By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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WXW “World Tag Team Festival 2024, Night 3”
October 6, 2024 in Oberhausen, Germany at Turbinenhalle 2
Replay available via TrillerTV+
This show features the three-way finale of the 12-team tag tournament. This promotion features great production values. Dave Bradshaw and Mett Dimassi provided English commentary tonight; no heel Norman Harras in the booth.
* The show opened with a video package from the six men (the three teams) in the tag team tournament finale, so we had a mix of English, Japanese and German, but we again had English subtitles. Once again, this small arena is well-lit and attendance is maybe 600-800.
1. Mike D Vecchio vs. Nick Schreier for the wXw European Title. Schreier didn’t wrestle on the first two shows; he’s similar to a young Tyler Bate. D Vecchio won the wXw European Title just 24 hours earlier and he has a great physique. Mike got on the mic and he offered a title shot, which Nick of course accepted. They locked up and D Vecchio easily shoved him to the mat. Schreier hit a missile dropkick at 2:30. He went for a crossbody block but just bounced off Mike’s chest. Schreier hit a pop-up dropkick at 4:30, then he dropkicked D Vecchio to the floor and dove through the ropes onto him.
In the ring, Schreier hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. D Vecchio hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall at 6:30. Nick hit a dropkick into the corner, then a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. D Vecchio hit a delayed vertical powerbomb for a nearfall at 8:30. He missed a 450 Splash, and Schreier hit a superkick and a Canadian Destroyer but that just woke D Vecchio up! Nick hit some more kicks and he went for a spear, but D Vecchio caught him and hit a gut-wrench, swinging, sit-out powerbomb for the pin. Nice match. I never felt D Vecchio was in danger of losing, but Schreier got plenty of good hope spots. Good way to start the show.
Mike D Vecchio defeated Nick Schreier to retain the wXw European Title at 9:49.
* Levaniel cut a backstage promo in German (no subtitles on this one). He has his title belt over his shoulder. He mentioned Matt Cardona and said he was a fighting champion.
2. Hektor Invictus vs. Aigle Blanc. Invictus’ team lost the tag titles when they lost on night one of the tournament. He has a long beard and a cross tattoo over his chest. The masked Blanc is a top-tier European star. Standing switches and they worked each other’s left arm. Hektor hit a springboard crossbody block at 1:30. Blanc chopped Hektor, who fell to the floor. In the ring, Blanc applied a leg lock around the neck and was in charge. Invictus hit a powerslam at 5:00 and they were both down. Invictus hit a clothesline for a nearfall.
They hit stereo spin kicks to the head at 6:30 and were both down again. Blanc hit a Dragon Suplex and a DDT, then a second-rope moonsault to the floor. Back in the ring, he hit a springboard Meteora double knees to the back of the head for a nearfall at 8:00. He went for a 450 Splash but Invictus got his knees up. Blanc went for a springboard move, but Hektor caught him with a hard knee. Invictus hit one more running knee to the collarbone for the pin! Good, hard-hitting match, and a mild upset.
Hektor Invictus defeated Aigle Blanc at 8:54.
3. LSG, Axel Fox, and Vaughn Vertigo vs. “High Performance LTD.” Icarus, Joseph Fenech Jr., and Anil Marik (w/Robin Christopher Fohrwerk). I don’t think I’ve seen Fox before. Basic action early on. LSG entered at 3:30 and hit a springboard crossbody on Fenech. Marik choked LSG in the ropes. Icarus hit a DDT and pinned the skinny redhead Fox. Basic action that allowed the revamped heel faction to get over.
Icarus, Joseph Fenech Jr., and Anil Marik defeated LSG, Axel Fox, and Vaughn Vertigo at 6:15.
Fohwerk got on the mic and pointed out Baby Allison, who joined the heel faction a day ago. Fohwerk then introduced Peter Tihanyi, the new champion, who strolled out from the back, with the title around his waist. A kid with tattoos drawn on his body, designed to look like Elijah Blum, hit the ring and challenged Tihanyi to a fight, and we got underway.
4. Peter Tihanyi vs. “Fake Elijah Blum” A kick and a pin. Of course, it brought out the real Blum, who was carrying a pipe and he chased away the heels.
Peter Tihanyi defeated “Fake Elijah Blum” in 0:15.
* Backstage, 1 Called Manders and Thomas Shire were pumped up for the tag main event!
5. “Desperados” Arez, Gringo Loco, and Latigo vs. Timothy Thatcher, Shigehiro Irie, and Hideki Suzuki. Thatcher and Arez opened, and Thatcher immediately went for the wrist and fingers, then switched to an anklelock, and they traded holds on the mat. Suzuki and Latigo entered at 4:00, and Suzuki has a significant height and weight advantage. Irie and Loco entered for the first time at 6:30. Latigo grabbed Irie and it allowed the luchadors to begin working him over, but in a comedy way. Irie hit a huracanrana on Gringo at 9:00 and that got a pop. Irie began armdragging everyone, even his own teammates and the ref for a bit of comedy, and we got a “This is awesome!” chant.
Thatcher slapped Irie in the face to snap him out of it; Irie began crying (like Maki Itoh does!) Funny. Irie started to head to the back as he hung his head, and Suzuki had to chase him down and convince him to return. Thatcher, of course, is not amused by any of these comedy antics. Iriie and Thatcher shook hands and hugged, and Irie was happy again. However, Irie hit the ring post and was upset all over again. Latigo dove onto them at 13:00. Loco hit a second-rope moonsault to the floor. Arez hit a Bailey-style Triangle Moonsault to the floor on everyone.
In the ring, Aez ran up Irie’s back, and Loco hit a moonsault on Irie or a nearfall at 14:30. Irie tripped on the bottom rope and was crying again! They are really amping up the comedy in this one. Again, Thatcher is enraged by all of these antics. Thatcher began hitting belly-to-belly suplexes onto each luchador. Arez hit a Pele Kick on Thatcher. Thatcher slapped on a Fujiwara Armbar out of nowhere, and Arez tapped out. Not the match I expected going in, but that was thoroughly entertaining. More Euro coins were thrown in the ring at them.
Timothy Thatcher, Shigehiro Irie, and Hideki Suzuki defeated Arez, Gringo Loco, and Latigo at 17:52.
* The intermission match was from 2018 featuring Jonathan Gresham and Chris Brookes vs. “Lucha Brothers” Pentagon and Rey Fenix. It was nonstop action with Gresham getting a pin at 8:48, so certainly much shorter than I anticipated.
6. Robert Dreissker vs. Aeron. Dreissker wore a blue-and-black singlet; he is much bigger and thicker than this kid. He tossed this kid around and hit a belly-to-belly suplex for the pin. Short and to the point. (And he needed a bounce back win after taking the pin in the main event a day ago.)
Robert Dreissker defeated Aeron at 1:48.
7. Fuminori Abe vs. Mad Dog Connelly. I’ve seen Connelly just a few times, usually in the Tennessee-area independents, and he is doing a great Bruiser Brody impersonation. Standing switches to open. They brawled briefly to the floor. In the ring, Abe hit a series of kicks and kept Connelly grounded. Connelly hit a hard clothesline at 4:30. Abe hit a suplex and they were both down. Connelly hit a hard clothesline. Abe ducked another clothesline, got a folding press cover and scored the pin out of nowhere. Good while it lasted.
Fuminori Abe defeated Mad Dog Connelly at 6:56.
* Backstage, Axel Tischer and Fast Time Moodo spoke about their match later.
8. Levaniel vs. Anita Vaughan for the wXw Shotgun Title. Vaughan is a muscular woman with long, reddish-brown hair, and she carried a trophy with her. Levaniel (think WCW-era Stunning Steve Austin) attacked her from behind and the ref checked on her and she looked ticked off, but insisted the match begin. I start my stopwatch with the bell, not at first blow. He immediately hit a neckbreaker across his back and got a nearfall, and he kept her grounded early on. She fired up and hit a series of forearm strikes in the corner at 4:00. He bodyslammed her for a nearfall at 6:00. He hit a modified Death Valley Driver for a nearfall, and he was livid and annoyed she kicked out.
Levaniel choked her in the ropes and was fully in charge. She fired up and hit a series of forearm strikes. Levaniel hit a clothesline and an open back hand to her face at 11:30. He hit another open slap to her cheek and celebrated as he was booed. He hit a Jay White-style Bladerunner swinging face plant and made a cocky cover. However, she hooked his arms, rolled him over, and scored the flash pin! The crowd celebrated as Levaniel sat up in disbelief that he just lost his belt. I have a problem with the man-on-woman violence in this one.
Anita Vaughan defeated Levaniel to win the wXw Shotgun Title at 12:35.
9. Axel Tischer & Fast Time Moodo vs. “Young Blood” Oscar Leube & Yuto Nakashima vs. 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire in a three-way elimination match in the World Tag Team Festival finale and for the wXw Tag Team Titles. This is an elimination match.Shire and Oskar opened and immediately traded blows to the face. Manders entered at 1:00 and chopped Yuto. Manders and Oskar traded clotheslines. Tischer got in but Manders chopped him, too. Moodo tagged in and hit some bodyblows on Manders. Manders hit a DDT on Tischer at 5:00 and they were both down. Everyone started hopping in the ring and hitting and kicking each other, and suddenly all six were down.
Two teams began ganging up on Tischer and Moodo, but when those two went down, Young Blood brawled with Manders and Shire. Moodo hit a top-rope kick on Manders. Tischer and Moodo hit their Chasing the Dragon (spin kick-and-brainbuster combo) on Manders and pinned him at 8:24. The match continued with the two remaining teams. They hit front and back kicks on Oskar for a nearfall, and they kept Leube in their corner. Oskar finally hit a backbody drop and made the hot tag to Yuto at 13:30. Yuto got in and hit some quick roundhouse kicks to Tischer’s chest, then a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Yuto hit a suplex. Oskar tagged back in and hit a double clothesline at 16:00 and he was fired up.
Moodo and Tischer pushed Oskar into a corner and repeatedly punched him. Tischer hit a superplex, and Moodo immediately hit a top-rope elbow drop for a nearfall, but Yuto made the save and they were all down. Yuto and Tischer got up and traded forearm strikes. Tischer hit an enzuigiri; Yuto hit a bulldog move at 18:00 that sent Tischer rolling to the floor. That left Moodo alone in the ring, and they beat him up. Yuto hit a hard clothesline. Moodo hit a superkick to Yuto’s jaw that leveled him. Oskar’s chest was bleeding from chops. He hit a Tiger Driver/butterfly powerbomb for a nearfall. Oskar nailed a clothesline on Moodo, then a standing powerbomb for the pin. Excellent action. They celebrated with the titles as the show faded to black.
“Young Blood” Oscar Leube & Yuto Nakashima defeated Axel Tischer & Fast Time Moodo and 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire in a three-way elimination match to win the World Tag Team Festival and the wXw Tag Team Titles at 20:32.
Final Thoughts: A very good main event that met the moment. A great way to conclude a 12-team tournament that featured 10 matches over three days, and I feel the right team won. I really hope New Japan calls Yuto and Oskar home sooner than later to freshen up a very stale tag team scene. While it was short, I’ll go with Invictus vs. Blanc for second-best. The Gringo Loco six-man tag was pretty funny with Irie really selling being upset and crying easily, and I’ll give that third. Like I said, not the match I expected going in, but I was entertained.
As far as Levaniel-Vaughan, I don’t like this type of intergender match at all. It’s one thing for a man and woman to lock up and trade armbars, and for the woman to hit some huracanranas and tie up a guy. It is a completely different thing to have a taller, clearly stronger, man back a woman into a corner and hit repeated open-hand slaps to her face and clearly get a kick out of beating her up. It makes me uncomfortable. We may someday have an intergender match on WWE; I could see Rhea getting a match against Dominik. But I guarantee it would not play out like Levaniel-Anita did here. Criticism of that match aside, this was another entertaining show. I fully endorse wXw shows and this was a great three-day watch.
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