Rasslin' update

There were four matches before the intermission and three after. Suprisingly, Masato Tanaka vs TNT (the reigning champ and, coincidentally, owner of the AWF) was the pre-break bout. MT was in awesome shape, combining the tanned, corded muscles of a bodybuilder with the agility and scar tissue of a pit fighter. He didn't miss a trick and sold every blow. The early scheduling made sense when the match was declared a no contest after run-ins by Steve Corino (and his hench-honey) and Billy Kidman. We'd see all five again in the main event.

The tag-team title match warrants a mention on account of the fact it included fan fave The Captain. He really seems to have grown into his cricketer gimmick and currently finds himself partnered with Bluey Bonza, a footy player character. Did I mention the size of the audience? Less than 150. Still, we had great fun yelling, "Grapple tackle!", "Line and length, Captain," and so on until the dastardly Platinum Players cheated their way to victory and retained the belts.

Corino vs Kidman was...surreal. SC and his babe were heckled so fiercely he grabbed the microphone and spent 10-15 minutes replying. Then BK - who'd looked like he just wanted to start wrestling - took the mic and spent another five sending up everything Corino had said. Who knew the guy was so funny? While the bout that followed won't make any highlight reels, the preamble elevated it to something meaningful and an illegal object and payback run-ins kept it moving. After his loss, Steve burst into tears and vowed never to return to Sydney.