18th January, 2020 – Turbinenhalle II, Oberhausen, Germany

In 3 of the last 4 years, I’ve attended a wXw show in January; the other two being the fantastic Dome shows in London. Might as well make it somewhat of a tradition, eh? I touched down in Dusseldorf airport early morning and in my drowsy state I discover that there is now new ticket machines in the airport train station that I have to figure out how to use. Sarah4L’s guide to Oberhausen might need an update now.

Having got on the right train to Oberhausen followed by a power nap and the best shower in Europe (courtesy of TRYP CentrO!) –  I’m at the Turbinenhalle for wXw Back to the Roots XIX. I have a good discussion with Dohmi (@RealPhillipDohm) and Marvin (@M_punkt_arvin) about the state of German wrestling and the wider European scene as a whole. We get into the venue and picked myself up the obligatory bons. Sadly – no real Untappd content here due to Dry January. Some news for the non drinkers, they’re stocking Pepsi products for soft drinks now rather than the cheap Sinalco brand we’ve become accustomed to.

I headed over to the merch to donate to wXw’s fundraiser for the Australian Bush Fires and to pick myself up some old wXw teese (a wXwNOW and Chill shirt and a Jay FK shirt). There’s also baked goods there too so Eamonn might have competition.

MATCH ONE: Marius Al-Ani vs. Levaniel

A solid opening to start the Road to 16 Carat in earnest. They kicked the show off hot with Marius Al-Ani returning from suspension (after getting into an altercation with a fan months prior) – Al-Ani describing himself as a ‘Greek God’ and comparing himself to Zeus. He was interrupted by Levaniel which led to the first match. Levaniel is a star in the making in wXw. His look and his promos are great, he’s solid in the ring and he’s starting to connect with the crowds with cheers of “Liebe” becoming louder and louder. Al-Ani looked like he hadn’t missed a beat and made short work of Levaniel. The big takeaway after this match was Al-Ani declaring himself in 16 Carat and immediately being interrupted by Cara Noir.

Hats off to wXw’s production team who nailed Cara’s entrance. Cara came across as a big deal and the crowd treated him as such. A point to the 16 Carat logo and Cara Noir is in 16 Carat Gold too.

MATCH TWO: Scotty Davis vs. Lucky Kid

Scotty Davis and Lucky kid kicked off the first of the pre-announced matches. Lucky got a pre taped promo with Thommy Giesen here. Long story short. Lucky has a point to prove after a disappointing run following his win at 16 Carat last year. On the other side of the ring Scotty is making his singles debut for wXw. It’s great to see him spread out around Europe. He’s an exciting talent. Unfortunately for the match, it felt like it was lacking a little bit of an edge up until the closing stretch. A good solid match but based on the standard of matches both of these have produced individually, a little disappointing. Lucky getting the win here was needed – especially to rebuild him going into 2020. Scotty will have his day.

MATCH THREE: The Rotation vs. ‘Goldenboy’ Santos

Next up was Ireland’s second adopted son in the Rotation facing off against ‘Goldenboy’ Santos. Santos looks to have bulked up a bit since Tag Fest. It’s a smart move with wXw being traditionally a heavyweight heavyweight promotion. Santos is product of the wXw Academy who most at Tag Fest would have seen in the dark match prior to Night 3 and at Inner Circle. These two had a really fun match with Rotation picking up his first marquee event singles win since 2016 with a 450 splash from the top.

Following this, we get a pretape detailing the aftermath of Amale’s win at 19th anniversary and the altercation with Alpha Kevin and Melanie Gray. Levaniel came out following this and wanted to address this and Karsten’s weird relationship with Amale as it concerns to matters of love. Kevin and Melanie are in the crowd again and they end up in the ring with Levaniel. Karsten ends up out aswell. The promo seemed to have the German fans on Kevin and Melanie’s side here with the end result of it leading to a match at the upcoming show in Bielefeld – Levaniel & Amale vs. Kevin Roadster and Melanie Grey. If Kevin and Melanie win, Melanie’s ban on competing in Oberhausen is lifted.

MATCH FOUR: wXw Shotgun Championship: Jay Skillet (c) vs. Absolute Andy

I adore what wXw are doing with Andy currently. You can tell he’s getting on a bit but instead of plodding through matches – he’s excelled in comedy and his natural chemistry with Skillet is fantastic. This match was hilarious. Do yourself a favour and check this match out when it’s up on wXwNOW. It’d be hard to do it justice in a write up. Skillet picked up the win and Andy raised Jay’s hand. Jay AA are still a thing and I’m happy about that.

MATCH FIVE: Käfigschlacht: Bobby Gunns, Prince Ahura, Maggot & Norman Harras vs. Avalanche, Leon van Gasteren, Julian Pace & David Starr

After intermission to allow the setting up of the cage, we get the 8 man Kafigschlacht. Bobby and Avalanche start off the match. Bobby is out first and he’s in a balaclava – it’s a look.  These two have some good chemistry together so it was nice for them to get some extended time in the cage. Next in was Maggot leading to the numbers game followed by Julian Pace. Prince Ahura was next out and took the keys from the referee for the lock, leaving the cage door open. This led to prolonged brawling around the Turbinenhalle as Leon van Gasteren made his way out. It eventually ended up back in the cage when Harras made his way out with Bobby and his teammates isolating Avalanche alone in the cage and locking the door. Starr was the last man out but himself and Pace managed to drag Ahura from a hole at the bottom of the cage to get the Keys and even the odds. Then the action got too close for comfort with two tables being laid out in front of me by Pace and van Gasteren. The Pretty Bastards ended up going through them as Bobby was also driven through a table in the ring whilst Starr choked Harras with a steel chair to pick up the win for Team Avalanche. A violent, plunder filled bout that was entertaining and told a good story within the match.

MATCH SIX: Barbed Wire Steel Cage: Jurn Simmons vs. Alexander James

Time for the main event – a barbed wire steel cage match between Alexander James and Jurn Simmons. We got the promo package as the truss covered in barbed wire was lowered from the roof of the Turbinenhalle onto the cage. It definitely looked the part and looked sickening. Jurn Simmons is in phenomenal shape for this match and arguably the best shape of his career. The match starts out hot with both men charging for each other however this slowly becomes a slog as AJ controls a good proportion of the match. While a great story match this felt lethargic compared to the Kafigschlacht before it. Jurn picked up the win after destroying AJ with a kendo stick that was hidden in the truss of the cage and hitting several piledrivers in a row. I’ve a feeling I’ll enjoy this more on rewatch than I did live. The placement of the match after the Kafigschlacht hurt it – ultimately a good match but definitely the wrong placing on the card.

Closing Thoughts:

Back To The Roots was a good start to the year for wXw whom are in a very obvious rebuilding phase. Fans who stick with them during this time will be rewarded. However the women’s division is suffering due to NXT UK and this is something they need to work on early on in 2020. 16 Carat Gold is not far away…

wXw Back To The Roots 2020 is available to watch on wXwNOW with both English and German commentary.

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