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04/11/05 - 2005 EPW Invitational Tournament

Re-Awakening 2005

It's a well documented fact that there is no show in the country with the legacy of Re-Awakening. And a tradition celebrated each year is Explosive Pro Wrestling's Invitational Tournament.

November 2001 saw EPW crown its first Invitational Champion in Jimmy Payne. The tournament had 16 competitors in what was the biggest field to ever contest the Invitational. On the day that Perth wrestling was reborn, Jimmy fought his way through four opponents to become the inaugural winner of the tournament. The final saw an all in brawl as Payne defeated Davis Storm and held the trophy high as EPW fans celebrated.

Re-Awakening 2002 was a massive event that put EPW on the map. Fans were wowed by a tremendous Invitational Final between heavy fan favourite Brock Freeman and the newly hated FN Carnage. After a seesaw battle which saw Carnage's associated Slick Rick Sanders inject himself into the mix, Freeman's shoulders were pinned to the mat and the Invitational Trophy secured the name of FN Carnage.

Attempting to be the first ever two-time winner of the tournament, Carnage won a battel royal to advance to the final where he would face Serial Thriller, Brad West. In a match which some claim to be one of the most underrated bouts in our history, West shocked all in attendance by defeating, the then, EPW Champion and becoming our third Invitational Tournament winner.

Re-Awakening 2004 rolled around with some one of the strongest final fours to ever contest an Invitational tournament. It was an Invitational Semi-Final that had Australian wrestling buzzing as the EPW Board of Directors cast a national invite to any Australian wrestler who wished to partake, making the tournament a truly Australia-wide competition. Spike Steele took up the offer as the tattooed Melbourne monster shared the ring with EPW's own monster - 6'4" of Richter. In a hard-fought match that had both crowd and locker room on it's feet, Richter pinned Steele in the middle of the ring, but only after smashing the Victorian's wrist and severely breaking his bone.
Richter showed that a win at any cost mentality gets it done in the Invitational Tournament as he rolled on to beat Psychofett.

Quite simply, this is the single longest running tournament in Australian wrestling today. With the winner getting a shot at the EPW championship in 2006, none of the remaining six men need any more incentive. You want proof that winners of this tournament go onto great things? Consider this. Every man who has won this tournament has gone on to capture EPW gold.

In 2005, Richter will attempt to become the first ever dual-winner of the Invitational Tournament as he enters the 3-way-dance semi-final, a heavy favourite. A man set on making his name as a singles star at RA will be Shane Haste, who many believe will find it difficult not having his Awsome Inc counterpart Kiel E. Lectrifying in his corner. One man who needs no-one in his corner is Devlin Reeves. One would suggest Reeves to be the single most hated man in the federation after destroying former partner Jamie Jurah earlier in the year. He will be looking to add the Invitational trophy to his resume, under 'Hardest Chopping Man in EPW'.

The other semi-final raises a few more questions. Massive fan-favourite the 'Metrosexual' James Street will attempt to splash his name among EPW's finest with a victory in the tournament. But Kiel E. Lectrifying will try to put his defeats in tag team title matches behind him with a strong showing in the tournament. Many believe Kiel E to be the dark horse out of the group with a strong win against his own tag-team partner Shane Haste at Cause for Concern. As was the tradition started last year, the EPW Board of Directors has delivered a personal invitation to an Australian wrestler who wants to see his name printed on the coveted trophy. Many names have been suggested along with a few surprises, but one thing is for certain, whoever it is will surely have a tough time coming to grips with a hostile Perth crowd.

It's a tournament bathed in tradition and has proven to be a career-making victory for all previous winners. Fans and wrestlers alike can be certain this year's spectacle will prove to be a stepping stone to greatness for someone.
 


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