wXw’s More Than Wrestling tour rolled into Berlin as we got a series of matches between wXw and GWF.
Quick Results
Sasa Keel pinned Chris Colen in 9:39 (**½)
Tarkan Aslan & Lucky Kid pinned Laurance Roman & Franz Engel and Bobby Gunns & Vincent The Beast and Koray & Ronaldo in 11:53 (**¼)
Mike Schwarz defeated Cash Money Erkan via disqualification in 10:25 (**¼)
John Klinger pinned Axel Dieter Jr., Ilja Dragunov & Ivan Kiev to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship in 10:51 (***¼)
Blue Nikita pinned Melanie Gray in 8:45 (**¾)
Crazy Sexy Mike pinned Axel Tischer in 15:06 (***¼)
Rambo & Karsten Beck pinned Pascal Spalter & Big Daddy Walter in 15:22 (***)
How’s this for a time capsule show? This was the first joint show between wXw and GWF – a partnership that didn’t last beyond 2015… We’re coming on tape from shake! in Berlin, with commentary courtesy of Matze Schwarz and Christian Bischof.
Chris Colen vs. Sasa Keel
Again, we’ve cut out entrances… and Colen is the massive favourite with this partisan crowd.
This was Keel’s first outing since that bloody streetfight at Back to the Roots… he started by going for the wrist of Colen, which gets reversed before Keel clubbed his way free. Things go to ground from there, with Colen dropping a knee over Keel’s wrist, only for Keel to swipe at him following a lock-up into the ropes.
Keel’s bodyslam dumps Colen, and earned him an instant receipt before the pair traded clotheslines. Chops from Colen take Keel into the corners, while a sliding clothesline and back senton kept Colen ahead. A slingshot stomp from the outside in crushes Keel for a two-count, before Keel booted Colen away in the corner.
Gutwrench suplexes from Keel chuck Colen across the ring, leading to a leaping elbow drop for a two-count… before Colen took a turnbuckle a la Bret Hart. Colen knees his way out of a Vijak attempt, but Keel’s right back in with a back suplex for a two-count. Stopping to get the crowd to cheer, Colen’s knocked into the corners… then clotheslined by Keel, who followed up with a strike to the back of the neck.
Colen pops up from that, slapping Keel before he hauled him up for a death valley driver into the buckles. Heading up top, Colen looks for an elbow drop, but Keel shoves the ref into the ropes to knock Colen down… only for Colen to go right back to a Fireman’s carry. Keel escaped, then quickly nailed the Vijak… and that uranage’s enough to get the win. Some of Colen’s stuff here was like Shawn Michaels… from the Hogan match in 2005. **½
Young Lions (Lucky Kid & Tarkan Aslan) vs. Die Schilds (Bobby Gunns & Vincent The Beast) vs. Waschbären Auf Koffein (Franz Engel & Laurance Roman) vs. Dark Society (Koray & Ronaldo)
They’re cleaning up streamers as we fade in to the match… we’re a good two years away from the Young Lions being a regular tandem in wXw, if you’re stitching together timelines.
Engel and Gunns start us off, but Gunns opts to knock Laurance Roman off the apron before he sparked up a cigarette and worked a wristlock. An enziguiri from Engel broke that – and sent the cigarette flying – before headscissors allowed Engel to tag in Roman as the pair nicked Gunns into the ropes. A double back body drop follows, before Koray and Tarkan Aslan tagged in.
A side headlock from Koray has Aslan restrained, but he’s able to push free and charge down Koray, before he scored with an armdrag. In comes Lucky Kid, as the Young Lions dizzy Koray en route to a Manhattan drop/kneedrop combo. Roman tags himself in and bounced Koray with some clotheslines… but Koray’s able to get back in to launch Roman head-first into the middle turnbuckle with almost a release cutter.
Chops knock Roman down as Ronaldo – not yet Shaqiri – came in and charged Roman into the top turnbuckle… following up with a Veg-O-Matic elbow drop following for a two-count as Engel came in to break up the pin. Things break down a little here, as Gunns tagged in and stayed on Roman, before Vincent charged his way in with clotheslines… then dropped down as Gunns leapt off of Vinny’s back for a dropkick into the corner.
Roman floated out of a back suplex, then dove over to tag in the Young Lions – I think Tarkan was legal, but both of them cleaned house, going after Koray before the Young Lions and the Waschbären hit some dives. Must be an animal thing. Roman heads up top for a moonsault into the pile, before returning to the ring to work over Koray. Wait, I thought Lauri tagged out?!
Kicks have Koray dazed as Engel’s Meteora off the top led to a pin that was instantly broken up. The Schilds are back for an Alabama Slam/German suplex combo to Lucky Kid, but Aslan stomps that apart as the referee had lost control of things…
Ronaldo’s spear took out Gunns, while Vinny’s spinebuster laid out Koray… a double clothesline took care of Ronaldo and Vinny. Things have broken down to the point where pins are being broken up before ref can even count at times… but when the ref is counting, there’s some weirdness as he held up a count after Roman had taken the Young Lions’ knees.
The Young Lions clear the ring from there, and go right back after Roman with a Turkish Suplex – a double-handed chop into a bridging German – and that’s enough to get the Young Lions the win in a match that was too wild for its own good. At least the local lads got confetti for their win, so that was nice… **¼
Cash Money Erkan vs. Mike Schwarz
Erkan was one half of the GWF tag champions here – a month or so away from his first run ending. He’d go on to hold those belts six times in total at the time of writing…
We’ve a shoving match to start, breaking down into uppercuts and forearms as the taller Erkan was playing into his love of uppercuts early on. Early attempts at each others’ finishers are fought off as Schwarz instead hit a slam and an elbow drop… not even for a one-count. An unnamed member of Erkan’s Cash Money Mafia distracts Schwarz as Erkan came back with an uppercut and a knee drop.
Schwarz blocks a Cash Money Kick, but his chokeslam’s elbowed away as Erkan came back with an uppercut off the middle rope. Erkan splashes Schwarz in the ropes… then ran in with a knee to the side of his head before he picked up a two-count back inside. A comeback from Schwarz gets shut down with a dropkick from Erkan, promoting Schwarz to grab a beer from the crowd.
It kinda worked too, as a Ruhrschwinger – a Bossman slam – forced an opening for Schwarz, leading to the pair going back-and-forth with strikes. Schwarz chops Erkan into the corner, only to get met with an uppercut in return as Erkan then looked for a pumphandle slam… which gets a near-fall.
Schwarz makes another comeback, scoring with a clothesline and a powerslam for a near-fall, before Schwarz looked for his Schicht im Schacht chokeslam… Erkan slips out, then hit a crossbody to take the pair to the outside… Erkan bowls Schwarz into the crowd, before Mikey returned the favour… prompting Erkan to shatter a wooden chair over Schwarz’s head for the DQ. **¼
wXw Shotgun Championship: John Klinger (c) vs. Ivan Kiev vs. Axel Dieter Jr. vs. Ilja Dragunov
Kiev was working somewhat regularly for wXw and GWF at this point…
We start with Klinger going for Ilja Dragunov, in their first meeting since Ilja stole the Shotgun title belt at Back to the Roots. Dragunov hoists Junior to the outside early on, but that left him alone against Klinger and Kiev (a few years before their union in wXw)… which ended when Dragunov got turfed over the top to the floor.
Shoulder tackles from Klinger staggered Kiev ahead of a suplex, which gets a two-count for the reigning champion. A Kitchen Sink knee followed, but Junior’s back to low bridge Klinger to the floor… just as Dragunov came in to put the boots to Kiev. A clothesline from Kiev takes Dragunov outside… but here’s Junior with the Landungsbrücke bridging Regalplex for a two-count, before Kiev caught him with a clothesline into the corner… and a crossbody off the top.
Klinger’s back to land some mounted punches on Junior in the corner, before a whip into the buckles led to a back body drop. Out goes Junior, in comes Ilja with a Torpedo Moscau to Klinger, before Ilja ran into a gamengiri from Kiev… who adds a crossbody to Klinger, then a cannonball to Ilja. Dieter’s on hand to pull out Kiev before a pin’s even counted… the ring fills up quickly, and clears as Kiev and Klinger land kicks… before Junior’s double Blockbuster wiped them out.
Junior and Kiev look to combine on Klinger… but he ducks under then and wiped out Dragunov with a tope. They add to the mix with topes of their own, before Junior and Ilja returned to the ring to try and build momentum. A uranage from Dragunov lands, but he doesn’t make a cover, allowing Kiev to hit a frog splash to Junior… who rolls outside as a missile dropkick from Klinger found its mark.
Dragunov’s back to hit a uranage on Klinger then pick up some two-counts from the scraps. We resume with a headscissors/headlock takedown from Junior, taking out Dragunov and Kiev, before Klinger’s bucklebomb earned him a bridging capture suplex in return. Dragunov tries to intervene again, but Junior takes care of him… Kiev wipes out Junior with a death valley driver, only to get waylaid by Klinger’s Wrecking Ball Knees, allowing the champion to retain with the pin on Junior. ***¼
Blue Nikita vs. Melanie Gray
Nikita was the reigning GWF Women’s champion at the time…
The partisan crowd weren’t exactly keen on Gray, even less so once she threw Nikita down to the mat… then raked Nikita’s eyes with her boots. Nikita fought back with some armdrags and a knee lift, before a wheelbarrow attempt was shattered with a facebuster as Gray shut down the GWF champion.
A couple of elbow drops gets Gray a two-count, while knees to the back and a low dropkick kept Gray ahead. Nikita’s able to find her way back in with some tilt a whirl headscissors and a flipping neckbreaker, while a crossbody off the middle rope saw her pick up a near-fall. Whips from Gray took Nikita into the corner, leading to a sidewalk slam for a two-count… a missed knee strike on the apron was shrugged off, but Nikita’s front kick decks Gray moments later, before Gray found a way in with a swinging sidewalk slam.
Gray threw a temper tantrum after only getting a two-count there, then began to unload with mounted punches on Nikita, before she got caught on the top rope… allowing Nikita to bring her down with the Blaues Wonder – the Jig ‘n’ Tonic – for the win. Gray got a LOT here, but the result was perhaps expected given wXw were a few years off from establishing a women’s title… **¾
Crazy Sexy Mike vs. Axel Tischer
This was a teacher vs. student outing, with Tischer looking to one-up his trainer here…
A tentative start saw Mike pull ahead with a neckbreaker and a crucifix pin as he looked to end this one early. Tischer charges Mike to the corner… then bailed to the floor as we had a bit of stalling. When Tisdcher got back inside, his attempt at an armbar was slapped away, so he snapmares Mike down for a kneedrop, garnering just a one-count.
Mike fought free of a side headlock, only to get charged back down by Tischer… Bionic elbows help take TIscher into the corner, but the Axeman’s quickly out with a front kick for a two-count. Stomps from Tischer took things into the corner, before the pair began to trade right hands… ending with a snap suplex from Tischer for a two-count.
Tischer continued to work over Mike, dropping the knee to his back as he proceeded to stretch him. Mike gets free, kicking Tischer down ahead of a Vader Bomb elbow out of the corner. A dropkick gets Tischer back in it, only for Mike’s powerslam to cut off the Axeman for a two-count… leading to some back-and-forth that ended with a leg lariat from Mike.
Mike’s O’Connor roll’s blocked as Axeman turned around for another front kick, before Mike cut off a Ligerbomb and spun Tischer into a Codebreaker. It would have gotten the win, but Tischer gets an arm onto the rope before Mike hit a back suplex/powerbomb… then went up top. Tischer got the knees up to block a senton bomb… then nearly lost as he was rolled up out of the Ligerbomb for a near-fall.
A bridging German suplex nearly won it for Tischer seconds later, before Mike countered a second one into a cutter… it’s still not enough though, and when Mike ran into a gamengiri in the corner, Tischer thought he was on his way… only to get back body dropped off the top rope. The senton bomb quickly followed, and that’s the win for Mike over his student. ***¼
Post-match, Tischer slapped away Mike’s offer of a handshake and instead gave him a hug…
Karsten Beck & Rambo vs. Big Daddy Walter & Pascal Spalter
At this particular time, GWF’s heavyweight title wasn’t a thing – with the Berlin and Middleweight titles instead being the top men’s singles titles. Here, we had the top wXw and GWF men’s title holders on one side, while Walter teamed up with the Berlin champion Pascal Spalter.
This was the first time Walter had been in the same match as Beck since Back to the Roots… and of course, Beck wasn’t in any rush to get involved the former champion. When we got going it Rambo distracted Spalter, allowing Beck to attack from behind as we started with some double-teaming.
A double clothesline clears the way for Spalter, taking Beck outside… and into the path of Walter, who chopped Beck around ringside, before a big boot and sit-out splash in the ring saw Walter pick up a two-count. Spalter’s in to drop a leg on Beck, then bring Walter back as some double-teaming saw them spam elbow drops.
Spalter returns to sit on Beck, before Spalter and Walter hiptossed Rambo into the ring to some chopping. His bulletproof vest’s ripped off after he laughed away the first shots… and then Spalter sits on Rambo for the hell of it. Rambo hit back with a Codebreaker, before Beck came in and… chinlock. Spalter gets free, but eats a knee lift as Beck got in Walter’s face… opening the door for some more double-teaming.
Rambo hang sup Spalter on the top rope, allowing Beck to add a neckbreaker for a two-count as Walter could only watch on from the apron. Another chinlock, this time from Rambo, keeps Spalter restrained, before a side suplex finally got Pascal free… only for Beck to pull Walter off the apron to stop a tag out from being made.
Walter’s back on the apron and tags in after Spalter’d hit an overhead suplex to Rambo… following up with a back body drop to Beck as well. Rambo tried to make a save, but he’s taken into the corner with Beck ahead of a double shotgun dropkick from Walter. All four men end up in the ring after Rambo got superplexed in by Spalter, before Spalter piggybacked on Walter for a splash on Rambo for a near-fall.
The hard cam eventually picks up Rambo and Spalter trading blows, before a powerbomb out of nowhere almost got Rambo the win. Beck saves Rambo moments later, before a teased belt shot was stopped by Walter… the ref disarms Walter, as Beck then cracked Walter with the wXw title. Spalter’s back up to hit a powerslam to Beck, only for Rambo to run in with die Bomber to get the win. This was a fun tag match that played up the main storylines in the two companies – but didn’t give too much away on the wXw side of things. ***