It’s the final wXw Academy show in Essen, as names likely to play a role in wXw’s future hit the ring.
Quick Results
Joshua Amaru pinned Danny Fray in 6:08 (**½)
Echo & Kilo pinned Alex Duke & Don Sheen in 8:50 (**)
Zeritus pinned Kevin Lazar in 7:07 (**¼)
Rick Salem & Noë Ahuka pinned Tibo Hendrick & Mayeck in 9:22 (***)
Nick Schreier pinned Vesuvio in 6:53 (**½)
Michelle Green pinned Gaya Glass in 6:33 (*¾)
Feyyaz Aguila & Tormentor pinned Yuval Goldshmit & Big Nik in 8:03 (**¼)
Elijah Blum pinned Jacob Crane in 10:51 (**¾)
wXw’s not been posting their last few Academy shows, with the thinking being that it’s perhaps not the best idea to have everything on these shows making tape for folks to overly scrutinise. This one made the cut though as, for the final time, we’re coming from the wXw Wrestling Academy in Essen-Katernberg. Dään Jokisch is handling ring announcing from Gelsenkirchener Straße, while Ahmad Dimassi’s on English language commentary.
Danny Fray vs. Joshua Amaru
Amaru’s been appearing regularly for Berlin’s GWF, while Fray’s on the fringes of the wXw roster.
Opening with a lock-up, Amaru’s pushed into the corner before he returned the favour. Amaru slaps Fray out of the corner, before he clung on with a side headlock… Fray manages to push free and resist shoulder tackles, eventually charging Amaru down in the end. A slam from Fray follows, getting a two-count, before Amaru got lifted onto the apron… and hotshotted Fray in the ropes. Amaru returns with a DDT for a one-count, then with some chops in the corner, before a running front kick caught Fray in the corner for another one-count.
Fray’s kept down in a chinlock, but he’s able to make it to the ropes. A back senton from Amaru keeps him on top for a two-count, as did a running neckbreaker, before Fray fought out of an armbar… only to get knocked into the corner. A running elbow from Amaru keeps Fray on the edge, but Danny charged back with a clothesline and a big boot, before a sidewalk slam almost won him the match. Amaru’s rolled into a Boston crab and dragged away from the ropes, but still he makes it for the break. Fray tries to go after Amaru, but the referee stops him… and doesn’t see an eye poke as Amaru capitalised with a Bite of Baklava kick… and that’s enough for the win! Good for the time they had, with Amaru literally stealing one at the end. **½
Projekt Justitia (Echo & Kilo) vs. Posterboys (Alex Duke & Don Sheen)
We’ve seen both these teams on previous Academy shows…
We start with Kilo and Duke locking up, heading into the corner, with Duke slipping away, only to get clubbed in the back ahead of a snap T-bone suplex. Duke’s taken back to the corner, but avoids a splash before he had a wristlock slapped away. Echo tags in, as did Don Sheen, with Sheen nearly winning with a flash roll-up… then a backslide… but the ref spots Sheen’s feet on the ropes, and refused to count. Echo lays into Sheen ahead of a suplex, before some double-teaming from Justitia in the corner didn’t exactly have Sheen down for long.
Duke tags back in to get a two-count from Sheen’s uppercut, before a sit-out front suplex led to a diving kick from Sheen for another two-count. Echo’s looking pissed, and waffled Sheen with a clothesline as Don was getting a little too ahead of himself. Sheen’s slingshotted against the bottom rope by Echo, who tagged out to Kilo… who instantly dropped a leg across Sheen on the apron. Some choking in the ropes follow, while a running uppercut to the back keeps Sheen down as Echo returned. A backbreaker and running legdrop combo keeps Sheen down for a near-fall.
Sheen looks to fight back, avoiding a sit-down splash before he was speared by Kilo. The ropes save Sheen, as he was trying to tag out to Duke. A running clothesline from Echo keeps Sheen in the corner, before Sheen slipped out of a Strike of Justice… and made the tag out to Duke. Duke runs wild with clotheslines and dropkicks, before Echo was knocked down with a knee. Kilo’s legal though, and wildly ragdolled Duke as he lifted him onto the apron, wiping out a camera in the process. A crossbody off the top gets Duke a near-fall… before a back suplex from Kilo led to Echo returning for the Strike of Justice – a suplex into a slam – for the win. **
Zeritus vs. Kevin Lazar
Zeritus has mostly worked wXw’s shows in Saxony, while Lazar’s another name that you may know more of from Berlin’s GWF.
Zeritus is rocking some Terry Funk-like tights, which I instantly approve of. He works – and bites – the wrist and hand of Lazar to start, before Lazar’s drop toe hold took Zeritus down. Taking things to the corner, Zeritus breaks cleanly, then missed a right hand as he hit the turnbuckle… then raked the face of Lazar. Lazar’s baseball slide gets him ahead as some armdrags had Zeritus down, ahead of a dropkick for a two-count. A right hand knocks Lazar down as he charged off the ropes, before Zeritus mouthed off at a heckler. Zeritus boxed away on Lazar in the corner, then threw him across the ring before he began hooking away at the so-called “Chosen One.”
A crossbody from Lazar’s caught and turned into a fallaway slam for a near-fall, before Zeritus missed a charge into the corner. An Exploder from Lazar sees him build a head of steam… he’s lifted onto the apron, but recovered with a crossbody off the top. Staying on Zeritus, Lazar hits a DDT for a near-fall, before he hit the ropes… and ate a Black Hole Slam for a near-fall. Zeritus lifts up Lazar into a Fireman’s carry, but Lazar escaped to hit a Falcon Arrow for a near-fall, before a moonsault from Lazar missed. That allowed Zeritus to come back with a chokebomb, and that was enough to get the win. **¼
Mayeck & Tibo Hendrick vs. Noë Ahuka & Rick Salem
Mayeck and Hendrick have been on Academy shows before – with Hendrick even having a main roster appearance. Salem’s from France’s APC (and has also been part of wXw’s recent roster), while I can’t find a dang thing about the Belgian Ahuka.
Ahuka stared into Salem’s crystal ball… and started the match alongside Hendrick. They switch waistlocks to start, before a waistlock takedown drew a one-count for Hendrick. A wristlock from Ahuka’s turned into a roll to the mat as he stayed on Tibo’s wrist, but Tibo countered out with a wristlock takedown of his own. A roll-up from Hendrick gets a two-count, before a running Meteora added another two-count. Hendrick’s slam allowed him to tag in Mayeck, whose legdrop gets another near-fall, before Ahuka rolled out to tag in Rick Salem. Rick’s also slammed, before Hendrick tagged in… and missed a step-up dropkick to a cornered Salem, as Ahuka pulled him free.
Salem and Ahuka double-team Hendrick, crotching him into the ring post before they continued the double-teaming back in the ring. A clothesline from Ahuka’s good for a two-count, while Salem’s in for a back suplex for a two-count. We’ve more double-teaming as Salem’s wheelbarrow splash kept Hendrick down as he and Ahuka exchanged plenty of quick tags. A short-arm clothesline from Ahuka has Tibo down, before he set up for a reverse DDT… only for Hendrick to roll him up for a near-fall. Ahuka kicks Hendrick down to try and keep control, as Salem tagged back into hit a low dropkick to the back of Hendrick’s head. Salem mouths off to the crowd, and lost sight of Hendrick, who charged in with his half of a double clothesline, proving to be enough as both men were able to tag out.
Mayeck runs wild with clotheslines, but quickly tagged Tibo back in as he hit a step-up dropkick to Ahuka. A leapfrog stomp over Mayeck squashes Salem for a near-fall… it sparks a Parade of Moves including a Blue Thunder Bomb, a Michinoku Driver and an enziguiri, before Salem’s springboard armdrag was booted away. Ahuka tries to stop Hendrick with a charge into the corner, with Salem coming back in… eventually shoving Hendrick into Mayeck in the corner. Regardless, Hendrick hauls up Salem for a bridging German suplex for a near-fall, before Salem had his crystal ball confiscated. It’s a ruse, of course, as Salem low blows Hendricks, before the springboard Codebreaker – the Shot of Destiny – proved to be enough to get the win over a worn-down Hendricks. ***
Vesuvio vs. Nick Schreier
It’s our first look at the Italian Vesuvio (who has it spelled like that on his gear, so I’m running with that), while Schreier had a recent main roster outing… coming up short against Laurance Roman.
Schreier’s thrown back into the corner from the opening lock-up, before he fought out of a wristlock… countering in kind, only for Vesuvio to counter back. Vesuvio throws Schreier down as he tried to roll out, before an armdrag got Schreier free. A second one’s blocked though, but Schreier keeps on with it as a springboard armdrag got the Italian down.
Vesuvio’s sent to the apron with a dropkick, but he hangs up Schreier against the top rope, then charged back in with a clothesline. Boots follow, before Schreier’s crossbody gets blocked and turned into a belly-to-belly suplex for a near-fall. Schreier’s kept in the corner ahead of a tiltawhirl backbreaker… but the German kicks out at two from that. A whip takes Schreier to the corner, but he’s back with a pop-up dropkick to the big man, before he got lifted to the apron… Schreier scores with a high kick from the apron, then a crossbody that dumped Vesuvio for a near-fall. An atomic drop keeps things even as Vesuvio looked for a Sharpshooter, but Schreier’s able to get to the ropes quickly, returning with a superkick and a Spirit Shout – a running Sliced Bread – for the win. **½
Gaya Glass vs. Michelle Green
Gaya’s gotten a bit of a makeover in terms of her character, going by the moniker of “the Enlightened,” while Green has been travelling the world in what’s apparently her rookie year, with a lot of appearances in OVW for the Swiss native.
Glass ducks a charge from Green early on, then stopped to fix her hair before rolling to the outside. We resume with Green working over Glass’ arm, before things broke in the ropes… Glass tries it herself, but gets met with armdrags and leg sweeps as Green looked for pinning attempts.
A suplex lands next, but Glass trips Green into the corner… then ducked a clothesline and came in with kicks. Glass followed up with a big cartwheel and a slap, but that just pissed off Green, who got knocked into the corner for clotheslines. Green sidesteps a splash and came in with a roll-up for a near-fall… only to get tripped into the corner as Glass put the boots to her once again. Green eats a sliding splash against the bottom buckles for a near-fall, then got folded in a chinlock… she elbows out, then hit some leaping clotheslines before heading up the buckles for a flying Bionic elbow. It’s a nasty landing, but she clips Glass enough for a near-fall, before a Northern Lights counter from Glass nearly won it…
Back-and-forth strikes follow, leading to Green’s Paycheck DDT… but Glass rolls a shoulder up in the nick of time, before a swinging Fisherman neckbreaker – the Return on Investment – gets the win. *¾
Big Nik & Yuval Goldshmit vs. Feyyaz Aguila & Tormentor
It’s our first look at Tormentor and Big Nik, with Nik having had some outings for the GWF in Berlin. Goldshmit’s all about the phone, as he’s caught on it at the bell… so he quickly shoves it into the turnbuckles to start. Hope it was screen up…
Nik and Aguila start so we can get the absurd height difference with the former basketball player. It puts Aguila at a disadvantage as he’s easily thrown down from the lock-up, so he tries to strike Nik in the back. A follow-up shoulder tackle’s charged down, but Feyyaz escapes a slam and… saw a clothesline shrugged off. A crossbody’s caught by Nik, who curls him ahead of a slam, before Goldshmit tagged in to try and steal the pin. Feyyaz is up at two as Yuval couldn’t get much going, before both men tagged out. Tormentor goes for the Test of Strength, but the height difference is in play again… a sunset flip from Tormentor’s blocked, but he avoids a stomp before getting chopped out of mid air as he went for a springboard.
Another chop wrecks Tormentor in the corner, before Goldshmit tagged in to put a beating to Tormentor with some clubbing forearms. Nik’s back for more chops, then a splash into the corner, as Yuval started scrolling on his phone… and watched on as Tormentor nearly rolled up Nik after a missed big boot. Tormentor eats a big boot at the second attempt, then a kick to the back, before Goldshmit tagged in so he could put the boots to Tormentor again. Yuval’s got a knack of tagging in once the heavy lifting has been done. Goldshmit knocks Aguila off the apron, then tagged Nik back in… only for Tormentor to escape a chokeslam as a springboard uppercut took the big man down.
Goldshmit tags back in, but eats an enziguiri as Feyyaz came in… Yuval tries to tag out, but Nik’s not on the apron, and Yuval ends up eating a few clotheslines. A neckbreaker’s next, before Yuval threw something that distracted the ref. It allowed Goldshmit to rake the eyes and hit a clothesline, before he went for his phone… Nik grabs hold of it as he’s fed up with his social media-addicted partner, then abandoned the match as Aguila scored an elevated DDT for the win. **¼
Jacob Crane vs. Elijah Blum
Both men have appeared on main roster shows… and they get to be the trivia note of being part of the final main event in the Academy.
Crane’s taunted with a €5 note, as someone clearly wanted to bodyslam him… we start with Blum working a wristlock before Crane scurried away from a bodyslam. Psycho Mike’s scarred him. The pair trade wristlocks before Crane again scarpered out of the ring to escape a bodyslam, even heading outside before his cooler head prevailed. Returning to the ring, Crane got distracted by a young fan, before Blum finally scored a bodyslam. Crane rolls outside and lays on the floor (because of his back…), but it suckered Blum outside. Blum blocks a trip to the post as he then rolled Crane back inside… but Crane kicks the rope into Blum’s nether regions, then booted him back outside.
Crane whips Blum into the ring post, then rolled him back in for a kick to the back. A forearm followed, but Blum sunset flips out of a back body drop for a near-fall, then ate a bridging German suplex for a near-fall. Crane’s running boot takes Blum to the corner, before a double clothesline left both men laying. Blum and Crane trade blows on their way back up, but it’s Crane who switched it up with chops, before Blum’s uppercut led to a swinging neckbreaker. A shotgun dropkick follows, before a Parting Gift neckbreaker was fought out of. Blum stays on Crane in the corner, lifting him up top for a superplex… but Crane throws Blum down instead.
Blum gets back up for an uppercut and the superplex anyway, as Crane took way too long to get down… and when Blum’s able to roll over for a pin, Crane got a foot to the rope. Forearms from Crane led to a clothesline that spun Blum down, before a Perfect Driver (a Titanic) nearly won it for the Pole. Crane’s paintbrushed by Blum, who then scored with the Parting Gift – a butterfly, spin-out neckbreaker – and that’ enough for Blum to pick up the last ever win at the wXw Academy. **¾
The final Academy show in Essen-Katenberg may only be a trivia note a few years from now, but there were some good moments on here – with Ahmad Dimassi excelling in what was seemingly his first try as a solo, English commentator.