Hamilton’s wXw We Love Wrestling #52 10.27.2023 Review

Quick Results
Shigehiro Irie pinned Jacob Crane in 8:42 (***)
Gulyas Jr. & Gulyas Vilmos pinned LSG & Elijah Blum in 11:59 (**¾)
Akane Fujita pinned Ava Everett & Baby Allison on 8:04 (**¾)
Fast Time Moodo & Peter Tihanyi pinned Tristan Archer & Anil Marik in 11:37 (***¼)
Joseph Fenech Jr. pinned Nick Schreier in 9:40 (**¾)
Axel Tischer pinned Aigle Blanc in 14:02 (***½)
Robert Dreissker, Icarus & Laurance Roman pinned Hektor Invictus, Dennis Dullnig & Maggot in 18:31 (***¼)

— 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…

— If you want to catch this before it’s uploaded to Peacock/WWE Network, head over to wXwNOW.de

It’s the first of a rare three-night weekender for wXw as they hit Saxony… here, we’re at the Stadthalle in Limbach-Oberfrohna, with hometown lad Frank Fehrmann fighting the mic… and Dave Bradshaw on English commentary.

Jacob Crane vs. Shigehiro Irie
We’ve got a decent sound system in Limbach, which means we get to hear about the city nights that are calling…

Jacob sent Ava to the back during their entrance, as he had some confidence in being able to beat the former Unified World Wrestling champion. Crane’s shoved aside by Irie to start, before Irie was taken into the corner… he ducks a chop, then struck down Crane with some elbows.

Irie walks through some elbows in response, before a slam and a slingshot splash left Crane laying. Crane rakes the eyes to escape a Fireman’s carry, only to get met with a Samoan drop seconds later, ahead of a slam and a Teddy Bear sit-out splash.

Crane kicks out at two from that, then used the ref as a human shield to mask an eye poke as he finally got some offence in on the former champion. A half crab has Irie reaching for the ropes, while an inverted cravat kept Irie on the mat as Crane ended up switching it up for a Figure Four.

Irie rolls the hold over to reverse things, but Crane gets the ropes before he got back on Irie with chops in the corner. An Irish whip from Irie leads to a back body drop on Crane coming out of the corner, but the Pole chops out Irie’s knee to stop the momentum as he went back to that Figure Four.

Irie slaps his way out of the hold, but Crane recovers and goes for the Perfect Driver – the Fisherman buster… but Irie blocks it and hits a brainbuster instead. A low bridge takes a charging Crane outside and onto the apron ahead of the crossbody through the ropes, before he threw Crane back in for a splash off the top.

Crane somehow kicks out at two from that, as he tried to mount a comeback with clotheslines, only to get caught with a back suplex into the corner. A cannonball follows, before a Beast Bomber got the win in a decent, if not barebones opener. ***

Gulyas Brothers (Gulyas Vilmos & Gulyas Jr.) vs. Elijah Blum & LSG
The Gulyas Brothers were making their first appearance in wXw as a team in over a year… and with a tag title shot 24 hours later, they’re warming up against LSG and the new Shotgun champion.

Blum and Junior start us off, with Blum getting taken into the corner before his attempt to lift Junior led to… little. Junior’s wristlock gets countered by Blum into a springboard headlock takedown, which Junior powered out of en route to a shoulder tackle. Blum fights back with an armdrag and some uppercuts, before an attempt at the Stroke was easily thwarted by Junior.

Junior loses control and took a side Russian legsweep, then a dropkick as Blum fought back. LSG and Vilmos tag in and try shoulder tackles, but LSG ends up having to sidestep the brothers as Junior got dropkicked into Vilmos. That sparked a turnaround in fortunes as stereo dropkicks got Blum a near-fall, while LSG took Junior into the corners to keep the momentum going.

Junior rolls outside as Blum looked to push on… regrouping with Vilmos before he low bridged LSG to the outside. That left Blum on his own as the Gulyas Brothers hit the double-team hiptoss powerbomb on Blum, then proceeded to squash him mercilessly for a near-fall.

Blum tries to fight back with a sunset flip, but Junior kicked out as a kick-assisted slam drew Vilmos a near-fall, before Blum finally got past the Hungarians and made the tag out to LSG. Dusty punches from LSG have Vilmos rocking, while a wind-up punch decked Vilmos ahead of a charge into the corner.

LSG gets a near-fall after a clothesline off the middle rope, but a blind tag brings Blum back in as the brothers tried to turn things around. A crossbody off the top from Blum wipes out Junior, while a pair of Flatliners nearly put Junior away. Junior gets involved to stop LSG and Blum’s double-teaming… and got involved himself as a blind tag allowed him to catch LSG unawares, cutting off a springboard with a knee strike before a double-team powerbomb put LSG away. **¾

Akane Fujita vs. Baby Allison vs. Ava Everett
This was Fujita’s wXw debut, but it wasn’t for Ava’s title…

Everyone tries to kick each other to start, but it’s all caught as Everett worked her way free, then went after Fujita in the corner. Allison finds a way in with a clothesline before Ava’s tossed outside – allowing Allison to go after Fujita. Fujita kicks Allison after she’d been cartwheeled over, before a crab walk from Allison allowed her to kick Fujita in the head.

Fujita struck back with an elbow drop for a two-count, but misses a follow-up sit-out splash… she recovers, but Ava Everett drags her outside, then posted Fujita as we had a switch around. Allison counters with a Thesz press and a head kick, before a suplex and a crab walk weirded out the champion.

Jacob Crane appeared on the stage to distract as Everett nearly wins with a dropkick, then with a neckbreaker as Crane had made his way down to ringside. Another neckbreaker’s countered out of as Allison hits a back suplex, right as Fujita returned to charge Ava against the ropes, following up with a Samoan drop for a near-fall.

From the kick-out, Fujita stretched Ava… Allison kicks the hold apart, then took Ava up top for… something. Fujita stops Allison, only to get speared as Crane distracted the ref, preventing a count from being made until Ava was able to kick-out. Allison goes back to Everett in the corner, landing a spider superplex… Crane holds Allison upside down by the hair as he again interjected himself, but this time he’s booted off the apron by Ava’s errant kick, allowing Fujita to find a way in with the P-Soul for the win on Everett. **¾

Dan Mallmann’s backstage with Peter Tihanyi and Fast Time Moodo. They’re teaming together in wXw… just don’t look at how their team ended in Berlin! Tonight, they’re taking on Tristan Archer and Anil Marik… everyone congratulates Tihanyi for winning that best-of-five series, before Tihanyi suggested that he and Moodo could win tag team gold in wXw.

High Performer Ltd. (Anil Marik & Tristan Archer) vs. Fast Time Moodo & Peter Tihanyi
High Performer Ltd. have some new music, which fooled me for them digging up that Bremen sound system. Robin Christopher Fohrwerk buries the locals as he introduces his charges beforehand…

Marik attacks Tihanyi from behind to get us going, but Tihanyi switched it around quickly with armdrags and dropkicks, before he chopped Marik into the corner. Moodo’s in to help with a pair of back elbows, then a double elbow drop before he kicked away on Marik, including a kick to the back after a snapmare for a two-count.

Breaking free, Marik tagged in Tristan Archer… but Moodo’s quickly back in control with some more kicks before Tihanyi came in with some running double knees to Archer for a two-count. Moodo’s back in… but Marik distracts as Archer’s able to hit an Exploder to Tihanyi, leading to some double-teaming on Moodo as a running knee in the corner almost put Moodo away.

Marik’s back to hit a bulldog to Moodo out of the corner for a near-fall. Moodo eventually broke free with a head kick, then made the hot tag to Tihanyi, who cleared house, leading up to him teasing a Meteora… only to drop down and suplex Archer after a slip from the Frenchman.

Archer blocks an Asai DDT, countering into La Terreur as Marik’s Slingblade nearly took the win… Marik tries to subdue Tihanyi, landing suplexes for a near-fall, as Fohrwerk’s charges exchange quick tags en route to more double-teaming that ended with a back cracker and a flying Codebreaker for another near-fall.

Tihanyi manages to drop Archer with an Asai DDT before Moodo cleared house from another hot tag… spinning heel kicks have the High Performers on the back foot, leading to a flying stomp to the back of Marik. Archer’s legal though, and came back with a German suplex before the Bastille – the sit-out Dominator – looked to build to a Coup d’Etat. Except Fohrwerk distracts Archer with some orders, leading to a Black Belt Kick from Moodo for the win. Not sure if I’d have beaten HPL so early into their run, but I guess they’re wanting to establish Moodo and Tihanyi here. ***¼

Backstage, Dan Mallmann’s with Hektor Invictus and Maggot… who are missing Dennis Dullnig, who’s meant to be their partner in the trios main event. Hektor’s more than a little wound up at Dullnig’s tardiness, while Maggot seemed more at ease with things…

Nick Schreier vs. Joseph Fenech Jr.
Of course, Nick’s Academy title isn’t on the line here…

Fenech’s taken to wearing Aigle Blanc’s mask around his belt for his matches… we got going with Fenech getting in Schreier’s face, offering his wrist to Schreier before he just threw him aside. Schreier falls for the offer of a side headlock, with Fenech breaking it with a handful of hair before he turfed Nick over the top to the floor.

Back inside, Schreier locks up with Fenech, going for a full nelson… only to get backed into the corner. More hair pulling from Fenech led to him charging down Schreier, who finally responded by throwing Fenech over the top to the floor. An armdrag back inside keeps Schreier ahead, before Fenech was taken outside for a plancha.

Schreier plays to the crowd for too long and gets crotched in the turnbuckles as Fenech turned things back around, stopping to troll the crowd before he resumed on Schreier back inside. An Irish whip bounced Nick into the buckles, but Schreier finally charges back out, landing a pop-up dropkick to boot.

A gamengiri from the apron and a crossbody off the top almost gets the upset, before Fenech shoved away a Spirit Shock from Schreier. A handspring kick knocks Schreier off the apron for a tope, before a handspring cutter back inside drew a near-fall. Schreier nearly snatches a win with a jack-knife roll-up, only for Fenech to hit a leaping forearm to the back of the head, then a French Kiss – a powerbomb flip-through into a knee strike – for the win. By-the-numbers, but Fenech needs these kind of matches to establish the new look and finish. **¾

Aigle Blanc vs. Axel Tischer
We eventually get going here with a lock-up, but things end up in the ropes amid a tentative opening spell…

Grabbing the wrist, Tischer takes Aigle down to the mat… but Aigle manages to get free and turn it around with an armdrag as we end up with dropdowns and flip throughs as neither man was able to establish anything in the early stages. The pace quickens as Aigle hits a slingshot ‘rana from the outside in… then booted Tischer to the outside for a tope.

Tischer’s thrown back in, but gets some breathing room as the pair trade shots before a slam from Tischer drew just a one-count. An elbow to the nose from Tischer keeps Aigle down, as did a stomp to the hand, as Tischer built up to a pendulum backbreaker for a two-count.

An uppercut from Tischer traps Aigle on the top rope as a death valley driver out of the corner almost led to the win. That’s followed up with a teased superplex, but Aigle fought back, knocking Tischer down with a headbutt before a back senton caught the German in the ropes.

Aigle adds an enziguiri and a twisting brainbuster for a near-fall, while a gamengiri knocked Tischer down… only for a springboard to be cut off with an uppercut. Turning it around, Tischer nearly wins with a German suplex, before a second German suplex was countered into a Dragon suplex from Blanc.

Out of nowhere, Tischer hits back with an X-Plex, but a leaping clothesline gets cut off as the pair began to stifle each other. A powerbomb from Tischer’s countered into a DDT, while a running knee to the back of Tischer looked to get the win for the Frenchman. A second slingshot ‘rana’s caught… but Tischer rolls through it and in for a Ligerbomb for a near-fall. From there, Tischer sets up for a Horrible Slam… but Aigle slips onto the apron, hitting a gamengiri before a Meteora to the back of the head prompted the Axeman to roll outside.

Aigle follows outside with a moonsault… but a follow-up 450 splash back inside lands on Tischer’s knees, before a Horrible Slam drew the win. A popular win, and easily the best thing on the card as Tischer continues to pick up momentum after that awful weekend in Oberhausen. ***½

AMBOSS (Icarus, Laurance Roman & Robert Dreissker) vs. Dennis Dullnig, Hektor Invictus & Maggot
Maggot’s got Robert Dreissker for the title in two weeks (well, from when this match was held), so he’s got a lot of AMBOSS to get through before then. This one started out as a handicap match because of Dennis Dullnig having taken a wrong turn…

We start with Dreissker and Maggot, as Dreissker tried to back his next challenger into the corner… then tagged in Icarus instead as some shenanigans gave AMBOSS an opening. Hektor tags in, but gets charged into the AMBOSS corner, where he’d held by Dreissker and Icarus so Roman could get some shots in.

Everyone has a go on the tag champion, but a bodyslam bought Hektor time as he then dragged Icarus to the corner and tagged in Maggot. Dreissker and Hektor distract the referee with an argument as Maggot had to deal with some two-on-one… which became three-on-one briefly until Maggot hit a cutter on Dreissker.

Maggot and Hektor manage to overwhelm Icarus and Roman with suplexes, following up with hiptosses and elbows as Hektor was running wild here. Roman tags in but is instantly met with a dropkick and a crossbody for a two-count, while Maggot returned to hit a headbutt to the wrist of the top rope.

A Thesz press and an uppercut keeps Maggot ahead, as did some biting to Roman in the corner. Roman’s met with a double-team flapjack as AMBOSS were left reeling, ahead of a Rocket Launcher to Roman. Finally, Tassilo Jung enforces the five-count for tags and ordered Hektor to the apron… Maggot’s plancha finds its man, but he’s quickly swarmed by Dreissker as a quick turnaround led to Tass counting a near-fall while on the outside.

Hektor’s given a €20 fine for his dissent as AMBOSS kept control, leading to a neckbreaker from Icarus for a two-count. Dreissker’s in to score a big splash on Maggot, but Hektor breaks up the count at two. A brief comeback from Maggot’s squashed by Dreissker as AMBOSS again swarm… just as Dennis Dullnig made it to the venue, luckily wearing his belt and some knee pads.

Dullnig strips down to his shorts and tries to get involved… and quickly got tagged in as we got to Dullnig clotheslining the heck out of everyone. Roman’s thrown into Icarus in the corner, while a spinebuster laid out Icarus… before Dreissker hung up Dullnig in the ropes after an attempted Twist of Fate.

Dreissker’s suplex rocks Dullnig, who fought back against Roman… only to get caught with a front kick for a two-count. Icarus is in to chop Dullnig in the corner ahead of a back suplex from Dreissker. A chinbar followed, but Dullnig fought free, then caught Dreissker with a back body drop for good measure. Tags bring us to Hektor and Roman, as Hektor cleared house en route oto a spinebuster on Roman for a two-count.

Maggot runs in to take care of Dreissker with a spear… Dullnig’s chucked out by Hektor onto the AMBOSS pile. In the melee, the referee’s too busy checking on everyone to see Roman using Dullnig’s suitcase as a weapon, bopping it on Hektor’s head through the ropes for the pin. I guess that sorta stakes a claim for Roman and Icarus for the tag titles – and underscores why some people just like getting to places really, really early… ***¼

6.4

The final score: review Average

The 411

All roads lead to Frankfurt as far as Maggot’s concerned - and while Limbach didn’t feel as flat as the prior week’s card in Bielefeld, it’s starting to feel like a shot in the arm would be in order for wXw in the coming months.