BRM Reviews wXw Shotgun 2020, Episode 2 (6/5/2020)

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Big Red Machine
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BRM Reviews wXw Shotgun 2020, Episode 2 (6/5/2020)

Post by Big Red Machine » Aug 21st, '20, 17:37

ABSOLUTE ANDY CALLS KARSTEN BECK TO COMPLAIN HOW MUCH WORK THE DIRECTOR OF SPORT JOB IS- More importantly, it sounds like Karsten had an idea for what to do with the wXw Shotgun Title now that Axel Tischer had to vacate it.

MELANIE GRAY CONVINCES ALPHA KEVIN THAT HE SHOULD TRY TO BECOME HE SHOTGUN CHAMPION- meh
What is up with Kevin and this obsession with food all of a sudden? I said it before and I’ll say it again; he’s lucky he makes Melanie laugh, otherwise she’d divorce his ass. I know I sure fund him grating here, and I usually enjoy Kevin.
In other news, Kevin hasn’t heard yet that Andy is the new Director of Sport. I guess supposed to think that this is a week later, as the idea of the humor here seems to be that Kevin is just now learning something everyone else already knows, but my ability to ignore that this was clearly taped at the same time as last week’s episode is greatly damaged by the fact that these two were in the exact same clothes as they were last week.

KILLER KELLY WANTS TO KNOW WHAT ABSOLUTE ANDY IS GOING TO DO ABOUT THE FACT THAT OUR WOMEN’S CHAMPION CAN’T DEFEND HER TITLE DUE TO COVID- fine
Andy has clearly given this no thought, though he claimed to have a “secret plan.” Kelly did a great job of pressing him on it while acting like she was trying really hardy to keep her temper because she knew that getting Andy angry at her wouldn’t help get her the answer she wanted. On the bright side, by the end of the segment it appeared that Kelly had managed to shame Andy into actually doing his new job.

LEON VAN GASTEREN INTERVIEW- decent
Leon was supposed to get a world title shot in Tampa, but apparently that was only a title match due to “favorable circumstances” (which I’m sure is a mistranslation for what would essentially translate to “the card had to get shifted and Leon wound up with a title shot”), so they’re not going to reschedule his title shot. He is accepting of this, and vows to prove that he has what it takes to earn a title shot.

NORMAN HARRAS vs. LEON VAN GASTEREN- 6.75/10
This was a solid match in which Norman Harras won clean. I didn’t expect this, but I really like it. Norman has basically been the fall guy for Die Raucherpause, which is not a good spot for someone whose role is supposedly that of the blue-chip prospect. This not only gives Norman a win, but it allows them to take their time with Leon’s story, and also give us some good segments of the heels making fun of Leon in the meantime.
Interestingly, Leon’s loss here came after he went for a top-rope finisher that the opponent was able to counter (in this case, Norman got his knees up), which is similar to issue his tag team partner Julian Pace was having, including costing them the tag titles because Julian insisted on going for his Moonsault. I’m not sure if this is on purpose or not, but it seems like it’s worth noting, just in case it is.

ABSOLUTE ANDY MAKES AN ANNOUNCEMENT- fine
He tells everyone that lying and cheating won’t get you anywhere, and he says that his reign as Director of Sport will be all about “fairness.” To that end, there will be a tournament to crown a new wXw Shotgun Champion, and everyone will have the chance to earn their way in based on their performance in matches over the next few weeks. The only person who doesn’t have to earn his way in is Avalanche, because he was the champion before Axel Tischer and never got his rematch, so in lieu of that, he will be automatically placed in the tournament.

AVALANCHE HELPS ANIL MARIK & HEISENBERG TRAIN FOR THEIR MATCH AGAINST PRETTY BASTARDS- GREAT!
Segments like this are why I love wXw. They let the characters be completely human, and they think about wrestling on such a basic level. No other company would have two young guys teaming up for the first time ask a trainer for advice and have the trainer tell them to not try any fancy combinations, even if they think they’re developing chemistry, because that’s risky, and when you’re teaming together for the first time (and both young), it’s best to keep it safe and basic.

NORMAN HARRAS BARGES INTO ABSOLUTE ANDY’S OFFICE- This got too comedic for my tastes. I’m sure it sets up some antagonism between these two (after all, Harras is part of Die Racherpause, so Andy and Jay Skillet recently won the tag titles from his stablemates), but I’d like to see them tone down the comedy with Andy a bit. Can we please get this man an assistant so that joke can be put to rest?

EZEL HAVE COME TO SEE ABSOLUTE ANDY- bad
I’m sorry, but I’m totally on Metehan’s side here. Andy called them here and then decided it was his “lunch break” and so had nothing constructive or productive to say to them. He was just a dick for no reason. Did I laugh at most of his jokes? Yes. But that doesn’t mean this was a good segment.

ANIL MARIK & HEISENBERG vs. PRETTY BASTARDS- 3/10
This was short, but wonderful. This was exactly the story it was set up to be. The Pretty Bastards dominated it until the young guys made a quick comeback, but then they got too cocky and did exactly what Avalanche warned them not to do, and they lost because of it. Hooray for stories!

BOBBY GUNNS COMES TO SEE ABSOLUTE ANDY IN HIS OFFICE- fine
Bobby came to taunt Andy about an eight-man tag that had been scheduled for an event that was cancelled due to COVID putting Andy, Scotty Davis, Jay Skillet, and a mystery partner against Gunns’ crew. Gunns wanted Andy to reschedule it, knowing full well that Davis and Skillet couldn’t make it Andy blew this off, saying that it wasn’t going to happen because both Davis and Skillet were “gone.” In an astounding coincidence, this show dropped two weeks BEFORE both of those two were accused of various misconducts via the #SpeakingOut movement and Skillet was fired from wXw (Davis had only worked a few shows for them (Davis had only just started working for them so they didn’t feel the need to officially fire someone who wasn’t really even on the roster).
Anyway, Gunns moved on to taunting Andy about Gunns being the world champion (the same segment that set up the cancelled eight-man tag also planted some seeds for Gunns vs. Andy). Andy said he wasn’t interested in the belt because he’s Director of Sport now, but we all know he’s lying.


This was another fine episode of Shotgun 2020. Good, even. I am definitely worried about the direction they’re taking Andy in, but everything else has been pleasant so far.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

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