Hamilton’s wXw We Love Wrestling #18 07.23.2021 Review

Quick Results
Vincent Heisenberg pinned Ender Kara in 1:32 (NR)
Michael Schenkenberg pinned Levaniel in 8:57 (**¾)
Iva Kolasky pinned Delia in 4:53 (**)
Dennis Dullnig and Fast Time Moodo went to a double count-out in 13:18 (***¼)
Michael Knight pinned Bobby Gunns in 12:10 (***)
Maggot and Prince Ahura went to a 15:00 time-limit draw – Prince Ahura retained the wXw Shotgun Championship (**½)

— 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.

We’re back at the Steffy in Oberhausen, with Dave Bradshaw on English commentary. We’ll find out who Marius al-Ani will defend the title against next week as Dave runs down the card…

Andy Jackson’s with Heisenberg, who tells us he only wants to hurt Feyyaz Aguila for costing him his hair. Heisenberg mocks Ender Kara, his opponent for tonight, and I have a feeling Ender is on warm body duty…

Ender Kara vs. Vincent Heisenberg
Paris lasted just under two minutes against Heisenberg last week… can his one-time tag partner do better?

Kara’s dropkick barely budges Heisenberg, who went for a chokeslam… Kara escapes that, then a powerslam, before he darted into the ropes. Headscissors are blocked by Heisenberg, who again chucks Kara into the air, before a big boot grazed a ducking Ender… ahead of another big boot off the ropes. A gorilla press slam’s next… and no, Ender could not beat that time.

Backstage, Heisenberg is still looking for Feyyaz… and again blamed Feyyaz for “disfiguring him” in front of the wXw fans. Robert Dreissker walks in to try and calm things down, and tried to get Heisenberg to promise not to touch Feyyaz, because he’s not a member of the roster. Dreissker plead with Heisenberg not to attack any wXw staff members, otherwise he’d face real consequences…

Backstage, Michael Schenkenberg is sick of being interviewed. He’s got a singles match, which he’s also not happy with, and he’s going to prove that he (and Nikita Charisma) are a tag team and nothing else.

Levaniel vs. Michael Schenkenberg
It’s another airing of my favourite theme…

Before the match, Levaniel tried to take credit for Heisenberg being bald, because of an earlier attack leading to “destiny.” Levaniel tells Michael Schenkenberg to “bring his son” to the match today, so they can see some “traditional wrestling.”

We get going with a lock-up that Levaniel rolls his way out of, before Levaniel tripped the veteran into a side headlock on the mat. Schenkenberg escapes with a grounded hammerlock, but Levaniel pushes away as we reset, once the “father and son” duo had a chat.

A knuckle lock from Schenkenberg is countered by Levaniel, but he loses the Test of Strength, and manages to keep the bridge briefly as Schenkenberg… just stomped him in the gut. Elbows rock Levaniel, as did stomps to the arm, which gets barred before Levaniel returned with armdrags.

Levaniel’s butterfly suplex gets a two-count, but Schenkenberg hits a sit-out front suplex for a two-count of his own. A waistlock keeps Levaniel grounded, but Schenkenberg comes in with kicks and stomps anyway before he charges Levaniel into the corner. A leapfrog from Levaniel saw him clip Schenkenberg, and that looked to give him an opening as Levaniel hit some elbows and uppercuts to pull ahead.

After some distraction attempts from Charisma, Levaniel scores with a roll-up, then with a lariat for a near-fall. Charisma leaps up on the apron again, and tempts Levaniel his way… but again Schenkenberg can’t capitalise immediately, as he instead avoids a kick before a double underhook into a spin-out slam got the win. An impressive finish, and a singles win for the “team wrestler” here. **¾

Post-match, Levaniel was frustrated with how easily he was distracted… noting that other sports don’t allow distractions like that, and that maybe Charisma sees some of himself in Levaniel. Which led to a challenge for that match down the line…

Backstage, Andy Jackson is with Delia, who reckons she was too nice in her prior matches, where she’s lost. That’s going to change today… meanwhile, Iva Kolasky’s with Dan Mallmann, looking forward to get her third win in wXw.

Delia vs. Iva Kolasky
We’re at opposite ends of the win/loss spectrum here…

The opening knucklelock sees Kolasky swept to the mat, but she returned the favour before Kolasky used the ropes to swing her way down for a headlock takedown. Delia escapes for a hammerlock, but Kolasky cartwheels away as she frustrated Delia, only to miss a crossbody out of the corner.

Delia’s roll-up gets a two-count, before Kolasky telegraphed a splits… and got kicked for it. Kolasky keeps going to her gymnastic roots, but Delia’s using that against her, following up with an overhead-ish kick to the jaw. From there, Delia rolls Kolasky into a Rings of Saturn, but Kolasky makes it to the ropes and began a comeback with some clotheslines.

A scissor kick drops Delia, before a suplex was blocked, with Delia instead hitting a Fisherman screw… then rolled into a Muta lock, that also ended in the ropes. Another head kick from Kolasky drops Delia, who then succumbs to a moonsault as Kolasky retained her 100% singles record. **

Robert Dreissker and Anil Marik are on hand for an interview. Marik can’t find the words to describe his experience thus far, particularly since he’s holding gold… Dreissker downplays Anil, calling him a “solid” rookie (hey, he broke my code!), before they talk about their upcoming tag title defence against the Arrows of Hungary next week. Dreissker acknowledges their “snappier” side, and is even warier of the challengers because of it… and demands that the Arrows “better bring it” next week.

They replay Fast Time Moodo shooting down Dennis Dullnig’s offer to be a tag partner, specifically Moodo saying he “couldn’t imagine a worse tag team partner” than Dullnig. Ouch. Then, we get Dennis Dullnig-as-Hektor admitting he made a mistake even offering to team with Moodo.

Dennis Dullnig vs. Fast Time Moodo
A battle of tag wrestlers whose regular partners are on the shelf for… reasons.

Dullnig apparently offers to tag again, but Moodo repeats “it’s Stephi or nobody”, so we get going with a lock-up into the ropes, with a clean break. A Corning hold from Moodo traps Dullnig before he was rolled to the mat, with a cravat and another snapmare following ahead of a crucifix for a one-count.

After taking a breather, Dullnig charges back at Moodo, but got shoved aside before he grabbed a wristlock and bent back on Moodo’s fingers. After the break, Moodo got back in control of Dullnig, grabbing a wristlock of his own that gets broken in the ropes.

Dullnig charges down Moodo after the reset, then avoided a leapfrog to dropkick Moodo… only to miss on a second one as Dullnig tried to scarper after Moodo swung with his foot. Moodo finds his way through with some more kicks, dropping Dullnig before an Irish whip led to a Cornish Hipe and a legdrop for a one-count.

Moodo keeps Dullnig grounded with a chinlock, but things go to the corner where Dullnig lands a cheapshot, then a kick to the back for a two-count. Staying on the arm, Dullnig keeps Moodo at close quarters with a knee to the gut for a two-count, but Moodo’s kicks get him back in it as he sends Dullnig flying when he… ahem… kicked Dennis’ leg out of his leg!

You know I’m going to squeeze that Owen Hart-ism in every time I can.

More kicks lead to Moodo looking for an ankle lock, but Dullnig hugs the rope for safety. Relatively speaking. More kicks and elbows to the lower back see Moodo show a more aggressive side, following with a drop toe hold that wrenched on the ankle some more. A release German suplex chucks Dullnig across the ring, but Moodo misses a double stomp off the top… and the pair look to find a new advantage with clotheslines.

Dullnig nails a neat spinning roundhouse kick for a near-fall, having pulled a page out of Moodo’s playbook. The pair trade elbows for a spell, but Dullnig pulls ahead with another kick, before a clothesline to the back of the head almost got him the win. A running knee cracks Moodo, who then escapes a gutwrench piledriver and hit a knee strike of his own, dropping Dullnig for another near-fall.

From there, Dullnig ducks a Black Belt Kick, but a Cactus clothesline takes both men to the outside… they scrap on the floor as the referee counts, so much so they lost track of the count. Moodo literally goes “eff it” and decided to take the count-out so he could keep beating up Dullnig, and this one ends as a double count-out. Hard fought and entertaining… and this feud is not over, clearly. ***¼

Post-match, Andy Jackson interviews Moodo, who’s frustrated at people constantly poking at why he won’t team with anyone but Stephanie Maze. Moodo said he needed to set an example, and that’s what he did, throwing aside the result so he could stay true to himself.

Vignette time for the Arrows of Hungary, who recap how the Arrows got to wXw – from watching shows in the Steffy, to being taken under Tommy End’s wing, to their continued attempts to make him proud. Dover and Icarus talk about a wXw seminar with Dr. Tom Prichard in Prague, before they finally debuted… and got beaten by Absolute Andy and Bad Bones. After that setback, they went to the wXw Academy, which led to multiple chances… which always ended in defeat. Having gone through all of those peaks and valleys, they reckon they’ve now found that missing “it” and are ready to win the tag titles next week.

Backstage, Bobby Gunns is with Andy Jackson – Bobby’s part of Shortcut to the Top next week, but his next match will determine who starts the match, and who joins it as the final entrant. Gunns reckons he’s got #30 in the bag already, as he’s focused on regaining “his” title…

Meanwhile, Michael Knight’s with Dan Mallman, who reminds Michael of the armbar he lost to last time out.

Michael Knight vs. Bobby Gunns
So, high stakes here… with Knight being called out on his seven match losing streak on commentary. Hmm.

Gunns starts off with a waistlock, as the pair then went back and forth on the arms before Knight tripped up the former champion. Gunns escapes back to a side headlock, then to the wrist, torquing it before the pair traded counters en route to Gunns… regaining the wristlock.

After switching through holds, Knight finally grabs the arm of Gunns, who replied with an uppercut… only to get caught with a backslide for a one-count. A monkey flip’s next, then a dropkick into the corner as Knight rolled back into a modified chinlock on Gunns, who escaped and began to rough up his opponent.

A stomp to the back of the neck left Knight laying, with Gunns following up with a chicken wing on the mat, brutalising Knight as the ropes proved to be his saviour again. Gunns stays on Knight, stomping the elbow again as a slam drew a two-count with the former champion slowly chipping away at his foe here… perhaps getting too confident as Knight sidestepped a charge, with Gunns hitting the post on the way through.

Knight tries to capitalise, but he springboards into an armbar, but broke free as Gunns then got caught in the ropes. Knight holds onto the submission for as long as he could, then let go to land the springboard clothesline that gets a near-fall. A Fireman’s carry gutbuster from Knight and some Sliced Bread has Gunns rocked for a near-fall, before a pumphandle’s escaped as Gunn tries for a back suplex.

Kicks from Gunns were caught, but Gunns comes back with a rear naked choke… and holds on as Knight tried to roll free. A back suplex still doesn’t get Knight free, as Gunns continues to squeeze Knight out… letting go to hit a PK that gets a near-fall. Another charge from Gunns misses as he hits the corner, only to shrug it off to catch Knight up top for a superplex… but still Knight kicks out at two.

Knight swears en route to a spear, before missing an overhead kick… Gunns capitalises with a Swish armbar, but Knight rolls him up before the armbar could be unlocked, and that’s the upset! That means Gunns has to go the distance in Shortcut to the Top, as Knight snatched victory from deep inside the jaws of defeat. ***

Post-match, Andy Jackson congratulates Knight, who said his tactics worked this time… but now his aim is to win Shortcut to the Top and hopefully make it there.

They run down the card for Shortcut to the Top:

wXw World Tag Team Championship: Arrows of Hungary (Icarus & Dover) vs. wXw Wrestling Academy (Robert Dreissker & Anil Marik) (c)
Shortcut to the Top: Aigle Blanc, Bobby Gunns (at #1), Delia, Dennis Dullnig, Ender Kara, Fast Time Moodo, Gulyas Junior, Iva Kolasky, Leon van Gasteren, Levaniel, Michael Knight (at #30), Michael Schenkenberg, Mike Schwarz, Nikita Charisma, Nicky Foxley, Norman Harras, Paris, Peter Tihanyi, Prince Ahura, Senza Volto, Tayra Gates, Tim Stübing, Vincent Heisenberg – which leaves seven spots open.

Backstage, Dan Mallman’s with Marius al-Ani to reveal who’s getting the shot at the title next week… it’s Tristan Archer, but it’ll be under submission rules with three rope breaks allowed. Tristan Archer gets a promo, promising to unseat al-Ani next week, as he reminds us how Marius “saved his ass” with the ropes in their prior matches, before telling Marius he’d have to kill him to beat him.

As for Marius, he calls Archer the “number two,” because Marius is the only number one. He reckons Archer’s ego is wounded after what happened last time, while predicting that Archer will burn up all of his rope breaks very quickly next week.

Backstage, Dan’s with Maggot ahead of his Shotgun title match with Prince Ahura. It’s a battle of the (pretty) Bastards. Maggot’s excited to beat up his “brother”, but Baby Allison has to focus him and remind him he could leave as a champion tonight.

wXw Shotgun Championship: Maggot vs. Prince Ahura (c)
We’re working with a 15 minute time limit, remember…

Maggot sends Heisenberg and Allison to the back before the match, and decides to dance with his former tag partner. I mean, Ahura’s music is catchy…

We start with Ahura feinting some kicks before a takedown attempt from Maggot led to them scrapping on the mat. Some headscissors from Maggot stop that briefly, but Ahura’s right back in with a side headlock and punches before they reset. Ahura snapmares Maggot, then kicked him in the back for a two-count, following up with an attempted armbar that Maggot defended… then countered with a roll-up for a one-count.

A missed enziguiri from Maggot takes him down for some stomps from Ahura… whose foot got bitten. Rather him than me. Back in the ring, Maggot kicks Ahura in the back of the knee, then wore him down in the corner ahead of a Thesz press and some punches. Another kick leads to a side suplex from Maggot for a two-count, but Ahura’s back with a clothesline for a two-count, before Maggot looked for a Sharpshooter.

It’s pushed away as Ahura tries the same thing… he rolls over Maggot, sitting deep on the back so he could pull some hair as well. Maggot tries to claw at Ahura’s bare feet to break the hold, but to no avail as Maggot ended up crawling into the ropes for a break. Maggot bites back, and ends up eating some more kicks for a two-count, followed up by some more as Ahura has his former tag partner loopy on the ropes.

Ahura keeps on kicking Maggot into the corner, then pushed him back into the ring… where Maggot returned with a spear. Kicks from Maggot returned the favours from earlier, as a second spear eventually found contact as we hit the final five minutes. A third spear lands for a near-fall, so Maggot whales away on Ahura before grounding him with bodyscissors. Those get some intermittent pinfall counts, before a guillotine choke from Maggot had Ahura in trouble.

The referee checks on Ahura, doing the arm drop gimmick as Ahura powered back just in time, as he ends up suplexing his way free, dropping Maggot with an over-the-head brainbuster for a near-fall. Maggot returns with a rear spin kick and a cutter, but Ahura kicks out at two and rolled to the outside as the final minute approached.

Maggot rolled him back inside, but gets clocked with the same kick and cutter combo, getting a similar result. Ahura teased a PK, but stopped himself… then went up top and dove into a cutter from Maggot… who couldn’t make the cover as time ran out on the match. This was fine, but the pace (and the remaining run time) kinda gave away they were going the distance, but this was a relatively good outing between two guys who are still establishing themselves as singles wrestlers. **½

Ahura and Maggot squabble over the belt afterwards, but Ahura has to stay at ringside for the interview. Norman Harras wanders out with a drink of water for him, and to check on the lottery results… but there is none, because there’ll be no Shotgun title match at Shortcut to the Top. Norman’s pissed that Ahura keeps putting him off, especially as Ahura just walks away from him… and we close out to the strains of Ahura’s ring music.

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

With some notable happenings on what may well be the final We Love Wrestling event (for now), We Love Wrestling 18 perhaps summed up the entire run of wXw’s empty arena era - exposing new talent in new positions, while making the most of a pretty crappy situation so they could prepare for the future. Fans are back in Oberhausen in two weeks’ and I can’t wait to see how the new world looks on tape.