{"id":35623,"date":"2019-01-16T16:15:25","date_gmt":"2019-01-16T21:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=35623"},"modified":"2019-06-08T22:40:34","modified_gmt":"2019-06-09T02:40:34","slug":"the-european-union-nxt-uks-newest-tag-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2019\/01\/16\/the-european-union-nxt-uks-newest-tag-team\/","title":{"rendered":"The European Union: NXT UK&#8217;s Newest Tag Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the main event of Wednesday&#8217;s episode of <strong>NXT UK<\/strong>, the tandem of <strong>Mark Andrews<\/strong> and <strong>Flash Morgan Webster<\/strong> faced the team of <strong>Marcel Barthel<\/strong> and <strong>Fabian Aichner<\/strong>, dubbed <strong>The European Union<\/strong>. The German and Italian Superstars made their debut on NXT UK on the January 2 episode from Liverpool, where they defeated the rising duo of <strong>Kenny Williams &amp; Amir Jordan<\/strong>. The following week on regular NXT, they won an easy match against two enhancement wrestlers at Full Sail University. It appears that the Union is gaining momentum and is expected to be a new tag team threat in both NXT brands, although their European ties may dictate a more solid presence on the NXT UK brand.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The &quot;European Union&quot; of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fabianaichner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@FabianAichner<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Marcel_B_WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Marcel_B_WWE<\/a> are poised for success in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NXTUK?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NXTUK<\/a>! <\/p>\n<p>Let&#39;s see how they handle <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MandrewsJunior?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@MandrewsJunior<\/a> &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Flash_Morgan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Flash_Morgan<\/a>&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/833AJbaE2R\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/833AJbaE2R<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1085635559240871937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 16, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The European Union: Fabian Aichner<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_35632\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-35632\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-35632\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/01\/FA.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/01\/FA.jpg 500w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/01\/FA-300x192.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-35632\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For many WWE Universe fans, Fabian Aichner probably is the most recognizable of the two. Aichner has been seen sporadically\u00a0on the regular NXT brand, going back to September of 2017, and has faced the likes of <strong>Kassius Ohno, Ricochet<\/strong> and <strong>Roderick Strong<\/strong>. In November of 2017, he had a surprise upset win over <strong>Johnny Gargano<\/strong>. In December of last year, he made his NXT UK, defeating Mark Andrews in singles action, before losing Flash Webster the following week.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Johnny Gargano vs. Fabian Aichner: WWE NXT, Nov. 1, 2017\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eTr-uXjn9FI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Fabian Aichner also made news as part of the NXT &#8220;Invasion&#8221; of <strong>EVOLVE Wrestling<\/strong>, when he arrived at <em><strong>EVOLVE 114<\/strong><\/em> to challenge &#8211; and defeat &#8211; <strong>Shane Strickland<\/strong> for the EVOLVE Championship. He held the EVOLVE title for 48 days, before losing it to <strong>Austin Theory<\/strong> at <em><strong>EVOLVE 117<\/strong><\/em>, in a triple threat match that also featured NXT Superstar Roderick Strong. Aichner made his WWE debut as part of the 2016 <strong>WWE Cruiserweight Classic<\/strong>, before signing with the company in late summer of 2017.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jack Gallagher vs. Fabian Aichner \u2013 Erstrundenmatch: Cruiserweight Classic, 3. August 2016\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/udD-tx2v7oQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Prior to joining the WWE, Aichner competed in the European indie circuit under the name <strong>Adrian Severe<\/strong>. A student of former WCW Superstar <strong>Alex Wright<\/strong>, he made his wrestling debut in 2011 with Wright&#8217;s own promotion, <strong>New European Championship Wrestling (NEW)<\/strong> in Germany, where he became a 2x NEW World Heavyweight Champion. He also worked in the UK indie scene, with <strong>All-Star Wrestling (ASW), PROGRESS, World Association of Wrestling (WAW), IPW:UK<\/strong> and <strong>Over The Top (OTT) Wrestling<\/strong>, as well as other European promotions like the <strong>German Wrestling Federation (GWF)<\/strong> and <strong>Dansk Pro Wrestling (DPW)<\/strong> in Denmark.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NEW Wrestling: Classics #1 - TLK Adrian Severe vs Mexx Match of the year 2012\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NjlFeE5vHWo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Marcel Barthel<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_35631\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-35631\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-35631\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/01\/thumbs_chhahh_portaits_jr-e1547673108846.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-35631\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Chrisitan Hamann \/ chhahh.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To European indie fans, Marcel Barthel is more famously known as <strong>Axel Deiter Jr.<\/strong>, the second generation star and son of the original <strong>Axel Deiter<\/strong>, who competed in the 1970s and 1980s with Austria&#8217;s famed <strong>Catch Wrestling Association (CWA)<\/strong>. Trained by his father and debuting in 2008, Barthel would compete in multiple indie promotions across Europe, like Denmark&#8217;s DPW and\u00a0<strong>Union Of European Wrestling Alliances (UEWA)<\/strong>, Germany&#8217;s\u00a0<strong>Nordisch Fight Club (NFC)<\/strong> and others, before becoming a regular with <strong>Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw)<\/strong>, the company that would make him a star.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"[wXw Match] Axel Dieter Jr. vs. Marty Scurll 20.06.2015\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2AIfWMgZQXY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>He would start out in the tag team <strong>Hot and Spicy<\/strong> with another WWE Cruiserweight Classic competitor (and current <strong>RISE<\/strong> member) <strong>Da Mack<\/strong>, winning the wXw World Tag Team Championships on two occasions. But it would be the faction he&#8217;d help found in 2016, <strong>Ringkampf<\/strong>, that he&#8217;d find his greatest success. Alongside the likes of <strong>WALTER, Timothy Thatcher<\/strong>, and <strong>Axel Tischer<\/strong> (now WWE Superstar Alexander Wolfe), Ringkampf would systemically take control of wXw, with Dieter Jr. winning the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship in late 2016.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Big Daddy Walter &amp; Axel Dieter Jr. vs. CERBERUS (wXw 10.10.2015)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R1CwJjUxEow?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In early 2017, Dieter Jr. left wXw and signed with the WWE, heading to the Performance Center and debuting on the NXT Live Events circuit in June. He would finally make his NXT television debut in August of last year, in a losing effort against <strong>Keith Lee<\/strong>, before joining Aichner in NXT UK. With WWE&#8217;s new alliance with wXw, Barthel was able to return to the company that helped establish him as one of Europe&#8217;s top stars at the <em><strong>wXw 18th Anniversary Show<\/strong><\/em> at year&#8217;s end, where he reteamed with Ringkampf&#8217;s WALTER and Thatcher to face <strong>British Strong Style<\/strong> (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate &amp; Trent Seven). In more recent news, he was also announced for another wXw return this year, as a competitor in the 2019 edition of wXw&#8217;s top tournament, <em><strong>16 Carat Gold<\/strong><\/em>, competing against the likes of wXw stars like <strong>Jurn Simmons<\/strong>, plus other top indie stars like <strong>Pentagon Jr., Fenix, Chris Brookes<\/strong> and Big Japan&#8217;s <strong>Daisuke Sekimoto<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/wXwGermany\/status\/1085596311427129344<\/p>\n<p>While the duo is still relative unknowns to most North American wrestling fans, Europe has been aware of them both for a decade now and they&#8217;re uniting to add some more European flavor to the NXT UK brand. It will be interesting to see if the WWE eventually reunites Barthel with WALTER into the group, or if they&#8217;ll remain separate.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FULL MATCH - Fabian Aichner vs. Marcel Barthel - WWE Germany Tryout 2018, Cologne\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7Zk93Fho4YE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Stay tuned to the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the main event of Wednesday&#8217;s episode of NXT UK, the tandem of Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster faced the team of Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner, dubbed The European Union. The German and Italian Superstars made their debut on NXT UK on the January 2 episode from Liverpool, where they defeated the rising [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":35626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5336,5,3],"tags":[932,4247,1702,4140,2868],"class_list":["post-35623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-nxt-uk","category-nxt","category-wwe-universe","tag-axel-dieter-jr","tag-european-union","tag-fabian-aichner","tag-marcel-barthel","tag-nxt-uk"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/649"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}