It was the night before the 24th Anniversary, but things were stirring in Borken as we had a trios main event ahead of tomorrow’s big title matches.
Quick Results
Icarus pinned Marc Empire in 9:17 (***)
Marc Mentzer pinned Zoltan to retain the wXw Wrestling Academy Championship in 4:45 (**½)
Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig pinned Yokai & Pahlevan Nima in 10:21 (***)
Aeron pinned Jeffrey John in 6:06 (**½)
Norman Harras & Alex Duke pinned Bobby Gunns & Stephanie Maze in 12:52 (***¼)
Anita Vaughan pinned Anil Marik to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship in 9:12 (***¼)
Levaniel pinned Nick Schreier in 8:48 (***¼)
Laurance Roman, OSKAR & Yuto Nakashima pinned Fast Time Moodo, Axel Tischer & Peter Tihanyi in 19:55 (***½)
— Check out the Auf Die Fresse podcast, where we’ve just dropped an episode reviewing 2024 in wXw. Links to stream are available at AufDieFresse.co.uk
It’s the night before the 24th Anniversary and wXw’s back in Borken at the Stadthalle Vennehof – very close to the Dutch border… and we’ve got English commentary by way of Mett Dimassi.
Icarus vs. Marc Empire
Hope you like High Performer Ltd., because (as always) you’re getting a LOT of them tonight). Icarus has a new neck tattoo, which really jumps off the screen at you.
Things start off pretty even as the former Academy champion looked to have Icarus rattled with a series of shoulder tackles, before a Snake Eyes and a diving crossbody sent Icarus packing. Empire gives chase, dropping Icarus onto the side of the ring before chopping him into the front row, only for Icarus to take over back inside with chops of his own.
A neckbreaker and a legdrop gets Icarus a two-count, only for a release suplex from Empire to shut all that momentum down. We get a hip attack as well, then a deadlift powerbomb as Empire almost dished out a rare High Performer Ltd. loss, before Icarus’ discus forearm cut off a lariat.
Icarus tried to put Empire away pretty soon after with a lifting DDT, before Empire smashed back with a Warhammer lariat. Anil Marik gets up onto the apron to stop Empire from hitting a Beast Buster, and with the ref distracted, that interference led to Icarus hitting back with a discus forearm to the back of the neck for the win. A stolen win for Icarus, who was having big trouble with Empire here. ***
We’ve a little plug for the wXw Wrestling Academy… because we’ve got an impromptu title defence.
wXw Wrestling Academy Championship: Zoltan vs. Marc Mentzer (c)
Zoltan’s gotten Kay Lee Ray’s old NXT UK theme for those with an ear for it, while M4 got the Y2Kuties theme. As he should.
M4 has the height advantage over the Hungarian, and was toying with his prey early, throwing Zoltan into the corner as he threw aside a waistlock attempt. A shoulder tackle gets Mentzer a quick two-count, as did a bodyslam, before Zoltan slipped out of a second one and returned with a shotgun dropkick.
More dropkicks put Zoltan ahead, as did a crossbody off the top, but M4’s able to kick out at two. M4 tries to stop Zoltan coming off the top rope, but settles for a uranage on the landing instead… and that’s your lot as M4 racked up a successful defence in a match that did what it needed to do. **½
Pahlevan Nima & Yokai vs. Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig
It’s the first time Cash and Hektor have tagged together since they lost the tag titles at World Tag Team Festival almost three months ago…
Pahlevan Nima started out with Dennis Dullnig, who was able to break a hammerlock attempt before he took a look at Yokai… and got a little spooked. Hektor’s brought in to try and wear down Nima, doing so successfully with a springboard crossbody before Cash tagged himself back in.
A double-team suplex ends with Dullnig backing off for a bit because he was scared of Yokai, and Hektor’s quickly realising he’s going to have to shoulder a lot of the load here as he blind-tagged himself back in. Yet for some reason Dullnig keeps wanting back in, only to get scared…
That fear got even more real when Yokai tagged in, forcing Dullnig to suck it up and try his luck. A uranage from Yokai showed how effective that plan was, as Dullnig almost ended up taking the loss, as the Nima and Yokai team ended up having a good run, building up to a Nima Falcon arrow and a diving legdrop off the top from Yokai for a near-fall. Eventually a huge back body drop from Dullnig wakes up the Borken crowd as he took down Nima, before a gutwrench gutbuster prompted Yokai to tag back in.
Dullnig sidesteps Yokai, but it ends with Hektor getting knocked off the apron as we get back to the comedy of Dullnig facing his fear again. Yet again Hektor makes the save, clearing house before Dullnig came back in to help with a 3D for the win in what was an entertaining tag entirely made by Dullnig’s character. ***
Aeron vs. Jeffrey John
It’s a wXw debut for John, who’s on tour from the States with a rather fetching headscarf.
John keeps it basic early on, raking Aeron’s eyes in the ropes before the relative newcomer hit back with armdrags. Neckbreakers from John get him right back in it though, as did a side Russian legsweep, before his crack at the Three Amigos was cut short by Aeron.
Charging uppercuts into the corner lead to a hesitation dropkick from Aeron, but John’s able to knock Aeron out of the corner before a diving cutter off the top almost got the win. After clearing three quarters of the ring, it should have been enough, but instead John tries to follow up, only to get caught with a backslide as Aeron’s buzzsaw kick set up for a Phoenix Splash for the win. You read that right. The unassuming Aeron wowing everyone with that finish as he picked up his first win on the main roster. **½
Big Bucks (Norman Harras & Alex Duke) vs. Fighting Spirit (Bobby Gunns & Stephanie Maze)
Fighting Spirit crashed out in the first round of World Tag Team Festival – and there’s been some suggestions of Bobby Gunns maybe going back to the past…
We’ve a jump start as Duke and Harras attacked Gunns and Maze from behind, quickly settling down on attempting a double-team on Gunns, only for Stephanie Maze to try and make the save. Finally Gunns’ double clothesline helped turn things around as Fighting Spirit took charge, wearing down Duke with quick tags to keep each other fresh.
Gunns’ back body drop flings Duke into the air for a two-count as Duke got his back worked over with a series of kicks either side of that. Maze tagged in and goes for Harras, which eventually created an opening as Big Bucks tried to take advantage. A dropkick cuts off Maze’s response, as Harras would then intentionally rile up Gunns in the corner to cause a distraction for some cheating from Duke.
A throat thrust from Harras keeps Maze down as Gunns tried to break things up, but to no avail as Big Bucks worked their way up into a wheelbarrow DDT on Maze for a near-fall. Finally Maze got the tag out to Gunns, who cleared the way with a clothesline on Duke, then an enziguiri to Harras, before German suplexes sent the Bucks packing.
Harras eats a brainbuster for a near-fall, before Norman caught a shotgun dropkick and turned it into a Boston crab. Duke’s snuck across to pull Maze off the apron as Gunns was threatening to make the tag, before a springboard moonsault out of the corner from Harras forced Maze into make the save. What is it with unexpected aerial moves tonight?
A double powerbomb takes care of Maze, leaving the Big Bucks free to take on Gunns once more… and while Gunns uncorked a valiant effort against Duke and Harras, he ends up running into the double-team spinebuster as the Big Bucks picked up a Big Scalp. ***¼
After the match, Gunns and Maze slapped each other… but made up pretty quickly. I suspect that tandem may be on borrowed time though.
On the live stream, we got a blast from the past in Borken: Lio Rush vs. Pete Dunne, complete with Alan Counihan on commentary from 2016 – a match we rated pretty damn highly back in the day when it was on Shotgun Plus.
wXw Shotgun Championship: Anil Marik vs. Anita Vaughan (c)
Kicking off the second half, we’ve got at most fifteen minutes of fun with High Performer Ltd.
Marik got some extra purchase on a wristlock with his HPL golf glove to start, taking Vaughan down to the mat… only for Anita to power up and spin Marik down to break the hold. Shoulder tackles keep Anil on the back foot… as did a clothesline to trap him in to the corner as Vaughan was having the better of the opening minutes.
Firing back with a Slingblade, Marik’s right back in it, following up with a kick to the back for a delayed two-count, before a fresh set of shoulder tackles created another opening for Anita. The snap fallaway slam’s next for Anita, as I fail to figure out why Bon Jovi suddenly got an airing in Borken.
Marik’s able to hit an Angle Slam for a near-fall as he had another spell on top, leading to a teased superplex… but Robin Christopher Fohrwerk distracts the referee for some reason. Ah, there you go, Icarus is out to interfere, but Marc Empire’s also out to neutralise him as Vaughan’s able to counter the superplex into a sitout powerbomb for the win. ***¼
Levaniel vs. Nick Schreier
Levaniel tells us he has a dream. A dream of being the European champion, as he wants to have captured every singles title on offer in wXw. On paper, this would be leading to Levaniel challenging Mike D for the European title – a challenge he’d already laid out – but with the Belgian recovering from a leg injury, this’ll just have to be the groundwork, since wXw’s said they’re not going to vacate the title.
The early going sees Schreier take down Levaniel with a dropkick, before a lift onto the apron led to Nick returning with a springboard crossbody. Some mounted punches from Schreier ended with him getting hung up in the ropes as Levaniel firmly took control. Levaniel fiddles with the turnbuckle pad in a bid to create a distraction, but to no avail as the Tassilo Jung didn’t fall for it.
Levaniel resorted to choking Schreier in the corner before he again hung up Schreier in the ropes ahead of a camel clutch. Getting free, Schreier fires back with forearms, only to get cut off as Levaniel again tried to use the ropes… but it’s countered into a monkey flip instead before Schreier followed Levaniel outside with a wild tope.
Brawling on the outside, Levaniel dumps Schreier onto the side of the ring before throwing him back inside… but Nick beats him to the punch once more, landing clotheslines and dropkicks ahead of a crossbody for a near-fall… and with Schreier going for his finisher, Levaniel blocks the Spirit Shock and plants Schreier with the Galactic Facecrusher for the win. ***¼
KxS (Axel Tischer & Fast Time Moodo) & Peter Tihanyi vs. Young Blood (OSKAR & Yuto Nakashima) & Laurance Roman
It’s champions against challengers on opposite teams as we have one last push for the Anniversary!
We start with Axeman and Roman, picking up where they left off at Inner Circle with some fast-and-furious grappling that ended by way of a hiptoss from Roman, who demanded that he face Tihanyi. He gets slapped for that as he and Tischer trade blows for a spell, before Roman broke off to have a swipe at Tihanyi on the apron.
That self-inflicted distraction costs Roman as Tischer took control, bringing in Moodo for a double-team pop-up kick before Young Blood came in to turn it around, with a kick-assisted slam getting OSKAR a two-count. A chop from OSKAR looks to set up Moodo for something… but a kick to the back from Tischer opens things up for Moodo to kick OSKAR’s leg out of his leg as tomorrow’s tag title challengers found their spot to pick at.
Tihanyi comes in to have a go, chopping OSKAR into the corner before tags got us to Moodo and Yuto… but again, distractions open the door as Tihanyi throws Yuto into the ring post, ahead of a spinning heel kick from Moodo for a two-count. That shit-eating grin of Moodo’s is fantastic – part of being a cocky bad guy is looking like people want to slap you, and he’s got that down to a tee.
Yuto remained on the back foot as KxSxTihanyi picked their shots, leading to a discus forearm from Tischer to leave Nakashima laying. A front facelock from Tihanyi led to a fightback from Yuto… but KxS distract the referee, who doesn’t see the tag out, and so we’re back to square one. Second time’s the charm as Yuto countered a suplex before finally making the tag out to Laurance Roman, who renewed rivalries with the Axeman before leaping off of Moodo to knock Tihanyi off the apron.
Roman’s running wild on KxS, flinging Tischer with an Exploder that drew Tihanyi in to try and break up the pin. Roman’s smart to it as he avoids the attack, then scrapped with the Hungarian… only for KxS to get back to their feet and greet Roman. OSKAR stops them, then handed off Tischer to Roman for a swinging DDT that nearly won it, before Tihanyi saved Tischer from another double-team.
Tihanyi’s tornado DDT takes care of Roman as we’re left with Moodo and Yuto, as a Made in Japan almost puts Nakashima away… OSKAR saves, but gets chucked outside. Nakashima avoids the Dragon Murder and gets the tag out to OSKAR, as Young Blood got off a kick-assisted powerslam for a near-fall on Moodo, ahead of a Blood Rush… which Tischer breaks up.
Moodo tries a roll-up, but OSKAR kicks out before he got taken into the corner… a blind tag has Roman in amid a Parade of Moves that ends with a double clothesline between he and Tihanyi. We resume with the West Side Story stand-off, except Tihanyi bails on the match, leaving KxS in the lurch as he watched on front he stage. That being said, KxS actually cleared the way, only for Moodo to miss a Black Belt Kick as Roman ended up putting him away with the facebuster for the win as we had yet another entry in the swollen list of “pretty damn good trios matches.” ***½
We Love Wrestling 63 was a solid warm-up for tomorrow’s Anniversary show. Main event aside, this was perhaps not one to prioritise if you’re pushed for time in the build up to Christmas.