{"id":28477,"date":"2025-03-10T21:15:06","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T21:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/?p=28477"},"modified":"2025-03-10T21:15:06","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T21:15:06","slug":"wxw-inner-circle-17-march-06-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/reviews\/wxw-inner-circle-17-march-06-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"wXw Inner Circle 17 (March 06, 2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The night before Carat saw another packed crowd at the wXw Academy &#8211; and something extra special in the main event!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><b>Quick Results<\/b><br \/>\nElijah Blum pinned Danny Jones in 9:03 (**\u00be)<br \/>\nAnil Marik pinned M4 in 3:47 (**)<br \/>\nAnita Vaughan, OSKAR &amp; Yuto Nakashima pinned Reyca, Robert Dreissker &amp; Marc Empire in 13:15 (***\u00bc)<br \/>\nAdam Priest submitted Zozaya in 13:53 (***\u00bd)<br \/>\nLaurance Roman pinned Aeron in 5:44 (**\u00be)<br \/>\nRyan Clancy pinned Norman Harras in 7:00 (***)<br \/>\nFuminori Abe &amp; Takuya Nomura submitted Thomas Shire &amp; 1 Called Manders in 10:34 (****\u00bd)<\/p>\n<p>&#8212; In the next week or so, I\u2019ll 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aufdiefresse.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AufDieFresse.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"788\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3uT5cF0-tbE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re live on tape from the sold-out and red hot (well, at least in our corner\u2026) Wrestling Academy in Gelsenkirchen, with English commentary courtesy of Dave Bradshaw.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Elijah Blum vs. Danny Jones<\/strong><br \/>\nIt could have been a much different weekend for Elijah, who\u2019s at something of a loose end after Peter Tihanyi went down injured.<\/p>\n<p>Jones looked to control Blum from the off, throwing him aside with headlock takedowns before Blum fired back with a crossbody and a dropkick. Blum\u2019s resurgence was short-lived though, as he\u2019s thrown around the ring by the Welshman, then chopped back down to the mat.<\/p>\n<p>Stomps keep Blum down, but he\u2019s able to break out of a chinlock before landing a swinging neckbreaker. Clotheslines follow as Blum built momentum, but Jones manages to chain together some clotheslines and a snap Dragon suplex as he tried to thwart Blum. A Falcon arrow nearly gets the upset, as did a wild lariat\u2026 but Blum\u2019s able to counter a piledriver before hitting a sliding D out of nowhere for the win. Jones was a much sterner test that Blum was perhaps expecting, which led to a rather scrappy win. **\u00be<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anil Marik vs. M4<\/strong><br \/>\nRobin Christopher Fohrwerk insisted on introducing Anil Marik for this one. Get used to his voice this weekend, even if it wasn\u2019t around as much as it could have been\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Marik dominated M4 to start, but a shoulder tackle helped M4 close the distance, before Marik hit a jawbreaker to counter out of a suplex. A Codebreaker through the ropes gets Marik a two-count, and we\u2019ve got more control as a grounded abdominal stretch was forced out of by M4.<\/p>\n<p>M4 put the brakes on a monkey flip as he began to bounce Marik around with clotheslines and a suplex, but a low dropkick took M4 into the corner as Marik quickly put him away with a double underhook DDT. Decent, but very short. **<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reyca &amp; Planet Gojirah (Marc Empire &amp; Robert Dreissker) vs. Anita Vaughan &amp; Young Blood (Oskar Leube &amp; Yuto Nakashima)<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter spending last Carat being OSKAR\u2019s makeshift partner, Anita Vaughan got to team with Young Blood in this latest trios outing.<\/p>\n<p>Vaughan and Reyca start us off as commentary ruminated on whether Vaughan had taken too much on, being a part of Carat and the big Shotgun Bonanza show. Here, Vaughan was able to evade the Hungarian Reyca, meeting her in the corner with an uppercut before a forearm from Reyca stopped AV in her tracks\u2026 as she then demanded to face OSKAR.<\/p>\n<p>OSKAR tagged in as we got the visual of the height difference between the two, before Reyca charged under OSKAR\u2019s legs and made the tag out to Dreissker. Those two renewed their previous rivalry from years ago, but this time it was OSKAR who got the upper hand, at least until Dreissker found his way in with the springboard crossbody out of the corner.<\/p>\n<p>Marc Empire gets the tag in and charges into OSKAR in the corner, downing him for a hip attack before an attempted pull-up powerbomb out of the corner was telegraphed. OSKAR\u2019s slam buys him time to tag in Yuto Nakashima, whose running knees in the corner forced Dreissker to break up the cover as the match threatened to get a little fractious.<\/p>\n<p>OSKAR\u2019s back to light up Empire with chops, while Vaughan joined in the fun as well before Yuto got caught with a clothesline. Dreissker\u2019s back to have a go, laying out Yuto with a forearm for a two-count, before Reyca came in for a piggy-backed splash with Dreissker on Yuto for a near-fall.<\/p>\n<p>Dreissker and Empire combine for a double-team hiptoss out of the corner, before tags brought us back to Anita and Reyca\u2026 a crossbody from Reyca\u2019s caught and turned into a fallaway slam. A tag brings Dreissker back in as he looked to give AV a fallaway slam of her own, sparking a big ol\u2019 Parade of Moves, ending with Reyca getting caught with a Fisherman Driver from Anita for the win. This was a lot of fun live, especially the closing stretches as AV picked up another win at Inner Circle. ***\u00bc<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adam Priest vs. Zozaya<\/strong><br \/>\nWell, how\u2019s this for a match that you didn\u2019t know you wanted til it hit the ring?<\/p>\n<p>Priest tried to take the sting out of Zozaya\u2019s bundle of energy by heading between the ropes to start, before he huggled the bottom rope to put some more distance between the two. Using referee Tassilo Jung to get himself up, Priest just as quickly got hauled down with a waistlock from Zozaya as shenanigans with the official threatened to become a factor.<\/p>\n<p>Zozaya wrenches Priest\u2019s arm, sending the Alabaman to the outside\u2026 but Priest quickly returns when Tassilo bust out one of his \u201cI\u2019m done with your nonsense\u201d quick counts. Priest\u2019s attempts to work over Zozaya\u2019s leg end with him getting kicked to the outside, with Zozaya keeping him there for a rebound apron PK, then a plancha to the floor in the rather cramped academy.<\/p>\n<p>Back inside, Priest goes back to the leg of Zozaya as he worked up to a German suplex out of the corner as his offence looked precise and almost surgical at times. Slowing things down with a sleeperhold on the mat, while more strikes took Zozaya into the ropes ahead of a retaliatory deadlift German suplex from the Spaniard.<\/p>\n<p>Zozaya\u2019s shoulder charges into the corner lead to a delayed overhead throw for a near-fall, then with a roll-through suplex before Priest charged back with a chop block to the front of the knee. A snap piledriver later nearly seals it, before an exchange of strikes led to a Zozaya dropkick\u2026 only for Priest to grab hold of the ref to shield him from a splash off the top.<\/p>\n<p>Priest ends up nicking the win after he grabbed Zozaya\u2019s foot amid a stomp\u2026 torquing the ankle before rolling Zozaya into a half crab for the win. This was understated, but an absolute blast to see Priest live and up close. ***\u00bd<\/p>\n<p>After some much needed air in the interval (and that damn radiator being shut off) we return\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Aeron vs. Laurance Roman<\/strong><br \/>\nOh boy. Roman ought to be making light work of Aeron here\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Roman has control early on, taking Aeron into the corners for chops before a response saw Aeron\u2026 get charged down with a back elbow. A back suplex quickly follows for a two-count, before Aeron kicked out a springboard that left Roman with an ugly landing in the corner.<\/p>\n<p>Aeron capitalises with a brainbuster for a quick two-count, but an overhead kick from Roman stopped all that as he proceeded to clatter Aeron with clotheslines en route to a missile dropkick and the Burning Nail piledriver for the win as Roman built momentum as he looked to win back-to-back Carats. **\u00be<\/p>\n<p><strong>Norman Harras vs. Ryan Clancy<\/strong><br \/>\nTurns out, Norman\u2019s theme meshes really well with a chant that tells him how the crowd feels\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Harras tried to restrain Clancy with a wristlock early on, but that\u2019s rolled out of before Harras derided the American\u2019s shoulder tackle. A kick to the midsection rocks Clancy as he\u2019s taken into the corner, before a trip-up attempt led to a backslide as Clancy tried to catch Harras off guard.<\/p>\n<p>A leaping shoulder tackle takes the former Shotgun champion down, but Norman\u2019s able to make inroads again, charging Clancy into the corner ahead of a swinging chop. Harras\u2019 flapjack planted Clancy for a near-fall, but a follow-up suplex gets countered into an inside cradle as Clancy began to fight back.<\/p>\n<p>The pair clash heads by the ropes, which reset things a little, but Clancy\u2019s able to resume with the upper hand, whipping Harras into the corners ahead of a monkey flip out of them\u2026 and while Harras was able to boot Clancy, a lovely standing dropkick out of nowhere shuts this one down as the potential Carat alternate got some momentum going into the alternate\u2019s four-way. ***<\/p>\n<p><strong>Astronauts (Fuminori Abe &amp; Takuya Nomura) vs. 1 Called Manders &amp; Thomas Shire<\/strong><br \/>\nWhere do you start with this? Well, the entire Inner Circle card this time was unannounced, and when the Astronauts came out first, people\u2019s hopes were raised. And for once, not dashed!<\/p>\n<p>The early going had Manders try to confuse Nomura by tagging in Abe\u2026 as Manders was in the midst of a wristlock. The roles reversed, with Thomas Shire tagging in the wrong man before Abe finally tagged Nomura\u2026 and began to chop the ever loving crap out of Manders. We\u2019re barely a minute in, and already this was wild.<\/p>\n<p>A slap from Manders just upped the ante as he and Abe seemed to be going for a knock-out, before Shire tagged in and continued to throw fists. Abe\u2019s hung up in the ropes as Manders lariat\u2019d him out of there, but Abe wasn\u2019t going to melt away as he brought the fight to Manders\u2026 who was more than happy to strike back as the pair exchanged elbows and kicks that got increasingly loud.<\/p>\n<p>Some mid-match snacks courtesy of Abe\u2019s fingers gave a new meaning to finger food for the Cowboys, but an enziguiri from Abe stems the time as Nomura came in to try and turn things around. Problem was, Manders\u2019 heavy hands just put Nomura in the corner for some Machine Gun chops\u2026 only for Nomura to kick away at him in return.<\/p>\n<p>More ear-splitting strikes led to a powerslam out of the corner from Manders, before some profanity-laced strikes ended with an exchange of suplexes. Tags bring us back to Shire and Abe, but a missed charge from Shire opens it up for kicks from Abe as we found out way to duelling manjigatame\u2026 with Abe breaking it up with a balled fist to the head of Manders. YUP.<\/p>\n<p>Trading places, everyone lays into everyone until Shire\u2019s double clothesline took down the Astronauts. Abe\u2019s big boot ends up turning the tide though, as Manders has to make a save from some double-teaming\u2026 and while a lariat wipes out Nomura, Abe\u2019s able to clock Manders with the wind-up Irabu punch. A second one, to Shire, is brushed off as a UFO instead spun Abe around to the mat, only for Abe to counter a powerbomb into a grounded Octopus stretch for the eventual tap-out. WELL THEN! There\u2019s some live bias here, but this was an absolute hoot &#8211; it\u2019s hard not to get wrapped up when you\u2019re feet away from these four knocking seven shades out of each other &#8211; even more so when the match delivers on every level imaginable. ****\u00bd<\/p>\n<p>Inner Circle could very easily be a show that doesn\u2019t translate onto tape &#8211; but this edition, in particular the main event, is one that you need to go out of your way to see. We\u2019re only in March, but with the main event, we had an outing that\u2019ll feature on those match of the year ballots come next January. A main event that was an experience live AND on tape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The night before Carat saw another packed crowd at the wXw Academy &#8211; and something extra special in the main event!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":28479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"wXw Inner Circle 17 (March 06, 2025) recap - #wXw16Carat - The night before Carat saw another packed crowd at the wXw Academy - and something extra special in the main event!","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[690,6,829],"tags":[4776,7026,5659,6714,5056,6530,6767,1671,6204,6223,1241,1542,6987,6881,3774,6589,7023,6786,1086,6883,2072,5098,454,6856,5605,6923],"class_list":["post-28477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-european-indies","category-reviews","category-wxw","tag-1-called-manders","tag-16-carat-gold-2025","tag-adam-priest","tag-aeron","tag-anil-marik","tag-anita-vaughan","tag-astronauts","tag-danny-jones","tag-elijah-blum","tag-fuminori-abe","tag-inner-circle","tag-laurance-roman","tag-m4","tag-marc-empire","tag-norman-harras","tag-oskar-leube","tag-planet-gojirah","tag-reyca","tag-robert-dreissker","tag-ryan-clancy","tag-takuya-nomura","tag-thomas-shire","tag-wxw","tag-young-blood","tag-yuto-nakashima","tag-zozaya"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p73vbt-7pj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/wxw-innercircle17-logo.jpg?fit=1200%2C675","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28477"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28481,"href":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28477\/revisions\/28481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}