Issue 52 Shows of December 24-30, 2022

Issue 52 Shows of December 24-30, 2022


![pro darin](/assets/posts/2022-03-23/pro darin.png){:class=“restrict-width”}

RIP Don West

![don west](/assets/posts/2023-01-06/don west.jpg){:class=“restrict-width”}

Not too long ago, I noted that Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler were my favorite commentating duo in pro wrestling. Those two aren’t the only ones that are my favorites when it comes to announcers and commentators in pro wrestling.

Another one of my favorites is from TNA (nowadays Impact Wrestling), and his name is Don West. West not only worked as a commentator on Impact, but—outside the pro wrestling world—he also worked a host for Shop At Home, as well as sports talk show host in Nashville, Tennessee and the director of sales and marketing for an ice hockey team in Wenatchee, Washington.

I’ll never forget his loud, energetic voice on Impact as well as the videogame “TNA Impact!”; I’ll even remember times when I played WWE videogames and had a dream commentary team, I guess you can say, of Joey Styles and Don West.

RIP Don West…you will be greatly missed.

wXw Femmes Fatales

Let’s kick off this issue with some belated wXw recaps, shall we?

Femmes Fatales took place on October 1 at the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen, Germany, hours before night #1 of the World Tag Team Festival began. Like WWE Evolution that took place in 2018, this wXw event contained solely of women’s matches. (I would love to see WWE bring back Evolution by the way.) In this event were the Femmes Fatales tournament, with the winner of the tournament receiving a shot at the wXw Women’s Championship, as well as two three-way dances; one of those triple threat matches had the aforementioned women’s championship belt on the line.

![femme fatales.jpg](/assets/posts/2023-01-06/femme fatales.jpg){:class=“restrict-width”}

Nine matches (ten if you count the pre-show match that’s only available on wXw’s YouTube and didn’t have women like Femmes Fatales did) were on the card, which were of course the seven tournament matches and the two aforementioned triple threat bouts. I expected more competition in both three-way dances yet one of those two matches ended up being better than the other; it was the wXw Women’s Championship match that saw Baby Allison defend the belt against Amale and Calypso. This match showed Allison throwing the numbers game out of the window as she was able to defeat former NXT UK wrestler Amale who looked to win the title that she claimed she “never lost” as well as Calypso who came into the match with two wins (one by pinfall in a non-title bout and another by count out) over the champion.

As for the tournament that I got to see for the first time after watching wXw more often for over a year, I definitely enjoyed it from start to finish. The first round began with a bang courtesy of Killer Kelly and Iva Kolasky, and the rest of the matches in that round—even one that lasted for three minutes—were fairly good. The semi-final round was good as well, and the final round match became my favorite match of Femmes Fatales. The action was so good, it’s one of those matches that would make you want to say—and it’s been a while since I’ve said this catchphrase—“it could have gone either way.” Plus, I may have new favorites when it comes to women in the European indie wrestling scene! (EASY HINT: They were in the final round!)

Here are the Femmes Fatales results from Oberhausen…

Pre-show match: Elijah Blum defeated Gulyás Jr.

After Gulyás Jr. hit Blum with a cannonball for a near fall, Blum came back with a double underhook swinging neckbreaker (known as the Parting Gift) for the win. My score: 3/5

Match #1 (Peacock opener): Killer Kelly defeated Iva Kolasky in round 1 of the Femmes Fatales tournament.

Iva felt intimidated early in the match, and ended up screaming bloody murder—as if she were Fay Wray or Janet Leigh—after Kelly fought her into a corner. The match ended with Kelly hitting Iva with a rolling Death Valley Driver for the win. My score: 3/5

Match #2: Anastasia Bardot defeated Orsi in round 1 of the Femmes Fatales tournament.

This was Anastasia’s wXw debut; she’s not to be confused with the ICW wrestler simply known as Anastasia. After Orsi hit Anastasia—who made this match one-sided—with a spear and bodyslam for two, she powerbombed her off the top rope until Anastasia blocked her Jackhammer attempt and won with a Michinoku driver. My score: 2/5

Match #3: Aliss Ink defeated Nicky Foxley in round 1 of the Femmes Fatales tournament in three minutes.

This was Aliss’ wXw debut. Nicky hit Aliss with an X Factor (or Fox Buster as she calls it) for a near fall until Aliss won with a roundhouse kick; Aliss pulled Nicky away from the ropes at first before pinning her opponent for the win. My score: 0.5/5

Match #4: Masha Slamovich defeated Ava Everett in round 1 of the Femmes Fatales tournament.

After Ava hit Masha with a middle rope cutter (or Y2Cutter as she calls it) for a near fall followed by a spike DDT for two, Masha came back with an electric chair in a corner followed by a shining wizard for three. My score: 2/5

Match #5: Michelle Green defeated Maria de la Rosa and Shazza McKenzie in an International Three-Way Dance.

Michelle and Maria made their wXw debuts. During the match, Michelle put Maria in a bulldog choke until Shazza added a leg lace to Maria before hitting Michelle with a Northern Lights suplex for two. The end of the match saw Shazza hit Maria with a leg split stunner (known as the Shaztastic Stunner) until Michelle kneed Shazza out of the way to steal the pin. My score: 2/5

Match #6: Aliss Ink defeated Killer Kelly in the semi-final round of the Femmes Fatales tournament.

After Kelly hit Aliss with a rolling Death Valley Driver for a near fall, Aliss came back and won with a roundhouse kick. My score: 3/5

Match #7: Masha Slamovich defeated Anastasia Bardot in the semi-final round of the Femmes Fatales tournament in three minutes.

After Anastasia hit Masha with a cannonball for two, Masha countered a Michinoku driver with a German suplex before winning with a shining wizard. My score: 1/5

Match #8: Baby Allison defeated Amale and Calypso in a three-way dance to retain the wXw Women’s Championship.

Amale, who came back to wXw as a heel, had Allison sit on a fan’s lap and chopped her earlier. Then, during the match, Allison attempted to hit Calypso with a superplex until Amale powerbombed Allison during the superplex. Towards the end, Amale hit Allison with a delayed flatliner (known as the Champion Maker) for a near fall, then Calypso hit Amale with a German suplex until Allison hit Calypso with a spear for the win. My score: 2.5/5

Main event: Aliss Ink defeated Masha Slamovich in the final round to win the Femmes Fatales tournament.

Masha and Aliss fought at ringside earlier, where Masha suplexed the “Scandinavian dragon” into the chairs in the audience until Aliss came back with a roundhouse kick. Near the end, Masha hit Aliss with a Death Valley Driver in a corner, followed by a running corner boot and a shining wizard for a near fall; Aliss came back and won with a roundhouse kick. Aliss celebrated her win afterwards, and noticed that the trophy’s cup fell off, but she put it back on while she continued to celebrate. My score: 4.5/5

wXw World Tag Team Festival – Night 1

Staying in Oberhausen, it’s time for night 1 of the World Tag Team Festival!

Night 1 took place hours after Femmes Fatales at the same venue in Oberhausen. Kind of like what you would see in shows such as New Japan, this tournament had two blocks of teams; each tag team match in this tournament had 20-minute time limits, and the team that won this tournament would become wXw Tag Team Champions. Block A consisted of Sanity (Eric Young & Axel Tischer), CDK, Frenchadors (Senza Volto & Aigle Blanc) and the reunited Pretty Bastards (Maggot & Ahura); and block B consisted of Violence Is Forever, Rott und Flott, Icarus & Robert Dreissker and Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie.

![wxw tag team festival.jpg](/assets/posts/2023-01-06/wxw tag team festival.jpg){:class=“restrict-width”}

The matches in both blocks A and B kicked off the three-night tournament with a bang; out of the four tag team bouts that took place, my favorite would go to the opener between CDK and Sanity. We have seen what Chris Brookes and Masahio Takanashi are capable even before returning to Progress where Brookes fought his former colleague Kid Lykos in a no disqualification match; we have also seen what Young and Tischer are capable of in tag team action, going back to their time as Sanity—with Killian Dain and Nikki Cross—in the WWE. Both teams proved it in the ring, tag team chemistry and all; plus, you could tell that Tischer and Young didn’t miss a beat even though it has been a while since those two have teamed together per se.

Stealing the show however was the main event match that I enjoyed; it was between “Speedball” Mike Bailey, whom I remember from Combat Zone Wrestling as well as—right now—Impact, and Bobby Gunns where a shot at the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship was on the line. Those two wrestlers have fought each other in the past, with Gunns defeating him twice; this time, the ante was upped for both men as there was a shot at the title that was up for grabs. It was a great back and forth battle between the two, and in the end, it was the “Speedball” who emerged victorious and became the next wrestler to target Archer for that belt. I still don’t think that Gunns is out of championship contention yet in wXw, even though it’s good to see someone else such as Bailey have a shot at the metaphoric brass ring.

Here are the Festival results from Oberhausen…

Pre-show match: Akira defeated Jacob Crane in three minutes.

Crane was avoiding Akira’s bodyslam attempts at times until Akira was finally able to hit him with one for a two count; Akira then hit Crane with a German suplex, a kick into the ropes, and a lifting reverse DDT (known as the Death Penalty) for the win. My score: 0.5/5

Match #1 (Peacock opener): CDK defeated Sanity in Block A of the World Tag Team Festival tournament.

After Young and Tischer hit Masahiro Takanashi with—respectively—a pop up powerbomb and a wheelbarrow neckbreaker for two, Takanashi countered Tischer’s back suplex with an STO-turned rollup (a mouse trap pin to be more specific)—with assistance from Chris Brookes—for the win. My score: 4.25/5

Match #2: Peter Tihanyi defeated Laurance Roman.

After Tihanyi grabbed the bottom rope to break the crossface, Roman sent him to the apron until Tihanyi came back with a springboard Meteora and an enzuigiri; Roman then went for a back suplex until Tihanyi countered with the Sky Walker for the win. After the match, Roman beat down Tihanyi until Orsi ran in and attacked Roman. Then, Robert Dreissker appeared and tripped Orsi before Tihanyi was thrown out of the ring. My score: 3.5/5

Match #3: The Pretty Bastards defeated Frenchadors in Block A of the World Tag Team Festival tournament.

All four competitors went at it in and out of the ring before Aigle Blanc hit his opponents with a tope con giro into the chairs in the audience. The four then went at it again in the ring until the referee snapped and coerced them to continue with two legal competitors in the ring and those that didn’t tag in back on the apron. The match ended with Ahura hitting Senza Volto with a corkscrew crossbody into the chairs at ringside while, back in the ring, Maggot hit Aigle Blanc with a Zigzag for the win. After the match, Ahura—during an interview by Dan Mallman—said that he wasn’t teaming with Maggot in night 2 because he was attending his brother’s wedding; Maggot attempted to argue about it until Ahura attempted to pump him up for fighting Sanity by himself that night. My score: 4/5

Match #4: Vincent Heisenberg defeated Jurn Simmons in a street fight.

A steel chair, a kendo stick, a chain (that Heisenberg wore around his neck), a lawn dart, and thumbtacks came into play in this match. There were also security guards used as weapons; some of them were taken down after Heisenberg threatened to throw Simmons off the stage at the entryway, and one of them was thrown into the referee before a second referee took over. The match ended after Heisenberg used a kendo stick while putting Simmons in a camel clutch; Simmons was incapacitated, and Heisenberg was declared the winner. My score: 3.25/5

Match #5: Violence Is Forever defeated Rott und Flott in Block B of the World Tag Team Festival tournament.

Even though the wXw World Tag Team Championship wasn’t on the line, Rott und Flott needed to win the tournament to retain the belts. After Nikita Charisma and Michel Schenkenberg hit Dominic Garrini with the Snapchat before Kevin Ku broke up the pin, Ku kneed Charisma off the apron before Garrini hit Schenkenberg with a spinning piledriver; VIF then hit Schenkenberg with a punt/brainbuster combo (known as Chasing the Dragon) for the win. My score: 3.5/5

Match #6: Icarus & Robert Dreissker defeated Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie in Block B of the World Tag Team Festival tournament.

Abe paid homage to the late Antonio Inoki in this match by putting Dreissker in an octopus until Icarus, who fended off Irie, broke up the hold. Towards the end, Abe hit Dreissker with a dropkick before Icarus pulled Irie off the apron, leading to Dreissker hitting Abe with a Biel throw into the corner followed by a fallaway slam; then, Icarus hit Abe with the Meltdown, and Dreissker hit Abe with the Dreissker Bomb which gave half of Amboss the win. My score: 3.75/5

Main event: “Speedball” Mike Bailey defeated Bobby Gunns to become the #1 contender for the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship.

This match was made after Norman Harras—on a wheelchair and accompanied by the Boricua Boys—declared that Levaniel was unable to fight Tristan Archer for the belt due to injury even though Levaniel, who ended up getting a match with Jacob Crane later in the weekend, was medically cleared after all. Gunns worked on Bailey’s legs during the match after one of Bailey’s legs got caught in the ropes while the other was hit by Gunns’ dragon screw leg whip. After Bailey hit Gunns with a shooting star press into a dropkick (known as the Ultima Weapon) for a near fall, he went for an electric chair driver (known as the Flamingo Driver) until Gunns countered with a rear naked choke; Bailey came back until Gunns hit him with the Ehrenmann Driver and a running punt for a near fall. Bailey then stopped Gunns on the top rope and picked up the win with the Flamingo Driver. After the match, Tristan Archer appeared and stared at Bailey. My score: 4.5/5

wXw We Love Wrestling 36

Let’s stay in Oberhausen for one more event, shall we?

The 36th episode of wXw We Love Wrestling took place at the same venue in Oberhausen, hours before night 2 of the World Tag Team Festival. This episode was nicknamed “Axeman vs. Babo”, referencing respectively Axel Tischer and Metehan who had a match that renewed their rivalry that began at 16 Carat Gold in 2020. It took a couple years for this rivalry to renew, mainly because of both the COVID pandemic and that the two wrestlers were also in WWE at that time; as we all know, Tischer was competing as Alexander Wolfe (in Sanity and Imperium), and Metehan was competing as Teoman (even as the leader of Die Familie).

axeman.png{:class=“restrict-width”}

Out of all nine matches that took place that night, the long-awaited rematch between Tischer and Metehan became my favorite. You could tell that there was no love loss between the two wrestlers both storyline-wise and competition-wise. After a great back and forth bout, it was the “Babo” (which is Turkish for “boss” by the way) Metehan who emerged as the winner. Will we ever see those two wrestlers clash again after seeing a strong showing from both of them? As the saying goes, “only time will tell.” Here are the We Love Wrestling results from Oberhausen…

Match #1: Peter Tihanyi defeated Fast Time Moodo.

Both wrestlers bumped fists seconds after the bell rang. Moodo kicked Tihanyi at ringside until he ended up hitting a post after his opponent moved out of the way; this allowed Tihanyi to hit him with a springboard Meteora for two and then put him in a half crab. Moodo fought back, but was unable to hit Tihanyi with the Blackbelt Kick due to the pain in his leg from hitting the post, leading to Tihanyi taking him down and winning with a 450. Both men shook hands afterwards. My score: 3.5/5

Match #2: Vincent Heisenberg defeated Rambo in almost four minutes.

After struggling to lift Heisenberg a couple times, Rambo was able to suplex his opponent until Heisenberg came back and won with a running powerslam. My score: 1.5/5

Match #3: Maggot defeated Michael Knight, Elijah Blum and Gulyás Jr. in a four-way dance to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship.

During the match, Maggot hit Blum with a Plancha, Knight hit the two with a tope suicida, and Gulyás Jr. surprised the three with a tope suicida of his own; then, Blum fought back and hit Gulyás Jr. with the Parting Gift for a near fall. Later, Gulyás Jr. shoved Maggot—who went for a superplex—off the top rope, and Blum and Knight attempted to hit him with a double superplex until Maggot powerbombed them while the double superplex occurred before pinning his opponents—one by one—for a two count. Near the end, Gulyás Jr. hit Blum with a clothesline, then attempted to hit Knight with a cannonball but missed; Knight then hit Gulyás Jr. with a hurricanrana, sending him into Maggot who hit him with a cutter and—after throwing Knight shoulder first into a post—pinning him for the win. After the match, Maggot—in an interview by Dan Mallman—said that this match shoehorned his schedule courtesy of Norman Harras, then stormed off after Mallman wanted to talk to him about Ahura. My score: 3/5

Match #4: Jacob Crane defeated Levaniel in almost three minutes.

Before the match started, Levaniel said that he wanted to fight Tristan Archer until Norman Harras had other plans. Then, Harras—with the Boricua Boys wheeling him—appeared at the entryway and sarcastically wished Levaniel good luck. After Levaniel hit Crane with a delayed suplex while staring at the Director of Sports, he hit his opponent with the Galactic Facecrusher until Dante Caballero distracted the referee; this allowed Joe Keeys to sneak in with a belt wrapped around his fist and punch Levaniel with it, leading to Crane pinning the “Prince of the Stars” for the win. After the match, Harras said that Levaniel’s win at Shortcut To the Top was a fluke, then gave him one more opportunity; if Levaniel doesn’t defeat both members of the Boricua Boys, he will be stripped of his shot at the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship. No score.

Match #5: Jurn Simmons defeated Nick Schreier in three minutes.

In this one-sided affair, Simmons hit Schreier with a military press into a spinebuster, then went for a spear until Schreier kicked him away; Schreier then came back until Simmons won with a piledriver. My score: 0.5/5

Match #6: Bobby Gunns defeated Masha Slamovich.

Masha’s right leg was worked on during the match. After Gunns hit Masha with an enzuigiri, Masha countered a powerbomb with a rollup for two; she then hit Gunns with a Death Valley Driver in the corner for a near fall and then put him in a crossface until Gunns grabbed the bottom rope. Gunns then went for a running punt until Masha dodged it and rolled him up for two, then hit him with a double stomp and put him in a cross armbreaker; Gunns got out of the hold and he and Masha traded German suplexes until he hit her with a headbutt, the Ehrenmann Driver and a running punt for a near fall before nailing a second running punt for a three count. Both wrestlers shook hands and hugged afterwards. My score: 3.5/5

Match #7: Maria de la Rosa & Killer Kelly defeated Iva Kolasky & Ava Everett.

Neither Iva nor Ava wanted to fight Kelly before the match began; it started off with Maria fighting Ava until Kelly was tagged in a minute or so later. Near the end, Iva and Ava attempted to hit Kelly with a double suplex until Kelly and Maria hit their opponents with a double suplex of their own; then, Maria hit Iva and Ava with a tope suicida before hitting Iva—if I remember correctly—with a high ankle German suplex for the win. Iva and Ava argued afterwards…which means trouble brewing in their friendship? My score: 1.5/5

Match #8: Laurance Roman (w/ Icarus and Robert Dreissker) defeated Hektor Invictus.

Invictus hit Roman with a curbstomp and then Roman blocked a powerbomb attempt until Invictus did the same to Roman’s crossface attempt; Roman then came back with a clothesline before making Invictus submit to a crossface. My score: 2/5

Main event: Metehan defeated Axel Tischer.

Metehan came to the ring with the Ezel theme. Tischer’s neck was worked on in the match. In this hard hitting battle that saw Tischer pick up a near fall after a suplex into a uranage (known as the Horrible Slam for some reason…even though—no offense—I don’t think that slam looks horrible whatsoever…) before attempting that maneuver for the second time led to Metehan countering with a guillotine, Metehan countered a superplex—after both competitors landed awkwardly—with a falcon arrow for two and then elbowed him down until the referee settled him down; Tischer looked up and gave Metehan the “number one salute”, leading to Metehan striking him with a sliding forearm for the win. After the match, Metehan said “The Babo is back” and that his win over Tischer was the first score he settled. My score: 3.75/5

NXT

Since there was no episode of ICW Fight Club this week (probably in the first weekend of 2023 we’ll get the first episode of the year), let’s head to Orlando, Florida in the United States for NXT!

nxt.jpg{:class=“restrict-width”}

Seven matches took place on the final NXT episode of 2022; out of the seven matches, my favorite would have to go to the six-man tag team match between Schism members Joe Gacy & the Dyad and the new trio of Malik Blade, Edris Enofé & Odyssey Jones. In my honest opinion, I was pretty sure that the trio of Blade, Enofé and Jones would pick up their second win as a team ever since their first six-man tag team bout on an episode of NXT: LVL UP as all three wrestlers had more in store on this week’s episode of NXT. Unfortunately, Gacy and the Dyad—who also had a strong showing in this match—had a divide-and-conquer strategy near the end of the bout by taking down Jones first and then finish off Jones’ tag team partners and pick up a win for Schism. It was still a great six-man tag team match from start to finish, and I’m pretty sure that companies that have trios championships (such as AEW, Ring of Honor and Mexico’s AAA) would agree to that.

Here are the NXT results from Orlando…

Match #1: Julius Creed (w/ Brutus Creed) defeated JD McDonagh.

Early in the match, Julius blocked a punt from the apron, then slammed McDonagh onto the announce table until McDonagh sent him into a post and then worked on his left arm. Near the end, Julius kneed away a Devil Inside attempt until McDonagh hit him with a Spanish fly; he then went for a moonsault, but missed, and it allowed Julius to hit him with a rolling slam followed by a basement clothesline for the win. After the match, Indus Sher appeared and said that they will fight the Creed Brothers in two weeks at New Year’s Evil, vowing to destroy them. My score: 3/5

Match #2: Wendy Choo defeated Cora Jade.

Wendy ran in and fought Cora seconds before the bell rang, then Cora attempted to hit her with her kendo stick, but missed. The match ended with Wendy hitting Cora with a full nelson slam followed by a reverse top rope splash for the win. My score: 2/5

Match #3: Scrypts defeated Ikemen Jiro in four minutes.

The former Reggie surprised his opponent by jumping into the ring from the crowd. Scrypts won after hitting Jiro with a 450 senton. After the match, he returned Jiro’s jacket by laying it on top of him. My score: 2/5

Match #4: Lyra Valkyria defeated Lash Legend in three and a half minutes.

Lash hit Lyra with a backbreaker, but missed on a moonsault attempt; Lyra came back with a tilt-a-whirl DDT, a buzzsaw kick and a top rope splash to score the win. My score: 1/5

Match #5: Joe Gacy & the Dyad (w/ Ava Raine) defeated Malik Blade, Edris Enofé & Odyssey Jones.

After Enofé hit Jagger Reid with a top rope elbow drop and Gacy broke up the pin, Reid, Rip Fowler and Gacy hit Jones with a handful of tope suicidas until Gacy’s second tope suicida took down Jones; then, Fowler and Reid hit Blade and Enofé with a double Doomsday Device, and then hit Enofé with a double Codebreaker prior to Gacy hitting him with the Upside-Down World for the win. My score: 4.5/5

Match #6: Fallon Henley (w/ Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen) defeated Kiana James.

This match was known as “Battle of the Bar” because the ownership of Fallon’s family bar was on the line. Kiana worked on Fallon’s ribs earlier until Fallon came back and won with a shining wizard. Fallon, Briggs and Jensen celebrated afterwards despite Jensen feeling bad—as well as having the hots—for Kiana. My score: 1/5 Main event: Wes Lee defeated Tony D’Angelo (w/ Stacks) to retain the NXT North American Championship. D’Angelo’s right knee was worked on briefly, ditto Lee’s left knee before D’Angelo slammed him knees first onto the announce table. Near the end, Dijak appeared and grabbed Stacks to the back, leading to Lee winning with a backflip heel kick to D’Angelo. My score: 3.5/5

NXT: LVL UP

Staying in Orlando, we wrap things up with an episode of NXT: LVL UP.

![nxt lvl up.jpg](/assets/posts/2023-01-06/nxt lvl up.jpg){:class=“restrict-width”}

Out of the three matches that took place on the last episode of 2022, my favorite would go to the main event match between Oro Mensah and Javier Bernal. Mensah has been on episodes of LVL UP for a little while now (even though we’re seeing his promos on NXT per se), and he has done very well in his appearances on that show. The same goes for Bernal who not only portrays a good cocky heel character as I’ve mentioned in the past but is also a good fighter.

Here are the NXT: LVL UP results from Orlando…

Match #1: Thea Hail (w/ Andre Chase and Duke Hudson) defeated Amari Miller.

Thea fought out of a rear chinlock, then hit Amari with a t-bone suplex, a senton and a swinging neckbreaker-like faceplant for the win. My score: 2/5

Match #2: Bronco Nima & Lucien Price defeated Oba Femi & Bryson Montana in four and a half minutes.

After Nima took down Femi, he and Price hit Montana with a facebuster/German suplex combo for the win. My score: 1.5/5

Main event: Oro Mensah defeated Javier Bernal.

Bernal had Mensah in a bearhug until Mensah fought out of the hold; Mensah then made a comeback before winning with a running heel kick in a corner. My score: 3/5

Next time…

Besides NXT and NXT: LVL UP (since ICW is taking another weekend off before stepping foot into 2023 as I noted earlier), I’ll do some belated recaps including nights 2 and 3 of the wXw World Tag Team Festival.

For my newsletters as well as any articles that are on the Wrestling With Johners website, the website is wrestlingwithjohners.com/articles

For just my newsletters on the WWJ website, it is wrestlingwithjohners.com/authors/pro-darin/

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment! I’ll see you next time!

Also, Happy New Year!

(Photos shown in the newsletter are from Impact Wrestling, WWE and wXw.)