The following article was originally published with Gerweck on October 22, 2018.
The storied history of the NWA Anniversary Show continued live tonight from the historic Asylum at the Nashville Fairgrounds. The National Wrestling Alliance was founded in 1948 and has served as a landmark home of legends in the wrestling industry. The first Anniversary Show was held in 1998 to commemorate the NWA 50th Anniversary. The show continued annually until 2005, but returned in 2008 to honor the NWA 60th Anniversary. Ten years later, we witness the NWA 70th Anniversary Show main evented by the much anticipated rematch between recently-crowned NWA World Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes and former champion Nick Aldis in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match.
The night also featured a three-match tournament to crown a new NWA National Heavyweight Champion featuring competitors like Willie Mack, Sammy Guevara, Colt Cabana, and more! NWA World Women’s Champion Jazz also defended her title against “The Bad Girl” Penelope Ford it what had the potential to be a surprise match of the night.
Jim Cornette returned as color commentator and joined Joe Galli, the voice of Championship Wrestling from Hollywood on the broadcast team. On top of that, veteran broadcaster Tony Shiavone will join the booth during the main event. Unfortunately NWA did have some technical difficulties throughout the broadcast. During hype videos and interview segments backstage, the live feed didn’t air the proper audio and instead kept the ring announcer mic’ed up. They seemed to clue in to the issue about 40 minutes into the show, still had some sporadic audio problems throughout the night. It was an unfortunate misstep for an otherwise well crafted show.
NWA National Heavyweight Championship Tournament
The night began with one of two 4-way elimination matches in the tournament for the vacant NWA National Heavyweight Championship. The action was high octane right off the bat as Sammy Guevara and Scorpio Sky set the pace in a chaotic opening contest. Colt Cabana was eliminated first thanks to a roll-up with a handful of tights by Samuel Shaw. Scorpio Sky managed to eliminate Guevara, but ate a superkick from Shaw moments later that let the unhinged former TNA Gut Check winner advance in the tournament.
In the second 4-way elimination match, a contrast was struck to the high-flying talent in the earlier elimination contest. Mike Parrow, Jay Bradley, and Willie Mack are all devastatingly deadly powerhouses, but Ricky Starks provided the agile and arrogant x-factor in the match. With a handful of tights much like Shaw used earlier, Starks managed to eliminate Parrow early. A surprising powerbomb from Starks followed by a frog splash from Willie Mack finished off Jay Bradley. Starks stayed competitive, but ate a Stunner from Willie Mack that allowed Mack to advance.
After the match, Sam Shaw made his way to the ring and stared down Mack. While distracted by Shaw, it was Jay Bradley that attacked Mack fro behind to soften him up. Fortunately James Ellsworth made the save shortly after, but the damage was already done and left Shaw the clearly fresher man going into the finals. Sam Shaw took advantage early, nearly causing Mack to pass out on two separate occasions. Mack fought back and hit a huge belly to belly suplex to even the odds.
The crowd was firmly behind Mack as the big man fought back with both his strength and agility on display against Sam Shaw. Shockingly, Shaw kicked out of the first Stunner attempt by Chocolate Thunder. Mack then kicked out of a huge superkick by Shaw. It looked like the end was near as Sam Shaw was tuning up the band, but he missed and ate another Stunner as Willie Mack took the three count to become the new NWA National Heavyweight Champion!
No shortage of youth in the National Wrestling Alliance
The night’s second match featured some of the younger talent in the NWA as “50 Caliber” Barrett Brown, the final NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, squared off against Laredo Kid. Despite being only 31 years of age, Laredo Kid boasts 15 years of experience. While that experience was on display throughout the contest, it was a powerful running knee from Brown that helped the resident of Gun Barrell City, Texas pick up the victory.
Another example of the promotion’s youth was on display was 29-year-old “Professional” Peter Avalon took on veteran Tim Storm in their third clash. An impromptu bet raised the stakes as the loser of the match would be forced to kiss the winner’s foot. Avalon was accompanied by a helpful distraction in the form of manager Nicolas Marquez, son of famed promoter David Marquez. Avalon’s arrogance was on display and he put up a great fight, but in the end it was the veteran of over two decades and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Tim Storm who finished Avalon off with the Perfect Storm. After the match, both Marquez and Avalon ended up kissing Storm’s foot.
In the women’s division, “The Bad Girl” Penelope Ford challenged 23-year veteran Jazz for the NWA World Women’s Championship. Despite being 45-years-old, Jazz looked like she hadn’t lost a step. The powerhouse was as strong as ever, and twisted the 26-year-old upstart into knots before finishing her off with a painful looking STF. After the match, Jazz laid down a challenge to the winner of Nick Aldis and Cody Rhodes. Could Jazz be the first-ever female NWA World Heavyweight Champion?
The final non-title contest of the night, the unorthadox Kingdom of Josephus answered the open challenge from The War Kings. Josephus was on the mic hyping up his intention the two women flanking him, his ‘Spiritual Advisor’ and GLOW’s own Hollywood, to answer the challenge and take on Jax Dane and Crimson. During Josephus’ pre-match tirade, Shannon Moore and Crazzy Steve suddenly appeared as new members of The Kingdom of Josephus.
Their sneak attack gave them an early advantage against Dane and Crimson, but it was ultimately The War Kings who reigned victorious after finishing off The Kingdom of Josephus with Ground Zero. After the match, Road Warrior Animal announced the return of The Crockett Cup, a tag team tournament originally held in 1986. The inaugural Crockett Cup was captured by The Road Warriors, and the event will return in 2019.
The Rematch for The Ten Pounds of Gold
The match of the night going into the main event was appropriately the NWA National Heavyweight Championship Match between Willie Mack and Sam Shaw. During that tournament, commentary emphasized that the NWA National Heavyweight title would serve in many ways as a gateway to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The history and prestige of the championship was on display as former champions Dory Funk Jr, Jax Dane, Tim Storm, Colt Cabana, Blue Demon Jr, and Jeff Jarrett were all in attendance.
“The National Treasure” Nick Aldis made his way to the ring first, accompanied by his ‘insurance policy’ in the form of Camilla Kane. Aldis made it clear during the buildup to the contest that Kane was there to even the odds with Brandi Rhodes being at ringside for NWA World Champion Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare made his way out next with Brandi at his side. The crowd was firmly behind the champion, and there was definitely an appropriate big fight feel at the Main Event of the NWA 70th Anniversary Show. Two referees were present, with Brian Hebner being the lead official on the first (and third if needed) fall and Earl Hebner taking the lead on the second fall.
With alleged controversy in their first match at All In, this rematch was made a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match to guarantee there would be a clear winner. More than any other contest throughout the night, it was clear this final contest would be a war of attrition. Aldis put his focus on weaking the back and knees of Cody early on in the contest. After a hotly contested first fall, Aldis was able to lock in the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf. In a surprising moment, Cody almost immediately tapped out. He lost the first fall, but the quick tap allowed Cody to avoid further damage and suddenly take advantage during the beginning of the second fall.
It didn’t take long for the second fall to spill into the crowd, and lead official Earl Hebner chose not to disqualify or count out either competitor and instead let them go all out against one another. Aldis was on the receiving end of some trash can shenanigans and some soda from the concession booth, but things quickly broke down more as Cody brought a table into the mix. It looked like it might bite Cody in the butt but Brandi Rhodes slid in and stopped Aldis from sending Cody through the table. Camilla Kane slid in to balance the situation, but both women served as not much more than a brief distraction for these two competitors.
Aldis looked to finish things off as he set Cody up on the table and went for a huge top rope elbow drop to the outside. The American Nightmare rolled out of the way at the last second and Aldis crashed hard through the wood into the concrete floor. Cody slid Aldis into the ring and immediately hit the Cross Rhodes to pick up the second fall and even things up heading into the third and final fall. The champion tried to quickly hit Cross Rhodes again to finish things up, but Aldis escaped. Both men traded strikes in the center of the ring as the hot crowd firmly stood behind The American Nightmare.
There was chaos at ringside as Brandi Rhodes and Camilla Kane stayed involved once again, leading to Brian Hebner ejecting both of them along with all the former NWA Champions at ringside. The commotion allowed Aldis to hit a Cross Rhodes on the champion to nearly steal the victory, but Cody kicked out and managed to lock the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf on Aldis. Both men fought hard in a back and forth final moments. As Aldis went for the Cloverleaf, Cody’s boot slipped off. Cody tried to capitalize on the moment with a small package but Aldis carried the momentum through and shifted his weight to get Cody’s shoulder down for the three to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion!
Match results:
- Samuel Shaw def. Colt Cabana, Sammy Guevara, and Scorpio Sky (Order of Elimination: Colt Cabana, Sammy Guevara, Scorpio Sky) in NWA National Title 4-way Elimination Match B
- “50 Caliber” Barrett Brown def. Laredo Kid
- Willie Mack def. Mike Parrow, Jay Bradley, and Ricky Starks (Order of Elimination: Mike Parrow, Jay Bradley, Ricky Starks) in NWA National Title 4-way Elimination Match A
- Tim Storm def. Peter Avalon
- Jazz def. Penelope Ford to retain the NWA World Women’s Championship
- Willie Mack def. Samuel Shaw to become the new NWA National Heavyweight Champion
- The War Kings (Jax Dane & Crimson w/ Road Warrior Animal) def. The Kingdom of Josephus (Shannon Moore & Crazzy Steve w/ Josephus, Hollywood, and The Spiritual Advisor)
- Nick Aldis def. Cody Rhodes to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion (First fall to Nick Aldis by submission, second fall to Cody Rhodes by pinfall, third fall to Nick Aldis by pinfall)