Shotgun this week filled in the final pieces for wXw’s return to Hamburg this weekend, whilst teasing us for it with a superb main event between RINGKAMPF and RISE.
We open up with an interview with Tarkan Aslan, ahead of the Young Lions’ match against Chris Colen and Ilja Dragunov. Tarkan doesn’t seem worried, as his opponents on Saturday are being driven by anger, whilst he and Lucky Kid are beyond that, before sending a warning shot to RINGKAMPF. Alright… that’s followed up with a video package to build up to Saturday’s match – and I’ve a feeling we’re in for a lot of these today!
Next up, Monster Consulting approach RINGKAMPF’s locker room… but Julian Nero doesn’t want five minutes of their time. He just wants Avalanche to stay calm as we cut to inside, where Timothy Thatcher’s neatly putting away his scarf, just as the interruption comes. Instead, Nero had a bit of a threat for WALTER – if Avalanche was able to make him submit with one shoulder, what could happen now he has both shoulders healthy? It seemed to rattle WALTER, so the intimidation worked…
Another promo, with Christian Bischof and Jurn Simmons – and the Marquee Player’s asked why he hurriedly agreed to the I Quit match with Alexander James at such short notice. Instead, Jurn speaks to camera, telling James he’ll hurt him – and anything else it’ll take to win the match in Hamburg. A cutaway takes us to Christian who’s now got Alexander James with him for the retort: James has two pinfalls over Jurn, and the submission in Hamburg will cement his place as one of the best in wXw, if not the world. It’s a verbose promo as James again promises to slay the King.
TKO vs. Alexander James
We’re in the city of Gotha this week as Alexander James warms up for his I Quit match against the debuting TKO. As you’d expect, James is working for submissions from the off, wearing down TKO’s arm with a variety of armbars and the like.
TKO tries to reply by going for a leg, but James has that arm targeted, only for the Alex Wright trainee to fire back with some flashy armbars and a springboard crossbody for a near-fall. A swift kick to the arm quickly restores order, as hits a hammerlock’d slam to keep the up-and-comer down once more. It’s a rather efficient performance from James, who followed up with a clothesline before going for the Coat of Arms – which TKO quickly backs out of to get a feet on the ropes before too much damage could be done. TKO fights back with some forearms and a crossbody out of the corner, despite James again going for the arm.
TKO tries for a Shiranui, and instead has to make do for a Kenta Kobashi-esque Orange Crush suplex that gets a near-fall. A Finlay roll and a springboard moonsault keeps the pressure up for TKO as James looked to be totally on the back foot… and just as I say that, James counters a Shiranui into a Tower of London as he took over once more. TKO tries for his eponymous move, but James slips out and puts on the Coat of Arms… and just like that, AJ wins! A thoroughly enjoyable match, with TKO getting a surprising amount of offence in… but in the end, AJ’s submission strategy paid off. ***¼
After a video package for the I Quit match, we’re backstage again after Broken Rules as Emil Sitoci’s holding his nose. Dirty Dragan’s trying to apologise for the accidental elbow, but Sitoci’s had enough of Dragan’s bumbling ways. Emil needs his face to breathe, so he walks off to get it taken care of.
Next: Martina’s with Sebastian Hollmichel, and she’s thrilled to be in the wXw Women’s Championship Tournament final. It’ll be a nice Christmas present either way!
Another backstage segment, and we’re with Jay FK! It seems Skillet has a number one contender’s match for Shotgun title in Hamburg, challenging Bobby Gunns for the spot. It seems Jay took inspiration from Francis Kaspin’s match with Pete Dunne over a year ago… and of course, that’s the cue for Bobby Gunns to lord it over Skillet. Slapping away Bobby’s cigarette nearly sparks a fight, but Gunns just walks away.
RISE (“Bad Bones” John Klinger & Da Mack) vs. RINGKAMPF (WALTER & Timothy Thatcher)
Our main event has a jump start as Da Mack starts by going after WALTER, surprising the big man with a Slingblade… but WALTER is back to his feet quickly to start the payback.
Bad Bones sneaks in a blind tag and slingshots in with a spear, as he went toe to toe with WALTER for a spell. Heck, Bones wins out, and after aggravating Thatcher, he tries for more shoulder tackles, but this time WALTER puts him down as RINGKAMPF looked to be in the ascendency.
WALTER teases a huge Earthquake splash, and finally delivers after booting Mack off the apron, as the Austrian starts to stretch Bones for fun. We find out here that Monster Consulting will get their tag title shot against RINGKAMPF in Munich in just over a week, just as Da Mack gets the boot of WALTER planted into his chest. I guess that tag out perhaps wasn’t a good thing for the RISE pairing…
Thatcher has his fun too, as he and WALTER throw Mack around with gutwrench suplexes, as it threatened to be men against boys, with Da Mack helpless against the tag champions. Eventually Bad Bones comes in to try and double-team, but WALTER outsmarts RISE again and press slams Mack from the ring to Bones on the floor. NICE!
Mack’s quickly thrown back in as RINGKAMPF keep up the beating, but Bad Bones trips Thatcher in the ropes and the momentum’s back in RISE’s favour as Mack rakes the eyes of WALTER in the ring. Thatcher’s now the cornered one as RISE exchange rapid tags in and out, just as the crowd pipe up with that “RISE is scheiß” chant.
Thatcher manages to fight back as commentary notes how Bad Bones is only picking his shots and letting Mack do the lion’s share of the work… but Bones’ offence is effective and tactical, pulling down WALTER just as Thatcher was about to make the tag. It only delays it though as RISE face off against an angry WALTER, who busts out plenty of suplexes to the RISE tandem. Bones retaliates with a German suplex of his own, but WALTER’s still got plenty left in the tank.
Plenty to hit a butterfly superplex, in fact, but Bones just about gets a shoulder up in time, as tags take us to Thatcher flattening Mack with yet another suplex, only for Bones to get a tag in – and an eye poke – as he threatened to submit Thatcher with the Rebel Lock crossface. Da Mack tries to restrain WALTER, and you can guess how badly that went, as one fan in the crowd celebrated Mack being powerbombed onto the RISE leader.
WALTER tags back in from there to slug it out with Bones, but Da Mack again tries to get involved… and again gets obliterated. That seemed to be the cue for RISE interference, as Tarkan Aslan and Ivan Kiev hit the ring, giving Bones the chance to kick WALTER low for a near-fall… but a follow-up belt shot misses, and Ivan Kiev pulls out the referee as RINGKAMPF had the match won, so there’s your DQ finish. Well, with the four involved, there was no way in hell this was going to end cleanly here, but at least we had a bloody good match before Felix Schultz had to throw the match out. ***¾
I sense a Käfigschlacht in the near future for RISE…
RISE continue to beat down RINGKAMPF after the bell – and we cut away (the crowd in Gotha had a match after that, with the RISE quartet facing RINGKAMPF, Jurn Simmons and – surprisingly – Marius van Beethoven to end the live show). Instead, Shotgun gets Bad Bones and Ivan Kiev talking it out backstage ahead of their match in Hamburg.
Klinger’s picking Kiev’s brain… but it seems to be empty as he instead defers to the RISE leader’s judgment ahead of their chance of a lifetime on Saturday. One more video package, and we’re done for another week!
The card for Hamburg on Saturday is:
I Quit – Alexander James vs. Jurn Simmons
RINGKAMPF (WALTER & Timothy Thatcher) vs. RISE (Bad Bones & Ivan Kiev)
Avalanche vs. Marius al-Ani
Young Lions (Tarkan Aslan & Lucky Kid) vs. Ilja Dragunov & Chris Colen
Dirty Dragan vs. Michael Dante
Jay Skillet vs. Bobby Gunns for a Shotgun title shot
We’ll review the Hamburg show after it’s appeared on wXw NOW next week!
Another solid episode of Shotgun, with plenty of video packages being thrown in for Hamburg. If you’re thinking that’s code for “skip this”… don’t. The two new matches this week were really, really good, with Alexander James continuing his hot streak against a relative unknown, whilst the RISE/RINGKAMPF main event delivered. We say this just about every week, but if you’re not watching wXw, you’re really missing out!