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Friday 8 March 2019

RE-POST: WAW October Outrage IV - Live Show Review

WAW returned to their stomping ground at The Talk in Norwich this past Saturday for their fourth annual October Outrage show. With three championship matches, this event promised to be the best Norwich show since Fightmare eighteen months ago.

WAW Cruiserweight Championship
THE ZEBRA KID (c) v "THE WONDERKID" JONNY STORM
When you have a match pitting two of the finest cruiserweights in the country against each other, you know you are definitely in for a good match, and these two certainly did not disappoint in a match that would certainly have been main event calibre anywhere in the world.

Storm was playing the heel role against the local favourite here, and as is the custom for heel visitors to Norwich, Storm insulted the locals early on, before the Zebra Kid came out to a outstanding reception.

Storm attacked before the bell, but it wasn't long before Zebra fought back with some excellent high-flying moves. Both men exchanged move after move after move in a contest which not only enthralled the crowd, but the reporters sitting at ringside as well.

Neither man seemed to gain the upper hand for long periods in this contest. Storm's underhanded tactics worked, but they didn't work for that long as the champion fought back well on a number of occasions.

The referee for the contest, Joe Williams, once again showed that perhaps he should get a little speed training before a show. With Storm in one of the corners, Zebra went for the attack, but Storm pulled Williams in front of him, so Williams took the hit. With the referee taking a quick nap on the canvas, Zebra got the upper hand, eventually connecting with an impressive flying elbow as Storm lay prone on the canvas. However, with the ref still in la-la land, Zebra didn't get the cover that would have won him the match.

Annoyed with this, Zebra tried to revive Williams. As he did this, Storm reached into his tights and pulled out a small sachet of powder. Seconds later, the powder was in the Zebra Kid's eyes.
This enraged Zebra's old man, Ricky Knight. The Rowdy One ran out from the backstage area, and grabbed ring announcer Michael Mann's chair. Jumping into the ring, he went to clobber Storm with his weapon. But Storm ducked out of the way, and Zebra, still blinded by the powder, took the hit. As the ref
came to, Storm made the cover and got the three count. The Zebra Kid's long championship reign was over as Storm was crowned the new WAW Cruiserweight Champion.

Regaining his sight after Storm's powder attack, Zebra showed how angry he was at his father for his mistimed attack. Ricky told the crowd how he always had to save his son's backside. Before this altercation could go any further, Storm grabbed the microphone and promised to give Zebra a rematch - in the form of a tables, ladders and chairs (oh my!) match. This was a challenge the Zebra Kid was not going to refuse.

TRIPLE X v FABULOZ
The returning Fabuloz was next up, going against Triple X, still looking for his big chance in WAW.

Fabuloz attacked before the bell, and kept up his attack throughout the contest. The former professionalboxer dominated Triple X from start to end, not even giving his opponent the chance to get a few blows in.

The short contest ended after just three minutes, so devastating was Fabuloz's attack. Having worn him down with a number of slams and suplexes, Fabuloz won with a submission hold, resembling a twisting/half Boston crab.

With his job done, Fabuloz returned to the aisle way, just as Lloyd Ryan stepped into the ring. Ryan told us all how impressed he was with Fabuloz's display. He then offered Fabuloz a big money contract to join his stable. Fabuloz read the contract, before signing on the dotted line. Ryan had got his man, but what hurt Ricky Knight even more, was the fact that Ryan had just signed his own brother.

"THE ANARCHIST" DOUG WILLIAMS v FLASH BARKER
A different style of contest between the two former FWA champions here - shoot match style rules. Each man would start off with five points at the beginning of the contest, and when one of them touched the ropes to escape a hold, they would be deducted one point. The first man to lose all of his  points would lose the match. Also, the match could only be won by a submission.

As someone who has watched both the UFC and the old UWFI over the past few years, I looked forward to a good contest as soon as I heard the stipulations. Once again this match reminded me of sitting in front of the television on a Saturday afternoon. The only thing that disappointed me about this contest was the crowd. Brought up on a staple diet of WWF high-spots over the past few years, they just didn't know what to make of a match consisting of good old-fashioned wrestling.

In a show filled with good matches, this was clearly the match of the night. The lack of high-spots was not a drawback here. Williams and Barker put on an exhibition of technical wrestling the likes of which we clearly don't see enough of anymore. Move countered by move, each man trying to think five
moves ahead of their opponent. Using a variety of holds, each man had to use the ropes to escape on a number of occasions. However, towards the end of the contest, Barker clearly got the upper hand as he applied an ankle-lock on Williams. Williams had to crawl over to the ropes twice to escape defeat.
However, as Barker synched in the hold for a third time, Williams couldn't use the ropes to escape, as he was down to just one point.

After a couple of suplexes, Williams locked in a submission hold I couldn't really see from my position at ringside. Barker was lying on his front, as Williams used a bridge to synch in whatever hold it was. As the time ran out, Barker tapped. However, referee Joe Williams was out of position, and failed  to see Barker tap out. With the referee's decision being final, Williams announced that the match was a time-limit draw.

In a show of sportsmanship after the contest, Barker admitted that while the referee's decision is final, he did take a beating from the Anarchist. As Williams shook his hand, Williams challenged Barker to a no time limit contest. Barker accepted the challenge, saying he'd meet Williams in any kid of bout.

WAW British Women's Championship
SWEET SARAYA (c) v ANGEL v KHARISMA v "NAUGHTY" NIKKI BEST
Despite suffering a severe shoulder injury that threatened to scupper her appearance in this contest, the Sweet Saraya once again showed that she is the dominating force in women's wrestling in this country.

While I don't mean to show any form of disrespect to her opponents in this match, Saraya clearly dominated this match from the beginning. Whether it be a technical or top rope high spot, Saraya showed why she is considered the best in another contest worthy of main event status. While all three of her opponents showed good moves throughout the match, they couldn't hold a candle to Saraya.

However, it was the Rookie of the Year Angel who scored the first elimination. Nikki Best, going to the well once too often, tried to get Angel into a second monkey flip from the corner. The move backfired, and moments later, Angel got Best in a Boston Crab. Seconds later she was tapping out.
Promising newcomer Kharisma was the second woman to go. A Samoan Drop from Saraya took care of her. Three seconds later she was history.

Despite having suffered a bloodied nose, Angel fought back well as the final two went at it. It wasn't long before Saraya defeated her with a devastating looking sit-down powerbomb. Saraya had beaten three opponents in one night and retained the title.

However, Saraya's night was far from over. Lloyd Ryan once again appeared, to reveal Saraya's next challenger in the Kendo Nagasaki trained Destiny. Ryan proclaimed that Destiny was the future of women's wrestling, and that she would be the one to take Saraya's title away from her. Saraya, never one to back down, accepted the newcomer's challenge.

JACE THE ACE v LEE DARREN
My first opportunity to see two of Premier Promotion's champions here. I had heard a great deal about these two from other parties, despite the fact that a small section of the crowd having not heard of either man. Perhaps they should have brought one of the special October Outrage magazines. I hear the
fellow who wrote the majority of it was rather good!

Having suffered from a lack if high-spots in the Barker/Williams match, as the contest went on, the crowd seemed to warm to the high flying and technical exchanges between Jace and Darren. While probably not up to the standard set by the Zebra Kid and Jonny Storm earlier in the evening, this was still a good exhibition of skill.

Jace proved how ace he was when he secured the victory following a top rope leg drop. After this showing, perhaps Jace could be considered a top contender for Jonny Storm's newly one championship.

Vacant WAW British Championship
BASH v "ROWDY" RICKY KNIGHT
Our main event of the night proved to be a very good contest, as the baseball bat wielding maniac finally realised his potential and became the new WAW British Champion.

Despite being from Norwich, Ricky Knight badmouthed the locals after he entered the ring. The resounding chorus of boos he received was soon replaced by a chorus of cheers as Bash came to the ring.

As the match began, Knight was annoyed at the reception he was receiving from the crowd, and, as is his custom, threatened to leave the building if the crowd didn't shut up. Knight proved though that he isn't a man of his word by continuing with the match.

Bash dominated the veteran early on, and it was only when Knight broke the rules and delivered a low blow could he gain any sort of momentum. Bash fought back briefly but Knight once again broke the rules to gain upper hand, bringing his favoured hardcore weapons into the equation.
As referee Joe Williams tried to restore order, Knight grabbed Bash's bat, intending to clobber him with it. Williams's intervention stopped this. The fight stayed on the outside for a while before order was finally restored and the action returned to the ring.

With Knight attacking Bash in the ropes, the referee tried to pull Knight off his opponent twice, but both times Knight shoved him down to the mat. Enraged, Williams grabbed Knight's head and slammed into the top turnbuckle.

Once again, Bash went to the outside, but this time, Jonny Storm ran in. Grabbing the bat from the ringside table, Storm clobbered Bash. As the referee tried to stop Storm from getting further involved in the contest, the Zebra Kid returned, and levelled Knight with a superkick. A three count later and we had our second new champion of the evening.

Knight was annoyed at what his son had done, using language I can't really repeat here for fear of getting complaints.

And before you ask, yes, the Rowdy Man did slap me in the head.

PAUL TYRELL v "FLYIN'" PHIL POWERS v ROBIN KNIGHTWING (with Tease)
With Tyrell and Powers already at odds following Powers's decision to side with Lloyd Ryan, a third party, who has also sided with Ryan before, Robin Knightwing, was thrown into the mix to make a triple threat contest.

Despite both sharing the same agenda, Powers and Knightwing were at odds at points in this bout. Powers would perform a series of moves on Tyrell, before Knightwing would go for the cover, trying to claim the glory for Powers's handy work. This was the pattern throughout the contest. The bad guys would work together against Tyrell for a few moments, but would end up arguing over who would get the pin. Despite being at odds with each other, Tyrell took a pounding from both me, including impressive looking powerbombs from both Powers and Knightwing.

But in the end Tyrell won out, managing to pin both opponents at the same time with after they collided with each other, just going to show that teamwork may work in a triple threat match for a little while, but in the end it didn't work out for the bad guys.

The Crusher Mason Trophy
THE DARK ANGELS v FAST AND FURIOUS v THE U.K. PITBULLS (with Lloyd Ryan) v THE BATTLEKATS
Before the contest began, the Sweet Saraya returned to the ring and reminded us all who Crusher Mason was, a great man who is sadly missed by all those who were close to him. A moments silence was held in his honour before the contest began.

The match had some interesting stipulations - one man from each team wore a ribbon on their arm, meaning that they could only be defeated via submission, while their partners could not be defeated via submission, only by pinfall.

As is the way in a match that involves more than two parties, the action was fast-paced, with some good exchanges early on, especially between up and coming stars Ashe of the Dark Angels, and F&F's Detroit. It wasn't long before the power men got in on the action, with Big Dave overpowering the red
Battlekat.

However, Dave's attack brought a response from everyone else in the match, as everyone went after the Sheringham strongman. As the action spilled to the ringside area. Then the high-flying began. Red Battlekat was the first to take a dive as he somersaulted over the top rope onto those outside. His
partner, Purple Battlekat, followed next with a dive of his own. As all those outside staggered to their feet, the Bulk decided to get in on the act himself, the ground moving as he dove onto the other seven men on the floor.

The Dark Angels were the first team eliminated from the contest. Having used some Hardy-boy like moves against the Pitbulls, it wasn't long before Draven was drilled into the mat with a Pitbulls powerbomb.

As the match went on, the stipulations sometimes caused a little confusion for those involved. One particular incident was when Big Dave got Detroit in an over the shoulder back breaker. The problem was that Detroit was not wearing a ribbon, so he could only be eliminated via pinfall.

Detroit's partner The Kraft was the next man to taste defeat. Having been subjected to a combined Boston Crab/reverse chin lock from the Pitbulls, he submitted to a Big Dave armbar, his previously injured shoulder proving to be his downfall.

The match turned into a David v Goliath battle as the Pitbulls and the Battlekats went at it. Bulk synched in a bearhug on the Purple Battlekat but couldn't get the win. Red Battlekat got back into the action, but the Pitbulls were far too powerful for him. A second Pitbulls Powerbomb on Red Battlekat came soon after, but the big men, in their arrogance, pulled him up just as they were about to get the victory.

This mistake would lead to their downfall As Bid Dave tried to powerbomb the Red Battlekat, the Purple Battlekat dropkicked his legs. As Big D crashed to the mat, both Kats jumped on top of him to secure the pin.

As the Kats celebrated in the ring, Crusher's son, Jimmy Joe Mason, climbed into the ring to present to trophy to them. A few moments later, Ricky Knight came into the ring to congratulate the Kats.

Still annoyed with the manner of their downfall, the Pitbulls returned to the ring and attacked Knight. Then, to the surprise of everyone, the Purple Battlekat joined in on the attack, and kicked hell out of Knight. He then unmasked, revealing himself to be none other than Jimmy Ocean, Knight's long-time partner and now former friend.

As the attack progressed, the locker room emptied as the wrestlers stormed the ring and chased the Pitbulls and Ocean away. Lloyd then announced that Ocean had joined his ever-growing stable.

With the tempers of both Knight and Ryan boiling over, challenges were made back and forth, until Knight made what could be considered the ultimate challenge - a Hell In A Cell Hardcore Rumble, involving every man in WAW - including both Ryan and referee Charlie Frary, whom Ryan had tried to intimidate earlier in the evening. Ryan accepted the challenge. Other challenges were also made - a Ricky Knight v Jimmy Ocean no ref, no rules match, along with a Pitbulls v Doug Williams and Flash Barker match. The
challenges were made for the next show in Norwich, on February 15th, 2003.

In conclusion - this is the fourth WAW show in Norwich I've been to, and this is by far the best show I've seen in WAW's own backyard. It's a shame that WAW can't hold more regular events in Norwich, because the city's fans absolutely cry out for regular wrestling action. Two or three times a year just isn't enough for them.

Normally, I award a match of the night, but on this occasion this is very difficult. Each match was good for their own reason, so I suppose you could say that each match was match of the night, for a very different reason.

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