Hamilton’s wXw We Love Wrestling #33 06.12.2022 Review

Quick Results
Laurance Roman submitted Nick Schreier in 2:53 (NR)
Axel Tischer pinned Peter Tihanyi in 10:24 (***)
Aigle Blanc pinned Michael Schenkenberg in 6:47 (**¾)
Fast Time Moodo pinned Masha Slamovich in 13:17 (***¼)
wXw World Tag Team Festival Qualifier – Icarus & Dover pinned Vincent Heisenberg & Maggot in 6:44 (**¾)
Jonathan Gresham defeats Tristan Archer via count out in 19:58 – Archer retains the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship (***¼)

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It’s the morning after the night before as we’re back at the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen… but first we open with the ending from Broken Rules, where the Arrows of Hungary and Laurance Roman looked to chase Dreissker back to ringside to avoid him walking out on Jonathan Gresham, only to join in on a beating.

Thommy Giesen’s introductions are interrupted by Robert Dreissker and his new group, who are calling themselves AMBOSS (anvil, but in German). They do a “hammer strikes the anvil” motion for their entrance, and have swanky new track jackets.

Dreissker said that it’s good to not be the only one in the promotion who is fed up with mediocrity. He then introduced everyone to AMBOSS – calling the Arrows of Hungary the best tag team on the planet, despite what other teams on Twitter may be shouting. He then called Laurance Roman underrated, then decided to spell out his own name for those who still don’t get how to spell it, whilst getting increasingly frustrated with the few in the crowd who called him Avalanche…

Dover got the mic and said that he and Icarus had seen it all in wXw, including some in the locker room which weren’t so positive. Icarus got whatted as he talked about teams had their best matches against the Arrows, then bemoaned how the real wrestlers had been pushed aside because of the flippy kids in the GIFs.

Laurance Roman lashed out at how nobody saw anything in him, and only saw him as his old Waschbär character, singing his old “hey! Wir woll’n die Waschbär sehen” (woah, oh oh, oh oh) music, before hitting out at how he’d been languishing in the warm-up matches, before Dreissker reiterated their mission statement: rebuild, reclaim, and reshape. A strong opening salvo from Amboss, who began their new direction straight away…

Laurance Roman vs. Nick Schreier
Nick Schreier was the first “victim” for Amboss, complete with jaunty music.

Opening with a lock-up, Roman took Schreier into the corner and slapped him… then decked him with a forearm. Boots keep Schreier in the corner, before he was suplexed out of it. A kick to the back has Schreier reaching for the ropes, but he then escaped a back suplex… and got lariat’d.

A bodyslam dropped Schreier in the middle of the ring, before he came right back with a pop-up dropkick. It had Roman on the back foot briefly, but a drop toe hold took Schreier back into the ropes, ahead of a front slam and a crossface for the quick submission. An establishing squash as Amboss picked off their first young ‘un.

We’ve a recap of Cara Noir beating Axel Tischer at Broken Rules…

Peter Tihanyi vs. Axel Tischer
Tischer’s looking to get back on track, while Tihanyi came up short the prior evening in that Surprise Benefit Scramble match.

Tihanyi’s nursing his back on his way to the ring, but we get started with wristlocks and hammerlocks as Tischer took things to the mat. A toe hold’s rolled out of as Tischer goes back to the wristlock as he kept Tihanyi down. Tihanyi rolls away as Tischer set up for a stomp to the elbow, like you should, and we theme eset with another handshake.

A headlock takedown has Tihanyi down again, but it’s escaped as Tihanyi’s side headlock is pushed out of. He jars his back on a floatover, then was charged down before another wristlock’s escaped, with Tihanyi rolling down Tischer, then traded armdrags before he stopped the former champion with a chop.

Tihanyi’s ballin’, but Tischer stopped him as an invisible game of hoops ended with Tischer getting dropkicked. A surfboard stretch has Tischer on the defensive, as did a chop, before Tihanyi ran into an uppercut. Tischer’s single leg lariat has the Hungarian down, as did a half-hatch suplex, before a flying clothesline drew a near-fall.

An inside cradle gives Tihanyi an opening, as did a backslide, before a tornado DDT planted Tischer. Tihanyi’s back is still causing him trouble though, delaying the cover as he only got a near-fall. Tischer returns with uppercuts, before he blocked an O’Connor roll and snapped back in with a German suplex for a near-fall.

A Ligerbomb’s countered into a sunset flip by Tihanyi, but Tischer kicks out to hit a knee strike… then take an enziguiri. A Meteora from Tihanyi lands for a near-fall, but Tihanyi crashed and burned on a moonsault. That allowed Tischer back in as he quickly puts Tihanyi away with the Shouten Kai – and this was really a case of “what if,” for Tihanyi, who was on track, but his bad back really derailed things for him here. ***

At ringside, Andy Jackson’s with Tihanyi in defeat… in addition to his back, Tihanyi’s bothered by what happened with the Arrows of Hungary, reckoning they turned their backs on him.

They replay the finish to the tables elimination match from Broken Rules – the one that’s put Bobby Gunns on the shelf for a few weeks…

Michael Schenkenberg vs. Aigle Blanc
Before Senza Volto was injured, we were gearing up to a tag title challenge with him and Aigle Blanc… so we pick up the pieces here.

Nikita Charisma distracts at the bell, allowing Schenkenberg to attack Aigle Blanc from behind, landing a back suplex for an early two-count. Schenkenberg went for Aigle’s eyes, then grabbed a chinlock before Aigle returned with an up kick. Aigle ran into a tiltawhirl slam for a two-count, then got chopped in the corner… then charged back in.

A floatover from Aigle allowed him to hit a springboard, but Schenkenberg caught it and eventually tried for a Fireman’s carry, only to get rolled up for a near-fall. The springboard crossbody takes Schenkenberg down at the second attempt, before taking things outside for a moonsault.

Back inside, Aigle hits a Meteora to the back of the head for a near-fall. A Dragon suplex is broken by Schenkenberg, but Aigle floats free for a knee to the back, then the Dragon suplex, before Charisma popped up to ring his bell. It distracts Aigle, whose ‘rana driver’s countered into a powerbomb, before a Titanic nearly won it.

Aigle’s taken up top for a superplex, but he knocked Schenkenberg down… Schenkenberg crawls to a corner to safety, but was met with a Coast to Coast instead, before a 450 splash got the win. A decisive win for Aigle Blanc, and you’d guess that’s setting up the tag title match down the line. **¾

Fast Time Moodo vs. Masha Slamovich
Originally we were meant to have had Fast Time Moodo vs. Chris Ridgeway and Masha Slamovich vs. Bobby Gunns on these tapings, but withdrawals left us with this obvious replacement.

Moodo opens with a headlock takedown, but Slamovich countered out with headscissors… which Moodo escaped. Masha kips up to avoid shaking hands, as the pair threw and checked kicks, leading to an armdrag takedown… and an escape as we reset. The pair trade chops, before a hiptoss from Moodo led to a Judas Effect-ish elbow and a bunch of kicks as a leg sweep took Masha down.

A short drop toe hold has Moodo in the ropes as Slamovich pulled ahead with a clothesline, then with some crossface punches and some face hooking for good measure. Snapmares and a kick to the back, then front, get Masha a two-count as Moodo was looking rather peeved… as he returned the favour.

Snapmares and kicks to the back ensue, but it’s Moodo who ups the aggression, getting a few boos from the Oberhausen crowd as he drew a near-fall. Masha takes the turnbuckles a la Bret Hart, then was boxed into the corner… but escaped and came back with a step-up knee, then a front kick before a spinning heel kick had Moodo down. A back body drop from Moodo, and a spinning heel kick into the corner sets up for a sliding punch… as Masha then got caught with a stomp off the top.

Masha’s able to get a foot to the ropes from there, as the pair trade strikes from their knees. It leads to yay/boo punches, then a headbutt from Masha, before a running knee in the ropes from Moodo earned a bicycle kick. The back-and-forth continues, leading to an enziguiri and a German suplex… but a lariat from Slamovich left both wrestlers down. Masha’s diving knee nearly wins it, then a roll-up… but a knee strike from Moodo and a Pedigree (?!) led to a near-fall for the former tag champion.

Moodo adds more kicks as Slamovich was on her knees, but she countered back with a wrist-clutch cut-throat suplex… only to run into a lariat and a Made in Japan in return. Slamovich is up at two, only for her to flip off Moodo and eat a Black Belt Kick in return, which proved to be too much for Slamovich to withstand. ***¼

wXw World Tag Team Festival Qualifier: Maggot & Vincent Heisenberg vs. Arrows Of Hungary (Dover & Icarus)
Originally it was meant to be Maggot and Heisenberg against Bobby Gunns and Michael Knight in this qualifier, but… you know.

Heisenberg’s a little worse for wear after his last man standing match the night prior, but he started against Dover, as a lock-up went nowhere. Dover beats Heisenberg into the ropes, but Heisenberg charged him down before assisting a splash from Maggot for a one-count. A throat thrust has Dover stunned, leading to mounted punches, some biting and a Thesz press from Maggot.

Dover punches out Maggot ahead of a Saito suplex, as Icarus tagged in and got back body dropped onto Maggot for a two-count. An armbar keeps Maggot down, as Dover tagged in… he adds a backbreaker and a chinlock, eventually leaning it back into almost an Accolade, which was broken as Dover went for the nose as well.

Icarus’ standing moonsault gets a two-count on Maggot, as it’s back to the rough housing. Maggot punched Dover out of the corner, before he caught Icarus with a spear… Heisenberg tags in and runs wild with shoulder tackles, then splashes in the corners, before he chucked Icarus to the outside.

A splash in the corner awaits Dover, who then wriggled out of a powerslam… Heisenberg’s charged into the corner for a gamengiri, before Maggot’s attempts to make a save were in vain, leading to Heisenberg getting sandwiched with a crossfire for the win. Decent for the time they had, but this was pretty straightforward for the Amboss lads – with the question again being, “what if Heisenberg was 100%?” **¾

They recap Tristan Archer’s interview from Broken Rules… because it’s time for the main event!

wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship: Jonathan Gresham vs. Tristan Archer (c)
Gresham was originally scheduled to get his title shot in Hamburg earlier in the month, but it was rescheduled for this…

Archer attacked Gresham in the aisle before the bell, which is a funny way to treat one of your best friends. They get going in the ring with Archer running into Gresham’s boot, then returned with a clothesline before a Victory Roll nearly stole it for Gresham inside 20 seconds. A sunset flip off the middle rope sparks more pinning attempts, before an Octopus stretch trapped Archer in the middle of the ring.

Archer makes it to the ropes, then distracted Gresham, claiming he had a loose lace… and booted the challenger in the head. Smart move. As was throwing Gresham into the buckles, ahead of a face-washing kick, before a pull-up Exploder eventually chucked Gresham for a near-fall. An Olympic slam adds another two-count, before an inside cradle countered Gresham’s counter for another two-count.

A pop-up knee keeps Archer ahead, while Archer faked out a neckbreaker to hit a forearm to the back, before La Terreur led to another near-fall as Archer was also trying to win this in short order. That prompts Archer to grab the ring bell, so he could threaten Gresham with it… but it’s a ruse so he could crack Gresham with the belt as Tassilo Jung was taking the ring bell back.

Gresham’s able to get a foot on the rope as Archer misjudged ring positioning, so Archer chucks Gresham to the outside. Beating the count, Gresham’s immediately stomped on in the corner, only to get chucked back outside ahead of a side Russian legsweep into the side of the ring. Archer clears the crowd… then resets the count so he could bowl Gresham into the seating, but the crowd helps Gresham, literally rolling him back into the ring in the nick of time.

Archer’s annoyed, as he again kicked Gresham out of the ring, leading to Gresham seemingly tweaking his knee on the landing. Again, Gresham beats the count, only to get caught with a backbreaker and a Dream of Revolution cobra clutch as the champion was in cruise control here. Gresham gets to the ropes as he finally managed to mount some offence, throwing chops before he got bounced back into the buckles.

A back senton from Archer lands for a near-fall, before Gresham tried to monster up… he manages to slap Archer, sparking some back-and-forth before Archer missed a clothesline, and got met with a dropkick in return. He stings Archer with chops as the Frenchman’s bounced into the corners, leading to a Quebrada and a stomp en route to some wacky cradles for two-counts.

Archer cuts off Gresham with a tiltawhirl slam, before back-and-forth strikes ended with an enziguiri and a German suplex from Gresham. He adds to that with a forearm off the ropes, then another for some near-falls, before Gresham ran into a discus clothesline. A Guillotine (Codebreaker) followed for a near-fall as Archer resumed his disbelief, which only intensified when he lost a battle of suplexes.

Gresham signals for the finish, heading up top… but he gets crotched by Archer. Recovering, a sleeperhold nearly has Archer out, but Archer cannonballs into the corner to break the hold as both men spilled to the floor. For a change, Archer chucks Gresham into the ring… then thumbed his nose at him as Archer opted to take the count-out. Gresham wins, but Archer retains in a suitably underhanded finish to what was a decent match that didn’t really hit any higher gears. ***¼

Archer celebrated with the title, as Gresham thanked wXw for letting him do what he does… then berated his “friend” Tristan for abandoning the match. Gresham noted he’s got no match for We Love Wrestling 34, so he’s going to round some people up to help him take on Amboss… and that’s set!

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

The first steps of Amboss were the big talking point here on a steady We Love Wrestling show. Tristan Archer’s performance, albeit in a self-inflicted defeat, continues to solidify him as champion, but with the landscape having changed, I suspect that Archer’s days as champion may be about to be numbered…