wXw’s weekender in Hamburg wrapped up with the Greedy Souls and Planet Gojirah locking horns once more – this time in a trios main event inside the Gruenspan.
Quick Results
1 Called Manders pinned Fast Time Moodo in 7:51 (***)
Elijah Blum pinned Dieter Schwartz in 11:58 (***½)
Stephanie Maze pinned Madison Marley in 6:18 (***)
Laurance Roman & Nick Schreier pinned Metehan & Rambo in 15:19 (***½)
Dani Luna pinned Jane Nero in 10:29 (***)
Dennis Dullnig pinned Bobby Gunns to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship in 13:13 (***½)
Ahura pinned Miyu Yamashita in 17:17 (***½)
Peter Tihanyi, Brendan White & Danny Jones pinned Shigehiro Irie, Robert Dreissker & Marc Empire in 16:16 (***½)
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We’ve got a quick turnaround as we’re at the Gruenspan in Hamburg for the second half of this weekender… English commentary comes from Mett Dimassi, but first, we’ve got the pre-show!
Fast Time Moodo vs. 1 Called Manders
Moodo was in an antagonistic mood for this one, ducking Manders’ chops… but his propensity to throw kicks was perhaps a touch one-dimensional, with Manders ducking one before charging Moodo to the outside.
Back inside, Moodo couldn’t avoid those chops as Manders lit him up in the corners, before Moodo caught a chop and used it to throw Manders shoulder-first into the corner. Some follow-up stomps to the elbow perhaps seemed ill-advised, but it did give Moodo a target for a while.
A spinning heel kick and a sliding punch into the corner kept Manders rocked, but Moodo can’t follow-up and we’re back to the chops and kicks for a spell, before both men indulged in some biting. The catering today must be bad, eh? Manders’ blistering chop wakes Moodo up again, ahead of a Stampede for a near-fall, before a Descent into Badness elbow drop from Moodo almost won it for him moments later.
In the end, Manders avoids a Black Belt Kick, countering it into a side suplex… before Moodo’s last flurry saw him seemingly go for the Boss Lariat, only for Manders to hit his own move instead to get the three-count. It’s a win to put Manders back on track after he came up short in the Markthalle – but the question “what’s next” remains for the former champ. ***
Onto the main show…
Elijah Blum vs. Dieter Schwartz
Blum’s pretty much keeping himself busy ahead of his street fight with Robin Christopher Fohrwerk at the end of the year – but this match gives another opportunity for Dieter Schwartz to shine.
Hamburg was hyped for this one, with Schwartz having a small section of support as the pair exchanged holds early on. A drop-down and a dropkick gave Blum an early advantage ahead of a monkey flip out of the corner, before a diving European uppercut from Schwartz turned the match on its head… at least for a while.
Blum tries for a second monkey flip, but Schwartz was wise to it as he almost picked up the upset seconds later with a Regalplex. Schwartz stayed on Blum, targeting his oft-injured neck with a cravat, before he hung up Blum in the corner. We’re back to the cravat as Blum looked to be in trouble… but of course that’s the cue for a turnaround as Blum hit back with a swinging neckbreaker to buy him time.
Schwartz couldn’t cut off Blum this time as a crossbody kept the momentum building, as did a moonsault out of the corner, before Schwartz escaped the Total Depravity. Some back-and-forth yay/boo punches keep us going, but Blum had to escape a surprise backslide… then the full nelson slam as Schwartz teetered on the edge of a huge win.
A teardrop suplex almost got it for Dieter seconds later, but frustration set in and Blum managed to beat Schwartz to the punch, landing a shotgun dropkick then the Total Depravity for the win. Dieter’s in what used to be the Nick Schreier role, putting on a good show but always coming up short – but hopefully this doesn’t lead to Schwartz getting the crowd on-side. ***½
Post-match, Robin Christopher Fohrwerk made his way to the ring and blabbed a little, knowing that Blum couldn’t touch him per that amended contract from yesterday. Blum just ignored Fohrwerk and began to leave… only for Fohrwerk to have some footage played, revealing that he’d bought the rights to Elijah’s own ring music, and he’d be using it in Oberhausen instead. Here we go with the copyright strikes in a bid to have Blum attack him (and thus, get their match called off.)
Backstage, Dan Mallmann’s with Jane Nero ahead of her match with Dani Luna later… but Dan wants to know why Jane keeps attacking Madison Marley. Nero seemed aggrieved at how Marley had the entire tour based around her.
Madison Marley vs. Stephanie Maze
A quick rematch from Friday night, which saw Marley get the win at the Markthalle…
Maze got a loud reaction in her adopted home town, but Marley enjoyed the brighter start, taking Maze into the corner for a step-up knee before… her dropkick was sidestepped. A release suplex from Maze flung the Dane across the ring, ahead of a hammerlock’d clothesline for a near-fall.
Marley’s able to regain the upper hand though, at least until a Saito suplex from Maze created some separation. Maze’s kicks have Marley rocked, but a crossbody off the top nearly gets the win for Madison moments later as the momentum continued to shift. Once again though, Jane Nero’s out for a distraction, allowing Maze to catch out Marley with a pop-up knee for the win. ***
Metehan & Rambo vs. The Grind (Laurance Roman & Nick Schreier)
It doesn’t seem like the name “Los Compadres” stuck for Metehan and Rambo, who got separate entrances here…
We start with Metehan and Roman going at a decent pace, settling down with Roman working an armbar. Schreier’s in and keeps up the same plan of attack, while the Hamburg serenaded him to his name sang to the old chant used for Da Mack. Memories.
Metehan finally breaks free and tagged in Rambo, who’s a bit of a cult favourite in Germany, it must be said. He’s able to push off Schreier’s mounted punches, before a mini POUNCE took Schreier down into the ropes ahead of a stalling suplex from the recently-crowned GWF champion.
That began a spell of pressure on Schreier, but thankfully not for too long as he was able to bring Roman back in… only for the pair to eat a handspring back elbow from Metehan. Rambo’s back keep things clear, launching Roman with a suplex throw before catching a Schreier crossbody as he then press-slammed Nick onto his own man.
Metehan slows down the pace with a chinlock on Roman, before Rambo returned with a tope atomico to Roman for a near-fall. We’re back to Metehan, but he takes too long setting up for a sliding punch as Roman swats him away before finally bringing in Schreier, whose hot tag cleared the way for the mounted punches to Metehan in the corner… before he telegraphed a superkick and actually hit it.
Rambo intervenes to save Metehan from an extended double-team… a chop block from Metehan looked to take out Roman as well, but Laurance was able to shake it off, only to get waylaid with a lariat before Rambo’s pop-up powerbomb drew Nick back in to make a save. Once again though, Nick’s turfed to the outside as Rambo looked to finish things off, but Roman again misses a blind tag, leading to him eating Metehan’s uranage.
Nick’s back to save Roman from a frog splash… before the Grind combined to hit the Samoan drop/flip neckbreaker combo to snatch the win. Buoyed by a LOUD Hamburg crowd, this was a fun tag match that kept your attention and then some. Good going lads. ***½
We get a wXw highlight from the past… this one’s Shigehiro Irie submitting Axel Tischer to win 16 Carat Gold – and the wXw Unified World Wrestling title – back in 2023.
Jane Nero vs. Dani Luna
Nero’s got a big test in front of her here, with Dani Luna having been buoyed by her win over Miyu Yamashita last night.
Luna throws Nero aside early on as Dani threatened to make light work of the self-proclaimed “first lady of wXw.” At least until Nero used the ropes to give her a momentary advantage, as Nero looked frustrated when Luna went right back to the arm. Pulling Luna off the top rope gave Nero another window of opportunity as she took things outside and sent Dani flying into the ring post.
Back inside, a full nelson keeps Luna on the back foot, but Dani’s able to overcome before a kick off the middle rope bought her some time. From the restart, Luna set up for a Luna Landing, but Nero escaped… only to get booted right back down again. Resorting to her boxing background, Nero throws some body shots, only to eat a rebound Blue Thunder bomb moments later.
Nero goes for a chop block, targeting Luna’s previously-hurt knee, before a double-arm DDT – dubbed the Nero-lizer – almost got the win. Luna’s kick-outs enraged Nero, who then pulled off a turnbuckle and threw it into the crowd… distracting the referee so she could grab the ring bell hammer from Thommy Giesen. That’s the cue for Madison Marley to come out to make the save, allowing Luna to hit the Luna Landing for the win. Turnaround is fair play and all that… ***
wXw Shotgun Championship: Bobby Gunns vs. Dennis Dullnig (c)
An unadvertised match kicked off the second half of the show, and gave Bobby Gunns another chance to wind up the locals with his Werder Bremen shirt. He’s looking forward to December 7th, no doubt…
This was a first-time singles meeting, with Gunns having originally been advertised to face Axel Tischer… but Gunns clearly saw Dullnig’s antics last night, as he was waiting for Dullnig to go for a low blow, booting him away instead after the champion had launched his belt skywards to distract the referee.
We finally get a bell to start things as Gunns launched Dullnig with an Exploder suplex, but a switcheroo gives Dullnig an opening as he clotheslined Gunns off the apron, sending him down to the floor. Biding his time, Dullnig puts the boots to Gunns back inside, then launched in with a suplex before an Irish whip was used to hurl Gunns into the buckles.
A series of shots to the lower back proved a little too one-dimensional as Gunns surprised Dullnig with a Euro clutch for a near-fall, with a follow-up shotgun dropkick shutting down the Shotgun champion’s attempt to fight back. Gunns tries for a superplex, but a desperate Dullnig headbutts Gunns away, only for Gunns to return and eventually land the move anyways.
A wacky kneeling gutwrench powerbomb almost secured Gunns another run with the Shotgun title, before Dullnig telegraphed a Hektor-Knie… and got lariat’d for his troubles. Gunns gets another near-fall from that, before Dullnig tried to run away… it’s a cover for him to rake Gunns’ eyes en route to a Heatseeker piledriver for a near-fall, before another Gunns turnaround led to a death valley driver as he again came close.
In the end though, Gunns tries for the Ehrenmann Driver, but his back gives out… a series of back-and-forth clotheslines by the ropes ensued, before a hockey fight broke out as both men pushed on for the win. A PK from Gunns ends up getting redirected, hanging the challenger up in the ropes before a Hektor-Knie out of nowhere connected for the win. A solid win for Dullnig, even if it was hard to see a title change here given both men’s current trajectories in wXw… ***½
Ahura vs. Miyu Yamashita
This match piqued my interest when it was first announced – but Ahura being hot on the trail of Peter Tihanyi’s title in three weeks’ time perhaps tips off the winner here?
Ahura had the clear height advantage over Yamashita, but he was a little too cocky in the early going, prompting Miyu to snap back with a simple side headlock… only to get lifted up to the top rope to force the break. Yamashita ruffles Ahura’s hair as he tried to get under her skin… before she finally uncorked some kicks in the direction of the König der Catcher.
A rear naked choke looked to squeeze out Ahura, who then threatened to bail… that meant he ate an apron PK, before Ahura pulled Yamashita down to the floor. The feed cuts out briefly, returning with the pair back in the ring as Ahura’s measuring up Yamashita for some of his own kicks, but Miyu kicks out at one as Ahura’s lackadaisical attitude finally backfired on him, thanks to a springboard enziguiri out of the corner from Yamashita.
The crowd’s cheers were quickly quelled via a forearm from Ahura as he tried to stem the die… but back-and-forth swinging elbow strikes from Yamashita bloodied up Ahura, only for him to chop through Miyu with a retaliatory chop as the pair continued to trade. Kicks from Miyu rock Ahura some more, as did a follow-up clothesline, before a simple front kick from Ahura almost put this one away.
From there, Ahura took his time for a powerbomb, folding Yamashita in half, before a follow-up Salamandra was fought out of via a Dragon sleeper. More kicks from Yamashita looked to put Ahura out of it… but he ducks a roundhouse, scrambling onto the apron for a breather. A thumb to the eye of Miyu goes unnoticed, but it’s enough for unsight her for a springboard dropkick back into the ring before he again took too long to follow-up… and got met with an avalanche death valley driver for his troubles.
Ahura’s able to kick out from that, but some more kicks have him running on fumes… before he countered a running kick into a powerbomb into the ropes, leading to a Boss Lariat for a near-fall… then the Salamandra for the exclamation point for the win. This was a good back-and-forth outing, but Ahura’s aloof approach was perhaps a little too much as the match was beginning to feel drawn out by the end – rather than this being “Yamashita pushing Ahura to the limit,” this was more “Ahura almost cost himself”, which’d be a timely reminder of his flaws going into his big title match next month. ***½
We’ve got another anniversary moment… this time it’s Chris Hero beating Ares in the finals of 2007’s 16 Carat Gold. I’m a little surprised they didn’t show Absolute Andy beating Ilja Dragunov to re-unify the title in Hamburg back in 2018 across this weekend given a) it’s Hamburg and b) we’re on the anniversary of Andy’s passing.
Planet Gojirah (Robert Dreissker & Marc Empire) & Shigehiro Irie vs. Greedy Souls (Brendan White & Danny Jones) & Peter Tihanyi
Just 24 hours ago, Planet Gojirah regained their tag titles from the Greedy Souls – and they meet again in this trios main event. Shigehiro Irie looked absolutely thrilled to join the crowd in them wishing Robin Christopher Fohrwerk would shut up… and he’s not alone!
The feeling-out process started with Brendan White and Marc Empire… before a bodyslam saw Brendan bail, while Danny Jones tried and failed to make an immediate dent on the new champions. Irie’s brought in to headbutt Jones in the chest, but to no avail… until Robert Dreissker came in to go all Bushwhackers on us, using Irie as a battering ram on the Greedy Souls before Peter Tihanyi met a similar fate. What’s Japanese for “woah, yay”?
When things picked up again, Jones puts the boots to Empire in the corner – before Peter Tihanyi came in to club away on Empire. The Greedy Souls choke away on Empire in the corner behind the ref’s back, before Brendan came in to hit a slam and an elbow drop for a near-fall to keep things ticking along.
Finally, Empire’s able to bring in Dreissker to clear house, going all Dusty on us with a Bionic elbow before a spinebuster out of the Andy playbook picked up a two-count. A blind tag brings in Danny Jones as the Greedy Souls looked to double-team, landing their pair of back sentons on Dreissker to turn things back around. Dreissker’s kept isolated in the opposite corner… but he’s able to push away a swinging DDT from Tihanyi… then block a slingshot cutter as the Hungarian was almost stopped in his tracks.
Tihanyi’s chinlock grounded Dreissker for a while, but it’s fought out of as a suplex bought Dreissker enough time to tag in Irie, who made a point of bouncing Tihanyi around the ring en route to a simple punch to the head. The Greedy Souls swarm to stop him, but Irie overcomes before he piledrove Tihanyi into Danny Jones. A nice two-for-one!
All hell breaks loose, but Irie’s still legal as his big splash off the top landed on Tihanyi seconds after a swinging DDT… and the Parade of Moves continued with a crossbody out of the corner from Dreissker, before a double clothesline from White and Dreissker left them laying.
We resume with all six men trading blows, leading to the good guys hitting a trio of Bionic Elbows… Irie tries to add to it, cornering the Greedy Souls for a cannonball to the pair of them, before Fohrwerk popped up on the apron. That distracts Irie, allowing the legal Tihanyi to hit the slingshot cutter… and that’s enough for the win. Yet again, Fohrwerk’s instrumental in the win… but those days are getting numbered. ***½
All in all, this was an enjoyable pair of shows out of Hamburg from wXw – while the Markthalle perhaps the more “substantial” card of the two, the Hamburg crowd were in fantastic voice across the weekend, and helped elevate these two shows to no end.