NWA Pro-Wrestling Showcase

Posted by J.D. Dunn on 02.08.2008

That tag match is chicken soup for the NWA fan's soul.

NWA Pro-Wrestling Showcase (02.06.08)
by J.D. Dunn

February 6, 2008

From Las Vegas, Nev.

Your hosts are David Marquez and Rob Conway.

NWA Heavyweight Title: Adam Pearce (w/C. Edward Vanderpyle) vs. Sean Waltman.
Waltman already beat Pearce for the Heritage Title (see, there *was* a payoff looming). Pearce clotheslines Waltman during the pre-match patdown. Waltman backflips off a hiptoss attempt and messes up his knee. Pearce works him over but gets backdropped to the floor. Waltman follows him out with a pescado. Waltman actually gets the worse of that move, so Pearce tosses him back in and slows things down with a chinlock. Waltman fights back and hits a slow Broncobuster (complete with "banging you in the mouth" motion). He hits the X-Factor, but Vanderpyle has the ref. The Real American Heroes (Joey Ryan & Karl Anderson) hit the ring and attack Waltman for the DQ at 4:55. Waltman did his best to work through injury, but Pearce had to carry the match the rest of the way. *

JJ Dillon is at the convention, thus making it 20x cooler than it possibly could have been. He picks Christopher Daniels as a future star for the NWA, even though Daniels is locked down in TNA.

Conway says Vanderpyle and Pearce are the smartest men in the NWA because Pearce is still the champ. Can't argue with that.

"The Canadian Bomber" Nelson Creed vs. "Sexy" Sonny Sampson.
From California. Creed is a Bryan Danielson-ish wrestler, meaning he can do a little bit of everything, but doesn't have one particular style that he leans on. Sampson looks a bit like a poor man's D-Lo Brown. He hits Creed in the back of the head with a lariat and then hits a flying crossbody for two. Creed comes back with a few clotheslines and a powerslam. Sampson catches him with the uranage backbreaker, though. Creed catches him with the Northern Lights Out (Discus Lariat) at 4:35. *1/2

Judy Martin is excited to be at the convention. She misses the closeness she had with the fans.

Manny Fernandez is also at the convention, catching up with old friends. He says the most important part of being the NWA Champion is carrying yourself with class.

Okay, one thing that either has to be edited, scripted, or cut out altogether – the interview segments with the legends. I appreciate seeing them, but every time one of them is asked about the current crop of NWA stars, they have no idea who any of them are. Granted, neither does the general public, but the fact that people who are/were in the industry seem puzzled when you bring up the names of Adam Pearce, Bryan Danielson or TJ Perkins is *so* counterproductive to making this NWA revival project work.

Puma vs. Disco Machine.
Rob Conway, the smartass, says the NWA needs to book Puma versus TJ Perkins. Disco is a Pro-Wrestling Guerilla regular. Well, actually both guys are, but Puma gets around a bit more. Disco does a lot of dancing early. Puma works in that spiderweb move. Hey, that's Perkins' move! There must be a rivalry between them. Disco charges but spills to the floor. Back in, Puma locks in the Mexican Surfboard. Puma misses a charge and falls to the floor, allowing Disco to take over. Puma takes the Harley Race bump off a corner whip. Machine misses a corkscrew moonsault. He hits a few forearms, but Puma kips up and hits a spinning wheel kick. A slingshot senton gets two for Puma. Disco slips over a corner charge, schoolboys Puma, and puts his feet on the ropes to pick up the win at 8:24. Well, if nothing else, TJ Perkins is getting a lot of face time – even if his face is covered. **

NWA World Tag Titles: The Real American Heroes (w/C. Edward Vanderpyle) vs. Los Luchas.
From Vegas, baby. The Heroes dominate until Zokre flips over them and tosses Phoenix Star into them. Anderson tries to help Ryan but gets sent into his crotch. Zokre ranas Ryan onto Anderson. Ryan catches up with Phoenix Star and German Suplexes him. The Heroes pummel them and rip at their masks. Anderson waves the Mexican flag to mock the Luchas. The Heroes toss the challengers into the cage. Zokre takes a particularly nasty bump, bouncing off the cage and landing on his head. Phoenix Star recovers and ranas Anderson. Zokre launches Ryan right into a spear from Star as we go to break. When we come back Zokre moonsaults off the top of the cage onto Anderson. ONE, TWO, THRE-Ryan makes the save. Vanderpyle tosses a pair of handcuffs into Ryan who uses them to cuff Phoenix Star to the top rope. The Heroes destroy Zokre in between taunting Phoenix Star. Ryan superkicks Zokre into the spinebuster from Anderson. ONE, TWO, THRE-Anderson pulls him up. The Heroes hit a doubleteam powerbomb. ONE, TWO, THRE-Anderson pulls him up again. What a prick! That sets up a spiked piledriver. ONE, TWO, THRE-Ryan pulls him up. This is so awesome! NWA Official Carmine DeSpirito comes down and tells Vanderpyle that, if the Heroes don't finish the match right away, he'll strip them of the tag titles. Anderson gives Zokre another spinebuster and pins him with a boot to the chest at 12:46. This just felt *so* 1985. Anderson and Ryan are the reincarnation of Arn and Tully. The Luchas aren't quite up to Morton & Gibson level, but they work okay in this context. Even the camera angle made it feel like I was watching an old Starrcade. Hopefully, the Heroes will be a centerpiece of the new show. ***


The 411: Ahhh, that tag match warmed my heart after what I was thinking of as a disappointing show. Next week, they move to a more streamlined show from Vegas. Hopefully, that works out better for them than it did for the UWF.