With 16 Carat Gold just around the corner, wXw needed to deliver a show that got the promotion back on track and moving in the right direction after a so-so end to 2018. Fortunately for the fans, they managed a card that engaged and excited with almost every match.
Bobby Gunns versus Shigehiro Irie
Between the two losses to Irie, Gunns has sought solace with his brother, Vinnie Vortex, and the opening exchanges helped to establish the importance of that relationship as Gunns controlled the opening with guidance from his brother. The spear through the apron that turned the tide was something new, playing off on the idea that each man had to up their game for this third encounter. Little touches like Gunns blocking the first attempt at a pounce with a guillotine suplex helped to build the narrative, whilst Gunns also utilised a backslide and double foot stomp combination in his efforts to finish Irie, manoeuvres not often in his repertoire. After Irie bit the ropes to break a submission and Gunns kicked out of the Beast Bomber, Gunns grabbed the win with a cross arm submission that Irie tried to lift his way out of. The best of the trilogy, which is the way it really should be.
Jurn Simmons versus Avalanche
A match that resembled an 80s WWF contest and not necessarily in a bad way, the two big men started quickly with some brawling and a big double clothesline spot at ringside. Simmons as a cowardly monster is always worked well for me, and he utilised an eye poke to take control. A pumphandle slam showcased his power, whilst an Avalanche comeback that included a samoan drop, belly to belly suplex and a black hole slam showed he was no slouch either. The brawling at ringside eventually saw both men get counted out in a weak finish, but the post-match had verbals turn to physical as Avalanche challenged Simmons (who said that a Monster can’t beat a God) to an opening round match at 16 Carat Gold.
RINGKAMPF versus JayFK
This was a perfect slot to continue the development of Veit Mueller as he worked alongside three of the best wrestlers in the promotion. JayFK did their usual thing of running and it was notable that it was WALTER who eventually managed to keep them in the ring. A double shoulderblock aimed to highlight that Mueller and WALTER had been working on their offense, though it was Mueller who was caught by the nefarious cheating of JayFK. Jay Skillet and Francis Kaspin worked over Mueller, only to build to the hot WALTER tag. Whilst it looked like RINGKAMPF had the match won, Mueller couldn’t end it with his cravat suplex and a double submission by RINGKAMPF saw Jay Skillet turn a figure four leglock into a small package on Mueller for the win. A solid match that sows the seeds of some tension as WALTER refused a Mueller handshake post-match.
Timothy Thatcher versus David Starr
The commentary wasn’t wrong when they suggested that Thatcher and Starr had the most momentum of any wrestlers on the roster, but Starr had an injury that Thatcher was happy to take advantage of. A headbutt blocked a Han Stansen and the resulting Divorce Court saw Thatcher attack the shoulder, whilst Starr didn’t help himself by often using his injured arm in offensive moves. A lot of what Starr did rightly came across as desperate, including a German suplex shortly after an enziguri. Having kicked out of the floatover butterfly suplex, Starr managed to hit the Blackheart Buster and a Han Stansen, before avoiding Thatcher’s pin combination and turning it into a winning cradle of his own. This felt a little short, though hard hitting as well. The finish made sense as it didn’t particularly diminish Thatcher, yet continued to build up Starr for his world title tilt.
Toni Storm versus Melanie Gray
You have to give Storm and Gray their due as they did escalate their usual feud and make this Loser Leaves Town contest feel important. An early Storm strike had Gray bleeding from the nose, an issue that wasn’t helped as both women ended up throwing themselves into the front row with reckless abandon.
A superplex and rolling Germans by Storm led to an ankle lock with the fans in attendance really wanting Gray to tap out. However, she was able to stay in the contest and almost picked up the win with a spear and the Melodram, both moves punctuated by the women channeling Frye/Takayama for some spirited punching. Eventually, Storm reversed a spinout slam into a DDT and nailed Strong Zero for the win. Rough around the edges but worked because of it. I’m sad to see Melanie Gray go – she was always gave you something worth watching.
Die Käfigschlacht – wXw Shotgun and wXw World Tag Team Titles on the line: RISE (Pete Bouncer, Ivan Kiev and Lucky Kid) versus RISE (Tarkan Aslan, Marius Al-Ani and Da Mack)
Considering this story began this time last year, there is a feeling of closing the circle with this match, especially when Lucky Kid, Tarkan Aslan and a chair begin the contest. Early on, Aslan used a Young Lions t-shirt to halt a Kid chair shot long enough to fire back. A rare moment occurred in terms of stable cage matches when the face team won, leading to some moments of revenge for the original RISE. Pete Bouncer made Aslan tap early to a crossface, but he had to wait until every wrestler had entered the ring before this became a viable way out. Da Mack, Ivan Kiev and Marius Al-Ani was the order, with Kiev flying off the top with a crossbody, and Al-Ani making a huge difference and going early for an ankle lock victory over Kid. Kid managed to lead the fightback with a handspring back elbow and an Asai DDT, before Kiev took Al-Ani down with a top rope bulldog. A stand-off and charge built to the crescendo, and after Kid finally hits Aslan with a chairshot, it was Bouncer who earned the submission with a kendo stick-assisted crossface. Pete Bouncer and Ivan Kiev are the new wXw World Tag Team Champions in a match that played well off of its year long storyline.
Die Käfigschlacht for the wXw Unified World Heavyweight Title: Absolute Andy versus Ilja Dragunov
Having wrestled several times in 2018, putting Andy and Dragunov in a cage at least adds a further element to a coupling that had been producing diminishing returns in my opinion. Things kick off at a sprint as Dragunov launched himself through the cage door to take out Andy, before several minutes are spent brawling in and around the ring. Andy found chances to put some varied plunder inside the steel, though one attempt to use a chair at ringside saw Nick Hein grab the weapon in an effort to get the match officially started. Inside the cage, Andy took control and methodically beat Dragunov down, at least until he was thrown off of the turnbuckle and blasted with a steel chair.
From there, things began to escalate in a way that justified the cage stipulation as the setting allowed them to do some interesting spots, including a chop duel on the top rope and a belly to belly that sent Dragunov from the top of the cage to the canvas. Andy’s desperation saw him go for a moonsault that met nothing but mat, although Dragunov’s resulting Torpedo Moscow charge ended up with him colliding with a chair. Nick Hein had called things down the middle up until this point, but his positioning on some pins began to be questionable at best. In an effort to turn the tide in his favour, Dragunov used a chair-assisted Torpedo Moscow in an admittedly awkward spot after Andy had continued to punish the challenger.
Three Death Valley Drivers are required to break a table as I began to fear for Andy’s back. Former AA member Marius Al-Ani managed to get himself involved, costing Dragunov a potential pinfall off of a Torpedo Moscow as Hein tried to deal with the intruder. Hein managed to send Al-Ani away, but not before he’d slipped a bag full of thumbtacks into the ring.
Andy actually ended up getting back dropped into the pins, but moments later Hein slammed the cage door shut on Dragunov’s head. This was enough to allow Andy to hit the A-Klasse and pick up the win. The match had some really good spots, yet was perhaps slightly too long for its own good.
Post-match, Hein tried to put Dragunov through a table and earned a Death Valley Driver through the wood for his trouble.
A strong showing by the promotion and a main event that hopefully allows them to move onto other programmes at the top of the card. The Road to 16 Carat is truly underway.
