Hamilton’s wXw We Love Wrestling #37 – Wildcard Edition 10.03.2022 Review

Quick Results
Danny Miles pinned Cheeseburger in 10:06 (**¾)
O’Shay Edwards pinned Alex Reiman in 8:39 (***¼)
Dante Caballero & Joe Keys pinned Maverick & Chris Dice in 11:32 (***)
AKIRA pinned Steve Pena in 10:52 (***)
Man Like DeReiss pinned Jarett Diaz & Eli Isom in 10:19 (***¼)
Kevin Lloyd submitted Thomas Shire in 11:22 (***¼)
LJ Cleary pinned Jaden Newman in 11:59 (***½)

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— If you want to catch this before it’s uploaded to Peacock/WWE Network, head over to wXwNOW.com

For one final time, we’re back in the Turbinenhalle as seventeen names headed to wXw to try and impress viewers. The idea for this was simple – wrestler applied to be on the show, and wXw selected wrestlers and matches based on who impressed them with their highlight reels.

As such, we had ten wrestlers making their “full” debuts on a main roster show, and for one final time on this weekender, we’ve got Dave Bradshaw and Mett Dimassi buddying up for commentary.

Cheeseburger vs. Danny Miles
It’s a wXw debut for Cheeseburger, while Miles was back after making his debut at Inner Circle a few days earlier.

Cheeseburger needed help getting his ring jacket off, before he gave referee Felix Schulz his cheeseburger hat. Much bemusement! We got going with Miles kicking away a handshake, then taking Cheeseburger into the corner for a clean break. Cheeseburger trips up Miles, then walked over him… that prompted Miles into a headlock takedown, which Cheeseburger escaped, only to get caught in another side headlock.

Miles’ grip isn’t tight enough as Cheeseburger scooted his way free, before see-saw arm wringers ended with Miles taking Cheeseburger down to a knee. Escaping, Cheeseburger winds up Miles with some World of Sport-era stylings, then climbed on Miles’ back for a mounted armbar.

Miles grabs the rope, then pulled Cheeseburger into the ropes as a clothesline turned things around. An Irish whip hurled Cheeseburger into the corner, as Miles then saw his chinlock elbowed out of… but he’s right back in with a spinning sidewalk slam for a near-fall. A stalling suplex keeps Miles ahead, but still Cheeseburger kicks out, only to get pulled into a cross armbreaker.

Cheeseburger rolled his way out of it, then applied his own… but Miles lifts his way free, only to get suplexed across the ring. A kick from Cheeseburger looked to put him ahead, as did a superkick and a Dragon suplex, but Miles is able to get up at two this time arounds. From there, Cheeseburger cues up a Shotei, but Miles blocked and turned it into a suplex for another two-count.

The pair exchange strikes from there, with Cheeseburger finally landing the Shotei… then a double stomp off the top. Yet still, it’s not enough as Miles kicked out, before he rolled up Cheeseburger into the corner to break up a Kimura. A cannonball swiftly followed, then a fireman’s carry gutbuster… and that’s your lot. **¾

Alex Reiman vs. O’Shay Edwards
A battle of the big lads here, with some psychedelic music for O’Shay on his debut.

Edwards throws Reiman to the corner from the opening lock-up, before right hands from Reiman earned him a big boot. O’Shay looked for a slam, but Reiman escaped and clotheslined him in the ropes, following with chops in the corner… which O’Shay shrugged off and demanded more of.

Reiman keeps ducking O’Shay’s chops, but his crossbody’s caught as Edwards popped him up for a stalling suplex. Floating over onto the apron, Edwards drops Reiman’s arm across the top rope, then pulled Reiman shoulder-first into the ring post. A chop from Edwards goes awry as he caught nothing but the ring post, while Reiman added a slam on the floor, then a Cactus Jack-esque running elbow off the apron to the floor.

A turnaround sees Edwards knock Reiman to the outside as he looked to collect a count-out… but Reiman gets in at nine, and got thrown right back outside. Edwards joined him on the floor for more brawling, before Reiman got rolled back in… and caught Edwards in the ropes for a leaping knee as O’Shay was draped in the ropes. It’s good for a near-fall, as was a follow-up dropkick, before Reiman literally ran into a body attack from Edwards.

Irish whips bounce Reiman into the corner, but a trip sent Edwards back into the buckles ahead of a clothesline off the top that nearly won it for Reiman. A choke bomb from Edwards put him right back in it, before a trip up top saw Edwards fly with a moonsault. Reiman rolls away from it, but his clothesline barely moved Edwards, who pulled him in for a Kaiju Driver… and that sit-out tombstone gets the win. A fun sprint, and you could tell Edwards was hyped for this. Hopefully he’s brought back to Germany and Europe after showings like this. ***¼

Boricua Boys (Dante Caballero & Joe Keys) vs. MAD (Chris Dice & Maverick)
Keys and Caballero wheeled out Norman Harras for their entrance, but wXw’s sporting director fired them for their failings against Levaniel the prior night…

Maverick’s done a few spots for wXw, while this was Dice’s main roster debut – along with their debut here as a tandem. Dice and Caballero start, with the former getting thrown into a corner from the opening lock-up, before Caballero elbowed away a waistlock attempt. Caballero struck back with chops, then with a big boot before a leaping DDT from Dice turned it around.

A tag brings in Maverick, who threw a shot at Caballero’s ribs, while a snap suplex drew a two-count. Caballero’s grounded from there, then Gator rolled around the ring, Joe Keys tags in, but gets thrown into his own man as Maverick’s pop-up dropkick kept MAD ahead. Dice returned for a sliding clothesline, while Maverick’s springboard body press drew a two-count.

We’ve a chase as Keys ran away from Dice, but it led to a blind tag to Caballero, who threw Dice into Keys’ knee, before Dice got hung up and clotheslined off of Caballero’s back. A slingshot leads to a stomp as Dice was over Caballero’s knees, before Dice was held up in the ropes for the old Haas & Benjamin leapfrog back splash that nearly won it.

An abdominal stretch from Keys came with some cheating from Caballero behind the ref’s back, before an escape allowed Caballero to tag in. Dice’s hiptoss has Keys out of the ring, but Keys distracts the referee as Maverick got the tag in. Maverick protests as a double chokeslam laid out Dice for a near-fall, before Dice escaped another leapfrog back splash… and this time got the tag to Maverick.

Keys and Caballero went to tag each other in, but ended up walking into the path of a crossbody from Maverick… who then added corner-to-corner foreareams and a double sunset-flip to the Boricua Boys. It’s good for a two-count for Maverick, who missed another blind tag as the Boricuas break up pins… before Dice demanded a tag back in.

MAD hit a pop-up facebuster on Keys, then a pop-up backcracker for a near-fall as Caballero ended up attacking his own man. Caballero gets his arms tied up in the ropes, and as referee Tassilo Jung went to aid him, Maverick disappeared… then returned. He goes to spray Keys with mist, but Caballero shoved Keys away, meaning Dice got misted as a belt-assisted punch from Keys and the Fuerte (think Aussie Open’s Coriolis) got the win. ***

Steve Pena vs. AKIRA
It’s another outing this weekend for AKIRA, who’s apparently been loving it in Germany…

Pena and AKIRA trade chops to start, then forearms, before a shoulder tackle had AKIRA down. The pair get back up, with AKIRA running into an armdrag that he rolled through on, only for Pena to apply some headscissors. AKIRA escaped and swung with a PK as Pena headed outside… eventually getting met with a springboard flip plancha for good measure.

Back inside, Pena pulled a full moon out of AKIRA as he grabbed a rear naked choke, but AKIRA rolled backwards to get a two-count, before Pena spat in AKIRA’s eye. An Exploder takes AKIRA down as he finally put the eye patch back on, then kicked out at two, before a front chancery suplex kept Pena ahead.

AKIRA gets back in it with a clothesline by the ropes, only for Pena to charge him down with a back elbow for a two-count. A Koppo kick from AKIRA cuts off Pena back in the ropes, before a series of kick was cut-off by Pena, who nearly slapped AKIRA into oblivion… but AKIRA struck back, kicking Pena into the corner for a running front kick.

Pena’s left in the corner for a hesitation dropkick, before he tried to come back in with a piledriver. More kicks save AKIRA, whose Northern Lights suplex nearly won the match, before a pop-up powerbomb looked to give Pena the win. A roll-up from AKIRA keeps the see-saw going, before a snap Michinoku drive pushed Pena closer to victory…

A German suplex keeps Pena ahead, then a T-Bone suplex and a clothesline to the back of the head, but it’s still not enough as Pena took AKIRA up top… only for AKIRA to slip free and score almost a Euro Clutch Driver off the top rope. That’s added to with the Death Penalty lifting reverse DDT, and that’s the win for AKIRA who seemed to connect better with the crowd in this match. ***

Jarett Diaz vs. Eli Isom vs. Man Like DeReiss
That’s J-A-single R-E-double T, who was more than a little buoyed by how his Jets did the night before. Makes two of us… while Man Like DeReiss got the full entrance and rap, which seemed to win the crowd over, especially when you added in the vocal parts of the crowd that knew him going in.

The first minute’s spent playing to the crowd as Isom asked for and got handshakes and fist-bumps… before Diaz rolled up DeReiss from a handshake. That sparked a fast exchange as the trio went for pins, before Diaz clotheslined DeReiss to the outside. Isom scores a slingshot sunset flip from the outside in for a two-count, before a bodyslam and a sliding lariat had Diaz rolling to the outside.

DeReiss is back for a leapfrog and headscissors on Isom, then a dropkick into the corner. A backflip from DeReiss allowed him to follow with a sit-out powerbomb to Isom, who then traded places with Diaz, who landed on his feet from a monkey flip and charged back at DeReiss with a shotgun dropkick.

Diaz hits the ropes and lands a flip senton to the outside, but DeReiss takes over back inside with a tiger feint kick and a senton atomico. Out goes Diaz, in comes Isom, whose crossbody gets caught and turned into a fallaway slam… uppercuts from DeReiss to Diaz follow, then a clothesline before a double Blockbuster nearly got DeReiss the win. Diaz fights out of a DeReiss powerbomb, then a slam as an Eye of the Hurricane left DeReiss laying… and sparked a turnaround as a powerslam nearly won it for Diaz.

Isom breaks up the pin and went for Diaz, scoring with an elbow in the corner, a facebuster and a swinging back suplex. DeReiss is back with a dropkick, before he floated out of an Isom German suplex… DeReiss goes up top, but Isom’s rolled away, so he drops down and went after Diaz, who in turn ate an overhead suplex from Isom.

Isom goes back after DeReiss, scoring a German suplex on him that turned into an overhead belly-to-belly for Diaz too, but DeReiss is able to kick out in the nick of time. Diaz and Isom trade blows, before DeReiss caught Diaz with a cutter in the corner… Isom and Diaz trade palm strikes as DeReiss was on the outside, eventually returning after Diaz nailed a Blockbuster and a Cross Bronx… as DeReiss nailed a 450 splash off the top to a downed Diaz to snatch the win out of nowhere. ***¼

Kevin Lloyd vs. Thomas Shire
It’s a return to wXw for Lloyd, who’s been in two Ambition tournaments…

This one started on the ground after a trip from Lloyd, but they roll into the ropes as Shire reset in the corner. Shire takes the back, but Lloyd escaped to go for a double wristlock, which also ended in the ropes. Another takedown from Lloyd continued the grappling, with Shire then tying up the legs of Lloyd, who rolled through… and into the ropes.

Shire goes back to the arm, only for Lloyd to escape and go for the leg… but they’re right back in the ropes. It’s back to the arm as Shire tied up Lloyd in a double wristlock, before Lloyd’s escape… yep, it’s back in the ropes. Shire snapped back with an uppercut before he stomped Lloyd into the corner, then ran him into the ropes for a knee to the gut.

Another one of those sank Lloyd, before Kev floated over Shire and hit a hiptoss. Lloyd goes for the arm, but Shire just suplexes his way free, and now I instantly want to see Alex Kane vs. Thomas Shire… Shire smothers Lloyd to get a couple of one counts, before an Irish whip bounced Lloyd into the corner for a delayed two-count.

Lloyd remained on the defensive as Shire continued to throw strikes, with the match almost descending into Inoki/Ali for a brief moment… before Lloyd got to his feet and scored a series of body blows. It led to a rebound German suplex, then a Gotch-style powerbomb for a near-fall, before Shire hit back with a backbreaker and a Canadian backbreaker.

Shire calls for the UFO, but Lloyd escapes the spinning torture rack and rolled up Shire for a two-count… then went for a leg lock that Shire furiously clubbed his way out of. It’s another crack at the UFO from Shire, who dumped Lloyd to the mat before he fell out of the ring himself, returning to snatch a two-count as Lloyd barely kicked out.

Shire goes for another suplex, but Lloyd cradles his way out… then went back to the leg lock for the rapid submission. This started slow, but I’d love to see them run this back in Ambition – because these two have a killer match in them under Ambition rules by this evidence. ***¼

Jaden Newman vs. LJ Cleary
If I’ve had the ear-worm of LJ Cleary’s music, you all do too…

So, with LJ’s replacement for Ace of Base’s “Beautiful Life” (and not the Hurts song by the same name) burrowed into everyone’s being, we get going with a rather pissed off Newman begging the crowd to stop the pain. We start with a lock-up as Newman’s taken into the corner, before he returned the favour as LJ sang back at him.

A wristlock from Newman is reversed, as the pair go back and forth on the hold, leading to Newman throwing Cleary down by the hair as the crowd began to troll Newman. LJ’s back with arm wringers and arm drags, before he scooted around the apron ahead of a springboard armdrag.

Newman rolled outside, but his attempt to avoid a dive from Clearly led to him blocking a powerbomb with a nice elbow drop on the apron. Defence into attack in a heartbeat. LJ rolled back in at seven though, then stung Newman with a chop before Jaden hit back with a neckbreaker. Elbow strikes to the back allowed Newman to troll Cleary with stomps in the corner to the beat of LJ’s music, ahead of a release Northern Lights suplex.

Danielson elbows to the neck, then a cravat tied up the Irishman… LJ gets free, but had to get to the ropes as Newman went for a submission attempt. An inside cradle gets LJ a near-fall, before a clash of heads left both men laying. We resume with strikes from LJ, then a running clothesline, before Newman threw LJ onto the apron… and ended up getting met with a springboard stomp back in.

Cleary calls for a leap off the top, but a throat thrust from Newman cut him off… only for a roll-up from LJ to keep him in it. Newman can’t avoid a springboard dropkick, but does kick out, before a snap Kitchen Sink Power Slam spiked Cleary for a near-fall. That was bloody impressive. From there, Newman set up Cleary for the Hangman’s Clutch, which LJ pushes out of… only to get face-planted with a slingshot uranage.

A cross-armed powerbomb is next for a near-fall for Newman, who finally applied the Hangman’s Clutch, but LJ gets a foot to the ropes to save his skin. Hammer elbows from Newman follow as Cleary looked to be running on empty, before a leaping knee surprised Newman… who rolled outside and into the path of a flip plancha. Rushing back inside, LJ hits the ropes for a Destroyer off the middle rope, and that’s enough for the win. Nothing against LJ, but Newman impressed me with his versatility here – and had infinitely less ear-wormy music… but I’d hope both of them are brought back at some stage on this form. ***½

7.2

The final score: review Good

The 411

The obvious drawback to this show was that, for most of the crowd, there were a lot of unknown wrestlers trying to make an impression - which could have worn down the audience a little. Just about everyone here made an impression with the crowd on hand, but it’ll be what happens next that’ll be key - whether it parlays into future appearances in wXw, or perhaps elsewhere around Europe.