wXw made their debut in Bremen as AMBOSS looked to add the tag team titles to their collection in the main event.
Quick Results
Michael Oku and Laurance Roman went to a 15:00 time limit draw – Roman retains the wXw Shotgun Championship (***½)
Axel Tischer & Tristan Archer pinned Elijah Blum & Peter Tihanyi in 15:28 (***¼)
Michael Schenkenberg pinned Jacob Crane in 7:24 (**½)
Maggot pinned Senza Volto in 9:49 (**½)
Dennis Dullnig & Hektor Invictus pinned Massimo Pesca & Norman Harras in 8:56 (**¾)
Ava Everett pinned Delmi Exo to win the wXw Women’s World Championship in 8:26 (**¾)
Fast Time Moodo pinned Alex Duke in 6:44 (**¾)
Bobby Gunns & Michael Knight defeated Icarus & Robert Dreissker via disqualification to retain the wXw World Tag Team Championship in 12:33 (***¼)
— If you want to catch this before it’s uploaded to Peacock/WWE Network, head over to wXwNOW.de
Two weeks on from Shortcut to the Top, wXw’s making their debut in Bremen at the Tivoli… Dave Bradshaw’s back on English commentary as all roads look to point towards next month’s World Tag Team Festival.
wXw Shotgun Championship: Michael Oku vs. Laurance Roman (c)
The first of three title matches on the show, as Laurance Roman was looking to bookend the evening with AMBOSS wins.
Roman looked to keep his distance early on, powdering to the outside before he returned to charge down Oku with a shoulder tackle. Oku quickly responds with a dropkick and a superkick, while a suplex picks up an early two-count… before Roman crawled to the apron to break an early half crab. A dropkick knocks Roman off the apron as the Fosbury flop followed to keep the Shotgun champion on the floor. Back inside, Oku headed up top… but gets shoved down to the floor as Roman began to take control. A back elbow decks the challenger for a two-count, while Irish whips hurl Oku from corner-to-corner as a snap suplex added another two-count for Roman.
Oku’s trapped in the corner with shoulder charges, while a chinlock’s almost fought out of… only for Roman to throw Oku back down to the mat. The ref refuses to count from an eye rake, which annoyed Roman as Oku eventually fought back with a missile dropkick, before he began to beat Roman to the punch. A snap DDT plants Roman for a near-fall, while a springboard moonsault gets a similar result, before Roman avoided a frog splash… he took too long on his swinging facebuster, but gets his take on the Sister Abigail anyway for a near-fall. A crack at the facebuster’s rolled out of for a near-fall, before Oku hit his misdirection knee for another near-fall.
The pair trade blows from there, as Oku pulled ahead… only to get caught with a cross-chop to the throat ahead of the facebuster for a near-fall. That’s followed up with a STF from Roman, but he lets go to adjust… Oku finds a way back in with a half crab as we hit the final two minutes of the time limit. Roman kicks the half crab away, but a follow-up PK allows Oku to add a frog splash instead for a near-fall… transitioning into a half crab from the kick-out. We’re into the final minute as Roman hung on, eventually making it to the ropes for the break before the pair traded roll-ups until time ran out. Roman retains on the draw, but Oku had him in deep trouble – and wouldn’t be a bad bet for a rematch down the road… ***½
Axel Tischer & Tristan Archer vs. Elijah Blum & Peter Tihanyi
Archer’s looking to get some revenge after he was eliminated from Shortcut to the Top by Elijah Blum…
We got going with Blum and Tischer they began that feeling out process, with a headlock from Tischer giving way to armdrags. Blum’s kick’s caught by Tischer as he negotiated a release… turning it into a Test of Strength before Blum found a way in with a dropkick. Blum grabs a wristlock, but Tischer broke free as Peter Tihanyi tagged in… Some shoving gives way to Tristan Archer coming in… he’s taken down with a headlock from Tihanyi, only for Archer to push free and take him the Hungarian with a shoulder tackle. Tihanyi’s leapfrog’s caught, but he’s able to work free into a sunset flip for a two-count, while a leaping back elbow had the Frenchman down.
Tischer comes in to try his luck, scoring with an uppercut to Tihanyi’s back before he began to hook away on him. Tihanyi broke free as Blum tagged in to hit a crossbody, then a sliding clothesline for a two-count, before a big boot from Blum distracted everyone… allowing Archer to hit a clothesline from the apron. Archer’s back in to focus on Blum’s ribs as Elijah was trapped in the wrong corner for a spell, as Archer and Tischer traded frequent tags and had their fun with Blum. Archer gets a two-count out of a suplex, while Tischer came in… and got caught with a suplex. Tihanyi gets the tag in, clearing house… but has to forget about Tischer as a swinging DDT almost put away Archer after another exchange. Archer blocks an Asai DDT, only to get hit with it at the second attempt for a near-fall.
Blum’s back in as Archer’s bounced with superkicks for a near-fall… Tihanyi gets rid of Tischer as Blum looked to hit his Parting Gift on Archer. Instead, Archer lands a powerbomb as Tischer tagged in to hit a flying clothesline, then a leaping leg lariat before Archer’s sit-down Dominator – dubbed La Bastille – almost put Blum away. From there, Le Terreur and a clothesline-aided German suplex nearly wins it, but Tihanyi’s frog splash broke up the pin. All four men stay in the ring to trade strikes, leading to a Blum neckbreaker, a uranage from Archer, then a Tihanyi superkick… before a death valley driver from Tischer completed the set. Blum adds a superkick-aided Titanic for a near-fall as we’re in the home stretch… leading to Tischer dumping Blum with a Horrible Slam for the win. This took a while to get going, but a hot finishing stretch kept the Tischer/Tihanyi series nice and warm. ***¼
Jacob Crane vs. Michael Schenkenberg
This was Crane’s first singles match for wXw since May…
Schenkenberg corners Crane early on, before we stopped to do some yay/boo posing in the corners. When we got going, Crane’s pushed aside from the lock-up, before he decided to do some push-ups… Schenkenberg shows him up with some clapping push-ups, baiting Crane into a missed elbow drop before Crane found an opening with a side headlock. Crane’s pushed off into the ropes, then charged down by Schenkenberg, who teased a powerslam after catching a leapfrog. Crane’s elbowed off the apron, but his attempts to walk out were stopped by Nikita Charisma, as Crane gets taken back in… where he pulls Schenkenberg throat-first into the ropes.
A chinlock from Crane leads to a back suplex and an elbow drop… but a back body drop cuts off Crane ahead of a bodyslam. There’s another one too from Schenkenberg, then a third, which gets a near-fall before Crane escaped a Tiger driver… and tried to win with a roll-up with his feet on the ropes, only for Nikita Charisma to dive into the ring to make the ref spot it. Crane’s furious at that, but the distraction leads to the finish as Schenkenberg got the win with a roll-up… with his feet on the ropes. Such delicious irony. **½
“Earlier today,” Dennis Dullnig’s pacing around waiting for Hektor Invictus to arrive. He does, but Dennis, ahem, hectors Invictus, who wanted no part of the tag match they had scheduled as they argued their way into the building…
Maggot vs. Senza Volto
Maggot’s got a fair wait to go before he gets his title match – so he’s got Senza Volto in a rare singles match for the Frenchman.
We open with a lock-up into the ropes from Senza, who didn’t break cleanly as he rolled Maggot down to the mat… Maggot returns with a Thesz press, before some punches and a kick took Senza into the corner. Senza recovers by pulling Maggot into the buckles, only to get caught moments later with an uppercut. More mounted punches follow in the corner from Maggot, before Senza leapt over a spear… his mounted punches are cut off, unlike a gamengiri as he proceeded to sweep Maggot’s legs then hit a senton atomico back into the ring. Maggot spills outside, but was able to cut off Senza’s dive… before a sit-out facebuster a la Laurance Roman almost won it for Senza.
Senza pushes on with a snapmare and a kick to the back for a two-count, while Maggot’s sent into the turnbuckles chest-first from an Irish whip. A Cobra Twist follows from Senza, but Maggot hiptosses his way free before he got sent back into the corner by Senza, who picked up a two-count from that. Baby Allison pops up on the apron to get in Senza Volto’s face, but he breaks off and goes after Maggot once more… with Maggot this time returning from a whip into the corner as he decked Senza with a clothesline. More clotheslines and elbows follow from Maggot, as does a back body drop, before Maggot headed up top and scored with a crossbody.
A spear follows for a near-fall, but Senza’s found a second wind with a handspring back elbow before a standing Spanish Fly almost got the win. In the end though, Senza heads up top for a moonsault which looked to land… but apparently Maggot turned it into a cutter and that’s the win. This one never really got out of second gear, which was a shame… **½
Senza Volto slaps away a handshake attempt as he stormed to the back…
Massimo Pesca & Norman Harras vs. Dennis Dullnig & Hektor Invictus
I swear this was originally Pesca and Moodo, but they switched a match around to give us a pair of warring teams. The music never skipped when Norman was in charge…
Dullnig and Hektor argue over who should start, but Hektor wins that argument as he opens up against Pesca, taking him down to the mat… only for Pesca to grab the arm. An arm wringer from Hektor helps take things to the mat as they exchange pinning attempts. Hektor goes back to Pesca with a monkey flip, then a bodyslam before Dullnig tagged himself into the match. Problem was, Dennis celebrated and got ploughed down by a Pesca clothesline, before Harras tagged himself in as Pesca went up top. A chinlock from Harras keeps Dullnig down, but he fights out and tagged in Hektor who cleared house… at least until an errant kick in the ropes from Dullnig connected with him.
Harras shoves Hektor into Dullnig and begins to put the boots to him… but Pesca tags himself in after Norman took things to the corner. Pesca scores with a diving kick for just a one-count, but Norman’s quickly back in as they tried to isolate Hektor. A knee drop’s good for a two-count, as Norman looked to have control of things. Hektor caught Norman with a powerslam, but misses a springboard moonsault out of the corner… that prompts Dullnig to fire up after he gets the tag in, running wild as he threw Pesca into Harras, before a uranage almost got the win. Harras tries to grab Dullnig in the ropes, but Pesca ends up connecting with Norman… that left him alone as Hektor’s knee strike led to him slamming Dullnig onto Pesca, and that’s enough to get the win. **¾
wXw Women’s World Championship: Ava Everett vs. Delmi Exo (c)
This was Ava’s rematch after she’d lost the title over in MLW a month or so earlier…
Everett goes for the hair early on, pulling Exo down to the mat before throwing a kick to the champion in the corner. Forearms follow, producing a meaty thud, before Delmi fought back, rolling Everett into the ropes ahead of a butterfly suplex for a two-count.
Delmi’s quickly on the defensive as Ava went back to the hair, before Jacob Crane at ringside threw in a cheapshot. A clothesline cuts off Delmi’s attempted fightback, as Ava began to throttle her on the mat. Kicks from Everett led to a suplex for a two-count… before Ava got distracted by the crowd’s chanting. That allows Exo back in as she beat Ava to the punches, but Everett fought back with a double sledge off the middle rope… which is turned into an overhead suplex for just a two-count. Exo’s bridging cross-legged Fisherman suplex almost sees her retain the title, but Ava’s back with a DDT, only for Delmi to hit back with a Tiger Driver ‘91 of all things for a near-fall. From the kick-out, Exo heads up the turnbuckles… but Everett gets up to knock her down with a kick, and that’s enough to get the win. **¾
That win saw Ava break the record as she became the first three-time wXw Women’s World Champion…
We’ve got a promo from Bobby Gunns and Michael Knight – with Gunns getting to wrestle on home ground in wXw for the first time as they defended the tag titles against AMBOSS in the main event.
Alex Duke vs. Fast Time Moodo
Duke looked to back off from Moodo to start, but took Moodo down early on with a hair pull.
Of course, that earned a response as Moodo rattled off some forearms and kicks, before a crossbody off the middle rope drew a two-count. Duke recovers as he threw Moodo shoulder-first into the ring post, before the crowd began to get in his head as he tried to wear down Moodo. Duke’s running kick in the corner led to him hanging up Moodo in the ropes ahead of a double sledge off the top for a two-count. Moodo begins to fight back, but ends up getting caught with a backbreaker for a two-count, before an Irish whip sent him hard into the corner.
Moodo responds with some kicks, as a spinning heel kick downs Duke… a second one in the corner led to a sliding punch, before a double stomp and a knee strike almost put Duke away. Duke avoids a Black Belt Kick as he returned with a brainbuster… but it’s not enough as Moodo came back with a German suplex, before a Black Belt Kick put an end to things. **¾
wXw World Tag Team Championship: AMBOSS (Robert Dreissker & Icarus) vs. Only Friends (Bobby Gunns & Michael Knight) (c)
AMBOSS were looking to sew up all of the men’s titles with a win here – even if it meant defending them in next month’s World Tag Team Festival.
Icarus doesn’t exactly endear himself to the locals with his opinion of Bremen, before he blistered the local lad Gunns with a slap to start. Gunns returns the favour with a big boot, before Knight tagged in and scored with a wheelbarrow Codebreaker double-team. Dreissker’s in to get sandwiched with clotheslines, while Knight knocks Icarus off the apron ahead of a Gunns PK and a teased tope from Knight, only for Dreissker to pull Icarus out of harm’s way. Back inside, Knight’s abdominal stretch on Icarus gets some help from a kick from Gunns, before a clothesline took Icarus down for a two-count. Gunns and Knight trade quick tags, but Icarus avoids an assisted German suplex before the referee forcibly split up a double-team… and ended up missing Robert Dreissker sneaking a kick in behind his back.
That kick winded Knight, and with Laurance Roman getting involved, we’ve got some triple-teaming as Gunns distracted the ref. Knight’s kept in the AMBOSS corner for a bit, before he’s taken into the ropes for a Dreissker back elbow… a back senton follows for a two-count. Icarus is back as they continued to wear down Knight with a stalling suplex, before Dreissker charged Knight into the corner for a splash. An Icarus cannonball gets him a one-count as Gunns dove in to break up the pin, but Knight again was trapped in the wrong corner as AMBOSS had virtually sliced the ring in half. Of course, that’s the cue for Knight to break free, but his sunset flip’s stuffed as Icarus blind-tagged back in to score with a superkick for a near-fall.
Dreissker’s back to stomp on Knight some more, stopping to knock Gunns off the apron before Knight found it in him to suplex Dreissker away. Icarus can’t stop the tag either, as Gunns came back into play, knocking AMBOSS into the corners for corner-to-corner uppercuts. A back elbow to Icarus and a shotgun dropkick to Dreissker helps keep him ahead, before Roman pulled his colleagues to the outside… just in time for apron PKs from Gunns and a flip senton from Knight into the pile. The springboard forearm-aided German suplex almost beats Icarus, before Laurance Roman jumped onto the apron to distract the ref. A pair of low blows and roll-ups follow… and that’s enough to get AMBOSS the win at 12:33… but wait! Rott und Flott come sprinting out with referee Rainer Ringer and a phone… Charisma’s got video footage for Alex Schneider, who makes the call to reverse the decision, DQ’ing AMBOSS instead. ***¼
Post-match, AMBOSS storm the still-champions, leaving them laying as the show came to a close.
This show was rough going for wXw – with a lot of things not quite hitting their stride, including that damned sound system that reminded me of the olden days of portable CD players. Without skip protect.