Four become one as Aigle Blanc, 1 Called Manders, Peter Tihanyi and Laurance Roman looked to add their name to the list of 16 Carat Gold winners.
Quick Results
Thomas Shire pinned Luke Jacobs in 6:11 (***¼)
16 Carat Gold 2024 Semi-Final: Laurance Roman pinned 1 Called Manders in 9:42 (***½)
16 Carat Gold 2024 Semi-Final: Peter Tihanyi pinned Aigle Blanc in 12:30 (***¾)
Axel Tischer & Fast Time Moodo pinned Anita Vaughan & OSKAR in 12:32 (***¼)
ECW Rules: Masato Tanaka & Nick Schreier pinned Icarus & Robert Dreissker in 15:58 (****)
Michael Oku pinned Lio Rush in 21:31 (***½)
Gringo Loco, YOICHI, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno del Mal pinned Mike D Veccio, Shigehiro Irie, Dennis Dullnig & Hektor Invictus in 14:20 (****¼)
16 Carat Gold 2024 Final: Laurance Roman pinned Peter Tihanyi in 15:52 (****¼)
— In the next week or so, I’ll be chatting about this show with Mike Kilby on the Auf Die Fresse podcast. Links to stream that episode when it drops, as well as back episodes are available at AufDieFresse.co.uk
Thomas Shire vs. Luke Jacobs
A rematch from Ambition the prior evening, as Luke would look to see if Thomas Shire in Germany was what Tomohiro Ishii was to him in England.
Opening with a lock-up, Shire took Luke into the ropes, but had to duck a slap on the break before the pair charged at each other with shoulder tackles… with Luke eventually winning out.
A lariat knocks Jacobs from the ropes as Shire then looked to go for a UFO… but Jacobs wriggled out and hung him up in the ropes for a flying stomp off the top. Shire got a foot to the rope early on in the cover, before he booted Luke out of the corner and returned with a shoulder tackle off the middle rope.
A sleeperhold from Shire’s countered into a Saito suplex, before a return from Shire earned him a swift lariat in response. Yep, these two be swinging for the fences! More elbows and uppercuts going back-and-forth left Luke rocked, before he escaped a second powerbomb of the weekend and nailed Shire with an elbow.
Jacobs scoops up Shire for a bodyslam, following up with a sliding lariat for a two-count, before a back body drop countered Luke’s powerbomb attempt. Shire adds a deadlift German and a massive folding powerbomb… and that’s your lot. Luke’s 0-2 against Shire this weekend, but this was a lovely piece of action to whet the appetite for the final night. ***¼
We’re back inside the Turbinenhalle for the final show of the weekend… and after the opening “I’m going to win 16 Carat” promo mix, complete with Peter Tihanyi stealing Anita Vaughan’s line, and a somewhat prescient note from Laurance Roman, we’re back inside.
16 Carat Gold 2024 Semi-Final: 1 Called Manders vs. Laurance Roman
Manders was the heavy crowd favourite when the bell went, and he started on top, taking Roman into the corner ahead of a clean break.
Roman returns the favour, before headlock takedowns and escapes were traded en route to a stand-off. Hitting the ropes, Manders charges down Roman, before the pair traded strikes with Roman not backing down. He’s taken into the corners for chops from Manders, then some mounted punches, before one big chop sunk the former Shotgun champ.
Retaliating, a forearm took Manders outside for a plancha, before a boot and a dropkick out of the corner had Manders down for a two-count. More strikes keep Manders down as Roman retained control, stomping and choking in the corner before a wrist-clutch Exploder threw Roman across the ring.
Desty punches from Manders led to a Bionic elbow fake-out into a DDT, before he took Roman into the corner ahead of a Doctor bomb for a near-fall. Responding, a kick and a swinging DDT from Roman almost puts Manders away, as we then went back to the strikes, with Manders sending Roman outside with a leaping shoulder tackle.
Manders followed him out with a short-range low-pe, before he missed a moonsault back inside… and got caught with clotheslines in the corner. Roman’s offence quickly ends when he’s spun down with a lariat, but he’s back up to trade shots once more, following in with an enziguri and repeated clotheslines in the corner, before he took home the win with the front slam. An efficient outing from Roman, getting the job done in the opener in under ten minutes – giving himself the most time possible to recover for the finals… ***½
They announce that PROGRESS, Pro Wrestling NOAH and DEFY will be a part of World Tag Team Festival weekend, with a joint show on the afternoon of Saturday October 5th.
16 Carat Gold 2024 Semi-Final: Aigle Blanc vs. Peter Tihanyi
These two have met three times in singles matches before – in wXw and Passion Pro – with Aigle yet to win once. No time like the present to change that, eh?
Everyone but Aigle got chants at the bell, before we got going with the pair trading shoulder tackles and roll-ups. A trip-up from Aigle backfires as Tihanyi crucifixes him for a two-count as a pacey opening exchange ended with Tihanyi getting stomped on ahead of a seatbelt pin en route to a stand-off. And breathe.
Tihanyi boots Aigle down, shrugging off some boos from it, as he began to chop away on the Frenchman in the corner, before some bodyscissors took Tihanyi outside… for a moonsault from Aigle that saw him land squarely through a chair. Oof.
Back inside, the headscissors neckbreaker took Tihanyi down ahead of an armbar, which he escaped via a jawbreaker before a swinging DDT was caught and turned into a twister. Another knee strike from Tihanyi looked to stop Aigle, as the pair then traded enziguiri before a Dragon suplex dumped Tihanyi.
From the apron, Tihanyi’s dragged back in for a ‘rana driver through the ropes, before a roll-up out of a tombstone nearly won it for Tihanyi. The Hungarian tries a moonsault, but he’s caught and tombstoned anyway as Aigle came close. They escape tombstones again, before a leaping knee took Tihanyi back onto the apron, where a slingshot DDT from Aigle took the pair down to the floor.
Back inside, Aigle tees up for a Meteora, but it’s interrupted with a superkick that sent him outside… a tope quickly followed, before a back cracker cut off a slingshot cutter. Aigle picks up the pace with a trapped-arm Sharpshooter as Tihanyi’s back was screaming, but he’s able to wriggle under the ropes for a break. From there, a stomp to the lower back keeps Tihanyi down for a 450 splash… but Aigle crashes and burns as Tihanyi lands his 450 splash for the win. Some good stuff at the end, but Tihanyi’s old back injury gets aggravated as he’s going into the final with a big target on his back. Metaphorically. ***¾
KxS (Axel Tischer & Fast Time Moodo) vs. OSKAR & Anita Vaughan
So Tischer and Moodo are now a pairing, all about the Kicks and Suplexes…
Tischer and OSKAR start us off, with Tischer faking out a handshake as he went after OSKAR, only to be met with a headlock takedown. Tischer kicks his way free, then tagged out to Moodo, whose kicks and knee strike picked up a two-count on OSKAR. Stomps to the ankle keep OSKAR down, before Tischer came back in for sandwich kicks for another two-count.
Vaughan’s teased with a tag out as Tischer stayed on OSKAR, until he ate a back body drop out of the corner… and now here comes Anita with chops for the Axeman. A rolling elbow knocks Tischer down, as did a shoulder tackle, before Moodo stopped Vaughan in the ropes by grabbing the hair.
That allowed Tischer back into it, as he then tagged Moodo in to hit a pop-up kick to keep Anita down. An enziguiri to Moodo bought Vaughan some time, but Tischer’s able to tag in… even if his attempt to knock OSKAR off the apron was in vain. Vaughan’s fallaway slam finally allows her to tag out, as OSKAR ran wild with shoulder tackles and chops.
A powerslam nearly wins it for OSKAR, before a Moodo roll-up saw him build up pressure… only to miss a knee strike and get clotheslined into the corner. Tischer’s back to help double-team OSKAR, but a turnaround sees Moodo and Tischer caught in the wrong corner ahead of a superplex from Anita.
OSKAR’s shoved onto the pile to break up the count, before a head kick from Moodo wiped out a fired-up Vaughan. OSKAR fights back against both Tischer and Moodo with chops, but ends up getting kicked to the outside as the legal Vaughan ate a gutbuster and a Made in Japan for a near-fall…
OSKAR holds Tischer in the corner as Vaughan planted Moodo with a Michinoku driver… but it’s not enough, and after Tischer tripped up Vaughan in the ropes, a spinning heel kick and a kick-assisted brainbuster proved to be enough to get the win. Surely the team should be KxB with that finisher, no? ***¼
They replay “earlier today” with Maggot and Dan Mallmann – Maggot’s injured, but still finds it within him to call Robin Christopher Fohrwerk a jerk. That led to Fohrwerk being introduced to ringside… in front of a crowd that really was fed up with him. He wasn’t happy with how the weekend’s gone, especially because wXw officials wrecked his golden cane, so he’s insisting that High Performer Ltd’s Carat weekend isn’t going to end on a low.
Fohrwerk’s determined to sign Maggot, but since he couldn’t get him… he’s got AHURA?! He’s been gone for about a year, and the roar for his return took me by surprise. As did the references and chants for his burger bar, Mama’s Boy Burger in Offenbach… but of course, Ahura hadn’t really signed with Fohrwerk. It was all a big ruse, as Maggot had called Ahura to solve a problem for him… which came in the form of a big boot for the bespectacled Fohrwerk.
Maggot and Aaron Insane appeared on the stage as Ahura dumped Fohrwerk with a cutter, before the Frankfurter Jungs hugged on the stage. Well, just with one arm, given Maggot’s knackered shoulder… Hey, remember when Insane was trying to calm these two down last year?
On the live stream, Thommy Giesen asks for help to get the rubbish out of the ring. Sorry Fohrwerk! Then it’s pretape time, first with Peter Tihanyi prepping for his final… before they replayed Nick Schreier being challenged by Icarus to find a tag partner.
ECW Rules Match: AMBOSS (Robert Dreissker & Icarus) vs. Nick Schreier & Masato Tanaka
This was made into an ECW rules match before Schreier’s partner was revealed… of course it was Masato Tanaka, and Robert Dreissker looked less than thrilled at Icarus for dragging him into this mess.
“Hardcore” Schreier had a Kendo stick with him, while Tanaka had a chair… and of course, AMBOSS attacked before the bell. Tanaka quickly turned it around, throwing Dreissker into the crowd before popping a drink into his head. Another Irish whip took Dreissker into the fourth row, while Schreier eventually bowled Icarus into the crowd.
Out comes a table as I instantly had flashbacks to that one RISE match… but AMBOSS cut things off as Dreissker dropped Schreier onto the side of the ring. Tanaka and Icarus continue brawling, heading into the crowd where a fan’s jacket was used to choke out Icarus, before they headed up onto the ramp, with Tanaka taking a suplex onto the walkway.
Dreissker decides to join in, dragging Schreier up towards the stage… stopping to slam Schreier onto the standing decks, only for Dreissker to corner himself as Schreier proceeded to tee off on him with punches. And a crotch chop for good measure. After being lifted into the stage, Schreier throws a superkick… then had a chair unceremoniously thrown at him by Icarus, before Tanaka popped a full beer against his head. Four bons, please.
Schreier’s bleeding as Icarus punched away on that cut, before they made their way back to ringside, where Tanaka had to fight off a virtual handicap match. Icarus eats a DDT, while Dreissker caught Tanaka with a crossbody out of the corner. We’ve another table pulled out by Icarus, who set it up as Tanaka got powerslammed off the top rope through the table.
Schreier breaks the cover, before he began to trade shots with Icarus… a Saito suplex nearly puts Nick away, but he’s able to recover with a springboard back elbow. Turning his sights on Dreissker, Schreier lands some forearms in the corner before Dreissker just swatted away a springboard crossbody attempt.
The Ten Ton Hammer followed on Schreier, as the pop-up spear almost got the win. Dreissker keeps going, but his crossbody out of the corner got nothing but air and mat, as Tanaka returned to go to town on AMBOSS with clotheslines. Out some some plunder in the form of road signs, as AMBOSS were reminded about no entry and no parking restrictions… before Schreier and Tanaka set up Icarus for dualling frog splashes.
Dreissker uses a Kendo stick to break up the pin, then came close to the win with a death valley driver on Tanaka. A back suplex/neckbreaker combo gets another near-fall on Tanaka, who returned with a stunner/DDT combo on AMBOSS. That took Dreissker outside as Icarus’ German suplex and lariat just drew a one-count on Tanaka…
Elbows and forearms from Tanaka nearly win it, before he took Icarus into the corner for a Diamond Dust. It’s still not enough though, as Schreier then turned his attention to splash Dreissker through a table… the table flips under them, while Tanaka popped a chair over Icarus’ head in the ring, following up with a Sliding D for the win. ****
Lio Rush vs. Michael Oku
After intermission, we had this first-time-ever outing…
Opening with a handshake, Rush and Oku lock up into the corner, breaking cleanly before Oku tried to work over Rush’s arm. The ropes are on hand to force a break, before some misdirection saw Lio try to confuse his way back into things. Problem was, Rush crawled into a half crab, kicking free before an enziguiri took Oku to the outside.
After a breather, Oku’s back inside, but standing switches and escaped led to Rush taking a tijeras and a dropkick… sending him outside. Oku offers to hold the ropes open for Lio, but it’s the bottom ropes… which earned him a kicking from an insulted Rush.
The pace quickens from there, but Rush’s handspring kick’s caught and turned into a half crab in the ropes, before a missile dropkick after the break kept Lio down. Retaliating, Rush chops Oku into the corner, before an Irish whip sent Rush into the corner… scratch that, THROUGH the corner. Jeez.
Making it back inside, Lio’s clearly having trouble standing up, so Oku focuses on the back, starting with a pendulum backbreaker. A half crab attempt is pushed away as Rush instead found his way in with a roundhouse kick, taking Oku down by the ropes… following up with a handspring kick and a low-pe to take Oku into the second row.
A second low-pe took Oku a row deeper, while a third one saw the pair almost go all the way to the bar. Back inside, Oku kicks away a springboard stunner attempt, but couldn’t avoid a cutter as Rush hit that stunner anyway for a near-fall. Kicks from Rush were eventually caught, but a flurry of strikes make their way through ahead of a backflip kick from Oku… who eventually added his misdirection knee and a springboard moonsault for a near-fall.
Heading up top, Oku’s now apparently calling for a Six Star Frog Splash, but Rush avoids it and kicked Oku down… only to get caught on the top turnbuckle. He shoves down Oku, but a sunset flip’s blocked as Oku ends up missing that frog splash, with Lio doing the same again on his Final Hour frog splash.
Back-and-forth strikes leave Rush limping, before he was sent through the turnbuckles again for a dropkick… leading to a brainbuster from Oku for a near-fall. Another half crab’s pushed away, but Oku kicks back, only to get caught in a half crab in return as Lio rolled through. Rolling free, Oku is caught with a reverse ‘rana out of the corner, then a spear for a near-fall… before a stunner out of the corner had Lio on top once more.
Rush heads up for a Final Hour… but Oku caught him and rolled through again into a half crab. Again, Lio pushes free, but ends up eating a knee strike and a frog splash as Oku finally took home the win. ***½
Backstage, Laurance Roman’s warming up for the final…
Then we get an announcement that at the GWF & Rev Pro “Double Impact” event at the Astra Kulturehaus in Berlin on August 30, there’ll be a wXw title defended. Cooperation is a hell of a thing…
Lucha Rules Match: Mike D Vecchio, Shigehiro Irie, Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig vs. Gringo Loco, YOICHI & Wagner Brothers (El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno Del Mal)
Party catch time!
Irie had his head heavily bandaged up after the Dreissker match yesterday, and everyone’ll need to keep their head on a swivel as tags aren’t needed here. All eight men brawl at the bell, leading to Galeno and Hektor trading blows inside ahead of a dropkick from Hektor. Galeno’s quickly back with a half-and-half suplex, before Dennis Dullnig tried in vain to move the big guy… eventually rolling him down for a pat to the head.
El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. comes in to take an enziguiri, before a superkick laid out Dullnig ahead of a running back suplex. Mike D’s in next to trade shots ahead of a missile dropkick to Wagner, as we’re firmly in the revolving door stage of things, with YOICHI running in to charge down the Belgian. Another dropkick comes from Mike D, then a lariat before YOICHI reversed a suplex… and here comes Irie!
Clotheslines from Irie led to a bulldog and the slingshot splash, but he doesn’t go for a cover as in came Gringo Loco. Irie busts out a tijeras, and that’s my bingo card complete, as Lucha Shiggy ended up getting caught with a handspring back elbow in return from Gringo. Dullnig’s in to help, catching a kick before Irie hurt his head with a headbutt… not helped by Dullnig going all Bushwhackers on us using Irie as a battering ram. Woah? Yay? Hongi?
The ring begins to fill up as the Parade of Moves continued, leading to a pop-up uppercut from Hektor, then a powerslam on Galeno del Mal as Mike D’s moonsault almost won it. Everyone chops on Irie in the corner, ahead of splashes and a wild Galeno cannonball, before a slingshot splash out of the corner almost won it for YOICHI.
The Wagners play rock-a-bye baby with Dullnig and throw him into a powerbomb by Gringo out of the corner for a near-fall… and things don’t get better for Dennis as he ate splashes from Galeno and YOICHI afterwards. They stop to pose rather than go for a pin, thankfully, as the ring filled and cleared, leaving us with Wagner and Hektor. They trade blows, with YOICHI swapping in for Wagner to hit a spinning powerslam on the tag team champion.
Mike D effortlessly slings YOICHI with a release back suplex, before Galeno came in to catch a springboard crossbody and counter it into a spin-out butterfly suplex. Or JD Drake’s Drill Claw. Irie’s back in to punch Galeno in the mush, before Gringo Loco’s Falcon arrow took care of a bleeding-again Irie.
Dullnig’s back for a gutbuster amid a Parade of Moves, with a Tiger Driver from Wagner eventually paving the way for Mike D to get perplexed back inside. He hits back with a suplex of his own, as Galeno and Hektor came flying off the top seconds later to keep the insanity going. Irie’s Black Hole Slam earned him an errant superkick from Mike D, whose lack of accuracy continued the Parade as Gringo Loco’s flying Destroyer eventually gave us a breather as he laid out Hektor.
Next come the dives, with Wagner’s rope-walk senton into the pile on the floor, while Irie and YOICHI took the smart move and just went around hitting each other with forearms and clotheslines. Gringo Loco leaps into the pile with a double dump corkscrew senton, while Mike D’s shooting star press completed the set. Jesus fellas…
Back inside, Gringo’s held up by Cash and Hektor… but Mike D wipes out the champions with a flying shoulder tackle. Mike and Gringo go up top next, but Mike’s caught with a top rope powerbomb out of the corner, and that’s your lot. Your butterfly batshit match of the weekend delivered in spades, and if you wanted to nitpick, this felt more like a scramble than a tag, but who really cared? Cue another shower of coins, notes and bons, and now it’s time to count the earnings… ****¼
16 Carat Gold 2024 Final: Laurance Roman vs. Peter Tihanyi
These two have had four prior singles outings, with Tihanyi having won three of them…
Tihanyi circled Roman at the bell, but refused to back down before the opening lock-up led to a drop toe hold as Roman found himself on the mat. A waistlock takedown quickly has Roman on the defensive, where he had to fight out of a full nelson by stomping on Tihanyi’s boot before the favour was returned. Tihanyi wasn’t taking any of Roman’s crap here…
Things escalate with Tihanyi booting Roman down, taking him into the corners for chops before a back elbow dumped Roman for a two-count. An Asai DDT followed for another two-count as Tihanyi looked to be wanting to get this over quickly because of his back. Roman looks to scurry onto the apron, but Tihanyi punches him through the ropes as referee Tassilo Jung had to force a separation with tempers flaring.
Grounding Roman, a side headlock from Tihanyi is pushed off… with a leapfrog from the Hungarian jarring his own back after the landing. Roman stops in his tracks as he went to check on Tihanyi… only to duck a sucker punch and take down Tihanyi as the first signs of change began to sprout.
Roman stays on Tihanyi with a kick to the back for a two-count, before a grounded waistlock and another waistlock takedown saw Roman keep a resolute focus on that lower back. Tihanyi’s able to back up into the corner, but Roman keeps the hold on until Tihanyi managed to elbow his way free.
An irish whip from Tihanyi’s reversed, but he puts the brakes on… only to find that he couldn’t go for a springboard as his back continued to cause problems. Roman tries to capitalise, but an armdrag into a roll-up got Tihanyi a two-count, ahead of a swinging DDT and a frog splash as Roman came within half a second of winning. Another whip takes Tihanyi into the corner as Roman’s path to victory was increasingly obvious – stay on that lower back.
Tihanyi’s able to propel Roman onto the apron, but not do much else… before Roman was caught on the top rope for a superplex, which seemed to do equal harm to both men. Trading shots, Roman eventually goes for Tihanyi’s lower back with a series of forearms before he was caught with a clothesline coming off the ropes.
Roman sits down on a sunset flip to spark see-saw pins, before a knee strike and a Burning Nail package piledriver almost got the win. On cue, here’s the rest of AMBOSS as Robert Dreissker and Icarus came down to ringside… but Roman heads out and told them to bugger off, with referee Tassilo Jung backing him up in marching them to the back.
Behind everyone’s back, Tihanyi caught Roman with a slingshot cutter onto the side of the apron, rolling Roman back inside to pick up a near-fall as the Hungarian was looking more and more frustrated with how things were unfolding. Tihanyi heads up top for a 450 splash, but Roman rolls away from the danger zone… before he got his knees up as Tihanyi followed him into the other corner and hit it anyway.
Cradling Tihanyi got Roman a two-count before they swung for the fences, ending with a knee strike, a kick to the back, a lariat and a front slam… and my word, that’s a shocker of a result, as Laurance Roman got the three-count to win 16 Carat Gold. ****¼
Post-match, Roman offered a handshake to Tihanyi, who brushed it off and walked to the back… a sign of frustration, or have the pair swapped sides, so to speak? That’s for another day though, as Roman celebrated with the trophy and the crowd’s cheers to close out the tournament.
After the first two days started strong before wavering, night three managed to avoid the slump, producing perhaps one of the better final nights in recent memory. With six live shows in three days (and a seventh show added in Inner Circle), these festival weekends are a mammoth task, one which wXw pulled off without much in the way of technical issues – and while long shows and late finishes may have been a gripe on the first two days, at this point it comes with the territory. Another successful festival weekend in the books… see you again in October?