By Liam Byrne @tvtimelimit
wXw True Colors 14.4.18
Though events like the Anniversary Show at the start of the year and Back to the Roots that follow may feel like they usher in the next phase for wXw, it is 16 Carat Gold that is the biggest event of the year, with elements from these three nights signalling the path for the promotion going forwards. This is even more prescient in a month where the wXw Tag Team Title belts have been vacated, which also saw one of the biggest potential feuds the company had fall by the wayside in a veil of confusing secrecy. However, with the return of Ilja Dragunov and his ascension to the wXw Unified Heavyweight Championship a crowd pleasing turn of events, True Colors had the opportunity to really set the stage for the next few months of wXw’s output.
Having given Ilja Dragunov the window with which the Russian won the wXw Unified Title at 16 Carat Gold, it only made sense that WALTER was the first opponent in a rematch of the 16 Carat Gold ’17 Final. What makes WALTER versus Dragunov such a good contest always is the fact that Ilja is always presented as someone who can take WALTER’s best shots, shrug them off, and fight back – with it being entirely believable. We get a common trope of WALTER’s matches as he pitches Dragunov into the ringpost before chopping the metal himself, though this doesn’t play into the wider narrative like it has at times. In fact, a lot of stock is put in Dragunov’s attempts to slam WALTER, with three attempts failed but Dragunov getting rapturous cheers on the fourth – successful – attempt.
They both throw bombs at each other pretty much throughout, though the strikefest is punctuated by sequences like WALTER nailing the German and butterfly suplex for two. With someone who portrays himself like WALTER, as well as Dragunov’s babyface fire, even simple spots like a reverse of a piledriver into a back body drop received a raucous cheer. After his eventual success in hitting a powerslam, it becomes a question of whether Dragunov can hit the Torpedo Moscow or not. One attempt early was blocked by a kick, a second by the Gojira clutch. The third nails the referee and leads to a potential wrinkle going forward – WALTER hit a powerbomb, but only gets a two count from the new referee…who he subsequently boots in the face. The tease of a heel turn is one I like, whilst the following ‘No Contest’ ruling and Dragunov challenge to restart the match only adds to the Russian’s popularity.
Escalation in the brawling leads to a threatened WALTER powerbomb onto some chairs that is blocked, yet Dragunov isn’t so lucky when it comes to a throw off of the apron. Dragunov’s ability to rise from the depths is highlighted once more as he kicked out of a powerbomb and turned a superpowerbomb into a sunset flip Liger bomb for his own nearfall. One more Torpedo Moscow is blocked, yet a side suplex frees Dragunov to hit one for the win in a very entertaining first defense. Whilst it is good to see Dragunov keep the gold, the tease for a WALTER heel turn is an intriguing additional facet to the ongoing wXw storylines.
The semi-main in terms of value, the Absolute Andy versus Marius Al-Ani TLC match for Andy’s shot at the wXw Unified Title took a while to get going, with a fairly insipid brawl not indicative of the fury the two are supposed to feel for each other. Some playing around with Al-Ani using a fan (not a spectator, a literal fan) to see off Andy’s wrench was cute if a little pointless, whilst the opening exchanges weren’t helped by the audience’s lukewarm reaction to Al-Ani as face opposite Andy, who they wanted to cheer. A suplex through a table on the ramp was a moment in particular that had the crowd resoundingly showing their support for ‘The Eagle’. Unsurprisingly, it was when the chairs and ladders were introduced to the contest that things picked up, including the response for Al-Ani’s offense as he began to showcase his freakish athleticism more.
After Andy put Al-Ani through a chair, the Ninja turned a blocked frogsplash attempt into an anklelock in an attempt to slow his opponent down. Al-Ani’s next two big spots both almost came up short: a corner dive saw him only just clear the ringpost (whilst also being blocked with an Andy chairshot), before a top rope hiptoss on Andy only just got enough rotation. His trademark spots are a damn sight better than his brawling, with the nip-up T-Bone and spin into a huracanrana then seeing him jump straight into a superkick by Andy.
The fire and hatred I expected at the start did come to pass as Al-Ani had his hands taped and received a beating without means to defend himself. This also nicely lead to a dynamic comeback by Al-Ani that belied what I’d seen earlier in the contest as he was cut out of the tape by a ring crew member and took the fight to Andy with fists of fury. After finally hitting his frogsplash, Al-Ani seemed ready to win, only to get knocked off the ladder and sent through a ringside table with the F5. A slow start that somewhat undermined the feud did give way to a decent contest that told a good story…eventually.
Unfortunately for Da Mack’s opponent, TKO, the most important element of the storyline centred around the involvement of RISE in a possible Pete Bouncer-led era. TKO did have an interesting moveset, mostly consisting of second rope moves – he hits a crossbody, armdrag and European uppercut with the rope as his springboard, as well as missing a second rope moonsault later in the contest. We get a taste of meaner Mack as he threw TKO into the chairs at ringside, whilst a nice sequence of butterfly suplex into a guillotine also showcased his technical ability. TKO used a step up into a twisting press to gain control, but a second attempt at a step up aerial move leads to a somewhat contrived finish as he missed it by a mile, setting up for the Unprettier. Post-match is where the important stuff truly happens, as Pete Bouncer arrived on the scene, with Ivan Kiev, Tarkan Aslan and Lucky Kid siding with Bouncer and chasing Mack out of the ring. It felt like this ‘will they/won’t they?’ storyline could have gone on for longer, but I also believe that the promotion wanted to move past the ‘Klinger days’ of the stable as quickly as possible.
A Bobby Gunns’ title defense is always a highlight of any show, but with him suffering an injury, the four way that already included Lucky Kid, Alexander James and Mark Davis was joined by Ivan Kiev, with the winner becoming number one contender for the Shotgun title. Whilst normally this might have been a pretty deflating outcome, the earlier RISE-capades mean the crowd are excited to see both Kiev and Kid in action. In a similar vein to the tag contest, the opening allows us to see Kid’s quirkiness, Davis’ power, the speed of Kiev and James’ arrogant nature, with both members of RISE eventually taking things to the air with a dive by Kiev and an Arabian press by Kid that did admittedly come up a little short and see him nail Davis with his feet.
The nature of the fourway always allows for some interesting offense, with a top rope huracanrana by Kiev on Kid sending his RISE teammate into James in a cannonball. A handspring back elbow by Kid takes out two men, before we get a refresher on how powerful Davis is, punching James out of a submission and slamming both members of RISE. James’ submission heavy offense does mean he can get lost a little in these contests, but there is time for a triple submission of two Coat of Arms and an Octopus Hold before the Rains of Castamere on Kiev. However, it ends up being the big Aussie who picks up the victory, using Kid to clothesline James en route to a sliding forearm on Kiev and Close Your Eyes and Count To Fuck for the three count. Though Gunns is injured, he isn’t hurt enough to stop him squaring off with Davis post-match, including a kick to the face that then has the champion scurrying as Davis sought revenge.
The last title that was due to be settled was the vacant wXw Tag Team Titles as Jay-FK, Monster Consulting and LAX met for the right to hold the belts. The triple threat tornado rules allowed for the tag match to start quick and never really let up in terms of pace. The early exchanges allowed each man to get the spotlight individually, an ongoing sequence that saw Monster Consulting end up kings of the mountain, only to transition nicely into a showcase for each team’s best double team offense off the back of it. Jay-FK used their aerial offense to stop the Avalanche with a missile dropkick, before a standing moonsault by Santana and a plank by Ortiz led to the first nearfall on Skillet. This two count began another ‘move spam’ section of the contest, with Santana wiping out Avalanche with a top rope crossbody only to be planted with a Skillet Michinoku Driver.
Both Jay-FK and LAX had their moments in which they end up almost picking up the victory. Jay-FK hit Santana with both the neckbreaker/crossbody and the start of the Jay-FKO, only to get stopped by Julian Nero. LAX tried to steal a pin following a Consulting sideslam/legdrop combination, before unleashing a veritable smorgasbord of in ring aerial manoeuvres capped off with a suicide dive and tope con hilo to the outside. However, it is Monster Consulting who took the victory after Avalanche caught a Santana top rope crossbody, turning it into the assisted Go2Sleep in setup for the Ripcord lariat. Monster Consulting were my picks going into the show due to how popular they are as a team, but the intrigue now lies in who becomes next in line for a shot at the belts, and that will be the making or breaking of the start of their reign.
With Toni Storm away for a while, Killer Kelly is effectively the face of the wXw Women’s Division for the time being and was showcased once more in a contest against Audrey Bride. Every time I see Kelly, I’m more impressed as once against she showed real fire from underneath as Bride beat her down with strikes and chucked hear around by the hair, before targeting the throat. The match became centred on whether Kelly could hit her suplex into the corner to set up for her trademark spots, but Bride was able to block the move twice, bringing her own hard hitting fight when needed. Kelly’s cravat knee strikes to turn the tide were vicious, whilst a blocked flatliner by using a knee to the back allowed her to hit her suplex finally. The finishing sequence effectively played on the earlier throat work by Bride as she picked up a nearfall after a flatliner due to Kelly getting clotheslined against the top rope, but it is Kelly who emerged victorious after a German suplex.
I find it rare to dislike a wXw event, and True Colors was no exception to the rule. The main event did exactly what was expected of it, whilst there were popular victories for Monster Consulting and Killer Kelly. The future of RISE and WALTER’s potential heel turn add extra layers of interest going forward, leaving a real desire to see how the next show pans out. As a basic tenant of wrestling viewership, wXw at least has me interest which is more than can be said for some promotions.
