We’re sticking with the 16 Carat Gold 2015 weekender – and a drop by for the AMBITION shoot-fight tournament.
Quick Results
AMBITION 6 First Round: Axel Tischer defeated Axel Dieter Jr. via disqualification in 6:19 (**)
AMBITION 6 First Round: Sasa Keel defeated Robert Schild via knock-out in 8:07 (***)
AMBITION 6 First Round: Jon Ryan submitted Timothy Thatcher in 8:14 (**¾)
AMBITION 6 First Round: Dominic Brackner defeated Eric Schwarz via knock-out in 4:43 (**)
AMBITION 6 Semi-Final: Dominic Brackner submitted Axel Tischer in 7:04 (**½)
AMBITION 6 Semi-Final: Jon Ryan submitted Sasa Keel in 5:25 (**)
Super Fight: Big Daddy Walter defeated Zack Sabre Jr. via knock-out in 7:52 (***¼)
AMBITION 6 Final: Dominic Brackner defeated Jon Ryan via referee stoppage in 7:46 (***)
We’re back inside the Turbinenhalle – and we’re running without any commentary track, such was the way with AMBITION until recently.
The parade of entrants is shown as a montage, before we cut to inside the Turbinenhalle with Christian Michael Jakobi giving everyone introductions.
AMBITION 6 First Round: Axel Tischer vs. Axel Dieter Jr.
Tischer came into this having won AMBITION 3 back in 2012…
Junior shoots for a takedown, but TIscher stuffs it as the pair end up rolling to their feet. A rear naked choke attempt from Tischer’s rolled out of as Junior instead tried his luck with a guillotine choke, which is escaped as Tischer countered with a front chancery of his own.
Junior tried to work the arm, but Tischer escapes and waylaid him with a German suplex, leading to our first standing ten count of the day. Junior gets to his feet in time, but has to scurry to the ropes as a rear naked choke again had him in trouble.
Tischer threw aside another front chancery, but Junior tries to capitalise with an armbar on the mat… although that ended quickly in the ropes. We’re back to the mat with a headlock takedown, but again the ropes force a break before the pair began to throw palm strikes. An overhead belly-to-belly from Junior starts another standing ten count, which was beaten as Tischer then went for some rolling German suplexes.
Junior and Tischer exchange palm strikes to the head… prompting Junior to throw a headbutt, but under the interpretation of the rules at the time, that’s illegal, and so Junior gets disqualified for it, much to his surprise. That bloody nose he got was for nought then! **
We get post-match comments from the pair backstage – but we’re in the pre-subtitle days, so unless you know German, you’re not going to be getting much more than the gist here.
AMBITION 6 First Round: Sasa Keel vs. Robert Schild
Schild is of course, Bobby Gunns, going back to that name for this show.
Schild goes for a takedown early on, but Keel blocks as the pair head to the mat only for Schild to get to the ropes. From the restart, Keel spikes Schild with an overhead belly-to-belly, which gave us a standing ten-count that Schild got up from. We’re back to the mat as Schild grabbed a front chancery, before Keel looked to tap to a triangle armbar… but he slips free before it was noticed.
Keel goes to roll Schild down, tying him up in what would have been a pretty tight cover, before a single leg trip had Schild… briefly in front, as the ropes saved the day. A missed armdrag allows Schild to go for an ankle lock, but that ends in the ropes as Keel returned with an armdrag of sorts.
Schild isn’t allowed to switch into a hold from there, as the pair are stood up… allowing Schild to go for a triangle armbar instead. Escaping, Keel grabs a toe hold from a half crab position, forcing Schild into the ropes, before a barrage of knees to the midsection led to a calf slicer.
Fortunately for Schild, they rolled into the ropes for the break, but Keel was clearly on top here… at least until a barrage of palm strikes took him down. More palm strikes from Schild are stopped, as Keel then took things into the corner, before using the Karelin lift to repeatedly gutwrench suplex Schild into the stoppage. I enjoyed this outing, and Keel’s really grown on me with his 2015 watchback. ***
AMBITION 6 First Round: Jon Ryan vs. Timothy Thatcher
Opening with a handshake, things quickly go to ground as Ryan ended up in a side headlock on the deck.
An attempted escape’s neutralised as Thatcher worked his way around into a gutwrench suplex… but Ryan trips up Thatcher instead. Thatcher quickly grabs the rope when Ryan looked to grab a hold, before he resumed by rolling in for a heel hook… which Ryan quickly countered out of.
Ryan looks to grab an armbar, but Thatcher blocks as the two continued to fight for a hold… only for Ryan to score a waistlock takedown once more. An armbar from Thatcher’s escaped as Ryan then found his way in with a banana split… forcing the submission just after the 8-minute mark in a match that the proverbial game of chess… but didn’t really have that much meat on the bone. **¾
Post-match, Ryan told us he’d never seen Thatcher before… while Timo was surprised at what he lost to.
AMBITION 6 First Round: Eric Schwarz vs. Dominic Brackner
Bracker’s perhaps better known as Carnage, while according to Cagematch, this was one of Schwarz’s last matches.
The pair look for strikes early on, with Schwarz backing off in frustration as neither man was able to land anything. Brackner switches it up, catching a kick and taking Schwarz down to the mat for some ground and pound, leading to the ropes saving Schwarz. We’ve a water stoppage for Brackner, before he again took Schwarz down for some punches, ending in the ropes.
We resume once more with Brackner winding Schwarz with kicks, before an exchange of backfists led to Schwarz taking another beating… which led to him being unable to answer the ten-count as Brackner took the win. **
AMBITION 6 Semi-Final: Axel Tischer vs. Dominic Brackner
It’s a very quick turnaround for Brackner, who got the raw end of the blind draw here… and he’s clearly changing tactics as he had referee Tassilo Jung help him remove his gloves.
Tischer instantly takes it to the mat, but Brackner’s able to get the back as the pair scrambled for a hold… before resetting. Bracker comes back in as the pair both have leg locks on, but it’s Brackner who switches out, as the pair clinch on the mat. Rolling free, Tischer gets on top, before Brackner picked a leg… forcing Tischer into the ropes for a break.
A waistlock takedown from Brackner sees him float through into a cross armbreaker, before Tischer’s attempt at a mount ended in the ropes. In response, we’re back to the duelling submissions as the pair went for heel hooks, before Brackner took the back for a rear naked choke.
Brackner loses grip, but tries his luck with a triangle armbar, which Tischer punched out of, before a Kimura forced a quick submission from the Axeman. **½
AMBITION 6 Semi-Final: Jon Ryan vs. Sasa Keel
Keel started this one by going for a calf slicer on Ryan, taking him down early.
Ryan escapes and looked to take Keel’s back, while simultaneously fighting off Keel’s attempt to go back to the calf. The ropes break things up as Ryan looked to be on the offensive, before Keel came back with an armdrag takedown… and again went after the heel.
The ropes force a break, but Keel’s right back on top of Ryan, before a switcharound saw Ryan hook Keel – then score the submission, much to the anger of Keel, who called Ryan a bastard (albeit in German) for his foul ways. **
AMBITION Super Fight: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Big Daddy Walter
Obviously non-tournament action, these two had a tonne of history going in, having traded the Unified World Wrestling title, while Walter had beaten Sabre five times to Zack’s twice in singles matches in wXw.
Sabre’s circling Walter to start, before a lock-up ended in the ropes. A rear naked choke from Walter quickly ends with Sabre rolling into the ropes, before Walter took the back once more, neutralising Sabre… who again rolled into the ropes to force the break.
Sabre changes tactic, chancing his luck with some kicks, before Walter deadlift him up from the mat and into another cross armbreaker… oh there’s the ropes. A cross armbreaker from Sabre’s fought out of, so he goes back to kicks as Sabre knocked the big man into the ropes.
Walter’s got his leg kicked out of his leg by Sabre… he returned by going for the arm, sending Sabre into the ropes for a break, before a powerbomb flattened Sabre. Zack beats the standing ten-count, returning with a head kick and a mounted Kimura, which Walter just threw aside.
Palm strikes and a German suplex knock Sabre back down, before a wild lariat from Walter led to the referee stoppage. ***¼
AMBITION 6 Final: Jon Ryan vs. Dominic Brackner
Brackner’s got the gloves back on for this one…
Ryan shot for a single leg takedown, but Brackner sidesteps before he tried his own… eventually, Ryan’s taken down, but he pushes free before the pair began to exchange kicks while they were in a knuckle lock. Breaking free, Brackner unloads on Ryan, who returned with a takedown… only for Brackner to grab the arm.
Brackner kicks his way free as Ryan again looked to adjust… leading to a standing ten-count on Ryan. It’s beaten, but so was Ryan (almost) as Brackner connected with punches to the head. The pair reset, but Brackner remained on his haunches, almost inviting Ryan to take a free shot.
Instead, Ryan shoots for a takedown, only for Brackner to get to the ropes… Brackner returns with a leg lock, but again, they’re by the ropes, so Brackner goes back to the strikes, softening up Ryan for a German suplex before another right hand and a Saito suplex led to the stoppage as Brackner won the tournament. ***
AMBITION shows always feel like they’re a mixed bag, and one you need to slap a “your mileage may vary” sticker on. That being said, this show really felt like the combination of the in-ring and the crowd’s understanding of shoot style wasn’t quite “there” yet, which led to some real dry matches.