Ranking Every wXw Shortcut To The Top Winner
wXw has run a Shortcut to the Top match every year since 2013
We all love a rumble don’t we? 30 people in the ring, all vying for a shot at the top prize in the company.
Of course the most famous rumble is the Royal Rumble, hosted annually by the good ol’ WWF (or WWE if you prefer).
But that doesn’t make it the only rumble in wrestling. Plenty of others exist, although many go by other names.
One such example is the Shortcut To The Top match at Westside Extreme Wrestling (wXw) in Germany.
Of course, the name comes from the fact that it is the quickest way to earn yourself a shot at the company’s top prize, the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship. But, naturally, just because it’s the quickest doesn’t mean it’s the easiest. Outlasting 30 people is never easy, but the reward at the end is more than worth it.
With Shortcut to the Top right around the corner, we here at Grapple Theory have taken a look at every winner of the match - since its inception in 2013 - and rank them.
Disclaimer: we are ranking only the winners based on the match and subsequent title shot, not the wrestler’s time in wXw as a whole.
8. Grado
Grado won Shortcut to the Top in 2015
Credit: @gradowrestling
The man every wrestling fan thinks of when Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’ kicks off the list. The roof erupted at the Turbinenhalle when the Scottish star came out, unannounced, at number 30 and won the match.
Unfortunately, travel issues meant Grado never got to have his well-earned title shot, which means he comes last on the list - we’re as gutted as you, trust us.
7. Mike Schwarz
Schwarz won wXw’s rumble match in 2020 during the pandemic.
Credit: wXw
The only reason Schwarz doesn’t rank higher on this list is because of the match being filmed behind closed doors - the crowd is such a huge part of a rumble match. But that doesn’t mean Schwarz’s win was any less impressive.
He would come up short in his title shot as he lost to Bobby Gunns in a cracking 15+ minute contest.
6. Bobby Gunns
Gunns won Shortcut to the Top in 2018
Credit: wXw
The winner of the 2018 incarnation of Shortcut to the Top has been a mainstay in wXw for years and really made his mark at this show.
He’d lost his wXw Shotgun Title to Marius Al-Ani earlier in the night before earning his shot at the main prize by winning the Shortcut rumble.
While his win in the 30-man contest was a triumph he, like Schwarz above, would also lose his title shot - this time to Ilja Dragunov. Gunns would eventually get his hands on the title for the first time in March, 2019.
5. Jurn Simmons
Simmons returned to wXw to win Shortcut to the Top 2021
Credit: wXw
Simmons made his triumphant return to wXw for the first time in 12 months, entering Shortcut to the Top midway through the match.
He eliminated fellow former two-time champions Bobby Gunns, who had been in since number one, to win the contest.
But, at the wXw 20th anniversary show, he lost his title shot against Marius Al-Ani.
4. Timothy Thatcher
Thatcher was all smiles after winning STTT in 2019.
Credit: Twitter - @ctmtphotography
Like Grado, the pop that greeted Thatcher when he returned to wXw at Shortcut to the Top was huge!
Many believed he’d left the company for good at the preceding 16 Carat, but he would make a triumphant return to Germany and eliminate his Ringkampf partner Walter last to claim the win.
He would also go on to win the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship shot two months later, beating Bobby Gunns.
3. Walter
Walter won STTT and then beat Tommy End to win his third top wXw title
Credit: wXw
The current NXT UK Champion was the first person to win their Shortcut to the Top title shot, beating Tommy End for the belt.
But before that he put on a dominant display in the rumble, to earn the shot. The victory over End, now known as Malakai Black in AEW, gave Walter his third wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship run.
2. Karsten Beck
Karsten Beck heroically won Shortcut to the Top in 2016 before having to retire.
Credit: wXw
The most heartbreaking entry on this list. Beck’s victory at the 2016 Shortcut to the Top was a moment to savour as he returning to the ring after having to retire for a brief time.
The room was overwhelmed with joy when he won the contest - which also included a surprise appearance from Chris Hero.
Sadly, the two time Unified World Wrestling Champion would never get the chance to take his title shot, having to retire again due to a brain tumour.
He would return to wXw to become the company’s director of sport and authority figure before tragically passing away in October 2020 from brain cancer.
His legacy in wXw will never be forgotten.
1. Bad Bones John Klinger
Klinger won STTT in 2013 and 2017 - the only two-time winner.
Credit: wXw
The only man to win the Shortcut to the Top match twice makes the top of this list for that very reason.
His first victory came in the inaugural Shortcut match in 2013. He survived a stacked line-up of contenders including Walter, Ilja, Doug Williams, Axel Dieter Jr and many more.
His title shot would be less successful as he ended up on the losing end of a fantastic match against Tommy End.
His second Shortcut win would prove far more fruitful and memorable, however. Entering at number one, Klinger would work his way through the other competitors before taking a knock and being stretchered off ‘injured’.
The background to this match would be the rising tensions between the wXw Home Team and heel faction RISE. Klinger would come back out, battered and bruised, to huge applause before joining Ivan Kiev and Pete Bouncer in the ring.
The crowd were left stunned when Kiev and Bouncer eliminated themselves, leaving Klinger as the winner. He would then take off his shirt to reveal himself as the leader of RISE.
He would go on to win an epic three way title match against Ilja Dragunov and Jurn Simmons to claim his third wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship.
wXw Shortcut To The Top 2021 takes place on Friday, July 30, who will come out on top this year?
