wXw are my promotion these days, so I was happy to see them get a spot out in New York to show their stuff. The show looked strong on paper, or at least offered the American fan a glimpse of what wXw offers, whilst contests like David Starr versus Lucky Kid and Shigehiro Irie versus Bobby Gunns definitely had me interested.
LAX (Ortiz/Santana) versus The Crown (Jurn Simmons/Alexander James)
What I know: LAX has had a run recently in wXw and I have enjoyed everything they’ve been involved with. The Crown are a resident wXw team so no introductions needed.
The match: Good to hear the ‘Jurn Simmons sucks’ chants travel across the sea. Some great early combinations by LAX had James isolated initially, but Ortiz found himself cut off as the Crown used quick tags to keep the fresh man in. A tag to Santana sparked a sequence of drops, including a plank for two, yet LAX again found themselves wrestling from underneath after some illegal double teaming by the Crown. The Crown were methodical in their offense, yet a collision between the two men almost allowed LAX to grab the win with a frogsplash. The ref lost all control at this point, whilst the Crown’s ruthlessness hurt them as they took too long trying to ‘decapitate’ Ortiz. LAX picked up a big win with a double flapjack-esque finisher.
Verdict: An enjoyable opener that did its job of getting things off to a good start. Have to imagine LAX may get some more bookings in wXw in the future, especially since they went over.
Darby Allin versus Avalanche
What I know: Avalanche is a known entity. Allin, I’ve seen on some EVOLVE shows – what an exciting wrestler to watch.
The match: Allin was always going to spend most of this match being a crash test dummy and so it was for the first few minutes as Avalanche flexed his muscles. Darby needed to hit and move, something he highlighted with a Code Red for two, yet the speed at which Avalanche can turn the tide was scary as he nailed a huge Samoan drop. The impact on Avalanche’s slams were heightened by Allin’s bumping, including a fallaway slam that sent Allin halfway across the ring. This set up the Vader Bomb in a dominant victory.
Verdict: Allin is going to sacrifice his body in other matches this weekend – this was a great showcase of Avalanche’s raw power in a fairly quick match.
Yuu versus Jordynne Grace
What I know: Whilst Yuu seems like a nice person herself, I’ve not overly enjoyed her stuff in wXw if I’m honest. Jordynne replaced LuFisto in this match (LuFisto not here due to a family issue) and is someone I’ve always liked when I’ve seen her.
The match: Not only is Grace powerful, a nip-up and cartwheel early on showcased her impressive athleticism as she took control from the bell. A spinning side slam by Yuu highlighted that she could match up with Grace when it came to strength, although a spinebuster had Grace back on top. Grace moved fast and hit hard throughout, but almost got defeated when Yuu amazingly deadlifted Grace from the canvas to drop her hard with a slam. The finish was nasty as Grace pumphandle-drivered Yuu into the mat.
Verdict: Strongest match I’ve seen Yuu have – Grace is someone I really need to watch more of as she is very good in the ring.
Shotgun Championship Match: Marius Al-Ani versus Emil Sitoci ©
What I know: In preparing for New York, I actually forgot wXw had a show on between 16 Carat and this. Thus, Emil Sitoci being the champion was news to me…
The match: A quick start helped to showcase the burgeoning dislike between the two men as each went for multiple pinfalls in the early stages of the match. Some brawling at ringside actually served to slow the contest down. The crowd didn’t seem to know how to react to what were effectively two heels, so a lot of Sitoci’s submission work/cheating played out to silence. They did, however, enjoy a picture perfect elbowdrop that earned Sitoci a two later on. Al-Ani’s best flurry came following blocking the Spanish Fly, but he took too long going for a frog splash and Sitoci did indeed hit the Spanish Fly for three.
Verdict: Both men were game and tried, but the odd way the alignments of the two are hurt the crowd reaction to a lot of it.
David Starr versus Lucky Kid
What I know: Two of my favourites going against each other – can’t complain about that one bit.
The match: Similar to the previous contest, the two men started quickly with exchanges and reversals, though Kid begun to get in Starr’s head with a dive feint in the opening minutes. Starr positioned himself as heel as his viciousness saw him run Kid into the ringpost after catching him mid-crossbody, alongside some disparaging kicks and slaps. This led to Starr arguing with the crowd as they began to turn on him, whilst he managed to cut off Kid’s attempts at a comeback.
Kid did get some success with his handspring back elbow that sparked a succession of moves for the 16 Carat Gold winner. Both men began to unload the big guns at this point, including an excellent German suplex catching Kid out of mid-air. Kid somehow managed to kick out of Han Stansen, the Blackheart Buster and Starr’s powerbomb over the knee as the crowd began to hum the RINGKAMPF theme music to further antagonise Starr. Finally, a 450 splash and a crossface earned Kid a hard-fought win.
Verdict: I’m biased perhaps, but an excellent match that told a great story.
Starr’s post-match promo is great, as he lambasts the fans for cheering on WALTER, a man tied to a company who doesn’t care about healthcare or unions. Topical, full of venom, and ends up with Starr ‘quitting’ wXw.
Absolute Andy versus Chris Brookes
What I know: An interesting contest on paper as both men are seemingly on opposite trajectories in the company – Brookes on the up; Andy less so.
The match: In an effort to get things kick started following the draining Starr/Kid contest, the two brawled on the outside during the early exchanges, so much so that the bell didn’t ring until a good five minutes into the contest. When things officially got under way, Andy began to exert his power advantage to control Brookes. An Andy moonsault that was meant to miss almost caught Brookes, yet the two men channelled Shelton Benjamin/Shawn Michaels later with a springboard into an Andy superkick. After avoiding the F5 a couple of times, Brookes got the sudden victory with a roll-up.
Verdict: A fine enough match, though never really moved past that. Brookes getting the win could be big, though it becomes dependent on how important this show is viewed as part of wXw canon.
wXw World Tag Team Championship Match: The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry/James Drake) versus Aussie Open ©
What I know: Aussie Open are one of the best teams currently in the UK and one I’ve seen live a few times. Enjoyed what I saw of the Workhorsemen at Wrestlemania Weekender shows last year.
Match: The crowd was by far the loudest it had been outside of Starr/Kid for this contest. Both teams had a fun big man/little man dynamic, with the Workhorsemen making the most of some initial double team moves on Kyle Fletcher, before Henry took the brunt of the punishment from Aussie Open. A blown kiss from Drake hinted at a later collision with Davis, which first came about on a hot tag to Dunkzilla as they traded stiff chops. After some further back and forth action, the two men continued with their chop war, ending with Drake almost picking up an upset win after a very impressive moonsault. However, it was Aussie Open who retained as the US fans got to see Close Your Eyes And Count To Fuck and a Fidget Spinner.
Verdict: A good first defense for Aussie Open. Would be great to see a team like the Workhorseman wrestle for wXw once more. There was a focus on Open not having the wXw tag belts, so I wonder if that will tie into anything or was just making up for a production snafu.
wXw Unified World Heavyweight Championship Match: Shigehiro Irie versus Bobby Gunns ©
What I know: A feud that was great as 2018 rolled into 2019 was revitalised for this New York trip.
Match: The ‘Bobby Gunns’ chant clearly travels. In the opening moments of the match, Irie’s power was evident, but a cross armbreaker attempt by Gunns allowed the champion to take control. Gunns used his submissions to wear down his bigger opponent, only for a spinning sidewalk slam to drop him out of the blue. Some German suplex trading saw both men end up getting dumped on the back of their head in exciting but nerve wracking action. Things escalated with an Irie piledriver on the ring apron as Beast Mode was engaged.
Gunns’ earlier arm work saved him as Irie was slow to cover on a Beast Bomber. Irie’s decision to bite the bottom rope to escape a submission was very popular, as was Gunns kicking out of a running Northern Lights Bomb by Irie. As the crowd began to chant for Gunns, he managed to slap on a cross armbreaker to end the contest via submission. Whilst the finish wasn’t executed greatly, the arrival of Joey Janela post-match definitely got a pop. As the two men ended up smoking in the middle of the ring, Janela claimed he wanted the belt.
Verdict: There were some spots in here that might have gone over better with a crowd who were more knowledgeable of the product, but it was a strong main event on the whole.
What I now know: Personally, I thought it was a good, authentic wXw show for the New York crowd. Whilst that meant it didn’t hit on everything it offered, there was enough here to enjoy, especially if you followed the product beforehand. Where the Janela and Gunns thing is going at least has me intrigued, so that works. I also like that we saw Starr ‘quit’, as it means some element of this show has some storyline purpose.
Best Match: David Starr versus Lucky Kid
Less Good: Emil Sitoci versus Marius Al-Ani
