The town of Papenburg gets its first taste of wXw, as the We Love Wrestling tour came to visit with an impromptu trios tag main event.
Quick Results
Dennis Dullnig pinned Rick Salem in 6:38 (**¾)
Michael Knight defeats Tristan Archer by disqualification in 3:07 (NR)
The Rotation pinned Danny Fray in 8:56 (**¾)
Maggot pinned Norman Harras in 12:57 to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship (***)
Aigle Blanc pinned Senza Volto in 17:05 (***½)
Vincent Heisenberg defeats Oskar via count-out in 6:31 (***)
Baby Allison submitted Ava Everett in 6:50 to retain the wXw Women’s Championship (***)
Jurn Simmons, Bobby Gunns & Michael Knight pinned Nikita Charisma, Michael Schenkenberg & Tristan Archer in 21:45 (***½)
— If you want to hear more about wXw, join myself and Mike Kilby for the Auf Die Fresse podcast – available at aufdiefresse.co.uk
For the first time ever, wXw’s coming from the Alte Kesselschmiede in Papenburg. The venue looks very industrial, with a lot of benches, and daylight flooding through the windows as we start… I have a feeling it’s going to be sick by the time the show ends.
We open with the finish of last week’s main event in Frankfurt, where Jurn Simmons beat Tristan Archer for the wXw Unified World Wrestling title…
Rick Salem vs. Dennis Dullnig
This was Salem’s debut on the “main roster,” having impressed on the wXw NOW & Friends Showcase over Carat weekend.
Salem tried to hush the crowd to start us off, but to no avail as we got going with an attempted armbar from Dullnig, before Salem grabbed a side headlock instead. Dullnig tried to push off, and ends up getting grounded before he pushed free and hit a dropkick.
Grabbing the beard, Salem gets out of a Fireman’s carry, then hung up Dullnig in the ropes for a forearm to the back of the neck. A back elbow in the corner keeps Salem ahead, but he can only get a one-count as Dullnig weathered the storm, and came back with a roll-up out of the corner.
A high kick nearly shut down Dullnig as Salem gets a two-count, before a wacky full nelson spin-out slam drew a near-fall. Dullnig returns with a back body drop and a series of clotheslines, before he ran into Salem’s boot in the corner. That left a mark, but he’s able to hit the Fireman’s carry facebuster… then a Hektor-Knie for the win. A decent enough opener, but Dullnig went through the wars in this one, needing treatment at ringside as he was limping by the end, in addition to that nasty boot to the head (which made for a heck of a photo afterwards…). **¾
Tristan Archer vs. Michael Knight
The former champion’s back in action ahead of his rematch in Weyhe at the end of the month…
Papenburg were solidly behind Knight, as he tried to surprise Archer with a roll-up out of the blocks. Archer clubbed Knight into the ropes in response, as he looked to choke away on the former Shotgun champion. Knees to the gut followed from the Frenchman, then a delayed bodyslam, and some Danielson-ish elbows to the neck.
Knight fights back, but got charged down instantly, only to return with some leg lariats. A wheelbarrow bulldog’s next, then a clothesline into the corner… before Michael Schenkenberg and Nikita Charisma ran out to attack Knight for the DQ.
Ah great, they’ve got that bloody bell with them. Archer and Rott und Flott attack Knight, before Bobby Gunns made the save. He’s swarmed until Jurn Simmons ran them off, and I think you can guess where we’re heading with this. A six-man main event’s made… holla holla.
Danny Fray vs. The Rotation
It’s a main roster debut for Fray, who’s part of the wXw Academy…
Rotation took Fray down with a wristlock early, then looked for an armbar as an early pin was kicked out of. Wash, rinse, repeat, but this time Fray counters in kind, only for Rotation to flip free and trip Fray into a toe hold that was pushed out of.
Fray tries one of his own, but Rotation pushes free before he tied up Fray in a gift-wrapped legsweep… rolling through into a gift-wrapped armbar. Some neat stuff being thrown out here by Rotation… as Fray hiptossed free. A clothesline followed, but Rotation’s back with an uppercut and some headscissors, while a springboard armdrag and a dropkick kept Fray on the defensive.
Rotation gets a two-count on a crucifix, then went back to the wristlock before Fray avoided a moonsault… only to get taken down with an armdrag. A seatbelt pin nearly won it for Rotation, who then telegraphed a trip to the corner… and got thrown into the ropes for it. He recovered to hit a hook kick, before Fray pulled a Black Hole Slam out of nowhere for a near-fall.
Stomps from Fray kept Rotation down, as Fray then caught a crossbody, turning it into a Samoan drop, for another near-fall. Rotation escapes a powerbomb, then took down Fray with a crossbody off the top, before a wild running kick went through Fray ahead of a satellite DDT. Another trip up top sees the Rotation land the Victory Over Gravity… and that’s all she wrote. Pretty one-way for the most part, but the expected win for the Rotation over the newcomer. **¾
wXw Shotgun Championship: Maggot (c) vs. Norman Harras
O-kay… it might be time to have independent adjudicators for these draws if everything keeps coming up Milhouse for Norman. Although Norman Harras applying to be the Sporting Director just so he can rig the Shotgun lottery after weeks of feeling slighted on those empty set shows is a hell of a long game.
Harras goes between the ropes as he looked to neutralise a clearly-annoyed Maggot, before a lock-up ended with Harras in the corner. Norman returns the favour, before Maggot was pushed away… returning with a spear as he almost won it inside 90 seconds. A teased plancha sent Norman scurrying, but he went for Maggot’s nipples as they fought around ringside.
Back inside, Harras misses a chop in the corner as Maggot countered with an uppercut, following up with mounted punches and some nibbling in the corner as well. A slam’s blocked though as Harras ended up getting knocked down with a Thesz press, with Maggot finding time to strut his stuff.
Norman rolled outside, so Maggot followed to beat him back in, but Harras knocked Maggot’s teeth into one of the turnbuckle irons before a charging knee back inside ended in the ropes. Shoulder charges into the corner, then a face rake with the boots keeps Norman on course, before he caught Maggot’s crossbody and turned it into a slam for a near-fall.
Maggot fights out of a chinlock on the mat, then countered out of a slam as he began to fight back… only to leap onto Norman’s back, as it’s countered into a Finlay roll for a near-fall. An attempted Boston crab ended in the ropes as Maggot finally pushed back in with a small package… only for Harras to kick out then waffle him with a clothesline.
Elbows from Harras lead to him taking Maggot up top, but Maggot headbutts his way free, then went flying with a crossbody that finds its mark. The pair trade forearms from there as the match was into the final five minutes of the time limit. A back elbow out of the corner sets the course for Maggot, as did an enziguiri and a slam, which nearly won the match.
Maggot tries to go for a cutter, but Harras pushed free and hits a big boot as the time continued to tick away. Norman gets dirty with some choking, before he ripped off a turnbuckle pad… it earned Norman a €20 fine, and the loss as well, because the ensuing distraction allowed Maggot to charge him into the exposed corner, then roll him out of it with a handful of tights to win with an O’Connor roll. Norman’s getting closer, but Maggot continues to outsmart the new head honcho in wXw… ***
Backstage, Dan Mallman’s with Tristan Archer, Nikita Charisma and Michael Schenkenberg. Nikita rings the bell as Dan tried to call their attack earlier unsporting. Of course, the three of them are sour over titles, with Rott und Flott adamant they should be in the tag title hunt, in addition to Archer still smarting over what happened last week in Frankfurt.
Aigle Blanc vs. Senza Volto
This was rescheduled from last week in Frankfurt, with Senza Volto sporting a new mask after he’d had his car broken into the prior week…
We open with a handshake and a hug between the tag team partners, then a broken-up lock-up. A second lock-up ends with Aigle grabbing a wristlock, but Senza counters out, then rolled up Aigle for a quick one-count as the feeling-out process continued. A chop from Senza leads to a whip into the corner, but Aigle avoids the charge… then somersaulted from the outside with some headscissors to boot.
Senza rolls outside to avoid a back senton on the ropes, then sidestepped a teased dive. Taking his time to return to the ring, Senza ends up rolling up Aigle for a two-count, before an attempted Code Red set-up was pushed off, leading to leapfrogs, roll throughs and some headscissors as Aigle Blanc was taken outside… where he fell to a misdirection tope from Senza.
Back inside, Senza chopped Aigle in the corner, only to get a quick response as they went tit-for-tat. A PK from Senza’s good for a two-count, as he then worked over his tag partner’s fingers, showing a little more aggression than we’re used to in the process. Aigle lifts Senza onto the apron, but couldn’t avoid a 619 on the floor that swept Aigle off his feet ahead of a flip-senton back inside.
Aigle finally pushed back with a springboard crossbody, then a back senton as Senza had been tripped into the ropes… it’s good for a two-count, so Aigle ties up the arms and looked to stretch Senza on the mat. A snapmare and a kick follows for a two-count, before Senza began to chop his way back into the match, leading to a Twister suplex. That builds up to another flip senton, but Aigle got his knees up as the match remained finely poised.
Heading up top, Aigle misses a springboard Meteora as Senza returns with clotheslines, then a handspring back elbow, The pair go corner-to-corner, as Senza finds his stuff getting countered – with Aigle Blanc clearly having learned a thing or two from their tag matches, as he took things outside for a big moonsault to the floor.
Back inside, Aigle lands that Meteora for a near-fall, before another trip up top led to Senza grabbing hold of him. Countering, Senza hits some chops but gets pushed off as Aigle ended up taking a handspring cutter and a Code Red for a near-fall. Bemused, Senza rethinks his game plan, but gets caught with a ripcord enziguiri, then a knee to the back as a Dragon suplex from Aigle looked to put him in control… Superkicks from Senza keep it even, only for Aigle to hit a short headscissors driver through the ropes.
A 450 splash from Aigle is aborted, unlike Senza’s standing Spanish fly, before the pair traded elbows as the match looked to be heading into the home stretch. They trade roll-ups for near-falls… but in the end Aigle Blanc got enough purchase as he countered the see-saw sunset flips, folding down on Senza to get the three-count! This’ll be a bit divisive, given this didn’t have any stakes, but there’s hints of Senza Volto getting aggressive – and an upset defeat here could push him further… ***½
It’s after intermission, so it’s dark out… and the Alte Kesselschmiede has a whole new vibe. I want to see a wrestling show in this building, especially an evening one…
Vincent Heisenberg vs. Oskar
A spot of big lads wrestling up next, and with no Robert Dreissker around to distract, Oskar should be more focused this week.
Papenburg’s way behind Oskar to start as the pair locked up into the corner, before they began to pelt each other with elbows and chops. Clubbing forearms from Oskar took Heisenberg into the corner, but a suplex is blocked as Heisenberg got his own back for some of those earlier shots.
Oskar switches around to boot Heisenberg into the corner, only for a reversed Irish whip to lead to a splash from Heisenberg. A teased fallaway slam’s blocked as Oskar went back to the suplex, before a missed big boot allowed Heisenberg to find his way through. Now we get the fallaway slam, before Oskar’s attempted fightback ended with him getting clubbed down.
Heisenberg teases a powerslam, but Oskar slips onto the apron before he returned with a snap suplex. Boots keep Heisenberg down for a two-count, as a half crab from Oskar ended with Heisenberg pushing his way free – sending Oskar outside in the process. An attempt to follow leads to both men heading outside, where they continued the fight, swapping headbutts and the like as Oskar reset the count so he could keep going.
They brawl around ringside, but Heisenberg takes it into the crowd as he cleared some seating… and proceeded to throw Oskar into one of the support beaks. Oskar shrugged it off and got his own back, only to get lawn darted into the column… allowing Heisenberg enough time to wander back into the ring and take the easy count-out win. I get the distinct impression we’re not done here, and I’m fine with that. These two knocked lumps out of each other, and I want more of this. ***
They replay Baby Allison winning the women’s title in Frankfurt last week… and we’ve got the rematch as Ava Everett looks to regain her title.
wXw Women’s Championship: Ava Everett vs. Baby Allison (c)
Ava’s in a foul mood, demanding her music be cut off so she could mock the crowd. She’s beyond used to the booing, and threatened to regain the title and take it home to Florida.
We open with some swinging and missing from Everett, who got rolled up early on as Allison tried to end this one early. Taking things to the corner, Everett threw some forearms to Allison, only to miss a leg lariat into the corner as Allison returned with a Codebreaker.
Everett powders outside and continued the fight, stopping to try her “flick water on Allison” trick from Carat, to see if that’d quell the champion. It would not. Allison swats the water away, then returned to the ring for a Thesz press as she looked to push on. Everett pulled Allison into the ropes as she tried to take things back outside, but instead opted to club away on the champion some more.
More forearms knock Allison down in the corner, ahead of a suplex out of the corner as Everett picked up a two-count. Some boot choking keeps Allison in the corner, but Allison fights back with elbows and a back suplex that sent Ava into the corner. A shoulder charge and a Scorpion kick followed, then a death valley driver… but Everett kicks out at two.
Grabbing Everett for another Scorpion kick, Allison ends up taking a stunner as the challenger fought free, before Allison found her way back in with a spear and a Northern lights suplex for another two-count… as the Muta lock again trapped Ava in the middle of the ring for the submission. ***
Everett stayed back in the ring to chew out the crowd one more time, as this was her final match in wXw. She railed on the crowd for being disrespectful, then told the crowd she hated Baby Allison, “her bald friend, and her slimy boyfriend,” before bragging that she’ll be going back to the US. It was a pretty decent run, with an unexpected title reign in the middle of it – and a lot of heated responses from crowds as well…
Rott und Flott (Michael Schenkenberg & Nikita Charisma) & Tristan Archer vs. Jurn Simmons & Only Friends (Bobby & Michael Knight)
The bells… the bells…
We’ve a lot of stalling as Jurn and Tristan eventually get us going, but Tristan’s determined to stall as he went into the ropes, then to the outside as he sought to annoy Simmons. Eventually, Rott und Flott jumped Jurn as he went after Archer in the corner… but the Frenchman’s gloating was stopped as Jurn blitzed through the pair of them, dropping Nikita Charisma with a swinging side slam, before Archer ate a back body drop.
Bobby Gunns tagged in and went to work over Archer, leading to shoulder tackles and kicks from Gunns, only for Archer to charge him down. Michael Knight joins in too with an abdominal stretch and a stunner, before Gunns’ clothesline led to a two-count. Michael Schenkenberg blind tags in to help, but ends up taking his half of a double DDT as Knight again pushed on.
Charisma knees Knight in the ropes after a bulldog was pushed off, but Knight gets back in it with a double-team hiptoss with Gunns. Charisma tries to leap off the top to the Only Friends, but gets caught on the way down ahead of a kick-assisted side Russian legsweep as the referee had long since lost all control, building up to a trio of submissions from the good guys.
Things spill outside as Knight teed up for a dive, but he’s tripped by Archer as things changed in a heartbeat, with Rott und Flott taking their shots, while a back suplex from Archer left Gunns on the side of the apron. Schenkenberg charges Knight into the corner as some triple-teaming chokes in the corner led to referee Rainer Ringer refusing to count a pin.
Charisma finally gets a pin counted as he dropped an elbow on Knight for a two-count, before Knight got charged into the corner ahead of a hanging backbreaker and a powerslam for another count of two. Eventually, Knight returned with a sunset flip for a two-count, only for Schenkenberg to come right back in with a backbreaker before Nikita Charisma got too carried away and shoved the ref… who shoved right back.
Knight nearly wins with a crucifix as Charisma protested… before a crossbody off the top looked to buy Knight enough time to tag out. Instead, Knight had to hold on a little longer, particularly because when he went for the tag both Archer and Schenkenberg pulled Gunns and Simmons off the apron.
Settling down again, a half crab from Charisma kept Knight down as Schenkberg had tagged in, while a back suplex from Archer was good for a two-count. A double-team back suplex to Knight ends up with Knight hitting double sliced bread – enough for a sandwich – as Knight finally got the tag out Jurn.
Simmons runs wild on Rott und Flott, striking Schenkenberg down with a clothesline before an inverted slam dropped Charisma onto his own man. Archer tried to leap in with a sleeperhold, but he’s thrown off… then suplex-thrown into his partners for the hell of it. That all builds up to the standing moonsault that got Jurn a near-fall on Schenkenberg, before Bobby Gunns tagged in and traded strikes with Schenkenberg.
Gunns gets pulled down with a side suplex, before returning with a German suplex and a shotgun dropkick. Knight comes in to help take Schenkenberg to the corner ahead of a springboard clothesline-assisted German suplex… that Archer broke up the pin on as he slammed Knight into the pile.
Archer hits a La Terreur on Knight as the ring stayed full, before dragging Schenkenberg into the corner to tag in. Gunns stopped Archer in his tracks with a PK and a guillotine… but Archer countered out into a Falcon Arrow for a near-fall. The Rott und Flott double-team DDT nearly wins it, but Knight breaks up the pin as a big ol’ Parade of Moves cleared the decks.
When we resume, Charisma and Knight trade shots again, as Schenkenberg ends up dragging Charisma out of the ring as they teased walking off. Dennis Dullnig comes from the back and makes sure they didn’t go anywhere, while Archer’s attempt at a belt shot to Jurn earned him a spear. Charisma’s rolled back into the ring by Dullnig, who kept hold of Schenkenberg’s foot, as an ushigoroshi from Knight, a PK from Gunns and a Massive Piledriver from Jurn put paid to the “Dropkick Professor.” Trios matches are usually good, and this was no exception – complete with the thread of Dennis Dullnig coming in at the end to get a small measure of revenge for what happened in Frankfurt a week earlier. ***½
The call from wXw to tape and air all of their shows in full means that we’re seeing some different venues and scenarios – with this Papenburg hall likely to have been one of those that would have been only shown in clip form in days gone by. I’m pretty sure there’s a few people who’ll have seen this venue and instantly put it on their list of places to see a show at – should wXw return there. As for this card, well, it felt very much like a house show – and in a good way, as this card was full of matches that fit within existing storylines without necessarily giving away too much in terms of progression.