Fast Time Moodo gets to main event in his home town as wXw hit Leipzig for a We Love Wrestling event.
Quick Results
Axel Tischer pinned Peter Tihanyi in 13:36 (***¼)
Gulyas Junior pinned Norman Harras in 8:43 (***)
Michael Knight pinned Laurance Roman in 8:14 to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship (***)
Anil Marik vs. Maggot ended in a double count-out in 6:53 (**¼)
Iva Kolasky pinned Baby Allison in 6:12 to retain the wXw Women’s Championship (**¼)
Marius Al-Ani pinned Johnny Rancid in 7:23 (***)
Fast Time Moodo & Stephanie Maze pinned Dover & Icarus in 17:38 (***½)
We open with the finish to Tischer/al-Ani from True Colors, then the finish of Maze/Kolasky… and then we’re outside as Dan Mallmann’s likely giving someone heart palpitations over him swinging a microphone. He’s waiting outside as Iva Kolasky walks up, belt in hand… she tells us her family are proud of her winning the title, as we’re told her first defence is against Baby Allison tonight.
Marius al-Ani then rocks up with his suitcase… he’s a little peeved at the questioning, and insists he’s still the #1 of wXw, regardless of him not having the title. We’re in the wonderfully-named Hellraiser in Leipzig – a venue that always stood out back when it was appearing on rotation in the Shotgun days. It’s wXw’s first time here since 2019’s Mitteldeutschland Cup, and we’re straight into matches. Dave Bradshaw’s on English commentary.
Axel Tischer vs. Peter Tihanyi
It’s a non-title opener for the Axeman here, and I’d expect this won’t be Tihanyi’s second win in wXw.
We start with Tischer and Tihanyi going for the wrists as the feeling-out process began in earnest. A wristlock from Tischer has the Hungarian down, but Tihanyi counters back, then escaped a snapmare as a search for a swinging DDT’s pushed off, before Tischer grabbed a side headlock. It’s pushed off, but a shoulder block has Tihanyi down before he returned with armdrags and dropkicks. An elbow drop puts Tischer back in it, as did some uppercuts, before Tihanyi tried his luck with a backslide, then a missile dropkick, getting a bunch of two counts, before Tischer sparked an exchange of forearms.
Tihanyi escapes a twisting brainbuster, but a blocked O’Connor roll just opened the door for Tischer to hit it at the second attempt for a near-fall. A Ligerbomb looks to follow, but Tihanyi escaped… then hit his tornado DDT as a standing moonsault nearly causes the upset. Tischer rolls away from a moonsault, but is caught in a rear naked choke next… Tischer escaped and returned the favour, only for Tihanyi to push back out of the corner to try and get the upset. Following up, Tischer’s Gourdbuster led to a German suplex, which Tihanyi escaped as a knee left both men down.
A tope from Tihanyi’s swatted away with an uppercut on the floor as the pair then brawled towards the stage. Tihanyi’s somersault senton off the stage catches Tischer, but back inside a leg lariat and a sit-out powerbomb gets Tischer the win. Yet again, Tihanyi going too flashy in search of a win costs him, having held his own for large parts of this opener. ***¼
Norman Harras vs. Gulyas Junior
These two are 1-1 so far in 2021, with Harras winning when he was Shotgun champion… and losing when he was not. Uh-oh.
Harras had trouble getting to grips with his Hungarian opponent, needing a handful of hair to take Gulyas to the corner… where Gulyas gleefully returned the favour. A snapmare from Gulyas led to a missed back senton, as Harras grabbed a side headlock… but couldn’t bull down the “Bull of the Village.” A POUNCE of sorts knocks Harras outside, before he returned and took a side suplex… then a back senton, only for Harras to low bridge Gulyas to the outside. Norman keeps him there with boots, while an elbow back inside drew a two-count. Harras adds a Finlay roll, then a running knee strike for a two-count, as Gulyas’ bid to fight back was booted away.
Gulyas took a leaping uppercut off the middle rope for a near-fall, then a kneedrop, before Gulyas surprised him with a Michinoku driver. Harras hung up Gulyas in the ropes to avoid a Pit Stop, but Norman slipped in the ropes and gets press slammed off the top as Gulyas threw himself in with a cannonball, before a short clothesline got him the win. Norman’s bad run of form continues, and this time he doesn’t even have the Shotgun title to raise his hopes. ***
At ringside, Dan tries to grab a word with Harras, who blamed the “front office” for his poor run of form. It’s a conspiracy, damnit! Dan asks about Norman’s state of mind, which is just shot down, as Harras promised “massive change.”
We recap how Michael Knight won the Shotgun title back in Limbach-Oberfrohna, then his first defences…
wXw Shotgun Championship: Michael Knight (c) vs. Laurance Roman
This was Roman’s first crack at the Shotgun title in nearly four years, having lost to Ivan Kiev in November 2017 after winning a battle royal for the shot.
Roman worked the wrist of Knight to start off, as the early going was somewhat tentative. Forearms took Knight into the corner, with running uppercuts next as Knight hit some armdrags and a wheelbarrow bulldog as the pair reset. A back suplex from Roman’s good for a two-count, while a dropkick in the corner keeps the challenger ahead, as did a clothesline as Knight was having trouble getting going. Knight’s crucifix earns him a two-count – and a kick in the head – before Knight returned with a suplex/facebuster takedown.
Knight leaps over Roman and clotheslined him into the corner ahead of a springboard clothesline for a near-fall, before a Northern Lights suplex from Roman turned it back around. A Fisherman suplex is cradled out of by Knight, who followed up with Sliced Bread to take home the win. A good showing on Roman’s return, but Knight was able to pull out the win in a fairly even outing. ***
Maggot vs. Anil Marik
The continued rivalry around the wXw Academy and the Family rolls on… Heisenberg was with Maggot, while Robert Dreissker was with Marik here.
We’ve staredowns before the bell as referee Felix Schultz was going to be having a hell of a time keeping order. He orders Dreissker and Heisenberg to the back before we even start… and when we do start, Maggot’s taken down with a waistlock by Marik. An armdrag keeps Marik ahead, before Maggot got free and charged down Marik, who then returned with dropkicks. A clothesline from Maggot leads to a DDT for a near-fall, while a chinlock keeps Marik down… he eventually gets free and puts some forearms on Maggot, only to get caught with a spear for a two-count. Maggot’s neck crank keeps Marik in trouble, but when Marik got free he fires back with forearms and Slingblades.
Maggot kicked out from a crossbody before a Cactus clothesline from Marik took both men outside… they fight around ringside, but Maggot wanted the ref’s count to be held back so he could post Marik. Of course that wasn’t going to happen, so the ref just counted them both out as Dreissker and Heisenberg ran out to get involved, leading to a powerslam from Heisenberg in the ring as the brawl continued in earnest. This kept the wheels rolling on the feud, but did little else for me. **¼
All four brawl to the back, where Heisenberg gets thrown through a chair, then choked with a towel before they disappeared outside of the building and into the streets of Leipzig… as Heisenberg and Maggot found themselves locked outside.
wXw Women’s Championship: Baby Allison vs. Iva Kolasky (c)
This was Allison’s first-ever crack at the women’s title… and she was doing this alone after Heisenberg and Maggot were locked outside.
Allison wanted to offer a handshake, but instead she slapped Kolasky as we got going. A slap takes Allison outside, and we have a game of cat and mouse as Allison played keepaway. Kolasky cartwheels over a splits, then hit a crossbody out of the corner for a two-count, while Allison took down Kolasky for some punches. An Irish whip bounced Kolasky into the corner, as a Northern Lights out of it nearly ended her title reign. Kolasky sidestepped a charge from Allison into the corner, then hit a Fisherman’s suplex out of it for a near-fall, only to get caught with a spear as Allison again came close. Kolasky gets lifted onto the apron, but fought back with a head kick… which knocked Allison down as a moonsault ends up securing the win. **¼
Backstage, Moodo’s looking forward to main eventing in his home town. Dan asks who his free tickets went to, but doesn’t get an answer as he then turned his questioning to the fact that Moodo’ll be teaming up with Stephanie Maze again for the first time in over a year. They’ll be facing the Arrows of Hungary in non-title action…
Johnny Rancid vs. Marius Al-Ani
Depending on Marius’ mood, this may be a short night’s work…
Rancid tries to go for al-Ani with kicks to start off with, but to little avail as al-Ani charged him down. A leapfrog/dropkick gives Rancid an opening, but Marius closed the door with some forearms into the corner. Kicks have Rancid on the deck, as did an overhead belly-to-belly, before a chinlock kept Rancid down again. al-Ani catches Rancid with a roll-up for a near-fall after an escape, before a back cracker bought Rancid some time. Running knees trap al-Ani into the corner, but a leapfrog’s caught and turned into a back suplex as an ankle lock from al-Ani out of nowhere was pushed away. The referee forces Marius to break, but Rancid’s attempt to cheap shot his way back in ends with him eating a Superman punch as al-Ani got back on track after his loss in Dresden. ***
Post-match, Dan’s bugging Marius again… the question about the broken streak clearly annoyed the former champion, who insisted he was still number one, and seemed to claim that he lost to himself in the match in Dresden.
Fast Time Moodo & Stephanie Maze vs. Arrows Of Hungary (Dover & Icarus)
This was the first (taped) match for Maze and Moodo since they won the wXw tag titles at the end of the second season of Shotgun 2020 last year. The Arrows’ titles weren’t on the line here, which you could argue was a curious choice given the stature of their opponents.
Moodo and Icarus get the main event going, with Icarus blocking an early kick attempt only to get taken down as Moodo tied up the leg… as they then end up in the ropes. Moodo grabs the wrist of Icarus, then tagged in Maze, whose kicks manage to stagger Icarus ahead of a Calf Slicer attempt. Icarus escaped, then tied up Maze’s legs before Dover tagged in to go for a slam. Maze slips out, then tried a German suplex… only to get thrown aside with ease. She runs at Dover, and manages to counter a back body drop into a DDT as Moodo returned, looking for a Black Belt Kick, only to get charged into a corner kick. Icarus returns as he tied up Moodo, before a shot took Moodo down to his knees.
Dover’s back to put the boots to Moodo, following with a backbreaker for a two-count, then a bodyslam for another. Icarus is back to yank Moodo down with a Dragon screw, while Dover tagged in again to keep putting the boots to the hometown hero. A springboard leg lariat out of the corner knocks Dover down as Moodo manages to get the tag out to Maze, who cleared the decks with kicks… only to get pulled up into an Electric Chair. Maze manages a Victory Roll on Dover for a near-fall, then a running kick only for the Arrows to return with a uranage onto Icarus’ knees for a two-count. They keep Maze isolated for a spell, with Dover hitting fallaway slams on Maze for another two-count… a double-team powerbomb/neckbreaker is good for a two-count for Icarus, before Maze’s enziguiri helped buy enough time to make the tag out.
Moodo runs wild with a bicycle knee to Dover, then a sliding punch into the corner before he suplexed Icarus into his own partner. A Coast to Coast crashes into both of the Arrows for a near-fall, as Maze returned to help kick away on the Arrows… who break free with an Air Raid Crash from Dover to Maze for a near-fall. Moodo’s sent outside as the Arrows hit a kick-assisted Fire Thunder Driver on Maze, but she kicks out at two, then fired back after getting slapped… unloading with a flurry of body blows to Icarus. A clothesline quickly dumped Maze, as Moodo came in to dump Dover to the outside… then tagged in. He can’t go for a Black Belt Kick as Dover interfered, giving Icarus enough time to hit a back suplex.
Icarus quickly tags Dover back in as they go for Crossfire, but Maze clears the decks again with a rebound German suplex to Dover, who then eats a Black Belt Kick by the ropes as Moodo manages to snatch the pin in a non-title main-event. A good first match back for Moodo and Maze, and you’d have to think that would put them in good stead for a shot at the titles they never lost? ***½
wXw hits the road next weekend for a sold-out event in Frankfurt – it’ll hit on-demand on November 16/17 (depending on whether you want German or English). With a few weeks between this show and wXw’s next in Frankfurt, this was a “holding steady” show with nothing announced for definite… but plenty of stuff to keep existing storylines going ahead of whatever they do there as wXw continues to rebuild coming through the pandemic.