Passion Pro’s final show of 2023 saw them return to Budapest as we had a rounds match for the HCW championship, and some fresh turbulence over the Passion Pro title.
Quick Results:
Laurance Roman pinned Dover in 11:12 (**¾)
Zafar Ameen pinned El Passión in 7:33 (**¾)
Diana Strong & JC Storm pinned Tank & Iva Kolasky in 5:03 (**½)
Red Scorpion, Skaar, Jónás & Zeritus pinned Jay Stynes, Zétény, Axel Fox & Samson in 15:41 (**½)
Rounds Match: Peter Tihanyi beat Icarus by 2 falls to 0 at 2:46 of round 4 to retain the HCW Championship (***¼)
Robert Dreissker pinned Gulyas Öcsi in 12:07 (***½)
Connor Mills pinned Maokai, Shigehiro Irie and Man Like Dereiss in 13:43 (***½)
Maverick pinned Tristan Archer to win the Passion Pro Championship in 17:15 (***½)
Robert Dreissker pinned Maverick to win the Passion Pro Championship in 2:00
We’re live on tape from the Analog Music Hall in Budapest, Hungary for this one… with Mett Dimassi on hand for English commentary.
Dover vs. Laurance Roman
There’s some history here from wXw, with Dover having previously been a part of AMBOSS before he was kicked out…
Dover overpowered Roman early on, but a game of cat and mouse allowed Roman to force an advantage… at least until Dover surprised Roman with a leapfrog and a big boot. Roman’s quickly back in control though, taking Dover outside as he looked to neutralise the Hungarian’s strength, peppering him with a series of strikes.
A clothesline forced an opening for Dover, but Roman pounced on him with a rear naked choke… which was broken up in the corner. We’ve a back body drop from Dover as he built anew, before a second choke hold ended with Dover spilling through the ropes to the floor… and there’s not long left in this one as Roman shoved the aside after returning to the ring, then punted the ropes into Dover before snatching the win. Not much to this one after Roman neutralised Dover early on… **¾
Zafar Ameen’s out for a promo, which doesn’t get subtitles… at the end he mentions Tristan Archer, which I assume was a reference to his loss at Passion Pro 9, but then we’re interrupted by lucha music as the masked El Passión came out for a match.
Zafar Ameen vs. El Passión
El Passión’s mask reminds me of an inverted Evil Uno mask, what with the teeth…
Ameen’s in control with shoulder tackles early on, but Passión was able to stem the tide with headscissors before he was left to pick his spots as Ameen began to have his way. A press slam sends Passión flying off the top, with things staying on the deck as Ameen end up blinding Passión by swivelling the mask around.
The ref refuses to count a pin after a slam from Ameen, which got some boos as the crowd didn’t seem to want to boo Ameen. Passión avoids a Mirage kick and mounted a comeback, leading to a lifting DDT, only for Ameen to get the knees up on a frog splash. From there, a Mirage kick lands, before a package piledriver got the win – a little squashy, but exactly what Ameen needed here after last time out. **¾
Iva Kolasky & Tank vs. Diana Strong & JC Storm
Some curious teams here – with JC Storm having been over on a tour from America here…
Kolasky and Strong open things off, but Iva’s shoved away and tags in Tank to outmuscle Strong in the opening stages. Tank looked to be playing the role of the hired muscle for Kolasky, but that plan backfired once Iva was unable to get to the corner to make the tag out.
Tank finally comes in and charges down Strong, then handed her back off to Iva as things stayed in their corner. Strong tries to break free, but Tank shoves her back into the corner… then evaded the pair as JC Storm got the tag and took control. A ripcord into a Downward Spiral gets Storm a two-count, but Kolasky’s able to bring Tank back in once more.
Storm’s tornillo off the top rope takes Tank down though, with Strong coming in for a death valley driver to get the pin on the newcomer. This told a good story, but a little too short for my liking. **½
Red Scorpion, Skaar, Jónás & Zeritus vs. Zétény, Axel Fox, Samson & Jay Stynes
We’ve a random eight-man tag here, with Scorpion and Zétény having some beef here… but Scorpion instead ordered his team to leave because he wasn’t happy with the crowd.
When we got going, Zétény’s early offence was stopped by Scorpion grabbing the hair, as the opening stages had plenty of “everyone gets a go on attack and defence.” Scorpion outwits Samson, slapping him on a Test of Strength, before Scorpion was sent packing and tagged in Skaar.
A leaping shoulder tackle from Samson surprises Skaar, who tags in Zeritus… who also couldn’t get going, as Axel Fox got tagged in and propelled into the German. Zeritus manages to hit back with a fallaway slam to Fox, before Jónás came in… and got punched in the midsection.
Jónás’ lariat dumps Fox in return, before Scorpion returned to keep on wearing down Fox with chops. Quick tags keep Fox isolated, but he manages to evade Jónás and Zeritus before making the tag out to Zétény. That turnaround allows Stynes to come in with a dropkick to Jónás, while Zétény tagged in… and quickly got blindsided by Skaar.
Scorpion’s back to land a suplex, which led to a gruesome shot of Zétény’s ankle after the landing. Except it’s a con as he seemingly has rubber ankles, which winds up Scorpion some more. Zétény’s able to duck a clothesline from Skaar, who wiped out Zeritus as Samson’s tag saw him clear house.
Stynes comes in but got shoved off the top rope, sparking a Parade of Stuff among all eight men, until Stynes’ mounted punches in the corner ended with Scorpion powerbombing his way free, before he got his feet on the top rope to steal the win with a roll-up in a ridiculous finale. **½
Post-match, Scorpion chops Jónás, presumably for celebrating way too much…
HCW Championship: Icarus vs. Peter Tihanyi (c)
Tihanyi had only won the HCW title about a month earlier, defeating Bence Toth BT… and we seem to be running under something akin to British rounds here. I’ve not seen much from HCW so can’t really say if that’s normal or if someone really liked the Heritage Cup in NXT…
Round 1: After some stalling, Icarus tried to go for the arm before he forced Tihanyi down in a pinning attempt from a Test of Strength. A Monkey flip frees Tihanyi, but he’s knocked into the corner by Icarus, who goes back to the arm with uppercuts before things went massively awry on a roll-up – Laurance Roman acting as Icarus’ second held Icarus’ feet on the ropes, before the ref began to count… and the silent bell saves Icarus.
Between rounds, Laurance Roman charges the ring and attacks Cement – Tihanyi’s second.
Round 2: Things blow up at the bell as Icarus and Tihanyi trade strikes, but a back suplex from Icarus sees him focus on the arm and shoulder of the champion. An uppercut decks Tihanyi for a one-count, before Laurance Roman tried to interfere in the corner. Tihanyi escapes and jack-knifes Icarus to score the first fall with 34 seconds left.
Round 3: We start like the second round did, but Tihanyi’s able to evade Icarus, sending him outside for a dive, but an uppercut in the ropes stops that. Shrugging it off, Tihanyi goes for an O’Connor roll, then added a running Meteora for a two-count. Tihanyi’s feeling his arm but is still okay to throw chops, before a slingshot cutter attempt was caught. A superkick finds a way through though, before an Asai DDT saw Tihanyi land badly on his knee… he can’t make a cover, and time runs out on him.
Round 4: Tihanyi charges Icarus at the bell, connecting with a dropkick and a swinging DDT off the ropes for a near-fall. Roman gets involved again, but he and Cement distract the referee as Icarus caught Tihanyi on the top rope for an avalanche brainbuster… the Meltdown senton follows, but it’s not enough for the equaliser, nor was a short piledriver. Laurance Roman slides into the ring with the HCW belt, again distracting the referee, Cement stops Roman and punches him out, before an enziguiri and an Asai DDT from Tihanyi knocked out Icarus. The slingshot cutter’s next, and that’s enough for Tihanyi to get the clean sweep with 14 seconds left in the round. This got a little too overdone with interference by the end, but I enjoyed the clean sweep for Tihanyi here. ***¼
Gulyas Öcsi. vs. Robert Dreissker
This was a number-one contender’s match for the Passion Pro title…
Of course, Öcsi was the crowd favourite here, buoyed by the lighting guy flashing the lights in time to his chant. Dreissker tries to squeeze him out with a side headlock, before a battle of side headlocks ended with Öcsi busting out some Dusty punches. Dreissker cuts off a Bionic elbow, but couldn’t avoid a leaping shoulder tackle as he’s sent outside.
Dreissker gets frustrated at Öcsi not letting him back in the ring, but couldn’t capitalise on a game of cat and mouse as Öcsi instead ran him into the buckles. Raking the eyes, Dreissker’s able to post Öcsi, leading to the match spilling outside as Dreissker again went after the eyes.
Back inside, Öcsi gets met with a suplex for a two-count, before slams wore down Öcsi… allowing Dreissker to go back to a chinlock as he tried to prevent any fightback from materialising. That backfires when Öcsi powered up for a suplex, then followed up with Dusty punches before he countered Dreissker’s ripcord lariat with a back suplex.
Öcsi splashes Dreissker in the corner… but the Austrian takes time to remove a turnbuckle cover, and ends up returning with a ripcord lariat for a two-count. Öcsi returns with a pop-up knee and a dropkick, before a cannonball saw him crash into the exposed buckle, leading to the Dreissker bomb and the elementary win. This was some good stuff, and a tainted win for Dreissker will only add to the downfall when it comes… ***½
Man Like Dereiss vs. Shigehiro Irie vs. Maokai vs. Connor Mills
Mills had fought – and beaten – Irie about a fortnight earlier at Rev Pro…
Mills goes after Irie to start, and it backfires as Irie took Mills into the corner for some triple-teaming. Escaping, Mills drags Irie to the outside as Maokai and Dereiss stayed in the ring, with Maokai’s armdrags lead to a springboard armdrag to take Dereiss outside. You know the score here – we’ve got the revolving door format, with Mills replacing Dereiss as he took down Maokai with a missile dropkick for a two-count.
Irie’s in after Mills, scoring with a slam and a slingshot splash, before Dereiss countered an Irie crossbody into a fallaway slam. Dereiss adds a back body drop to Maokai, then plancha’d into Mills on the floor, while Maokai joined in with a flip senton to the outside. Back inside, Irie busts out some Bossman Slams, before Mills returned… and ran into a sit-out splash from Irie.
Irie keeps going, piledriving Maokai onto Mills, before he cannonballed into the pile for a two-count on Dereiss. Recovering, Dereiss suplexes Maokai into Irie in the corner, before a cutter took out Mills… Maokai’s back with a DDT to Dereiss as nobody was able to maintain an advantage for too long. Mills’ diving kick to Maokai earned him the attention of Irie, who absorbs Mills’ lariats before a rebound lariat took down the former wXw champion.
Orange Crush from Mills nearly puts Maokai away, before he caught Maokai with a headbutt on the top rope. The follow-up superplex is turned into a Tower of Doom by Irie, before a 450 from Dereiss broke up the resulting pin. Kicks from Mills chips away at Dereiss and Maokai, leading to an Orihara moonsault from Mills to Dereiss and Irie on the floor.
Back inside, Maokai’s able to avoid a flying stomp, then cradled Mills for a near-fall, before a rebound lariat and a Burning Cutter got the win as Irie and Dereiss inadvertently stopped each other from breaking up the pin. ***½
Passion Pro Championship: Maverick vs. Tristan Archer (c)
Maverick won this shot back at Passion Pro 9 in the wacky beach brawl match…
Archer gets the referee to make Maverick wash his mouth out, suspecting his challenger of having mist ready to spray. Archer was right, but the spat-out mist was left in a bottle at ringside…
The early going sees the pair work wristlocks and escapes, before a front facelock on the mat from Archer was escaped. The pair keep the pace deliberate, with Archer’s attempt to escape a wristlock seeing him try see-saw kip ups before he baited Maverick into a cheapshot. Maverick tries a leapfrog, but he’s caught and charged into the corner as Archer proceeded to hit an Exploder to take him back into the middle of the ring for a two-count.
Maverick’s able to return fire with a dropkick, a neckbreaker and a springboard crossbody splash for a two-count of his own. Archer’s dragged outside for a springboard body press into the crowd, before he caught a tope and popped Maverick onto the side of the ring as Archer continued to build momentum.
A back suplex from Archer keeps him ahead, as did a huge slap… but Archer takes too long to follow up as Maverick hits a flurry of shots en route to a flying facebuster off the middle rope. Archer scrambles into the corner as Maverick headed up top, stopping what the challenger had planned before he suplexed him back into the ring.
Archer’s back elbow, then a sliding elbow almost puts Maverick away, before a guillotine stomp through the ropes and a La Bastille sit-out dominator led to another near-fall. Another sliding elbow from Archer misses, allowing Maverick back in as a back cracker and a tornado DDT almost led to the title change.
Maverick’s frog splash lands in Archer’s knee as both men were bringing out the big guns… a pop-up powerbomb from Archer gets chained into La Terreur and a Decapite lariat, but it’s still not enough, as Maverick tried to fight back… despite looking to be running on fumes. Hearing that guy in the crowd constantly shout “Maverick” will do that to you!
With the ref checking on the challenger, Maverick mists Archer, but a short-range clothesline dumped him anyway… Archer looks for revenge as he takes a swig of Maverick’s mist water, only for Maverick to block it and come back with a Samoan driver for a near-fall. Following up, Maverick leaps up top for the frog splash… and that’s enough to win the title! This took a while to get going, but it’s not like Maverick could celebrate for too long… ***½
Cue anvils and hammers as AMBOSS hit the ring – Robert Dreissker wants to take the title shot he won… right here, right now. At least, that’s what I think Dreissker said in Hungarian…
Passion Pro Championship: Maverick (c) vs. Robert Dreissker
Maverick charges Dreissker at the bell, realising a rush start was likely his only hope…
A leaping knee from Maverick looks to set up for the Samoan driver, but Dreissker’s too big as he elbowed out, only to eat a back cracker. Maverick adds a springboard splash for a two-count, before we got the AMBOSS interference. Laurance Roman charges the apron as Maverick was on the top rope… he’s kicked away, before Icarus met a similar fate.
Dreissker rolls away from a frog splash, adding a ripcord lariat before an avalanche splash in the corner and a Dreissker bomb led to the second title change in a matter of minutes.
Post-match, AMBOSS attack Maverick… before Dover’s music saw him alongside Shigehiro Irie and Gulyas Öcsi making the save to chase AMBOSS away.
Passion Pro end their year with AMBOSS on top – something that’s becoming a theme across mainland Europe – with the crowd favourite Maverick having had an almighty rug pull after he’d won the big one.