The last place in the 16 Carat Gold line-up is up for grabs in front of another sold-out crowd in Bielefeld.
Quick Results
Road to 16 Carat Gold Semi-Final: Fast Time Moodo pinned Nick Schreier in 9:14 (***)
Road to 16 Carat Gold Semi-Final: Stephanie Maze pinned Baby Allison in 6:57 (**½)
Road to 16 Carat Gold Semi-Final: Bobby Gunns submitted Yuya Aoki in 11:44 (***½)
Yokai pinned Zoltan in 6:03 (**½)
Aigle Blanc pinned Ahura in 13:12 (***½)
1 Called Manders pinned Dennis Dullnig in 12:24 (***½)
Levaniel pinned Tim Koslowski in 3:00
Marc Empire, Robert Dreissker, Laurance Roman & Elijah Blum pinned Anil Marik, Joseph Fenech Jr., Norman Harras & Alex Duke in 20:28 (***½)
Road to 16 Carat Gold Final: Bobby Gunns pinned Stephanie Maze & Fast Time Moodo in 11:55 (***¼)
— Don’t forget to keep up to date with the Auf Die Fresse podcast as we get ever closer to 16 Carat Gold… Links to subscribe and stream are available at AufDieFresse.co.uk
The Forum in Bielefeld is PACKED as we’re marking ten years of wXw shows in this town, and the nerd in me’s spotted some new lighting – it’s actually white! The main thing on this show is the eponymous Road to 16 Carat Gold tournament, but we don’t know the format, just the participants. English commentary comes from Mett Dimassi…
Road to 16 Carat Gold Semi-Final: Nick Schreier vs. Fast Time Moodo
Moodo’s not rotten here, but he is hoping to snatch that last Carat spot…
Schreier grabs onto Moodo’s leg to stop the kicks early on as he was able to push through to hit a neckbreaker for an early two-count on the former tag champion. An eye rake from Moodo stops some mounted punches in the corner, and that opened up Moodo to throw some kick as he looked somewhat nonchalant around the non-hardcore Schreier.
A release butterfly suplex lands Schreier on his arse for a two-count as Moodo continued to control the pace… only to get flung with a back body drop as Schreier countered the double-underhook facebuster. Nick’s comeback continued from there, landing a pop-up dropkick ahead of those mounted punches in the corner and… an Acid Drop?!
Moodo’s up at two after that, before some near misses opened the door for Moodo once more, whose kicks led him to the double-underhook facebuster… which Schreier kicked out of, before he ducked a Black Belt Kick and sparked some back-and-forth pins. Moodo survives, but can’t avoid a springboard stunner that would have caused a video review had such a thing been around.
Schreier looks for a superkick, but it’s caught as Moodo eventually caught him out of the air with the Black Belt Kick for the win. A good little match, with Moodo almost coming unstuck as Schreier had scouted almost all of those kicks. ***
Road to 16 Carat Gold Semi-Final: Stephanie Maze vs. Baby Allison
These two have a fair amount of history, having traded wins last month in Münster and Mendig – and on this show last year, Maze won a straight shoot-out against Allison for a spot at Carat (as Allison had managed to swerve the entire tournament, thanks to some shenanigans from Robin Christopher Fohrwerk.)
Allison looked to be the aggressor to start, but kicks from Maze led to a knee to the side of the head that gave her the initial advantage. Maze’s short-arm clothesline gets a two-count but Allison’s able to hang up Maze with headscissors in the ropes before Maze got dumped shoulder-first onto the mat.
Maze tries to shake it off, but Allison stays on her with a seated dropkick in the corner, before a release Northern Lights suplex kept her on top. We catch the tail end of a senton bomb from Allison for another near-fall as a manjigatame had Maze in more bother… but she hiptosses her way out of the hold before cracking Allison with a high kick.
More kicks from Maze keep Allison at bay, leading to a diving boot… another one off the top rope almost gets the win. Robin Christopher Fohrwerk tries to grab Maze by the ropes, but to no avail as Allison couldn’t capitalise and ended up taking the Skyfall kick as Maze booked her spot in the final. **½
Road to 16 Carat Gold Semi-Final: Bobby Gunns vs. Yuya Aoki
With the first two semi-finals done, the remaining match was clear – and it’s Bobby’s regular outing against a travelling star from Japan. Bielefeld gave Gunns a hero’s welcome, and were more than polite to the unknown-to-them Aoki.
Things instantly headed to the mat in this one, before Aoki tried to satisfy the crowd’s “der Kopf mußt ab” chants by trying to boot Bobby’s head clean off. Gunns returned the favour, before a leaping forearm knocked Gunns down. A cross armbar attempt from Gunns forces Aoki to roll into the ropes, but that just created an obvious target for Gunns when things got going again.
Gunns worked Aoki’s elbow to the mat for a stomp to it, but Aoki’s able to fire back, using his good arm for chops after he took Gunns into the corner. A flip senton’s next for a two-count, before Gunns roughed up Aoki in search of a manjigatame. Instead, the pair fight over a Cobra Twist, with Aoki locking it in as Gunns was forced to drag his way to the ropes for respite.
From there, Aoki teed up for a Kesagiri chop, but Gunns ducked and almost snatched victory with an O’Connor roll. Charging uppercuts trap Aoki in the corner, before clothesline to the back of the head, a jumping brain kick and a Saito suplex looked to have Gunns on the home straight. Instead, some tit-for-tat ensued, with the pair fighting back to their feet… before a handspring back elbow from Aoki took them both off their feet.
Aoki connects with a springboard missile dropkick after that, but Gunns kicks out in the nick of time… then again from a charging lariat out of the corner, before Gunns snapped back in, trapping Aoki in a manjigatame to force the submission. A lovely sprint of a match, and out of the three finalists, you’d probably be tempted to ink Gunns’ name down next to that #16 spot for Carat. ***½
Zoltan vs. Yokai
It’s gonna take me a while to not connect Zoltan’s music with Kay Lee Ray…
Yokai’s still looking for his maiden win in wXw, and he’s the early aggressor here, taking down Zoltan before the Hungarian came back with a spot of rope-walking en route to the lucha armdrag. An enziguiri knocks Yokai into the corner from there, but an X-Plex turned it back around as Yokai began to take control, hurling Zoltan into the buckles.
Yokai keeps going, grounding Zoltan with a chinlock before the Hungarian broke out and began to beat Yokai to the punch. A snap suplex slings Yokai towards the ropes from there, before Zoltan slipped out of a chokeslam and returned with a cutter for a near-fall. Heading up top, Zoltan has to abort a splash before a cutter out of the corner was caught and turned into a reverse DDT for the win. **½
Aigle Blanc vs. Ahura
We’ve got a rematch from Back to the Roots, with Aigle Blanc showing a more aggressive side of him after that defeat…
Ahura sported his face mask to the ring, but took it off… and got slapped by Aigle Blanc as things got off to a fiery start. A Coast to Coast from Aigle sees things spill outside, where Ahura just sat Aigle onto the side of the ring for a chop.
Celebrating too early just earns Ahura a gamengiri as Aigle looked to re-break the nose, following up by posting the former Shotgun champion. Back inside, Aigle double legs Ahura as the fight continued, leading to the headscissor neckbreaker from Aigle to put a pin in things.
Ahura snapped back in with a powerbomb out of nowhere as he upped the ante, landing a sharp clothesline before a springboard missile dropkick kept the Frenchman down. From there, Ahura starts to fiddle with Aigle’s mask, loosening the laces on it, before a back body drop from Aigle stopped whatever Ahura had planned.
A second powerbomb attempt’s thwarted as the pair sought a pinning attempt, but Ahura’s Salamandra was slipped out of as Aigle instead returned fire with a crossbody. Aigle’s ripcord enziguiri, then a corkscrew neckbreaker keeps him on course, before Ahura rolled away from a splash off the top.
When we got back to the action, Aigle and Ahura resumed by trading shots, then suplexes, with an Everest German from Ahura almost snatching him the win. After arguing the ref’s call, Ahura turned around into a knee strike to the face as Aigle pushed on with a nasty ‘rana driver through the ropes… a springboard diving knee goes back to Ahura’s face for a near-fall, before Aigle played “got your nose” with his foe.
Ahura heads onto the apron to get away from Aigle, but he can’t avoid a leaping DDT onto the side of the ring… Ahura plays with the mask some more, turning it around to blind Aigle Blanc, but it’s not enough to get the win as Aigle kicked out from a backslide… before he retaliated with a big ol’ lariat as Ahura ran the ropes.
Swivelling the mask back into place, Aigle ends up eating a lariat of his own before a leaping piledriver almost got him the win. From there, Ahura grabs his facemask and puts it over Aigle’s. Ahura shoves the ref in a bid to stay on Aigle, but Aigle just headbutts him with the mask on, and that’s somehow legal AND enough for the win. It’s Ahura’s first one-on-one loss here since last April – and he’s far from happy at the result, getting in Aigle’s face after the match. Aigle’s getting increasingly cocky against Ahura, and I have a feeling this might end up having a rubber match in the first round of Carat. ***½
Dennis Dullnig vs. 1 Called Manders
Dullnig’s on his own after abandoning Hektor last time out – but up against one of the favourites to win Carat, he’s got his work cut out here.
Manders slaps Dullnig on the arse after a waistlock attempt ended in the ropes… that prompted a response from Cash, whose slap wasn’t quite as playful. The crowd’s response though, killed me.
Eventually they start slapping something other than arse cheeks, as Dullnig rolled down Manders for a pat on the head. And then Manders killed Cash with a chop. Manders has quite the Togi Makabe cackle in him. More chops wear down Dullnig, who manages to sneak in a dropkick to take the match to the outside, where Dullnig bent Manders over the front row for another slap to the arse.
Whole lotta arse slaps in this match. Can’t say I expected that.
Going through the crowd, Manders continued to light up Dullnig with chops, before they made it back inside for Manders to just bounce Cash off the ropes with a front suplex. More spanking means this match is probably going to end up on some bootleg collection SOMEWHERE…
An overhand chop stings Dullnig in the ropes, prompting Cash into a response as he avoided a springboard elbow drop from Manders. A front suplex from Cash dumps Manders into the ropes, with an ugly landing to boot, before Cash turned all Kawada with some face-washing kicks and a leaping enziguiri.
A kick to the back from Dullnig’s good for a two-count before Manders threw him aside… only for Dullnig to escape a Stampede and return with a wacky spinning cutter. Dullnig’s gutwrench attempt gets thrown away once more as Manders’ lariat almost put an end to proceedings, before a modified gutwrench powerbomb finally landed as Dullnig came close to the win. I have no idea how to describe that – like Claudio Castagonoli’s old Neutraliser turned into a Doctor bomb?
Dullnig stays on Manders… but got himself distracted by the cowboy hat. Oh boy. It’s lariated off him by an angry Manders, and that’s an end to a bizarre but entertaining match to kick off the second half. ***½
Levaniel vs. Tim Koslowski
Levaniel still thinks he’s God’s gift to Europe, and again needs to be reminded that he only holds the belt, not the championship. Regardless, Levaniel insists he’s defending “his” title here.
Koslowski’s making his main roster debut here, having done some expo cards for wXw, and he looks extremely well put together. He certainly earned the quick nickname “Muskel-mann” that Levaniel gave him…
Koslowski charges through Levaniel to start with as he looked for a quick ending with a suplex, but Levaniel’s able to catch him off guard as commentary mentioned that Levaniel had been ordered to stop playing silly buggers and return the European title belt before Dead End later this month.
A clothesline out of the corner from Koslowski looked to force a new opening, but an eye rake and a backbreaker sets up Levaniel for a clothesline, before a Galactic Facecrusher got him the win.
High Performer Ltd. (Anil Marik & Joseph Fenech Jr.) & Big Bucks (Norman Harras & Alex Duke) vs. Elijah Blum, Laurance Roman & Planet Gojirah (Robert Dreissker & Marc Empire)
An injury to Peter Tihanyi meant that the Big Bucks and Laurance Roman got added to this match. Oh, El Hijo de Performante Jr., your time will come again.
Elijah Blum’s still massively popular in Bielefeld – and his new look’s only amplified things here. He starts off here against Fenech, easing ahead with a clothesline into the corner before Fenech pulled down Blum and slapped him in the back of the head. The feeling-out process continued with Fenech going for the hair again, only to get crashed into with a crossbody and a dropkick in return.
Tags bring in Roman and Marik, but it’s Roman who retained the upper hand as a stalling suplex led to a two-count on Marik. An attempted cheapshot from Fenech helps carve an opening as Alex Duke tagged in, before Laurance Roman got free and hesitated before tagging in Marc Empire. Clearly, little love lost there between the former AMBOSS lads.
Empire’s shoulder tackle took down Duke, whose attempted response earned him a ripcord headbutt and some avalanche splashes in the corner for good measure. Dreissker wants in to keep up the momentum, but it’s the Big Bucks that manage to take control for a spell, with Harras and Duke combining to take down Dreissker.
Dreissker had no issue tagging in Roman as he dove out of the opposite corner… a satellite DDT from Roman eventually finds its mark, only for Harras to back body drop out of a Burning Nail attempt. Roman’s cut off in the corner as Duke grabbed onto him in the ropes, before Roman got shoved into the ropes… then met with a Harras chokeslam for a near-fall.
Roman’s left on the back foot for a spell as Fenech came in and mocked the crowd by going up top… only to jump down and slap in a chinlock instead. Breaking free, the aprons have been cleared as Roman had no choice but to tag in Dreissker… and he got it as Anil Marik also came in to take a beating from his former tag partner as a fallway slam flung him into the corner.
Corner splashes from Dreissker squash Marik, but Anil’s able to avoid one more as he returned with a Codebreaker for a two-count after Fenech’d gotten involved. Norman Harras tags in and distracts the referee as Dreissker gets mugged in the corner – and it’s quickly clear that the other side’s made a point to pick at Laurance Roman to rile him up.
A chinlock from Harras gets broken out of by Dreissker, whose back body drop chucks Harras ahead of an eventual tag to the reappearing Blum. The crowd roars as Elijah cleaned the proverbial house, even dealing with the Bucks as a slingshot springboard moonsault out of the corner took them out head of a Parting Gift to Anil Marik. Fenech’s elbow drop off the top breaks it up, but Marc Empire’s attempt buys Blum time as I lost track of who the legal people were.
Marik and Harras get into an argument as that pairing blew up, which leads us to the end as Roman’s rolling forearm crashed into Marik, before Dreissker came back in to keep the pile on going, leading to the back suplex/neckbreaker combo from the AMBOSS days, then a Planet Gojirah double-team Muscle Buster to Marik for the win. ***½
Road to 16 Carat Gold Final: Fast Time Moodo vs. Bobby Gunns vs. Stephanie Maze
An intriguing final, with Maze of course having tagged with both Moodo and Gunns in recent times… and of course, the spat between Gunns and Moodo last year that led to the no-ropes match in Leipzig.
Gunns and Moodo crashed into each other to start, prompting Maze to try and capitalise as she knocked Gunns to the outside. Moodo’s roll-up gets a two-count before the former partners stared down each other, breaking down as Maze manages to hit a suplex on Moodo for just a one-count.
A trapped-arm clothesline is next out of Maze, who then went up top… only for Gunns to pull her out of the corner for a crash landing. Some European uppercuts left Maze laying, with Gunns launching in with some almost derisory choking in the ropes before Maze fired back up, trading snapmares and kicks to the back before Gunns just rolled her into a Boston crab.
Gunns relents so he could knock Moodo off the apron, but the pair inadvertently combine seconds later as Moodo kicked out Gunns leg mid-suplex, turning it into a brainbuster as Moodo almost stole a win.
Moodo’s butterfly suplex keeps him on track, before Gunns returned to cut Moodo off on the top rope… with Maze turning it all into a Tower of Doom. All three remain in the ring as they get back to their feet, trading blows as they went as Maze looked to pull in front. A diving knee off the ropes takes down Gunns, then Moodo, before Gunns broke up the pin and came close to winning himself with a death valley driver.
Uppercuts between Gunns and Moodo ended with a spinning heel kick from Moodo, who adds a head kick and a Made in Japan as he almost booked his spot in Oberhausen. After breaking up the pin, Maze double-legs Moodo as she built up to a Saito suplex, but while Maze’s Skyfall kick lands, Gunns is quickly in to pull Maze by the hair and pull off a tight roll-up to snatch the win. ***¼
This year’s Road to 16 Carat Gold tournament was perhaps not the way you’d have expected Bobby Gunns to have qualified for only his second-ever Carat – however, this was a strong show with some bizarreness up and down the card, not least whatever the hell Manders/Dullnig threatened to morph into! A nice, easy watch on a Saturday night as we’re in the final month before Carat…