Hamilton’s wXw Catch Grand Prix 2020 Week Seven Review (Finals)

Quick Results
Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block A: Cara Noir pinned Hektor Invictus at 0:39 of Round 3 (***)
Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block A: Avalanche and Anil Marik went to a draw after five rounds at 15:00 (***¾)
Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block A: Bobby Gunns and Metehan went to a double disqualification at 1:31 of Round 1 (NR)
Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block B: Ender Kara pinned Prince Ahura at 2:01 of Round 2 (**½)
Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block B: Norman Harras pinned Vincent Heisenberg at 2:46 of Round 3 (**¾)
Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block B: Marius al-Ani defeated Tristan Archer at 0:57 of Round 4 via referee stoppage (***¼)
Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Final: Marius al-Ani pinned Cara Noir at 1:10 of Round 11 (***¾)

Night One

The final week of the Catch Grand Prix gets going as Cara Noir stakes his claim for top spot against Hektor Invictus.

Four men can win the block – but it could well come down to Wednesday’s Metehan/Bobby Gunns match. If Avalanche, Gunns and Cara Noir win this week, Avalanche goes through on tie-breakers – but a win for Metehan on Wednesday puts it beyond anybody else’s reach. Got that? We’ll go through the tie-breakers after each match in block A…

For the first part of the week, Nico Schmidt and Dään Jokisch are joined at the Steffy in Oberhausen by Fast Time Moodo. He finished his campaign last week with a 2-4 record, but could slip to a second-off-bottom finish today if Hektor gets the win here.

The panel run through the current standings, with Dään calling out the importance of each match this week. Moodo reckons Cara Noir’s recent tournament experience will be the edge for thim today.

Dään’s with Hektor Invictus backstage before the match. Hektor reckons by beating the Carat winner, his name will be among the stars, so he’s going to make a name for himself tonight. And for some reason, Dään is ring announcing too today… he’s taking over the show!

Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block A: Cara Noir vs. Hektor Invictus
Round 1: Hektor charges out with a big boot at the bell, then went to work over Cara’s arm. A whip takes Cara into the corner, bouncing him to the mat as the wing work looked to follow as Hektor grabbed the arm… spinning him to the mat for an armbar, holding on as the Carat winner tried to get free. All that looked to annoy Cara, but he just couldn’t get free as Hektor trapped him in a cobra clutch, before he monkey-flipped Cara with one arm. Hektor remains resolute with his focus on the arm, pulling Cara in for shoulder tackles before a stomp to the elbow finally broke them free, with Cara scurrying into the ropes… but Hektor follows there and wraps the arm in the ropes, earning him a €20 fine as the first round came to a close.

Round 2: Cara tries to hide an arm behind his back as the second round started. It didn’t take long for Hektor to find it, but Noir headbutts him back before he found an opening with a series of kicks. A rebound German suplex is blocked as Hektor pulls Cara down in a Kimura, but Cara escapes and applies a cross armbar… which is escaped as Hektor rolled through. Noir escapes the powerbomb attempt and lands a neckbreaker for a two-count, but Hektor’s able to respond as he slips out of a suplex, and hangs Cara’s arm on the rope. There’s a yellow card right there for you. The tactical booking, if you will. Hektor stays on top of Cara with some kicks, but Cara rolls outside to try and buy himself some time… but Hektor rolls outside and throws Cara’s arm into the ring post, before heading back inside as Cara just about wound down the clock enough.

There’s some shoving between rounds, which gets Hektor a €50 fine. Today’s proving to be very expensive… and knowing Cara Noir’s recent third round form, this could be ending very soon.

Round 3: Cara ducks a big boot, but gets flipped over… he can’t land a package piledriver, as Hektor slips out and hits a kick to the arm. A gourdbuster followed, but the deadlift German is blocked as Cara counters into a small package and nicks the win! A solid gameplan for Hektor’s undone by a crafty inside cradle, and books his spot at the top… now all he can do is wait.

Result: Cara Noir pinned Hektor Invictus at 0:39 of Round 3 (***)

Post-match, Hektor’s congratulated on his showing by Nico backstage… he still has the same plans for 2021 – to climb to the top.

Night Two

Anil Marik looks to score his first points of the tournament – and ruin his coach’s chances of making the finals – in today’s outing.

After Cara Noir’s win yesterday, Avalanche can usurp him at the top (on tie-breakers) with a win here… but Metehan can beat them all to the top with a win tomorrow. Again, Dään and Nico are joined by Fast Time Moodo on the preview panel. As usual, they run down block A, then talk about the permutations: a win for Avalanche has him winning the block, unless Metehan wins tomorrow.

As for today, Moodo reckons Anil Marik has nothing to lose, but he doesn’t expect the upset.

Backstage, Andy Jackson notes that Marik’s tournament isn’t ending easy given his opponent. Of course, Anil’s done tape study and has analysed his past mistakes, but he’s going to take today’s opportunity to not make things easy for Avalanche. As for Avalanche, Andy tells him he’s got a pretty good shot of the finals, but he needs to beat Marik today. Avalanche comments on the “reports about Anil” from the last few weeks. Was it something I said? He’s very complimentary with just how well Anil’s kept up with his opponents, save for the quick loss to Moodo.

There’s an awful lot of time left on the VOD… something’s telling me this may be longer than the five-minutes-and-change I saw in Marik’s debut a year ago.

Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block A: Anil Marik vs. Avalanche
Round 1: We open with a handshake, before a lock-up saw Marik try to block a wristlock, only for Avalanche to wrestle him down for a two-count. A side headlock from Avalanche is pushed off, but Avalanche clings on, then took down Marik. They fight back to their feet, with Marik shoving off Avalanche, who rolls through him before a shoulder tackle knocked down the rookie, as a hammerlock wound down the remaining seconds.

Round 2: It’s a similarly tentative start as Marik walks into a waistlock and gets thrown down, but he gets back up and manages to catch Avalanche in a wristlock, which is easily countered out of as Avalanche spins him to the mat. Another side headlock from Avalanche is pushed off, but this time Marik leaps over Avalanche… then eventually landed an armdrag. A second one’s avoided, as Avalanche goes back in for Marik’s left arm, but again ran out of time.

Round 3: Marik’s a little pacier to start this time, going for a waistlock, faking it out as he instead takes a side headlock… but the takedown comes to nought as he instead has to hit some dropkicks to take Avalanche into the corner. Forearms land, but a bulldog out of the corner’s countered with a back suplex. A Beele throw tosses Anil across the ring for a two-count, before a clubbing forearm knocked him back down to the mat. An Irish whip bounced Marik into the corner for a two-count, following up with a slam and a splash for yet another two-count, as Marik was proving annoyingly hardy. A right hand from Avalanche knocks Marik back down, as the third round expired.

Round 4: Avalanche could do with upping the ante here… except he puts on the brakes and doesn’t crash into Marik with a splash in the corner. Instead he slams him again and again, as referee Tassilo Jung looked to deliver a standing ten-count to Marik, but Marik keeps getting up. When he escaped a slam, Avalanche just crashes into him with a clothesline, before a running Samoan drop flattened him for another two-count. Avalanche just can’t get that three, and it’s starting to irritate as his place in the final is slipping away. A fightback from Marik’s stopped with a knee to the gut, but he kicks out at two again as we end up having to go into the fifth round.

Round 5: This time, Avalanche charges at Marik in the corner, but his splash misses… as does the back senton! Uh-oh… Marik reverses an Irish whip and… what-the? Back body drop from Marik?! That’s not how the script’s meant to go! He followed in with a forearm in the corner, then a bulldog for a two-count, as Avalanche almost suffered the mother of all upsets, before Marik had to steady himself on the top rope… but he bounced off Avalanche with a crossbody. From there, Avalanche scoops him up for a fallaway slam, before a Dreissker Bomb missed! Time’s still ticking away as Marik gets back up for a suplex, but Avalanche dumps him with another slam as we hit the final minute. The crowd’s getting behind Marik, but he gets squashed with a hattrick of back sentons, before a half crab from Avalanche looked to be a tough choice… even more so when Marik hung on to claim the draw! Avalanche perhaps showed Marik too much respect here, but this made for a phenomenal story – with Marik toughing it out to get his first point, and the respect of the Oberhausen crowd. As for Avalanche, failing to get the win means he’ll finish behind Cara Noir – and could finish as low as fourth place.

Result: Avalanche and Anil Marik went to a draw after five rounds at 15:00 (***¾)

Post-match, Avalanche congratulates Marik for his showing, while appearing a little annoyed at the result. Andy Jackson’s on the scene to tell Avalanche that “he won” because that result showed what a good coach he was, but Avalanche just called the result a “natural disaster.” He lets Anil get a few words in, with Marik saying that “this is just the beginning.”

Night Three

Block A comes to a head today as the Catch Grand Prix sees both of wXw’s male singles champions collide.

Anything but a loss for Metehan today will send him through to Sunday’s Catch Grand Prix final – but the history book shows that Metehan, under his old name, has never beaten Gunns one-on-one, having lost in all of five prior attempts. Remember, the winner of the block gets at least 20% of the prize pool (60% if they win the tournament), while whoever ends as block runner up gets just the 10% of the €7,000 pot. No word on where the €4k-and-growing fines are going…

For the final time this week, Fast Time Moodo joins Nico and Dään on the preview panel. Nico calls this a match between “business partners, friends, and maybe soon, enemies” before running down the block as Dään goes through the remaining permutations. A win for Bobby Gunns means it’ll be he and Cara Noir representing the block in the final, anything else and it’s Metehan winning the block.

Fast Time Moodo wonders out loud if there’s been any deals done – or whether someone will take a dive. He notes that Bobby’s never lost to Metehan before, but there’s a first time for everything. He picks Metehan, by the way… As for the pre-match promos, Metehan’s pissed that Bobby went against his word – that he’s a taker, not a giver. Metehan reiterates that he’s going to win this for the sake of his family… and again, we hear nothing from Bobby Gunns, who rejected his opportunity for an interview. Hmm.

Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block A: Metehan vs. Bobby Gunns
Round 1: Gunns and Metehan stared each other down before the bell… when we get going, they both expect the other to lay down, before Gunns pulls the referee in front of him when it was clear that wasn’t going to happen. Prince Ahura tries to run in to attack Metehan, but Norman Harras trips him as those two get into an argument. Someone’s gonna be in the dog house…

The match breaks down before it can even get going, before Ahura hook kicked the referee. Markus Weiss comes in to wave off the match.

Result: Bobby Gunns and Metehan went to a double disqualification at 1:31 of Round 1 (NR)

In the melee, it’s announced that the match was a double DQ, which gives both men a point. Rotation, Feyyaz Aguila and even Alexander Buchholz – who was dragged away from his office desk to be impromptu security – were among the crew trying to settle things down.

Andy Jackson tries to get a word with Bobby Gunns, but gets shooed away as Metehan realises what’s happened. He lays out Andy as he loses his temper, as they throw up the final standings. Metehan may have finished joint top of the block, but losing to Cara Noir at the start of the tournament means he finishes second… and so does not make Sunday’s final. That means Metehan gets just the €700 share of the prize pot – which doesn’t even cover the fines that he’d racked up in the interim!

Night Four

After yesterday’s mayhem, Prince Ahura was set to take on Emil Sitoci as block B began their final matches.

We’re back at the Steffy in Oberhausen with Nico Schmidt and Dään Jokisch being joined by Senza Volto – which means we’re in English for this part! They run down block B’s current standings, then confirm Cara Noir’s spot in the final. As for today’s match, Senza Volto’s gushing about both men, and reckons that Ahura could get the upset here.

Backstage, Prince Ahura is doing the Emil Sitoci pose, but says he’s “thinking” because of how “wXw was trying to embarrass” him. He mentions how he won the first World Tag Team Festival, and now he’s annoyed with the “embarrassments”. Ahura reckons he’s got a solution: tape study! He wants to earn a Masters in Pro Wrestling, but Andy Jackson reckons he could call Emil Sitoci a Doctor of Pro Wrestling going off of experience…

As for Emil, he’s got some news: he can’t compete because of his knee injury… but the match will still go on, with a replacement. Who is it?

Well, Ahura’s out quickly to find out who it is… and it’s not a free two points, it’s a debut for Ender Kara.

Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block B: Prince Ahura vs. Ender Kara
Round 1: We eventually get going as Ahura arses around over “which corners to use”… he tries to charge at Kara with a kick, but instead it’s ducked as Ender hits a springboard dropkick to take Ahura outside, then a tope con giro. A frog splash quickly followed back inside, but Ahura’s up at two as he rolled outside. He breaks the count as he wants none of this recorded… but Ender rolls out and attacks as the pair fought on the floor. Kicks were caught as Ahura decked Kara with an elbow, before he lifted the Turk onto the apron… and ended up eating a PK. There’s a stomp on the apron too as they return to the ring, with Kara getting another kick in… and again Ahura rolls outside looking to kill time. Ahura walks out, but returns just in time for the round to end, as he gets a €50 fine for all that dicking around.

Round 2: Ahura’s still arguing as round two starts. He shoves down Kara, then gets rolled up as the former tag champion seemingly was hell bent on getting those points via forfeit. Kara gets back with dropkicks before he went for a Hidden Blade… Ahura ducks, then drops Kara with a roundhouse kick for a near-fall. A hair-pull gets Ahura a yellow card, before he decked Kara with a lariat… following up with a Praying Mantis Bomb… but he doesn’t go for the cover. Instead, Ahura demands applause, then makes a lackadaisical cover, which Kara countered with a crucifix pin for the win! A decent debut for Kara, but the whole story was Prince Ahura underestimating him and then throwing one big temper tantrum, which drew another €100 of fines afterwards.

Result: Ender Kara pinned Prince Ahura at 2:01 of Round 2 (**½)

Post-match, Kara asks if that result means he deserves to be in wXw – and I’ve a feeling he’ll be brought back when wXw is able to resume taping in 2021.

As for Ahura, he’s still seething as he calls Nico a moron… then claimed he’d not started to study wrestling. Ahura blames wXw for “humiliating” him, as I wonder what the repercussions will be for his actions yesterday… Nico runs off as he mentioned that Ahura could have won his match.

Night Five

It’s the match they first teased back in Shotgun – as Norman Harras finally gets his big opponent, taking on Vincent Heisenberg!

We’re back at the Steffy with Senza Volto joining Nico Schmidt and Dään Jokisch on the panel. He’s learned a little German as they talk about today’s match – and it’s a loser-takes-nothing match, as whomever loses today finishes bottom of the block. Dään brings up Harras’ comments about Heisenberg from Shotgun, while Senza talked about Heisenberg’s size… which he reckons will lead to a “very bad time” for Norman.

Backstage, Heisenberg tells us he’ll destroy Norman… while Harras was still annoyed at his cheap loss to Prince Ahura last week. He reckoned he underestimated Ahura, and took some more digs as he seemed rather preoccupied with that past. Harras wanders into the same trap here, not taking Heisenberg seriously, calling him a “rookie from the North.”

Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block B: Norman Harras vs. Vincent Heisenberg
Round 1: Of course Norman gets dog-whistled… it’ll hound him forever at this rate. He starts by annoying Heisenberg as he tried to lock up, before leaning into the ropes for a break. Norman continues to play keep away, before he got thrown to the mat… and he powders outside for a break to check his teeth, breaking the count to annoy Heisenberg… and it worked too as Heisenberg went out to throw Norman in, as the referee dished out a €50 fine for time wasting. Back inside, Heisenberg charges through a clothesline, then got shoved into the corner… but Harras’ suplex attempt was blocked as Heisenberg knocked him back outside with a shoulder tackle to end the round.

Round 2: Heisenberg’s worked up as he baited Harras into a strike battle. An overhand slap knocked Norman into the corner, but he avoids a charge and comes in with some body blows before he escaped a slam… then kicked out Heisenberg’s knee in the corner. Kicks to the leg follow as Heisenberg was on the mat, and like a dog with a bone, he worked on that body part, throwing some punches and more kicks to the quad. Heisenberg needs the ropes to stand up, but Harras uses them to his advantage as he wrapped the leg around them, then kicked the rope… earning another €50 fine. A kick from Harras is caught and returned with a forearm as he began to build up a head of steam, throwing Harras around before landing a chop… but Norman then drops down and drags Heisenberg outside, before he posted the big man… but it’s too late in the round as time runs out.

Round 3: Harras sidesteps a charge as Heisenberg ran at him at the bell, then came in with a cross chop and a dropkick to take the big man down. Norman tries a charge of his own, but Heisenberg switches around and chokes away in the corner, forcing a break and a yellow card for his troubles. Heisenberg goes back to chops as he gets a two-count from some offence, before Norman spat at him. Instant yellow card. In among that Heisenberg slams Harras, but Norman got a foot to the rope to break up the pin as commentary noted the grips on Norman’s boots. Heisenberg heads up top, but gets crotched as Norman dove at the ropes, before heading up top for a superplex… only to get headbutted down as Heisenberg then missed a big splash. From there, a big boot from Norman lands, and that’s enough for him to avoid finishing bottom.

Result: Norman Harras pinned Vincent Heisenberg at 2:46 of Round 3 (**¾)

Post-match, Norman gets his interview as Andy Jackson had to dance around Norman’s temper. Norman looked at this as proof that he was “above Heisenberg”. He wasn’t above being barked at though…

As for Heisenberg, he was fuming at Norman having spat at him. Anil Marik and Avalanche tried to calm him down. It worked, but Heisenberg’s annoyed at the lack of action taken towards Norman, as Avalanche tried to praise their overall performance in spite of their points scored.

Night Six

It’s the final block match, as Marius al-Ani and Tristan Archer decide which of them will face Cara Noir in tomorrow’s final.

They’ve been building this match up since Archer’s upset loss in week one – but it’s simple: Archer needs to win to make the finals, with any other result not only extending al-Ani’s unbeaten run, but also puts him there instead.

Senza Volto again joins Dään Jokisch and Nico Schmidt on the preview panel. As usual, they run down the standings, before they reiterate what’s on the line today.

Backstage, Tristan’s told he has to win… he brings up Marius’ losing run before Carat, and promises to mock al-Ani should he lose tonight. But just for the rest of the year. It could be a long 19 days…

As for al-Ani, he puts pressure back on Archer by saying that he’s here to win – not to go for a draw. He’s more focused on a winning streak than an unbeaten run… and again points out how Archer lost to Vincent Heisenberg in week one.

Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Block B: Marius al-Ani vs. Tristan Archer
Round 1: We’ve got a scrappy start as both men were looking to land some blows before the first lock-up quickly ended in the corner. al-Ani goes for the leg, but Archer countered with a roll-up for just a one-count, before Marius looked to score a hiptoss. That’s blocked, as a waistlock from al-Ani’s countered out of with the two men reaching a stand-off. Archer grabs the arm, but again gets charged into the corner as al-Ani breaks, then looked to sting Archer with kicks. It drew a reply, but it’s caught as a leg sweep took the Frenchman down to the mat… only for the favour to be returned as the first round closes out.

Round 2: The two hook up again with al-Ani seemingly looking to throw Archer out of the ring, but a headbutt from Archer gives him time to toss out Marius instead… and earned him a €20 fine too. A kick from Archer keeps Marius on the floor ahead of a tope, before he used the ropes to stun al-Ani. An attempted springboard Codebreaker back in was caught, with al-Ani looking to roll Archer… but he’s pushed off as a step-up elbow drop off the ropes landed for just a one-count. A punch from al-Ani takes Archer into the corner, before some kicks took Archer down to a knee ahead of a pop-up Go 2 Sleep. I don’t think I’ve seen that before. It left both men laid out as the second round wound down… but they beat the standing ten count before trading blows as the round ended.

Round 3: Archer remained a little tentative to start the third round, still looking to test al-Ani with kicks before he blocked a step-up Superman punch off the ropes. Instead, he tried to hit a Falcon arrow, then sidestepped another Superman punch before scooping up al-Ani for the Falcon arrow for a near-fall. al-Ani lays in wait as he tries to catch Archer with an ankle lock, but Archer kicks the arm away as he looked to put Marius away with the tombstone gutbuster – but Marius rolls out of the Cipher UTAKI and grabs the ankle lock… only for Archer to roll free and apply one of his own! Marius pushes free, then kips up for an overhead kick as both men were left laid out. They get back up to trade more strikes, before Marius tried to end the round with a submission, grabbing a triangle armbar that served to draw Archer in as al-Ani segued into another ankle lock as time ran out.

Round 4: Marius looked a little annoyed at the clock beating him at the end of the prior round, and looked to charge at Archer at the bell, but instead we get some close-quarter strikes. Leaping knees stun Archer, who came back with a Pele kick, before a crucifix pin almost got the win for al-Ani. He followed that up with a headscissors/leg submission a la Zack Sabre Jr., throwing in some punches as well as referee Tassilo Jung was forced to stop the match. A pretty efficient performance from al-Ani, who never really looked in in doubt as Archer seemed to lack urgency.

Result: Marius al-Ani defeated Tristan Archer at 0:57 of Round 4 via referee stoppage (***¼)

Having gone out in the first round at 16 Carat Gold, al-Ani’s now in the Catch Grand Prix final, facing Cara Noir tomorrow. Andy Jackson pops up for the interview, noting that the final has al-Ani facing the last man to beat him… and there’s your long term storyline telling, folks! Andy was surprised that Marius wasn’t looking forward to it, since Marius called winning “his job,” and that’s a bit of a slippery slope!

Backstage, Nico Schmidt’s with Tristan Archer, who’s sore from having his tournament bookended by losses. He noted that this was “do or die”, but he didn’t “do” as he passed out in that hold… while Nico said he hoped to see Archer back in 2021.

Final Standings

Block A
Cara Noir (4-1-1; 9pts)
Metehan (4-1-1; 9pts)
Avalanche (3-1-2; 8pts)
Bobby Gunns (3-1-2; 8pts)
Fast Time Moodo (2-4; 4pts)
Hektor Invictus (1-4-1; 3pts)
Anil Marik (0-5-1; 1pt)

Block B
Marius al-Ani (6-0; 12pts)
Tristan Archer; Senza Volto (4-2; 8pts)
Emil Sitoci*; Prince Ahura; Norman Harras (2-4; 4pts)
Vincent Heisenberg (1-5; 2pts)

* Ender Kara wrestled in week seven for Emil Sitoci; his win gets credited to Sitoci’s points total.

Finals

After almost two months, wXw’s Catch Grand Prix wraps up as Cara Noir looks to add another tournament win to his haul – taking on Marius al-Ani in the final.

We’re back at the Steffy as Andy Jackson’s joining Dään Jokisch and Nico Schmidt on the final preview panel. They start by recapping Cara Noir’s first appearance in wXw at Back to the Roots in January, where he announced his entry in 16 Carat Gold… starting with a win over Marius al-Ani in the first round as Cara eventually won the tournament.

Of course, they meet again in the finals today, as they recap how both men won their blocks, with al-Ani now undefeated for 15 matches – and looking to beat the last man to beat him back in March. Andy’s picking al-Ani to win because he’s on form, and suggests that Cara Noir might be a little over-confident given his Carat win.

Catch Grand Prix 2020 – Final: Cara Noir vs. Marius al-Ani
Cara’s the massive fan favourite here, and for what I believe is the first time in this tournament, we’ve in-ring introductions. We’re going 12 x 3-minute rounds here, but no word on what’ll happen if they go the distance…

Round 1: Cara Noir shoots out at the gates with his Blackout sleeper, but al-Ani throws him off as they take their time to reset. Cara looks for a wristlock, but Marius flattens out as the pair grappled on the mat, before Cara got his wristlock. Some headscissors from al-Ani trap Cara, but he eventually slips free and grabbed a keylock that’s broken as Marius charges him into the corner. A kick from Cara Noir stings Marius as the first round comes to a close.

Round 2: Marius starts out hot, charging Cara into the corner with some body blows – those closed fists get him a €20 fine. Another punch follows for the obvious “tactical” yellow card, as Marius then looked to roll Cara to the mat for a Kimura of his own. Instead he switches for a hammerlock as Cara tries to slip out. They find a knuckle lock as a Test of Strength put Cara on the deck, with some two-counts following as al-Ani tries to break the bridge, but Cara just kicks away the arm as al-Ani backed into the corner to ride out the remaining seconds.

Round 3: Again, al-Ani tries to box his way into proceedings, but Cara came in with a side headlock, which was pushed away as a shoulder tackle followed. Marius goes in for a cravat next, spinning Cara to the mat as a low dropkick to the back lands, before he tossed Cara outside. He follows him outside for a slam on the floor, before he rolled Cara back inside to try and benefit from that attack. Stomps to the lower back and a suplex follow for a two-count, then switched up into a stretching chin lock, which Cara broke with some small joint manipulation… only to get stomped on in the ropes as al-Ani knocked him to the outside for the remainder of the round.

Round 4: Cara makes it back to the ring in time to start, but he’s instantly taken down in a front facelock before he got out and tied up Marius in a modified Cobra twist. al-Ani grabs the ear to free himself, but gets rolled up for a two-count, before an armbar from al-Ani ended in the ropes. Marius shoots for the leg, taking Cara into the corner, where a switcharound saw a snapmare and a kick to the back before Marius got thrown outside for a tope. Cara throws him back in quickly to pick up a two-count, before another lock-up wound down the remaining time as Marius took down Cara with a waistlock at the bell.

Round 5: Marius feints some kicks at the start of the round, but he gets caught in a side headlock and taken down. Cara manages to get hold of the legs and ties up Marius in a deathlock, but a right hand breaks that up. Cara’s back with a bow-and-arrow hold on the mat, stretching the former Shotgun champion, but Marius gets up with an overhead suplex to take down Noir. Stomps keep Cara down, but he’s able to hit the ropes and try for a clothesline, only for both men to clatter into each other as the round came to an end.

Round 6: Cara gets to his feet and caught Marius with a dropkick at the bell. A second shotgun dropkick followed, then a third as Marius was on the run. A rebound German suplex is next, but al-Ani ducks a superkick and punches out Cara from the ground. Marius looks for a Superman punch, but Cara avoids it and hits a neckbreaker… only for al-Ani to return with an arm whip as he began to target the arm that Hektor had worked on in the prior match. A hammerlock’s tightened up as Marius bridges with it, then trapped Cara in an armbar as the Carat winner needed the ropes to save himself. A suplex from al-Ani’s escaped as Cara chopped back, but a right hand and a crucifix pin gets Marius a two-count, before a baseball slide knocked Cara to the floor as time once again ran out.

Round 7: Cara’s looking the worse for wear, but starts out trying a rear naked choke… al-Ani tries to break it up in the corners, but Cara clings on before Marius dove into the corner to force the separation. It’s quickly reapplied though as Cara climbed the rope and lifted Marius off the ground in a choke, before Marius press slammed Cara down… then rolled him through into a modified grounded Octopus hold, only for Marius to roll free and find his way in with a Deathlock. He lets go to hit an up kick before Madame Guillotine dropped Marius for a near-fall. Both men pull themselves back up to their feet, with Cara throwing Marius into the corner with an Irish whip, before an attempt at the package piledriver was stopped by the bell.

Round 8: They start by going nose-to-nose here, with Marius sucker punching Cara Noir as he invited a strike battle. Cara responds with a leg sweep as the pair trade kicks as they were on the ground. It escalates into some wild strikes and kicks, with Marius looking to snatch a powerbomb, only to get hit a spinning heel kick as Cara tried to counter. He lands a powerbomb for a near-fall, then rolled Cara into an ankle lock, only for Cara to get to the ropes just in time. A cloverleaf followed, but Marius rolls in for a STF instead… which Cara bit his way out of in exchange for a €20 fine. That’s a little lenient… Stomps from Marius follow as Cara tried to keep his distance as they headed into the ninth round.

Round 9: Marius tries to charge at Cara at the bell, but runs into a foot, then an elbow as Cara was still on the defensive. A roll-up sends Cara into the path of an up kick, as a Diamond Driver looked to follow… but it’s countered into a rear naked choke. Marius tries to roll Cara free, but instead just drives his forehead into the mat, which just looked nasty. Cara rolls outside as they replay the move… the impromptu count out tease is broken as Cara rolled back inside, and cracked Marius with a headbutt! He lifts al-Ani up top for an avalanche Madame Guillotine, but Cara took just a little too long to make the cover as al-Ani got up at two. The round ends with both men throwing strikes from the mount, but Cara Noir didn’t break at the bell – which earns him a yellow card.

Round 10: Shadowboxing begins the round as the pair looked to land a big blow. Marius gets kicked into the corner, as he rebounds with a Superman punch and some more ground and pound as commentary hinted at overtime. An overhead suplex from Marius was shook off as Cara went for a superkick… but it’s sidestepped as a powerbomb was the counter for a near-fall. From the kick-out, al-Ani goes back to the ankle lock, clinging on despite the attempts to push away… but a push up from Cara Noir spun al-Ani into a rear naked choke, but that’s quickly broken up. al-Ani resumes the ankle lock, but Cara Noir pulls himself outside via the ropes to break the hold, but he takes time to roll back in, taking a stomp at the bell as we were going long.

Round 11: A diving headbutt from Cara Noir starts as he dug something out of the Tomoaki Honma playbook. Problem was, al-Ani was quickly up… only to get caught with a roll-up for a two-count. The Blackout sleeper follows as Cara looked to be going back to his “fast third round”, turning it into a sleeper suplex as Marius held on. Out of nowhere though, al-Ani is back to his feet and surprises Cara with a Diamond Driver – and that’s enough to get the win! The unbeaten record stretches further, and sucked the air out of the Steffy as Marius al-Ani outlasts the 16 Carat Gold winner to win the inaugural Catch Grand Prix.

Result: Marius al-Ani pinned Cara Noir at 1:10 of Round 11 (***¾)

Final disciplinary totals: €4965 of fines; thirty-five yellow cards and one red card.

al-Ani celebrates with the trophy (and also gets €4200 prize money too)… but he doesn’t get his personal interviewer back. Instead, it’s Andy Jackson who’s got the honours as Marius told he us did what he said he’d do – and then declared himself the most dangerous man in the business. He promised to win more titles, which I guess means he’ll be joining Cara Noir at the front of the queue for a shot at Bobby Gunns’ wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship as we fade to titles…

So, after seven weeks of the Catch Grand Prix, that’s it for wXw’s year. A year that started with Cara Noir debuting at the Turbinenhalle, before going on to win 16 Carat Gold barely two months later… only for plans to go out of the window with the pandemic. The fact that wXw were able to record any kind of content, much less the volume they actually did, has to be applauded, as the promotion managed to salvage something from the year – even if it may not have been as originally planned.

With two challengers to Bobby Gunns’ title now set, there’s the big question: who’s first? Time will tell on that one, and whether the fall-out of Brexit has any impact. As for the Catch Grand Prix, the fact that the promotion went ahead with a different format to their usual and used it to build several stories in their own little bubbles should set up for an intriguing 2021, when they are allowed to return.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

The final week of the Catch Grand Prix can largely be split into two distinct buckets - either building storylines, or introducing stuff for the future. For me, the Avalanche/Anil Marik block match was perhaps the most satisfying outing of the tournament, with Marik's tournament ended with a draw that damn near felt like a victory. As for the tournament itself, the way Gunns/Metehan played out leaves a lot of questions open for when wXw returns in 2021 - and also raises the issue of just how Gunns copes with potentially three challengers in one go when he was freaking out so much at the threat of his "business associate" wanting a shot as well...