Hamilton’s wXw We Love Wrestling #49 08.26.2023 Review

Quick Results
Baby Allison submitted Delmi Exo in 4:06 (**)
Elijah Blum pinned Tristan Archer in 10:25 (***)
Norman Harras pinned Massimo Pesca in 7:26 (**½)
Dennis Dullnig & Hektor Invictus pinned Jacob Crane & Ava Everett in 9:06 (**¾)
Senza Volto pinned Fast Time Moodo in 15:08 (***¼)
Michael Schenkenberg & Nikita Charisma pinned Metehan & Rambo in 11:32 (***)
Peter Tihanyi pinned Axel Tischer in 15:34 (***¾)
Robert Dreissker, Icarus & Laurance Roman pinned Bobby Gunns, Michael Knight & Maggot in 17:20 (***½)

— If you’re on Twitter/X/the bird app, give me a follow over on @IanWrestling. I’m also over on BlueSky, Instagram and Threads by that same name, and if you’ve put your chips in on Mastodon, catch me here. One of those has to be the winner, right? And I’ll be hopping around those until they fall off… In the meantime, check out the GoFundMe that’s still open for Larry’s family…

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We’re at the Markthalle in Hamburg for what’d be the final wXw show in Germany ahead of the World Tag Team Festival…

Baby Allison vs. Delmi Exo
First up, our pre-show match as Delmi Exo tries to get back on track after losing her title the night before…

Exo lands the first blow here, but gets caught with a Thesz press shortly afterwards as Baby Allison was up to her usual tricks. She hits a splits to avoid Delmi’s punch, only to get kicked for a one-count. Headbutts follow, as a side Russian legsweep gets Exo a two-count, before Allison avoided an elbow drop and began to make a comeback.

Allison’s back suplex took Exo into the corner ahead of a Scorpion kick and a spear for a near-fall. Exo nearly snatched a win with a cross-legged Fisherman suplex, but Allison’s able to respond with a spear before the Baby Exorcism forced the submission. **

Dave Bradshaw announces during the opener’s introductions that Rott und Flott vs. Rambo & Metehan is for a shot in the World Tag Team Festival…

Tristan Archer vs. Elijah Blum
Archer’s still looking to get his own back after Blum eliminated him during Shortcut to the Top.

Archer looked to dominate early on, but Blum’s able to spin him down to the mat and grab a chinlock. It’s escaped, but Blum grabs a wristlock instead before Archer got free and took Blum down with a headbutt. A crossbody from Blum got him back in it though, only to get sent into the corner for a discus lariat.

Blum doesn’t stay too far behind though, taking down Archer with a side Russian legsweep, while a sliding lariat drew a two-count, before a Parting Gift was blocked as Archer came back with a back senton. A back suplex chucks Blum too, who’s then taken outside… but Archer just lets him make his own way back inside as a discus elbow was waiting for him.

Blum’s suplexed after that, but Archer doesn’t go for a cover as he instead chucks him outside. A clothesline keeps Blum back on the outside, but this time Archer follows with a side Russian legsweep and a back suplex into the side of the ring. Archer sends Blum into the ring post, before whipping him into the side of the stage, which led to a count-out tease.

Blum beats the count, then beat Archer to the punch… only to get thrown down with a German suplex. A neckbreaker has Elijah back in it though, as did a crossbody off the top, before a dropkick took Archer into the corner. Archer took Blum into the apron, then scored with a guillotine stomp through the ropes, before La Terreur and a Decapite lariat looked to get the job done… but Blum kicks out at two!

Archer tries to finish off Blum with a Coup d’Etat… but Blum wheelbarrows out and snatches the upset with a roll-up! Somewhat akin to Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid, Archer paid for a somewhat laissez-faire outing by leaving with the L. ***

Earlier today, Dennis Dullnig is apologising to Hektor for giving him the wrong time as they both arrived after the pre-show catering was done. Their argument was interrupted by Jacob Crane and Ava Everett… Ava apparently liked Dullnig’s style, and gave him a bracelet. Hektor whacks Cash on the head with a spoon for that.

Norman Harras vs. Massimo Pesca
These two were partners in Bremen, but they’ve got stuff from Shortcut to settle here…

Harras scores with shoulder tackles early on, but Pesca’s able to have him cowering with a series of forearms as Harras bailed through the ropes. Back inside, Harras gets slapped, then runs into a series of armdrags before some headscissors took Norman down.

Pesca tries to follow up, but Harras crotches him on the top rope, then knocked him down to the floor. A legdrop catches Pesca on the side of the ring… and it’s pretty much one-way back inside as Harras put the boots to Pesca. A chinlock keeps Pesca down, as did a knee drop, before Pesca rebounded with a kick out of the corner.

A European uppercut from Harras stopped any ideas of a comeback, before a ‘rana from Pesca countered a powerbomb… Harras is taken outside for a dive, before he was met with a missile dropkick back inside for a near-fall. Pesca goes for his Pegasus Ride springboard bulldog, but Harras escapes and hits a flapjack, before a sitout powerbomb got the win. **½

Ava Everett & Jacob Crane vs. Dennis Dullnig & Hektor Invictus
Hektor’s still a little salty over being made to partner with Dullnig…

Ava and Hektor start us off… but Ava wants no part of things ands tagged in Jacob Crane. Dullnig gets the crowd to rally behind Hektor eventually demanding a bodyslam before the pair finally locked up and headed into the corner. A shoulder tackle knocks Crane down, but he fought back with a side headlock… only for Hektor to land another shoulder tackle ahead of a backslide.

Crane kicks out, but a Magistral cradle took him down again before Crane scarpered from a bodyslam. Tags bring in Dullnig and Ava, but Dennis has thrown away the bracelet he was given earlier… and Ava throws a fit over it. She slaps him too, but Dullnig tries to hug it out, before he tagged out to Hektor.

Dullnig runs to the back, leaving Hektor alone… but Hektor finds a way in with some bodyslams before Dullnig returned with that bracelet in tow. Ava snatches it off of him and threw it away, before she tagged in and throttled Dennis. Crane’s back to get a one-count off of a suplex, before his piledriver was thrown aside.

Ava’s back to try and stop Dullnig from crawling out for a tag, but it’s Crane who did the damage… only for Dullnig to make the tag out as Hektor hit the ring with a springboard crossbody. A dropkick takes Crane down, before Ava was put onto the apron and knocked off of it.

Hektor adds a powerslam and a springboard moonsault to Crane for a near-fall, before Ava came in to slap away a piledriver attempt. Another slap just pisses off Hektor, but it’s Dullnig who boots away Ava… while Crane capitalised with an O’Connor roll… except it’s Dullnig who became legal as he scored with a powerbomb before he took the pin off of a Hektor-Knee. **¾

We’re taken backstage as Michael Schenkenberg’s waiting for Nikita Charisma… but we’re live pal. We hear loud noises as Schenkenberg goes to investigate, and found Nikita Charisma lying in the stairwell, having been attacked.

Fast Time Moodo vs. Senza Volto
These two have met twice before in wXw, with Senza winning both meetings…

Moodo looked to control the pace early on, but Senza’s able to match him with wristlocks and escapes before the pair headed into the ropes. Senza jumps Moodo after the break, but he’s quickly caught with a kick to the chest before the pair traded elbow strikes.

Another kick to the chest drops Senza, but he’s right back up to hit a chop, then a few more as Moodo was in the ropes before Moodo hit back with a hiptoss. An elbow and a kick has Senza on the back foot, before Senza just ducked a crossbody attempt. Senza stays on Moodo, taking him outside and back in, where an abdominal stretch from Senza led to him elbowing Moodo in the neck.

More chops from Senza have Moodo in the ropes, before a suplex thwarted Moodo’s plans of a comeback. Finally, Moodo scores with a spinning heel kick off the middle rope, before the pair collided with each other on clotheslines. A pump kick from Moodo sees him pull ahead though, leading to a scissors kick before a double underhook suplex threw Senza into the corner.

Senza’s unable to avoid a Coast to Coast dropkick, as Moodo crashed into him for a near-fall, before a Black Belt Kick was avoided… with Senza returning with a handspring cutter instead. A cannonball from Senza catches Moodo in the corner after a change of plans, before Moodo rolled outside… and into the path of a ropewalk body press into the crowd.

Senza rushes them back inside to hit a Code Red… which nearly gets the win before the pair then exchanged kicks, leading to an exhausted pair of two-counts. Moodo tries for a butterfly suplex, but Senza throws him away before a Spanish Fly dumped Moodo on his head for a near-fall… a double-jump moonsault from Senza sees him land in a triangle choke as Moodo countered… but Senza stomps free.

Moodo tries to put the pressure on with more kicks, before a Pedigree drew a near-fall… Senza’s back with a handspring clothesline, before an Eiffel Tower finally put Moodo away. ***¼

Post-match, Senza offers a handshake… which was accepted, despite him having shunned Maggot’s offer the prior night.

World Tag Team Festival Qualifier: Metehan & Rambo vs. Rott Und Flott (Michael Schenkenberg & Nikita Charisma)
This turned into a handicap match, with Charisma having been taken out earlier in the show…

Metehan opened with a wristlock, but Schenkenberg reverses it before he knocked down Metehan with some right hands. A low dropkick from Metehan turns it around though, only for him to get set into the corner for some Stinger splashes and a flapjack. Schenkenberg adds a legdrop for a one-count.

Rambo tags in next and landed some shoulder blocks before Schenkenberg rebounded off the ropes with one of his own. Leaping shoulder tackles and a back suplex looked to follow… but Metehan tagged in mid-move, only to get caught in a Samoan drop/fallaway slam combo.

Metehan swarms Schenkenberg as the former Carat winner took control, pulling Schenkenberg into a chinlock as things went back to the mat. Rambo blind-tags back in, just as Schenkenberg was going for an O’Connor roll… the kick-out takes Schenkenberg outside as he’s dumped onto the side of the ring with a back suplex.

Schenkenberg’s rolled back inside for a bodyslam, then a chinlock… which turned into a neckbreaker as Schenkenberg was looking to fight out. It’s good for a two-count, with Metehan coming in to try his luck as he hurled Schenkenberg into the corner. Schenkenberg’s able to fight back with a clothesline out of the corner… but there’s nobody for him to tag out to.

Rambo’s back and squashes Schenkenberg in the corner with a splash, while a suplex took him out for a two-count. Metehan’s quickly back to help with a double suplex, before a second double suplex was reversed. Schenkenberg finds a second wind, splashing Metehan in the corner before a superplex attempt was thwarted by Rambo… whose attempt at a powerbomb out of the corner turned into a Tower of Doom as Schenkenberg brought Metehan down with him.

Nikita Charisma finally appears up on the apron, and makes the tag in… he wipes out Metehan and Rambo with clotheslines, then with superkicks, before a death valley driver was stopped because of the bad back. Rambo tags in Metehan for another double-team, but Metehan accidentally hits his own man, allowing Schenkenberg to tag in and take Rambo outside…

Schenkenberg’s forced to kick-out of a roll-up, before Metehan went to swing his belt at him. The ref stops it, then missed an eye rake as Schenkenberg got the win with a roll-up seconds later. The crowd are fans of Rott und Flott’s cheating, but this was as one-sided as you’d expect given the inadvertent handicap match scenario. ***

They show a recap of the Tihanyi/Tischer series so far – as we’re up to match four, with Peter Tihanyi needing a win to have any chance of salvaging the series.

Peter Tihanyi vs. Axel Tischer
A win for Tischer means he wins the series – a loss means we’re getting the series decider over World Tag Team Festival weekend.

Both Tischer and Tihanyi swing for the fences early on, but it’s a dropkick from Tihanyi that sees him take an early advantage… as did a clothesline and a dive to the outside as the former champion Tischer was struggling to get into first gear.

Tischer grabs the hammer for the ring bell as they fought around ringside, but he recovers to hit a back suplex onto the side of the ring before picking up back inside. An elbow to the head of Tihanyi followed some stretching as Tischer began to set the pace, while a nerve hold was fought out of by Tihanyi as he got back to his feet… and was quickly met with a boot.

Tihanyi’s inside cradle looked to signal a turnaround, but another boot has him right back on the deck for a two-count. A chinlock keeps Tihanyi down, but a jawbreaker forces a break ahead of a moonsault out of the corner that bought Tihanyi some time. Mounting a comeback, an enziguiri and a tornado DDT dazed Tischer for a near-fall, before a slingshot cutter was blocked.

An Asai DDT from Tihanyi’s also avoided as he instead moved to a roll-up for a near-fall… before the Asai DDT landed at the second attempt for another two-count. The pair trade strikes back-and-forth as Tischer looked to regain the advantage… only for his wacky powerslam to be escaped as Tihanyi fired back with superkicks for a near-fall.

Tihanyi heads to the corner for another moonsault press, but it’s caught and turned into a nice tombstone… but Tischer can’t make the cover immediately, and so Tihanyi lived to fight another day as he was able to kick out at two. Tischer adds a suplex after getting back to his feet, then a flying clothesline off the top as Tihanyi again was forced to kick out.

Tischer spits in Tihanyi’s face, which sparks another exchange of strikes as Tihanyi refused to lay down… returning with a lariat after taking a German suplex. Dualling clotheslines followed as we go back to the strikes, but it’s an enziguiri and a German suplex that almost got Tischer the win… before a jack-knife roll-up almost snatched Tihanyi the three-count. Tischer goes back to the Ligerbomb, but this time it’s not enough, so Tischer adds a rear naked choke…

Tihanyi gets free, but got knocked onto the apron with a knee strike… only to return with a slingshot cutter to catch Tischer unawares for the three-count! Tihanyi’s levelled the series, so we’re off to Oberhausen for the decider after another cracker of a match between these two. ***¾

They replay the finish in Bremen the prior night, where AMBOSS “won” the tag titles… only to have the decision reversed.

AMBOSS (Icarus, Laurance Roman & Robert Dreissker) vs. Maggot & Only Friends (Bobby Gunns & Michael Knight)
The big match they were building up here was Dreissker and Maggot for Frankfurt in November – and we’re still curiously waiting to see whether Only Friends will be part of tag festival…

We eventually got going with Maggot and Roman, as the former Shotgun champion clamped on a side headlock onto the current champion in the opening stages. Roman uses the hair to get free, only to get caught with a Thesz press moments later, then an uppercut for an early two-count.

Icarus tries to intervene, but he gets punched out as Maggot cornered Roman with some mounted punches… and a nibble. A suplex out of the corner follows for a two-count, as Gunns and Icarus tagged in… but AMBOSS’ fortunes didn’t change at first, as Knight’s blind tag saw him come in to hit a Code Red and a wheelbarrow Codebreaker for a two-count.

Knight’s kick to Icarus finds a way through as Icarus gets caught in the opposite corner with an abdominal stretch… but Icarus grabs the hair, only for Maggot to help Knight on the cheating side of things. Maggot tags in to hit a crossbody off the top next, before Gunns tagged in and bounced Icarus around with some uppercuts.

Robert Dreissker finds a way in, and takes down Gunns with a crossbody out of the corner before he put the boots to Gunns… Roman’s back for a double-team back suplex/neckbreaker combo for a two-count, before Gunns found himself trapped in the AMBOSS corner.

Gunns tries to fight free… and manages to make the tag to Maggot, who bounces Roman around the ring with elbows ahead of a back body drop. Roman’s met with a spear shortly afterwards for a near-fall, before Icarus distracted the referee as Roman and Dreissker double-teamed Maggot. A slam from Roman gets a delayed two-count, while Dreissker’s shoulder charges keep Maggot in the corner.

Maggot bites his way free of Dreissker, but Icarus stops him from tagging out… then paraded him around the ring for a floatover suplex that picked up a near-fall. Roman’s back in after Maggot was taken back to the corner, while a punt to the back almost put away the Shortcut to the Top winner.

Dreissker’s back in as Maggot began to fight back, but he’s shoved into and splashed in the corner, ahead of an Icarus cannonball for a near-fall. A bodyslam and a splash gets Dreissker another two-count… another crossbody out of the corner from Dreissker is attempted, but this time it misses… allowing Maggot to make the tag out to Knight.

Knight clears house on Roman and Icarus, scoring with a uranage/reverse DDT combo, before Bobby Gunns came back in as the champions splashed Icarus and Roman in the corners. Dualling airplane spins follow, before Icarus got bulldogged onto Roman as the tag champions were running wild. Dreissker’s booted off the apron, and almost into some poor sod carrying four pints… a second springboard dropkick keeps Dreissker down, before a Trailer Hitch and an Octopus stretch was broken up by Dreissker.

Maggot’s back in to take his shot, spearing Dreissker before a cutter was blocked… Maggot’s thrown shoulder-frist into the turnbuckle before Knight’s back body drop sent Dreissker skyward. Roman’s in trouble… but Icarus pulls Knight down in the corner as Roman looked to be about to take an assisted German suplex.

Roman’s freed himself and lands a discus elbow to Gunns as Icarus tied up Knight in the corner using the tag rope. The Roman facebuster follows, while Icarus’ senton bomb led to a Dreissker bomb on Gunns as AMBOSS left Hamburg with the win. ***½

6.6

The final score: review Average

The 411

wXw’s latest trip to Hamburg ended strongly, with Tihanyi and Tischer continuing their cracker of a series - although with their German shows wrapped up now until World Tag Team Festival, we’ve still got more questions than answers about the festival weekend later this month.