wXw hit the road again, with a quick stop in Bielefield as True Colors appeared in the horizon.
It feels like ages since we’ve seen any wXw, and we start with recaps from Frankfurt: namely, the stuff with Absolute Andy and Jay-FK running in on the RISE/Schadenfreude match, and a rather conflicted Lucky Kid… Cue titles, and we’ve only got Sebastian Hollmichel on commentary for this show which features some returns and some debuts too!
RISE (Lucky Kid, Pete Bouncer & Ivan Kiev) vs. Jay-FK (Jay Skillet & Francis Kaspin) & Absolute Andy
Jay takes exception to a fan having an Andre Schürrle shirt handy. I wonder if he was a Fulham fan after this season?
Andy’s mellowed a bit as he’s not making Tas undress him, as we start with Lucky Kid working over Jay Skillet’s arm and wrist. Jay got free to snapmare and kick the Carat winner, before he gets tripped and cracked with a low dropkick by Lucky for a near-fall. Francis Kaspin has a bit more luck when he comes in, at least until he took a Flatliner into the buckles, as Ivan Kiev comes in to keep up with a neckbreaker. The game changes a little when Absolute Andy tagged in to clothesline and suplex Kiev for fun, but a top rope leg lariat from Ivan nearly took the win… as did a Blockbuster/legsweep combo from Kiev and Bouncer.
Things get a little wacky when Kaspin blind-tags in and hits a facebuster off the top on Kiev, before his attempt at a cover proved to be for nought as the ref was too busy dealing with RISE. Tas dishes out fines as both sides protested heavily at the others’ cheating, as we had some aggro between Lucky Kid and Absolute Andy ahead of their singles match at True Colors. Ivan Kiev built up to a hot tag to Lucky, who cleared house on Kaspin, then Skillet, leaving them laying with a handspring elbow. An Asai DDT lands from Lucky, who’s quickly up against Andy after a spinebuster’d taken out Pete Bouncer, and after some more distractions, Andy lays out Lucky with a clothesline. Andy teases heading up top, as the Eagle wanted to fly… but he’s caught by all three members of RISE, who press slam him to the mat.
Lucky tries to land another Asai DDT on Andy, but he’s instead met with a big boot before Pete Bouncer came in to save Lucky from a suplex. That turns into a six-way suplex spot, with RISE landing their move instead. Bouncer comes close with a full nelson slam to Andy for a near-fall, before those two clattered into each other with clotheslines.
Tags take us to Kiev and Skillet, with the latter eating a PK as a Parade of Moves broke out, ending with Andy pulling Ivan Kiev into the path of Lucky Kid’s handspring elbow. An F5 drops Kiev, and after Pete Bouncer sent Andy out, Francis Kaspin shoves him out, as Francis Kaspin took the much delayed pin. Wow, that was a killer F5. One so big it helped Jay get the win without doing any offence himself as RISE come up short – but at least we weren’t being hit over the head with the Lucky Kid story here. Perhaps because we were Schadenfreude-less tonight? ***¼
Ah, nevermind. Pete Bouncer reads Lucky Kid the riot act after he was pulled into the path of that handspring elbow during the match. Ivan Kiev handwaves it and leaves… man, Pete Bouncer is coming across as an insecure and obsessed partner here. Not likeable traits at all. Heck, if I were Lucky, I’d want to leave for the cult-like Schadenfreude!
Backstage, Baby Allison approaches Amale Winchester saying that she’d rather team with her than fight her. Except Amale wanted to stand – and fight – alone.
Also backstage, Absolute Andy has a bowl of chili… which was a little too spicy for him. It comes with the age. He tried to roll back the years by fist-bumping Francis Kaspin, who just rolls his eyes. Elsewhere, Pete Bouncer’s apologetic for what happened earlier… until he realises that only Lucky Kid is booked for True Colors, and not RISE. Ivan has his head in his hands…
Amale Winchester vs. Baby Allison
So partners in Frankfurt become opponents in Bielefeld, and while Allison’s offering a handshake, Amale wants no part of it.
Winchester whips her into the corner, only to get met with a low dropkick and a DDT, before a splits legdrop gets Allison a near-fall. Amale returned with a roll-up that sent Allison crashing into the corner, before she followed in with chops and forearms. Another whip ends Allison into the bottom turnbuckle, ahead of a shotgun dropkick and a sliding hip attack for a near-fall.
Allison makes a comeback, landing a Thesz press and a back elbow before we got back to forearms… Allison Matrix’s away from a clothesline before coming close with a spinebuster. A Samoan drop attempt comes to nought as Winchester hit back with a forearm to the back before landing a Stunner, then a spinning reverse STO for the win. This was okay, but a lot of the exchanges felt clunky, almost like it was stuff out of training and not the “real match”? **
Bobby Gunns comes to the ring next for a promo. There’s no subtitles, but we have a live Smoking Break here, celebrating his title win at 16 Carat Gold. Bobby wants a challenge, and that’s answered by Marius al-Ani, and it seems we’re getting a throwback to last summer as al-Ani wants a shot at Bobby’s title… which he’s given for later tonight.
Outside, Maggot’s with Veit Müller, only to be interrupted by Prince Ahura, who’s filming a selfie like he’s a superstar. Karsten Beck catches him, and tells him he’s late, and once again the Pretty Bastards are in trouble.
The Crown (Alexander James & Jurn Simmons) vs. Pretty Bastards (Maggot & Prince Ahura)
Yup. The Crown came pretty close to beating LAX in New York, and with them back in Germany for another run, you’d have to expect they’ll be looking to prove a point here.
Jurn’s caught by a dropkick from Maggot early, then a flying Stunner and a stunner before both men tagged out. James had a bit more luck against Ahura, as the Crown got the upper hand briefly, only for Maggot to take James outside with an armdrag… but his crossbody to Jurn needed a tope from Ahura to finish it off. Back in the ring, Ahura catches James with some dropkicks in the corner, before a Yakuza kick led to more offence from the Bastards, who scored with a High/Low. They celebrate too soon though, and had to deal with a rushing Jurn, who got sent into the corner ahead of a nice teardrop suplex from Maggot for a near-fall.
Ahura goes rope-walking, which is brave given he’s barefooted, but Jurn just pulls him off the top into a Beele throw as Ahura’s own showboating began to cost him. Again. James comes in with a double armbar, almost like Zack Sabre Jr’s Young Boy Killer, before he sent Ahura into the ropes for a back elbow as the Crowd began to find their groove. Ahura fights back out of the corner, but a leap into Jurn just gets turned into an overhead suplex as James came in with a slingshot senton. A backslide nearly surprises James, but he kicks out and just lays out Ahura with a right hand as the Crown kept the pace deliberate… but it just opened it up for Ahura to make a comeback with a step-up knee strike.
Tags bring in Maggot and Jurn next, with the latter taking a spear for a near-fall as the Bastards tried to get back into it, but Jurn and James double-team Maggot and nearly put him away with a boot-assisted powerslam. Ahura’s got to dive in to make a save, but he’s pulled into the apron by James as Ahura took too long after making a tag… and that leaves Maggot prone as a torture rack slam dropped Maggot on the ropes ahead of the Rains of Castamere from James.
Ahura’s back to his feet as he tried to get the crowd on side… but all he does is leap into a double chokeslam before he’s held for a curb stomp – billed the Blood Eagle – for the win. A convincing win for the Crown, as the Pretty Bastards again find themselves having to go back to the drawing board. ***
Backstage, Amale Winchester’s trying to butter up Karsten Beck. She wants a match for the wXw women’s title, but Beck instead has her do double duty, adding her to the Killer Kelly/Valkyrie match later tonight.
Still backstage, Lucky Kid – wearing a Schadenfreude hoodie – is speaking to Ivan Kiev. He’s trying to apologise for earlier, but Ivan’s spotted the item of clothing… which Lucky brushes off as saying that as long as he’s in wXw, RISE is his family.
We’ve a video package for Wheeler YUTA, who says that the future of wrestling comes in well rounded performers. Hence his training in different styles… which includes this trip to wXw as he looks to better himself. A little “white meat babyface”, but a good intro for folks who’ve never heard of him.
Veit Müller vs. Wheeler YUTA vs. Ilja Dragunov
In a “that shows how much attention I’ve been paying”, in looking to see whether wXw capitalise “YUTA” or not, I finally notice… there’s no lower thirds here.
Ilja was originally meant to face Chris Brookes here, but a change in travel plans meant that Brookes wasn’t on the show… so we get this three-way instead. We start like most three-ways, as everyone had a go at each other early on before YUTA tried to put away Ilja with an early crucifix pin.
Dragunov drew YUTA into a spinning back chop before dishing one out for Müller, who ate a clothesline too as the former Unified World Wrestling champion was on top. Ilja backflips from the apron, back into the ring, as another clothesline takes down YUTA, ahead of some clubbering forearms. A leaping neckbreaker keeps YUTA down as Dragunov did his best to stop Müller from returning to the ring, before YUTA finally found a way in, taking Ilja down with a springboard lucha-style armdrag.
In comes Müller… and out goes Müller as YUTA sends him to the floor ahead of a plancha. YUTA tries for a dive, but Müller is back in with a clothesline to cut him off for a near-fall. The newest RINGKAMPF member keeps on top of YUTA with a camel clutch, before an airplane spin is interrupted by Dragunov… who just runs into a back body drop. Müller goes back to YUTA with an airplane spin, making Wheeler dizzy, before dispatching of Ilja again with another clothesline. YUTA’s taken up top, but the superplex is stopped by Ilja, who decides to turn it into a Tower of Doom as Müller ate a powerbomb while butterfly superplexing YUTA. Multitasking!
YUTA’s back with a flying back elbow for a near-fall, before Ilja broke up a STF with a big back senton into the pile. Dragunov keeps up the momentum with corner-to-corner clotheslines, before he tried to suplex both opponents at the same time… only for them to fight free and take clotheslines instead. There’s a DDT for Müller too, and a 619-rebound lariat, but YUTA breaks up the cover as I spotted a guy in the crowd with a huge cut out number 2 sign.
YUTA tries to put Müller away with a back suplex, but instead takes a hiptoss as Veit fought back with uppercuts. Ilja runs in, but can’t avoid a Pain Thriller – an almost Angle Slam-like move from YUTA, who then turned his attentions back to Müller, landing an enziguiri before a back elbow and a Blockbuster led to another near-fall.
Ilja breaks that up, then caught a crossbody from YUTA and turned it into a death valley driver in the corner as the debutant found himself in trouble… only for Marius al-Ani to run in and distract Ilja ahead of their match at True Colors. Ilja goes after Marius, and that leaves Müller in there to pick apart the pieces, finishing off YUTA with the Keiler Recliner – a wrist-clutch exploder – dropping YUTA almost on his head for the win. A fun three-way, with Müller getting a big win on paper. ***½
Jay-FK’s again backstage, and they’re again interrupted by Andy and his chili. I hope there’s no flatulence, for their sake. Lucky Kid wanders in, presumably wanting some, but only gets antagonised over the RISE/Schadenfreude stuff as Andy again talked down to him ahead of their match before he left Andy to finish off his latest bowl of chili.
We’ve another VT package, this time for Valkyrie, who put over her training with the Fight Factory school. She puts over some of Ireland’s recent stars, and proclaims to be a breath of fresh air in wXw. Valkyrie’s been used by the GWF before in Germany, but it’s nice to see her getting a crack at things here as wXw restock their women’s division.
Killer Kelly vs. Valkyrie vs. Amale Winchester
Live, this was apparently treated as a run-in by Winchester as the crowd were expecting a different “third person”.
Valkyrie and Kelly play pass the parcel with Winchester’s leg early as they tried to restore the match back to its advertised one-on-one affair. A leg sweep sends the French woman outside as Valkyrie and Kelly fought in a knuckle lock, which ended up in a wheelbarrow roll-up for a near-fall, before the pair fought over a backslide. The pinning attempts continue as a backslide from Kelly nearly took the win, before Winchester popped up… and got shoved off the apron. Valkyrie took the upper hand from there, tripping Kelly into a toe hold, before she got free and ended up falling to a running boot as Kelly almost put away the debutant.
A rolling kip-up from Valkyrie gets her back in it, as did a kick, as the Irishwoman sailed through the ropes to dropkick Winchester on the outside… but Amale finally gets involved as she trips and pulls Kelly outside, dropping her face-first on the apron. Meanwhile, Valkyrie went for a low-pe, but got caught with a forearm through the ropes as Winchester looked to force the issue. Winchester stays on top of Valkyrie with a running boot on the outside, before she tried to choke Valkyrie out of the ring. Valkyrie meets the lower turnbuckle again after a drop toe hold sends her there, as Winchester follows in with a shotgun dropkick and a hip attack again, as Bielefeld again gave her grief… before cheering as Killer Kelly found her way back into the match.
The capture headbutts from Kelly have Winchester rocked ahead of a butterfly suplex, which Kelly followed up with the Shibata-ish dropkick… only to get caught with a dropkick from Valkyrie, who unleashed some kicks to Kelly. One’s caught and turned into a bridging German for a near-fall, but Winchester broke it up so she could try and steal the pin. It doesn’t work, much to her frustration, and when she caught Kelly with the Sister Abigail, she’s still annoyed because Kelly rolls outside. Valkyrie capitalises with an enziguiri to Winchester, before a flying scissor kick, dubbed the Death Note, puts her away. A nice win for the debuting Valkyrie, who is being brought back and could well become a big part of this promotion. **¾
We get a replay from 16 Carat Gold – where Julian Pace’s biggest win to date ended up being overshadowed by a beating from the returning Emil Sitoci.
Julian Pace vs. Emil Sitoci
They didn’t announce whether Sitoci’s Shotgun title was on the line here… but Pace jumps the match anyway with an over-the-posts tope con giro as Sitoci was making his entrance.
Sitoci tries to fight back by popping Pace onto the apron, but he’s quickly met with a knee off of it before the match finally got underway. Not that it made much difference, as Pace kept up the aggression, which seemed to make Sitoci happy, as he just asked for more. A superkick finally decks him, as Pace looked for his rope running… only to get caught in a spinning tombstone as Pace had to fight back.
A crossbody from Pace lands in Sitoci’s knee, as the champion went after Pace’s midsection for a spell. Julian gets stretched in the corners next, before he countered a snapmare driver with a series of speedy roll-ups, only to get flapjacked after that as Emil slowed the tempo down. There’s a DDT next for a near-fall for Sitoci, then a bow-and-arrow hold, before another gutbuster left Pace in a heap on the mat.
Keeping Pace there, an abdominal stretch makes things worse – especially when Sitoci hooked the leg a la Razor Ramon back in the day. More roll-ups come, this time from Sitoci, for near-falls, before he started to stomp on Pace’s hands. Some biting has Pace off guard, but he’s able to respond with a gamengiri before he gets caught in the ropes. Back inside, Pace finds a second wind as he charges into Sitoci with elbows, before a springboard elbow almost went awry as Pace slipped off the top. He’s to land it, before he nearly put away Sitoci with the Final Lap, only for a kick-out to put him in the pits as Sitoci came right back with a superkick, a suplex/cutter, and finally a Snapmare Driver for the win. A brave fight from Pace, but in the end, Sitoci’s aggression and experience proved to be too much. ***¼
Post-match, Pace gets laid out with a spinning tombstone as the sympathetic Bielefeld crowd chanted for “one more time”. Sitoci gets the mic and calls out Avalanche ahead of their match next week, saying that “that” (Pace) could be him.
We’re backstage again as Karsten Beck is having a drink. Amale Winchester’s annoyed at having to wrestle twice, but reckons she deserves a match against Toni Storm at True Colors. Toni won’t be there… but instead Amale’s in a do-over of the triple threat from earlier, with the winner getting a shot at Toni’s title. This felt like she’s being strung over a little…
The Crown’s backstage crowing over their win against the Pretty Bastards… until Alexander James came across a moping Julian Pace. Julian corrects them on their recent history, and this leads to a challenge for True Colors: the Crown versus Julian Pace and a mystery opponent.
They run down the card for True Colors, which is this Saturday in Dresden:
Ilja Dragunov vs. Marius al-Ani
Absolute Andy vs. Lucky Kid
wXw Shotgun Championship: Avalanche vs. Emil Sitoci (c)
wXw World Tag Team Championship: Jay-FK (Jay Skillet & Francis Kaspin) vs. Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) (c)
Killer Kelly vs. Amale Winchester vs. Valkyrie
The Crown (Jurn Simmons & Alexander James) vs. Julian Pace & Wheeler YUTA
Oliver Carter vs. Veit Müller
There’s also a warm-up match from Next Step Wrestling: Der Falke vs. Catchoolz. Sadly, that’s the Next Step group, and not the Catch Hoolz of wXw past. WALTER, Sha Samuels and the like won’t be in Dresden this weekend!
wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship: Marius al-Ani vs. Bobby Gunns (c)
We’ve got a mixed crowd here, with quite a few on the side of al-Ani.
They keep it simple early on, as al-Ani went for an ankle lock in the opening stages, forcing Gunns into the ropes for a break. Marius uses a knuckle lock to try and pin Bobby, but a neck bridge surprises him as the champion tried to monkey flip free… only to counter into a Swish armbar right by the ropes. Al-Ani returns the favour, locking in a toe hold, only for Bobby to roll through into a headlock as the tit-for-tat opening exchanges continued. Gunns lands a floatover suplex for a near-fall, before al-Ani retaliated by dropping Gunns over the ropes. There’s a springboard dropkick next from the challenger to send Gunns to the floor, as al-Ani began to settle into things.
A trapped-arm chinlock gives Gunns something to fight out of, which he does with some elbows, only to fall to a side Russian leg sweep that was rolled through into an ankle lock/armbar combo as he again targeted the champion’s leg. Gunns uses his free let to try and kick out, but he just gets caught in a single leg crab. Gunns has to fight out of more holds, but he’s able to rebound with a back elbow off the top rope for a near-fall. Marius is straight back in with a ‘rana, then a diving knee for a two-count of his own, before Marius’ attempt at a powerbomb was ‘rana’d out of as Gunns went back to the Swish armbar. Al-Ani can’t get to the ropes, so he rolls free as he tried to pin Bobby… before rolling all the way through into a powerbomb-like escape for a two-count.
Marius tried to catch Gunns in the corner with the double knees, but Gunns escaped and hit a Final Cut-like elbow drop in the ropes. It was Bobby’s time to capitalise, landing a big boot into the corner, a German suplex out of it… before he ran into an Exploder and a dropkick as things remained even. Gunns’ lariat left both men laying, but before he could do any more, Ilja Dragunov ran in and clotheslined both men. Well, he was probably fed up of the back-and-forth I’d guess. As a match, this was fine, but it never really got going… and the run-in at the end showed why. ***
Ilja and al-Ani exchange back-and forth elbows to set up for their match in Dresden next week. Gunns cursed into the mic as he was upset with how his match ended… and so he adds himself to the main event in Dresden as that’ll now be for Gunns’ title, as we end with all three men staring each other down to close the show.
As a “road to” show, Bielefeld was a solid set-up for the marquee event in Dresden this weekend. With the promotion not having made tape since WrestleMania week, this was a much-needed show to set-up True Colors, building-up storylines while continuing to introduce fans to new characters in the likes of Amale Winchester, Valkyrie and Wheeler YUTA.