wXw hits Gotha for the latest stop on the We Love Wrestling tour, featuring Axel Tischer’s last warm-up match ahead of True Colors.
Quick Results
Fast Time Moodo pinned Norman Harras in 11:02 (***½)
Robert Dreissker & Anil Marik pinned Zeritus & Gulyas Junior in 15:11 (***)
Iva Kolasky pinned Stephanie Maze in 7:15 to go tie the best-of-three series for the wXw Women’s Championship at 1-1 (***)
Michael Knight pinned Peter Tihanyi in 10:16 to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship (***¼)
Icarus & Dover defeat Maggot & Vincent Heisenberg by disqualification in 15:39 (***¼)
Axel Tischer pinned Dennis Dullnig in 21:33 (***¾)
We’re in the Stadthalle in Gotha for this stop on the tour. It’s a lovely looking venue, with a balcony that has a few loud fans watching on. Apparently the city’s event guidelines were “sit in alternate seats,” which is going to look odd. Anyway, both live and on tape we’re one night away from True Colors in Dresden. Dave Bradshaw is on English commentary, as usual…
Fast Time Moodo vs. Norman Harras
It’s a throwback to earlier We Love Wrestling shows, and that time Harras retained the Shotgun title over Moodo via foul means…
Harras tried to get Moodo to wrestle without using any kicks… and Moodo, surprisingly, agreed. They go to ground early, before Moodo teased a kick, which made Norman scurry into the corner. Harras throws a kick… and gets his leg kicked out in return as he crashed to the mat.
All bets are off as Moodo lands a hiptoss, then a flurry of strikes ending with a knee strike for just a one-count. Harras gets up to trade chops, but comes out second-best as Moodo flies with a crossbody off the top for a near-fall. Moodo’s knocked off the apron by Harras, who followed up with a knee drop back inside as the former Shotgun champion finally mounted some offence. Moodo struck back with a spinning heel kick off the middle rope, getting a near-fall there, with an Octopus following. Harras escapes and dropped Moodo across the buckles as he opted to go for a count-out, but of course Moodo doesn’t stay down, as Harras then looked to stomp him on the apron.
A suplex back inside gets Harras a two-count as Moodo went back to the well with a series of mid kicks, ending with a spinning heel kick for a two-count. Moodo keeps going with a sliding punch into the corner, then a stomp to the back, only for Harras to boot away a Black Belt kick. Harras’ Finlay roll, then a running knee gets a near-fall in retaliation, while a leaping uppercut keeps things going… but a trip up top ends with Norman getting press slammed down, before a Black Belt Kick puts him away. An entertaining opener, with the Gotha crowd in damn good voice throughout – that’s gonna make this show fun! ***½
Dave Bradshaw runs down the card before pitching to Dan Mallmann backstage with Iva Kolasky. She needs a win later tonight to equalise the best-of-three series for the vacant wXw Women’s title with Stephanie Maze… of course, Iva’s not going to go down without a fight.
Gulyas Junior & Zeritus vs. wXw Wrestling Academy (Anil Marik & Robert Dreissker)
Dreissker and Marik have been dealing with Maggot and Heisenberg in recent weeks, so this match may be a welcome distraction.
Dreissker and Gulyas start us off, with Dreissker shoving the Hungarian into the corner to start. A headlock takedown has Gulyas on the mat, as did a shoulder block, before Gulyas grabbed Dreissker’s hair to get an opening. Gulyas’ back suplex is countered easily, only for Zeritus to grab Dreissker in the ropes. That’s shrugged off as Dreissker slams Gulyas, then threw him with a back body drop after a series of right hands from Marik. A tag eventually brings Zeritus in, with the pair going for a Test of Strength that ended with a Zeritus headbutt as Dreissker was taken to his knees. An overhead wristlock’s powered out of as Dreissker came back with clotheslines, before Marik tagged himself in and bulldogged Zeritus out of the corner.
A Dreissker splash followed for a two-count, while Marik’s Slingblade adds another two-count, before Marik’s backed into the opposite corner as Gulyas tagged in. A back suplex attempt is blocked as Marik returns with armdrags, then a frog splash crossbody out of the corner for a two-count. Dreissker’s back to throw Marik onto Gulyas, ahead of a back senton for a near-fall, but Gulyas blocks another bulldog, before he sent Marik onto the apron for a Pit Stop. A dropkick knocks Marik to the floor, where Zeritus attacked… the referee stops Dreissker from making a save, as Zeritus rolls Marik in for Gulyas to get a two-count as Zeritus’ pumphandle suplex lands for a near-fall.
Gulyas returns to throw right hands with Marik, whose Codebreaker’s countered into a back suplex for a near-fall. Zeritus tagged back in as Marik’s worn down again, running into a Black Hole Slam for a near-fall. Dreissker distracts Zeritus as a roll-up nearly gets Marik a win, but the relative rookie’s worn down again until he landed a Codebreaker… but Zeritus is able to come in to stop Marik from tagging out briefly. Marik manages to roll over and make the hot tag to Dreissker, who runs wild with splashes and elbows, leading to a death valley driver on Gulyas. Zeritus’ cross-chop stops Dreissker, but that’s overcome as Gulyas gets thrown into the corner ahead of a Dreissker bomb as the former tag champions leave with the win. ***
Post-match, Maggot, Heisenberg and Baby Allison attack – they’re apparently now known as the Family. They gang up on Dreissker, only for the Arrows of Hungary to make the save, clotheslining out Heisenberg while chasing away Maggot and Allison. Icarus and Dover show off some more of their German, challenging the Family to a match for later on…
Backstage, Dan’s with Stephanie Maze. She needs a win in the next match to win the vacated Women’s title, but Dan brings up the attack from Baby Allison last night. Maze reckons she’s okay, and we’re off to what’s potentially a title decider, so we get the fancy graphic to introduce things.
wXw Women’s Championship Series – Match Two: Iva Kolasky vs. Stephanie Maze
Maze is the loud favourite in Gotha, but has to resist some early pinning attempts as a handspring back elbow and a springboard crossbody looked to get Kolasky a quick win.
Kolasky cartwheels over Maze, then went for a handspring cutter, only to get clotheslined and elbowed away as Maze threw a spinning heel kick for good measure. Knees to the midsection weaken Kolasky, who replies with an overhand chop to the ear. That looked like it sucked. Maze tries to shrug it off, but her balance is all out of whack as Kolasky stomped her into the corner. A missed kick from Maze opens her up for more from Kolasky, who hits a handspring before going back up top… Maze pulls her into a Tree of Woe for a dropkick, then a back suplex, but a spinning backfist just serves to dizzy Maze some more.
Clotheslines and kicks somehow keep Maze ahead, as did a trapped-arm clothesline, before she teed up for a Sky Fall… but the balance goes again. Kolasky tries to capitalise, only to get caught in a Calf Slicer, but she clubs her way free before a sliding lariat and a moonsault off the top gets Iva the equalising win. A pretty decent match, with that Khali-like chop to the ear clearly being the turning point – and who knew we were going to a third match in this series?! ***
They announce that Francis Kaspin’s booked the Arrows of Hungary vs. Heisenberg and Maggot in a non-title match later tonight.
wXw Shotgun Championship: Michael Knight (c) vs. Peter Tihanyi
Tihanyi’s looking to make it two wins in a row here after beating Zeritus to claim his maiden win yesterday.
Tihanyi rolls Knight down for a chinlock early on, but that ends in the ropes before Knight Gator roll’d Tihanyi up… then ran into an armdrag as the pair went move-for move in the early going. The pair trade strikes, but Knight’s uppercuts lead to a dropkick for a two-count, while a backbreaker keeps the momentum going. A Kitchen Sink from Knight keeps Tihanyi down, as did a throw into the ropes as a side Russian legsweep kept the Hungarian down. Tihanyi pushes free and hits a dropkick, then a standing moonsault on Knight for a two-count, before Tihanyi began to work over the arms. A sleeperhold’s rolled out of by Knight, who then hits a takedown on Tihanyi, before a clothesline to the back and a springboard clothesline took down Tihanyi for a two-count.
Knight takes things up top, but Tihanyi escapes a superplex and returned with a Meteora… then an Asai DDT for a near-fall. Another sleeperhold on the mat is fought out of by Knight, who comes back with a shinbreaker and a Dragon screw, before a Trailer Hitch was somehow rolled out of. Knight walks into a roll-up, but kicks out as see-saw sunset flips nearly lead to a title change. In the end, a knee to the head then a Dominator into a Go 2 Sleep proves to be enough for Knight to shut the door and successfully defend his title in an entertaining outing. ***¼
Maggot & Vincent Heisenberg vs. Arrows Of Hungary (Dover & Icarus)
We’ve a slow start as Maggot opted to head outside and do push ups rather than engage with Icarus.
Instead, tags bring in Dover and Heisenberg so we get a Big Lads Battle, starting with work over a wristlock as Dover ends up grabbing an armbar. Heisenberg takes it to the mat in a side headlock, before Dover got free… he tries to slam Heisenberg, but the Hamburg native falls back onto him for a two-count. Dover’s able to take Heisenberg into the Arrows’ corner as Icarus tagged in, then got launched into a cannonball in the corner as Maggot got uranage’d onto Icarus’ legs. An overhead wristlock on Maggot ends in the ropes, as Icarus then went for a cross armbreaker, but that goes nowhere as Dover came in… and eventually chopped down Maggot.
A stalling suplex from Dover lasts until the count of zwanzig, but only gets a zwei on the cover, before Icarus came in and was back body dropped onto Maggot for another two. Maggot takes it to the ropes as Heisenberg tries to intervene, before he instead opted to dropkick Dover off the apron. Things spill outside for a Benny Hill Chase that ended with a boot from Heisenberg, while Maggot feigned an injury so Heisenberg and Allison could stomp away.
Back in the ring, Heisenberg and Maggot exchange tags as they isolate Icarus, with Allison also getting involved as the “Family” continued to control. Icarus manages to break free with a dropkick, but Maggot spears him before a tag out could be made. Knees and forearms out of the corner help Icarus get free, as Dover finally comes in to charge everyone down, throwing Maggot with a back body drop before knocking Heisenberg back to the floor. A standing fallaway slam dumps Maggot, while Heisenberg’s slammed down… an Air Raid Crash dropped Maggot, but Heisenberg kicks away the pin, sparking a brief Parade of Stuff that saw Heisenberg thrown outside, before Maggot tried to win with a roll-up. Icarus blind-tags in on Dover’s head, coming in to kick Maggot from an Alabama Slam, before Heisenberg pulled Maggot out from a Crossfire. Baby Allison’s in for a blatant low blow, and there’s the DQ as the Arrows win – but were left holding their Arrows afterwards. ***¼
Heisenberg returns to the ring to take shots until Anil Marik and Robert Dreissker ran out to take out Heisenberg.
Video promo time for Tischer vs. al-Ani at True Colors, where al-Ani poked fun at Tischer for “leaving his home town”. al-Ani’s going into the match on the back of a 30-0 winning record, and brings up their past meeting in Leipzig in 2014… which Tischer won over a then-rookie al-Ani.
They announce future events – including the 21st Anniversary show in December with Jurn Simmons and Cara Noir part of it – along with Dead End 2022 in Hamburg’s Gruenspan, 16 Carat Gold in Oberhausen in March, and a return to Dresden for True Colors in May.
Dennis Dullnig vs. Axel Tischer
Tischer had a good reaction on his return to Gotha for the first time since 2015…
We’ve a slow start as both men took in the crowd at the bell, before Tischer began to work over Dullnig’s arm. Dullnig rolls free and applies a wristlock, only for Tischer to get free as Dullnig’s laughable claims of a hair pull were dismissed. Maybe the beard… After taking time on the outside, Dullnig comes back in to apply a side headlock, but Tischer gets free and charged him down. Grabbing Dullnig’s bucket hat, Tischer does his best impression of Dennis, tipping the hat as he went. We’ve a random distraction as Tischer “hid” something in his hand as a fan in a Rey Mysterio mask did a lap of the ring. O-kay?
What was in that hand, by the way? Oh, a middle finger!
Dullnig charges Tischer into the corner after he got flipped off, only to get slammed down to the mat, as a sunset flip from Dullnig was stopped with an elbow drop. A back body drop from Tischer’s next, then a clothesline and a running neckbreaker as the Axeman ran wild, forcing Dullnig to roll outside for cover. We get another Benny Hill Chase, but this time Dullnig misses an elbow drop as he tried to bait in Wolfe, before Dullnig pulled Tischer out of the corner. A kick to the ribs followed for good measure, then an Irish whip into the corner as Dullnig then began to home in on that midsection.
A kick to the back gets Dullnig a one-count, while a sit-out spinebuster nearly puts Tischer away. Stomps follow in the corner, while a legdrop earned Dullnig another two-count as he slowed the pace down a little with a bearhug. Tischer fights free but gets suplexed, as an abdominal stretch quickly followed, but Tischer hiptosses free to begin a comeback. He pulls Dullnig out of the corner into a clothesline, before an elevated suplex using the top rope set up for a flying clothesline for a near-fall. A suplex is escaped as Dullnig tries for an O’Connor roll, only to eat an enziguiri and a Twisting brainbuster for a near-fall. Tischer tries to put Dullnig away, but clotheslines reset things as a uranage nearly gets Dullnig the win, before a running knee was avoided by Tischer.
Tischer elbows back into things as the pair exchange blows, eventually ending with a single leg dropkick from Tischer… who then ate a Gourdbuster en route to a punt kick for a near-fall. More kicks to the head of Tischer follow, before he fired back with a knee to the head, then a head kick as a deadlift German suplex nearly puts Dullnig down for the count. Elbowing out of a Fireman’s carry, Tischer ends up hitting uppercuts to the back, before a rear naked choke and a sit out powerbomb planted Dullnig for the match-winning three-count. A really good main event this, even if you struggled to “buy” Dullnig as getting the upset on the eve of Tischer’s title shot. Dullnig looked good in defeat, and was more than that proverbial warm body. ***¾
Post-match, Tischer thanked Dullnig and told him “you can go home,” before asking the crowd if they wanted to see him win the title in Dresden tomorrow. It was pretty decisive, as the Axeman said his time will come soon.
That’s not it though… we go backstage afterwards as the Arrows of Hungary storm the dressing room looking for Maggot and Heisenberg. They have an argument that ended with Dover giving the Family a tag title match… as a pullapart closed things out.
We’re back tomorrow for True Colors – a show that’ll drop on-demand in the early afternoon, so it’ll be ideal Sunday dinner viewing! Buoyed by a loud crowd (and what looked like some sports squad by the entrance way), this Gotha show not only trolled my autocorrect into thinking I was writing about Batman, but also made for a show that absolutely flew by. If you want to pre-game True Colors before it drops, and only have time for one of the preceding shows, make sure it’s this one.