Hamilton’s wXw Drive of Champions 2021 05.28.2021 Review

Quick Results
Tim Stübing & Leon van Gasteren pinned Michael Schenkenberg & Nikita Charisma in 12:32 (***)
Tristan Archer pinned Emil Sitoci in 14:37 (***½)
Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc pinned Hektor Invictus & Dennis Dullnig in 11:10 (***¼)
Prince Ahura pinned Norman Harras in 0:17 to win the wXw Shotgun Championship (NR)
Robert Dreissker & Anil Marik pinned Dover & Icarus in 12:30 to retain the wXw World Tag Team Championships (***½)
Marius al-Ani submitted Levaniel in 10:38 to retain the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship (***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.

For what looks to be the final time from this set of tapings, we’re back at the Steffy in Oberhausen, with Dave Bradshaw providing the English commentary. They run through the card for tonight, and then…

We’re taken to Norman Harras. He stormed off last week before he could learn his opponent for Drive of Champions – and with wXw opting not to release the name until showtime, it seemed that Norman was having a bit of a freakout on social media this week, and with due cause. Norman reckons he’s earned the ability to get rid of the Shotgun title lottery… and some peace as his phones were ringing non-stop. He’s still got his ring music as his ring tone, by the way.

Norman gives Andy Jackson his phone, then walks off before he could be told his opponent. So we wait… and jump to Rott & Flott backstage. Nikita Charisma notes they’ve already beaten Stübing and van Gasteren, and questions why they have to face them again. He tells Dään Jokisch to go and investigate… but Michael Schenkenberg takes over the interview.

One more interview! Andy’s back with Tim and Leon. Van Gasteren notes some errant kicks from Stübing in the past, but reckons the pairing will get back on track today now they know they “can’t do that”, and will leave Rott und Flott as Rott und Schrott (pretty and scrap metal).

Rott und Flott (Nikita Charisma & Michael Schenkenberg) vs. Tim Stübing & Leon van Gasteren
Schenkenberg and Charisma still have a bee in their bonnet over being looked over for a tag title shot earlier this year… and I swear to God, I typed that before Dave Bradshaw said those words!

Charisma and Stübing start us off, swapping headlock takedowns early on before they swapped pins on the mat from a knucklelock. Stübing flips free as he looked for a Boston crab, but he telegraphed a leapfrog… and ended up getting pushed away as the pair traded more two-counts en route to a Stübing dropkick.

Schenkenberg tagged in to hit a back suplex, then a shoulder block before Stübing came back with a leaping shoulder block of his own. In comes van Gasteren with uppercuts, before a running neckbreaker gets a two-count on Schenkenberg. A floatover out of the corner from van Gasteren caught out Schenkenberg, as did some headscissors, before a slam led to van Gasteren monkey flipping Stübing into Schenkenberg for a two-count.

Those two exchange quick tags as they work over Schenkenberg’s arm, leading to a double dropkick before Stübing and van Gasteren nearly collided with each other. Schenkenberg and Charisma capitalise by knocking down Stübing, pulling him into their corner as the tables turned.

Charisma’s in to kick away on Stübing’s legs, stretching him before Schenkenberg tagged back in. Elbows keep Stübing in the corner, but he tries to fight free, knocking Charisma off the apron before a head kick downed Schenkenberg. Charisma’s gone under the ring and comes out the other side to pull van Gasteren down – a sneaky twist on an old favourite – as Stübing remained in trouble.

Elbow drops from Schenkenberg follow, as he distracted the referee to mask some shots from Charisma on the apron. Again, Stübing tries to fight free, but Charisma tags back in and took Stübing into a Tree of Woe for a baseball slide in the corner. A full nelson helps ragdoll Stübing back into the corner, as Schenkenberg then “accidentally” distracted the referee as Charisma faked an attack… and actually got hit by van Gasteren behind the ref’s back.

Stübing’s able to tag out after that, with Leon running wild. He nails a German suplex on Schenkenberg, before he threw Charisma into his own man to set up an accidental DDT. That’s good for a near-fall, as was a Samoan driver on Charisma, but Schenkenberg breaks it up and stays in the ring as Rott und Flott set up for an elevated DDT… dropping van Gasteren for a near-fall.

A Parade of Moves breaks out, leading to a stunner from van Gasteren on Charisma, before Stübing tagged in. He nails a kick as van Gasteren had Schenkenberg on his shoulders, and the resulting facebuster’s enough for the win. This was a nice, tidy opener that continued to tease miscues, but the teacher and student pairing are hammering things out here. ***

Post-match, Stübing and van Gasteren celebrate their first win as a tandem, with Leon slapping Stübing as they were so fired up. Remind me not to get on his bad side…

Backstage, Maggot is complaining of a knee injury – Baby Allison reckons it was done by Senza Volto so they would lose their hair today. Maggot claims he has a doctor’s note, and gives Dään Jokisch some scrunched up paper to hand to the office, before we fade away.

Emil Sitoci vs. Tristan Archer
A shot at the Unified World Wrestling Championship is on the line for the winner here… but the loser is barred from challenging for that title for the remainder of 2021.

Fun fact – Sitoci’s theme music is called “Adrenaline Rush,” if you look for it. That gives me big TNA vibes. They start with a lock-up into the corner, before a waistlock takedown led to Sitoci nonchalantly grabbing the rope. He’s looking to get under Archer’s skin, starting with a side headlock that’s pushed off… shoulder tackles lead to Archer looking for a Coup d’etat, but the tombstone gutbuster’s escaped as Sitoci’s sent to the outside.

Archer followed with a tope, as the pair fought on the outside… leading to Sitoci hitting a side Russian legsweep to throw Archer into the side of the ring. A plancha sees Sitoci head back outside, as he continues to charge Archer’s back into the side of the ring. Archer posts Sitoci, then breaks the count so he could drop Sitoci on the edge of the ring with a back suplex.

Back inside, Archer leaps in with a single-leg Codebreaker for a two-count, before his attempt to go up top led to him getting crotched, thanks to Sitoci tripping referee Tassilo Jung to send him into the ropes. Clumsy! Sitoci capitalises by going up top, but Archer pushes him down… only to get dropkicked to the floor instead.

Elbow drops from Sitoci target Archer’s lower back when he made it back inside, but Sitoci can only get a one-count off of that… so he looked to stretch the Frenchman instead. Archer gets to the rope to break it, up he gets roughed up on the break before an inverted atomic drop has Archer down again. That’s followed with an old school backbreaker, then a neck crank as Sitoci again looked to stretch Archer with a bow-and-arrow hold.

A sleeperhold’s next, but Archer backs into the corner twice to break it, before breaking it with a backpack stunner. Dualling clotheslines follow, before Archer walloped Sitoci with a lariat, then a Falcon arrow for a near-fall as Sitoci got a foot on the rope just in time. A Go 2 Sleep looks to follow, but Sitoci countered out for a gutbuster, before he went up for an elbow drop, going through Archer for a near-fall.

Sitoci keeps going with a split-legged moonsault, but again Archer kicks out. A missed charge in the corner opens up Sitoci as Archer flies with a Kane clothesline, before the Coup d’etat landed for a near-fall as Sitoci got his foot on the rope after the tombstone gutbuster. Sandbagging Archer buys Sitoci some time, as he comes right back with a Snapmare Driver… but a second one’s countered into a modified Go 2 Sleep… before a lariat dropped Sitoci ahead of the Coup d’etat, leaving Sitoci down in the middle of the ring for the final three-count. That’s Archer up next for the big belt after a cracker of a match, while Sitoci is firmly out of the title picture until 2022. ***½

Post-match, Andy Jackson congratulated Archer who said that his win was a result of doing things the right way. Andy asks if Archer would rather face al-Ani or Levaniel, with Tristan replying that al-Ani was perhaps the best possible option as far as competition went…

Backstage, Senza Volto and Aigle Blanc are excited for their mask vs. hair match… unfortunately, there’s a change in plan. Aigle’s convinced it’s a lie, as is Senza. Instead, they’re facing Hektor Invictus and Dennis Dullnig…

Dullnig and Hektor are backstage, with the former positively gleaming over the match he accepted. Hektor’s less than thrilled about it, especially as he’s still sore over Dullnig breaking his flagpole.

Dennis Dullnig & Hektor Invictus vs. Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc
I’m not thrilled about this change to the advertised card… but let’s see where that heads.

Hektor and Aigle start, with Blanc eventually picking Hektor’s ankle, but couldn’t do much before Hektor rolled away into the path of a Dullnig tag. Dullnig scores a waistlock takedown as he took Aigle scrappily into the corner, before backing into a Hektor tag as the odd couple remained, erm, odd.

Senza tags in and flies in with a chop to the arm, then took Hektor down… but there’s a quick escape as Hektor looked to go for Senza’s mask. Dullnig again tags in, switching waistlocks with Senza, who charged into the corner as Aigle Blanc tagged in to break things up with uppercuts.

Volto’s quickly back, but Dullnig kicks away a double back body drop before he got armdragged back into the corner for a tag. Hektor’s quickly caught with a springboard crossbody, but shrugged it off to float Aigle back into a knee strike for a tooth-loosening two-count. Blanc elbows free of Dullnig, then hits a twisting neckbreaker as both men tagged back out.

Volto’s a house afire, knocking Dullnig off the apron before landing clotheslines to Hektor… but a powerslam got Invictus a two-count before he took Senza into the ropes for some choking. Dullnig’s back to keep going for pins, but Hektor’s quickly back to help pancake Senza ahead of a curb stomp powerbomb… which Senza ‘rana’d out of.

Dullnig tries to stop a tag oug, but Senza eventually gets it as Blanc leapt back in for a swinging DDT… Hektor eats an enziguiri before a double running Blockbuster nearly put Hektor away. Senza looks for the Eiffel Tower, but he’s pushed into the corner by Hektor, who then got tagged by Dullnig as a quick turnaround nearly won it.

Hektor’s back, but so is Blanc… only to get pancaked. Senza meets the same fate, before a curb stomp powerbomb from Hektor and a gutwrench piledriver – almost like a Psycho Driver – from Dullnig dumped Senza. It’s Hektor who’s legal though, and in the confusion Aigle’s able to make the save as the Parade of Moves continued, leading to Senza landing an inside cradle for a enar-fall, before Blanc returned to hit a Dragon suplex.

The ring stayed full though, with Senza’s handspring back elbow getting caught, only for Dullnig to accidentally boot Hektor as a handspring cutter from Senza took them both down. An Eiffel Tower from Senza drops Hektor into position for a curb stomp from Blanc, who then dove onto Dullnig on the outside as Senza scored the pin. This got a little too wild for my tastes towards the end, but a pretty damn good unexpected match as the masked Frenchmen leave today with a win. ***¼

We get a taped promo from Amale, who’s still the wXw Women’s Champion, despite not having been able to defend it since 16 Carat Gold weekend last year. She’s annoyed at how fans think she doesn’t deserve the title – to which she fired back the fact that she’d beaten everyone put in her way, from Toni Storm to Meiko Satomura.

Norman Harras is out first for his Shotgun title defence – looking nervous as hell and not wanting his introduction. Norman wants to see what’s on ring announcer Frank Fehrmann’s card, but apparently there’s no opponent listed…

wXw Shotgun Championship: Norman Harras (c) vs. Prince Ahura
Cue new music, as Norman faces another familiar name in Ahura.

Norman tries to laugh off the match, but Ahura’s a little upset that Norman didn’t pick up any of his calls, so we’re getting this defence anyway, once Norman’d lost and regained his temper.

Bell rings. Ahura kicks Harras’ knee out, lands an axe kick, then a buzzsaw kick, and that’s all! The quickest Shotgun title change in history apparently, timed at 17 seconds, as Norman Harras’ reign ends in a little under five months. A lateral move, as I guess Norman now has to rebuild after getting a little too cocksure?

Backstage, Andy Jackson’s with Ahura – who seems to be gaining and losing the Prince part of his name. Ahura told us he’d been calling Norman all week, but he never picked up, and said that he wants to make the Shotgun title prestigious. There’s a hint of something with Maggot down the line too…

Next Thursday, we’ve got wXw We Love Wrestling: Zugabe Volume 1 featuring Icarus vs. Michael Knight, Tim Stübing vs. Senza Volto and The Rotation vs. the returning Ender Kara… then the next day, We Love Wrestling 14, featuring an interview with Tristan Archer, Fast Time Moodo vs. Ender Kara, and Ahura defending the Shotgun title against Dennis Dullnig.

wXw World Tag Team Championship: Arrows of Hungary (Dover & Icarus) vs. Robert Dreissker & Anil Marik (c)
In the pre-match interviews, the Arrows continued to make digs at “Papa Bear” Dreissker…

Dreissker and Icarus start, with Dreissker throwing Icarus to the mat from the opening tie-up. A side headlock from Dreissker follows, as he again threw away Icarus before Dover (the man, not the place) came in to trade elbows. Dreissker’s shoulder block takes him down for a back senton, before Dover came back with a boot and an attempted back suplex.

Instead, Dover charges Dreissker into the corner, with Icarus coming in to throw some body blows. Icarus tries to knock Marik off the apron, but just gets HURLED with a back body drop as Anil came in to hit a shoulder block as the champions hit a flurry of moves for a two-count. A Slingblade from Marik drops Icarus for barely a two-count, before Dreissker tossed Icarus across the ring with a Beele throw.

Marik’s back, but he’s pulled into a back suplex as Icarus then looked to roll him across the ring and into the Arrows’ corner. An armbar leads to a tag out to Dover, whose chinlock’s broken in the ropes, before a slam dropped Marik for a two-count. The Arrows team up for a double-team rebound suplex before Dreissker pulled Marik out of the way of a Crossfire – with Dover and Icarus clattering knees instead.

Everyone recuperates, but Dover’s back to knock Dreissker off the apron before a German suplex landed on Marik for a two-count. A front facelock is fought out of, as Dover charges Marik into the corner for a gamengiri from Icarus, who tagged back in to get thrown into Marik for a two-count.

Marik manages to roll past the Arrows to make the tag out to Dreissker, who runs wild with clotheslines in the corner… a Samoan drop gets a two-count on Dover, who returns fire with a side suplex as the Arrows came agonisingly close. Another crack at the Crossfire’s stopped by Marik, before Dreissker spun Icarus into Dover… knocking the big man down as a Dreissker Bomb looked to be heading Icarus’ way.

Dover delays things, then came in to counter Dreissker with an Electric chair. Icarus’ senton bomb adds to it for a near-fall. Icarus looks for the Heart of Europe submission, but Marik escapes as Dover ends up taking a fallaway slam from Dreissker… who then finished him off with a Dreissker Bomb. It’s a case of “always the bridesmaids, never the brides” for the Arrows, who took a definitive loss to the Academy team, who look to be settling in well as tag champions. ***½

Post-match, Dreissker said that the Arrows brought exactly the sort of thing they expected, while putting over Marik for “saving his bacon.” As to who’s next for the tag team champions, we’ll need to wait and see.

They recap Levaniel’s dream of teaming with Marius al-Ani during the tag title tournament… and how that dream was broken. Which led to Levaniel finally taking things seriously as he focused on wrestling and ended up winning the battle royal to get tonight’s title shot…

wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship: Levaniel vs. Marius al-Ani (c)
al-Ani comes into this with a 22-0 streak… while Levaniel would have to be a heavy underdog if any bookmakers were taking bets here.

Levaniel shoves down al-Ani at the bell, but the champion quickly takes him into the corner for some right hands and kicks to the gut. An armdrag got the challenger back in it, but al-Ani chucks Levaniel through the ropes to the outside, but Levaniel manages to play keep-away, suckering al-Ani to the outside… only to get dragged back there himself.

Back inside, al-Ani crushes Levaniel with a picturesque dropkick, before he rolled Levaniel down for a quick cover. A chinlock keeps the challenger down, before al-Ani looked for an ankle lock… which ended quickly in the ropes. Stomps take Levaniel into the corner, but Levaniel again gets to the ropes as al-Ani was almost toying with his foe.

A flash roll-up gets Levaniel a two-count, and enrages al-Ani… but he perhaps lost sight of Levaniel, who’s able to hit a back suplex. Levaniel can’t capitalise, as he’s cornered again, and almost met with a Diamond Driver as his floatover was caught. Instead, a backbreaker has al-Ani down for a low dropkick, but it’s only good for a two-count as Levaniel looked to keep al-Ani down with a chinlock.

Another ankle lock from al-Ani ends in the ropes as he snapped back, throwing Levaniel back to the outside. Marius breaks the count-out, but Levaniel rolled back in by himself… and looked to fire back with shoulder charges into the corner. al-Ani returns with a clothesline out of the corner for a two-count, before the kip up/Exploder and a powerbomb dumped Levaniel for a near-fall.

After standing on Levaniel’s hand, al-Ani’s almost caught with an inside cradle… he kicks out, but runs into a spinning heel kick, before a suplex dropped the champion. A discus lariat gets Levaniel agonisingly closer, before a Galactic Facecrusher’s countered with a spinning heel kick from al-Ani. He can’t quite follow-up though, as Levaniel’s uppercuts took him into the corner, before a roll-through into an up-kick, a Superman punch, then a Diamond Driver finally snuffed out the Prince of the Stars… as an ankle lock finally forces the submission. This was a lot more even than I could ever have predicted, with this loss for Levaniel sure to boost his credibility in the long run – but on the night, it’s a good showing as al-Ani stretched that streak to 23-0… with Tristan Archer now on the horizon as a future challenger. ***¼

7.7

The final score: review Good

The 411

From an in-ring perspective, this was by far and away the best show from the “deep winter” wXw tapings - even if you include the disappointment at the hair vs. mask match not being on the show. I get that there’s fans who just don’t want to watch empty arena shows, but this absolutely a two-hour show that’s worth the effort. With content from the new tapings starting next week, we should have a rejigged roster and injury returns too, so I for one am excited to see where things head in the next batch of shows.