October 31, 2009 – Oberhausen, Germany
Nick Jackson {W5} & Matt Jackson {W5} vs. Mark Haskins & Tommy End
Matt and End trade holds to start. They trade armdrags and failed attempts at superkicks. Haskins hits Nick with a hurricanrana. He hits a crossbody for 2. Nick hits a leg lariat. The Jacksons work over Haskins’ arm, Masato Yoshino style. They hit a double dropkick for 2. Matt hits mounted punches in the corner. Nick hits a senton. They hit a double-team backbreaker for 2. End hits a kneedrop for 2. Haskins gets a roll up for 2. End hits a back elbow for 2. Matt comes back with a dropkick. End cuts him off from tagging out and Haskins controls for a while. Haskins hits an enziguiri and a standing moonsault for 2. End hits another kneedrop for 2. Nick tags in and cleans house. He hits Haskins with a crossbody for 2. Haskins hits the STO for 2. Matt hits End with a standing Shiranui for 2. End hits a high kick and a capture suplex for 2. Matt hits a spear and a moonsault while Nick hits a splash for 2. Nick hits a knee kick and Matt hits a facebuster for 2. Haskins puts a leglock on Nick. End hits a stunner and puts a dragon sleeper on Matt. Matt gets to the ropes, though at this point it’s a mystery as to who the legal men are. Matt cleans house with superkicks. Haskins hits the Code Breaker. Nick hits a superkick and helps Matt hit Skipping a Generation on End for the win at 13:28. The Bucks can typically work up to the level of their opponents, but here they were the better team. End was all kinds of awkward, though Haskins did what he could to pull his weight. The crowd appreciated the match, but it End brought it down on DVD.
Rating: **½
KAGETORA {W5} vs. Bad Bones
Bones overpowers KAGETORA to start. KAGETORA goes for shoulder tackles, but Bones has more success in that area. Bones hits a vertical suplex for 2. He hits a splash for 2. He puts on a chinlock. He hits some unanswered elbows and a kneedrop. He hits a spear in the corner. He hits a chest kick for 2. He hits another kneedrop for 2. KAGETORA dropkicks the knee. Bones responds with a back elbow for 2. KAGETORA blocks a suplex and hits one of his own. He hits the leaping lariat. He hits an enziguiri for 2. Bones hits a bicycle kick. He hits a spear for 2. He hits a powerslam for 2. KAGETORA gets a roll up for 2. Bones hits a lariat. He channels Chris Benoit with a double snot rocket, to which KAGETORA responds with a small package for the win at 6:27. Give me a short power battle and I’ll give you a smile. After the match KAGETORA cuts a match in English telling the German fans he wants to come back. The commentator reveals (in German) that KAGETORA will be back for the 16 Carat Gold Tournament in 2010.
Rating: **¾
Susumu Yokosuka {W5} vs. Masato Yoshino {W1} vs. El Generico vs. Dragon Kid {K}
Everyone knuckles up to start, but since Yokosuka is involved Kid’s hand gets stomped on. They do an old Florida brothers wristlock sequence, though the referee doesn’t get involved and it actually segues nicely into the rest of the match without getting too goofy. The Dragon Gate regulars send Generico to the floor. Kid hits a head scissors takedown on Yoshino. He hits another on Yokosuka. Generico hits Kid with a standing moonsault for 2. Kid hits two kneedrops on Yoshino for 2. Yokosuka and Yoshino work over Kid’s arm. Generico hits Yoshino with a leg lariat for 2. Yokosuka ties Generico’s mask tassels to the turnbuckle. He puts on a seated abdominal stretch. A Mark Nulty Special chain breaks out, but rather than get involved in it Generico puts Kid in a Sharpshooter and turns it over. Yokosuka gets to the ropes. The Dragon Gate regulars hit Generico with a triple dropkick. Generico puts Yokosuka in an abdominal stretch. Yokosuka hits a hiptoss to escape. He swings Kid into Generico. That gets 2 for Kid. KAGETORA comes in and helps Kid and Yokosuka hit a triple suplex on Generico and Yoshino. Kid hits Yokosuka with a hurricanrana. Yoshino hits the Sling Blade. Generico hits a sick Michinoku Driver for 2. Yokosuka hits a lariat. Generico hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for 2. Yokosuka hits a vertical suplex for 2. Kid hits Yoshino with a stunner. He hits another for 2. He puts the Christo on Generico. Not to be outdone, Yoshino puts From Jungle on Yokosuka and has a slap fight with Kid. Generico and Yoshino hit stereo backbreakers. Yoshino hits Generico with the exploder into the corner. Generico hits a backdrop. Kid hits a stack hurricanrana on Generico. Yokosuka hits a lariat. Generico hits the Yakuza kick and the Half & Half. Yoshino hits the Torbellino. Kid hits a hurricanrana for 2. Yokosuka comes back with the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. He hits the World Liner for the win at 16:10. At times the Texas Tornado style of this match kept things interesting, but other times it led to the awkward standing around of the two men not involved in the prominent action. Once things broke down that stopped being a problem, because it was chaotic, entertaining action. Sadly, the World Liner is still a retarded move that looks like it hurts Yokosuka much more than it hurts Kid.
Rating: ***½
CIMA {W5} vs. Mike Quackenbush {CH}
They fight it out on the mat to start. CIMA takes early control with a chinlock. Quackenbush comes back with work on the arm. CIMA tries to come back, but for the next few minutes Quackenbush is in charge on the mat. CIMA hits a slam and lifts Quackenbush into the air tied in a knot. He brings Quackenbush down for 2. More chain wrestling that will eventually go nowhere eats up the next few minutes. This is basically my problem with all of Quackenbush’s matches. Yes, the submissions he uses look nice and fancy, but ultimately his game is so drastically different than everyone else’s around him that it takes me out of the show and makes it hard for me to suspend disbelief. He looks like a geek pretending to wrestle rather than an actual wrestler. Everything is pretty but nothing looks like it hurts. Anyway, there’s a match going on. Quackenbush works the leg, first with a half crab, then with some elbowdrops, and then with a stunner that he geeks out over. He actually had a nerd-out moment over his own move. That’s so lame. He puts on a couple of different leglocks, switching from one to another for no particular reason. It’s not that CIMA was getting close to the ropes; it’s just that Quackenbush likes to show off that he knows a lot of holdz. It’s not like CIMA is going to sell any of this anyway. He hits a butterfly suplex. CIMA pops up and hits the Superdrol. Despite the fact that Quackenbush spent all those agonizing minutes working the leg, CIMA is unfazed by a move that forces weight on his knee. He hits a double stomp for 2. He hits the Venus and Iconoclasm, but because Quackenbush doesn’t bump he rolls through and puts on another goofy leglock. CIMA gets to the ropes. At least the crowd is digging this. Quackenbush gets a roll up for 2. CIMA returns the favor for 2. He hits a double stomp for 2. Quackenbush jumps into what looks like a back suplex from CIMA, but somehow they sell it like Quackenbush was the aggressor. He hits the BTS for 2. He hits a Michinoku Driver for 2. CIMA hits an enziguiri. He hits the Schwein for 2. Quackenbush puts on the CHIKARA Special (a move that doesn’t look painful at all) but CIMA counters to the Stretch Muffler. Quackenbush gets to the ropes. CIMA hits a superkick, the Tokarev and the Meteora for the win at 21:09. I’ll let my commentary within the play-by-play speak for itself, except to say that Quackenbush’s goofiness at least works well in that it gets me heavily invested in wanting his opponent to win.
Rating: **¾
After the match CIMA hypes up the last two matches. He leads the fans in the WARRIORS-5 woooooo, counting it down in German for them. CIMA should cut promos on every show.
BxB Hulk {W1}, Naruki Doi {W1} & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Genki Horiguchi {RH}, Ryo Saito {RH} & Emil Sitoci
Horiguchi and Hulk start. They go after each other’s legs. Hulk hits an armdrag and a dropkick. Doi overpowers Saito in a knucklelock. They trade shoulder tackles until Saito hits the mat. Sabre works Saito’s arm. Sitoci tags in and gets tied in a knot. Horiguchi distracts the referee and interferes, allowing Sitoci to take control. He hits a body scissors takedown. Sabre pulls Horiguchi’s ponytail to get to his corner. Hulk hits a senton for 2. He gets a roll up for 2. Saito hits a back elbow. Sitoci hits a backbreaker. Saito hits a double stomp. MARAHA! ISAPPA! That gets 2. Horiguchi hits Sabre with a low blow. He hits Hulk with a swinging DDT for 2. He puts on a half crab. Saito chokes Hulk with his whip. Sitoci dropkicks Hulk’s face. Hulk kicks off Saito to hit a moonsault on Horiguchi. Doi cleans house. Sabre hits a butterfly suplex on Sitoci for 2. He hits the Sankakugeri for 2. Sitoci hits a moonsault press. Sabre smacks him and puts on a cross armbreaker. Saito makes the save. Doi hits a powerbomb. Saito hits the Fisherman Express. Doi hits a vertical suplex for 2. Sabre hits a knee kick. Hulk hits a springboard leg lariat for 2. Saito dropkicks Sabre’s face. Sitoci hits a powerbomb for 2. He hits a Superfly Splash for 2. Horiguchi blocks Hulk’s moonsault. Hulk comes back with the Mouse. Sabre hits a running knee and a suicide dive. Doi hits the Doi 555 and the Bakatare Sliding Kick for the win at 17:39. It took them a bit to get going, but they put together some fun stuff down the stretch. Shockingly, the Real Hazard team was more interesting than the World-1 team. That almost never happens.
Rating: ***
Absolute Andy © vs. Shingo {K} [wXw World Heavyweight Championship Match]
Screw this European theft of the good Takagi name. Shingo comes out holding his 16 Carat Gold trophy, having won the tournament in 2009. I guess that’s why he’s getting this title shot. An early power battle goes to a stalemate. Andy hits a Thesz Press. Shingo misses a kneedrop. Andy goes after the leg. He hits a chop block. Shingo’s leg can’t support him so Andy puts on a figure 4 leglock. Shingo rolls over and Andy goes to the ropes. Shingo hits a vertical suplex for 2. He hits a Mongolian chop. They slug it out until Andy hits a leaping lariat. He hits a Manhattan drop and smacks Shingo across the face. He hits a side slam for 2. He hits a DVD. Shingo slams him off the top rope. He hits a fistdrop and a kneedrop for 2. He hits the Blood Fall for 2. Andy plays possum and hits a hurricanrana. He hits a plancha. Back in the ring he puts on a Sharpshooter. Shingo gets to the ropes. He hits a backdrop. He hits the Pumping Bomber but Andy won’t go down. Shingo hits another lariat to put Andy on the mat. Andy hits one of the ugliest superkicks I’ve ever seen for 2. He looked like he was in a beginner’s ballet class there. He hits a sit out Dominator for 2. He hits a flying elbowdrop for 2. Shingo hits a backs suplex. He hits the DVD. He hits the Pumping Bomber for 2. He hits MADE IN JAPAN for 2. He hits a lariat in the corner. Andy blocks the STAY DREAM and hits a hurricanrana. He hits a spinebuster and puts on a Sharpshooter. He drags Shingo to the center of the ring, and his crappy hold makes Shingo pass out at 21:35. Andy is a total stiff. Watching him is like watching Sid, but without the pleasure of it being Sid. Everything he did looked like garbage, and the only interesting moments were the brief ones that Shingo got to control. No shock here, but a disappointing way to end a good show.
Rating: **