Bill Apter takes a look at the NWA!
Sept 24, 2013 13:27:07 GMT
Post by Kimmel on Sept 24, 2013 13:27:07 GMT
As Jim Crockett Promotions , after it's merger with Georgia Championship Wrestling, prepares to debut on WTBS on October 4, 1984 under the NWA Banner, we here at Pro Wrestling Illustrated thought we might provide a primer to anyone who hasn't seen the action in the Mid Atlantic Area and has the chance to tune into the Superstation!
If we are talking about the NWA then you have to start at the top with the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, “The Nature Boy” himself, Ric Flair! Flair is currently in the midst of his third reign as Champion, and has his hands full with the Awesome Twosome, or as the fans like to refer to them , The Gruesome Twosome, Wahoo McDaniels and Television Champion Tully Blanchard. Wahoo shocked the world when he turned his back on his friends Flair and at the time United States Champion Ricky Steamboat, because he felt he wasn't being given enough title opportunities, he soon joined forces with TV Champion Tully Blanchard who was also chasing the titles held by Flair and Steamboat.
Wahoo succeeded in defeating Steamboat for the United States title, with help from Blanchard, but Wahoo claimed he had nothing to do with Blanchard’s interference, it wasn't until Wahoo aided Blanchard in a match against Flair that the NWA Championship Committee realized what was going on and stripped Wahoo of the United States Title. As of press time the title is still vacant, but we here at PWI have been informed that we can expect an announcement on the fate of the US Title when NWA World Championship Wrestling takes the air at 6:05 eastern time Saturday October 5!!!
Speaking of Ricky Steamboat, the popular star actually retired earlier in the year!!! After regaining the NWA World Tag Team Titles from the Brisco Brothers with his long time friend and partner Jay Youngblood, Ricky decided to hang up the boots and relinquish the World Tag Team Title belts! Steamboat’s reasoning was he was never going to be given a chance to step out of the tag team ranks that he seemed to now be defined by and granted a chance to hold the only belt he has never held, the NWA World Title. Jim Crockett and NWA World Champion Ric Flair decided to grant Steamboat his chance at the title if he would come out of retirement, which Steamboat did. Steamboat and Flair are close friends from all accounts, but they also are competitors and as the two men many feel are the greatest athletes in the sport today they have no problems facing each other, and testing their skills against one another in classic matches that always have the fans buzzing.
After Steamboat gave up his half of the NWA World Tag Team Titles a tournament was held to crown new Champions, Don Kernodle and Bob Orton Jr. won the tournament but soon lost the titles to Wahoo McDaniels and Mark Youngblood, Kernodle then joined forces with “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff and regained the titles from Wahoo and Youngblood. When Wahoo turned his back on his friends to join forces with Tully Blanchard, Mark went to his brother 5 time former NWA World Tag Team Champion Jay Youngblood. The Youngblood Brothers gave Kernodle and Koloff all they could handle, but they could never take the titles away. Then in June, Kernodle, Ivan and Ivan’s monstrous nephew Nikita Koloff injured Jay Youngblood sending him to the hospital. Kernodle and the Koloffs thought they had rid themselves of the Youngbloods, but several weeks later Jay returned, with a new look and new attitude! Jay had returned ready for war, calling himself the Renegade he now wore dark face paint and said he would take the battle to the Koloffs and Kernodle and win the titles by any means necessary, it didn’t take long for Mark to also don the face paint and pick up a little more of the aggressive style. The Renegades are on the Warpath for the NWA World Tag Team Titles, and The Koloffs and Kernodle better be on the lookout!!!
We can’t talk about the National Wrestling Alliance and not touch upon the ongoing war between “The Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant and “Number One” Paul Jones! Jones has had one goal for a while now, and that’s to put Valiant out of wrestling. The hatred between these two men runs very deep, and their animosity for one another knows no bounds. Jones drew first blood when his hired guns, The Assassins attacked Valiant and cut off his beard. Valiant was irate as he had been growing that beard since the day his son was born, Valiant got revenge however when he ran, The Assassins, out of the NWA. First he defeated and unmasked Assassin #2 revealing him to be Hercules Hernandez, he then defeated Assassin #1 in a loser leaves town match. Jones refused to go down easy however and declared all out war on Valiant, now wearing a military style uniform Jones has begun to build his Army. His plans are to fill it with men who will do anything for a buck, and he has started by hiring notorious rulebreakers and brawlers Rip Morgan and “Lord” Jonathan Boyd, who are more known for their bloody brawls than their technical wrestling prowess. And just to stack the deck a little further, Jones has put a bounty on the head of Valiant, and all one has to do to earn it is to send Valiant out of the ring on a stretcher!!! The amount of the bounty? TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!! That should bring quite a few mercenaries to the area looking to make a quick score, but Valiant isn’t going to go down without a fight, and a few of those bounty hunters may find themselves on the receiving end of a stretcher ride themselves!
Dick Slater is looking to return to the area soon. Slater stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy earlier in the year when, with the help of Bob Orton Jr., he pinned NWA World Champion Ric Flair. Footage showed Orton clearly holding Flair’s foot down outside of the ring, so the decision was reversed, but that didn’t stop Slater from creating a NWA World Title belt for himself and carrying it around, declaring himself the true World Champion. Slater was also United States Champion at the time and had won the Mid Atlantic Title, which he gave to Ivan Koloff as a gesture of their friendship. Slater ended up dropping the US Title to Ricky Steamboat, and lost in a series of matches to Ric Flair that reinforced Flair’s claim as the Undisputed Champion. Since then Slater has been traveling the world, competing in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Japan and Canada, but is set to return to the NWA. What will Slater do when he returns? Will he go after the Vacant US Title? Will he resume his battles with Ric Flair? Will he rejoin forces with Kerndole and Koloff? They call Slater “Mr. Unpredictable” for a reason, and there is no telling what he might do!!!
“The Ragin Bull” Manny Fernandez has been impressing fans since debuting in the NWA. Fernandez made a name for himself as one of the toughest competitors in the ring while competing in the Southwest, and has continued that in the Southeast. Fernandez has teamed several times with the Renegades against The Koloffs and Don Kernodle in Six Man matches and has vowed not only to run the Communists out of the country and back to Russia, but to send the man he thinks is a traitor, Don Kerndole, off with them!!! He has also given Tully Blanchard a run for him money in matches for the Television Title, battling Blanchard to quite a few time limit draws. Some people think Blanchard is ducking Fernandez, not wanting to put the title on the line against him. The sky's the limit for Fernandez who is out to show everyone, when you mess with The Bull YOU GET THE HORNS!
Recently Frank Dusek made his managerial debut here in the National Wrestling Alliance, purchasing the contracts of the Long Riders, Black Bart and Ron Bass, from James J. Dillon, Dillon then promptly left the area with a pocket full of cash!! Dusek signed the Long Riders to several matches and after watching their performance fired Ron Bass. Dusek brought in promising up and comer Joel Deaton to team with Black Bart and christened the team The Outlaws. The Outlaws have lost more matches than they have won because they continually find themselves getting disqualified, but Dusek likes what he sees in his team and believes they will one day become NWA World Tag Team Champions.
Dusek tried to grow his stable by adding Georgia favorite "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin. Ron refused to sign with Dusek several times, and the final time he refused he put an exclamation point on his answer with a punch that knocked Dusek out cold!!! In retaliation The Outlaws attacked Garvin and broke his hand! Now the man known as the Hands of Stone in many circles sits and waits for his hand to heal so that he can return and get his revenge of Dusek and The Outlaws!
Two Youngsters have been making some waves in the area as well! Sam Houston has shown quite a bit of promise as of late, winning several matches and moving up the card. Houston has shown that his bulldog headlock can be executed at a moment’s notice and when he is able to apply it, he generally picks up the victory! Veteran Nelson Royal has brought second generation star Kendall Windham to the area, Nelson says his old business partner and friend Blackjack Mulligan sent his son Kendall to finish up his training with Nelson. Kendall has looked good in the tag matches he has competed in with Nelson as his partner, and Royal feels that after Kendall gets a little more seasoning, he will be as big of a star in the wrestling world as his brother Barry, and his father! The future looks bright for both these young men!
Finally, right before we went to press we were informed that “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin and Precious would soon be making their debut in the NWA. Garvin has caused all kinds of trouble and controversy everywhere he has gone and that promises to continue once he reaches the area!!
If we are talking about the NWA then you have to start at the top with the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, “The Nature Boy” himself, Ric Flair! Flair is currently in the midst of his third reign as Champion, and has his hands full with the Awesome Twosome, or as the fans like to refer to them , The Gruesome Twosome, Wahoo McDaniels and Television Champion Tully Blanchard. Wahoo shocked the world when he turned his back on his friends Flair and at the time United States Champion Ricky Steamboat, because he felt he wasn't being given enough title opportunities, he soon joined forces with TV Champion Tully Blanchard who was also chasing the titles held by Flair and Steamboat.
Wahoo succeeded in defeating Steamboat for the United States title, with help from Blanchard, but Wahoo claimed he had nothing to do with Blanchard’s interference, it wasn't until Wahoo aided Blanchard in a match against Flair that the NWA Championship Committee realized what was going on and stripped Wahoo of the United States Title. As of press time the title is still vacant, but we here at PWI have been informed that we can expect an announcement on the fate of the US Title when NWA World Championship Wrestling takes the air at 6:05 eastern time Saturday October 5!!!
Speaking of Ricky Steamboat, the popular star actually retired earlier in the year!!! After regaining the NWA World Tag Team Titles from the Brisco Brothers with his long time friend and partner Jay Youngblood, Ricky decided to hang up the boots and relinquish the World Tag Team Title belts! Steamboat’s reasoning was he was never going to be given a chance to step out of the tag team ranks that he seemed to now be defined by and granted a chance to hold the only belt he has never held, the NWA World Title. Jim Crockett and NWA World Champion Ric Flair decided to grant Steamboat his chance at the title if he would come out of retirement, which Steamboat did. Steamboat and Flair are close friends from all accounts, but they also are competitors and as the two men many feel are the greatest athletes in the sport today they have no problems facing each other, and testing their skills against one another in classic matches that always have the fans buzzing.
After Steamboat gave up his half of the NWA World Tag Team Titles a tournament was held to crown new Champions, Don Kernodle and Bob Orton Jr. won the tournament but soon lost the titles to Wahoo McDaniels and Mark Youngblood, Kernodle then joined forces with “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff and regained the titles from Wahoo and Youngblood. When Wahoo turned his back on his friends to join forces with Tully Blanchard, Mark went to his brother 5 time former NWA World Tag Team Champion Jay Youngblood. The Youngblood Brothers gave Kernodle and Koloff all they could handle, but they could never take the titles away. Then in June, Kernodle, Ivan and Ivan’s monstrous nephew Nikita Koloff injured Jay Youngblood sending him to the hospital. Kernodle and the Koloffs thought they had rid themselves of the Youngbloods, but several weeks later Jay returned, with a new look and new attitude! Jay had returned ready for war, calling himself the Renegade he now wore dark face paint and said he would take the battle to the Koloffs and Kernodle and win the titles by any means necessary, it didn’t take long for Mark to also don the face paint and pick up a little more of the aggressive style. The Renegades are on the Warpath for the NWA World Tag Team Titles, and The Koloffs and Kernodle better be on the lookout!!!
We can’t talk about the National Wrestling Alliance and not touch upon the ongoing war between “The Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant and “Number One” Paul Jones! Jones has had one goal for a while now, and that’s to put Valiant out of wrestling. The hatred between these two men runs very deep, and their animosity for one another knows no bounds. Jones drew first blood when his hired guns, The Assassins attacked Valiant and cut off his beard. Valiant was irate as he had been growing that beard since the day his son was born, Valiant got revenge however when he ran, The Assassins, out of the NWA. First he defeated and unmasked Assassin #2 revealing him to be Hercules Hernandez, he then defeated Assassin #1 in a loser leaves town match. Jones refused to go down easy however and declared all out war on Valiant, now wearing a military style uniform Jones has begun to build his Army. His plans are to fill it with men who will do anything for a buck, and he has started by hiring notorious rulebreakers and brawlers Rip Morgan and “Lord” Jonathan Boyd, who are more known for their bloody brawls than their technical wrestling prowess. And just to stack the deck a little further, Jones has put a bounty on the head of Valiant, and all one has to do to earn it is to send Valiant out of the ring on a stretcher!!! The amount of the bounty? TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!! That should bring quite a few mercenaries to the area looking to make a quick score, but Valiant isn’t going to go down without a fight, and a few of those bounty hunters may find themselves on the receiving end of a stretcher ride themselves!
Dick Slater is looking to return to the area soon. Slater stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy earlier in the year when, with the help of Bob Orton Jr., he pinned NWA World Champion Ric Flair. Footage showed Orton clearly holding Flair’s foot down outside of the ring, so the decision was reversed, but that didn’t stop Slater from creating a NWA World Title belt for himself and carrying it around, declaring himself the true World Champion. Slater was also United States Champion at the time and had won the Mid Atlantic Title, which he gave to Ivan Koloff as a gesture of their friendship. Slater ended up dropping the US Title to Ricky Steamboat, and lost in a series of matches to Ric Flair that reinforced Flair’s claim as the Undisputed Champion. Since then Slater has been traveling the world, competing in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Japan and Canada, but is set to return to the NWA. What will Slater do when he returns? Will he go after the Vacant US Title? Will he resume his battles with Ric Flair? Will he rejoin forces with Kerndole and Koloff? They call Slater “Mr. Unpredictable” for a reason, and there is no telling what he might do!!!
“The Ragin Bull” Manny Fernandez has been impressing fans since debuting in the NWA. Fernandez made a name for himself as one of the toughest competitors in the ring while competing in the Southwest, and has continued that in the Southeast. Fernandez has teamed several times with the Renegades against The Koloffs and Don Kernodle in Six Man matches and has vowed not only to run the Communists out of the country and back to Russia, but to send the man he thinks is a traitor, Don Kerndole, off with them!!! He has also given Tully Blanchard a run for him money in matches for the Television Title, battling Blanchard to quite a few time limit draws. Some people think Blanchard is ducking Fernandez, not wanting to put the title on the line against him. The sky's the limit for Fernandez who is out to show everyone, when you mess with The Bull YOU GET THE HORNS!
Recently Frank Dusek made his managerial debut here in the National Wrestling Alliance, purchasing the contracts of the Long Riders, Black Bart and Ron Bass, from James J. Dillon, Dillon then promptly left the area with a pocket full of cash!! Dusek signed the Long Riders to several matches and after watching their performance fired Ron Bass. Dusek brought in promising up and comer Joel Deaton to team with Black Bart and christened the team The Outlaws. The Outlaws have lost more matches than they have won because they continually find themselves getting disqualified, but Dusek likes what he sees in his team and believes they will one day become NWA World Tag Team Champions.
Dusek tried to grow his stable by adding Georgia favorite "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin. Ron refused to sign with Dusek several times, and the final time he refused he put an exclamation point on his answer with a punch that knocked Dusek out cold!!! In retaliation The Outlaws attacked Garvin and broke his hand! Now the man known as the Hands of Stone in many circles sits and waits for his hand to heal so that he can return and get his revenge of Dusek and The Outlaws!
Two Youngsters have been making some waves in the area as well! Sam Houston has shown quite a bit of promise as of late, winning several matches and moving up the card. Houston has shown that his bulldog headlock can be executed at a moment’s notice and when he is able to apply it, he generally picks up the victory! Veteran Nelson Royal has brought second generation star Kendall Windham to the area, Nelson says his old business partner and friend Blackjack Mulligan sent his son Kendall to finish up his training with Nelson. Kendall has looked good in the tag matches he has competed in with Nelson as his partner, and Royal feels that after Kendall gets a little more seasoning, he will be as big of a star in the wrestling world as his brother Barry, and his father! The future looks bright for both these young men!
Finally, right before we went to press we were informed that “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin and Precious would soon be making their debut in the NWA. Garvin has caused all kinds of trouble and controversy everywhere he has gone and that promises to continue once he reaches the area!!
Working on it now.