“Home” may have moved, but Timothy Thatcher returned “home” after four and a half years away, taking on Fuminori Abe at Inner Circle.
Quick Results
Laurance Roman pinned Axel Tischer in 10:57 (***½)
Mad Dog Connelly submitted Aeron in 4:24 (***)
Icarus pinned Vaughn Vertigo in 6:42 (***)
Elijah Blum pinned Thomas Shire in 6:41 (***¼)
1 Called Manders pinned Anita Vaughan in 8:43 (***½)
Shigehiro Irie pinned Marc Empire in 10:45 (***¼)
Jane Nero pinned Dev Lynn in 4:41 (**¼)
Timothy Thatcher submitted Fuminori Abe in 13:45 (****)
— 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 at a sold-out Alma Park in Gelsenkirchen for the curtain raiser to the autumn festival – Dave Bradshaw and Emil Völler are on the headsets for English commentary.
We open with Dan Mallmann introducing Laurance Roman, who’s got an open challenge to kick things off.
Laurance Roman vs. Axel Tischer
These two have met twice before in wXw – and both since Tischer returned to wXw after the pandemic.
The early exchanges saw Tischer focus on Roman’s arm and head, but after getting free Roman was able to find his mark with some chops… only to get cornered with uppercuts. A charging clothesline out of the corner, then a suplex gets Roman free, only for Tischer to regain the upper hand.
Repeated Irish whips sent Roman hurtling into the corner ahead of a back body drop – before a turnaround saw Roman take Tischer outside with a dropkick. A quick return sees Roman suplex Tischer into the corner, following up with a missile dropkick and some clotheslines… only for Tischer to fire back with a suplex.
A trip up top ends with a superplex from Roman though, as he looked to capitalise, but instead we’re back to back-and-forth strikes as Roman looked for the swinging DDT. It doesn’t come off as a powerbomb nearly led to the win… but Roman kicks out and lands that swinging DDT anyway for a near-fall.
German suplexes from Tischer got him closer to the win, before Roman pulled Tischer down into a crossface… Tischer rolls free, but one last flurry ended with Roman escaping a German suplex before landing the facebuster for the win in a good competitive outing to kick off the weekend. ***½
Aeron vs. Mad Dog Connelly
This might not go well for Aeron…
Connelly started off hot, taking down Aeron and putting a beating to him, landing some clobbering clotheslines in the corners in the opening thirty seconds. A brief fightback from Aeron ended with him eating a headbutt though, while a gutwrench suplex chucked Aeron across the ring.
More shots in return from Aeron yield a similar result as Connelly continued to leave imprints of his hand on the German’s chest, before a gutwrench into a buckle bomb left Aeron laying ahead of a Hangman’s choke for the submission. Not much finesse, but when you’re going in the way Mad Dog was, there wasn’t much need! ***
Icarus vs. Vaughn Vertigo
It’s a welcome return to wXw for Vertigo – but a bit of an uphill task here.
Icarus was all over Vertigo to start, taking him into the corners before the Canadian returned the favour with chops of his own. Headscissors take Icarus into the corner, ahead of a springboard take on the Edge-o-Matic out of the corner for a two-count. Returning, a suplex from Icarus took Vertigo into the buckles for a two-count, before an inverted cravat kept Vaughn grounded.
A palm strike a la Tim Thatcher lit a fire under Vertigo, whose comeback saw him crack Icarus with an enziguiri, only for a clothesline and a lifting DDT to almost put Vaughn away. Vertigo’s got one more comeback left in him though, landing a half-and-half suplex, then an over-the-knee brainbuster, dubbed the Bonus Eruptus – for a near-fall.
Vertigo heads up top, but gets crotched by Anil Marik as the referee was distracted… allowing Icarus to finish things off with the Hungarian Wanderer (Air Raid Crash). A little on the short side, but a solid enough return for Vertigo here. ***
Thomas Shire vs. Elijah Blum
Irons!
Blum’s still dealing with the Peter Tihanyi betrayal, and wasn’t in the mood for making friends. Thomas Shire found that out the hard way as he used it to wind up Elijah in the early going.
A slap from Blum sparked some back-and-forth as he managed to take down Shire with a missile dropkick. After powdering outside, Shire returned to trade with Blum again, but a pop-up uppercut leaves Elijah laying – as did a walloping clothesline as Blum was trapped in the ropes. An abdominal stretch followed from Shire, as he started to wear down Blum, but Elijah’s able to mount a comeback, cornering Shire with a step-up knee ahead of a froggy crossbody off the top for a near-fall.
Shire looked to come back with a UFO, but Blum escapes and scored a diving elbow… and that’s enough to get the surprise win. Elijah Blum – easily wound up, but when focused, he was able to find the killer blow here. ***¼
Anita Vaughan vs. 1 Called Manders
After a false start for us there live, Anita Vaughan got her match… and a memory to come away with as Gelsenkirchen broke into a lo-o-ong chant for her.
Anita got in Manders’ face early on… and managed to reverse a suplex as the Boss of the Plains looked to cut her off. Second time was the charm though as Manders hung up Vaughan in the ropes with a front suplex, and the die was almost cast from there. A roll-up from Vaughan gave her some hope, as did her rolling away from a leaping elbow drop.
Manders gets cornered with a dropkick from Vaughan as she continue to hit and move, landing a crossbody for a two-count. She’s able to counter an Oklahoma Stampede into a tornado DDT as Manders tried to power his way back into the match though, before one of Manders’ strikes finally found their way through.
A head kick off the ropes cuts that off ahead of a fallaway slam from Vaughan… but Manders strikes back with a clothesline in the corner before he went for a top rope slam. Headbutts break it free, but Manders charged back with one of his own, only for Anita to break free with a powerbomb out of the corner instead.
Any hope of that momentum lasting was quickly shattered though, as out of nowhere, Manders waffled Vaughan with a lariat for the win. A strong effort from Vaughan, who more than proved herself here. ***½
Post-match, Mad Dog Connelly hit the ring and choked out Manders with his dog collar and chain… then called his shot at Manders’ ACTION title.
Marc Empire vs. Shigehiro Irie
We’ve a big test for the reigning-but-not-defending Academy champion Empire here, as the universally beloved Irie returned to Gelsenkirchen.
Empire tried to assert himself early on, taking Irie to the ropes for a clean break… before Irie hit the ropes for shoulder tackles. Chops and forearms broke out ahead of a big shoulder tackle and a bodyslam that sent down Irie, as a follow-up back senton just about picked up a two-count on the former champ.
Irie’s able to return with a shoulder block off the top, before he pulled Empire down for the slingshot splash. Kicking out from that, Empire strikes back (you knew I was going to sneak that in) with a Snake Eyes in the corner, then a diving crossbody for a near-fall, before a backbreaker kept Irie on the defensive.
A Black Hole Slam gets Irie right back in it, before the Teddy Bear splash nearly got Irie the win… Empire kicks out though and returned with almost a spinebuster for a near-fall of his own. Back-and-forth elbows and chops ensue once again as Irie just walked through Empire’s shots ahead of a Bull lariat of the ropes as Empire again pulled ahead.
Irie’s able to escape a superplex, this time returning with a wacky twisting cravat neckbreaker off the top… but again, Empire’s able to return with a clothesline before a powerbomb was escaped as Irie set up for a heart punch. One cannonball and a Beast Bomber later, and that’s all for Marc Empire – a hell of a showing in defeat. ***¼
Dev Lynn vs. Jane Nero
It’s a return to wXw for Dev Lynn, who was last here a year ago – dropping the GWF Women’s title to Ava Everett. She’s undergone a name and look change since…
Nero enjoyed the best of the early going with armdrags and a snapmare as a running flip neckbreaker almost got Nero the win in short order. Recovering, Lynn kicks out Nero’s legs and began to lay into her, following with a Northern Lights suplex for a quick two-count.
Returning fire with a ripcord lariat, Nero’s able to put some space between her and Lynn, following up with a hanging neckbreaker in the ropes, before a Twist of Fate got the win. A good win for Nero as she warmed up for the Femmes Fatales tournament. **¼
Fuminori Abe vs. Timothy Thatcher
The match that sold out this show – to be fair, the only match announced! And wouldn’t you know it, Thatcher got a hero’s welcome here.
The early aggressor Thatcher backed Abe into the corner to start before things descended into grappling as an overhead wristlock from Abe was countered out of. A bow-and-arrow hold from Thatcher doesn’t last, as both men get back to their feet… but not for long, thanks to an uppercut from Thatcher.
Clobbering knees and forearms from Thatcher took Abe down for a half crab as Thatcher started to go for submissions. A chinlock’s broken out of by Abe, who then got his fingers stomped on and snapped before his attempt at a leg lock was broken up by a swift headbutt from Thatcher.
Diving on Thatcher quickly, Abe stayed on his man with a snapmare, only for Thatcher to go back to the left arm as he tried to wrench it out of the shoulder. Things switched to Abe’s “bati bati” style for a moment as the pair traded punches, but a running kick from Abe took things into the corner as he followed up with a spinning kick and a punt to the back for good measure.
Punches to Thatcher’s feet didn’t yield much more for Abe as Timo fought his way back in with a gutwrench suplex, before he threw Abe outside. Abe insisted Thatcher join him as the pair fought around the confines of the wXw academy, before a manjigatame on the outside was broken up.
Back inside, Abe rolled down Thatcher for an ankle lock, scissoring the legs for good measure, but Thatcher’s able to dive to the ropes to force the break. More bati bati stuff sees the pair just ball their fists and throw it at the other’s head as things escalated once more… an Irabu punch from Abe, then a running headbutt almost got him the win, before a second Irabu was caught and turned into a Fujiwara armbar for the submission. This was an absolute blast live – as was Thatcher’s (for the live crowd) calling for some David Hasslehoff to close the show. Fitting, given it was Unity Day in Germany… ****
Inner Circle once again proved to be a solid starting point for a long weekend of wrestling – with the return of Timothy Thatcher being more than worth the cost of admission live.