NWA Pro Wrestling USA

["Emperor Norton" (Mark T)]

Apr 15, 2021 7:50:15 GMT -5 TTX said:

McCord beating Blanchard is one of my favorite upsets ever.

...............

I'm glad someone got something out of it. I was not as amused.

I do think I can make it work, though. Definitely not going to be a one-off and forgotten, but also not the start of an epic Ric McCord push. 

[Gunslinger]

I've done Savage vs. Vader twice. It's either really good or really bad.

["Emperor Norton" (Mark T)]

Apr 16, 2021 21:01:45 GMT -5 Gunslinger said:

I've done Savage vs. Vader twice. It's either really good or really bad.

...........

Yeah, I can imagine that. I hate to see Randy lose ever, but he was the last remnant of me jump starting my game in color with just the intro set and  a few SE cards. As I caught up on all the expansions I moved guys who didn't fit the feel I wanted for the NWA, but Randy as champ was the last outlier. Macho Man will be getting the call from the New York office soon and should show up for the competition shortly. 

["Emperor Norton" (Mark T)]

NWA WORLDWIDE
Spring Fling: Vader versus the World, episode 1

Hosted by Gordon Solie and Bob Caudle

Gordon welcomed everyone to the show and explained that three bouts tonight would have world title implications as the champion, be it Big Van Vader or Nick Bockwinkel pending the outcome of the night's main event, will travel the territories and face the winners of each of the three bouts over the course of the next several weeks. Caudle added that first we'd be taking a look out of the hot property out of the Mexico affiliate promotion Vampiro. 

Vampiro defeated Masked Devil Red with the Nail In The Coffin.
A basic squash win for Vampiro, who showcased his potent kicks and strikes as ally Matt Striker watched from ringside. 

Following the match  Vampiro and Striker spoke. Vamp said Konnan thinks he's the hottest thing since the Easter bunny on his own day but he's really just a legend in his own mind. Striker added that with Vamp's potent offense and Striker's strategic genius they will bust the myth of Konnan for good and go on to cement themselves in the history books as the greatest duo in the annals of lucha libre.

Shane Douglas (w/Francine) defeated Sandman with a belly to belly suplex to earn his shot at the world title.
Shane got on the mic and did his usual before the bout, but was cut off by Sandman who was not in the mood. A hard hitting affair as one would expect ensued. Eventually Sandman used a singapore cane shot and went for the cover, but Francine picked up the cane and hit Sandman over the back to break the pin. Shane took advantage of the distraction, recovered, and hit the belly to belly for the pin.
Shane Douglas earns the right to represent the Philadelphia Extreme promotion in the next world title match. 

Stan Hansen pinned Terry Gordy after a lariat in 18 minutes 15 seconds.
Hot action from Japan as these guys were in real jeopardy of going the full twenty minute time limit (counted in real time). The end came when Gordy charged Hansen in the corner but missed and Stan came back with the Lariat for the pin.
Stan Hansen gets the title shot when the world champion travels to Japan. 


Killer Kowalski beat Buddy Rogers with the Kowalski Claw.
Rogers wanted a clean finish after their last match ended in disqualifiaction, but this was not what he had in mind. Instead it was Kowalski mounting the early offense and surviving Roger's methodical offense to come back and secure his dreaded claw hold for the win. 
Killer Kowalski will represent the Platinum Pro promotion when the world champion travels to the Golden State.

Kowalski was interviewed after the match and said nobody should be surprised by the outcome, but he's got work to do before the title match in a few weeks, and it starts with eliminating Bobo Brazil from the territory for good. He made a challenge to Brazil to face him. Brazil came out and said he'd meet Kowalski anytime and anywhere, but to sweeten the deal he wondered if Killer had the confidence to put his world title shot on the line. Kowalski said he'd do that if Bobo would agree to leave the area WHEN he loses. Brazil accepted the stipulations and the match is set for next week. 

Big Van Vader defeated Nick Bockwinkel in 13 minutes 39 seconds to defend the NWA world title.
Nick got the early advantage when Vader missed a clothesline and started trying to chop the big man down to size with dropkicks and knees. Vader had to bail from the ring to get a breather, but Bockwinkel would not let up. Finally Vader got his opening and hammered the challenger. Action went back and forth with Bockwinkel withstanding six near falls before Vader finally sealed the deal with a splash off the second rope (deathjump roll 11). 

Following the match  Jim Cornette spoke for the champion. He said that's the first of many and these idiots who are fighting all over the country for title shots are just fighting to find out which one is next in line for a trip to the hospital courtesy of Big Van Vader. Vader grabbed the mic and said the names don't matter, the places don't matter, all that matters is that Vader is the man and everybody knows what time it is: It's VADER TIME!

["Emperor Norton" (Mark T)]

Live (to tape), from Atlanta
....It's Saturday Night!
with your hosts, as always, Tony Schiavone and David Crockett

Tony and David welcomed fans to the show and Tony introduced The Rock n Roll Express. Ricky said they've met and defeated almost everyone in their path and as far as tag teams go in the NWA there's just one left to beat. Robert added that the Road Warriors made a call out to anyone to come face them and that's what they intend to do. Paul Ellering entered the scene laughing maniacally and said if Ricky and Robert wanted it that way, they get it. Hawk and Animal came out and jumped the Express, fighting to the ring to begin the bout.

The Rock n Roll Express won by disqualification over The Road Warriors in a NWA world tag team title match.
This one didn't last too long. Ricky and Robert came back from the early disadvantage and hit a double dropkick on Hawk. Animal came in to break up the pin with a double axehandle smash to the back of Robert. Ricky took the fight to Animal and got thrown over the top rope for his effort. Hawk recovered and the Warriors used a double clothesline on Robert. The referee warned Animal to leave as they went to set up the Doomsday Device, but Hawk shoved the ref out of the way so he could head to the top rope. The referee called for the bell, but the Warriors used their finisher on Robert anyway before leaving with the belts.

Ric McCord defeated Nacho Barrera with a pair of dropkicks.
Nacho jump started the match with an eye rake, a knee smash, and a cover. McCord barely kicked out before the three (roll "5" and needed a "4" lol). Nacho pressed the attack, but McCord made a comeback and hit a pair of dropkicks to secure the pinfall victory.

Following the bout Tony and David were joined by Tully Blanchard. Tully was still irate over last week's  defeat at the hands of McCord. He said that loser barely beat Nacho. David cut him off and said "but he beat you!", which nearly got Crockett punched. Tully said everyone but that referee knows a figure four isn't a pinning combination and there never should have been a count and nothing short of a conspiracy to hold him back explains what happened. Blanchard demanded a rematch for next week to prove his worth.

Melina came to the interview area, joined by Disco Inferno and Mr Electricity Steve Regal. Regal was polishing his title belt with the sleeve of his jacket as Melina spoke. She said Tully may need to start aligning himself with the winners if he wants to be a winner himself. She said the proof of what they can accomplish is around Regal's waist and if he plays his hand right the US title Tully is after could be theirs as well. Blanchard wasn't convinced, but Melina finished her appeal by saying her men have the perfect record and she has the perfect(turning her back to the camera, then looking back at it)...."mind". Tully smirked and said maybe they should go someplace quiet and talk some more. 

Jimmy Valiant, Manny Fernandez, and Pampero Firpo defeated The Midnight Express and Mr Hughes (w/Jim Cornette) in a no disqualification match.
Firpo took full advantage of the no disqualification rule, going wild on the arena floor at every chance. Finally, he had his version of the claw on Hughes when Cornette jumped on the apron. Corny tried to smash Firpo with the dreaded loaded tennis racquet, but Firpo turned and Cornette hit Hughes instead. It was downhill from there, as Firpo tagged out to Manny who finshed a quick string of move with the flying burrito for the pin.

Tony called Barry Windham to the interview area. Tony talked to him about the developments of recent weeks and how Windham's starting to hear the cheers of the fans in his battles with JJ Dillon's men. Barry said he's always done his thing and let the fans think what they will, but he will need all the support he can get going forward. Barry said Vader is going all over the place defending the world title, but when he gets back here Barry wants his shot.  Windham said we're getting ready to see a US title match, and whoever wins can make their claim to being the number one contender, but as far as he's concerned that road goes through Sweetwater Texas and Barry Windham.

Masked Superstar (w/JJ Dillon) beat Magnum TA to win the United States championship.
What appeared to be shaping up as a routine title defense for Magnum ended up as an epic battle that went nearly fifteen minutes. Five minutes into the bout Magnum hit the belly to belly, but JJ Dillon jumped onto the ring apron and provided the distraction that allowed Superstar to survive. Superstar got a chance to roll out of the ring and regrouped. The bout went back and forth after that, with both men having prolonged advantages. Superstar survived five pin attempts and Magnum came back from six before Superstar locked in the Cobra Hold to secure the victory and the US title. 

["Emperor Norton" (Mark T)]

NWA Presents "Extreme Violence"
Spring Fling: Vader versus the World, episode 2

Young Joey Styles did his usual hyperactive spiel, said everybody hates Shane Douglas but they'll still be happy to call Philly Extreme the home of the NWA champion after tonight, and threw down to ringside for the opening bout

Justin Credible pinned Hollywood Nova with That's Incredible.
Nova got a quick start and sent Credible rolling out of the ring. Credible managed to turn it around after some brawling and put his opponent away after about four minutes of action.

Red Dogg pinned Mikey Whipwreck after Black Out.
Red Dogg made an impressive debut with a win over perennial favorite Mikey. Very good match that could have gone either way, but a vicious spinebuster set up the Black Out to give Red Dogg the win.

Super Crazy pinned 2 Cold Scorpio with a top rope bodypress.
Fantastic action as you'd expect. Scorpio set up the Diss That Don't Miss and hit it, but Crazy kicked out at the very last split second. Scorpio got angry, which led to a mistake when he tossed Crazy out of the ring. Crazy made his comeback and hit the deathjump for the win.

Rob Van Dam defeated Jerry Lynn to defend the Extreme television title.
Imagine any Lynn versus RVD encounter and that was basically this match. Fantastic, fast paced action. Eventually RVD hit a standing moonsault to set up the 5 Star Frog Splash and the pin.

Shane Douglas wasted no time on introductions, coming to the ring shortly after RVD and Lynn had left. Douglas said Vader was a fat (censored, censored....Aaand, that barely made sense but it's censored too) who can't even wear the NWA title over his bloated waist. He said the ring announcer may as well announce Douglas as the champ in advance because it won't be much longer before it's true.

Vader, not needing much motivation to do massive amounts of damage, came to the ring looking none too happy with the challenger.

Big Van Vader defeated Shane Douglas to defend the NWA world title.
Douglas slapped Vader in the face at the bell, and hit an early flurry of moved before Vader rocked him with a clothesline. Vader roughed him up and hit the power bomb inside of three minutes but Shane kicked out. Douglas took the first opportunity to leave the ring and turned it around after that, stringing together a few more moves but never getting a chance for a pin attempt. Vader absorbed the punishment and came back with a Vader Bomb and a second Power Bomb for the pin and successful title defense.

["Emperor Norton" (Mark T)]

NWA WORLDWIDE

With Gordon Solie and Bob Caudle

Gordon and Bob opened the show with Gordon recapping the events of the big show out of Philapdelphia, where Vader successfully defended the title against Shane Douglas. Bob said Vader's next challenger would be decided tonight as Bobo Brazil faces Killer Kowlaski with the title opportunity on the line and if Bobo loses he must leave the NWA for 30 days. They were interrupted by Ivan Koloff and Alexis Smirnoff. Ivan spoke for the team and said none of these things matter because promoters and officials in the United States are clearly discriminating against him and his fellow Russians. Gordon prodded him for an example but Ivan said that things just are not fair in this country and they should have to bend to the Russian way because making them adhere to US rules is not "accomadating to outsiders and not being gracious hosts". Caudle said Ivan and Alexis have been anything but gracious guests here and questioned when exactly their work visas expire so they could go someplace that makes them happier. This made Ivan even more angry and he said the Americans would like it if they packed their bags and went elsewhere, maybe to Canada, which is exactly why they intend to stay and make the people miserable. Ivan finished by stating Alexis and he would be at the studio on Saturday night and will stage a sit-in protest until their grievances are heard and they get what they want.

Jerry Brisco defeated Rock Riddle with an Oklahoma Side Roll.
"The Hollywood Success" and self-proclaimed "Mr Wonderful" made his debut and looked impressive in the early going. Brisco mounted his comeback and won in three moves with the side roll. After the bell Riddle complained to the referee that Brisco pulled his trunks, then grabbed the mic and announced himself as the winner via disqualification on a reverse decision. Riddle strutted back down the aisle with his head held high as the referee gave chase arguing that a wrestler cannot reverse the decision in his own match. This did not phase Mr Wonderful, who once again raised his arms in victory as he walked through the curtain to the back.

Matt Striker entered the ring for his rematch with Konnan, his partner Vampiro right behind him. Konnan was introduced and stopped short of getting into the ring. He took the microphone and said he wasn't going to let it go down like that again, and he called up the biggest icon in lucha libre history to watch his back tonight. On cue, Mil Mascaras jogged out to the ring and hopped over the ropes. Striker charged and got taken down by a big right hand. Vampiro rushed Mascaras and got back dropped over the top rope. Konnan hit the ring and took control on Striker to start the match.

Konnan (w/Mil Mascaras) pinned Matt Striker (w/Vampiro) via Niagra Driver.
After the exciting start the match settled down and Striker took advantage of an opening to get some offense. However, with Vampiro completely neutralized by the presence of the legend, Konnan got the clean win in just under five minutes.

The Cowboys (James Storm and Scott Casey) defeated the Texas Hangman when Storm pinned Psycho.
This was an evenly contested match. The Hangmen had Casey in trouble, but Storm made the save at just the right moment. The Cowboys rebounded to victory when Storm used "Eye of the Storm" on Psycho for the pin.

Steve Williams beat Giant Baba with the backdrop driver.
A huge match from Japan with possible future world title match implications. Baba and Williams traded heavy offense until Doctor Death picked up Baba for the Oklahoma Stampede and a near fall. Undeterred Doc lifted Baba again and then used the backdrop driver for the pin. 

Bobo Brazil pinned Killer Kowalski to earn a world title match.
Kowalski made a gamble challenging Brazil to the match, hoping to get rid of Bobo as a challnger should he win the world title. Instead Killer lost his title opportunity and Brazil isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Kowalski survived four Coco Butts and came back with the Claw. Bobo fought his way out of that and mounted a comeback that ended with another series of big head butts and the win. 

["Emperor Norton" (Mark T)]

Mothership time
NWA Championship Wrestling
With Tony and David

Tony welcomed fans to the show and introduced the Rock n Roll Express. Ricky said they knew the Road Warriors would come out and fight like maniacs to defend their crown, but in his opinion they fought dirty to save themselves. Even the mightiest have to fall when the hungrier predator comes around though, Ricky continued, and finished by saying he and Robert are starving for those tag team titles. David Crockett told them he got word that the rematch is set to take place next week and Bill Watts has stated that the titles CAN change hands on a countout or disqualification so there will be a clear winner.

Pampero Firpo beat Bill White with a running body slam and pin.
White took the fight to Firpo and got a near fall after a power slam, but the wild man came back strong for the win.

Following the match Firpo went to the commentary area and was joined by Jimmy Valiant and Manny Fernandez. Firpo said they got the win last week but his partners and he are getting tired of seeing Jim Cornette and his men every time they turn around. Manny said Cornette and the Midnight Express are like a bad case of fleas (as Jimmy scratched his beard like a nut to illustrate) and it's time they got rid of it once and for all. Tony asked how they intend to do that. Jimmy looked up at the ceiling and said the pie in the sky answer to that question will drop soon. Whatever that means. The trio left and nobody seemed to know what they were talking about.

Tiger Conway Jr and Sam Houston won by disqualification over Ivan Koloff and Alexis Smirnoff.*
A competitive match ended when Alexis threw Tiger to the floor for Ivan to attack on the outside. The referee warned Ivan, but Koloff would not listen and got disqualified (interpretive reading of oor chart roll).

Ivan again complained after the match, saying America is unfair and that is perfectly legal in a Russian tag match so USA should bend over backwards as to not force them to assimilate. Alexis grabbed two chairs and they went to the ring to stage the sit in they warned about on the Worldwide show. Fortunately Patriot and Marcus Bagwell ran out and chased them away.

Tully Blanchard beat Ric McCord thanks to help by Disco Inferno and Steve Regal.**
The much anticipated rematch ended in controversy. McCord once again got on a roll and hit a series of moves ending in a pair of dropkicks that rocked Blanchard. He went for the pin but DI ran out and jumped on the apron. The ref and McCord were distracted as Regal tan out and blasted Mccord from behind with the light heavyweight belt (gang interefence chart). Tully recovered and got the pin. Melina came out and congratulated Tully, with all three leaving even though Blanchard seemed to not expect it.

Jack Brisco made quick work of Bob Cook with the rolling reverse cradle.

After the bout Jack spoke with Tony and David. He said there's a lot of talk about who the next world title shot should go to. Harley and he have a series tied at one win apiece and he believes the winner of the third match has a strong claim for that spot. JJ Dillon came out to disagree. He said the new US champ Masked Superstar and his man the Spoiler both come before either Race or Brisco. JJ invited Jack to stay in the commentator station and watch as Spoiler takes care of Windham one more time if he has any doubts. Barry heard that, did not take kindly, and yet again jump started a match with Spoiler.

The Spoiler defeated Barry Windham thanks to help of JJ Dillon.

Barry has Spoiler beat in the opening minute with the superplex, but JJ interfered to break the pin. Barry chased him around ringside which gave Spoiler a chance to recover a little and make a comeback. In the end Spoiler wore out Barry with repeated rope walk smashes, then loaded the black glove for good measure before locking on the Bionic Claw for the win.

Spoiler put the boots to Windham after the match, but Jack Brisco rushed the ring to put a stop to it. Jack stood over Barry and stared down Spoiler and JJ to end the show.


*Was expecting this to be an easy win for the Russian duo, but this result actually plays nicely as well)
** Could not have asked for a better roll on the gang interfere chart even though I was half hoping for a McCord disqualification win.

[TTX]

Spoiler continuing to prove tough even if he needed some help from Dillon. Vader against Brazil should be fun.

["Emperor Norton" (Mark T)]

Battleground California
Vader versus the world, episode 3

World title contender Bobo Brazil was interviewed at the start of the show by play by play announcer Hardy Kruskamp. Bobo said the world title should be defended with honor and respect and he intends to do just that if he gets a fair shot at it. Very standard good guy title challenger stuff. 

Iron Mike DiBiase pinned Gorgeous George after a series of punches.
George started with the advantage but quickly lost it. He was off his game for sure as Iron Mike rolled to a victory, hitting his top rope knee to the back for a near fall before going on to finish it with a good old fashioned beatdown and pin.

Johnny Valentine defeated Fritz Von Goering via Atomic Skullcrusher.
The no nonesne Valentine has begun hearing more cheers lately. Not because he has changed his style, just that he's begun targeting even more hated competitors like the German. This was a super hard hitting match, competitive until the end. 

Hollywood legend and new manager of "champ-eens" Tony Clifton* strutted down to the ring and snatched the microphone from the hand of the ring announcer. Clifton said he's come to the NWA to take over pro wrestling the same way he conquered Hollywood. He does not believe in this "soft acrobat wrestling" and has brought a group of "real deal, old fashioned pro wrestlers" to "barnstorm all the territories and get wealthy at the expense of these weak so-called champions". With that, he introduced the first man in his stable Terrible Turk Yusef Ismael. He said Joe Blanchard was tough enough, or stupid enough, to step up first and try his man in a "real deal wrestling match", which means no jumping off the top and no bouncing off the ropes. 

Terrible Turk defeated Joe Blanchard with the stanglehold. 
Blanchard gave it his all, but was no match for the roughouse tactics of the Turk. Turk got the win in around five minutes.

Pacific champion Lou Thesz and Jim Londos defeated Buddy Rogers and Bob Orton Sr.
Lodnos was in big trouble early, but Lou made the save and got in the ring to even things up. The action went on for about fifteen minutes of classic wrestling before Thesz put away Orton with the Thesz Press.

NWA world champion Big Van Vader and his manager Jim Cornette were interviewed before the big match. JC said Bobo better not even dream of winning the world title or Vader will come into his dreams and slap hima awake. Vader said Brazil is just another challenger and just another victim because "It's time. It's time. It's Vader time!"

Big Van Vader (w/Jim Cornette) defeated Bobo Brazil to defend the NWA world title.
Brazil rocked Vader a few minutes into the match and slammed the big man to the mat. He went for the cover but Cornette jumped on the apron to distract. The match went back and forth, with Bobo kicking out of six pin attempts, including one where it looked like Vader would have scored an easy fall after a moonsault. An enraged Vader picked him up and hit a suplex followed by a power body slam to finally get the win. In all, easily the toughest title defense of Vader's reign  so far.

*Tony Clifton appears courtesy of the Sidney Bakabella Chikara card from 2014. Joey Eastman took the model from Andy Kaufman's Tony Clifton, so I took the card from Eastman and gave it to Tony. Because it's a well written and fun manager card and "Sidney".....not a fan.