By Liam Byrne @tvtimelimit
Call me a cynic, but when the main event of Shotgun this week is Monster Consulting defending the wXw World Tag Team Titles against RISE, in the form of Pete Bouncer and Ivan Kiev, I smell shenanigans. With Da Mack still on Da Loose (see what I did there?), it screams ‘big time match with screwy finish’.
Considering the end result – a video of Da Mack distracting Pete Bouncer long enough for Monster Consulting to hit the assisted Go2Sleep and the Ripcord clothesline for the win – as well as the aftermath – a rematch at Superstars of Wrestling – the match did, at times, feel like it was building to a finish whilst keeping something in the tank for the bigger show. It picked up towards the end, but I hope and believe that the rematch will be better…unless it is there to build once more to a Da Mack involvement. What was more interesting in terms of longer plans was the mixed reaction for Bouncer, especially as the post match had the two members of RISE and Monster Consulting shaking hands, effectively looking to position RISE as if they are moving towards being a face stable. This might be more to continue to build tension, with the potential for a Tarkan Aslan/Lucky Kid split looming.
The contest was perfectly acceptable, with initial exchanges primarily seeing Consulting take control after a big boot to Bouncer by Nero, as they cemented their position with a slam/kneedrop/splash combination for two. RISE were able to hit back with double team moves of their own, with a blockbuster/legsweep combo taking down the Avalanche, whilst later on in the contest they hit a superkick/full nelson slam sequence for a nearfall. It was RISE who were in control as the Da Mack video hit the ‘Tron, with Kiev hitting his top rope leg lariat, but ultimately falling to the Ripcord clothesline. Given more time and less shenanigans, this has potential to be a good match at Superstars of Wrestling.
The other contest on the show saw Marius Al-Ani versus Juvenile X. Al-Ani would one-up X in the early grappling, but the newcomer managed to take control after a springboard into a kick knocked Al-Ani off of the apron after avoiding a dive to the outside. A snap powerslam and a grounded cobra clutch (a move returned to later as well) were neat moves in X’s repertoire, yet it was difficult to overcome the sense that some of his spots were there just to put him in a position to be caught: a double axehandle ended up with him punched in the stomach, a wayward charge ended with Al-Ani rolling him into an ankle lock. After dragging Al-Ani by his trunks into the second turnbuckle, X did land a nice swinging flatliner, but Al-Ani took the win with a nip-up into an ankle lock, a neat shift from his usual T-bone suplex.
The rest of the show was primarily about the build to Superstars of Wrestling, as we saw the contract signing between WALTER and Ilja Dragunov, alongside some promotional videos. WALTER and Dragunov’s signing went pretty much without a hitch, though some teasing from WALTER led to an impassioned response from the champion, making it clear that the big Austrian knew nothing about real pain or fighting from underneath. No-one quite does fired up, in ring or out of the ring, then Dragunov at the moment.
Two videos looked at the mixed tag team match (Marius Al-Ani and Killer Kelly versus Absolute Andy and Melanie Gray) and Bobby Gunns in general. Whilst the tag match’s montage showed how well it had been built, with Andy referencing Kelly’s victory over Gray several weeks back, Gunns is a laugh riot as he talks about smashing your girl before sending wrestlers to collect McDonald’s vouchers, before also dubbing people ‘too PWG’ and ‘Indy Fuckboys’. Glorious work from Mr Gunns.
The other notable segment saw Emil Sitoci and Dirty Dragan celebrate Dragan’s victory over Francis Kaspin from last week. The victory was something; Sitoci agreeing to go for a kebab with Dragan was the ultimate win.
Shotgun does generally deliver, but this one was more angle driven than some. Still, they have built well to a unique looking card at the weekend, one that I am definitely looking forward to. They also looked to build to next week’s Shotgun as they closed, with Zack Sabre Jr. and David Starr arguing with each other after Sabre Jr. disparaged Starr mid-interview. We have the New Japan Cup winner versus the Best of the Best winner, whilst further fuel was thrown on the flames as we have someone who can’t get thing done on the grand stage (Sabre Jr.) and someone who can’t beat WALTER or win the title (Starr). Things are looking heated for next week as well.
