A sellout crowd of 200 filled the Town Hall in the Norfolk coastal resort of Hunstanton for the latest in WAW's successful series of shows, which saw some new faces debut for WAW, as well as a classic example of fan interaction.
The night began with Kid Chaos making his debut against former WAW British Champion Bash. The bout began with Bash and the Kid exchanging and reversing arm-wringers, before Bash synched in a headlock, wearing his opponent down on the mat. The Kid's lack of experience showed early on as he was unable to keep on top of things. He broke out of the headlock with some well placed elbows to Bash's stomach, but the baseball bat man regained control with a snapmare and a vicious looking drop-kick to the Kid's back, before returning to the favoured headlock hold. He kept up this relentless attack with a hard slam to the mat, before his villainous instincts took over and he began to use the ropes and his boot to choke Chaos.
The momentum of both men was broken when, as Bash attempted to climb the ropes, the second rope broke. As the ring crew attempted to repair the damage, Bash decided to take the fight outside, and he began to pummel Chaos, including an even harder slam on the wooden floor, before the Kid fought back, eventually connecting with a drop-kick right in front of the front row.
Back in the ring, the Kid regained some momentum, clotheslining him down to the mat and then coming off the ropes with a spinning heel kick. This wasn't enough to get the pin though.
It wasn't long before Bash regained the momentum, and just a few moments later, Bash finished the Kid off with his pump-handle slam variation.
Conclusion: The breaking of the middle rope did harm the match a little, and took a little away from both men as some of their trademark moves were taken out of the equation. I'd like to see a rematch between the two sometime.
Next up we saw Jamie Lee, complete with the ring attire which has earned a cult following of it's own, against the returning Johnny Phere. Before the bout began, Commissioner Steven Howard-Platt had to settle a contract dispute. Lee was convinced that his contract stated the bout would be a best of three falls fought over six rounds, while Phere was adamant that he had signed a contract for a twenty minute, one fall bout. The Commissioner ruled that the bout would be fought over six rounds, with one fall deciding the winner.
The first round began with the two men locking up and going into the ropes, with Lee pushing Phere down to the mat. A second lock up got the same result, but this time with Lee slapping Phere. Phere then retaliated by pushing Lee down to the mat, and then taking him down with a hip toss. Annoyed by what had happened, Lee went walkies. Back in the ring, Phere went for a go-behind and then applied a front face lock, which Lee broke out of by going to the ropes. Lee then began to work on Phere's legs as the round came to an end.
Round two began with a test of strength, which saw both men come out on top at one point or another before Phere locked in a hammer lock, moving onto a full nelson. Again, Lee used the ropes to escape from the hold, and went walkabout outside the ring to break Phere's momentum. Once he got back into the ring, Lee began to work over Phere's arm, before taking him down with a clothesline off the ropes. Lee then continued with some excellent wrestling, including a good looking neck breaker. The last move of the round saw Lee head butting Phere.
Lee continued his domination as the third round began, and going back to his desired heel tactics by raking Phere's eyes on the ropes and punching him on the referee's blind side. Lee then began to work over Phere's arm, before Phere reversed into what looked like a hammer lock, but my vision was obscured slightly by the crowd. Lee managed to get to the ropes to escape the hold, and Phere then came back with a sidewalk slam off the ropes, but this wasn't enough to get the winning pinfall. Lee regained the momentum with a low blow, before ending the round with a knee to the head.
The fourth round began with Lee annoyed at the crowd as they began to chant Phere's name. Lee again controlled the early stages of the round, working over Phere's arm, before Phere came back with a roll-up out of the corner after a posting. No pin though. Phere then connected with a clothesline, but again Lee used underhanded moves to regain control, with another low blow, and another punch to the gut on the ref's blind side. This was all Phere needed to get his blood pumping. Phere connected with a drop-kick, then a suplex, and then a devastating power slam. The last action of the round saw Lee kicking out of a Phere cover.
The fifth round proved to be the final round of the bout. Lee began the round by working over Phere's legs, but Phere came back, reversing a whip into the corner, and eventually taking Lee down with a standing suplex. The resulting cover saw Phere get the three count for the winning pinfall.
Conclusion: Great bout here. Good to see Phere back in a WAW ring, and probably the best match I've seen from Lee in the past couple of years. Now if only he'd get some new ring attire....
The third bout of the evening saw "The Wildman" Andi Rush make a return to WAW, bringing along with him his Brit Pack tag-team partner, Karl Harker, as they went up against the U.K. Pitbulls in a non-title match. Harker and Rush did such a good job in riling up the crowd that one woman from the audience dived into the ring and chased Rush and Harker around the ringside area.
When the match began, the Brit Pack doubled-teamed the Bulk, before the big man fought back and tagged in Big Dave, whose slam on Rush forced the Brit Pack to go walkabout on the outside.
Back in the ring, neither member of the Brit Pack had much luck to begin with against the Sheringham strongman, including an attempted test of strength by Rush. It was only when Harker attacked Waters from behind that Rush gained any sort of advantage. Indeed, it was only when the Brit Pack doubled up on Waters that they gained any sort of advantage or momentum.
After some brief work on Big D's leg, he was able to tag the Bulk back into the ring, and the Brit Pack used chokes on the big guy to keep their momentum going. They began to work over the Bulk's arm, but were taken out of their game a little when Harker tried to match power with the Bulk by taking him off his feet with a series of clotheslines. Bulk fought back with a head butt, but not even a low blow by Harker did any damage as Bulk came back quickly with a body slam. However, Rush's interference, as he grabbed the Bulk's leg from the outside, was enough to distract the big man as Harker scored with a roll-up for the first pin of the match.
The second session began with Bulk hammering Harker, and Big Dave tagging in and continuing his brother's handy work before Bulk tagged back in and the brothers squashed Harker in the corner. The work continued until Big Dave missed a big splash attempt, and Rush tagged in and began working over Dave's leg. After a failed pin attempt, Rush applied a leg lock, but the big man simply used his other powerful leg to push Rush into the corner.
With both men tagging in their partners, the Pitbulls regained the momentum as Bulk synched in a bear hug on Harker. The judo man managed to break free and took the big man down with a bulldog. However, it wasn't long before the UKP were back on top. After Bulk splashed Harker in the corner, Big Dave draped Harker over his knee as the Bulk connected with a leg drop. Three seconds later, and the big guys had the equalizing pinfall.
The third and final session began with Bulk hammering Rush, but missing a follow-up attacking after posting Rush in the corner. But once again the Brit Pack men made the mistake of trying to match power with their much larger opponents. Two clotheslines from Rush failed to take the Bulk down, and after Harker tagged in, a double clothesline from the two still failed to do the job.
After Big Dave tagged in, the UKP began to double up on Harker. But then my view was obscured by the crowd, and it was difficult to see exactly what was going on before Rush pinned Big Dave for the winning pinfall.
Afterwards, Rush and Harker grabbed the microphone and requested, or demanded, a title match against the Pitbulls. But the feelings of a certain women were still running high, as she ended up, with her children in tow, chasing Rush and Harker into the car park. I won't repeat exactly what she said here.
Conclusion: An entertaining tag-team match, and a great debut for the Brit Pack as a team in WAW. It looks like the Pitbulls may finally have a team who can take them to the limit, and perhaps even beat them, for the WAW tag titles. Bring on the rematch, I say!
The fourth match of the evening, and first match after the interval, saw "The Dark Angel" Ashe defend his British Heavyweight Championship against the number one contender, Zak Zodiac, in a battle of WAW's young lions, fought, of course, under the WAW Championship Rules.
The opening stages of the first round was a feeling out process between the two, with a reversal of arm wringers before Ashe came back with a headlock, which soon became a reverse chin lock. There was then some fast paced action off the ropes, as Ashe and Zodiac barged each other twice with no result, before Zodiac came back with a roll-up attempt and a bulldog off the ropes. The round ended with Ashe applying an arm-wringer.
The second round began with a test of strength, before another fast exchange of moves eventually saw Zodiac connect with another roll-up. After some more work on the youngster's arm, Ashe synched in a sleeper hold. It was a few moments before Zodiac was able to reverse out of the move with an arm wringer, but again his roll-up wasn't enough to get the first pin. Recovering somewhat, Zodiac grabbed Ashe's legs and began to stretch out the champ's hamstrings, before Ashe reversed the move with a low blow. Ashe then began to work over the masked star's leg. A kick to Ashe's face only gave Zodiac a brief respite before Ashe went back to the leg as the round came to an end.
Round three saw Ashe continued his domination, taking Zodiac down with a snapmare and following it up with a vicious kick to the back. As the fight spilled outside, Ashe began to get aggressive as both wrestlers began to brawl uncontrollably. Back in the ring, Ashe took Zodiac down with another snapmare and then came over with a reverse neck breaker. Ashe's growing aggression only earned him a warning, and he let it get the better of him as Zodiac attempted another roll-up, but still couldn't get the first pin. The champion then began to control his temper by taking his opponent down with a clothesline, and then showing some power by locking in an over the shoulder back breaker, before slamming Zodiac down to the mat. A series of submission holds eventually led to another sleeper, before Zodiac fought back with a series of elbows to Ashe's midsection. Zodiac then came back with two clotheslines, and a drop-kick that sent Ashe flying to the outside as the round came to an end.
The fourth round saw the first fall of the contest. In the beginning, Zodiac began to feel his back, so much so that it hampered his efforts in this round. He attempted a hurricanrana, but Ashe was able to reverse the move and lock in a Boston Crab. With the pain from his back injury too much for him to handle, Zodiac had no choice but to tap out, giving the champion the first score in the contest.
The first few moments of round five saw the aggression taken up a notch or two as both wrestlers began to brawl again. Ashe charged Zodiac, but the masked man held down the tope rope, so Ashe went flying over and landed just inches from the front row. However, as the old saying goes, turnabout is fair play, as Ashe did the same to Zodiac mere seconds later. Ashe followed Zodiac outside the ring, and after slamming him on the hard wooden floor, slammed his opponent's head into the metal ring posts twice. Back in the ring, Ashe scored with a suplex, but missed the follow-up attack, a senton off the top rope. After Zodiac recovered his senses, he slammed Ashe in the middle of the ring, and then came down with a moonsault off the top rope for the equalizing pin fall.
Zodiac continued his assault in the sixth round, punching Ashe and then sending him crashing into the corner, before following this up with a couple of clotheslines. Ashe soon came back with a sidewalk slam, and became frustrated with his three pinfall attempts failed to get the winner. After Ashe applied a front face lock and Zodiac managed to get out of the hold, there was a series of quick reversals before Ashe was eventually clotheslined over the top rope by Zodiac, the masked man then diving over the top rope as the champion tried to shake off the cobwebs on the arena
floor. Back in the ring, Ashe tried to regain the advantage and lifted Zodiac onto the top rope, but Zodiac was able to block any move Ashe was going for, soon pushing him off the second rope and sending him crashing to the mat. However, this proved to be the beginning of the end for Britain's youngest wrestler. Ashe wasn't as dazed as he thought, and he was able to move out of the way of Zodiac's second moonsault of the match. It wasn't long before Ashe came off the top himself with a reverse neck breaker, which was enough to get the wining pinfall. The champion had retained his title.
Conclusion: A great contest here, and I really can't speak too highly of the efforts of both men here. While sitting at ringside, I forgot that these two had a combined age of just 35, making this a case of old heads on young shoulders, and it's kind of scary when you realize that these two aren't in their prime years as wrestlers yet. Good show all round.
The final bout of the evening saw mixed tag action, as Destiny and Jason Cross took on Sweet Saraya and the Zebra Kid, which saw some hard hitting action from both teams in this best of three falls contest. The bout began with a reversal of arm wringers before Zebra sent Cross crashing into the corner, and then clobbering Destiny for good measure. Cross then came out of the corner with an arm drag, and after several reversals, Zebra was only able to regain the upper hand with a low blow. He then slammed Cross in the middle of the ring before coming down off the top rope with a big splash, but this wasn't enough to put Cross out for the count.
After Cross fought out of a headlock with an arm drag and a drop-kick, Destiny and Saraya tagged in. Saraya began with a face buster on Destiny before sending her opponent into the corner, where Zebra began to choke her as Saraya hammered away on her midsection. Zebra then went on to pull Destiny's hair for good measure. The attack on the youngster continued for another few moments, including some more choking in the corner, before Destiny was able to come back by sending Saraya into the corner post and then following up the attack with her devastating big splash. Destiny's momentum was broken when Zebra came into the ring and clobbered her from behind.
It wasn't long before Zebra was back into the match legally, and he literally hammered Destiny in a show of sheer brutality on his part, showing no respect for the fairer sex, even clobbering her with the ring bell at one point. But despite this brutal beating, Destiny fought back with two clotheslines, before coming down on Zebra with a big splash in the corner. But this wasn't enough to keep the Zebra Kid down, as he connected with a super kick to Destiny's jaw before tagging Saraya back into the match. With a little help from her partner, Saraya synched in a half Boston crab, but Destiny was able to fight back with a back breaker off the ropes, following this up with a tombstone pile driver. Not enough, however, to get the first pin.
Saraya came back strongly with a head scissors off the ropes, but couldn't get the pin herself. The fight back was brief as Destiny caught Saraya with a twilt-a-whirl slam. However, Zebra soon tagged back into the match and continued the brutal assault he had started moments earlier, including his patented Zebra Crossing elbow drop off the top rope. Normally this would have been enough to put any opponent away, but somehow, Destiny managed to kick out.
After slamming Destiny to the mat, Zebra went up to the top once again, but Destiny managed to regain her senses and slam him off the top rope. She was then able to make the tag to her partner as Cross came in and sent Zebra flying over the top rope with a clothesline. Saraya then came racing back into the ring, and got another tombstone, this time from Cross, for good measure. There was then a quick exchange of tags between Destiny and Cross as they worked over Saraya, before Saraya fought back by grabbing Destiny's hair. She then caught Destiny with a Samoan drop, and then came off the top rope with a big splash to score the first fall of the contest.
The second session began with Saraya clobbering Destiny in the corner before taking her opponent off the top rope with a hurricanrana. A second attempted failed as Destiny came back with a flying head scissors to get the equalizing pinfall.
The third and final session began with Saraya again clobbering Destiny before connecting with a TKO. A few moments later, Cross and Zebra came back into the match, with Cross connecting with a drop-kick on Zebra, and then connecting with a low blow which seemed to have little effect on Zebra as he came back with a rake of the eyes, before delivering a low blow of his own. After a suplex and a slam, Zebra went upstairs again, but missed with his Zebra Crossing attempt. Then tragedy struck for Cross. As he came off the ropes, his neck got caught up between the top two ropes. As the ropes strangled him, Destiny protested as Saraya and Zebra hammered away on him. When Cross managed to get free of the ropes, Zebra showed tremendous power by holding Cross high up in the air with a choke. His neck weakened, Cross had no choice by to submit.
As Saraya and Zebra celebrated their win, Destiny complained to the referee about her opponent's constant cheating, and Cross challenged Zebra to a rematch at the next Hunstanton show, a match fought under hard-core rules. Commissioner Steven Howard-Platt was only too willing to grant Cross' request.
Conclusion: Even though was a good and action-packed match, I think the locals may have been a bit fatigued by the end of this one, and after what had happened before, I can't really blame them. I kind of felt sorry for Destiny though, and I was left wondering if Zebra could have perhaps been a bit easier on her. But then again, Destiny showed how tough she was by coming back after one of the most brutal onslaughts I've ever seen in a WAW match.
Overall conclusion: All I can say is WOW! Apart from the opening match, which suffered a great deal from the ring malfunction, every match satisfied, and it was great to see an action packed card from top to bottom. This show promised much on paper, and it delivered. Hunstanton has become a hotbed of wrestling action since WAW made their debut in the town in 2003, and the more than vocal crowd certainly adds flavour to the occasion. It's a shame that this show wasn't filmed, as it would have looked great on DVD.
Match of the night goes to the bout between Ashe and Zak Zodiac. I don't think I need to give any more reasons why.
The fourth round saw the first fall of the contest. In the beginning, Zodiac began to feel his back, so much so that it hampered his efforts in this round. He attempted a hurricanrana, but Ashe was able to reverse the move and lock in a Boston Crab. With the pain from his back injury too much for him to handle, Zodiac had no choice but to tap out, giving the champion the first score in the contest.
The first few moments of round five saw the aggression taken up a notch or two as both wrestlers began to brawl again. Ashe charged Zodiac, but the masked man held down the tope rope, so Ashe went flying over and landed just inches from the front row. However, as the old saying goes, turnabout is fair play, as Ashe did the same to Zodiac mere seconds later. Ashe followed Zodiac outside the ring, and after slamming him on the hard wooden floor, slammed his opponent's head into the metal ring posts twice. Back in the ring, Ashe scored with a suplex, but missed the follow-up attack, a senton off the top rope. After Zodiac recovered his senses, he slammed Ashe in the middle of the ring, and then came down with a moonsault off the top rope for the equalizing pin fall.
Zodiac continued his assault in the sixth round, punching Ashe and then sending him crashing into the corner, before following this up with a couple of clotheslines. Ashe soon came back with a sidewalk slam, and became frustrated with his three pinfall attempts failed to get the winner. After Ashe applied a front face lock and Zodiac managed to get out of the hold, there was a series of quick reversals before Ashe was eventually clotheslined over the top rope by Zodiac, the masked man then diving over the top rope as the champion tried to shake off the cobwebs on the arena
floor. Back in the ring, Ashe tried to regain the advantage and lifted Zodiac onto the top rope, but Zodiac was able to block any move Ashe was going for, soon pushing him off the second rope and sending him crashing to the mat. However, this proved to be the beginning of the end for Britain's youngest wrestler. Ashe wasn't as dazed as he thought, and he was able to move out of the way of Zodiac's second moonsault of the match. It wasn't long before Ashe came off the top himself with a reverse neck breaker, which was enough to get the wining pinfall. The champion had retained his title.
Conclusion: A great contest here, and I really can't speak too highly of the efforts of both men here. While sitting at ringside, I forgot that these two had a combined age of just 35, making this a case of old heads on young shoulders, and it's kind of scary when you realize that these two aren't in their prime years as wrestlers yet. Good show all round.
The final bout of the evening saw mixed tag action, as Destiny and Jason Cross took on Sweet Saraya and the Zebra Kid, which saw some hard hitting action from both teams in this best of three falls contest. The bout began with a reversal of arm wringers before Zebra sent Cross crashing into the corner, and then clobbering Destiny for good measure. Cross then came out of the corner with an arm drag, and after several reversals, Zebra was only able to regain the upper hand with a low blow. He then slammed Cross in the middle of the ring before coming down off the top rope with a big splash, but this wasn't enough to put Cross out for the count.
After Cross fought out of a headlock with an arm drag and a drop-kick, Destiny and Saraya tagged in. Saraya began with a face buster on Destiny before sending her opponent into the corner, where Zebra began to choke her as Saraya hammered away on her midsection. Zebra then went on to pull Destiny's hair for good measure. The attack on the youngster continued for another few moments, including some more choking in the corner, before Destiny was able to come back by sending Saraya into the corner post and then following up the attack with her devastating big splash. Destiny's momentum was broken when Zebra came into the ring and clobbered her from behind.
It wasn't long before Zebra was back into the match legally, and he literally hammered Destiny in a show of sheer brutality on his part, showing no respect for the fairer sex, even clobbering her with the ring bell at one point. But despite this brutal beating, Destiny fought back with two clotheslines, before coming down on Zebra with a big splash in the corner. But this wasn't enough to keep the Zebra Kid down, as he connected with a super kick to Destiny's jaw before tagging Saraya back into the match. With a little help from her partner, Saraya synched in a half Boston crab, but Destiny was able to fight back with a back breaker off the ropes, following this up with a tombstone pile driver. Not enough, however, to get the first pin.
Saraya came back strongly with a head scissors off the ropes, but couldn't get the pin herself. The fight back was brief as Destiny caught Saraya with a twilt-a-whirl slam. However, Zebra soon tagged back into the match and continued the brutal assault he had started moments earlier, including his patented Zebra Crossing elbow drop off the top rope. Normally this would have been enough to put any opponent away, but somehow, Destiny managed to kick out.
After slamming Destiny to the mat, Zebra went up to the top once again, but Destiny managed to regain her senses and slam him off the top rope. She was then able to make the tag to her partner as Cross came in and sent Zebra flying over the top rope with a clothesline. Saraya then came racing back into the ring, and got another tombstone, this time from Cross, for good measure. There was then a quick exchange of tags between Destiny and Cross as they worked over Saraya, before Saraya fought back by grabbing Destiny's hair. She then caught Destiny with a Samoan drop, and then came off the top rope with a big splash to score the first fall of the contest.
The second session began with Saraya clobbering Destiny in the corner before taking her opponent off the top rope with a hurricanrana. A second attempted failed as Destiny came back with a flying head scissors to get the equalizing pinfall.
The third and final session began with Saraya again clobbering Destiny before connecting with a TKO. A few moments later, Cross and Zebra came back into the match, with Cross connecting with a drop-kick on Zebra, and then connecting with a low blow which seemed to have little effect on Zebra as he came back with a rake of the eyes, before delivering a low blow of his own. After a suplex and a slam, Zebra went upstairs again, but missed with his Zebra Crossing attempt. Then tragedy struck for Cross. As he came off the ropes, his neck got caught up between the top two ropes. As the ropes strangled him, Destiny protested as Saraya and Zebra hammered away on him. When Cross managed to get free of the ropes, Zebra showed tremendous power by holding Cross high up in the air with a choke. His neck weakened, Cross had no choice by to submit.
As Saraya and Zebra celebrated their win, Destiny complained to the referee about her opponent's constant cheating, and Cross challenged Zebra to a rematch at the next Hunstanton show, a match fought under hard-core rules. Commissioner Steven Howard-Platt was only too willing to grant Cross' request.
Conclusion: Even though was a good and action-packed match, I think the locals may have been a bit fatigued by the end of this one, and after what had happened before, I can't really blame them. I kind of felt sorry for Destiny though, and I was left wondering if Zebra could have perhaps been a bit easier on her. But then again, Destiny showed how tough she was by coming back after one of the most brutal onslaughts I've ever seen in a WAW match.
Overall conclusion: All I can say is WOW! Apart from the opening match, which suffered a great deal from the ring malfunction, every match satisfied, and it was great to see an action packed card from top to bottom. This show promised much on paper, and it delivered. Hunstanton has become a hotbed of wrestling action since WAW made their debut in the town in 2003, and the more than vocal crowd certainly adds flavour to the occasion. It's a shame that this show wasn't filmed, as it would have looked great on DVD.
Match of the night goes to the bout between Ashe and Zak Zodiac. I don't think I need to give any more reasons why.
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