Big Time Wrestling report 4/19/2015

It was a good day today because I got to go to wrestling!!!

Big Time Wrestling brought their brand of professional wrestling to the Sukee Arena in Winslow, Maine for a matinee show featuring Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and X-Pac.  Also advertised was "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas and Scotty 2 Hotty.

The pre-show was from 1pm - 3pm with a 3pm bell time.  Paul came over and we headed there meeting Mikey & Roy.  We didn't get there until 2pm-ish and we bought the $15 general admission tickets and sat in the bleachers behind the glass.  The Sukee Arena features an indoor hockey arena, I thought they would have taken the glass down before the show.  Oh well.

I didn't get any autographs or photos with at the show, it was more money than I was interested in spending. I did like that there were a couple vendors there with some decent wrestling items.  DVD's, t-shirts, and more.

To the matches, all photos are courtesy of Philster, I haven't gotten my camera fix yet and from where I was my phone couldn't get the best photos.  Thanks Phil!  Here's a link to the rest of his album of the event: Phil's Photos

Lanny Poffo opened with a poem about the "Macho Man" Randy Savage

Triple Threat Match: Todo Loco defeated Bam Shaw & "Adorable" Danny Miles with a hurricarana roll up on on Shaw.

Black Talented Wrestlers:  Slyck Wagner Brown & Bobby Ocean defeated The Scufflin" Hillbillies: Cousin Larry & Uncle Sonny when Wagner pinned Larry after a leg lariat off the second rope.

Falls Count Anywhere: "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas pinned Mr. TA

Scott 2 Hotty pinned Sean Burke w/ DG Haven after the worm

NWO: Kevin Nash & X-Pac w/ Scott Hall defeated Players Club: Danny Demanto & Damian Darling after X-Pac hit the X-Factor on Demanto.

 

It was a good show.  Matches started about 15 minutes late because of the people that had purchased too sweet packages. Group photos with Hall, Nash, & Pac were $65 for just the photo or $100 for the group shot and an autograph from each.  Five matches in all with no intermission, show in total was about 95 minutes.  

Opening triple threat was a good match, Todo Loco has gotten better since the first time I saw him. Roy swears that in NECW Loco is really good.

It was nice seeing Sonny back as a Hillbilly.

The falls count anywhere was fun as they went around the floor, through the bleachers and back down into the ring, Tony looks good and can still go for his age.  I was surprised Mr. TA didn't get busted open this time.  He usually does and it's nice to see color once in a while in wrestling these days.

Scott Taylor looked in great shape, however the match was meh.  Too much clowning around, I know the kids liked it, but it's not my style.  After the match Taylor brought some kid in the ring who obviously had some special needs issue but it got out of control with the kid trying to do the worm onto Haven and even jumping off the second rope onto Haven.

It was good to see Hall, Nash, & Pac together in the ring.  Match was good with Pac taking all the heat then making the hot tag.  Demanto went for a moonsault and missed, but it was impressive to see him come off the top rope like that.

After the match Damian Darling was standing on the second rope yelling at the fans when Hall went over to hit the Razor's edge, it was cool to think he was going to do it and it really popped the crowd.  The initial set up looked good, but then it got awkward.  Either Darling was squirming or Hall couldn't hold him, or a combination but Darling got dumped on the back of his head and it look bad.  Hall even talked to him from the floor while Darling sold on the mat.

It was a great afternoon of wrestling, the Sukee arena proved to be a great place to hold a wrestling show.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment or like my Wrestling Insomniac facebook page.

Later Readers!

Podcast Rundown April 17, 2015

Colt Cabana – Art of Wrestling

Episodes 244 & 245 Roddy Piper parts 1 & 2

This is only the 3^rd person to get a two parter with CM Punk and William Regal being the others.  Roddy is here returning the favor for when Colt appeared on his podcast a couple weeks back.  These two discuss all things wrestling from Roddy breaking into wrestling to the current state of the business.

Also in Episode 244 during the into Colt tells his why he loves wrestling, but not what he calls TV wrestling.

Talk is Jericho

Episode 132 - Vickie Guerrero

Great discussion between two old friends.  They talk about Eddie, of course, and they delve into the Chris Benoit tragedy.  We learn how Vickie came to be working with the WWE and her favorite moments.

The Joe Rogan Experience

631 Josh Barnett

Great podcast that is nearly 2 hours 40 minutes long. A great listen talking about the fight career of one of the best ever in the heavyweight division Josh Barnett. 

Episode 335 Bas Rutten

This is the episode as to why I started listening to this podcast.  Rutten was recently on the Steve Austin show and Austin had put over how good this interview is, and he was right.  We got a lot of great info on the storied career of Bas, his training routine and how it has altered.  How MMA has changed, the current state of it, the number of injuries he suffered and how he doing today.  This Podcast is nearly 3 hours long.  And unlike Jericho’s who has a 30 minute into before the interview, Rogan gets right to Rutten after a 10 minute intro where he plugs all his sponsors.  Fantastic listen!

The Nerdist Podcast

Kal Penn from House and Harold and Kumar fame talks about making movies, working for the Obama Campaign and what the future holds.  I hate politics but this was one the best political discussions I have ever heard because it wasn’t an argument and no one was pushing an agenda, it was just talking.

Kristen Schaal – I had no idea who this was by name, but once I heard the voice I knew exactly who it was.  Her current main role is on the Fox show “Last Man on Earth” as Carol Pilbasian, but she has guest starred in almost every hit show in the last 15 years and has lent her voice to “Bob’s Burgers”, “Archer”, and more.   She tells a great story of getting her teeth knocked out.

The Moth

Ileoma Oluo & April Salazar: StorySLAM Favorites

Ijeoma Oluo's mother teaches her how to turn bad situations into adventures and April Salazar goes to a pro-choice rally with her stepfather. 

The Moth Radio Hour: Freddy Hubbard, Charlie Ravioli, and The Monk

Christian McBride, a jazz bassist, is put to the test by is idol, Freddie Hubbard; writer Adam Gopnik details his daughter’s cosmopolitan imaginary friend; and a down and out comic considers ending ti all until the universe sends him an unlikely sign.

That description is taken straight from The Moth.  Fast becoming one of my favorite podcasts this public radio show is compiled of 3 stories taken from different Moth stage shows.  It’s simply a person telling a story as they remember it with no notes.  The first is heartwarming, the second is ok, and the third is heartbreaking. 

How Did This Get Made?

This is one of my favorite podcasts and it features studio and live recorded episodes where the hosts and guests dissect movies that are either terrible or good, mostly terrible, in humorous manner.

Episode 106 Deep Blue Sea live with Paul F. Tompkins & Evan Goldberg

The movie that was supposed to be JAWS but better, and it wasn’t!  During the discussion of this flick they really present the religious aspect of it that I never noticed before, and LL Cool J raps.

Episode 107 Lake Placid live with Nate Corddry & Paul F. Tompkins

They were not fans of this movie that takes place in my home state Maine.  I actually really enjoyed it knowing that it wasn’t the greatest movie ever, but for what it was.

Is the NWA World Championship still a premier championship? Part 1

The NWA: National Wrestling Alliance was a coalition of promoters that came together to essentially rule the wrestling landscape and set boundaries or territories that each promoter was to adhere to when running their shows.  Also they worked together to declare one World Heavyweight Champion that would tour the territories.  Their first champion was Orville Brown of Sharon, Kansas.

Orville Brown, NWA Champion 1/5/1948 - 11/27/1949

For 45 years the NWA World Heavyweight Champion was THE recognized wrestling champion worldwide.  Cable television, tape trading, the expansion of the WWE (then WWF), and Ted Turner buying Jim Crockett Promotions (renaming the promotion WCW) eventually lead to the demise of the NWA as it was originally intended to be. 

Initially WCW recognized the NWA World Championship as their premier title; however in 1991 WCW established their own World Championship and recognized current NWA Champion Ric Flair as their champion.  WCW stripped Ric Flair of the championship on July 1, 1991 when he left for the WWE; however the NWA continued to recognize Flair at their World Champion until September 8, 1991 when Flair entered the WWE.

 

The NWA didn’t recognize a World Champion for almost 1 year until a tournament held by New Japan Pro Wrestling where Masahiro Chono defeated Rick Rude in the Finals to become Champion on August 12, 1992.  This year long lapse where a champion was not recognized was the first blow in the NWA losing credibility.  There was nothing to keep the NWA fresh in the minds of the fans. 

Masahiro Chono NWA World Champion 8/12/1992 - 1/4/1993

After Chono won the NWA World Championship WCW began to recognize both titles on their programming.  Eventually the NWA World Championship made its way back to perennial champion “Nature Boy” Ric Flair who won the title from Barry Windham on July 18, 1993.

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair 9 Time NWA World Champion

On September 1, 1993 after a disagreement with the NWA Board of Directors WCW withdrew from the NWA leaving the NWA with no national stage and no major promotions left to carry the NWA banner hurting the integrity of the Championship even more.  The NWA stripped Ric Flair of the World Heavyweight Championship. New Japan Pro Wrestling also withdrew from the NWA in 1993.

The Big Gold Belt used from 1985 - 1993

Another blow to the NWA was the fact that WCW physically possessed the belt that had been recognized at the NWA World Championship belt since 1985 aka the Big Gold Belt.  WCW renamed the title the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship until it was unified with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on June 23, 1994.  The Big Gold Belt became the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.  For the casual fan the belt that was the symbol of the NWA since 1985 was still being presented at the premier championship they just didn’t realize it was technically no longer the NWA World Championship.

Let’s take a moment to assess where the NWA stands at the time when WCW withdraws.  The group is led by a 3 person Committee in Steve Rickard from New Zealand, Dennis Coralluzzo from New Jersey, and Howard Brody from Florida. 

World Heavyweight Championship:                         Vacant 9/1/1993

World Tag Team Championships:                             Vacant 9/1/1993

National Heavyweight Championship:                     Vacant 9/28/1986

World Junior Heavyweight Championship:              Vacant since 1989

The former NWA World Television and United States Championships were absorbed into the WCW Versions of the titles and the NWA never created their own version again.   There are countless regional championships with the NWA name attached to them, but we are only focusing on the national championships that give the NWA a national name. 

At this point the NWA is essentially dead.   The grand vision that was started back in Waterloo, Iowa in 1948 is no more.  We can clearly see now that the glory days of the NWA are over, but back then these three men try their best to keep the NWA alive and bring it to the forefront once again.   After the withdrawal of WCW and NJPW the NWA is reorganized with a few promotions recognized by the NWA board. 

In 1994 the NWA is gearing up to re-crown their World Champion bringing back the prestigious “Ten Pounds of Gold” domed globe version of the belt that was first worn by Harley Race in 1973 and last worn by Ric Flair 1985. NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling promoted by Tod Gordon proposes to hold the tournament at his promotion as they have the largest TV coverage of all the existing NWA Promotions.

"The Franchise" Shane Douglas officially recognized as an NWA World Champion

I’m sure most of you know this story by now.  On August 27, 1994 Shane Douglas wins the tournament pinning 2 Cold Scorpio at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA and is declared the new champion.  He then cuts a scathing promo that the NWA is dead and throws down the title and declares himself the ECW World Heavyweight Champion.  Shortly thereafter the ECW withdrew from the NWA and rechristened themselves Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Once again the NWA name is tarnished they have now gone a year with no recognized major champion severely damaging the credibility of the NWA World Championship as a viable title.

Chris Candido NWA World Champion 11/19/1994 - 2/24/1995

November 19, 1994 the NWA finally crowned a new World Champion in Cherry Hill, NJ when Chris Candido defeated Tracy Smothers in a tournament final.  This tournament was held in conjunction with Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling, however the affiliation was brief.  On February 24, 1995 Candido lost the Championship to Dan Severn in Erlanger, KY at a SMW house show.   Severn then became a touring champion leaving the SMW territory. 

I can see the appeal of putting the Championship on Severn, multi time AAU wrestling champion, 3 time US Olympic Team Alternate, and he was competing in the UFC.  He had legitimacy like the old school NWA Champions.  In 1995 he would go on to win the UFC 5 Tournament, The Ultimate Ultimate 1995 Tournament, and the UFC Superfight Championship and the whole time he carried the NWA World Championship Belt to the Octagon with him.

Dan "The Beast" Severn 2 time NWA World Champion

However, they never really mentioned the NWA belt on the shows, and UFC at that time was not accepted main stream like it is now.  It was viewed as barbaric and was banned in most states, so it’s not like he was bringing huge publicity to the NWA.  In fact Severn’s over 4 year reign did nothing to elevate the NWA in anyway. 

The NWA did receive some minor national recognition with a brief and failed invasion of the WWF (now WWE) in early 1998 lead by Jim Cornette.   You can read a detailed account that I wrote about this angle here, and you probably should before continuing with this post.

Essentially Severn joins the Angle March 30, 1998 billed as the NWA and UFC Champion, a shooter and is put over as a shooter stretching the Headbangers on his debut.  He would go onto win most of his matches with submission holds and he was billed as the NWA Champion, however he was never put in any high profile angles or matches as NWA Champion and only wrestled mid-carders.  I’m pretty sure the NWA Championship was never even defended in the WWE.   By June of 1998 Severn was no longer as billed as NWA Champion and in the end this angle essentially buried the NWA. 

Severn’s last match in the WWE was a house show on February 21, 1999 in Springfield, MA teaming with Tag Team Champions: Jeff Jarrett & Owen Hart defeating The Godfather, Val Venis, & Steve Blackman.  A couple weeks later on March 14, 1999 in Yokohama, Japan Severn lost the championship to Naoya Ogawa. 

Severn’s time in the WWE did nothing to elevate the NWA or the Championship.   As soon as he was no longer being recognized in the WWE has NWA Champion he should have dropped the title.  Instead he spent the next 9 months as a WWE mid-carder then as soon as he left he drops the belt.

The NWA did promote a great card to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of the NWA on October 24, 1998 in Cherry Hill, NJ.  However, it was the only significant NWA card held that year.

In 1999 6 years since the reorganization of the NWA they still don’t have a national presence, and their affiliation with WWE was a bust.  They have affiliates all over the United States and a few in other countries, but their 4 year World Champion did little build the title.

For the next couple years the NWA continued to struggle to bring themselves back to the forefront of wrestling.  They returned to the national spotlight when they signed a deal with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) giving TNA exclusive rights to use the NWA World Heavyweight and World Tag Team Championships as their primary titles.  The current champions Dan Severn and  The Shane Twins were stripped of their titles.

Ken Shamrock NWA World Champion 6/19/02 - 8/7/02

At TNA’s first show on June 19, 2002 in Huntsville, AL they crowned a new World Heavyweight Champion in Ken Shamrock.  World Tag Team Champions would not be crowned until July 3, 2002 in Nashville, TN as AJ Styles & Jerry Lynn would defeated the Rainbow Express: Bruce & Lenny Lane in a tournament final.

NWA would flourish over the next 5 years as TNA brought back credibility and prestige to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.  NWA’s secondary titles even though not defended on the national scene were elevated to the casual fan as the name NWA was becoming recognizable again.

Christian Cage 2 time NWA World Champion

In May 2007 as the end of 5 year agreement was coming to pass TNA decided to withdraw from the NWA.  On May 13, 2007 at the PPV Sacrifice the NWA World Champion Christian Cage competeed in a triple threat match against Kurt Angle & Sting and at matches end Kurt Angle won and was declared the first ever TNA World Heavyweight Champions. The NWA World Tag Team Champions: Team 3-D were declared the first ever TNA World Tag Team Champions.  At the end of the PPV NWA officially vacated both championships.

However, unlike when WCW withdrew NWA did not wait a year to crown a new champion.  Instead they immediately announced a tournament and that they were going to reclaim the glory of the championship.

Thank you for reading Part 1.  If would please follow my blog and like this page on Facebook or follow me on Twitter to learn about future posts.  Also please feel free to leave a comment and stay tuned for Part 2!

Later Readers!