Dipping back into 2015 wXw, and we take a look at a show with a load of unfamiliar-to-wXw names, and the first night of Superstars of Wrestling.
Quick Results
Juventud Guerrera, Axel Dieter Jr. & Da Mack pinned Toby Blunt, Miguel Ramirez & Ultimo Dragon in 11:21 (***)
Robert Dreissker pinned Chris Brookes in 4:25 (**½)
Ilja Dragunov pinned Jurn Simmons to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship in 6:35 (**½)
James Storm & Mike Schwarz defeated Lucas di Leo & Peter Fischer in 7:55 – French Flavour retained the wXw World Tag Team Championships… (**)
No Disqualification: James Storm & Mike Schwarz defeated Lucas di Leo & Peter Fischer to win the wXw World Tag Team Championships in 4:57 (**)
Kay Lee Ray pinned Toni Storm in 4:58 (**¾)
Absolute Andy & X-Pac pinned Sasa Keel & Kim Ray in 12:24 (***¼)
Big Daddy Walter, John Klinger & Yoshihiro Takayama pinned Karsten Beck, Tyler Bate & Mason Ryan in 19:53
Matt Sydal pinned Marty Scurll in 16:47
Skipping past the town shows, we’re back in Oberhausen for a show with a lot of unfamiliar-to-wXw names on it. Yoshihiro Takayama? Ultimo Dragon? Juventud Guerrera? X-Pac? Yeah, these Superstars of Wrestling shows were a way to expand the net – so to speak – but the branding wasn’t exactly liked, given that some saw it as putting the wXw roster firmly in second place.
Anyway, we’re back at the Turbinenhalle for this, with German commentary from Sebastian Hollmichel and Christan Bischof. There may be names that you may want to skip through. I’ll be mentioning those as little as I can during the review portion.
Hot And Spicy (Axel Dieter Jr. & Da Mack) & Juventud Guerrera vs. Miguel Ramirez, Toby Blunt & Ultimo Dragon
That’s some wacky trios right there… and of course, we’ve a pre-match promo from Juvi, who was happy to be back in Germany. It’d been just over a year since his German debut, working for EWP… and we’ve got a random shout-out for Eddie Guerrero. Alright then!
Mack and Ramirez get us going, except Juvi leaps in and shoves Ultimo Dragon as those two tag in instead. Those two lock up into the corner, for an eventual break, before some spinning headscissors from Ultimo took Juvi down. Tags bring in Mack and Blunt, leading to a Slingblade from Da Mack, then a dropkick for a two-count.
The pair trade headscissors before tags brought in Axel and Ramirez, with those two locking up into the ropes before Ramirez’s leapfrog was caught. Junior’s attempted slam out of it’s blocked as Ramirez’s tiltawhirl headscissors took Junior down into the corner, ahead of a wheelbarrow bulldog.
A standing moonsault gets Ramirez a two-count, before he caught Junior in a guillotine choke… which gets suplexed out of. Mack tags in and adds a suplex of his own for a two-count, before Juvi came in to chop and punch away on Ramirez. A quick exchange ends with Juvi almost going for a Rings of Saturn, before he rolled Ramirez into a Skayde Special for a two-count… before a crucifix bomb almost got Ramirez the win.
Blunt and Mack tag back in to keep the pace going, exchanging roll-ups for two-counts, ahead of a slingshot monkey flip from Blunt for a near-fall. A springboard enziguiri from Mack out of the corner turns it around, ahead of a moonwalk PK for another near-fall, before Juvi returned to try his luck from a suplex.
Junior’s back to help with a high/low on Blunt, as some triple-teaming led to Blunt eating a Juvi Driver… then the Patteuse for the win. I’m not quite sure Juvi was legal, but at this point who’s counting? ***
Chris Brookes vs. Robert Dreissker
I don’t like Young Chris’ chances here…
Brookes avoids the avalanche early on, but his kicks are caught and shoved away as he eventually dropkicked the big man to the outside. A tope con giro followed, catching everyone unawares, before Dreissker clotheslined away Brookes as he came off the top rope back inside.
Dreissker adds a big splash off the ropes, then another clubbering lariat and some bodyslams, setting up for a leg drop that Dreissker willingly broke the cover on. Brookes tries to fight back, but his dropkicks barely moved Dreissker ahead of a springboard back elbow that took him down.
Brookes quickly has to elbow out of a Samoan drop, but couldn’t avoid a Boulder Dash that nearly won the match… before a slam and a Dreissker Bomb completed the victory. Splat. **½
Out next – Vince Russo. Since we’ve not got Shotgun archives at time of writing, this is the first time he’s been seen in this watchback since Back to the Roots. He’s back because apparently Germans don’t know how to run a wrestling promotion, nor can they identify talent…
Anyway, Russo’s hand-picked Karsten Beck as the German star of the future, which drew some laughs from the crowd. That’s the cue for Beck to get music and entrance, which isn’t dubbed because classical music. Beck’s flanked by Marius van Beethoven, Kevin Roadster, Tyler Bate and… Mason Ryan?! Now THAT’S a motley crew!
Beck makes everyone kiss his belt, even Russo, but he relents and walks off after telling Beck he “catch the ball, because I handed it to you.” The rest of it washed over me, much like it seemed to with Tyler and Mason, because… mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut.
wXw Shotgun Championship: Jurn Simmons vs. Ilja Dragunov (c)
Dragunov was the massive crowd favourite here, seemingly much to his annoyance.
We open with strikes as Jurn and Ilja traded chops and forearms, before an early Torpedo Moscau knocked Simmons into the corner. Jurn retaliates by hanging up Ilja in the ropes, before he threw the champion chest-first into the turnbuckles.
Dragunov tries to fight back, but he’s easily slammed again by Simmons, who was overpowering the Russian in the early going. Right hands from Ilja earn a similar reply from Jurn, before a second Torpedo Moscau caught Simmons right in the mush. Ilja pushes from there with a double-handed chop, before a third Torpedo Moscau took Simmons down briefly.
Jurn’s back up, but another Torpedo off the middle rope quickly finds its mark for a near-fall, before a swinging side slam from Jurn almost ended things. A running kick from Jurn misses, which allows Ilja in with the Grüße aus Moskau lariat… and that’s enough for the win. Ilja’s surprisingly been somewhat one-dimensional around here, using his head… A LOT and not much else. **½
wXw World Tag Team Championship: James Storm & Mike Schwarz vs. French Flavour (Lucas Di Leo & Peter Fischer) (c)
French Flavour’s been getting themselves DQ’d a lot to retain the titles lately…
Di Leo and Schwarz start us off, trading shots as Schwarz took Lucas into the ropes, following up with some bodyslams for good measure. James Storm comes in to stop Peter Fischer from interfering, as the challengers stacked up French Flavour in the corner for… something that didn’t age well.
An assisted plancha from Storm took out the champions, but Fischer’s quickly back in the ring… and misses on a low-pe that sent his own man into the front row, where Storm added a kick to the balls for extra insult. Back inside, Fischer took a sidewalk slam for a two-count, before Fischer and Storm distracted the referee as di Leo attacked Schwarz.
Fischer stays on Schwarz as the champions looked in control, keeping Schwarz in their corner as Storm again got baited in to hide some choking behind the ref’s back. A back body drop from Schwarz buys him time, but di Leo stops Schwarz from tagging out. Fischer’s caught with the Rhein-Ruhr-Schwinger, and this time Schwarz is able to tag out, with Storm clearing house on the champions.
Clotheslines and neckbreakers help Storm on his way to a two-count, before a DDT to Fischer kept him on top… only for di Leo to come in and spit beer in Storm’s face for the DQ. **
Storm took the mic afterwards and decried how the champions got themselves DQ’d… and demanded a rematch with no disqualifications.
No Disqualification Match for wXw World Tag Team Championship: French Flavour (Lucas Di Leo & Peter Fischer) (c) vs. James Storm & Mike Schwarz
After running to the back to bring the champions back, Storm and Schwarz emerged fighting with them through the crowd… with Storm smashing a cup of beer against Fischer.
Schwarz has a water cooler that he’s hitting the French lads with, before Fischer got thrown into a fan’s foot. Storm uses a fan’s bag as Schwarz and di Leo hit the ring, with Schwarz’s fallaway slam finding its mark, before Fischer’s attempt to stop a superplex ended with Storm triggering a Tower of Doom instead.
That almost got Storm the win, before di Leo hit a low blow, leaving Schwarz on his own to take a beer spray from Fischer, then a front slam from di Leo. It’s not enough for the win though, as Storm then hit the ring to hit a superkick to di Leo, before Schwarz’s Schicht im Schacht chokeslam got the win. **
Big ol’ asterisk next to that one, despite Oberhausen celebrating the title change… as you’ll see on the next night.
Kay Lee Ray vs. Toni Storm
This was Toni’s wXw debut – and Kay Lee’s third outing for wXw.
Starting with a side headlock, Ray’s shoved off into the ropes for an eventual armdrag, only to return quickly as the pair exchanged dropkicks. Forearms from Kay Lee Ray, then a springboard leg lariat gets her a two-count, before a Gourdbuster dumped Toni on her face for another two-count.
Storm fought back with a kick to the midsection, before a boot into the corner knocked down Ray for some running double knees. A Fisherman suplex followed for a near-fall, before Ray took her outside… only for a follow-up dive to be swatted away as Storm found form with her tope.
Kay Lee’s rolled back inside and quickly returned with a tope of her own. Back inside, Storm’s beaten to the punch but just kicks Kay Lee down for a two-count, before a small package almost nicked it for the Scotswoman. Ray keeps up with an enziguiri, before a Gory bomb was countered out of… only for Storm to find herself back in it as Kay Lee got the win. **¾
Keel Holding (Kim Ray & Sasa Keel) vs. Absolute Andy & X-Pac
That’s a real Fire Pro Random Button tag team, huh? X-Pac does a heavily abridged version of the Billy Gunn shtick before the bell, while Andy resists a crotch chop.
Sasa Keel’s feelings get hurt amid some boo/yay banter, while Kim Ray took offence to Andy conducting the crowd… taking someone out of the crowd, so Andy made the fan stand in the corner as Sasa Keel’s new partner. AS THE BELL RINGS. Keel of course tags him in, but the fan wanted no part of it, and I don’t blame him one bit!
When we finally get going, Andy works over Kim Ray’s wrist and arm, before a side headlock was pushed off with Andy quickly coming back with a shoulder tackle to Ray. Kim tries a waistlock, then a side headlock, but Andy resists the shoulder tackle after he’d pushed free, eventually charging down Kim with a hattrick of his own shoulder tackles.
Sasa Keel tags in, reluctantly, as he demanded to face X-Pac… and he got his wish. Keel wants a Test of Strength, but X-Pac just crotch chops him… so Keel puts the boots to X-Pac instead, before X-Pac fought back and teased a Bronco Buster. Keel headed outside and ate a plancha instead, before Keel caught X-Pac and crotched him on the ring post.
Back inside, Kim Ray’s tagged in as he and Keel wore down X-Pac… who manages to sidestep a front kick from Keel in the corner before he tagged out to Andy. Andy bounces Kim Ray around with punches, ahead of a stalling suplex before Kim avoided an Absolute knee.
Escaping a F5, Ray shoves Andy into a kick from Keel on the apron, but it’s shrugged off as Andy headed outside to pull Keel onto the apron for a chop. Kim intervenes and holds on as Keel kicks Andy off the apron, before Kim’s kicks back inside earned him some chops. Keel’s back as Andy’s trapped in the corner, but a double clothesline stops Keel Holding in their tracks.
A tag brings back X-Pac, who ran wild with spinning heel kicks before a Bronco Buster waited for Kim Ray in the corner. Keel’s clothesline stops X-Pac, only for Absolute Andy to exchange strikes with Sasa ahead of a spinebuster. An X-Factor to Kim Ray and a F5 to Keel follow, and they eventually get the cover on Keel for the win. ***¼
Post-match, Andy finally crotch chops after giving the crowd a stern look…
Karsten Beck, Mason Ryan & Tyler Bate vs. Big Daddy Walter, John Klinger & Yoshihiro Takayama
Uhh, scrap what I said earlier about Fire Pro random button… what on EARTH is THIS match?
Beck threatens to walk out if the crowd’s not silent… he did, so in return Thommy Giesen relayed another threat: that he’d be stripped of the wXw title and Kevin Roadster would replace him in the match if he didn’t return. Beck sprinted back to the ring, and we get going with Beck laying into Walter.
Walter turns it around with a boot and a sit-out splash, before a bodyslam left Beck laying as John Klinger tagged in for some mounted punches in the corner. Getting free, Beck stops Klinger with a knee lift, before Mason Ryan came in to chop Klinger in the corner. Klinger chops back, before Ryan was tripped up into the ropes for a Drive By dropkick as Klinger ran from the floor.
Back inside, Ryan boots Klinger back down, then tagged in Tyler Bate… who celebrated a little too soon as Yoshihiro Takayama got tagged in. I think Tyler might have shat himself upon realising. Bate tries his luck with forearms, but Takayama doesn’t budge… he did give Tyler his wish for a Test of Strength, but Tyler can’t reach…
A big boot from Takayama has Bate down, as did a bodyslam, but Tyler’s up at two as Walter tagged in and scored with a dropkick as Bate was sent into the ropes. A stalling suplex follows, before Klinger tagged in and scored with a chop and a dropkick. Takayama’s back as Tyler’s being kept isolated, not helped when belly-to-belly suplexes flung him across the ring.
Another delayed suplex on Bate nearly ends things, but Tyler’s able to surprise Takayama with an Airplane Spin that dizzied both men. Beck tags in first and stops Takayama in his tracks, but a big boot took Beck down before Walter and Takayama peppered the champion with elbow drops.
Klinger’s in next to whip Bate into the corners ahead of a powerbomb, but Mason Ryan makes the save with a well-placed kick. Beck attacks Klinger next as Walter’s arguing with the ref – covering for Reich und Schön’s choking in the ropes – before a Mason Ryan powerslam almost put Klinger away. We keep going with a cheating abdominal stretch, which Tassilo Jung eventually kicks apart, before Klinger’s reversal was hiptossed away.
Ryan takes Klinger up top for a superplex, but it’s fought off as Klinger instead scored a missile dropkick. Walter’s in and runs wild with chops and clotheslines to Beck and Bate, before Marius van Beethoven and Kevin Roadster ran in… and got wiped out too. Beck can’t capitalise on the distraction as he eats a death valley driver for just a one-count, thanks to Ryan, as things began to break down a little.
Takayama and Walter combine to suplex Ryan, before they took him outside with a double clothesline as Klinger added a tope to knock the pile into the front row. Beck’s rolled back inside by Klinger, with the champion taking a beating from Walter, Klinger and Takayama, ending with a powerbomb from Walter for the win. ***½
Post-match, Vince Russo’s wandering out again… he feigns an apology, saying he thought Karsten Beck was championship material, and instead called Walter “the best.” Russo tries to get Walter on his side, but Walter didn’t want the blinding lights yet… and clotheslines Russo down. Thanks for coming, Vinny…
Marty Scurll vs. Matt Sydal
This was Sydal’s first time back in wXw since 2007 – almost eight years to the day of his last outing.
Exchanging wristlocks early on, things began somewhat even at least until Sydal had to counter some rolling crucifix pins. A Dragon screw has Sydal ahead briefly, as did an armdrag and a dropkick before a tijeras took things outside. Sydal’s dropkick through the ropes keeps things on the floor, while a Meteora off the apron led to the pair winding up a bit of the ref’s ten-count.
Back inside, Sydal’s slingshot sunset flip turns into a submission hold that ends in the ropes, before a Final Cut almost got the win. A finger snap quickly has Sydal on the defensive, while an attempted turnaround saw him land in the knees from a standing moonsault.
A Romero special follows as Sydal was rolled around the ring, while uppercuts and a trip to the middle turnbuckle had Sydal firmly in trouble. Sydal’s roll-up briefly stops some singing, before the pair exchanged chops and strikes as we went past the ten minute mark.
Sydal’s leaping knee buys him some time, as did a leaping rear spin kick before he scored with a diving double knee drop. A PK and a standing moonsault lands for a two-count, before a faked-out superkick took Sydal down to his knees. Albeit briefly, as a spinning heel kick got him back in control.
A Made in Japan’s elbowed away as Sydal quickly found himself having to fight out of a chicken wing set-up… countering out as he scored a Made in Japan for a near-fall. In response, Sydal took an inverted suplex and a diving uppercut for a near-fall, before another leaping knee followed after an attempted tornado DDT.
Sydal’s up top but has to abort a shooting star press as he ended up eating that tornado DDT seconds later… before a chicken wing ended with the pair bumping into the ref in the corner. A head kick from Sydal led to a visual pin, because he somehow thought the ref would miraculously recover, before we got the bullshit. Umbrella shot to the head, then a roll-up with a fistful of tights for a near-fall, before another Sydal turnaround saw him build up to a shooting star press for the win. ***
Superstars of Wrestling – night one – was a so-so show, as the mixture of names from the past and the existing wXw roster gelled about as well as you’d think. A time capsule of a show. Now, 2017 me has already reviewed night two – so our retro lookback will pick up with the next feature show… Broken Rulz!