Surprises and singles action highlight Night One of The Crockett Cup 2023

Posted by Tommy "Milagro" Martinez | Jun 4, 2023

Welcome to Night One of The Crockett Cup, as twenty-eight tag teams look to make a name for themselves in the National Wrestling Alliance. Last year The Briscoe Brothers won it all and took home the vaunted Cup, but which tag team will come away holding the chalice after two nights?

We’ll find out as we come to you from the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds in Winston-Salem, NC. Joe Galli and Tim Storm have the call, and we start on YouTube with…

The first set of matches is the…

Galli also notes we will find out some matches that happened during the NWA Fan Fest in North Carolina, but they will be announced during the show who is advancing in the brackets.

This is a good time to bring up the following…

(Author's Note: Because of the sheer number of matches, I’ll try to keep them brief except for any big events or action that happens in the middle of the action. This is a show that requires total concentration and just a smattering of a Moscow Mule to keep the brain fluid.)

Therefore, the first match of the start of the pre-show is…

Courtesy of the NWA. Credit: Hiban Huerta

Early into the match, Fodder is…errr, cannon fodder for Sent 2 Slaughter and Donovan and keep him away from Gordon. Maff misses a senton and Fodder tags Gordon and he Flips out en Fuego on Donovan and Maff. Gordon nails the moonsault on Donovan to get the win.

That leads to…

Courtesy of the NWA. Credit: Hiban Huerta

These are the sons of D’Von Dudley if you read my breakdown of the teams in the Cup. There is great tag chemistry by TNT that almost takes the SVGS by surprise. Silvio grabs a leg, and Dane and Troop get SVG on Terence, but the Hughes brothers have some tricks up their sleeve with a double backdrop by Terence and Terrell. The SVGS finally stop screwing around as Dane pops the trunk with The Dane Event clothesline and Troop locks in his Figure Four variation, and Terrell taps out.

Galli mentions some of the matches that took place during the Fan Fest, and we get to the end of the…

Courtesy of the NWA. Credit: Hiban Huerta

This is to determine the number twenty-fourth seed in The Crockett Cup tournament. From what we get at the end, Plunkett spinebusters Gaagz for the pin to eliminate him (Kill and Talos apparently were eliminated earlier). The Outrunners take advantage of miscommunication with Plunkett and Jackson to land their Total Recall finisher and they move on.

The next match is…

Courtesy of the NWA. Credit: Hiban Huerta

Yeah, this match to me screamed "Haiku in Review™). It was all Fixers for the entirety of the match until Bradley gets injured and Legursky has Ruffo on his shoulders for a fireman's carry. As he turned, Yabo lands a dropkick and Ruffo rolls him on his shoulders for a crucifix pin and the win!

Yeah, those clowns broke up a few brackets. I’m still processing that.

Kyle Davis earlier in the show spoke to La Rebelion (due to the fact that May Valentine is back home, as she announced via Twitter her asthma was causing her problems and prevented travel) and Mecha Wolf says last year they came up short. Mecha also notes that for over 500 days they’ve held the NWA Tag Team titles, and anyone that tried to claim their belts sent has been "meat for the wolves." He promises this is the year he and Bestia will claim The Crockett Cup.

And now for some international flavor with…

Courtesy of the NWA. Credit: Hiban Huerta

The very unorthodox style of lucha libre that Arez and Toxin employed made it hard for The Heatseekers to resolve early in the match. They finally isolate Arez and he becomes a Viper in Peril. Russel connects with the powerslam and Sigmon sets up top with the diving head butt, and he misses the mark. Arez gets the tag to Toxin and nails a plancha to the outside on Elliott, then Arez comes back with a double foot stomp and a fisherman buster to get the three count.

The next match of the First Round is…

Courtesy of the NWA. Credit: Hiban Huerta

Now this past NWA POWERRR, Mercurio was going to team with Dumas but, as Galli explains, he was "pulled away for a modeling session".

Eh, you buy the bit, you buy the premise.

in any case, Dumas wants to start with a magic show featuring cards, but Odinson ends it with an Asgardian uppercut. Brock tags in and he is getting hurt by the Immortals. Dumas comes in and is thrown around by Kratos from one end of the ring to another with his patented release suplex. CJ comes into the ring to distract. As the ref tries to send her out, Dumas gets a playing card to slice it across Kratos’ eyes. Odinson comes back to stop that and take out Brock, and then Kratos delivers his Kratos 2 The Grave (a double underhook spinning facebuster) and their team gets to showcase.

Davis spoke to Magnum Muscle after they won the Fan Fest to advance, and Big Strong Mims says the train is chugging along and they will claim the Cup, and Draper adds that any team that faces them next will be in a bad part of town.

We also get the results from the end of…

Courtesy of the NWA. Credit: Hiban Huerta

All indications were this was a one-sided affair as Judais picks apart the larger Dalishus. He tags Max and whips them in the corner, only for Dalishus to get out of the way to tag in Collins. He makes a valiant effort but a choke slam by Judais ends it.

Wow. Not even a chance to advance out of the first round. As a Utah Jazz fan, my heart goes out to The Now.

And the final match of the Pre-show First Round is…

There's a little pose-off between Clearwater and Magnum over who has the better bod (and obviously Magnum's is better). He and Floyd make short work of Clearwater until Cyon gets in the ring and powers through Magnum, and gets a nice fifteen-second delay on a vertical suplex. Floyd is still feeling the effects from earlier and gets isolated in the Golden Greatness corner. Cyon and Clearwater nail a simultaneous double backdrop to Floyd and hip toss to Magnum. Clearwater whips Magnum to the ropes and Floyd trips his own partner as The Golden Boy misses a clothesline. As Clearwater attempts to make a tag, a mysterious masked man trips Cyon off the mat. The Outrunners take advantage and deliver their pendulum slam finisher. That means…

After the match, the masked man continues to beat down Cyon and Idol looks on in confusion and then walks away from his "son" and does not even help him back to his feet. There is more than meets the eye here, and I’m curious where that road leads.

Davis spoke to Chris Adonis earlier in the show and asked how he and Tyrus will fare in The Crockett Cup. Adonis is confident that The Midnight Riders will make history in claiming the Cup from everyone else.

That leads us right into…

And the next set of matches is the…

This is what the bracket looks like after the First Round:

NWA Crockett Cup Round of Sixteen

We get the show started properly as Galli, Storm, and Velvet Sky (welcome back!) have the call, and the next match in The Corckett Cup is…

this is The Outrunners’ third match in as many minutes, but they do not show any signs of fatigue. But that makes no difference as this is a bloodletting with Blunt Force Trauma getting on top of Magnum. All looks hopeless until he gets the tag to Floyd, and he is an Outrunner en Fuego. He scoops and slams Carnage to the mat followed by an elbow drop. As he hits the ropes, Damage grabs his foot to distract him, and Carnage capitalizes. Both masked men deliver a double flatliner that ensures BFT secures the win.

After the match, Stevens states "to the mouth-breathing troglodytes" in the Fairgrounds they will bring pain and decimation and it will be Blunt Force Trauma to the masses.

The next match is…

There's a brief staredown and then Kratos tips off Cazana's hat, and you can tell it's on Junebug. The Country Gentleman go straight to work and keep Odinson in their corner. But at one point, Cazana and Odinson trade blows, but Odinson knocks The Legacy off with a leaping Asgardian uppercut. Now Andrews and Kratos step in and it's more of the same, with The Most Feared gaining the upper hand and launching the big man Andrews with ease from his signature release suplex from one corner of the ring to the other. But Cazana comes back in and clubs at Kratos and the match favors The Gentlemen until Kratos gets out and makes the hot tag to Odinson, who becomes an Asgardian en Fuego. The match devolves into complete chaos until Kratos delivers the Kratos 2 the Grave, and they punch their ticket.

Davis enters the ring and acknowledges they are another bracket buster. Kratos states they are here to win the Cup and The Immortals are here.

To provide a break in the tag team action, we have a singles match for a shot at the Junior Heavyweight six-way scramble on Night Two of The Crockett Cup, and it's between…

Call this the rubber match after Alonzo caused the breakup of The Ill-Begotten(even though Dealz had a hand in that bad deal). Galli also mentions that Taylor sustained a shoulder injury during the NWA's tour of Australia as part of The World Is A Vampire festival. As for the match, whoever loses will not be part of the scramble.

A shoving match starts things off and Taylor takes it to him. As he prepares to dive on Alonzo on the outside, Stanley shields him. Taylor goes out of the ring and Alonzo sends him shoulder-first into the ring post to injure his already taped-up area. He sends him back into the ring and covers for a two count. Taylor goes for springboard but Alonzo trips him up to send him crashing hard to the floor and Stanley picks him up and rams his back to the post to hurt it further. He taunts Taylor and keeps the pressure on his back with a suplex for another two count. Alonzo hyperextends Taylor's arm and elbow and rips off the kinesiological tape on his bad shoulder. He goes up top with a high-risk maneuver and Taylor times him on the way down with a dropkick. Alonzo rolls out and Taylor nails a tope suicida on the outside. Back in the ring, he lands a crossbody on Alonzo to cover for a two count. There's a series of near falls and Stanley distracts Taylor long enough for Alonzo to nail a thrust kick and a spinning neckbreaker for a close two. Finally, he cinches the armbar and Taylor has to tap out.

Bobby Fulton is introduced and he comes out to the ring as Kyle Davis interviews the former Fantastic. Fulton mentions tonight is a big night and next week that separates men from boys. The Mortons come out to say hi to Fulton and Kerry says North Carolina should get ready to rock and roll and the next match is…

Toxin and Kerry start off and this feels like a continuation of The World is a Vampire tour. Arez tags in and feels the effects of The Mortons with a high knee lift by Ricky. Back to Kerry and Los Vipers isolate him in their corner and Arez gets multi-foot stomps to his back. As they trade forearm blows, Kerry gets aggressive and he nails a slingshot suplex followed by his Kiss It Goodbye knee lift. Instead of covering for the pin, Kerry grabs his Junior Heavyweight belt, saying to commentary the champ will do as he pleases. Ricky grabs it away, and Arez manages a rollup for a two count. Kerry delivers Kiss it Goodbye again and goes for the belt to smash it on his head and Ricky grabs it away once more. As the ref tries to restore order, Ricky pulls up Arez and then clocks him with the belt and gets his son to pin to the surprise of the North Carolina crowd.

Davis asks what that was about, and Ricky says he's never won the Cup in all those years. He's bled and done everything for the crowds, but now it's time for a change, and Kerry chimes in with "They don't make ‘em like they used to."

Well, that was unexpected.

Speaking of things unexpected here's…

Titus extends his hand and Yabo accepts gingerly. From there Titus goes for a straight-up match and Yabo is wrestling a similar style(!). Yabo sends him to the ropes and Titus tags Latimer and they double hip toss the clown. Ruffo is in with… juggling.

(I can't make this stuff up, I swear.)

He and Latimer play "catch" and a bad throw allows him to get distracted by Ruffo's attack, but Latimer makes up with a dropkick. Latimer is at the mercy of Funstruction, but it's not as bad as Tim Storm's dad jokes ("You know lions can't eat clowns because they taste too funny."). Latimer gets a moonsault on both Brothers and tags Titus in to be a Professional en Fuego. He picks up Yabo for a fireman's carry, but trips over Ruffo's back and Yabo gets the upset pin.

Davis notes that at the number twenty-one seed, the Brothers move on over to the fifth seed for the first time in the Cup, and Titus can't take that (and I don't blame him). Before the clowns speak Kamille makes her way and says her baby Latimer should concentrate on singles action and get those seven wins so he can challenge Tyrus for the Ten Pounds of Gold. Kamille says hi to her hometown crowd and notes that, unlike Tyrus who places the belt on his shoulder on national TV, she goes out and wrestles everywhere like Mexico and Australia and everywhere in between. "Everybody knows that for the past two years that I’ve had this," she said gesturing to The Burke around her waist, "who's been the real main event of every pay-per-view, and who is the face of the NWA!" She says tomorrow she will put up the belt against Natalia Markova and will not take her lightly. But she will take her down and still be the One-Time champ.

But let's get back to the tag action with…

This is the last of the AAA wrestlers in the tournament, after Los Vipers’ exit at the hands of The Mortons.

The SVGS send the luchadors out before the bell rings, but they come back with dropkicks. Dane and Troop's smash-mouth style of wrestling is a little more unwieldy against the fluid lucha style of Octagon and Myzteziz. Myzteziz lands a corkscrew crossbody to Troop for a two count and Aire both nail a double team dropkick. Octagon continues with a split-legged moonsault but Dane breaks up the count. As Troop attempts his Figure Four lock, Myzteziz nails a springboard crossbody and takes out Dane and Silvio outside. Octagon hooks Troop's leg and gets the pin and the win.

And just to break things up we get a …

Courtesy of the NWA. Credit: Hiban Huerta

Galli informs us that La Rosa Negra was injured in a car accident, and will not be in this match, hence Jay's appearance. If you forgot, Team War rules are you must pin, submit, or toss your opponent over the top rope to eliminate them. The last person(s) left for that team are the winners.

Also of note, Kenzie is carrying the new Women's Television belt, and Pretty Empowered has pink bedazzled weapons, including a nightstick. Also, I’ll just give the highlights because there's still more of The Crockett Cup left.

Roxy and Kate start. After a back and forth using weapons, Envy comes in to attack, but Kate kicks her out of the ring. Roxy uses the distraction to deliver a codebreaker to eliminate her. Madi enters and she delivers the Reality Check to eliminate Roxy. Kylie enters and swings with the hockey stick, and catches Madi between her…err, inner Realities. After a nasty match that had Pretty Empowered hold her by the hair as Kylie nailed a stiff-looking basement dropkick to her face to cover for a two count. Madiher head with cookie sheets. Kylie lands a side legsweep and transitions to a crossface, but Madi grabs the hockey stick to break it and uses it for an assisted STF with the stick in her mouth and she .submits

Kenzie is in and just clocks Madi for the pin with the cookie sheet. Now Ruthie Jay enters and she channels her inner RVD, sending the cookie sheet to her and nailing a dropkick. Jay gets a powerbomb variation but Envy pulls out Kenzie before the count. As Jay talks smack, Envy throws powder in her eyes and Kenzie gets the pin to eliminate her. As she celebrates, Starr enters and tosses Kenzie over the top rope to eliminate her. That leaves Envy, and she is vicious to the third-generation Starr and gets a boot in the corner. At one point she slides under the ropes and Envy brandishes pink brass knuckles. Baby Doll tries to stop her but Starr comes out and attacks. Back in the ring, Starr nails a Samoan drop on Envy for a two count. As Starr goes to the ropes, Doll gives her a chain and uses a coal miner's glove to cover it. She punches Envy with the loaded glove and it's lights out.

Now let's get back to the bracket because the next teams are…

Knox and Murdoch jump Magnum Muscle before the bell and soften Draper and Mims up on the outside. Most of the match has Knox and Murdoch keeping Draper off balance and isolated, but once he gets the hot that to Mims, he is Big and Strong and en Fuego. He goes on a tear but Murdoch gets a boot up, then he and Knox deliver the high/low tackle and that ensures their place in the Cup.

Davis comes into the ring to interview them, and Murdoch says they’re here to hurt people and will continue to do so until they claim the Cup.

Next in the Cup is…

Judais and Tyrus start out and Judais manages to overpower the champ briefly. Tyrus fights back, a la Dusty Rhodes, but when Judais tags Max in, Tyrus has no idea how to handle this and tags in Adonis immediately. Adonis is confused as well. Max snarls and clubs him, all the while Adonis tries to be reasonable but Max wants equal opportunity pain. Adonis whips Max to the ropes and Judais catches him in the back. Back in, he has an advantage until Judais gets a boot and he is a Rider in Peril. Judais gets him in a bear hug and Adonis tries to break the hold. He whips Adonis to the ropes and both men land with double clotheslines to knock each other down. Adonis crawls to his corner and tags in Tyrus. He goes to clothesline Judais and plants a kiss(!) on Max.

( I would love to see that Gutfield episode to hear his explanation)

He nails the elbow drop on Judais, and Max breaks the hold. Max shoves the ref out of the way and he runs away. Mitchell tries to calm his Non-Binary Nightmare, but the ref calls the match.

After the match, Tyrus says Max is a solid kisser and they are advancing in the Cup. ‘Nuff Said!

Earlier, Davis interviewed Natalia Markova and she sees goals and crushes them. As for Night Two of The Crockett Cup, she sees The Burke and she will crush Kamille to obtain the belt for herself.

David Crockett joins Galli and Storm at commentary for the next singles match and it is for the…

Courtesy of the NWA. Credit: Hiban Huerta

As we get Boxing style intros, Mason is ready to take the belt from EC3. The bell rings and Mason manages to keep EC3 grounded but takes a breather and then walks toward Del Mar to threaten Mason's main squeeze. Back in, EC3 whips him to the ropes and Mason gets a dropkick and he goes back out again to reconsider his strategy. The Overman stalks Del Mar and Mason comes to defend her honor, and that's when EC3 stuns his neck on the middle ropes. EC3 feels like he has the upper hand until Mason gives him a shot into the mush. Now Big Daddy Thrill goes outside and keeps up the offense until he uses Del Mar as a shield. Mason pauses long enough for EC3 to get a thumb to his eye and then backdrops a rushing Mason on the concrete floor. He then throws him into the ring post and Mason collapses behind the commentary desk.

Back in the ring, EC3 goes on offense whipping him hard into the corner turnbuckles, and Mason is dazed as The Overman catches him with a high knee. He clubs at Big Daddy Thrill's chest, and things look bleak as he locks in a sleeper hold, but Mason fights up to a vertical base but EC3 brings him back down with a Thesz Press. EC3 tells Del Mar the National title is his and Mason catches him with a slam to the ring apron. Back in the ring, Mason proclaims he's "the goddam Thrillbilly" and he goes on a tear. EC3 attempts a knee to slow him down, but Mason stops and gives him a backdrop suplex to the mat. EC3 manages to nail the One Percenter to cover but gets a two count. As Mason goes after EC3, The ref tries to make him back up. With that distraction, EC3 gives him a mule kick and grabs the belt. Before he can use it, Del Mar gets on the apron and grabs the other end of the strap. As they tug at the belt, Mason nails a big boot that catches Del Mar by accident and EC3 rolls him up with a handful of tights for the three count.

After the match, Mason is distraught by the loss and then he sees Del Mar…and walks over her!

Methinks things are not good between the lovers. We’ll have to wait to see what the fallout looks like.

As we wind down to the final match in the Sweet Sixteen of The Crockett Cup, Davis comes in the ring to give us an injury update on The Flipping Psychos’ member Fodder. Apparently, he did something to his leg, but Mecha Wolf tells the North Carolina crowd and the ref to count them out and get them to advance. As the ref signals for the bell and starts the count, Flip Gordon comes out and says he wants to fight. Wolf points out they did this last year with PJ Hawx when his dad Luke got concussed, and it didn't end well for them then. Gordon wants to keep fighting, so with that said, this will be a handicap match between…

Gordon keeps on his feet and sends Bestia and Mecha out, but the numbers game catches up with him and La Rebelión keeps Gordon from flipping out, but they can't put him away. He digs deep to fend off Wolf and Bestia, as Gordon manages to somehow nail a double blockbuster, and that's when Fodder comes out. He's limping somewhat, but apparently, he can still go. Gordon makes the tag, and Fodder is a Psycho Boy en Fuego, swinging away with his "Psycho (kendo)stick." The ref takes it away, and as he tries to restore order, out from the crowd and in the ring is Vampiro! He delivers a choke slam to Fodder, followed by a superkick to Gordon. Mecha Wolf capitalizes and he delivers with a frog splash for the one, two, and three.

After the match, Vampiro stares at La Rebelion, and we are left with more questions than answers as the PPV closes out.

Final Thoughts on Night One:

This was another jam-packed Crockett Cup. While I wished certain teams had advances (the Heatseekers, The Now) versus others (The Brothers of Funstruction), I was not bored throughout the show. Even the singles matches flowed very well, and the aftermath of the Mason/EC3 title match leaves one with a lot of questions.

We’ll have to see what the fallout is later, so see ya tomorrow for Night Two of The Crockett Cup.

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