RE-POST: The Future of British Wrestling (2001)

Is it me, or has it been rather a slow week for wrestling news?

Okay, WCW is shutting down, possibly for good. This really does not surprise me. All it means is that Vince McMahon's grip on the wrestling world will get tighter.

The WMX-7 hype continues, and to be honest, I still can't get that excited about it. I don't know why. But I do agree with Mr Russev over at TRN, about Kurt Angle not being in the main event.

No, for me, the main news story this week revolves around a certain man, Norwich native Ricky Knight.

Who? Ricky Knight is the owner of World Association Wrestling, a British indy fed. They are putting on a big show at the Norwich Sport Village on April 21st. NRG Films are filming the event, in an attempt to get something that hasn't been seen in this country for quite a while. A British-based wrestling programme on British television.

Okay, I know that there will be many, many people who will e-mail me telling me about that Transatlantic challenge thing on last year, but from what I saw of it, it was pretty lame. It was aimed at the sort of audience the WWF had ten to fifteen years ago, not the sort of audience they have today.

I would like to applaud Ricky Knight's efforts. British wrestling needs a good kick up the arse, and perhaps Ricky Knight is the man to do it. And this writer aims to do his little bit to help.

Hopefully, many of you would have seen the recent newspaper articles that I forwarded to my editors. Despite appearing on the Big Breakfast (which I missed - why do they put that show on so early in the morning?), having two local newspaper articles, and now appearing on my local teletext service, this show needs all the promotion it can get.

Now, I know that I haven't exactly been complimentary about WAW's efforts in the past, but I am keeping an open mind on this. After all, when I first saw the WWF around 1987, I thought it was a load of shit.

So, come April 21st, at the Norwich Sport Village, yours truly will be sitting ringside, probably wearing his DX shirt, cheering loudly for the likes of Ricky Knight, The Bulk, Big Dave Waters, and possibly wolf-whistling Sweet Saraya (but of course, not when her husband, the aforementioned Ricky Knight, is in earshot).

Although, to be honest, I feel I must confess something.

This will actually be the first ever wrestling event I have ever attended. Perhaps someone out there can give me a few pointers. Should I take an Austin 3:16 sign?

Anyway, you can be sure, that my experiences will be immortalised on the Internet, as I bring you all the happenings of WAW's big event.