By Liam Byrne @tvtimelimit
In keeping with the new website, a new review style is in the offing for at least my Shotgun reviews, if not my reviews in general. Rather than offer a play by play, in the moment look at the matches, a look back with a more editorial style is my goal going forward. Let me know what you think!
Shotgun’s two matches this week saw Jay-FK versus The Pretty Bastards and Ivan Kiev taking on Icarus (no, not the one from CHIKARA, the one from Hungary). Starting off with the tag match, this felt very much like a way to promote Jay-FK ahead of the triple threat match at True Colors for the wXw Tag Team titles (where they face Monster Consulting and LAX). This also establishes parity with at least Monster Consulting, as The Pretty Bastards fell to them a few weeks back.
This is mostly all Jay-FK, outside of a Russian legsweep by Prince Ahura briefly halting Jay Skillet, as well as Ahura distracting Francis Kaspin from the apron to turn the tide later on. The Pretty Bastard’s control segment is brief, only really highlighted by an unorthodox snapmare/headbutt double team. Naturally, the heat builds up to a hot tag to Skillet, coming in off the top with a crossbody. Their first attempt to hit their crossbody/neckbreaker combination is halted, yet they eventually nail it after Ahura is caught showboating whilst draped on the top rope. Maggot is nailed with the neckbreaker/crossbody, as well as the Jay-FKO for a victory that sees the team gaining momentum en route to the title shot.
Post-match, Skillet and Kaspin had a segment where it is brought up that they have lost some of their higher profile matches, but Skillet thinks they are ready this time. As for me, I think Monster Consulting is more likely to come out on top, yet I wouldn’t mind seeing Kaspin and Skillet get a run with the gold as they have delivered the goods whenever I have had the chance to see them on Shotgun. Considering how little I cared for Kaspin when I first saw him in 2017, this can only be a good thing.
The singles matches is a showcase for Ivan Kiev, who dispatches Icarus in quite short order all things considered. Icarus reminds me a little of Will Ospreay in his early days as a member of the Swords of Essex, with an early standing moonsault, a springboard kick later on and an eventual blocked Swanton bomb. Kiev is still using the RISE gesture even with the stable in a state of flux, and had control pretty much throughout after a dropkick (one that barely connects, to be fair) knocked Icarus out of mid-air. A sweep on the apron saw Icarus collide with the ringpost in a neat spot, whilst the missed Swanton allows Kiev to hit his leg lariat off of the top and a Death Valley bomb – after an initial block – for the win.
The most notable segment outside the ring was a video with Pete Bouncer, which acts as a call to arms for the remaining members of RISE to embody the initial ethos of the stable – a group working together for a common goal. A lot of what he said was aimed at Da Mack, a wrestler who was showcased as John Klinger’s chosen favourite, so it is possible we see a transition from Bouncer versus Klinger to potentially Bouncer versus Da Mack when it comes to the development of the RISE storyline. Bouncer claimed ‘I am RISE’ to finish, making it clear where he stands at this time.
The ongoing storyline of whether Dirty Dragan will be able to maintain his place on the roster almost took a turn for the worst as Christian Michael Jakobi looked like he was going to remove him from active competition, yet he was saved by Emil Sitoci suggesting that he had a few plans for the popular Serbian. Whilst I am enjoying the odd couple shtick between Dragan and Sitoci, I do believe it has to eventually lead to a Sitoci turn.
The only other segment was a throw away piece that saw Melanie Grey back on our screen for the first time in a while. Harassing Killer Kelly mid-workout, her words only served to draw attention to the fact that she hadn’t been booked for a while, with wXw seemingly reliant on Kelly as the new face of the Women’s Division. It didn’t really go anywhere, but I do enjoy Grey from a character standpoint so hope that this might lead to some more involvement going forward, especially after her very good match against Toni Storm at 16 Carat Gold.
A nod to the wXw production team and whoever puts together their hype videos. We get two: one for Ilja Dragunov versus WALTER, one for Absolute Andy versus Marius Al-Ani. Each video focuses on the past, as well as splicing in some of the more recent altercations between the four men. They definitely build the excitement for two very important matches for company going forward. With the title and a shot at the title on the line in the respective matches, I can’t look past Dragunov and Andy retaining what they have, though wXw don’t always go with the most obvious booking choices as they prefer to play the long game.
Next wXw review will be incoming after the weekend as True Colors sets the tone for the where the promotion is head in the next few months. Who will be the champion? Who will be chasing them down? Check back next week for all wXw related news.
