NWA title updates

The NWA scene is going strong during the summer. 

NWA World Heavy Weight champ, Jax Dane, has been defending the title through Texas lately.  He was scheduled for a big defense against Steve Corino, but Corino's flights got messed up and he didn't make it.  It supposedly has been rescheduled.  Dane did defend against Chance Ramons and won. 

NWA National Title is almost always defended weekly at NWA Mid South by Greg Anthony.  He just had his most impressive defense so far against Leyland Race. 

NWA North American champ Tim Storm has been around, but is not always defending the title.  Some tag team appearances mixed in. 

NWA Women's champ Amber Gallows has 13 or so defenses under her belt, many outside of NWA territories.  She also won a tag title with Santana Gerritt.  Hard to imagine that team ever losing.

NWA World Tag Team Champs, Iron Empire, are right now the most impressive.  They are rejuvenating the tag team scene.  They did defeat Brown and Dirty earlier this summer, and they have a big title defense coming up against Seth Allen and Dane Giffen, from NWA Midwest, who currently hold the NWA Texoma tag titles in July.  Allen and Giffen just defended those Texoma Titles by beating former ROH Tag Champs, War Machine.  The winner of the July match is already promised to NWA Midwest to face highly decorated tag team, Legion.  Yes, the same Legion that includes three time former National champ, Nitro.  I believe Legion currently holds three or four tag titles including NWA Midwest Tag title. 

Enjoy the NWA action this summer. 

WWE Brand Split a looming disaster

So the WWE is splitting the brand again making SmackDown live and with its own roster.  This failed miserably once before, but many are saying that it should not be doomed to do so again.  These people are wrong. 

First, a brand split means a World Title split.  So the much advertised unifying of the WWE and World Championship is now undone.  If you had under 3 years in the office pool you win.  This never goes over well, and does it mean two money in the bank matches, one for each?  What about Royal Rumble?  Which one does that winner get at WM?  Doesn’t that automatically make that title a bit higher and thus the whole show more important? 

Second, it kills all the other belts.  Maybe the US belt and Intercontinental belt get a boost from being on separate shows, but the newly minted Women’s Title is now going to be split.  Do we bring back the Divas Title?  The Tag Team titles have to be split too.  Are those divisions really deep enough to manage a split?  I guess you could do Women’s on Raw and Tag Team on SmackDown, but you still have decreased the visibility by half.  The Women’s Title was rolling, but now will be chopped in half and there is not enough talent to make two titles plus story lines beyond the title.  The Tag team division even had a little momentum with New Day being popular and a Tag Team rivalry brewing that had nothing to do with the titles.  Now, it is all gone as we split the division.

Third, people have long complained Raw is too long with 3 hours.  Now it will still be 3 hours with half the talent.  Just imagine Raw with Roman Reigns, but no AJ and no Ambrose.  Kevin Owens but not Zayn.  Can Reigns and Rollins carry three hours?  The answer is no.

Fourth, NXT is as good as dead.  To make this brand split work, you need more wrestlers and they are going to have to raid NXT.  I would expect Prince Devitt, Nakamura, and Samoa Joe to get call ups.  You would think American Alpha may get a shot too.  Kenta Kobashi will probably not stay long in NXT, if at all once the brand split.  He has a natural Nakamura fight coming his way.  This is great news for Austin Ares and even better news for Rich Swann, who is doing house shows for NXT, but not TV.  But the NXT roster is going to be very, very depleted.  NXT can probably rehabilitate Johnny Gargano and Ciampa, but that will take some work.  Are you ready for an NXT that features a lot more Mojo Rawley?  This has long been my point about NXT.  They are a great show when they just take people who should have been hired on the main roster years ago.  But do you think NXT can train up new recruits?  When was the last time you heard anyone praise Hugo Knox.  Knox was a WWE hire.  Low experience, former soccer player.  He is going to get a lot more NXT time now.  King Constantine anyone?  Former Serb wrestler.  He will be some of the remaining talent for NXT shows.  Angelo Dawkins?  These are the hires you don’t hear about, but are soon going to be all that is left on NXT.  They had better raid Ring of Honor now, or the show will hit the toilet. 

Fifth, the draft question is looming.  Are they going to do a regular draft?  If so, the project is dead.  For real great story lines to develop and people to move up and down, they really need to have more than a year.  They need to be fairly separate entities to make this work and for a good amount of time.  As we see with the resplitting of the WWE title, commitment is not something the WWE knows how to spell. 

Sixth, Double main events don’t exist.  This is just true.  The last match is the main event.  Everyone knows it.  If Smackdown is consistently the semi-main event on PPVs it will affect everything.  The Smackdown World title will be seen as less than the Raw world title.  I don’t know how you can keep an even playing field between the brands unless you split the PPVs too.  This is doable, but one would think that at least Wrestlemania and probably the other big three PPVs need them all.  Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Summer Slam.  This lets you divide the other 8 into 4 SD and 4 RAW PPVs.  I like that idea, but you know they are not going to do it.  And you still have the problem at Wrestlemania.  One show will be the flagship making all the other titles lesser.

Seventh, Wrestler pay is probably going to take a dip.  Wrestlers get PPV pay, but now it is going to be harder to get that PPV appearance.  Brand Split means more wrestlers, meaning tougher to get on the PPV and get the extra pay day.  Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin get on a PPV when there are only three single titles.  They don’t make a PPV with 4 single titles or 4 single title and 2 tag titles or 4 single titles and 2 tag titles and 2 women’s titles.  And if you do the separate PPVs, you have automatically lost 4 PPV checks.  What about merchandise?  Do you sell the KO t-shirt at RAW if KO is only on Smackdown?  It seems that merch would go down even if you did because of the lack of KO being on those shows and less opportunity to get people to want to buy his stuff.  Maybe you make up with it by having extra house shows, but I still would imagine the wrestlers take a hit here. 

Eighth, the potential damage to RAW is unbelievable.  Let us say that the NXT way of booking continues its hot streak on Smackdown.  It is entirely possible that Smackdown becomes a huge success, but it maybe at the cost of RAW.  If RAW takes Roman Reigns and continues the Vince style booking that seems so out of touch, viewership might tank completely.  It could become TNA.  That will be lost ad revenue and that is bad for business. 

Ninth, how can this be seen as anything other than a kick in the teeth to Roman Reigns.  He is no longer good enough to be a unified champ.  He is being stripped of half his title.  It would have been easier just to make him lose the title.  Roman Reigns is to Vince Jr. as Bob Backlund is to Vince Sr.  Yikes. 

All in all, I think the viewer might get to see more wrestlers, but it will be a worse product.  Remember NXT can be a great wrestling show because they did not bring in huge money.  Will you be able to even call it wrestling on Smackdown?  This is still the same company that is Sports Entertainment.  Thinking this is going to turn out well for the wrestling fan is a pipe dream.

NWA World Title Rankings

Let’s get serious a minute about NWA World Heavyweight rankings.  I understand that traditionally those who have say the North American Title or the National Title should be 1 and 2, but Tim Storm has had a lot of shots, and lost them all.  Let us put together a real contenders list.  Sorry PWI. 

#1 – Badd Blood               This is really a no brainer.  He is the longest reigning Pacific Northwest Champ of all time, and he laid that belt down without losing it.  He currently holds the Continental title and the Heritage Title.  He has fought everywhere from Mid Atlantic to Washington and from Indiana to Texas.  He deserves a shot at the title.

#2 – Raymond Rowe      Rowe likewise has two belts right now.  He is the Branded Outlaw champ as well as the Grand Warrior champ.  He also won a big three way match at the Parade of Champs, and should be a top contender for the title.

#3 – Vordell Walker        Vordell no longer holds two, but did forever.  He was a long running NWA Elite champ that included wins over the likes of Tim Storm until Steve Anthony, World Junior champ beat him.  Walker is still the Bayou Independent champ, and maybe the second longest reigning champ in the NWA.  He is also a former National title holder.  He is deserving of a shot.

#4 Greg Anthony             Anthony is the current National Champ and that alone should put him on this list.  He has not had a shot at Jax Dane yet at all, unlike Storm.  He defends it every week at Mid South and beat Jason Kincaid at Casino Royale, and Houston Carson at Parade of Champions.  He deserves a shot.

#5 Jason Kincaid               The longest reigning champion in wrestling today is the Gift Jason Kincaid of Smoky Mtn. Wrestling.  He is this low because of some high profile losses at Parade of Champions and Casino Royale, but let us not forget that he has beaten Michael Elgin and Johnny Morrison and Sabu and Lio Rush during his multiyear reign a top SMW.  He is also a Super 8 winner, so he has the goods.

#6 Matt Rivera                  Rivera is a current World Tag Team champ, but do not forget about his significant singles accomplishments.  He was a multi-time Western States Champ, and he defended that title all over eventually even defeating Jeff Jarrett to reclaim it.  He shouldn’t be at the top of the list, but he should be on it.

#7 Lance Hoyt                    Lance is part of the Killer Elite Squad, so he is a multiple time World Tag Team Champion.  He has wrestled literally all over the world.  Hoyt did just come up short in a three way match against Rowe, which drops him down to seven.  But it was not that long ago that Hoyt beat Jax Dane one on one in a no DQ match.  That win pushes Hoyt onto this list in a rematch that needs to happen.

#8 Little Cholo                   Little Cholo held the Vendetta Pro championship for over a year, and recently lost it on his first match back from injury.  He also lost it to a man who seems to have his number.  Cholo ought to have consideration for such a long reign and the number of men who tried but failed.  He should get a world title shot.

#9 Ricky Ruffin                  Ruffin is the man who defeated Rivera for the Western States title.  He has defended it since that time in Vendetta Pro.  He has not quite as defended it as aggressively and as far as Rivera did, which is why he is below Rivera on this list.  Still, the title itself merits consideration for a list like this.

#10 Johnny Justice          Johnny Justice is a four time Mid-America champion, and only lost that title in the last week or so.  It was lost in a fatal four way, so it was not even in a one-on-one situation.  He comes in above Eric Draven because he beat Draven for the title one on one, and Draven has already had a shot or two at the world title and come up empty.  Time for Justice to get his shot.

NWA Newer Territories

Sometimes it is hard to keep up with which territories have fallen out of the NWA and which are joining up. 

The newest appears to be NWA Wrecking Ball Wrestling.  It is based in Witchta, KS and appears to be a more Lucha Libre style wrestling that includes a 6 man Tag Team belt showing some dedication to the 6 man division.

NWA Combat Sports is the NWA's reentry into Florida after losing Florida Underground.  Purple Haze is the champ, the Gulf Coast Champ, and will be taking on Xtian Blake at the next big show, which is at the end of May. 

NWA Throwback is based in Alabama.  It is still fairly new to the NWA, but participated in the Parade of Champions with Devin Driscoll being the champ in Throwback.  Although he has a title defense against Crimson in a cage on May 6th. 

NWA NRW wrestling is based in Arvado Colorado.  They just had one of their big shows in Never Broken.  In 3 months they will have their next big show (they have regular shows all the time), and it will feature Rob Conway. 

I continue to not understand what is going on Smoky Mtn.  With Jason Kincaid a heel, and Chase Owens in Japan so much, there was really only one choice to place the belt upon.  Vince Bret.  He was loved by the fans, and might could have really run with it.  Vince is doing great work with NWA Mid West, so perhaps this is why he was not pushed.  Instead, he also joined the Agency (a heel faction), and is now the Mountain Empire champ (the third tier belt).  I don't really get it.  However, they still bring in great talent for the shows including Michael Elgin challenging Jason Kincaid for the Southeastern Title at Collision Course. 

By the way Jason Kincaid was unsuccessful in defending his Super 8 title. 

Smoky Mountain on the decline and other results

I have been a big fan of Smoky Mountain for some time.  They still have two of the top wrestlers in the NWA in Chase Owens and Jason Kincaid.  However, those two are finding bigger and better matches outside of Smoky Mountain right now at Parade of Champions and Casino Royale.  Smoky Mountain has always had a bit of a follow through problem.  Anyone remember Rob Conway teaming up with the Illuminati and Kincaid vowing to go through them all.  Well, he did go through Chris Richards, but no further.  KAOS fizzled, although probably for reasons beyond SMW's control. 

And now this.  This past week they had the Smoky Mtn. Cup, which is always a fun time.  Kincaid vs. Lio Rush (the newest darling of Indy wrestling) was probably a sight to see.  Kincaid won.  But, Jordan Kage won the cup after interference from Chris Richards.  Now, Chris Richards a year ago was a member of the Illuminati.  With no fanfare or explanation, Richards joined Kincaid and fellow giant Travis Lee in a new faction.  Lee and Richards then formed the Giants of Gehenna, which won the US Tag Titles.  They even were in a 6 team Gauntlet Match for those title at this show.  They lost to Air America (another amazingly reunited tag team without enough explanation).  Then when Kage needs help against Chase Owens, Chris Richards comes out and joins the Agency, laying out Owens.  This is Richard's third team in just over a year.  Not good.

Other important events include a title change in NWA Top of Texas.  Shane Garrett defeated Ryan Justice for the Heavyweight title in TOT. 

Mid South seems to be introducing a new belt, the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight title.  That should be fun to watch.  Tournament set for 23rd of April.  Greg Anthony, bloodied, but remains National Champion after a last man standing match, and Jeremy Moore remains Unified champ.

NWA NRW in Colorado is having a big show this weekend featuring Nick Aldis and Mickie James. 

Rob Kincaid continues his hard luck streak after being pinned by Badd Blood to lose the Heritage title, he has now dropped the NWA US Title at a Bruiser Wrestling event.  Circle City is going to have the follow up it appears. 

Casino Royale Results

So the Casino Royale show is over.  Two days of Vendetta Pro Wrestling hosting some of the best in the business.  However for the first time in several years, nothing major happened.

Jax Dane remained World Champion by defeating Tim Storm.  Storm's North American Title was not on the line.

Greg Anthony retained the National Title by defeating Jason Kincaid. 

Iron Empire defeated the local Ballad Brothers to remain World Tag Team Champs. 

Ricky Ruffin retained the Western States Title.  Ruffin is a good talent and he probably deserves a bit more praise for his run in Vendetta Pro as the Western States champ.

I guess the biggest news is that Badd Blood continues his dominance.  In the exciting 6 man tag match between stars from Blue Collar Wrestling and Circle City Wrestling, Badd Blood pinned Rob Kincaid to become the NWA Heritage Champion.  I expect this means you will see Badd Blood in Circle City real soon. 

I will just come out and say it.  Badd Blood ought to be the #1 contender for the World Title. 

Casino Royale Event title matches

Now we are seeing the matches come fast and furious for the CAC Casino Royale two night event.  In addition to what was earlier reported now we can see that some major titles are on the line as well.

Greg Anthony will defend the National Title against Jason 'the Gift' Kincaid.  This will be an instant classic.  These two did fight a year or so ago for then Greg Anthony's Unified Mid South Title with Anthony winning, but Kincaid is always a threat and always innovative with offense.

Iron Empire will defend their World Tag Team Titles against the Ballard Brothers.  The Ballard Brothers are a big time tag team in Pro Wrestling Vendetta.  Iron Empire should come away with a win, but it will be interesting.

Jax Dane vs. Tim Storm for the NWA World Heavyweight Title.  This is amazing that they are doing this match again.  Last year this was the big match and it was to unify the Nation and North American Titles.  Dane won.  I like Tim Storm, and Dane could use a familiar opponent.  But maybe a different match would have generated a little more excitement.  Currently Storm is the North American champ, and he may still be when this match arrives, but that title is not on the line this year.

I would have loved to see Little Cholo get a shot at the North American Title, but overall this is a good slate of additions to the Casino Royal slate of matches.