Last Saturday I attended the UEWA Cruiserweight championship in Kanonhallen here in Oslo. I've been following Norwegian Wrestling for quite a few years now, watching wrestlers come and go, and become quite engaged in all of it. My interest mainly comes from knowing a handful of the wrestlers from other social settings, and I am not that interested in international wrestling. Neither have I been very interested in shows with foreign visitors before. But a European championship is quite grand, after all.
And my what a show! From the start till the very end, the show was high-flying, hard-hitting, back-breaking, and my throat was hoarse and my hands sore even the next day. Maybe the wrestlers also put in the little bit extra in the memory of Randy Savage aka Macho Man that sadly died in a car accident the previous day. A good reason to make the championship a show to remember!
I believe most of the audience didn't know the European wrestlers and what to expect from them. But for every match, a favourite was quickly chosen and cheered towards victory. They say that a picture say more than a thousand words, here's my short story of it. All photos honestly stolen from www.kampsportforalle.no that covers all the shows.
Our brave trio of judges
B-Cool from Ireland was far from cool enough to beat the audience favourite Italian Pirate Doblone. As if the performance wasn't enough to impress, Doblone got some extra attention for his nice little ass.
For some reason, the Welsh wrestler Wild Boar never got the goodwill of the audience. Irish Sean South wrestling for Spain proved himself to be one to count in for the championship. Definitely one of my favourites.
Poor German Pierre never had a chance with the audience, going versus our own Zackariel. Zack is not the most popular Norwegian wrestler, definitely not one of my favourites, but in the international tournament he had everyone behind him. I was sorry that Pierre had to be beaten by Zack, I really liked his style and attitude. Zack also impressed me, as I haven't seen much of him after his image-change, and he really got to show what lies within. Maybe due to a good opponent as well?
When Scottish Kid Fite entered the ring, I just knew he'd win that first match. It was not that his attitude charmed the audience that much, quite the opposite, but he had a mind to win. "Bad Boy" Liam Thomson is also Scottish and actually Fite's tag team partner back in the UK, although he was representing Denmark in the championship. Despite having the audience with him, his efforts didn't quite stand up to match his partner.
In the semi finals Sean South and Doblone gave us some fine entertainment and a really good fight, before Sean South made a knot of the pirate.
Zack went against Kid Fite, and might have had a chance of winning, if not Pierre had interfered. Fite lost what little he had of approval with the audience, hitting the judge (who hit him back and gave him a reprimande).
Before the championship final came the national hightlight, a 9-man Battle Royale. My sister and me are fans of Sgt. Violence and had dressed accordingly. He gave some nice maneuvres before being handled out of the ring. I was hoping Aron might do better, but he also had to give in, and left Isaksen and Slegga standing, none of which I would prefer seeing against Victor on HeteSlag on June 18th. Of those two I was pleased to see Slegga win the challenge anyway, since Victor and Isaksen have had their share of matches before. Of course, Slegga will have no chance, but I always enjoy seeing Victor in the ring.
Our fan corner.
Sarge having a hard time.
Aron going down.
I can't believe he won!
Sean South vs. Kid Fite was quite definitely South's match. There was a lot of out-of-ring action, and a decent last match. I often think last matches, even though they are often finals of some kind, a bit anticlimax. Everyone knows that as soon the battle is over we'll go out in the real world and back home. This final kept the audience going at least, although it was no surprise in South winning.
He also took his time with the audience after the final, which was appreciated.
I really loved the show, and got my eyes on a couple of European wrestlers that I will follow from now on. The show was one of the best I've been to, the best in a good while, and I hope the European wrestlers also got what they came for (well, except frmo the title, of course).
Less than a month to the next show, and I really look forward to it.
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