We’ve hit that time of year in our 2015 rundown – as everyone descended on the Turbinenhalle for night one of 16 Carat Gold.
Quick Results
Alternate Four-Way: Robert Dreissker pinned Da Mack, Michael Dante & Mike Schwarz in 5:24 (***)
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Marty Scurll submitted Cedric Alexander in 9:53 (***)
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Absolute Andy pinned Sha Samuels in 9:45 (***¼)
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Axel Dieter Jr. pinned Timothy Thatcher in 11:49 (***¾)
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Tommy End pinned Chris Sabin in 13:53 (***¼)
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Sasa Keel pinned Uhaa Nation in 8:30 (***½)
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Daisuke Harada pinned Kim Ray in 9:21 (***¼)
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Andrew Everett pinned Robert Dreissker in 7:23 (***¼)
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Axel Tischer via referee stoppage in 19:43 (****¼)
Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan pinned Melanie Gray & Karsten Beck in 15:34 (**¾)
We’re inside the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen for this – and it’s the “proper” Turbinenhalle, not the Steffy. It’s the first time in the 2015 playlist that we’ve got live English commentary courtesy of Alan Counihan and his bodyguard for the night, Jeremy Graves. We’ve also got some names that you may want to skip through, but I’ll be mentioning those as little as I can here…
After the opening “I’m gonna win” montage of promos, and the to-camera pieces from all four commentators.
Alternate Four-Way: Mike Schwarz vs. Michael Dante vs. Robert Dreissker vs. Da Mack
Ricochet wasn’t able to make it to Germany due to flight issues… so the winner of this match gets into the tournament, and my God, that ring looks HUGE compared to the one we’ve had on other shows this year.
Dante tries to shut this one down in seconds with a spear to Dreissker, but the pin’s broken up as everyone gangs up on Dante ahead of an avalanche splash in the corner. Schwarz stops for a beer, but couldn’t chug the whole thing in one… which Oberhausen made sure to take digs at him for.
He finishes the drink, right as Dreissker slammed Mack… before Schwarz’s bicycle kick took the Austrian out. Mack goes for a springboard, but Schwarz cuts him off ahead of a satellite DDT from Mack… with Dante breaking up the pin at two. Dante dumps Mack with an over-the-knee brainbuster for a two-count, before a Dreissker Samoan drop led to a two-count… with Dreissker breaking his own count as he saw Schwarz come off the top with an elbow drop.
Schwarz adds a Rhein-Ruhr-Schwinger to Dreissker for a two-count, only for Mack to hit a Slingblade for a near-fall as everyone breaks up pins. In the end, Mack nearly loses after Dreissker turned a Dudley Dog into the Boulder Dash for a near-fall… but the Dreissker bomb ends up being enough to get what looks like a suspiciously-fast three count as Dreissker qualified for the tournament proper. ***
The obligatory parade of entrants follows to open the show proper, and then it’s off to the matches…
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Marty Scurll vs. Cedric Alexander
This predated WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic by just over a year – so at this point Alexander was a regular for ROH, and came in as the reigning PWX champion. Remember them?
Alexander swaps wristlocks to start before he found a way through with a dropkick that took his opponent to the outside for a faked-out dive. A low-pe quickly follows as Cedric just about got through the ropes, before chops on the outside ended with the ring post being hit. Returning to the ring, a back suplex and a knee drop gets Alexander a two-count, while mounted punches kept Alexander ahead.
Cedric telegraphs a brainbuster and got taken down, before an uppercut knocked him off the apron and back to the floor. Back inside, Alexander remains on the defensive, having his fingers snapped and stomped on ahead of an Octopus stretch. A short-arm clothesline keeps Alexander down for a two-count, before Cedric began to mount a comeback with some Dusty punches.
World of Sports-like exchanges looked to take us to a chickenwing, but it’s escaped as Alexander hit an enziguiri. In response, a faked-out superkick dropped Alexander briefly, as did an apron superkick… but back inside, Alexander nearly wins it with a Michinoku driver before he countered a tornado DDT into the Three Amigos.
Alexander’s frog splash lands in the knees for a two-count, before a tornado DDT flowed into a chicken wing for the submission. ***
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Absolute Andy vs. Sha Samuels
The prior weekend, Andy beat Karsten Beck in a street fight in Weyhe – so here he’s getting Beck’s Piledrivers teammate in the first round.
We’ve got yay/boo stuff with the crowd to start, ending with Sha blindsiding Andy in the corner. Andy manages to hit back with some clotheslines before he took Sha into the corner for a back body drop on the rebound. A stalling suplex drops Sha, while a clothesline takes Sha over the top rope to the outside.
Andy gave chase, staying on Sha with a neckbreaker back inside before Sha’s clothesline to the back of the head turned things around. Sha threatens to choke Andy with his suspenders, but the ref disarms him as Sha instead took Andy down with an elbow. Samuels stays on Andy, taking him down for chinlocks, only for Andy to fight free and fire up.
A Manhattan drop and an atomic drop has Sha rocked, as did a series of shoulder tackles, which eventually took Samuels down. The Absolute knee drop follows for a two-count, while a spinebuster plants Sha… before Samuels hit back with a Michinoku driver for a near-fall of his own. Sha lands a spinebuster for a two-count, but gets caught up top as Andy threatened an avalanche F5… which was pushed away.
Andy returns with a dropkick, then went back up for a top rope ‘rana… before the F5 booked Andy’s spot in the next round. ***¼
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Timothy Thatcher vs. Axel Dieter Jr.
A rematch from Weyhe a week earlier, as we threatened to have a mat clinic on our hands here.
The opening exchanges see Thatcher and Junior go to ground, looking for a hold as Thatcher’s chinbar turned into an armbar… Junior escapes and grabs one of his own, only for Thatcher to revert with a cross armbar on the mat. The pair roll into the ropes to force a break, with Thatcher trying to sneak in a cheapshot before the pair got their legs tied up from the mount.
Thatcher gets to the ropes when Junior looked for a cross armbar, before he caught Junior with an elbow to the neck as things descended back into strikes. Thatcher kicks Junior in the arm, then dumped him with an arm whip as he continued to follow up on the match from Weyhe, stomping Junior’s left arm into the mat.
Junior’s grounded with another chinbar, leading to a two-count before clubbing forearms trapped Junior in the ropes. Thatcher tries for a butterfly suplex, but Junior blocks it, countering with a guillotine… but Thatcher manages to slip out into side control as he crawled his way free into a Fujiwara armbar.
The ropes save Junior again, but Thatcher stays on him with uppercuts, only for Junior to crack him with an elbow. Thatcher responds with a headbutt, but it’s not enough to get the win as we then resume with the pair paintbrushing each other with palm strikes. Uppercuts from Junior have Thatcher rocked, while both men sank from a Junior headbutt. CHRIST. A Regalplex follows – which’d later be dubbed the Landungsbrücke – and that’s enough for Junior to get the win in a match that started out dry, but amped up big time by the end. ***¾
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Tommy End vs. Chris Sabin
This was Sabin’s first Carat outing for six years… and he’s quickly sent packing to the outside via a kick from End.
Returning, we’ve got Sabin and End trading holds before a flash roll-up got Sabin a two-count. End retaliates with a kick as Sabin went after him in the corner, before Sabin scored with a headlock takedown… which End kipped up out of. Another trip to the corner sees Sabin have his Irish whip reversed as the pace suddenly quickened… leading to a low dropkick after Sabin rolled out of a sunset flip.
End rolls outside, but avoids an apron PK and sweeps the leg instead, giving Sabin a nasty landing before they headed back in to pick up a two-count. End keeps going, landing a snap suplex out of the corner, then a back elbow as he took Sabin into the ropes as the Dutchman was comfortably in control.
Sabin’s stretched on the mat, but manages to get to the ropes to force a break as a knee caught End by the ropes… ahead of a rear spin kick to take End outside. Second time’s the charm on that apron PK, with Sabin adding a leaping cannonball off the apron for good measure, before he surprised End with a wheelbarrow roll-up back inside.
Kicks keep End down for another two-count, before a flurry of strikes saw End lay out Sabin with a leaping knee. A German suplex follows for a near-fall as End continued to unload with kicks, before Sabin regained his footing and found his way in with a tornado DDT out of the corner. End just about kicks out in time, but couldn’t avoid a Cradle Shock as Sabin got even closer…
We’re back to the kicks from there, going back-and-forth as End followed up with a leaping knee… then the Black Mass for the win. ***¼
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Sasa Keel vs. Uhaa Nation
You might know Uhaa better by his WWE name of Apollo Crews… a place where he headed to just months after this Carat tournament.
Keel slaps Uhaa and headed outside… but he didn’t get much of a sprint on as Uhaa quickly caught him. Back inside, an overhand slap knocked Keel into the corner, ahead of a lofty leapfrog and dropkick, before an elbow drop kicked up a two-count.
Uhaa takes Keel into the corner next, but Sasa’s able to fight back with a back suplex, before a Karelin lift Uhaa up for a gutwrench suplex. Shoulder charges soften up Uhaa ahead of a whip into the buckles, before Keel wasted too much time and missed a leaping elbow drop.
A Kitchen sink knee stops Uhaa from making a comeback, as did a bodyslam, before Uhaa turned it around with a Stinger splash into the corner. He keeps going, landing a leaping clothesline as Keel came off the ropes, before German suplexes helped Uhaa on his way to a near-fall. From there, Keel’s lifted up, but he escapes and hits a German suplex of his own… but Uhaa fires up, only to get taken down with an Olympic slam.
Keel only got a two-count from that, before Uhaa’s death valley driver lands… one standing moonsault lands, but the standing shooting star press misses… allowing Keel to sneak back in with the Vijak uranage, and that’s a big win over the WWE-bound Uhaa. ***½
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Kim Ray vs. Daisuke Harada
Harada was over from Pro Wrestling NOAH – arriving as a former GHC Junior Heavyweight champion. Keel seemed to bask in the “alle außer Kim” chants at the bell, as we started with Kim… putting his gum in Harada’s hand.
Kim snuck in a kick to Harada early on, before got caught in the ropes with an elbow. Harada’s shoulder tackle dumps Kim to the outside for cover, following up with a plancha before he punched away a sunset flip back inside. Forearms knock Ray into the corner, only for Kim to hit back with a shotgun dropkick.
Kicks from Kim took Harade into the corner ahead of a face-washing boot, before a slam helped him to a couple of near-falls. A Thesz press stops Harada’s comeback in its tracks, before Harada snuck in an overhead belly-to-belly to catch Kim unawares. Harada’s scooping suplex keeps it going, while a death valley driver added a near-fall before a T-bone suplex turned it back around for Kim.
Yay/boo punches led to a forearm from Harada, then a rolling elbow before Ray’s lariat and kicks saw him pick up some more two-counts. Ray tees up for a Jet kick, but it’s ducked as Harada responds with a pop-up knee before the Katayama German suplex proved to be enough for Harada to get the win. ***¼
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Robert Dreissker vs. Andrew Everett
This was double duty for Dreissker, having won the alternate’s four-way to get the spot left vacant by Ricochet’s flight problems…
Dreissker shoves Everett away early on, before Everett found a way through with some dropkicks… only to get spun down with a shoulder block. A tijeras took Dreissker down, as did a second one (eventually), before they headed outside for a springboard moonsault from Everett.
Everett doesn’t follow-up though, and gets wiped out with a clothesline back inside, before a slam and a leg drop saw Dreissker nearly pick up the win. A chinlock’s fought out of by Everett, but a back body drop nullifies things as Dreissker continued to dominate.
A Biel throw chuck Everett across the ring, as did an overhead belly-to-belly, before Everett finally found a way through, catching Dreissker with a stunner. That’s followed up with a springboard missile dropkick, but a follow-up sunset flip is overpowered before Dreissker’s attempt was countered with a low dropkick.
Everett follows with a standing shooting star press for a two-count, but a springboard gets countered into a Samoan drop moments later. A clothesline from Dreissker still doesn’t put Everett away though, before a fallway slam looked to lead to a Dreissker bomb… but Everett counters it with an up-kick, before an overhead kick and shooting star press scored the unlikely win. ***¼
16 Carat Gold 2015 First Round: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Axel Tischer
Our final first round match of the day was the second – and so far, last – time these two had met one-on-one… the first being back in 2009 in Marburg. This was the start of Tischer’s final month in wXw, before he headed over to Florida… and he’s already got his WWE gear here.
The feeling-out process saw both men looking to work the other’s wrist, only for things to end up in the ropes as they broke cleanly. A snap headlock takedown has Sabre down, but he’s able to respond with headscissors… which Tischer bridges out of, only for Sabre to go back to the arm with a hammerlock. We continue the move-quick counter exchanges, leading to a snap suplex from Tischer for an early two-count.
Tischer dumps Sabre with a bodyslam after that, before the pair began to trade snapmares and kicks to the back, with increasing intensity. A stomp to the arm stops all that as Sabre switched it up, with a second one targeting the elbow, ahead of a foot-driven armbar that took Tischer to the mat.
An overhead kick keeps the focus on Tischer’s arm, but charges into the corner are eventually cut off by way of a pump kick from Tischer as he needed to shut down the Brit. An Exploder gets Tischer a two-count as he began to build again, only for Sabre to stop Tischer with a mounted Kimura. It’s thrown aside into a death valley driver though, getting a two-count, before a clothesline to the back of the head, then a German suplex picked up a two-count.
Tischer looks for a Ligerbomb, but Sabre slips out into a flying armbar… ending quickly in the ropes though. Sabre stays on the warm, pushing down on the elbow before a Fujiwara armbar switched into a cross armbar… prompting Tischer to counter out as the pair flowed between holds. A rear naked choke from Tischer quickly rolls into the ropes, before the pair began to trade suplexes.
Tischer couldn’t hold the grip after a German suplex, allowing Sabre to keep going as he charged in with a PK to Tischer. Zack can’t make a cover though, as he eventually charged in with a kick to Tischer in the corner, before a rare trip up top was cut off. A Kimura on the top rope from Sabre’s broken up because they’re in the ropes, but another cross armbar on the mat ends up with Tischer powerbombing free for a near-fall.
Another pin counters Sabre as he wouldn’t let go of the hold, before he transitioned into the Jim Breaks armbar, throwing endless kicks to the had as referee Tassilo Jung ended up waving this off. A hell of a main event – at least for the tournament portion – with Tischer and Sabre going all out here in what would be Tischer’s final Carat… at least for a while! ****¼
Karsten Beck & Melanie Gray vs. The World’s Cutest Tag Team (Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan)
Beck’s got a title defence against Big Daddy Walter on night two of Carat – so this match feels a little sub-optimal?
Once we get through the pre-match stuff that’s not aged well, the crowd booing the ban on intergender, and a drowned-out promo from Beck, the mixed tag starts with the guys. A lock-up from Beck heads into the corner, complete with some cheapshots on the break from Beck… who got some receipts seconds later.
Clotheslines, elbows and dropkicks keep Beck down, before tags brought in LeRae and Gray. Eventually going in for a Test of Strength, Gray forces LeRae back, before LeRae found a way in with a roll through kick. More rolls dizzy Gray, but she’s able to catch LeRae’s crossbody… only for a swinging side slam to be countered with a crucifix for a two-count.
Gray runs out to tag in Beck, so LeRae has to tag out too as Beck backed into the corner from a waistlock. A monkey flip sends Beck flying ahead of some mounted punches in the corner. Beck’s run into the buckles from there, before he returned with a knee lift and a body slam. Beck’s knee drop gets him a two-count, while a sidewalk slam out of the corner kept him ahead.
Another sidewalk slam gets another two-count for Beck, who then got flung with a suplex as tags bring in LeRae and Gray once more. Low dropkicks keep Gray down, while the Violence Party of chops and forearms wore Gray down. Beck shoves LeRae down off the top rope as things spilled outside, leading to a back suplex onto the side of the ring from Gray.
Gray distracts the ref as Beck went after Candice on the floor, but back inside LeRae’s able to apply an Octopus hold that Gray tried to elbow away. Instead, Gray hits her swinging sidewalk slam for a near-fall, following up with a clothesline into the corner before LeRae kicked her away and came back with a low dropkick.
Tags bring us back to the guys as Beck’s bounced with clotheslines, leading to a spear and a spinebuster for a two-count. All four are in the ring to trade punches as Beck pulls ahead with a Flatliner… that leaves us with LeRae squaring up to Beck, before Gray’s involvement earned her a back cracker.
LeRae’s used as a Terry Funk Ladder to knock Beck outside ahead of a tope DDT on the floor, while Gray took the problematic suplex back inside. LeRae’s back to hit a neckbreaker on Gray, and that’s enough for the win. **¾
A loaded opening night of the tournament had a lot of quick matches – 10 across a two-and-a-half hour file – with ZSJ/Tischer and Junior/Thatcher being the ones you need to go out of your way to see.