We are nearing who will be in the finals to hoist The Crockett Cup in the National Wrestling Alliance. Last year’s winners, Trevor Murdoch and Mike Knox, want to repeat their success in the tournament but standing in their way is The Southern Six, and Alex Taylor and Kerry Morton want to keep the stars shining in the Southern sky.
Once again on The CW, we come to you from The OC Theatre in Forney, TX. Joe Galli, William Patrick Corgan, and Danny Dealz have the call from the sky box, and your First Match of the Night is a…
Courtesy of the NWA. Credit: Hiban Huerta
Family Jewels Ladder Match: Rolando Freeman vs. Eric Smalls
The rules for this match are like any other ladder match, except whoever grabs the sack of jewels from the top of the ladder gets a shot at the other man’s “family jewels.” As Galli remarked, “This is really for all the marbles.” Dad jokes aside, I can already hear the complaints from NWA fans about this (or I forgot to turn off my Reddit). Either way, allow me to start early with an…
(Author’s Rant: Had this been placed higher on the card, I might have joined everyone in their concerns, but as far as the reasoning for this match goes it just feels like dumb fun. For everyone who complains that Billy Corgan is yet again tarnishing the memory of the NWA, I wish to impart the wise words of my dear old Dad for these moments.
“So what? Get over it! Move on!”
Thus endeth the rant.)
As Smalls gets a huge ovation from the Texas crowd, Rolando enters but comes out with his arm in a sling, due to events sustained at NWA’s Kross Fire Wrestling promotion. As Davis asks about his health, Rolando makes sure everyone calls him “El Jefe,” and assures us he has a Spectacular replacement in Slade. Davis asks Smalls if he wants to continue, and to his credit, he will take him on. Therefore, this is a…
Family Jewels Ladder Match: Slade (with Rolando Freeman) vs. Eric Smalls
Right from the bell, this is an oversized one-sided affair as Slade toys with his opponent like a cat with a mouse. But the underdog has some fight in him as he kicks him in the hamstrings and a drop toehold by Smalls looks promising. Slade stops the rally with a Mafia kick, tears off his shirt, and measures him with the beatdown. He picks up Smalls and gets his bicep curl reps in before slamming the Pint-Sized Punk to the mat. Once again, Slade’s cockiness trips him up as he crashes to the corner in the ring post and Smalls rides him with a Bronco buster (although it might as well be called a “pony buster,” but I digress).
Smalls grabs the ladder and sends it into the ring, but Slade knocks it away and he goes right back to the ass-kicking from earlier. He mockingly gets to Smalls’ level on his knees and that’s when he nails a DDT and follows with the Inch Worm to the fans’ delight (Scotty 2 Hotty, eat your heart out). He climbs up the top turnbuckle and flies with a diving Headbutt to Slade’s…err, little Spectaculars. Slade slides out of the ring and Smalls follows with a dive on the outside. Slade knocks him back down, sends him back to the squared circle, and has his hand on him until Smalls bites it hard to release the hold and then he connects with a spear. He sets Slade on top of the ladder and follows with a moonsault. Once again, Smalls claims and Slade gets him with an ankle lock but he escapes the submission and sends him headfirst to the ladder rung to daze him. He quickly recovers and gives Smalls a Kryptonite Krunch. Then outside the ring, the numbers game catches up as Rolando and Slade do a beatdown until Knox and Murdoch make the save. Smalls finally is on the top of the ladder but he can’t reach the sack.
(I’m trying to resist a “Smalls comes up short” joke, but honestly, it’s a bit on the nose.)
Murdoch gets in the ring and has him on his shoulders. They climb up the ladder until Slade’s chop blocks Murdoch to bring both men crashing. That allows Slade to climb up and he grabs the jewels.
Your Winner of the Family Jewels Ladder Match: Slade
The injury to Murdoch may play a factor in the semifinal match so that bears watching. As for Smalls’ loss, you hate to see a big opportunity get away over a small detail.
(Sorry, I can’t help myself!)
But let’s get back to singles competition as the next match is for the…
Courtesy of the NWA. Credit: Hiban Huerta
NWA National Championship: Thom Latimer(c) vs. Zyon (with Austin Idol)
Galli mentions that Zyon has yet to be pinned or submitted in a match to date, so Latimer has a tough test ahead of him. As Zyon and Idol head to the ring, a fan at ringside holds up an “Austin Idol wears a Diaper” sign.
Priceless.
It’s a shoving match to start and then they lock up, but neither man budges for the other until Latimer catches Zyon with an arm drag. He returns the favor to The King of All Evil and uses the joints in his hand to manipulate him into a grounded position. And things look bad for the champ until…
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We come back and Latimer is in the driver’s seat as Zyon gets sent out onto the floor. Latimer gives chase until Idol gets in the way and threatens to punch him. The King of All Evil is ready to take him out until Zyon attacks him from behind. He drags him back to the ring and uses the ropes for an assisted neckbreaker on Latimer to cover for a two count. Zyon stays on top of the champ and lands a leaping fist drop to his head and keeps him down with a headlock. Latimer fights back up to a vertical base, lands a clothesline to a running back elbow in the corner and follows with a side slam. A flatliner variant later allows Latimer to cover for a near fall and he is fired up. Zyon attempts the Z Clutch but he pulls him off with arm drag and then shoots to the ropes both men connect with clotheslines and they are laid out. The ref starts the count but they get back up and lay in with hammering blows and European uppercuts. Latimer goes for a backslide but Zyon kicks out and hits a running knee strike for a close two count. The masked man goes up for a high-risk maneuver and comes down, where Latimer catches him and goes for a crossface, but Zyon fights out of the submission. Latimer manages to overpower Zyon to the mat and wears him down for the crossface. Zyon vainly reaches for the bottom ropes and Latimer pushes back and rolls to the center, but Zyon uses the joint manipulation to break the submission. He goes for a roll up but Latimer pushes him to the corner where he gets stunned by the middle turnbuckles and a pop-up powerbomb ends Zyon’s Championship hopes.
Your Winner, And Still NWA National Champion: Thom Latimer
All hail the King. Long may he reign.
That brings us to the Main Event, which is the…
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Semifinal Match for The Crockett Cup: The Southern Six (Alex Taylor and Kerry Morton, with Ricky Morton) vs. Mike Knox and Trevor Murdoch
Murdoch has his left knee taped from the ladder match earlier in the match. The Six are a little more hesitant to engage the cement mixers head-on, but they go on the attack and Knox and Murdoch show them how it’s done. The Southern Six are being run roughshod from one end of the ring to the other. They roll out as Ricky coaches on the sidelines, but Knox pulls Kerry in the squared circle the hard way with a suplex and now the bell rings to start the match. There are elbow drops aplenty from The Outlaw on The Future Legend and Murdoch comes in and lays hands on Kerry and Taylor alike. The former NWA Heavyweight champ takes his sweet time and then follows onto the apron edge where Kerry chop blocks him on the bad leg and now things favor the Six until…
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We come back and The Southern Six cut the ring in half and keep “Captain Badass” in Peril, targeting the bad knee. Taylor sets him up on the top turnbuckle and goes for a superplex but is pushed off as Murdoch flies through the air with a crossbody. He crawls to his corner and gets the hot tag to Knox, who becomes an Outlaw En Fuego and nails a running crossbody to Kerry. Now he and Murdoch measure Kerry for their high low finisher, and Taylor pushes him out of harm’s way and takes the bullet. Murdoch goes after Kerry and sets him up with the suplex, but Ricky grabs his bad leg and Kerry lands on Murdoch and he can’t escape as the ref counts for one, two, and three.
Your Winners, and Advancing to the Crockett Cup Finals: The Southern Six
Everyone is in disbelief as the Southern Six head out, knowing they got the win over Knox and Murdoch as the show rolls to the credits.
NWA Powerrr - 07/02/2024
Final Thoughts:
Clearly, The Southern Six are being pushed for bigger things down the road, and the cheap win will ensure lots of heat for Kerry Morton and Alex Taylor heading into the finals of The Crockett Cup. Thom Latimer continues his winning ways, and here’s hoping Smalls has a big feud with Rolando once he heals up.
For now, see ya next week from The CW.
