-Taped from Oberhaursen, Germany
–Absolute Andy comes into the ring to begin the proceedings. I’m not quite sure what he’s saying, but the crowd does not appreciate it. He apparently lays down some sort of challenge to Jon Ryan, who comes out, but Bad Bones attacks him from behind. The brawl extends to the ring. Doug Williams makes the save with a stool, thus setting up a tag team match for later.
Match in Five Words or Less: Too Much
Match Highlights: Both men are coming off losses. Dante lost in the four way alternate but was at least able to help his tag team championship partner with a post-match spear. Younger lost to Karsten Beck in a first round match. Quick exchange. Knee to the midsection by Younger. Shoulder tackle by Dante. Swinging neckbreaker connects for Younger. Headbutt. Snapmare and a dropkick. Northern lights suplex gets two. Flapjack and he rolls into an Indian deathlock. Side slam. Elbow drop. Right hand. He gets sent chest into the buckle. Shoulder tackle by Dante. Diving should block followed by a running senton. Choking along the middle rope. Stomps in the corner. Chop. Avalanche and a running boot. Strike exchange. Dante goes for the eyes. Elbow by Younger. Tornado DDT. Dante out of the firemen’s carry. Back drop driver no sold. Death valley driver goes to the corner. Tiger driver gets two. 10 punches in the corner. Boot by Dante. Driving boot out of the corner drives Younger into the mat. Short spear but Younger kicks out at one. Charge avoided. Half nelson suplex hit by Younger. Fire Thunder driver but Dante is now the one to kickout. Straps come down. Forearm exchange. Dante wins it. Younger hits a DDT. Diving lariat gets two. Exploder. Drake’s Landing countered. Drop toehold. La Maestral cradle gets two. Drake’s Landing only gets two as well. He calls for a second one. Younger elbows him. Backbreaker. Spear. Dante gets the victory.
Match Analysis: It felt like these two were trying to do too much in the first match. Why did we need Dante kicking out of a finisher so early in the night? This felt like a string of moves as opposed to an actual match.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Michael Dante/8:38/**
-Younger thanks the German fans for all their hospitality.
Match in Five Words or Less: Dreissker Smash
Match Highlights: Dreissker is coming off a pinfall victory over Stahl the previous night in a tag team match. The other three men did not compete. Skillet, Ray, and 2 Face are most likely cannon fodder. We’re playing under tag team rules…for about a minute. 2 Face and Ray immediately forearm each other a bunch. 2 Face hits an overhead suplex. The rather tiny Skillet tries dropkicking Dreissker. Back suplex on 2 Face. Forearms and a kick to the midsection by Ray. Side slam by Dreissker. Dropkick off the top by Skillet. Enziguri on Ray. Superkick on 2 Face. Sitdown spinebuster by Ray. Lariat. DVD on Dreissker! Back elbow by Ray. He covers Dreissker and gets two. Overhead slam. Kicks on Dreissker. Last one is blocked. Elbows to the back of the head. Knee and an enziguri. Dropkick by Skillet. Skillet hits a tope suicida on Dreissker and Ray. Forearm by 2 Face. Frog splash on the other three wrestlers. He sends the smallest man in the ring. Short lariat. 1-2-NO! Forearms in the corner. Dreissker splashes each man. Samoan drop on Skillet. Vader Bomb
Match Analysis: This was a bit shorter than I expected, but the result makes sense. Dreissker basically dominated the previous night’s tag team match, and here he controlled a good portion of this contest. The other three guys didn’t particularly do anything worth noting and merely appeared to be filling out the card.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Robert Dreissker/4:34/*1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: The Axeman Cometh
Match Highlights: Axeman made a heck of a showing against Ricky Marvin, and I have to figure this is designed to get him a victory. Dar failed to win the four way alternate the previous night. We get our first feeling out process of the evening. Armdrags from Axeman. Que paso and a shoulder block. Dar takes him down. Out of the stalling vertical suplex. They spin around. Dar finally backslides him. Boot from Younger. Roll-up. Dar leaps out of a death valley driver. Most of the crowd is behind Axeman. Dar stalls. Slap. Strike exchange. Forearms and a big European uppercut by Axeman. Dar hits a straight dropkick and airplane spins him. Spinning back suplex by Axeman. Dar goes low to the shin and begins working the leg. Surfboard and a wet willy by Dar. I promise. Kick to the chest and he cranks on the neck. He does something rather repulsive with his gum. Chop by Axeman. DVD attempt but his leg is injured. Forearms by Axeman. Dar goes to the eye. German suplex but the leg is still hurt. Dar rolls into the ankle lock. Boot out of the corner. He ducks Dar and climbs up top. After being caught with the dropkick, Dar stalls too much. Axeman hits a series of double chops. Big fist to the face. Forearms by Axeman. Clotheslines. Elbows by Dar. Back drop. T-bone exploder by Axeman gets a nearfall. Dar kicks him in the leg. Discus forearm but Axeman grabs the bottom rope. He sets up the leg along the ropes and double stomps it. Spinning toehold into a kneebar. Kicks from Dar. Two taps but Axeman reaches the rope. Paint brush with the kick. Axeman fires a chop. He fires himself up, but Dar hits some headbutts. Running kick. He spits on Axeman. Axeman catches him quickly and gets the death valley driver out of nowhere to the finish.
Match Analysis: Not sure how I feel about the out of nowhere finish but considering two heels had already won, it makes sense to put over someone who was so impressive in the actual tournament. I liked that Dar zeroed in on the knee and made that the story of the match. Some very good action from these two as Dar got to showcase himself significantly more in this than he did the four way.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Axeman/13:47/***1/4
Match in Five Words or Less: Farewell Calihan?
Match Highlights: Calihan lost to Finlay. Scurll lost to Generico. Gresham lost in the four way alternate. I’ve got a feeling Gresham is the fall boy for one of the others. Calihan comes out in his D.U.F shirt, and my urge to vomit rises. Immediate boot to the face on Scurll. Gresham sent down as well. Calihan comes off the ropes and gets sent inside/out with a clothesline. He catches the boot and hits an enziguri. Cross body but Gresham breaks the count. Off the ropes as we get a mini-Lucha sequence between Gresham and Scurll. Calihan interjects but Gresham enziguris Scurrl out of the ring. Calihan applies a standing crossface. Elbows by Gresham. Big boot to the face. Running TKO. Springboard splash. Scurll breaks the count. Calihan hits a running lariat. Incredible three way exchange ends with Gresham hitting a tornado DDT on Calihan. Scurll breaks the count. Forearm while outside of the ring. He gets kicked. Calihan springboard clotheslines him. Tope suicida. Scurll nails a tope con helo between the middle and bottom rope. Gresham brings him down on the apron hard. He climbs to the top rope. Calihan headbutts him. He goes for a piledriver off the top rope. Battle with Gresham. Sunset bomb blocked. Calihan superkicks Gresham in the leg as he did Finlay. Powerbomb position. Scurll comes down with double knees. Calihan breaks the count. Scurll and Calihan stare each other down. They exchange strikes. Into the corner for a chop by Calihan. Scurll reverses a whip. Big kick Calihan. Gresham goes for the charge and meets the same fate. Running kick and calls for the stretch muffler. Scurll rolls Calihan up. Ducks a kick. Calihan elbows Scurll. He tosses Gresham into a spear. DDT/flatliner combo. Scurll goes for pins on both men. Calihan hits a back drop driver. Off the ropes with a forearm. 1-2-NO! Gresham and Calihan climb. Splash and 450 misses by the respective men. Boot in the corner by Calihan. Moonsault off the apron hits Calihan. 450 sort of hits. Boot in the corner on Scurll. Buzzsaw kick gets a two count. The three men have another vicious exchange. We get triple high kicks to send everyone down. Strike exchange again amongst the three men. Noggin knocker by Calihan. DOUBLE BACK DROP DRIVER. Stretch muffler on Scurll. Scurll covers Gresham and gets a two. Roll-up out of the muffler. Gresham hits a superkick and Gresham driver on Calihan. Everest German suplex by Scurll. Double knee backbreaker gets Scurll a big victory.
Match Analysis: I enjoyed this match for a number of reasons. It didn’t fall into the trap of being two guys in the ring with one on the outside. In fact, that didn’t really happen at all. There were some creative segments and maneuvers. My favorite might have been Scurll going for the pin on Greshman despite being in the stretch muffler. Really entertaining stuff from top to bottom. Scurll has some star potential beyond just the indies.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Marty Scurll/11:42/***1/4
–Calihan shows respect to Scurll although he’s clearly not happy about losing despite not taking the pinfall. Crowd is in love with Scurll’s music. My God. Calihan even hangs around to dance and pump his fist. Did not see that one coming. Calihan cuts a sincere promo thanking the wXw fans and announces he won’t be coming to the promotion. He says he loves the fans and again thanks them.
Match in Five Words or Less: Mix Of Styles
Match Highlights: Michael Dante is escorting End once again. Staredown and a shove by Marvin. Mat wrestling starts. Marvin out of a wristlock with a dropkick. Hammerlock but End reaches the rope. Takedown and End attempts to grab the leg. Test of strength. Marvin forces End to bridhe. Series of knee strikes. He takes End down with a kick. Series of pins. He hooks End’s leg and gets two. Applied headscissors by End. Marvin kips out of it. Snapmare and he drives the left arm of Marvin into the mat. End zeroes in on the injured wing. Marvin powers out and rakes at End’s face. Half crab. STF. End slowly reaches safety. Head into turnbuckle. Snapmare into an armbar. End finally kicks Marvin away. Crowd is clearly behind Marvin with the exception of one man in the front area. Waistlock takedown. End armdrags him. End hits one of his own. Marvin grabs the knuckles. Lucha armdrag but End cartwheels Snap rana. End powders. Sky twister to the floor and a few of the fans may have gotten taken out. Quickly back into the ring. Marvin places End on the top rope. Spanish Fly gets two. Kicks by End. German suplex by Marvin. Running kick. Gutbuster out of the tombstone position. End goes after the female official. Kicks. Slap exchange. Nice combo from End. German suplex. 1-2-NO! double end doesn’t hit all the way. Brainbuster. 1-2-Marvin grabs the referee. Poor Nikkan Lee. End pushes her. She pushes back into a roll-up. 1-2-NO! End places Marvin on the top rope. Brain kick by End. Gordbuster by Marvin. He gets caught. Counter. Santa Maria countered. Laurinitis crusher into a dragon sleeper. Marvin is out like a light.
Match Analysis: This was the best match of the night so far as these two guys incorporated a number of styles into 13 minutes. End showed more of his offense than last night, and he definitely knows how to incorporate a little MMA, Lucha, and strong style. Marvin is not someone I’ve seen very much, but I like what he brings to the table. He’s not a straight forward Luchador but can also bring in a wide variety of offense. We’re starting to get into the night one groove all over again.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Tommy End/13:22/***1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: Champs Are Here
Match Highlights: All but Andy lost in the first round of the tournament. Williams hits Andy in the back so Ryan can get quick control. Early double teaming by the babyfaces. Uppercuts in the corner. Ryan with a right hand hand and knee to the midsection. Snap suplex. Another tag to Williams. Double back elbow drops. Clubbering blow by Williams. Camel clutch. Bodyslam by Ryan. They make a wish on Andy. Knee to the midsection and a headlock. Ryan pulls hair behind Lee’s back. Bones gets a knee in the back. Faces take turns forearming Andy. Ryan gets distracted so Andy can get a backcracker. Heat segment on Ryan. We get some good old-fashioned heel tactics included. Andy climbs up to the top but misses an elbow drop. Bones misses a charge. Williams hits running knees on both men. Right hands. Bones spears his own partner. European uppercut on Bones. Running knee and a snapmare. Uppercut off the top rope. 1-2-NO! Double suplex blocked. Ryan German suplexes Andy. Whip in the corner and an avalanche back in the ring. Andy hits a spinebuster. Slingshot into a spear by Bones. Andy covers for two. Ryan sent into his partner. Andy drops like a facebuster. Dropkick by Bones ¾ across the way. Ryan has to grab the rope. Superkick by Andy. Bones goes for the spear but hits his own partner. Clotheslines by Williams as he tags back in. He places Andy on the top rope. Bones comes from behind. Williams leaps into a lungblower. Elbow drop gets the win for Bones and Andy.
Match Analysis: Based on a little bit of research, Andy and Bones are a bit of a regular tag team in the promotion so them winning makes sense. This wasn’t as good as some other things on the card, but it was a solid formula tag match. All four guys looked smooth. As much as I’ve despised Bad Bones in the past, there is a marked improvement in his wrestling.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Absolute Andy and Bad Bones/10:53/***
Match in Five Words or Less: Short and Sweet
Match Highlights: One can only assume Sabre won the previous night’s match. I didn’t actually see this due to DVD issues, but here he is. Running kick misses by Sabre. Chops by Sasaki. Sabre grabs the arm. European uppercut and double chops. Kicks to the upper body. He stretches Sasaki’s left arm. Sabre rolls into a cross armbreaker. Sasaki takes him to the outside. Sabre applies the armbar on the floor. That’s new. Chop and kick exchange on the apron. Sasaki chops him thrice before lifting him on the top rope and clothes lining him back in the ring. Snapmare into a chinlock. Stomp to the chest. Kick to the leg. Sasaki lifts him. To the back and head with more kicks. Half crab. Forearm exchange. Sabre with a flurry into the corner. Spin kick. Sasaki German suplexes him in the corner. Sabre punts him in the midsection. JESUS! Both men are down. Chops from Sasaki. Leaping kick by Sabre. Springboard dropkick. Roll-up into the cross armbreaker. Sasaki is able to powerbomb out of it. Sasaki places him on the top rope. Fireman’s carry. Amityville Horror only gets two. Burning hammer blocked. Slaps from Sabre. Rolling kick to the midsection. Punt to the chest. Running forearm. Springboard over as Sasaki charges. Double stomp. Kicks to the arm. Full nelson. Kick to the back. Kick to the arm. Sasaki gets out of a dragon suplex. Blocked kicks by Sasaki. LARIAT! Sabre rolls through into the armbar. Sasaki taps.
Match Analysis: I was stunned to find out this sucker didn’t even hit the eight minute mark. This was so amazing to watch. Lots of quality strikes and counters. The flurry at the end needs to be seen to be believed as my words can’t even come close to describing the incredible spectacle.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Zack Sabre Jr./7:57/***1/2
Match in Five Words or Less: Justice Served
Match Highlights: The idea of this match intrigues me because Generico is one of the best workers in the world and Beck is a completely different type. Generico teases breaking clean but hits a pair of chops. Shoulder tackle by Beck. Fakes a dive. Que paso and a leg lariat. Boots from Generico. Chop in the corner. Pair of forearms. Beck sent into the top turnbuckle. 10 punches in the corner. Atomic drop by Beck. Dropkick by Generico. Boot to the midsection. Open-hand chop. Beck counters and crotches Generico. Stomps. Slam out of the suplex position. Forearms to the back and a fish hook. Choking along the middle rope. Clubbering blow to the back. Double underhook but Generico blocks at first. Butterfly suplex connects. Choking in the corner. Whip in the corner. Forearms in the lower back. Another whip. Cover for two. Chinlock by Beck. Jawbreaker by Generico. Beck sends Generico’s body on the top rope. He collapses to the floor. Sliding dropkick by Beck. Into the side of the ring. Generico sent back first into the post and then drops him. Generico exchanges forearms in the ring. Knee to the midsection by Beck. Pair of clotheslines by Generico. Back body drop. Whip reversed. Generico up and over. Cross body off the top gets two. Beck hits elbows. Blue thunder powerbomb gets two. Beck gets a boot out of the corner. Exploder by Beck. 1-2-NO! Series of counters. Yakuza kick doesn’t hit well. Gutwrench powerbomb by Beck. 1-2-NO! He almost dropped him. Boot to the arm. Half nelson attempt. Beck goes after the official as he did the previous night. Half nelson suplex gets two for Generico. Into the corner. Beck pretends he got kicked low. Why would the referee even consider stopping it? He does? What the hell? Beck gets up and does some jumping jacks behind the official’s back. Beck threatens to perform the Macarena again while holding onto his groin. The referee stares at Beck. Fans throw garbage in the ring. A second referee calls Beck out. The match gets restarted. Yakuza kick and a brainbuster quickly ends Beck’s night. The crowd goes ballistic.
Match Analysis: If nothing else, the restart really got the crowd into Generico winning. The prospect of Beck being in the semifinals was almost too much to bear. Technically, this wasn’t the best match of all time, but Beck certainly delivered an interesting performance. The fundamental problem I have is with the fakeout ending. Why would the referee call a DQ for a low blow he didn’t see? Furthermore, second referees appearing to change decisions only seem to come out to change decisions when it suits the booking and not to suit logic. Considering the cleaniness of every other finish, I’m willing to overlook this, but this ending was clearly the worst of the weekend.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: El Generico/N/R/***
Match in Five Words or Less: Where’s The Second Referee NOW?!
Match Highlights: Finlay beat Sami Calihan while Johnny Moss went over Doug Williams in the first round. Pretty credible opponent if you ask me. A rather methodical beginning. Moss works a headlock pretty ferociously. Shoulder tackle. Moss requests a test of strength. Finlay kicks him in the midsection. Elbow in the nose. Moss heads outside and feels around to see if his nose is still there. Finlay teases a dive… and then laughs at him. More stalling. Finlay grabs a loose crossface. Moss puts his foot on the rope. Moss carefully goes to the other corner. Moss takes a front facelock to the corner. Clubbering blow and a European uppercut. Finlay stretches the arm and hand of Moss. Stomp to the side. Moss walks through the crowd again. Finlay nails him in the head. Chop and clubbering blow by Moss. Another hard chop. Forearm. Throat thrust. Moss with a hard strike and a boot. Finlay falls over the entrance barricades. Moss tosses Finlay into the sea of chairs. Blow to the back. Finlay rammed head first into the apron. Snapmare and a pair of knee drops. Cravat. Overhead throw by Moss. Chinlock…more like a cobra clutch. Shoulder block. Finlay falls in the corner. Moss stands on top of him. Boot by Finlay. Blow to the midsection by Moss. Roll-up gets two. Another chinlock. Stretch of the arms and he places his elbow and knuckles into the ribs. Series of roll-ups. Then back to the chinlock. Charge met with a boot. Series of clotheslines by Finlay. Seated senton on Moss. Finlay roll. 1-2-NO! Shot to the midsection. Finlay hits a forearm. 1-2-NO! Hard whip. Finlay posts his shoulder. Moss gets a beautiful roll-up for two. Moss goes for the ring bell. Finlay kicks him. He threatens to use the bell. The referee takes it away. Moss hits Finlay with a chair. See, there’s more visual evidence of chicanery happened here, but the official does nothing. Finlay bleeds from the back of the head as I wonder where the second referee was THIS time. This is what I meant by logic playing a role in having a second referee come out to change a decision.
Match Analysis: Moss as a heel has been one of the real standout performers. As it relates to his character, he plays the crazy heel with a shred of cowardice excellently. I’m glad this match was completely different than the Calihan match. This wasn’t about back and forth action with both guys looking for respect. This was about Moss winning by any means necessary. Not great but serviceable.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Johnny Moss/17:28/***1/4
Match in Five Words or Less: Battle Of The Giants
Match Highlights: I find it interesting the introductions are done in English, and the wrestlers’ weights are announced in pounds. Sekimoto chops Walter in the corner. Quick headlock takeover by the champion. Shoulder tackle collision does nothing. Boot by Walter. He rakes at the eyes. Forearm by Sekimoto. Walter wins a test of strength. Knee to the body. Sekimoto reverses. Bodyscissors by Walter. Strike exchange. Hold is broken. Snapmare and Sekimoto stretches the champion’s arms. Walter reverses that. Sekimoto goes into the ropes. Blow to the back. Snapmare and a stomp. Sekimoto tossed to the outside. Walter kicks him in the head. Ridiculous chop exchange. Some action happens… and we can’t see it. Something obviously happens to Walter since Sekimoto tosses him back in the ring. Chop in the corner. Reverse whip sends Sekimoto front first. Forearm to the back followed by stomps. Chop exchange. Walter snapmares him and kicks him flush in the back. Forearm by Sekimoto. Another hard kick by Walter. Camel clutch. Hold broken. Walter stomps. Dropkick off the ropes. Chop exchange on the outside. They head to the stage area. Bodyslam by Walter. Basement dropkick. Sekimoto chops away. Back to the snapmare and kick to the back. Standing release butterfly suplex. Chop in the corner. Whip across. Boots up by Sekimoto. Lariat. Vertical suplex blocked. He hits it on second attempt. Torture rack by the challenger. His back gives out because unlike his opponent, he knows how to sell. German suplex by Walter. Lariat by Sekimoto. Double clothesline. Boot by Walter. Clothesline by Sekimoto. Both men are down. Chop exchange. Dropkick by Sekimoto. Back to the chop exchange. The noise level picks up. Sekimoto slowly chops Walter down. Frog splash. 1-2-NO! Sharpshooter. Walter blocks a German suplex. Series of lariats gets two. Back suplex into a bridge for two. Powerbomb gets two. Walter heads to the top. Sekimoto press slams him down. Deadlift German suplex gets two. Suplex off the middle rope. Clothesline in the back. Release German suplex. Walter fires back with a lariat of his own. Both men down yet again. More chops. Forearms by Sekimoto. Enziguri. German suplex. Deadlift hits yet again. Two count. Lariat to the back. Slap by Walter. Turns into an exchange. Knee strikes right to the head. Elbow to the side of the head. Powerbomb. 1-2-NO! Island driver and Sekimoto kicks out. Walter places Sekimoto on the top rope, super bombs him, and gets the victory.
Match Analysis: The main event of night two in 2010 was a 45 minute brawl which I gave a rare DUD. The fact that this was half the length and featured one of my favorite guys from Japan immediately gets this at least a half star. The problem is with Big Van Walter. He can’t sell moves to save his life. Even after this match, he got up and drank some sort of liquid like he just got done with a day at the office as opposed to a war. He eats his opponents up and spits them out. That was the case in this match as well at times. It also doesn’t help Walter is a black hole of charisma. The crowd doesn’t even know how to react to him, and Walter doesn’t particularly interact with them at even the most basic level. He doesn’t get a reaction you’d expect either way that a champion deserves. Maybe my bias is showing, but this match really didn’t do much for me. If not for Sekimoto, I would have lose interest even faster.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL wXw Unified World Wrestling Heavyweight Champion-Big Van Walter/23:12/**1/2
Disk Two Thoughts: The biggest difference between night two and night one is there wasn’t that one real must see match contained on night two. Granted, there was still a lot of good wrestling, but it felt like that one truly great match was missing. Nonetheless, this was a much better night of action than night two of the 2010 tournament. There were some definite gems in the undercard. Others may also like the main event significantly more than I did considering some of the moves and Sekimoto’s awesomeness.
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Kind of weird comments from Callihan. Wonder what that’s all about.