We’ve got all four quarter-finals on top as “Championship Saturday” of Carat weekend was topped off with a TLC match for Young Blood’s tag titles.
Quick Results
Masaaki Mochizuki pinned Adam Priest in 9:11 (***)
Elijah Blum pinned Cara Noir in 12:46 (**¾)
16 Carat Gold 2025 Quarter-Final: Laurance Roman pinned Axel Tischer in 17:58 (****)
16 Carat Gold 2025 Quarter-Final: Masha Slamovich pinned Bobby Gunns in 10:19 (***)
Daisuke Sekimoto, Michael Oku & Aigle Blanc submitted Nick Schreier, Thomas Shire & Hektor Invictus in 16:36 (***¾)
16 Carat Gold 2025 Quarter-Final: Ahura pinned Psycho Clown in 20:13 (****)
16 Carat Gold 2025 Quarter-Final: 1 Called Manders pinned Leon Slater in 14:58 (***)
Mike D Vecchio pinned Levaniel to retain the wXw European Championship in 1:12
Norman Harras & Alex Duke won a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match to win the wXw World Tag Team Championships in 25:41 (***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
Over 1,000 were packed into the Turbinenhalle for the Saturday night show on Carat weekend – headlined with a TLC match for the tag titles in lieu of the originally-planned world title outing. Commentary in English comes from Dave Bradshaw and Ricky Slatter…
Adam Priest vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
After playing a foil to Psycho Mike earlier in the day, Adam Priest is back to something much more in his usual wheelhouse here.
A side headlock from Mochizuki went nowhere as Priest instead took things to ground, bridging over the arm of Mochizuki before Priest raked the eye to stop Mochizuki from getting a foothold in. It doesn’t work, as things spill outside with Priest getting knocked off the apron… and Priest wanted to stay out there to put distance between himself and the Dragongate veteran.
Back inside, a Dragon screw and a DDT to the leg saw Priest pick his target, working his way up to a Figure Four with his back to the ropes as Mochizuki was forced to find another way out… which came via the ropes after Priest had repositioned himself.
Mochizuki knees his way out of another Dragon screw as he took down Priest with a follow-up kick, before Priest snapped back in with a leg-hooked piledriver to nearly win it. Kicks from Mochizuki take things back to the corner as he set up for a charging knee to the ribs… before a head kick and a brainbuster finally put Priest away. ***
Elijah Blum vs. Cara Noir
The main show opened with non-tournament action as Elijah Blum got a former Carat winner…
Cara jumped Blum with a shotgun dropkick at the bell as he looked to capitalise on Blum’s relative inexperience. A clothesline took Blum outside and briefly killed the lights as Blum simply couldn’t get anything going against the aggressive former Carat winner, who almost took home the win with a curb stomp early on.
Another shotgun dropkick measured up Blum, who then countered a package piledriver into a Northern Lights suplex… before finally scoring with that crossbody coming off the ropes. Pushing on, Blum’s neckbreaker keeps Cara down… Cara tries to catch Blum with a dropkick, but only succeeded in hanging himself between the ropes as Blum was finally finding a groove.
Blum goes back to the neckbreaker, but it’s countered with one from Cara, who added the Madame Guillotine over-the-knee brainbuster for a two-count. A pumphandle into a tombstone’s countered out of, but the shotgun dropkick again finds its mark… only for Blum to hit back with a pair of his own as a cross-legged driver almost got Blum the win.
Cara countered a Sliding D into a crucifix pin as Blum perhaps was going into his playbook too quickly… and with a Blackout sleeper next, Cara looked to put an end to things. Taking things to the corner breaks the hold, but Cara just keeps up the pressure with shots to the back of the neck before Blum landed a Parting Gift out of nowhere for the win. This was decent as far as Blum having to fight from behind to get a big win, but something about this just didn’t click for me. **¾
16 Carat Gold 2025 Quarter-Final: Laurance Roman vs. Axel Tischer
The blind draw’s given us a cracker… These two last met at Inner Circle back in October, with then-champion Roman winning having gone down in their three prior meetings.
Also, to answer your question Ricky… no. There were four, but since the European title came into being, we’re back down to zero. The only people who’ve come closest to having won Carat and all of the currently-active wXw titles would be Ilja Dragunov, Laurance Roman, along with the departed John Klinger and Absolute Andy.
A quick start led to Roman scoring with a dropkick in the opening stages, only for Tischer to clobber Roman with a clothesline in the corner moments later. That allowed Tischer to take control, methodically wearing down Roman… only to get caught with a dropkick out of the corner as Roman tried to hurry things up.
Tischer’s low bridged to the outside, but was able to cut off a follow-up dive… only to get brought back in with a superplex as Roman refused to let Tischer slow it down again. The onslaught leads to a brainbuster from Roman for a near-fall, only for the Axeman to return with an X-Plex.
Back-and-forth shots between the two end with the pair connecting with discus lariats at the same time, before Roman’s clotheslines into the corner just earned him a front kick as Tischer came back out. A flying clothesline adds to Roman’s woes, as did a bridging German suplex, before Roman fought to escape a Horrible Slam, only to eat another lariat.
A back body drop lifts Tischer onto the apron as things spilled outside for a low-pe as Roman again quickened the pace… only to run into a Ligerbomb back inside. A series of German suplexes fling Roman to the mat as he tried desperately to break the grip, eventually doing so as he swung back with the swinging DDT… and straight from the kick-out, a crossface almost ended in the ropes, only for Roman to roll them back into the middle of the ring. Second time’s the charm as Tischer got to the rope, but Roman remained ahead with a discus forearm and the facebuster… before a missed leap off the top fooled Tischer into walking into an overhead kick.
Roman goes airborne again, but eats an uppercut, a death valley driver into the corner and a Horrible Slam… but this time Roman’s up at two as another exchange of strikes ended with Tischer sliding into a knee before a Burning Nail piledriver finally got Roman the win. This was quite the epic, with Roman having to constantly come from behind before finally capitalising on Tischer’s big mistake at the end. ****
Around the building, everyone in tonight’s tag title TLC match is walking into the building. Separately, mind you.
16 Carat Gold 2025 Quarter-Final: Bobby Gunns vs. Masha Slamovich
These two have one prior singles meeting, back in October 2022, with Bobby taking home the win in just under ten minutes on a We Love Wrestling taping.
Masha’s spinning heel kick cut off Gunns’ attempt at a jump start as follow-up clotheslines only yielded a one-count. A spinebuster-like takedown and a half crab turns things in Gunns’ favour though, although the ropes force a break… with a cheeky stomp to the arm for good measure from Gunns as well.
Slamovich resists another Boston crab, sitting up to punch her way free before an uppercut took her back down to the mat. Another spinning heel kick from Masha stops Gunns in his tracks again, but Gunns was able to escape Masha’s Requiem package piledriver and go back to the corner with some boot chokes that prompted the referee to separate the pair. A death valley driver from Gunns is good for a near-fall, before slaps from Masha and almost a swinging Samoan drop had Gunns in trouble.
Gunns is able to kick out from that, but Masha stays on him with missile dropkicks… a third one’s countered into a high-angle Boston crab, with Gunns looking to force a submission, before Masha managed to roll out of it. A shotgun dropkick keeps the momentum flowing for Gunns, but a PK’s only good for a one-count…
Gunns looks to finish things off with an Ehrenmann driver, but Masha slips out into a rear naked choke, before a wrist clutch back suplex, a diving knee and the Requiem package piledriver put away the former champion. Worked at a good clip, Gunns’ quarter-final exit was perhaps a surprise, but that could free him up for his traditional “match against the Japanese import” on night three. If that was to happen… ***
Hektor Invictus, Nick Schreier & Thomas Shire vs. Aigle Blanc, Daisuke Sekimoto & Michael Oku
Usually the wacky six-man tags are saved for night three, but it seems wXw’s dispensed with the tag team gauntlet that had become a part of recent Carats.
Oku’s early tease of a half crab on Nick Schreier predictably backfired as the feeling-out process paired everyone off. Hektor more than hung with Aigle Blanc’s attempts to raise the pace, before Thomas Shire in and demanded to face Daisuke Sekimoto. In no uncertain terms too, as he swatted away Aigle, then Oku, before he got his wish.
Then probably wished he hadn’t, as Sekimoto pounced through Shire, before he chopped through everyone. Even his own partners! That turned into a 3-on-1 against Sekimoto as Aigle and Oku recovered on the outside, before things settled down with Sekimoto and Shire knocking lumps out of each other on the floor.
Aigle’s attempted dive’s stopped with an uppercut, but Oku has more luck with a Fosbury Flop to Shire. Back inside, Nick Schreier’s tornado DDT’s turned into a neckbreaker as Aigle tried his luck… but Schreier’s cutter out of the corner stopped that before he and Oku argued over clapping.
Schreier won that argument by stacking Oku on his neck with a DDT, before a flip dive took out folks on the floor. Sekimoto’s back to get involved as he back body dropped Aigle Blanc into the pile, before he rolled back the clock with a tope of his own. Bloody hell! Back inside, the Parade of Moves continues as we lost all track of the concept of the legal man… but Sekimoto and Shire laying into each other made you forget all that.
Sekimoto’s diving crossbody into the buckles catches out Shire, before Aigle Blanc’s torture rack on Shire ended with him getting met with a UFO instead. We cycle through again as Oku’s misdirection knee and springboard moonsault left him in place for a powerbomb… but Aigle saved Oku from a Hektor-Knie by going Coast to Coast. Schreier breaks up the cover and tagged himself in as Oku and Aigle tried to double-team him, but a DDT saves the day as Schreier looked to push on… only to get slingshotted by Aigle into an Oku half crab.
Aigle and Sekimoto restrain Hektor and Shire… but Shire breaks it up by using Aigle Blanc as a battering ram before his UFO to Oku’s turned into a Destroyer. Hektor runs riot as we’re back to having a full ring, before Nick Schreier’s bodyslam stunned everyone… including Sekimoto! Aigle cut short those celebrations with a tombstone to Schreier, before Sekimoto blind-tagged himself in to fire off a Tower of Doom on Nick, as he then racked Nick for the eventual submission. You know that maxim I have about “there’s rarely a bad trios match?” This was that – although the “everyone’s involved” stuff may turn people off, this worked for me live and on tape. ***¾
16 Carat Gold 2025 Quarter-Final: Ahura vs. Psycho Clown
Abandon all hope, ye who have a seat… but at least the atmosphere here was white hot before the bell. Psycho Clown got a €50 fine before the match for whipping Tassilo Jung with his ring gear… selling one of those replica masks would have covered it.
Ahura tries to play it straight, but Psycho Clown clearly was getting in his head as Ahura bailed to the outside to recompose himself. When he got back in, the pair swapped tijeras and dropkicks en route to the obligatory stand-off, before chops in the corner looked to wear down Psycho Clown.
A Cactus clothesline takes both men outside, but Psycho Clown wanted to add something extra as he took Ahura into the second row with a dive… and there’s more crowd brawling as Psycho Clown indulged in some chair bowling… only to send himself deep into the crowd as Ahura dodged the proverbial bullet.
Ahura gets in the face of Psycho Clown’s wife and daughters at ringside as he began to beat on Psycho Clown in front of them, making sure to lock eyes on them as he taunted his opponents’ family. Ahura begins to loosen the laces on Psycho Clown’s mask, then stopped so he could pull him into a Tree of Woe for a follow-up dropkick.
Psycho’s daughters hit the ring to check on their dad, but you know what that means… they pick a fight on Ahura, who eventually calmed down before ushering them out of the ring… where he got in Psycho Clown’s wife’s face, leading to her slapping him. Just as Psycho Clown got back to his feet, as things spill outside for more chair-wrecking!
Chair bowling puts Ahura into the fifth row, before a charging shoulder tackle demolished a chair… and Ahura. Psycho’s not done with him either as he charged Ahura groin-first into the post, before they started smashing each other in the head with fans’ drinks. That’s at least eight bons’ worth!
Back inside, Psycho Clown’s powerbomb and springboard moonsault almost gets him the semi-final spot. Shrugging off a wedgie, Ahura counters a powerbomb, only to get met with a Panama Sunrise in return as Psycho Clown came ever closer to the win. Clotheslines from Ahura looked to turn it back around, before he went back to the mask, this time unmasking Psycho Clown… who quickly rolled to ground for cover.
Psycho’s kids return as one of his daughters hit a crossbody off the top rope… she’s caught, but Ahura doesn’t do anything in response before the other daughter hit some headscissors. Psycho Clown’s back with a new mask to dump Ahura with a powerbomb onto the knee, but a follow-up frog splash doesn’t get the win… and in the end, Psycho Clown’s push ends up with him getting taken down from the top rope with the Salamandra as Ahura narrowly escaped with the win. Not all of this translated onto tape, but Ahura played the dastardly bad guy to a tee here – and survived Psycho Clown’s mind games, if now the endless chair bowling. ****
Ahura donned Psycho Clown’s mask after the mask, then kissed and made up with the family as the luchador was left to collect the crowd’s monies…
16 Carat Gold 2025 Quarter-Final: 1 Called Manders vs. Leon Slater
These two have some very recent meetings, including the prior Sunday for Rev Pro as this made it their third singles match in a month.
Opening with a staredown as the crowd were behind Manders to start… and I had a fear that this match live would struggle after the bedlam of the prior match. The tentative start got the crowd back down as Slater eventually took Manders into the corner with a dropkick, before a missile dropkick out of the corner was thwarted.
Chops perhaps weren’t the best thing for Slater to do, nor was that spot of mockery as Manders took the 20-year old down with a simple chop in return… and that had Slater on the defensive as more chops and a springboard elbow off the bottom rope led to Manders mocking Slater.
Slater blocks a Stampede as he instead baited Manders between the ropes for a slicing legdrop… but a follow-up splash back inside missed as Manders’ rising lariat from the mat took Leon back to the outside. A return to the ring has Leon finding some success with front kicks that took Manders out for a plancha into the front row.
They rush back in as Leon slipped doing a springboard splash back in… and that jammed the brakes on the comeback as Leon clutched at his knee in the corner. The match continued though as Slater unwisely tried to lift Manders, but that knee’s in bad shape… so instead Slater tried another route, but his handspring’s caught and turned into a Stampede.
Manders almost began to toy with Leon, whose attempts to climb the ropes were thwarted by his own knee… an avalanche Stampede’s fought out of by Leon, who countered with a swinging DDT instead. Rather than go for the pin, Slater tries to go up top, but Manders bails to the outside and into the path of an over-the-post flip dive! Leon goes up top again, but has to abort a swanton 450 before Manders just hung him up in the ropes.
A lariat’s countered again, this time with a crucifix roll-up for a two-count as Leon pushed on… the Utopia Blue Thunder bomb and a leg lariat has Manders in real trouble. Despite that, he baits Leon in some more, scoring with almost a Shotei that spun Leon to the mat, before finally landing the big ol’ lariat for the win. This was a condensed version of their Rev Pro offerings, but it still delivered big time in spite of this essentially being a “babyface” match. ****
wXw European Championship: Levaniel vs. Mike D Vecchio (c)
For months, Levaniel’s been acting like he’s the European champion… and here he gave himself a grand entrance, coming out with a parade with flags of the European Union and the Eurovision Song Contest theme.
Mike D got a similarly grandiose entrance, complete with steam cannons before Levaniel insisted on introducing himself as the champion. Either way, he wasn’t long for this world, as the challenger jumped Mike D before the bell officially went… a Galactic Facecrusher’s blocked as Mike D countered back with a spinning gutwrench powerbomb.
From there, a running dropkick blasts Levaniel in the corner before powerbombs and a running clothesline put away Levaniel in under 90 seconds. Thanks for coming!
Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match for wXw World Tag Team Championship: High Performer Ltd. (Anil Marik & Icarus) vs. Big Bucks (Alex Duke & Norman Harras) vs. Planet Gojirah (Marc Empire & Robert Dreissker) vs. Young Blood (OSKAR & Yuto Nakashima) (c)
This was a “grab the titles” match – with a LOT of moving parts… and the return of the Bremen sound system to troll Norman Harras.
The ring empties out early on as everyone seemed to focus on Robert Dreissker… but an early spot of friendly fire had Norman Harras charge Alex Duke off the apron as things looked to settle down. Well, as far as “everyone going after everyone” – the High Performer Ltd. lads grabbed a ladder first as they sought to go for the belts, but of course it’s way too early.
Yuto Nakashima’s laid out with a double-team DDT as the Bucks tried their luck… only for Alex Duke to get caught and hiptossed into a bridging ladder in the corner. Robert Dreissker took over by slamming Harras onto a ladder, before a springboard crossbody out of the corner got nothing but that very same ladder.
A trip to the corner from Harras ends with Marc Empire powerbombing him out before Icarus and Marik grabbed a ladder and used it to charge down anything that moved. Coming off the least-worst, Empire goes for another ladder, but Icarus’ springboard enziguiri stopped him ascending the rungs as Dreissker returned with plunder, jamming a chair into the corner only to get launched through it to the outside.
Dreissker’s back and bloodied from that landing as Icarus and Marik were firmly in control… grabbing another table from under the ring. That delay created an opening for Young Blood to get back into it though, leading to a choke bomb from OSKAR to Icarus through the table. Duke and Harras stop Young Blood from using another table, while Harras brought in another table as Alex Duke smashed the arse out of a chair over OSKAR’s back.
Duke drapes Yuto onto a table for a Harras moonsault… and there’s your clip for Maffew as the table ironically didn’t break for Nakashima. From there, things head up the aisle with Duke getting slammed onto the raised standing area, before Norman ran afoul of OSKAR, who bowled him almost into the merchandise area. Anil Marik almost met a similar fate, not getting thrown quite as far as things remained on the outside.
Robert Dreissker’s back to grab some more tables, setting them up in the aisle as OSKAR and Yuto ended up getting placed on them… only for Icarus to cut them off and head up a ladder to land a senton off the top that he’d dub the Final Meltdown. Back at ringside, Anil Marik’s bleeding, but in no position to answer the call for High Performer Ltd… so Robin Christopher Fohrwerk tries to do it himself… only to get cut off by Robert Dreissker, who speared everyone’s favourite through a table that’d been left in the corner.
From there, Marc Empire tries to climb the ladder, but an ELP-esque punch to the balls from Norman Harras stops it… and with nobody else left, the Big Bucks climbed the ladder and retrieved the titles for the win. A near miss in Hamburg gets followed through in Oberhausen as Norman Harras – two years on from losing his role in the main event of Carat – closed out night two by starting his first run with wXw tag team gold. ***¼
Top to bottom, this was perhaps the best “night two” of Carat weekenders in recent memory, with an unexpected final four set for the tournament in addition to the memorable main event.