By Liam Byrne @tvtimelimit
wXw Shotgun 18.4.18
Occasionally, the Shotgun after a big wXw event acts as downtime and a chance to showcase some of the other talent on the roster. However, with a big show in Frankfurt only three days after this, the push is on setting up a Marquee Event card, alongside two matches that are anything but wXw on autopilot: Mark Davis versus Jay Skiller, and Ilja Dragunov teaming up with LAX to take on RISE members Pete Bouncer, Ivan Kiev and Lucky Kid.
It is the six man tag that closes the show and is every bit as fun as it looks like on paper. The show opened and closed with RISE, with the first segment seeing Ivan Kiev apologies for not joining with Pete Bouncer at 16 Carat Gold, an apology that the new leader of RISE was happy to accept. After some unorthodox grappling between Kid and Santana that saw Lucky holding onto his opponent’s leg like a small child, it is the LAX member who got caught in the RISE corner first. An illegal shoulder block from the outside by Ortiz allowed a tag to be made, with even Dragunov getting in on the LAX tag team offense, landing a step up senton after a trademark LAX step up moonsault, followed with the Ortiz plank for a two count. It is Kiev’s turn to get isolated, including getting dumped hard with an LAX double back suplex.
A slam into a faceplant led to Kiev tagging out to Bouncer, who is making his first Shotgun appearance in ring for five months. Bouncer and Kiev showcased some good tag team offense, landing a sidewalk slam/legdrop combination as well as a Russian legsweep/blockbuster after Kid had some fun ruffling the afro of Ortiz whilst down on the canvas. The proper hot tag followed a leap out of the RISE corner by Ortiz, bringing in a fired up Dragunov who had chops and clothesline for all and sundry. A triple team move (powerbomb, neckbreaker, Dragunov senton) didn’t quite look the most effective, but did require Kiev to break the pin.
Some shenanigans outside of the ring saw multiple wrestlers take to the air, with a low bridge initially letting the members of RISE avoid a triple dive, only for a trio of suicide dives by Dragunov and LAX after Kiev had hit an over the top rope plancha and Kid an Arabian press respectively. Just as the two teams began to trade big moves in the center of the ring, Da Mack entered and dropped Bouncer with a cutter for the disqualification. The muted reaction from the crowd spoke more to feeling let down by what felt like a cheap ending than shock at Da Mack’s actions. With John Klinger gone, it is going to take time to re-focus the RISE tension on Da Mack versus Bouncer in a way that even comes close to how things felt before Bad Bones was suspended.
It is not particularly surprising that Mark Davis defeated Jay Skillet in the opening match of the show, considering his upcoming wXw Shotgun Title Match against Bobby Gunns, but Skillet used his speed to keep the big Aussie in check for significant portions of the contest. Indeed, Skillet took control early with a swinging headscissors and neckbreaker, though in shades of his matches opposite WALTER made a cardinal error of trying to chop Davis, ending up on the receiving end of several, more powerful chops. Davis managed to catch Skillet out of mid-air on his first attempt at a crossbody from the top, but he would eventually hit it after a top rope dropkick softened Davis up. A top rope leap straight into a punch surely wasn’t in the gameplan, though Skillet would manage to avoid Close Your Eyes and Count to Fuck the first time. After a sliding forearm by Davis, he wasn’t quite so lucky, with Davis picking up the three count. In a rare occasion from my time watching wXw, we also saw David attack Bobby Gunns backstage, seeking to make his mark before the title match in Frankfurt.
The most notable backstage segment has ‘The VeterAAn’ Absolute Andy basking in the glow of his TLC victory over Marius Al-Ani, blocking out the ‘ugly’ face of the interviewer with his bicep and making sure that his list of nicknames is fully read out. Andy chastised the number of rookies in the promotion, from matches to champions, whilst also promising to take his time to strike when it comes to his title shot.
Several interviews and segments are all about building to Frankfurt, with Lucky Kid marvelling at the opportunity to face Zack Sabre Jr., Monster Consulting celebrating their wXw Tag Team Title victory before a first defense against the Arrows of Hungary, and Killer Kelly making it clear in an interview that she is not afraid of Melanie Gray. All three matches look good on paper, with the Frankfurt show shaping up nicely in general. Another match that is left up in the air comes off the back of Emil Sitoci’s plans for Dirty Dragan: a trial series, with Dragan facing off against the best wXw has to offer in order to show Christian Michael Jakobi what he is capable of. The first match of this series will also take place in Frankfurt. We also may get the chance to see Alexander James in action, after an interview with Jakobi saw him ask for the biggest opportunity possible, after Jakobi managed to get a plug in for Jurn Simmons’ Twitch account first. Jakobi promised to grant him his wish.
A good show, though perhaps left with a bit of a sour note due to the finish of the main event. However, the Frankfurt Marquee Event looks like it will be another offering of top class entertainment from the promotion, which makes me a happy fan. I’ll be back with the results and my thoughts on any and all happenings from the event next week.
