by Daniel Johnson
Rene Cardinal vs. Michael Schenkenberg
Rene Cardinal is a young wrestler hailing from the town of Lingen in northwest Germany. Late last decade he went just a little further east in his country and debuted for Nordisch Fight Club (NFC) in Hamburg. By the time this match with Michael Schenkenberg took place he already had a couple of years of experience under his belt.
Cardinal plays the heel in this match which he immediately telegraphs by making quiet down motions to the crowd with his hands. One thing that is noticeable about this match is how little Cardinal and Schenkenberg use the ropes, especially in the early going. There are at least two types of wrestlers who don’t like to use the ropes during their matches. Super new talent whose trainers emphasize the basics and caution against using the ropes as a crutch and talent who are confident enough in their ability to showcase their skills rather than try to hit flashy moves off the ropes. Given the ages of the talent involved and their beyond decent mat work perhaps a little of each applies to them. Still, that is not to say the two do not use the ropes at all and one of the most heelish things Cardinal does in the match is pull Schenkenberg’s neck across the top rope to choke him. Cardinal goes onto win the match in a fairly clean fashion by pinning his opponent after a piledriver.
Although Cardinal has not wrestled for NCW since 2013 he has showcased his talent elsewhere. Cardinal appeared for major German wrestling promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) in 2012 and has also worked several matches abroad in Denmark.
To check out more of the 25 and Under series featuring German talent click here and here.
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