The Lowestoft shows are special to me not just because they are all great shows, but because it was here, two years ago, that I began my association with WAW. Saturday, December 15th, 2001 was my first night on the job as WAW's chief reporter.
So as we come up to the second anniversary of this momentus occasion, I thought I'd take a look back at my five personal favourite matches I've seen over the past two years in Lowestoft. These are listed in chronological order, and not in order of preference.
1) "ROWDY" RICKY KNIGHT v THE ZEBRA KID, December 2001
This was the first time I had seen these two go at it in a singles match, and being fought under TLC rules, it was a truly brutal affair between two of the toughest men in the business. If there had been a kitchen sink anywhere around they would have used it as each men gave everything they had before the Zebra Kid came out on top, with a little help from Steve Quintain.
2) "FLYING" PHIL POWERS v PAUL TYRELL, May 2002
This was a classic match between two men who knew each other inside out, and was one of my favourite WAW matches of 2002. This was the proverbial knock-down/drag-out affair, the likes of which we very rarely see on television these days. Two evenly matched men, with Powers taking great delight in insulting the locals, so much so that one particular gentleman spent the entire evening questioning Powers's parentage. After what seemed like an eternity of action, Tyrell won after a top-rope head-scissors.
3) P.N. NEUZ v "THE WILDCAT" ROBBIE BROOKSIDE, May 2002
This was a match for the WAW World Title pitting the British wrestling legend against the former WCW star. A mismatch in terms of wrestling styles, with Neuz's sheer power proving to be too much for the much-smaller Brookside, with Brookside fighting back well, tying the big man up with pure wrestling skill. Neither man could get the upper-hand, and eventually the frustration showed as both men assaulted the referee, who had no choice but to rule the bout a no-contest. As the bell sounded neither men refused to back down, and as the fight continued, several wrestlers ran from the backstage area to try and break things up. Bodies went flying everywhere before Neuz and Brookside calmed down.
4) "THE TATTOOED WARRIOR" STEVE QUINTAIN v "THE TERMINATOR" SANDY SCOTT, December 2002
This match had a great deal riding on it's outcome. Quintain and Scott had been feuding in Lowestoft for a year, and with lumberjacks surrounding the ring, both men put their careers on the line, and a shocking outcome almost cost the local hero his career.
The match was pretty even throughout, with the lumberjacks threatening to intervene on many occasions. However, as Quintain went for what looked like it would be the deciding pin, none other than Dan "The Man", Quintain's own nephew and one of the lumberjacks, broke up the pin. All hell broke loose. The referee took a hit as both sets of lumberjacks brawled in and out of the ring. When he eventually came to, he ruled the bout a no-contest, meaning that both men left the arena with their careers intact.
5) "ROWDY" RICKY KNIGHT v JAKE "THE SNAKE" ROBERTS, May 2003
This was another bruising and brutal encounter involving the Rowdy Man as he finally got the chance to go one-on-one with the WWF legend. With the Sweet Saraya in his corner, Knight dominated the contest from the beginning as the cowardly duo used every trick in the book However, Roberts showed a great deal of guts and pride, never giving up, which frustrated Knight and Saraya, so much so that they called for help from the Pitbulls. After the four-on-one attack the match was declared a no-contest, and a battered Roberts had to be helped from the ring.
Choosing just five matches from all of those I've seen proved to be a difficult choice, but I'm sure that those of you who travel to Lowestoft for each show will remember these gems.
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