By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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WXW “World Tag Team Festival 2024, Night 1”
October 4, 2024 in Oberhausen, Germany at Turbinenhalle 2
Replay available via TrillerTV+
I’ve seen several wXw shows recently on Triller+ and I see this lineup has several wrestlers I’m familiar with. This show features the first round of an eight-team tag tournament.
* The show opened with a video montage, but this time it’s in English, along with German subtitles. Once again, we have good lighting and sound. Attendance is maybe 800. Dave Bradshaw and Mett Dimassi provided English commentary; the commentary volume is way too low.
1. “Cash” Dennis Dullnig and Hektor Invictus vs. Axel Tischer and Fast Time Moodo for the wXw Tag Team Titles AND a first-round match. Cash is the guy I compare in looks to Stu Grayson, while Hektor has a bushy beard like Brody Lee, and a cross tattoo over his heart. Tischer (f/k/a Alexander Wolfe) opened against Cash. The champions worked over Dullnig early on. Hektor got a hot tag and hit a German Suplex on Tischer at 5:30. Tischer hit a superplex. Hektor hit a sit-out powerbomb on Moodo and all four were down. All four got up and fought. Moodo hit a Made In Japan pumphandle powerbomb on Hektor for a nearfall at 8:30.
Cash got a hot tag and he hit a uranage on Tischer. They hit a Team 3D on Moodo for a believable nearfall. Moodo hit a kick to the back of Cash’s head. Axel and Moodo hit a Chasing The Dragon (spin kick-and-brainbuster combo) and scored the pin on Cash. New champions! The former champions stood at ringside and were in disbelief. They got a nice round of applause as they walked to the back.
Axel Tischer and Fast Time Moodo defeated Dennis Dullnig and Hektor Invictus to win the wXw Tag Team Titles AND advance in the tournament at 10:20.
2. “Young Blood” Oskar Leube and Yuto Nakashima vs. Elijah Blum and LSG in a first-round match. The YB team are recent New Japan graduates on excursion and I hope they return to New Japan soon. Cool to see former ROH talent Leon St. Giovanni in this opportunity. Blum is white and covered in tattoos; he opened against the taller Oskar (think a young Gunther.) They immediately traded loud overhand chops. YB began working Blum over in their corner. LSG finally got a hot tag at 4:30 to enter for the first time; the commentators noted he is the most veteran wrestler in the match. He hit an enzuigiri, then a running clothesline in the corner on Yuto, then a second-rope flying clothesline.
LSG hit a butterfly twisting slam for a nearfall. Yuto hit a back suplex on LSG. Blum tagged back in at 7:00 and peppered Oskar with forearm strikes, but he couldn’t suplex the big guy. Blum finally hit a crossbody block, then he hit the suplex. Yuto and LSG traded more forearm strikes. Blum and LSG hit a crossbody block-and-Russian Leg Sweep combo at 8:30. Leube put a sleeper on LSG. Oskar hit an assisted F5 face plant on LSG, and Yuto made the cover for the pin. Good match; I fully expected Young Blood to get the win over a makeshift team.
Yuto Nakashima and Oskar Leube defeated LSG and Elijah Blum to advance at 9:41.
* In a backstage segment, 1 Called Manders showed off his (Atlanta-based) Action Heavyweight Title belt and he accepted a challenge from Mad Dog Connolly. This match is happening on a different show this weekend.
3. “Fighting Spirit” Stephanie Maze and Bobby Gunns vs. Fuminori Abe and Shigehiro Irie in a first-round match. Maze looks like a shoot-fighter and her hair is in tight braids. I don’t think I’ve seen Gunns; he’s white with a short beard, and of average size. I’ve seen Abe in a handful of matches, particularly in Game Changer Wrestling; his features are similar to Kushida. Maze and Abe opened. Gunns and Irie traded Mafia Kicks. Gunns powerbombed teammate Maze onto Irie at 2:00 for a nearfall. Irie powerbombed Maze onto Gunns! Abe and Maze began working over Maze in their corner. Irie hit his slingshot splash onto Maze for a nearfall at 5:00. Irie hit a swinging uranage. Abe entered and applied a crossarm breaker on her. She hit a buzzsaw kick to Abe’s head at 7:00 and they were both down.
Gunns got a hot tag and hit a shogun dropkick and a running penalty kick on Abe for a nearfall. Abe nailed a Cyclone Kick in the corner on Gunns. Gunns sat up and let Abe get a free kick to the spine at 9:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes. All four began fighting. Gunns hit a suplex on Abe, but Irie immediately hit a frogsplash on Gunns! Irie hit a rolling cannonball on Maze. Gunns hit a German Suplex. Irie hit a stunner. Abe caught Gunns with a punch to the jaw, then a back suplex with a high bridge for a believable nearfall. Abe applied a Cobra Stretch in the middle of the ring, and Gunns submitted! You don’t usually see that as a finisher. Good action.
Fuminori Abe and Shigehiro Irie defeated Stephanie Maze and Bobby Gunns to advance at 12:11.
4. 1 Called Manders and Thomas Shire vs. Timothy Thatcher and Hideki Suzuki in a first-round match. Thatcher tied up the heavier Shire early on. Suzuki hit some European Uppercuts on Manders that popped his head backward. Thatcher got in and hit some European Uppercuts on Manders at 6:00. Shire re-entered and tied up with Suzuki. Shire hit a gut-wrench suplex on Thatcher for a nearfall at 9:30. Suzuki hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker on Shire for a nearfall. Thatcher put Manders in a half-crab.
Thatcher and Suzuki worked Shire over in their corner. Thatcher put him in a rear-naked choke. Manders got a hot tag at 14:00 and he hit some rapid-fire chops in the corner on Suzuki. Suzuki and Thatcher took turns hitting European Uppercuts on Manders. They all brawled to the floor at 16:00, with Manders pairing off with Suzuki. They moved away from ringside and it was harder to see. Thatcher used a weapon on Manders’ forehead. Manders and Suzuki got into the ring and traded forearm strikes while on their knees at 18:30. They got to their feet and kept trading hard blows. This match has felt like a legit fight from the start.
Suzuki hit a German Suplex, then a Dragon Suplex for a believable nearfall. He hit a scoop piledriver on Monders for another believable nearfall. Suzuki hit a second-rope butterfly suplex for a nearfall, but Shire made the save. Shire put Thatcher on his shoulders and spun him to the mat. Thatcher hit a headbutt on Manders; Manders hit a stiff clothesline on Thatcher, and tey were both down at 21:30. Thatcher applied a Fujiwara Armbar on Manders, but Shire made the save. Manders hit another clothesline to pin Thatcher! Hard-hitting match.
1 Called Manders and Thomas Shire defeated Timothy Thatcher and Hideki Suzuki to advance at 22:56.
* Intermission. They showed Lufisto vs. Leyla Hirsch from a 2019 women’s tournament. Lufisto hit an Angle Slam for the pin at 14:42. I hadn’t seen this before so I’m glad I watched. And I’ll reiterate that I love any promotion that fills an intermission with a highlight match from a prior show, rather than leaving up a blank screen.
5. “High Performer LTD” Icarus and Joseph Fenech Jr. (w/Robin Christopher Fohrwerk) vs. Ava Everett and Jacob Crane in a first-round match. I like Ava, but she’s much smaller than the guys in this match; why isn’t she with real-life partner LSG as a team? The muscular, bald Icarus opened against the rotund Crane. Ava got in and twisted Icarus’ arm. Fenech Jr., who has long black hair, made a blind tag in at 2:30; he and partner Icarus argued! Fenech hit Ava from behind, and the heels worked her over. Crane got a hot tag at 5:30 and he hit some clotheslines on the heels in opposite corners. He took turns bodyslamming each heel. Icarus hit a Death Valley Driver and pinned Crane. Really underwhelming.
Icarus and Joseph Fenech Jr. defeated Ava Everett and Jacob Crane to advance at 7:20.
6. “Lykos Gym” Kid Lykos and Lykos II vs. “Los Desperados” Arez and Gringo Loco in a first-round match. Kid Lykos has curly blondish hair, while Lykos II still wears a mask. Loco and Arez have been teaming a lot in GCW lately. Arez and Kid Lykos opened with mat reversals. Loco and Lykos II entered at 4:30 and they sped things up with quick lucha reversals. Arez hit an axe kick on the back of Kid Lykos’ head at 6:30, and Los Desperados took over. Loco hit a standing moonsault, and Arez ran up Kid Lykos’ back. They hit a Magic Killer team slam. Arez tied up Lykos II and Loco hit an axe kick on Lykos II.
Lykos Gym hit some quick team offense on Arez. Lykos II hit a flip dive to the floor on Loco at 10:00. Arez hit a flip dive to the floor on all three guys. In the ring, Loco hit a moonsault onto Kid Lykos’ legs at 12:00. Kid Lykos flipped Arez off the top rope to the mat. Kid Lykos hit a springboad Spanish Fly for a nearfall on Arez. Arez hit a double Poison Rana at 13:30. Arez flipped Lykos II at Loco, who hit a stunner. Arez and Loco hit a team Spears Tower. We got a “Fight forever!” chant in English. Arez and Kid Lykos traded forearm strikes. Lykos Gym applied Octopus Stretch submission holds. Kid Lykos hit a Swanton Bomb on Loco for a nearfall at 16:30. Loco hit a Base Bomb (swinging powerbomb) on Lykos II, and Arez immediately hit a top-rope doublestomp on Lykos II for the pin. That was tremendous. Fans started throwing Euro coins into the ring at them.
Arez and Gringo Loco defeated Kid Lykos and Lykos II to advance at 17:24.
* At a recent show (which I reviewed), Levaniel and Ahura
7. Levaniel vs. Matt Cardona vs. Ahura for the wXw Shotgun Title. The signal was briefly lost during Cardona’s entrance. Levaniel is the cocky blond German who reminds me of WCW-era Stunning Steve Austin. Ahura has a short beard with dark, slicked back hair (think a young Damien Sandow with a better physique.) Levaniel came out last, title around his belt, and spoke in English, saying he’s the greatest champion in this promotion’s history, and he was loudly booed. He thanked Cardona for “passing the torch” to him. (More boos.) Ahura finally hit Levaniel and I started my stopwatch; the commentators noted it can’t officially begin until all three are in the ring.
They brawled on the floor. They got in and the ref called for the bell at 1:36 to officially begin. Cardona hit a Mafia Kick on Ahura and he was booed. (I wasn’t sure if Matt was going to be cheered here or not, but the fans only like Ahura.) The heels began stomping on Ahura and were booed. They hit a team suplex and they hugged and were booed. However, Levaniel flipped Cardona to the floor and he began working over Ahura. Cardona went for a Broski Boot, but Ahura blocked it. Ahura hit a springboard press on Matt at 6:00, then a springboard dropkick on Matt, then a spinebuster on Levaniel.
They did a tower spot out of the corner and everyone was down. Cardona hit the Radio Silence (Fameasser) legdrop on Ahura for a nearfall at 9:00. Ahura hit a “Paradise Waterfall” slam on Levaniel, then a twisting slam for a nearfall, but Cardona pulled the ref from the ring! Ahura hit a dive to the floor on Cardona. In the ring, Ahura missed a top-rope moonsault, and Levaniel hit a clothesline and a Jay White-style Bladerunner swinging face plant for a believable nearfall.
Levaniel rolled to the floor and grabbed his title belt at 11:30. However, Ahura hit a superkick on Levaniel, and the ref confiscated the belt. Cardona hit Ahura with his “Internet title” and got a believable nearfall. Matt jawed at the ref. He went for a Stinger Splash but hit the ref. Ahura hit a twisting slam on Cardona; he made the cover for a visual pin at 13:30, but the ref was down. Cardona hit another Radio Silence on Aura, but Levaniel hit his swinging face plant on Cardona to score the pin and retain the title. Good match, but not a must-see match, either.
Levaniel defeated Matt Cardona and Ahura to retain the wXw Shotgun Title at 14:32/official time of 12:56.
Final Thoughts: Arez/Gringo Loco vs. the British Lykos Gym team stole the show, and I’d be shocked if anyone disagreed with that. That Manders tag was really hard-hitting and believable brawling and I’ll go with that for second. I feel like the better tag team advanced in all four first-round bouts so I’m intrigued to see how the rest of the tournament plays out.
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