by Scotty Szanto-Nicodemus
Exclusive to OnlineOnslaught.com

Disclaimer:  This is a photo-essay.  Whenever you see a link like this, it is a link to my personal website, where I have uploaded more than 50 pictures from our trip.  I got at least one picture from each match on the card, as well as pictures of the more well-known wrasslers at the meet-n-greet.  My apologies in advance to those of you that will be maneuvering through these links without a high-speed modem…before you complain to me, just remember that I had to create this document with a plain ol’ 56K modem myself, so I’m feeling your pain!!

The NWA 54^th Anniversary show is now in the books.  What a great show, and what a great town Corpus Christi is!  We started by checking into our hotel before heading to the meet-n-greet Friday night.  We decided to walk to the meet-n-greet, thinking it would only be a couple of blocks from 601 to 401 Water Street, but we did not take into account that one was North and one was South.  So we walked ten blocks, and when we got there we found out that we could in fact bring our camera with us (the website had advertised no cameras allowed).  We wanted to change clothes anyway, and so we walked ten blocks back to the hotel…from there, we drove.

I had noticed that AJ Styles was selling videotapes when we were there the first time, but his table was busy when we came back, and so we first approached Jorge Estrada, getting his autograph, as well as a picture first with myself, and then with Amey.  The event was kind of dead, and a few of the wrasslers were beginning to leave, and we had to grab Konnan before he left.  Tha Truth had been outside smoking when we returned, and after he made it back inside, he was more than happy to pose with Amey.  We were finally able to make it to AJ Styles’ table, and I bought a copy of his Best of videotape produced by NWA Wildside…it’s volume 2 of their Best of AJ Styles, titled “Rise of the Phenomenon”.  I’ve already watched it, and of course it is very good.  He was selling them for $15 (five dollars cheaper than they are on the Wildside website), and when I only had a twenty, he had to borrow $5 to provide my change!  That was kinda funny.

As for the indy wrasslers, well, they weren’t sitting behind tables with little signs telling us who was who, and so we were stuck trying to guess which ones to talk to…that’s the only downer that we brought away from the weekend, we weren’t able to talk to enough of the indy guys because we didn’t know who was who.  Anyway, Hotstuff Hernandez had his picture real big in the ads for the show, and we recognized him right away.  Amey thought that it was especially fun to yell from across the room, “Hey Hotstuff!”  This picture is of Hotstuff and a group of other wrasslers.  The guy in the background wearing the stars-n-stripes outfit is Jimbo Starr, who had been pacing back and forth in the background of the proceedings all night, and so we decided to talk to him.  It turned out that Jimbo is deaf, and because of the communication barrier, when I asked if he was wrasslin’ at the event, I think that he thought I was just asking if he was a wrestler, because he answered yes.  He wasn’t at the event, you see…but we did make a sign in order to cheer him on, since he wouldn’t be able to hear us yelling his name!

On Saturday night, we arrived fashionably late…the doors opened at 7:00, and the bell time was 7:30, so we arrived at 7:20.  There was a big screen set up, and it was showing TNA footage of the Jerry Lynn v. AJ Styles feud.  At around 7:30, Jeremy Borash came to the ring to welcome us and kick things off, and to introduce Jeff Jarrett.  Jarrett told us that he had originally been scheduled to be at a NASCAR race that day, and that is why he wasn’t wrasslin’, but he also welcomed us, and then got things started.

Match 1. Brother Love v. Jacey North:  Brother Love is the face representing NWA Mississippi; Jacey North is the heel representing NWA Georgia; and the referee is Tony Wolfe.  The night got off to an auspicious start when they messed-up the entrance music for Brother Love…playing “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” instead of the James Brown song that is actually Brother Love’s song.  When he made it to the ring and asked them to play the right song so that he could dance for us, they played Jacey North’s music again!  At that point Love gave up, and the match got underway.  Brother Love was in control most of the match, but in the end Jacey North came away with the win.

Match 2. A Special Hair Match:  Damon Briggs v. Pisiak:  Briggs is the heel representing NWA Wildside and accompanied to the ring by his valet Seven; Pisiak is the face representing the local bush league hockey team, the Corpus Christi IceRays; and the referee is Bones.  Pisiak came to the ring to Eminem’s “Without Me”…the only reason that I know this is because I borrowed the new Eminem CD from one of my students for the weekend and we had listened to this song on the way to the arena!!  In this picture, Pisiak comes off the ropes as Briggs telegraphs a Back Body Drop.  Corpus Christi must be a big hockey town, as Pisiak was over huge with the crowd.  Pisiak went over clean, and then the clippers came out, and the mohawked Briggs took his medicine like a man…he cried.  Actually, Pisiak only shaved a little off the back, which led me to believe that this isn’t the first time Briggs has lost a Hair Match!!

Match 3.  East Coast Connection v. Ricky Murdoch & Magnum:  The ECC are the heels representing NWA Hawaii; Murdoch represents NWA Midsouth, and Magnum is from NWA Tri-State, and they are your faces; the referee is Tony Wolfe.  The ECC are on the right in this picture, and the crowd just loved chanting “Mullet! Mullet!”  The ECC came to the ring with title belts, but they were not on the line in this match.  I was a little picture happy early in the event, and here is one of Magnum setting-up for a Superplex against the non-mullet member of the ECC.  One of the ECC got the pinfall on Ricky Murdoch, and the ECC celebrated in the ring.

Match 4.  Canadian Heavyweight Title:  Paul Tracy v. Spyder (champ):  Paul Tracy is the heel representing NWA UK (and replacing Disco Fury, who was listed in the program); Spyder is the face representing NWA ECCW and PNW; and the referee is Bones.  It might have been Bob Tracy (I had trouble hearing his introduction), but in any event the wiley Tracy took the fight to Spyder with no hesitation.  As Tracy climbed to the top turnbuckle, Spyder was able to reverse the move and get the pinfall to retain his title.

Match 5.  Biggie Biggs v. Preston Quinn:  Biggie Biggs is the face representing NWA New Jersey; Preston Quinn is the heel representing NWA Virginia; the referee is Tony Wolfe.  Biggie Biggs, shown here in the far corner, dominated most of the match against “Ol’ PQ” Preston Quinn.  The tide turned when Quinn’s manager and tag-team partner rushed the ring, but in the end Biggie Biggs came away with the win.

Match 6. NWA Junior Heavyweight Title #1 Contenders Match:  Jason Rumble v. Rocky Reynolds:  Jason Rumble is the face representing NWA New England; Rocky Reynolds is the heel representing NWA Tri-State; the referee is NWA Southwest’s Senior Official Fred Richards.  I was excited for this match, having seen Jason Rumble previously in the Jersey Championship Wrestling J-Cup Tournament.  Here, Rumble (in yellow) is about to be on the receiving-end of a top-tope move from Reynolds.  Try as I might, I just couldn’t get the crowd to go along with me in a “Rocky Sucks” chant!  AJ Styles and Mortimer Plumtree came to the ring, presumably scouting talent for TNA’s X-Division.  As an admitted Jason Rumble mark, I had to get this shot of him coming off the top with a Frogsplash on the prone Reynolds.  AJ Styles distracted the ref when Rumble went for the pin, however, but the distraction backfired, and Rumble was able to walk out the victor.  Plumtree and Styles were so enraged that their plan backfired that they rushed the ring after the match and commenced to beatdown on Rumble.  When the World Tag Champs made it to the ring for the save, chaos ensued.  In the end, the NWA official in attendance told Styles that he would be teaming-up with Reynolds to take on the champs in the semi-main event on that very night…this match is to replace the Styles v. Shamrock match because Shamrock wasn’t there (something that they never actually announced).

Match 7.  NWA Texas Heavyweight Title Match (Texas Death Match Rules):  Steve DeMarco v. JP Black (champ):  Steve DeMarco is the face from NWA Southwest and grew up in Corpus Christi (they even announced what High School he used to play football for); JP Black is the heel also representing NWA Southwest; and the referee is Bones.  DeMarco, the hometown favorite looked good against Black, in the only match on the card to feature a crimson mask.  The champ bled, and in fact, his wife was in the crowd just behind us holding their young daughter.  Whenever DeMarco landed an offensive move, we could here Blacks’s wife saying, “Daddy’s OK.”  This picture shows the set-up for the finish of the match, in which Black set up two chairs in the ring and two tables outside…while the two men battled above it all on the top turnbuckle, DeMarco came out on top and Black tumbled backwards through the tables.  DeMarco celebrated with his hometown fans, and thanked them, saying how good it was to be back home.

INTERMISSION—The Mummy came to the ring and cut a brief promo, telling us that he would have wrestled on the card if not for the fact that he was injured.  He had told Amey at the meet-n-greet that even though he wouldn’t be competing, that he would knock someone out just for her.  Sadly, he knocked nobody out.

Match 8.  NWA United Kingdom Heavyweight Title Match:  Danny Garnell v. Johnny Moss (champ):  Danny Garnell is the face representing NWA UK; Johnny Moss is the heel also representing NWA UK; and the referee is Bones.  A pair of Brits were up first after the brief intermission (we were running late on time already), putting on a veritable clinic in mat-based submission-style wrasslin’.  In the end, the champ Johnny Moss retained his title.

Match 9.  NWA Women’s World Title Match:  Char Starr v. Madison (champ):  Char Starr is the heel representing NWA Southwest, and is accompanied to the ring by “The Manager of Champions” Steve Moody; Madison is the face representing NWA ECCW; and the referee is Fred Richards.  The event program tells me that the Women’s Title had been inactivate from 2000 until August 2002, when Madison won the belt against two-time former champ Bambi.  The much larger Starr dominated most of the match against the champ, who was not much of a match for Starr.  She might’ve been the heel, but she’s still from Texas, and Char Starr won to become the NEW Women’s Champion!

Match 10.  NWA North American Title Match:  “Flying Elvis” Jorge Estrada v. Paul Atlas (champ):  Estrada is the face representing NWA TNA; Paul Atlas is the heel representing NWA East; and the referee is Tony Wolfe.  Atlas won our vote for the best entrance music of the night, coming to the ring to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”.  That wasn’t enough to fend off the attack of the fired up Estrada.  In the most surprising twist of the night, Estrada won to become the NEW North American Champion…surprising because I didn’t think that they would bother giving him a title that he wouldn’t be bringing onto television.

Match 11.  Special International Match:  Danny Dominion v. Konnan:  Danny Dominion is the heel representing NWA Midwest, and is accompanied to the ring by manager Mortimer Plumtree; Konnan is the face representing NWA TNA; and the referee is Fred Richards.  I would be remiss if I did not mention that Baby nudged me when Konnan was announced as representing TNA…she has been pointing-out instances of possible foreshadowing that K-Dogg is portraying Mr. Wrestling III for weeks now.  Dominion was yet another of the competitors that came to the ring wearing a title belt that was not being defended…it only makes sense that the various territories would send their champs to represent them, I guess.  K-Dogg came to the ring and cut basically the same promo that we’ve all seen dozens of times, although he changed it up by also doing it in Spanish to a big pop.  Konnan got the win.

Match 12.  NWA Tag Team Title Match:  AJ Styles & Rocky Reynolds v. Harris & Storm:  Styles and Reynolds are the heels accompanied to the ring by Mortimer Plumtree; Harris and Storm are the faces, and everyone represents NWA TNA besides Reynolds, who represents NWA Tri-State; the referee is Bones.  The heels came to the ring first, and were accompanied by Mortimer Plumtree.  The champs were announced simply as America’s Most Wanted, instead of Harris & Storm.  I took a lot of action shots, but only a couple turned out, including this one of Styles leaping over the top rope onto the champs on the floor.  All the high risk moves in the world weren’t enough to take the belts from the champs, who retained after a very exciting match.  Styles and Mortimer blamed Reynolds for the loss, since Reynolds was the one who was pinned after all, and after the match Styles turned on him…hitting him with the Styles Clash and leaving him laying in the ring.

Match 13.  NWA World Heavyweight Title Match (2 out of 3 Falls Match):  Hotstuff Hernandez v. Ron “Tha Truth” Killings (champ):  Hotstuff Hernandez is the face representing NWA Southwest, and is the current NWA National Champion as well as the current #1 Contender to the World Title; Tha Truth is the heel representing NWA TNA; and the referee is Fred Richards.  The crowd was red hot for Hotstuff Hernandez, the first Hispanic to ever hold the National Heavyweight Title.  His reign is currently at 54 weeks (at the time of the event), which makes his the second-longest National Title reign in NWA history, trailing Doug Gilbert who held the belt for 63 weeks.  What can I say about Tha Truth?  His ability to get the crowd against him is unreal, and he’s not a bad wrassler to boot!!  The event was running very late by the time this match got started, and so it was very short.  Tha Truth got the first pinfall, and a few minutes later Hernandez scored a pinfall, only to have Truth immediately reverse it into the final and deciding fall.  The crowd wasn’t exactly thrilled with the finish, and a few people complained about a 2/3 Falls Match that lasted less than 10 minutes, but like I said, we were running very late by that point.

All in all, it was a fantastic event, with lots of young studs trying to make a name for themselves.  Speaking of young studs, as the arena was clearing out, we saw Jason Rumble limping towards the locker room, and I just had to let him know that his was one of the few names that I knew before going to the event…he replied, “All right, I’ve got fans in Texas!”  He also posed for this picture before limping back to Boston.

Finally, after talking briefly with Rumble, we were among the last fans to leave the arena area, and I took this opportunity to rush the ring!!

PEACE

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