With a 10,000 sell-out crowd in attendance the conditions dictated a tight and physical game, with captains Colin and Charvis and Lawrence Dallaglio providing a fascinating contest at the coal face, while the Falcons fared well in the set piece with powerful scrummaging and consistent line out ball.
It was in the loose where Wasps did the damage, with winger Paul Sackey grabbing the first of his two tries only three minutes in as he recovered from a tackle by England Sevens team mate Ollie Phillips to to touch down in the right corner.
Charvis forced one of a string of turnovers on the day with some midfield scavenging, while fullback Matthew Burke was just wide with a 50-metre penalty effort from the left hand side.
Given a second chance two minutes later the Aussie drilled three points from a similar distance as Wasps could not resist infringing at the ruck, while he then started a fleeting counter attack including runs from Mathew Tait and James Grindal in what was one of the only clear-cut attacks of the half.
Burke's countryman, Owen Finegan, cleverly charged down a box kick as Wasps were hemmed in to their own 22 on the half hour, and with the visitors gaining repeated penalties from close range, opting for the drive on the first two, Burke finally nudged his side in to the lead as they chose to go for points from 15 metres.
Opposite number Mark Van Gisbergen struck the crossbar with a penalty of his own, bouncing out, but just before the interval chipped over a short range effort to snatch an 8-6 interval lead despite a deft grubber to the corner from Grindal with the last play of the half.
If scoring chances had been rationed in the first half, there was a virtual famine in the final 40 as the driving rain and greasy surface dictated play, with a string of punts rolling dead on the short football grass, and numerous handling errors as both teams tried to cope with the elements.
It was again Sackey out wide who provided the vital penetration with a second score in the right corner after a string of phases and runs from Simon Shaw, Tom Voyce and Van Gisbergen eventually created an overlap out wide as the defenders were forced to come infield and tackle.
The Falcons' cause was not helped as hooker Andy Long was sin binned ten minutes in to the half for an offence at a ruck near his own line, with Van Gisbergen sending over the penalty to assume a ten-point lead.
Burke tried to add some pace and direction to a game which was drifting away by running down the left and grubbering for territory, but even the mercurial Aussie could not find a chink in the champions' armour as they shipped on a new half back pairing of Matt Dawson and Alex King for the final stages.
Charvis was again amongst it with a turnover on his own 22, while Dawson swept up a frantic pass from Dallaglio near the Wasps line to clear the pressure.
It was the England scrum half who had the final say on the scoresheet as his one-two with King down the left wing beat last man Tait for their third try, King's drop kick conversion attempt going wide as the hosts tried to get the game going quickly in search of a fourth try and a bonus point.
But that was to elude them in the end of a scrappy encounter, as the Falcons' unbeaten streak was finally halted by the team who had seen it start all the way back in November.
London Wasps:
Tries: Sackey 2, Dawson
Pens: Van Gisbergen 2
Newcastle Falcons:
Pens: Burke 2
London Wasps:
15 Mark Van Gisbergen
14 Paul Sackey
13 Josh Lewsey
12 Stuart Abbott (Ayoola Erinle, 59)
11 Tom Voyce
10 Jeremy Staunton (Alex King, 66)
9 Eoin Reddan (Matt Dawson, 66)
1 Alistair McKenzie (Raphael Ibanez, 79)
2 Jonny Barrett
3 Peter Bracken (Justin Va'a, 40)
4 Simon Shaw
5 George Skivington Martin Purdy, Tom Rees, 69)
6 John Hart
7 Joe Worsley
8 Lawrence Dallaglio (captain)
Replacements:
Raphael Ibanez
Justin Va'a
Martin Purdy
Tom Rees
Matt Dawson
Alex King
Ayoola Erinle
Newcastle Falcons:
15 Matthew Burke
14 Ollie Phillips
13 Jamie Noon
12 Mark Mayerhofler
11 Mathew Tait
10 Toby Flood
9 James Grindal
1 Micky Ward
2 Andy Long (Matt Thompson, 59)
3 Robbie Morris (David Wilson, 63)
4 Andy Perry
5 Stuart Grimes
6 Owen Finegan (Mike McCarthy, 40)
7 Cory Harris (Matt Thompson, 51-59, Ben Woods, 59)
8 Colin Charvis (captain)
Replacements:
David Wilson
Andy Buist
Matt Thompson
Mike McCarthy
Ben Woods
Shaun Richardson
Joe Shaw
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Attendance: 10,000
