-wXw "16 CARAT GOLD 2009" REPORT-
by Alan Counihan
- GETTIN' MY 16 CARAT ON IN GERMANY: wXw 16 Carat Gold - Night 1
I have no plans for what I'm gonna write here, how long it'll be or anything. I'm just gonna roll with it and see what comes of it.
An early ass flight accompanied by several old PPH's on my mp3 player, saw me arrive in Deutschland on Friday morning with the first night of the tourney that evening. Found our hotel which was really really nice and in a perfect location. Myself, AdamJ and his two buddies made our first trip into the GIGANTIC Centr-o mall in Oberhausen where we were basically just overwhelmed by the freaking size of the place and the ridiculous amount of restaurants at our disposal. After some food, it was off to NIGHT 1 of WXW 16 Carat 2009!!!
The venue was this cool little bar that you could tell was gonna have an awesome atmosphere just by entering.
1. Sami Callihan vs. Dan Paysan vs. Tommy End vs. Sha Samuels
Really fun 4 way and a perfect opener for a live show. Paysan looked way better than I was expecting and had tons of charisma. Sami is waaaay more enjoyable in person than on tape.... when you hear his strikes live it's unreal. Tommy is bigtime over with the German fans, who MOSH during his entrance and Sha is basically just an awesome English lout who wrestles in a QPR scarf. Sami got the win over Paysan to be the official alternate for the tourney.
2. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Opening Round Match: Daisuke Sekimoto over Martin Stone via No Touch German Suplex
Awwwwesome little match here and the first taste of the GREATNESS that Big Daisuke would unleash all weekend. Stone really brought it too and looked better than I had ever seen him before. Hard hitting, big powaah moves and a hot crowd.... a fine combination! DICE-K won with the No Touch German to advance. I then proceeded to dance to his music for the first of many times over the weekend.
3. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Opening Round Match: Drake Younger over "Cracow Butcher" Adam Polak via Cross Legged Michinoku Driver
Polak has tons of charisma and an awesome face for wrestling.... like Minoru Suzuki level expressions. Don't remember too much about this match as alot of it consisted of brawling that I couldn't see. I do remember liking what they did towards the end. Good stuff.
4. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Opening Round Match: Steve Douglas over Tatsuhito Takaiwa via Half Nelson Suplex Hold
Douglas is the top local heel in WXW and the crowd do not like him one bit. Also his girlfriend who was at every show is the hottest thing on two legs (at least I think she was his gf). Match was fairly short and Takaiwa was dominating towards the end before Steve busted out his finisher to advance.
5. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Opening Round Match: Bryan Danielson over Doug Williams via low-blow followed by The Small Package
Match of the night up to this point. Danielson was unreal. He is HATED by the Germans and he plays it up like nobody's business. Doug was on form too and they had some sweet exchanges as you'd expect. Dragon built the match around one move.... AN ABDOMINAL STRETCH! He was determined to use it to win, sometimes mixing it with elbows to the ribs. They had some great nearfalls that everyone was going nutty for before Danielson used the lowblow/cradle combo to advance.
6. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Opening Round Match: Zack Sabre Jr. over Terry Frazier via submission (Cross-Arm Breaker)
Shortest match of the night I think. Zach got the flash win with his Minoru Special Armbar. His entrance music is Burning Heart by Survivor. It may just be the best babyface entrance music in wrestling. Post match was an angle that saw Takaiwa turn heel and join up with Big Van Walter, Frazier and Samuels. Erick Stevens made the save but the he was attacked by Sami Callihan who also joined The Cartel.
7. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Opening Round Match: Big van Walter over Erick Stevens via Power Bomb
Maybe as good as the Danielson match. Stevens was over LIKE A GOD for his first trip to Germany and you could tell he was so stoked to be there. He was so enthusiastic and hyperextended his rectum, even breaking out the best topé I've seen ... maybe EVER! He picked up so much speed and took out both Walter and a table of Subway Sandwiches. The Stevens vs. Subway feud picked up again on Night 3 but I'll get to that later. Walter looked decent here too but he had his best reserved for later in the weekend and I'll DEFINITELY get to THAT later too.
8. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Opening Round Match: Shingo Takagi over Absolute Andy via Bloodfall
Yeah I went crazy for Shingo.... did you expect something different? Another good match to keep the roll going. Crowd was crazy hot at times, with Andy being the big local babyface and Shingo being Shingo. Andy's spinebuster into Sharpshooter combo was such a great near-fall as I think ALOT of people (myself included) thought Shingo might tap (he was teasing it soooo well) but he got to the ropes. A nice touch was that Shingo used the Bloodfall for the win, as it was the start of a cool little mini story that built through his tournament matches.
9. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Opening Round Match: Tyler Black over Chris Sabin via Power Bomb-Superkick Combo
WOW!!!! This was a match and a half. I dunno if the plan was for a babyface vs. babyface match, but the fans started getting on Sabin for being a TNA guy and he seemingly just said "screw it" and rolled with it, totally playing the dick heel busting out Kaientai-DX poses and doing the Stroke followed by a Jarrett strut. But when it came time for the finishing stretch it was all serious. Absolutely insane nearfalls and really killer moves. Tyler was unreal here and Sabin was smooth as can be. They really went all out and the roof was sounding like it might come off the building. LOVE Tyler's new finish.
And that was the end of Night 1, a HELL of a wrestling show which built nicely to an amazing main event. The show really set the table well for the Sat/Sun shows.
- GETTIN' MY 16 CARAT ON IN GERMANY: wXw 16 Carat Gold - Night 2
Woke up before the other guys on Saturday so I decided to head off on my own into Centr-o to do a bit of exploring and ALOT of eating. There's so many cool shops in that place and a ridiculous amount of hot women strolling around. There were shops for everything, but the coolest thing I saw in the whole place was this:
A 3D image of a tiger, in a solid crystal cube. Dunno how the fuck you create one of those but it's amazing.
Before I went back to the hotel, it was eating time and I knew there was only one place I needed to be. The VAUNTED Pagoda Chinese Buffet. It's out on it's own little island on the side of Centr-o, and with a bridge set up to walk to it, it has a pretty cool look.
I then proceeded to sit down for nigh on 2 hours and stuff myself with 6 plates of food, whilst reading the awesome history of NTV/Japanese wrestling article in the Observer. They had the nicest salmon I have ever tasted in my life, and one plate I took was just a giant tower of it. It was seriously so delicious.
Went back to the hotel and met up with the lads to go to the show (which was on in the afternoon). The venue was bigger than Friday night and once again had a cool atmosphere that hit you the moment you walked in.
1. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Quarter Final Match: Zack Sabre Jr. over Bryan Danielson via Mousetrap
Awesome story here. Very Razor/123 Kid esque. Danielson just dicked around with Zach for the whole match, acting cocky as hell and spending as much time berating the fans as beating up his opponent. It was so much fun. Of course, much like 123 Kid shocked Razor with that moonsault press in 1993, Zach shocked Danielson with a flash pin out of nowhere. He then jumped right into his adoring fans arms as Burning Heart kicked in over the PA. Bryan had the greatest hissy fit ever.
2. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Quarter Final Match: Steve Douglas over Daisuke Sekimoto via Half Nelson Suplex Hold
Sekimoto was flat out incredible in this match. The crowd were soooo behind him and he was just FEEDING off their energy. One of the best spots of the whole weekend was a FREAKING PELE KICK that he busted out of absolutely nowhere when Douglas was trying for his finisher. They did some of the hottest nearfalls of the whole weekend and I was SURE Daisuke was gonna win, but just when I expected another big kickout he was actually kept down for the 1-2-3. My heart may have broke Ralph Wiggam style right at that very moment.
3. wXw World Lightweight Championship: Tommy End over Dan Paysan, Chris Sabin & Emil Sitoci (c) to become the 15th champion
- Chris Sabin d. Dan Paysan via Cradle Shock
- Tommy End d. Emil Sitoci via Outside Cradle
- Tommy End d. Chris Sabin via Owari Death Combo #2
This match had a tough time following the prior one. The start and end were really good, but the middle dragged at times. Sitoci used the Johnny B. Badd "Badd Blaster" gimmick so in a way it was all worth it. The highlight of the match was when it was down to Sabin and Tommy. Big babyface win to give End the belt. Got over huge of course. Moshing commenced.
We then got an intermission and I popped out to the McDonalds that was near the venue to get my FIRST EVER MCRIB~! I give it a solid ***3/4. It would have been higher but they seriously put about ten buckets of sauce in this thing and I had to spend as much time wiping most of it off as I did eating the thing.
4. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Quarter Final Match: Drake Younger over Big Van Walter via La Magistral Cradle
Unfortunately I missed alot of this match getting back from McD's. What I saw of it seemed good though. Considering how great these two were on Night 3, I'll be looking forward to seeing this match again on DVD.
5. Sami Callihan over Erick Stevens via Chain Assisted Right Punch
This was awesome. Both guys were bigtime over and Erick was perhaps even more amped up than the prior night, if that was even possible. Loads of hard hitting as you'd expect and some cool stuff down the stretch. I wasn't a huge fan of the interference spot for the finish but eh whatcha gonna do. Stevens goes 0-2 for the weekend. A TRUE CRIME (which only gets worse the next night). He's perhaps more over with the loss though so it's all good.
6. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Quarter Final Match: Shingo Takagi over Tyler Black via MADE IN JAPAN
Match of the weekend up to this point. Absolutely and completely mind blowingly awesome!!!!! GET THIS DVD FOR THIS MATCH! I don't even know where to start with reviewing this... I mean I can't possibly do it justice. Just two great wrestlers going at it 120% in front of one of the hottest crowds you'll see anywhere in the world. They traded bigtime nearfalls before Shingo won with MADE IN JAPAN. One of the nearfalls was from the move Shingo won with the prior night. So he had to bust out something bigger.
7. 6-Man Tag Team Match: The Kartel (Sha Samuels & Terry Frazier) & Tatsuhito Takaiwa over Doug Williams & Martin Stone & Absolute Andy via Death Valley Driver from Takaiwa on Stone
Good solid 6 man between guys the crowd loved and guys they hated. Takaiwa really should have been decked out in English Football gear. A nice Chelsea shirt would have been sweet! The Kartel continue to frustrate the babyfaces by picking up a win.
8. wXw World Heavyweight Championship: Bryan Danielson d. Bad Bones (c) via Cattle Mutilation to become the 21st champion
It's not often you get a show opening and closing with American Dragon matches. Danielson was more serious and intense here than in his prior two matches of the weekend. He was resorting to his whole arsenal of moves, because Bad Bones was THAT TOUGH! Really dramatic match. Bones is from the area and the crowd adore him. One of those matches you just completely lose yourself in. When Bryan won the belt I could audibly hear Ralph Wiggam'ing from every inch of the building. Hearts were broken like it was Dallas in 1983 and a Von Erich head just got slammed into a cage door. Danielson cut a promo saying how the first match of the night didn't matter, he got the last laugh and that the belt was nothing to him. He was just happy that he made us so sad! Awesome main event.
Overall this was a great great show. Even better than Night 1. Shingo/Tyler, Dragon/Bones and Daisuke/Douglas were the standout matches.
I went to the fans afterparty, and I have to say that everyone was so unbelievably nice. Just some of the coolest guys around. I'll probably talk more about the people I met when I do my overall thoughts on the weekend.
- GETTIN' MY 16 CARAT ON IN GERMANY: wXw 16 Carat Gold - Night 3
Ahhhh Sunday. This was quite the day my friends.
Saturday was a late-ish night so I didn't wake up until 11:30 or so. With only 4 hours until the show, I didn't bother going into Centr-o so I just chilled at the hotel, had a small workout, listened to some shows and did a little reading. EXCITING STUFF..... or not.
Anyway showtime:
1. 16 Carat Gold SF: Shingo Takagi over Zack Sabre Jr by ELBOW/CHOKE DEATH COMBO.
Holy fuck did this ever rule!!! This is the sleeper match of the weekend. Zack was extremely aggressive here. He came right out of the gates swinging. And of course Shingo was happy to go toe to toe with him. Zack got the advantage by injuring Shingo's arm (which he sold like Ricky Steamboat in his prime). However Shingo struck back, taking out Zack's leg and then going to work with some of the most awesome leg attacks I've ever seen. He was switching from one leg lock variation to another and it was soooo smooth. I was just in awe. And I think it was this match that saw Shingo do A FIST DROP TO THE KNEE!!!! Awesome! But Zack fought back, like he had been doing all weekend. Shingo once again had to break out a more severe finisher, as that little story continued on. You wanna know what finisher he used? Have a look at my sig.
2. 16 Carat Gold SF: Drake Younger over Steve Douglas via Drake's Landing
The second semi final delivered in spades too. If you've read my prior reports you know the deal with these guys. The crowd loves one of them and they HATE one of them. Thus we had yet another match with insane heat. Drake was on fire and Douglas probably put in his best performance of the weekend here. The nearfalls were EPIC and when Drake pulled out the win with the Landing the place exploded.
3. Streetfight: The Kartel (Sha Samuels & Terry Frazier) over Martin Stone & Erick Stevens pinning Stevens.
Oh this was soooo much fun. I dunno what it'd be like for a DVD viewer but this is the type of match that a live crowd adores. They brawled everywhere. I followed around Erick and Terry Frazier and was witness to them destorying the merch table, the Subway sandwich stand and even THE WALL:
Erick's excitement is so contagious. You just can't help but go crazy and cheer when he's beating up some dude. Oh and PRO-TIP, do not high five Erick Stevens! He will break your hand! I can't imagine what a chop is like. As disappointed as I was that Stone (who was also great) and Stevens lost, the finish was hilarious. The Kartel had pretty much not had one offensive manouvre all match, but when Stone fell out of the ring they both rolled up Stevens and piled on for the quick pin. They then proceeded to roll out of the ring, completely dead but with their hands raised.
4. Sternau over Dan Paysan via Ace Crusher
Apparantly this was Sternau's debut on a main show. And he did a good job. I imagine Paysan is a great guy for a rookie to wrestle, because he's so damn smooth in the ring and just makes everything so easy. The one scary point was Sternau going for a standing moonsault and not getting all the way over but credit to him, he put it behind him and didn't let it effect him afterwards. Thankfully he didn't seem hurt. Fine little match.
5. wXw LW Title: Tommy End (c) over Tatsuhito Takaiwa via submission
This was the big Takaiwa match of the weekend. He and Tommy went at it hard and had a very good match. The last few minutes were killer. Takaiwa busted out his double Powerbomb/DVD combo and a sick sick Michinoku Driver. I don't think I've mentioned End's finisher in any of the reports but it's really cool. He hits an RKO and then rolls back into a cool looking submission. He put down Takaiwa with that to keep the belt.
6. wXw WH Title: Bryan Danielson (c) over Absolute Andy, Adam Polak & Tyler Black
- Danielson succeeds in V1 pinning Black with The Peruvian Necktie
By far the best of the three 4-ways we saw during 16 Carat. The schtick at the start with Polak and Bryan being BFF's was hilarious. The Krakow Butcher was the first man out, pinned by Tyler Black. But upon leaving he busted him open with his spike. Danielson jumped all over that and proceeded to lay a beating on Black for the next while. Andy got the hot tag and ran wild. He had Danielson beat with the Sharpshooter, until we saw what I seriously considered one of the most CREATIVE spots I've seen in a long time. Toilet paper started flooding the ring, and everyone was like WHAT THE FUCK, pissed off that some fan was doing this. But it was not a fan, it was Steve Douglas up on the balcony! So so awesome. Andy let it distract him and Danielson small packaged him for the pin. Then we got about 10 minutes of Danielson/Tyler. It was great. Up there with their ROH matches for sure. Bryan's training at Xtreme Couture in Vegas paid off, as he busted out A PERUVIAN NECKTIE to make Tyler submit/pass out.
Post match Danielson challenged Paul London to come and try to take his belt.
8. Doug Williams over Chris Sabin via Chaos Theory
I expected this to be good..... but nowhere near as good as it turned out to be! Some of the best exchanges of the entire weekend were right here in this match. Sabin is seriously just a pleasure to watch. The guy does everything seemingly so effortlessly. He's one of the most athletically co-ordinated dudes I've ever seen. The highlight of the match for me was a sweet sweet tornado DDT off the ropes. Loads of teases of the Chaos Theory and when Doug finally hit it, the place exploded. Sabin who for the third night running worked heel, got a standing ovation post match and "made up" with the fans and shook hands with Doug.
9. Big van Walter & Sami Callihan over Bad Bones & Daisuke Sekimoto when Walter pinned Bones with a GIANT POWERBOMB
This match... OH THIS MATCH!!!! One of my favourite tags this year for sure. These guys all brought it 110% So many incredible exchanges, so many great SHEEEER POWAAAH spots, so much hard hitting and it was all structured really well. Amazing when you consider most of these guys had never wrestled each other, and heck, we had one guy that speaks Japanese, one who speaks English and two who speak German. But THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE OF PROWRES made this click perfectly and gave us one of the best, most memorable matches of the whole weekend.
10. 16 Carat Gold 2009 Final: Shingo Takagi over Drake Younger via The Last Falconry winning the 2009 16 Carat Gold Tournament
I don't really know what I can say about this match. Much like Shingo/Tyler from night 2, words don't do it justice. The intensity and drama was off the page. I was flipping out like you seriously can't imagine, all through this match. I may have burnt several thousand calories as someone said! Both guys bled, chairs came into play, Drake busted out an insane, INSANE dive and we got some killer killer nearfalls. Probably the match of the weekend. Either this or Tyler/Shingo. You can't split them. The story of Shingo's finishers concluded so beautifully in this. Drake survived all the things that put previous opponents away. The Bloodfall didn't work, MADE IN JAPAN didn't work, and the choke didn't work. So for the first time all weekend we saw The Last Falconry and that was not to be kicked out of.
Shingo was presented with the trophy and announced that he was coming back in November AND WAS BRINGING FRIENDS (Dragon Gate ahoy!). You could see this meant the world to him and that was confirmed by reading his blog today. This is a guy that lives to be a pro wrestler, and he was able to experience a true classic pro wrestling adventure in Germany. It didn't matter that there wasn't 60,000 people there. It didn't matter that it wasn't in the Tokyo Dome, or Madison Square Garden. This was as real and as awesome as it gets, and every fan and wrestler there knew it. Especially Shingo Takagi.
Like I said in a prior report, all the people I met at these shows were soooo nice. Adam, Jonas, verbec, Evan, Andrew and countless countless others. At a time when so many wrestling crowds are filled with total jerks, it was so refreshing to see a crowd that literally had NOT ONE asshole that I noticed. And everyone was so helpful and accomodating too, which comes in handy when you don't speak the language.
And then the next morning it was time to go home, after a great great trip.
I had been bumping into Big Daisuke all weekend to the point where everytime I turned around he was seemingly behind me. I said to myself as I walked into the airport "I wonder if any of the wrestlers will be in here". Of course the first person I notice amongst the thousands roaming the departure terminal, as I walk through the doors was the Japanese man built like a tank, no doubt getting ready to German Suplex something. I should have known he'd be there. Heck I was surprised he wasn't sitting beside me on the plane to Ireland.
Myself and Daisuke.
Myself and some guy with a trophy.
by Alan Counihan