The XWF Part Three

The final part of the three part series looking at the short-lived XWF promotion. The first two parts of the series had some interesting moments and the star power is there. I’ve personally been interested in the direction for the most part. Lets see how the final part ends.

PART ONE
PART TWO

Tony Schiavone and Jerry Lawler are on commentary to open the program after a video to keep us updated on what’s been gong on. Schiavone runs down what we’ll see this week on the XWF programming. Josh Mattehws, the current Impact Wrestling broadcaster, will wrestle Horace Hogan.

Mean Gene is in the ring and brings out XWF CEO, Rena Mero. Rena has her security guys with her as she slowly makes her way to the ring since she has high heels on. Gene wants to cut right to point regarding Roddy Piper. Mero says that the XWF is going through some growing pains and assures Gene that herself and Piper are reasonable people. She is happy with everything that is going on in the XWF. Gene wants to know if there is a main event this week. Mero thinks she knows what the fans want to see. Mero is going to meet with Piper and he’ll make the announcement. Gene wants to come along for the action, and she agrees.

Jim Duggan is part of the XWF.

South Philly Possee, formerly known as the Public Enemy are in an alleyway with Jasmine St. Claire. They’ll be making their debut tonight.

Match #1: Marty Jannetty vs. Drezden
I’ve never heard of Drezden, who is apparently from Germany. He kind of looks like Ludvig Borga. Drezden works over Jannetty with a chop and a snap power slam. Jannetty comes off the ropes and is backdropped. Jannetty tries for a rollup for a two count. Jannetty super kicks Drezden two times but runs into a big boot. Drezden scoop slams Jannetty and comes off the ropes missing an elbow drop. Marty comes off the top but is caught in midair. Drezden hits an overhead belly to belly suplex. Drezden plants Jannetty with a power bomb for the win. (NR. That wasn’t so bad to get Drezden over. He’s not overly impressive, but his power stuff was okay and Jannetty bumped well for him.)

Backstage, Greg Valentine doesn’t see his name on the board and doesn’t understand why he’s not on there. He doesn’t realize that Piper isn’t in there and Piper comes up from behind to enter the room.

Match #2: Horace Hogan vs. Josh Matthews
Horace doesn’t waste much time as he quickly clotheslines Matthews and stomps away on Josh before delivering a scoop slam. Horace hammers away on Matthews in the corner and delivers a big splash. Horace sends Matthews over the top to the floor. Horace works over Matthews with chops and a scoop slam on the floor. Matthews ducks a clothesline and goes for a sunset flip but Horace sits on him. Horace plants Matthews with a choke hold slam for a two count as he pulls Matthews up. Matthews gets an inside cradle and wins the match. (NR. Matthews did literally nothing on offense and wins the match. I’ve never liked that booking.)

Jimmy Hart cuts a pre-tape promo about the various guys he has managed and now he manages Hail. Hart says he’ll bring the XWF to hail and back.

Match #3: Shane Twins vs. South Philly Posse
Rocco Rock and Mike Shane kick off the match with Mike hammering away on Rock before tossing him into Grunge with a press slam. Todd tags in and double teams Rock hitting a double shoulder block for a two count. Todd power slams Rock for a two count. Grunge grabs Mike from the apron and that allows the Posse to get the cheap advantage. Grunge works over the left leg with a few elbow drops. Grunge absorbs a few right hands but eye rakes Mike before ramming him into the corner. Rock gets tagged in and Grunge holds down Mike to allow a top rope head butt from Rock. Rock continues to work over the left one with stomps and a headbutt. Grunge comes off the ropes and splashes the left leg of Mike for a near fall. Rock taunts the fans before going back to work over the left knee. Rock clotheslines Mike in the corner. Jasmine St. Claire chokes Mike while the referee was distracted. Rock misses a springboard moonsault attempt. Todd gets the hot tag and cleans house with clotheslines. Rock gets driven down to the mat with a flapjack but here comes the Nasty Boys. Road Warriors brawl with the Nasty Boys and the Shane Twins have pinned the Posse. (*. I mean, the focus here wasn’t on the Shane Twins and instead on the older tag teams, which doesn’t seem very productive. They at least had a story with the leg work. However, this wasn’t all that good.)

The Wall is in the XWF and he’s gonna be in your face.

Mean Gene is in the ring and hypes up his next guest, Jimmy Snuka. He is standing a the top of the aisle way rather awkwardly waiting for his name and has his son, Jimmy Snuka Jr. with him. Gene recalls working with Snuka for a few decades. Snuka says it is nice to stand next to Gene one more time. Snuka loves the fans in the building and at home. Roddy Piper appears and cuts off the interview. Piper says there are two coconut heads now in the XWF. Piper proceeds to insult the family. Piper insults Snuka’s wardrobe choice. Gene suggests that Piper get in the ring and wrestle Snuka tonight. Piper says he’s already took care of Snuka and says he’d love to wrestle, but the boss won’t let him compete. Rena Mero comes out and says he does have her permission to wrestle Snuka tonight. Mero says it would be great to see Snuka compete since she is a big fan of his. Piper backs off saying that Snuka is lucky that Rena is here. Otherwise, he would have kicked both of their butts. Mero thinks it would be an honor for all the fans to see Piper vs. Snuka. Piper says he has a responsibility to make main events. The main event books the main event as being Buff Bagwell & Vampiro vs. Ian Harrison & Curt Hennig. What? Literally nobody out here involved in the main event. That was weird.

Match #4: XWF Cruiserweight Champion Kid Kash vs. AJ Styles
Styles controls Kash with a hammerlock early on into the match. Kash counters into a hammerlock of his own. Styles takes Kash down to the mat following a go-behind. Kash rolls through and controls Styles with a hammerlock on the mat. They are just countering everything they are doing. Styles misses a clothesline and is arm dragged by Kash. Styles arm drags Kash but gets hip tossed. Styles hip tosses Kash and is met with a kick leg sweep. They have a standoff, which the fans appreciated. Kash stops Styles with an eye rake and is met with an arm drag. They continue to trade arm drags and then have a standoff. They shove each other a few times. Styles knee lifts Kash and chops the champ against the ropes. Styles misses a spin kick in the corner but nails Kash with a super kick for a near fall. Styles dropkicks Kash and taunts the fans. Styles locks in a sleeper hold but Kash isn’t going to stay down. Styles puts Kash on the top turnbuckle but is met with a clothesline of the top by Kash for a two count. Kash hits a springboard cross body for a near fall. Kash kicks Styles in the midsection and hits a double under hook spike piledriver for the win. (**. Out of the matches on the XWF shown thus far, this was easily the best thing I’ve seen. These two had some great matches a few years later in TNA.)

Backstage, Rena Mero is talking to a few girls in her offense and tells the cameraman to leave.

Match #5: Vapor vs. Jimmy Snuka Jr.
Vapor is managed by Sonny Ono and is anti-America gimmick. Snuka hits a running forearm after ramming Vapor into the corner a few times. Snuka continues to work over Vapor with strikes. Snuka goes for a back suplex and slams Vapor gut first to the mat. Snuka Sr. and Sonny Ono are interacting on the floor. Vapor clotheslines Snuka to get the control in the ring and stomps away on him. Vapor misses a splash in the corner and is chopped by Snuka. Vapor hits a rolling fireman’s carry. Vapor goes for the cover managing a near fall. Vapor stops Snuka with a strike to his chest. Vapor delivers a weak looking splash and is met with a boot in the corner. Vapor nearly wins with a snap power slam out of the corner. Sonny Ono nearly gets hit by Vapor as Snuka avoided a cheap shot. Snuka plants Vapor with a swinging neck breaker for a two count. Snuka gets Ono into the ring but gets worked over by Vapor in the corner. Snuka Sr. is in the ring and hammers away on Ono. Vapor and Ono are sent into each other. Snuka hits a DDT on Vapor. Snuka Sr. drives Ono down with a backbreaker. Snuka Sr. and Jr. head to the top and hit splashes! The referee counts both falls. (1/2*. The finish was cool, but the action prior to that wasn’t very good.)

Main Event: Vampiro & Buff Bagwell vs. Curt Hennig & Ian Harrison
Hennig and Vampiro kick off the tag match, but Harrison tags in and shoves Vampiro down. Harrison delivers a shoulder ram and knee lift to knock Vampiro down to the mat. Vampiro tries to fight back with strikes but gets lifted up by Harrison to hit a slam. Hennig tags in and kicks Vampiro in the midsection followed by right hands. Hennig backs Vampiro into the corner delivering a chop. Vampiro elbow strikes Hennig and Bagwell tags into the match. Bagwell works over Hennig with strikes a double elbow strike knocks Hennig down. Bagwell knocks Hennig over the top to the floor. Hennig regroups on the floor with Bobby Heenan. Bagwell kicks Hennig in the midsection and delivers a few right hands. Vampiro tags in and works over Hennig with right hands. Hennig kicks Vampiro and tags in Harrison to keep control of the match. Harrison continues to work over Vampiro delivering a running clothesline to turn Vampiro inside out. Harrison goes for a press slam and slams Vampiro to the mat. Vampiro rolls to the floor to regroup. Bagwell clotheslines Harrison over the top to the floor, but Harrison lands on his feet. Bagwell and Vampiro stand in the ring and fight it out with their opponents. Harrison gets kicked to the floor by Vampiro. Hennig has Bagwell pinned as Vampiro was busy with Harrison and they steal the match. After the match, Bagwell and Vampiro shove each other causing the locker room to empty to keep them apart. (*. That wasn’t anything great and the aftermath seemed a bit over the top as it didn’t come across all that intense to cause the entire locker room rundown.)

Well, that wraps up the footage for the XWF. The shows aren’t all that great and my interest went lower and lower the more I watched. There’s just no way the XWF would have been successful focusing on so many older guys compared to what the WWE was doing at the same time. It was fun to watch for the first time, but I don’t see myself ever actively seeking this out again for any reason.

What are your memories or thoughts on the XWF? Feel free to share them!

Thanks for reading.