Laurance Roman got his world title shot… but not the one he wanted as he teamed up with Robert Dreissker to go for the wXw tag titles in his home town.
Quick Results
Anil Marik pinned Zeritus in 3:07 (*½)
Levaniel pinned Elijah Blum to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship in 12:02 (***)
Bobby Gunns & Stephanie Maze pinned Anita Vaughan & OSKAR in 14:50 (***)
Baby Allison pinned Jane Nero in 5:24 (**)
Fast Time Moodo & Axel Tischer pinned Nick Schreier & Mike D Vecchio in 18:50 (***½)
Peter Tihanyi pinned Ahura in 15:19 (***)
Dennis Dullnig & Hektor Invictus pinned Laurance Roman & Robert Dreissker to retain the wXw World Tag Team Championships in 20:15 (***½)
— In the next week or so, I’ll be chatting about this show with Mike Kilby on the Auf Die Fresse podcast. You can find that episode (when it drops), as well as back episodes are available at AufDieFresse.co.uk
I’m trying to catch this live (with spotty internet) on stream from the Stromwerk in Dresden as wXw headed back out east. Sadly, the huge fan in the middle of the stage is no more… We’re watching the live German feed, with commentary from Mett Dimassi and Emil Völler. Wo Eli?
Anil Marik vs. Zeritus
Zeritus got a heck of a pop in Dresden…
Marik’s a little spooked by Zeritus at the start, and who wouldn’t be. He tries to ram Zeritus’ head into the buckles, but Zeritus just does it himself for fun, before an early crack at the Cadaver-Bomb was fought out of. Marik takes Zeritus into the ropes for a dropkick, then followed up with a double armbar stretch that was fought out of.
Overhand chops, then a Mongolian chop sting Marik before he retaliated with a Slingblade… a double-underhook DDT follows, and that’s the win. This was a really short outing that got Marik back in the winning column, but didn’t do much else. *½
Emil’s been replaced by Robin Christopher Fohrwerk on commentary for the main show alongside Mett Dimassi…
wXw Shotgun Championship: Elijah Blum vs. Levaniel (c)
Blum’s looking to regain the title that he lost at the 23rd Anniversary show in December… and Dresden were looking for a title change before the bell even went.
Commentary’s really underscoring the 15-minute time limit as we got going with Blum and Levaniel grappling on the mat. Blum worked an armbar on Levaniel, but the champion escapes and grabs a toe hold, only for Blum to get free and grab a side headlock as the back-and-forth continued.
Blum goes for a toe-hold next, then a bow-and-arrow hold, but Levaniel rolls free before he charged down Blum off the ropes. A crossbody from Blum helped to keep him in the match, as did a dropkick, forcing Levaniel to bail to the outside. Back inside, armdrags from Blum keep Levaniel grounded, before things headed into the corner as Levaniel landed some bodyblows.
Blum’s thrown into the middle rope to end some rope-running, allowing Levaniel to capitalise with a discus clothesline for a near-fall seconds later. Blum tries to retaliate with a hiptoss, but it’s stuffed and turned into an abdominal stretch as we buffer. Another hiptoss attempt’s blocked as a Levaniel clothesline dumps Blum to the mat, where almost a grounded Cobra twist awaited for him.
This time, Blum fought free, coming back with a hiptoss, before forearms took Levaniel into the ropes. Another dropkick has Levaniel rocked, ahead of a side Russian legsweep and a shotgun dropkick, before a cross-legged driver almost won it as we crept up to the ten minute mark.
Levaniel fought free of a Parting Gift and returned fire with a backbreaker, then with a John Cena-ish death valley driver for a near-fall. As the referee checked on Blum, Levaniel went to take off a turnbuckle pad… only to wander into an inside cradle seconds later for a near-fall. Blum tries for another shotgun dropkick, but he’s caught and slingshotted into the exposed corner before a Galactic Facecrusher ensured Levaniel retained the title. ***
Backstage, Emil’s with Nick Schreier and Mike D Vecchio – they’re teaming up for the first team against KXS tonight. Mike’s disappointed that Nick’s not bulked up in his time out injured. Nick protests that he didn’t want to add “dirty bulk,” but Mike D’s going to show him the way. Uh oh…
Anita Vaughan & OSKAR vs. Bobby Gunns & Stephanie Maze
The band’s back together after a run during Carat weekend, but they’ve got a heck of a test here against former champions in Gunns and Maze.
OSKAR and Gunns start us off, with OSKAR shoving down Gunns for fun in the early stages. Kicks from Gunns put a stop to that, before he tried his luck with shoulder tackles, only for OSKAR to charge right through him. More kicks from Gunns briefly had OSKAR in the corner, but the pair trade strikes back-and-forth ahead of a stand-off.
Tags bring in Maze and Vaughan, who couldn’t find an opening with lock-ups before Vaughan charged Maze down to the mat. Kicking out from pinning attempts sees Maze get back up before she began to pepper Vaughan with kicks to the chest, ahead of a trapped-arm clothesline that took the Irishwoman down to the mat.
Gunns tags back in to work over Vaughan’s arm, before Vaughan built herself up to start an exchange of forearms, before a blind tag in from OSKAR saw him… take some uppercuts before a double big boot took Bobby down. A diving kick from Gunns gets him free as Maze came in to unload with kicks, ending with a dropkick off the middle rope to OSKAR.
A head kick takes down Vaughan for a two-count – so I guess that blind tag earlier didn’t count – as Gunns and Maze began to isolate Anita in their corner, tagging in each other frequently as they went. A running kick from Gunns into the corner’s kicked away though as Vaughan made the tag out to OSKAR, who powered through Gunns with a shoulder tackle, ahead of a powerslam off the ropes for a near-fall.
Double-teaming from OSKAR and Vaughan led to a fallaway slam on Gunns from Vaughan, forcing Maze in to break up the cover. Maze low bridges OSKAR to the outside, then tagged in as she began to wear down Vaughan in the corner. Gunns is back for an Emerald Flowsion… before Vaughan was dumped with a bridging German suplex from Maze for a near-fall.
Vaughan ducks a Skyfall kick and retaliates with a discus forearm before tags got us back to OSKAR and Gunns… they tee off on each other again. A rebound German suplex is shrugged off by OSKAR, who returned fire with a lariat off the ropes… Vaughan’s back with Gunns on her shoulders, but a Skyfall kick from Maze stops OSKAR in his tracks before an inside cradle got Gunns the win as he prepared for the Fight Without Honor and Humanity in Leipzig tomorrow… ***
Jane Nero vs. Baby Allison
It’s Fohrwerk out, Emil in on commentary here… for the obvious reason, even though things are strained within High Performer Ltd. right now.
Nero grabs a side headlock early on, but Allison takes things to the mat with a headlock takedown before Nero came back with the same hold. A snapmare from Nero looked to lead to a PK, but Allison avoids it with a roll-up before she Matrix’d away from a forearm attempt. Nero returns fire with a Gourdbuster for a two-count, only for Allison to come back with a Thesz press and some punches.
A low dropkick gets Allison another two-count, as did a splits legdrop, before some headscissors ended in the ropes. Allison’s shotgun dropkick of the top follows, ahead of a release Northern lights suplex for another two-count as Nero found herself firmly on the defensive.
Just as I type that, Nero returned fire with a hanging neckbreaker in the ropes, before shoulder charges from Nero led to her clotheslining Allison out of another Matrix. A full nelson slam is next as Nero picked up another two-count, before Allison pushed out of a Twist of Fate and came back with a spear for the somewhat unpopular win. **
We’ve a promo from AMBOSS’ Laurance Roman, as he’s looking forward to winning the tag titles for the third time… but Robert Dreissker quickly steamrolls over him so he could remind us of the AMBOSS catchphrase. Tensions. Strained.
Mike D Vecchio & Nick Schreier vs. KxS (Axel Tischer & Fast Time Moodo)
Strange bedfellows on one side, and local(ish) lads on the other… and we’re two-for-two in tag matches today with the “Nelson Muntz/Martin Prince” vibe between partners.
Schreier and Moodo start us off, going back-and-forth on each other’s arms in the opening stages before Moodo stuffed a drop toe hold and eventually kick Schreier in the chest. Tischer’s in next to take Nick into the ropes with uppercuts, before he caught a crossbody attempt and… rocked Nick like a baby.
A waistlock from Schreier’s elbowed away, before he’s lifted onto the apron… returning in for some headscissors and a dropkick for a one-count on the Axeman. Tischer’s slam dumps Schreier into the corner as Mike D tagged into the match, then proceeded to confound Tischer with a monkey flip and a dropkick.
Moodo’s back in but he takes a tijeras as Mike was flipping all around the ring. Nick’s back as slams and dropkicks cleared the way for a two-count on Moodo, before Mike returned and wore out Moodo with chops. Tischer tags himself in as Moodo was held up for a back suplex, as KxS began to find a way back in with some double-teaming.
An elbow to the nose of Mike D gets Tischer a two-count, before he antagonised Schreier to distract the referee from a Moodo cheapshot. Kicks from Moodo have Mike on the mat, but Mike pops up Moodo to get him free – and bring back Schreier to try and push ahead. A tiger feint into an armdrag off the ropes has Nick ahead, as did a bulldog out of the corner… but Tischer rushes to stop Nick in the corner as a gamengiri from Moodo stopped Schreier in his tracks.
A top rope ‘rana from Moodo leads to a bad landing for Schreier, who got stretched on the mat afterwards. Double PKs from KxS sandwich Schreier, whose fightback saw him take Moodo and Tischer to the outside… but Tischer pulls Mike D off the apron to prevent a tag out.
Schreier takes a superkick-aided German suplex for a near-fall, while an axe kick-aided bodyslam helped Moodo on the way to another two-count. An enziguiri buys Schreier time, but Tischer tags in and dives on Schreier to delay a tag as Mike D finally got the hot tag in and looked to clear house. A spinning back suplex from Mike D dumps Tischer ahead of a moonsault off the top, but Moodo breaks up the cover before Schreier saved Mike from a Black Belt Kick.
From there, Schreier slams Moodo before he celebrated… and got press slammed into KxS on the floor. If it works, it works! Back inside, a lariat spins down Tischer before a crossbody off the top from Schreier almost won it. Mike’s back, but gets cornered pretty quickly by KxS, leading to a stomp-assisted Fireman’s carry gutbuster from Tischer, then a Made in Japan from Moodo for a near-fall…
Tischer heads up top, but gets crotched as Moodo’s clotheslined to the outside… before Mike’s running jump into a Spanish Fly almost won it as Moodo had to stomp aside the pin as the ring quickly looked like the after-effects of a car crash. All four men remain in the ring as Mike D again used Nick as a human weapon, but it backfires as Nick’s caught and powerbombed into a Moodo kick. In the end, a Horrible Slam from Tischer, before a kick-aided X-Plex gets the win for Moodo in a match that picked up steam at the end – but it’s KxS who leave with the win as Mike D’s starting to develop a bit of a losing run here. ***½
Ahura vs. Peter Tihanyi
Back from intermission, and we’ve Ahura’s first (televised) singles match since he made his surprise return at Carat.
When the match got going, Tihanyi quickly takes Ahura into the corner from a lock-up, before the pair went back-and-forth over a wristlock. Tihanyi offers his wrist, but Ahura kicks it away and slaps on a side headlock instead… getting shoved off as a shoulder tackle took down the Hungarian instead.
Trying to repeat the feat, Ahura goes back into the ropes, before he tripped up Tihanyi as he went for a shoulder tackle. Headlock takedowns, and escapes led to a roll-up from Ahura, before he was clotheslined to the outside by Tihanyi… who followed up with a tope into the front row. Back inside, a slingshot sunset flip sparks some see-saw pins between the two, before some body blows from Tihanyi looked to have Ahura retching.
Taking off his tracksuit jacket, Ahura lobs it in Tihanyi’s face, before he poked Tihanyi in the eye behind the ref’s back as he began to take control. A dropkick downs Tihanyi next, ahead of chops in the corner and a springboard missile dropkick as Ahura was finding his groove. Forearms and chops between the two see the pace pick up a little, as a Kitchen sink knee from Tihanyi took Ahura down.
Tihanyi’s trip up top led to a crossbody, but Ahura rolls through for a two-count, while a swinging DDT almost got the win. Ahura blocks a slingshot cutter, returning fire with rolling German suplexes and a front kick by the ropes for another near-fall. Ahura keeps going with roll-ups and backslides as he looked to sneak out the win, but Tihanyi refuses to stay down and instead tried to mount a comeback.
Ahura’s still about the roll-ups though, pushing Tihanyi to the edge before Ahura’s search for the flash pin saw him charge into a knock-out knee strike as Tihanyi picked up the elementary win. ***
wXw World Tag Team Championship: AMBOSS (Laurance Roman & Robert Dreissker) vs. Dennis Dullnig & Hektor Invictus (c)
This match wasn’t quite what Laurance had in mind when he wanted to go for the world title in Dresden…
Hektor and Roman get us going, trading wristlocks and side headlocks before Hektor charged Roman down off the ropes. A roll-up gets Hektor a one-count, before he was caught with a hiptoss and a headlock takedown by Roman. Dullnig tags in, but Roman opts against tagging out as he instead tried to do this by himself.
A blind tag brings in Hektor to land a slingshot spear on Roman for a two-count, as the obvious “Roman doesn’t trust Dreissker” story played out. We did get a tag in from Dreissker, who began working over Dullnig’s wrist… only for Dennis to reverse it with a wristlock of his own. Pushing free, a shoulder tackle from Dreissker turned it around, as did a slam and a back senton, before a dropkick from Dullnig took the world champion into the ropes.
Dreissker sidesteps as Dullnig was sent onto the apron, but Dullnig’s able to take Dreissker into the corners before Hektor was coaxed into more of the same before he got his foot up… and had Dreissker run into it. A quick turnaround sees Dreissker chuck Dullnig to the outside… but Roman refused to drop down to the floor and beat down Dullnig… forcing Dreissker to do his own dirty work.
Back inside, Dullnig looked to mount a comeback, prompting Dreissker to forcefully tag Roman back in. He’s quickly caught with an armdrag before Hektor came in to land some slams. Dreissker low bridges Dullnig to the outside as Roman shoved off a Twist of Fate… but Roman followed out to stop Dreissker from putting the boots in as the Carat winner wanted a clean win. Or at least, so it seemed…
Dreissker tries to stay on Dullnig as he charged him into the corner, while Roman’s grounded chinlock kept Dullnig down. A sliding lariat’s good for a two-count for Roman, before Dreissker tagged in to hit a slam and a splash for another two-count. Dullnig kicks Dreissker away, knocking the champion into Roman… sending him flying to the floor before a charging splash repeated the feat as Dullnig managed to play keepaway.
A suplex out of nowhere sends Dreissker flying as Hektor was waiting for the tag in… he gets it, and waited for Dreissker to get back to his feet, realising there’s no Roman (yet) to tag out to. Hektor’s charging clotheslines trapped Dreissker in the corner ahead of a powerslam out of the corner… a spinebuster’s next as Dreissker remained distracted by Roman still being out of action.
Dullnig’s back in… but a double Hektor-Knie instead gave way to the champions going all Bushwhacker on us with the battering ram. It eventually backfires as Dreissker kicked Hektor in the head, leaving Dullnig alone to eat a ripcord clothesline. Dullnig wants more of those as he tried to walk through them… eventually ducking the clotheslines before landing the Twist of Fate.
Roman’s finally back in to break up the pin, before he made the tag in to Dreissker, who was perturbed at Lauri wanting to follow the rules to a tee. They argue, leading to Hektor holding up Dreissker for a cheapshot… Roman kicks Hektor off the apron instead before a neckbreaker/back suplex combo laid out Dullnig. A Roman frog splash nearly wins it, but Hektor dove in to break up the pin as Roman continued to push on.
Roman just about kicks out of a 3D as Dreissker was nowhere to be seen… he pops back up as we almost had a repeat of last time out, with Roman breaking up the pin on the WrestleMania finish as he didn’t want a dodgy finish. A blindsided attack lays out Roman, who’d only just recovered from the concussion he’d gotten over ‘Mania weekend, but they don’t stop the match as instead Hektor booted Roman in the head, before a double Hektor-Knie got the win. A somewhat flat end to things, as Laurance Roman’s dreams of hometown gold fell apart… ***½
Post-match, Dreissker and Roman exited stage left as KxS made their way out to confront the champions. They’ve not lost since Carat, having racked up four wins in a row, before demanding a title shot – as they want to return to Dresden next time as tag champions.
All in all, True Colors ended up being a solid show that kept the story beats going – but without anything that’d trouble the proverbial notebooks.