By Liam Byrne @tvtimelimit
After the funeral comes the remembrance. With the last regular branded Shotgun in the books, it was a time to celebrate an institution of the European wrestling scene as Shotgun XL closed the door on a chapter for the company in a move towards a structure that feels more akin to that of Japanese promotions – a focus on Marquee Events of varying importance that build to the cornerstone events of the year. As the promotion enters a new state, it was great to have one more chance to see the conventional Shotgun programme as it has been one of the best weekly shows on offer over the past few years.
The crux of the main event would be the quest for Veit Muller to gain legitimacy. Having been turned down to join RINGKAMPF earlier in the show (with Timothy Thatcher proclaiming he may get there one day), Muller got in the face of Marius Al-Ani, leading to the two men facing off in the final Shotgun main event. Al-Ani, cutting in his words to Muller earlier in the show in which he questioned Muller’s physique, diet and training, would also seek to control the early portion of the match with a hammerlock and headscissors, though Muller was no slouch with a few escapes before an armdrag and a hiptoss. It took a dragon screw legwhip to slow down the bigger man, with Al-Ani hitting his pop-up elbowdrop moments later and a dropkick to the back for a two.
As had been seen in recent matches, the ankle lock has become akin to Flair’s Figure Four insomuch as it is a finishing hold that debilitates over time. Al-Ani’s first use of it came following a Muller slam, but it would be Muller building momentum after the break with a Thesz Press that started a sequence that saw the champion smashed around the ring and dumped with a gutwrench suplex for two. Al-Ani would manage to reverse an armlock off of a reversed crossbody into the ankle lock, as well as avoid a powerbomb attempt and put the hold on once more. Finally, a frog splash attempt had Al-Ani telegraph Muller’s attempts to block it, landing on his feet and re-applying the hold for the tapout. A decent enough way to finish the show; Muller is just looking for that big win to really push him up the card at this point.
Speaking of wrestlers looking to make their way up the card, Julian Pace opened the show against Ivan Kiev looking to capitalise on the momentum stemming from pushing the aforementioned Al-Ani all the way at World Tag Team League. The two men would trade early holds, but Pace soon increased the tempo with his dodges and rope running leading to a dropkick. It would be Kiev who managed to control the match after a running kick and faceplant for two, with a tiltawhirl backbreaker leading to a submission which saw Kiev drive his knee into Pace’s back.
A Yakuza kick in the corner had Kiev firmly on top, but as soon as the speed picked up once more, Pace came back into the contest. A moonsault avoided a charge into the corner and led to Pace hitting a roll into a neckbreaker, before the use of the ropes saw him avoid several moves, throw Kiev to the outside and land a beautiful tope suicide. Back in the ring, Kiev came close with a top rope leg lariat following a Pele-style kick, only for Pace to pick up the surprise win after a swinging DDT and a moonsault press. I’m glad they put Pace over here as this year has been all about getting him more exposure and chances to mix it with the bigger names.
After spending some time backstage with the members of RISE as they prepared to meet Absolute Andy, JayFK and Marius Al-Ani at the next Marquee Event, Bobby Gunns took on Fred Yehi in Yehi’s last match on this wXw tour. He has impressed by all accounts, and would begin the match quickly with a trip, a derisory kick at Gunns chest and an eventual takedown and mount after avoiding an elbow stamp. Gunns would use a surprise guillotine turned into a suplex in order to go for the switch armbar, but Yehi was quick to get to the ropes. I’ve mentioned Yehi’s unorthodox offense every time he wrestles, but an Irish whip with additional flip after a slam into the corner only served to highlight this, as well as putting Gunns on the top rope in order to use multiple stamping kicks to the chest whilst hanging from the ropes.
Gunns would begin his comeback after hitting a lariat following a strike exchange, following up with a Final Cut-style elbow and a second rope European uppercut for two. Yehi did once more have his moment after a suplex earned him a nearfall and he blasted Gunns with cravat knees, yet a German suplex and a leaping switch armbar – hit after Yehi initially blocked a lariat – were enough for a Gunns submission win. Yehi is always engaging to watch, so I’d like to see him brought back over for a tour or two, whilst 2019 seems like it is shaping up to be the year of Gunns, especially as it was announced that he still retained his title shot due to the Absolute Andy injury that impacted upon the World Tag Team League title match.
After talking to Tommy Giesen about running out of competition in the US, Coast 2 Coast got another airing on an wXw show as they faced the Pretty Bastards. An early shoulderblock, armdrag and dropkick by Shaheem Ali showcased both his skill and power, whilst a roll and double kick had Coast 2 Coast on top in the early exchanges. Leon St. Giovanni also highlighted his speed moments later in avoiding some Bastards double teaming, nailing a dropkick as well. Ali would shrug off a Maggot jawbreaker before hitting a basement dropkick, but Prince Ahura’s handful of hair from the apron allowed the Bastards to take control after a Maggot Thesz Press.
After various strike based double teams, Ahura would also go Old School by rope walking, followed up by a Maggot top rope elbow to Ali’s arm as well. An enziguri would allow Ali to tag out, only for Giovanni to run straight into an Ahura knee. This didn’t seem to have too much of an effect on Giovanni as he landed a springboard forearm, a slingshot into a clothesline and a pump kick for good measure. With all four men in the ring, Maggot would be sent through the middle ropes and into the ring post, allowing Coast 2 Coast to take the win with a sidewinder/450 splash combination. Good showcase, though I’d love to see the Bastards pick up a victory at some point – a guilty pleasure favourite of mine.
Outside of the World Tag Team League clips that were shown, we also had the next steps towards other matches coming up. Monster Consulting would be pumping Ilja Dragunov up as he looked to be taking on PCO at Broken Rulez, whilst they also talked about a triple threat against Arrows of Hungary and Coast 2 Coast as a means to get back in position for the title shot. Dragunov would have other things to be concerned about at ‘Road to…’ after a falling out between WALTER and Timothy Thatcher would see a match booked between the teams of WALTER/Dragunov and Brookes/Thatcher.
Another match that will take place down the line is Melanie Gray defending her wXw Women’s Title against Toni Storm, who interrupted an argument between Gray and LuFisto to remind Gray that she never lost the title in the first instance. Gray’s opening refrains from ‘We Are The Champions’ were replaced by an altogether more sour look by the end of the segment.
It was pertinent to finish the show with Absolute Andy, Marius Al-Ani and JayFK talking about the previously mentioned eight man tag at ‘Road to…’ against RISE and Bobby Gunns. These four are four of the wrestlers that have really risen in the past year, especially the latter three as they’ve become important cogs in the wXw wheel ever since their respective heel turns. Andy had a great run as a heel champion, so it would be great to see him back in the ring and hopefully thrust back into title contention as there is no-one quite as good as Andy at playing the arrogant heel at this moment.
As for JayFK, we got the final reveal of what was in the envelope – confetti. They had punked the wXw booking office and won themselves the wXw World Tag Team Titles in the process. I can’t believe this was going to be the end game if Christian Michael Jakobi was still around, but it is testament to JayFK that it works for their gimmick for it to be something as simple, frustrating and irritating as that.
So there we have it. wXw will continue to grow, I’m sure about that, but it will be without a weekly dose of Shotgun. Here’s to the future.
