The Cowboy Way blew up as the opening night of the Pro-Wrestling Grand Prix gave us a tasty main event.
Quick Results
König Der Catcher Group B: Axel Tischer pinned Elijah Blum in 13:58 (**¾)
König Der Catcher Group B: Peter Tihanyi pinned Dieter Schwartz in 9:27 (***)
World Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Final: Danny Jones & Brendan White pinned Niklas Bock & Hugo Brand in 7:33 (***¼)
Femmes Fatales Quarter-Final: Chihiro Hashimoto pinned Manami in 13:07 (****¼)
World Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Final: Anita Vaughan & Safire Reed pinned Mei Suruga & Baliyan Akki in 13:17 (**¼)
Femmes Fatales Quarter-Final: Kay Lee Ray pinned Stephanie Maze in 8:50 (**¼)
König Der Catcher Group A: Katsuhiko Nakajima pinned Dennis Dullnig in 14:55 (***½)
König Der Catcher Group A: Thomas Shire pinned 1 Called Manders in 12:05 (***¾)
— Don’t forget to subscribe to the Auf Die Fresse podcast – we’ll be talking about the Pro Wrestling Grand Prix in an upcoming episode. Links to stream that episode when it drops, as well as back episodes are available at AufDieFresse.co.uk
The 2026 Pro-Wrestling Grand Prix kicked off inside the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen as thirty two wrestlers took their first steps in their various tournaments. English commentary comes from Dave Bradshaw and Norman Harras as we look forward to the revolving door on the headsets.
König Der Catcher Group B: Elijah Blum vs. Axel Tischer
This was the second time these two had met one-on-one in wXw, sharing a win apiece…
We’re not even three minutes in as Norman Harras got a dig in on commentary while Blum and Tischer grappled on the mat. Eventually the tempo picked up when Blum pushed off a side headlock, hit a dropkick… then went in with a chinlock of his own. Tischer frees himself and hits a dropkick, just like Blum did, then took it back to the mat as the crowd waited for the first real explosion.
Blum’s neckbreaker connects, as did a springboard moonsault out of the corner, before Tischer sidestepped a shotgun dropkick and instantly followed in with a back senton. From there, Tischer picked up a head of steam with a diving European uppercut off the top before the pair teased their finishers.
Elbows from Tischer thwart an attempt at Total Depravity, but Blum’s right back with a shotgun dropkick and a Parting Gift as the current Shotgun champion looked to be on the rocks. Blum teases an avalanche Total Depravity, which seemed a bit extreme given everything, and of course Tischer escaped… only to counter a Total Depravity into a powerbomb for a near-fall.
Back-and-forth strikes follow as Tischer managed to rebound with a clothesline… then a Horrible Slam… and that’s all folks. A sudden end to a match that never really got going, with that long opening series perhaps not being what the live crowd wanted. **¾
Backstage, Dan Mallmann’s with “Steven”, asking Manders about why he got bumped into during the fight between Manders and Thomas Shire. Using Government names, that’s how you know he’s pissed. Speaking of, Manders is far from happy with Shire’s recent antics, and he’s prepared to take some shots in order to give some tonight.
König Der Catcher Group B: Dieter Schwartz vs. Peter Tihanyi
We didn’t have the drawn-out feeling-out process in this one, as Schwartz looked to smother Tihanyi from the off.
A tijeras from Tihanyi separates them, with a tope con giro to the outside acting as a rapid chase to that, only for Schwartz to back off from a slingshot cutter as Tihanyi crashed and burned back into the ring.
Schwartz keeps Tihanyi grounded as we approached the five-minute mark, forcing the Hungarian to power out of a full nelson, only to get dropped with an arm whip ahead of a knee drop to the same limb. Finally, Tihanyi escalates things with a dropkick to cut off Schwartz’s running uppercuts, before a tornado DDT out of the corner found its mark.
From there, Tihanyi goes for the slingshot cutter again, but Schwartz countered into a German suplex… then countered a running Meteora into the arm trap submission. Schwartz can’t get it fully locked in though, and Tihanyi’s able to counter with a roll-up for the win. This was very much a win against the run of play for Tihanyi, with Schwartz almost embarrassed to fall for the counter in what was a smooth outing. ***
We’re backstage again with Dan Mallmann in the “mobile backstage studio.” I hope that’s just the ring van with lights and a curtain. Anyway, he’s with Thomas Shire, who apologises for the scuffle… and then said he’d take pleasure at beating Manders in front of his mum later on.
World Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Final: Greedy Souls (Brendan White & Danny Jones) vs. Quick And Dirty (Hugo Brand & Niklas Bock)
The Greedy Souls won this tournament last year – and there’s a little bit of needling here going on, or is that vlog envy?
Danny Jones and Niklas Bock start us off, with Bock catching out Jones early on as the lads from Hamburg enjoyed the better start… but a turnaround quickly had Brendan White knocking Hugo Brand into the corner.
Brand’s crossbody off the top manages to provide a response as he shook up Brendan for a two-count, but some cheating behind the ref’s back helped the Greedy Souls back into it for a spell. A leapfrog gets Brand over Brendan to get the tag out to Niklas Bock, whose Code Red nearly ended this one in a hurry.
Brand’s back to hit a spinebuster for a near-fall, only for Brendan to launch Brand with a suplex throw as the Souls fell into a groove here, leading to the Souled Out for the win. This wasn’t as straightforward as the Souls would have wanted, but this was largely a clear run for the Welsh lads as they looked to go back-to-back. ***¼
Backstage, Robin Christopher Fohrwerk’s in a wheelchair calling for help from Isabella. She’s not coming, but Robert Dreissker is there to help take him to catering… they left the door open though, and in comes Ninja Nordino to rifle through Dreissker’s gear, leaving with the spiked shoulder pads…
Femmes Fatales Quarter-Final: Manami vs. Chihiro Hashimoto
Needless to say, this was Manami’s debut in Germany… and what an impression she ended up leaving after this one.
Hashimoto was all over Manami to start, but Manami was able to stretch Hashimoto en route to her take on the old Axel Dieter Special. The matwork gave Hashimoto a way free, but Manami’s monkey flip and shotgun dropkick got her back in it, with a Fujiwara armbar forcing Hashimoto into the ropes for a break.
Seconds later, a simple body attack flattened Manami, as did a flip senton off the ropes, before a Dragon sleeper had Manami in trouble. Back-and-forth shots eventually follow, but Manami’s on the back foot here – despite her getting back up as the Oberhausen crowd willed her on. An abdominal stretch almost ended in the ropes, but Hashimoto switched it up with a gutwrench suplex to avoid the break… before Manami somehow snuck in a backcracker out of the corner.
Pushing on, Manami added an Octopus hold, but Hashimoto’s attempt to march to the ropes for a break ended with her getting pulled to the mat, before a double knee drop off the middle rope almost earned Manami the unlikely win. Hashimoto tried to fight back, but her charge at Manami swatted her away with a knee strike, only for Hashimoto to return fire with a clubbing strike.
More back-and-forth followed, with another knee from Manami getting her closer, while a body press off the top almost put Hashimoto away… before a spear out of nowhere saw Hashimoto run through Manami. After a clothesline, Hashimoto plants Manami with a powerbomb… and that’s your lot. A brave showing in defeat from Manami, who won over the Oberhausen crowd on her debut showing. It’s amazing what a change of style can do, eh? ****¼
World Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Final: BestBros (Baliyan Akki & Mei Suruga) vs. Hyperactive (Anita Vaughan & Safire Reed)
That ramp could have been a real death trap for the Best Bros…
With duelling chants before the bell, we got going with Safire and Mei – but it was the Hyperactive team that enjoyed the better of the early going, at least until Akki came in and launched Suruga in for some headscissors on Vaughan.
Suruga got all cocky with Anita down to a knee, but the mood changed once the Corkconian got back up… with a slam and a back senton squishing Suruga within seconds. Reed’s back in and blocks a Dragon screw attempt but Suruga’s roll-up managed to turn the tide as the Best Bros enjoyed a spell on top.
Akki’s back to help guide Suruga into a stomp to the neck of Reed, before Safire returned with a springboard uppercut out of the corner. Vaughan’s back to just boot down Akki ahead of a fallaway slam for a two-count, before a spinning backbreaker from Akki stopped Anita in her tracks.
Suruga’s back for headscissors and a springboard mushroom stomp, before a spot of rope walking ended with Mei going in reverse as she was stopped in her tracks by Reed. Vaughan overpowers Suruga with a front suplex as Hyperactive dished out some double teams of their own, before a Best Bros turnaround almost led to a quick end with a roll-up and a springboard senton from Akki getting a near-fall.
Suruga uses Anita as a punching bag before things turned into a chicken fight, complete with wacky rope running that saw Hyperactive crumble. An unlikely double-team chokeslam from Suruga went nowhere though, as Hyperactive turned that mess into a Victory Roll that almost had Akki pin his own partner.
Regardless, Suruga kicks out of the pile-on before heading up top for a stomp-assisted backbreaker by Akki on Reed as the Best Bros continued their double-team stuff. Vaughan cuts it off with a spear on Akki though, before a boot-assisted slam on Suruga finally put an end to this – a match that was enjoyable live, but perhaps didn’t translate fully on tape outside of all the double-teaming. **¼
Dan Mallmann’s backstage with Stephanie Maze, who’s reminiscing over her tour of Japan with Sendai Girls earlier this year… but she quickly turns her attention to her Femmes Fatales match with Kay Lee Ray, and the prospect of winning the wXw women’s title by way of winning the tournament.
Femmes Fatales Quarter-Final: Stephanie Maze vs. Kay Lee Ray
This was Maze’s first singles match in wXw since February – a win over Maddy Morgan that booked her spot in PROGESS’ Super Strong Style tournament.
KLR’s early chop put an end to the feeling-out process, but Maze’s kicks manage to create an opening… but Ray’s roll through and a kick to the chest took things back to the mat, with a guillotine choke following.
Maze’s suplex frees her from the hold, before she proceeded to land a series of forearms ahead of a missile dropkick for a near-fall. Body blows keep Maze ahead, but a leg sweep from KLR looked to set up for the Gory Bomb… only for Maze to slip out and return fire with a knee strike. A Gory Bomb does manage to land for a near-fall, but a follow-up senton misses as Maze tried to mount a comeback, dumping Ray with a back suplex before a Skyfall kick connected for a near-fall.
In the end though, Maze wasn’t able to build on that, with KLR able to hit a Jay Driller for the finish moments after. This one never really hit any kind of groove, as Stephanie Maze’s tilt for the title ended at the first hurdle. **¼
König Der Catcher Group A: Dennis Dullnig vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
Norman Harras looks to be Dullnig’s latest cheerleader on commentary, and he’s gonna need all that moral support given the tough start handed here.
A side headlock from Nakajima had Dullnig on the back foot from the off, but after getting free Dullnig was able to grab a chinbar… which Nakajima quickly kicked away. Dullnig’s response was to throw Nakajima shoulder-first into the ring post, before Dullnig went around ringside to give some fans an extra close-up.
Regaining control, Nakajima tossed Dullnig into the fourth row, before things headed up to the stage, where Dullnig avoided a telegraphed running PK… then raked the eyes before suplexing Nakajima by the video wall. Back in the ring, Dullnig got met with a dropkick to the knee, then an enziguiri, before a Yakuza kick provided the start of Dullnig’s “spittiest man alive” run this weekend.
Nakajima stays on Dullnig in the corners with many, many boot chokes, before Dullnig riled up Nakajima with some chops and forearms. Surprisingly, it doesn’t end badly for Dullnig (yet), but Nakajima’s able to find his way through with kicks and a Saito suplex… before Dullnig snuck in a Falcon arrow for a near-fall.
A gutwrench powerbomb from Dullnig almost gets him the win, before Nakajima’s combination of a German suplex and a series of PKs cleared the way for another near-fall, as a stalling suplex ended up being enough for the win. A fair amount of this was one-way traffic for Nakajima, but Dullnig was way more than a tackling dummy here on the opening night. ***½
König Der Catcher Group A: Thomas Shire vs. 1 Called Manders
Once you hear “dom diddy dom” in Shire’s new music, you’ll be racking your brain for insurance adverts. All jokes aside, the story between these two was built really well across the few shows they had, with dissension blowing up during Shortcut to the Top, and then the events of Inner Circle as well.
Shire offered himself up from the start, but got a slap to the ass, then the face as things kicked off. Chops and forearms ended with a clothesline from Shire, who then went for a leglock that quickly ended with the pair rolling to the outside, where the striking continued. A suplex dumped Manders onto the side of the ring, with a spinning armbar keeping the former champion grounded as Shire was going back to his roots.
Manders got back up and started to light up Shire with chops… but couldn’t hit a Stampede as Shire ended up absorbing some chops, busting him up, before a suicide suplex sent both men crashing from the ring to the floor.
Once both men got back to their feet, the bulls charged at each other with Manders eating a knee strike, before a UFO back inside left Manders laying. Of course, Manders doesn’t stay down as we’re back into a strike exchange, before Manders wrestled away a head claw as a rising lariat took down Shire for a near-fall.
A second lariat from Manders finally connects, then a third, but Shire’s still able to kick out… Shire flips off Manders, before he tripped up Manders ahead of a spinning toe hold. It’s countered into a roll-up, before Shire retaliated with a boot and a powerbomb for a near-fall of his own.
Grabbing Manders by his beard, Shire took the pair into the corner, setting up for an avalanche powerbomb… instead we got a top rope gutwrench powerbomb, dumping Manders down to the mat, and that’s enough to get the win. Considering this was the start of the tournament for both, this was a hell of a slugfest, with neither man holding back – and with Thomas Shire getting what some would perceive to be the upset win. ***¾
Post-match, Manders offered a handshake – much to the bemusement of the Turbinenhalle crowd (but not Maffew…) It’s accepted by Shire, as it seems the Cowboy Way is to fight each other, then make amends to close out the night. A night that was a strong start to the Pro-Wrestling Grand Prix, with two really strong matches for those of you cherry-picking…