With 16 Carat inching closer, Dead End was one of the last opportunities for wXw to get their main matches outside of the tournament itself sorted. As the main event hinged upon who Absolute Andy faced on Night Two, the stakes couldn’t have been much higher for Bobby Gunns and Marius Al-Ani, whilst several other matches appeared to be settled over the course of the show.
David Starr/Avalanche versus Timothy Thatcher/Jurn Simmons
The winner of this match gets to choose their first round 16 Carat Gold opponent, and it is Starr and Avalanche who had all the early momentum as they controlled both Simmons and Thatcher. It took a distraction from Simmons on the apron for Thatcher to hit Starr with a belly to belly suplex and turn the tide in the favour of the odd bedfellows, though Simmons’ behaviour raised the ire of Thatcher more than once and inevitably cost them the match. A Vader splash by Avalanche on Simmons should have been enough, but Starr tagged himself in to win with the Blackheart Buster and earn himself the right to choose his first round opponent. The crowd wanted Starr to choose WALTER as they chant his name, whilst Starr eventually gets a handshake from an angry Avalanche. A fun opener due to the interesting duos involved.
Killer Kelly versus Toni Storm versus Faye Jackson (non-title match)
Pre-match, we revisit the simmering tension between Kelly and Storm over Kelly’s reaction to Melanie Gray’s departure. Interestingly, it was Storm who attacked Kelly to begin the match and deposit her at ringside. Jackson is a newcomer to the promotion but got the crowd behind her with a double hip attack and a teased suicide dive that turned into an elbow off of the ring apron instead. The fans in the arena were very pro-Kelly in the strike exchanges with Storm, whilst there was a real heel streak to Storm’s attacks on Kelly. A nearfall for each woman added to the drama, before Kelly grabbed the win over Jackson with an impressive Samoan drop. The continuing issues between Kelly and Storm made this watchable, whilst a slap around the face as a response to a handshake offer post-match seemed to confirm Storm’s heel turn. wXw Women’s Title match for 16 Carat Gold, anyone?
Jay-FK versus RISE (wXw World Tag Team Title Match)
After the fans give them a less then positive welcome, Jay-FK looked to regain the wXw World Tag Team Titles against RISE. An attack before the bell rung backfired though, with RISE managing to isolate Jay Skillet in the early going. A superkick/DDT combination should see RISE retain easily, but shenanigans with the title belts by Francis Kaspin distracted the referee and Jay-FK took over with a springboard bulldog. The challengers effectively cut the ring in half, leading to an effective house on fire sequence with Ivan Kiev taking out both members of Jay-FK. The two teams trade some big offense, including Jay-FK’s superkick/DVD, but it was RISE who picked up the win with Bouncer’s DDT. Probably one of RISE’s better recent tag team matches, though I do wonder who gets positioned to take them on next.
WALTER versus Veit Muller
After a recap of how WALTER fell out with Muller in recent months, we get what happens to be a rematch from a 2018 Shotgun episode. However, Muller has risen up the ranks since then and this was hotly anticipated coming in. The opening exchanges saw Muller outwork and outmanoeuvre WALTER, including a bodyslam that had everyone popping. Naturally, WALTER controlled the match for the bulk and was great playing subtle dick heel as he beat on the hometown boy mercilessly with strikes. Muller’s powerful bursts of offense worked great to give him hope, yet also generally trigger a brutal chop or kick to halt his momentum. WALTER wasn’t holding back – a clothesline to the back of the head followed by a backdrop driver a particular highlight. The finishing stretch was very ‘RINGKAMPF’ insomuch as all about the struggle as Muller stayed in the contest until WALTER hit a variation on a tombstone for the finish. Deserved the ‘this is awesome’ chants it received; star making match for Muller perhaps.
Mid-tug of war over whether to give Muller a handshake, WALTER is interrupted by David Starr with three words ’16 Carat – WALTER’. Starr apparently has made his choice, yet WALTER just walked out without even acknowledging Starr. He also didn’t seemingly give Muller the handshake either.
Lucky Kid versus Da Mack
Considering this is Da Mack’s first match in Hamburg for two years at the behest of Lucky Kid who wanted revenge for Mack costing him the Shotgun Title, Kid’s ‘mind games’ don’t really fit what should be a heated contest all around. This does at least lead to a concerted attack by Mack whose overall demeanour exudes a lack of emotion in a good way as he took his time to work over Kid. As Kid managed to work his way back into the contest, the match improved as the fans also got to their feet to support Kid. Kid still felt like he was fighting from underneath as he kicked out of Mack Magic off the top before hitting a top con hilo. The finish saw Mack pass out in Kid’s crossface submission, a finish that felt a little anticlimactic, though I guess it gives Mack an excuse for the loss. The match itself got better as it progressed, but I’d probably expected more if I’m being honest.
Bobby Gunns and Ilja Dragunov versus Absolute Andy and Marius Al-Ani
With the winning team deciding whether Gunns or Al-Ani goes to 16 Carat in order to face Andy for the wXw Unified World Heavyweight Title, this main event had big repercussions going forward. As is often the case with wXw main event tags, there wasn’t much of a nod given to actual tag teaming in the opening exchanges as all four men brawled in and around the ring. As things settled down, it was Dragunov who found himself in danger as the former A4 worked him over utilising some of their old tag team nous, as well as keeping Gunns out of the corner at opportune times. Gunns managed to clean house when he did come in, leading to Al-Ani taking a beating for a short while before things pretty much broke down once more. Showing how far he is willing to go to win a match, Andy rang the bell as if to indicate that Al-Ani had given up in a submission, only to subsequently attack. However, following a DOUBLE German suplex on Andy and Al-Ani, Gunns got the huge win with a jacknife pin on the champion. We have our Night Two main event! A good main event that was as action packed as you might expect.
Andy had the last laugh as he hit a superkick on Vinny Vortex, Gunns’ brother. However, the die had been cast and the right decision made – Gunns against Andy was the match to make for Night Two of 16 Carat.
A strong offering and a hot crowd only continues to build the momentum for the promotion en route to the biggest weekender in European wrestling. The matches that are being set up for 16 Carat (Starr/WALTER, Storm/Kelly, Gunns/Andy) are all exciting offerings (if only potential thus far), whilst we still have a few other notable names that aren’t yet booked. The pieces will continue to fall into place as we approach 16 Carat Gold – I, for one, can’t wait.
