WALTER. Daisuke Sekimoto. Ten years after their first meeting, the feud continues as wXw’s brief swing into Canada came to a close.
A day after Ambition, wXw returned to the Midtown Event Theatre for their “main show” debut in Canada. Your main event here’s a rematch of what some called the greatest wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship match of all time – as WALTER takes on Daisuke Sekimoto.We open with a recap of Timothy Thatcher winning Shortcut to the Top, before Timothy bumped into Bobby Gunns backstage. Bobby seems a little annoyed that Thatcher disappeared then took a shortcut… but Thatcher’s got a long memory. He remembers when Bobby tried to put his eye out with a lit cigarette, as he’s getting ready to encroach on Gunns’ turf.
Cue a video package for wXw’s Canada debut, as we’ve got a rematch from 16 Carat Gold last year… and an Ambition superfight rematch… on top of Sekimoto vs. WALTER in the main event. Thommi Giesen is your ring announcer, this time not trolling the fans in German…
Julian Pace vs. Brent Banks vs. Daniel Makabe vs. CIMA
We get the full/new Julian Pace intro here. You can’t stop him now. It’s a AC Milan kinda day for Daniel Makabe, but with all due respect to everyone in this match, CIMA kinda sticks out like a sore thumb here.
Makabe charges into CIMA with a dropkick at the bell, before clearing out Banks as Julian Pace began to confound with the Vollgas misdirection and a double dropkick. CIMA’s back as we’re in the revolving door effect, as he uses a suplex to Makabe, then Banks to help with his Indian deathlock on Pace. Makabe misses a dropkick in the corner as he’s sent outside, allowing CIMA to come back as he… ran into a dropkick from Banks. Brent goes for a dive, but Makabe’s back to annoy again, catching Banks with a forearm and an Octopus stretch. Julian Pace comes back, but he’s caught in the ropes as Makabe gave him a taste of the same move… until CIMA slapped it apart.
CIMA’s thrown outside as Makabe decides to dive on him… followed by Banks, who landed on his feet, then finally Julian Pace, who slipped on the turnbuckle as he crashed and burned to the floor. Julian’s okay as he’s back to confuse in the ropes before a double neckbreaker put down CIMA and Banks… as Makabe again came in to take the Final Lap for a near-fall. Banks tries to pick his spot, taking Pace to the outside with a boot before he used Sliced Bread on CIMA.
A Blue Thunder Bomb nearly puts Pace away as Makabe again returned to break it up, eventually folding Banks to the mat in Cattle Mutilation. That left him open for a double-stomp from CIMA as a Titanic nearly earned the win… before the Schwein and a Meteora put Makabe away. Some fun, fast-paced stuff to get us going, straying far from the usual “two-in, two-out” format that four-ways have a habit of falling into. ***¼
Another Shortcut to the Top replay shows how Schadenfreude dealt with Ivan Kiev to keep the RISE feud going… backstage, Lucky Kid’s with Ivan, as we’re without English subtitles. I have a feeling that Schadenfreude hoodie might be the only top Lucky owns these days… From what I could understand, Lucky asked for a match with Pete Bouncer at FAN in Hamburg next month.
They replay Emil Sitoci walking out on Avalanche at Drive of Champions, and then how Avalanche cost him during that four-way title match later on that night. Curiously there’s nothing from their interactions at the Shortcut to the Top match…
wXw Shotgun Championship: Emil Sitoci (c) vs. Avalanche
As you’d expect, Avalanche made a beeline for Sitoci, attacking him at the bell as the Dutchman was flung into the air with a back body drop. A big splash quickly followed for a two-count as Sitoci was almost laughing it off.
A pop-up chokeslam out of the corner gets Sitoci another back senton, as Avalanche clotheslines him outside where the brawl continued. A splash against the ring post keeps Sitoci on the defensive, but Avalanche goes to the well once too often and eats the post, before Sitoci used the same steel to wrap Avalanche’s arm around. Back inside, Sitoci keeps the focus on Avalanche’s left arm, following in with a DDT for a two-count before he dropped a knee on that same limb. Sitoci throws in some biting as well, before a side Russian legsweep and a split-legged moonsault followed… but Avalanche got his knees up and began to charge through Sitoci using his (weakened) left shoulder.
Sitoci heads up top but he just bounces off of Avalanche with a crossbody, as a Samoan drop followed for a quick two-count. A Dreissker Bomb looked to follow, but Sitoci popped up and shoved him over the top rope to the floor, before he joined him out there with a pescado. There’s some stomping in the aisle from Sitoci, who looked to be happy to take a count-out… only for Avalanche to throw him right back in. Another Dreissker Bomb attempt ends badly as Sitoci rolls away, before he went for a chair… it’s removed by the ref, as a Snapmare Driver’s used for the win, and that’s as clean as we’ll see Sitoci win these days. Decent match, but the crowd didn’t seem to be up on this feud at all… ***
They replay Amale getting herself DQ’d at Shortcut to the Top. Toni Storm was meant to have been facing her again, but an injury means she’s off the show. Backstage, Amale complains to Karsten Beck, but she’s threatened with suspension after she attacked the ref. Amale promises it’ll never happen again, and once more, she’s buttered up Karsten to get her own way.
We see Mike Schwarz getting a can of beer slapped out of his hands by Marius al-Ani…before Marius got eliminated from Shortcut to the Top by Schwarz and Sha Samuels. Backstage. Mike and Karsten are speaking… but Marius interrupts and my German language skills let me down.
LuFisto vs. Allysin Kay vs. Amale
Allysin’s the replacement for the injured Toni Storm, and she’s brought her SHINE and NWA Women’s title belts with her. Neither of those, nor Amale’s wXw women’s title, was on the line here.
The three-way starts with a lock-up that saw everyone turn on LuFisto, only for her to come back with a double clothesline as a craft back elbow sent Kay to the outside. Kay’s back in to stomp on LuFisto into the corner, allowing Amale to come in with before a whip took LuFisto back into the turnbuckles for a face-washing boot. The double-teaming finally gets the crowd to cheer for LuFisto, as she was tied up in the ropes for Kay to kick away on her… after she admonished the crowd for not chanting for “their” LuFisto. They spill outside where LuFisto finally begins to fight back, tripping Kay onto the apron ahead of a boot to the head. That gets her a two-count back inside, only for Kay to respond with a neckbreaker… as Amale tried to steal the pin, and you can guess what’s next. The bad guys argue and explode as Amale and Allysin trade blows on the top rope… until LuFisto triggered the Tower of Doom.
All three women trade shots from their knees as they resorted to double-teaming LuFisto… only to accidentally hit each other as LuFisto fought back in with a teardrop suplex to Kay. Amale tries to break up the pun, but just elbowed Allysin. There’s a Saito suplex from Amale to LuFisto for a near-fall as we’re back to the near-falls, with Kay almost ending Amale with a Jig ‘n’ Tonic, before a late flurry saw Amale pick up the win with the Champion’s Maker on LuFisto. Not helped by the crowd, this was okay, but never really got going unfortunately. **½
Veit Müller is backstage somewhere with Bobby Gunns. Veit’s still looking for his promised match with Gunns… but he gets nothing but excuses as Bobby’s reneging on the agreement. Bobby defends his recent change in attitude as Karsten Beck walks in, and promises to let the fans decide if Bobby should defend his title against Veit in Hamburg at FAN. That could be quite the enticing match – “the local matador” against a man whose unbeaten run in Hamburg should guarantee him a reaction… even if it’s not the one he wants..
wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship: Mike Bailey vs. Bobby Gunns (c)
Last time these two met, it was for the Shotgun title as Bobby Gunns taped “Speedball”’s fingers back on himself en route to a successful defence over 16 Carat Gold weekend last year.
The pair leap into each other with forearms at the bell, before Bailey lifted Gunns onto the apron… only to get pulled outside as he looked for a dive. More uppercuts follow on the outside, as Gunns began to wrench away on Bailey’s wrist and fingers… but thankfully a stomp on the apron misses as Bailey pulls Gunns to the floor.
The Golden Triangle moonsault followed as Bailey took Gunns down, before he took the match back inside for a frog splash that earned him a near-fall. Gunns sidesteps a running kick into the corner as he began to tweak away on Bailey’s foot and toes, following in with a Dragon screw out of the corner. A grounded single leg crab from Gunns ends in the ropes, but a second Dragon screw yanks Bailey to the mat as Gunns built up a head of steam. There’s a release German suplex that almost lands badly for Bailey, before Gunns diving European uppercut out of the corner led to a near-fall.
Gunns switches tactics, using a leg lace to force Bailey into the ropes… but Speedball tries to fight back, only to get caught with a big boot. A diving knee gets him back in it, as do some kicks as he chopped Gunns down to size ahead of a running corkscrew press for a near-fall. Problem was, Bailey’s insistence on kicks backfired as he got caught with a Dragon screw through the ropes as Gunns took the match outside and onto the stage, where Gunns tweaked the fingers some more. Gunns headed backstage and came back with… tape! Hey, I know this one. Gunns snaps Bailey’s fingers back, but Bailey fought back, taking Gunns down and landing a moonsault knee drop in the cramped aisle. Now the referee started the count as Bailey ran into the ring… and while Gunns seemed to be happy to take a count-out, flipping off the crowd, Bailey dove onto him to keep the match going.
Throwing Gunns back inside, Bailey unloads with some more kicks, only to get caught with German suplex. He’s right back up with a receipt, before a missed PK earned him another German suplex as Gunns drew a near-fall. Gunns cowers from kicks, but gets caught anyway, as the match looked to get a little more even. Bailey kicks Gunns off the top as he proceeded to prepare for some shooting star knees, but he too is caught and sent flying with an avalanche Exploder before a lariat spun Bailey inside out for a near-fall. The perceived slow-count seemed to rattle Gunns, who looked to take a page out of Amale’s playbook by going for the referee, eventually using Rainer Ringer as a human shield as he tried to pin Bailey with a figure four cradle.
Somehow, Bailey reverses it for a near-fall, before catching Gunns in a moonsault/fallaway slam for a near-fall. More kicks looked to follow, but Gunns “snaps” the ankle before he tied up Bailey in an armbar/single leg crab combo for the submission. Some of the crowd booed that, as Gunns’ slow-burn turn continues to be evident – but when that switch finally flips all the way, it’s going to be quite the scene. ***½
Backstage, Veit Müller and Timothy Thatcher are with Thommi Giesen. Thatcher’s a little wistful over how his 16 Carat Gold ended, but he’s looking to the World Tag Team Festival weekend that he’s booked himself solid on. Thatcher addresses how Veit stands for the beliefs of RINGKAMPF, even though those who claim to do so aren’t around anymore. Thommi brings up Veit’s inclusion in the vote for a title shot at FAN, and how it potentially could circle back to him fighting and teaming with Thatcher in Oberhausen.
They replay the footage of Leon Van Gasteren left laid out in the toilets at Shortcut to the Top… Julian Pace is with Karsten Beck asking about it all. The Pretty Bastards are also there, and I’ve a feeling they’re more involved than they’re letting on. Remember, Julian and Leon “took” their spot at Tag Festival, largely because of Prince Ahura’s underperforming…
Timothy Thatcher vs. Yuki Ishikawa
Over 16 Carat Gold, Thatcher lost to Ishikawa as part of his luckless weekend. This time it’s under regular wrestling rules, so let’s see if that changes things.
They look up somewhat tentatively as Ishikawa took Thatcher down to the mat, where things looked a little Ambition-y, with Thatcher looking for a single leg crab, only to be thwarted by a leg lock from Ishikawa. Thatcher keeps it on the mat, but Ishikawa gets his leg lock on, and keeps it on as Thatcher had to dive for the ropes to force a break. Thatcher tries his luck with a full nelson next, before he switched his focus to the arm ashe keeps Ishikawa on the mat. A pinning attempt backfires as Ishikawa kicks out and goes in with some headscissors on the mat, switching it into an armbar, then a knee bar as Thatcher again had to get to the ropes for a break.
Ishikawa tries to pull Thatcher back into his guard, but instead goes back to the legs… this time with Thatcher grabbing a heel hook. Somehow, Ishikawa’s able to roll out into a leg grapevine as he shot in for a side headlock, eventually landing with some more grounded headscissors that Thatcher escaped as Ishikawa had to go to the ropes this time. They’re back on their feet, but not for long as Ishikawa rolls Thatcher down… only to get slapped in the chest as Thatcher responded with a single leg crab. A rope break saves Ishikawa, so Thatcher dives in with a European uppercut to the back, then an elbow drop for a two-count, before he looked to catch Ishikawa in a triangle armbar. It almost led to Thatcher getting pinned though, although he got his shoulder up and squeezed the triangle in harder, before Ishikawa punched his way free. If by free you mean “into Thatcher getting on top for some punches”.
A quick switcharound has Ishikawa on top, before Thatcher’s inside cradle earned him a near-fall as he tried to build up momentum. He’s caught with a backslide for a near-fall as Ishikawa rolled out into a Fujiwara armbar, before Thatcher rolled free and drilled Ishikawa with some knees. There’s a deadlift side Salto suplex next, which gets Thatcher a two-count, before he went back to the Fujiwara armbar, forcing Ishikawa to the rope with his feet for the latest break.
After a butterfly suplex, Thatcher goes back to the arm, this time using a Keylock… but Ishikawa rolls out of trouble… then back in as Thatcher used some uppercuts before he had to fight out of a chicken wing. Instead, Ishikawa got him on the mat as the pair scrambled again, ending with Thatcher’s cross armbar traditioning into one more Fujiwara armbar for the win. Depending on how you like your wrestling, this’ll either be as dry as sticks or an utterly absorbing match – for me, it was the latter, as Thatcher got his win back from Ambition in March. ****
Backstage, Alexander James and Jurn Simmons talk about how Jurn blitzed through Shortcut to the Top – even if he didn’t quite win the match. James says that the Crown are going to show why they’re the top team in wXw. That segues into a replay of how Aussie Open lost the tag titles at Shortcut to the Top, then a chat with WALTER and Ilja Dragunov with Karsten Beck. Karsten demands that WALTER appears in Hamburg to defend the tag titles… or else they’ll be stripped. I think he made the same threat for them to appear over the entire World Tag Team Festival, only for WALTER and Ilja to say that they’ll only appear to defend them on night three… in the final. At least, that was my iffy translation of it their threat.
Aussie Open are backstage licking their wounds as they talk about no longer being the champions. They promise to win the belts back at FAN, and then go into World Tag Team Festival to successfully defend the titles. We fade out and in as Valkyrie promises to return at FAN.
The Crown (Alexander James & Jurn Simmons) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. Strong Hearts (El Lindaman & T-Hawk)
For some reason Lindaman was miming the belt… even though this wasn’t a title match anymore for the obvious reasons. Instead, we’re getting this under tornado rules, which guarantees bedlam from the start.
Things quickly settled down as the Crown were taken outside, before we were left with Lindaman and Fletcher, which led to Kyle popping up Lindaman in a pancake. In response, Lindaman slammed Kyle, only for the Crown to slide back in to attack the pair of them. They’re sent outside again as T-Hawk and Mark Davis traded barbs, with chops going back and forth until the Crown again interjected themselves.
James and Jurn hit the ring to ground T-Hawk with some punches, before a suplex throw and a diving European uppercut drew a near-fall. The Crown keep the ring clear so they can continue to double-team T-Hawk, but they lost track of Fletcher, who leapt in with a crossbody, before he got popped up into an uppercut for a near-fall. A double armbar stretch followed as Kyle was in trouble, with the Crown again double-teaming him while keeping the ring clear.
Davis manages to get in as a double-team Go to Sleep and an assisted Aussie Arrow has Jurn down for a near-fall, before Lindaman ran in to save Jurn from a Fidget Spinner. Lindaman goes wild with German suplexes, before he took Davis into the ropes ahead of a final German suplex as the Strong Hearts finally looked, erm, strong. T-Hawk pancakes Fletcher for a near-fall. Alexander James tries to get back in, but he’s bounced via a T-Hawk suplex before Jurn came in and dropped him with a chokeslam. Lindaman got flapjacked into T-Hawk, while Fletcher took a spinebuster, leaving just Dunkzilla behind as he ended up taking a double-team chokeslam for a near-fall. T-Hawk tries to come back in, but slips off the top rope into a punch as Aussie Open again go for a Fidget Spinner, only for the Strong Hearts to come back as they looked for a Doomsday Device on Fletcher.
James breaks that up, eventually giving a German suplex to T-Hawk before a curb stomp from Jurn got the Crown the win. A hectic three-way tag, but like with a lot of this show, was hurt by the crowd not really reacting to it. The Crown continued to look strong, and I’d have to have them down as favourites to go far in World Tag Team Festival, regardless of any potential format changes. ***½
Outside, Emil Sitoci tells us he’s done beating Avalanche and wants to be left in peace. Avalanche isn’t happy with that, but he’s spoken to Karsten Beck who’s letting the fans decide what kind of match Avalanche gets as he’s gotten himself another shot at FAN.
Daisuke Sekimoto vs. WALTER
We reviewed their much hyped 2012 match earlier this week – and hopefully this crowd isn’t going to dampen things. Duelling chants before the bell certainly suggest that’ll not be the case!
There’s a tentative start as Sekimoto took WALTER into the ropes, before a series of headlock takedowns and escapes led us to a stand-off. Another tie-up ends in the corner as Daisuke faked out a chop, before WALTER returned the favour, only to boot Sekimoto in the gut. Shoulder tackles follow as Sekimoto charges into WALTER, eventually sending him outside after the Austrian’d done a leapfrog that frankly went underappreciated. On the outside, Sekimoto follows up with chops, with WALTER eventually replying to leave Sekimoto on the floor. Sekimoto beats the count-out, but quickly gets his neck trapped and twisted between WALTER’s legs.
A brief fightback ended with a forearm from WALTER, who looked to trap him in a camel clutch ahead of another neck twist, as Sekimoto again looked to fire up… only for WALTER to drop him with a simple European uppercut. After getting pulled to his feet by his hair, Sekimoto’s quickly thrown down with a double underhook suplex as WALTER picked up a two-count, before a side headlock and a modified cravat forces Sekimoto to scrawl to the ropes.
Sekimoto tries his luck with a suplex, but WALTER resists before spinning out for a chop… only for Sekimoto to get it off at the second attempt. With WALTER in the corner, Sekimoto charges before he mounted the ropes for a crossbody, taking WALTER down for a solid two-count. Lariats follow, with Sekimoto and WALTER going back-and-forth with clotheslines and German suplexes until both men were left laying. Back to their feet, the pair trade forearms, as Sekimoto edged ahead with rapid-fire elbows until WALTER retaliated with a Sambo suplex for a two-count. WALTER tries to follow that up with a powerbomb, but Sekimoto sandbags to defend against it, before his attempt at a slam got countered into a tombstone piledriver by WALTER.
From there, WALTER follows up with a snapping powerbomb for a near-fall, only for Sekimoto to find enough in him to reply with a deadlift German. A lariat takes WALTER back down, as Sekimoto teases a powerbomb of his own instead having to settle for another lariat. Sekimoto heads up top, but gets caught again before he slipped out and finally got that powerbomb off… following straight up with a Sharpshooter as WALTER did his “almost tap” deal” ahead of grabbing the rope. The crowd booed that, so Sekimoto just picks up and slams WALTER like he were nothing, following up with an easy frog splash before missing a back elbow off the top. Chops from WALTER wait for him, as does a rear naked choke, then a chicken wing before he spun Sekimoto into a big boot. One Fire Thunder Driver later… and that’s the win for WALTER. As hard-hitting as you’d expect, but you got the sense a lot of this crowd weren’t all that up on the history of this match. A real good outing, but in front of a “home” wXw crowd this’d have been a lot hotter. ****¼
After the match, WALTER stayed behind to offer a handshake to Sekimoto… and got a hug in return. I don’t think he was expecting that…
We’re not done yet though, as Sekimoto exited stage left, while WALTER asked for the mic. He thanked the crowd, addressed his long-term feud with Sekimoto… then told the crowd that they were a disgrace and didn’t deserve to see him. I was wondering when he’d get them on his back. WALTER called himself the last wrestler who holds the independent scene together… then said that he’d leave the scene because he’s bigger than everyone.
Yes, he said the I word. He tells the crowd to go, only for David Starr (who’s really leaning into his pornstache) to turn up and lay into WALTER. A rebound German sent the Austrian flying ahead of a tope as WALTER ends up high-tailing it out of the venue. David Starr’s doing the post-Montreal Owen Hart stuff, and I’m here for it!
As a show, wXw Toronto was solid, but also hurt a lot by a crowd that didn’t seem to be up to speed on storylines – and as such, rather than not react “the wrong way” were seemingly silent for large stretches on the VOD. Then again, with a crowd not much more than you’d get for some Inner Circle shows (reportedly a little over 200, according to the Wrestling Observer), perhaps it was to be expected. In short: a good show, but try not to judge this on the crowd’s (lack of) reactions.