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I've been playing around with one of those AI art generator things, generating images for some of the old Anglo-Force characters in a ...

Sunday 3 February 2019

RE-POST: WAW, Lowestoft December 2001 - Live Show Review

It was a cold winter's night as I entered the arena, taking my seat at the ringside table as the new official WAW Internet reporter. I had the best seat in the house, but at times I wished I had another! (Read on and you'll find out more!)

Our ring announcer, Michael Mann, reminded us all exactly why we were there, to help raise money to help local children get some much needed medical treatment in America. But I have the feeling that in the minds of the majority of the fans, they were there for a whole different reason. Yep, you guessed it; Snake Man in da house.

We were then introduced to perhaps the fittest man on the WAW roster. Charlie Frary, 74 years old, puts me to shame as far as physical conditioning is concerned. Still, that's nothing to be ashamed of. Is it me, or is this man gaining something of a cult following? Then it was down to action.

HOT STUFF (c) v BASH WAW British Championship
I've seen these two against each other before, but this one was for the second most important singles title in the company, second only to Tiger Steele's World title belt.

After Bash came to the ring, badmouthing the crowd, Hot Stuff came running down, and once in the ring, reminded us of the good old days, when watching the WWF was fun! We all joined in with the "suck it" chant.

While Hot Stuff tried to wrestle clean, Bash would have none of it. Even though he was probably evenly matched with HS, he insisted on using illegal tactics, which earned the ire of old Charlie.

Sitting as close to ringside as this felt a little too close for comfort at times, especially when Bash, slumped in the corner near me, felt the fury of a Hot Stuff Bronco Buster. It was as if it was right in my face!

An exciting match between two evenly matched opponents was won by Hot Stuff after an X-factor. A good contest worthy of a championship match. Bash wasn't happy though. He felt a certain amount of injustice. Boy it would have been good to see Charlie deck him. The old boy probably could have done it as well!

SWEET SARAYA V ANGEL
The Sweet Saraya we all know and love has returned, after he short fling with face-dom at October Outrage, the bitch was back!. After coming down the aisle to Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People" (the Smackdown theme for you dummies), Saraya promised us that she isn't going to insult the people of Lowestoft. But with the exploding hormones of the young boys at ringside, we all knew it was a promise she just couldn't keep.

I had heard much of her opponent, Angel, but this was the first time I had ever seen her in person. Two babes in the ring at the same time! Whooooo!

Thinking that his ring announcing duties for this match over, Mr. Mann earned the ire of Saraya by not announcing her as the British and European Champion, and she promised to slap each and every one of us if Michael didn't do as she asked. Was I the only one who wished Michael would refuse her wishes, and take his seat next to me?

Saraya proved that she is the best in Britain today by unleashing her full arsenal on Angel; sharp-shooter, Boston Crab, the works. But this still wasn't enough to put her less experienced opponent away.

Angel fought back with a middle-rope DDT, followed by some more impressive moves before throwing Saraya over the middle-rope. However, this offensive action on Angel's part didn't last long. Saraya fought back, even using Charlie as a weapon (lucky sod!) But even this didn't help Saraya for long, as she was soon on the receiving end of an Angel stink-face. Am I sounding sick and perverted when I say I wouldn't have minded being the official in this match?

Saraya soon fought back. Powerbomb, DDT, Tombstone. But nothing seemed to put Angel away. It was only after a Superplex and a big splash did Saraya finally get the win. But this wasn't the end of it. After attacking Angel, Saraya returned to the dressing room, but not before realising the dreams of one lucky little bugger by getting him in a lip-lock. Hey, no fair! This kid is less than half my age, and he's seeing more action than me! Next WAW show I attend, I'm sitting where he is!

"ROWDY" RICKY KNIGHT V ZEBRA KID TLC Match
As Ricky walked down to the ring, he received a mixed reaction from the crowd. Hey, I guess you either love or hate the guy! Getting into the ring, the Rowdy one endeered himself to the locals by insulting them. Guess he won't win Lowestoft's favourite visitor award.

Zebra Kid came down to the ring with "Classy" Chloe Quintain. Hey! I wondered where my fellow website reporter had gone! After the introductions, Ricky grabs the microphone. He tells us all that despite Zebra Kid being his son, he had to do this. Zebra Kid had sullied the family name by taking up with the "latest of the Quintain dog breed." Hey Ricky, no fair! Chloe's a lovely girl! If I hadn't been reporting, I'd have got into that ring myself to lay the smackdown on his candy ass! And judging by the the crowd reaction, I wasn't the only one! Guess you shouldn't slag off a Quintain in their own
backyard!

No disrespect to the other matches, but this was the show stealer. These two have done the rounds all over the place, and once again, pulled out all the stops. Despite both having different styles, they were well matched. Yours truly got a little too close to the action. Ricky slammed Zebra's face into the table right in front of me. Damn fool almost lost my hat!

Sadly, Charlie's fitness eluded him for a short time as he got too close to the action. With the old boy out of action, Ricky went to work, as Chloe climbed into the ring to defend her charge. Bad move girl! Ricky showed he didn't care much for gender by attacking the poor girl. You bloody bully! Before I can leap into the ring to defend my fellow website reporter, Dad comes to the rescue. Steve Quintain, the great tattooed warrior, came charging down to the ring to the cheers of the crowd, to help out the apple of his eye. Levelling Ricky with a chair, he pulled Zebra Kid on top of him just as Charlie came to. A three count later, and Zebra had the victory.

Ricky was irate. Grabbing the microphone, he asked his latest employee who the rightful winner was. Sorry boss. The locals would have lynched me if I'd said otherwise! Does this mean I won't be getting that Christmas bonus this year?
The interval was now upon us, and after the break, two people from the local radio station came out with giant cuddly Mr. Tickle. Looking at ths humoungous object perched in the corner above me, I began to think that this was perhaps the only thing in the building who long enough arms to get the Bulk in a bear hug. After the raffle prizes were given out, Mr. Tickle was auctioned off to a man on the other side of the ring. Some kid was going to get a big surprise Christmas morning! The action was then set to continue.

MINI MICHAELS V JASON HAWKES
Okay, I admit it, I'm not exactly a fan of these novices matches. But I will admit this; these two kids have talent! Watching these two go at it made me think that this sort of match would put some other matches I seen on television lately to shame!

Some good exchanges between Hawkes and Michaels showed that they had a good chemistry, and provided a better match than their October Outrage encounter. This was a fast-paced match, which sometimes left you a little breathless.

Hawkes was good, but there didn't seem any way he could beat the Mini one. Michaels unleashed a parade of finishing moves upon Hawkes; Stone Cold Stunner, Rock Bottom, Sweet Chin Music. None of this could put Hawkes away, but they did wear him down. A powerbomb was the end of Hawkes as Mini Michaels gained the pin.

Some have said that WAW should try and hire Shawn Michaels. Why? Let the Mini one keep training and they'll soon have their own version.

JAKE "THE SNAKE" ROBERTS & STEVE QUINTAIN V THE U.K. PITBULLS
The match that everyone had been waiting for. The chance, for many, myself included, to get a close-up, first hand view of a WWF legend.

The Pitbulls, the biggest tag-team in the world today, came out first. Draped in gold, including the recently won AIWF Hardcore Tag-Team Championship, they intimidated the crowd, and I just hoped to god that they wouldn't be in the corner above me.

A tingle then ran up and down my spine as the legend and the tatooed warrior came through the curtain and into the ring. This was the closest I had ever been to a wrestling legend before.

We had all heard the recent stories regarding Jake's matches over here in Britain. We had all seen Beyond The Mat. But as soon as I saw him, I began to realise that this was the best condition I had seen Jake in in nearly ten years.

The original plan was for Quintain to start out against Big Dave. But the power man would have none of it. Dave wanted the legend, and he soon got him. Even though he was over-powered by the big man, Jake frustrated his opponent. Bulk soon tagged in, and showed that age and power were definately in his favour.

The Bulk basically hammered away on Jake, causing much damage to his ribs. He was soon able to tag out to the hometown hero. The fresh man, though, could really do no better against Quintain. Both Bulk and Dave hammered away at Quintain, gradually wearing him down. Jake looked on in horror as Bulk came down upon Quintain with a massive leg drop.

Eventually, Steve managed to tag out, and the Snake Man returned to the ring. Unleashing his arsenal upon Dave, he found that his usual short-arm clothesline wasn't enough to take the big man down. With help from Quintain and the crowd roaring in his ears, Jake unleashed a DDT upon Dave for the three count.But that wasn't the end of Dave's night. Laying prone in the middle of the ring, Jake reached into his corner, and after opening his bag, his trusty snake was writhing around Dave's limp body. I have never seen two such huge men move so quickly!

If Jake was a washed-up shell of his former self, then it didn't show in this match. His movements, his actions looked as fluid as they had done ten years ago, towards the end of his WWF tenure. A good showing from the Snake Man here.

ROYAL RUMBLE
I have to admit, I often find reporting on these kinds of matches rather difficult. It's always very difficult to catch every piece of the action in a battle royal environment.

A mixture of recent graduates from the WAW training school and cagey veterans slugged it out with each other to win the trophy. Battered and bruised bodies flew about everywhere until it came down to the boiler-suited Brixton Brawler and The Terminator. The tough Scotsman soon won to take the spoils.

The plan next was to have photos taken with Jake Roberts, but The Terminator had other plans. As Roberts and Quintain came down to the ring, The Terminator unleashed a verbal tirade on Quintain, his former tag-team partner. Terminator felt let down when Quintain chose Roberts as his new partner, and wanted revenge.

This brought Ricky Knight back to the ring, closely followed by Zebra Kid, and a game of verbal tennis between Roberts and Knight began. Challenges and insults were thrown back and forth. until eventually, Knight made a challenge for the next Lowestoft show - a Survivor Series rules match, pitting Knight, The Terminator and The UK Pitbulls against Zebra Kid, Quintain, Roberts, and a partner of Robert's choosing. Who did Roberts have up his sleeve? HOOOOOOOOOO! The pride of Glens Falls, New York, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, was making his way to WAW in April. The crowd roared their approval.

So, with Jake, and then Saraya, posing for photographs in the ring, an enjoyable night was had by all. With the WWF apparently losing fans by the bucket full, perhaps British-based fans will seek out their local promotions. And if they know what's good for them, perhaps they'll seek out a WAW show.

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