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Monday 11 March 2019

RE-POST: DAM Promotions, Holt, November 2003 - Live Show Review

D.A.M. Promotions presented their fourth show in the North Norfolk area, bringing back many of the W.A.W. stars as well as a newcomer to entertain a packed crowd, in aid of the Theresa Bellingham appeal, and with generous sponsorship from several local businesses.

ROCK WEILER v THE KRAFT
A late replacement for the absent Deano Lynskey, Rock Weiler came in to face his current nemesis in a rematch from the show in Hunstanton one week previously, a match which had earned rave reviews on other websites.

Although not as good as their previous encounter, this was still a highly entertaining contest, and a great way to start the show. Rock, even at such an early stage in his career, is already showing signs of developing into a classic heel, able to get a crowd baying for his blood by just entering an arena, while the Kraft is improving all the time, and is developing into one of the most popular young stars on the wrestling circuit.

The man from the Dog Pound gained the victory this evening, although in rather dubious circumstances. Unable to overcome his opponent by legal means, when the referee's back was turned to him, as Kraft was tied up in the ropes, Rock grabbed Kraft's leg and brought it up into the referee's down below area. Lying on the mat, and oblivious to Rock's underhanded tactics, he called for the bell and awarded the victory, via disqualification, to Rock, robbing the Kraft of a hard-fought victory.

"THE TATTOOED WARRIOR" STEVE QUINTAIN v HOT STUFF
A non-title match for the WAW Cruiserweight Champion as Quintain went up against the ever-popular Hot Stuff, who is improving all the time in what is his comeback year.

Both wrestlers acquitted themselves well in this match, matching move for move and hold for hold, but it was Quintain's underhanded tactics which always seemed to give him the upper hand, as time and time again Quintain showed that despite being a great wrestler, he isn't afraid to get a little dirty, if you know what I mean.

The evil deeds didn't get Quintain the victory, though, as Hot Stuff used a schoolboy roll-up to secure the pin. A very entertaining contest here, and hopefully, this pin will put Hot Stuff in line for a Cruiserweight title shot. The Eastern Counties Champion deserves nothing less.

"THE SHINING LIGHT" STEVIE KNIGHT v "BIG" DAVE WATERS - Table match
My first chance to see British wrestling's other famous "Knight" here, as Stevie went one on one with one of the local heroes. It was obvious that he would have his work cut out for him going against the Sheringham strongman in a match Big Dave has excelled in in the past.

This match may have been dangerous, but it proved extremely dangerous for the referee, who, early on in the contest, was accidentally put through one of the tables at ringside. As a second official was brought out, the poor boy was carried backstage for some much needed medical attention.

This was indeed a bruising encounter, with tons of hard-core action, as Knight pulled out all the stops to try and take the big man down. But with his local fans cheering him on, Big Dave's power proved too much for Knight, as Dave ended the bout by slamming Knight into a table using a fireman's carry.

"ROWDY" RICKY KNIGHT v ASHE
Out of all the matches announced for this show, this was the one I was looking forward to the most, as it would showcase one of Britain's finest up and coming young stars against one of it's toughest veterans.

And I was not disappointed. The Rowdy Man shows that despite he is just a few weeks shy of his *CENSORED* birthday, he is still more than capable of going toe to toe with the youngsters, having proved this in countless battles with the Zebra Kid, and now with the young Dark Angel.

Many younger stars in the past have frozen when they've stepped into the ring with Ricky. Ashe was not one of them. He was not awed by the fact of who he was in the ring with, and with a good combination of high-flying and old fashioned wrestling style, showed that he could hang with the Rowdy Man. If Knight had underestimated the youngster before the bout, he surely wasn't afterwards.

Indeed, the only way Knight could put Ashe away was by breaking the rules. Ashe tapped out when Knight applied a single-leg Boston Crab. But the victory was tainted, the referee was unaware that Knight was using the ropes for leverage.

An entertaining bout, showing me two things - Knight can still hang with the young 'uns, and Ashe has a great future ahead of him.

W.A.W. British Heavyweight Championship
THE ZEBRA KID (c) v THE BULK
A definite mismatch of styles here, with the high-flying champ defending his title against the much larger and power-based wrestler. Many thought that there would be a new champion crowned tonight, especially as the Bulk had the home field advantage.

And this nearly happened. After nearly ten minutes of non-stop action, these guys threw everything they had at each other. Zebra used every trick in the book, but despite a constant stream of offence against the Bulk, he couldn't keep the big man down.

And the champ obviously knew this beforehand, having cut some sort of deal backstage with Rock Weiler. As Rock distracted the referee, and the Bulk argued with him, Rock threw Zebra a small pouch containing some white powder. It was obvious what the champion's plan was. But the plan backfired, as Bulk turned his attention back to his opponent and kicked the power into Zebra's eyes. A  Bulkishi Driver later, and we had a new champion, or so it seemed. Trying to regain his eyesight, Zebra contested the decision, and it seemed that the referee was easily won over as reversed his decision and awarded Zebra the victory by disqualification. The locals, and the Bulk, were not happy.

Elimination Match
THE ZEBRA KID, ROCK WEILER, STEVIE KNIGHT, RICKY KNIGHT & STEVE QUINTAIN v THE U.K. PITBULLS, THE KRAFT, ASHE & HOT STUFF.
A slobber-knocker to end the evening pitting all the evening's combatants in a elimination tag match against each other.

As is always the case with these kinds of matches, there was a lot of action to watch, so to make things simpler, I'll stick with who eliminated who.

Steve Quintain pinned Hot Stuff with a schoolboy roll-up. The villains were one man ahead. They soon had a two man advantage after Stevie Knight pinned The Kraft. Things looked really bad for them after the Zebra Kid downed Ashe, leaving the Pitbulls alone to face five opponents.

They were soon into the action though. Bulk took down Quintain before Big Dave took out Rock Weiler. After Bulk took out Stevie Knight, the friction in the Knight family was apparent for all to see as the Zebra Kid was counted out after brawling with Ricky Knight. The Rowdy Man was now on his own, and it wasn't long before the Pitbulls took him down, Bulk pinning him after the big splash/leg drop combo.

In conclusion, an entertaining night, but one thing that will always come to mind when I think of this show is one of the fans, a gentleman who really got into it, who proved to me that real wrestling fans still exist, even in today's world of the "smart mark". Whenever the villains came to the ring, this guy was on his feet, shaking his fist at them as they entered, and when said villain singled him out for possible humiliation, the fan was ready to accept any challenge that was thrown his way.

And now the moment you've been waiting for - match of the night. This goes to the battle between established veteran and up-and-coming star. I made my comments about Ricky Knight v Ashe earlier Ashe earlier. A fine contest all round.

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