PWI Weekly for August 12, 2024
PWI Weekly for August 12, 2024
European Wrestling: Gunther, Joe Hendry, Mariah May, Huge wXw Weekend
From the moment the first grapplers locked up in ancient Greece, wrestling has captivated European audiences and been a part of the culture across the continent. And while today’s professional wrestling differs greatly from what the ancient Greeks did, the spectacle of grappling still draws in fans by the thousands.
It’s no surprise, then, that Europe has given us plenty of talented wrestlers over the years. In this edition of the PWI Weekly, we’re taking a look at some of the European standouts who are making waves in the business right now.
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
With epic reigns as NXT: U.K. and Intercontinental champion behind him, It was really only a matter of time before Gunther ascended to the top of the WWE mountain and claimed one of the promotion’s premier titles. That’s exactly what he did at SummerSlam on August 3, dethroning Damian Priest for the World heavyweight championship.
The imposing Austrian now gets to walk into Berlin, Germany, later this month—a place where he spent a good portion of his early career—and is likely to main-event a WWE Premium Live Event as one of the top champions of the industry. We think the Imperium frontman could have been a champion in any era of wrestling history. However, we’re glad we get to see him in this one. The reign of “Der Ringgeneral” is upon us.
TERRITORIAL DISSINGS
While she lured many people in (including Toni Storm) with her subservient fan-girl persona, Mariah May showed her true colours (British spelling) by viciously attacking her supposed friend and idol on the July 10 edition of Dynamite.
Since then, the British beauty has revealed her cruel intentions to humiliate Storm and take away her AEW Women’s World championship. On August 25 in London, England, the woman now calling herself “The Glamour” will have the opportunity to do just that on her home soil. In this recent interview with Renee Paquette, May sends a harsh message to the champion.
SPOTLIGHT ON …
In the above photo, Hungary native Peter Tihanyi wrenches back on the neck of Germany’s Laurance Roman as he prepares to take his opponent down with a snapmare suplex. This image was captured during the final of the 2024 16 Carat Gold tournament, an annual invitational held by one of Europe’s most esteemed wrestling promotions, Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw). Though the tournament is the most anticipated offering on the German promotion’s annual event calendar, it’s by no means the only one.
This October, Oberhausen’s famous Turbinenhalle will once again play host to wXw’s World Tag Team Festival, which will see tandems from around the globe compete. Additionally, that weekend features the return of the Femmes Fatales series, which is always of interest to women’s wrestling fans. Finally, there will be a supershow, presented by Britain’s PROGRESS Wrestling, its American sister promotion, DEFY, and Japan’s Pro Wrestling NOAH.
FROM THE VAULT
Say its name and we appear: PWI was on hand for TNA’s U.K. tour stop in Glasgow last autumn. That was when Scotland’s own Joe Hendry made quite the impression on his countrymen by winning the Glasgow Cup tournament. The above cellphone photo captures the joyful moment of Hendry’s coronation.