One night before Superstars of Wrestling, wXw hit Münster for a loaded and fun show!
We open with the promo from after the Mitteldeutschland Cup, where Ilja Dragunov challenged Marius al-Ani… but that’s for Superstars of Wrestling, and not the road to it.
We’re coming from Münster’s Sputnikhalle – with Andy Jackson flying solo on commentary. First though, Sebastian Hollmichel’s’ narrating as Ilja Dragunov is slapping himself. He winks at us, and I’m scared.
They then air the Aussie Open promo from YouTube, as they say they’re fed up of facing RISE and Jay-FK. They want to be prepared for World Tag Team Festival, so they issue an open challenge for the Schadenfreude Invitational Gauntlet at Drive of Champions in Hamburg.
RISE (Ivan Kiev & Pete Bouncer) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
Irony!
This is non-title, and we have a jump start from Pete Bouncer, who lays into the champions before the bell as he’s still sore over the Lucky Kid/Schadenfreude thing. The tables quickly turn as Davis pancakes Kiev, then squashes him with a back senton, while Bouncer took a uranage backbreaker from Fletcher and a bunch of chops.
Now the bell rings, as Kyle got a two-count at the bell over the downed Bouncer, before Pete’s attempt at a comeback was thwarted with a low dropkick. A clothesline finally puts Bouncer ahead, as he proceeds to knock Davis off the apron, before a reverse DDT earned him just a one-count on Kyle.
Kiev’s back in to get a two-count off of an elbow drop to Kyle, as RISE looked to push ahead, trapping Fletcher with shoulder charges. Bouncer’s back in to help double-team, with an atomic drop/Blockbuster combo into a single leg crab as Fletcher was forced to dive into the ropes. RISE continue to work over Fletcher, who’s not even come close to a tag since that bell went.
Kiev and Bouncer seem to have a disagreement – perhaps over how much they’re beating on Kyle – which opened the door for Fletcher to make the tag out… and in comes Davis with chops and clothesline. Davis cartwheels away from a clothesline and lands a double clothesline of his own, before a Pele kick from Kiev has Dunkzilla in the corner.
Davis comes back with a running boot and a One Winged Angel onto a knee for a near-fall. Bouncer tags back in after that, scoring with a scissor kick-assisted sidewalk slam on Davis before a stomp-assisted neckbreaker almost got RISE the win. Superkicks are avoided as Kyle rebounds with a Quebrada, before an assisted GTS and a sliding D had RISE on the back foot once more.
Bouncer makes a save from a Fidget Spinner, before he shoved Davis into the referee… that masks a belt shot, and that’s the win for RISE. I guess that earns them a shot down the line, as RISE are slipping back to their old ways to get back to winning ways. Well, at least Pete Bouncer is… ***¼
They replay Wheeler Yuta’s rather underhanded methods in beating Veit Müller at the Mitteldeutschland Cup… which led to Veit reminding him he won’t be able to get away with that at Superstars of Wrestling… and to WALTER reuniting with Veit. Of course WALTER loved him beating David Starr, but he was a little disappointed at how Veit fell to Yuta. They’ll face off again in Hamburg, and you’ve got to think Veit will be looking to avoid a repeat on home turf.
Baby Allison vs. Amale
One of the challengers for Toni Storm’s title at Superstars of Wrestling, Amale’s ditched the second name and is now “The French Hope, Amale”.
She jumps Allison, who stupidly decided to do her pose at the bell, which makes Andy burst out into a little sing song. Amale keeps up the pressure with a whip into the corner, a shotgun dropkick and a face-washing boot, getting Amale a two-count. Forearms seem to wake up Allison, but she’s taken down for a chinlock… but Allison made a comeback with a clothesline, before she’s caught with a Northern Lights suplex for a near-fall.
Some figure four headscissors let Amale drive Allison into the mat repeatedly as, as Andy called it, “she’s humping her dead”. There’s a slap to the arse too, before she kicked away Allison’s crab walk. Allison responds quickly with a spinebuster for a near-fall, but Amale comes right back with a spinning reverse STO – the Champion Maker – for the win. This was fine as it gave Amale some steam, but the crowd didn’t seem to buy Allison one bit. **½
Backstage, Lucky Kid is happy with RISE winning. Aussie Open walk in and berate Pete Bouncer for cheating, before they try to play Lucky against RISE. Pete Bouncer shook his head as Davis wanted a word, and it seems Bouncer’s jealousy is manifesting itself in new forms.
Elsewhere, Veit Müller and WALTER are warming up when Wheeler Yuta interrupts them to talk trash. He’s a smart-arse as he tells Veit to speak in English, before getting in a cheapshot as he reminds Müller that he’s never won for wXw in Hamburg. Oh, he’s gonna die.
Pretty Bastards (Maggot & Prince Ahura) vs. Vollgasteren (Julian Pace & Leon van Gasteren)
The newly-minted pairing of Vollgasteren is a blast of a team name. Just a shame the ring music gets dubbed over. Don’t worry, the crowd sing it, as Rainer Ringer’s made to dance too.
Maggot and Pace start, trading takedowns and headscissors as they reached a quick standoff. Ahura tags in and gets met with armdrags and dropkicks as Pace threatened to end it, before he slowed things down with an armbar. There’s a chop from Ahura, who then goes rope walking… only for Pace to crotch him and land a dropkick as Ahura was playing to the crowd.
It’s time for the vollgas rope running next, leading to a diving boot and a tag in from van Gasteren, which means we get more singing. Ahura tries to chop away, but Leon just lands some headscissors before he took Ahura down with forearms, as a thrust kick and a diving flip neckbreaker got the veteran a near-fall.
Pace is back with a Quebrada as Ahura was held off the ropes, before an attempt at a springboard moonsault was neutered when Pace got crotched. Maggot’s back in with shoulder charges and a teardrop suplex, before a Thesz press led to a can of whoopass being opened. What?
Maggot lands a nice suplex for a two-count, but Pace tries to fight back, only to get stopped by Maggot as the divide in attitude between the Pretty Bastards grew ever more pronounced. Ahura’s back, and of course he took Pace too lightly as a one-man Spanish Fly leaves both men down.
Pace gets up to tag in van Gasteren, who overcomes some two-on-one as he took down the Bastards one at a time, following up with corner-to-corner clotheslines before he sent Maggot into Ahura with a back body drop. Nice! From there, a Go To Sleep and a leaping neckbreaker combo almost puts Ahura away.
A dropkick from Pace has Ahura back on the mat, as he then went back up for a moonsault… but Pace lands on his feet as Ahura had rolled away. Another teardrop suplex from Maggot led to a wacky back kick from Ahura, then a spear from Maggot for a near-fall. Maggot gets caught out posing again, with van Gasteren dumping them both with separate Michinoku Drivers.
Ahura’s spin kick has Leon on the back foot, but there’s no urgency from him, as he readied himself for a moonsault… and of course Pace moves away. One Leon stunner later, and Pace lands his Best Moonsault Ever, and that’s the win. Lovely stuff, and a nice roar from the Münster crowd for the result. Not babyface vs. heel, but they loved this. ***½
Backstage, Valkyrie and Killer Kelly have a chinwag. Valkyrie tells Kelly she has no issue with her, while Kelly has the same mindset. They’re both going for the title in Oberhausen, but they’re opponents tonight.
They replay moody Emil Sitoci cancelling his matches with Avalanche last month… this time though, Emil’s here for a three-way.
Lucky Kid vs. Wheeler Yuta vs. Emil Sitoci
Apparently Lucky’s ditched his RISE music. HMM.
For a nihilist, Sitoci was very aggressive in the early going, but it was Yuta who fought back with an uppercut and a springboard armdrag… as we settled down into the revolving door format. Lucky tries to end it with a crossface, but Sitoci breaks it up with an elbow drop as the action continued at a pretty decent clip.
Lucky and Yuta brawl outside, with Lucky landing a 619 knee on the apron, before he got caught with a head kick and a TKO into the ropes by Sitoci. Emil snuffs out a fightback, hitting a twisting face-first suplex to Lucky, before a switcheroo led to Yuta taking a gutbuster as Sitoci began to pull at the American’s ear.
Sitoci stops so he can drop Lucky outside the ring with a double sledge, before Wheeler began to fight back with chops and forearms that seemed to turn on the Dutchman… who responds with an eye rake. A side Russian legsweep keeps Yuta down ahead of a split-legged moonsault, before a barrage of strikes broke out, leading to crossbodies from Yuta, and a dropkick from Lucky.
Lucky keeps up with a handspring elbow to Sitoci, before Sitoci just rolled to the apron to stop Lucky from jumping on him. Smart strategy. Sitoci looked to abandon the match from there, as Yuta returned with a belly-to-belly superplex, before a lifting reverse DDT almost puts Lucky away.
With no Sitoci at ringside, we’re down to a regular-ish match. Lucky tries to trap Yuta in a crossface, but almost falls to a mouse trap pin. Lucky kicks out, then flips out of a German suplex as he chopped Yuta’s chest. A springboard stunner off the ropes followed for a two-count, before the crossface finally forced the tap. Decent enough, although I am starting to get worried with how Lucky seems to be floating around since Carat. ***
Backstage, Maggot’s upset with Prince Ahura again. Karsten Beck interrupts, but Ahura’s away with the fairies… he breaks his silence to ask Beck why they’re not on the card for Drive of Champions. Beck’s response? Their form’s been so bad, they’re not going to make it to World Tag Team Festival at this rate. Ahura digs a deeper grave for himself, demanding to be put on the card and on posters… because of their contract. So Beck tells them that he will. But for the wXw Academy shows. Relegation!
Vinny Vortex is doing Hindu squats as he prepares to face RINGKAMPF later with his brother. Bobby Gunns tells him to be smart as the pair come up with a plan… which involves more Hindu squats.
Valkyrie vs. Killer Kelly
It’s another preview for the four-way title match in Oberhausen, as these two renewed acquaintances.
Valkyrie rolls Kelly to the mat for an early near-fall, before she looked to work on a wristlock, a cravat, and another roll-up. Kelly slows the pace with a headlock, but Valkyrie cartwheels away into another wristlock as the pair looked to find, and maintain, an advantage.
Kelly uses an overhead wristlock to force Valkyrie down for a two-count, but the Irishwoman responds in kind as they go back and forth on each other’s wrists. A headlock takedown from Valkyrie puts her ahead… until Kelly uses headscissors to get free. Valkyrie catches a kick and pushes down Kelly, before she went up top… faking out a moonsault so she could come down with a crossbody instead for a two-count.
A leg lariat from Valkyrie’s caught, with Kelly’s pump kick turning things around again for a near-fall, before a strait-jacket choke has Valkyrie in deep trouble. Kelly lets go and goes for some crossface punches, before Valkyrie slipped out of the hold a second time and went for a Euro clutch.
Kelly kicks out and applies another cravat, but Valkyrie escapes and uses a La Magistral for a near-fall… then runs into another forearm. Oof. Kelly keeps up with some capture headbutts, then a butterfly suplex, before Valkyrie was sent hurtling into the turnbuckles. Another boot stops Kelly’s charge, before Valkyrie flips over her for a back elbow out of the corner for a near-fall.
More leg lariats from Valkyrie knock Kelly down for a near-fall, but Valkyrie gets caught on the top rope as Kelly set up for a spider German suplex… then instead pulled her into a Dragon sleeper on the top rope. Of course that couldn’t last, but it did leave Valkyrie in a Tree of Woe for the Shibata-ish dropkick that led to another near-fall.
Kelly reapplies a Dragon sleeper, but Valkyrie flips out and nearly pins her from the move, before an enziguiri dropped Kelly once again. Valkyrie’s spent though, and can’t avoid a German suplex out of the corner, nor a diving boot… but she does hit back with an enziguiri and the Death Note flying scissor kick for the win. That’s an upset in wXw canon, and this was a pretty good outing for Valkyrie – although she needs to find an edge to stand out around here. ***
We’ve a backstage promo with Brian Cage, who has his Impact title in hand. He’s facing Ilja Dragunov here, then Lucky Kid at Superstars of Wrestling. We crossfade to an angry Lucky Kid, who blows out my speakers as he berates Pete Bouncer. He found out Bouncer cheated in the opener, but he’s talked down to as Bouncer says he’s just doing whatever it takes to stay relevant as he reckoned Lucky is forgetting about RISE since he won Carat.
Lucky responds, saying he wants RISE to be the same unit they were in the past, but he also wants to be friends with everyone… which included asking Bouncer to be in his corner in Oberhausen.
RINGKAMPF (Veit Müller & WALTER) vs. Bobby Gunns & Vinny Vortex
It’s a debut for the new-look RINGKAMPF, and it seems everyone in this match is popular.
Müller and Gunns start on the mat, but it’s Veit who gets the early upper hand, only to get pulled down as Gunns went for a knee bar… albeit right by the ropes. Gunns responds by working over Müller’s wrist, taking Veit down before stomping on his shoulder before Müller tagged in WALTER.
Bobby’s response? To tag in Vinny. Ah well!
WALTER throws Vortex aside from the lock-up, before Vinny responded angrily to being played around with. In response, WALTER toys with him some more, with some crossface punches… which Vinny caught before he went for some shoulder charges. WALTER hits some of his own, and again, sends Vinny flying. It’s almost like men against boys here.
Bobby Gunns tags in, but suffers a similar fate as WALTER clubs him to the mat and forced him into the ropes with some ground and pound. Müller tags in, and is quickly on the defensive as Gunns and Vortex took him into the corner, as they began to exchange some quick tags, rolling back to their days as a regular tag team.
WALTER comes in to distract the referee as Müller was about to get pinned, but Gunns just stays on Veit. A wristlock and an arm wringer keeps Müller at bay… a clothesline dropped him, as Bobby knocks WALTER off the apron so the two brothers could play to the crowd. To a smattering of boos.
Müller gets caught in a single leg crab while Gunns held WALTER in the ropes with a hanging armbar, before WALTER got free and chopped Vinny to break the hold. If it works, it works. WALTER tags in to hold Vortex with a key lock, and resists being slammed as he instead chopped Vinny to the mat with some gusto.
Müller returns to land an elbow drop for a two-count, as it was Vortex who found himself on the defensive and in the wrong corner. A headbutt from WALTER has him on jelly legs, before a European uppercut decked him after some desperation forearms. WALTER ripcords Vortex out of a keylock into a shoulder tackle, before he reapplied the hold. Vinny almost back body drops out of it, but Müller returned to catch him in the gut as RINGKAMPF showed a little bit of a dark side to stay ahead of things.
Vinny finally responds with a shoulder tackle to take Müller down. A back body drop from Vortex stops WALTER’s run in, as Vinny gets free to tag in Gunns… who took down WALTER with a Dragon screw! Bobby turns up the tempo with running uppercuts in the corner, before he got out of the way as WALTER’s’ big boot accidentally hit his own man.
A Saito suplex followed to dump Müller, before Gunns went for a German suplex, bridging WALTER for a near-fall. Bobby keeps up with a finger snap on WALTER, before he ran into a huge clothesline. Vortex hits back with a clothesline on Müller, before a wrist-clutch half nelson suplex nearly put away die Keiler. Müller catches Vortex on the top rope, but Vinny headbutts himself free, sending Veit down before he leapt into a goddamn kick from WALTER.
From there, RINGKAMPF combine for a gutbuster on Vinny, as WALTER followed up with a gutwrench powerbomb for a near-fall, before the Keiler Recliner wrist clutch brainbuster put Vortex away. This was a good outing for Veit and WALTER, but it’s crystal clear that Veit has a lot of work to do to reach the upper level. ***½
After the match, Bobby and Vinny offered a handshake. Veit accepted, but the belligerent WALTER refused and walked away instead. HMM…
We’re shown a video from YouTube where Karsten Beck sets up a four-way in Hamburg for Bobby Gunns’ title. The challengers are to be confirmed…
Rico Bushido’s on hand next, interviewing Emil Sitoci backstage. He’s asked about his upcoming defence in Hamburg against Avalanche, but Emil doesn’t care. Sitoci’s forgotten about him abandoning Avalanche, and then professed to not caring about the Shotgun title. He threatens to no-show the trios match… then perked up a smidge when he was told that the Shotgun champion will be in the wXw title match at Drive of Champions.
Sebastian Hollmichel’s back to run down the card for Superstars of Wrestling:
wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship: Joey Janela vs. Bobby Gunns (c)
wXw Women’s Championship: Amale vs. Killer Kelly vs. Valkyrie vs. Toni Storm (c)
Ilja Dragunov vs. Marius al-Ani
Brian Cage vs. Lucky Kid
Ken Shamrock vs. Veit Müller
Absolute Andy & Jay-FK vs. Aussie Open & Hardcore Holly
WALTER vs. Wheeler Yuta
The Crown & Emil Sitoci vs. Avalanche, Leon van Gasteren & Julian Pace
Ilja Dragunov vs. Brian Cage
If you’re so inclined, this is a hell of an interesting match, politically-speaking – with Andy Jackson calling this a match straight out of something like, say, Fire Pro Wrestling. My embellishment, not his.
We’ve a tentative start, with the pair clashing into each other with shoulder tackles and dropkicks before Ilja decided to try and go work on Cage’s arm. That’s stopped with a European uppercut from a snarling Cage, only for Dragunov to strike back and take down Cage with a back senton.
Cage replies with a hiptoss onto a knee, before chops in the corner sent Dragunov staggering to his knees. Dragunov’s used as a human barbell, as Cage curls him then throws him over his head for a near-fall, before some headscissors had the former champion down on the mat.
Dragunov gets to his feet to throw a chop, but he’s already running on empty as he falls back to the mat… allowing Cage to get a two-count off of being chopped. Ilja’s back with an enziguiri to take Cage into the corner, following it up with some running forearms and a rebound lariat after he flipped back in over the ropes.
Some more chops follow as Cage gets caught in the corner, ahead of a diving dropkick to the head for a near-fall. Ilja heads up but has to abort a double stomp as Cage hit right back with an uppercut and a release German suplex, before he caught Ilja with the GMSI out of nowhere for a near-fall. A pop-up powerbomb’s next for another two-count, before a bucklebomb seemed to wake up Ilja, who launched a comeback with some clotheslines and a running back suplex for a two-count of his own.
Cage took Ilja up top, but gets countered with a sunset bomb before Ilja went Coast to Coast for a near-fall. They keep going back and forth, with Ilja landing lariats that barely faze Cage, who responds with a big boot and a German suplex… which Ilja just rises up from before a double clothesline left both men laying.
Back-and-forth strikes follow, with Ilja’s chops ringing around the Sputnikhalle, before he ran into a superkick, and replied to that with a DDT. More kicks from Cage follow, only for him to get caught with a Constantin Special and a back senton off the top for a near-fall. A punch and a F5 puts Cage right back in it, only for Ilja to catch him with a spiking death valley driver as it seemed we were hurtling towards a finish.
Sure enough… Cage thought he was on track when he batted away a Torpedo Moscau with a discus lariat, before Dragunov avoided a Screwdriver and caught him with the Torpedo Moscau for the win. This was a fun main event, with Cage eventually being chopped down to size by the former wXw champion. ***¼
Andy Jackson runs down the Superstars of Wrestling of card one more time, then signs off…
For what was originally a spot show, the Road to Superstars of Wrestling was a pretty solid show which did just enough to keep things ticking for the bigger show, considering how much of the roster for Oberhausen was in transit. This is worth a watch if you’ve got time before the main Superstars show drops – especially for the story development lower down the card.