Hello all! Yes, EuroGraps.com is still alive. As has been the case with a lot of wrestling sites in particular the past few months have taken a lot out of us – especially if like me you’d spent a lot of time on furlough and then being suddenly thrust back into the world of work. It got to a point where the last thing I’d want to do was sit and watch a wrestling show. Anyway, much like Michael Corleone – just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Wrestling is back in Europe! Sorta. European wrestling was hit doubly in the past few months with both the COVID-19 Pandemic as well as the #SpeakingOut abuse scandal – as you’d likely know of if you’re reading this site. First and foremost – I want to send my support to anyone affected by the systemic abuse that we’d allowed to infest our scene. It sickens me that this was allowed to go on and it is our duty to ensure this is not allowed to creep in once more. I feel like I have been too quiet about this situation and I feel like I could have done more. If I have let anyone down in this sense then I am very sorry.
Anyway – the point of this article is to just have a look at who is back running and where – along with any restrictions and major changes in the last few months. We’ll go country by country as this seems like the best way of sorting things.
As the centre of the continental European wrestling scene – Germany seems like the best place to start. Germany is unique in the sense that the sixteen federal states are all allowed to adapt national guidelines and recommendations to local needs so restrictions have been enforced and lifted at different times.
Nordrhein-Westfalen based Westside Xtreme Wrestling were lucky to sneak 16 Carat Gold in just before restrictions tightened in early March – with the government announcing a ban on mass events with an attendance of over 1000 people whilst the final night of the world-famous weekender was taking place. wXw events were placed on hiatus until late May – when the ever-popular weekly show wXw Shotgun returned to wXwNOW with an initial series of shows with a domestic-based roster behind closed doors at the Steffy in Oberhausen. The vignette-heavy series was well suited to a closed-set wrestling concept and saw several overlooked talents get more exposure than you’d expect they’d get under the underwhelming ‘Road To’ programming schedule wXw has run since late 2018. Norman Harras, Avalanche, Killer Kelly and Marius Al-Ani particularly shone in the first series alongside Levaniel – whose ‘Himmelschloß’ talk show concept has blossomed under these conditions. The high production values of the promotion and very strong core roster has certainly helped even in the face of the exclusions of Julian Pace & Jay Skillet – both implicated in #SpeakingOut – requiring a hasty re-edit to the series early on.
The success of season one saw a second series of Shotgun 2020 released in August along with the traditional marquee event Shortcut To The Top – both with a small live audience made up of friends of the promotion and academy staff & students. Shortcut To The Top saw new European-based talents such as Senza Volto, Tristan Archer join wXw mainstays Goldenboy Santos, Emil Sitoci, Jurn Simmons and Dirty Dragan on the roster when foreign lockdowns were eased. Match possibilities were expanded even further when the company allowed intergender wrestling from season two which I feel so far has caused some of the women to improve greatly. Fast Time Moodo and Stephanie Maze is the golden pairing at this point. August also saw wXw run the largest attended show outside of Japan when their annual visit to the Niedersachsen village of Kutenholz was held in front of 500 very rowdy fans outdoors. Potentially a future pub quiz answer that. wXw will continue to present reduced capacity shows in 2020 – with the debuting wXw Catch Grand Prix festival weekender still going ahead in the next few weeks.
Berlin promotion German Wrestling Federation also returned to action recently with a pair of reduced capacity shows in September from the Festsaal Kreuzberg – attracting a crowd of approximately 100. Much like wXw, GWF has their own academy to help bolster the roster along with the limited continental imports. GWF have at least three more double-header events planned with fans in attendance in 2020 – with the company aiming to return to their usual schedule in 2021.
Basically every German promotion of note is either back or planning on being back. PRO Wrestling Deutschland in Dresden are aiming to have their shows return in November and December from the Alte Pumpenhaus – the November show being their one year anniversary since rebranding from the former NextStep Wrestling. European Wrestling Promotion from Hannover returned to action this past weekend with a moderately-attended show at their usual Hangar no5 venue with a Young Lions vs. Die Muskelkater main event. 16 Carat Gold weekender stalwarts WrestlingKULT are aiming to return in November and December with shows at the wonderful Zentrum Altenberg in Oberhausen. Impressive newcomers Ultimate Wrestling, headed by GWF wrestler and German YouTuber Martin Guerrero are due to return this coming weekend in Halberstadt, Sachsen-Anhalt. Saarlanders Championship Of Wrestling returned in August with a new weekly show called Back To Business which is broadcast on YouTube and wXwNOW. If you’re like me and you enjoy workers like Carnage, Bad Bones and Alpha Female – this is a bit of a hidden gem! (The second episode features Bones vs. Carnage in a wild outdoor brawl – if that doesn’t sell you then nothing will!)
In neighbouring Austria, shock jock promotion Rings Of Europe returned to action in July with a show attended approximately 70 people in Mattersburg near Vienna. The show was headlined with a completely tone deaf angle where promoter Marc Landauer, notable shithouse Pascal Signer (whom was also stripped of his wXw Hall of Fame membership this summer) and former wXw commentator Rico Bushido formed a faction decrying the #SpeakingOut movement. This is a promotion which has also featured an ISIS-inspired group named the Nation of Immigration in recent years so you can tell these are some real stand up guys. I feel bad even giving them this much publicity.
Denmark’s reaction to COVID-19 can be best described as acting fast and hard – with the country locking down a lot earlier than the vast majority of Europe which in turn meant they were first to reopen again. We spoke to the BODYSLAM! Wrestling team this week to get an idea of the restrictions and challenges facing wrestling in Denmark having only just made a return with a sell-out crowd in Aarhus’s (hello Mort!) Voxhall this past weekend. Much of the challenge seems to be that there are no specific guidelines for professional wrestling in Denmark much like the rest of Europe – so BODYSLAM! followed the cultural event guidelines which comes with its own interpretation issues. “One of the things we had to have actual lawyers look at, was whether we could have spectators on different sides of the ring, as the guidelines from the authorities just stated that everyone must face in the same direction. It was determined that this meant in particular sections, not that the entire crowd had to face the same way. It’s just weird even having to think about that.”
Despite some confusing guidelines and some slight tightening of restrictions the day before the event – the Scandi Graps Invitational Tournament went very well by all accounts. The roster was limited to Danish workers only (maybe the lack of Swedes is a bonus?) with many including Emeritus and Michael Fynne not having worked since the wXwNOW Showcase event in March. Regardless of this – it’s a testament to the growing strength of both BODYSLAM! and the wider Danish wrestling scene that they’ve been able to hit the ground running once again following this long break.
Italy was one of the worst hit nations in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic – but wrestling did return in some form on 19th September when the three largest promotions in Italy – Rising Sun Wrestling, Italian Championship Wrestling and Milan Wrestling Federation co-promoted a show together in Milan called ‘Wrestling Together’. Proceeds from this event were donated to a downs syndrome charity in Bergamo. The roster was predictably made up of Italian stalwarts such as Nico Inveradi although inexplicably Mad Kurt was also booked on this show!
CTWrestling of Portugal and La Triple W of Spain are yet to start running shows and I can’t seem to find any upcoming events as of yet – although it does appear that they are now holding training sessions in their respective schools. Barcelona’s RIOT Wrestling is also quiet on the show front. However, in neighbouring France – Parisians APC Catch are back in some form – having gone the Shotgun route and releasing APC Resistance, their own take on the weekly indy TV format. Reviews are scarce for this show but the likes of Tristan Archer, Senza Volto and Dick Riviere are featured so it might be worth a look eventually.
Hopefully this has been somewhat interesting for you – it’s clear to see that there is a lot of wrestling still bubbling away in Europe, even if it takes another few years to get back to what it was pre-March. There is no doubt that everyone stuck inside for the next six months in the UK will be watching the rest of Europe with great envy!
✏️ @MikeKilby
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