By Liam Byrne @tvtimelimit
This week’s Shotgun felt like a big tease for the future, as Bobby Gunns put his Shotgun Title on the line against Lucky Kid. With both men riding a wave of popularity after their exploits in the first half of 2018 so far, it always had the feeling of the company testing the waters as a bigger stage surely awaited this contest. Indeed, that was true, but as is often the way with Shotgun as a show, we got good wrestling, build to the next show and little layers being added to ongoing storylines that makes it consistently engaging even when providing their audience with what could be seen as a weak finish in the main event.
Following a Smoking Break that saw Gunns talking about how much ‘potential’ Christopher Daniels had shown in their match at Superstars of Wrestling (apparently he might even get a shot in a couple of years), Gunns would take control of the opening exchanges with Kid as they traded holds on the mat. A European uppercut on a clean break showed Gunns’ propensity to break the rules at times, whilst Kid would spend a significant portion of the next minute or two wrapped around Gunns’ leg. Unlike previous times, this was not just to psyche out his opponent, as he used his feet to widen the base and push Gunns over, only for the champion to ‘break’ Kid’s finger mid-RISE salute.
This didn’t halt Kid for long as he would hit his other big taunt, the diving feint into a seated position, though most of the offense was still coming from Gunns as he rocked Kid with a second rope diving elbow. As Kid ended up in the corner, Gunns used a facewash on his opponent, but managed to kick Tarkan Aslan in the face with a running boot. Choosing to check on Aslan rather than focus on the match, Kid would be counted out of the contest. Luckily for him (and us), Kid and Gunns will meet again in Hamburg at the next wXw Marquee Event: a more appropriate stage for them to do battle and one that should build on this solid foundation.
The other match on the show was perhaps hampered a little by the possibility that it was taped before the Jay-FK heel turn at SoW, or it if wasn’t, that it didn’t really play much on that, especially as Jay Skillet was up against a more ‘important’ heel in the immediate future in ‘The Prince of Pro’ Alexander James. A leisurely trip, some arm work and an early bow had James in control, though the moment Skillet increased the pace, James struggled to contend with him; a neckbreaker followed a swinging headscissors by Skillet. Another trip and a stamp to the arm saw James regain control, whilst also leading to extended arm work as he sent Skillet into the corner and the canvas arm first.
Skillet would use the momentum of a James hang grab to spring up into a DDT, leading to a crossbody and double foot stomp off of the top rope allowed him to get nearfalls following a Michinoku Driver and brainbuster-style suplex respectively. However, James would use the arm to send Skillet to the outside, catch him coming in over the top rope and drop him with the Rains of Castamere, as well as the King’s Landing for a three count. James would continue to beat down Skillet after the match with microphone in hand, aiming several verbal shots at Ilja Dragunov and his son. The wXw Unified Champion was unlikely to stand idly by, rushing the ring before dubbing James a rat who is trying to climb into a main event built off of the champion’s blood and sweat, whilst also proclaiming himself a czar, rather than a prince.
A lot of the backstage segments were built around the next event and the history of the company, with a Toni Storm interview about her being practically unbeatable promoting a match against Kay Lee Ray that was the same match which saw her make her wXw debut (with a loss) three years earlier. In a later Zack Sabre Jr. interview, he first stood up for the desecration of the ‘Oh ah, Cantona’ chant by David Starr and his fans, yet went on to talk about his upcoming match with WALTER: the main even of the first Hamburg show, now the main event on the twentieth. As the company continues to survive and flourish, these moments give them a sense of history that not all independent promotions have.
Another match announced on the show for Hamburg is RISE versus Jay-FK, with the winners getting a shot at Monster Consulting. With Nero and Avalanche at the wedding of a janitor/facility manager (depending on who is talking), it is RISE who will attempt to get revenge for Jay-FK’s interference at SoW, though Avalanche would momentarily imply that he wasn’t totally certain that RISE’s actions weren’t themselves part of a set up. Another brief Melanie Gray/Killer Kelly altercation would imply that Kelly is through with dealing with Grey, though they continue to battle in an assortment of matches on the We Love Wrestling tour.
The final words of the show were given over to the potential next wXw Unified Champion, Alexander James, as he continued to profess that family life had made Ilja Dragunov week, something that he will prove in Hamburg when he turns the Unbeseigbar into a man who says ‘I quit’. James has been on an upward trajectory in recent months for wXw, both as a wrestler and a character, and whilst I fully expect Dragunov to win, this has the makings of a very good title defense for the champion.
