Your commentary team of the night is Alan Counihan and Jeremy Graves as over 1,000 pack the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen, Germany.
First match of the night starts as Keith Lee and Avalanche make their entrances. Dueling Bask In His Glory and Avalanche chants from the crowd. Keith Lee seems to have the advantage in strength until Avalanche takes him down with a shoulder tackle. Avalanche tries to throw Lee out of the corner but is stopped. Lee gains the upper hand in the match after a slingshot crossbody from the apron into the ring. Lee man handles Avalanche throughout the match until Avalanche is finally able to body slam Lee. Avalanche’s momentum doesn’t last long as he receives a big pounce from Lee. The ending sees Keith Lee hit a spirit bomb and Ground Zero immediately after. Lee becomes the first man to advance in the tournament.
Second match is Chris Brookes facing off against Alexander James. Chris Brookes is clearly the crowd favorite as the crowd chants his name along with CCK chants. The match starts off with some back and forth wrestling until Chris Brookes gives James a wet willie. James gains the advantage with a double stomp to Brookes left arm which was holding the top rope. James begins to work Brookes’ arm with various submissions. James throws Brookes shoulder first into the ring post. Brookes tries to fight back with chops but James takes him down to the mat and locks in the Coat of Arms. Brookes reaches the bottom rope to break the submission. Brookes comes back with a swinging neckbreaker and a leg capture German suplex. He then locks in the octopus stretch in the middle of the ring but James is able to break the submission. Brookes later goes for his signature slingshot cutter into the ring but it is reversed into the Tower of London by James for a two count. James goes for the Coat of Arms again but Brookes rolls him up for a two count. James lifts Brookes onto his shoulder but Brookes is able to make it to the apron where he hits a slingshot cutter and then a huge arm capture piledriver for the win.
Lucky Kid makes his entrance along with fellow Rise members. Everyone makes their way to the back except Tarkan Aslan who joins Kid in the ring and later ringside. Matt Sydal makes his entrance with the Impact X-Division Championship over his shoulder. The bell rings and the commentators begin to mention Sydal being in 2007’s 16 Carat Gold Tournament. Sydal gains the early advantage on Lucky Kid and hits a standing moonsault. Sydal works Lucky Kid’s left leg with kicks and unique submissions. Kid gains the advantage when he distracts the ref and Aslan grabs Sydal’s leg. This distracts him long enough for Lucky to hit a running dropkick in the corner. Lucky tries to get back into the match after hitting a handspring elbow. The crowd gets behind him but Sydal comes back with a spinning heel kick and more kicks to the leg. He continues with a bridging German suplex from his knees and a Meteora from the top rope but only getting a two count on Lucky. Sydal then sets up Lucky on the top rope for a rana but Lucky answers with a Liger Bomb. Lucky charges at Sydal in the corner but eats a kick and a knee to the face. The crowd begins to boo as Sydal goes to the top rope. Sydal attempts a shooting star press but Lucky moves as Sydal lands on his feet. Lucky then rolls up Sydal for a 3 count.
Next match of the evening is Emil Sitoci facing “The Product” David Starr. Both men start off fast which ends in a stalemate. Sitoci hits a split legged moonsault to Starr’s back and Starr rolls to the outside. Sitoci goes for a dive but Starr makes it to the apron and goes for the cherry mint DDT, Sitoci scouts it. Sitoci gains the upper hand with a huge gutbuster to Starr. Sitoci goes on to work the mid-section of Starr. Starr comes back with some offense and goes for the Product Placement but it’s reversed. After a second attempt, Sitoci hits a snapmare driver but can’t keep Starr down for a 3 count. Sitoci shows frustration after he hits a huge flying elbow off the top rope for another 2 count. Sitoci sets Starr up on the corner and attempts a Spanish Fly from the top but Starr throws him off. As Starr goes to the outside apron, Sitoci runs into the cherry mint DDT and Han Stanson lariat. Starr picks up the victory.
A video is shown from the 16 Carat Warm Up from earlier in the night setting up a match between champions and challengers, as Mike Bailey teams with WALTER to face wXw Shotgun Champion Bobby Gunns and wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion John Klinger. Both Mike Bailey and WALTER have title matches set for night 2. The match starts off right away with Klinger sending WALTER to the outside with a dropkick from the top. Klinger makes the mistake of posing on the apron and receives a foot in the face from Bailey (literally). Bailey hits a triangle moonsault to the outside on both Gunns and Klinger. Speedball takes control of the match until Klinger gives him a knee to the back, giving the advantage to the champions. Bailey forces Gunns to DDT his own partner, then tags in WALTER. WALTER cleans house with chops, clotheslines and big boots. Gunns tries to fight back by coming off the top rope but he gets caught by WALTER and receives a German suplex. Bailey continues the match with non stop kicks to Gunns until Gunns drops Bailey on his head with a release German. Bailey makes the tag and as Gunns goes to make the tag, WALTER gives Klinger a boot to the face. Klinger finally makes the tag and hits WALTER with a slingshot spear. WALTER goes for the Gojira Clutch but Klinger escapes and locks in a crossface. WALTER powers out with a powerbomb and makes a second attempt at the Gojira Clutch but is reversed again into the crossface. Bailey ends up making the save. Bailey and Gunns both make tags and end up trading shots in the middle of the ring. Bailey can’t put away Gunns as he hits a dragon suplex and a kick to the head for only a two count. Bailey later hits his signature shooting star knees from the middle rope but still only gets a two count. He finally gets the win for his team with a moonsault fallaway slam. Bailey and WALTER stand in the middle of the ring doing the Ringkampf pose.
Matt Riddle and Rise’s Da Mack make their entrances. Huge “Fuck Him Riddle” chant from the crowd. The bell rings and Riddle immediately hits a flying knee. The referee counts to three and Riddle defeats Da Mack in less than 10 seconds. The crowd goes wild.
Next up is Travis Banks and Mark Haskins. Banks puts out his hand and instead receives a chop. The two men then trade chops. The match goes back and forth with no one really gaining the upper hand for too long. Haskins locks in a crossface but Banks gets his foot on the bottom rope. Banks hits Haskins with a low kick sending him face first into the middle turnbuckle. Banks then hits a cannonball in the corner. Haskins puts on the Star Armbar but Banks once again gets his foot on the bottom rope. Banks attempts to hit Slice of Heaven but gets powerbombed. Haskins rolls through and executes a cradle shock for two. Haskins attempts another submission with a sharpshooter but Banks escapes once again. Banks ends up hitting both the Slice of Heaven and a Kiwi Crusher but somehow Haskins kicks out. It takes a Kiwi Crusher from the middle rope to finally put Haskins away.
An excellent video package of Timothy Thatcher is played before the next match. In the video, Thatcher calls wXw is home. Both Thatcher and Jonah Rock make their entrances for the seventh tournament match of the night. The commentary team puts over Jonah Rock’s size and strength. The crowd is very much behind Thatcher. Jonah controls the match until Thatcher fights back with European uppercuts and strikes to the body. He follows with a Greco-Roman suplex and a kamura but Jonah gets his foot on the rope. On two different occasions Thatcher goes for a butterfly suplex but he can’t get his hands hooked due to Jonah’s size. After Jonah hits a brainbuster for only a two count, Jonah goes to the top rope for the bull frog splash. Thatcher gets his knees up and immediately locks in the Fujiwara Armbar. Jonah is forced to tap.
A video package shows the history between Marius Al-Ani and Absolute Andy. Absolute Andy makes his entrance first followed by Marius Al-Ani. Marius Al-Ani leaps over the top rope crashing onto Andy on the outside. Both men brawl onto the stage where Andy receives a back body drop. Andy enters the ring but is met with a diving clothesline over the ropes from Marius. The bell rings and the match is officially underway. Marius and Andy make their way to the outside again where Marius goes face first into the ringpost. Andy brings out a huge wrench which the referee takes away. While the ref is dealing with that, both Marius and Andy hit eachother with chairs. The referee starts the count and both men enter the ring before the count of 10. The crowd gets behind Marius as he hits a rana and a death valley driver. Andy answers back with a superplex and a F5 but Marius kicks out at two. Andy attempts an avalanche F5 which is countered into a powerbomb. Marius goes to the top for a frog splash and lands on Andy’s knees. Marius grabs his foot and locks in an anklelock. Andy tries to counter but Marius turns it into a sharpshooter. Andy hits a superkick but Marius doesn’t stay down. Marius then hits Andy with his own move, a F5. There’s a ref bump which allows Andy to hit Marius with the wrench. Marius kicks out before the 3 count. Both Andy and the crowd are in shock. Marius hooks on a waistlock but Andy grabs the ref and low blows Marius. He follows up with a superkick and Andy makes the pin. Marius has his foot on the rope but Andy takes it down as the referee counts to three. Andy becomes the final competitor to make it to the quarter finals.
Overall: Night One of 2018 edition of wXw 16 Carat Gold was highly entertaining. Nothing was amazing but each match delivered. Only match that didn’t really connect with me was Travis Banks vs. Mark Haskins. The crowd wasn’t really into it and neither man gaining the upper hand for too long might’ve hurt it. Just felt like each man was trying to get all their moves in. Mike Bailey and WALTER vs. Bobby Gunns and John Klinger had match of the night. In the tournament action Lucky Kid vs. Matt Sydal and Absolute Andy vs. Marius Al-Ani both delivered big. My reviews for Night Two and Three are coming soon.
All three nights of the 2018 wXw 16 Carat Tournament is on The Highspots Wrestling Network. Subscribe for only $9.99 a month.
Quick Results/Star Ratings:
Keith Lee def. Avalanche ***1/4
Chris Brookes def. Alexander James ***
Lucky Kid def. Matt Sydal ***1/2
David Starr def. Emil Sitoci ***1/4
Mike Bailey and WALTER def. Bobby Gunns and John Klinger ****
Matt Riddle def. Da Mack N/A
Travis Banks def. Mark Haskins ***
Timothy Thatcher def. Jonah Rock ***1/4
Absolute Andy def. Marius Al-Ani ***3/4
