Hamilton’s wXw We Love Wrestling #43 – 16 Carat Gold Revenge 03.25.2023 Review

Quick Results
Tristan Archer pinned Alex Duke in 5:26 (**½)
Laurance Roman pinned Aigle Blanc in 11:03 to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship (***¼)
Ava Everett pinned Amale in 6:18 (**¾)
Icarus & Dover pinned Elijah Blum & Anil Marik in 10:10 (***)
Baby Allison pinned Aliss Ink in 9:54 to retain the wXw Women’s Championship (***)
Axel Tischer defeated Peter Tihanyi via referee stoppage in 17:22 (***¾)
Jurn Simmons, Bobby Gunns & Michael Knight pinned Zafar Ameen, Norman Harras, Metehan & Rambo in 17:44 (***½)
069 Street Fight: Maggot pinned Ahura in 24:27 (***¼)

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Tristan Archer vs. Alex Duke
Of course, we’ve got a pre-show match, and it’s a return to the pre-show for Tristan Archer, who’ll be looking to make light work out of the so-called “Prosecco Playboy.” Christian Bischof and Mett Dimassi are on German-language commentary for this one…

Frankfurt’s behind Duke, but Archer clubs away on him to start, taking Duke into the corner before armdrags and dropkicks gave Duke an opening. An elbow from Archer leads to a uranage, then a back senton for a one-count as the former champion looked to wear down Duke.

A snapmare and a seated dropkick gets Archer a two-count, as he proceeded to keep Duke in the corner with some mudhole stomps. Duke’s thrown down with a side Russian legsweep for another two-count, while an Exploder out of the corner keeps Duke on the back foot.

Duke gets the knees up to block a senton atomico back into the ring, then slid under Archer as a double leg nelson nearly nicked a win. Elbows from Duke led to an uppercut as he had Archer bouncing around, leading to a ripcord bicycle knee for a near-fall. From the kick-out, Archer pulls Duke into the ropes, then landed a Decapite lariat… before the Coup d’Etat completed the efficient win. **½

Before the main show, we start with Dan Mallmann seemingly trying to interview the ring crew… only to be distracted by a fallen Levaniel backstage. He’s had his knee taken out by a mystery assailant (or assailants)…

Cue titles, as we’re live on tape inside the sold-out Batschkapp in Frankfurt, where Thommy Giesen addresses the Levaniel situation, hoping he’ll be fine for later tonight. English commentary for the main show comes from Dave Bradshaw.

wXw Shotgun Championship: Laurance Roman (c) vs. Aigle Blanc
It’s a first crack at the Shotgun title for Aigle Blanc…

Aigle’s roll-through into a headbutt to the rear was among the offence early on as the pair traded holds, before a trip from Aigle Blanc led to a seatbelt cover for a two-count. A side headlock from Roman is pushed off as Aigle ends up flipping over his trip attempt… returning with a head kick and some charges into the corner, as headscissors ended up putting Roman on the back foot.

Roman rolls outside to avoid a senton to the back, and dragged Aigle out with him as the pair brawled around ringside. The look on that kid as Roman was getting chopped right next to him…

Back inside, Roman’s knocked into the top rope as he took that back senton to the back anyways, before Roman missed a charge into the corner. Robert Dreissker threatens to get involved, but ended up not as the distraction allowed Roman in with a running back elbow. Some choking in the ropes is next, with Dreissker now getting involved behind the ref’s back, ahead of a floatover suplex from Roman for a two-count.

A cravat keeps Aigle on the defensive, while a snapmare and a volley to the back kept Roman in control. Roman whips Blanc hard into the corner but Aigle’s able to fight back, landing a springboard crossbody off the ropes then a twisting neckbreaker… taking Roman outside for a tope into the crowd.

A Meteora to the back of Roman’s head is next, but Roman hit right back with a swinging hooked DDT for a near-fall. Roman takes Blanc up top for a superplex, but Blanc fights free to knock Roman down for a 450 splash… except Roman got the knees up and cradled the Frenchman for a near-fall.

Blanc rolls his way out of a facebuster for a near-fall, then nailed a Dragon suplex as the match was hitting its final throes… the ‘rana driver spikes Roman, who rolls outside as that poor kid had to scarper again, this time to avoid an Orihara moonsault off the buckles. Blanc rolls Roman back inside, but gets blindsided as Dreissker clocks him with the face mask of doom… allowing Roman to pick up the pieces after Blanc was rolled back into the ring. Another shortcut for Amboss, as I presume that mask was forged on an anvil… but until we find out, that’s another successful defence for Roman. ***¼

Amale vs. Ava Everett
Amale’s still looking to snap a losing streak, while Ava Everett didn’t exactly have a sparkling Carat weekend herself…

We get going with Amale grabbing a wristlock, only for Ava to leave the ring, slip around the ringpost and reverse the hold on her way back in. Amale breaks it as the pair threw each other down by the hair, before a low dropkick and a boot to the head earned Amale a two-count.

Everett tries to elbow out of a head-and-arm choke, but get charged into the corner as Amale rakes the eyes on the break. A shotgun dropkick sends Ava back into the corners, before another kick knocked Everett outside for a tope. Amale adds a German suplex back inside, then a running kick into the corner for a near-fall as it looked like her recent luck might be about to change.

Ava’s sent outside again, but this time she swats away Amale’s dive, before the pair fought on the floor… it ended with Amale getting thrown into the side of the ring, with Everett going for a superkick, then a neckbreaker for a near-fall. Forearms and slaps from Everett sent Amale down, before another eye rake led to the superkick thanks to an unsighted ref… and that’s enough for the win. This time it was dubious refereeing that cost Amale, whose luckless run continued. **¾

Backstage, Dan Mallmann’s with Elijah Blum and a spaced-out Anil Marik. His mood isn’t helped by Dan hyping up Blum’s amazing Carat weekend as the green-eyed monster was simmering away in the former tag champion. Marik doesn’t have any answers, so Blum tries to pull Anil up and get him a little hyped.

Anil Marik & Elijah Blum vs. Arrows Of Hungary (Dover & Icarus)
Speaking of luckless… oh Anil.

Blum and Icarus get us going, but it’s not long before Icarus took a shortcut, going for Blum’s hair as he forged an early advantage. Taking Blum into the corner, Icarus slapped Blum on the break, then threw a body blow after Elijah went for a receipt. Blum’s able to hit a clothesline though, then a sliding clothesline to Icarus, before a dropkick earned Blum a one-count.

Dover and Marik tag in, and of course, Marik’s instantly on the defensive by way of a boot choke and a bodyslam from the Hungarian. Marik fights out of a chinlock, but gets thrown into the corner as Dover maintained the upper hand, with Marik sneaking a two-count out of a sunset flip before he rolled over to tag in Blum.

A side headlock led to a shoulder tackle on Blum, who returned with a leaping crossbody for a two-count. Marik’s back to keep an arm wringer going as Blum and Marik traded frequent tags to try and build some momentum. A double sledge to Dover’s arm, then a Slingblade gets Marik a two-count as Robert Dreissker sauntered down to ringside to observe proceedings.

Dreissker’s presence distracts Marik, who’s taken outside as Icarus took a shot… a bodyslam drops Marik as the Arrows regain the upper hand. A backbreaker from Dover keeps Marik down for a two-count, while Marik’s attempts to escape a chinbar led to him having to fight back on both Arrows… only to get chopped into the corner.

Second time’s the charm as Marik dove over the Arrows and brought in Blum to clear house, landing neckbreakers for fun before a Ki Krusher almost put Icarus away. Dover’s thrown outside by Marik, but Icarus is able to land a lariat to turn it back around, only for Blum to hit a dropkick. Marik’s not on the apron to tag in though, so the Arrows quickly retake control with an assisted cannonball, before a Crossfire put Blum away. A spirited effort from Blum and Marik, but the champions leave with a non-title win here. ***

wXw Women’s Championship: Aliss Ink vs. Baby Allison (c)
This was Ink’s rematch, having lost the title without getting pinned over 16 Carat Gold weekend…

Ink throws the first strikes, knocking Allison into the ropes before a missed Tiger Feint kick to the back, then a Dragon’s Tail allowed Allison to try for the Baby Exorcism submission. A Thesz press from Allison taks down Ink, as did a suplex, before Ink rolled away from an axe kick attempt.

Ink charges to the ropes, sending Allison throat-first into the top rope as the challenger looked to work over the arm, leading to some pinning attempts as Allison couldn’t get free of some knees to the midsection. A leg sweep takes Allison down as Ink maintained control, with a spinning heel kick knocking Allison down for a two-count.

Allison reverses an Irish whip, clotheslining Ink over the top onto the apron, then slide down to pull her to the floor. Ink’s able to regain the upper hand though, kicking Allison in the head as a neckbreaker followed for a two-count. A rolling snapmare from Ink takes Allison down for another submission attempt, but Allison got to the ropes to force a break as Ink ended up getting caught on the top rope.

Allison brings Ink down with a superplex as the pair proceeded to exchange strikes, leading to Allison scoring with a back suplex… then a spear for a near-fall. Ink sidesteps a kick, sending Allison into a splits, but a rear naked choke is broken as Allison went for a pin. A missile dropkick from Ink is next for a near-fall, then a step-up knee strike for a similar result, before Allison managed to duck a Dragon’s Tail kick and snatch the win with a roll-up. This was good, but if Ink’s going to get back into title contention, wXw need to give her a prolonged series of wins and rebuild her… ***

Thommy Giesen announces a return to Frankfurt at the start of July – with the graphic behind him betraying the promise of future news (I mean, technically, he was right!) He then recaps Carat, as we’re getting the start of a best-of-five series between Axel Tischer and Peter Tihanyi, stemming from their Carat semi-final.

Best Of Five Series: Peter Tihanyi vs. Axel Tischer
Given how close Tihanyi came to a win in Carat, this series shouldn’t be the foregone conclusion that his previous win/loss record against Tischer would suggest.

Tischer nonchalantly walked up to Tihanyi at the bell, almost daring him to take a shot as we had a staredown and a flip-off. An armbar attempt from Tihanyi quickly ends with Tischer rolling to the ropes, with the Hungarian flipping off the former champion in return. Things head to the mat, with Tischer’s side headlock being rolled into a pinning attempt as they exchanged takedowns heading into another stand-off.

Tihanyi escapes being smothered on the mat but couldn’t avoid a wristlock as he had to flip free ahead of a chinlock on Tischer… which ended in the ropes as neither man was able to maintain much offence so far. There’s an elbow to the neck of Tihanyi, who fought back with armdrags… but Tischer blocks one before sidestepping a dropkick.

Tischer’s thrown outside and leapt onto as that kid again had to evacuate his seat… chops wear down Tischer in the front row, before Tihanyi got posted in return. Throwing Tihanyi into the side of the ring, Tischer takes the match back inside to pick up a two-count, then rakes Tihanyi against the top rope for good measure.

An inside cradle gets Tihanyi a two-count as Tischer quickly regained control with a chinbar, but Tihanyi armdrags his way free, only to get dumped with an elbow for a near-fall. Tischer controls things for a spell, looking for a head-and-arm choke before Tihanyi ducked some clotheslines and returned fire with a crossbody.

Tihanyi’s tornado DDT out of the corner gets him a near-fall before he sidestepped a charging Tischer… dropkicking the German off the apron ahead of a leaping flip senton to the outside. Back inside, a slingshot plancha lays out Tischer for a two-count, before a 450 splash was rolled through. Tihanyi’s able to hit a superkick and an Asai DDT though, garnering another near-fall as Tischer looked to beg off.

Chops took Tischer down, but he’s right back with a death valley driver as he looked to win this with some urgency. A flying clothesline from Tischer’s cut off by a knee strike as Tihanyi tried to pick up the pieces, but they’re too close to the ropes, and that allowed Tischer back in as a German suplex and knee trembler nearly got him the win.

A rear naked choke from Tihanyi looks to force a win, but Tischer’s able to power free and apply one of his own… the pair trade back suplexes from there, then elbow strikes, before Tischer shoved Tihanyi into the corner. We avoid a ref bump, but Tischer pulls down Tihanyo in a rear naked choke, wrenching in the hold until he switched it up for some hammer elbows, forcing referee Tassilo Jung to wave off the match as Tischer “did what he lost to” against Irie. A cracking first stage of the series, with the pair going at quite a pace – but it wasn’t enough for Tihanyi, who’s still to get his first historical win over the Axeman. He’s got to get three of those to win the series… ***¾

They replay the shenanigans of the Harras/Gunns match from Carat – complete with all the ref bumps and all the anarchy… then Harras attacking Levaniel the next night. That then segues into a backstage interview as Metehan, Rambo and Zafar Ameen are with Dan Mallmann, who reveals that Metehan had been given a guaranteed title shot by Norman Harras before he lost his role. Metehan feigns surprise…

We’re then told that Levaniel isn’t cleared to compete, so we’re now moving into a handicap match.

Metehan, Norman Harras, Rambo & Zafar Ameen vs. Jurn Simmons & Only Friends (Bobby Gunns & Michael Knight)
I admit, I howled at Norman Harras’ lower third, proudly proclaiming that he is “not the director of sports anymore.”

Simmons and Harras get us going, but Norman wants to strategise first… and opted to tag in Metehan instead. A side headlock has Metehan down to a knee, then to the mat before Metehan stomped Jurn’s foot to try and get into things… but he’s charged down seconds later. A cheapshot from Harras in the ropes stopped Jurn in his tracks as a low dropkick from Metehan allowed him to tag in Rambo to throw in some body shots.

Jurn blocks a package piledriver and hits a uranage instead, then tagged in Bobby Gunns… who boots away Rambo ahead of a snapmare and a kick to the back. A back suplex from Rambo proves an effective counter to a clothesline, as Gunns then got dragged into the wrong corner, with Metehan returning to wear down his one-time associate. They trade snapmares and kicks to the back before Metehan stomped on Gunns’ face.

We’ve a blind tag as Michael Knight comes in to help turn it around, with Gunns suplexing Metehan into Knight’s knees for a one-count. Knight boots Metehan away, but gets distracted by Rambo before a clothesline from Harras on the apron took him down. Knight’s able to make the tag out amid a tug of war, bringing Gunns in as the Only Friends looked to pull ahead… only for Harras yet again to break it up.

Metehan drops Gunns with a neckbreaker as Harras thought better of going to the well once again, opting to sniff a fan’s drink as Rambo wore down Gunns. Zafar Ameen’s in next to wedge Gunns on the middle buckle, then charge in with double knees… he misses on the follow-up as an enziguiri from Gunns forces Ameen to tag in Rambo.

Michael Knight’s back with a springboard clothesline to Rambo as he cleared house, only for a double sledge to get caught and turned into an overhead belly-to-belly suplex for a one-count. Metehan’s back to hit a slam on Knight, then an elbow off the ropes for a two-count before Knight found himself cornered as Harras finally tagged in. Norman gets his shots in on Knight, almost chopping him out of the ring before catching Knight’s floatover and turning it into a Finlay roll. A charging knee followed from Harras for a two-count, before Ameen tagged in and took Knight into the middle buckles for a knee to the back.

A scissors kick from Ameen almost puts Knight away, as Metehan came in with a neck crank to continue and wear down Knight. Breaking free, Knight beats Metehan to the punch, only to miss an enziguiri as Rambo manages to tag in as Knight was busy dealing with Metehan. Rambo’s elbow drop gets him a two-count, as Knight remained isolated, taking a whip into the corner.

Knight manages to hit back with a clothesline out of the corner, before he chucked Ameen and Metehan out of the ring… but they pull Gunns and Simmons off the apron as Knight threatened to make the tag out. Harras swoops in like a vulture to land an uppercut on Knight, who’s again taken to the corner before he almost snatched a win with a sunset flip.

Finally, Knight cleared a path, ducking under Rambo before scoring a crossbody… which bought him enough time to tag in Jurn Simmons. Harras also tags in, but had Ameen and Metehan go for Jurn first. That backfires as Harras gets bounced with an elbow and a clothesline, before a stalling suplex took Norman back to the mat.

From there, Harras back body drops out of a piledriver attempt, but couldn’t avoid a Massive Boot as the Only Friends dealt with Zafar Ameen’s interference. Rambo tries to intervene, to little effect, as did Metehan, as the ring was left clear for Simmons to go for Harras again… but Ameen’s in from behind… except he gets piledriven by Jurn, and since there was a tag in the build up to it all, Ameen’s legal and gets pinned by that, with Harras just watching on. That closing stretch was a little weird, mostly because of the tag going unnoticed, but this was a good return for Jurn and Only Friends, overcoming the constant interferences. ***½

They replay clips of Maggot and Ahura’s recent history, including the finish to their 16 Carat Gold match, and Ahura’s subsequent attack on Baby Allison later that weekend… before Dan Mallmann interviewed their trainer, Aaron Insane, at ringside. Insane said that Ahura and Maggot were once “as inseparable as butt cheeks,” before agreeing with the notion that fame had gotten to Ahura’s head.

069 Street Fight: Ahura vs. Maggot
Ahura’s wisely wearing more than his thong, as he’s taken to wearing Converse and streetfight jeans for this… and headed up to the stage after Maggot came out, and came back with a baseball bat to counter Maggot’s Kendo stick.

That baseball bat’s used to block some stick shots early, before Ahura kicked the stick away and began choking Maggot with a bat. A kick takes Maggot down, as did a suplex, before Ahura took off the chain from around his neck and began to punch Maggot with it. Some biting gets Maggot free, but Ahura rolls him into a Lion Tamer, only to get spun away.

Ahura stays on Maggot with a chinlock, switching up into a Blue Thunder bomb for a two-count as Ahura then headed outside for some plunder. Out comes a chair, which is smashed against Maggot’s back, before Ahura popped the seat out of the chair as he threw it against Maggot’s head. The frame of the chair’s wedged between the turnbuckles as Ahura went to throw Maggot into it… but the brakes are put on as Ahura ends up charging into it.

Maggot hits back with a Thesz Press and a spear, but doesn’t go for a cover as a crucifix bomb eventually followed for a two-count. Mounted punches from Maggot follow in the corner, but Ahura powerbombs his way out for a two-count of his own. Ahura looks to rip out Ahura’s nose ring again, but manages to cut the nose instead as he wiped some of the blood on his chest… then haul up Maggot for a stalling over-the-knee brainbuster.

Retaliating, a Cactus clothesline from Maggot sends both men to the outside where the fight continued. A back suplex dumped Maggot onto the side of the ring, before some choking by the ring post led to Ahura swinging and missing with a chop as he hit the post. Twice, in face. Maggot tries to clear away some of the crowd, but gets rolled into the aisle and kicked in the back as Ahura grabbed the broken seat from earlier and whacked Maggot with it.

Ahura grabs the frame of the chair and throws it over Maggot, then dragged the ring steps away as he proceeded to hit a stair-and-conchairto to Maggot’s arm. Ahura throws Maggot into the wall, then chained him around a stairwell ahead of a kick to the head. It’s very cosy in the Batschkapp, which didn’t help Ahura as he looked to clear parts of the crowd before he drilled the baseball bat into Maggot.

Clearing the front row, Ahura tries to chuck Maggot into the crowd… it backfires as Ahura instead caught him with a Thesz press into the second row. Just as Lou imagined it being done. Heading back to the ring, the bloodied Maggot hits a crossbody off the top, then a diving kick that spun Ahura inside out for a near-fall. Regaining the Kendo stick, Maggot breaks it into pieces over the back and head of Ahura.

Maggot grabs a chair and leaps off the middle rope with it onto Ahura, who then countered a cutter into a backbreaker. A curb stomp from Maggot tries to set up for another cutter, but Ahura punts him low instead as a hook kick and a Paradise Waterfall almost got the win. Enraged, Ahura goes back to the plunder, choking Maggot with the bat before he took the chain from the stairwell and whipped Maggot with it.

Ahura chains Maggot around the top rope as he then picked up that Kendo stick… Tassilo Jung’s shoved down as he tried to make Ahura back off, ahead a barrage of Kendo stick shots to the defenceless Maggot. The Kendo stick’s used to choke Maggot in the ropes, as more shots to the back followed.

Ahura spits on Maggot as he tries to shove the Kendo stick down Maggot’s throat, before Baby Allison came out with a chair. Ahura instantly makes a beeline for her on the stage, and gets laid out with the chair as Allison proceeded to undo the chain from the ties that bound him. Allison’s laid out by Ahura, prompting Aaron Insane to leave his seat and get in Ahura’s face… which ended as you’d probably guess, with Ahura kicking Insane’s injured hand. A running kick lays out Allison too, as Ahura went after Maggot with a chair again, teasing a piledriver off the middle turnbuckle onto an open chair… but Baby Allison threw a chair at Ahura, allowing Maggot to get free.

Allison heads onto the apron and throws Maggot into a cutter onto the chair – with Ahura landing on the back of it – before Aaron Insane threw in another chair, with Ahura getting DDT’d onto it, proving to be enough for Maggot to get the win with. You could quibble over the finish, but I sincerely hope this is the end of the Ahura/Maggot feud for now, and that both men take separate paths for a little while. While on the long side, this felt more satisfying than the Carat match, although the Aaron Insane stuff would have been out of place there, so I get why you wouldn’t have done this match there. ***¼

7.9

The final score: review Good

The 411

The post-Carat comedown shows can always feel a little deflating, but wXw managed to keep things moving along nicely in Frankfurt - with every match on the main show moving storylines along. Perhaps not killer, but certainly no filler. Match one of Tischer/Tihanyi felt extremely promising for the remainder of their series, and could well be the start of the big push to the top that some have been expecting for the Hungarian this year.