By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
WXW “Grand Prix Day One”
September 25, 2026, in Oberhausen, Germany, at Turbinenhalle 1
Available on the WXW YouTube Page
They released this show for free Thursday on their YouTube channel, but added that will only be available for one week only. As of right now, the other shows are pay-per-views.
* This venue has great lighting, and overall production is top-notch. (If you haven’t seen wXw before, you will be impressed.) Attendance was listed at 371, and that feels honestly pretty accurate! The ring announcer spoke in German, but Dave Bradshaw and heel wrestler Norman Harras provided English commentary. ALSO, I love that they have a match clock in the lower left corner of the screen. The commentators said each tournament match has a 20-minute time limit.
There are simultaneous tournaments! One is a women’s tournament. There is also an eight-man, round-robin tournament with just FOUR competitors in each of two blocks. There also is a tag tournament.
1. Elijah Blum vs. Axel Tischer in a first-round B Block tournament match. Blum is one of the top three local wrestlers; he’s white with dark hair, and he’s covered in tattoos. Standing switches to open. Tischer tied him up on the mat and targeted the left arm. Blum hit a dropkick for a one-count at 4:30, then applied a headlock on the mat. Tischer (NXT’s Alexander Wolfe) hit a leg lariat to the jaw. Blum hit a twisting neckbreaker at 7:00. Tischer hit a senton and a suplex.
Tischer nailed a top-rope flying dropkick for a nearfall at 9:00. He hit a German Suplex, but Blum popped up and hit a shotgun dropkick. Tischer hit a release suplex, but Blum hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall at 10:30. Nice sequence. Tischer came off the ropes, but Blum caught him with a hard forearm strike. Tischer hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall at 12:30. They got up and hit stereo clotheslines, then traded forearm strikes. Blum hit an enzuigiri, but Tischer hit a dropkick and a swinging slam for the pin! I’ll call that a mild upset!
Axel Tischer (2) defeated Elijah Blum (0) at 14:00.
* Someone interviewed 1 Called Manders backstage. Manders said he’s sick of Thomas Shire, telling him, “My head ain’t in the game.” Manders said he’s ready for Shire.
2. Dieter Schwartz vs. Peter Tihanyi in a first-round B Block tournament match. Schwartz is white, bald, and slender. The crowd cheered for Tihanyi; the last time I saw him, he was a heel. He’s tall (maybe 6’2″), blond, and also fairly slender. Standing switches to open. Tihanyi hit a dropkick and a flip dive to the floor at 2:30. In the ring, Dieter snapped Peter’s throat across the bottom rope and took control, and he tied up Tihanyi on the mat. Dieter hit a hard knee drop across the left elbow at 6:00, and he was loudly booed for that.
Dieter hit some running back elbows in the corner, but Tihanyi hit a dropkick, and they were both down. Tihanyi hit a superkick. He went for a twisting back elbow, but Dieter caught him and hit a German Suplex at 9:00! Dieter tied up Tihanyi on the mat and hit a series of elbow strikes. However, Tihanyi flipped him over and got a flash pin out of nowhere! Harras called him a “Beach-blond bastard” and claimed Tihanyi cheated (he didn’t).
Peter Tihanyi (2) defeated Dieter Schwartz at 9:29.
* The backstage interviewer spoke to Thomas Shire about a fight he had a day earlier with 1 Called Manders. Shire said that Manders “lost his head” in that fight. Shire said, “I can’t wait to whip his ass in front of his momma.”
3. “The Greedy Souls” Brendan White and Danny Jones vs. “Quick & Dirty” Hugo Brand and Nickas Bock in a World Tag Team Tournament first-round match. My first time seeing Quick & Dirty, and I see Brand doesn’t yet have a cagematch.net bio. White is shorter, bald and thick (think Dax Harwood but no mustache). Jones is taller with a good physique, and he opened against Bock (his name is on his butt). Danny easily shoved the smaller, younger Bock down. The Greedy Souls hit some stereo moves on Brand, who has a mullet and mustache.
Brand hit a top-rope twisting crossbody block on White for a nearfall at 3:00. From the floor, Jones grabbed Brand’s ankle, and it allowed White to take control. Jones hit some blows on the floor, too. In the ring, Jones hit a back suplex. White hit a senton for a nearfall. Bock got a hot tag at 5:30, and he hit some forearm strikes on White, a dropkick, and a huracanrana, and he was fired up. He hit a Code Red on White for a nearfall! Bock hit a dropkick to White’s back. Brand hit a spinebuster for a nearfall. White tossed Bock across the ring, and he hit a senton on Brand. White hit a Black Hole Slam, and Jones made the cover for the pin.
“The Greedy Souls” Brendan White and Danny Jones defeated “Quick & Dirty” Hugo Brand and Nickas Bock at 7:33 to advance.
4. Manami vs. Chihiro Hashimoto in a Femmes Fatales first-round match. The commentators said 22-year-old Manami is a nine-year pro! My first time seeing her; she wore mostly blue with streaks of gold. Hashimoto has a bigger frame and is visibly stronger and bigger than Manami. (Her body shape is similar to Dani Luna). They locked up, and Chihiro easily backed her into a corner. Manami tied up Chihiro’s arms behind her back and kept her grounded. She hit a monkeyflip and a basement dropkick at 3:30, and was fired up!
Hashimoto hit a bodyslam and a flipping senton for a nearfall. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Hashimoto tied her in an abdominal stretch, then she hit a gutwrench suplex at 7:00. Manami hit a Lungblower to the back, and she applied an Octopus Stretch. She hit a running knee to the side of the head, then a second-rope knee drop to the ribs for a nearfall at 9:00. Hashimoto fired back with a superplex, and they were both down. They got up and traded forearm strikes.
Manami hit a jumping knee for a nearfall at 11:00. Manami hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. She hit a top-rope frog splash for a nearfall, and she got a rollup for a nearfall. Hashimoto fired back with a spear! She hit a decapitating clothesline for a believable nearfall; I thought that was it. She nailed a standing powerbomb for the pin. Good action, but I never once bought that Manami could win here. Hashimoto helped Manami to her feet, and they hugged; the crowd chanted, “Please come back!” to Manami.
Chihiro Hashimoto defeated Manami at 13:09 to advance.
5. “Best Bros” Mei Sakura and Baliyan Akki vs. “Hyperactive” Anita Vaughan and Safire Reed in a World Tag Team Tournament first-round match. A commentator said it was the first time they were competing as a tag team in Europe. (They just wrestled a series of shows on the U.S. East Coast, including a Labor of Love event that was The Butcher’s second-to-last match.) The tiny Mei opened against Reed, and they traded basic standing switches. Reed hit a huracanrana on Akki at 2:00. Mei hit a huracanrana on Anita. Mei repeatedly shoved her chest into Anita, but Anita scooped her up and hit a bodyslam and a senton.
Those two got up and traded forearm strikes. Reed entered and got a rollup for a nearfall at 4:00. Mei rolled her around the mat and got a nearfall. Akki picked up Mei ‘Dirty Dancing’-style and dropped Mei feet-first onto Reed. Reed fired up and hit some forearm strikes on Akki. Baliyan dropped Reed with one hard chop, but she fired back with a dropkick, then a second-rope flying back elbow at 6:00. Vaughan got back in, and she hit an impressive fallaway slam on Akki for a nearfall. Akki hit a spinning backbreaker over his knee on Anita.
Mei hit a headscissors takedown on Vaughan, then a springboard double stomp to the gut at 8:00. Mei walked the top rope and tried a huracanrana, but Anita blocked it. Vaughan powerbombed his teammate Reed onto Mei for a nearfall. Akki and Anita traded forearm strikes on the apron, while Mei and Reed traded blows in the ring. Akki hit a springboard Swanton Bomb for a believable nearfall! We got a “This is awesome!” chant (in English!). Reed got on Vaughan’s shoulders. Mei tried some punches to Vaughan’s stomach, but it had no effect.
Mei got on Akki’s shoulders so they could ‘chicken fight.’ The crowd chanted “holy shit!” at the silliness, but Harras was not amused by the silliness. Mei hit a bodyslam. Akki hit a backbreaker over his knee. Mei flipped off of his shoulders for a moonsault onto Reed for a nearfall. Reed hit a kick to the side of Mei’s head, and Vaughan hit a powerslam to pin Mei. Good action with the right mix of comedy.
“Hyperactive” Anita Vaughan and Safire Reed defeated “Best Bros” Mei Sakura and Baliyan Akki at 13:21 to advance.
* The backstage interviewer spoke to Stephanie Maze. (I’ve never seen her hair down before. She’s always got it up, ready for a fight!) Maze is ready for her fight with Kay Lee Ray.
6. Stephanie Maze vs. Kay Lee Ray in a Femmes Fatales first-round tournament match. Yes, Maze’s hair was in a tight ponytail. Basic reversals early on, and they traded chops. Maze hit a Yes Kick and some roundhouse kicks to the chest, then a running knee to the side of the head at 2:00. Bradshaw reminded Harras that Maze beat her once. “I have no recollection of that!” Harras indignantly replied. Kay Lee hit a snap suplex and applied a front guillotine choke.
Maze escaped and hit a suplex at 4:30. Maze hit a dropkick for a nearfall. Maze nailed a running knee for a nearfall. Kay Lee Ray hit a Gory Bomb for a nearfall at 7:00. She missed a Swanton Bomb and sold an elbow injury upon landing. Maze hit a back suplex, then a roundhouse kick to the head for a nearfall. Kay Lee hit a Jay Driller for the pin! That came out of nowhere, too. Good action.
Kay Lee Ray defeated Stephanie Maze at 8:52 to advance.
7. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Dennis Dullnig in a first-round A Block tournament match. Dullnig is white, bald, with a short beard; I’ve typically seen him in tag teams. Standing switches early on. Dullnig hit an eye poke and threw Nakajima shoulder-first into the corner at 3:30. They went to the floor, and Dennis was in charge and kept Nakajima down. Nakajima whipped him into rows of chairs. They fought onto a stage, where Dullnig hit a suplex at 6:00! Ouch! In the ring, Dullnig hit an enzuigiri.
Nakajima hit a Helluva Kick at 8:00. He hit some kicks and kept Dullnig grounded. Nakajima hit some roundhouse kicks to the chest; Dullnig hit some forearm strikes. Dullnig hit a backbreaker over his knee at 11:00. Nakajima hit some superkicks and a Saito Suplex. Dullnig hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall, then a standing powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 13:00. Nakajima hit a German Suplex and a running Penalty Kick, and they were both down. He hit some more kicks to the chest and spine, then a brainbuster for the pin!
Katsuhiko Nakajima (2) defeated Dennis Dullnig (0) at 14:58.
8. 1 Called Manders vs. Thomas Shire in a first-round A Block tournament match. Teammates collide! Manders came out to some generic rock music; no Bon Jovi allowed! They almost immediately traded slaps. They rolled to the floor and traded chops. Shire tied up the right arm on the mat. Manders hit a bodyslam and a second-rope elbow drop at 4:30. He hit some chops. They brawled again to the floor, and Shire was bleeding from his mouth. I hope he didn’t lose a tooth!
Shire charged at him and hit a jumping knee; they got into the ring, and Shire got a nearfall at 6:30. He put Manders on his shoulders, did an Airplane Spin, and dropped Manders to the mat. They got up and traded chops. Manders hit a clothesline for a nearfall. He hit another hard clothesline, then another, for a believable nearfall at 9:30. Shire twisted the left leg, and he hit a Pump Kick, then a powerbomb for a nearfall. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Manders bit Shire’s hand. Shire hit a second-rope powerbomb and scored the pin!
Thomas Shire (2) defeated 1 Called Manders (0) at 12:08.
Final Thoughts: A show well worth checking out. The production is good, the commentary is good, and there’s some really good action. I’ll go with the Blum opener for best, the main event second, and Hashimoto’s match for third. I am so hit-or-miss on comedy in wrestling, but Best Bros always crack me up and entertain me. No real complaints at all, although there were a few matches where I thought both were likely to win.
A reminder that this show is only available for a week, so check it out now! The show clocks in at 2 hours and 28 minutes.
