Axel Dieter Jr., Absolute Andy, Tommy End and Zack Sabre Jr. looked to win through on the final night of 2015’s 16 Carat Gold tournament.
Quick Results
16 Carat Gold 2015 Semi-Final: Axel Dieter Jr. pinned Zack Sabre Jr. in 16:29 (****½)
16 Carat Gold 2015 Semi-Final: Tommy End defeated Absolute Andy via referee stoppage in 9:48 (***¾)
Kay Lee Ray pinned Melanie Gray in 5:20 (**½)
John Klinger pinned Timothy Thatcher, Kim Ray & Daisuke Harada in 11:11 (***¼)
Lucas Di Leo & Peter Fischer pinned Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan to retain the wXw World Tag Team Championship in 12:46 (***)
Ilja Dragunov pinned Axel Tischer to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship in 15:10 (***½)
Robert Dreissker pinned The Rotation in 1:40 (NR)
Big Daddy Walter & Mike Schwarz pinned Sha Samuels & Karsten Beck in 4:49 (**½)
Marty Scurll pinned Chris Sabin in 14:00 (***¼)
Uhaa Nation & Da Mack pinned Cedric Alexander & Andrew Everett in 12:08 (****)
16 Carat Gold 2015 Final: Tommy End pinned Axel Dieter Jr. in 12:07 (****¼)
We’re back at the Turbinenhalle for the third and final night as we’ve got some fall-out to deal with – particularly after Robert Dreissker turned on Big Daddy Walter during Saturday’s main event. Alan Counihan’s back for English commentary alongside 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…
16 Carat Gold 2015 Semi-Final: Axel Dieter Jr. vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
This one should be tasty – they’d met about six months earlier in the World Triangle League, going to a time limit draw…
The crowd’s split here, chanting for “Junior” as they got their chants out early on… we got going with a tie-up into the ropes, before things went to ground with Sabre floating over for a two-count as Axel bridged out. Sabre rolls them back down to the mat, but the headscissors end in the ropes as Axel felt his shoulder from earlier in the weekend.
Sabre began to work over Axel’s legs, but a toe hold’s rolled out of before Axel’s hammerlock grounded Sabre. The hammerlock bridges after that, but Axel can’t maintain it as we reset, with Sabre rolling Axel down into a front guillotine. It’s not fully applied though, so Sabre switches into a cravat, before Axel’s counter was easily countered out of.
Staying on the mat, Sabre ties up Axel in an Indian deathlock, knuckling the thighs for extra pain before he just… relented. Axel tries his luck with an ankle hold on the mat, but Sabre manages to roll free before he got caught in a series of pinning attempts as Axel picked up a bunch of near-falls.
Axel’s quickly caught in the midsection, but returns with an enziguiri and a German suplex for a two-count. Sabre snaps back with a series of kicks as he repeatedly kicked Axel’s leg out of his leg, knocking Axel down to the mat as Sabre finally looked to have control. Sabre tries the Indian deathlock, elbowing Axel as he tried to escape, eventually bridging back in the hold to pick up a two-count.
We’re back to the strikes as Sabre and Axel traded slaps, leading to a two-count on Axel… who thought he’d gotten a bloodied nose from it all. Uppercuts follow as Sabre’s taken into the corner, before a running kick from Sabre caught Axel in the ropes. Zack focuses on the arm next with those thunderous kicks, following up by torquing away on the arm as Axel was left in agony.
It turned into a mounted hammerlock from there, but Axel clings on and suplexed his way free, before a Landungsbrücke attempt was rolled out of. Sabre locks in a cross armbreaker, but things end in the ropes. Axel’s back in with uppercuts, dropping Sabre… Zack cracks back with a head kick and a series of PKs to the chest, but Axel kicks out. Axel’s cross-chops to the throat send Sabre into the ropes, before a backslide from Sabre sparked back-and-forth pinning attempts… with Axel sneaking out the three-count! Some lovely stuff here – technical, but intense – as Oberhausen hung on their every move. ****½
16 Carat Gold 2015 Semi-Final: Tommy End vs. Absolute Andy
Something tells me this isn’t going to be quite as technical as the opener…
Andy looked annoyed with an early kick from End, but Tommy’s able to get some kicks on before Andy caught him out of nowhere with a spinebuster. Tommy rolls outside after a two-count, but Andy stays on him with a knee to the face, then a running pendulum backbreaker as End was taken across the ring.
End kicks out from a leg drop, but Andy stays on him with a kick to the ribs, the with a suplex as Andy picked up another two-count. A front kick sinks End as he tried to fight back, before Andy missed on an Absolute knee… End can’t capitalise immediately though, as he’s bounced down with shoulder tackles, before a leaping knee took Andy outside.
End follows with a tope con giro into the crowd, before they headed back inside… End misses a stomp off the top as Andy tries to come back with a suplex. End knees his way free, before he got caught in the corner with a running dropkick as Andy then went for a top rope ‘rana. That’s blocked, but Andy’s right back for an avalanche F5… only for End to kick out at two.
Andy heads back up, but crashes and burns on a moonsault, allowing End to come back in with a Dragon sleeper… it’s rolled out of, before some head kicks earned End a superkick. It’s still not enough for Andy though, as he then looked to hit an A-Klasse, only for End to counter with a back body drop. A flash knee strike, then a death stomp off the top follows, and that’s still not enough!
Oberhausen’s rocking behind Andy, but End’s on the up and up… at least until he ran into a lariat before Andy rolled him up for another F5. Except End counters out into the Owari Death Lock – and that Dragons leeper’s enough to force the referee to wave it off, as Andy’s dream run came to a crashing end in the semis. A wonderful sprint of a match as we’re 2-for-2 in tournament matches today. ***¾
Post-match, Keel Holding’s Sasa Keel, Aaron Insane and Kim Ray hit the ring and swarmed Andy, leading to the Vijak from Keel, who was still sore from being eliminated the night before. Keel Holding finish off Andy with the Thing From Montenegro – a triple-team crucifix bomb…
Melanie Gray vs. Kay Lee Ray
This was KLR’s singles debut in wXw…
KLR takes Gray down early on with a wristlock… it’s reversed back-and-forth as KLR roughed up Gray’s hair… then tried her luck with headscissors. Gray blocks it, only to get caught with an O’Connor roll and a low dropkick. KLR heads up top, but is unceremoniously yanked out of the corners, ahead of a suplex from Gray for just a one-count.
Some hair pulling from Gray’s got Alan in an alternate dimension on commentary, before KLR’s enziguiri found a way in. Gray responds by hanging KLR into a Tree of Woe on the apron, before a back body drop and some clotheslines back inside gave KLR another opening.
Gray’s facebuster gets a near-fall to cut it off, before back-and-forth charges in the corner allowed KLR back in with a springboard missile dropkick… and that’s enough for the win. This felt like a trailer for a bigger match between the two, as they didn’t have anywhere near enough time… **½
Timothy Thatcher vs. Daisuke Harada vs. Kim Ray vs. John Klinger
Klinger’s conducting the crowd in their “alle außer Kim” chants before the bell, as we got going with Klinger and Harada.
A shoulder tackle gets Klinger an early one-count, while Harada got a similar result ahead of a heart punch for a two-count on the former Shotgun champion Klinger. More shoulder tackles from Klinger led to a powerslam for a two-count, before tags brought in Ray and Thatcher. Timo’s all over Ray, going for a double wristlock that forced Ray into the ropes.
Klinger’s quickly back in as Thatcher tagged out, before Harada came in and dumped Ray with a back elbow. Harada taunts Ray with a fan sign as Thatcher’s front facelock was escaped… with Ray coming back with kicks to knock Thatcher down to his knees. Thatcher returns by going for an ankle lock, but Ray got to the ropes… so Timo goes to ground, then tagged in Klinger as Ray had little escape.
Kim Ray manages to land a back elbow for a two-count on Klinger, before a rear spin kick had Klinger doubled-over. A reversed Irish whip led to Ray going for a sunset flip before Klinger’s Kitchen sink knee spun Ray down. Harada’s back with forearms to Kim Ray in the corner, prompting Kim to powder outside… where he’s met with a plancha from Harada.
Thatcher and Klinger take over inside, but Thatcher’s thrown outside as he began to trade elbows and forearms with Harada. Klinger interrupts them with a tope into the front row, before Harada was rolled in… with Kim Ray trying to steal a pin. An overhead belly-to-belly from Harada turns it around, stacking up Ray and Klinger in a Forest of Woe… adding Thatcher to the mix ahead of a hesitation dropkick into the forest.
A Parade of Moves breaks out after there, with Klinger cracking Ray with the Wrecking Ball Knees… Thatcher tries to capitalise, avoiding a missile dropkick from Klinger before a butterfly suplex and a Fujiwara armbar was locked on. Klinger escapes, then pulled up Thatcher for a GODDAMN Shadow Driver… and that’s enough for Bad Bones to get back in the winning column. ***¼
wXw World Tag Team Championship: The World’s Cutest Tag Team (Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan) vs. French Flavour (Lucas Di Leo & Peter Fischer) (c)
If French Flavour lost the titles, wXw had apparently agreed to scrape their “no intergender” rule…
Fischer starts for his team, and gets taken into the corner to start, before he returned the favour and began to wear down his opponent with punches. A switcheroo led to Fischer getting stomped on in the corner, leading to a dropkick as di Leo tagged in… and ran into a drop toe hold.
Di Leo’s suplexed for just a one-count as LeRae tagged in… she tries a suplex, but finally gets it with some assistance. A back senton’s next for a one-count on di Leo, before Candice tagged out. The champions take over with some double-teaming in the corner, while Fischer’s slam and legdrop picked up a two-count.
Tagging back in, Di Leo lands an elbow and a clothesline before a shoulder tackle knocked Lucas down… only for Fischer to knock Candice off the apron to prevent a tag out. Candice’s arguing distracts the referee but didn’t yet yield a fine (maybe they got burned out by Hamburg and Weyhe?), before a pumphandle suplex finally turned things around.
Candice and Lucas tag in, with LeRae’s flying ‘rana taking Di Leo down… ahead if a flying Octopus hold. It’s let go of as Candice dealt with Fischer, following up with a rope-walk ‘rana to take Fischer off the apron. Another trip up top from Candice saw her thrown into Di Leo for a top rope DDT, but it’s not enough to get the win as she then tagged out.
Candice gets thrown into di Leo with a death valley driver, but Fischer breaks up the pin, ahead of a Falcon arrow to get Lucas a two-count. An enziguiri lands for a two-count, only for Fischer to get taken down with a crossbody off the top. A returning Candice unloads into Fischer with forearms and chops, before a crotch suplex took down di Leo.
Fischer charges back in with a clothesline to wipe out Candice, before a facebuster from di Leo drew a near-fall. The crowd didn’t take kindly to a botched low bridge as we’re left with Candice and Fischer in the ring… Fischer’s low blow puzzles, but a double-team powerbomb ends up getting the win over Candice. ***
wXw Shotgun Championship: Axel Tischer vs. Ilja Dragunov (c)
Tischer won a four-way on night two to get this shot…
Tischer looked to take Dragunov into the corner early on as things instead went to ground, with Tischer looking to work the arm… only for Ilja to get to the ropes. A headlock takedown keeps Tischer ahead, but Dragunov tries to roll free, before Tischer took a few shots… then took him back down with a bodyslam.
Dragunov kicks out at two from a knee drop, but rolled into a chinbar as Tischer stayed on him… before an attempted Torpedo Moscau was sidestepped with Dragunov crashing into the corner. Tischer stays on that shoulder, throwing Dragunov into the corner, ahead of a Divorce Court single-arm DDT.
It’s good for a two-count on Dragunov, as the crowd were starting to get behind Tischer who seemingly had Dragunov’s number here. Chops pick up a two-count, before Dragunov found a way back in with a falling powerbomb. It’s good for a near-fall, as the pair go back-and-forth with chops in the corners, leading to Dragunov crashing and burning as he tried a crossbody instead.
A back body drop flings Tischer ahead of the springboard Torpedo Moscau out of the corner… Tischer hits back with a German suplex for a two-count, before he rolled out of a uranage and hit another German suplex. A T-bone suplex follows as Tischer picked up another two-count, with Dragunov hitting the uranage seconds later to get him some breathing space.
Eventually getting back to his feet, Ilja tries for the uranage again, before a springboard Torpedo Moscau out of the corner was just booted away. Tischer adds a deadlift German suplex for a near-fall, before a lariat out of nowhere almost got Ilja the sudden win. Both men trade slaps as they’re on their knees, with the strikes intensifying as they got back to their feet…
A series of unanswered shots had Dragunov on the ropes, but he fires back with lariats, eventually spinning down Tischer to the mat for the three-count to retain the title. This was a hard fought match that really got going towards the end – and a big scalp for Dragunov over the departing Axeman. ***½
Post-match, Walter hit the ring and playfully “choked out” Tischer, as John Klinger, Absolute Andy, The Rotation and many more from the locker room bid farewell to Tischer. We get a farewell speech, as this would be it (for now) for the Axeman in Oberhausen, but he’d be with wXw until the end of the month, with five more matches to go…
The Rotation vs. Robert Dreissker
Uh-oh…
The Turbinenhalle crowd aren’t happy with Dreissker after he attacked Walter last night – but he’s in no mood for the Rotation, absorbing dropkicks and forearms in the early going. A crossbody’s barged away before a shoulder tackle knocked Rotation down.
A snap bodyslam dumps Rotation once more, but Rotation’s able to avoid an avalanche in the corner… only to see a follow-up spinning heel kick caught and turned into Boulder Dash for the win in under two minutes. SPLAT.
Post-match, Adam Polak celebrates with Dreissker… until Big Daddy Walter came out, demanding an explanation from Dreissker for what happened the prior night. There’s no answers as Dreissker and Polak exit stage left, and cue Karsten Beck out to gloat about his win. Sha Samuels attacks Walter from behind, but Mike Schwarz makes the save… and we have an impromptu match.
Big Daddy Walter & Mike Schwarz vs. The Piledrivers (Karsten Beck & Sha Samuels)
Beck and Samuels looked to get the upper hand at the bell, but Walter and Schwarz took over, whipping the Piledrivers into the corner ahead of some avalanches.
Beck low bridges Walter to the outside, leaving Schwarz in there as he’s caught from behind by Sha, who followed up with a snapmare and a kick to the back. Schwarz is kept isolated as Beck’s knee lift rocked Schwarz… who almost made a tag out to Walter. A Rhein-Ruhr-Schwinger finally gets Schwarz enough opening to tag in Walter, who ran wild with a big boot to Beck, taking things outside.
Walter’s shoved into the post by Beck as Sha took down Schwarz for some ground and pound… Beck’s bowled into the fourth row by Walter, who then returned to the ring to hit a ripcord lariat on Sha. From there, Sha’s met with a powerbomb from Walter, and that’s the win. **½
Marty Scurll vs. Chris Sabin
Sabin’s taken down early on with a wristlock, but he recovers quickly with a Magistral cradle for a two-count amid after-party stories on commentary.
Things stay on the mat, with arm drags and snapmares taking them there, before we hit a stalemate. A dropkick from Sabin took things into the corner ahead of a Tree of Woe… but it’s cancelled out as Sabin instead went in with a slam and a back senton for a two-count.
Sabin’s attempt at a DDT’s countered with an arm whip, before he got hung up in the ropes and uppercutted down to the floor. Sabin beats the 10-count back into the ring, but remained on the defensive as an Octopus hold before forearms to the lower back left the former TNA champion laying.
Returning, Sabin scores a baseball slide dropkick into the corner, only to get caught with another slam. Another low dropkick gets Sabin back in it after he avoided a 450 splash, following up with a rolling elbow and a gutbuster. A snap DDT and a tornado DDT out of the corner keeps Sabin ahead for a near-fall.
Things head outside, where Sabin’s swept onto the apron… an apron superkick followed, before a pumphandle’d over-the-knee brainbuster almost got the win. Sabin tries to get back in with an enziguiri and a Magic Killer – back when that move wasn’t overdone – but it’s not enough to get the win as a finger snapper has Sabin in pain.
From there, Sabin looked to hit back with a buckle bomb, then a Futureshock, before Sabin got caught with an X-Plex. Back-and-forth chops follow, before a faked-out superkick dropped Sabin… who hit one of his own. Another fake-out decks Sabin for a near-fall, before a tornado DDT rolled into a chicken wing. Sabin rolls out, only to get caught with another DDT into a chicken wing that led to another escape… except see-saw pins end up with Sabin coming up short. ***¼
Andrew Everett & Cedric Alexander vs. Da Mack & Uhaa Nation
Some Fire Pro Random Button tag teams here as we await the Carat final…
Referee Rainer Ringer tries to bail as everyone did their dance moves, but you know how this stuff goes. We finally get going with Everett trying to move Uhaa with shoulder tackles, having more luck with a ‘rana before a springboard sunset flip led to Uhaa dropkicking Everett in the face.
Da Mack and Cedric Alexander tag in next, but both nullify the other ahead of a tijeras from Mack, before Alexander hit back with a dropkick. Tags bring us back to Everett and Uhaa, leading to Everett flying with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, taking him outside as Uhaa press slammed Mack onto their opponents. He’s caught, so Uhaa moonsaults off the apron, into the pile, eventually resting on the front row.
Back inside, Uhaa knocks Everett into the corner, following up with a stalling suplex before Mack came in to go for a back suplex. Everett escapes, then brought Alexander in for a springboard clothesline to wipe out Mack. Everett and Alexander keep Mack isolated for a spell, before a flying enziguiri from Mack knocked down Everett off the top rope.
Uhaa’s back in, wiping Alexander off the apron before he went after Everett… an enziguiri takes care of him, as did a pop-up death valley driver. Everett just about kicks out in time as low bridges took folks outside… leading to a flip senton from Mack to Everett and Uhaa. Alexander looks to join in, adding one of his own as he landed in the third row. Bloody hell Cedric!
Back inside, Everett spikes Mack with a reverse ‘rana… before a spinning splash from Alexander almost got the win. Everett misses a shooting star, then got kicked out of his boots by Uhaa… Alexander’s wiped out with a clothesline too, before Everett got brought back in with a deadlift superplex. Mack’s back with a springboard frog splash to Everett… it’s good for a two-count as Alexander breaks up the pin, then hit a Cactus clothesline to take he and Uhaa outside.
Mack’s apparently legal as he went back on Everett, only to eat a Pele kick into the corner. Everett’s springboard shooting star press sees him crash into Uhaa and the front row (bloody hell…), before a second one misses back inside. Alexander tags back in, pouncing on Mack with a back cracker. Uhaa’s back in and hits a pop-up powerbomb to Alexander, pulling him up for a bucklebomb, before a standing moonsault and standing shooting star press got the win. MY GOD, this was absolutely batshit at points – perhaps a little dubious if you’re breaking down psychology, but this was the palette cleanser needed before the main event. ****
16 Carat Gold 2015 Final: Tommy End vs. Axel Dieter Jr.
End’s path to the final saw him go through Chris Sabin, Andrew Everett and Absolute Andy… Axel had to go through the likes of Tim Thatcher and Zack Sabre Jr. to earn his spot in what was his maiden 16 Carat Gold tournament.
End blasts Junior with a leaping knee at the bell as they started hot… so hot in fact, everyone was caught unawares with a tope from Junior to the outside. They brawl around the arena for a spell, leading to a running uppercut from Axel as End came charging at him.
Axel returns the favour with a charging uppercut to knock End into his own merch table, before End’s kick knocked Junior down as the crowd continued to part like the Red Sea. A slam and a stomp lays out Junior on one of the raised platforms, ahead of a diving uppercut off the platform.
They head up onto the walkway, with Axel landing uppercuts ahead of a snap suplex onto the ramp, before Axel headed under the ring and pulled out materials for a makeshift table. Axel teases a suplex off the ramp through the table, but End boots him away before a leaping Meteora off the ramp put Junior through that same board.
Back in the ring, End heads up and hits a double stomp to Axel for a near-fall, following up with more kicks before Axel rose up and peppered End with slaps. An uppercut has End down to a knee, but we’re back to the kicks before Axel cracked End with a headbutt. Hey, that’s legal today!
End kicks out at two from that, before Michael Dante hit the ring… but End stops him in his tracks and ordered his tag partner to stop. Axel’s waiting for End though, going nose to nose before they wheeled away with forearms and rights on each other. A rear spin kick and a flying knee drops Axel like a bad habit, before the double stomp off the top drew a near-fall.
The Owari Death Clutch follow, with End looked to squeeze Axel out with the Dragon sleeper, but Axel’s able to make it to the ropes! Axel tries to pull himself up to his feet, but he’s staggering around as End waited for the ref to confirm the match wasn’t getting waved off… and dumped Axel with what’d be the Black Mass for the win. My word, this was completely different to what I was expecting, with the pair going all over the place in their 12-minutes. Tommy becomes the second two-time tournament winner (after Chris Hero the prior year), but this was absolutely a break-out tournament for Axel Dieter Jr. ****¼
Night three was easily the pick of the bunch from 2015’s 16 Carat Gold weekender – as I said, this was the breakout weekend for Axel Dieter Jr. as a singles wrestler, but also something of an early renaissance for Absolute Andy, while Big Daddy Walter finally got pulled away from the title picture.