Yota Tsuji returned to wXw to headline against Peter Tihanyi – on a night where Quick and Dirty evoked memories of some other famous Hamburger Jungs.
Quick Results
Katsuya Murashima pinned Rambo in 7:55 (**¾)
Luca de Leone & Nordino pinned Alex Duke & Aleksander Bellamy in 8:39 (**½)
Axel Tischer vs. Dennis Dullnig ended in a 15:00 time limit draw – Axel Tischer retains the wXw Shotgun Championship (***¼)
Ahura pinned Aytac in 5:52 (***)
Marc Empire & Robert Dreissker pinned Niklas Bock & Hugo Brand to retain the wXw World Tag Team Championships in 13:53 (***¾)
Laurance Roman & Zoltan pinned Elijah Blum & Nick Schreier in 20:05 (***½)
Yota Tsuji pinned Peter Tihanyi in 28:38 (****¼)
— Check out the Auf Die Fresse podcast for further wXw coverage. Links to stream are available at AufDieFresse.co.uk
We’re back at the packed Markthalle in Hamburg as wXw presented a changed-up card from what was originally announced – with Metehan’s injury scrapping his and Rambo’s title match, and shaking up the undercard. Mett Dimassi’s flying solo on this one for English commentary.
Katsuya Murashima vs. Rambo
Murashima had a change of opponent here, with Aleksander Bellamy being moved elsewhere on the card… so he gets the freed-up Rambo instead.
Rambo opted to soak in das Powercrowd’s cheers at the bell, as we quickly moved to the pair testing each other with shoulder tackles. Murashima thought he’d won out, but Rambo was back up to land one of his own, before the pair went tit-for-tat on bodyslams ahead of a back suplex that finally put Rambo ahead.
A snap suplex from Rambo shut down at attempted comeback from Murashima, who responded with some uppercuts as he looked to avoid falling too far behind. Pulling Rambo out of the corner, Murashima tries for a Giant Swing… but it’s rolled out of as a powerslam instead planted Rambo for a near-fall.
Rambo responds instantly with a tiltawhirl slam, then with a suplex throw as Murashima looked to be in trouble. An Exploder landed the on-excursion Murashima in deeper trouble… as did a pop-up powerbomb as Murashima looked to be outclassed here. He’s back up to stop Rambo on the top rope, but ended up avoiding a big splash before catching out Rambo with a cutter.
From there, Murashima heads up top to land a flip senton… and that’s your lot. This was a fun sprint of a match, as Murashima still gets it done in under ten. **¾
10/10 Next Level (Aleksander Bellamy & Alex Duke) vs. CSI (Luca de Leone & Nordino)
Another rebooked match here, and a rematch from Leipzig last month. CSI’s quite popular in Hamburg, with Luca having doodled on a match poster for this… and they too have joined the wXw New Gear Club.
Arm wringers between Nordino and Bellamy started us off, before we delved into the Three Stooges comedy of the pair stomping on the other’s toes, which wound up with a pratfall from Bellamy. Nordino needs to work on his elbow pad catching as Luca set up for a Figaro Elbow, then a double-team suplex before Bellamy held the CSI poster hostage as cover for a blindside attack from Alex Duke.
Duke’s suplex nearly ends it, as did Bellamy’s Michinoku driver as Nordino was taking a beating. Eventually Nordino fought free and made the tag into de Leone, whose back cracker looked to set up for a second figaro elbow… but Bellamy stops it, before he fought for the CSI flag. That distracted the referee, allowing Alex Duke to sneak out and grab a chair… but his attempt to outsmart de Leone backfires again as referee Tassilo Jung eventually spotted the chair as Luca’d gone all Eddie Guerrero again. This time, we’re not calling what we don’t see, but Luca’s roll-up with a handful of tights gets the job done as CSI gets another one over Next Level. **½
Earlier today, Dann Mallman’s outside the Markthalle with Quick & Dirty – Niklas Bock made his debut for wXw here earlier in the year, and this time Bock & Brand have gotten a title shot thanks to the card changes. Bock had been due to tag with Ahura before things were reshuffled…
wXw Shotgun Championship: Dennis Dullnig vs. Axel Tischer (c)
Dullnig’s looking to regain the title he lost in Dresden – but his run of losses since then on house shows perhaps puts him in a bad spot.
Dullnig tried to back off at the bell, and when he did engage, it went poorly as Tischer booted him to the outside… where Dullnig fell into a fan’s lap as he was dragged around ringside by the champion. Back inside, a delayed spinning slam took Dullnig down, before Dullnig messed with the ring apron… and created a cover for him to rake Tischer’s eyes as the ref was distracted.
That opening allowed Dullnig to hit Tischer in the back of the head, before Dullnig busted out the old school “up yours” gesture. From there, he began to work over Tischer’s arm as a set up for a backbreaker that almost won him his title back at the five-minute mark. Tischer was reduced to snatching at straws in terms of openings for a while, before an X-Plex caught out Dullnig who’d gotten too cocky too quickly.
Tischer added a running European uppercut as his second wind saw him hit a half-hatch suplex, then a flying clothesline to Dullnig for a super near-fall. A German suplex brought an end to a scrappy spell, but Tischer couldn’t quite get the bridge up, allowing Dullnig to kick out before he countered a Horrible Slam into a brainbuster.
Dullnig’s gutwrench powerbomb got him close to the win as we entered the final four minutes, which saw Dullnig up the ante with strikes ahead of a rebound suplex using the top rope for extra bounce. It’s good for a two-count, before Tischer’s comeback led to him accidentally booting referee Felix Schulz… with some help from Dennis Dullnig. With no ref, Dullnig tries to use the Shotgun title… only to low blow Tischer and hit a leaping Flatliner. We’re still without a referee as we were in the final 45 seconds, so Dullnig’s long visual pin meant nothing as time ran out on the match. Post-match, Dullnig stomped on the ref some more before storming out in a petulant fit as his tactic backfired once more. ***¼
Aytac vs. Ahura
We last saw Aytac in wXw in January, losing to M4… and you’ve got to go back to the pandemic era tapings for his last singles win in wXw. Something tells me he’s not knocking off Ahura here.
Aytac jumped Ahura before the bell, and stayed on the Gold King when the match properly got underway, squashing him with a back senton for an early two-count. Chops from Aytac lit up Ahura for good measure, before yet another back senton almost ended a match that was decidedly going one way.
Aytac pulls a Pascal Spalter, sitting on Ahura like a toilet seat before a sliding clothesline again drew a near-fall… but Aytac went to the well once too often and saw his back senton get kicked away. From there, Ahura busts out some chops before a discus elbow and a Destino laid out the former EZEL henchman.
A missile dropkick from Ahura takes Aytac outside for an eventual Divine Sandstorm towards the stage steps, before a Salamandra back inside got the win. This was a match of two halves – Aytac getting his digs in in the first half, only to get squashed in the second, as we all bide out time on how long Ahura takes to want to add something else to his current haul. ***
wXw World Tag Team Championship: Quick & Dirty (Niklas Bock & Hugo Brand) vs. Planet Gojirah (Robert Dreissker & Marc Empire) (c)
Quick & Dirty were the biggest beneficiaries of the card change, as they walked into a title match here… and will be looking to do better than they did in Oberhausen in March where they got blitzed. Needless to say, Quick & Dirty were over here.
A jump start from Quick & Dirty caught out the champions as Bock & Brand tried to make the most of their start, taking down Dreissker and Empire. Niklas Bock pulled out his iPhone to shoot some stuff for his blog, but Dreissker snatches the phone and busted Bock open with it. That’s the trouble with those iPhones, it’s the damn broken screens…
Brand’s in as Dreissker continued to wear down the challengers, stopping only to beat down the bloodied Bock on the floor. Hugo tries to make a save, but Planet Gojirah overwhelm him as Dreissker smothered Brand with a chinlock. Brand fought free, but a clothesline quickly dumped him back to the mat before Empire worked went after the shoulder.
Eventually, Brand scored with a crossbody off the top as Bock dragged himself back to the apron… and got the tag in. A kip up helps him evade an Empire clothesline before a Code Red almost stole the win as Planet Gojirah came within a hair’s breadth of dropping the titles. Recovering, Empire’s powerbombs folded Bock in half before Dreissker came in to try and reopen Bock’s wound. Bock has to ‘rana past Empire before making the tag back out to Brand, whose neckbreaker created a new opening for him… as did a spinebuster… but a Gojirah double-team ending with a one-armed spinebuster turned the match back on its head.
Bock’s somehow able to break up a pin from that, but Brand’s unable to make fresh inroads and almost fell to a double-team Beast Buster. Planet Gojirah’s dream of a Power Plex faded as Brand countered out with a sunset bomb to Dreissker, before Brand’s frog splash almost caused the upset… and at that point you felt that the dream was dead, despite das Powercrowd’s increased fervour. Seconds later, Dreissker threw Bock into Brand ahead of a death valley driver… before Empire’s big splash off the top sealed the win. The air just evaporated out of the Markthalle with that after a match that, on paper, you’d have given Quick & Dirty no hope of winning… but the Hamburg crowd’s backing had me buying every single thing here. You kind of need to have Quick & Dirty on the roster somewhat regularly before they can do the Hamburg title shot here again, and I’m not saying they’re at the same level as Mack or Junior yet, but they very well could be the modern day equivalent of Hot & Spicy given their reactions here. ***¾
Elijah Blum & Nick Schreier vs. Laurance Roman & Zoltan
Nick Schreier came out to the Grind’s music, but Roman went back to his old singles theme. No, not “Hey, wir woll’n die Waschbärn sehn”… and that choice seemed to piss off Schreier.
Tensions bubbled over between Schreier and Roman as their aggression started the match, but it’s Roman who used his experience to smother Schreier in the early going. Eventually, Schreier reversed the armbar and broke free, before telling Roman to bring his new protege in… which he eventually did.
Zoltan instantly threw Schreier down with a waistlock takedown, then with a headlock takedown, before some misdirection and a dropkick had Schreier bailing for a tag of his own. Blum’s early exchanges saw him outsmart Zoltan with a dropkick, before he cornered Zoltan so he and Schreier could wear down the new European champion.
Mounted punches from Schreier led to Hamburg reviving the old Mack Mack chant for Nick, but in amid it all we missed a blind tag from Roman, who shut down his tag partner with a back elbow. That turnaround led to Schreier getting isolated by Roman and Zoltan… but Roman was literally having to yell at Zoltan to be aggressive, such was that not the Hungarian’s usual way of working.
Roman opts to take over himself, dropping Schreier with a pendulum backbreaker before giving Zoltan another shot, but this time Schreier’s able to break out of the corner and hit a satellite DDT to buy himself time. Blum’s hot tag helps clear the way, with a moonsault crashing into Roman for a two-count before Roman escaped a Parting Gift. A back body drop helps Blum back into it as he rolled through into a Parting Gift for a near-fall, before Roman slipped out of a Total Depravity and booted off Blum’s head. From there, the swinging DDT almost gets Roman the win, before Zoltan came in to help as Roman’s front slam and Zoltan’s rolling thunder splash forced Schreier in to break things up.
We’re back to Roman and Schreier trading blows… Zoltan tried to interject, but he’s tripped into the ropes as Schreier was able to add a Tiger feint kick, before a double-team slam with Blum would have won it, had Schreier not been thrown onto the pile to break up the pin. Blum takes a missile dropkick for Schreier, allowing Nick to stay somewhat even as a frantic exchange saw Roman pop up from a Destroyer to hit Schreier with a forearm… Blum’s Total Depravity to Roman sees him land in place for a splash from Zoltan that almost nicked the win.
With all four men still in the ring, we’re trading shots until Zoltan’s springboard cutter earned him a Blum shotgun dropkick. Roman snuck in another blind tag in there, but opted not to save Zoltan from a Total Depravity and instead cracked Blum with an overhead kick before the Burning Nail piledriver sealed the win. WELL THEN. I wasn’t expecting Roman to get a pin over the champion here, especially seconds after showing his (ahem) true colours to allow Zoltan to take a hit for him. It’s not quite the days of AMBOSS Pitbull Laurance Roman, but this Roman’s pushed away any doubts over where his mind was after the months of dissent between he and Nick, who sadly came out of this looking like a distant fourth in this set-up. ***½
Peter Tihanyi vs. Yota Tsuji
It’s been over three years since Yota Tsuji has been in wXw – and a lot’s happened for him in those years, returning to Japan to win the New Japan Cup in 2024, before winning and losing the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Global titles in the last 18 months. Whirlwind.
Tsuji tried to dart at Tihanyi with a bicycle knee, but the Hungarian avoided that… and a Gene Blaster all within the opening 20 seconds as the pair set the tone real early on. They slowed things down by playing to the crowd, which shockingly wasn’t a ruse for a cheapshot, as the pair instead resumed chipping away at each other.
Tihanyi took a gut punch as he was expecting a chop, with Tsuji’s follow-up gutbuster perhaps signalling his plan of attack for this. Tsuji gave Tihanyi his chops moments later, which das Powercrowd liked, especially since it led to some back and forth that showed that Tsuji’d had much more practise with his chops.
Tsuji’s attempt to slow thing down with a chinlock ended badly as Tihanyi took him to the outside with a clothesline… Yota’s landed right next to the cosplay Hulk Hogan fan, but Tihanyi saves him from that fate by punching him. Tsuji, not the fan. Tihanyi beat Tsuji around the front row before they made it up to the stage, which ended up being little more than a platform for Tihanyi to dive off of.
Back inside, Tsuji smiles through the pain as Tihanyi threw some elbows… Tsuji cuts him off by flapjacking Tihanyi out of the corner, before mounted elbow strikes in the opposite corner had the Carat finalist rocked momentarily. A swinging DDT helps put Tihanyi back in it for a near-fall, before he slammed the brakes on Tsuji with a clothesline as the pace threatened to quicken again.
Tsuji cuts off Tihanyi up top, but ends up taking a sunset powerbomb out of the corner, then a running Meteora on the way to a near-fall. A slingshot cutter’s blocked as Tsuji instead went for the Marlowe Crash stomp out of the corner to keep himself ahead. That’s added to with the Three Amigos that ended in a suplex powerbomb… before Tsuji countered a counter and just spiked Tihanyi with a piledriver.
Tihanyi’s able to leapfrog over a Gene Blaster… then superkick away another one… only to get caught up top with a superplex as Tsuji kept him in it. Striking back, Tihanyi’s Code Red gets him a near-fall… and sent Tsuji bailing outside again. Yet again, Tihanyi stays on him with a dive that went over the camera before Tsuji just kicked away the slingshot cutter en route to an Alley Oop.
Another Gene Blaster’s stopped, this time with a cutter, as Tihanyi finally added his slingshot cutter… but Tsuji rolls his shoulder off the mat in the nick of time. The knees come up for a 450 splash from Tihanyi as Tsuji rolled back to his days as a Young Lion with a Boston crab, only for Tihanyi to grit his teeth, smash his head into the mat and drag his way to the ropes.
Rather than pounce on Tihanyi, Tsuji offered himself up for more strikes, giving as good as he got, before a series of unanswered elbow strikes from Tsuji led to him crashing into Tihanyi with a short-range Gene Blaster for a near-fall. The Silver Lining powerbomb keeps Tsuji ahead, and also looked to have all but turned the lights out on Tihanyi, who took a headbutt and a Guerrero Special inverted superplex, before one final Gene Blaster put the Hungarian away. Stream issues aside in the final stretch, this was a strong main event that perhaps threatened to peter out – but still delivered a hell of a showing for the wild Hamburg crowd. ****¼
Post-match, Tsuji put over his upcoming IWGP heavyweight title match next month, before he put over Tihanyi in defeat… then closed out the show by wishing for stronger ties between wXw and New Japan. Oh, and then he tossed the mic. Great catch Peter!
True Colors was a show that could easily have had its undercard derailed with the late switches, but in all truth I felt that the adjusted card made for a better night’s wrestling. While Yota Tsuji’s main event showing and Laurance Roman’s antics perhaps will live longer in the memory, pretty much everything here is worth your time – especially Quick & Dirty’s showing to start the second half.