Last September the men and women of the World Association of Wrestling paid tribute to referee Joe Williams, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer. Their Legends show, held at the Waveney Sports Centre in Lowestoft, was dedicated to him, and featured some of the greatest wrestlers to have ever stepped into a British wrestling ring. Sadly, Joe died shortly after this show took place, which makes the review of the WAW Legends DVD more poignant. Filmed by Pinfall Productions, our host for the evening was John Johnson.
The show begins with “The Welsh Wizard” Jason Cross taking on WAW British and DAM Champion The Kraft in a non-title match, fought over rounds. It’s an excellent technical wrestling bout here, with both wrestlers putting in a tremendous effort. The first two rounds were fall-less, despite the great action, and it wasn’t until the third when Cross was able to reverse a Kraft roll-up attempt to get a roll-up of his own. As the fourth round began, Cross tried to stall for time while nursing the arm that Kraft had been working on throughout the match. Eventually Cross came back into the match, and after a fast exchange of moves, Kraft connected with a super-kick, following up with his Essex Bomb to get the equalising pinfall. The fifth round began with Cross returning to his villainous ways, having wrestled a sporting contest from the beginning, but it backfired on him a little as Kraft took him down with a second Essex Bomb. However, in executing the move, referee Scott Edgar was knocked out. As Edgar tried to get to his feet, he accidentally knocked Kraft into the ropes, with the champion’s knee caught dangling over the second. This was all the opportunity Cross needed, as he went to work on Kraft’s knee and applied a single Boston Crab. Kraft had no choice but to tap out as Cross scored the winning submission. Afterwards, Cross demanded a shot at Kraft’s title from Commissioner Michael Mann, something which he was happy to do. A great way to open the show, a match very much in the World of Sport mould.
It’s a battle of the legends next as Johnny Kidd, seconded by Melodi, took on Brian “Goldbelt” Maxine, seconded by Britani Knight. Maxine showed that as far as heel tactics goes, he hadn’t lost a step, although he was clearly frustrated by Kidd’s athleticism, and it was this that got Kidd the first fall in the second round, as he rolled Maxine up to get the first score. Maxine continued with his cheap tactics as the match continued - eye gouges, punches, low blows - you name it, he did it as he did everything he could to get the equalising score - everything except stay within the rules that is. The tactics worked though, as a leg-lock in the fourth saw Maxine equal the scores. However, his failure to release the hold after the bell resulted in a second public warning. Maxine continued with his devilish tactics, and in the fifth Maxine locked in another leg-lock to get the winning submission. Afterwards, Maxine annoyed the crowd by telling them that it had been their privilege to watch the greatest champion in the history of British wrestling.
Tag-team action follows as the U.K. Pitbulls renew their old Norwich Corn Exchange rivalry with Adam and Alan Kilby. Although I have a great deal of respect for Alan Kilby and what he achieved in the wrestling business, I must be completely honest here - this match wasn’t that good. Slow, plodding performances from all involved saw a match that didn’t really set the pulses racing, and when it was over at just past the ten minute mark, when Bulk pinned Adam Kilby after a leg drop, I have to admit I was grateful. I guess you could call this one a bad day at the office.
Then it’s on to the only title match of the evening, as “The Tattooed Warrior” Steve Quintain defends his Cruiserweight title against the legendary Steve Grey, in a match fought over WAW championship match rules, and over three falls. Now this was the match I was really looking forward to, between two great technical wrestlers, and it didn’t disappoint. The first two rounds were pretty even, although Grey seemed somewhat perturbed by the fan chants against him, although he would later play up to them.
The first fall came as early as the third round. After Grey whipped Quintain into the ropes, the champion came back well and scored with a crucifix pin to get the first score. One fall down, Grey began to go to work on Quintain’s leg, snapping the limb off the ropes, and focusing his attack on it whenever he could. The assault continued to the fifth round, until Grey locked in the surfboard submission hold. The pain was too much for Quintain, who had no choice but to submit, The scores were now level. Grey continued his attack on Quintain’s leg at the star of the sixth, but Quintain soon came back quickly by attacking Grey’s leg, even going as far as trying to synch in Grey’s own surfboard, which sadly failed. The final fall came in the seventh, and when it looked like the match could go either way, Quintain pinned Grey with a roll-up to end what was a great contest. Afterwards, legendary former World Lightweight Champion Johnny Saint came into the ring to present the belt to Quintain. Saint still looked in great shape!
The final match of the evening sees “The Highlander” Drew MacDonald and “Rowdy” Ricky Knight take on Frankie Sloan and…well, originally it was meant to be Robbie Brookside, but as Brookside had to pull out of the show, Sloan found a able-bodied replacement in Zak Zodiac. As Zak makes his entrances, he pulls Joe Williams out of the crowd, and introduces him to all of the ringside crowd. A great gesture from the youngster there.
Fought over three falls, Zodiac became the proverbial punching bag as Knight and MacDonald really went to work on him. Eventually he was able to make the tag to Sloan, but MacDonald was able to dish out the same amount of punishment to him, before he submitted to the Highlander’s Boston Crab for the opening score. The assault on Sloan continued as the second period began, but Sloan was able to come out of it as MacDonald tried to climb to the top rope. Sloan was able to launch the Scotsman into the middle of the ring, and a few moments later, Sloan equalised things after a flying clothesline off the middle rope. The third fall came as both teams began to brawl in and around the ring, and after a fast exchange of moves, Zodiac got the winning pinfall after taking Knight down with a hurricanrana followed by w hip toss to end what was a great contest.
After the match finished, Ricky Knight called all the wrestlers into the ring, and then called Joe Williams back into the ring in what must be one of the most emotional scenes I’ve ever seen on a wrestling show. Sadly, Joe lost his battle with cancer shortly after this show. Rest in peace my friend.
DVD extras include the usual Pinfall Productions commentary options, and an extra match taken from WAW’s Yarmouth shows, with Sam Slam taking on former WWE, WCW and ECW star Tracey Smothers.
In conclusion: A truly emotional night and DVD from WAW here, paying tribute to one of the unsung heroes of the British wrestling business. While the Kilbys/Pitbulls match was poor, the other matches more than made up for this, and if you want to see some good, old school British wrestling, then get a copy of this DVD.
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