Laurance Roman’s reign as champion faced its biggest threat yet as he put the title on the line against two men he’d previously beaten – Robert Dreissker and Peter Tihanyi.
Quick Results
Hektor Invictus pinned Alex Duke, LSG & Marc Empire in 5:39 (**½)
World Tag Team Festival 2024 Semi-Final: Yuto Nakashima & OSKAR pinned Icarus & Joseph Fenech Jr. in 10:25 (**¾)
Hideki Suzuki pinned Bobby Gunns in 12:09 (***½)
World Tag Team Festival 2024 Semi-Final: Axel Tischer & Fast Time Moodo pinned Arez & Gringo Loco to retain the wXw World Tag Team Championships in 9:19 (***¼)
Robin Christopher Fohrwerk and Maggot went to a no-contest in 2:24
World Tag Team Festival 2024 Semi-Final: 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire pinned Shigehiro Irie & Fuminori Abe in 13:21 (***½)
Ahura pinned Timothy Thatcher in 12:17 (***½)
Mike D Vecchio pinned Aigle Blanc to win the wXw European Championship in 15:49 (***¾)
Peter Tihanyi pinned Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman to win the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship in 13:45 (***)
— 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 back inside the Turbinenhalle for the second night of the World Tag Team Festival – with three titles on the line here…
Alex Duke vs Hektor Invictus vs. LSG vs. Marc Empire
We’ve a four-way in the pre-show, and it featured Dennis Dullnig being made to sit on a fan’s lap, lest he be a nuisance to Hektor here.
Alex Duke’s chopped around to start, but things quickly settled down to LSG and Empire… although a plancha from LSG looked to make sure Hektor and Duke didn’t sneak up on him. Back inside, Empire’s met with an enziguiri before he countered a Launch Code into a chokeslam as Duke and Hektor took over in the ring.
Duke came close with a sit-out front suplex, but wasn’t able to maintain the upper hand for long as the ring filled up. Marc Empire’s back suplex nearly puts away Duke, but LSG and Hektor break up the cover. A Hektor-Knie looked to have Hektor ahead, but Duke pounced before a pin could be made… Hektor recovers from that, and flapjacks Duke, before the step-up powerbomb proved to be enough to seal the win. **½
English commentary for the main show comes from Dave Bradshaw and Norman Harras, since Robin Christopher Fohrwerk’s going to be a very busy boy tonight.
World Tag Team Festival 2024 Semi-Final: High Performer Ltd. (Icarus & Joseph Fenech Jr.) vs. Young Blood (Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima)
We’re dealing with blind draws for this part of the tournament, and it’s a big test for Young Blood, taking on a team of former tag team champions. A test that only increased in magnitude when Icarus and Fenech dove onto OSKAR before the bell as they proceeded to leave him laying with a suplex on the ramp.
When the match started, Yuto Nakashima was left with virtually a handicap match as Fenech and Icarus almost shut things down in the opening minute. A chinlock kept Yuto down for a spell, before he cracked Fenech with a headbutt as a back suplex forced a separation… but there’s no OSKAR to tag in, so it was for nought, especially as Icarus tagged in.
Icarus’ suplex keeps Yuto down for a two-count, before Fenech and Icarus worked together to distract the referee so Yuto could get choked out with Fenech’s tie. Finally fighting back, Yuto reverses a double-team suplex, but again… there’s no OSKAR! Yuto’s able to get a near-fall out of a side suplex, but before he fought off more double-teaming as the referee was barely trying to enforce the concept of the legal man.
A double-team chokeslam, then a pair of diving knees almost put Yuto away… but after a leaping double knee off the middle rope, Yuto finally has a tag partner to tag in, with OSKAR clearing house with shoulder tackles. We’ve a back body drop from OSKAR for good measure, but he couldn’t slam Icarus seconds later as his back gave out… only for a big boot to take down the Hungarian.
That back problem continued to restrict OSKAR, who also had to deal with the two-on-one advantage… but he’s able to catch a cannonball before countering Fenech into a powerbomb as Icarus was left prone for the Blood Rush F5/flying knee combo for the win. Not much to this as the match was effectively two handicap matches, but Young Blood were able to overcome and make it to the finals. **¾
Bobby Gunns vs. Hideki Suzuki
This was something of a bucket list match for Bobby Gunns – who’s been getting a lot of these kind of matches on festival weekends as of late. Suzuki’s music, by the way, could have been lifted out of a 70s TV show… very funky.
We’re in for some grappling here as Gunns and Suzuki traded holds, lading to a Cobra Twist attempt from Suzuki that turned into a short-lived pinning attempt. Gunns’ search for a hold ended with Suzuki applying some headscissors, then a straitjacket choke as they went back-and-forth on the hold.
A pinning attempt in the ropes ends that exchange, but Suzuki’s right back on Gunns as the pair traded uppercuts, this time with Gunns taking Suzuki into the corner. A headlock takedown stopped all that, again forcing Gunns to crawl towards the ropes for a break before a series of kicks to the legs from Gunns looked to be a prelude to an armbar.
Suzuki blocks as he countered with another hold that ends in the ropes, before a double chicken wing pinned Gunns’ arms behind his back as Suzuki rolled him down for some pinning attempts. A cravat from Suzuki kept Gunns at bay for a spell, rolling him to the mat as the former champion tried to escape.
We’re back to European uppercuts – something Norman Harras on commentary ridiculed as toxic masculinity – as both men tried to find an advantage. Eventually, a leaping enziguiri put Gunns in front, as did some PKs, but Suzuki kicks out at two… then countered an O’Connor roll into a rear naked choke. It’s escaped as Gunns went back to the kicks, before he was caught with a roll-up for a three-count… but the match continued as more uppercuts led to a backbreaker for the win. Weird finish aside, this was a decent scrap – but one that didn’t seem to generate much response from the crowd. ***½
Backstage, Robin Christopher Fohrwerk was warming up for his match with Maggot – but didn’t seem to have the full backing of his troops…
World Tag Team Festival 2024 Semi-Final for wXw World Tag Team Championship: Los Desperados (Arez & Gringo Loco) vs. KXS (Axel Tischer & Fast Time Moodo) (c)
This was Gringo’s third match in a 24-hour span, having done the half-hour TLC match at two in the morning on top of his opening round tag festival match…
A jump start from the champions was quickly quelled as Arez countered a hiptoss and took down Tischer with a series of kicks. Following up, a one-legged Asai moonsault from Arez took the champions down on the floor, as did a flip senton from Gringo Loco as the Desperados looked buoyant.
Back inside, KXS remained on the back foot as Arez kicked away at them, while a switching moonsault from Gringo almost put away the Axeman. A gamengiri from Moodo behind the ref’s back helped KXS get back in it though as the champions then looked to isolate Gringo, sandwiching him with PKs for another two-count.
Eventually Gringo was able to fight back with a clothesline on Moodo as tags brought us to Arez and Tischer, but it’s the challengers who looked resurgent here, leading to a backbreaker/legdrop on Moodo… before a Falcon arrow from Arez almost put away Tischer. Gringo Loco comes in, but has to avoid a superplex before Arez came in to hit a sunset bomb off the top rope… but Moodo breaks up the pin in the nick of time.
Another trip up top from Gringo sees him get caught with an uppercut before he got thrown into a Moodo kick, leaving Arez on his own as he eventually succumbed to the Dragon Murder as the champions retained. ***¼
Robin Christopher Fohrwerk vs. Maggot
So… this was the match that Baby Allison earned for Maggot in his stead, after months of aggravation between Maggot and High Performer Ltd. Before Maggot’s entrance, we saw a clip of Baby Allison locking the door to the High Performer Ltd. locker room – which’d have had you think that Fohrwerk was all on his own.
When we got going, Fohrwerk begged off… and tried to escape, only to get confronted by Baby Allison on the stage. She chased him back to the ring, and followed… just in time for the rest of High Performer Ltd. to appear on the stage. Distracted, Maggot gets low blowed by Baby Allison… and this was a set-up all along. Baby Allison’s “back” in High Performer Ltd., and Maggot’s given a kicking as the Turbinenhalle booed. Yeah, while the execution was fine, this was an utter disaster given some of the story beats that built up to this – it’s a rare time that the Oberhausen crowd vociferously rejected something on this level.
World Tag Team Festival 2024 Semi-Final: 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire vs. Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie
The last of our tag festival semi-finals promised to be hard hitting given the teams remaining…
Abe and Shire started things off trading holds, but things reached a stalemate as tags brought us to Manders and Irie, who went for a rather different tactic, trying their luck with shoulder tackles to start with. Manders drew the proverbial first blood, charging down Irie before things headed outside as they fought around ringside, leading to a double clothesline on the floor.
A tag brings Abe in as he proceeded to throw his fists at Manders’ head, only to get chopped in return as Abe found himself cornered by the cowboys. Shire’s iron claw keeps Abe down for a while, but Abe’s able to break free as a Cyclone kick and a punt to the back bought him enough time to tag in Irie.
Headbutts from Irie looked to turn things around, as he then low bridged Shire onto the apron ahead of the diving crossbody through the ropes. A slingshot seated splash back into the ring kept Shire down briefly, before the Texan returned with spinning toe holds… Abe’s in with a manjigatame on Manders, as Shire and Abe traded blows to try and break the others’ hold… ending with everyone getting broken.
A dropkick from Abe takes Shire into the corner as Manders returned… a whoopee cushion splash out of the corner from Irie set up for a cannonball, but Shire’s back to stem the tide briefly, only for Abe’s Irabu punch to neutralise him as everyone was downed. More strikes follow, yielding similar results, as Irie and Manders were simply throwing clotheslines at each other until someone fell down. In the end, a big lariat off the ropes from Manders finds a way through for a near-fall, before a short-range one finally put Shiggy away. Lovely stuff here, with these two teams meshing so well – particularly in the home stretch. ***½
Timothy Thatcher vs. Ahura
This was Thatcher’s first one-on-one match in the Turbinenhalle in five years – Jonathan Gresham during 2019’s tag festival was the last time during Thatcher’s run as champion.
Ahura looked to be an even match for Thatcher in the early exchanges, but it was Thatcher who slowly began to edge ahead, forcing Ahura to break via the ropes as the pair jockeyed for an armbar. An arm whip dumped Ahura on his shoulder as Thatcher switched it up, moving a little along the arm as he threw Ahura’s wrist into the mat.
Focusing on the left arm some more, Thatcher looked to roll Ahura into a seatbelt pin, getting a two-count in the process as the former champion was in clear control. On the apron, Ahura’s able to block a suplex back into the ring as he fought back, but Thatcher’s work to the arm was causing problems as Ahura landed a German suplex… only for Thatcher to kick out and go right back to the arm with a double wristlock.
Ahura holds on and makes it to the rope to force another break as Thatcher began to get more aggressive – both towards Ahura and his supporters in the crowd. Thatcher’s frustration only grew with Ahura’s resoluteness, as a wild palm strike slapped Ahura as he was going for the beard… before Thatcher laughed off some clothesline attempts.
Another armbar attempt from Thatcher’s rolled out of as a counter saw Ahura land a backfist… and just that that, the former Shotgun champion got the win! Something of a banana peel loss for Thatcher, who dominated large parts – yet Ahura was never too far behind before the backfist kept Thatcher down for long enough. ***½
Post-match, Thatcher had to be convinced to have a drink of water before Ahura sprayed the rest of the bottle into the ring.
“Earlier today” Dan Mallmann was with Elijah Blum, who stated that his full focus was now on Peter Tihanyi – still looking for revenge for that betrayal earlier in the summer.
wXw European Championship: Mike D Vecchio vs. Aigle Blanc (c)
A rematch from the tournament finals in Frankfurt saw Mike D as the first non-British challenger for the belt… at least in wXw.
Mike D didn’t hold back at the bell, laying into Aigle Blanc with chops ahead of a tijeras that had Aigle on the back foot. A quick turnaround saw Aigle take Mike D outside for a springboard flip senton, before strikes from the champion back inside just earned him a huge dropkick in return.
A suplex from Mike D gets a two-count as he then shrugged off Aigle’s crossbody attempt… a springboard forearm to the back of the head proved more effective, as did a ripcord enziguiri before a twisting brainbuster had the Belgian on the mat. The Meteora followed for a two-count, before Mike D’s attempt to fight off Aigle in the corner ended with Aigle taking a swift press slam.
Mike’s double-jump moonsault nearly won it for him seconds later, before Aigle’s headscissors saw him counter a powerbomb. An attempt to return to the ring quickly just had Mike eat a ‘rana driver through the ropes, then a slingshot DDT onto the edge of the ring, before Mike bounced back with a superplex out of nothing.
Aigle’s clothesline just gets him spun back down with a lariat at the match headed towards its final throes, but a double jump missile dropkick from the challenger’s turned into a sit-out powerbomb as Aigle almost snatched the victory… Mike D’s love of springboards bit him on the backside as Aigle countered back with a Dragon suplex, before he caught the Belgian up top for an avalanche Dragon suplex.
Rather than go for a pin, Aigle went back up for a 450 splash, landing flush for a near-fall. An attempted Meteora’s caught, but Aigle ‘rana’s out, only to get walloped with a lariat ahead of a shooting star press as Aigle Blanc’s reign came to an end. A heck of an outing here to led to the first title change, and the first piece of hardware in wXw for Mike D – and you know what, I wouldn’t mind this being an on-and-off rivalry for the title… ***¾
wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship: Peter Tihanyi vs. Robert Dreissker vs. Laurance Roman (c)
This match was originally Roman defending against the Shortcut to the Top winner Tihanyi – but Robert Dreissker inserted himself into this, cashing in the rematch that Roman had offered him last month.
Tihanyi rolled outside at the bell, letting Robert Dreissker and Laurance Roman go at it to start. The former AMBOSS pair went back and forth until a discus lariat sent Dreissker outside… before Tihanyi’s attempt at a cheapshot was thwarted as Roman took him into the corner for some chops.
A floatover in the corner from Tihanyi saw him jar his ankle… but of course it’s a ruse as Tihanyi rose from the dead to attack Roman as Marik and Fenech were helping him out of the ring. Robert Dreissker hit the ring… and was joined by Elijah Blum to help send High Performer Ltd. packing, but referees and security ended up escorting Elijah to the back.
Dreissker stayed on Tihanyi after all that, hitting an avalanche in the corner ahead of a fallaway slam for a two-count, before Dreissker just launched the Hungarian outside and into Anil Marik at ringside. Dreissker followed them, and shooed away some fans as he proceeded to take care of Marik by launching him into the second row. Back inside, Dreissker misses a crossbody out of the corner as Tihanyi then pounced… but here’s Laurance Roman to unload with some clothesline.
Dave Bradshaw’s voice was really starting to wobble here, but he soldiered on as an Exploder forced a near-fall on Tihanyi. Returning, Tihanyi trips Roman into the corner as he played stick-and-run to keep Dreissker down while going back to Roman. A hockey fight between Roman and Tihanyi’s broken up with a Dreissker crossbody as the former AMBOSS leader then hit a bunch of avalanches before the tables turned on him.
Roman’s step-up forearm off of Dreissker sees him lay into Tihanyi en route to the swinging DDT… but it’s not enough for the win. A crossface on Dreissker’s stopped as Tihanyi added an ankle lock – but both holds are broken so they could attack each other, rather than risk a no-contest finish. Tihanyi quickly goes for Roman’s eyes, then applied an ankle lock before Roman pushed his way free.
Dreissker’s back to take Tihanyi up top… but Anil Marik’s back on his feet and grabs onto Dreissker’s to stop a superplex, before Roman took Dreissker out of the corner with an Electric Chair drop. That did little for Dreissker’s mood, nor did a powerbomb that Tihanyi broke up a pin on, landing a 450 splash… Roman’s chucked to the outside as a running knee to Dreissker… got the win?! That felt like an “out of nowhere” finish, given that knee isn’t usually a big move for Tihanyi – but the upset win means that Peter Tihanyi claims his first title in wXw as High Performer Ltd. ended the night on top. ***
If the good guys winning is the equivalent of having rice pudding for dinner, High Performer Ltd’s involvement on this show was like having nothing but bread and water as Oberhausen was left deflated going into the final day of the festival.