|
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.
|
