Big Change in NWA to start the new year!

Last night at the Finale, a NWA Smoky Mountain event, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Conway turned heel on NWA Smoky Mountain champ, Jason Kincaid.

This really opens up a few new possibilities for Conway, or it could spell the end of his run.  It is too early to tell if the new NWA is going with the top guy being a face with heels chasing or a heel with faces trying to overcome.  Conway was a face during his first run (although probably was technically a heel in Japan when he dropped the belt), but Kahagas was probably a heel when he won the belt.  Kojima is hard to categorize, and really only had it in America briefly.

It is probably necessary for Conway to turn because in his two combined runs, he has pretty much gone through all the heels.  He had Bryan Wilcott as a heel, and has finished his feud with Chris Richards, and it was Kahagas he beat for the belt.  He has beaten Golden Boy Greg Anthony (SEW), Tyson Dean (ATL), Lance Hoyt (Texoma), and even Pretty Boy Stan Lee (Appalachia).  He really has fought them all. 

The turning of Conway allows him to start going through some of the faces of the NWA.  Kevin Driscoll has a title shot in hand and is a face for NWA Next Level already.  And Conway books Next Level (from what I understand), so that could be a place to watch.  And yes it allows a rematch with Kincaid.  But one has to think the two big doors it opens are Houston Carson, current champ of NWA 360 not to mention very popular wrestler all over Texas, and Jax Dane.  Dane has traveled the NWA and has traveled with Conway.  The spurned friend angle would be good.  The fallout with Dane will be interesting to watch.  Those two are the two best bets for feuds and maybe guys to be the next champ.

Some other possibilities now open include Nitro, former National Champ (although he appears to have re-appeared in SEW as a heel after being the face in his feud with Marconi), a belt often billed as a stepping stone to the World Title.  Jeremiah Plunkett and Arick Andrews of NWA SAW would be two real candidates.  Plunkett has been the NWA Australia champ and Andrews is the current NWA Southern Champ.  Plunkett put on a great match against Kojima.  I am not sure if Wes Brisco is a face in Signature Pro, but he too could be a possible future match.  And as Kojima will let you know, he has never gotten his rematch with Conway.  Maybe now he will.

However, it ends up, it provides a new feel for 2015 in the NWA. 

WWE's booking is getting worse

WWE does have to take a little blame for what is going on.  They simply do not understand that the fans do not want to see the hulking giants anymore.  They want to see the "everyman" the "speak truth to power" and the "all-in" type wrestlers as their title holders.  Daniel Bryan moved the ratings and had people doing "Yes" chants on ESPN.  Instead of building on this WWE tried to force Bautista down the throats of the people.  They bring back Lesnar, and see the recent reactions to Roman Reigns.  He is not going to get over anytime soon.  And worse yet they are going back to a Cena-Lesnar rematch.  Bad call. 

I personally would have not put the belt on Lesnar.  I would have built up Lesnar's mercenary angle and had Lesnar work Cena over so bad that he was half dead.  I would have had Lesnar DQed for failing to heed a ref's warning over and over and after multiple F5's, Seth Rollins walks out, cashes in the brief case and Lesnar stops Ambrose, and new champ is Rollins. 

Still, if putting the belt on Lesnar is good for business, fine.  You cannot go back to the well with Cena-Lesnar.  Since Lesnar has to defend at night of champions, he needs someone.  But again, Reigns is not the guy.  Reigns should feud now with Rollins.  He should be furious after what Rollins did Monday to Ambrose, and they should start fighting with a match at Night of Champions.  It makes good logical sense and is a nice progression for both men.  Orton could easily turn face with a feud against the Authority that is already been hinted.  Kane vs. Orton then makes sense too.  Since Wyatt won against Jericho, it makes since to have a third match, so Jericho vs. Lesnar is out.  There is really no one on the roster ready for Lesnar.  You might could do Orton vs. Lesnar, but I don't think people are going to be too excited about that match up.  Orton needs some serious rehabilitation before people care about him as a baby face, and he just lost his last feud. 

In a world where money was no object and neither was pride, the choice that would create buzz and probably some PPV buys would be Goldberg.  I am not a fan of Goldberg, but he did beat Lesnar in their last match.  If Lesnar sent out an open challenge to anyone man enough to face the Beast, and Goldberg walked out the place would probably erupt.  Lesnar has to win that match in my opinion, so I doubt Goldberg comes back for that, but maybe he would sign a contract for two PPV's if he was promised a win over HHH at the next one and a screw job lose to Lesnar at Night of Champs.  Maybe.   But this would be expensive and I don't think that is what WWE wants right now.

If they do the rematch, I don't see how Cena should win, but it is also hard to see the reason for doing it again unless Cena wins.    So, I guess the best option would be for Lesnar to not defend, but that defeats the purpose of Night of Champs.  Perhaps a returning Kurt Angle would draw interest.  Or Sting, but Sting should be protected for the Undertaker.  Perhaps now would be the time to get Bautista back on the phone.  No one on the roster right now makes good sense or good business.  Which does leave one the option of giving the NXT champ a title shot.  You would need other things to carry the show, but at least you could make a story out of NXT getting a title shot.  Or you could do the unthinkable and bring KENTA right to the top.  KENTA would generate buzz and might sell tickets.  KENTA would need to win that match.  There is no way WWE does that, but I would rather see WWE take a chance on KENTA than another rematch PPV.    

The 15 Greatest Feuds you Never Heard About

Here are a sampling of some great feuds that took place out of the main stream spotlight, but are really worth examining.  Here are the first five.

Jason Kincaid vs. Chase Owens

These two men feuded over the NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship as well as the Smoky Mtn. Heavyweight Championship.  Owens lost the Junior Heavyweight belt in a title vs. title match, but regained it at NWA Invasion, where many people say the match stole the show.  Owens would lose the belt to Ricky Morton partly because of interference from Kincaid.  Kincaid beat Owens for the NWA SAW Title.  Kincaid won the Crockett Cup by pinning Owens, and the NWA Smoky Mtn. Title was on the line in that one.  However, Owens beat Kincaid in a ladder match for a NWA Junior Heavyweight Title shot, and Owens ended up reclaiming the belt.  And that is just a taste.  The feud is on-going.  One can hardly wait to see where it goes next.

 Freebirds vs. Junk Yard Dog

JYD was a hero in Mid South Wrestling, but the Freebirds made their name in that territory by beating the stuffing out of JYD.  In fact, they blinded JYD with hair cream and had a dog collar match with him while he was blind.  This was so good that they did it in multiple territories one of which had JYD unable to see his new born baby.  Got to love those Freebirds.

Al Snow and the Unabomb vs. The Rock-N-Roll Express

This Smoky Mountain Wrestling feud featured crowd favorites and helped start the career of the Unabomb who would go on to be Kane in the WWE.  Al Snow was magic in promos, and Rock-n-Roll were veterans in the ring.  No one could make the crowd angrier than Snow when he was just on the ring apron.  This feud includes the forbidden piledriver, single and tag team matches, championships, and a scaffold match.  Great stuff.

Chris Hero vs. Mike Quakenbush

This feud started off as the Super Friends Tag Team, and went two years before ending with the invention of the Chickara Special and Hero tapping out.  The feud went from tag team feud to personal feud to great finish.  All you could want.  Time off for an injury helped make it longer, but it still holds up.

Thugz vs. The Gangstas

Another SMW feud that was under the radar.  In fact, no belts were involved, but it was the most natural rivalry.  It went from a six man feud, to a four man feud to a two man feud.  It included some great Street fights (which sometimes literally went outside), and I think at least one stretcher match.  The Dirty White Boy and Tracy Smothers fought the Gangstas: New Jack, Mustafa, and D-Lo Brown and it was a great feud all the way around.  

The 15 Greatest Feuds you Never Heard Of part 2

Mr. Wrestling II vs. Magnum TA

These two former partners lost to the Midnight Express and during a title match, Mr. Wrestling II turned on Magnum igniting the feud.  The two brawled multiple times and the pay off match was the top draw for the show which pulled in 30,000 people.  

 Barry Horowtiz vs. Bodyadona Skip

Horowitz was a jobber and one that everyone remembered because of his patting himself on the back.  Yet, I can still hear Jim Ross yelling "Horowitz wins", and he won the rematch.  Skip would get revenge when his team beat Horowtiz's team in the 1995 Survivor Series.  Anytime you care about two low on the totem pole guys, the feud has to be good or at least feel good.

 Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine

This feud was intense as only Piper can do.  Valentine was a warrior and slugged it out in the ring, but Piper's promos helped make it great.  Then it ended with an epic dog collar match at the first Starcade.  It was brutal and bloody, and what a blow off match ought to be.

 Adam Pearce vs. Colt Cabana

Cabana is usually a comedy guy, but with Pearce the two could have believable matches.  They traded the NWA World Title several times and ended their feud with Seven Levels of Hate (Best of 7 matches with different stipulations).  Cabana won, but because of outside the ring politics neither walked away with the title.

 Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff

        Orndorff was another Bobby Hennan guy, but Orndorff was one who could actually hold his own in the ring and on the mic.  Orndorff was probably the best opponent Hogan actually did not duck (as he did Piper).  The two had some great matches that lacked a clear winner, and the feud was a huge money maker for the WWE.  Hogan kept the belt, but Orndorff proved he could draw money as a top heel.  Orndorff would have made a great champ, and this feud would have been even better if they had allowed Orndorff to walk away from one of these matches with the title, but that was not how Hogan did business, and that is why this is a feud no one has ever heard about.

WWE about to make some big mistakes

So it was not long ago that the Atlantic had an article about race in the WWE.  A good article except for the incredibly stupid line about expecting racism to be worse in southern wrestling.  Talk about stereotypes.  But at least he saw that the NWA has a list of African American champs going back decades.  It pointed out the lack of African American champs, explained why Samoans don't count in that list, and looked at the 12 african american "jobbers" in the company right now.

WWE seems to be running a new business model right now.  Read the internet and follow the buzz.  Well, the Atlantic article got buzz, was talked about on Cheap Heat podcast, and is now being acted upon.  R-Truth abruptly ended Bo Dallas's streak.  And Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E appear to be some sort of faction now.  While responding to the buzz sometimes gives us Daniel Bryan as champ, this time it is going to go badly.

And here is why.  Does anyone think Kofi, Big E, or Xavier is going to win the WWE Title?  Make no mistake about it, that is the main complaint in the article.  Stereotypes and lack of WWE champs.  The article is mostly a complaint that Booker T did not win when he should have so many years ago.  WWE ran the same story line that the NWA ran with Vader vs. Ron Simmons, but Ron Simmons won, ending the lack of diversity.  The WWE went a different direction and now deserve this criticism.  But without that WWE Title, this criticism is not going to end.  Unless the company wants to hand that title to Kofi or Big E, then this ends with someone like Cena defeating them.  How does that fix this perceived problem?  How does it help Cena to stop a group trying to end racism in the WWE?

This is not a quick fix for WWE.  They have spent years ruining good wrestlers like R-Truth and Kofi, and never had the patience to stay with so-so wrestlers like Big E.  They ran off Bobby Lashley (current TNA world champ), and chose to put over HHH rather than Booker T, which were to the two best African American wrestlers in WWE in recent memory.  Both would have made great WWE champs.  Getting someone whose WWE Title reign is going to be profitable and something other than a simple nod to ending the blight, but not fixing the problem.

The guys on Cheap Heat are excited about it.  But there is no way this ends well.  It either ends with Xavier Woods as your champ, or the attempt to end racism fails.  Neither proposition is really good.  Why not wait until TNA goes off the air and bring back Lashley or hire Jay Lethal and take the time to build him up.  Taking guys who have been mid card or lower and just making them WWE champ is not a good idea.

Booking 101: When the top guys are gone

I think independent wrestling is difficult to book.  It provides challenges you don’t have in the WWE.  Smoky Mtn. Wrestling run by Tony Givins just pulled off an amazing card overcoming the biggest problem in independent wrestling, traveling talent.

Smoky Mtn. was facing booking and promoting an event where their top stars were gone.  Jason Kincaid, the Heavyweight champ and top face was gone.  Chase Owens, the NWA World Junior Heavyweight champ and companies top heel, was touring Canada.  And then just to make matters worse Sigsmund, a second tier heel and one half of the Tag champs, was touring Europe.  So how do you build a show without your top heel, top face, no heavyweight champion or tag team champions? 

You can start with the easy stuff.  You have a secondary title and a tertiary title.  Both need to be on the line, but that really only gets you some opening act stuff.  That is not what you put on a poster.  Smoky Mtn. happens to be in the midst of an invasion angle, so that angle needs to move forward.  Yet, how do you really move it forward when the top face is missing?  Tony answered that with a four man tag event.  Apparently you take your second best face and team him with your top face tag team and another face from the company and let the guys go at it.  The outcome is a little predictable.  Your invading force cannot lose to a second tier face group without destroying the angle, but it does serve to continue the threat, it is something you can advertise, and gets an important match on the card.  However, since the outcome is predictable, it cannot be the main event. 

In the NWA then the answer is book the NWA World Heavyweight champion.  This match had a little bit of build up too as before Conway won the title, he lost to Chris Richards, a second level monster heel in SMW.  There is the main event.  It has a little build up, it is a major belt, and with Conway a man who can draw.  But there is more!  Givins also booked the NWA National Title in an open challenge format.  So now you can advertise the NWA World Champ, a proven draw, the National champ, an up and coming draw, and the big four man tag promoting the invasion story line.  There is your poster and with the two minor belts on the line the card is good. 

Givins fleshed it out even more with a battle royal to determine who would get a shot at one of the secondary titles.  People love battle royals.  And then he also added in Jax Dane, a traveling buddy of the NWA World Champ and former NWA World Tag Team champ, and put him in a match and set up future involvement with his help at the end in warding off the Invasion.  One thing is for sure, Smoky Mtn. put on a great show without its best local talent.  No easy task, but it was well done Saturday night. 

TNA loses TV spot

Apparently TNA will not be renewed by Spike TV.  It is hard to blame Spike.  The product stinks.  The ratings stink.  It drops viewers following COPS.  Seriously COPS.  I seriously doubt TNA will be able to find a new TV home in two months.  They just don't have much to offer anyone. 

While this may appear to be bad for the wrestling business, I don't think it is.  TNA was bad wrestling propped up by TV money.  They were not really a true second business to compete with WWE.  They were bad wrestling imitating WWE pretending to be something worth while.  A monopoly is bad, but TNA was even worse. 

What will be interesting is to see if any of the TNA talent ends up in WWE.  Does this open the door to a Samoa Joe or Austin Aries?  Probably not.  But a Team 3D return is possible.  Bully Ray has been doing some good work, and did not seem to burn bridges as he left WWE.  I would be that is really the only realistic shot of seeing TNA guys on WWE.  Kurt Angle may make some non-wrestling appearances, but that is about all you can hope for right now.

What is WWE doing?

Okay, so WWE had a run of rotten luck.  Daniel Bryan the World champ goes down with injury.  So too does Intercontinental champ Wade Barrett.  Add in the loss of CM Punk, and I can see why the WWE needs to get some boast in the roster ASAP. 

I understand John Cena getting the title.  It is too early for Roman Reigns to get the strap.  The chase is what draws us to the guy anyway.  So he needs to be feuding with the authority.  So Cena is the only other good bet for the belt.  But if you had Chris Jericho signed, why not use him at the PPV?  With Wade Barrett gone from the ladder match, Jericho coming in as the guest competitor and winning the belts rather than Cena is a good idea.

But lets assume that was not possible or throwing Jericho straight into the ladder match might not be good.  So, bring Jericho back to say he is the first undisputed champ, and have him feud with Cena over the title?  Cena needs a big time dance partner, and Jericho v. Cena has not been done in a long time, maybe ever.  Then Cena can eventually drop the belts to Jericho, who can play a heel, and the Jericho can drop it to Reigns (assuming Bryan is not back yet), and Jericho can ride off into the sunset.  Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt for nothing is not going to sell many tickets and is not going to be a good use of Jericho when you need guys at the top.

Would it not be better in the current situation to have these feuds going on into Summer Slam
Cena v. Jericho for the World Title
Ambrose v. Rollins
Reigns v. Authority
Ceasaro v. Shemus for the US Title
and give the Intercontinental title to Bray Wyatt so that he stays relevant. 
Plus bringing back Miz is not bad, but team him with Jack Swaggart as the next real Americans and they can have a go in the Tag realm with the Usos. 

That seems a lot better than what they are doing now.  Reigns is getting mixed in with Cena and that is not good for either man.  Jericho is feuding with Bray so that neither is really going anywhere and some nobody is going to get the Intercontinental Title making it pointless.   This just seems like WWE unable to have the spotlight on anyone but Cena.  Jericho, Ceasaro, and Bray are all buried.  Reigns is not spotlighted as he competes in a match that includes Cena, and every other belt is just wasted.

Greatest Feuds 5-1

5. Tully Blanchard vs. Magnum TA

These men hated each other, but they put on one heck of a show.  For my money still the best "I quit" match ever and probably the best cage match ever.  It was for a belt, but it was also because the men had to kill each other.  When you can combine those elements then you have a winner.  Many matches before this had finishes that did not settle the score including one where both men were down for the count of 10 leading up to the I Quit Starcade match.  TA walked out the US champ, but the fans were the real winners.

4. Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko

This feud was never a main event status, but was always the best on the card.  It often was for Jericho's Cruiser Weight belt or his TV Title, but it was mostly personal.  Jericho mocked the ice cold Malenko, which made it great when Malenko blew his emotional top in matches.  Jericho being the man of 1001 holds, Bore-Us Malenko, and Dean taking off the Cyclope mask to face Jericho were just a few of the best moments.  Admittedly that match had a few missed moves, but the feud as a whole was as good as it gets.  Some of the best story telling wrestling has to offer.

3. Four Horsemen vs. Dusty Rhodes

Flair did a lot of the heavy lifting in this one, but it was really the Horsemen as a whole.  Tully Blanchard had some good Dusty matches.  The War Games against Dusty's team counts here too.  Let us not forget the time that Rhodes came to save Flair, and then the Horsemen turned on Dusty anyway and pounded him and injured him.  Pure Horsemen.  Pure wrestling gold.

2. Rock-n-Roll Express vs. Midnight Express

This feud can still sell out buildings down south today.  It was a fan favorite versus the hated Cornett and whoever he had as the Express this time.  The feud sometimes included belts, but was more often than not just because the groups hated each other.  The matches included brilliant mat wrestling, amazing use of a manager (Jim Cornett), and innovated offense lest we forget the high flying double drop kick and that Bobby Eaton's finisher was off the top rope.  Rare things in the 80's.  When was the last time Tag Team wrestling could main event?  This pairing always could.

1. Von Erich Family vs. Freebirds

This was the greatest feud ever.  And Flair had a hand in starting it as did Von Erich friend, Michael Hayes, who went on to be their best foe of all time.  And best thing yet both sides thought they were right in the feud.  Hayes had cost Kerry the NWA title, but Kerry had fought with Hayes while Hayes was the ref, and Terry Gordy was trying to do his job as Kerry was getting out the door.  From the exciting start it went into singles matches, tag matches, three man matches even creating a 3 Man Tag Championship belt in the process.  Amazing and wonderful.  THE Feud is the Von Erich vs. Freebirds.  Nothing better.

Greatest Feuds: 10-6

10. Midnight Express vs. the Road Warriors

This one ended on a scaffold and with Jim Cornett taking a huge fall to blow out his knees.  It was two of the all time best tag teams going at it in their primes.  It was Starcade.  It was magic.  Must see TV.

9. Jerry the King Lawler vs. Andy Coughman

Andy was not a real wrestler, but he got in the ring multiple times and he was  more convincing than McMahmann.  Unlike McMahann, Andy wrestled like a non-wrestler, but still the feud was beautiful and hilarious.  These two took the feud to Dave Letterman's show and there it made wrestling infamous.  Get some clips of this stuff and watch it again.  Andy may have been one of the best heels of all time.

8. Larry Szabisco  vs. Bruno Sanmartino

This feud brought Sanmartino out of retirement, sold out arenas all through New England, and ended in a cage where Bruno escaped first to win the title "the Living Legend".  This feud had Bruno take chair shots to the head, and Larry got stabbed by a fan . . . really!  Larry never got pinned by the wrestling superstar Bruno Sanmartino during the entire feud.  And did I mention the fans were so into it one of them stabbed Szabisco?!  Hard to top that.

7. Austin vs. Bret Hart

This is the feud that actually made Austin.  It ended with an amazing double turn.  Hart became a heel and Austin a face.  But people forget that before that iconic picture of a bloodied Austin refusing to give up and Hart refusing to let go, that the duo had several great matches, and right before it a beautiful brutal match that is not what one thinks of normally when they think of Bret Hart.  Both men showed range and told a great story.

6. Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat

These guys actually had two great go rounds, but most remember the trio of matches that ended up making Flair good.  Steamboat beat Flair for the title, the next match was a Steamboat win despite Flair having his foot under the ropes.  So Flair got one last shot, and there Flair prevailed.  During the whole ordeal Flair went from villain to fellow hero with Steamboat.  And don't forget these were all two out of three fall matches.  

Greatest Feuds: 15-11

15. Lita vs. Trish Stratus

The best woman's feud of all time.  These girls were good enough to headline and have a main event on Raw.  They did moves and told stories.  They were attractive and fought over the belt.  It was entertaining and believable and you forgot you were watching women wrestle.  Bonus points for that.

14. Rock vs. Mankind

This feud saw some really amazing matches and a trading back and forth of the title that helped cement Rock as a legit star and Mankind finally ending up with the title he so deserved.  What other feud can you see a forklift be used to pin someone, a title match where neither man can continue, and chair shots that make you sick to your stomach.  Only here.  

13. Edge and Christian vs. the Hardy Boyz

These two teams briefly energized tag team wrestling again.  They had amazing ladder matches that still set the standard for the industry.  They had cage matches where they did crazy things to one another.  They even were able to make a match that included the Dudley Boyz look good.  The feud was always these two teams no matter who else was involved.  This match would steal any show it was on.  No one wants to follow this.

12. Flair vs. Sting

This feud never had that one dynamite go round, but always lived up to the billing.  It was used at any time by WCW because it would always deliver.   Whether it was the time Flair defeated Sting with the help of Scary Sherry to unify the World HeavyWeight Title with the World International Title, or the time Flair tricked Sting into helping him vs. Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman and Flair turned on Sting, it was always worth checking out.  Fitting that this feud was the last match on Nitro ever.  It deserved the honor.  

11. Steve Austin vs. the Rock

These two giants had some good times in the ring and they made each other great.  This is better than the Austin v. Vince feud because this was more than just crushing cars and silly promos.  This was two men who could savage each other on the mic and in the ring.  Who can forget Rock throwing Austin into a river or Austin kicking out of the Rock Bottom or the tossing a belt into a river?  They headlined multiple Wrestlemania's and that should tell you something.  I think a case can be made that these two and their feud helped put WCW out of business.

Greatest Feuds: 20-16

20. Samoa Joe vs. the X Division

This feud began with Joe's unbeaten streak and his breaking the rules of X Division competition.  One of the highlights was putting Christopher Daniels in the hospital with a concussion.  It brought in AJ Styles, but no one could take down the Submission Machine.  The feud ended with the X Division winning with TNA's only ever 5 star match: Destination X where Joe took on Styles and Daniels, and Daniels came out on top, but Joe was never pinned.  New champ, X Division elevated and highlighted, and Joe made into a World Title contender with a streak intact.  Best thing TNA ever did.

19. Mick Foley vs. ECW (Tommy Dreamer)

Mick Foley sold ECW by being its opposite.  He did only headlocks and wore shirts of horrible former wrestlers.  The legend of Hardcore had gone corporate, and in saying things like "take me back Uncle Eric" and refusing to use the extreme rules the man made loyal ECW fans.  Dreamer was the guy on the other end, but really the work was more Foley versus the whole ECW attitude in order to promote the ECW attitude.  

18. Vern Gagne vs. Nick Bockwinkle

This feud was great simply because it lasted forever.  And in fact, it was still selling out places long after Vern was past his prime.  Nick was an underrated wrestler and a fine villain who could talk enough to put the people in the seats.  Vern was a beloved hero who could go in the ring.  Together they made Minnesota wrestling lore with their knock down drag out fights.

17. El Santo vs. Blue Demon

These two Mexican legends need to be on this list.  El Santo and Blue Demon along with Mil Mascaras are the top three stars in Mexican Wrestling history.  And El Santo and Blue Demon had a great series of matches that was eventually won by Blue Demon in 1952 and 53.  It started with a tag match where the two were on opposite sides.  El Santo was able to unmask Blue Demon's partner, and the duo would go on to feud in epic matches that haunted El Santo for the rest of his career.  When two legends actually meet in the ring, it is bigger than life.  McMahon has kept that from American fans (see the lack of Hogan vs. Flair or Hogan vs. Piper or even Hogan vs. Harley Race).  Mexico actually got to see it.

16. Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahan

This feud saved WWE from real trouble and launched the attitude era.  It was sort of one sided since only one of them was actually a wrestler, but it did include a cage match so it did have a pay off where both men wrestled.  Austin became a household name and McMahann a billionaire off of this.  For that alone it deserves a spot.  But it gets such a high spot because who has not wanted to beat up their boss?  

Greatest Wrestling Feuds: 25-21

25. Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar

These matches were always great.  The Iron Man match, the match where Lesnar did a moonsault.  Angle is underrated on the mic, and he made Lesnar interesting.  The tail end of the the attitude era, but it was a great run between the two of them.

24. Rowdy Piper vs. Mr. T

Let's face it.  Piper's feud was really with Mr. T rather than Hogan.  Hogan and Piper had one go that ended in a DQ.  They then brought in Mr. T, and the blow off to the feud was Mr. T vs. Piper at Wrestlemania 2 while Hogan fought a match no one remembers against King Kong Bundy.  Piper made the feud, he made Hogan, and he made Wrestlemania by facing off against a TV star for the first two Wrestlemanias.  

23. Flair vs. Terry Funk

Ric Flair getting pile driven through a table is a lasting image.  Funk got the best of the cheap shot artist himself and started a feud that began with words, escalated with the table, and ended in a brutal "I Quit" match where Funk screamed and Flair retained his title.  Good stuff from start to finish.

22. Hogan vs. Bobby the Brain Hennan.

The only good feud Hogan ever took part or finished was with a manager.  It was the Brain who put person after person up against the mighty Hulk.  It was really Bobby Hennan who made the Andre the Giant match at Wrestlemania III even seem remotely plausible.  Only the Brain could make the gentle giant into a bad guy.  This feud set the indoor attendance record.  Bobby was the straw that stirred the drink.

21. Dusty Rhodes vs. Superstar Billy Graham

This trio of matches sold out the Garden.  It began over Graham's WWF title, but ended when the duo fought for honor and the right to be the best.  Blood was spilled, bull ropes were used, and some really great promos were cut.  This underrated and often forgotten feud was a money maker for both men, gave the WWE champ someone interesting to fight, and helped launch Rhodes to national stardom.

Top 25 All Time Feuds - Honorable mentions

I will be starting a list of the greatest feuds of all time.  The majority of these are from big time promotions, but a few may not be.  Later we can get into the smaller stuff, but this is where we begin.  We will count down.  So let us start with the honorable mentions.

CM Punk vs. John Cena

This feud was great and Punk can do a promo like few others.  Cena was at the top of his game both in ring and on the mic.  However, the walk out of the company win of Punk was cheapened by his quick return to the company, and the quick return sort of under cut his epic "shoot" promo.  Also this was a little more derivative of Edge vs. Cena than more people would like to admit (Edge talked about not having to be the biggest and the WWE look).  Those factors keep Punk v. Cena off the list.  

Edge vs. John Cena

This was a good feud with the Money in the Bank cash in making it ground breaking.  However, Edge really carried it.  It was Cena's first good feud, but ultimately is not quite enough to crack the top 25.

 Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer

This feud was what ECW was really all about.  Violence and sub-par wrestling ability making a lovable loser.  Dreamer is no wrestling legend, but he can take shots to the head and bleed.  He and Raven had some nasty fights that are not for the queesy stomach types to watch.  He did finally beat Raven after 2 years, but it was always ECW and what it meant.

Flair vs. Harley Race

This was the end of Harley's prime and the beginning of Flair's.  The matches were great and the promos were pretty good.  However, both these guys are better as heels, and that made the rivalry miss this list.

The End of Daniel Bryan?

We will now see how committed WWE is to Daniel Bryan.  They took the title off of him, and probably had to do it.  So, I don't blame them for that move.  In fact, I think this helps the Money in the Bank concept over all.  Take a year off from a guy with a brief case, and have an epic ladder match for the title.  Although they sort of just did that and then it was two titles.  Will it be two again?

But WWE finally caved and changed Wrestlemania at the last minute to include Daniel Bryan.  But now he is on the shelf.  We all know what happens when John Cena is on the shelf for surgery.  He comes back and is booked amazingly strong.  In fact, he dropped the title to Bryan (for a full minute) and as soon as Cena was back, he won the World Title from Del Rio, and the next night successfully fended off a Money in the Bank cash in attempt.

So, how they bring Daniel Bryan back will help us know for sure whether they have bought into Daniel Bryan as being the man.  Will he immediately be in the title hunt?  Will get an automatic rematch when he is healthy?  Will he win it back fairly quickly?  Or will he come back and continue a feud with the authority and not be allowed near the title?  Will he come back and lose in an attempt to gain back the title?

I like Daniel Bryan almost as much as I liked Bryan Danielson.  But the WWE may not like him as much.  Soon, we will know for sure.

Who is next for Rob Conway

Rob Conway is the NWA World Champ again.  The question is who does he feud with next?

Now Rob is one of those guys who can be both a heel and a face.  Grease the hair back a little and throw some sunglasses, and Rob will flash that heel smirk with the best of them.  But you go with his natural look and maybe a full beard and Rob can draw you in as the working hard face.  Technically he was the heel in his feud with Kojima since most of it took place in Japan, but probably he will have this run as champ as the face.

This leaves several possibilities.  I think the top heel in all of the NWA is Lou Marconi.  Marconi even wrestles like a heel.  He can tick crowds off by his pace of wrestling.  He is solid in the ring too.  A Marconi / Conway feud would be great.  However, Marconi is not really done with Nitro over the National Title, so I don't know if this is the way they will go.

The other guy who has a claim as the top heel is Chase Owens.  Chase is the current World Junior Champ, so he is probably off the table.  Great mic work, great ring work.  The guy is good, but probably not going to get his shot at the big table.

You also have Wilcott, but they have already had a feud.  Not to mention Wilcott just regained the North American Title.  Kahagas is now free after dropping the title to Wilcott.  Kahagas is usually a heel, and has good in ring work.  However, Kahagas had the title before Conway's first run.  The NWA needs to avoid just handing around the belts between a few guys.  Conway has regained the title.  Wilcott just regained the Title.  Marconi and Nitro are just trading their title.  Owens has regained twice now.  And Kahagas has had all three national titles for heavyweights.  Not a lot of variety there.  They need some new blood.

This leaves Chris Richards.  Richards regularly wrestles in Southern All Star Wrestling and Smoky Mtn Wrestling.  Richards just defeated Jax Dane and Rob Conway in a weekend giving him good reason to demand a title shot.  The Tennessee Redneck Chris Richards is my pick for the first feud of the new Conway reign.  This has the side benefit of being able to involve Chase Owens as the two are part of the Illuminati.  They have already wrestled in a three way match for the World Tag Championship as well, which can be built upon for a good feud.

Now it is possible that Conway goes heel, remote but possible.  If that is the case then the list is a bit longer.

Jason Kincaid would be a top choice.  His amazing multi-year run as Smoky Mtn Champ shows he can draw at least in TN.  And he has been NWA World Junior Champ, a title he gets another shot at this weekend.  Kincaid does have a World Title Shot earned already if I understand the stipulations of the Crockett Cup correctly, which Kincaid won.

You could also have Michael Tarver and Wes Brisco.  Both have name and face recognition.  Damien Wayne and Lance Erickson would have to be near the top of that list as well.  Wayne and Erickson make the most sense since they chased Conway when he was one half of the World Tag Team Champs.  Erickson has multiple regional titles under his belt, and Wayne is a former National champ.  But both currently hold multiple regional tag titles together and are the current US Tag Team Champs.

Ultimately, I think Conway is going to be a face and Chris Richards is going to get a chance to make some money with the champ.  It should be good.

New NWA World Heavyweight Champion

Kojima delivered on his American tour.  I have to admit I thought his reign was a little long, but for this ending, I will take it.  He defeated Jermiah Plunkett at NWA SAW, and also Damien Wayne.  Rob Conway then challenged him for the June 2 Las Vegas show.
Kojima then defeated Carson at NWA Houston on May 31.  And by the way on that card Lou Marconi lost to Bryan Wilcott in a NWA North American Title match.  Wilcott had recently won it from Kahagas.  And then the inevitable.  Rob Conway defeated Kojima to reclaim the World Title in Las Vegas.

I like Conway as the champ.  I think he has the talent and charisma.  Conway should now find a new opponent for a new feud.  Marconi is an option, but he really has some unfinished business with Nitro and the National Title.  Kojima is still one half of the NWA World Tag Team Champs, and I do hope that they do not lose that title back to Conway/Dane: the Irongodz.  When they drop the titles, it should be to a new team.

I would have to say that the NWA should be pleased with this little foray into New Japan Wrestling, and now it is time to build some US momentum.  Conway is now a two time champ.

Why I love the NWA: Innovation

I am a fan of the NWA, and I always have been.  Why?  One reason is because the NWA is always on the cutting edge of wrestling innovation.  WHAT?!?  I can almost hear the people yell in response that the NWA is the past, and to link the NWA with innovation is insane.  But just drop the assumptions and look at the proof. 

One example would be the popularity of foreign wrestling today thanks to the internet, especially Japanese wrestling.  The NWA was decades ahead in this respect.  The champ often went over and had matches with top Japanese stars and as early as 1991 we began to see them on WCW TV while it was still a part of the NWA and even the NWA hanging titles on them (Fujinami was advertised as the NWA World Champ).  One could make an easy argument that Japanese wrestling is so popular today thanks to the NWA. 

What about the popularity of ECW?  While I think Extreme wrestling was bad for the sport, it is undeniable that ECW had large appeal to a segment of fans.  The NWA was at the time without a TV show, and they were able to identify ECW as a place worthy of carrying the NWA World Title while ECW was in its infancy.  In 1994 they held a tournament and the champ was Shane Douglas.  Now we all know what happened as Douglad threw down the belt and NWA was damaged by a back stabbing Paul Heyman, but the fact remains that the NWA had seen the potential in the ECW when no one else did. 

How about MMA, and especially its incorporating many mixed marital arts moves into professional wrestling?  We see that a lot in popular wrestlers today like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, but it was pioneered by the NWA.  In 1995 the NWA put its World Title on the Beast Dan Sevren, who was of UFC fame back when the UFC was still putting on shows in the single digits.  In fact long before Brock Lesnar became a UFC champ, Dan Sevren was simultaneously the NWA World Champ and The UFC Super Champ (before weight divisions).  Sevren used many MMA style moves and choke holds in his fights and for over a 1,000 days terrorized wrestlers in the NWA.  The NWA was way ahead of its day.

What about the popularity of cruiser weight wrestlers?  Well the NWA was out in front of that as well.  We see the NWA with a World Junior Heavyweight Title as far back as the 1940’s.  It did take a small break during some of the NWA lean years between 89 and 95, but they brought it back and put it on men like Ultimo Dragon and Jushin Liger.  It was a belt that pioneered and popularized giving smaller men a place on the card and a title to defend all their own.  This belt was reactivated in 1995 a year before WCW’s Cruiserweight title.  It seems probable that WCW copied the Junior Heavyweight Championship. 

Chikara too can be seen as a popular place of wrestling that had a large internet following, and the NWA was involved in that early on.  Chikara started in 2002, and by 2007 Mike Quackenbush was the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion.  He held that belt for 3 years, although it has to be admitted not defended as often as it needed to be.  The NWA has had some low periods, but they still deserve credit for being quickly on board a rising popular young company in Chikara and a great wrestler in Quackenbush. 

What about TNA?  It for a time was popular as an alternative to WWE, and had great potential as it was full of talented guys like Ron Killings, AJ Styles, and Christopher Daniels mixed with a few notable vets like Jeff Jarrett and later Sting.  The NWA was on board with TNA from the beginning.  In fact, one can argue that when Vince Russo was rehired was the beginning of the end of TNA as a good product, and it was the NWA who first recognized that and pulled their titles by mid-2007.  Once again the NWA was on the cutting edge of good wrestling, and when it was not good, they got out. 

What is next?  It is hard to say what will be popular next, but I think it is safe to say that the NWA will be on the cutting edge of that movement. 

TNA should just quit

TNA went from being a promising promotion to being an absolute joke.  It is unwatchable.  It is so set on being WWE that they have lost all direction as a wrestling promotion.  Authority story line on WWE = authority story line on TNA.  CM Punk walk out with title story line = AJ Styles walk out with title story line.  Daniel Bryan fan favorite wins the title = Eric Young fan favorite = wins title.  But at least in all of these the story lines were built up a little.  TNA did them simply because WWE did them.  No build up, no reason, and all of it with inferior wrestlers.  Instead of saying, how can we be different, they ask how can we be the same.  It makes for some of the worst wrestling ever.

Don't believe me?  Look at this PPV line up.
Eric Young vs. Magnus for the Title.  This is the main event.  This supposed to sell tickets.  Yikes.
Bully Ray vs. Bobby Rhode in a tables match.  I like Rhode, but Ray is so-so.  Ok match, but yikes.
Tigre Uno vs. Sanada for the X Division Title.  Best on the card, but both guys are unknowns. 
Angel and Hardy vs. Spud and ECIII.  Didn't Hardy just win a handicap match against these two? 
James Storm vs. Gunner in an I Quit match.  Second gimmick match.  Gunner should not be spotlighted.
Mr. Anderson vs. Sam Shaw in a "Committed Match" Third gimmick match and I don't even understand it.  Neither of these guys should be on the roster. 

Now, the PPV is not until April 26, but I don't see Austin Ares.  I don't see Samoa Joe.  Those are the two biggest stars in TNA.  I don't see Abyss.  There is also no American Wolves yet announced.  I am sure that Ares will end up facing MVP and the Wolves will get another title shot vs. Bro Mans, but still the fact that stuff is not in stone yet shows those guys are not getting featured on TV.  Gunner is stealing TV time from Austin Ares and Samoa Joe. 

And from a logic stand point didn't Samoa Joe lose a title match because of Abyss?  Where is the Joe vs Abyss match?  And what happened to Bobby Lashley?  Didn't he show up? 

This cannot continue.  Wrestling this bad and shows this bad have to be stopped.  There is real talent on this roster.  But, it is all being buried or misused.  This is hands down the worst wrestling company out there today.

NWA matches of note

A couple of interesting things happening in the NWA.

First, the feud between Nitro and Lou Marconi continues in NWA-CIW.  Nitro is the champ again after beating Marconi on his home turf.  Marconi challenges again this weekend, and there is another scheduled meeting later in the month down in North Carolina.  As a side note, Nitro is about to embark on a tour of Germany in May.  Does he leave the National Title behind?  We will see.  One way or another I think the rivalry is about to come to an end.

Second, Jason "the Gift" Kincaid is putting the NWA Smoky Mountain title on the line in the Crockett Cup tournament.  This will involved a singles match followed by the six winners entering the ring to fight it out until only one is left.  The title is on the line the whole time, which means of the winner of the cup will ultimately be the NWA Smoky Mtn. Champ.  Kincaid is currently the longest reigning champion in any NWA territory.  Interestingly enough the NWA Junior Heavyweight champ, Chase Owens is in the Cup.  Owens just lost his Southern All Star title to Kincaid in February.  The two have a long standing rivalry that spans territories.

Anyway you cut it, I expect some news to come out of this weekend.

NWA World Title UPDATED AT BOTTOM

Kojima retained his title against Rob Conway in what is something of a surprise to me.  Not surprisingly the next night Kojima and Tenzan retained the World Tag Titles. 

I know that this is being built as an invasion of NWA and a feud, but it is hard for me to see it that way.  I will discuss this more in a future post about invasions, but if this an invasion then this is a disaster.  However, if this NJPW being part of the NWA then this is good.  Kojima is a highly thought of wrestler who has done some great stuff in Japan.  Worthy of the world title.  But the title cannot stay in Japan too long for the NWA to remain relevant.  And it appears it will not, at least in some form.

Kojima will defend against Wes Brisco on May 3rd.  It is good to see an increase in title defenses.  The title should never be dormant for too long.  It appears Kojima will defeat Brisco, and you have to like that as I am not a fan of Brisco.

Kojima is scheduled to come to the US on May 30 to Southern All Star Wrestling to make a title defense.  A second defense is scheduled on May 31 in Houston, the flag ship of the NWA.  Now, it does not have to be Kojima who walks away a winner on May 30th, but it is a good bet he does and comes back to Houston to defend the title.  Who has not yet been announced, but I would think Conway is still in the running since they are playing up a fast count angle.  Another could be Jax Dane. 

Dane is a powerhourse of a guy who has been trying on the gold as a Tag Team champ for the last few months.  He got to travel with Conway, while Conway had the belt.  So he learned how to be a champ.  He made several trips across the pond where he progressed into his latest singles victory over Tenzan this past weekend.  Dane was on the card supposed to have the World Title shot against then champ Kahagas the night Conway won it.  Dane was attacked by the Illuminati in a story line injury that led to the shot going to Dane's friend Conway.  It would make for some great story feud between Dane and Conway in Houston and one could then see how Dane could do with the belt.  He already has a few appearances to give him an in over in Japan, and has appeared in several NWA promotions as a tag champ recently giving him credit in those regions as well. 

Of course Bryan Wilcott could be an options as well as he just had a match with Kojima in Japan, which did not go over that well.  So hopefully not on this one.

It will be fascinating to see what happens.  It is good to see the NWA belt is making appearances in America again. 

Kojima is also scheduled to make a title defense in Las Vegas on June 2 at the Cauliflower Action Club, a group to help retired wrestlers which Bruce Thwarp is a part.  Perhaps then Kojima wins May 31st and June 2nd is the date to watch.  The May 31st match is against Houston Carson. 

Wrestlemania still a lot to prove

WrestleMania 30 felt a lot like WrestleMania 20, and will probably be as pointless in the end. 

WrestleMania 20 had one of those feel good moments for the fans and felt like a page turning only to find out HHH and Shawn Michaels were no where close to leaving town.  Eddie Guerro retained the WWE title that night and Chris Benoit won the World Title in a three way match against HHH and Shawn Michaels (this was the main event).  Crowd favorite Chris Benoit won, and Eddie came out too at the end and we saw confetti.  But Benoit's title run was over by August, Eddie's even quicker, and HHH and Shawn were still really in control.  WrestleMania 20 was supposed to be where the WWE went with the younger, popular, better wrestlers, but they did not.  So too, I think it will be with WrestleMania 30.

A lot of fan favorites won last night.  The younger independent wrestler did well.  Caesaro won the battle royal and Daniel Bryan won twice to claim the title.  AJ Lee even retained the Divas Title.  Yet, this is not a page turning moment where the WWE goes with the crowd favorite.  Don't expect a real run with the title.  Expect him to drop before or at Summer Slam.  Let us not forget that this should have already happened.  Bryan should have long ago been the champ.  WWE was forced into this, and they brought back Bautista.  Bray Watt still lost, and Cena is lurking.  And of course let us not forget CM Punk is not with the company. 

This is the worst part of Undertaker losing.  I personally always thought he should lose.  You go out on your back.  Still, this was not the time to do it.  This is the most shocking thing about last night, and the worst.  If he was going to go out on is back, last year was the year to do it.  CM Punk is the guy to let win.  Now, I get that last year with the death of Paul Bearer, Punk had to lose.  But maybe this was the way you get Punk to stay.  Instead of forcing him into a HHH match or a Kane match, give him another shot at the Undertaker.  Punk gets the win this time.  No one would have seen it coming.  Punk is the future, not Lesnar.  Lesnar is a part time nobody these days.  Undertaker should have put over the future of the company, not someone who was part of its past.  In fact a guy who quit the WWE at WrestleMania 20. 

So, I think by this time next year we are going to be looking at another Cena Main Event at WrestleMania, and Bryan will be forgotten.  WWE is a dollar short and a decade late.

NWA had a just as disappointing time this past weekend.  Kojima and Tenzan won the NWA world titles from the IronGodz when Tenzan pinned Jax Dane after a moonsault.  We had our first ever NWA World champ holding both belts with Conway, now the next guy does the same feat again.  Disappointing.  Although Conway vs. Kojima has been announced for April 12 and a rematch for the Tag title for the 13th.  I don't mind Tenzan and Kojima retaining the Tag Titles, but Conway has to come away with the World Title.  It is time to get it back in America. 

Big Weekend for the NWA

While the Wrestlemania card seems blah.  The National Wrestling Alliance is breaking out the stars all over the country.

March 22 NWA Championship International Wrestling is having a huge show in Hillsdale Michigan.  CIW Heavyweight champ Sebastian Rose will be in action as will CIW TV champ The Great Akuma. But also the card will feature NWA World Junior Heavyweight champ Chase Owens.  NWA Smoky Mountain Champion Jason "the Gift" Kincaid will be there as well as NWA Eastern States Champ Malice.  And the main event of the evening is a rematch for the NWA National Heavyweight championship between new champ Lou Marconi and former champ Nitro.  I don't know about you, but that is a lot of NWA gold in one place.

Even better is that the next night on March 23 NWA CIW will be in their regular home in Toledo, OH and yet another rematch between Marconi and Nitro will take place.  The Marconi vs. Nitro feud has been a pretty good one so far.  This weekend may put the capstone on it, so I expect it to be big.  It should be a big weekend with some star studded matches.

Next weekend looks good too thanks to NWA Smoky Mountain.

NWA Smoky Mountain is putting the belts up for grabs on the 29th of March.  Kingsport TN will see their local belts on the line as Jason Kincaid puts the Heavyweight title up against Vince Brett in what will be a great match.  Kincaid has held the title for over 2 years.  The Smoky Mtn. Tag Titles are also on the line as Air America defends against the Heat Seekers.  Plus a nice grudge match between Zac Vincent and Matt Conrad.  But the main event is what is worth talking about.  A three way match for the NWA World Tag Team Titles.  Current champs the Iron Godz take on The Illuminati and the Lords of Kaos.  The Lords of Kaos are the current NWA US Tag Team champs and The Illuminati features NWA World Junior champ, Chase Owens.  It is going to be a great one.

I am far more interested right now in the NWA than I am TNA.  A lot of good young wrestlers are learning the ropes in a territory system, which is what has always put the good wrestlers on the map.  Long live the NWA.

New NWA National Champ and Junior Heavyweight Champ

The NWA has seen another title change.  Lou Marconi has defeated Nitro for the National Championship.  Nitro had cost Lou the Eastern States title several times including lately to Malice.  Lou got his revenge by taking the coveted National Title, the 3rd or 4th highest belt depending on how you rank the Junior Heavyweight Title. 
Marconi has long been ranked as one of the top 10 performers in the NWA, and now he has a nationwide belt.  I think this is a test drive for Marconi.  If he can draw with this belt, then he could be in line for a World Title run in a year or so. 

Also Ricky Morton dropped the Junior Heavyweight Title back to Chase Owens.  This is good news.  It was nice to give Ricky a singles belt, but it was time to give it back to Chase.  The problem is whether or not the Junior Heavyweight Title is going to get stuck in Smoky Mtn to the point that it loses its national interest.  It has been traded several time within that company.  Owens still needs to finish the trilogy with Kincaid over the title, but that still keeps it in Smoky Mtn.  It would be nice to see some of the other Junior Heavyweights around the nation get shots at this title.

Thoughts on titles

We are on the eve of the WWE Elimination Chamber and the company has tried hard to make us think that Randy Orton is going to lose his belt.  But I would be amazed if he lost it, just like I would be amazed if he had it coming out of Wrestlemania.  Who in the chamber makes a good story against Bautista?  Only Orton.  Bautista might could get some cheers if he was solidly against the Authority, which we see hints of now.  I expect Orton to win the Chamber and at some point between now and Mania, we will see a main event on Raw where Bautista and Daniel Bryan team together.
What is worse, is that all the other titles are worthless now.  The tag title match is not even the mast tag match on the PPV with Shield going against the Wyatts.  I am not even sure who is the Intercontinental Champion right now.  And Dean Ambrose's lack of title defenses was even a joke on a recent Raw.  That is awful.

TNA is even worse, and that is saying something.

The NWA still has some clout with their titles and they take them seriously.  And as much as Kojima is worthy of the NWA belt, it is still painful to see him win matches with that lariat.  It is not high quality like JBL.  I am not a big fan of his finisher, and it makes his matches a little hard to watch.  It didn't help the Kojima match that Bryan Wilcott was awful.  Interestingly, Tarver and Wilcott lost the #1 contender match at New Beginnings two days later to Kojima and his partner.  I assume this means Rob Conway and Jax Dane are going back across the pond sometime later this year to defend the belts and maybe have Conway match up for the rematch.

The local belts are even more interesting to me right now.  Sometimes local NWA guys hold the belts forever.  Jason Kincaid in NWA Smoky Mountain has held his belt for over 800 days!  Lou Marconi held the NWA Eastern States title for sometime as well.  Marconi is usually in the Top 10 NWA wrestlers by PWI.  Well, Marconi just dropped the belt to Malice.  Malice is often seen also in NWA CIW, which is based in Toledo.  When the local titles change hands it is usually a big deal.  Marconi losing is a big deal.

Too bad the big companies don't make big deals of their belts.  Then I would actually care.  But no matter what happens in the Elimination Chamber, the belt is pointless.  Randy Orton was 2-3 since the last PPV, and yet he is still the champ.  How can you care about that?

Oh the Possibilities

Can you imagine what a good indy wrestling company you could have right now.  CM Punk vs. AJ Styles for the title with Chris Hero in the title mix.  Two superstars complaining about their poor treatment fighting for the title with Hero coming in as the guy who never got a shot and wants to prove himself.  If I am the NWA, I am on the phone with Punk now begging him to do this.  Offer him a piece of the company, tell him to start his own company where he can headline (he probably has the money).  Promise him the NWA title if he does it.  Styles v. Punk.  I bet you could get some guys to buy in iPPV for that one.

Heck, you could even throw in Adam Pearce and Colt Cabana (probably only if it was not NWA affiliated) for a mid card feud.  Punk could probably pull his friend Luke Gallows, and then grab some young talent to fill out the roster.

And after the Styles v. Punk feud, you could easily bring in Chris Masters as the guy with the WWE look to feud with Punk for the title.  Ready made story line right there.

I am just saying, it would be a nice promotion with those guys at the top.

NWA and New Beginnings Hiroshima

Could this weekend be an NWA World Title Change?  Kojima defends against Bryon Wilcott on the 8th at New Beginnings Hiroshima, a New Japan event.  Is this the night Wilcott wins the championship?  It appears Wilcott dropped the NWA 360 title to Killer McKenzie last weekend, so he is free for a belt.  Also appearing there will be Michael Tarver, who takes on Kojima's tag team partner, Tenzan.  Remember Tarver tried to help Wilcott in his last attempt to win the NWA world title at NWA Houston Invasion, and Wilcott helped Tarver in his match against Jax Dane at that same event.  Expect more help as Feb. 11th NJPW advertises New Beginnings Osaka as having a #1 Contender match for the NWA World Tag Team belts where Tarver and Wilcott take on Kojima and Tenzan.  So, I expect big news to come out of this weekend.

One more thing about New Beginnings Hiroshima.  The main event is Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWPG Intercontinental Championship.  This is a great feud that has spanned years.  Tanahashi won the belt from Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom 8.  Now is the rematch.  Great stuff.  To whet the appetite, a little footage from their Heavyweight battle a few years ago.

Royal Disappointment

This was perhaps the worst PPV of all time for the WWE.  The tag title reign of the Rhodes family ends off air to an old out of shape team rather than one of their other good tag teams like the Wyatts, Shield or even Real Americans.  The most popular wrestler on the whole show loses the feud with the Wyatt family.  And we get another Orton vs. Cena match where outside interference is the difference after they each kick out of their finishes and each other's finishers.  Not very original scripting.

And the Rumble itself was awful.  One surprise return, and it was only Kevin Nash.  JBL was pointless.  Rey Mysterio was used pathetically.  Kane eliminating CM Punk was awful.  No one wants to see that feud.  Bautista winning the whole thing was easy to see coming, and it did nothing but frustrate the fans.

The only good thing was a few spots by Kofi Kingston.  He avoided elimination in some nifty ways.  I guess maybe Sheamus, but I have never been a fan of him and have no idea where they are going to stick him.

Not a good start to Wrestlemania season.  Not good at all.  In fact the ratings for the post Rumble RAW are in and they are lower than the week before.  A sign of discontent to be sure.

Reviewing the new NWA

In August 2012 R. Bruce Tharpe became the owner (basically) of the NWA thanks to a lawsuit.  This of course caused a major sensation, especially when he changed how the NWA would do business.  Groups no longer are members, but rather license the NWA for their organizations.  Many groups immediately left the NWA as did champ Adam Pearce and Colt Cabana after the NWA refused to sanction their final match in a best of seven series that had been going on prior to the change, and was going to result in Cabana regaining the world title.

Now we have had one full calendar year to see the new look NWA, and it is time to decide if it was a good or not.  

First, it has to be admitted the change from members to licensing cost them territories.  Good territories too such as NWA All-Star in Virginia, Battle Zone in Mississippi, NWA Capital in New York, Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, and another of the same name from Florida, Dynamo Pro Wrestling in Kansas, Empire Wrestling from California, and many more.  Really, only a couple of other Texas promotions, NWA Mid-Atlantic in WV, and Smoky Mtn. Wrestling in TN stuck with Tharpe, who runs NWA Houston.  

However, this year past year saw the creation of several new organizations including Florida Underground, which seems to be doing rather well.  They have established relations with an organization in England, Australia, and have made several appearances back in New Japan.  More groups are starting up in 2013 so that the NWA appears to be recovering.

it has to be said that Tharpe has brought stability to the belts once again.  They basically turned over the champs quickly.  Kahagas won the World Title, which vacated his National Title allowing them to put it on Damien Wayne.  Chance Owens won the Junior Title in a tournament because Kevin Douglas would not defend it (probably in protest of new management, but I am unsure).  Kacee Carlisle won the Women's belt in October, and Carson won the North American belt in October, and the Tag Belts were won by December.  You need to remember the belts were really badly managed prior to this as Douglas had won his belt after Classic vacated in protest for the NWA's treatment of World Champ Shiek, who claims a miscommunication is why he did not defend it.  The Tag Belts were barely defend, and often defend by one half of the Dark City Fight Club with a local stand in as his partner.  

The belts were used wisely and well.  The Junior Title was basically controlled by NWA Smoky Mtn, but those  guys were brought in to NWA Invasion to show off their matches.  Florida Underground got the North American belt when Kahagas won it, and has used it wisely.  The Tag Belts were mostly defend in Japan, but it helped the NWA presence in Japan.  The Women's title has not changed hands making it look more prestigious.  Nitro has been able to be in Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio with the National title, and of course Rob Conway was based out of Houston, and from there could easily make appearances at many Texas affiliates.  Conway made several trips to Japan, and was often used to open new territories as he did in January to open a Knoxville territory.  

Overall, I am happy with the more focused direction of the NWA.  I like spreading the titles out to different places, but the question I have is will those companies have to give up control of that belt to another company?  For example, when will Smoky Mtn have to relinquish control of the Junior Heavyweight title?  Will it go to NWA Atlanta?  And maybe just as important, will the World Title go somewhere other than Houston?  Yes, it is in New Japan right now, but will it be won by a Michael Tarver from Florida or Charlie Haas from a different Texas promotion?  Or will it simply be more guys from Houston who pass around the title?  

Overall I am very encouraged about the NWA right now.  It is a great place to watch wrestling.  I look forward to the second year of this new group.  

Who had the best 2013?

Which wrestler had the best 2013?  Now this is not who is the best wrestler.  Those lists would seldom change.  The question is who had the most success and good matches and feuds and yes championships.

Missing the list this year are regulars like John Cena, who missed time because of injury in addition to losing the title, CM Punk, who spent too much time with Paul Heyman fighting nobodies and getting pinned by Heyman, and Austin Ares, who seems to have disappeared completely from TNA.

So without further ado.

5. Magnus - Ending the year as champ clearly helped, but he had shots at the main event all year, participated in beating Aces and Eights at Lethal Lockdown, and beat Sting at Bound for Glory.  All in all, a good year.

4. Kahagas - The Toyko Monster started the year as the NWA Heavyweight Champion.  He dropped in March, but before April was over he had won the North American Championship, which he retained all year.

3. Randy Orton - The Legend Killer appeared in some big matches such as the Elimination Chamber, had a great feud with Daniel Bryan prior to the title feud, won the Money in the Bank, won the WWE title (although dubiously), and unified the titles to end the year.  Pretty good run.

2. Daniel Bryan - The master of the Yes Lock won the WWE title and was stripped of it over and over.  He showed he was super over with the crowd.

1. Rob Conway - The Ironman won the NWA World Title early in the year, and would become the first World Champ to have both the World Title and Tag Titles.  He kept both to the end of the year.  Making history and having a 200+ title reign is the best of the best this year.