Ahura and Elijah Blum meet one last time in Hamburg – as they were on opposite sides of a wild trios main event in the Markthalle.
Quick Results
Dennis Dullnig pinned M4 to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship in 8:02 (**½)
Dieter Schwartz submitted Zoltan, Peter Tihanyi & Bobby Gunns in 10:25 (***¼)
PROGRESS Women’s Super Strong Style 16 First Round: Stephanie Maze pinned Maddy Morgan in 6:41 (***)
Alex Duke pinned Nicklas Bock in 6:37 (**¾)
Laurance Roman & Nick Schreier vs. Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI ended in a double count-out at 12:33 – The Grind retain the wXw World Tag Team Championships (***¼)
Jane Nero pinned Vanja in 4:30 (**)
Ricky Sosa pinned Brandon Bandz to retain the wXw European Championship in 14:09 (***½)
Robert Dreissker, Marc Empire & Elijah Blum pinned Ahura, 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire in 24:42 (***)
— Check out the Auf Die Fresse podcast for further wXw coverage – including our recent interview with Felix Kohlenberg as we run up to 16 Carat Gold!… Links to stream are available at AufDieFresse.co.uk
It’s the last big wXw show before 16 Carat Gold – and we’re coming from a packed Markthalle in Hamburg for this one. English commentary comes from Mett Dimassi…
wXw Shotgun Championship: M4 vs. Dennis Dullnig (c)
We’re on the Fight Forever pre-show for this one, and M4’s finally gotten something other than a pair of black trunks!
Much like in the backstage skit that set this up, Dullnig wound himself into a frenzy from the get go, leaping into M4 who just used him for curls. Charging M4 into the corner, Dullnig managed to find a way into the match, even if he wasn’t exactly all over the relative newcomer.
Dullnig’s lack of urgency let M4 back in with a suplex, before chops and clotheslines took the Shotgun champion into the corner. A powerslam out of it gets a two-count for M4, before Dullnig hit back with a boot out of nowhere for a near-fall. Sitting up, M4 demands more from Dullnig, and got it… before a back body drop flung Dullnig away.
Rolling to the outside, Dullnig’s joined by M4, and of course it’s a ruse as Dullnig eventually dumped M4 onto the side of the ring with an arm whip. From there, Dullnig dragged M4 into the ring for a Magic Screw and a Falcon arrow for a near-fall, before almost a V-Trigger by the ropes and a ripcord uranage got the win. I liked that this wasn’t totally one-sided, but there’s something sorely lacking in Dullnig in this run. **½
Onto the main show…
Zoltan vs. Dieter Schwartz vs. Bobby Gunns vs. Peter Tihanyi
Starting off hot with the Carat preview match, and of course Bobby Gunns has to come out in Hamburg wearing the Werder Bremen shirt. They meet again in April, but Bobby’s dining out on Bremen’s win a few months ago…
All hell breaks loose at the bell with some fast-paced action that almost ended in a hurry with a Gunns roll-up, but Zoltan’s dropkick took out Gunns as we started out with a revolving door here. Schwartz tries for an armbar early on on Tihanyi, but had more luck with a Regalplex for a near-fall before he and Gunns went back-and-forth on the mat.
Gunns sidestepped an uppercut and instead tried for a swish armbar, but Schwartz breaks free. Zoltan’s back too, but a front kick from Tihanyi just shut down the young Hungarian. After some buffering, we’re back with Gunns trying for an Ehrenmann driver on Tihanyi, only for a switcheroo to lead to Tihanyi’s superkick for a two-count.
Gunns got that Ehrenmann driver off moments later, before Schwartz cleared out the ring… only for Zoltan to return and get shuttered down with an arm whip. Schwartz targeted that arm from there, and after a brief intervention from Tihanyi, Zoltan’s able to hit back with a dropkick to take out his compatriot.
Schwartz gets taken up top for a Gunns superplex… but Zoltan and Tihanyi have some afters as well as all four men were left laying. Resuming with a scrap, things quickly boiled down into a Parade of Moves, featuring a flip senton from Tihanyi to Gunns on the outside, before Schwartz snatched the win, tapping out Zoltan to the arm trap. This was a frenetic opener, and one that Hamburg were well behind – even if they’re meant to boo Dieter! ***¼
Backstage, CSI’s looking at… empty catering. Marc Empire’s guarding Elijah Blum’s Unified World Wrestling belt this time, before Robert Dreissker offered the Italians some nuts. In come the Grind to complain again, before Blum came in to defuse things ahead of their main event.
PROGRESS Women’s Super Strong Style 16 2026 First Round: Maddy Morgan vs. Stephanie Maze
It’s another offer match here, and a debut in wXw for Morgan, who’s up against a rather out-of-sorts Stephanie Maze in her new hometown.
This one started off at a decent clip, with Maze and Morgan trading blows, leading to a Fisherman suplex from Maze for an early two-count. Morgan recovered to hit a step-up knee in the corner, then a Codebreaker and a standing moonsault as this one nearly ended inside two minutes.
Morgan tried a handspring into the corner, but comes up short as Maze fired off a flurry of body blows before a facebuster and a basement dropkick kept Maze ahead. We buffer some more and return with a double clothesline that left both women laying. Maze pushed on some more with a basement dropkick and a deadlift, bridging German suplex for a near-fall, before Morgan caught Maze out of the corner with a nasty facebuster.
From there, Morgan overshot on a springboard moonsault, before Maze hit back with a pop-up knee for the win. What I saw of this outside of the buffering was really solid – Morgan’s about to head off on a tour of Marigold in Japan, and I wouldn’t be against her having an extended run here when she returns. ***
Alex Duke vs. Niklas Bock
We’ve got a main show debut for Bock, a local lad who’s been getting a name for himself as one half of Quick & Dirty alongside Hugo Brand. I guess Niklas is Quick.
Of course, the Markthalle was behind one of their own in Bock, who faked out a kick to the back of Duke’s head before patting him on the head. Duke tried to respond, but got taken into the corner ahead of a satellite headscissors from Bock.
Duke caught Bock and chopped him off the top rope, before bringing him back in with a stalling suplex off the apron. Wearing down Bock with pinning attempts, then with a chinlock, Duke remained in control, only for a roundhouse enziguiri from Bock to create some space. A superkick from Bock took Duke into the ropes for a Tiger Feint kick – the 040 here – before a frog splash almost got the win.
As Hamburg believed they’d been cheated, Duke booted Bock out of the corner, then roughed him up en route to a neckbreaker for the win. This was a good showing for Bock, but Duke had too much for him on the day. **¾
wXw World Tag Team Championship: Los Tranquilos de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI) vs. The Grind (Laurance Roman & Nick Schreier) (c)
It’s a Hamburg debut for Naito and BUSHI, and we’ve got Planet Gojirah spread out on English and German commentary here. Expect shenanigans?
Naito took his usual age to disrobe before the bell, and we started with Naito melting into the corner from Roman’s initial lock-up. Roman had trouble getting going against Naito, who took him down with a neckbreaker before tags brought in Schreier and BUSHI. More mind games, this time from BUSHI, worked in his favour before Nick hit a springboard crossbody for an early two-count.
Mounted punches from Schreier in the corner followed, as did a bulldog out of the corner for a two-count, before Roman returned… and got himself distracted by Naito in the corner. Schreier helped get him back on track with a flying Bionic elbow to BUSHI for a two-count, before Naito tripped up Schreier in the ropes top get the challengers back in the match.
Schreier’s isolated for a spell, with BUSHI’s grounded figure four headscissors giving Nick nowhere to go, while winding up Roman on the apron. An Acid Drop out of nowhere bought Nick some time as he’s able to bring in Roman with a hot tag on BUSHI. The front slam from Roman almost gets the win, only for a turnaround to put the challengers back in control as the rewind sunset flip/basement dropkick combo rocked Roman.
Naito’s take on the Diamond Dust followed out of the corner, before Roman avoided a Destino and made his way to Schreier in the corner. Nick’s crossbody off the top almost caused a mega shock on Naito, as did the neckbreaker/splash combo, before Roman got low-bridged to the outside.
Schreier’s left along with Naito, but manages to take him to the outside for a tope con giro… and after all four men scrapped on the floor the bell rings. Everyone’s lost track of the referee’s count, and we’ve got a pretty deflating double count-out finish… and a chant of “bullshit” from das Powercrowd, who seemed to be expecting a title change here. ***¼
Post-match, Roman took the mic and acknowledged that it wasn’t the end that the fans wanted to see. He didn’t seem to be in any mood to restart the match, and instead offered a handshake, which was accepted before the Grind exited stage left.
Before Tetsuya Naito could speak, here come CSI. Oh, dear God. They got the “who are you?” chants from Hamburg, and from Naito, who got those three words down pat. Luca de Leone ran his mouth… hitting the ring as Nordino got BUSHI’s mist before Luca got press slammed almost out of his boots. Thanks for coming.
Jane Nero came out to start the second half – her scheduled opponent, Dani Luna, was missing due to illness. So we get Jane declaring herself the winner via forfeit, before she introduced her new opponent…
Jane Nero vs. Vanja
It’s a wXw debut for Vanja, who’s just passed the one year mark in wrestling (as best I can tell, with her debut being against Jane Nero).
The native of Hamburg was on the back foot from the off, but managed to charge down Nero ahead of a bodyslam and a rolling senton that almost ended this in the opening minute. A chop block and a clothesline to the back of the head had Nero back in it for a spell.
Vanja reverses a suplex and turned it into almost a brainbuster as she forced a new opening, before a ripcord into a fallaway slam almost put Nero away. Nero tries to sneak in a Twist of Fate, but to no avail as she ended up sidestepping another senton from Vanja before the Twist of Fate got the win. Pretty light work for Nero, who’s had rotten luck with injuries and timings in wXw as of late. **
wXw European Championship: Brandon Bandz vs. Ricky Sosa (c)
It’s our second look at Bandz in wXw – he was last around during the Pro Wrestling Grand Prix weekend, beating Ravie Davie.
After the usual ceremonies, hosted by referee Ben Boeseler, we started with Bandz not exactly relenting from the opening lock-up. Bandz tried his luck with shoulder tackles, before a Test of Strength led to Sosa tripping Bandz to the mat.
Bandz avoids a leg sweep and took down Sosa with a basement dropkick in one fell swoop for a two-count, before a chop in the corner led to Sosa hitting some of his own in return. A missed Sosa dropkick is shrugged off as he landed a springboard missile dropkick instead, before a snap powerslam almost put Bandz away.
Clotheslines from Bandz offered him some fresh hope, but a stomp off the middle rope misses as Sosa instead hit a flash roll-up for a quick two-count. A leaping enziguiri finds its mark from there, as did a moonsault out of the corner, before Sosa tried for a Blue Thunder Bang. Bandz elbows his way out of it, but after a battle of German suplexes, Bandz got caught with a standing Spanish Fly as both men were left laying.
Bandz tried for the Angel Wings, but to no avail… before he got caught with a ‘rana after powering up Sosa. A Meteora finds its way through as Sosa almost took the loss, before he flipped out of a German suplex and hit back with a stomp. From there, a Blue Thunder Bang’s countered into a sunset flip as Bandz almost nicked it, but third time was the charm for the Blue Thunder Bang got the win. This was way more even than I expected going in, and while Bandz more than held up his side of things, I get the distinct feeling that Ricky Sosa may not be too far away from getting jet-packed to the States… ***½
Ahura & Cowboy Way (1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire) vs. Elijah Blum & Planet Gojirah (Robert Dreissker & Marc Empire)
Blum and Ahura have some history in Hamburg – their first singles match was here back in May last year – and with Ahura having us believe he’s wrapping it up at Carat… this’ll be their last time in the “Gateway to the World.”
We got going with Dreissker and Shire, locking up and heading into the corner before the two big lads tried their luck with shoulder tackles. A blind tag from Empire helps things as a double shoulder tackle took down Shire… who retaliated by taking Empire into the corner so Manders could tag him and have some fun.
Elijah Blum tagged himself in, so he could have a warm up with Manders ahead of their title match at Carat… but Ahura did the same on the opposite side of the ring. Before Ahura could do anything, Manders tagged himself back in… but Ahura returns the favour as tensions built there.
So we finally get Blum and Ahura locking up… but Ahura quickly distracts himself by winding up Planet Gojirah, which led to all six men hitting the ring for a stand-off. That seemed to upset the Cowboy Way, who headed into the crowd as Ahura and Blum ended up shaking hands… then charged at each other. Blum’s crossbody makes sure we don’t get a wacky take on the Runit League, as the pair then tried for their moves, with Blum’s shotgun dropkick connecting.
Ahura’s able to wriggle out of the Total Depravity, returning with a springboard missile dropkick instead before Manders took the chance to tag himself in. Cue more tension, but that fizzles as Ahura and the Cowboy Way isolated Blum in their corner, with Shire standing on Blum’s head… prompting Dreissker to run in to try and break it up. Shire and Manders worked over Blum some more, but that just riled Ahura as he didn’t get to be a part of it, just watching on as Manders and Blum scrapped on the floor.
Blum’s able to escape a slam on the floor and shove Manders into Ahura… but still had to fight past Shire before he could bring in Dreissker. Finally getting back in, Dreissker had to deal with both of the Cowboy Way with Dusty punches and a double Bionic elbow. There’s a Tanahashi-esque crossbody out of the corner to Shire next, but Manders breaks up the pin as everyone began to wear down Dreissker.
Finally Dreissker made it through to Blum in the corner, who tagged in and cleaned house with neckbreakers, eventually building up to another standoff as the match splintered away again. Blum and Manders made it up to the stage, where Manders bit his way out of a piledriver attempt before landing a DDT up there. Meanwhile, Ahura dove from the seating decks into the clutches of Empire, who just dumped Ahura onto the edge of the ring, and at this point I think we’re long past a six-way count-out as wXw hit the split-screen button.
Just in time to see Empire catch a springboard from Ahura, who then sent the big man out into the pile before a dive of his own with a Divine Sandstorm tornillo. From there, Ahura took Blum back inside for a Boss lariat… but Ahura’s bad arm means he can’t get all of it. Manders saves Ahura from a Parting Gift, before an errant headbutt led to Ahura and Blum arguing. Manders and Blum crash into each other as they fought some more on the floor, before Shire just walloped Ahura with a lariat. O-kay?!
Marc Empire picks up the pieces with a pull-up powerbomb attempt, but eye rakes from Ahura stop that. There’s a poke to the eye for Shire too, so he replies with a UFO instead as Ahura’s own hubris ended his night early, as Planet Gojirah proceeded to put him away with a Beast Buster. As a main event, this felt too unfocused – they managed to get enough build in for Blum and Manders next month, but the self destruction of Ahura towards the end really took me out of it. ***
The last stop before 16 Carat Gold ticked all the boxes – but didn’t quite hit the heights you might have expected going in. Nevertheless, it’s full steam ahead to Oberhausen in two weeks’ time as Ahura’s not exactly heading into Carat on top form – leaving the field wide open.