RE-POST: 1 Stop Wrestling 14th August 2003

In recent times on television we've seen examples of how certain wrestlers should remain silent, they should never speak, and should be portrayed as virtual wrestling machines, there to do one thing, and one thing only - kick ass!

I saw a fine example of this during the early days of my tenure with WAW. Because they lived just a few short miles away from me, the U.K. Pitbulls, "Big" Dave and Mike "Bulk" Waters gave me a ride whenever I had to get to a show.

Travelling with these guys, although in somewhat cramped conditions, was quite often fun. While Dave was the more serious of the two, Mike always seemed to bring a sense of fun to each journey, no matter how long it was. Naturally, we would spend most of the time talking about wrestling, sharing memories of old WWF and WCW shows as well as discussing what was going on in the British wrestling industry.

A lot of the stories they told me will remain with me, because they would no doubt cause a great deal of embarrassment to many people, but there is one story that I feel I must tell, even if I do earn the wrath of the world's heaviest tag-team.

Away from the ring, when you talk to Big Dave, the first thing that hits you is his voice. Compared to his brother, Dave's voice sounds quite posh, as if he's been taking lessons from the Harry Enfield character, Mr. Chomndley-Warner. Don't get me wrong, Dave's a nice guy, he just sounded too damn posh!

For the first few shows I went to with the Pitbulls, I often wondered why, when in the ring, if ever there was any talking to be done, Mike did it. It was until eighteen months ago I found out why the big man did all the stick work.

In Clacton, in February 2002, the Pitbulls were scheduled to go up against Hot Stuff and Triple X, in a tag-team match that was, for all intents and purposes, being used to set up the big, hometown debut of WAW rookie Brett Meadows, aka The Kraft. The match itself was quite poor, mainly because Triple X. But the story that surrounded the match was executed very well.

After Big Dave and Triple X began brawling outside the ring, a brawl that would eventually take them to the dressing room, referee Charlie Frary counted both men out and announced that the match was now a one-on-one encounter between Hot Stuff and the Bulk.

With Bulk using many underhanded tactics to keep control of the contest, just as Hot Stuff was making a comeback, Dave returned to the ring, and for some reason attacked Charlie. He then attacked Hot Stuff, taking him down with a full-nelson slam. Bulk then went for the cover, and showed the flaw in their plan. The referee could not make the three count because they had taken out the referee!

It was then the time for the local boy to make his appearance. With a keyboard in his hand, the Kraft stormed into the ring and shattered the instrument on the Bulk's head. As Hot Stuff went for the cover, the referee came to and made the three count. Hot Stuff had the victory.

Then the story set-up for the next Clacton show began. Grabbing the microphone, the Bulk demanded that Hot Stuff give him a shot at the British title. Being the fighting champion that he was, Hot Stuff agreed to the match.

It was then Big Dave's turn to speak. Stepping into the ring, and in his finest, posh-est sounding voice, began to address the Kraft, standing in the ring with a huge grin on his face. Dave took the microphone from his brother, pointed to the Kraft, and said; "Who is this? Who is this long-haired poof?" When Dave asked him why he had interfered in his match, all the rookie could do was say "Because I'm a local boy!" The second match was set for the next Clacton show as Big Dave would go on to meet The Kraft in what would turn out to be the Kraft's big WAW singles debut.

It didn't really hit me what happened that night until a few months later. I began to notice over the next few shows that Mike was handling more and more of the microphone duties, while Dave sort of melted into the background in these sort of segments. During one of our journeys home, I asked the boys why this was. Dave replied it was because Mike could cut better promos than him, and because a lot of people thought he sounded a bit too posh for that sort of thing.

I then brought up that incident in Clacton, where he called Brett a long-haired poof. That one phrase became a kind of talisman for Brett during his early days in WAW. Whenever I saw Brett at a show, the first thing I would say is "how are you, you long-haired poof?"

Dave now denies that this happened in Clacton, that it was Mike who called Brett a long-haired poof. However, I have the evidence, in the Wrestling Show Reviews section of my website.

As one half of the biggest tag-team in British wrestling, Dave has earned a reputation for being a good worker, and more importantly, for being a nice guy behind the scenes. If I can fault him on anything, then it's his voice. Whenever I think of that night in Clacton, I think back to posh fellow calling a local boy a long-haired poof, and I think to myself the monster heel that is one half of the UK Pitbulls should perhaps remain silent while in the wrestling ring. Leave all the stick work to little brother.

Unless you're going to use that "Lord Bulkington and Sir David of Pitbullshire" gimmick. Man that would be funny!