WAW returned to their hometown of Norwich for the second Valentine's Day show. This year's show was in aid of the Tyler Abigail Charity Appeal, with all the proceeds going to help Tyler's much-needed medical treatment. And so it was off with the action.....
ZAK ZODIAC v THUNDER DRAGON
Coming direct from his hometown of Tokyo, the masked Japanese superstar Thunder Dragon went up against Britain's youngest professional wrestler in a contest that provided the perfect opening for the show. This best of three falls contest was a top-notch affair, with both of the masked men showing great skill.
The first fall came in the third round. After both men had almost scored the first pin, Zodiac came flying off the top rope with a cross body-block to secure the pin. The action didn't let up as just one round later, the Dragon scored the equalising pin with a side-slam.
However, the language barrier on the part of the Dragon probably proved to be the Dragon's downfall. Despite having seemingly beaten Zodiac several times, the Dragon continued to pull his opponent off the mat when he could have easily gained the winning fall. As he continued to use illegal tactics, the referee Mickey Stocks admonished the Dragon, but the fact that the Dragon understood very little English meant that he clearly didn't understand what was being said to
him. This eventually led to an argument of sorts as the Dragon shoved the ref away. He had no choice but to disqualify the Dragon. As the masked man contested the decision in broken English, the recovering Zodiac drop-kicked him over the top rope.
THE U.K. PITBULLS v ASHE & JAMES TIGHE
Having lost their WAW tag-team titles to the makeshift team of Ashe & Paul Tyrell at October Outrage, the Pitbulls were looking to make a statement, especially given the fact that the titles had since been vacated. They were looking to make an example out of their opponents.
It was a definite case of David v Goliath here. Ashe & Tighe, a late replacement for Phil Lea, showed a great deal of skill and fighting spirit against the big guys. Several times they managed to take the Pitbulls down despite the size difference.
But in the end it wasn't enough, and Big Dave and the Bulk eventually dominated Ashe & Tighe with a series of devastating power moves, before finishing Tighe off with their trademark Pitbulls power bomb. As they celebrated their victory and left the ring, the Pitbulls made it clear that more than anything else, they wanted their titles back.
"THE SHINING LIGHT" STEVIE KNIGHT v "THE SHOWSTEALER" ALEX SHANE
Billed as WAW (Knight) v FWA (Shane), Knight endeared himself to the crowd early on by insulting the locals. And to think he was actually representing their local promotion! It made you realise that Stevie was definitely one of the Knight clan!
Despite the size difference, Knight gave Shane everything he had. An enjoyable contest saw both men give it their all, with moves often countered and reversed with devastating effect.
After Knight's antics early on, the crowd were clearly behind the "invader", as Shane lifted Knight onto his shoulders and slammed him down to the mat into an inverted power bomb-like move. An enjoyable contest.
"NAUGHTY" NIKKI BEST v RACHEL MASON
This was Rachel Mason's big test. Her story had been well documented in the local press a few days before. Rachel, Tyler Abigail's mother, was going up against one of the toughest female wrestlers in Britain in a special challenge match. She wasn't going into the match to beat Nikki, she just had to survive.
And she almost did it. With the Sweet Saraya taking on the role of special referee, for the first three rounds Nikki outwrestled her, twisting and turning every part of Rachel's body, trying to get her to submit. But she didn't. No matter what Nikki did, Rachel just wouldn't give up.
Then, in the fourth and final round, Rachel fought back with some submission wrestling of her own. But against a veteran like Nikki it wasn't enough. Nikki was soon back on the attack, and as the clock ran down, she synched in a leg-lock.
As the seconds ticked away, Rachel almost did it. But with just thirty seconds of the match remaining, the pain was too much for her as she tapped out.
But credit where credit's due. Considering she had literally no training as a professional wrestler, the girl did well. Not many other people in this world would have done what she did, and she deserved the applause she got.
The Crusher Mason Trophy
THE SUPERFLYS v THE U.K. PATRIOTS (with Crystal Clear)
A unique stipulation here for this contest - fought over the best of three falls, there would be no count outs and no disqualifications. Instead, if a wrestler broke the rules, they would be sent to the "sin bin" for one minute. This meant that at times, this tag-team contest was more like a handicap contest.
This was a hard-hitting contest between two of the finest teams in WAW history. Ricky Knight & Jimmy Ocean used every underhanded tactic they could come up with against Hot Stuff and the Zebra Kid, even though it cost both men a trip to the sin bin many times.
The first fall went to the Patriots. After Knight whipped Hot Stuff into the corner, he went for a follow-up attack, only for Hot Stuff to catch him with a sunset-flip.
The second fall came after a move I never tire of seeing. After whipping the Zebra Kid into the ropes, Knight hauled Ocean into the ring as Zebra made the return journey, and the Gentleman took Zebra down with a powerful clothesline. A three count later and the scores were even.
The third fall proved to be the most controversial. After referee Mickey Stocks was accidentally clobbered, Ocean reached into his bag of tricks and took out a sachet of powder, intending to hurl it into the Zebra Kid's eyes. However, Zebra was having none of this, and countered Ocean's cowardly attack and sent the strange white substance into Ocean's face.
It seemed that with the referee down and out, mayhem could break loose. But Commissioner Steven Howard-Platt, watching the match at ringside, quickly went into action. Rushing backstage, he sent out a replacement referee - none other than Alex Shane himself. As Zebra covered Ocean, Shane made the three count and awarded the victory to the Patriots.
The Superflys were outraged to say the least. Outraged because the Commissioner had chosen an FWA man to act as a WAW special referee, and outraged that their bitter rival had cost them the victory. Grabbing chairs and standing on them so they both could stand eye-to-eye with the man mountain Shane, Knight and Ocean belittled the Showstealer and the promotion he worked for. In reply, Shane accused the Superflys of being two old guys who were behind the times, and of holding down the younger talent in WAW. With all this out of the way a potential match was agreed upon for the upcoming May Mayhem show - the Patriots and Alex Shane against the Superflys and a partner of their choice.
In conclusion, an enjoyable show. Every match was good, and it's normally at this point I give a match of the night award. This one, however, may annoy some of the wrestling purists, but this time it's going to the women's match. As mentioned before, Rachel Mason put up a hell of a fight for a non-wrestler against a fifteen year veteran. She didn't have to step in that ring, and she wasn't doing it for herself, she was doing it for her son. My hat goes off to the woman, and I'm sure that young Tyler is proud of her for what she did in that ring. I know that everyone in WAW is.
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