Time for a look at something different – we’re off to die Weiße Rose in Berlin for a look at Project Nova’s show from the end of 2022.
Quick Results
Georg Asgolar & Kevin Lazar win a gauntlet match in 15:16 (**¾)
Anita Vaughan pinned La Catrina in 5:02 (**½)
Owen Richards & Andy Steel pinned Randleman & Aron in 7:41 (**¾)
Bennet Brown submitted Romero, Cody Kidman, Joshua Amaru & Tempesta in 9:57 (***)
Kara & Xara Grace pinned Heartbeat Girl & Lina in 5:55 (**½)
Ronaldo Shaqiri pinned Big Nik in 12:10 (**)
Jessy Jay vs. Tarkan Aslan ended in a no contest in 16:00 – Jessy Jay retained the Marty Shaw Cup (**¾)
Project Nova are a fairly new promotion, having set up shop in the late summer of 2021 – with their inaugural show being held outdoors in September 2021, featuring a lot of names familiar to you if the only European wrestling you watch comes from wXw. Levaniel losing the main event of the first Nova show to Kevin Lazar is a bit of a trip!
Based out of die Weiße Rose in Berlin, Nova’s almost got a theatre aesthetic to them – with the curtain pulling back as wrestlers appear on stage, with few bells and whistles. That being said, the rowdy crowd is very un-theatre-like!
Nova isn’t strictly a “feeder” or “developmental” group for the GWF, despite both being based in Berlin – but you’ll see a lot of names appear in both promotions. And speaking of familiar names, here’s Mett Dimassi as ring announcer! Commentary comes in German from Victor Redman & Alexander Lonn…
Tag Team Gauntlet: Baklava Club (Abdul Kenan & Aytac Bahar) vs. Alex Duke & Michael Noel vs. Kendo Boys (Arash & Pahlevan Nima) vs. Lazarus Pit (Georg Asgolar & Kevin Lazar)
Ah, wrestling fans… they hear “ein fall” and ignore the rest! We’ve got a gauntlet match to start us off… and we’ve got the Baklava Club, with the first time I’ve seen Abdul Kenan in ages. There’s no subtitles, so I don’t get the gist of Abdul’s promo, but it’s cut off pretty quickly…
So we’ve got the Baklava Club against Alex Duke and Michael Noel – with Duke’s seemingly having hired Noel to be his partner. That gear is very much inspired by Peaky Blinders…
Noel attacks Kenan as he was back on the mic, but Abdul’s able to fight back despite Duke and Noel remaining in the ring. A STO from Noel lands as the match finally starts, before a cannonball from Noel would have gotten the win for Duke… but the ref’s too busy shooing Noel out of the ring to count a pin. Noel’s back to just stand on Kenan’s fingers, before a clothesline put Bahar down for a two-count.
Kenan fights out of the corner, ducking a clothesline from Duke before a back body drop allowed Abdul to tag in Aytac. A back suplex gets the Adana Bulldozer ahead, only for Noel to attack from behind… and get dumped with a running forearm. A back suplex/neckbreaker combo lands, and despite Noel’s attempt to break it up, he’s just too late as the Baklava Club progressed at 4:16.
Out next to interrupt Abdul’s latest promo attempt were the Kendo Boys, Arash and Pahlevan Nima, who very much fit that “as seen on GWF” tag, with Arash having very much moved on from that run as a Loserweight champ. Nima and Aytac start this phase off, with Aytac landing a leaping back elbow before Nima was handed a Kendo stick. The referee removes it, allowing Nima to go to Aytac’s eyes ahead of a scissors kick.
Arash tags in to help with a double-team flapjack, which drew a near-fall, before Aytac got choked in the ropes. Nima resisted the temptation to throw in a cheapshot, instead tagging in right as Aytac fought back… but Nima snuffs it out with kicks, only for Aytac to escape a double-team attempt.
Kenan tags in to run wild with clotheslines, but his gutwrench attempt is broken up by Arash, who took a throat thrust for his woes. Commentary really loved Abdul’s uranage, before Nima got slammed onto Arash for a near-fall. Nima makes a save as Aytac nearly won with a German suplex, before a death valley cutter from Aytac got Abdul the pin at 10:49.
Abdul tries to finish his promo again, but the Kendo Boys attack him and Aytac from behind with their eponymous weapons. The crowd are very clear with their feelings towards Arash and Pahlevan, as the last team out are introduced as the Lazarus Pit of Georg Asgolar & Kevin Lazar…
Lazar posts Abdul to start, as Asgolar squashed Aytac with a low crossbody for an early two-count. A leaping headbutt adds another two-count for Georg, who then assisted Lazar for something out of the movie Titanic… which turned into a wheelbarrow splash on Aytac for another near-fall.
Aytac fights back against Lazar, before Abdul broke up the cover on a ripcord lariat… Lazar chucks Kenan back outside as Asgolar returned to boot Bahar ahead of a… leaping Kokeshi for the win. **¾
La Catrina vs. Anita Vaughan
Catrina’s been around the German scene for a while – and recently popped up on the GWF, albeit sans face paint or smoking skull… while the Cork-native Vaughan is a part of the Saviours of Destiny.
Vaughan throws her shirt at Catrina as we got going with some ground and pound, before La Catrina took Vaughan into the corner with a shoulder charge. A neckbreaker out of the corner gets a two-count, before Vaughan struck back with a fallaway slam, then with some chops as Catrina was caught in the corner.
Catrina ducks a kick, then rolled up Vaughan for a near-fall, before a comeback saw Catrina score with leaping shoulder blocks. A running crossbody from Vaughan’s caught and turned into a slam, which earns a two-count before La Catrina applied a mandible claw… which turned into a claw slam for another two-count.
Vaughan strikes back with an elbow and an enziguiri, before a single-knee Codebreaker and a roll-up got the win, despite Vaughan having her feet on the ropes. The rotter. **½
Virgile Defour introduces the recently-crowned GWF Women’s champion Kara for an interview… she’s the first German to win the title, and it seems they’re trying to make a challenger for her, as Virgile brings up how Lina beat her last time out here. We’ve an interruption (and a long musical intro) as Jessy Jay appeared on-stage with her Marty Shaw Cup trophy… Jessy’s a former GWF Women’s champion too, and claims that NOVA have ignored her for a year.
Jessy mocks Virgile’s Twitch streams before demanding she gets a better quality of competition, slapping Virgile on her way off-stage. I’m pretty sure I missed A LOT there…
Catch Bob-Ombs (Aron & Randleman) vs. Saviours Of Destiny (Andy Steel & Owen Richards)
The Catch Bob-Ombs are popular in die Weiße Rose… while the Saviours of Destiny… aren’t. Andy Steel was a runner up in the second season of GWF’s Who’s Next back in 2018, and a name I’m surprised I’ve not come across that much since. Anita Vaughan screams down the mic to try and drown out some “boring” chants and if anything, it’s making me want to see the Bob-Ombs kick their arses. Like, now.
The Irish lads pie-face their opponents, only to get charged into the corner as Randleman and Aron took the upper hand with corner-to-corner clotheslines. Steel’s clotheslined to the outside as Randleman and Aron squashed Richards briefly…
Steel’s back on the apron and arguing with the referee as Aron and Randleman had Richards cornered. Steel comes in to help, but gets chopped before he hit a clothesline to take down Randleman. That turnaround allowed the Saviours to corner Randleman, before Richards’ stalling brainbuster drew a near-fall.
Eventually, Randleman fights back with an enziguiri, but he’s again cornered before Andy Steel got booted away. Richards trips Randleman in the ropes, but Randleman recovered to tag out to Aron, who ran wild with clotheslines, including a double clothesline off the middle rope. The Bob-Bombs followed that up with a pair of death valley drivers for a near-fall, before Richards’ spear and a spinning back kick from Steel drew a near-fall.
Steel stays on Randleman, leading to a wacky powerbomb/backcracker combo from the Saviours for a near-fall, before Aron saved Randleman from another double-team… and eloped drop Steel with a double uranage. Randleman goes for a cover, but Steel isn’t legal… and among the confusion the Saviours hit the Call To Action – a double-team Dominator – for the win. **¾
Cody Kidman vs. Romero vs. Bennet Brown vs. Tempesta vs. Joshua Amaru
Apparently this is a Supernova match… where’s Noam Dar then?
Romero has a rose for Bennet Brown, but he thinks better of it and instead swats Joshua Amaru with it. Amaru and the rest went after him, throwing him outside, as the match led to Amaru and Brown – who tag together in GWF – hitting a double-team powerbomb on Romero. Amaru’s chucked outside as Brown faked out a dive, only for Tempesta to come in and bite him before Kidman took to the skies.
Tempesta took a step-up rana from Kidman, then a handspring elbow as the match descended into a parade of moves, ending with a tornado DDT from Romero. Brown misses a flying shoulder block that was aimed at Romero, who charged at everyone in the corners with clotheslines before they ganged up on him with the old Spirit Squad catapult throw.
The ring quickly empties after that, with Kidman’s Cactus clothesline clearing out him and Tempesta, before Romero decided to add a crossbody off the apron. Which was caught as he’s press slammed back into the ring before a second attempt off the top rope had more luck. Back inside, Romero can only get a two-count on Kidman, before things built up to a Tower of Doom in the corner, which Tempesta and Amaru triggered off.
Tempesta keeps going with a spinning torture rack on Amaru, dropping him at the end as Brown opted to take down the big guy with a German suplex. Kidman sneaks in a springboard cutter out of the corner, which sparks another Parade of Moves featuring Amaru’s diving boot, an Air Raid Crash from Romero, then a lariat from Tempesta. Heading up top, Tempesta lives up to his “flippy big boy” moniker with a 450 splash into the pile, before Brown’s tiltawhirl backbreaker and Boston crab back inside eventually made Romero submit. ***
Lina & Heartbeat Girl vs. Kara & Xara Grace
Kara had a mystery partner here, specially hand-picked by Melanie Gray…- but Xara Grace being it didn’t go down well, particularly since she was the special referee last time out when Kara lost to Lina.
Of course, we’re doing the “there’s no way they can co-exist” deal, as Lina and Kara start off with a hug before the early exchanges ended with Lina tagging out… and Xara slapping Kara to tag herself in.
Heartbeat Girl’s clotheslines barely fazed Grace, who ended up getting tripped to the mat. Lina’s back to help with a pair of seated dropkicks that got a one-count, before Grace began to put the boots to Lina. A hip attack is next from Grace to Lina, before Grace tagged out to Kara… whose forearms kept Lina in the corner.
Grace tagged back in as Kara added shoulder charges, before a follow-up Northern Lights suplex was for nought… because Grace was legal. Heartbeat Girl and Lina double-team Grace, ahead of a crossbody from Heartbeat Girl for a two-count, as Kara tagged herself back in… and had an argument with Grace. Kara’s caught with a roll-up, but kicks out as she’s dragged into the corner for Lina to help hit a double-team suplex.
A neckbreaker from Lina gets a two-count as Xara Grace had her head in her hands, before Heartbeat Girl tagged in and got caught on the top rope. Kara brings her down, then choked her in the ropes… Xara Grace comes in to break it up, then throw Lina outside as a Samoan drop from Kara got the win. At they kept it short, with the Xara Grace being chased away as she tried to celebrate… **½
Ronaldo Shaqiri vs. Big Nik
The former basketball centre Big Nik is a part of Kevin Lazar’s Lazarus Pit…
Nik towered over Shaqiri, but it’s Shaquiri who landed the first blows before he got taken into the ropes by Nik. A hiptoss attempt’s countered as Shaqiri just about landed some armdrags, following up with a clothesline to spin Nik to the outside. Georg Asgolar at ringside trips Shaqiri as he went for a dive, and that allows Nik to regain a foothold in the match as he hiptossed Shaqiri back into the ring.
Kicking Nik out of the corner, Shaqiri ran into a knee, before Nik’s fallaway slam sent him back into the ropes. Nik distracts the referee so Asgolar could choke Shaqiri in the corner, before a clothesline took Shaqiri down as he was trying to fight back. A floatover DDT gets Shaqiri some breathing room, but again a clothesline has him down as Nik regained control.
Shaqiri’s again thrown outside as Lazar and Asgolar put the boots to him behind the ref’s back. A nerve hold back inside keeps the pace low as Shaqiri fought back, flipping over a back body drop to hit a German suplex on the big guy. Uppercuts from Shaqiri finally make some headway, but Nik’s able to stop him with a powerslam for a near-fall.
An uncharacteristic trip up top from Nik’s cut off as Shaqiri brought him down with a superplex… before he had to knock Asgolar and Lazar off the apron as they went to distract again. A somersault senton wipes them out on the floor, before Nik kicked the ropes into Shaqiri as he returned to the ring. A Choke-Slam Dunk followed, but it’s not enough for the win, so Nik goes for it again… only for Shaqiri to counter it into a stunner, following it up a spear for the win. Big Nik’s no longer unbeaten, but this probably could have done with being a little shorter, particularly with the pace it was at… **
NOVA Marty Shaw Cup: Jessy Jay (c) vs. Tarkan Aslan
Well, Jessy was asking for a bigger name… but I don’t think she was expecting Tarkan Aslan, whose theme is a bit of an underrated banger.
We’ve dualling chants from the Berlin crowd, as Aslan took Jessy Jay into the corner… where she faked having her eye poked on the break. She tries it again, but the referee saw it this time, and Aslan’s able to play around with Jessy, sweeping the leg ahead of a low dropkick that took her outside.
Jessy pulls Aslan to the outside, only for her to get posted, then slammed onto some of the seating decks. Tarkan clears the decks, but gets thrown into a wall, then the side of the ring as Jessy tried to make inroads… only to get chopped in response as Tarkan bounced her off of the walkway.
The walk-and-brawl continued as Jessy’s chopped around ringside before she’s taken back inside. Jessy begs off, but began to fight back, kicking the ropes into Tarkan in the corner, before she stomped a mudhole in him. A clothesline takes Tarkan down, ahead of a seated clothesline to the back for a two-count, while a spear earned a similar result.
Aslan fought back with chops and right hands by the ropes, before elbows took Jessy down… as did a leaping clothesline before a back body drop out of the corner left Jessy rocked. A jawbreaker gets Jessy some time, but she’s sent into the ropes for a rebound German suplex, while a knee strike and a powerbomb almost won it for Tarkan. Jessy looks for a roll-up, but Tarkan elbowed her away before a powerbomb out of the corner and a missile dropkick left the former GWF tag champion on the deck.
Jessy’s caught in the corner as Aslan went for some running forearms, then a ripcord clothesline for a two-count. The pair trade chops, leading to a DDT from Jessy for a near-fall, prompting her to go for her Kendo stick. A swing misses, as Aslan hits a DDT… but it accidentally takes down the referee in the process. Aslan adds a brainbuster, then a running cutter… but there’s no referee to make the count… and when one does come, he’s quickly flanked by Bennet Brown, Michael Noel and Romero who interfere for the no-contest. **¾
Post-match, the trio hold up Aslan so Jessy Jay can take a swing, but instead she lays them out as the show closed out. As long as you go in knowing what Project Nova is – a proving ground of sorts – these shows are exactly what they need to be. A way for talent that’s at various stages of their careers to get extra shows under their belts and to workshop things for the future.