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Over the next six weeks, we will be going back in history to
examine the history of the premiere event in Australian
wrestling, RE-AWAKENING.
In the past five years, the name RE-AWAKENING has become
synonymous with sensational production & fantastic wrestling. It
has been the home to some of the biggest matches in Explosive
Pro Wrestling’s history. And it has seen some absolutely classic
moments.
Of course, the event that started it all was Awakening.
Awakening was the birth of Explosive Pro Wrestling (then
Explosive Coastal Wrestling). It was held on November 4th 2001
and was held at the original home of Perth wrestling, the
Wanneroo Civic Centre.
BUT technically, it was not a RE-AWAKENING so let’s skip
straight to RE-AWAKENING 2002.
RE-AWAKENING 2002 was a break through event for EPW. 350 fans
packed the Civic Centre to witness the biggest event that Perth
wrestling had ever seen. We saw the first appearance of the
beautiful Dynamite Dolls. It was the first time that video
screens made an appearance at an EPW show. And we saw the
musical stylings of HeavyWeightChamp set the stage alight.
But it was wrestling that drew 350 fans to Wanneroo and it was
wrestling that they got. The show opened with a fast paced
Invitational semi final between FN Carnage & Anda Nothica.
Nothica turned in the finest performance of his EPW career but
it was not enough to defeat Carnage, who went on to defeat Brock
Freeman and claim the Invitational trophy.
A match with little build up, turned out to be one of the most
fiercely contested bouts at RE-AWAKENING 2002. Richter & Jamie
Jurah took each other to the limit before Richter defeated
‘Mixer’s Bitch’. He even removed a tooth from Jamie’s mouth by
booting a megaphone into his face.
Then Explosive Coastal Wrestling chairman, the Vagrant, tackled
the Uprising’s own, Azazal, with the chairmanship on the line.
After a drawn out battle with plenty of interference from both
sides, it was Azazal who emerged victorious. This would begin a
year of Uprising control in Explosive Coastal Wrestling.
And the main event saw Davis Storm defend the Explosive Coastal
Wrestling championship against ‘Mr Anarchy’ Jimmy Payne in a two
out of three falls match.
Payne had defeated Storm to claim the very first Invitational
tournament a year earlier. However, Davis returned the favour at
Evolution 2002 to become the very first champion in Explosive
Pro Wrestling.
To say that there was electricity in the air would be a major
understatement. EPW had never seen a crowd split like this one
and we haven’t seen one since. The ‘Payne Army’ and the ‘Storm
Troopers’ went to battle as their two heroes fought it out in
the ring.
Jimmy took the first fall with his patented Tiger Driver, before
the champ claimed back a fall with his Eye of the Storm.
The stage was set for an epic last fall and as the intensity
rose in the ring, the crowd too rose to another level.
In the end, Jimmy blocked a rolling storm attempt and small
packaged Davis for the win and the first title change in EPW’s
short history. The crowd went nuts as Jimmy celebrated with his
big win with his fans.
It was one of those special times where the crowd were able to
drive the match to another level simply by supporting the
wrestlers they had come to see. An amazing end to a night that
changed Perth wrestling forever.
RE-AWAKENING 2002 RESULTS
Invitational Tournament
Semi Finals
FN Carnage def Anda Nothica
Brock Freeman def Xeriyous Blade
Final
FN Carnage def Brock Freeman
Richter def Jamie Jurah
CHAIRMANSHIP MATCH
Azazal def the Vagrant
4 Way Elimination
Damien Kross outlasted Mixer, Psychofett & Mikey
Brad West def Justin Sane
2 out of 3 Falls Match
Jimmy Payne def Davis Storm to claim the Explosive Coastal
Wrestling Championship
END OF YEAR AWARD RESULTS
Rookie of the Year – Brock Freeman
Most Improved – Richter
Event of the Year – Retribution
Match of the Year – Last Man Standing Match – Jimmy Payne v
Mikey
Wrestler of the Year – Davis Storm
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