We’ve the final pieces from wXw’s empty arena era here, with a collection of unaired matches including Bobby Gunns vs. Fast Time Moodo.
Quick Results
Rambo pinned Gulyas Junior in 3:44 (**)
Aytac submitted Johnny Evers in 5:52 (**)
Icarus submitted Peter Tihanyi in 8:38 (***¼)
Maggot pinned Tim Stübing in 7:10 (**½)
Michael Schenkenberg & Nikita Charisma pinned Paris & The Rotation in 8:16 (**¾)
Norman Harras pinned Aigle Blanc in 8:36 (***)
Michael Knight pinned Gulyas Junior in 6:16 (**½)
Bobby Gunns submitted Fast Time Moodo in 15:50 (***¾)
As I said back in June, We Love Wrestling Zugaben is effectively “wXw: Dark” – the matches from the Oberhausen tapings that, for whatever reason, didn’t make it into the final cut. Dave Bradshaw is on hand for English commentary…
Gulyas Junior vs. Rambo
Gulyas is doing double duty here, while Rambo’s out with Abdul – someone whose presence in the recent set of tapings has been very much been conspicuous.
Rambo’s all over Gulyas to start, whipping him into the corner ahead of a slam, before a clothesline took the Hungarian over the top to the floor. Abdul throws a cheapshot as he had to hold his breath, before rolling Gulyas back into the hands of Rambo. A back suplex dropped Gulyas for a two-count, then a regular suplex, before Rambo grabbed Gulyas by the nipple to avoid a Pit Stop. On the outside again, Abdul tries a cheapshot, but is given the Pit Stop, before Gulyas went back in to hit Rambo with a cannonball for a near-fall. In response, Rambo lands a pop-up powerbomb, and that’s over in quick time. **
Aytac vs. Johnny Evers
Another EZEL outing here, and Abdul’s back out again as he’s accompanying Aytac here.
Aytac starts on Evers’ arm, but gets tripped early on as Evers’ side headlock and shoulder tackle had him ahead. A leapfrog’s caught, but Aytac goes back to the arm to free himself before he missed a Codebreaker to the arm. Instead, Evers gets his slam off, before Aytac comes back with kicks to the leg. Evers looks for an Exploder, but Abdul distracts the ref – and Evers – with the latter getting caught with an eye rake from a recovered Aytac. A leg sweep has the Dutchman down, whose ankles then get stomped on ahead of a lackadaisical cover… but Aytac keeps the upper hand with a diving clothesline, before an inside cradle nearly nicks it for Evers.
Instead, Evers has luck with an enziguiri, then a front boot, but Aytac tries to go back to the bad leg, only to be caught with a clothesline off the middle rope. Down come the straps of Evers, but he’s caught with a roll-through into a half crab… Evers makes it to the ropes, but Abdul hops on the apron to distract the ref, allowing Aytac to reapply the hold for a quick submission as EZEL cheat to win in successive matches. **
They recap what happened at the 20th Anniversary show with the Arrows of Hungary retaining the tag titles… after some interference from Vincent Heisenberg. Then we get clips of Heisenberg beating the Rotation in Bielefield via a ref stoppage, and that leads to confirmation of Anil Marik vs. Vincent Heisenberg at Inner Circle 10 next week… not in Oberhausen!
Robert Dreissker’s got a sit-down promo for his first blood match in the first round of the Blitzturnier – he’ll be taking on Maggot, as Dreissker does well to (ahem) blitz through the rest of the stipulations for his road to the tournament final.
Peter Tihanyi vs. Icarus
Not one of the matches billboarded at the top of the show, we’ve an all-Hungarian affair… and we’ve got Icarus with his tag title.
We’ve a tentative start, as Icarus takes Tihanyi into the ropes, before Icarus’ hammerlock ended with Tihanyi switching around back to the ropes. A chinbar from Icarus is escaped as the pair continue to look for a hold, only to get to the ropes, before a leg sweep saw Tihanyi thrown to the mat as Icarus took the mount. Icarus maneuvers into the Heart of Europe submission, but Tihanyi scrambles to the ropes. In return, Tihanyi manages a single-leg takedown as he tries to out-grapple Icarus, quickly catching him with a triangle armbar… but they’re too close to the ropes. Tihanyi elbows free of a waistlock, as the pair traded palm strikes and chops, looking to up the ante.
The pace increases as Icarus is tripped for a PK, then for an enziguiri before he recovered with a clothesline and a German suplex. Tihanyi’s right back up to lock in a triangle armbar, only for Icarus to slip out and put in the Heart of Europe submission that Tihanyi manages to break the grip on. A springboard crossbody out of the corner just sees Tihanyi land back in the hold, and that’s enough to make Tihanyi tap – an unexpected joy that may as well have been under the Ambition banner, such was the grappling on offer here. ***¼
Promo time from Maggot as he doesn’t care about tradition – but does care about how he won his first tournament in wXw, and reckons that’ll be form for the Blitztournier.
We recap Tim Stübing and Leon van Gasteren battling for a spot in that tournament back in Bielefeld – a match that saw van Gasteren successfully defend his place.
Tim Stübing vs. Maggot
Maggot backs away from Stübing to start, before Baby Allison got annoyed with Maggot’s apparent game plan.
We get a handshake, which was the gateway to a cheapshot, but Stübing is able to recover with a dropkick before a diving shoulder block had Maggot down. Dropkicks and suplexes follow for a two-count, which led to an attempted trip from Baby Allison, which Maggot capitalised on with a clothesline. Stübing looks to kick Maggot’s leg out of his leg, but an enziguiri took Stübing down for a one-count. A crucifix bomb adds a two-count for Maggot, who continues with stomps and a sidewalk slam for a near-fall. Another enziguiri gets Maggot a two-count, before Stübing fired back, landing a missile dropkick for a near-fall after sending Maggot flying across the ring.
From there, a spear from Maggot almost wins it, before a roundhouse and a Codebreaker nearly got Stübing the win… before a cutter gets Maggot the three-count in the end. **½
We’ve a recap of Marius al-Ani beating Jurn Simmons at the 20th Anniversary show before he challenged Cara Noir to use his title shot…
Rott und Flott (Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg) vs. The Rotation & Paris
Schenkenberg starts with a takedown on Paris, but the Grecian returns with armdrags before Schenkenberg caught him in the back.
Rotation tags in, but his crossbody’s turned into a backbreaker, before Rotation came back in with a modified side Russian legsweep on Charisma. A strait-jacket abdominal stretch follows, as does a dropkick, before Paris came in to snatch a two-count following a brief double-team.
Schenkenberg’s back to take Paris back into the corner, where the newcomer remained as he’s kept isolated. A front facelock from Charisma is countered out of, but Schenkenberg distracts the referee… so Tass misses Rotation’s tag in, and lifts him like a child, taking him back to the naughty corner. That should not have made me laugh as much as that did.
A double-team keeps Paris in trouble, before he sidestepped Charisma, who charges into Schenkenberg, as a suplex gives Paris enough time to make that tag out. Rotation and Schenkenberg are in, but it’s Rotation who’s on fire… but he can’t go off the top rope as Charisma tries to swipe him down. Instead, Rotation hits the ropes but sees his tornado DDT get caught… Paris tags back in to hit an uppercut, before a Fisherman suplex drew in Charisma to break up the cover by… stomping on his own man? Paris clotheslines Charisma to the outside, but can’t escape a Falcon arrow, and that’s the end of a pacey tag match that saw Rott und Flott dominate. **¾
We’re back to the 20th Anniversary show with clips of the impromptu trios match… and then tease the Shotgun lottery to decide the vacated title.
Norman Harras vs. Aigle Blanc
We open with Harras taking Blanc into the ropes, then to the mat with a side headlock before Blanc got himself free.
Armdrags and headlocks have Harras on the back foot, before Blanc’s headscissors were blocked ahead of a sunset flip that drew a two-count. Things head outside, where Harras pops Blanc into the ring post, before a knee drop back inside led to a two-count. Aigle returns with forearms, but Harras slammed him down for a two-count… then threw him into the buckles as the former Shotgun champion built up a head of steam. A springboard crossbody from Blanc gives him an opening, as did a head kick, before a springboard dropkick took Harras down for a two-count. Another one misses as Harras looked for a German suplex, but Blanc flips out, then low bridges Harras outside for a flip senton. From there, a Meteora to the back lands for a near-fall, before Blanc pushes Harras into the buckles as a set-up… for Harras to dump him in the ropes.
A running boot knocks Blanc down, before the Hostile Takeover gutwrench slam… and that’s a win for Harras as he headed into next week in Oberhausen. ***
That trailer for wXw Classics hit a little too hard. Those full-on festival weekends really don’t give you much time to sleep, eat or do anything but watch wrestling…
We get a recap of what happened at the end of the Archer/Knight match at the 20th Anniversary show… and then there’s a promo from Tristan Archer ahead of the Catch Grand Prix tournament.
Gulyas Junior vs. Michael Knight
Our second sighting of Gulyas today…
Gulyas heads to the ropes to break a side headlock from Knight, before he reversed an Irish whip and teased a Samoan drop. Instead, he gets a back senton attempt off, which misses as Knight’s headscissors have Gulyas on the outside ahead of a plancha. Back inside, Gulyas hangs up Knight in the ropes, with a back senton next for a near-fall, before he began to pick his shots. An overhand chop gets Gulyas a two-count, before Knight had to escape a Fireman’s carry, only to get thrown with a swinging back suplex for a near-fall.
Gulyas misses a charge in the corner as Knight begins a comeback, hitting clothesline and kicks, leading to a springboard clothesline that nearly puts Gulyas away. Knight’s forced to kick out after getting punched in the corner, with Gulyas looking to finish the job, only to take a tornado DDT in return. Knight heads up top, but got caught… Gulyas looks for an avalanche Samoan drop, but Knight counters out with a sunset bomb, and that’s enough to get the win over the big man. **½
Michael Knight gets his promo for the Catch Grand Prix tournament, talking about his memories of catch tournaments of old… then we get one from Bobby Gunns, who vowed to win because he “stands for catch wrestling.”
Bobby Gunns vs. Fast Time Moodo
A true main event to wrap up the show, and one that I was looking forward to as both men were part of the original B block in the Catch Grand Prix weekender before stuff happened.
Gunns and Moodo look for a hold to start with, but it’s Gunns’ front facelock that ended in the ropes initially before Moodo returned the favour. Moodo blocks a kick, but eats it at the second time of asking before his receipt led to a stand-off. Landing the first blow, Gunns stomps on Moodo’s elbow, before a counter wristlock was quickly broken. Moodo tests Gunns with kicks, only to get swept back to the mat as Moodo tries to lock in a triangle armbar… but they roll into the ropes as Gunns stomped Moodo as he got back to his feet. Kicks from Gunns keep the lack-of-clean-breaks thing going, before the pair traded a flurry of strikes that looked to give Moodo a slight advantage as he had Gunns on his backside.
Gunns stomps the elbow again, then moved to Moodo’s knee as an attempted half crab ended in the ropes before it could start. A STF followed from Gunns, as he looked to stretch out Moodo, who then took almost a spinebuster as Gunns blocked a slingshot attempt. We’re back to strikes as Gunns was looking for a leglock, but it ends with both men laid out, before they resume with kicks as Moodo took Gunns into the corner. A running knee keeps Gunns there as they went back-and-forth, with Moodo’s backfist and kicks leading to a spinning heel kick in the corner. The sliding punch followed from Moodo, who then went up top… but gets brought down with a superplex. Moodo’s right back up as the pair trade German suplexes, before a lariat from Gunns left both men on the deck again. We resume the strikes again, with knees and uppercuts wearing both down equally, before things upgraded to clotheslines.
Gunns’ Saito suplex and an inside cradle nearly ends it, before a Euro clutch forces Moodo to kick out once more. From there, Gunns looks for the German suplex, but he’s elbowed away as Moodo sweeps the leg and lands some kicks, before a pumphandle Made in Japan nearly got the win. Gunns blocks a Black Belt Kick, but couldn’t avoid a PK as Moodo pushed on… only to get his leg swept as a half crab eventually forces a submission in a low key cracker of a match. Get this on your watch list, then add a rematch to your wish lists into 2022! ***¾
The show closes with a repeat of the Catch Grand Prix cancellation/rescheduling announcement, then run down the card for the Blitzturnier next weekend:
First Round: Axel Tischer vs. Dennis Dullnig vs. Tristan Archer vs. Francesco Akira
First Round: First Blood: Maggot vs. Robert Dreissker
First Round: Bobby Gunns & Levaniel vs. Michael Knight & Leon van Gasteren – only the person who wins the fall will go through
First Round: Best 2 out of 3 Falls: Fast Time Moodo vs. Stephanie Maze
Semi-Finals: One will be under Ambition rules, the other under Relaxed Rules (no-DQs)
Finals: Will be under Catch Grand Prix rules.
…plus the match to crown a new Shotgun champion, along with Cara Noir challenging for Marius al-Ani’s wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship.
On paper, there’s a lot of stuff to skip in this Zugaben show, but if you’ve got wXw NOW, drop by for the Icarus/Tihanyi match, as well as that main event as we wait for the Catch Grand Prix weekender to hit on-demand in the coming weeks…