Axel Tischer, Thomas Shire and Luke Jacobs were among the names looking to win silverware over Carat weekend as the AMBITION tournament offered a change of pace.
Quick Results
AMBITION 15 First Round: Axel Tischer submitted Jaden Newman in 6:12 (***¼)
AMBITION 15 First Round: Matt Makowski submitted Patrick Bork in 7:01 (***½)
AMBITION 15 First Round: Luke Jacobs defeated Jay Joshua via referee stoppage in 3:34 (***¼)
AMBITION 15 First Round: Thomas Shire defeated Mochizuki Jr. via referee stoppage in 2:50 (**¾)
Icarus & Laurance Roman submitted Liam Slater & OSKAR in 7:57 (***¼)
AMBITION 15 Semi-Final: Axel Tischer defeated Matt Makowski via referee stoppage in 6:50 (***)
AMBITION 15 Semi-Final: Thomas Shire submitted Luke Jacobs in 4:37 (***)
AMBITION 15 Super Fight: Bobby Gunns submitted Fast Time Moodo in 10:48 (***)
AMBITION 15 Final: Axel Tischer defeated Thomas Shire via referee stoppage in 6:08 (**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’re back inside the Turbinenhalle for the second of three shows on Carat Saturday, as we go for some shoot-style wrestling. The live stream was marked as having no commentary for this, just so you can hear all the strikes… but we’re interrupted by Emil Völler regardless of what language you’re listening in.
AMBITION 15 First Round: Jaden Newman vs. Axel Tischer
Tischer’s looking to win his second AMBITION tournament, having won this originally all the way back in 2012. Aside from 2021’s Catch Grand Prix… the Axeman’s not been one for tournaments!
Tischer takes things to the mat early on, but Newman’s more than even to the initial exchanges and got free as Tischer looked to take his back. Newman makes it to the ropes as Tischer teased an ankle lock. Instead, Tischer hits an uppercut to take Newman down to start a standing ten-count… which was easily beaten.
Newman’s caught in the corner as Tischer charged back in, taking things back to the mat where Newman looked for the arm… but Tischer clung on, only to get taken down into a front facelock. Powering free, Tischer manages to suplex Newman away as they looked to reset.
Hammer elbows from Newman earn him a knee strike from Tischer, sparking another ten-count. That’s beaten, but Tischer’s instantly back in with a roundhouse kick, then elbows as Newman was having to dig deep. An enziguiri took Tischer down into the corner, while a Saito suplex sparked another ten-count on the German.
Elbows from Newman have Tischer rocked, but he slams his way out of an armbar… then mounted Newman with punches. Newman rolled onto his front, but got caught in a rear naked choke… and there’s no escape as Jaden’s forced to tap. ***¼
AMBITION 15 First Round: Matt Makowski vs. Patrick Bork
A rare AMBITION outing where both combatants have MMA experience, as a tentative start sees Bork and Makowski feinting kicks…
Makowski catches a kick and takes down Bork with a Saito suplex. Resuming, Bork scores with a takedown as he looked to go for a leglock, but Makowski thwarts that and broke free. Heading into the corner, Makowski scores with a Judo throw, taking Bork down into a side headlock, before Bork found himself in the clutches of a triangle armbar.
Bork throws it away and began to strike Makowski from above, only for Makowski to spin Bork into a cross armbar. Again, Bork slips free and looked to take control with a rear naked choke, but Makowski broke free and went for a leg lock. Bork’s got the same idea, but Makowski’s able to spin around into a Sharpshooter from there, with Bork able to roll out into a heel hook.
Makowski’s able to get free and hit a Splash Mountain of sorts into another leg lock, which ends in the ropes. A springboard enziguiri out of the corner from Makowski spells the beginning of the end for Bork, who manages one last flurry of body blows, before Makowski came back with an O’Connor roll into a cross armbar for the submission. ***½
AMBITION 15 First Round: Jay Joshua vs. Luke Jacobs
Joshua was making his wXw and AMBITION debut here, while this was Jacobs’ AMBITION tournament debut.
Both men start out throwing, but it’s Jacobs’ elbow that had Joshua down… before the Welshman quickly came back and looked for the mount. Instead, he’s able to grab a rear naked choke, which Luke rolled out of before waffling him with a forearm smash.
Beating the ten count, Joshua looks to strike back, chucking Jacobs with a release German suplex, before a double leg takedown led to Jacobs having to cover up to avoid some palm strikes. Rolling free, Jacobs finds himself on top, but they’re still pretty even until a rising headbutt from Jacobs took Joshua down.
From there, Luke rolled Joshua into a brief crossface, before repeated strikes to the back of the end forced the referee stoppage – albeit with Joshua looking a little annoyed at the stoppage. ***¼
AMBITION 15 First Round: Thomas Shire vs. Mochizuki Jr.
Shire’s looking to go one better than last year, where he ended up as the runner-up to Fuminori Abe…
Opening with a handshake, Mochizuki and Shire trade kicks and uppercuts to start, before Shire hit an uppercut to the leg. He runs into knee strikes after that as Mochizuki eventually took him down with a Railgun kick.
Mochizuki’s caught with a Saito suplex in return, before the pair exchanged chops, kicks and uppercuts. A big boot from Shire takes Mochizuki down, and it’s not long before it’s over as Mochizuki’s pulled into a powerbomb that led to him being unable to answer the ten-count. **¾
AMBITION Tag Team Fight: AMBOSS (Icarus & Laurance Roman) vs. OSKAR & Liam Slater
It’s the first time we’ve had an AMBITION tag match – it’s the same as a normal AMBITION match, except with tags and no five-count after tags are made. Slater was a replacement for the injured Yuto Nakashima, and had his knee and shin taped up after being dropped on it onto the ring steps earlier in the day…
Icarus and Slater start us off, going to ground as they looked for a hold, only to hit a stalemate. Slater manages to grapevine Icarus’ legs, following up with an attempt at a half crab that ended in the ropes. Returning, Icarus grabs a double wristlock as he took Slater down, then switched it up into a knee bar as Slater quickly scurried into the ropes.
Back to his feet, Slater trades uppercuts with Icarus, before things headed into the corner with Roman tagging in. Roman looks for the leg, but Slater peels away before OSKAR tagged himself in. Of course, Roman backs away as OSKAR was looking for some revenge following his Carat exit the prior evening.
Eventually OSKAR got his hands on Roman, throwing overhand forearms as Roman went for the midsection. A knee to the midsection rocks Roman ahead of an elbow smash as OSKAR knocked down the former Shotgun champion. Heading to the mat, OSKAR’s punches from the mount end in the ropes, but he stays on Roman with a knee to the ribs before locking in a double wristlock of his own before Roman went to the taped-up knee of OSKAR.
Roman goes all Owen Hart on us, kicking OSKAR’s leg out before Liam Slater came in and bounced Roman with a German suplex. Icarus tags in but gets punched out and rolled into a half crab. Roman illegally runs in to kick away the hold, prompting OSKAR to return and choke out Roman… they roll outside as Icarus and Slater traded knee strikes.
From there, a lariat from Icarus dumped Slater, who’s then forced to tap to a knee bar. This format worked pretty well – and hopefully there’s cause for more of these in AMBITIONS to come! ***¼
AMBITION 15 Semi-Final: Axel Tischer vs. Matt Makowski
Our first semi-final started with Makowski looking to land some kicks, but Tischer’s able to avoid the strikes before he and Makowski looked to land a flurry.
Tischer stuffs a throw to the mat, and lands one of his own instead as he looked to keep Makowski down with a waistlock. Getting back to his feet, Makowski threw a spinning kick, before he took Tischer down to a knee with a spinning back kick.
Returning, Tischer throws Makowski with a hattrick of German suplexes, only for Makowski to grab the arm on impact and look for an armbar. It’s escaped, but Makowski goes back for an armbar… ending with him rolling Tischer into the ropes. Strikes from Tischer have Makowski covering up, before a switcheroo sees Makowski go for a full nelson… turning it into a Dragon suplex to leave the Axeman laying.
Makowski stays on Tischer with strikes after the restart, but Tischer strikes back with a rear spin kick to the midsection. A Superman punch lands from Makowski, as did a leaping knee strike, but Tischer beats the ten-count before Makowski hit almost a Victory roll takedown into an armbar.
From the triangle armbar, Tischer powerbombs his way free… but Makowski’s right back up… and into a lariat for the KO stoppage. ***
AMBITION 15 Semi-Final: Luke Jacobs vs. Thomas Shire
We get another go around of Cowboy Luke, as he donned Shire’s hat before the bell…
Going to ground, Shire looks for a leg but had to escape a triangle ambar attempt in the opening scrambles as the pair headed into the ropes. A takedown from Shire has Jacobs looking for that triangle again, eventually locking it in as he proceeded to jab Shire with palm strikes to the head.
Shire tries to roll free, but ends up getting caught with a cross armbar as the ropes forced a break. A powerbomb attempt’s slipped out of by Jacobs, who knew the trouble it’d bring, as he instead countered back with a German suplex and a running knee strike to start a ten-count. Returning with clothesline, Shire ends tries to wear down Jacobs ahead of a nice release Fisherman suplex.
Jacobs just about beats the standing ten-count as the pair go back to trading strikes, leading to an elbow from Jacobs to knock down the American. Luke follows up with a bodyslam and some knees to the side of Shire, before Shire countered a German suplex by pulling Luke into a Keylock for the quick submission.
AMBITION Super Fight: Fast Time Moodo vs. Bobby Gunns
This was made after things got a little tasty between these two at Back to the Roots in a tag match…
Moodo almost wins it in seconds with a front kick at the bell, but Gunns beats the ten-count and manages to sweep the leg, taking down Moodo briefly. From a knucklelock, Moodo throws some kicks, but got taken down again as Gunns looked for an opening.
Gunns absorbs some kicks as he’s taken into the corner, but returns with another takedown as he looked to tie up Moodo’s legs for an Indian Deathlock. Moodo manages to break free, but they’re back in a clinch as Moodo then popped Gunns into a triangle choke… which ended with Gunns rolling into the ropes for the break.
Returning, Gunns rolls Moodo into a half crab, with the ropes again saving the match for Moodo, who then began to troll Gunns by holding onto the rope to stop attacks. Moodo sneaks a shot in behind the ref’s back as he continued to kick away on Gunns. After a brief pause, Gunns is back up and knocked down just as quickly with kicks busting him open above his left eye.
A head kick from Moodo has Gunns on the deck once more, before a Black Belt Kick was countered into a German suplex by Gunns. Another German suplex flings Moodo to the mat, while a third one’s elbowed away… only for Gunns to land it after a clothesline to the back.
A spinning enziguiri from Moodo finds its mark as he looked to close the distance, but Gunns’ butterfly suplex turns things back around. Another German suplex keeps Moodo under the ref’s ten count, before he caught Gunns with a knee as the former champion ran in. More back-and-forth strikes lead to Gunns getting caught in the midsection, allowing Moodo to tee off with kicks to the chest before Gunns snapped back, catching a roundhouse kick and turning it into a knee bar for the submission. ***
Post-match, Moodo refused a handshake…
AMBITION 15 Final: Axel Tischer vs. Thomas Shire
Shire fell at the final hurdle last year – but has a big ask if he’s to not meet that same fate here.
Starting off with a clinch, Tischer finds himself getting rolled down to the mat… but he’s able to grab Shire’s wrist, looking for an armbar before the pair rolled back up to their feet. Tischer’s able to get Shire’s back, then roll him into a rear naked choke… but Shire gets the arm before the pair broke in the ropes.
Resuming, Tischer lands a headlock takedown, regaining the hold on the mat before Shire tried to grab a double wristlock. The battle for the arm ended with Tischer getting the ropes, before the pair traded uppercuts, with Tischer coming out on the worse end there. Back to his feet, a big boot dumps Shire on the mat, before a series of right hands sparked an exchange of uppercuts. An exchange of clotheslines left Tischer laying, but he’s able to make it into the ropes to technically break the count.
Shire looks for a gutwrench, but Tischer stuffs it before he landed an enziguiri… then a piledriver to force the win via referee stoppage. **¾
AMBITION shows are always a “your mileage may vary” affair – if you’re into shoot style, you’ll find something that takes your fancy here, but I’d recommend the Bork/Makowski match to anyone… in addition to the excellent German commentary from Emil Völler, whose work set the tone just nicely here.