wXw returned to a sold-out Bielefeld as we were given a surprise main event as Ahura, Elijah Blum and Peter Tihanyi continued their skirmishes.
Quick Results
Alex Duke defeated Zoltan via referee stoppage to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship in 8:18 (***)
Dieter Schwartz submitted Hugo Brand in 8:18 (***)
Katsuya Murashima pinned Amedeo in 6:55 (***)
Daniel Akindele, Ahuka & Robert Dreissker pinned Luca de Leone, Nordino & Nick Schreier in 13:03 (***¼)
Aleksander Bellamy pinned Johnny Rancid in 5:55 (**½)
Jane Nero pinned Gianna Capri in 12:09 (**¾)
Kuro & Ahura pinned Elijah Blum & Peter Tihanyi in 20:30 (***¼)
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We’re coming from the sold-out Forum in Bielefeld as wXw hit the road after the Pro-Wrestling Grand Prix. We’ve only got a live stream, so I’ll be putting my pidgin German to use with the commentary of Joey Sensation and Francesco Dergue.
wXw Shotgun Championship: Zoltan vs. Alex Duke (c)
Zoltan had been held back from breaking up the pin as Alex Duke won the Shotgun title three weeks ago…
Bielefeld weren’t too impressed with Duke’s side headlock early on, but the reigning champion was all over Zoltan in the early going, at least until the Hungarian’s misdirection allowed him to sneak in a front kick. Aleksander Bellamy’s distraction just got his hands stomped on, but it worked as Duke worked his way back in.
Knees to the midsection looked to set up Duke for a suplex, but Zoltan slipped out and mounted a comeback with some forearm shots, only to get sent right back down to the mat. Zoltan’s forced to fight out of a cravat before he landed a leg lariat to spark the latest comeback. This one had a bit more legs in it as dropkicks trapped Duke in the corner, leading to a crossbody off the top for a near-fall.
Duke again forced his way back in, but Zoltan looked to cut him off with an inside cradle… before a rolling thunder splash almost won it as well. Bellamy again got involved to delay a frog splash, but Zoltan kicked him away before hitting a front kick. Once again Bellamy gets involved, this time hitting the ring, before Duke caught a springboard cutter and choked out Zoltan for the win. I like that Duke’s getting an “out of nowhere” finish, but after we saw this all around Jane Nero for months I’m not thrilled with the prospect of Bellamy intervening throughout more matches. ***
Next up, Elijah Blum was called to the ring and holy flashing lights for his entrance. It’s a bit much, no? Of course, Blum’s always popular in Bielefeld, but he’s not got a match announced. Instead, he wants to get to the point with his latest beef with Ahura, and how he’s calling himself the face of wXw… yet was completely disrespectful to the König der Catcher tournament.
Blum took issue with hour Ahura called this year’s König der Catcher “pointless,” and also how he’s made himself a custom belt to break away from the likes of WALTER, Absolute Andy, and Karsten Beck held… and that’s the cue for Ahura to make his entrance. The pair go nose-to-nose, before Ahura apologised to the crowd for Blum’s appearance.
Ahura brought up the injuries to Axel Tischer and Dennis Dullnig, then took issue at the legends that Blum compared himself to, saying that he’d achieved bigger things than them, and so his legacy was greater than theirs. The in-ring segment rolled on with the interruption of casual day Peter Tihanyi, who opted to take the microphone from Blum rather than Ahura.
Tihanyi claimed that Ahura had led the success go to his head, and that contrary to Ahura’s words, tournaments still mattered… but only because Tihanyi was still looking for his maiden tournament win. Tihanyi vowed to win 16 Carat Gold, then promised to take Ahura’s head if he didn’t respect him then. In response, Ahura took a shot at Blum seemingly being easily forgiving of Tihanyi, before offering up a tag match for later on tonight – Blum and Tihanyi vs. Ahura and whoever wXw saw fit. That’ll be our main event!
Dieter Schwartz vs. Hugo Brand
Hugo was a bit of a cult favourite coming out of Pro-Wrestling Grand Prix weekend – and he’s gotten himself another singles match here.
Schwartz started with some takedowns, keeping Hugo down with a side headlock before Brand got free and fired off some uppercuts. Dieter hit one of his own in return for just a one-count, adding a neckbreaker for another one-count as Brand wasn’t staying down easily.
Brand’s jawbreaker got him out of a chinbar, leading to a discus clothesline before Schwartz tripped him up and dragged him into the ring post. Back inside, an armbar kept Brand at bay, morphing into a hammerlock as Schwartz homed in on Brand’s left arm and shoulder. A missed knee drop onto that arm opened it up for Brand to come back with some clotheslines and a bodyslam, followed up with a crossbody off the top for a near-fall from Brand.
A missed elbow off the top from Brand created a chance for Schwartz, whose uppercut found its mark before he tried to pop the shoulder out of its socket. That’s en route to the arm trap submission, which forced a quick submission as Schwartz got back in the winning column after losing his European title last time out. This was good stuff, with Schwartz clearly having a chip on his shoulder. ***
Amedeo vs. Katsuya Murashima
Hey, it’s a welcome return for Amedeo, who’s not been around these parts for a while…
Amedeo and Murashima started off by trading blows, before Murashima looked to slow the pace down by clinging onto a side headlock. A push off led to a shoulder block from Murashima, only for Amedeo to come back in with armdrags and a tijeras… only to get hung up in the corner as a missed boot allowed Murashima to capitalise with a neckbreaker instead.
Murashima busts out the Curt Hennig neck flip for a two-count, then some chops to the Belgian, while a leaping shoulder tackle kept Amedeo on the back foot. Amedeo returned fire with a teardrop suplex and a standing moonsault after he’d stopped to gyrate for a bit, only for Murashima’s belly-to-belly to reset things. More back-and-forth ends with an Amedeo dropkick, before Murashima slipped out of a Dominator and planted him with a facebuster.
From there, Murashima teed himself up for a lariat, spinning the Belgian to the mat for a near-fall, before Amedeo tried the Dominator again. Another escape allowed Murashima back in with a suplex, and that’s your lot – pretty good for the time they had, as Murashima continues to refine his arsenal in Germany. ***
Nick Schreier & CSI (Luca de Leone & Nordino) vs. Robert Dreissker & Vlaamse Catch Coalitie (Daniel Akindele & Ahuka)
It’s main roster debuts for the VCC, who are graduates of the wXw Academy from back in the day… and holy shit that CSI’d Nick Schreier shirt. Meanwhile, Robert Dreissker was out with Robin Christopher Fohrwerk, who was stuck at the top of the stairs… because wheelchair. Still, he found time to blame CSI for everything.
Dreissker made a beeline for Schreier as we got going with Dreissker bouncing between Nick and CSI with a bunch of Dusty punches. Nick’s Bionic elbow just earns him a dropkick in return, before a missed back senton created an opening with Nick bringing in Nordino.
CSI focus on Dreissker’s arm, leading to a Codebreaker on the arm from Nordino for a two-count, before Robert just launched him into the ropes. A tag bring in the VCC, with Ahuka and Akindele working well together for a quick two-count, before Nordino took out Ahuka’s knee with a dropkick. My feed dropped for a spell, but returned with Schreier getting choked in the ropes before Ahuka’s spinning backbreaker picked up a two-count.
Dreissker’s back in a bad mood, swiping Luca de Leone off the apron before he tripped up Schreier for a front facelock. A back senton connects this time for a near-fall, before Ahuka tagged in for a snap suplex . The VCC combine again, leading to Akindele tagging in for his take on the People’s Elbow, and it’s not long before we’re back to Dreissker clearing house.
Eventually Schreier finds a way past, but Dreissker knocks Nordino off the apron to prevent a tag out. A missed springboard crossbody allowed Nick to hit an Acid Drop, before tags brought in Akindele and Nordino. The latter of whom outpaced Akindele to hit a sit-down splash before Ahuka ate a stunner as we’re starting to go full Italian here, leading to the Arrivederci slam that Ahuka broke up.
A back cracker and a sliding cutter took care of Ahuka, but Dreissker’s springboard crossbody wipes out CSI as we started a Parade of Moves, leading to a Tiger Feint kick to Dreissker in the ropes. From there, Dreissker countered a superkick into a spinebuster, only to get caught with the Arrivederci. Problem is, Dreissker isn’t legal, and VCC pounced on de Leone, landing the Black and Yellow – a springboard dropkick-aided German suplex – to get the win on the tag champions. HMM. This was a solid debut for the VCC, who weren’t much of a focal point until the closing stretch. ***¼
Johnny Rancid vs. Aleksander Bellamy
After getting involved so much in the opener, Bellamy’s gotten himself a proper match here…
Duke’s sent to the back before we even get going, and the arguing led to a distraction as Bellamy was on the defensive from the off. A suplex from Rancid’s good for a two-count, as was a springboard back elbow, before Bellamy hung up Rancid in the ropes to spark a turnaround.
Bellamy’s Randy Orton-esque backbreaker keeps him ahead, as did a suplex, but Rancid’s able to return with some headscissors and a missile dropkick off the top as Bellamy’s push began to stutter. In the end, Bellamy rakes the eyes to escape a suplex, then rolled up Rancid for the win – that came out of nowhere, and took pretty much everyone by surprise. **½
Jane Nero vs. Gianna Capri
This was Capri’s wXw debut – she’s been on a bit of a tour of Europe for the last month or so, working for GWF, EVE and PWH among others. That’s probably been a good distraction from the news around WWE ID…
Some back-and-forth on the mat had Capri keep hold of a wristlock… at least until Nero threw her way free. A high kick from Capri broke up some shenanigans on the apron from Nero, before we resumed with a shoulder tackle and a stalling suplex from Capri for a two-count.
Nero snuck back in with a DDT through the ropes and onto the apron, before Nero took Capri into the corners for some stomps. Kicks to the back follow from Nero, who then put on the brakes as Capri avoided a sliding punch in the corner… returning with a death valley driver.
Capri quickly lost track as a shoulder tackle misses, leading to her hitting the ring post, before a sliding D from Nero found its mark in the corner. A full nelson slam’s next from Nero for a near-fall, before Capri hit a side suplex to break out of a side headlock. Another trip to the corner worked out better for Capri, who was able to land a German suplex that nearly won the match, only for Nero to return with a DDT as we looked to be reaching an end point.
Nero ends up running into a spinebuster though, before back-and-forth shots between the two ended with a short-range clothesline from Nero. Another side headlock from Nero’s countered out of as Capri looked for roll-ups, leading to a standing Blue Thunder bomb that almost nicked it for Capri.
From there, Capri had her knee chop blocked out… before Nero hit back with a Twist of Fate for the win. This match was fine, but really badly hurt by the crowd not having a clue who Capri was – so most of the reactions were to Nero, both good and bad. **¾
Peter Tihanyi & Elijah Blum vs. Ahura & Kuro
Kuro got the spot as Ahura’s partner, which was unexpected… certainly going by Bielefeld’s near-silence.
After a spot of imaginary penalty kicks, we got going with Tihanyi and Kuro… and it was all Tihanyi in the early going as he grounded Kuro with a side headlock. Armdrags keep Tihanyi ahead, before a dropkick took Kuro into the corner, where he tagged in a seemingly unwilling Ahura.
After killing time on the outside, Ahura finally made it into the ring… then blind-tagged Kuro back in and made his exit. Unfortunately for Kuro, the breather on the apron didn’t immediately change his luck, but he did manage to pull Tihanyi into the ropes before a tag brought in Blum.
Ahura’s tagged in, and again he’s Larry Zbyszko’ing it up… delaying, before spinning past Blum and bringing Kuro back in. Kuro walked straight into a dropkick from Blum, before he tagged out once more, this time rolling to the floor as Ahura was seemingly left with no alternative.
Ahura took Blum’s eye off the ball by pretending to tie his own shoe laces… and with Blum distracted, we got a front kick as the match finally burst into life. Tihanyi’s in, but can’t get much going as Ahura threatened to make this look like light work. Of course, Ahura can’t resist tagging Kuro back in, and that’s where things go south for his team again, with Blum and Tihanyi bouncing Kuro around like he was almost a tackling dummy.
Another blind tag brought Ahura back in as a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker dropped Tihanyi ahead of a flying elbow from Kuro that looked to rock the Hungarian. Kuro’s again brought back in as he and Ahura finally looked to be gelling. An ankle lock had Tihanyi drag his way to the corner, but another distraction took the ref’s attention… allowing Ahura to drag Kuro back to the corner, before things blew up with Blum getting back into the match.
A back body drop from Blum leads to a springboard moonsault out of the corner for a near-fall, before Ahura wriggled out of a Parting Gift. Kuro makes the save from Total Depravity, allowing Ahura to return fire with a Destino for a near-fall. Blum escapes a Salamandra to spark a Parade of Moves as the ring briefly filled up… a slingshot cutter from Tihanyi was blocked as Kuro again took over… and handed the reins back to Ahura.
That hesitation gave an opening for Tihanyi, but a kick to the face from Ahura stopped all that before Blum got the tag in again. Ahura rakes the eyes to avoid Total Depravity, with Kuro again sneaking the tag in… but he’s not long for this world as a Total Depravity from Blum and a Meteora from Tihanyi looked to have won it, only for Ahura to break up the pile. A clothesline from Tihanyi takes Ahura to the outside, leading to Blum and Tihanyi looking to team up… but they hesitate, and Kuro’s able to steal the win with a small package on Blum as Ahura held Tihanyi in the ropes. This match told a few stories – first with Ahura learning to accept Kuro as a partner more than a tackling dummy… then the Blum/Tihanyi pairing almost working, but breaking down at a crucial moment as I guess Kuro is going to get added to this mix? ***¼
wXw’s latest swing into Bielefeld was a solid show – especially given the injury-enforced changes that had them come in with just three matches announced. Frankfurt next week has more set up, but that didn’t make Bielefeld a skippable show in hindsight, particularly now Ahura’s seemingly picked a lane to travel in as his challengers begin to stack up.