Sunday 17 March 2019

RE-POST: WAW War of 2004 Preview (2004)

As promised last week, yours truly is back with a review of the World Association of Wrestling's 10th anniversary spectacular, The War of 2004, which emanates from The Talk in Norwich this coming Saturday, September 11th. I'll be giving a brief preview of each match on the card, and offering my opinions on who will win.

STEVE MOROCCO v ZAK ZODIAC
Morocco has certainly been making waves since his debut in WAW, particularly during WAW's summer season in Great Yarmouth, almost winning the Cruiserweight title, and becoming a pain in the backside as far as interfering in matches is concerned. I hadn't seen much of Morocco before he arrived in WAW, but what I have seen has impressed me.

But he is going to have his hands full on Saturday with Britain's youngest professional wrestler, Zak Zodiac. The scary thing about Zak is that he is a tremendous prospect, and is nowhere near his prime years as a wrestler. Imagine how good this kid will be in five or ten years.

Although I'd love to see Zak win, something tells me that Morocco will come out on top of this one, and I wouldn't be surprised if Morocco's UWA running buddies have something to do with it.

BASH v THE KRAFT
When this match was first announced, I saw it as nothing more than a card filler, but given recent events it's become something much more than that.

I was glad when Bash made his return to WAW earlier this year. The former British Champion was always a solid member of the WAW roster, and his matches this summer against the likes of Jonny Storm and Steve Quintain showed that he hadn't missed a step during his time away. But his defection to the Ultimate Wrestling Alliance must have been a kick in the teeth to the powers-that-be in WAW. WAW trained him, gave him his break in the wrestling business, and welcomed him back with open arms. Now he has turned his back on the company.

This will be Bash's first WAW match since his defection, and he'll be facing tough opposition in the form of The Kraft, who is on a roll after his win in this summer's Atlantis Cup tournament, and his narrow loss to British Champion Ashe a week later. The Kraft has come on leaps and bounds in the past few months, and many predict that championship gold will be around his waist sometime in the future. But first, he has to get past Bash.

If the WAW law makers do their job, and stop Bash from using his faithful sidekick, then the Kraft has a good chance of winning this one.

"SUPERSTAR" MAL SANDERS v STEVE GREY
When I heard this match was taking place at The Talk, the old school fan in men began to salivate. I remember watching these two during the heyday of the World of Sport shows in the 70's and 80's, and now that these shows are being repeated on The Wrestling Channel, I've had a great time reliving some of their best matches.

Even though both of these men are firmly entrenched in the veteran stages of their respective careers, they are still more than capable of putting on an exhibition of excellent wrestling. This match will definitely be for the purist.

Who will win? Personally, I'd love to see a draw, but the real winners of this contest will be the fans.

"THE WONDERKID" JONNY STORM v JUSTIN STARR
Following his recent wrestling tour of Thailand, Jonny Storm returned to WAW and immediately made an impact during the summer season. His recent matches with Jimmy Ocean and the Zebra Kid were joys to watch, showing that the Wonderkid hasn't missed a beat during his time abroad, and just why he is considered one of the top stars in Britain right now.

His opponent at The Talk will be making a return to WAW after nearly three years. Justin Starr is perhaps one of the most underrated stars in Britain. A former TWA British Champion, Starr last competed for WAW at October Outrage III in 2001. Starr may not have been in the spotlight recently, but he will surely provide a stiff test for Storm.

Starr will have a lot to prove in this bout, but I predict that Storm will continue his winning streak and take this one.

SWEET SARAYA v KLONDYKE KATE
It's two and a half years since Saraya defeated Kate in a bruising hard-core match at The Talk, a match that both wrestlers say was their best ever, and a match that the vast majority of those in attendance said was not just the match of the night, but the match of the 2002.

These two have had a storied rivalry for years, trading wins and championships, each of them trying to prove that they are the best female wrestler in Britain today. Out of all the matches on the show, this is the most difficult one to call, it's that close. Neither woman will hold back.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to sit on the fence for this one, and call it a draw via count out or double disqualification.

THE ZEBRA KID v PAUL TYRELL
These two have quite a history recently. At the Summer Sizzler at the beginning of August, Tyrell challenged then British champion the Zebra Kid for the title, a match which ended in controversy and resulted in the title being held up for a while. A few weeks later, Tyrell and his partner in crime Steve Morocco cost Zebra a match against Jonny Storm. Since then, the former British Champion has been fuming.

This bout, fought under street fight rules, will be brutal. The Zebra Kid wants nothing more than to get his hands on Tyrell and tear him limb from limb. This kind of environment is well suited to Zebra, and it's a known fact that Tyrell is not exactly happy in this sort of environment.

Tyrell would like nothing more than to humiliate Zebra, and play him at his own game. As one of the top stars of the UWA, he sees Zebra, his nearest counterpart in WAW, as his ultimate target. Both men would like to get another shot at the British title, and by winning this match, they would be showing the championship committee that they are worthy of championship contention.

With his hometown crowd behind him, the Zebra Kid will win this one, but only if Tyrell's UWA's buddies can be kept out of the way.

THE SUPERFLYS v "THE SHOWSTEALER" ALEX SHANE and AVIV MAYAAN
The tension has been brewing between Ricky Knight & Alex Shane for almost a year, ever since they first clashed in a tag match in Lowestoft last December. Now, the war between WAW and the FWA is about to step up to the next level.

Knight has once again recruited the man he trusts more than anyone else, Jimmy Ocean. The legendary Superflys have done it all in British wrestling, and in the past few weeks Ocean has shown that he is back to his best, especially in his match in Yarmouth against Jonny Storm.

Alex Shane is on the proverbial roll of late. The publicity he gained from his altercation with boxer Danny Williams last week will no doubt do his confidence a world of good, and although his teaming with promising rookie Aviv Mayaan will raise a few eyebrows, because of their recent rivalry in the FWA, Shane probably realises that Mayaan is one of the brightest prospects in Britain right now.

But the edge in experience goes to the Superflys here, and if they use that experience as a team to their advantage, there is no way that Shane and Mayaan will walk away from The Talk as the victors.

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