Shigehiro Irie looked to win the Unified World Wrestling title at Carat for the second time in as many years.
Quick Results
Baby Allison pinned Rachel Armstrong in 3:32 (**)
16 Carat Gold 2024 Quarter-Final: Aigle Blanc pinned Mike D Vecchio in 13:46 (****)
16 Carat Gold 2024 Quarter-Final: 1 Called Manders pinned Stephanie Maze in 9:28 (***½)
Lio Rush pinned The Rotation, Gringo Loco & Joseph Fenech Jr. in 11:26 (***)
16 Carat Gold 2024 Quarter-Final: Laurance Roman pinned Masato Tanaka in 11:17 (***¼)
Dennis Dullnig & Hektor Invictus defeated Tristan Archer & Anil Marik and Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg to retain the wXw World Tag Team Championships in 11:46 (***)
Fast Time Moodo & Axel Tischer won a tag team gauntlet in 29:23 (**½)
16 Carat Gold 2024 Quarter-Final: Peter Tihanyi pinned Michael Oku in 17:01 (***½)
Robert Dreissker defeated Shigehiro Irie to retain the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship in 25:48 (***¾)
— 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
We’ve got just under a thousand people packed into the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen for a loaded show which’d be topped off with Absolute Andy’s posthumous induction into wXw’s Hall of Fame…
Baby Allison vs. Rachel Armstrong
For night two’s pre-show match, we’ve got Baby Allison looking for her first singles win since joining High Performer Ltd.
Starting with a lock-up, Allison’s sent into the ropes… but cartwheels past Armstrong before coming in with a Thesz press. A low dropkick followed for an early two-count, but Armstrong tries her luck with a roll-up out of the corner before scoring with headscissors and a dropkick.
Heading up top, Armstrong leaps over Allison… then leapfrogs a spear as Allison got nothing but the turnbuckles. She followed that with a springboard moonsault to Allison for a two-count, before a knee lift cut-off Allison’s attempted spear.
An Asai DDT drops Allison as Armstrong again goes up top… but Allison cuts her off and maneuvered up for a spider superplex. A missile dropkick followed to Armstrong, before a spear scored the win for the former women’s champion. **
Onto the main show – and remember that the quarter-finals and semi-finals are blind draws…
16 Carat Gold 2024 Quarter-Final: Aigle Blanc vs. Mike D Vecchio
The “ooohs” when Mike D came out told you this’d be special…
The early going sees Aigle Blanc taken to the corner as he was having to hit and run on the much larger Mike D… but Aigle forgets to run and gets taken down with a discus slap. Aigle’s crucifix is blocked, as was a tijeras, with Mike D looking to counter it… only for Mike to return with a tijeras of his own.
Aigle sidesteps a charging Mike D into the corner, then flew back in with a springboard ‘rana from the apron… before finding form with a wacky twisting headscissors/neckbreaker that caught Mike by surprise. Labelling himself the “French Machine” didn’t go down well in Oberhausen as the crowd were largely behind Mike D…
Chops from Aigle were returned in kind, before Mike caught an up-kick… and grabbed an ankle lock, sending Aigle scurrying. Like the crowd! A switcheroo sees Aigle land a flip dive… but Mike D caught him and dumped the Frenchman onto the side of the apron with a powerbomb. Bloody hell.
Back inside, Mike D puts the boots to Aigle, who eventually countered back with a springboard forearm. Responding, Mike D lays out Aigle with right hands, before a trip up top saw Mike roll through a 450 splash… and get caught with a dropkick in the corner. He shrugs it off to catch Aigle up top, but got brought down with an avalanche twister before finally returning thar dropkick from earlier.
Vecchio simply throws Aigle to the mat before heading up top… and holy hell, that almost went south in a hurry as he misses on a WrestleMania 19-style shooting star press. A running kick through the back of the head from Aigle couldn’t have helped matters, but Mike’s laughing it off… until his dropkick’s caught and turned into a powerbomb for a one-count.
Aigle adds a Dragon suplex from there, but runs into a wild lariat seconds later, before the pair headed onto the apron… where Aigle escapes an apron powerbomb and instead hit back with a springboard DDT onto the edge of the ring. Aigle’s springboard Meteora to the back of the head nearly wins it… but Mike D’s still not staying down.
Another springboard from Aigle’s turned into a beautiful cutter out of nowhere from Mike D, who followed up with a frog splash going three-quarters of the way across the ring for another near-fall. Mike tries to force the shoulders down to get a three-count, before he took Aigle up top for a superplex… only for Aigle to shove him down to the floor.
We’re not done with the aerials as the crowd scatters for a springboard cannonball senton into the aisle from Aigle. Back inside, Mike D laughs as he rolled away from Aigle… who connected anyway with a Coast to Coast, before a 450 splash almost put the Belgian away. From there, the pair try to counter tombstones, leading to a flash roll-up from Aigle for the win. An out-of-nowhere finish, but this was absolutely insane at times – a heck of a way to get the second night underway. ****
16 Carat Gold 2024 Quarter-Final: Stephanie Maze vs. 1 Called Manders
This was perhaps the worst possible draw for Stephanie Maze, given who was left… as the crowd’s reaction gave away.
Manders swung with a clothesline at the bell, but it’s ducked as Maze cracked him with a Skyfall kickin the opening seconds. It didn’t take Manders down, but he scurries outside to avoid a second kick as he began to brawl with Maze around ringside, chopping her by the ring post before a running lariat saw him hit nothing but the post.
Kicks from Maze trap Manders by the post, but back inside Manders busts himself open with a headbut before he just slings Maze into the ropes with a front suplex. Kicks to the back from Manders produce a really unsettling thud, along with a two-count as Maze kicked out…
Maze throws some rights, but is instantly taken out with a bodyslam before she’s taken into the corner for a clothesline. Manders gets a two-count from that as the blood began to trickle down his cheek… another clothesline dumps Maze by the ropes, but Manders misses a follow-up elbow drop that bought some time.
Some more back-and-forth ends with a Manders headbutt, but he telegraphs a back body drop and almost loses to a sunset flip. A follow-up Oklahoma Stampede is countered nicely into a tornado DDT by Maze, as she then picked up with the kicks, taking Manders down to his knees. Eventually one’s caught as Manders bit the foot that kicked him, but Maze upped the ante by biting the ear instead.
Clotheslines from Maze follow, as she then pulled Manders down for an armbar… switching it up into a Cattle Mutilation out of nowhere. She can’t get the hands clasped together though, so Manders breaks out and pulled her up into the Oklahoma Stampede for a near-fall. Maze tries to retaliate, eventually landing a rebound side suplex, before the Skyfall took Manders down… forcing him to get a foot onto the rope to stay alive in the match.
Ground and pound from Maze followed, before Manders ducked a kick and obliterated her with a lariat for the win. My word, Maze put up a hell of a fight here, and came way closer than I expected, but it just wasn’t to be… ***½
“Earlier today” Icarus has a credential ready for Robert Dreissker, who managed to sneak in a dig at Icarus’ first round loss…
Joseph Fenech Jr. vs. The Rotation vs. Gringo Loco vs. Lio Rush
A slight tease at night three’s partycatch here, with a four-way that’s going to be a little bit nuts… and I’m not just talking about the comfortable duvet that Lio’s fashioned into a jacket.
The bell’s delayed because the crowd just keeps on chanting for Gringo Loco… to the point that Fenech threatened to walk out again. When we did get underway, Fenech powders to the outside and has the crowd pre-emptively scattering in expectation of dives. Ah nevermind, they eventually came thanks to a low-pe from Rush.
Back inside, Rush, Rotation and Gringo trade standing switches… and the pace quickens as Rush scores with kicks to the head. An overhand chop from Rotation seemed to sting him as much as Rush, ahead of a rope-walk and a flying ‘rana to Gringo, despite Fenech’s best interruptions.
Rotation turfs out Fenech… but got caught by Gringo, who effortlessly hit a press slam and a standing moonsault for a two-count. Fenech returns to dump Rush in the ropes, then Gringo, and finally Rotation… but his flying senton off the top rope comes up short as they all just got out of the way.
More dives follow as Rush moonsaulted into Rotation… before a tope from Fenech sent all three of them into the front row, ready for Gringo to add himself with a springboard moonsault into the pile. Returning to the ring, Gringo lit up Fenech with chops and headbutts before a wild leaping cutter off the top caught Fenech as he’d propelled himself out of some see-saw pins. Yep, it’s still not fair!
Rotation’s back in with a neckbreaker, then a springboard crossbody to Rush before he finally took down Gringo with a satellite DDT. Rush comes back with a cutter and a reverse ‘rana to Rotation, before Lio’s springboard was caught and turned into a Fire Thunder driver by Gringo. Fenech adds a handspring cutter to the mix, before he got taken up top by Rotation… only for Gringo to interrupt with a one-man double Spanish Fly. It’s… still… not… fair!
Resuming with all four men in the ring, we’ve a flurry of kicks that led to a springboard stunner from Rush to Rotation, before the Final Hour frog splash got Lio the win. ***
They announce the dates for 16 Carat Gold in 2025 – March 7, 8 and 9, and tickets are already on sale, with plenty of them having been shifted in the first 24 hours…
16 Carat Gold 2024 Quarter-Final: Laurance Roman vs. Masato Tanaka
Having eliminated OSKAR in the first round, Roman’s got a much different proposition up against him here…
Opening with a lock-up, Roman works over Tanaka’s wrist in the early going, only to get it back in return as they traded holds. A side headlock from Roman’s shoved off as we built up to shoulder tackles, with Tanaka eventually charging down Roman.
Roman’s trapped in the corner for some mounted punches, but Roman’s able to break free and take down Tanaka for a kick to the back for a two-count. An Irish whip takes Tanaka hard into the buckles as Roman continued to control proceedings, adding uppercuts and kicks before he again hurled Tanaka into the corner.
Tanaka kicks out at two from that, then again after he’d taken a back elbow against the ropes. A snap suplex keeps Roman ahead, before Tanaka got a boot up coming out of the corner and followed through with a DDT. Clotheslines follow that in the corners as Tanaka set up for a tornado DDT.
In response, Roman catches Tanaka with a swinging DDT for a near-fall, before a trip up top was interrupted as Tanaka brought him down with a superplex. Roman tries to shrug it off, but Tanaka’s got the stronger elbow strikes that set up for a wicked lariat. Following up, Tanaka slams Roman, but lands on Laurance’s knees from a frog splash as Roman ended up… missing his in return.
More back-and-forth ends with Roman being ripcorded into an elbow strike, before a headbutt from Tanaka set up for another elbow. That’s good for a near-fall, as Tanaka headed back up and landed a frog splash… but it’s not enough! Tanaka looks to follow up with a Sliding D, but it’s countered into a crucifix for a near-fall, before Roman launched a late flurry, ending with a front slam to get the upset win. ***¼
Elimination Match for wXw World Tag Team Championship: High Performer Ltd. (Anil Marik & Tristan Archer) vs. Rott Und Flott (Michael Schenkenberg & Nikita Charisma) vs. Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig (c)
After dodgy decisions at Dead End, we’ve got an elimination match to ensure we’ve a single winner here… and we’ve got the crowd trolling Robin Christopher Fohrwerk as he began life after his cane.
Dullnig and Marik start us off, as Dullnig’s head pat and dropkick only served to antagonise Marik in the opening minute. He tags out to Michael Schenkenberg, who gets dropkicked by Dullnig… ahead of a blind tag from Hektor, whose slingshot spear forced a two-count. Dullnig’s back to try and slam Schenkenberg, to no avail, as Hektor just does it with ease… before he slammed Dennis on top for a two-count.
The champions thought they’d combined against Schenkenberg, but got caught in a fallaway slam/Samoan drop combo that nearly eliminated them. Nikita Charisma’s in to dropkick Hektor into a side suplex for a two-count, ahead of a double DDT from Hektor… who couldn’t get much else in before Tristan Archer tagged in and cleared house.
Marik’s in as Hektor was trapped in the corner, only to get brought out with a bulldog that got Anil a two-count. Archer’s back to hit a suplex as the champions remained in trouble, but a quick turnaround from Schenkenberg led to him landing a German suplex to Archer, then a spinning back suplex to Marik.
Dullnig’s in next to push on, suplexing Schenkenberg into Charisma in the corner, following up with a gutwrench gutbuster before he clotheslined Schenkenberg to the outside. Rott und Flott looked to turn it around as Schenkenberg had caught an apron PK from Dullnig… but it’s Archer who suplexes Dullnig back in, before landing a dive to the outside.
We keep going with Archer tagging in to hit a uranage and another dive… the Decapite lariat wipes out Hektor, before the Coup d’Etat almost put Charisma away. Schenkenberg’s sit-out spinebuster clears the way a little, but Dullnig blocks a superplex… Charisma runs in to hit it off of Schenkenberg’s back, while a senton bomb from Archer broke up a pin as a big ol’ Parade of Moves broke out.
It all culminated with a 3D to Charisma, with Dullnig getting the first pin at 11:45 as we were reduced to Archer and Marik against the champions. Anil low bridges Hektor to the outside, while Archer posted Dullnig as the challengers had things in control. A chinlock kept Dullnig grounded, ahead of a delayed back suplex from Archer which drew a two-count.
Marik and Archer keep Dullnig isolated as they looked for a double-team gutwrench powerbomb, but Dullnig breaks free and tagged out to Hektor, who runs wild with clotheslines… there’s a baseball slide German suplex to Marik, along with a spinebuster to Archer for a near-fall, ahead of the double Hektor-Knie for a near-fall.
From there, the champions try to go all WWF tag team on us, but it’s broken up as Marik spun Dullnig down with a Codebreaker for a near-fall. A double-team powerbomb forces Hektor to break up a cover, before Marik was left alone to take a 3D as Fohrwerk dove in to stop the ref’s count. He’s ejected from ringside for that, as the challengers capitalise with a low blow behind the ref’s back.
Dullnig’s able to kick out from that, as the champions hit right back with a 3D to Archer to retain the belts. ***
A promo plays from Matt Cardona, who announces his arrival to wXw – he’ll be over in June for the Drive of Champions show.
Gauntlet: Big Bucks (Norman Harras & Alex Duke) vs. Anita Vaughan & OSKAR vs. Maggot & Aaron Insane vs. Wagner Brothers (El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno del Mal) vs. KxS (Fast Time Moodo & Axel Tischer) vs. Luke Jacobs & YOICHI
After intermission, we’ve got the now-traditional tag gauntlet, which saw the debut of the newly-paired Norman Harras and Alex Duke, who are calling themselves the Big Bucks.
We got going with Vaughan and Harras, as Norman absorbed shoulder tackles before he took an enziguiri. Anita’s forearm and bodyslam looked to follow, but Duke comes in to sweep the leg and knock Oskar off the apron… only to get chopped in return. Duke’s clothesline has Vaughan down before Harras came in to pancake Vaughan for a near-fall.
Duke’s back to trap Vaughan in a chinlock, before a throat thrust took her into the corner as the Big Bucks were enjoying the best of the opening stages. Vaughan tries to break free, eventually finding OSKAR, who cleared house with shoulder charges and chops, but the double-teaming quickly had him down to a knee.
Ah nevermind, a double clothesline drops Duke and Harras, before Vaughan tagged back in as they looked to double-team Harras with chops in the corner. Clotheslines keep Harras in the corner ahead of a fallaway slam from Vaughan, which got a two-count before Duke got involved, holding Vaughan up top. With the referee distracted by Duke, Harras punches OSKAR in the balls, before catching a Vaughan crossbody… leading to a Finlay roll and an uppercut from Harras, before the Duke’s Decree got the first fall.
Next up: Maggot and… Griffin McCoy? Nope, Robin Christopher Fohrwerk’s continued play for Maggot was brushed off as Maggot had his own partner, the returning Aaron Insane, who punched out McCoy as well. Their first actions didn’t last too long, as the Big Bucks were on the defensive from the off, leading to a Maggot spear on Duke, and a Matt Cardona-like leg lariat from Insane to get the fall after 24 seconds. That looked to surprise everyone…
Out next were the Wagner Brothers – El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and a new-to-wXw Galeno del Mal. LUCHA FRIDGE TIME! Maggot and Galeno start us off as Maggot tried in vain to take down Galeno with shoulder tackles. Galeno’s had more oomph to them, as Wagner knocks Insane off the apron… Insane’s in to help roll Galeno down for kicks to the front and back for a two-count.
A suplex from Insane gets another two-count on Galeno, before a dropkick wiped out the Nauheimer. Returning with a slam, Insane has Galeno down again, but misses an elbow drop off the middle rope as Wagner came in to spark a Parade of Moves. A big shoulder charge from Insane surprises Galeno, before all four men found themselves in the ring again as Maggot and Insane took a cannonball and double knee in the corner. From there, the Wagners head up as Wagner leapt off of Galeno’s shoulders for a splash to Insane for the pin.
Next up was the newly-formed pairing of Fast Time Moodo and Axel Tischer, complete in matching KXS Teamsport gear. They initially double-team Galeno, before focusing on Wagner with a pop-up into a kick on the way to a two-count for the Axeman. Wagner’s taken down to his knees as Tischer hooked away on him, before more kicks get Moodo a two-count.
Wagner fights back with chops to Tischer, but Moodo runs back in to neutralise that as Tischer proceeded to boot Wagner out of the corner, only to get taken down with an enziguiri moments later. Galeno’s back in to wipe out KXS, dumping Tischer onto Moodo with an inverted suplex for an eventual two-count. Moodo’s kept isolated for a spell, with Wagner tagging back in to take out the knee, only for Moodo to strike his way free and make a tag out to Tischer.
Tischer’s gamengiri sinks Wagner, before Moodo tagged back in to help with double-teams… Galeno comes in to neutralise that, leading to a suplex/splash combination on Tischer for a near-fall. A slam from Wagner has Moodo laying ahead of a running splash from Galeno, who then flipped Wagner onto Moodo for another near-fall as Tischer then wiped out Galeno with a flying clothesline.
Wagner took Tischer back outside for a tope into the second row, before a discus clothesline from Galeno stopped a rare Moodo dive, as Galeno instead took to the air with a flip senton into the pile. Back inside, Galeno slams Tischer, but another turnaround led to Tischer throwing Galeno into a Black Belt Kick as Moodo scored the fall.
Luke Jacobs & YOICHI were the final tandem out, going straight to work trading blows with KXS, eventually charging them down ahead of a pair of bodyslams. A back senton and a splash keep KXS down, as Moodo found himself isolated with a slap-assisted powerslam from YOICHI for a two-count. Tischer returns to help double-team YOICHI, leading to a stomp-assisted death valley driver for another two-count.
YOICHI manages to turn it around with a spinning slam before he tagged in Jacobs to clear house, ragdolling Tischer and Moodo with German suplexes. Luke keeps going in the corners en route to a stacked-up German suplex to KXS at the same time, while a pop-up powerbomb almost put away Tischer. Tischer rakes the eyes to buy him time as Moodo came in… and ate a headbutt for his troubles.
YOICHI’s back to charge through Moodo, leading to a spinebuster ahead of a slam and a slingshot splash out of the corner for a near-fall. Tischer’s in to stop a Muso from YOICHI, before a Pedigree from Moodo almost got the win. A Black Belt Kick’s sidestepped as Moodo’s met with a German suplex instead, but Tischer tags in as YOICHI’s isolated… clotheslines clear a way through for him, before Tischer chop blocked the knee and hit a kick-aided brainbuster to complete the gauntlet win. As for the meat and potatoes of the gauntlet, this was perfectly fine – but with the show running long (into the third hour at this point, including interval), it perhaps felt like it was dragging too long, particularly with the KXS/Wagners spell in the middle. **½
Backstage, Shigehiro Irie’s getting hyped up for his title match…
16 Carat Gold 2024 Quarter-Final: Peter Tihanyi vs. Michael Oku
I’d had this down as a potential final after night one’s results… but I’m not complaining about it being in the quarters!
The Oberhausen crowd was mostly behind Tihanyi in the opening stages, as he and Oku traded shoulder tackles, before Tihanyi’s armdrags and dropkick had Oku down by the ropes. A chinlock keeps Oku grounded, but he’s able to push it away before some misdirection led to a tijeras into the corner. Following up with a dropkick, Oku looked to take control, laying into Tihanyi with chops and forearms before kicking out the Hungarian’s legs
from under him.
A shinbreaker keeps Tihanyi grounded, as Oku then looked for a half crab… but he’s propelled out through the ropes ahead of a flip dive from Tihanyi. Oku makes it back into the ring first, as Tihanyi needed every second of that ten-count to make it back in… and into the path of a low superkick before he caught Oku with an enziguiri.
Tihanyi’s swinging DDT off the ropes earns him a two-count, while a slingshot cutter back into the ring was blocked… and countered with a misdirection knee as Oku picked up a near-fall. A springboard moonsault quickly follows for another two-count, with Tihanyi rolling outside for respite as Oku teed up a Fosbury flop.
Getting away from it, Tihanyi opted to just flip Oku onto the apron for a nasty landing, before he springboarded back inside into a superkick. A Magic Screw off the ropes sees Tihanyi hit back for a two-count, before Oku grabbed onto a leg, leading to the pair kicking each other free as they continued to trade shots.
Another swinging DDT from Tihanyi’s blocked as Oku dropkicked him down to the floor, eventually following up with a Fosbury flop. Back inside, a froggy crossbody connects for a two-count, before a low dropkick set up for a frog splash… Tihanyi got the boots up, but Oku caught it and countered the counter into a half crab instead.
The ropes save Tihanyi there, as did a sidestep as Oku crashed and burned on a dropkick by the ropes… but Oku cuts off Tihanyi with a gamengiri on the top rope. Another superkick stuns Tihanyi… but he launches in with a Meteora that Oku rolled through into a half crab. Tihanyi tries for the ropes, but Oku pulls him away… and leaned back so far that he got caught with a backslide as Tihanyi almost stole the win.
Oku goes for a springboard dropkick, but Tihanyi meets him with a slingshot cutter instead. A 450 splash is aborted as Oku went to the corner, only to take some double knees as Tihanyi went back up and hit the 450 splash for the win. ***½
wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship: Shigehiro Irie vs. Robert Dreissker (c)
Irie’s looking to win back the belt he lost to Dreissker back in June – will it be two successful Carats in a row for Shiggy?
Starting things off deliberately, Dreissker took Irie down with a headlock takedown, then with a shoulder tackle. Irie tries to return the favour, but Dreissker doesn’t budge from a shoulder tackle and instead charged Irie onto the apron with his response. A headbutt from Irie knocks Dreissker back, as a shoulder tackle off the top rope finally took the champion down.
Returning, Dreissker grabs a knuckle lock with Irie, as a Test of Strength had Irie down to his knees, before Irie powered up and headbutted Dreissker into the ropes for a cannonball to the back. Icarus gets involved, grabbing onto the legs to avoid a slingshot splash by the ropes… but Irie pulls him into the ring, laid into the Hungarian, then dumped him with a Samoan drop.
Dreissker powdered to the outside while that was going on, with Irie eventually giving chase… and getting pulled into the ring post as Laurance Roman came out to help Icarus to the back… much to the annoyance of Dreissker. The champion tried to retain the upper hand, but Irie throws him head-first into the side of the ring, before a bulldog back inside led to the slingshot splash.
Heading outside, Dreissker’s met with a crossbody to knock him off the apron as the pair fought around ringside. Up on the apron, Irie teases a piledriver, but a back body drop provided a rude landing as the pair went back through the crowd, leading to Dreissker getting back body dropped into the crowd. Yep, we’re gonna need a couple of new seats to replace the ones that exploded…
Irie returned to the ring, but it’s not long before we’re back outside as they fought towards the back of the hall, where Irie had a drink thrown at him, before Dreissker swung a security gate into the challenger’s face, resulting in Irie coming up extremely bloody as he crawled his way back to the ring, where Dreissker took pleasure in exacerbating that cut.
Irie tries to fight back with forearms, taking Dreissker into the corner, but he’s caught as a springboard crossbody connected for a near-fall. Short-arm clotheslines follow from Dreissker, but Irie countered by pulling Dreissker into a Black Hole Slam as the blood continued to flow from his forehead.
The pair exchange strikes from there, before Dreissker was knocked down with a misdirection forearm… then taken into the corner for a cannonball. Another exchange ends with a Beast Bomber not long after that, almost winning the match from the lariat. In return, a fallaway slam from Dreissker took things into the corner ahead of a Dreissker Bomb, but Irie’s not quite done yet!
A second Dreissker Bomb’s stopped by Irie, who powerbombed the champion out of the corner, while a splash added another two-count as Irie looked to be close to running on empty. Heading up top, Dreissker’s attempt at a superplex is headbutted away as Irie came back with a cannonball back senton to crush the champion for another near-fall.
Another forearm from Irie saw him blast through Dreissker as those close-counts kept stacking up, leading to a ripcord clothesline from Dreissker… who then added a death valley driver and a Dreissker bomb out of the corner. Rather than go for the pin, Dreissker went back up… kicking away Irie as he grabbed the ankle, before a second Dreissker bomb led to the win. A decisive victory over a beaten and bloodied Irie, which puts that rivalry firmly in the background… as Dreissker works through his list of potential usurpers. ***¾
Absolute Andy
As promised, the main event of night two was Absolute Andy’s induction into wXw’s Hall of Fame. In an emotional series of speeches that went over half an hour, Thommy Giesen, Bobby Gunns and Andy’s widow, Solitair, spoke warmly of Andy and their memories. Bringing up how Andy originally was a goalkeeper, but switched from football to wrestling, noting that he was able to do martial arts, and because he was used to falling as a goalkeeper… so it was a natural mix!
Moving onto Andy’s first wXw title reign, all two hours of it, Thommy brought up Andy’s penchant for Dad jokes in his tag team names, Andy’s first singles title in 2009, an incident in Gifhorn where Andy saved a main event after he’d injured himself, through to how Andy’s funeral opened… with the theme from Jurassic Park.
We also had a highlights/blooper reel for Andy, before he received one final entrance – with the ceremony ending with Solitair placing Andy’s ring boots in the ring. Always a showman, always remembered. Danke für alles, Andy.
Like night one, this show started out strong, but also ended up wavering a little – with the tag gauntlet not being that well received due to its length. All in though, the two main events – in ring and out – will be remembered fondly, for differing reasons, as Carat headed towards its climax.