AKA the greatest night I had all time, all my life.
Chick Fight’s first foray to the UK had a difficult birth. Organised by Dann Read of the relatively new XS:W group in the UK, under the auspices of Jason Deadrich of Chick Fight and All Pro Wrestling, venue problems had meant that the show wasn’t officially announced until less than a month ago, which made promotion very difficult. The hall eventually settled on was the Marina Centre in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, UK – one of the home venues of Ricky Knight’s WAW promotion. Great Yarmouth, however, is a seaside town full of amusement arcades, piers and cafes – all of which were practically deserted as it was a cold and windy night in January. Speaking to Dann before the show, he seemed concerned about whether he’d get much of a walk up. The empty seafront, coupled with the fact that I saw someone putting up a poster outside the door of the venue only a few hours before bell time meant that no-one was particularly hopeful. That being said, by the time of the first match, there were in the region of about 100 people in the hall. Normally that wouldn’t particularly make for a great atmosphere, but then this is Great Yarmouth – and things are very special here.
Quarter Final: Cheerleader Melissa (US) vs Sweet Saraya (UK)
All four of the quarter finals of the tournament had a US vs UK theme, and the fact that they matched these two up not only in the first round but also in the first match of the night blew my mind. Saraya has long been considered the standard bearer for women’s wrestling in the UK, and rightfully so. While Nikita may have leapfrogged her to get a US booking for SHIMMER and eventually a WWE contract, few would deny that this seventeen year veteran still knows every trick in the book. So I couldn’t understand quite why we got the local heroine (Saraya is Ricky Knight’s wife) against someone who is without question one of the dominant names in women’s wrestling worldwide in the first round. If anything, there’s your final. Whatever the reason for it, the match delivered in spades. Remember how I said that it didn’t matter that there were only 100 people in the venue? Well it didn’t, because everybody was totally into this… some to a scary degree. One guy was so emotionally involved in the match that he got out of his seat to push the bottom rope towards the crawling Saraya who was trying to break a leglock submission. I’ve never seen that before – and it wasn’t a planned spot either… it was just an example of how well these two worked together. Melissa was, as always, dominant in her manner… leaving Saraya to play the babyface in peril – and by GOD was she ever in peril. You know those stories that Jim Cornette tells about the old territory days where he and the Midnight Express would barely escape getting stabbed by rabid fans? Well, this was the closest you’re going to get to it in 2007, because I swear there were a load of grown men here who hadn’t been smartened up that this was a work. Saraya was beloved by the crowd, and rallied with offence of her own, encouraged on by her son at ringside (a wrestler in his own right, Zak Zodiak), who encouraged his mum to “…use a Finlay cover! Forearm across the face!” amongst other things. It was a big fight atmosphere like nothing I’ve felt at a wrestling show before (and bear in mind two days ago I saw the Great Muta’s UK debut). The ending came when Saraya was shot into the ropes and got her head caught between the top two ropes about a couple of feet in front of me. Immediately she started kicking and shouting, and the entire Knight Dynasty (along with help from the back) tried to extricate her from the ropes. As she was let down, the referee called a halt to the contest – advancing Melissa to the semi finals. Melissa wasn’t done though, and tried to get at the injured Saraya, and had to be held back by security as a mini riot almost erupted, with fans screaming and getting between the girls. This was absolutely phenomenal. My friend who was sat beside me turned and said “Was that real?” It wasn’t, but the fact is that he, and everyone, was worked beautifully.
What a start!
Quarter Final: MsChif (US) vs Jade (UK)
MsChif is, of course, the screaming goth girl – so to hook her up in a match with the prissy Essex girl Jade was a perfect match with their contrasting personalities. Jade is one of the two UK girls who I honestly wasn’t all that fussed on when the lineup was announced. No huge disrespect meant to them, but I thought they were going to be hopelessly out of their league when measured alongside Saraya and the Americans. Unbelievably, that wasn’t necessarily the case, as Jade stepped it up several notches from her usual level of ability and didn’t look out of place alongside MsChif at all. While Jade would have been the heel, she still had some vocal support due to the partisan home crowd. I’ll be damned if I can remember the move that MsChif used to put Jade away with, but whatever it was, MsChif wrapped up a tidy little match to advance to the semi finals where she’d face Cheerleader Melissa in a revival of one of the best feuds of 2006.
Quarter Final: Lacey (US) vs “The Jezebel” Eden Black (UK)
If Saraya is the standard bearer for women’s wrestling in the UK, I truly believe that Jezebel is the girl who will eventually inherit that mantle. Already getting her face all over TV (she’s had matches from several different promotions air on TWC Fight! here in the UK), and attracting some acknowledgement from those in the know across the pond, Jez is very much at the forefront of the UK women’s wrestling revival – and she’s still learning. One of the things that Jez might want to work on is making contact with the crowd a little bit more, and that is something that Lacey is a mistress of. Everything that Lacey does is for a reason, and she’s always one million percent in character. Jezebel (obviously) was the crowd favourite, though Lacey (while remaining appalled at us) informed us that we were “confused” and that we should have been cheering for her. Well, as long as that’s clear. I couldn’t cheer for Lacey even if I wanted to, because Jezebel was such a likeable and fiery character. She even chopped Lacey IN THE FACE. Lacey took Jez the whole way in this one (through tactics both fair and foul), until Jezebel locked in a triangle choke for a tap out. This was great stuff.
Quarter Final: Daizee Haze (US) vs Skye (UK)
Ah, the Haze. She’s adorably cute, eminently likeable, works like a demon and carries a big flower. She’s also one of the slickest mat technicians in the Western World, regardless of gender. No joke. Skye is another girl who I wondered might be horribly exposed in this environment, but she stepped it up too. As a matter of fact, I was informed that Daizee is Skye’s wrestling idol, so it’s hardly a wonder that she was inspired for this match. In fact, I’m with Skye on this one – Daizee’s my idol too. Want to know what else makes Daizee Haze so great? She spoke down to ringside where I was sitting and asked “How should I beat her?” I replied “Kick her in the head”, and she indicated that this was a FINE idea. After some matwork and finding herself on the wrong side of Skye’s offence, Daizee looked a bit annoyed and remarked “I’m gonna kick her in the head!!” In fact, the end of the match came after several reversals, and Daizee hit the heart punch/Yakuza kick combination to floor Skye for the pin. See? I told her~! I don’t for a minute think that my advice *actually* resulted in the finish for the match, but little things like the interaction with the fans are just another reason why Haze doesn’t get half the credit she deserves. While we’re handing out credit; let’s save some for Skye, who did a great job and really opened my eyes.
Semi Final: Cheerleader Melissa vs MsChif
The first round didn’t have a bad match, and now the first semi final is Melissa vs MsChif? Perfect! Melissa & MsChif’s rivalry in 2006 spread across SHIMMER, Chick Fight & ROH, and for my money was the feud of the year just for the innovation, brutality and believability of their work with each other. They’ve fought in many different variations of matches and stipulations, including Falls Count Anywhere and Last Woman Standing, and none of them have disappointed in the slightest. This match was far from their most brutal encounter, but they didn’t come close to phoning it in. I half expected them to use the whole hall as their battleground, but stuck for the most part to the ring and the entranceway. In fact, it was on the entranceway where Melissa pulled out the horrific cloverleaf submission where she makes MsChif kick her own head. I will NEVER get tired of seeing that, nor will it ever seem anything less than horrifying. MsChif was no match for Melissa on this night though, and having dragged her back into the ring, hit an Air Raid Crash for the uncontested three count and to advance to the finals.
Semi Final: “The Jezebel” Eden Black vs Daizee Haze
Oh Christ… I love Jez, but she’s facing Daizee, and I don’t think I could ever not support Ms Haze. As babyface vs babyface, the crowd split was quite pronounced in this one, as they embarked on a pretty awesome little wrestling match. Daizee challenged Jez to a test of strength, holding her hand up high, clearly excited by the fact that for what might have been the first time in a long time, Daizee wasn’t the shortest person in the match. Daizee once again worked the intimate (but rowdy) crowd like an old pro, confirming with ringsiders that “she’s pretty good, right?” (in reference to Jezebel). At one point, Daizee double stomped Jez in the stomach. I cheered, and Daizee exclaimed “Oh, you like that one?” before doing *another* one. If Jez ever reads this, I’m sorry – that was my fault. Jezebel also gets kudos from me for doing a headstand escape from a headscissors. I don’t know whether that spot was a direct response to me and the guys I was sitting with calling for it or not, but it nearly made me weep with admiration. This time, Daizee couldn’t get the job finished, and Jezebel locked on another triangle choke to make it to the finals.
Non Tournament Match: The Norfolk Dolls (Britani Knight & Melodi) vs Destiny & Kharisma
This was a non tourney added bout to give Jezebel some recovery time before the final. The Norfolk Dolls are a heck of a little package. Aged just 14 & 15, according to Ricky Knight after the show, Britani is the daughter of Ricky & Saraya, while Melodi is the girlfriend of Ricky’s son Zak, and they’ve got a good chance at becoming a real phenomenon in this area, as all the young girls in the audience cheered their lungs out for them. Marketed correctly, the Dolls could become a really strong drawing card for young girls to start coming to wrestling shows. WAW already cater strongly to the family audiences, and the Dolls will be a big part of that. Destiny & Kharisma are the opposite of the Dolls – they’re big, sadistic women who delight in kicking the crap out of their opponents. Destiny is often pimped by people who have seen her wrestle as one of the best unknown stars in British wrestling, since she tends to get minimal (if any) bookings outside her home territory. I can only assume that this is because she’s a hefty girl, and when promoters want to have a women’s match on their cards, their thoughts immediately turn to the more aesthetically pleasing girls on the scene, without realising and acknowledging the strengths that Destiny brings to the table – think a young Bull Nakano type, for example, or for the Brits reading this, think a violent version of Vanessa Feltz. Kharisma wasn’t slacking either, at one point kicking seven bells out of Britani mere inches in front of me screaming “Get back to your corner, you scrawny little BITCH!”. The Dolls rallied, but couldn’t stop Kharisma using the title belt on Melodi and Destiny taking the easy pinfall. The Dolls are going to be something special in a few years time, if they can just get the exposure. Speaking of exposure, they looked great in their matching white outfits, but both girls spent half their time (if not more) adjusting their bras. The outfits looked great, but if it is going to result in them fiddling with themselves, it’s probably worthwhile changing to something more suitable.
Final: Cheerleader Melissa vs “The Jezebel” Eden Black
And so it comes to this.
Melissa coolly stalks to the ring, looking ready to wrestle an hour if needs be. Jezebel limps out, looking half destroyed already, having already beaten two of SHIMMER’s best wrestlers. Interestingly, Jezebel’s music starts with a voice exclaiming “Jez is gonna kill ya” – but when I looked at the two sides, I couldn’t help but think that it was going to be the other way around. And it actually was. Melissa tore strips off Jezebel for most of the match, but Jez gave as good as she was getting for portions too, as they laid into each other like crazy. Jez hit a Misawa-esque elbow sequence, with repeated elbows, a rolling elbow and a uraken backfist, until Melissa felled Jez with a sickening elbow of her own. Given that Melissa is one of my favourite wrestlers in the world, I was cheering her – but it got to the point at times when I couldn’t help it and started clapping for Jezebel to fight back. That’s good working right there, because I started to actually feel a bit guilty for cheering on the carnage while young Jezebel was getting murdered. In a truly vicious spot, Melissa took Jezebel in a wheelbarrow position and started to swing Jez’s head at the steel ring steps. Every shot caused the ring steps to move, and Melissa simply took another step and swung Jez’s carcass again. Utterly sadistic, causing everyone to scream in terror. Back in the ring, Melissa tried a Kudo Driver, but Jez flipped out. Mere moments later, Melissa hooked in a successful Kudo Driver, and the match was mercifully over, making Melissa the Chick Fight winner for the second time. But it wasn’t all over. As Melissa derisively rolled the practically unconscious Jezebel to the outside, who should turn up at the entranceway but Sweet Saraya! Saraya, much like her husband, has the ability to cut money promos in her sleep. As she stood on the entranceway, she informed Melissa that it wasn’t over between them, and that she (Saraya) would be looking for her… it didn’t matter where she is or what she’s doing, she’s going to get her. I have to get to that rematch, wherever it may be, because if it is anything near as special as their first match, it’ll be something to behold.
No trophy, which was a wee bit anticlimactic, but nevertheless, that was top to bottom the most intensely exciting and fun wrestling event I’ve ever attended. The fans were so into it (scarily so at times), and it created an atmosphere which would shame a far bigger audience. There isn’t one girl that you could say didn’t give it their all, and everyone reacted to and worked the fans like crazy. The personalities of everyone shone through, and everyone left buzzing about what an absolutely outstanding night of wrestling it was. I talked to Ricky Knight after the show, and he agreed with my assessment, going so far as to say that a lot of the guys should be watching the show for pointers. I cannot disagree.
The show was filmed by Spectrum Multimedia/RQW for what should hopefully be a fairly quick turnaround onto DVD. The attendance might have been disappointing (and might have lost the promoter a load of money), but if there is any justice, DVDs of the show should be bought in their dozens. People should see this.
If I see another wrestling show as good as this in 2007, I’ll consider myself blessed. Congratulations to everyone who made it possible.
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