We’ve a rematch from 16 Carat Gold as wXw – and a lot of fallout – as Robert Dreissker took on Jonathan Gresham.
Quick Results
Surprise Benefit Scramble: Orsi pinned The Rotation, Aigle Blanc, Hektor Invictus, Masha Slamovich & Peter Tihanyi in 10:08 (***)
Levaniel pinned Psycho Mike in 11:33 (**½)
Cara Noir submitted Axel Tischer in 11:38 (***¼)
Last Man Standing: Jurn Simmons defeated Vincent Heisenberg in 16:59 (***)
Sebastian Suave & Iva Kolasky pinned Baby Allison & Maggot in 10:23 (***)
Elimination Tables for wXw World Tag Team Championship: Michael Schenkenberg & Nikita Charisma defeated Bobby Gunns & Michael Knight in 13:32 (***)
Jonathan Gresham defeated Robert Dreissker via disqualification in 10:34 (***)
— If you want to hear more about wXw, join myself and Mike Kilby for the Auf Die Fresse podcast – available at aufdiefresse.co.uk
We’re back at the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen for the first of three shows taped that weekend…
Surprise Benefit Scramble: The Rotation vs. Hektor Invictus vs. Orsi vs. Peter Tihanyi vs. Masha Slamovich vs. Aigle Blanc
There’s something up for grabs for the winner – but you’ve got to win it to find out what’s in store for you. This was the wXw debut of Slamovich, who was over for the weekend…
Slamovich started by chopping Hektor as things quickly broke down into two groups of three… Hektor and Aigle get knocked outside, before Rotation and Tihanyi ganged up on Masha… who broke free to dropkick the two lads on the outside. Orsi’s still in the ring, sending Tihanyi into Rotation, with Peter hitting a rebound armdrag before he got chopped and forearmed a lot. Orsi sidesteps a Tihanyi dropkick, before she back body dropped him into the pile on the floor. Okay, stop the show, I don’t need to see any more! Oh, we have more? Go on then… Orsi and Slamovich trade forearms, before a head kick and a Northern Lights from Masha drew in Hektor to break up the pin. A powerslam out of the corner and a springboard moonsault takes care of Masha as Rotation came in to eat an overhead kick, then return with a springboard armdrag.
A spinning headscissors takedown keeps Rotation ahead as Hektor went out, and Aigle Blanc came in. An up-kick from Aigle has Rotation rocked, while Peter Tihanyi came in… and took his part of a chained Dragon screw. There’s a leaping back senton as Tihanyi was draped across the top rope, but a missed springboard allowed the Hungarian in, with a tornado DDT taking Aigle down for a near-fall. Rotation and Slamovich hit the ring to break up a suplex, as things morph into accidental DDTs. Masha hits an up-kick and a front kick into the corner on Rotation, who then ate a lot of sole with a spinning heel kick as Masha surged ahead… only to get pancaked and powerbombed by Hektor. Aigle’s spike ‘rana resumes the Parade of Moves, while Tihanyi won out a battle of Meteoras.
Orsi’s back with a spear to Tihanyi, before Rotation took her to the corner for a running high kick and a Twister suplex that Hektor again broke up. Rotation ends up hitting an accidental superkick as things broke down into another Parade of Moves, including a reverse Meteora from Aigle to Masha, before Rotation moonsaulted into the pile outside. Aigle adds to it with a springboard flip senton, before Rotation caught Aigle up top… with the pair coming down by a one-man Tihanyi Spanish Fly. Good lord. Orsi breaks up the cover on Rotation, booted Tihanyi away… then had to kick out of a small package, as she ended up landing a German suplex and a Jackhammer for the win. This was pretty much what you’d expect from a scramble match – a lot of “blink and you’ll miss it” stuff. Slamovich stood out on her debut here (about as much as you can in a scramble)… this’ll not be everyone’s cup of tea, but a perfectly fine opener. ***
Post-match, Orsi found out her “surprise benefit” – it’s a spot in October’s Femmes Fatales tournament… and based on the general mood about her, you’d have to think she’ll be a tournament favourite, unless they load the field up in a ridiculous manner.
Psycho Mike vs. Levaniel
Oberhausen liked the return of Psycho Mike, who came out with a mic this time… threatening us with bodyslams! Mike’s left sobbing after Levaniel came out, because he’d stolen the mic from him, but apparently bodyslams make things better.
We got going with… no bodyslams. Boo. Instead, Mike took Levaniel down for some headscissors, before Levaniel slipped out and applied a side headlock. A wristlock gives Mike a chance to stare down the hard cam, keeping that ever important eye contact up as he worked the hard cam, before Levaniel took him down for a sorta-People’s elbow. Mike kicked out at one, sitting up every time Levaniel teased going for the elbow drop again, causing him to miss as Mike then went for shoulder charges. An armdrag has Mike down, before he shot Levaniel into the ropes for a dropkick. Stomps keep Levaniel grounded, almost causing a DQ too as they were in the ropes, before a trip into the corner allowed Levaniel to boot the Canadian away.
Repeatedly.
The pair swing and miss with clotheslines, as they then crashed into each other with crossbody blocks. Recovering, the pair trade forearms, leading to a spinning heel kick from Levaniel, then a stalling suplex before Mike broke free and slingshotted into the ring for a crossbody.
A springboard missile dropkick is next from Mike, as the crowd then called for a bodyslam. They got it, too. Repeatedly. Three of them get a near-fall on Levaniel, before Levaniel returned with a discus clothesline for a two-count of his own. He struggled to pull Mike up, as an Intergalactic Facecrusher was countered with a roll-up and a big boot… before another bodyslam’s countered into that Intergalactic Facecrusher for the win. wXw’s site lists that move as the Sternschnuppe, which translates as Shooting Star… so I get why they change the name. This did what it needed to, with Oberhausen getting their Psycho Mike, and Levaniel his win. **½
Backstage, Andy Jackson’s with Robert Dreissker… they’re talking about the main event tonight, and why Dreissker’s been the way he’s been. Dreissker repeated what he said before – as far as “why it took so long to happen” – but he’s tired of the question. Particularly since his chance to answer it at True Colors ended when he was bopped on the head with a boom mic by Orsi. The promo ends with Dreissker saying that he’ll not tell us why, because that chance has come and gone, and by the end of the night, we’d all have more questions…
Cara Noir vs. Axel Tischer
I was surprised this was in the mid card, given the relative standings of both…
We open with a lock-up that’s quickly broken, as Tischer then went for a knuckle lock, swapping around until Cara took him to the mat… but neither man could find an advantage, as they instead reset back to their feet. A waistlock from Cara led to his face paint rubbing off on Tischer’s back as the former champion elbowed free… then decked Cara with an uppercut. Pulling Cara out of the corner, Tischer began to work over Cara’s feet, tying up the legs before he went for a chinlock. An Irish whip takes Cara into the corner, allowing Tischer to hang up one leg and do a Dragon screw to the other for a two-count. Another waistlock, this time from Tischer, is broken as a forearm to the lower back took Cara into the ropes… ahead of a rebound German suplex and a thrust kick as Tischer’s follow-up charge missed.
Tischer pulls Cara up out of a neckbreaker, only to eat some Swan Woos and return with a leaping leg lariat. A chicken wing looks to follow, but Cara escaped and hit a dropkick to the back, then some more Swan Woos before that Rude Awakening neckbreaker landed for a near-fall. An X-Plex from Tischer turned it back around, as the pair trade strikes once more, leading to Cara’s backslide attempt and a rear naked choke… which ended in the corner. Cara’s thrown away as a running knee rocked him… but Cara recovered back into the Blackout sleeper, which Tischer broke with a backpack stunner.
A German suplex from Tischer nearly won it, while a snap front facelock suplex allowed Tischer to head up top for a leaping something or other… which Cara dropkicked away. Tischer boots Cara away, then hit his version of the Shouten Kai for a near-fall, then a powerbomb, before Cara’s Capeoira kick stopped the momentum… Tischer tries to get back in it with uppercuts, only to get wrapped up in a Blackout sleeper as he’s forced to tap. This was fine for the time they had, but it never felt like they got into a higher gear – perhaps one they’re saving for a rematch down the line? ***¼
Backstage, Tristan Archer’s with Andy Jackson… who puts over the champion’s recent showings. So of course, Tristan preferred Andy to “the other guy,” as they talked about the iron man match from Hamburg. Archer wanted to be called the Iron Man of wXw as a result, but I have a feeling that might not catch on. They turn their sights onto Jonathan Gresham, who’s in the main event while Archer has the night off… Archer wanted Gresham to be 100% for their match, so he could beat him at his best.
They recap Heisenberg’s reign of terror with recent count-out wins over Oskar, Levaniel and Psycho Mike… and how Jurn Simmons dovetailed into it all. The brawl with Simmons and Heisenberg from Hamburg’s recapped, which sets up tonight’s Last Man Standing match.
Last Man Standing: Vincent Heisenberg vs. Jurn Simmons
Hope you’re looking forward to a hoss fight, because Heisenberg’s brought a chair with him, and I don’t think he’s looking to have a sit down.
Simmons charges Heisenberg into the corner with shoulders to start, only to get taken down with a clothesline. Jurn escapes a Gorilla press slam, then Herc’d up Heisenberg for one of his own, following of course with a standing moonsault. Heisenberg is up at four to squash Jurn into the corner… then hit a fallaway slam out of it.
Jurn lands on his feet as he’s clotheslines out of the ring, allowing him to pull a chair from under the ring. He comes back in with a chairshot off the top to knock Heisenberg down. Another chairshot keeps Heisenberg down after he’d beaten the count, while one more shot knocked the seat out of the chair. The count’s stopped so Jurn could hit Heisenberg some more, before a trip up top for a moonsault ended with referee Markus Weiss was sent into the ropes, crocheting Jurn. Heisenberg grabs a chair and waffles Jurn in the back, which knocked the former champion into a Tree of Woe for more shots, leading to a Razor Ramon-esque back superplex.
Both men beat the count, but Jurn pulls ahead with a spear, only for Heisenberg to powder outside as a piledriver was called for. Heisenberg pulls Jurn outside as they brawl around the crowd, then into a dividing wall in the Turbinenhalle… with Jurn bouncing off of it for good measure. Jurn beats the count, but couldn’t get away from Heisenberg… so he ends up throwing him into a barricade in the crowd instead. Heisenberg’s met with more chairshots as the crowd were asked to be aware… Jurn breaks another seat out of a chair before they went back to ringside, where Heisenberg snuck in a low blow. Jurn beats the standing ten-count, but was kept on the defensive as the pair brawled up the ramp… where Jurn took over with a piledriver attempt, only to get met with a back body drop.
Heisenberg follows up with a powerslam on the stage. Jurn narrowly beats the count, then shoved out of another powerslam as they headed back to the ring, where a Massive Boot from Jurn, then a spear looked to lead to the finish. Cue the piledriver, but Heisenberg’s up at nine… with Jurn having snuck outside expecting that. Another Simmons chairshot is booted away as Heisenberg instead dumped Jurn onto the chair with a Fire Thunder driver, and my God, that looked nasty. Rolling off the apron to the floor helps Jurn smartly break the count, albeit with him clinging onto the ropes for help… but he’s able to pull Heisenberg into the ring post repeatedly, before pulling out a toolbox. Instead of a weapon, he pulls out some cable ties and tied Heisenberg’s arms around the post, allowing Jurn to hit a series of chair shots to a defenceless Heisenberg.
Of course, Jurn’s knocked the seat out of it, which a fan gave back to him to use on Heisenberg before Simmons thoughtfully cut him free. He needed to do that to win… and sure enough, the big man’s rolled back inside as a piledriver onto some chairs ended up being enough to draw the match-winning ten-count. ***
Maggot & Baby Allison vs. Iva Kolasky & Sebastian Suave
A mixed tag started the second half, and you’ll be glad to know that Maggot’s minions were still in Oberhausen. This was building up to Kolasky challenging Allison, and it’s that latter pairing that got us going here.
A lock-up from Maggot turns into a side headlock, with Maggot being pushed off… returning with a shoulder tackle. Suave declared he was winning with a side headlock, but Maggot countered in kind before he charged the Canadian down and walked all over him. Chops from Suave looked to get him back in, but a Thesz press from Maggot cuts it off ahead of a strutting kick by the ropes. Maggot hits a suplex for a one-count as tags bring us to Allison and Kolasky… with Iva kicking Allison out of a splits, before a Matrix saw the champion avoid a clothesline. Clotheslines from Allison put her ahead, while a suplex gets a two-count, before Allison was shoved into a kick from Suave in the ropes.
Kolasky capitalises by taking Allison into the corner, but a whip’s reversed, with Allison coming back with a Northern Lights out of the corner for a two-count. Magot’s angry with Kolasky, but Suave can’t take advantage… Kolasky can though, as an axe kick nearly wins her the match. Quick-ish tags keep Kolasky in as she wore down Allison, leading to a front flip and a slap in the corner. A facebuster’s good for a two-count as Kolasky keeps the pressure up, but a jawbreaker from Allison only gets her free momentarily as Suave tagged in. His side headlock’s fought out of, but again, frequent tags keep Allison on the back foot. Allison’s back body drop ges her some more hope, as did a German suplex to Kolasky as Maggot got the hot tag in, clearing house… until he’s caught with a hanging armbar in the ropes.
Suave’s forced to let go of course… and was quickly met with a spear and a crucifix bomb for a near-fall. All four end up in the ring, with a double spear eventually dropping Suave, before an elevated Muta Lock from Allison ended with Maggot getting low blowed. The ref misses it, as Allison eats an Air Raid Crash and that’s the win for Suave and his bass-heavy track. ***
After the match, Sebastian Suave crowed over his win until Norman Harras rocked up to congratulate the pair… and award Suave with a Shotgun title match on the forthcoming We Love Wrestling tapings.
Backstage, Nikita Charisma and Michael Schenkenberg are with Andy Jackson ahead of their table elimination match. Nikita confused Andy for the suspended Dan Mallmann, then realised Andy hadn’t congratulated them for their title win. Charisma points out that Only Friends are a “thrown-together team,” while Schenkenberg noted that Senza Volto and Aigle Blanc spent so much time fighting each other they got injured. Likewise Hektor Invictus and Dennis Dullnig, as Charisma reckoned nobody will remember them in a year, and a similar fate will befall the Only Friends.
Elimination Tables Match for wXw World Tag Team Championship: Only Friends (Bobby Gunns & Michael Knight) vs. Rott Und Flott (Michael Schenkenberg & Nikita Charisma) (c)
Originally this was meant to be Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc getting the title shot, but Senza undergoing surgery forced the change…
Only Friends brought a table to the stage… Rott und Flott then brought it down and put it under the ring, like the anti-Dudleyz. So Gunns and Knight find another table under the ring, which is good because we’ll need two of them at least! The match starts and we’re quickly on the outside, with Schenkenberg reversing a whip into the ring post before Gunns came in with dropkicks back in the ring.
A flurry from the challengers sees them clear Rott und Flott away, following up with an apron PK and a tope, before Gunns and Knight set up a table at ringside. That leads to a lot of the front row scattering as Gunns and Knight teased a Stroke off the ring steps through the table, but Schenkenberg ends up catching Charisma and putting him down, before some headscissors took Schenkenberg into the ring steps. The table’s taken inside and placed across the corner… Charisma baseball slides under it, then snuck back in for a dropkick to Knight. A drop toe hold into the table sees Rott und Flott claim they’d eliminated Knight, but of course, it hadn’t broken, so they instead prop the table up in the corner and teased a suplex through it.
Knight escapes, but ended up pulling himself off the top rope and had the table LAUNCHED into him… it splits in two, and that’s Knight out at 6:31. Bobby Gunns has an uphill struggle from here, but he made a good fist of it as we’ve been working under tornado rules. A double-team suplex has Gunns down, before a teased flapjack through a table was fought out of. Gunns is kicked to the outside as Charisma sorted out another table, which got propped in the opposite corner. Gunns manages to mount a brief comeback, kicking Schenkenberg into the corner ahead of corner-to-corner uppercuts to the champions, ending with an Exploder that put Charisma through a table at 11:02. The impossible-looking dream is on!
Next table wins, and Gunns got his eyes on it as he tries another Exploder… it’s blocked, so the pair trade forearms, before a pop-up Samoan drop got Schenkenberg ahead. Schenkenberg sets the table up again, throwing Gunns into it before a trip up top was stopped… Gunns cuts him off and goes for a superplex. Nikita Charisma’s back to block it, allowing Schenkenberg to counter with an avalanche powerbomb which managed to cut Gunns’ leg up badly. It’s enough to end the match and give Rott und Flott the win – a table match which ended up being a little rough around the edges. ***
The cameras stay on Gunns as the medics taped up his cut – he ended up being stretchered to the back, and of course, we send our wishes for a full recovery.
Backstage, Andy’s with Jonathan Gresham ahead of the main event. Gresham’s got a shot at Tristan Archer later in the weekend, but Andy asks him what Gresham’s focus is. Gresham’s more than a little concerned with what caused Dreissker to snap at Carat.
Robert Dreissker vs. Jonathan Gresham
Of course, this was the rematch from the 16 Carat Gold finals some three months earlier. Gresham’s out with the ROH title belt, and Dreissker’s on the outside looking to stall and take the sting out of things before the bell.
Gresham charges at Dreissker to start, kicking him into the corner… but Dreissker snuck out and hit some right hands. The referee prompts a break, allowing Gresham to hit a missile dropkick as he tried to stick and move. Tassilo Jung’s already fed up with Dreissker’s right hands, as the coach eventually powdered to the outside after his tactic of throwing punches was denied. Gresham dropkicks Dreissker off the apron, then caught his hands… a Quebrada and a tope keeps Dreissker on the back foot, but rolling back inside, Gresham rolled into the path of a big splash from the Austrian. Dreissker chucks Gresham to the outside, but the ROH champion beats the count as Dreissker began to pick apart at Gresham’s neck and arms.
A back suplex dumps Gresham, forcing him to roll back outside for respite. Returning, Gresham tries his luck with chops, only to get slammed and Biel’d across the ring, with another dumping through the ropes following. This time, Dreissker followed, taking offence as Tassilo Jung coincidentally starting a count-out as right hands and elbows wore Gresham down. The increased pace of the count irked Dreissker as they were rushed back inside… an argument nearly led to Dreissker losing via a roll-up, before an enziguiri had Dreissker on the proverbial jelly legs. A rebound German suplex and a running punch nearly got Gresham the win the same way he did at Carat, but Dreissker kicks out as the pair end up trading forearms.
A right hand from Dreissker knocked Gresham into the referee… and all hell begins to break loose. Dreissker’s fallaway slam led to a Dreissker bomb for a visual three-count. Dreissker goes after Tassilo Jung after he got back up to count a heavily-delayed near-fall… then flipped off the wXw camera crew and management as he proceeded to exit stage left. Except Peter Tihanyi, The Rotation, Danny Fray, Elijah Blum, ORsi and Aigle Blanc – among others – came out to stop the walk out. Dreissker backed away and went to leave via the stage, except the Arrows of Hungary and Laurance Roman stopped him – with those three having been mocked in the recent past as being the “pre-show crew.” They stare Dreissker back down to ringside… and Dreissker begs off, only for it to be shown as a ruse. The quartet hit the ring and attack Gresham for the obvious DQ… ***
The rest of the roster try to make the save, but are dispatched as the new group of Dreissker, Icarus, Dover and Roman stood tall to end the show… with scrolling credits as we see the crowd file out of the building.
This was a storyline-heavy show from wXw, as Broken Rules ended up being an event that’ll be remembered more fondly for the finale, rather than any particular matches. They say the “best bad guys” are the ones who have a logical reason for their behaviour, and if you’ve been following the Dreissker story since Carat, this would have come as a shock, but only until you began to think about it. If the Internet speculation is true about how AEW-contracted talent can be booked, then this was probably the best way to go about it – have something come out of the match that’ll have people talking, and make people tune into the follow-up shows to see what and why…