Hamilton’s wXw We Love Wrestling #22 – Live In Limbach-Oberfrohna 10.21.2021 Review

Quick Results
Robert Dreissker pinned Gulyas Junior in 10:18 (**¾)
Peter Tihanyi submitted Zeritus in 9:47 (**)
Axel Tischer pinned Anil Marik in 13:05 (***¼)
Icarus & Dover pinned Norman Harras & Johnny Rancid in 16:52 (***¼)
Michael Knight pinned Vincent Heisenberg to win the wXw Shotgun Championship in 11:15 (***)
Stephanie Maze pinned Iva Kolasky in 10:05 to go 1-0 up in the best-of-three series for the wXw Women’s Championship (***¼)
Maggot pinned Fast Time Moodo in 16:41 (***¼)

— If you’re on Twitter, give me a follow over on @IanWrestling – and check out the GoFundMe that’s still open for Larry’s family.

After a month off, wXw hit the road and headed to Saxony and Thüringen for some “We Love Wrestling” tour stops – for the foreseeable future, every wXw event will be making tape. We’re live on tape from the Stadthalle in Limbach, with Frank Fehrmann hosting in the ring… Dave Bradshaw is on English commentary.

Robert Dreissker vs. Gulyas Junior
Dreissker looks like he’s back in the singles ranks for the time being… and Dreissker will be looking for a repeat of We Love Wrestling #19 where he put paid to the Hungarian in short order.

Once those lights in the entranceway stop flashing, we start with Dreissker pushing away Gulyas, before he came back with a shoulder tackle. Gulyas struggles to make a dent with his shoulder tackles, so he stomps on Dreissker’s foot before finally charging down the Austrian.

A slam drops Gulyas, who rolled outside to try and take the sting out of things… Gulyas gets into it with someone in the crowd and gets pulled back into the ring, where he’s slammed and splashed for a two-count. Going for the hair, Gulyas manages to pull Dreissker into a Pit Stop, which just angered the coach… who gets knocked into the ropes for a splash to the back.

Gulyas’ chinlock was broken by a back suplex, but he flipped around to counter the move as knees wear down Dreissker’s back, with another chinlock giving the Austrian another problem to deal with. Eventually a back suplex – without the counter – gets Dreissker free, and despite telegraphing a back body drop, is able to hit a dropkick.

A death valley driver’s next from Dreissker for a near-fall, before Gulyas hit a sweet back body drop that cornered Dreissker for a cannonball. It’s good for a near-fall, before a ripcord lariat from Gulyas was ducked… he’s met with a regular lariat from Dreissker, then a fallaway slam, before a Dreissker bomb earned the hard-fought win. Getting more ring time here is a big win for Gulyas, who’s improving – but a win for Robert Dreissker (and his new body suit) always looked likely here. **¾

Dave Bradshaw runs through some of the card as the German commentary team are on screen… then we go backstage to Dan Mallmann and Anil Mark. Anil’s facing Axel Tischer later on, and he’s done plenty of tape study as he looks to take his chance here tonight.

Zeritus vs. Peter Tihanyi
Zeritus hasn’t been around wXw for a while, and I think this might be the first time he’s made it onto “main” wXw show. Other than the two Wrestling Deutschland shows…

Tihyani’s a little cautious to start as he looked to take down Zeritus, but instead he’s pushed into the corner as we reset. A snapmare has Zeritus down, while a dropkick took him into the corner before an attempt to low bridge the German to the outside was stopped with stomps. Second time’s the charm, as the Hungarian Tihanyi followed up with a plancha, but Zeritus struck back, sweeping Tihanyi onto the apron before raking the face.

A cross chop drops Tihanyi ahead of a bodyslam and an elbow drop, which gets a two-count as a nerve hold looked to wear down Tihanyi some more. Zeritus throws Tihanyi across the ring as he kept control, using his wrist tape to choke Tihanyi with, while a neck crank followed…

Zeritus, who looked to be channelling Iron Mike Sharpe with some of his grunts, clotheslines Tihanyi as he tried to come off the ropes. A bear hug’s elbowed out of, but a crossbody’s caught as Tihanyi’s met with a fallaway slam afterwards… then an Earthquake sit-out splash for a near-fall.

Some choking in the ropes followed on Tihanyi, who manages to get free and try for a tornado DDT, eventually following with a missile dropkick as the tornado DDT and a standing moonsault followed. Tihanyi only gets a two-count there, but followed with a springboard moonsault to keep it going, only to run into a Bossman slam as Zeritus nearly snatched a win.

A head chop from Zeritus lands, but Tihanyi manages to springboard back into the ring, then hits an Asai DDT before a rear naked choke put out Zeritus for the submission. As a story, Tihanyi overcoming the big bad Zeritus worked as the Hungarian got his first win, but with neither man really established on the roster, the match didn’t seem to land with the crowd. **

Backstage, Dan’s waiting to congratulate Tihanyi on his win. He’s happy he won in front of a crowd,

Anil Marik vs. Axel Tischer
It’s a big test for Marik, who you may expect to be blown aside against the next contender for Marius al-Ani.

Tischer works a wristlock early on, then rolled Marik to the mat. Marik tries his luck with a wristlock, but Tischer takes him down for a crossface… Marik escaped and scores with a headlock takedown, before he escaped an attempted tug of the hair to regain the hold – and maintain the upper hand.

Tischer’s forced to kick out before he countered the side headlock into a cravat, then a side Russian legsweep before a grounded Octopus was escaped, as Marik came back with armdrags. Another side headlock’s countered into a side suplex as Marik was looking for a bulldog, before a chinlock gave Marik some new bother.

Marik escapes, but his sunset flip is blocked as Tischer’s elbow drop lands for a near-fall. Tischer threatens to use Marik’s hair again, then opted to land some uppercuts instead before the pair traded elbows. It’s Marik who threatens to pull ahead, landing some running forearms that took Tischer down, before a Slingblade nearly caused the upset.

The Limbach crowd are chanting for Tischer as he eats a swinging DDT, before another sunset flip drew a near-fall. Marik tries to push on with more roll-ups, but a T-bone suplex from Tischer throws Marik, before a twisting brainbuster almost put away the relative rookie. Tischer followed up with a powerbomb, but Marik escapes and got pulled into a clothesline, before he swatted away Tischer with a dropkick.

A Codebreaker gives Marik hope of an upset, before he ran into a knee from Tischer, as a nice bridging German suplex gave the Axeman the hard-fought win. Marik gave Tischer more of a fight than expected, but while he’s lacking that “killer finish,” it always seemed to be a matter of when, not if Tischer’d get the W. ***¼

Dan’s at ringside for the usual post-match interview, where Tischer thanked the fans before recounting how it was his first time here in seven years, calling this a peak. I think the tongue may have been firmly in his cheek there. Tischer put over Marik in defeat, then talked about his title match in Dresden, noting that Marius al-Ani wasn’t here – but having warm-up matches before True Colors may work out better for Tischer in the end.

Dan’s backstage with Maggot, Baby Allison and Vincent Heisenberg… he talks about their relative success at the Blitzturnier, before quibbling over the challenge set by the Arrows of Hungary. Maggot doesn’t want the match if it’s non-title, and blew off how “special” the main event was for him tonight.

Johnny Rancid & Norman Harras vs. Arrows Of Hungary (Dover & Icarus)
This was Rancid’s first outing for wXw since 2017… and understandably, this makeshift tandem aren’t in line for a tag title match right now. Norman takes the mic before the match to chew out the impolite crowd, before he mocked his tag partner today.

Rancid and Icarus start us off somewhat tentatively, but it’s Icarus who pulled ahead initially, taking down Rancid for a side chinlock as Harras barked instructions. It’s the first time Norman’s been around anything rancid in wXw since the aftermath of that dog food match…

Harras tags in to show off a side headlock on Icarus, but the Hungarian manages to escape, only for Norman to go back with the side headlock. Icarus gets free and dropkicks Norman to the outside, before a front facelock ended with Dover tagging in. Harras quickly backs out as Rancid tagged himself into the match.

We quickly go to Rancid and Harras antagonising each other with their blind tags, which led to Dover clotheslining Harras to the outside while Rancid’s lifted onto him. The pair argue on the outside, with Norman having the presence of mind to break the ref’s count, before Rancid stopped Norman from walking out.

When they make it back to the ring, Dover hits a suplex before he back body dropped Icarus onto Norman… Rancid takes flight too, but he saves Norman from a Crossfire, then mounted a comeback as Norman began to moan at his tag partner again. Clubbing forearms wear down Icarus as Rancid tagged in properly, landing a suplex for barely a one-count, before a Finlay roll from Harras led to some unanswered demands for applause.

Icarus gets free, but Harras pulls Dover off the apron to stop a tag as Rancid and Harras began to gel well together – antagonising Dover, who in turn distracts the referee to mask some double-teaming. All that leads to Rancid getting a rather slow two-count on Icarus, as more double-teaming leads Icarus down… but Dover this time keeps the referee’s attention to prevent a visual pin from being counted.

Eventually Icarus gets free and makes the hot tag to Dover, who runs wild on Rancid and Harras. Back body drops to Harras are followed up with a fallaway slam on Rancid, then a regular powerslam… Harras finds a way in with a leaping European uppercut as the ref was checking on Rancid, again preventing a visual pin.

Harras chews out Rancid for that, which led to Rancid laying Norman out… Dover tries to capitalise, eventually charging Harras into a gamengiri from Icarus in the corner, then an Alabama Slam/kick combo, before Crossfire finally put Harras away. A good showing for the tag champions, who had some trouble early on in the match once Rancid and Harras were able to work together… but when that fractures, it was pretty elementary for the Hungarians. ***¼

Backstage, Dan’s with the Arrows, who show off their German language skills… and we then flow into talk about the Arrows’ continued challenge to Heisenberg and Maggot.

wXw Shotgun Championship: Vincent Heisenberg (c) vs. Michael Knight
We’re keeping the random draw gimmick for the Shotgun title – and the 15-minute time limit too. Heisenberg’s got a new entrance video too, moving away from the “Ministry of Silly Walks”-ish logo… (yes, I know it wasn’t meant to be that!)

The lottery drew out Michael Knight, who looked to have turned around his long run of bad form from the empty-arena tapings. Knight started by taking Heisenberg into the corner as the veteran looked to use hit-and-run tactics…

A low bridge takes Heisenberg onto the apron, with a springboard dropkick knocking him to the floor before Knight posted the Hamburg-native. Knight returns to the ring and hits a tope con giro into Heisenberg, but the big man picks up Knight and took him back inside, leading to a spinning sidewalk slam for a near-fall.

Knight tries to low bridge Heisenberg again, but instead just jacks the leg over the top rope before a sunset flip gets blocked. A back suplex is escaped as Knight then made a beeline for some Sliced Bread… that gets blocked, as we end up with Heisenberg knocking Knight down with right hands.

Knight mounts Heisenberg with a sleeperhold, which brings Heisenberg down to a knee, before a crossbody was rolled through, with Heisenberg looking to counter into a powerslam. Instead, Knight slips out and finally lands the Sliced Bread for a near-fall. An attempted big boot from Heisenberg’s caught, but he’s able to slam Knight anyway… only to not be able to capitalise as Knight had worked on his leg enough.

Eventually making the cover, Heisenberg can only get a two-count, before he went to take off the turnbuckle pads. Robert Dreissker comes out to tell the ref what was going on, while Anil Marik snuck out to take his shots… only to get clotheslined to the outside. In the meantime, Knight leapt onto Heisenberg with a crucifix, just in time for the ref to return and count the pin as Heisenberg loses the title in his first defence. ***

Promo video time as Stephanie Maze announced that she was here to take the vacant women’s title – and wasn’t just going to step aside for Iva Kolasky to take it either. That belt was vacated at the Catch Grand Prix, and we’re getting a best-of-three series to crown a new champion…

wXw Women’s Championship Series – Match One: Iva Kolasky vs. Stephanie Maze
This was Kolasky’s first appearance since We Love Wrestling #19 after having been sidelined through injury, while Maze was back in the hunt having lost an impromptu title shot over 16 Carat Gold weekend last year.

Maze took Kolasky into the corner to start, before a kick to the chest took the Hungarian down. Forearms keep Kolasky there, as did a suplex as Maze looked to be controlling the early going here. An attempt at the Sky Fall rear spin kick’s ducked as Kolasky sweeps the leg, then returned with a crossbody out of the corner for a two-count.

Some ground and pound from Maze leaves Kolasky laying, as a series of kicks continued to keep Iva on the proverbial back foot. An uppercut has Kolasky down again as Maze continued to work over the legs, leading to a half crab that was quickly pushed away, only for a Maze clothesline to give us a two-count.

A side suplex gives Maze another two-count, as it’s back to the half crab as Kolasky got to the ropes to force a break. Kolasky tries to fire back with forearms, but gets pushed down and rolled into a Calf Slicer that Kolasky clubs her way out of. Iva’s jawbreaker buys her more time, as we go to back-and-forth strikes, leading to a suplex from Kolasky… which only fired up Maze as she returned fire with kicks.

Kolasky’s dropped with a clothesline, but she ducks a Sky Fall… then hit a roundhouse of her own to stun Maze… only to run into a Sky Fall kick as Maze took the opening win after a dominant showing. ***¼

Maggot vs. Fast Time Moodo
Moodo’s in the main event as he’s back in his home area, and we start with Maggot mocking the crowd before he got kicked in the leg.

Maggot looks to go for the arm, biting it first before Moodo rolled free and grabbed a wristlock. A stomp to the foot breaks that as Moodo’s caught in a side headlock, which is quickly countered in kind only for Maggot to pull Moodo down by the hair.

Maggot celebrates way too early and gets caught with a sleeperhold… it’s thrown off easily as Moodo came back in with a hiptoss and a leg sweep to take Maggot outside. Moodo followed him, but gets caught with some strikes and what looked like a chest rake as Maggot took the upper hand by mostly foul means.

Baby Allison stops Moodo from posting Maggot, then sidestepped as Moodo got thrown into the post… before putting in some kicks of her own. A double sledge off the apron keeps Maggot ahead, as did a kick to the side of the head before Maggot looked to get thrown into each of the turnbuckles by Moodo.

A springboard spinning heel kick out of the corner gives Moodo a two-count, as a triangle choke looked to get Moodo a stoppage… but Baby Allison grabs Maggot’s leg and puts it on the rope to force a break. Maggot returned with a crucifix bomb for a two-count, then a guillotine as Moodo manages to suplex his way free.

Maggot keeps going with a crossface as Moodo couldn’t get back into gear, but he manages to fight out of the hold as an exchange of shots leaves both men down. That exchanges keeps going as the pair get back to their feet, but it’s Moodo who pulls ahead with mid kicks and a spinning heel kick for a near-fall, following with a sliding punch into the corner then a double stomp to a bent-over Maggot.

A pumphandle driver followed as Moodo pushes on, but Maggot’s up at two, before he ran into a knee as he tried to charge back. Second time’s the charm for a spear from Maggot, but Moodo gets up at two, then ate a kneeling Tiger Bomb for a near-fall, before more kicks took Maggot back into the corner for a Coast to Coast dropkick… but Allison pulled Maggot to safety.

Maggot tries to capitalise, but leaps off the top rope into a superkick before Baby Allison grabbed onto Moodo to stop a Black Belt Kick. Stephanie Maze runs out to make the save, as Moodo’s Black Belt Kick got rid of Allison… only for Maggot to catch out Moodo with a cutter for the win. A little screwy at the end, but Maggot upsets Moodo in Limbach and had to leave carrying Baby Allison over his shoulder to close out the night. ***¼

wXw’s tour continues into Gotha – a show that’ll drop on wXw NOW on Saturday, before the True Colours event from Leipzig drops on Sunday.

6.8

The final score: review Average

The 411

A solid show from wXw, with a lot of matches going longer than we’d been used to on the previous “We Love Wrestling” shows now they’re back in front of crowds.