It all boiled down to the final four as Thomas Shire, Ahura, Peter Tihanyi and YAMATO looked to leave Oberhausen with the 16 Carat Gold trophy.
Quick Results
16 Carat Gold 2026 – Semi-Final: Ahura pinned Thomas Shire in 16:25 (***½)
16 Carat Gold 2026 – Semi-Final: Peter Tihanyi pinned YAMATO in 11:49 (***)
1 Called Manders, BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito pinned Alan Angels, Robert Dreissker & Marc Empire in 12:51 (**½)
Chihiro Hashimoto pinned Dani Luna in 16:40 (***¾)
Minoru Suzuki & Elijah Blum pinned Erick Stevens & Bobby Gunns in 12:32 (***½)
Ricky Sosa, Arez & Toxin pinned Spider Fly, Titus Alexander & Zoltan in 16:18 (***¼)
16 Carat Gold 2026 – Final: Ahura pinned Peter Tihanyi in 21:08 (****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
It all comes down to this – two matches are all that stand between the final four and the big prize in the Turbinenhalle. We’re back to Dave Bradshaw and Mett Dimassi on commentary – with Dave having done the entire stretch of live shows. Get that man some Strepsils…
16 Carat Gold Tournament 2026 Semi-Final: Ahura vs. Thomas Shire
Carat’s blind-draw format meant that Ahura had no way of planning for the throwback to last year’s final that came in the form of Shire. By the way, take a look at that crowd in Oberhausen – Ahura, easily the most popular wrestler that’s graced wXw in quite some time; not that that’s a surprise to anyone.
Shire pounced at the bell, charging Ahura shoulder-first into the turnbuckles as Ahura had his back to the American to start… clubbing blows from Shire keep Ahura on the back foot, as Ahura found himself in the familiar position of having his arm worked over.
Chops from Ahura felt almost plaintive compared to an uppercut in return from Shire, who responded to the crowd’s chants against him by roaming into them… only to get caught by Ahura. Again, that bad shoulder proved to be a limiter, as Shire proceeded to knock Ahura into the front row, before he yanked away on an abdominal stretch in time to the crowd’s chants of “A-hu-ra.”
A sidewalk slam targeted Ahura’s shoulder and ribs, as Shire began to slow the pace down… giving Ahura a window of opportunity, only for Shire to shrug off a shoulder tackle attempt. Ahura had more luck with a springboard dropkick… but his back’s clearly causing him trouble.
Ahura’s boot knocks Shire to the outside, where he eventually took the big man down… with a spear into the third row. Dragging Shire back into the ring, Ahura looked to haul him up for a Salamandra… but it was unwise as Shire just fought out before he began to throw some more right hands.
Ahura manages to sneak in a piledriver, but Shire’s able to kick out… an attempted UFO’s escaped by Ahura, but his lariat has Shire on all fours ahead of a powerbomb from Ahura. From there, Ahura goes back to the lariats, but Shire countered back with the UFO for a near-fall, before a single lariat sent Ahura down.
Another lariat, this time to the back of the head, tests Ahura’s resolve… so much so he stood up and folded his arms… much like how he did against Manders in the closing seconds of last year’s final. Except this time, Ahura countered the Boss lariat with a cradle, and it’s enough to book his ticket to the final! Shire had the match won, but him playing up to Ahura’s hubris proved to be his grand undoing… ***½
That’s not all we get from Shire though, as he attacked Ahura after the match with a shoulder breaker, then with a chair shot in the ropes to the bad arm before he was finally ushered to the back with medics brought out to check on Ahura. Somewhere, Jay Joshua would be warming up…
Backstage, Dan Mallmann’s with Bobby Gunns, who reiterated his annoyance at Elijah Blum omitting him from that list of champions, particularly since he’s the longest reigning champion in wXw’s history. Gunns accepted Blum’s challenge, and unveiled Erick Stevens as his partner.
16 Carat Gold Tournament 2026 Semi-Final: Peter Tihanyi vs. YAMATO
Carat finals day was Peter Tihanyi’s 26th birthday… and it was clear from the entrance there was a small but growing number of fans willing to get back onside with him.
A brief spell on the mat’s broken up early on as the neither man was able to create an opening, before a Tihanyi dropkick sent YAMATO to the outside… where he played hide and seek, crawling under the ring, reappearing on the other side so he could catch Tihanyi unawares with a dropkick to the back of the knee.
From there, YAMATO made appoint of working over Tihanyi’s ribs, using some grounded body scissors before the pair traded shots with Tihanyi looking to make a dent on proceedings. Rebounding off the ropes with an elbow strike, Tihanyi finally had YAMATO down briefly, but the veteran kept ticking along as an Exploder suplex flung the Hungarian to the mat for a two-count.
YAMATO telegraphs things too much, allowing Tihanyi to finally counter back with a brainbuster… before he rolled onto the apron for a slingshot cutter. It lands more like a neckbreaker, but it’s enough as Tihanyi then headed up top for a 450 splash… which he rolls through as YAMATO got out of the way. A snap ‘rana followed, but YAMATO doesn’t get the three-count from that.
Instead, Tihanyi’s able to catch YAMATO with a tornado DDT… then finally a 450 splash… and that’s enough to book Tihanyi’s second final in three years. This was a slow burner of a match, but it picked up at the right time, with Tihanyi clearly worn down going into the finals against another battered finalist. ***
Alan Angels & Planet Gojirah (Marc Empire & Robert Dreissker) vs. 1 Called Manders & Los Tranquilos de Japon (BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito)
A wacky Carat weekend tag… and I continue to think that Fohrwerk’s new look feels like it’s been ripped off of Greg Gagne doing late stage AWA TV. Manders and Naito didn’t exactly seem to be on the same page, perhaps with Naito irked by the pro-Manders chants before the bell.
Robert Dreissker pulled BUSHI into the corner early on, using the mask to his advantage as the new tag champions started things brightly, before a quick turnaround saw BUSHI take things outside for a quick dive onto Dreissker. Manders got in on the act too, but he just faked out the dive to just poke everyone in the eyes instead.
Fohrwerk got involved, but Naito knocked him off the apron before spooking him with the tranquilo fake-out… before things resumed with BUSHI and Naito working over Dreissker. Chops from Manders light up Dreissker as well, before Alan Angels came in and took down Manders with a dropkick.
Follow-up kicks to the back led to a single-arm DDT as Manders’ chopping arm injury was preyed on. A Halo Strike kick nearly puts Manders away, before Dreissker came in to continue adding the pressure… at least until Manders went for the noses of both Dreissker and Marc Empire.
Angels trips up Manders before he could get anything else going, and we’re back to square one as Angels cleared the crowd… only to fake out and roll Manders back inside. After reversing a double-team suplex, Manders finally gets the tag out, bringing in Naito to bounce around Angels… then send Planet Gojirah into each other.
More from Naito cleared through Angels en route to a near-fall, before Robin Christopher Fohrwerk got cornered. His plan? Escape into the ring where Tetsuya Naito was waiting to spit in his eye… before all six men hit the ring. Low blows were waiting for Manders, Naito and BUSHI, before Angels’ splash off the top almost put Manders away.
A Halo Stretch from Angels got broken up by BUSHI, who then covered Dreissker with the mist, before Marc Empire was sent packing with the Destino. All that was left then was Alan Angels, who was held in place for a Boss lariat for the win. **½
Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Dani Luna
Luna’s appearance wasn’t announced – so this was a pleasant surprise of a match to throw on the final night. The “ohhs” of a crowd are always a great thing to hear for things like these!
The opening lock-up between the pair ended up going nowhere, before a simple double-leg takedown surprised Luna, taking her into the corner. Hashimoto stayed on top of Luna, before the pair traded shoulder tackles, with Hashimoto again winning out until Luna hit back with a clothesline into the corner.
A simple leg sweep and low dropkick combo from Luna gets her in front, as a Corning hold provided some issues for Hashimoto, who had trouble fighting free. The ropes forced a break as Hashimoto and Luna resumed by trading blows, leading to Hashimoto locking in an abdominal stretch that forced Luna into the ropes.
Luna’s kept on the defensive by way of a gutwrench suplex, then with a vertical suplex as Luna struggled to make any inroads here. That’s the cue for Luna to roll away from a flip senton, before scoring with a Busaiku knee… only for a follow-up sliding lariat to get caught and turned into a cross armbar. The ropes save Luna, who couldn’t avoid some clotheslines… but they didn’t take her down as the pair instead traded blows, until an elbow from Luna finally downed Hashimoto. For like a second.
More shots from Hashimoto continued to wear down Luna, as clubbing forearms had Luna on all fours… before she countered a spear into a suplex. A sliding clothesline’s good for a two-count as Luna was finding that her limited offence was having an effect… like a rebound Blue Thunder bomb that almost won it.
Luna’s rear naked choke has Hashimoto in trouble, with the ropes again coming into play, before the pair traded back body drops for fun. A Luna powerbomb followed, then a snap piledriver, but it’s still not enough, as Hashimoto hit back with a release German suplex, before a leaping clothesline, a flip senton and finally a thunderous powerbomb flipped Luna to the mat for the match-winning pin. This was a lovely surprise from start to finish – and if the folks at wXw want to run this back any time, I doubt there’ll be many disputing it! ***¾
Post-match, Hashimoto thanked the fans in Germany… and announced she’d be back soon as a part of September’s Femmes Fatales tournament.
Bobby Gunns & Erick Stevens vs. Elijah Blum & Minoru Suzuki
People kinda figured Minoru Suzuki was either going to be Elijah Blum’s partner… or in the party match, but this was easily the better fit.
Blum and Stevens started off – with Elijah previously having credited Erick as one of his inspirations from back in the day. Blum’s forced into the ropes early after Stevens grabbed a leg lock, before a dropkick cut off Stevens. Tags bring in Minoru Suzuki and Bobby Gunns, with the latter stopping to knock Blum off the apron before he offered Suzuki a cigarette.
Suzuki sparked up, then slapped the cigarette out of Gunns’ mouth before throwing some chops in the corner. Gunns’ retort didn’t exactly register, so Suzuki grabbed him by the ears and went back to work. Blum’s back next, trading blows with Gunns until he was caught out with a shotgun dropkick.
Blum’s kept isolated for a spell – but there’s clear dissent between Gunns and Stevens as their partnership looked to be fraying. Gunns’ PK’s caught by Blum, but Elijah had to wait a while to follow-up, eventually crashing into Stevens with a crossbody. Tags bring us back to Gunns and Suzuki, with the latter pulling ahead with a PK of his own for a two-count.
Suzuki followed with a Fujiwara armbar, but the ropes save him before Gunns snuck in an enziguiri… and a tag out. Stevens tries to chop at Suzuki, but you know how that goes, as Suzuki ducked and wrapped in a rear naked choke. Gunns cuts off a Gotch-style piledriver, only to get sent to the outside as Blum brawled with him to the back, allowing Suzuki to finish off Stevens with the rear naked choke and Gotch-style piledriver combo. Bucket list stuff for some, this was a perfect example of a Carat night three match – making good use of the names that were in for the weekend. ***½
Lucha Rules: Spider Fly, Titus Alexander & Zoltan vs. Mala Fama (Arez & Toxin) & Ricky Sosa
This has become a bit of a tradition in recent years – with sky-high expectations. We’ve got new music for a returning Ricky Sosa (so no more singing about the chippy van…), who faced a somewhat mixed reaction after he dropped out of the first two nights of Carat to work TNA tapings.
Sosa and Zoltan started us off at quite a clip, leading to a ‘rana from Zoltan and a flip up from Sosa in response. Toxin and Titus Alexander come in next, with Titus’ dropkick finding its mark… bringing in Arez, whose misdirection eventually took Titus outside. Of course, lucha rules mean no tags are needed, so here’s Spider Fly, whose handwalk headscissors didn’t work as the revolving door effect in the match began to take hold.
Spider Fly’s satellite headscissors wow the crowd, only for him to get triple-teamed as he was launched into a Sosa slam. Things head outside as the split-screen was dusted off briefly, returning to normal so we could see Alexander get chopped. Zoltan didn’t dare much better as he got triple-teamed also, with Mala Fama and Sosa taking control. A superkick from Spider Fly stopped that, and allowed him to bring in Zoltan and Alexander for a spell, with the pair landing dualling handspring cutters for good measure.
Toxin tries to stem the tide, but he’s sent outside as a trio of moonsaults cleared the way. Back inside, Sosa’s dumped with a brainbuster from Alexander for a near-fall as the “one in from each team” rule had devolved into merely a suggestion. Spider Fly pulls off a lovely flying crucifix driver off the top, then a pop-up Code Red to Sosa as things continued to heat up with the veritable Parade of Moves.
Alexander’s German suplex dumps Sosa in the corner ahead of a diving boot from the American, before all six traded blows… leading to a parade of superkicks and dropkicks… ending with Toxin struggling to kip up. He did manage to take Alexander outside for a tope suicide into the second row. That sparked a bunch more other dives, ending with a somersault plancha off the top from Zoltan to the floor.
Back inside, Sosa caught Zoltan with a cutter in mid-air… we’ve a step-up reverse ‘rana from Toxin to Alexander, before things came to a head with Sosa catching Spider Fly on top for the Blue Thunder Bang for the win. While coins, bons and notes did get launched into the ring after, this didn’t feel like it was anywhere near the level of prior year’s lucha tags – such is the expectation levels from these matches these days. ***¼
16 Carat Gold Tournament 2026 Final: Peter Tihanyi vs. Ahura
It’s back-to-back finals for Ahura, who’s never beaten Peter Tihanyi previously in singles matches in wXw… but with both men going in banged up, it’s anybody’s ball game. Commentary had been acting like Ahura may not be fit – which would have had Jay Joshua walking into the finals like he was the Danish national football team in 1992 – but no, Ahura came out through a cloud of smoke on the stage, albeit without any of the traditional dressings of an injury, such as freshly taped-up limbs.
Tihanyi did the obvious in going after Ahura’s arm early on, before a missed dive from Ahura saw him met with a quick tope from Tihanyi into the front row. Tihanyi tries for the slingshot cutter after three minutes, but it’s blocked as Ahura instead went to slap referee Tassilo Jung, looking to create a distraction. That almost backfired doubly, with Tihanyi threatening a low blow on top of the DQ, but neither came to pass as Ahura took aim at Tihanyi’s midsection, with it being his turn to go after an injured body part.
Problem was, both men being the walking wounded meant that there was a fair amount of “move and stall” going on, as they both had to recover from each individual exchange. A big boot from Ahura gets a delayed two-count, before he put the boots to Tihanyi by the ropes. Ahura’s springboard dropkick followed, before a back body drop from Tihanyi eventually countered a piledriver attempt.
A swinging DDT from Tihanyi followed as he gutted through the pain en route to a near-fall, before a trip up top ended with Tihanyi eventually eating a superplex… that quickly rolled into a piledriver for a near-fall at the ten-minute mark. Tihanyi’s able to avoid the Salamandra, but not a kick by the ropes as Ahura kept going for a lariat… and instead got taken outside with a knee strike.
Tihanyi quickly followed with a flip dive that looked to do as much damage to both men. Back inside, Salamandra lands, but it’s not enough for Ahura, who flung Tihanyi outside for a Dive Sandstorm that sent the Hungarian into the second row. Some of the crowd started chanting for Tihanyi as Ahura returned to the ring for a Boss lariat… finally landing it, but again it wasn’t enough as Ahura’d seemingly emptied the clip.
Pushing on, Ahura dragged Tihanyi up to the top rope… only for Shigehiro Irie-like elbows to the side of the head of Ahura sent him back to the mat. A slingshot cutter lands, but Ahura’s rolled to the outside to avoid being pinned… only to get caught with a slingshot cutter onto the apron as it was Tihanyi who was going deep.
Back inside, Ahura eats a 450 splash… but this time it’s Tihanyi left distraught from the kick-out as the Turbinenhalle roared behind Ahura. Tihanyi and Ahura set up for a duel, going back-to-back before they pinged off more forearms at each other. At least until Tihanyi grabbed one and began to work a Kimura on Ahura’s bad arm, pulling him to the mat in search of a stoppage… and two taps from Ahura looked to be that stoppage, but we’re pulling the WALTER precedent from years ago, that only three taps count.
Luckily, the match isn’t called as Ahura powered up and broke the hold with a Salamandra… and this time it’s enough to get the win. Personally, I’d have liked to have seen more explicit targeting of Ahura’s arm injury outside of the final sequence, but this was a fantastic finale that saw the crowd continue to soften on Tihanyi, whose loss to Ahura provided the latter with the dream swansong. Or did it… ****¼
Post-match, Ahura’s celebrations with the König der Catcher trophy and his newly-won 16 Carat Gold trophy were truncated by Peter Tihanyi, who accepted a handshake, before telling Ahura that if he wanted to be the face of wXw… he had to stay. And guess what? Now he’d won two tournaments, the newly-dubbed “Gold King” Ahura was here to stay.
…and that’s the book closed on another year’s 16 Carat Gold. On one hand, it’s happened again as Peter Tihanyi fell at the final hurdle, while Ahura’s “all or nothing” gambit proved to be enough to not only win Carat, but tempt him to stay on at the top. Going into this weekend, many thought this would be the great swansong for Ahura, but instead we’ve gotten an even more tangled web at the top of wXw as the competitive rivalries between Ahura, Elijah Blum and Peter Tihanyi continue to intensify.