A warmish night in the Norfolk coastal town of Sheringham, for a show in aid of the local Ladybird Playgroup, which was recently the victim of an arson attack. The show was the first promoted in the area for a number of years, and the first show of the newly formed DAM Promotions, who co-promoted the show with WAW. Our ring announcer was local town crier Tony Nelson, decked out in a splendid outfit, complete with bell!
THE K-STAR FOUNDATION v THE ESSEX BOYS (with Kharisma)
I’m going to confess something here. Even though my father’s family originate from Birmingham, and I have countless cousins, aunts and uncles in the Midlands area, I just can’t stand the Brummie accent. No matter what a Brummie says, they always sound really miserable.
This was the case with the K-Star boys, Joe Max and Rob Hunter. Complete with blue and red flag, Max and Hunter celebrated the fact that their local football team defeated our local football team in the play-off finals. Yeah, rub it in boys.
Things changed for everyone as the Essex Boys, Paul Tyrell and Phil Powers, along with the lovely Kharisma, came down to the ring, and immediately clicked with the fans.
At first site, it looked like both teams were evenly matched. There were some good exchanges between the two, and Powers’s Benoit-like suplex combo was again a very good move. It was this sort of action that made me realise that I’m fast becoming a fan of this Essex combo.
The ending was excellent. Powers came off the top rope, and caught both K-Star boys with a cross body-block. This wasn’t enough to take them down though, so Tyrell drop-kicked his partner in the back, getting the pin and victory for his team.
CHRIS FURY v MR. TOTAL EXTREME
If I can describe this contest in one word, I would have to say that it was disappointing. I had never seen these two wrestle before, and I had originally had high hopes for this contest, having heard a great deal about these two.
There were some good moves, but this contest hardly inspired me to pick up my pen and make notes. Indeed, as I look down at my notepad, I find that for this match, I had written very little.
The one notable good move in this contest was at the end, which was Fury’s Death Valley Driver-like move on MTX. Fury then used the ropes to gain the pin.
There was just something about this match that didn’t inspire me. But before everyone criticises me and tells me that I can’t judge these two on just one outing, please keep this in mind - when I saw my first Zebra Kid match, I wasn’t impressed with that one either!
BASH v HADE VANSON
Having seen a great deal of Bash over the past six months, and it was with great anticipation that I watched this match, particularly as I had heard so much recently about Vanson.
Some have described Vanson recently as a Jodie Fleisch wanna-be, and their styles are similar, but Vanson really impressed me in this outing, as did the baseball bat wielding maniac. Bash would have put it an even more impressive showing had he been able to win the match on his own. However, his fellow WAW cohort Ricky Knight came down to the ring to serve as a distraction. Moments later, following a Home Run, Bash had the victory.
SWEET SARAYA v ANGEL
To the cries of “We Want Chicken”, Saraya made her North Norfolk debut against the ever improving Angel. Saraya looked really annoyed at the abuse she was getting. However, isn’t this what the heel is really for?
Saraya dominated early on, her experience once again proving too much for Angel. Using every trick in the book, Saraya literally kicked the crap out of Angel.
Again, Angel showed that she is improving all the time. Whereas before, while executing some of her moves, Angel looked a little nervous, her confidence seems to be growing with each match.
But the night belonged to Saraya. A powerbomb, followed by a roll-up, secured the victory for the English Rose.
ROWDY RICKY KNIGHT v DETROIT
Another chant the seemed to go throughout the crowd, as the Rowdy One came down the aisle with “Rowdy Rick Sucks Dick” rang through his ears. And before you ask, yes, Ricky did wallop me in the head. The chant soon changed to one of “USA, USA” as the promising Detroit came to the ring. The rookie seemed a little embarrassed by his home country chant.
Before the match began, Ricky made Detroit an offer - to leave the ring with his health intact. Detroit respectfully declined the offer, and then put in another impressive performance. Despite the vast gap in experience, Detroit once again showed that he is one to watch in the future.
But Ricky Knight’s experience paid off in the end. The canny veteran avoided Detroit’s top-rope assault, and the American crashed down to the mat, shoulder first. Seconds later, Knight applied the arm bar, and soon had the submission victory. Knight wouldn’t let it lie though, and continued the attack after the bell.
BRAWL Tag-Team Championship
THE U.K. PITBULLS (c) v THE COALMINERS
A first for me - seeing the Pitbulls as faces. But considering they were wrestling in their hometown, they couldn’t be anything else.
Before the match began, the Pitbulls put forward the idea of changing the match to a no DQ encounter. The Coalminers, despite being annoyed with this, agreed to the stipulation, as the two teams proceeded to kick the crap out of each other.
The Pitbulls, more or less, seemed to dominate this match with their size and power advantage. A good use of MY CHAIR led to some passionate ECW-like chants from the hometown faithful.
There was never any doubt that the Pitbulls were going to win. The Coalminers were good, but against the Pitbulls in their own backyard, they never stood a chance, and the Pitbulls powerbomb is one of the most dangerous moves in wrestling today.
10 MAN RUMBLE
I have made it known before that I often find these sort of contests difficult to report on. Normal battle royals are a bitch to report on, and these ones are only slightly easier!
A mixture of more established stars and WAW trainees put on a very good show, and it was with a small amount of pleasure when the last two men in the ring were Bash and “The Guv’nor” Matt Jones.
With the referee distracted by outside happenings, Jones and Bash went at it. However, Ricky Knight once again made his presence known at ringside. Knight threw Bash his trusty bat, which he levelled Jones with, before throwing him out of the ring.
However, it was soon the turn of the Pitbulls to return to the arena and to right what was put wrong. Attacking Bash from behind, they rolled Jones into the ring, who then in turn threw Bash out just as the referee returned to gain the victory.
This wasn’t the end of things though. A heated verbal exchange between Ricky Knight and the U.K. Pitbulls led to a challenge being made, and being accepted. At the upcoming Sheringham Carnival show in August, the Pitbulls will be putting all of their tag-team titles on the line against Bash and Knight.
In conclusion - a first show for a new promotion is always difficult to pull off, and DAM Promotions, with a helping hand from WAW, put on a good show for an extremely passionate Sheringham crowd. This is by far the most passionate crowd I have ever seen.
And now, I know the WAW wrestlers have been waiting for this -the J-Rad Award for Match of the Night. This one goes to Bash v Hade Vanson. Both men put up impressive performances. Bash started off the evening as a heel, but by the end, he had the fans eating out of the palm of his hand. I hope to see these two go at it again, perhaps at the next Sheringham show.
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