We’re two weeks away from Dead End, but will Marius al-Ani be filling up his plate as he reluctantly enters the tag title tournament with Levaniel tonight?
Quick Results
Tristan Archer pinned Vincent Heisenberg in 7:23 (***)
Bobby Gunns submitted Ender Kara in 4:40 (**¼)
wXw World Tag Team Championship Tournament – Quarter-Final: Abdul & Aytac pinned Levaniel in 7:13 (**)
Michael Knight pinned Emil Sitoci in 16:08 (***¾)
Alpha Kevin pinned Gulyas Junior in 5:43 (**)
Norman Harras pinned Dennis Dullnig in 6:52 to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship (**¼)
Dave Bradshaw’s on English commentary as we’re back in the Steffy in Oberhausen…
Backstage, Vincent Heisenbverg’s asked for his thoughts on Robert Dreissker and Anil Marik making it through to the semis in the tag title tournament – a spot he blew off after one bad match. He doesn’t want to focus on it, and instead prove that his win over Tristan Archer in the Catch Grand Prix wasn’t just luck.
Tristan Archer vs. Vincent Heisenberg
Robert Dreissker’s accompanying Heisenberg to the ring for this, complete with a clipboard.
Heisenberg goes for a lock-up, but Archer slips out and rolled him to the mat for a quick one-count, almost wiping out the ref in the process. Heisenberg retaliates with a quick armbar, but Archer takes him down with a Fireman’s carry before Heisenberg’s toe hold ended up being easily enough escaped. Archer returns with a side headlock, but he’s shoved off as Heisenberg charges him down before a drop toe hold took the Hamburg native down. A low dropkick gets Archer a one-count, before a clothesline from Heisenberg landed for another one-count as Dreissker offered advice from ringside.
Heisenberg rolls Archer to the mat for a chop to the back… it fires up the Frenchman to respond with chops, but Heisenberg just takes him down for a two-count as again, Heisenberg wasn’t hooking the leg. Elbows from Heisenberg take Archer into the corner for a double chop, but a boot stops Heisenberg’s charge ahead of a telegraphed kick. Heisenberg tries to hit a slam out of the corner – like how he won in the Catch Grand Prix – but ends up booting down Archer’s leap off the ropes for a near-fall. Right hands from both men weaken the other, but Archer sweeps the leg as Heisenberg went for a big boot… Heisenberg thought he’d caught a punch, but a half-Codebreaker drops the big lad for a two-count.
A Michinoku Driver from Heisenberg almost gets the win against the run of play as Dreissker was throwing a fit over Heisenberg not hooking the leg. Heisenberg stays on top of Archer with a North/South choke, but nearly pays for it as it’s rolled over into a pin, before Archer trips Heisenberg into the corner, then hit a Go 2 Sleep… before Heisenberg went for a slam. He hesitates and gets caught with a tornado DDT from Archer, before a lariat put away Heisenberg. This was a hell of an outing for Heisenberg, who had his chances, but the lack of experience, coupled with hesitancy, costs the relative rookie. ***
Post-match, Archer’s interviewed as he puts over how much Heisenberg had improved since their first match..
We then go backstage as Ender Kara’s interviewed ahead of the next match in the trial series. He’s got Bobby Gunns – a trial by fire here. Kara’s staying positive as he knows a win here will make a massive statement.
Ender Kara vs. Bobby Gunns
Kara shoots out of the gates with a shotgun dropkick and some running elbows in the corner, before a hesitation dropkick missed.
Gunns catches his leg, then pulled him into a half crab, but Kara punches away before his kicks barely fazed Gunns as a rope break saved Kara. More kicks from Kara lead to him taking an uppercut or two, before a STF from Gunns also ended in the ropes. Staying on Kara, Gunns torques the wrist before a whip into the corner saw Kara float over and come back with a springboard missile dropkick. Kara throws more mid-kicks, then swept the leg ahead of a PK and a stomp for a one-count… a low dropkick’s next for a two-count. Gunns retaliates with a German suplex, but gets caught with a roundhouse enziguiri before a cutter from Kara’s caught and eventually turned into a Dragon sleeper as Kara’s forced to submit. A hot start quickly flamed out as Bobby Gunns put away the newcomer in under five minutes. **¼
Post-match, Bobby Gunns talked about the streak he’s been building up lately – and he promises that Marius al-Ani will become part of HIS streak.
Backstage, Abdul and Aytac are asked about Metehan’s whereabouts. He’s “busy providing for the family,” which is one way to put it about the newly-named Teoman. Abdul promises to do what Metehan has taught them – by winning the tag titles to bring home the money.
wXw World Tag Team Championship Tournament – Quarter-Final: Marius al-Ani & Levaniel vs. Ezel (Abdul & Aytac)
“Is Bobby Gunns a threat to Marius al-Ani’s streak?” – that was posited in the last match. The highly cynical might argue it could be his partner tonight who poses a more current threat. Levaniel has a rather different memory of how he got al-Ani to tag with him…
wXw World Tag Team Championship Tournament – Quarter-Final: Levaniel vs. Ezel (Abdul & Aytac)
Except… Marius doesn’t turn up when his music plays. Ezel do turn up, and I guess this is going to be a handicap match?
Abdul starts off with a kick to the gut, before he worked over Levaniel’s arm with a wristlock. Aytac tags in and tries for a wristlock, but Levaniel gets backed into the wrong corner as Abdul returned. Levaniel grabs a side headlock, but Abdul bites free before he’s caught with a spinning heel kick. Aytac tags in and runs into some armdrags before a butterfly suplex gets Levaniel a two-count. Levaniel has to duck and dive, but the numbers game catches up to him as Abdul tripped him for a splash to the back from Aytac… before the Anarşi PK sandwich led to a near-fall for Abdul.
Punches from the mount wear out Levaniel, whose fight back was quickly snuffed out as a Judo throw and a stomp to the arm left Levaniel on the deck again. More stomps follow as an armbar looked to get a submission, but Aytac tags back in and proceeds to kick Levaniel’s leg out of his leg. Abdul throws in some cheapshots from the apron ahead of an Aytac DDT for a two-count… Ezel hit a back suplex/neckbreaker combo for a two-count. Aytac tags in after holding the tag rope as Levaniel’s getting worn out, but he manages to make one more comeback, tossing Aytac over his head.
Except Abdul hit a blind tag and hits aG erman suplex after an Aytac knee – dubbed the Hakiki 17 – for the win. This was as one-sided as you’d expect given it was a handicap match, as Levaniel’s streak comes to a predictable end. **
After the match, Levaniel’s in tears and speechless after Marius’ no-show…
Emil Sitoci’s interviewed following his recent bad run of form… he knows he should be winning more, and hopes to be able to get back in the winning column against a fellow veteran in Michael Knight.
Michael Knight vs. Emil Sitoci
Knight offered a handshake to start, which is sorta-accepted by Sitoci, who then took the German to the mat in a front facelock, then a waistlock takedown.
Sitoci stays on top of Knight and shoots the half for a one-count, before he focused on Knight’s left arm with a knee drop and an armbar. Knight escapes and snapmares Sitoci down for a chinlock, but that ends in the ropes before an inside cradle from Sitoci drew a two-count. It’s back to the armbar for Sitoci, but Knight gets to the ropes quickly before a side headlock from Sitoci’s shoved off… only for Emil to return with a wheelbarrow armdrag. A regular one followed, then another, as Sitoci then bars the arm to slow the pace down a little.
Knight extricates himself, then hits a monkey flip to get free as armdrags put Sitoci on the defensive, before they head to the corner with Knight having his arm wrapped around the top rope. Sitoci hits a Codebreaker-ish move to the left arm, then a knee drop to the limb as the armbar returned, leading to a pinning attempt and a single-arm DDT. Knight gets free and begins to kick at Sitoci’s bad leg, following up with a DDT to the leg, before a shinbreaker and a Figure Four deathlock ended in the ropes. Knight stays on Sitoci, charging him into the corner before he wrapped the bad leg in the ropes and targeted it with a dropkick… but the ref refuses to count the pin after the rule-bending.
So Knight goes back to holds, with a Figure Four toe-hold on Sitoci, before they headed outside… where Sitoci’s dropped knee-first onto the edge of the ring. Sitoci barely beats the count-out, and manages to mount a comeback with a Manhattan drop and a clothesline, before a side Russian legsweep left Knight down for a split-legged moonsault. That gets Sitoci a two-count, but his Fireman’s carry gutbuster is blocked as Knight slips out and chained together a Dragon screw into a Trailer Hitch. Eventually Sitoci dove into the ropes to force the break, before he countered Knight’s leap off the middle rope into a Flatliner. Rather than go for a pin, Sitoci ties up Knight in a seated key lock, but it’s too close to the ropes as Knight forces a break.
Sitoci drags Knight away and stomps on the arm some more, then reapplied the hold, but yet again there’s a rope break as Sitoci began to lose his temper. A springboard sunset flip off the middle rope gets Knight a near-fall, before he suckered Sitoci into missing a splash in the corner… Sitoci recovers to land a superplex, as both men looked to fight back to a vertical base. Sitoci’s strikes looked to have a little more behind them as he set up for a Snapmare Driver… Knight countered with an O’Connor roll for a two-count, before Sitoci’s roll-up led to the gutbuster. He doesn’t go for the cover as Sitoci instead goes for a sunset flip… but Knight sits down on him as the SummerSlam 92 finish keeps Sitoci’s losing streak alive. A different pace to everything else, but this was a low-key banger between two veterans who worked a deliberate pace, but told an obvious story with everything meaning something in the match. Seek this one out! ***¾
After the match, Knight said he felt like crap but the win made him forget that as he overcame a veteran without getting too much offence in.
The Pretty Bastards come out next for a statement – they got a bye through to the tag title tournament semi-final, and they brag about that. They run down their future opponents, “Avalanche and… the other one”, Ezel (who were branded “accessories”), and their next opponents: Aigle Blanc and Senza Volto.
Maggott talks about how their French opponents are “cowards” for “hiding their faces with a mask”, before he stopped the spendthrift Prince Ahura from bankrupting himself on champagne. That led to some arguments over Ahura’s recent spending, before Ahura pulled him back on-side.
Next week: Ezel take on Anil Marik & Robert Dreissker… plus the Pretty Bastards face Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc in the tag title tournament semi-finals.
Marius al-Ani is backstage as Andy Jackson asks him about his no-show earlier. Marius reminds us he never teams up with anyone these days, and tells Levaniel that it was a lesson for him.
Alpha Kevin’s next up, ahead of his match with Gulyas Junior. Kevin apparently only took the match because he thought he was getting a bowl of goulash, but he’s excited as he thinks the pair can have a good brawl… and it’ll let Kevin stand on his own two feet…
Gulyas Junior vs. Alpha Kevin
This one gets going with a lock-up… which Kevin quickly breaks.
A series of quick tie-ups and breaks winds Gulyas, before a side headlock from Gulyas slowed down the pace. Kevin breaks in the ropes, then shoved Gulyas off for a shoulder tackle… following up with Dusty punches and a DDT. Gulyas returns by throwing Kevin into his armpit, before a splash in the corner left Kevin winded.
Right hands and shoulder charges keep Gulyas ahead, as did some chops in the corner, before a running punch clocked Kevin for a two-count. Gulyas slaps Kevin, then shoved him, back to the corner… but a splash misses as Gulyas hits the ring post instead. He recovers to roll up Kevin for a two-count, before Kevin’s Fisherman buster left Gulyas in a heap. Kevin waits for Gulyas to get back to his feet as the pair block clotheslines, then land them at the same time, before Kevin dropped Gulyas with another lariat for the win. They kept this brief, but Gulyas Junior is still left looking for his maiden win in wXw. **
They replay Norman Harras’ dodgy title wins in the last few weeks… then we get Dennis Dullnig sneezing his way through an interview. He shoos away Andy Jackson before telling us he wanted to forget losing to Levaniel… but he couldn’t get Levaniel’s smile out of his head. That’ll not be the case tonight he reckons, as he’ll be going back to his hotel with some new gold…
wXw Shotgun Championship: Dennis Dullnig vs. Norman Harras (c)
Of course, Norman wants multiple introductions… so Dennis Dullnig asks for some too as ring announcer Frank Fehrmann’s left yo-yoing between his intro cards.
When we finally get going, Harras locked up with Dullnig and took him into the corner for a break… but Dullnig charges back out to rough up the champion. A side headlock from Harras takes down the challenger, but Dullnig uses headscissors to free himself before a chinlock kept Harras down… but an eye rake takes things to the corner we get another rough break. Dullnig complains about the hooking, but can’t avoid a dropkick from Harras… who mouthed off for too long, and ends up walking into an atomic drop. Harras lands one of his own before they shoved each other… a shoulder block has Dullnig down, but he escapes a PK attempt as Harras ends up getting taken outside with a dropkick.
Harras rolls back inside as Dullnig gave chase… but the champion misses an elbow drop as Dullnig takes Norman into the corners. Norman lifts Dullnig onto the apron for a hot shot, before a boot knocked him down to the floor… only for Harras to roll him back inside to collect a two-count. Going up top, Harras preps for a clothesline, but Dullnig press slams him to the mat ahead of a discus lariat for a near-fall. Following up, Dullnig elbows Harras into the corner, but Norman just throws him into the buckles for a near-fall as Dullnig looked to be exhausted – playing up the sleep depravation from his promo.
In the end, Dullnig elbows free from a waistlock, but Harras pants’ him and snatches the win with a roll-up. Another stolen win keeps Harras’ streak alive, as he continues to win by foul means. **¼
You know what’s next. Andy Jackson interviews Norman after the match, and once again Norman doesn’t care as he’s still basking in another title defence. At least until he’s told his next opponent: he faces Vincent Heisenberg at Dead End. Once again Norman gets his “big match”, but this time it seems to rattle him. Speaking of Heisenberg, he wanders out and begins chewing out Harras… Robert Dreissker and Anil Marik run out to try and calm him down as they close out the show by running down what’s announced for next week and for Dead End.
Go out of your way to see the Sitoci/Knight match – especially if you’re a fan of the more “logical” style of wrestling as opposed to the “flash bang” stuff. A solid week of wXw’s We Love Wrestling series, as every match on here once again meant something – whether it was for the simplistic “I want to get my win back” motive, through to stuff surrounding the various title pictures.