Two Nights in Oberhausen (Part 1): wXw Broken Rulz X
From the moment my flight touched down in Dusseldorf, with the smiling stewardess announcing the time as 9:30am and the temperature as a "warm" 26 degrees, I knew I was in for a good weekend.
It was my first visit to Germany. Not only that, it was my first visit to a live wrestling event. From the moment that Bryan Danielson announced his appearance at wXw's Broken Rulz X and their debut AMBITION show the following night, I'd toyed with the idea of attending. Danielson had been a long time favourite of mine, and I'd had high hopes for seeing him in some fantastic matches on WWE programming. His wrestling ability alongside that of the likes of Jericho, CM Punk, William Regal combined with the WWE's unrivalled production values? I couldn't wait! My enthusiasm turned to irritation however as I watched how he was (ab)used on NXT, then into incredulous disbelief as his release was announced. Having stuck with NXT despite "Daniel Bryan's" losing streak, having watched him build momentum back again with matches against the Miz and a burgeoning feud with Michael Cole, I felt betrayed.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
So I watched intently to see what would happen next, hoping (against hope), that there was a master plan somewhere, that the WWE was toying with us, that it was a work. The more shows Danielson signed up to, the more that hope dwindled, but at the same time I watched the WWE fans make their voices heard on WWE shows, and saw the amazing welcome Danielson received on his first appearance back at CHIKARA. And that was pretty much what made my mind up. Having been inspired by Bryan Danielson's plea for people to watch independent wrestling at the CHIKARA show, I decided to do just that. "After all," I thought to myself "Danielson wrestled more last weekend than he had with WWE in the past six months!"
I made the brief flight from Manchester to Dusseldorf, and then an even briefer autobahn ride to Oberhausen. I'd checked out the route beforehand, and everything looked unbelievably straightforward. My hotel was across the road from the station, and the Turbinehalle - the hall where the show was being held - was a 10 minute walk from there. Spot on. What's more, wXw had announced on their website that while their show was due to start at 5pm, they would be opening the doors early for the World Cup match between Germany and Argentina.
wXw Broken Rulz X
Saturday 3rd July 2010
Oberhausen, Germany
I arrived just before the football match kicked off. The Turbinehalle was a smallish two-tier theatre, with the wXw ring erected in the centre and a bar and the wrestler's entrance on the far side. To my surprise, there were no barriers or fences separating the ring from the fans. This was immediately obvious as when I walked in, a large number of fans were sat in and around the ring, watching the game. Germany scored in the 3rd minute, and the cheers didn't stop until half time.
The half time entertainment was provided by wXw, as the ring cleared and the first two competitors came out for a match.
Antony Zeus vs. 2-Face
The first match set the tone for the evening, as Dutch wrestler Zeus went up against the native German 2-Face. Fuelled by the football as they were, it was pretty clear who the fans were firmly behind. A good back-and-forth contest ended when a second Dutch wrestler, Tommy End, entered the ring and distracted the referee, allowing Zeus to hit a wicked-looking uranage backbreaker for the win. The fans were not impressed, and although my German is somewhat limited, I suspect they weren't chanting "The Tommy, the".
The second half of the football followed, and three more goals for the home fans, who were in great voice by the end of the match. From the second the final whistle sounded, the fans were hammering on the ring apron with a chant of "We want wrestling!". And that's exactly what they got.
Wade Fitzgerald vs. Bryan Danielson
Fitzgerald, a young British high-flyer, made his way down to the ring to a good reception from the enthusiastic fans, but from the second the 'Final Countdown hit, the noise became deafening. Amid chants of "Best in the World", "We Love You Dragon", and much clapping, applause and - yes - throwing of ties, Danielson arrived. Another good wrestling match saw Danielson dictate the majority of the action on the mat, while Fitzgerald made use of speed, a range of kicks and high-flying moves to mix the pace up. Danielson eventually got the three-count after a stiff head kick on the seated Fitzgerald.
Tommy End vs. Thumbtack Jack
The next match saw the renewal of the Dutch/German rivalry, and the fans once again vent their anger on Tommy End. Thumbtack Jack may be familiar to CZW fans, but it was the first time I'd seen him in action, and he was impressive, with fast paced offence, lightning-quick kicks and a body which looked like a road-map of pain. Seriously. A kind German fan informed me that he was known for barbed-wire matches, and it showed. Despite the crowd being firmly behind Jack, the Dutch once again got the win in this one, with Tommy End getting the pin after Anthony Zeus returned the favour by interfering on his behalf.
Karsten Beck vs. Bernd Fohr
This was a fun match. Karsten Beck - who was accompanied to the ring by several of the Dutch wrestlers - was vocal throughout and reminded me somewhat of Jerry Lawler with his ring attire. After a back and forth match with a LOT of crowd interaction, Beck won with a lariat, much to the crowd's disgust.
Johnny Moss vs. Bad Bones
I'll start this off by saying Johnny Moss is an absolute monster. It was the first time I'd seen or heard of him, and over the weekend he left a big impression. An intense fighter with a ripped physique, he looked comfortable wrestling, brawling or throwing out power moves. The match started with Anthony Zeus and Tommy End attacking Bad Bones during his entrance. Karsten Beck joined in the attack, before Johnny Moss came to the ring, and cleared the heels from the ring to a big ovation from the crowd. No thanks from Bad Bones, though, who got straight into his face to finally kick off the bout. Moss won a stiff contest after a German Suplex.
TJP vs. Wade Fitzgerald
TJP (another impressive performer over the weekend) got a fantastic reaction from the crowd, and had a great match with Fitzgerald in the second match of the Round-Robin Challenge. After losing to Danielson, Fitzgerald needed a win to make sure he didn't finish last, but TJP won what was a good, fast-paced match by submission with what looked like a modified half-crab, making sure it was winner-takes-all for TJP vs. Danielson later in the night.
Carnage vs. Jon Ryan
Carnage and the British Jon Ryan had a good match, with the grappler Ryan taking on a well-balanced mix of styles in Carnage, who used kicks, aerial attacks, grappling and suplexes. Lots of false finishes and close calls eventually led Carnage to the win.
TNA X Division Champion Doug Williams vs. Martin Stone
Billed as Doug William's farewell match in wXw, Williams was handed a St Georges flag signed by the crowd prior to the bout against fellow Brit Martin Stone. A great contest saw Stone managing to escape the rolling German Suplex, only to be caught by a tornado DDT. It was always going to be Williams night, and he made an emotional farewell to the wXw crowd after the match, promising to be back one day.
Bryan Danielson vs. TJP
The final match in the Round Robin Challenge was probably the highlight of the night, with a real split in the crowd - a large number were firmly in Danielson's camp, but a fair few were cheering for TJP was well, and with good reason. Both men put on a brilliant match, Danielson trying to keep TJP grounded, TJP trying to quicken the pace. The crowd were caught up in the match, which provided several near falls, false finishes and high spots. TJP impressed, going move for move with Danielson on a number of occasions, and avoiding some of his signature moves. Danielson won his second match of the night when he hooked TJP in the Cattle Mutilation, TJP reversed it into a pin, before Danielson managed to reverse that into a pin of his own. Both men left the ring to a great ovation from the 300-strong crowd, with Danielson raising his opponent's arm in respect.
Big Van Walter vs. wXw Unified World Champion Zack Sabre Jnr (c)
I'd heard a lot about Zack Sabre Jnr prior to coming to Germany, and was looking forward to seeing him in action. Big Van Walter was exactly that, a monster heel with shades of Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow, who looked to overpower the high flying champion. The main event ended in a mass brawl after once again being interrupted by the Dutch wrestlers. Tommy End made his way to ringside amid jeers from the crowd, and was hit by a suicide dive from Zack Sabre immediately. The pair brawled around the outside of the ring, with Sabre getting the better of it. Tommy rolled Zack back into the ring, into the waiting arms of Big Van Walter who hit him with a power bomb, but his pin attempt was broken up by Thumbtack Jack for the DQ. More wrestlers spilled out from the back, and the brawl worked it's way around to the bar (where I had been practising the only German I could manage, "Ein bier, bitte" for most of the card), and I just about managed to get out of the way with my drink intact before 2-Face came flying off the first floor balcony and into the pack below. It was a great spot to end the show, all the more so because it happened all of three feet away from me!
And that was the great thing about the entire wXw event. The fans were right there in the thick of it, from the word go. Stood at the ring apron, slapping the canvas, making noise, having fun, right there with the wrestlers themselves. It made for an incredible atmosphere, and aside from the roguish chants from the crowd and some bad language from the stars themselves on occasion (I'm fluent enough to know what "scheiße" means), it was also almost entirely PG. No weapons, no blood, but the crowd were kept on the edge of their seat throughout by some fantastic wrestling and clever build-up and booking throughout the card.
After the show, Danielson and Williams came out to meet the fans and hold a signing session. I got the chance to share a couple of words with Bryan, who seemed genuinely pleased to speak to everyone he met, and must have been there for at least an hour, signing autographs and shirts and posing for pictures. So long in fact, that the X Division Champion said with a wry smile as he started to pack up "No one wants a signature from Doug Williams!"
All in all, it was a great event from wXw - around 6 hours in all if you count the inclusion of the football, and it left me wanting more. Lucky for me then, that I was going to get a second dose of wXw action the very next day...
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
