This week on Three Count, the Arrows of Hungary are in singles action, and Wesna forms her plan to take over.
We open with the recap from prior episodes, with Lucky Kid getting bad advice from Pascal Spalter, and Tarkan Aslan being greeted by his brother… who isn’t Lucky Kid.
We start with Ahmed Chaer playing with his Amazon Echo, getting Alexa to give him some Chuck Norris jokes, before Vincenzo Coccotti interrupts. He wants to push Chaer on his previous promise of a “job for life”, it seems, but Vincenzo isn’t happy with just being a glorified janitor now he’s done wrestling… as instead he wants to be a psychologist.
Tarkan Aslan’s in a pizzeria, bemoaning how the GWF wanted him to wrestle for the Loserweight title. His brother, who’s identified in the subtitles as Ben, tells us he’s been watching Tarkan while he’s been away. They shoot the breeze for a while, but Ben stops him from reminiscing, saying that “that’s not the Tarkan I know”.
Pascal Spalter’s doing a screen test for a yoghurt commercial, full of all airs and graces… Lucky Kid’s late. He turns up and acts like his in-ring character, all weird and the like. Pascal’s grinning through the door at his handiwork as Lucky looks to be costing himself the role. At least, that’s the impression we get from the directors who don’t know what to do… apart from stroke his leg.
Wesna and Kati Libra are in another cafe, as Kati tries to politic her way into becoming vice president… Wesna agrees, and then has to listen to a plan. Kati wants to take this to an election, but Wesna instantly shoots it down, thinking that they’d not be voted in… so instead, she proposes the role of matchmaker’s put up in a match.
Crazy Sexy Mike and John Klinger are in a meeting room. Mike’s trying to give Benji matches, but he can’t fit him in the cards… Bad Bones suggests throwing Benji to Pascal Spalter, and that seems to be taken on board.
Outside now as Dover’s jumped by Grup Anarsi, who force-feed him pork before kicking him in the arm. I hope he’s not vegan… he’s back in the arena and tells the rest of the New Wave what happened. Dover wants revenge, but Oliver Carter talks him out of it, and instead suggests a 5-on-5 match… when he’s healed. Cue titles, and we’re into the wrestling portion of the show, inside Huxley’s Neues Welt.
Icarus vs. John Klinger
Curiously despite being named as a tag team champion, Icarus doesn’t come out with his belt here.
We start with a headlock from Icarus, which gives way to shoulder block attempts that Bones succeeds with. He’s rather playful for someone “not in the best of moods” (per Dave Bradshaw on commentary), but he’s quickly tripped and met with a dropkick as Icarus fought back. A scoop slam from Klinger nearly ends it there and then, before some chops take the Hungarian into the corner for a big back body drop.
Bones ends up running into a knee though as Icarus unleashes with some kicks, only to hit back with some German suplexes as Icarus was sent bouncing across the ring. A slingshot spear followed from Bones, who gets a near-fall, before taking Icarus outside for a lowpe. Klinger takes it back to the ring, but his search for the flying lungblower’s stopped with a superkick as Icarus mounted another fightback, only to get clocked with a forearm… which sends him out of the ring. Icarus skins the cat and hits a forearm of his own, only to get caught with the Self Justice (flying lungblower) as Bones gets the win. A surprisingly one-sided match here, with Klinger taking large parts of the contest. As solid as you’d expect between these two. ***¼
Dover vs. Chris Colen
It’s a non-title main event, and Dover’s out showing little signs of the arm injury he suffered earlier in the show.
After the opening handshake, Dover and Colen trade wristlocks as the match was taken to the mat, before they looked to trade shoulder tackles. Colen wins out before he clotheslines Dover to the outside, ahead of a plancha that wiped out the Hungarian. Back inside, Dover blocks a leap off the top by just booting away the Austrian, but it’s only enough for a near-fall, as the Hungarian looked to assert himself.
Dave Bradshaw on commentary tails off halfway through a plug for GWF tickets, in what I can only assume was a bizarre edit. Colen fights back with a crossbody off the top, and rolls through as he continues with a series of clotheslines, before a bodyslam left Dover down. An attempt at the uranage’s blocked as Dover punches his way free, before he tried to set up for a Saito suplex. Colen slips out and lands his Austrian Pancake (uranage) before the Angel’s Wings are countered with a Saito suplex that almost causes the upset. The pair end up on the outside, with Dover pulling further ahead with a back suplex onto the apron, before a boot to the head from Dover back inside just fires up Colen, as he hits straight back with the Wolverine’s End (Angel’s Wings) for the win. A bit of an odd finish, but this was alright given the time limits. ***
After the show signs off, we’re jump cut backstage as Chris Colen is icing the back of his head, when he’s interrupted by Ahmed Chaer. Ahmed says that Colen should probably see a doctor, but he laughs it off, before Cash Money Erkan comes in to antagonise him some more. Colen doesn’t want to know, but Erkan has something for him… and we fade to black as it looks for all the world like he’s about to expose himself. What in the world…
Yeah, we’ve another end credits skit, with Olaf again getting drunk on boxed wine, rueing their lack of lines. He’s getting progressively more dishevelled, and… I don’t get it?
This week’s episode was an improvement, but we still have that weird “bubble” effect as it feels like the happenings on Three Count are in a completely different universe to the rest of the GWF (and even the rest of the show: as seen by Dover getting attacked and then wrestling minutes later with no ill effects).
The matches are solid, but feel rushed, while the pre-show skits do their job of advancing and creating storylines, but for when and where? Who knows?!