Championship Saturday. Bobby Gunns vs. Absolute Andy… and the quarter-finals for this year’s 16 Carat Gold, in front of wXw’s biggest crowd ever. Strap in folks!
A packed Turbinenhalle 1 in Oberhausen – wXw’s biggest crowd in history – braved some on-and-off storm to witness this. It’s notable that WALTER and Lucky Kid got some scattered boos when Thommy Giesen ran down the list of quarter-finalists…
Killer Kelly & Yuu vs. Wesna & Toni Storm
A nice little warm-up to the Kelly/Toni title match tomorrow, as recent foes turned partners on both sides.
Toni rubbed her title in Kelly’s face during the intros, and of course she doesn’t open the match as Wesna was the proverbial gatekeeper from the off, decking Kelly with a forearm to begin things. Chops from Wesna have Kelly on her knees, but the Portugal native’s back with a cravat and some knees after she avoided a charge from the Croat in the corner.
Yuu gets tagged in to throw some chops at Wesna, before she rolled her down to the mat in a cross armbar. Wesna manages to roll over, but it just turns the hold into a triangle armbar before Wesna just struck her way free. A snapmare and a kick to the back keeps Yuu down, as does a big forearm to the head, as Toni finally tagged in, sparking a back-and-forth strike battle with the wXw women’s champion.
Storm edges ahead there, before she ran into a spinning sidewalk slam… but Toni manages to avoid a back senton as she hit back with a low dropkick for a near-fall. Wesna’s back to trap Yuu in the corner with chops, as Storm’s brought back in to continue wearing down her Japanese foe. There’s a cheapshot aimed at Killer Kelly, who’s knocked off the apron, but Yuu manages to beat the numbers game, catching Wesna with a Judo throw before a back senton/dropkick combo caught both opponents at the same time.
Kelly gets a tag in, and she instantly charges into Toni with a Shibata-ish dropkick… Wesna tries to intervene, but gets the same treatment before she deadweighted Kelly, who responded with a few of the old Al Snow trapping headbutts. A mounted sleeperhold from Kelly looked to be working as she had Wesna down to a knee, but Storm comes in, knocking Yuu off the apron before she just slapped Kelly to the mat.
Some more disrespecting boots and another slap have Kelly back in the ropes, only for Kelly to hit back. They go toe-to-toe… but Wesna’s still legal! She’s clocked by an errant Toni headbutt while Toni’s dispatched with a double-team bucklebomb… before a second crack at a death valley driver saw Kelly lift up Wesna and drop her for the win. An enjoyable opener, with a lot of interplay with the new “bad” Toni Storm, who I’m really enjoying in this role. ***¼
Thommy Giesen recaps what happened last night when WALTER beat David Starr once again, with Starr coming the closest he’s come yet to getting that important win he’s craved. That’s the cue for Starr to come out, and he doesn’t want to hear his big list o’ nicknames… instead he apologises for his actions during an interview with Alan and Rico (which I guess will air on the VOD). The crowd applauds that as Starr seemed to be more than choked up about his latest loss, as he said that he doesn’t want to wrestle since he’s not longer in Carat. Starr’s adamant that WALTER tapped out, and we’re getting hints of the conspiracy theorist he’s been elsewhere, as he refused to accept the loss. I don’t think this is the last we’re seeing of Starr this weekend…
wXw 16 Carat Gold – Quarter-Final: Pentagon Jr. vs. Ilja Dragunov
My God, Penta was over big time in Oberhausen. Then Ilja came out…
Yeah, my goosebumps got goosebumps for this one, as the crowd burst into the “this is awesome” chants before they even touched. Ilja laughs off a goozle and just slaps and back sentons Pentagon early, taking him into the corner for some running lariats only for Penta to hit back with a chop.
Ilja’s had plenty of those, but he hasn’t had many kicks as he backflipped into the ring! An enziguiri from Ilja sent a big gob of spit flying from Pentagon, who went outside and into the path of a misdirection tope from Dragunov, who was on fire here! Dragunov rolls Penta back inside, then followed in with a body slam and a top rope back senton attempt as the duelling chants took hold.
A Slingblade from Pentagon finds its mark for a two-count, as did some more chops as Ilja asked for… and got some more. Like a masochistic Oliver Twist… who rose out of the corner and worked Penta with more body blows, before a knee sent more spittle into the crowd. Chops and kicks ring around the Turbinenhalle before a pumphandle driver almost won it for Pentagon, but he’s quickly taken back into the corner with a death valley driver from Ilja for a near-fall.
Ilja heads up and connects with a back senton for another two-count, before Ilja got lifted into the corner in a handstand… and superkicked all the way down to the floor. Yeah, it was a nasty landing, but he’s back up as Penta package piledrover Ilja onto the apron. Yep, holy shit indeed.
A double stomp squashes Ilja back inside as Pentagon nearly took home the W, following up with a bid to snap Dragunov’s arm… but Ilja stands up and switches position as he battered Pentagon with some Danielson elbows… only to get caught with a back cracker. Which he stood right back up from. Penta no-sells a clothesline as Ilja comes right back, with duelling head kicks sending both men to the mat.
Duelling catchphrases quickly gave way to hard hits, as Dragunov’s taken back into the corner, caught with a running lariat before his swivel lariat dropped Pentagon. One Un-be-sieg-bar later, and Pentagon eats a Torpedo Moscau… and that’s enough for the win. Lovely, lovely stuff – both men gave no quarter, and to some, this was an unpopular result as Ilja punched his ticket to Sunday’s quarter-finals. ****¼
wXw 16 Carat Gold – Quarter-Final: Avalanche vs. Shigehiro Irie
Hoss fight! Avalanche took Irie, who won Ambition earlier in the day, into the ropes from the off – and I have to say, it was Irie who seemed to be the crowd favourite here.
A shoulder tackle from Avalanche knocks Irie onto his rear, but he can’t quite replicate the feat as he’s knocked down from another shoulder tackle from the Austrian. Avalanche misses a charge into the corner as he ends up taking a bulldog out… as Irie prepared for the rebound splash, picking up a solid two-count in the process.
Avalanche clings onto the top rope to avoid an Irish whip, and it’s Avalanche who hits back next with a belly-to-belly suplex before some elbows had Irie firmly on the defensive. A running sunset flip gets Avalanche a near-fall, before he just whipped Irie hard into the buckles for another delayed two-count. Irie surprises Avalanche with a vertical suplex before the match descended into a battle of elbow strikes, with a diving forearm from Irie dropping Avalanche for a near-fall. From there, Irie heads up top for a big splash, finding his target beautifully for another two-count, before the pair went back and forth corner-to-corner, ending with an Irie cannonball and a Beast Bomber lariat that landed before his elbow pad did!
Another crack at the Beast Bomber’s ducked as Avalanche countered into a fireman’s carry powerbomb for a near-fall, only to miss a follow-up Dreissker Bomb as he instead had to make do with a superplex attempt… which Irie pushes away before he too crashed and burned with a body attack off the top rope.
From there, a fallaway slam from Avalanche sends Irie flying back into the corner, before a Dreissker Bomb finds its mark as the Ambition 10 winner exits at the quarter-finals. A good effort, but ultimately four matches in a day was too much for Irie. ***½
Irie was distraught over that loss – I feel bad for him…
Julian Pace vs. Rey Horus vs. Chris Brookes vs. Daisuke Sekimoto
I missed it in the alternate four-way coverage yesterday, but I really dig Julian Pace’s new race car driver suit entrance gear – it’s really fleshing out the shoot car gimmick!
So, this is a really random four-way here, which started with everyone ganging up on Sekimoto… until the Big Japan star monstered up and powered everyone away. A double clothesline blasts thru Brookes and Pace, before Horus tried in vain to knock him down with a shoulder charge… instead, getting sent spinning to the mat himself.
Brookes saves Horus from a suplex, choosing instead to throw Sekimoto to the outside as Horus came back with a dropkick to Brookes, then a springboard tornado DDT for good effect as our Parade of Moves broke out. A diving boot from Pace takes Horus outside, but Brookes is right there with a chop before he’s caught with a dose of Vollgas, complete with “nyoom” chants every time he hit the ropes.
Sekimoto just blocks the same treatment from Pace, who caught him with an enziguiri before Pace is press slammed into Horus and Brookes on the outside. Nice! Pace kicks away a dive attempt from Sekimoto, as Horus decided to hit the ring for a tope con giro, then returned back in for a frog splash crossbody on Sekimoto for a near-fall.
A four-way chop fest breaks out next, with poor Julian Pace getting the strikes from Daisuke, before Everybody Chops Daisuke… and pays for it. Triple superkicks put down Sekimoto, as a Parade of Kicks broke out, ending when Brookes ran into a Spanish Fly, before Sekimoto just speared him and Horus out of the corner.
Sekimoto climbs the top rope, but Horus runs the rope and crotches Sekimoto before we got an inverted tower of doom as a trio of stacked-up German suplexes sent everyone flying out of the corner! Another Parade of Moves sees Brookes dumped with a satellite Code Red before a wheelbarrow driver off the middle rope from Horus nearly puts Pace away… only for Julian to snatch the upset victory with a small package on Horus! Lovely, breathless stuff that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats throughout – a great use of three eliminated folks. ***½
After the match, Julian Pace was stopped on the aisle and attacked by an embittered Emil Sitoci, who bounced Pace off the mat with a pair of spinning tombstones. Sitoci disappeared from wXw during the “random Monster Consulting” partner gimmick, seemingly annoyed at how his peers were being signed away to big money deals.
wXw 16 Carat Gold – Quarter-Final: Rey Fenix vs. WALTER
Oh dear. This has the potential to be rather murderous…
WALTER gets chants of “Big Daddy Sell-out” thanks to David Starr’s earlier promo, and he’s already seeming to be taking it a little too easy against Fenix, throwing him into the corners in the opening minutes. Yep, this crowd is solidly behind Fenix, cheering on as he Matrix’d away from a WALTER chop before scoring with a dropkick.
A simple lariat from WALTER catches a leaping Fenix, before a chin bar forces Fenix to back up into the ropes for a break. Fenix tries to play the chop game, then heads up into the ropes… only for WALTER to kick his foot away and chop him rudely to the mat. Yep. Murderous.
WALTER tries to rip apart Fenix’s mask from there, and actually ripped apart the bottom half as we saw a lot of Fenix’s face for the remainder of the match. The boot of WALTER’s used to restrain Fenix, who’s then taken into the corner as the chop game resumed, with those chops ringing around the Turbinenhalle as Big Bully WALTER looked to be in his element. Clubbing forearms in the ropes and some more ripping of the mask left Fenix on the apron, where he had to fight out of an armbreaker before his triple-jump crossbody was caught with ease. WALTER finally takes an enziguiri and a double-jump moonsault as Fenix began to find his way back into the match… only to get crotched as WALTER chopped away his legs on the top rope.
A nasty throw sends Fenix back into the ring as WALTER… gets caught with a rolling uppercut while on the top rope, before he blocked a top rope ‘rana and just powerbombed Fenix, sending his mask flying off! The referee replaces the hood before starting that ten count, but WALTER just pulls Fenix back up as we once again saw the “dickhead” WALTER that ran riot in wXw in years gone by.
Fenix resumes the chop game, before he rolled into a Gojira clutch as WALTER looked to finish him off, only for his follow-up powerbomb to get turned into a ‘rana as Fenix nearly snatched a victory. A handspring back elbow’s blocked by a lariat from WALTER, who grounds Fenix once more, buit Fenix gets free and rolls through the ropes and onto the run-way – using it to give him a nice long run-up for a slingshot cutter that removed his own mask in the process, delaying a pinning attempt for a near-fall.
Finally someone’s got a spare mask for Fenix to stop the wardrobe malfunctions, but he’s quiclkly caught on the floor as his tope did nothing to WALTER, apart from give him a fresh body to chop and powerbomb onto the apron. A step-up spinning kick catches WALTER as he once again headed up the ropes, giving Fenix a chance for a Muscle Buster… but WALTER just countered with a rear naked choke before Fenix got free and landed a Pele kick to send him down instead.
A double-jump tornillo from Fenix is simply booted away by WALTER, whose latest powerbomb barely gets a two-count… before a rear naked choke saw WALTER pull off Fenix’s mask… forcing Fenix to tap as WALTER booked his semi-final spot by severely foul means. I loved every second of this, with only the wardrobe malfunctions on Fenix’s mask perhaps hampering things – but they overcame it as that wXw ring was filled with Euros by the end of it. All for Fenix to spend on Bons! ****¾
wXw 16 Carat Gold – Quarter-Final: Lucky Kid vs. Axel Dieter Jr.
If Lucky Kid lost some fans for putting out Timothy Thatcher yesterday, going up against a beloved Axel Dieter Jr. could make things even more weirder for him in what was one of his biggest singles matches to date.
Axel started out by charging through Lucky Kid, scoring with several shoulder charges before he’s stopped by… BLAAAH? Junior’s in no mood for these mind games tonight, but Lucky was bringing his A-game, dropkicking Junior to the outside before he… BLAAAH’d and waggled the “nein” finger in Axel’s face. Turnabout is fair play… as was that cross chop to the throat…
A facelock suplex dumps Lucky in the corner, before a Saito suplex returned him to the mat as Axel sent him outside, looking to claim the count-out win. Instead, Lucky returned to the ring and took some more chops, then another cross-chop to the throat as Junior was methodically wearing down Lucky.
Lucky’s sent outside again, but he once again rolled back into the path of a beatdown from Junior, who seemed to be gaining inspiration from WALTER. Junior traps Lucky in the ropes and dropkicks him to the outside – with Lucky narrowly averting a nasty landing – as we once again got the count-out tease, and an increasingly agitated Tassilo Jung, who was struggling to contain his disdain for Junior’s antics here. Is this going to be two RINGKAMPF members who underestimate Lucky Kid and end up paying the price?
Lucky finally fires back with some palm strikes, before sidestepping a Dieter charge, following up with a nice back body drop over the ropes, sending Junior onto the apron. A plancha’s next as Lucky flew into Junior on the outside… and Lucky keeps up that pace back in the ring with some chops and a satellite facebuster that knocked down Junior. A missile dropkick keeps Dieter on the mat, before Junior blocks a La Mistica attempt… only for his rear naked choke to be rolled back on as Lucky nearly took the win! A palm strike sends Lucky rebounding, as he’s back with a handspring elbow as both men were left laying. When they got back to their feet, Lucky absorbs more strikes before he caught Junior with a La Mistica into a crossface – pulling back on Axel until the RINGKAMPF member got a foot to the ropes.
Junior starts to unload on Lucky, but his uppercut off the top rope is blocked… only for Lucky to run into a lariat for a near-fall as Junior started to show his frustration… and then get caught by Death By Roll-Up as Lucky Kid claimed another RINGKAMPF scalp! Oh my God, Axel Dieter Jr’s homecoming ended in disappointment – as he was showered with some boos as he raised Lucky’s hand after the match. This was a solid little outing, with Junior’s rule-bending perhaps wearing on the crowd a little, but we’re left going into tomorrow’s final day with a hell of an underdog story on our hands. ***½
Ilja Dragunov, WALTER, Avalanche and Lucky Kid are your final four… and now we enter a much-deserved interval before the big match!
wXw World Tag Team Championship: Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) vs. Jay-FK (Jay Skillet & Francis Kaspin) vs. RISE (Ivan Kiev & Pete Bouncer) (c)
We’ve a tornado, three-way tag match here as we’ve a surprise tag title match to start the second half… and another ridiculous fashion choice from Francis Kaspin.
RISE and Aussie Open worked well early to try and dispatch Jay-FK, before they turned their sights on each other, with a pair of back body drops from RISE putting the ahead of the Aussies. A side Russian legsweep/Blockbuster combo gets an easy two-count over Fletcher, before Davis returned to help Fletcher superkick Bouncer, as Jay Skillet would low bridge Davis to save Bouncer from a sliding punch.
Jay-FK take over from there, with a death valley driver dropping Bouncer – but they’re too busy playing to the crowd to go for a cover just yet. Kiev makes a comeback with a slingshot dropkick to Kaspin in the corner before a cannonball put paid to him, as a slam/facebuster and a top rope leg lariat dropped Skillet for an easy two-count.
Fletcher goes airborne with a crossbody off the top as he tried to single-handedly take down Jay-FK… succeeding with Mark Davis’ help, as Dunkzilla easily stacked-up and slammed Jay-FK for a slam. A double-team running Iconoclasm and a tope from Fletcher nearly wins it over Skillet, who then took an assisted cutter for a near-fall as RISE made use of the tornado rules to catch Fletcher with a stomp-assisted hanging neckbreaker for another two-count. Kaspin then comes in with the belt, laying out Kyle with it before a Chris Brookes ran in to make the save as he pulls out the referee to avoid Jay-FK winning the straps!
Aussie Open make use of the distraction to superkick-away Jay-FK, with a sliding punch to Skillet and a Fidget Spinner proving to be too much as Aussie Open leave Oberhausen with wXw tag team gold! A match that may well be more memorable for the post-match antics, but this was a perfectly fine tag match to get us ready for what was to come… ***¼
Post-match, Chris Brookes unfurled the Schadenfreude flag – and yes, that’s the arrival of that group in wXw. Interesting… if only for where that leaves Lucky Kid in the mix! Sure enough, that draws out Lucky Kid, who was quickly caught in the middle of things… seemingly picking the side of RISE as Lucky’s British flirtations almost put him in a compromising position right when he least needed it.
Before the main event, the “other” wXw champion made an entrance – with Marius al-Ani appearing in his ring gear. He’s not exactly welcomed by the Oberhausen crowd, as he pulled the typical bad guy shtick of reminding us he’s the Shotgun champion… which leads to an open challenge.
Out comes Karsten Beck, who has a challenger…
wXw Shotgun Championship: Marius al-Ani (c) vs. Alexander Wolfe
Wolfe got the SAnitY music and entrance, and a massive pop as he made his wXw return. A pop so loud, Maffew of Botchamania reckoned, “it may make WWE remember they signed him”. Of course, the German crowd chanted for Axel (Tischer), as the former Axeman ran riot!
They head into the crowd briefly as al-Ani took over, punching and kicking Wolfe into the corner, before al-Ani began to find a foothold, going for an ankle lock before landing a diving uppercut to keep Wolfe on the mat. A powerslam from al-Ani gets a near-fall, as he slowed the pace of the match down to a near-crawl, scissoring Wolfe as he worked the armbar, only for Wolfe to power free and turn the hold into a brainbuster.
Wolfe starts throwing some rights, then elbows, before a big boot dropped al-Ani to the mat… sending him into the corner for a running uppercut. From there, Wolfe heads up top for a flying clothesline, which earned him a two-count… as did a bridging German suplex, before al-Ani rolled through into an ankle lock. Wolfe rolls free and comes back with a delayed German suplex for a two-count, as Marius was starting to seem desperate. A low dropkick takes Wolfe down as he goes back to the ankle lock, which Wolfe nearly countered for the win as he grabbed a small package for a near-fall.
Marius comes back with an Exploder suplex, taking Wolfe outside… and into prime place for the over-the-turnbuckles plancha. Back in the ring, we get boo/yay punches and body blows, before that degenerated into a hockey fight… ending with al-Ano going for a ‘rana and taking a powerbomb instead for a near-fall that had Oberhausen biting!
More “Axel Tischer” chants flood the Turbinenhalle as he takes Marius up top for a superplex… only for Marius to rake the eyes and send him down before the double knees into the corner leave Wolfe prone for an al-Ani frog splash for the win. Well, that was undoubtedly a popular result, but Marius al-Ani can now claim to have a win over a WWE main roster star – just to give him something else to brag about. As for the match… well, I think the big thing most’ll remember will be Wolfe/Tischer’s return. ***
Wolfe got a huge smile on his face during the “please come back” chants… and I have a good feeling about something.
Promo time builds up the main event, with another story from Absolute Andy about a swimmer giving up because they couldn’t see the end goal through the fog. Tonight, for Bobby Gunns, he IS the fog. Absolute Andy: Master Storyteller!
wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship: Bobby Gunns vs. Absolute Andy (c)
You don’t need me to tell you that Bobby got a monstrous pop as he entered through the back of the room and through the people to a smoke and laser show… while Absolute ANdy descended from the heavens like a God. This is next level production for the main event entrances. This is why I love wrestling!
The match gets started just before 11pm local time – so much for the after party starting then!
Holy crap, there actually are duelling “Gunns, Bobby Gunns/Andy” chants?! Andy tries to cheapshot Gunns before the bell, but the challenger ducks and goes for his Swish armbar early… only for Andy to get to the ropes and drag himself outside. Gunns follows him there, as Andy tried to run away… only to get thrown back inside by Gunns. Those duelling chants are continuing, and no, I’m not timing them. Gunns makes a point of working over Andy’s arm, stomping on it before he ran into Andy’s F5 attempt. Luckily, Gunns escapes and drops into the ropes with a hanging armbar to continue the damage on the champion’s arm.
Gunns drags Andy outside for some more, but Andy just chops him as Gunns then hit back with an elbow, rolling him back into the ring as he began to take shots with a series of lariats. Finally, a clothesline drops Andy, sending him scurrying into the corner as Gunns comes a-charging with running uppercuts, only for Andy to fire back out of the corner with a clothesline of his own as he then tossed Gunns to the outside. The Axel Dieter Jr. method, eh?
Andy follows Bobby outside, just so he could whip him into the ringpost, but the challenger’s able to come back into the ring as he started to throw some uppercuts… only for Andy to trip him and trap Gunns in a figure four. Right by the ropes. I think you can all see Andy’s cheating with the ropes coming a mile off, and while it did happen, Bobby gritted his teeth to see through the proverbial fog, and roll the hold over after Tass kicked away Andy’s arm.
Bobby’s back to his feet with uppercuts, taking Andy into the corner for some punches before he wound up for a lariat… only for Andy to duck as he came right back with a back cracker for a near-fall. Chops follow as Bobby’s sent into the ropes, almost despairing, and I think we’ve passed the eight minute mark with those chants. A superplex from Bobby brings Andy down out of the corner as the crowd began to roar even more for the challenger, who comes in with clotheslines before he finally managed to land a German suplex on the champion.
Running uppercuts into the corner keep Andy at bay, as does a running boot and an Exploder-like suplex that almost went awry. More mounted punches in the corner have Andy reeling, as Gunns charges in with a flying Swish armbar, which Andy rolls up for a near-fall before he dumps Gunns with a spinebuster for a two-count that felt like it took forever! Thirteen minutes, I think…
Andy goes for an A-Klasse, but Gunns avoids it and manages to grab a loose arm, pulling Andy into a triangle armbar. A rear naked choke follows, but Andy again escapes as Bobby goes back to the hold… time and time again… as he tried to drain the last remaining energy from Andy. Leaping onto Andy’s back perhaps wasn’t smart, as the champion stood up and headed into the corner… but then staggered backwards as he then slipped out and into a F5, dropping Bobby right in the middle of the ring. A lone, draping arm over Gunns is enough to get a two-count before Andy went to get his title belt.
Of course Tass stops him. Of course, Andy goes for a low blow… but Gunns blocks it, and after running into a big boot, he comes back in with a clothesline as he sensed victory, pulling Andy into a bridging German suplex for a near-fall. Gunns heads up top, but leaps into a superkick as Andy then tried to make Bobby tap to an armbar – just for the embarrassment of it all – then moved him into a Sharpshooter before Bobby made it to the bottom rope.
Again, Andy goes for the belt, but this time Andy goozles Tass, who fights back as Andy clutched his belt like Mr Burns grabbed onto Bobo. Tass tries to fire up Gunns, so Andy just flips the ref the bird and walks away… only for Vinny Vortex to appear on the stage and chase Andy back to the ring. Bobby keeps the ref distracted as Vinny clotheslines Andy back in (to some boos), as a Swish armbar followed… but Andy again gets a foot to the rope to force a break. Tass seemed broken-hearted at that one.
A Saito suplex is next from Bobby, as he dug deeper into his arsenal to eke out the win, but it still wasn’t enough as Andy was kicking out… so here comes another double armbar effort as Bobby pulled back on Andy with all his might… only for another foot on the ropes to stop him in his tracks. Vinny’s stayed at ringside to cheer on Bobby, which may make a few people a bit dubious… but Bobby is too busy tuning up the band as he goes for a superkick, before he has to leap out of a F5 and then flip over an A-Klasse for a near-fall.
A big boot from Andy opened him up for another crack at a belt shot, but Vinny stops him… only for a charging forearm from Gunns to knock his brother off the apron,. Uh oh. Andy capitalises on that with an A-Klasse… and that, was NOT that as the crowd roared for the kick-out. Is the fog clearing?!
This time it’s Andy tuning up the band, but his superkick misses… and after some switcheroos, Bobby accidentally kicks Andy low. Tass plays the “see no evil” trick and waves it off, as Bobby comes back in with the armbar… and Andy taps! He taps! He taps! We have a new wXw Unified World Wrestling champion as my ears split with the roar and the endless “Gunns, Bobby Gunns” chants that are likely to permeate through the night and beyond. Much like at World Tag Team League, this is probably boosted by the crowd, but these two had everyone on edge and biting for EVERYTHING throughout the contest. ****¼
Night two, just like last year, was an absolute home run of a show. Championship Saturday was an absolute joy to watch live – from the surprise return of Axel Tischer… the main event atmosphere… and of course, that WALTER/Fenix match being one that’ll be burned in my memory for a long time to come, as WALTER really rolled back the years to return to the hard-nosed villain he was in the past. Add in a monster pop as Axel Tischer was brought back (for one night only), and wXw have done it again. Mitte Samstag – thumbs up!