Following on from my recent review of WAW’s tribute to British wrestling referee Joe Williams, I thought it would be quite apt to take a look at another promotion who paid tribute to Joe in their own way, with the DVD release of Herts & Essex Wrestling’s Forever Joe show, held last November and filmed by Bagga Entertainment.
Before the show begins, HEW owner Sam Knee appeared on the stage asking for all the wrestlers to come up and pay tribute to Joe with a minutes silence, which was observed by every wrestler on the bill. A worthy tribute to Joe here.
We begin with singles action, and two graduates from the WAW wrestling school, as Scott Fusion takes on Jonny Cougar. This is the first time I’d seen these two youngsters in singles competition, so I was eager to take a look and see how much they’d progressed since I left WAW. These lads have certainly come a long way, and it showed in this one as they put on a good opening bout. In the end Fusion took something right out of the Eddie Guerrero playbook. As the referee was remonstrating with Cougar, Fusion grabbed a tray from underneath the ring, and while the ref was still trying to repair a turnbuckle pad, Fusion smashed the tray onto the mat, threw it to Cougar, and then lay flat on his back. When the referee turned round the first thing he saw was Fusion out of it and Cougar holding the tray, so he had no choice but to disqualify Cougar and award the match to Fusion.
Fusion’s celebrations are interrupted by Sam Knee and his man Ricky Relentless. Calling out Zak Zodiac, Knee reminds Zodiac of the stipulations of the hair v mask match later in the evening. It’s then that Zodiac presents his manager for the evening, the She-Devil. Knee then reveals that he’s put a couple of extra stips into the contract - that if Zak loses, he not only loses his mask, but She-Devil loses her job. The contract is then signed, and then Zodiac mocks Knee even more by changing his entrance music.
Then it’s back to the action as Sykes takes on Paul Malen. Before the match even begins, the punk rocker, dressed in red tartan trousers and with a big mohawk hair cut, moans about the locals, even complaining about the way they dress. This is the first time I had ever seen these two in action. As a heel, Sykes was great, mixing a great amount of villainy with a small amount of comedy, making him the kind of heel you want to hate one minute, but want to laugh at the next. He’s not that bad a wrestler as well! It’s another good match, a back and forth encounter with some great action, and Sykes gaining the win after a twisting neck breaker off the ropes. If you’re reading this Donny Tourette, then get a look at Sykes, because he’s a real punk rocker!
Before the next match, ring announcer John Atkins brings out Steve Lynskey, who goes on to announce his retirement. Atkins then invites the wrestlers from the back out to congratulate Lynskey, until Ricky Knight appears on the stage. Knight proceeds to slag and insult Lynskey, before blaming him for every loss he’s suffered in HEW, before giving him a hard slap. Enraged, Lynskey says that he may be retiring as a referee, but he’s not retiring as a wrestler. He then challenges Knight to a match, a challenge Knight reluctantly, at first, accepts.
Then it’s on to title action, as the U.K. Pitbulls face Stixx and Sam Slam, in a dog collar match for the vacant HEW tag titles. It’s a brawl that goes throughout the entire hall, and even outside at one point, as each team beat the hell out of each other not just with the chains that join them together, but with whatever else they can get their hands on as well. The blood flows readily here, and Stixx and Sam even try to take Big Dave out with some chloroform, which doesn’t appear to last for long. Eventually, the Pitbulls fight back, and after being doubled up on for a while, Bulk pulls Stixx off the top rope using the chain, then pins him following an elbow drop to win the titles. A good brawl here, and do I need to say again how impressive Sam Slam was?
Challenge match time, as “Rowdy” Ricky Knight takes on Steve Lynskey. Like many other British fans I know of Lynskey the referee, and very little of Lynskey the wrestler, so this would be a new experience for me. Considering Lynskey’s lack of pedigree as a wrestler, this match isn’t actually that bad, although it will probably never be regarded as a mat classic. Knight was in full heel mode here, pulling out all the old tricks against Lynskey, and while he was getting on referee Scott Edgar’s case about the apparent constant slow pinfall counts, Lynskey caught Knight with a schoolboy roll-up. A fast three count later and he had the victory. After the match Lynskey puts his retirement plans on hold, and announces he’s staying in HEW. Knight then demands a re-match with Lynskey, saying that if he didn’t get one, Knight wouldn’t return.
Main event time, as Zak Zodiac, with the She Devil along for company, takes on Ricky Relentless, with his manager Sam Knee, in a no holds barred hair v mask match. It’s a weapons filled brawl here as Zodiac and Relentless literally beat the crap out of each other, and it’s extremely entertaining. Some of the tray and chair shots look absolutely brutal, and the same can be said when Relentless throws Zodiac through the ringside chairs. Even the managers get involved, as Zodiac dropkicks Knee onto a pile of drawing pins. After what seemed like an eternity, and with Knee handcuffed to the bottom rope, Zodiac dropkicked a chair held by the She Devil straight into Relentless’ face, which sent him crashing into the table. A three count later and Zodiac had the victory. And a few minutes after that, Relentless had a new haircut. A cracking little brawl here, with my only criticism being that this match did seem a little too long.
In conclusion - this is the fourth HEW DVD release I’ve seen, and it’s probably the best. Five matches, and not a disappointing one among them, which seems rare on a wrestling show these days.
With thanks to Sam Knee for supplying a copy of this DVD. For more information on Herts & Essex Wrestling, visit their website at www.hewwrestling.com.
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