.
The Welcombo box contains a combination of goodies you get with your very first deposit at Whamoo. And what is best of all? You can decide what combo you want to receive! If you sign up at Whamoo for a free online casino account, you can determine your own bonus by adjusting the slide until you have found a combination which matches your idea of a perfect bonus.
This is a great option as it allows people to choose the bonus which best suits them. You can choose between free spins and a deposit bonus – or a combination of both. If you are an avid video slot gamer and do not care much about table games, you may want to slide all the way to the maximum free spins bonus. In that case, you will receive 300 free spins, but your deposit bonus will be 0%. The free spins in the Welcombo package are valid on the popular Amatic Industries slot Book of Fortune.
On the other hand, if you only care about table games and are not really interested in free spins and playing video slots, you want to adjust the slide to the maximum deposit bonus. This is a 100% deposit bonus of up to 200 euro. This means that if you deposit 200 euro of your own money to your newly created online casino account, Whamoo will top this up by another 200 euro from the house! If you select the full 100% deposit bonus, you will however not receive any free spins at all.
Of course, you can also opt for a mix between free spins and a deposit bonus. If you leave the slider in the middle, you will get 150 free spins and a 50% deposit bonus, for example. You can tweak this in any direction you want, for example to a 70% deposit bonus and 90 free spins. The higher your deposit bonus, the less free spins you receive. Want more free spins? Then your deposit bonus will decrease.

Welcombo bonus terms and conditions

Only one bonus is allowed per household and/or per player account. Do note that Whamoo’s bonuses remain valid until seven days after the required deposit has been made. Once this period ends, the bonus is automatically flagged as expired by the system and can no longer be released. The expired bonus funds are then automatically removed from the player’s account.
Of course, there is a wagering requirement which must be met in order to withdraw your bonus money and any winnings which may derive from it. Real money balance is used prior to bonus balance. The bonus balance will only be used when there is no real money available in your account. Only real money funds and released bonus funds can contribute towards the wagering requirement of the bonus. The wagering requirement for the Welcombo deposit bonus and free spins is thirty times (30x) the deposit + bonus.
Do note that players that deposit money using Paysafecard, Skrill or Neteller are not eligible for the Welcombo. To assure fair gaming and prevent fraud, Whamoo has placed a maximum cap on bonus money wagers, which are limited to a maximum per round/bet of €5 or its equivalent in other currencies. You should also be aware that certain games cannot be played using bonus money. There is a full overview of these games on the Whamoo bonus page.
Bets placed in certain games might not contribute fully to the wagering requirements.

• Bets placed on video slots count for 100%
• Bets placed on scratch cards count for 100%
• Bets placed on blackjack count for 10%
• Bets placed on video poker count for 10%
• Bets placed on poker count for 10%
• Bets placed on roulette, baccarat, sic-bo and craps do not count
• Bets placed on live casino games do not count

Recurring bonuses at Whamoo

The bonus fun does not stop at the welcome bonus when you play at Whamoo! You can count on a constant stream of promotional campaigns and bonus offers. The casino has recurring promo offers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you deposit some extra money to your online casino bankroll on one of those days, you are eligible for a bonus. It therefore pays off to wait for these days before you decide to reload your online funds.
On Monday it is Pick ‘n’ Play day to start off the week with some good vibes. On this day, the casino basically tops up your deposited money You can:

• Turn your €20 into €25 with the code 100024;
• turn your €50 into €65 with the code 100025, and/or
• turn your €100 into €135 with the code 100026.

It is even possible to combine these bonuses if you want to deposit a larger sum! Alternatively, you can use the bonus codes of WHPICK5, WHPICK15 and WHPICK35 by putting these into the promo code field on the cashier page every Monday.

Whoa Wednesday

Wednesday is for many a difficult day in the week, it being right in the middle of another long week of work. To spice up things, Whamoo has come with an unusual bonus which it calls “Whoa Wednesday”.
Every Wednesday you get to uncover your secret gift – for free, no strings attached. The casino will add this gift to your next deposit. This can be a bonus, a set of free spins, or even both. You’ll get all the details once you’ve pulled off the cover and logged into your account. You will receive the bonus details and promotional code, which you can use in the promo field at the payment page to receive your hard-earned Wednesday bonus.

Freeday bonus

Friday is the favourite day of the week for many people – and the reason why is quite obvious. It marks the end of another working week and the start of some well-deserved weekend R&R! For many people this involves paying a visit to a land-based or online casino to get their kicks at their favourite game, whether it is a card game, roulette or video slot.
Whamoo knows that many people cannot wait for the days off work to start and therefore has come up with a special Friday bonus to welcome in the weekend! This bonus day is called ‘Freeday’ by Whamoo. The casino basically hands you a bunch of free spins if you are a regular customer. For every weekday from the previous week (Friday through Thursday) that you’ve deposited 30 euro or more, you get 10 free spins. For every weekend day you even get 20 Free Spins! That means up to 90 Free Spins are yours to play with. That’s a great start to a weekend full of partying and fun!

Wagering requirements

Do note that wagering requirements do apply to all daily promo offers. These are more or less the same as we outlined above in the description of the welcome package, but do take a look at the bonus terms and conditions page on the Whamoo website to know precisely what you can expect! As always, it is important to read the small print in order not to face any surprises later on.
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A fully mobile compatible casino

As a brand new online casino, Whamoo knows that already a majority of gamblers nowadays play on their mobile phones rather than on computers. Because of this, the Whamoo casino is fully compatible with mobile devices and tablets. If you load the Whamoo website on your smartphone, it looks just as good as on your laptop of computer. It’s equally accessible and orderly too! The mobile website is a breeze to browse through and you can easily access all the important pages such as the game library and payment page.
The same counts for the actual games themselves. Whamoo only works with software providers which are known to offer full mobile gaming support. These games are made in code such as HTML5, which means that the games can simply be played in your (mobile) internet browser. There is no download or special app required to play these games. Whether you are playing on your computer, tablet or smartphone, you simply surf to Whamoo.com and select your favourite game from the library. This game will then open in your internet browser – and you can play instantly. It does not matter whether your phone runs on Android or is an iPhone, nor does it matter whether you have Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari or any other internet browser. Whamoo will function just fine!
This is absolutely great as you can now play at Whamoo wherever you are, whenever you want. Want to put down some wagers on the roulette table while you are sitting in public transport on your way to work? That’s easily doable! Just take out your smartphone on the train or bus, and surf to Whamoo.com to play at your favourite roulette table. Are you sitting on your couch at home and want to play a few hands of blackjack before going to sleep? Just take out your laptop, tablet or phone and within seconds you can have some of the most exhilarating blackjack fun on your screen.

The Whamoo Live Casino

Whamoo’s live casino is powered by Pragmatic Play and NetEnt software – which are two of the biggest, most reputable software providers in the world. This is great news for the players, as you can access high quality tables in just a few clicks.
In the live casino, you are connected with a live video feed to a real-time casino table in one of the casino studios of these software providers. You can play games like baccarat, blackjack and roulette like you are standing in a real land-based casino in Vegas or Monaco! Thanks to the high definition video stream, you have a great overview of all the action which unfolds on and around the table.
All table games are led by experienced, professional croupiers and dealers who are not only well-trained, but entertaining as well. By all means, feel free to open your microphone or the chat window to have a talk with them, or even with other players from around the world. This is what makes the live casino such a great invention. Even though you might be sitting at home in front of your laptop or computer, it does almost feel like you are standing in a casino for real!
Especially for high rollers the live casino is a worthwhile addition as table limits are often much higher than in regular games. Of course, if you are on a tight budget there will definitely be live casino tables where low minimum bets are allowed too – no worries there. But it is the experienced, high stakes gambler who probably feels most at home in the live casino.
There are multiple baccarat, blackjack and roulette variants which you can play. For roulette, there is American Roulette, European Roulette, French Roulette, Speed Roulette, Live Roulette Auto and Roulette Macao Live. If you prefer the casino classic of blackjack, you will find plenty of different tables all with slightly different betting limits. Baccarat is perhaps the game with the highest betting limit. Besides the regular version, there are also Speed Baccarat tables. A fourth casino game which can be played live at the Whamoo Live Casino is Sic Bo. Just browse through the list of live casino games, or use the search function to find your favourite table!
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Part 1 here
In this part, we saw Rey Mysterio jump onto the scene of NJPW. He started off hot, taking on his two amigos in Jushin Thunder Liger and Hiroshi Tanahashi respectively. At King of Pro-Wrestling, he defeated Liger - but fell to The Ace in a match for his G1 Climax briefcase. He then won the IWGP United States Championship off of Cody to end his offspring of Bullet Club, and would embark on a title reign. He successfully defended against Bandido last time we saw him, and now he moves onto his next challenger.
Book Rey Mysterio If He Never Joined WWE in 2018 - Part 2: Booyaka
G1 Supercard:
Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii - IWGP United States Championship
Rey Mysterio skips out on the New Japan Cup, and instead prepares for the G1 Supercard. It will be the biggest show NJPW have held in America, and since he’s the United States Champion he will be defending. Rey ventures off to GCW for Joey Janela’s Spring Break, taking part in the Clusterfuck as a surprise entrant. On Night Two, after Janela faces off with Jungle Boy - he calls out Rey to a match for a later date. Mysterio doesn’t respond, instead he’s in Madison Square Garden to face off against a New Japan semi-finalist, Tomohiro Ishii. He lost to Okada in the semis, and is angry. He wants to take his anger out on someone, and the IWGP United States Champion is his next victim.
He fought in the inaugural title match but came up short to Kenny Omega, but now he has his chance to become the first Japanese man to hold it. After seeing Mayu Iwatani retain the Women of Honor Championship, we move to our next match - as Tomohiro Ishii walks out to a loud MSG pop. In the front row are Mysterio’s daughter, Aalyah and his wife. Then we see his son, Dominick, as a young lion at ringside. He got kicked in the head by Minoru Suzuki earlier so he’s just having a great time. They’re dad then enters out in the same gear he wore to the actual WrestleMania that weekend, as the villain “Mysterio” from Spider-Man Homecoming. He walks out with the gold Tomohiro lusts for, and rolls inside to pose with it on the second rope.
The bell is rung and Mysterio goes to lock up - BUT ISHII GRABS HIM INTO A RELEASE GERMAN SUPLEX!! HE FOLLOWS WITH A BRIDGING GERMAN!! 1.........2.....KICK OUT BY REY REY!!! Mysterio is shocked at the sudden attack, and scurries up in the corner. ISHII GOES FOR A CLOTHESLINE BUT REY TURNS IT INTO A CRUCIFIX PIN!!! 1........ISHII KICKS OUT AND IS HIT BY A ROUNDHOUSE KICK!! REY WITH A HEADSCISSORS TAKEDOWN!! Rey regains and takes a moment to intake what’s happening, and GOES FOR A SHIRANUI!! ISHII COUNTERS WITH A SPIKE DDT!!! 1..............2..........KICK OUT INTO A POWERBOMB!!!! 1.............2..........TOMOHIRO LOCKS IN A BOSTON CRAB!! There is no escape for Mysterio from this rabid dog - who is hungry. Ishii locks in the hold and cinches it tighter.
REY GOES TO FLIP HIM OUT, BUT ISHII GETS RIGHT BACK UP AND HITS HIM WITH A BOOT TO THE HEAD!! ISHII LIFTS HIM UP INTO A SNAP SUPLEX!! Tomohiro Ishii is now on the hunt, as he starts to unleash chops. OPEN HAND TO THE CHEST!! Rey falls to the mat, but is scooped back up into OVERHEAD CHOP!! Rey crumples to the mat again and starts to cough. ISHII THROWS HIM OUTSIDE INTO THE ARMS OF HIS SON!! ISHII THEN WITH A BIG BOOT ON THE FLOOR TO DOMINICK, AND THROWS HIM INTO THE APRON!! Ishii looks down at the fallen young boy - BUT IS THEN HIT BY A ENZIGURI FROM REY!!! MYSTERIO HITS A FRONT DROPKICK INTO THE RING POST!! HE THROWS HIM BACK INSIDE AND DIVES WITH A FROGSPLASH!!! 1.............2..........KICK OUT!!! ISHII ROLLS THROUGH AND LIFTS MYSTERIO UP INTO A VERTICAL SUPLEX!!! 1...........MYSTERIO GETS OUT!!!
The crowd are going nuts at these two guys fighting spirit. ISHII GOES FOR A GERMAN SUPLEX, BUT REY FLIPS OUT AND HITS A HEADSCISSORS!! HE GOES FOR A 619 - BUT ISHII SPINS HIM TO THE OUTSIDE!! TOMOHIRO RUNS THE ROPES, BUT IS HIT BY A SPRINGBOARD CROSSBODY!! He lifts Ishii up and runs the ropes, TO HIT A BULLDOG!! INTO A TORNADO DDT!! He calls for a 619, as Ishii crawls to the ropes. HE HITS IT!! HE DIVES FOR THE SEATED SENTON - BUT NO NECK TOM CATCHES AND HITS A BRAINBUSTER!!! 1...............2..............MYSTERIO KICKS OUT!!! Everyone explodes that Rey kicked out, and Ishii is still that angry dog - but he just got a whiff of a juicy steak. Tom lifts him up, looks him dead in his dead eyes - AND HEADBUTTS HIM TO SHIT!!
ISHII FURTHER TARGETS THE HEAD WITH AN ENZIGURI!! HE RUNS FOR A LARIAT, BUT REY DUCKS AND HITS A MYSTERIO-RANA!! ISHII KICKS OUT AND ROLLS INTO THAT LARIAT!!! ISHII GOES FOR A BRAINBUSTER, BUT MYSTERIO EVADES AND HITS THE MYSTERIO-EXPRESS!! ISHII NO SELLS AND IS HIT BY A ENZIGURI!! ISHII NO SELLS AND HITS REY WITH A THREE AMIGOS!! He mocks his fallen friend Eddie with those moves - and that fuels Rey’s fire. REY WITH A SPRINGBOARD SEATED SENTON!! HE HITS A HEADSCISSORS AND CALLS FOR A 619!!! HE CONNECTS!!! SPRINGBOARD SPLASH!!!! 1...........2........KICK OUT!!!!!! ISHII LIFTS HIMSELF UP WITH A PRIMAL ROAR, AN HITS THE ISHII DRILLER!!!!! 1................2................3!!!! TOMOHIRO ISHII WINS AND BECOMES YOUR NEW, AND FIRST EVER JAPANESE, IWGP UNITED STATES CHAMPION!!!!
Tomohiro Ishii defeats Rey Mysterio (12:51)
PROGRESS Chapter 88: Super Strong Style 16:
Marty Scurll vs. Rey Mysterio
With his United States Championship lost, ending his 92 day reign, Mysterio heads away from Japan for a while to regain himself. He’s confirmed to show up at PROGRESS‘ Super Strong Style, but later revealed that he won’t actually participate - instead wrestle on the last night in a standard singles match with no prizes but merit. Meanwhile, his opponent is scheduled to be...Marty Scurll. A man who hasn’t appeared in PROGRESS in a long while, mainly because he’s in the middle of a ROH World Championship reign. Having begun his reign in June of 2018, Marty still holds it. He’ll return to PROGRESS for this night however, as he wants to face Rey…badly. After Dominion last year when Rey lost to Marty, he’s wanted to defeated him one on one. A year of wait, and he finally gets his chance. The ultimate hero vs. The ultimate villain, it’s like a comic book finale.
In the lead up, Marty cuts a promo on Mysterio. In it he is as snivelling as ever, offering his wife Angie a night with him and calling Dominick “a giant lummocks“. Then when the third night of the Super Strong Style 16 arrives, we hear Rey Mysterio’s entrance music for the first time in PROGRESS history, as he enters to a raucous pop from the Alexandra Palace. Alexandra Park in London lose their minds for the Lucha Libre legend, who comes out in Black Knight attire (a Marvel superhero from Britain). The fans love him and he shakes hand with Jim Smallman as he enters. Marty Scurll’s reception is mixed, but he certainly wants it to be vocally harsh. He takes beer out of fans hands and spits it at them, which certainly turns their reactions around.
The two men stare down after the bell is rung, a seismic stare. Rey puts his hand up with two fingers, but so does Scurll. They then both do the “2-0-5” taunt in sync. The crowd laugh, which Marty doesn’t like. He taunts on the second turnbuckle to earn their ire. Rey does the same and receives a good response. Scurll then jumps off and walks over to Rey - WHO DIVES AT HIM WITH A HURRICANERANA! They then run the ropes, AND MARTY CATCHES HIM WITH AN ARM DRAG HANDSPRING! MYSTERIO HITS HIS OWN ARM DRAG! Marty runs the ropes but Rey goes for a FRONT DROPKICK - but Marty halts so Rey misses the boat. SCURLL THEN DOUBLE FOOT STOMPS ON THE LUCHADORS FEET!! He lifts him up and starts to chop his chest.
Marty finishes the chops, AND THEN HITS A ROPE-ASSISTED ENZIGURI!! He stomps on Rey while he shouts at fans who boo him, telling them to be louder. He smashes his knee into a kneeling Rey, and then lifts him into a Gory Special!! REY ESCAPES WITH A SUNSET FLIP!! HE RUNS THE ROPES AND GOES FOR A SPRINGBOARD CROSSBODY, BUT SCURLL CATCHES WITH A SITOUT SUPLEX SLAM!! HE RUNS THE ROPES AND HITS A PENALTY KICK!! HE LOCKS IN AN OCTOPUS HOLD!! He wrenches on it, but Rey shuffles to the ropes. Scurll then slides outside to shout at a fan who insulted him. SCURLL IS THEN HIT BY A SUICIDE DIVE INTO A HEADSCISSORS BY MYSTERIO!! REY THROWS HIM INSIDE AND HITS A FROGSPLASH!!! 1................2............KICK OUT!!! MARTY DOESN’T DIE AFTER THE SURPRISE ATTACK!!
Rey is now out of his trance of being beaten down and is back in the fight. Scurll goes for a Wheelbarrow Bodyscissors but Rey counters with an Arm Drag! HE GOES FOR A SUNSET FLIP PIN BUT SCURLL BREAKS OUT WITH A LANZA!! SCURLL THEN LIFTS REY UP FOR A GERMAN SUPLEX!! HE CONNECTS, AND GOES FOR ANOTHER! BUT MYSTERIO FLIPS OUT AND HITS A HEADSCISSORS!! HE THEN CONNECTS A BASEBALL SLIDEFOLLOWED BY HEADSCISSORS!! Rey is on a roll as he dances like Eddie outside. Scurll goes to push him into a fans seat, but Mysterio ducks and PUSHES HIM INTO THE APRON!! They then fight there. Scurll knocks Rey off and CONNECTS A SUPERKICK FROM THE APRON!! HE THEN DIVES OUT WITH A MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR!!
Now they’re both on the ground. Scurll is dead and so is Rey. They crawl up by the fans laps. Scurll asks a fan to hold Rey in place as he lines up a Penalty Kick. MYSTERIO EVADES BEFORE THE KICK CONNECTS AND PUSHES HIM ONTO A GROUP OF FANS SEATS!! HE THEN DIVES OFF THE SECOND ROPE WITH A CROSSBODY - OVER THE FANS HEADS TO SCURLL!! They’re both even more dead than before and spend time climbing out of the wreckage, through fans and bent and fallen chairs. Rey navigates his way back while Marty writhes in the agony. Once back in the ring Mysterio dives for a Seated Senton - BUT IS HIT BY A SUPERKICK!! SCURLL HITS THE BLACK PLAGUE AND ROLLS INTO THE CROSSFACED CHICKENWING!! REY GETS HIS FOOT ON THE ROPES!! Scurll angrily lets go, throwing the luchador to the mat.
They’re back up and the contest is still on. Rey knocks Scurll down with a SUNSET FLIP INTO A ROUNDHOUSE KICK, AND THEN HITS THE DROPPIN DA DIME!!! 1.............2...........KICK OUT!!! MYSTERIO LIFTS SCURLL UP AND GOES FOR A BULLDOG, BUT MARTY HITS A BACKBREAKER RACK DROPPED INTO A FACEBUSTER!! SCURLL JUMPS FOR A TORNADO DDT - BUT MYSTERIO CATCHES WTH A DROPKICK!! HE THEN FLIES WITH HIS OWN TORNADO DDT!! 1...........2.........SCURLL ROLLS OUT AND GOES FOR THE TORNADO DDT, BUT MYSTERIO CATCHES HIM WITH A SUPER HURRICANERANA!! MARTY LANDS ON HIS FEET AND HITS THE PARTY’S OVER!! HIS OLD FINISHER BUSTED OUT ON THIS OCCASION!!! HE COVERS, 1...............2...............MYSTERIO KICKS OUT JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME!!!
They roll outside to recover after the big rush of counters. Scurll is first up and walks over to Rey’s daughter and wife. He tries to chat them up, BUT REY TURNS HIM AROUND INTO A THROW INTO THE RING POST!! HE HITS A BIG BOOT INTO THE STEEL!! Rey then sets up a wooden table, and brings Scurll up to the apron. They both trade forearms there. Marty jumps to the second rope, possibly looking for a TORNADO DDT!! REY BRINGS HIM DOWN AND HITSMA HURRICANERANA OFF THE APRON!! SCURLL CRASHES DOWN THROUGH THE WOODEN TABLE ONTO THE WOODEN FLOOR!! Scurll grabs his back in utter agony, his spine crushed by the wooden table and floor. Rey then picks him off the mat and rolls him inside.
Rey is looking to end it now, as he climbs up for a SPRINGBOARD SPLASH!! HE THEN LOOKS FOR A 619, BUT SCURLL HITS A EUROPEAN UPPERCUT!! SCURLL THEN GOES FOR A KNEELING REVERSE PILEDRIVER!! MYSTERIO COUNTERS WITH A ROLL UP FOLLOWED BY A FRONT DROPKICK AFTER THE KICK OUT! REY THEN CLIMBS UP FOR A DIVING WEST COAST POP!! 1............2.........KICK OUT!! REY GOES FOR ANOTHER - BUT ITS CAUGHT!! MARTY CATCHES HIM INTO A BIRD OF PREY!! HE HITS A TORNADO DDT!! HE FINALLY LOCKS IN THE CROSSFACED CHICKENWING!! REY ESCAPES AND SWINGS AROUND THE ROPES IN A 619 BUT IS HIT BY A SUPERKICK!! SCURLL THEN LOCKS IN THE CROSSFACED CHICKENWING WITH A BODYSCISSORS!! REY TAPS OUT!!!
Marty Scurll defeats Rey Mysterio (19:58)
Dominion 2019:
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Rey Mysterio - IWGP Heavyweight Championship
At Wrestling Dontaku, we see Kazuchika Okada and SANADA face off for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in Night Two’s main event on May 4th. Afterwards, Rey Mysterio appears on video where he says he will return to New Japan at Dominion to take on Okada for his IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The Rainmaker then states that in his post-match press conference, that he’s always wanted to face Rey Mysterio and that he’ll be happy to do it. Rey is a good and honourable man who deserves this title match after 25 years of wrestling. Okada is happy to give him the opportunity but makes sure Mysterio knows, he won’t win.
Later in the month is AEW’s Double or Nothing. The highly anticipated show features a plethora of talent and star studded match ups, after the Jacksonville and Las Vegas rallies individually. Rey Mysterio appears at neither however despite heavy rumour and speculation. However, to open the show we see the Casino Battle Royale. In this we get a bomb dropped on us - the debut of Mysterio in AEW. Entering as the Joker, he comes and cleans house. It comes down to him and Adam Page, who face off in a 5-minute long battle. The winner will face either Kenny Omega or Chris Jericho at All Out for the AEW World Championship so the stakes are high. In the end, Hangman eliminates Rey after a Buckshot and Superkick combo.
Then two weeks later is Dominion. For the first time ever, Rey Mysterio will challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. After a hell of the show we reach the main event. We’ve seen Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay, and Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito, and now we’re here. Rey Mysterio cuts a promo earlier in the show about how this means the world to him, this opportunity, and that he needs to win. He will never get a chance like this again, and can’t waste it. Mysterio represents is no-nonsense ordeal, as he comes out dressed as The Punisher. He’s got the navy singlet, with a skull across it. His mask then has the skull as well on it. Mysterio taunts on the second rope, but then Okada comes out. It’s the same thing he felt against Tanahashi and Liger, just being in the presence of someone on another world.
When the bell rings, they don’t lock up straight away. They take in the magnitude of the stage and suck it all in. About a minute passes of this, before they lock up. They get into a collar and elbow, and Rey spins into a waist lock. Okada arm drags him off and cinches in a chinlock. Rey tries to flip out but Okada simply lowers down with him. HE THEN HITS A BELLY TO BACK SUPLEX!! Okada cinches in another chinlock. Rey gets up and Irish whips Okada to the ropes. The Rainmaker rebounds and connects a Shoulder Block to take Mysterio down. Rey gets up while Okada runs the ropes, and hits a HEADSCISSORS! Mysterio ducks under a clothesline and cinches the waistlock. He takes Okada down and applies a nerve hold, then hits a Spinal Tap!
Okada lifts himself up and runs the ropes for a Short-arm Lariat! Rey stumbles back and rolls into a VICTORY ROLL!! 1........2.....KICK OUT!! OKADA GETS UP WITH A SHOULDER BLOCK, AND THEN RUNS THE ROPES FOR A RONT DROPKICK INTO THE CORNER!! Mysterio takes a Bret Hart sell of falling on impact. OKADA LIFTS HIM FOR A FLAPJACK BUT REY FLIPS OUT AND HITS AN ARM DRAG!! HE RUNS THE ROPES BUT IS CAUGHT IN A WHEELBARROW !BODYSCISSORS, THAT IS COUNTERED WITH A BULLDOG!! FLYING HEADSCISSORS BY MYSTERIO!! HE RUNS THE ROPES BUT OKADA HITS THE FLAPJACK AND FOLLOWS WITH A MILLION DOLLAR DROPKICK!! Okada then lifts Mysterio up and throws him to the corner, and starts to apply shoulder blocks.
Okada Irish whips Mysterio who LEAPFROGS THE RAINMAKER AND HITS A MYSTERIO-EXPRESS!!! 1..........2.......KICK OUT!! OKADA WITH ANOTHER SHORT-ARM LARIAT!! Okada connects a European Uppercut to a kneeling Rey! This is the cut off, and The Rainmaker starts to stomp down on him. He lifts Mysterio up and Irish whips Rey, who jumps to the second rope AND DIVES OFF WITH A DIVING HURRICANERANA!!! OKADA ROLLS THROUGH AND CONNECTS A OPEN HAND CHOP!! DROPKICK!! HE LIFTS REY UP FOR A BACKBODY DROP BUT MYSTERIO EVADES AND HITS A SPINNING WHEEL KICK!! Rey is back in the fight, and runs the ropes for a RUNNING CROSSBODY!! HE HITS A TILT-A-WHIRL TORNADO DDT!! 1..........2........KICK OUT!!!
Rey pulls himself up by the ropes, hoping the comeback got him. He punches the air, but lifts The Rainmaker up. He heads to the apron and awaits Okada - BUT SUNSET FLIPS OVER! REY ROLLS HIM AND HITS A ROUNDHOUSE KICK!!! Mysterio then runs the ropes but OKADA WITH A BIG BOOT!! HE HITS THE HEAVY RAIN!! 1........2.........KICK OUT!!! REY PULLS HIMSELF UP AND HITS A LOU THESZ PRESS!! HE GOES FOR A SHIRANUI - BUT OKADA DUMPS HIM ONTO THE MAT!! Rey doesn’t get up from that one, feeling the pain. Okada stomps on him and kicks the head, THEN GOES FOR A DDT!! MYSTERIO SLIDES OUT AND HITS A HEADSCISSORS!! HE RUNS THE ROPES AND CONNECTS THE 619 OUT OF NOWHERE!! He climbs the ropes and points to the crowd - DIVING SPLASH!! 1.........2.........KICK OUT FROM THE RAINMAKER!!!
Rey gets desperate to end it and HITS A BASEBALL SLIDE TO THE OUTSIDE!! HE FOLLOWS WITH A SUICIDE DIVE INTO A HEADSCISSORS!! Okada falls into the guardrail both times, feeling the steel on his back. Rey goes to Irish whip but Okada reverses into his own. Rey then hops the guardrail and awaiting to see what Okada does. OKADA THEN DIVES OVER THE GUARDRAIL WITH THE SCOOBY DOOBY DOO!!! They both lay dead, as the referee counts down from 20. Eventually they get back up, after a lot of stumbling and tumbling. They get back in and REY DIVES WITH THE WEST COAST POP!! 1.........2.......OKADA ROLLS OUT OF IT WITH REY ON HIS BACK!!! ALABAMA SLAM!!! KICKOUT!!! HE LOCKS IN THE DEEP IN DEBT BUT REY GETS OUT!! HE RUNS TO THE CORBER BUT SO DOES OKADA WHO HITS A RUNNING BACK ELBOW!! HE THEN CONNECTS THE AIR RAID CRASH NECKBREAKER!!! 1...............2.............KICK OUT!!!!
Both guys have kicked out a bunch of times, but now they’re down to the last minute. They’ve gone over 20 minutes and start to trade forearms. They double down after their fifth blows. They crawl by the corners - AND REY HITS THE AIR MYSTERIO!! HE RUNS UP FOR A MYSTERIO-RANA!!!! 1...........2........OKADA ROLS OUT AND HITS A SCOOP SLAM!! HE THEN CLIMBS THE ROPES - AND DIVES WITH A DIVING ELBOW DROP!! HE LIFTS HIM UP FOR A RAINMAKER - BUT MYSTERIO DUCKS UNDER AND HITS A POISONED RANA!!! HE DIVES IN WITH A SPRINGBOARD SITOUT FACEBUSTER!! REY GOES FOR ANOTHER MYSTERIO EXPRESS, BUT OKADA COUNTERS AND LOCKS IN THE DEEP IN DEBT!! MYSTERIO ESCAPES, BUT IS LOCKED IN WITH A COBRA CLUTCH!!!! REY REACHES THE ROPES!!! HE GOES FOR A 619 BUT OKADA CATCHES AND HITS THE RAINMAKER!!!! 1................2.................3!!!!!!
Kazuchika Okada defeats Rey Mysterio (26:13)
Fyter Fest 2019:
The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. Rey Mysterio and The Lucha Brothers (Fénix and Pentagon Jr.) - Six-man Tag Team Match
With the launch of All Elite Wrestling, many peoples attention have been grabbed. Double or Nothing as we know saw Rey Mysterio make his shock debut to open the main show as the Joker slot in the Casino Battle Royale. Him and Hangman Adam Page had a war as the final two, ending with Page winning. Now comes Fyter Fest, however this scheduled match between The Elite and The Lucha Bros/Pac has been altered. Pac pulls out and so the replacement is revealed on The Road To Fyter Fest, where Rey Mysterio is interviewed and then he announces he will be the partner of the Lucha Bros. This is the official main event of Fyter Fest, as the actual last match is Unsanctioned.
The Young Bucks enter first dressed as Ryu and Ken each, both posing on the stage until…the lights go down. A fan walks on stage, but then they go down again. KENNY APPEARS AS AKUMA’S RAGING DEMON!! He holds the finger gun over the fans body and makes his way down to the ring with his Elite stablemates. Then comes The Lucha Brothers. On the stage are Fénix and Pentagon dressed in their skull masks and hoodies. They both walk out but point to the centre, WHERE OUT COMES REY MYSTERIO!! Rey unhoods from his blue cloak to reveal his normal mask. He is dressed as Death from the Castlevania series in line with the whole skeleton aesthetic as well as for the video game tie-in.
“Round 1 – FIGHT!” yells Justin Roberts as Nick Jackson and Rey Mysterio start us off. They go into a lockup and start to push forward and back. Nick lifts himself to the second rope and tightropes it, before jumping down with an Arm Drag. Rey rolls through with that but jumps back in a Rana. They both run the ropes but Nick leapfrogs and Mysterio rolls under, then springboards off with a Crossbody. A cover goes nowhere and Nick kips up for his own arm drag, followed by a Back Body Drop that Rey flips out of. They then go to a stalemate at this point and reposition in their respective corners. Kenny whispers to Nick while Mysterio stretches on the ropes. They both then move forward to the centre.
Rey hits an Overhead Chop and follows with an Open Hand to the chest. He does this while maintaining wrist control. He then hits a Roundhouse Kick and an Enziguri, and runs up the ropes, then dives off with a CROSSBODY! Nick goes for a Superkick once up, but Rey spins him into a Spinning Wheel Kick attempt, which Nick spins and they HIT STEREO SUPERKICKS!! THEY THEN DOUBLE DOWN WITH CLOTHESLINES!! While their down, in come the others. EVERY TRIO IS IN THE RING AND A BRAWL BREAKS LOOSE! Kenny and Penta are going at it while Matt and Fénix do battle. They trade slaps and chops and kicks, until Mysterio and Nick are back up. REY HITS A AIR MYSTERIO TO NICK JACKSON!! The Lucha Bros then hit Superkicks to Kenny and Matt to take them outside. ALL THE LUCHADORS THEN DIVE OUT AFTER THE ELITE!!
They all enter the ring and isolate Matt. The Bros hit Superkicks and hold him in place for a MYSTERIO EXPRESS!! Nick comes inside but is hit by a Hook Kick, and then with a SEATED SENTON FROM REY!! FÉNIX WITH A DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT TO NICK!!! 1……..2…..KICK OUT!!!!! The Bros roll out and Nick and Mysterio keep going. They trade forearms, until Rey tags in Fénix. Fénix comes in hot with a Springboard Front Missile Dropkick to Nick. He looks for a double team with Pentagon, BUT NICK HITS THEM BOTH WITH A DROPSAULT!! HE TAGS IN MATT! MATT COMES IN WITH A TOPE CON HILO TO BOTH GUYS!1 HE HITS A NORTHERN LIGHTS ON PENTAGON WITH AN O’CONNOR ROLL ON FÉNIX!! 1………2……KICK OUT!! HIM AND NICK THEN HIT DOUBLE SLINGSHOT SITOUT FACEBUSTERS!!
Matt then gets a tag to Kenny Omega. OMEGA IS IN! Kenny runs straight forward with a Dropkick to Pentagon sending him outside. He hits a Backbreaker to a tagged in Mysterio , 1……2….KICK OUT!! HE GOES FOR THE YOU CAN’T ESCAPE!! BUT IT IS INDEED ESCAPED! MYSTERIO DIVES OFF THE TOP WITH A MOONSAULT!! Kenny recovers himself, BEFORE DIVING OUTSIDE WITH A RISE OF THE TERMINATOR TO PENTAGON!! PENTAGON CUTS HIM OFF! Cero…Miedo – AND THEY START TO FIGHT ON THE OUTSIDE!! They go to the apron where Pentagon lays in some chops, BUT OMEGA WITH A KOTARO KRUSHER ON THE APRON!! THE BUCKS THEN SEND FÉNIX TO THE FLOOR WITH A BACK BODY DROP + CANNONBALL SENTON COMBO!!
Now all The Elite are inside and isolate Rey Mysterio. The Elite triple team him, with Matt and Nick holding Rey in place for A V-TRIGGER!! FOLLOWED BY A GERMAN SUPLEX!! KENNY HITS THE YOU CAN’T ESCAPE!! MATT FOLLOWS WITH A TOP ROPE ELBOW AND NICK WITH A SWANTON!!! 1………2……KICK OUT!!!! They pick him up and The Bucks try to double team. MYSTERIO MOVES AND MATT SPEARS NICK!! ENZIGURI FROM MYSTERIO TO OMEGA!! HE TAGS IN PENTAGON!! Pentagon comes in and chops everyone, and then hits a Double Japanese Arm Drag on Matt and Nick! SUPERKICK TO KENNY FOLLOWED BY A LUNGBLOWER!! Kenny rolls out, but then FÉNIX SPRINGBOARDS TO THE OUTSIDE WITH A TORNILLO TO OMEGA!! REY FOLLOWS WITH A SUICIDE DIVE!! PENTAGON THEN HITS A LANZA TO MATT BACK IN THE RING AND COVERS! 1………2…….KICK OUT!!!
MATT FIRES BACK!! RUNNING CANADIAN DESTROYER TO PENTAGON – FOLLOWED BY A SPEAR!! Omega tags in and fights off all the luchadors, AND HITS DRAGON SUPLEXS ON ALL OF THEM!! Pentagon cuts him off again, AND SUPERKICKS NICK! HE TOSSES FÉNIX ONTO HIM WITH A MOONSAULT!! REY THEN HITS A WEST COAST POP ON KENNY!! 1…….2…..KICK OUT!!!! Mysterio then picks him up and hits THREE ROUNDHOUSE KICKS!! THE WHOLE MATCH THEN BREAKS DOWN INTO A SUPERKICK PARTY!! The Elite rally, BUT EAT SUPERKICKS!! THEY FIRE BACK WITH HADOKENS!! EVERY LUCHADOR HIT BY LIGER BOMBS!! NICK THEN WITH ASSISTED 450 SPLASHES ON FÉNIX AND MYSTERO!! PENTAGON MAKES THE SAVE! NICK WITH A SLINGSHOT X-FACTOR!! PENTAGON WITH A SLINGBLADE! OMEGA WITH THE V-TRIGGER!!
FÉNIX THEN FLIES IN WITH A CUTTER!! NICK CUTS HIM OFF WITH A NECKBREAKER!! FÉNIX THEN HITS THE SPANISH FLY TO NICK, OFF THE ROPES, INTO MATT AND PENTAGON ON THE FLOOR!! This takes those guys out but we still have Mysterio and Omega. KENNY HITS A V-TRIGGER OUT OF MIDAIR, AND THE TIGER DRIVER 98!!! 1………..2………KICK OUT!! KENNY WITH ANOTHER V-TRIGGER AND GOES FOR THE ONE-WINGED ANGEL – BUT REY HEADSCISSORS OUT!! HE CALLS FOR THE 619 AND CONNECTS IT!! HE THEN FLIES HIGH WITH THE WEST COAST POP TO FINISH OMEGA!!!!! 1……………..2………………3!!! THE LUCHADORS WIN THE BOUT, AND REY MYSTERIO PINS KENNY OMEGA CLEAN!!
The Lucha Brothers and Rey Mysterio defeat The Elite (20:20)

TL;DR: Man with too much time on his hands goes deep down the rabbit hole on a concept this sub already didn’t seem that enthusiastic about. If you really want to skip ahead, CTRL+F “verdict” and it’ll get you there.
Two days ago, u/MrPhillyj2wns made a post asking whether USL should launch a D1 league in order to compete in Concacaf. From the top voted replies, it appears this made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.
But I’ve been at home for eight weeks and I am terribly, terribly bored.
So, I present to you this overview of what the USL pyramid might look like if Jake Edwards got a head of steam and attempted to establish a USSF-sanctioned first division. This is by no means an endorsement of such a proposal or even a suggestion that USL SHOULD do such a thing. It is merely an examination of whether they COULD.
Welcome to the Thunderdome USL Premiership
First, there are some base-level assumptions we must make in this exercise, because it makes me feel more scientific and not like a guy who wrote this on Sunday while watching the Belarusian Premier League (Go BATE Borisov!).

1. All D1 teams must comply with known USSF requirements for D1 leagues (more on that later).
   
2. MLS, not liking this move, will immediately remove all directly-owned affiliate clubs from the USL structure (this does not include hybrid ownerships, like San Antonio FC – NYCFC). This removes all MLS2 teams but will not affect Colorado Springs, Reno, RGVFC and San Antonio.
   
3. The USL will attempt to maintain both the USL Championship and USL League One, with an eventual mind toward creating the pro/rel paradise that is promised in Relegations 3:16.
   
4. All of my research regarding facility size and ownership net worth is correct – this is probably the biggest leap of faith we have to make, since googling “NAME net worth” and “CITY richest people” doesn’t seem guaranteed to return accurate results.
   
5. The most a club can increase its available seating capacity to meet D1 requirements in a current stadium is no more than 1,500 seats (10% of the required 15,000). If they need to add more, they’ll need a new facility.
   
6. Let’s pretend that people are VERY willing to sell. It’s commonly acknowledged that the USL is a more financially feasible route to owning a soccer club than in MLS (c.f. MLS-Charlotte’s reported $325 million expansion fee) and the USSF has some very strict requirements for D1 sanctioning. It becomes pretty apparent when googling a lot of team’s owners that this requirement isn’t met, so let’s assume everyone that can’t sells to people who meet the requirements.
   

(Known) USSF D1 league requirements:
- League must have 12 teams to apply and 14 teams by year three
- Majority owner must have a net worth of $40 million, and the ownership group must have a total net worth of $70 million. The value of an owned stadium is not considered when calculating this value.
- Must have teams located in the Eastern, Central and Pacific time zones
- 75% of league’s teams must be based in markets with at a metro population of at least 1 million people.
- All league stadiums must have a capacity of at least 15,000
The ideal club candidate for the USL Premiership will meet the population and capacity requirements in its current ground, which will have a grass playing surface. Of the USL Championship’s 27 independent/hybrid affiliate clubs, I did not find one club that meets all these criteria as they currently stand.
Regarding turf fields, the USSF does not have a formal policy regarding the ideal playing surface but it is generally acknowledged that grass is superior to turf. 6 of 26 MLS stadiums utilize turf, or roughly 23% of stadiums. We’ll hold a similar restriction for our top flight, so 2-3 of our top flight clubs can have turf fields. Seem fair?
Capacity is going to be the biggest issue, since the disparity between current requirements for the second-tier (5,000) and the first tier (15,000) is a pretty massive gap. Nice club you have there, triple your capacity and you’re onto something. As a result, I have taken the liberty of relocating certain (read: nearly all) clubs to new grounds, trying my utmost to keep those clubs in their current markets and –importantly--, ensure they play on grass surfaces.
So, let’s do a case-by-case evaluation and see if we can put together 12-14 teams that meet the potential requirements, because what else do you have to do?
For each club’s breakdown, anything that represents a chance from what is currently true will be underlined.
Candidate: Birmingham Legion FC
Location (Metro population): Birmingham, Ala. (1,151,801)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Legion Field (FieldTurf, 71,594)
Potential owner: Stephens Family (reported net worth $4 billion)
Notes: Birmingham has a pretty strong candidacy. Having ditched the 5,000-seater BBVA Field for Legion Field, which sits 2.4 miles away, they’ve tapped into the city’s soccer history. Legion Field hosted portions of both the men’s and women’s tournaments at the 1996 Olympics, including a 3-1 U.S. loss to Argentina that saw 83,183 pack the house. The Harbert family seemed like strong ownership contenders, but since the death of matriarch Marguerite Harbert in 2015, it’s unclear where the wealth in the family is concentrated, so the Stephens seem like a better candidate. The only real knock that I can think of is that we really want to avoid having clubs play on turf, so I’d say they’re on the bubble of our platonic ideal USL Prem.
Candidate: Charleston Battery
Location (Metro population): Charleston, S.C. (713,000)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Johnson Hagood Stadium (Grass, ~14,700)
Potential owner: Anita Zucker (reported net worth $3 billion)
Notes: Charleston’s candidacy isn’t looking great. Already disadvantaged due to its undersized metro population, a move across the Cooper River to Johnson Hagood Stadium is cutting it close in terms of capacity. The stadium, home to The Citadel’s football team, used to seat 21,000, before 9,300 seats on the eastern grandstand were torn down in 2017 to deal with lead paint that had been used in their construction. Renovation plans include adding 3,000 seats back in, which could hit 15,000 if they bumped it to 3,300, but throw in a required sale by HCFC, LLC (led by content-creation platform founder Rob Salvatore) to chemical magnate Anita Zucker, and you’ll see there’s a lot of ifs and ands in this proposal.
Candidate: Charlotte Independence
Location (Metro population): Charlotte, N.C. (2,569, 213)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Jerry Richardson Stadium (Turf, 15,314)
Potential owner: James Goodnight (reported net worth $9.1 billion)
Notes: Charlotte ticks a lot of the boxes. A move from the Sportsplex at Matthews to UNC-Charlotte’s Jerry Richardson stadium meets capacity requirements, but puts them on to the dreaded turf. Regrettably, nearby American Legion Memorial Stadium only seats 10,500, despite a grass playing surface. With a sizeable metro population (sixth-largest in the USL Championship) and a possible owner in software billionaire James Goodnight, you’ve got some options here. The biggest problem likely lies in direct competition for market share against a much better-funded MLS Charlotte side due to join the league in 2021.
Candidate: Hartford Athletic
Location (Metro population): Hartford, Conn. (1,214,295)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Pratt & Whitney Stadium (Grass, 38,066)
Potential owner: Ray Dalio (reported net worth $18.4 billion)
Notes: Okay, I cheated a bit here, having to relocate Hartford to Pratt & Whitney Stadium, which is technically in East Hartford, Conn. I don’t know enough about the area to know if there’s some kind of massive beef between the two cities, but the club has history there, having played seven games in 2019 while Dillon Stadium underwent renovations. If the group of local businessmen that currently own the club manage to attract Dalio to the table, we’re on to something.
Candidate: Indy Eleven
Location (Metro population): Indianapolis, Ind. (2,048,703)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Lucas Oil Stadium (Turf, 62,421)
Potential owner: Jim Irsay (reported net worth of $3 billion)
Notes: Indy Eleven are a club that are SO CLOSE to being an ideal candidate – if it weren’t for Lucas Oil Stadium’s turf playing surface. Still, there’s a lot to like in this bid. I’m not going to lie, I have no idea what current owner and founder Ersal Ozdemir is worth, but it seems like there might be cause for concern. A sale to Irsay, who also owns the NFL Indianapolis (nee Baltimore) Colts, seems likely to keep the franchise there, rather than make a half-mile move to 14,230 capacity Victory Field where the AAA Indianapolis Indians play and expand from there.
Candidate: Louisville City FC
Location (Metro population): Louisville, Ky. (1,297,310)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Lynn Family Stadium (Grass, 14,000, possibly expandable to 20,000)
Potential owner: Wayne Hughes (reported net worth $2.8 billion)
Notes: I’m stretching things a bit here. Lynn Family stadium is currently listed as having 11,700 capacity that’s expandable to 14,000, but they’ve said that the ground could hold as many as 20,000 with additional construction, which might be enough to grant them a temporary waiver from USSF. If the stadium is a no-go, then there’s always Cardinal Stadium, home to the University of Louisville’s football team, which seats 65,000 but is turf. Either way, it seems like a sale to someone like Public Storage founder Wayne Hughes will be necessary to ensure the club has enough capital.
Candidate: Memphis 901 FC
Location (Metro population): Memphis, Tenn. (1,348,260)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Liberty Bowl Stadium (Turf, 58,325)
Potential owner: Fred Smith (reported net worth $3 billion)
Notes: Unfortunately for Memphis, AutoZone Park’s 10,000 seats won’t cut it at the D1 level. With its urban location, it would likely prove tough to renovate, as well. Liberty Bowl Stadium more than meets the need, but will involve the use of the dreaded turf. As far as an owner goes, FedEx founder Fred Smith seems like a good local option.
Candidate: Miami FC, “The”
Location (Metro population): Miami, Fla. (6,158,824)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Riccardo Silva Stadium (FieldTurf, 20,000)
Potential owner: Riccardo Silva (reported net worth $1 billion)
Notes: Well, well, well, Silva might get his wish for top-flight soccer, after all. He’s got the money, he’s got the metro, and his ground has the capacity. There is the nagging issue of the turf, though. Hard Rock Stadium might present a solution, including a capacity of 64,767 and a grass playing surface. It is worth noting, however, that this is the first profile where I didn’t have to find a new potential owner for a club.
Candidate: North Carolina FC
Location (Metro population): Durham, N.C. (1,214,516 in The Triangle)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Carter-Finley Stadium (Grass/Turf, 57,583)
Potential owner: Steve Malik (precise net worth unknown) / Dennis Gillings (reported net worth of $1.7 billion)
Notes: We have our first “relocation” in North Carolina FC, who were forced to trade Cary’s 10,000-seat WakeMed Soccer Park for Carter-Finley Stadium in Durham, home of the NC State Wolfpack and 57,583 of their closest friends. The move is a whopping 3.1 miles, thanks to the close-knit hub that exists between Cary, Durham and Raleigh. Carter-Finley might be my favorite of the stadium moves in this exercise. The field is grass, but the sidelines are artificial turf. Weird, right? Either way, it was good enough for Juventus to play a friendly against Chivas de Guadalajara there in 2011. Maybe the move would be pushed for by new owner and medical magnate Dennis Gillings, whose British roots might inspire him to get involved in the Beautiful Game. Straight up, though, I couldn’t find a net worth for current owner Steve Malik, though he did sell his company MedFusion for $91 million in 2010, then bought it back for an undisclosed amount and sold it again for $43 million last November. I don’t know if Malik has the juice to meet D1 requirements, but I suspect he’s close.
Candidate: Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Location (Metro population): Pittsburgh, Penn. (2,362,453)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Heinz Field (Grass, 64,450)
Potential owner: Henry Hillman (reported net worth $2.5 billion)
Notes: I don’t know a ton about the Riverhounds, but this move in particular feels like depriving a pretty blue-collar club from its roots. Highmark Stadium is a no-go from a seating perspective, but the Steelers’ home stadium at Heinz Field would more than meet the requirements and have a grass surface that was large enough to be sanctioned for a FIFA friendly between the U.S. WNT and Costa Rica in 2015. As for an owner, Tuffy Shallenberger (first ballot owner name HOF) doesn’t seem to fit the USSF bill, but legendary Pittsburgh industrialist Henry Hillman might. I’m sure you’re asking, why not the Rooney Family, if they’ll play at Heinz Field? I’ll tell you: I honestly can’t seem to pin down a value for the family. The Steelers are valued at a little over a billion and rumors persist that Dan Rooney is worth $500 million, but I’m not sure. I guess the Rooneys would work too, but it’s a definite departure from an owner in Shallenberger who was described by one journalist as a guy who “wears boots, jeans, a sweater and a trucker hat.”
Candidate: Saint Louis FC
Location (Metro population): St. Louis, Mo. (2,807,338)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Busch Stadium (Grass, 45,494)
Potential owner: William DeWitt Jr. (reported net worth $4 billion)
Notes: Saint Louis has some weirdness in making the jump to D1. Current CEO Jim Kavanaugh is an owner of the MLS side that will begin play in 2022. The club’s current ground at West Community Stadium isn’t big enough, but perhaps a timely sale to Cardinals owner William DeWitt Jr. could see the club playing games at Busch Stadium, which has a well established history of hosting other sports like hockey, college football and soccer (most recently a U.S. WNT friendly against New Zealand in 2019). The competition with another MLS franchise wouldn’t be ideal, like Charlotte, but with a big enough population and cross marketing from the Cardinals, maybe there’s a winner here. Wacko idea: If Busch doesn’t pan out, send them to The Dome. Sure, it’s a 60k turf closed-in stadium, but we can go for that retro NASL feel and pay homage to our nation’s soccer history.
Candidate: Tampa Bay Rowdies
Location (Metro population): Tampa, Fla. (3,068,511)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Raymond James Stadium (Grass, 65,518)
Potential owner: Edward DeBartolo Jr. (reported net worth $3 billion)
Notes: This one makes me sad. Despite having never been there, I see Al Lang Stadium as an iconic part of the Rowdies experience. Current owner Bill Edwards proposed an expansion to 18,000 seats in 2016, but the move seems to have stalled out. Frustrated with the city’s lack of action, Edwards sells to one-time San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr., who uses his old NFL connections to secure a cushy lease at the home of the Buccaneers in Ray Jay, the site of a 3-1 thrashing of Antigua and Barbuda during the United States’ 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign.
Breather. Hey, we finished the Eastern Conference teams. Why are you still reading this? Why am I still writing it? Time is a meaningless construct in 2020 my friends, we are adrift in the void, fueled only by brief flashes of what once was and what may yet still be.
Candidate: Austin Bold FC
Location (Metro population): Austin, Texas (2,168,316)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Darrel K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (FieldTurf, 95,594)
Potential owner: Michael Dell (reported net worth of $32.3 billion)
Notes: Anthony Precourt’s Austin FC has some unexpected competition and it comes in the form of tech magnate Michael Dell. Dell, were he to buy the club, would be one of the richest owners on our list and could flash his cash in the new first division. Would he have enough to convince Darrel K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (I’m not kidding, that’s its actual name) to go back to a grass surface, like it did from ’96-’08? That’s between Dell and nearly 100,000 UT football fans, but everything can be had for the right price.
Candidate: Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
Location (Metro population): Colorado Springs, Colo. (738,939)
Time zone: Mountain
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Falcon Stadium (FieldTurf, 46,692)
Potential owner: Charles Ergen (reported net worth $10.8 billion)
Notes: Welcome to Colorado Springs. We have hurdles. For the first time in 12 candidates, we’re back below the desired 1 million metro population mark. Colorado Springs actually plans to build a $35 million, 8,000 seat venue downtown that will be perfect for soccer, but in our timeline that’s 7,000 seats short. Enter Falcon Stadium, home of the Air Force Academy Falcons football team. Seems perfect except for the turf, right? Well, the tricky thing is that Falcon Stadium is technically on an active military base and is (I believe) government property. Challenges to getting in and out of the ground aside, the military tends to have a pretty grim view of government property being used by for-profit enterprises. Maybe Charles Ergen, founder and chairman of Dish Network, would be able to grease the right wheels, but you can go ahead and throw this into the “doubtful” category. It’s a shame, too. 6,035 feet of elevation is one hell of a home-field advantage.
Candidate: El Paso Locomotive FC
Location: El Paso, Texas
Time zone: Mountain
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Sun Bowl (FieldTurf, 51,500)
Potential owner: Paul Foster (reported net worth $1.7 billion)
Notes: God bless Texas. When compiling this list, I found so many of the theoretical stadium replacements were nearly serviceable by high school football fields. That’s insane, right? Anyway, Locomotive don’t have to settle for one of those, they’ve got the Sun Bowl, which had its capacity reduced in 2001 to a paltry 51,500 (from 52,000) specifically to accommodate soccer. Sure, it’s a turf surface, but what does new owner Paul Foster (who is only the 1,477th wealthiest man in the world, per Forbes) care, he’s got a team in a top league. Side note: Did you know that the Sun Bowl college football game is officially, through sponsorship, the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl? Why is it not the Frosted Flakes Sun Bowl? Why is the cereal mascot the promotional name of the football game? What are you doing, Kellogg’s?
Candidate: Las Vegas Lights FC
Location: Las Vegas, Nev. (2,227,053)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Allegiant Stadium (Grass, 61,000)
Potential owner: Sheldon Adelson (reported net worth $37.7 billion)
Notes: Sin City. You had to know that the club that once signed Freddy Adu because “why not” was going to go all out in our flashy hypothetical proposal. Thanks to my narrative control of this whole thing, they have. Adelson is the second-richest owner in the league and has decided to do everything first class. That includes using the new Raiders stadium in nearby unincorporated Paradise, Nevada, and spending boatloads on high profile transfers. Zlatan is coming back to the U.S., confirmed.
Candidate: New Mexico United
Location: Albuquerque, N.M.
Time zone: Mountain
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Isotopes Park – officially Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park (Grass, 13,500 – 15,000 with expansion)
Potential owner: Maloof Family (reported net worth $1 billion)
Notes: New Mexico from its inception went deep on the community vibe, and I’ve tried to replicate that in this bid. The home field of Rio Grande Cr---I’m not typing out the whole thing—Isotopes Park falls just within the expansion rules we set to make it to 15,000 (weird, right?) and they’ve found a great local ownership group in the Lebanese-American Maloof (formerly Maalouf) family from Las Vegas. The only thing to worry about would be the metro population, but overall, this could be one of the gems of USL Prem.
Candidate: Oklahoma City Energy FC
Location: Oklahoma City, Okla. (1,396,445)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (Grass, 13,066)
Potential owner: Harold Hamm (reported net worth $14.2 billion)
Notes: There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow and it says it’s time to change stadiums and owners to make it to D1. A sale to oil magnate Harold Hamm would give the club the finances it needs, but Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (home of the OKC Dodgers) actually falls outside of the boundary of what would meet capacity if 1,500 seats were added. Could the club pull off a move to Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma – home of the Oklahoma Sooners? Maybe, but at 20 miles, this would be a reach.
Candidate: Orange County SC
Location: Irvine, Calif. (3,176, 000 in Orange County)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Angels Stadium of Anaheim (Grass, 43,250)
Potential owner: Arte Moreno (reported net worth $3.3 billion)
Notes: You’ll never convince me that Rangers didn’t choose to partner with Orange County based primarily on its name. Either way, a sale to MLB Angels owner Arte Moreno produces a fruitful partnership, with the owner choosing to play his newest club out of the existing Angels stadium in OC. Another baseball conversion, sure, but with a metro population of over 3 million and the closest thing this hypothetical league has to an LA market, who’s complaining?
Candidate: Phoenix Rising FC
Location: Phoenix, Ariz. (4,857,962)
Time zone: Arizona
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): State Farm Stadium (Grass, 63,400)
Potential owner: Ernest Garcia II (reported net worth $5.7 billion)
Notes: We’re keeping it local with new owner and used car guru Ernest Garcia II. His dad owned a liquor store and he dropped out of college, which is making me feel amazing about my life choices right now. Casino Arizona Field is great, but State Farm Stadium is a grass surface that hosted the 2019 Gold Cup semifinal, so it’s a clear winner. Throw in Phoenix’s massive metro population and this one looks like a lock.
Candidate: Reno 1868 FC
Location: Reno, Nev. (425,417)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Mackay Stadium (FieldTurf, 30,000)
Potential owner: Nancy Walton Laurie (reported net worth $7.1 billion)
Notes: The Biggest Little City on Earth has some serious barriers to overcome, thanks to its low metro population. A sale to Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and 1.6 mile-move to Mackay Stadium to split space with the University of Nevada, Reno makes this bid competitive, but the turf surface is another knock against it.
Candidate: Rio Grande Valley FC
Location: Edinburg, Texas (900,304)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): McAllen Memorial Stadium (FieldTurf, 13,500 – 15,000 with expansion)
Potential owner: Alice Louise Walton (reported net worth $45 billion)
Notes: Yes, I have a second straight Walmart heiress on the list. She was the first thing that popped up when I googled “McAllen Texas richest people.” The family rivalry has spurred Walton to buy a club as well, moving them 10 miles to McAllen Memorial Stadium which, as I alluded to earlier, is a straight up high school football stadium with a full color scoreboard. Toss in an additional 1,500 seats and you’ve met the minimum, despite the turf playing surface.
Candidate: San Antonio FC
Location: San Antonio, Texas (2,550,960)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Alamodome (FieldTurf, 64,000)
Potential owner: Red McCombs (reported net worth $1.6 billion)
Notes: I wanted to keep SAFC in the Spurs family, since the franchise is valued at $1.8 billion. That said, I didn’t let the Rooneys own the Riverhounds based on the Steelers’ value and it felt wrong to change the rules, so bring on Clear Channel co-founder Red McCombs. Toyota Field isn’t viable in the first division, but for the Alamodome, which was built in 1993 in hopes of attracting an NFL franchise (and never did), San Antonio can finally claim having *a* national football league team in its town (contingent on your definition of football). Now if only we could do something about that turf…
Candidate: San Diego Loyal SC
Location: San Diego, Calif. (3,317,749)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): SDCCU Stadium (formerly Qualcomm) (Grass, 70,561)
Potential owner: Phil Mickelson (reported net worth $91 million)
Notes: Yes, golf’s Phil Mickelson. The existing ownership group didn’t seem to have the wherewithal to meet requirements, and Phil seemed to slot right in. As an athlete himself, he might be interesting in the new challenges of a top flight soccer team. Toss in a move to the former home of the chargers and you might have a basis for tremendous community support.
Candidate: FC Tulsa
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (991,561)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium (FieldTurf, 30,000)
Potential owner: George Kaiser ($10 billion)
Notes: I’m a fan of FC Tulsa’s rebrand, but if they want to make the first division, more changes are necessary. A sale to Tulsa native and one of the 100 richest men in the world George Kaiser means that funding is guaranteed. A move to Chapman Stadium would provide the necessary seats, despite the turf field. While the undersize population might be an issue at first glance, it’s hard to imagine U.S. Soccer not granting a waiver over a less than a 10k miss from the mark.
And that’s it! You made it. Those are all of the independent/hybrid affiliates in the USL Championship, which means that it’s time for our…
VERDICT: As an expert who has studied this issue for almost an entire day now, I am prepared to pronounce which USL Championships could be most ‘ready” for a jump to the USL Prem. A reminder that of the 27 clubs surveyed, 0 of them met our ideal criteria (proper ownership $, metro population, 15,000+ stadium with grass field).
Two of them, however, met almost all of those criteria: Indy Eleven and Miami FC. Those two clubs may use up two of our three available turf fields right from the outset, but the other factors they hit (particularly Silva’s ownership of Miami) makes them difficult, if not impossible to ignore for the top flight.
But who fill in the rest of the slots? Meet the entire 14-team USL Premier League:
Hartford Athletic
Indy Eleven
Louisville City FC
Miami FC
North Carolina FC
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Saint Louis FC
San Antonio FC
New Mexico United
Phoenix Rising FC
Las Vegas Lights FC
Orange County SC
San Diego Loyal SC
Now, I shall provide my expert rationale for each club’s inclusion/exclusion, which can be roughly broken down into four categories.
Firm “yes”
Hartford Athletic: It’s a good market size with a solid stadium. With a decent investor and good community support, you’ve got potential here.
Indy Eleven: The turf at Lucas Oil Stadium is no reason to turn down a 62,421 venue and a metro population of over 2 million.
Louisville City FC: Why doesn’t the 2017 & 2018 USL Cup champion deserve a crack at the top flight? They have the market size, and with a bit of expansion have the stadium at their own SSS. LCFC, you’re in.
Miami FC, “The”: Our other blue-chip recruit on the basis of ownership value, market size and stadium capacity. Yes, that field is turf, but how could you snub Silva’s chance to claim victory as the first division 1 club soccer team to play in Miami?
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Pittsburgh sacrificed a lot to be here (according to my arbitrary calculations). Their market size and the potential boon of soccer at Heinz Field is an important inclusion to the league.
Saint Louis FC: Willie hears your “Busch League” jokes, Willie don’t care. A huge market size, combined with the absence of an NFL franchise creates opportunity. Competition with the MLS side, sure, but St. Louis has serious soccer history and we’re willing to bet it can support two clubs.
Tampa Bay Rowdies: With a huge population and a massive stadium waiting nearby, Tampa Bay seems like too good of an opportunity to pass up for the USL Prem.
Las Vegas Lights FC: Ostentatious, massive and well-financed, Las Vegas Lights FC is everything that the USL Premier League would need to assert that it didn’t intend to play second fiddle to MLS. Players will need to be kept on a short leash, but this is a hard market to pass up on.
Phoenix Rising FC: Huge population, big grass field available nearby and a solid history of success in recent years. No brainer.
San Diego Loyal SC: New club? Yes, massive population in a market that recently lost an absolutely huge sports presence? Also yes. This could be the USL Prem’s Seattle.
Cautious “yes”
New Mexico United: You have to take a chance on New Mexico United. The club set the league on fire with its social media presence and its weight in the community when it entered the league last season. The market may be slightly under USSF’s desired 1 million, but fervent support (and the ability to continue to use Isotopes Park) shouldn’t be discounted.
North Carolina FC: Carter-Finley’s mixed grass/turf surface is a barrier, to be sure, but the 57,000+ seats it offers (and being enough to offset other fully-turf offerings) is enough to put it in the black.
Orange County SC: It’s a top-tier club playing in a MLB stadium. I know it seems unlikely that USSF would approve something like that, but believe me when I say “it could happen.” Orange County is a massive market and California likely needs two clubs in the top flight.
San Antonio FC: Our third and only voluntary inclusion to the turf fields in the first division, we’re counting on San Antonio’s size and massive potential stadium to see it through.
Cautious “no”
Birmingham Legion FC: The town has solid soccer history and a huge potential venue, but the turf playing surface puts it on the outside looking in.
Memphis 901 FC: Like Birmingham, not much to dislike here outside of the turf playing surface at the larger playing venue.
Austin Bold FC: See the other two above.
FC Tulsa: Everything’s just a little bit off with this one. Market’s slightly too small, stadium has turf. Just not enough to put it over the top.
Firm “no”
Charleston Battery: Small metro and a small potential new stadium? It’s tough to say yes to the risk.
Charlotte Independence: A small new stadium and the possibility of having to compete with an organization that just paid over $300 million to join MLS means it’s best for this club to remain in the USL Championship.
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: When a club’s best chance to meet a capacity requirement is to host games at a venue controlled by the military, that doesn’t speak well to a club’s chances.
El Paso Locomotive FC: An undersized market and a turf field that meets capacity requirements is the death knell for this one.
Oklahoma City Energy FC: Having to expand a baseball field to meet requirements is a bad start. Having to potentially play 20 miles away from your main market is even worse.
Reno 1868 FC: Population nearly a half-million short of the federation’s requirements AND a turf field at the hypothetical new stadium makes impossible to say yes to this bid.
Rio Grande Valley FC: All the seat expansions in the world can’t hide the fact that McAllen Memorial Stadium is a high school stadium through and through.
Here’s who’s left in the 11-team Championship:
Birmingham Legion FC
Charleston Battery
Charlotte Independence
Memphis 901 FC
Austin Bold FC
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
El Paso Locomotive FC
Oklahoma City Energy FC
Reno 1868 FC
Rio Grande Valley FC
FC Tulsa
With MLS folding the six affiliates it has in USL League One, the league is a little bit thin (especially considering USSF’s requirements for 8 teams for lower level leagues), but seems definitely able to expand up to the necessary numbers with Edwards’ allusions to five new additions this year:
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
Forward Madison FC
Greenville Triumph SC
Union Omaha
Richmond Kickers
South Georgia Tormenta
FC Tucson
Format of Assorted Leagues – This (like everything in this post) is pure conjecture on my part, but here are my thoughts on how these leagues might function in a first year while waiting for additional expansion.
USL Premier – We’ll steal from the 12-team Scottish Premiership. Each club plays the other 11 clubs 3 times, with either one or two home matches against each side. When each club has played 33 matches, the top six and bottom six separate, with every club playing an additional five matches (against each other team in its group). The top club wins the league. The bottom club is automatically relegated. The second-bottom club will enter a two-legged playoff against someone (see below) from the championship playoffs.
USL Championship -- 11 clubs is a challenge to schedule for. How about every club plays everyone else three times (either one or two home matches against each side)? Top four clubs make the playoffs, which are decided by two-legged playoffs. The winner automatically goes up. I need feedback on the second part – is it better to have the runner-up from the playoffs face the second-bottom club from the Premiership, or should the winner of the third-place match-up get the chance to face them to keep drama going in both playoff series? As for relegation, we can clearly only send down the last place club while the third division is so small.
USL League One – While the league is so small, it doesn’t seem reasonable to have the clubs play as many matches as the higher divisions. Each club could play the other six clubs four times – twice at home and twice away – for a very equitable 24-match regular season, which would help restrict costs and still provide a chance to determine a clear winner. Whoever finishes top of the table goes up.
And there you have it, a hypothetical look at how the USL could build a D1 league right now. All it would take is a new stadium for almost the entire league and new owners for all but one of the 27 clubs, who wouldn’t feel that their property would be massively devalued if they got relegated.
Well that’s our show. I’m curious to see what you think of all of this, especially anything that you think I may have overlooked (I’m sure there’s plenty). Anyway, I hope you’re all staying safe and well.