RE-POST: WAW vs FWA: The Feud We Want to See (2004)

Inter-promotional angles are nothing new in the wrestling industry. In Japan, it's not uncommon for two or more promotions to stage a big show. In America, we've seen many so-called "invasion" angles over the past ten years or so. The Smokey Mountain tag-team title being defended on WWF pay-per-view ten years ago, the infamous ECW invasion of Monday Night Raw in 1997, the WCW/ECW invasion of the WWF in 2001, and the unscheduled XPW invasion of ECW three years ago.

But such an event has, to my knowledge, never happened in British wrestling. In a day when new companies are springing up virtually every month, it's quite common for the most well-known British wrestlers, and touring overseas wrestlers, to work for several of these promotions within a short space of time. However, an outright challenge from one company to another is virtually unheard of in British wrestling circles.

Possibly the first attempt at such an event occurred in October 2001. The World Association of Wrestling held their third October Outrage event at the Norwich Sport Village. The ring announcer for the evening was none other than the owner of The Wrestling Alliance, Scott Conway. Indeed, several of the wrestlers on the show that night more often than not competed for Conway's TWA, and when Conway announced that certain wrestlers held championships for his promotion, resident WAW announcer Michael Mann, who was seated at ringside throughout the event, reminded Conway of the fact that he was announcing at a WAW show.

When the U.K. Pitbulls made an unannounced appearance at the show, and aligned themselves with TWA, a challenge was laid out for a future show - WAW wrestlers v TWA stars, with each and every championship on the line. The fans were enthralled. Sadly, this event didn't happen.

About six months later, WAW owner Ricky Knight telephoned Alex Shane's Talksport radio show one Saturday evening. Knight was not a happy man. He was annoyed by the fact that stars such as "The Wonderkid" Jonny Storm and "The Phoenix" Jody Fleisch were grabbing all the headlines on the Internet and in the wrestling press, while his son, the Zebra Kid, who he regarded as being on an equal level, perhaps even better than Storm or Fleisch, received nothing for his efforts, and that he deserved a shot in the heavily-hyped Frontier Wrestling Alliance. Shane responded by promising to have a word with the FWA powers-that-be.

The wheels were set in motion. Then FWA Commissioner Victoria Demontfort laid down a challenge for the Zebra Kid. With FWA regulars Storm, Fleisch and "The Anarchist" Doug Williams away on overseas tours, Demontfort gave Zebra a spot on the "Carpe Diem" show in Walthamstow, inserting him into a four-way match with Scotty Rock, Paul Travell, and All-England Champion Mark Sloan. She also added an attractive stipulation. If either Rock, Travell or Zebra pinned Sloan, they would earn a shot at his title a few weeks later.

The announcement did not sit well with the FWA faithful. In the days leading up to the event, they vented their proverbial spleens on the FWA Fan Forum. They couldn't understand why they were bringing in an outsider. They didn't want anything to do with the Zebra Kid.

This way of thinking continued right up until bell time. Zebra entered an FWA arena for the first time to a huge wave of indifference. However, this lasted for just a few moments. It wasn't long before the FWA faithful were cheering loudly for him. He had won them over with his hard-hitting, no-nonsense style of wrestling, and when he won the match, pinning Sloan after his trademark flying elbow smash, he had earned himself a new legion of followers. Just a few weeks later, Zebra pinned Sloan to win the All-England title.

The relationship between Ricky Knight and the Zebra Kid has been a rocky one to say the least. Father and son have competed against each other in a variety of different matches ever since Zebra first laced up his wrestling boots at the age of fourteen. But despite the differences they've had, Ricky has always been proud of his son's achievements in the wrestling ring, and last December, took the chance to accompany Zebra to an FWA show.

The FWA fans, who had been as indifferent to Knight as they had been to his son, treated him with a great deal of respect as he got his first taste of FWA action. They shook his hand, asked for his autograph, and began to ask when he would be competing for the FWA.

Knight began to attend FWA shows regularly, and each time the fans would ask him the same question. They had heard about his barnstorming matches with Zebra around the country. They wanted to see this in an FWA ring. They kept asking him when was he going to work for the FWA. It was a question that Knight simply couldn't answer.

Knight would watch as the Zebra Kid's All-England title reign became the most prestigious in the championship's short history. Zebra took on all-comers. He never ducked a challenge, and when he lost the title to visiting former ECW star Chris Hamrick, he regained the title from perennial foe Storm, who had subsequently won the title from Hamrick, just a few days later.

During this time, the Zebra Kid's stock rose even further when he won the vacant WAW British title last February in a bruising "Three Stages Of Hell" match against Knight. Zebra's name was now being mentioned alongside the likes of Williams, Storm and Fleisch. He was now regarded as being one of the best in Britain. The fans loved him, the Internet smart marks loved him, the reporters gave him rave reviews.

However, although he was proud of his son's achievements, a feeling of great resentment began to build deep within the mind of Ricky Knight. This became apparent for all to see at WAW's October Outrage V show in Norwich a few months ago.

As former WWF legend Jake "The Snake" Roberts battled "Gentleman" Jimmy Ocean, Knight, who had fought with Ocean over the ownership of WAW over the past few months, came down to the ring. Many thought he was coming down to aid Roberts, who had been on the receiving end of Ocean's underhanded tactics. This was not the case, as Knight reunited with his Superflys tag-team partner and attacked Roberts. Seeing one of his childhood heroes taking a beating, Zebra stormed down to the ring, and soon found himself on the receiving end of a beating himself.

It was then that Knight revealed just how resentful he had become. Grabbing the microphone, Knight accused his son of selling out to the FWA, of turning his back on his family, and of turning his back on the company that had made him a star to begin with.

The Zebra Kid was having quite a few problems that night. Having just recovered from a brutal encounter with the man-mountain Thunder, he now had his own father reveal his jealousy to the world. Just moments after Knight's startling announcement, WAW Commissioner Steven Howard-Platt announced that Zebra would be teaming with Roberts against the Superflys at the second Valentine's Day Massacre show, in a Builders Cage From Hell match, next February.

But this wasn't enough for Knight. He wanted something immediately. Contacting Thunder, they came up with the idea of challenging Zebra to tag-team encounter at the War At The Waveney in Lowestoft a month later. Howard-Platt was more than happy to grant them their wish, even allowing Zebra to choose a partner of his choice.

Many thought that Zebra would dip into the ever-growing WAW talent pool for his choice of partner. The first choice of many would have been Hot Stuff. The two, as the U.K. Patriots, were former WAW tag-team champions. Others would have picked one of WAW's up and coming stars such as the Kraft. But Zebra chose none of these men. Instead he went to his FWA paymaster, the man who had become one of the best known personalities in British wrestling, the Showstealer himself, Alex Shane.

This enraged Knight even further. What didn't help his cause was when Thunder had to pull out of the match. Knight was soon found an able replacement, calling in his distant cousin "The Shining Light" Stevie Knight. Yet the fact that Zebra had gone outside the company for his choice of partner annoyed the hell out of him.

In the past, stars often associated with the FWA, such as Flash Barker, Jonny Storm, Doug Williams, and Jody Fleisch had competed for WAW. However, there was a distinct difference here. Those mentioned were competing under the WAW banner. No mention was made of their affiliation with the FWA. This tag-team encounter was being billed as Team WAW v Team FWA, with the Zebra Kid, despite being the WAW British Champion and no longer holding the FWA All-England title, clearly aligning himself with the invading force of Shane.

Driven by his growing resentment, Knight led his WAW team against Shane and Zebra, throwing everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at the invading force. Knight was also annoyed by the fact that the WAW fans in Lowestoft were so clearly behind the FWA men, and when Shane pinned Knight following a super-kick, the crowd roared the roof off.

Ricky Knight was not a happy man. Grabbing a chair so he could stand eye-to-eye with Shane, he accused the Showstealer of not only stealing his son away from him, but the wrestling business as well. Knight had been in the business for twenty years, ten of them as a promoter, but with Alex Shane grabbing all the attention he could for the FWA, he saw red. Alex Shane had come into Ricky Knight's own backyard, stolen his fans, his son, and defeated him at his own game.

The Frontier Wrestling Alliance and the World Association of Wrestling are the two biggest wrestling companies in Britain at the moment. While WAW is associated with the more traditional approach to the business, the FWA caters to the more modern type of fan, the kind that follows the happenings of the company via the Internet. Their approaches to the world of wrestling are similar in many ways, but are different in many others.

And this is what makes this situation so intriguing. A recent topic on the FWA's own fan forum made it clear that if the FWA were to feud with another British company, then they would like to see them feud with WAW.

Those who follow all aspects of the British wrestling business, and who have followed both the FWA and WAW, have begun to come up with the dream matches they would like to see. James Tighe v The Kraft. Hot Stuff v The Duke of Danger. Sweet Saraya v Nikita. Jonny Storm v Ashe. And, of course, Alex Shane v Ricky Knight.

This is something the fans of British wrestling really want to see. It's something that, from a professional and personal viewpoint, I really want to see. I would love it if the powers that be of both companies could pull this off, not just for one show, but perhaps over a series of shows. It not only makes you think of pound signs, it makes you think of great wrestling action.

And it could also make those fans who watch nothing but the WWE realise that there's some great wrestling action on their very own doorstep. It could be the event (or series of events) that takes British wrestling to that next level.

The reasons for such an encounter are plain for all to see. So come on guys, get it sorted.