The Arrows of Hungary and Rott und Flott face off to decide the next challengers for the wXw tag team champions on the latest We Love Wrestling event.
Quick Results
Rambo pinned Michael Knight in 5:28 (*¾)
Marius al-Ani pinned Dennis Zinner in 5:11 (**)
Leon van Gasteren pinned Paris in 7:30 (**¼)
Tristan Archer pinned Fast Time Moodo in 16:26 (***½)
Norman Harras pinned Gulyas Junior in 5:53 to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship (**¼)
Dover & Icarus pinned Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg in 15:36 (***)
We’re back at the Steffy in Oberhausen, with Dave Bradshaw on commentary. They replay the finish of last week’s title match, before running down some of the card for tonight…
Rambo and EZEL are backstage with Andy Jackson, who quizzes Rambo about his new alliance. He says that Metehan and EZEL are family to him, and so he’s here to help… before talk turned to Michael Knight, whom Rambo’s spent time with as he mentioned knowing Knight’s weaknesses. Christian Bischof’s with Michael Knight next, talking about the loss he had to Norman Harras last week… and then his upcoming match. Knight says he had no game plan, and is going to improvise as he goes. That ought to work well.
Michael Knight vs. Rambo
Knight’s looking to get back on track after his loss last week…
Rambo jumps Knight and throws him outside before the bell, as Abdul and Aytac try to attack on the floor. With the ref distracted, Knight gets thrown into the post, then back into the ring as Rambo wanted the match to start… Knight lets the match start, but he gets squashed in the corner. A second charge misses as Knight pulls himself up top, but he’s crotched as he was shaking off the effects of last week’s match with Harras. Rambo distracts the ref as Knight’s beaten on again, before some clawing back inside the ring targeted the eye.
T-shirt choking follows, then a back suplex, before Knight again got taken outside. Rambo distracts the referee by undoing a turnbuckle, which hides another beating on the outside. Not a banner night for the easily-distracted Markus Weiss. A clothesline off the ropes gets Rambo a two-count, as he kept the focus on the eye… then lifted Knight onto the apron before catching a springboard and turning it into a gorilla press slam. Again, Knight’s kicked outside as Abdul and Aytac do their thing. Back inside, Knight leaps over Rambo, then threw him to the outside ahead of a tope con giro as Abdul and Aytac unsurprisingly didn’t give Rambo a kicking. A springboard clothesline drops Rambo back inside, before Aytac pulled Rambo out of a Fireman’s carry… he’s punched off the apron, but the distraction’s enough to give Rambo time to hit a pop-up powerbomb for the win. This felt a little repetitive with the constant beatdowns, but it’s a win to establish Rambo in this new role. *¾
They replay Aigle Blanc’s unmasking from two weeks ago… and Senza Volto’s from last week… which leads to Maggot and Baby Allison coming out to the lucha theme they used for Bandido at Carat last year. They’re mocking Senza and Aigle’s entrances, while Vincent Heisenberg’s just being Heisenberg… holding scissors.
Off come the masks as Maggot got the mic, calling masks “relics” in wrestling… he didn’t “get” the honour behind the mask, and decreed that masks are now banned in wXw. To help with that, Maggot then threatened to cut up Aigle Blanc and Senza Volto’s masks, but they’re here to stop them, with masks we’re more used to seeing in 2021 covering their faces. Senza and Aigle send Maggot and Heisenberg packing… but Baby Allison holds onto the masks as Volto and Blanc had more fighting to do before they got their hoods back.Senza gets the mic afterwards and told Heisenberg and Maggot that they wanted to use the scissors they’d left behind. No, not like that, Sid. They challenged them to a mask vs. hair match at Drive of Champions in three weeks.
They formally announce Drive of Champions as wXw’s next special event on May 28… with that handicap mask vs. hair match confirmed. Only the person taking the fall will lose their hair or mask…
Backstage, Marius al-Ani is with Christian Bischof. Marius took a little offence to Christian saying he had “luck” in defending the title, before saying that his streak’s still alive – ignoring the fall he dropped in the match then! Christian asks Marius about future challengers, but al-Ani doesn’t see any potential challengers yet… so his match today is non-title. Marius doesn’t see much threat in Dennis Zinner today, and reckons the match could help improve him.
Dennis Zinner vs. Marius al-Ani
A non-title match then, as Marius continues to have his Catch Grand Prix trophy paraded around…
From the opening lock-up, al-Ani armdrags Zinner to the mat, before kicks took the Austrian into the corner. A headlock has Zinner on the mat, before he got up… and got kicked in the leg. Zinner manages to reverse an Irish whip and took down al-Ani with a dropkick… only for al-Ani to get free and hit one of his own. Right hands from al-Ani trap Zinner in the corner ahead of a step-up knee, with a floatover suplex nearly ending things. A back suplex keeps Zinner down as al-Ani looked to put him away with a grounded sleeperhold, before a spinning heel kick cracked Zinner as he got free.
From there, Zinner escaped a Diamond Driver, then a Superman punch as he fought back, landing a leaping leg lariat and a spinebuster that came close to the upset. Marius comes back with a kip-up kick, a Superman punch and a Diamond driver to make it 21-0 after that brief scare. **
Andy Jackson’s back to interview al-Ani… Marius put over Zinner’s improvement from last time, but said he was still some way off of his level. Andy then tells us we’ve a 14-man battle royal next week to determining al-Ani’s next contender for Drive of Champions – from the graphic, it looks to be Johnny Evers, Fast Time Moodo, Hektor Invictus, Dennis Dullnig, Aytac, Alpha Kevin, Levaniel, Rambo, Leon van Gasteren, Tristan Archer, Maggot, Vincent Heisenberg and Baby Allison. Yes, that’s only 13 people…
Paris vs. Leon van Gasteren
The trial series continues… and it’s another big test for the Academy trainee from Greece.
Van Gasteren takes Paris down with a side headlock early on, getting some early pinning attempts in as van Gasteren faked out for a leg drop. A sleeperhold keeps Paris down, while an uppercut led to Paris fighting back with a sunset flip for a two-count. Paris tries his luck with a roll-up, but van Gasteren’s out at two and resumes the offence. Paris tries to nick back in with an uppercut, but it misses as van Gasteren hits a missile dropkick for a two-count, before van Gasteren rolled him down into an Octopus stretch that ended in the ropes. Taking Paris to the corner allows van Gasteren to come close with a Northern Lights suplex, before Paris struck back with a suplex of his own.
Paris builds with a diving uppercut, but he didn’t know what to do next as that hesitation cost him a win. Leon’s up at two, then again from a Fisherman suplex, before van Gasteren snuck in with a superkick and a lariat. From there, a pumphandle brainbuster lands, as van Gasteren manages to get a win after he almost took Paris too lightly. **¼
Post-match, van Gasteren puts over the shock he got from Paris, and admitted he underestimated him a little. Leon tells Paris to keep learning, as he reckons he has potential.
Tristan Archer cuts off Christian Bischof in the pre-match promo, as he’s so happy that his compatriots got their masks back earlier. They steer the promo back on track as Archer’s asked about the missing Emil Sitoci, who’s apparently at home avoiding him. Archer’s got big news for Sitoci, but he’ll only tell him face to face.
Fast Time Moodo vs. Tristan Archer
As Archer eloquently put it in his interview, he doesn’t want Moodo to “f***ing touch” him… those kicks are dangerous.
Moodo bows to Archer at the bell, then tries for some kicks before Archer took him to the ground. An armbar attempt’s blocked, with Moodo eventually countering into a hammerlock as Archer’s waistlock escape keeps them on the deck. Working the arm, Moodo throws down Archer before the Frenchman takes it to the corner… and finds a way in with a kick to the back of the head. Moodo escapes a back suplex, but can’t avoid a bulldog… he rolls away from a back senton as the pace quickened, leading to Moodo getting sent to the apron as he blocks a suplex back into the ring. Instead, Archer’s lifted outside too as the pair check the other’s strikes… they bump fists on the apron, before Archer charges Moodo into the edge of the ring.
Archer throws Moodo back inside, but doesn’t follow… and gets caught with a tope seconds later before a drop toe hold took Archer into the side of the ring. Back inside, Moodo kicks Archer in the back for a two-count, before body blows trapped Archer in the corner. A butterfly suplex from Moodo gets a two-count, while a kick took Archer back to the ropes. Archer caught a kick and counters with a Dragon screw, which allowed him to work Moodo’s leg for a while… but that leg lock ends in the ropes. A triangle choke looks to give Moodo a win, but Archer fights free before he went back to Moodo’s leg. Kicks to the leg keep Moodo down, but he’s able to push away from a Figure Four attempt, taking Archer to the outside before meeting him with a knee in the ropes.
Moodo’s suplex came to nought, but he has more luck with kicks, only for Archer to come in with a back elbow as the strike battle ended with an axe kick from Moodo. The pair trade more blows as Archer sneaks in a Falcon arrow, but Moodo’s up at two and returns with more kicks, leading to a spinning heel kick in the corner and a sliding elbow. Archer kicks out at two after he was rolled out of the corner, before a flying stomp to the back put the Frenchman down again. From there, Archer caught a Black Belt Kick and turned it into a leg-trapped German suplex, before a discus clothesline almost got the win. A Go 2 Sleep gets another near-fall, as Moodo had more left in him, eventually tripping Archer to the mat for some more kicks, before a sit-out pumphandle driver led to another near-fall. Another Black Belt Kick’s ducked by Archer, who pummels on Moodo’s leg into the ropes… before some rolling elbows and a Coup d’Etate (tombstone gutbuster) eked out the win for Archer.
They’re making a point of giving Moodo some real ring time on this run of shows – and Moodo’s delivering the goods. Hopefully this translates into something once crowds are able to return, because Moodo’s making a real case for being the MVP of this latest run of shows – one of the less obvious contenders for that moniker, perhaps. ***½
Backstage, Gulyas Junior’s interviewed as his music bled into the background. Gulyas straight up says he’s going to put Harras’ head into his armpit and kill him to win the Shotgun title.
wXw Shotgun Championship: Gulyas Junior vs. Norman Harras (c)
Gulyas won the lottery to get this spot – part of me is sad they’re not doing the tumbler gimmick to pull names out of the hat…
Norman’s selling Gulyas’ body odour before the bell, and gets attacked from behind as Gulyas threatened to rub the title belt in his armpit. Harras dives in to stop him with some ground and pound, before he booted Gulyas – all before the bell. When we do get going, Harras hits a clothesline in the corner, then an uppercut, before demanding that ring announcer Frank Fehrmann clean his belt. Gulyas catches Norman out, rubbing his head into the armpit, before a swinging sidewalk slam and a back senton nearly put Harras away. A clothesline takes Gulyas to the outside, where he’s posted, but Gulyas narrowly beats the count, then rolled away from an elbow drop.
Mudhole stomping from Harras keeps Gulyas at bay, as a punt to the ribs then gets a two-count… a slam from Harras is countered by Gulyas, who fell back on him for a near-fall. Gulyas charged into the corner, but misses a chop as Norman’s cravat was fought out of, with Harras dropped in the corner for a cannonball. Harras kicks out at two as Gulyas looked to flip out, and that angst was used against the challenger as he’s caught with a rebound German suplex, a diving uppercut, then a low dropkick for the win. A good, short match as Harras continues to pick up clean wins and build ups Shotgun title reign by himself… **¼
You know what’s next: Andy Jackson’s interview and the reveal of the next challenger. But first, Andy brings up Norman’s past with weird smells, specifically his history with dog food. Oh, that next challenger for two weeks’ time? Aytac. There’s history there, and this looks like Norman’s first real problem as champion.
Backstage, Dään Jokisch is with the Arrows of Hungary. They’re still looking to get the wXw tag titles, and a win tonight gives them a crack at them. Icarus says that the Arrows are the definition of tag team wrestling, and they’ll get them this time.
In response, Charisma and Schenkenberg just complain about how Robert Dreissker and Anil Marik tried to gift a tag title shot to Leon van Gasteren and Tim Stübing… Schenkenberg gets it back on track and says they’ll get that shot and win the titles later this month.
Rott und Flott (Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg) vs. Arrows of Hungary (Icarus & Dover)
Winner gets a shot at the tag titles at Drive of Champions…
Dover and Schenkenberg start us off, but their tie-up goes nowhere as Dover takes things to the mat with a headlock takedown. Icarus tags in to work Schenkenberg’s arm, but Schenkenberg took it to the corner as Charisma tagged himself in and cornered Icarus. Schenkenberg’s back to keep it grounded, with Charisma diving in to take a cover, before a double-team suplex led to the referee having to separate everyone. Charisma cheapshots Icarus with a knee to the gut, but Icarus returns with a hiptoss and a Heart of Europe – the Gargano Escape – while Dover restrained Schenkenberg with the Stretch Muffler. Schenkenberg grabs Charisma’s had to stop him tapping, which felt a little early for that sort of thing, as the pair dragged each other to the ropes to force a break.
Charisma returns with a dropkick as Icarus was quickly back in danger… Schenkenberg distracts the referee by threatening to choke Icarus with the tag rope, so Charisma could fake like he’d been chopped in the corner. Which created the diversion for Schenkenberg to really choke Icarus with the rope before Icarus got crotched in the post. Schenkenberg has to resist Icarus’ attempt to tag… but Charisma creates a diversion by falling into the ring while reaching for an incredulous tag, which means that when Icarus did get the tag, the ref didn’t see it. I love chickenshit stuff like this. Especially when it’s followed by a guilty-as-sin clean tag to try and prove the baddies aren’t bad.
Charisma tries to keep Icarus down by stomping on the elbow, as the Arrows again remained isolated… eventually Icarus finds a way through and dives out to Dover, who clears house from that hot tag. German suplexes, back body drops and fallaway slams were the order of the day, before Schenkenberg ate a clothesline for a two-count. Dover throws Charisma outside, but that just allows a blind tag as Dover’s back suplex was for nought. Charisma dives in with a cradle for a two-count, then recovered for a dropkick as we had a Parade of Moves with a full ring. Dover’s double-teamed as he ate an atomic drop and an enziguiri, before a running kick from Charisma gets another near-fall.
A double clothesline gets Dover free for a tag to Icarus, but he just charges Charisma in for a tag as Schenkenberg came in to lift up Icarus for an elevated DDT that nearly wins it. On the outside, Dover drops Schenkenberg onto the edge of the ring, while Icarus managed to weaken Charisma ahead of a kick-assisted Fire Thunder Driver from Dover… which then led to the Crossfire as the Arrows managed to sneak out the win, totally against the run of play as Rott und Flott stifled them at every turn… ***
The Arrows face Robert Dreissker and Anil Marik at Drive of Champions in three weeks – after the match, Dover said this was exactly what they planned, and they now get to prove they’re the best tag team in wXw.
Another solid and steady show from wXw, as they start to build for their next big show at the end of the month – although it looks like we’re still quite a ways off from returning to shows with fans based on current world events. Get your jab when you can folks!