World Association Of Wrestling
World Association of Wrestling (WAW) is a British independent professional wrestling promotion founded by Ricky Knight, Sweet Saraya, and Jimmy Ocean in 1994 in Norwich, England.
It is affiliated with the all-female promotion Bellatrix Female Warriors which is also owned by Saraya Knight. The promotion features British-style wrestling and uses British rules.
Wiki EnglishWiki English | |
| Acronym | WAW |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 |
| Style | Professional wrestling Sports entertainment |
| Headquarters | Norwich, Norfolk |
| Founder(s) | Ricky Knight Sweet Saraya Jimmy Ocean |
| Owner(s) | Ricky Knight Sweet Saraya Zak Knight |
| Sister | Bellatrix Female Warriors |
| Website | https://wawuk.com/ |
History
Ricky Knight, Sweet Saraya, and Jimmy Ocean formed WAW in 1994 in Norwich. Ocean left the business after approximately one year. In 2005, Ricky Knight and Sweet Saraya formed the World Association of Women's Wrestling, although the name was later changed to Bellatrix Female Warriors.
In 2014, WAW ran more than 100 shows. In September 2016, WAW began airing on Mustard TV. American wrestler Scott Hall was previously a backstage agent for the promotion, working behind the scenes at television tapings and appeared in an on-screen authority role as WAW Commissioner.
The promotion was featured in the 2012 Channel 4 documentary The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family about the Knight family. It was featured in the film Fighting with My Family, which was based on the documentary.
Former Norwich City striker Grant Holt and 2012 Olympics boxing bronze medallist Anthony Ogogo both began their wrestling careers with WAW.
In 2020, WAW was featured in another documentary, this time on BBC Three. A four-part series, Step Into The Ring followed the lives of five young wrestlers battling against physical and mental health issues to pursue professional careers under the guidance of Zak Knight.
WAW Academy
The promotion also includes a wrestling school, The WAW Academy, which trains in the British catch-as-catch-can wrestling style. Trainees perform for both WAW and Bellatrix Female Warriors. The academy trains wrestlers of all ages, including children. Interest in the school increased after Ricky Knight and Sweet Saraya's daughter Saraya-Jade was signed by the WWE in 2011. Zak Knight and Sweet Saraya are the head trainers at the academy, but they also bring in guest trainers, as well. Past guest trainers have included Scott Hall, Dave Taylor, Mr. Anderson, Steve Grey, Mal Sanders, Marty Jones, Jonny Storm, Dean Allmark, and more.
Championships
Current
| Championship | Champion(s) | Previous | Date won | Days | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WAW World Heavyweight Championship | Roy Knight | PJ Knight | 2 April 2022 | 747+ | |
| WAW World Tag Team Championship | The Norfolk Killers (RKJ and Brett Semtex) | The UK Hooligans (Zak Knight and Roy Knight) | 20 February 2022 | 788+ | |
| WAW World Light Heavyweight Championship | Irn Dru Marshall | Jack Landers | 3 March 2024 | 873+ | |
| WAW Open International Championship | Brody Steele | Aaron O'Malley | 22 September 2018 | 2,035+ | |
| WAW European Heavyweight Championship | Zak Zodiac | Vacant | 28 May 2022 | 691+ | |
| WAW British Heavyweight Championship | Brad Slayer | Nathan Cruz | 2 April 2022 | 747+ | |
| WAW Television Championship | Ricky Knight Jr. | Alexander Young | 5 May 2018 | 2,175+ | |
| WAW People's Championship | Tony Knight | Saraya Knight | 28 May 2022 | 691+ | |
| WAW Under-23 Championship | Jaiden Docwra | Dillon Slade | 19 February 2022 | 789+ | |
| WAW Academy Championship | Kobe Nitro | Oscar Hyde | 9 April 2022 | 740+ | |
| WAW Academy Tag Team Championship | Heavy Thunder (Keegan and Rip Parker) | The Battlekats | 8 January 2022 | 831+ |
Retired
| Championship | Last champion(s) | Date won | Date retired | Previous champion(s) | First champion(s) | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RQW World Heavyweight Championship | Luke Hawx | 19 March 2016 | 14 May 2016 | Roy Knight | Robbie Brookside | |
| RQW European Tag Team Championship | The UK Hooligans (Zak Knight and Roy Knight) | 1 May 2015 | 14 May 2016 | K4 (King Kendo and Karl Kramer) | Team Charming (Jack Storm and Dave Moralez) | |
| RQW European Cruiserweight Championship | Mitchell Starr | 22 May 2016 | 5 June 2016 | Peter Nixon | Bubblegum |
See also
References
This article uses material from the Wikipedia English article World Association of Wrestling, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license ("CC BY-SA 3.0"); additional terms may apply (view authors). Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
®Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wiki Foundation, Inc. Wiki English (DUHOCTRUNGQUOC.VN) is an independent company and has no affiliation with Wiki Foundation.