We take a look at the top of the card from wXw’s recent show in Baden-Württemberg, featuring a rematch between Aigle Blanc and Mike D.
We’re live via delayed stream from the Hüber Arena in Bad Säckingen for this, and it’s something different from wXw. It’s what they used to call a “town show”, which these days are for the live audiences only. However, since we’re still a week away from the next big wXw event, we’ve got the final three matches from that show from a single hardcam.
The High Performer Ltd. tag is a freebie, the rest are behind the wXwNOW paywall, for those wondering… and eventually we’re joined by the dulcet tones of Mett Dimassi auf Deutsch.
Zeritus vs. Nick Schreier
It’s been a while since Zeritus has made tape – not counting Shortcut to the Top, you’ve gotta go back to April and a Fight Forever match against Anil Marik.
Headbutting the turnbuckle at the bell, Zeritus looked to weird-out Schreier here, but the relative newcomer was smart to Zeritus’ tactics and tried to out-pace him. A knucklelock has Schreier on the back foot though, only for Nick to climb the ropes and turn it into a Test of Strength before flying it into an armdrag of sorts.
Dropkicks from Schreier take Zeritus into the corner, but some mounted punches go nowhere as Zeritus pushed him away. We find out Zeritus is slightly Samoan as his head’s rammed into the buckles, before he attempted a Cadaver Bomb… then shrugged off a springboard kick from Schreier as he resumed the beatdown.
Stretching Schreier in the corner, Zeritus then hit a sit-down splash for a quick two-count, before a bear hug ended up with Schreier getting charged into the corner. A reversed whip takes Schreier back into the corner, before a second bear hug was fought out of, allowing Nick to hit an enziguiri to finally buy him some time.
Beating Zeritus to the punch, Schreier’s able to land another dropkick, following up with a teardrop suplex for a near-fall. A quick turnaround almost saw Zeritus snatch the win with a Black Hole Slam, but Schreier kicks out… and mounted one more comeback, leading to a crossbody off the top for the come-from-behind win.
Result: Nick Schreier pinned Zeritus in 9:37 (**½)
High Performer Ltd. (Anil Marik & Peter Tihanyi) vs. Laurance Roman & Elijah Blum
Robin Christopher Fohrwerk snatches the mic out of Dan Mallmann’s hand so he can do the entrances for his charges. Peter Tihanyi as the “Goldjunge” is always going to be weird to the long-time fans who remember Marius van Beethoven.
Laurance Roman largely kept Anil Marik on the ground to start, working the arm as armdrags snuffed out Marik’s attempts to break free. Eventually Anil’s able to take some control with a headlock takedown, only for Roman to get free and take Marik down with a back elbow.
Chops take Marik into the corner as Roman kept an eye on Tihanyi on the apron, before a shot to the lower back from Marik had the former champion on the back foot. Tihanyi’s in as chops wore through Roman, who managed to avoid a cheapshot from Fohrwerk on the apron… but not more offence from Tihanyi.
Roman eventually escaped Tihanyi’s clutches and tagged in Elijah Blum… forcing Tihanyi to rush for a tag himself as Marik returned to the fray. A deliberate standing dropkick took down Marik for a two-count as Blum stared down Tihanyi… and Anil became the whipping boy for a spell as Roman and Blum kept him isolated in their corner.
A stalling suplex from Roman almost brought Tihanyi in, but Marik’s able to kick out at two as the isolation continued. Marik did muster something of a comeback, but a swinging neckbreaker from Blum stopped him in his tracks… before Elijah stopped to take a swing at Tihanyi. That self-imposed distraction turned the match on its head as Marik attacked Blum from behind, all while Laurance Roman’s arguments led to my favourite thing on these shows – fines! He’s docked €20 for his temper as Blum had a mudhole stomped into him in the corner.
Tihanyi began to focus on Blum’s back, whipping him into the buckles before a chinlock kept Elijah down – incidentally, Blum’s going to be Tihanyi’s first challenger for that title in Frankfurt in a little over a week’s time. The real Elijah, not the imposter…
Marik returns to hit a bulldog out of the corner on Blum for a two-count, before Blum made the hot tag to Roman, who easily cleared house. A swinging hooking DDT almost puts Anil away, as Roman added some corner clotheslines… at least until Tihanyi made the save, pulling Anil free. The distractions continue as Marik press slammed Roman off the top rope, leading to another spell on top for High Performer Ltd.
Elijah Blum inadvertently distracts referee Tassilo Jung as Tihanyi and Marik attacked Roman on the floor… this time enough to earn Elijah a €50 fine. Sadly the fans aren’t chipping in in Bad Säckingen for them! Back to the match, Roman’s able to send Tihanyi outside, but the champ returns with Fohrwerk’s cane to distract the referee as Marik knocked Blum off the apron to ensure there was no change of pace.
A tornado DDT nearly got the win for Tihanyi before Roman’s dropkick off the middle rope stemmed the tide a little… but he had to escape a double suplex before Tihanyi pulled Blum off the apron to stop a tag. Marik pushed on with a Codebreaker and a Slingblade to Roman, before tagging Tihanyi in for the tap-in, so to speak, but that’s stopped as Blum charged the ring and unloaded on both Marik and Tihanyi… and when a €100 fine didn’t do the job, referee Tassilo Jung disqualified Blum.
This was some good business, least of all for whoever’s collecting the fines! A solid tag until Blum lost his cool – and I suspect whatever happens in Frankfurt isn’t going to be close to the last we see between Blum and Tihanyi.
Result: Peter Tihanyi & Anil Marik defeated Laurance Roman & Elijah Blum via disqualification in 18:33 (***¼)
wXw European Championship: Aigle Blanc vs. Mike D Vecchio (c)
It’s a rematch from World Tag Team Festival weekend… and it’s the main event in the Hüber Arena. Will Mike D retain his newly-won belt, or will be he heading to his maiden tour of All Japan a little lighter?
Mike D threw aside Aigle early on, before a series of shoulder tackles – aside from a Judo toss counter – kept the Belgian ahead. A lofty lucha roll through nearly saw Mike D send himself flying to the outside before he just simply ducked a springboard crossbody. Work smart, not hard.
Aigle’s caught with a plancha as he headed outside for respite, before a bodyslam back inside left the former champion on the deck. Avoiding an elbow drop, Aigle looks to make a comeback, but he’s swiftly ragdolled into a bridging German suplex for a quick two-count. Another deadlift bridging German suplex drew a similar result, so Mike began to chop his way through Aigle instead.
Using his speed to carve an opening, Aigle’s able to land a springboard ‘rana to take down the Belgian, following up with some headscissors to take things outside for a tope. A headscissor driver’s next as Aigle stayed on his man back inside, showing off with some press-ups before Mike D escaped to the outside.
An exchange of strikes on the outside ended poorly for Aigle, who’s then taken to the bar. That is not a typo… but Mike probably wishes it was, as Aigle leapt off the bar with a flip dive as we saw just how cosy the arena was. Back inside, Aigle pushes on with a corkscrew suplex for a two-count, before Mike D found a way back in with a clothesline off of the top rope.
A running back suplex out of the corner gets Mike another two-count, before the search for a powerbomb ended with a counter into a DDT from Aigle. Looking to snatch his chance, a Meteora to the back of the head got Aigle a two-count, before an aborted 450 splash allowed him to crack Mike D with a discus forearm in the corner… only for a follow-up Meteora to get caught.
Aigle’s Dragon suplex earned him a wicked clothesline in return before the pair traded once again – a springboard German suplex leading to a reverse ‘rana as both men had gotten extremely familiar with the others’ gameplans. Mike D tries to take to the air again, but he’s caught and brought down with a Burning Hammer out of the corner, before quickly returning with a vertical leap superplex to take Aigle down.
Another clothesline nearly puts Aigle away, before a sit-out gutwrench powerbomb finally did the trick as Mike D racked up the second defence of his title. A strong main event, but Aigle Blanc felt like he was playing catch-up here – and was eventually put away in Mike’s last wXw match before heading to Japan. Meanwhile, Aigle’s got Ahura in Frankfurt – which could dictate what direction both men’s careers take for the next little while.
Result: Mike D Vecchio pinned Aigle Blanc in 15:22 to retain the wXw European Championship (***½)