WAW returned to the Norfolk coastal resort of Hunstanton presenting a one-night tournament with a strong supporting card.
Tournament semi-final;
HOT STUFF v "ROWDY" RICKY KNIGHT
With the draw for the semi-finals completed with the help of the capacity crowd, the battle between the two veterans was a fitting way to begin the evening's entertainment. It proved to be an enjoyable contest between the crowd favourite Hot Stuff, and the man who would go to any lengths to win the contest, Ricky Knight.
This match proved to be pretty even, so much so that Knight became frustrated at his own inability to put his opponent away. He tried every underhanded tactic he could, but it still wasn't enough to put Hot Stuff away.
The only way he could finish him off was by cheating, and in the long-term, even this worked against him. With Hot Stuff tied up in the ropes, referee Joe Williams attempted to free him. With Hot Stuff unable to stop him, Knight grabbed hold of his leg and brought it up into the referee's groin. Falling to the mat in great pain, the referee had no choice but to disqualify Hot Stuff.
As Knight celebrated his victory, Hot Stuff grabbed the microphone and protested his innocence. With the crowd clearly behind him, he said he would never have used the under-handed tactics Knight had used, and that the referee should ask the crowd just what had happened. Knight then took matters into his own hand, and asked the crowd to give their version of the truth. Inviting a young girl into the ring, Knight asked her to tell the crowd who the true winner was. To say that Knight was irate when the young lady called Knight a liar would be an understatement.
With the truth now revealed, the bout continued, and it wasn't long before Hot Stuff earned his rightful victory. Whipping his opponent into the corner, Knight went for a follow-up attack, which Hot Stuff countered with a sunset-flip. A three count later and he was into the final.
Tournament semi-final;
ZAK ZODIAC v THE ZEBRA KID
Before this match even began, the Zebra Kid let it be known to all who would listen that he didn't rate his opponent at all, that, as reigning British champion, an opponent like Zak Zodiac was far beneath him.
This way of thinking almost proved to be his undoing, as once again Zodiac showed that he has a great future ahead of him. Not only did he go toe-to-toe with the champ, on several occassions he almost secured the victory, and after a while it was obvious that it was Zodiac's skill that was earning him these opportunities, and not the Zebra Kid's underestimation of his opponent.
This was certainly one of the best contests I have seen in a WAW ring for ages. As the contest went it the Zebra Kid certainly began to take his opponent more seriously, and he took his game up a notch in order to get the job done.
After a hard-fought encounter lasting nearly twenty minutes, the Zebra Kid secured the victory after a tombstone piledriver followed by an elbow drop off the top rope. Although beaten, Zodiac had earned the respect of the crowd, and hopefully, of his opponent.
THE KRAFT v ROCK WEILER
With the first round of the tournament complete, it was on to this grudge match, a re-match from the last Hunstanton show as two of WAW's most promising stars continued their long-standing rivalry.
This proved to be a hard-hitting contest for both men, and for the ring itself actually as half-way through the contest, the top rope broke! This caused both men to change the game-plans somewhat, but the restriction that was placed on both opponents by this unfortunate turn of events didn't detract from the contest at all. Indeed, the fact that neither man could use the ropes to their advantage gave them the opportunity to show their mat-wrestling skills.
The contest ended when Weiler finished off his opponent with a devastating DDT, unusual in itself these days as this move is seldom seen as a bout finisher. Although not the best in their series of contests, this was still entertaining nonetheless.
Tournament Final;
HOT STUFF v THE ZEBRA KID
Having both been through tough first round contests, this final would prove to be tougher for both men as it was fought under the round system, and under the best of three falls rule.
In years gone by these two have had several outstanding encounters, and this proved to be the case here. The contest was pretty even until the second round when Hot Stuff scored the first pin fall, pinning Zebra with a roll-up after he missed a corner-post attack.
The second fall came in the third round, and came after Zebra had centered his attack on Hot Stuff's back. Moments later Zebra synched in a half Boston crab, and despite showing great heart, Hot Stuff had no choice but to tap out.
The bout continued with Zebra still working over his opponent's back, weakening him with an over-the-shoulder back breaker. Hot Stuff fought back time and time again, until Zebra resorted to under-handed tactics and took him down with a blow from the championship trophy. And then, as they went into the fifth round, Zebra could only get Hot Stuff to submit again to another Boston with the help of the ropes. The champion had secured another trophy for his collection, but only by underhanded means.
ASHE, JAMES TARRANT & THE ZENITH v THE U.K. PITBULLS
The evening was rounded off with this handicap match pitting Ashe and two of WAW's promising trainees against Britain's most dominant tag-team in another contest fought over three falls. On paper it looked like it would be a cake-walk for the former tag-team champions, but it proved to be the opposite.
The rookies and their more experienced partner proved to be up to the task. Despite their lack of experience they put up a good fight against the Sheringham strongmen.
However, the first fall went to the Pitbulls. Having worn the Zenith down with a series of power-moves, they finished the job with the trademark Pitbulls Power-bomb. The big guys were up by a fall.
It wasn't long before Ashe, with the help of his team-mates, scored the equalising fall. Realising that they couldn't match power with their much larger opponents, Ashe, Tarrant and Zenith worked together to get the fall. As Ashe tried to take Big Dave down with a sunset flip attempt, his team-mates took Dave down with a double drop-kick, knocking the big man off his feet. The match was now even.
With the scores level, both teams went at it full steam, but in the end the match was spoiled by the actions of Rock Weiler, Ricky Knight and the Zebra Kid, as they stormed the ring and attacked Ashe, Tarrant and the Zenith. It wasn't long before the Kraft, Hot Stuff and Zak Zodiac came down to the ring to even things up. This did not sit well with the villians.
With the crowd cheering in his ears, Hot Stuff grabbed the microphone, and on behalf of the people of Hunstanton, issued a challenge for the next show in the town in May, a challenge which Ricky Knight gladfully accepted on behalf of his men - several singles matches followed by an elimination tag-team match to round things off, made even more harder by the fact that it will be fought under hardcore rules. The crowd were virtually salivating at the prospect.
In conclusion, another highly enjoyable night of entertainment, with a very vocal crowd, something which always makes a night of wrestling very special. Match of the night goes to the first round tournament match between the Zebra Kid and Zak Zodiac. I've been saying for nearly three years now that the Zebra Kid is one for the future. Zak Zodiac definitely is.
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