WAW returned to Canvey Island in front of a small but very vocal crowd for the first hall show of 2005, in which several stars made their WAW debuts.
The Kraft v Eamon O'Neil
O'Neil, otherwise known as former FWA Academy Champion Eamon Shrahan, was the first star to make his WAW debut, and began by immediately insulting the locals in particular and the English in general, before calling on the fans to chant the name of his home country. The Irishman complained from the start, complaining that the Kraft was pulling his hair twice when the first two lockups went into the ropes.
O'Neil then showed some good moves as he took Kraft down with a body slam. There was then a reversal of arm wringer attempts between the two, before O'Neil used the ropes to escape. O'Neil then applied a headlock, and as Kraft tried to escape by pushing his opponent into the ropes, the Irishman countered by holding onto the Kraft's hair. However, it was third time lucky for the local star as the push off the ropes was followed by a Samoan Drop. O'Neil decided to go walkies afterwards, but this did nothing for his momentum, and he let his anger get the better of him. As he charged into the ring, he ran wildly at his opponent, only for the Kraft to pull down the top rope. O'Neil went flying over the top rope, landing just in front of the front row. Learning nothing from his mistake, O'Neil tried this attack again, and again, it failed. However, Kraft got a little too cocky. Thinking that he could get a way with it a third time, he held the top rope down as O'Neil came charging into the ring, but the Irishman connected with a dropkick.
O'Neil then went to work on his opponent, wearing him down before eventually synching in a reverse chin lock on the Kraft. It was only on the second attempt that Kraft managed a clean escape, before connecting with a super kick, a body slam, and then a leg drop. This wasn't enough to get the win though.
After Kraft missed a corner attack, O'Neil went back to work, choking him on the ropes and coming down on the back as the Kraft lay slumped on the middle rope. But like Kraft before him, O'Neil went to the well once two often and missed a second attack, crotching himself on the middle rope. Kraft seized the advantage, scoring with an inverted atomic drop before delivering a three suplexes in quick succession, ala Eddie Guerrero. He then tried to finish O'Neil off with his Essex Bomb finisher, but the Irishman countered by raking his eyes. O'Neil then slammed Kraft into the middle of the ring, before climbing to the top rope and scoring with an elbow drop. But he still couldn't pin his opponent.
Getting Kraft into the corner, O'Neil unloaded on him before whipping him into the opposing corner. But Kraft kept his wits about him, flipping upside down before scaling the adjacent corner and connecting with a flying clothesline. A few seconds later, after his second attempt failed, Kraft connected with the Essex Bomb to pick up the winning pinfall.
Conclusion: Another case of television not doing a person justice here. I had only seen O'Neil on the FWA's TV shows, and I hadn't really been impressed. It was the opposite with this match. Both guys were impressive, and both showed that they've got a great future in wrestling.
Steve Grey v "The Wonderkid" Jonny Storm
This bout was originally meant to have been for the newly created British Lightweight title, but at a weigh-in earlier that day, Grey failed to make the weight, so the match was declared a non-title contest, but still fought under WAW Championship match rules, fought over eight three minute rounds.
Round one began with Grey working over Storm's arm, Storm using his agility and speed to either reverse or escape from the hold several times. One of these reversals involved Storm spinning on the top of his head. The round ended with Storm fighting back and applying a hammerlock on Grey.
Round two seemed pretty even between the two. Storm began with a knuckle lock on Grey, and almost scored the first pinfall of the match, but the veteran was wise to his move. Grey would eventually fight back with a reverse chin lock, with Storm countering with another arm wringer, before moving to a headlock, which Grey soon wriggled his way out of. The second round ended in the same way as the first, with Storm applying a hammerlock on Grey.
The third round saw Storm working over Grey's arm. Grey could only really break free of the hold by raking Storm's eyes with his boot. Grey then began to work on Storm's left leg, hoping to ground the high-flying star, applying a leg lock, and snapmaring him over so his legs snapped over onto the bottom rope. Grey kept up this attack for the remainder of the round.
Round four saw a somewhat cautious start from both me, with Storm applying a front face lock on Grey, which the veteran countered by going back to work on Storm's weakened leg. Storm tried a monkey flip on Grey, but Grey held on and applied more pressure on Storm's leg. This attack continued for a few more moments, before Storm connected with an enziguri to the back of Grey's had. He then followed this up with a sitdown power bomb, and despite his weakened limb, Storm was able to climb to the top rope and connect with a moonsault. A three count later and Storm had scored the first pin of the contest.
Grey scored the equalizing fall in found five. After working over Storm's leg again, including another snapmare onto the bottom rope, Grey reversed a Storm body block off the ropes to get the pin.
Round six proved to be the final round of the contest. Some of the action was so fast it was difficult to call at times. What seemed like hundreds of reversals between the two eventually saw Storm pin Grey with a bridge for the win.
Conclusion: I'd heard a lot about the matches these two had last year for Premier Promotions. This bout didn't disappoint. If Grey can make the weight for their rematch, and it's for the new Lightweight title, then this is a great championship in the making, and this is surely an early contender for match of the year.
The Zebra Kid v Andy Simmons
Ditching his servant's regalia, Simmons became the second man to make his WAW debut at The Paddocks, taking on a returning Zebra Kid, seeking to get back into the grove of things after his time away.
The bout began with the cocky Simmons arm-dragging Zebra, who then boasted to the crowd about his achievement. It was pretty much the same thing after Simmons scored with a hip toss, and then a body slam. But the cockiness went a little too far as Zebra showed he could do what Simmons had done, and put the icing on the cake by taking Simmons down with two drop-kicks, before sending him crashing over the top rope after a clothesline. Zebra then dragged Simmons back into the ring the hard way, before threatening to kick his opponent where it hurt the most, only deciding against it when referee Joe Williams persuaded him against this course of action. However, as he argued with the ref, Simmons attacked him from behind, using several underhanded tactics to keep the advantage. Zebra was able to fight back briefly with a super kick, but Simmons regained the momentum with a low blow.
After Simmons missed a corner attack, Zebra scored with a DDT off the second rope, following this up with a slam and then a big splash off the top rope. This would have been enough to put Simmons away, but the pin was too close to the ropes. As Zebra went for the pin, all Simmons had to do was drape his foot over the bottom rope to escape.
Simmons once again regained the advantage the only way he could, by breaking the rules, choking Zebra on the ropes. These violations didn't stop Zebra coming back strong though. After Simmons missed another corner attack, Zebra connected with a powerful clothesline, then connected with a superplex off the top. However, a leg drop off the second rope wasn't enough to get the win, and once again Simmons fought back with another violation of the rules, a low blow this time.
Zebra had had enough, dragging Simmons to the corner post and crotching him, then scoring with a Samoan Drop. Then, in one of the few times he kept to the rules, Simmons came back with a nerve hold on Zebra's neck, the former British champion fighting back briefly with some elbows to the bread basket before Simmons went back to the same hold. But this still wasn't enough to put Zebra away. Once again he elbowed his way out of the hold, scoring with an enziguri before throwing Simmons over the top rope, then connecting with a suicide dive over the top.
After Simmons missed with a Senton Bomb off the second rope, Zebra scored with a devastating tombstone, before climbing to the top and delivering his Zebra Crossing elbow drop for the winning pinfall.
Conclusion: The butler gimmick restricts Simmons a hell of a lot. Without the white shirt and bow tie, Andy Simmons proved that he's more than just a gimmick wrestler. This was the best match I've seen from the man, and hopefully we'll see a lot more of Simmons in WAW. Kudos to both guys for a great, entertaining bout.
Sweet Saraya v Kharisma v Destiny v Buttercup
This match was originally scheduled as a Superbrawl match, but the withdrawal of Jezebel meant a change, and this was fought under elimination rules.
Before the bout began, Destiny spent much of the time arguing with Saraya, showing that the ill feeling that has built up between the two over the past couple of years still exists.
The match began with Destiny and Kharisma exchanging lock ups and arm wringers, headlocks and chin locks. As this went on, Saraya spent much of the time taunting Destiny from the ring apron, before Destiny tagged in Buttercup. Destiny began to get more assured as she took it to the newcomer, but Buttercup fought back with a bulldog after Destiny had posted her. Destiny fought back with a half Boston before Buttercup crawled to the ropes to escape.
It was then that Saraya tagged in, and showed what she could do. Slamming Buttercup in the middle of the ring and then coming down with a leg drop off the ropes, then showing her superior wrestling skill with a reverse chin lock and a half Boston of her own, before breaking the hold, and allowing Buttercup to tag in Kharisma after a posting.
It was pretty much the same with Kharisma as Saraya simply out wrestled her. Indeed, Kharisma could only fight back by throwing Saraya around by her hair. After nearly getting pinned, Kharisma sought safe ground by tagging Destiny back in. She got pretty much the same treatment from Saraya until she reversed a posting attempt and then connected with a big splash as Saraya slumped in the corner. However, as Destiny argued with the ref, Saraya came back strongly with a TKO, and then a head scissors off the top rope, and then a hurricanrana off the top. However, none of these moves resulted in a pinfall.
Frustrated, and in need of a rest, Saraya tagged in Buttercup. After scoring with a monkey flip out of the corner, Destiny went to the proverbial well once too often with a second monkey flip attempt, but Saraya pushed Destiny off the ropes, which allowed Buttercup to score the first fall of the contest. Destiny had been eliminated. However, she continued to lurk in the background as the action continued.
The match continued with Buttercup and Kharisma, with Kharisma working over Buttercup's legs, before Buttercup fought back with a cattle mutilation. Kharisma came back with a reverse chin lock, before eliminating Buttercup with a sidewalk slam off the ropes for the pin.
This left Kharisma to face Saraya. Saraya attacked Kharisma from the beginning, scoring with a face buster and clothesline off the ropes. There was then several Japanese stranglehold reversals before Saraya came back with a Samoan Drop. Then, as Saraya climbed to the top rope, Destiny returned from the shadows and crotched Saraya on the top rope. Then, after lifting Saraya onto her shoulders, Kharisma scored with a victory roll for the winning pin fall.
Despite Saraya's protests, the referee stood by his decision, and once again Saraya challenged Destiny.
Conclusion: An okay match. A little off in some aspects, but still entertaining nonetheless. Not the best women's match I've seen, but by no means the worst.
"Rowdy" Ricky Knight & Bash v Zak Zodiac & J.P. Monroe
The evening ended with a tag-team match between two teams with vast differences in experience in a best of three falls match. Knight entered the bout in a bad mood. Mind you, the Rowdy Man always seems to be in a bad mood!
The bout began with Knight taking on Zodiac. Knight used his superior size and power to throw the youngster around like a rag doll. However, despite the differences in size, Knight & Bash felt the need to use illegal tactics against Zodiac, including choking him in the corner with the aid of Bash's old friend. The domination of Zodiac continued, and got worse when Monroe tried to jump in to stop things, which meant that the referee's attention was taken away from the matter at hand. It was quite a while before Zodiac was able to fight back, taking Knight down with a hip toss and a hurricanrana. As Knight went outside to seek refuge, Zodiac flew over the top and connected with a suicide dive.
Monroe then tagged in, and began to exchange good looking wrestling holds with Bash. However, after a good series of exchanges, his opponents could only gain the upper hand when Knight clobbered Monroe with Bash's baseball bat, not once, but twice. They then began to work over Monroe's legs, taking it in turns to work over the weakened limb, before Bash synched in a Texas Cloverleaf. Monroe almost escaped to the ropes, but Bash dragged him back to the middle of the ring. Seconds later, and Monroe tapped out. Knight and Bash were one ahead.
The second session began with more punishment on Monroe's injured leg, before Zodiac was able to tag in. However, he was soon overpowered by Knight, who took down the masked star with two choke slams, followed up by a leg drop. This wasn't enough to get the winning pin though.
Despite the illegal tactics used against him, Zodiac was able to fight back, climbing to the secondrope and connecting with a dropkick on Knight. Then, as Knight lay in the ring motionless, Zodiac came off the top rope with a moonsault. A three count later, he scored the equalizing pin fall.
The final session began with Knight and Bash regaining the upper hand on Zodiac after a brief flurry of offense from the masked one, with Knight looking impressive with a fall away slam. Zodiac tried to come back with a sunset flip, only for Knight to bring all of his weight crashing down on his chest.
Eventually, Zodiac made it to his corner and tagged in Monroe, but more illegal tactics, including low blows and more baseball bat shots while the referee was otherwise distracted saw Monroe go down. Bash & Knight then began to work over Monroe's weakened leg again, and as the forty minute time limit neared, Knight, with a little helping hand from his tag-team partner, synched in a half Boston. The pain was now too much for him, and Monroe submitted, meaning that Knight and Bash had won the contest two falls to one.
Afterwards, Monroe complained to the referee about his opponent's constant use of the baseball bat, but as is their custom, Bash & Knight proclaimed their innocence. Monroe then challenged Bash to a bout at the next Canvey Island show in July, a challenge that Bash was only too happy to accept.
Conclusion: Impressive match from all concerned. Monroe impressed in his WAW debut, and hopefully we'll get to see him a lot more on the WAW circuit in the coming months and years.
Overall Conclusion: The antics of Jake "The Snake" Roberts last October no doubt harmed the attendance for this show, but the lack of numbers didn't detract from the action in any way at all. Impressive WAW debuts from O'Neil, Simmons and Monroe, as well as those from the WAW regulars, saw a great show which was well received by the fans in attendance, and which was filmed for inclusion on future WAW DVD releases.
Match of the night goes to Andy Simmons v The Zebra Kid.
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