Bobby Gunns took on Fast Time Moodo once more – this time in a no-ropes main event in Leipzig.
Quick Results
Peter Tihanyi pinned Elijah Blum in 11:35 (***)
Stephanie Maze pinned Jane Nero in 4:52 (**¼)
Levaniel pinned Nick Schreier to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship in 10:17 (***)
Anita Vaughan & OSKAR pinned Anil Marik & Baby Allison in 8:20 (**¾)
Mike D Vecchio pinned Hektor Invictus in 13:47 (***½)
Robert Dreissker pinned Samson in 3:42 (**½)
Ahura pinned Axel Fox in 4:14 (**)
Axel Tischer pinned Dennis Dullnig in 12:40 (***¼)
Battle Without Honor and Humanity: Fast Time Moodo defeated Bobby Gunns via referee stoppage in 16:48 (***½)
— In the next week or so, I’ll be chatting about this show with Mike Kilby on the Auf Die Fresse podcast. Links to stream that episode when it drops, as well as back episodes are available at AufDieFresse.co.uk
We’re at the sold-out Hellraiser in Leipzig for the second half of a double shot out East… German language commentary from the near-live stream comes from Mett Dimassi and Emil Völler.
Elijah Blum vs. Peter Tihanyi
It’s a big test for the former Shotgun champion, who was on the defensive early on as Tihanyi controlled the opening stages.
A headlock takedown from Blum gives him an opening, but Tihanyi kips up and stopped him in his tracks as he tried a follow-up. Leapfrogs and roll throughs lead to a prawn hold from Tihanyi for a two-count, before a low bridge took Blum outside for a flash tope from Tihanyi. Blum’s chopped back into the ring from there, with more chops from Tihanyi taking things to the mat for a spell, before Blum began to fight back.
Blum’s neckbreaker has Tihanyi down for a spell, but a shotgun dropkick’s caught as Tihanyi took him down for an elbow drop to the knee. Tihanyi stays on the leg with a DDT to the knee, then with a toe hold and a Figure Four, which Blum eventually rolled through… only to get rolled back into place as the ropes ended up forcing a break.
Picking up pace again, Blum climbs the ropes… fighting off Tihanyi ahead of a froggy crossbody for a near-fall. The pair look to give each other dead legs with some kicks, before Tihanyi rolled through a sunset flip… and kicked Blum’s leg. A swinging DDT followed from there, before a slingshot cutter from the apron got Tihanyi the win in a solid opener. ***
The pair shake hands after the match, and I guess Tihanyi’s recent troubles have been tucked up in bed for now?
Jane Nero vs. Stephanie Maze
Nero was dubbed the “East German wunderkind” by Emil on commentary – she’s starting to get some more dates on the main roster here.
With two different backgrounds on show here, Nero tried to outstrike Maze by throwing fists… but Maze connected first with kicks ahead of a suplex for an early two-count. An uppercut gets Nero in it, ahead of a PK to Maze and a Gourdbuster for a two-count of her own.
Maze’s Saito suplex folds Nero in half as she grabbed a two-count, before some kicks to the chest wore down Nero some more… at least until Jane struck back with a DDT. The pair trade strikes once more as they fought up to their feet, with Nero again pulling ahead, landing a full nelson slam for a near-fall on the former tag champion.
In the end, Nero looks for the Women’s Right… but Maze blocks it and returned fire with the Skyfall kick for the win. **¼
“Earlier today” Fast Time Moodo’s shown arriving at the venue as he’s looking forward to the last chapter of his feud with Bobby Gunns…
wXw Shotgun Championship: Nick Schreier vs. Levaniel (c)
This was Schreier’s third crack at the Shotgun title, most recently coming up short against Levaniel two weeks ago on a non-taped event.
Levaniel tries to boss Schreier around early on, grounding “Hardcore Nick” with headscissors, only to get countered out into a side headlock. Getting free, Levaniel’s quickly taken down with an armdrag, but he’s back in control as he knocked Schreier into the ropes… only to telegraph a back body drop and get caught with a Tiger feint armdrag instead.
A tiltawhirl armdrag and a dropkick keeps Levaniel on the back foot, before some mounted punches in the corner and a bulldog out of it drew a two-count. Levaniel’s discus clothesline bounces Schreier down as the match turned on its head. A Cobra twist from Levaniel’s fought out of, but a short clothesline dropped Schreier again, as did a suplex as Levaniel looked to be in complete control.
Schreier’s trapped with a grounded abdominal stretch from there, but he fought free before a pop-up dropkick took down Levaniel. Charging forearms follow to Levaniel in the corner, then a springboard back elbow… before Schreier went up and connected with a huge crossbody for another two-count.
Schreier tries to take a page out of Masato Tanaka’s playbook with a Diamond Dust, but Levaniel stops him… only to get caught with a sunset flip. A death valley driver’s next for a near-fall from Levaniel, who’s going all John Cena with that, before Schreier mounted a comeback, taking Levaniel into the corner. A superkick and a leaping forearm has Levaniel rocked ahead of the Diamond Dust for a near-fall…
Schreier looks to add the Spirit Shock to that, but Levaniel blocks it and suplexed him into the corner, before the no-longer-galactic Facecrusher got the win. ***
“Earlier today” Laurance Roman meets with Robert Dreissker… Roman’s nursing an injured neck from last night, but still has it in him to berate Dreissker for taking away his chance in Dresden. Dreissker seemed to relent and offered Roman his choice of match, date and place for his Carat title shot, but all is still not well there.
High Performer Ltd. (Anil Marik & Baby Allison) vs. OSKAR & Anita Vaughan
Robin Christopher Fohrwerk threatened to leave Saxony and not have this match for his crew today…
Of course that wasn’t happening, as we got going with OSKAR getting distracted by Fohrwerk at ringside. Marik’s cheapshot is overcome with a bodyslam, but he broke away as OSKAR tagged in Vaughan. Baby Allison’s in too, blocking an O’Connor roll as Vaughan went for early roll-ups before she charged down the former women’s champion.
Allison tries her luck with a prawn hold, getting a two-count before Fohrwerk popped up to distract Vaughan. It worked, but there’s clearly issues within the team as Marik tagged himself back in… and got charged down repeatedly ahead of a fallaway slam for a near-fall. Yet again Fohrwerk tries to intervene, but he’s chased away by OSKAR… only for Marik to blindside Anita from the resulting distraction.
A chinlock from Marik’s fought out of, but he stops Anita from tagging out… and even knocks OSKAR off the apron for good measure. A spear from Allison stops a hint of a comeback from Vaughan, but a discus forearm buys Anita time as tags bring us to OSKAR and Marik. Forearms and elbows from OSKAR put him ahead as he bounced Marik around the ring, ahead of an elbow into the corner and a back suplex out of it for a near-fall.
Allison breaks up the pin, then slapped OSKAR… his big boot’s Matrix’d away from before he chucked Allison outside, as Marik ended up on his own as OSKAR clotheslined him out of an electric chair for the win. **¾
Mike D Vecchio vs. Hektor Invictus
This one’s got a lot of potential on paper – with this perhaps being a tease of a future tag title match?
Hektor’s taken into the corner from the opening lock-up, returning as he worked over Mike’s arm ahead of a Magistral roll-up for an early two-count. A full nelson from Hektor took Mike down to a knee as Hektor looked to stop the Belgian’s explosiveness. Hektor comes close with a lucha roll-up, before Mike tried to play Hektor at his own game with a wristlock.
Hektor escapes, but his follow-up shoulder tackle barely budged Mike, who returned with a monkey flip and a tijeras to take Hektor outside. A swift plancha follows to the outside, before Mike came back to the ring and ran into an elbow in the corner. Hektor adds to that with a dropkick off the middle rope, but Mike’s up at one… then taken right back down in a chinlock.
A powerslam gets Hektor a two-count as he kept Mike on the defensive, following up with a camel clutch that Mike looked to power out of, rolling onto his back as he scored some two-counts that forced Hektor to release the hold. Hektor tries to wipe the smile off of Mike’s face with some right hands, but to no avail as Mike hit back with a dropkick into the corner before he ate a spinebuster for a near-fall.
Hektor’s trip up top is stopped by Mike D’s leap up for a Spanish Fly… a sprinting clothesline off the ropes followed, before he rolled up Hektor in for a death valley driver for a near-fall. Going back up top, Mike’s 450 splash comes up short as Hektor rolled away… Hektor returns with a push-down into a powerbomb for a near-fall of his own, before the pair began to throw bombs at each other.
A Pele kick from Hektor earned him a standing moonsault as almost a reflex action from Mike D. We’re back to the pair trading shots, but it’s Mike D who pulls ahead with a Doctor bomb before he went back up top for a shooting star press that got the win. ***½
The near-live feed has a casual Timothy Thatcher vs. WALTER match from Broken Rules 2018… and then we return straight into action!
Samson vs. Robert Dreissker
Samson was making his wXw debut here, but as an “already in the ring” opponent. I didn’t fancy his chances…
Dreissker roughs up Samson early on, charging him down with a shoulder tackle before trapping him in the corner with shoulder charges. Samson vaults over a second charge, but his clothesline off the rope had little effect as a ripcord lariat from the champion took him down instead.
An Irish whip takes Samson into the corner for an avalanche splash, but he fought back with an armdrag and a dropkick into the corner. Samson can’t follow-up though as he’s caught with a springboard crossbody out of the corner, before a death valley driver got the win. Good stuff this – not every match has to be 10-12 minutes, especially if you’re “new to the territory.” A match that fit its role perfectly. **½
Post-match, Dreissker continued the beatdown on Samson, prompting Laurance Roman to run out to calm things down after Dreissker’d shoved aside the ref. Roman hadn’t been cleared to compete after injuring his neck in Dresden – and that injury wasn’t helped with an elbow from Dreissker, who was a little too eager to stop whoever was making the save. Cue Peter Tihanyi to put the boots to Dreissker, catching him with a superkick as the pair brawled through the crowd to the back.
Axel Fox vs. Ahura
A change to the card after yesterday’s post-show stuff with KxS and Hektor & Dullnig… Ahura’s facing a different Axel now, in the form of Axel Fox. Ahura seemed to take exception to the change of opponent, and said he’d make light work of Fox. Would he take more than a minute?
Well, Ahura’s pace certainly didn’t suggest he was going for a fast win, as a wristlock was rolled out of by Fox early on. The crowd counted down to a minute, which annoyed Ahura, before Fox hit the ropes and caught him with a slap to the face. Psyching out Fox, Ahura lands a chop and a big boot to take down the Pole, before Ahura took the mic and indulged in some self-commentary.
Ahura took out his frustrations on losing his mooted match with the injured Matt Cardona… then the Tischer match in the space of a week, before a half crab ended up with referee Tassilo Jung snatching the mic away from Ahura. A spot of shoving almost costs Ahura as a roll-up from Fox got a two-count, before the Paradise Waterfall from Ahura shut things down.
Rather than go for a pin, Ahura stalked Fox and pulled him up for a new move – the Salamandra – as the spin-out death valley driver ended up getting the win. **
Dennis Dullnig vs. Axel Tischer
The amended match from yesterday as KxS seem to be next in line for a tag title shot – with Axel Tischer seemingly hell-bent on hoovering up European tag team championships.
Dullnig seemed a little gunshy at the bell, but was happy to go move-for-move with Tischer early on, trading holds and counters in the opening stages. A wristlock from Dullnig quickly ends in the ropes. Dullnig’s thrown onto the apron, but avoids getting thrown into the turnbuckle as he hit back in kind, running the apron as he introduced the Axeman into the top turnbuckles.
The percussive maintenance of the Axeman ends with him hanging Dullnig’s arm up in the ropes before he threw him against the side of the ring. Back inside, a dropkick wipes out Dullnig, as did a half-hatch suplex, before Tischer went up top for a flying clothesline. Tischer’s lifted up onto the apron as Dullnig began to fight back, catching Tischer with a series of swivelling clotheslines.
A Fireman’s carry flapjack’s good for a two-count, but Tischer returns with a roll-up before the pair traded punches. Tischer catches out Dullnig with some German suplexes, including the old RINGKAMPF variant off the ropes, before a ragdolling powerbomb almost put Cash away. Dullnig surprises Tischer with an inside cradle for a near-fall, then with a spinebuster, before a running knee strike was stopped as Tischer landed a clothesline… then put Dullnig away with a Horrible Slam for the win. ***¼
Battle Without Honor and Humanity: Bobby Gunns vs. Fast Time Moodo
For the first time since 16 Carat Gold 2017, and the battle of Reich und Schön, the ropes are down as these two look to settle a rivalry that started at Back to the Roots. You can only win this via knock-out or by submission…
Moodo gets the expected hometown reaction as he and Gunns went nose to nose… until Moodo just punted Gunns in the balls. I mean, if you’re gonna make use of the no-DQ environment, you may as well go balls to the wall from the off. Pun intended. Gunns shakes it off and began to lay into Moodo with shots ahead of a suplex that took Moodo to the outside.
Gunns followed him, as we got the Nigel/Bryan tribute spot around the ring post – thankfully to the shoulder, not to the head of Gunns – before Moodo chopped Gunns into a chair. They head up top the bar, where Moodo grabs a beer and spits it into Gunns’ face, prompting a response that quickly ended by way of kicks from Moodo. Back in the ring, Moodo mounts Gunns for strikes from above, but Gunns tries to escape by grabbing a leg… Moodo’s able to thwart that as Gunns was forced to answer a standing ten count.
Moodo’s scissors kick sent Gunns back down to the mat as he was feeling his neck and shoulders. Another flurry from Moodo’s stopped by way of an Octopus stretch from Gunns, but again Moodo got free and booted Gunns back down to the mat. A cravat trapped Gunns for some knees as Moodo retained the upper hand, only for his Black Belt kick to he ducked as Gunns returned fire with a German suplex.
From there, Gunns continued his comeback with a lariat and a back suplex, before he jumped on a grounded Moodo with a leg lock. Of course, Moodo kicked his way free, then trapped Gunns with what commentary dubbed the Moodo Lock. Gunns got free of that, as the pair then fought up onto the stage, where they traded shots ahead of a teased bodyslam from Moodo.
Instead it’s Gunns who lands the slam, before they headed back to the ring where Gunns used the drawstrings from his trunks to choke out Moodo with. Fighting free, Moodo’s back with some kicks to knock Gunns down, ahead of a knee strike and a triangle choke that nearly put out Gunns.
Gunns manages to slip free, as we go back to the pair striking… a double underhook suplex from Gunns nearly drops Moodo on his head, before a PK led to a standing ten-count on Moodo. The count’s beaten, so Gunns scops up Moodo for an Ehrenmann Driver, only for Moodo to slip out and hit a head kick, then a facebuster.
This time it’s Gunns who beats the count, as Moodo then shooed the crowd away… but it’s Moodo who ends up taking the flight from the ring into the third row. Moodo makes it back into the ring, but is immediately pounced on as Gunns laid in shots to the back of the head, following up with a German suplex and a Fireman’s carry slam before he looked to choke out Moodo.
Leipzig were resolutely behind their man Moodo, who flipped off the referee as he hit a stunner to break out of the hold. Except Gunns just reapplies it. This time, an eye rake helps Moodo free, as he then caught a PK from Gunns… more back-and-forth strikes led to Moodo landing a PK after he’d absorbed an enziguiri, before a Black Belt Kick knocked Gunns down, as Moodo trapped Gunns on the mat with kicks to the head, forcing the referee stoppage. A big win on paper for Moodo, as the perennial question now seems to be “what next for Bobby Gunns?” as Moodo has some momentum behind him going into that KxS tag title shot down the line. ***½
A hotter crowd was on hand in Leipzig for this one, and that lifted the show as – aside from the main event and the hastily-added Tischer/Dullnig match – this was another “holding steady” line-up.