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Into The Fire would be the final show of 2011 for the National Wrestling Alliance and also the final time that the term Total Nonstop Action wrestling would be used without being a reference in a history book in what was setup to be a fantastic end to the year, and also would mark two years since the NWA had start running under the control of the Juice Management Group (JMG).
The opening contest would see a first time pairing of Madison Rayne and Melina. Both women in different ways were trying to impress Peter Avalon to earn a place in the Court of Avalonia as they would challenge for the Women’s tag titles and surprise everyone with a fantastic opening performance that would see the challengers defeat the emoWarriors to become the new champions. It must be noted that Avalon came out from the back with Jake Strong in tow to congratulate both women on their achievement - but that they would return to the back together with there still being some clear indication that they weren’t yet part of the Court.
In a large scale five-on-five tag team scramble match - with everyone effectively in the ring The Legion of Smashdom & Jakes Strong w/ Madison Rayne and Censored Material w/ Paul Ellering would pick a win over Jonathan Gresham w/ Arn Anderson, Future Shock, Kevin Steen and Jase Hicks in what would be another highly entertaining means to open the event.
Kazuchika Okada would come out from the back and in broken English would make it clear that Silas Young had hurt him and that he would be unable to compete tonight, but in 2012 he would prove himself as no longer being a Young Boy from Japan.
In a triple threat match featuring Candice LeRae, Awesome Kong and Afro Mask all women would know that the winner of the contest would earn themselves a future title shot. However, Kong and Afro seemed more focused on each other which worked to LeRae’s advantage as she was able to steal a win from Kong - who had nailed Afro Mask with her finisher only to be pushed through the ropes by Candice to claim he pin for herself and a title shot to go with it.
In the first TNA contest of the match, the feud between Jay Lethal and the now seemingly unretired Ric Flair would be a solid match - although it wouldn’t be the longest match it would still be a good watch but it would be the much younger and fitter Jay Lethal who would claim the win of Flair. Lethal would help Flair up and offer him his hand, but Ric would slap it away making it quite clear he had no respect for Jay in the slightest.
Angelina Love would successfully retain her NWA Women’s World Championship in a much longer and more intense contest than the previous against MsChif with both women clearly working the crowd back up with a good match of mixed styles.
Peter Avalon and Trevor Murdoch would have the most bitter and brutal match of the night, with both men beating the holy hell out of each other and were warned multiple times by the referee to stop otherwise they would be disqualified. The match would end with a steel chair in the ring that Avalon would attempt to drop Murdoch onto. Murdoch would reverse the situation though and take hold of Avalon, but unlike his character would drop Avalon head first onto the steel chair with the Piledriver seeming to knock Avalon out cold with the referee not even letting the match continue and declaring Murdoch the winner by Knockout.
In the second TNA match of the night Abyss would be booked to defend the TV Championship in a Fatal Four way match against AJ Styles, James Storm and Jeff Jarret that would be a much more challenging affair than the battle royal had been on Impact. In what was the best match of the evening so far, AJ Styles would win the match by nailing James Storm with the Styles Clash to win the belt. After the match, AJ would declare himself as the new NWA Television Champion.
Where the quality had been in the previous match, Sting versus Samoa Joe seemed to suffer with both men seeming to struggle to gain any sort of rhythm. Joe would claim the win in a contest marred by stop and start action, with it almost seeming as if Sting might have injured himself somehow in the early portions of the match.
Broken Demon would find himself matched with former National Champion Josh Alexander in his defence of the title, and Josh Alexander would put on his best performance in months by putting on a technical masterclass and reclaiming the National Championship in the process in what was now his second reign as the champion.
Tyler Black would be given a second chance to face Banderas for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship and both men would put on another great contest, although the ending would leave the fans on their feet. Both men would clash heads in the middle of the ring, with Banderas looking to have broken his nose whilst Black looked like he had bruised his cheek. Both men tumbled to the floor but instinctively draped their arms over each other. The referee would make the three count, but indicate that it had been a double pin and was therefore a draw meaning Ricky remained the champion.
A video package would focus on Sabin and Shelley and all that they had achieved in the NWA focusing on their two dominant regions as the tag team champions. The match with no stipulations and just clean wrestling, worked in the Kings of Wrestling favour as they would proved to be more rigorous and fluid in the ring as they would finally get a win over MCMG to win the NWA World Tag Team Championships. It would also mean that they had finished the year by being the only team in the NWA to have beaten every team in 2011 at least once.
The focus of the night though, was the match between Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle. The final match in TNA history, that would see the TNA Mega Championship and X-Division Championship both being on the line in a winner takes all match. The match would prove to be a highlight of the night, with Kurt finishing it off by forcing Jeff to tap out in the Angle Lock.
Kurt would close the show by making it clear that TNA would live on in everyone’s heart, but that this was the start of a new chapter and that the National Wrestling Alliance was the future. Kurt would make it clear that the TNA Heavyweight Championship had died - the day that Jeff had renamed it, but would make it clear that the Mega Championship would never see the light of day again now it was in his possession and that going into 2012 he would do everything in his power to make sure the X-Division continued to be the greatest division in professional wrestling.
[4.5]
-----
Alex Riley officially graduated from the training roster.
Johnny Gargano, Heidi Lovelace, Tara and Cherry Bomb all join the training roster.
Rob Van Dam and Zack Sabre, Jr. all sign contracts with the National Wrestling Alliance.
Brandon Cutler, Marty Scurll, Kory Chavis, Scorpio Sky and The Beer City Bruiser all released from their contracts with the NWA.
Chase Owens reported being sent back to the training roster, to transition into a Manager role.
The TNA Television Championship is officially rebranded as the NWA Television Championship, with it being noted that the title will only be defended on weekly programming and not at PPVs moving forward.
The TNA Mega Championship is officially retired.
Reports that Brock Lesnar is in talks with the NWA, and that he is considering returning to pro wrestling.
Shockwave would open with Rob Van Dam making his NWA debut and would be standing in the middle of the ring as he camera went live. Rob would make it clear that he had signed with the NWA for one of two reasons. The first being that what had once been a small seed under the header of Championship Wrestling From Hollywood, was now the supreme combination of one of the hottest rebuilds and the skeleton of a fallen monster - that together had the potential to be a future powerhouse in the wrestling world. The second reason he gave, was that like so many wrestlers - he wanted to prove that he was worthy of the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.
Rob Van Dam would then successfully make his in-ring debut by claiming a strong victory over Brodie Lee to fully complete his arrival in style.
Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother Devon) would claim a solid win over Censored Material, as they would begin their transition as fully fledged members of the NWA Tag Division. Despite suffering the loss, Haas and Benjamin would interrupt 3D’s celebration and make it clear that they were in need of the ring with Paul Ellering taking on the role of the mouthpiece for the pair.
Ellering would make it clear that tonight was the night that Censored Material began their pursuit of singles titles and that Shelton and Charlie both had their own personal goals moving forward. The first order of business was Josh Alexander, and Ellering would make it clear that Charlie Haas was going to be the man to strip Alexander of the National Heavyweight Championship and bring glory to Censored Material.
PAC’s reign as the the Hollywood Champion would continue as would his singles’ unbeaten streak with a tough and yet solid title defence over fellow Doug Williams.
Sting would appear in the ring and make it clear that TNA may have died, but it had nothing to do with talent and ability of the roster. And that exactly the same thing that had happened to WCW ten years previously, but he would make it clear that he fully intended to do in the NWA what he hadn’t done before and was to get a society of like minded individuals ready to do what was needed. He would make it clear that he didn’t care if they were once part of the Hollywood venture, had worked for TNA or were working for another promotion because when he saw his agent of chaos - he would rally them to his war cry.
Sting would follow up his sermon, by having an intense match with Kevin Steen where he would push the young Canadian to his limit, but ‘The Icon’ would show that he was far from being finished to claim the victory.
In a promo Trevor Murdoch would make it clear that he was done fighting Peter Avalon, but that a small part of him was starting to understand Avalon's mindset in a strange sort of way.
The show would end with Broken Demon facing Kurt Angle in the first main-event of this new era of the National Wrestling Alliance and the fans would certainly be left entertained as the two veterans would push each other to their limits, but it would be Kurt Angle who would claim the victory.
[4.25]
+ + + + +
Episode Nine
SJB would open Impact with the biggest win in her career to this date, as she would defeat LuFisto who was a multiple former NWA Women’s World Champion. After the match, to add insult to injury SJB would step over LuFiso almost as if she was indicating that she better than her now and she was moving on to bigger and touch opponents.
Silas Young and Kazuchika Okada would continue their strange rival turned mentor series of matches, with once again the young Okada getting the victory once again. After the match Okada would offer Silas his hand, but the veteran would slap it away almost as if to indicate that he still wanted better from the former New Japan Young Boy.
Zack Sabre, Jr. would make his NWA debut and do so in style by claiming a strong win over Matt Hardy. After the bell ZSJ would take the microphone and just say one name before ‘AJ Styles’ before smiling and exiting the ring.
Jeff and Ric would come out from the back and help Matt back up to his feet before Flair would begin to address the crowd. Flair would refer to the trio as Legionnaires and that the Legion was looking for like minded individuals to stand side by side with them in battle. Flair would make real heels move, where he would state that the Four Horsemen were pussies in comparison to the threat that the Legion posed.
Jonathan Gresham w/ Arn Anderson would tackle Player Dos w/ Madison Rayne in singles action, with Gresham getting back to winning ways with a solid victory on his first appearance on Thursday night programming. This would be followed up by an equally entertaining contest between Tyler Black and Abyss with both men also pushing each other to their limits, with the final TNA TV Champion getting the victory over Tyler Black.
Prior to their scheduled match in the evening’s main-event, Shelley and Sabin would make it clear to the the NWA audience that the King of Wrestling had proven themselves as one of the most dangerous tag team around and before they faced the champions again, they were going to have earn it like the rest of the roster. The pair would manage to achieve this with a win over of the Court of Avalonia (Strong & Uno) w/ Madison Rayne to bring an end to the evening.
[4.25]
+ + + + +
Extra Twenty-Five
Becky Quinn defeated Madison Rayne
MsChif defeated Velvet Sky
Charlie Haas defeated Booker T
NWA Television Championship: AJ Styles (c) defeated Adam Cole
[4.25]
- - - - - - - - - -
Kyle Bukhari, Doctor El Sueno, Brody King, Cash Wheeler and El Phantasmo all announced to be going to work for NJPW for a on three month tour.
Honma would feature in a promotional video in which it would be announced that the Japanese wrestler had signed with the NWA on a touring contract and that he would be wrestling in first match this Thursday on Impact against none other than Zack Sabre, Jr.
The opening contest of the match would see PAC defend the Hollywood Championship against recent development roster graduate Alex Riley. It wasn't the best match, and Riley looked unfinished which did cause the match to suffer but PAC did retain the belt.
Kurt Angle would feature in a recorded segment, where he would make it clear that his victory over Jeff Hardy at ‘Into The Fire’ add been about letting the memory of TNA go out on good terms, but would make it clear that it was clear that Jeff hadn’t walked away from the loss any smarter or wiser and that if Kurt needed to find some like minded individuals to battle with the Legion then that was exactly what he was going to do.
The Kings of Wrestling could be backstage talking amongst themselves, when they would be blindsided in an attack by Team 3D as Ray and Devon would be wielding kendo sticks as they would bludgeoning the reigning champions down to the crowd and make it very clear that they were very much coming for the title belts. Team 3D would then back up their own hype with a win over the Industrial Revolution.
Sting would walk out from the back with Josh Alexander ahead of Alexander’s championship defence against Trevor Murdoch. Sting would make it clear that Josh Alexander was one of the individuals that he saw as a perfect candidate for his new collective ‘Chaos Project’. Alexander would prove himself to Sting by successfully defending the belt, and looking phenomenal whilst doing it.
James Storm would shock everyone by claiming a win over Worlds Champion Ricky Banderas in the main-event, which as tradition dictated meant that Storm would likely get a future shot at the title.
[4.5]
+ + + + +
Episode Ten
The show would open with a hype video for Hard Times which would be the third edition of the pay per view, but also mark the two year anniversary since the NWA had been over by the JMG (Juice Management Group).
The Legion of Smashdom would claim a solid win over Industrial Revolution (with Gotch and Burch serving double duty this week) with Madison Rayne acting like a ringside general making sure Uno and Dos did exactly what was needed to get the win.
A fight would break out backstage, which would begin with the Hardy Brothers holding Jay Lethal against the wall, as Ric Flair would slap Jay in the chest multiple times in a row without Lethal being able to fight back. Eventually Jeff and Matt would drop Lethal down onto the floor, and Flair would make it clear that Lethal was nothing but a little insignificant pussy and that he was going to terminate him at the PPV.
Zack Sabre, Jr. would put on a strong showing against the touring Honma and claim a solid victory. Once again, ZSJ would mention just one name before exiting the ring ‘AJ Styles’.
Silas Young would be speaking backstage and making it clear that Okada was starting to show potential in the ring, but was still a coward outside of it and that he really needed to toughen up and show a bit of drive. A bit of spunk, if he wanted to achieve anything in life. He needed a backbone and needed to learn to fight his own battles. Silas would seem to get exactly what he was asking for, as he would be kicked in the side of the head as Okada would rush forward and drive his knees in Young’s head knocking ‘The Real Last Man’ man to the floor with the floor before ending the scene by staying ‘stay down Grandpa’.
Kurt Angle would put his X-Division Championship on the line in a title defence against Jake Strong, with Angle walking away with the in a just about average match.
The night would come to a conclusion with Samoa Joe claiming a victory over Sting, but ‘The Icon’ would look impressed by Joe’s performance as his show would come to a finish.
[4.25]
+ + + + +
Extra Twenty-Six
Awesome Kong defeated Thea Trinidad
Afro Mask defeated LuFisto
Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly) defeated The Legion (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy) w/ Ric Flair
NWA Television Championship: AJ Styles (c) defeated Jeff Jarrett
The show would open with all four members of the Court of Avalonia with Madison Rayne accompanying them to the ring and take on Future Shock & MCMG in an eight-man tag team contest. The Court would be on top form with Player Uno and Player Dos being the standout performers and it really seemed as if Madison was really getting the best out of the Legion of Smashdom.
Samoa Joe would cut a promo backstage where he would make it clear that he had a lot of respect for Sting and had formerly accepted to take part of Chaos Project, at least on a temporary basis. Joe wouldn’t really be selling the new faction though, and it seemed almost as if he was distracted by something else.
Kevin Steen would continue his solid run of form with a strong performance against Abyss, and pick up another victory although after the match it was clear by the look on Steen’s face that something was bothering him.
PAC would be in the ring prior to his match and cut a promo making it clear that he was without a shadow of a doubt the hottest commodity in the National Wrestling Alliance and was proof of that by being undefeated in singles action as well as having been the Hollywood Champion for seven months and counting. PAC would make it clear that there were certain championship belts that were worth nothing in comparison to the Hollywood Championship. A belt he would add, that had held no value until he had made it so and would prove it once again by beating this tourist from Japan. PAC would then go on to do exactly that, as he would put his title on the line and successfully retain it with a victory over Honma.
Truth Martini the manager for the reigning NWA World Tag Team Champions the Kings of Wrestling would cut a promo making it clear that Team 3D, the Dudley Boyz or two overweight fat guys from somewhere no one cares about. Truth would make it clear that Brother Ray and Brother Devon might have been big names once upon a time when they worked for the big boys up north, but now they were a bunch of nobodies and that Claudio and Chris were very bunch going to enjoy putting the first nail in the coffin that was 3D.
In a unique tag-team contest ZSJ would team up with Bobby Lashley to claim a victory over AJ Styles and Alex Riley. After the match, Zack Sabre, Jr. would have a stare down with AJ Styles and point at the Television Championship making it clear exactly what he was after.
The evening would close with Censored Material taking on Chaos Project (Sting & Josh Alexander) in an interesting main-event with both teams pushing each other to their limits, with Charlie Haas claiming the victory by getting Alexander to tap out by holding him in half with the Haas of Pain!
[4.25]
+ + + + +
Episode Eleven
The show would begin with Broken Demon claiming a solid victory over Tyler Black. After the match though, Demon would cut a promo where he would make it clear that he saw Tyler Black as being the future of this business, but that he would only be willing to pass the torch if he was sure that Black was ready to take over from him. Demon would make it clear that Black didn’t have to like him as a person, but he would respect his words as a former Worlds Champion.
ZSJ would get his title shot against AJ Styles, and the pair would battle it out in a high calibre match for the NWA TV Title, with both men showcasing the best of their abilities and it was hard to believe how much less experience Sabre had. Styles would win the clash, but it was clear that ZSJ very much had proven had potential to be a real star of the future.
Silas Young would feature in a promo that had been filmed after his assault by Okada last week. Silas would be smiling and said he was proud of Okada, for finally starting to understand what was needed of him to be a true professional wrestler.
The King of Wrestling would get a win over The Fatu Family, and despite the loss Josh and Johnny Fatu would really showcase themselves well and prove that they had all the makings of future tag team champions.
Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy were backstage, and seemed to be laying an ambush for Jay Lethal only for Kurt Angle to come to Lethal’s aid and end up having a mass brawl with Jeff. Angle would make it clear that at the upcoming pay per view he was going to finally give Jeff the beating of a lifetime.
The night would close with James Storm getting his shot at the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, but despite his best efforts Banderas would show the difference you brought out when the title was on the line and would retain the belt. After the match, as Storm made his way to the back Tyler Black would pass him and enter the ring. Black would make it clear that Banderas and him were far from over and that he was coming for the belt at Hard Times. Banderas would laugh at this notion, before the two men would have a slugfest of hard shots for each other in the middle of the ring with the show closing with security doing their best to separate both men.
5th Dimension (Candice LeRae & SJB) defeated Pink Energy (Angelina Love & Velvet Sky)
Kevin Steen defeated Sting
Jeff Jarrett defeated Trevor Murdoch
[4.5]
-------
Buff Bagwell would be released from his management contract, with it being announced that Kyle Bukhari would be going in a different direction after he completed his excursion in Japan.
The National Wrestling Alliance would admit, that they were doing their best to trim the fat in a number of places and hoped to reduce the roster gradually over the next few months.
The show would begin with all four members of Energy! (Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, PAC & Jase Hicks) cutting a promo as a faction and making it clear that Jase Hicks had his eyes on the tag team belts, but that the group were reaching out to a member of the roster that would be interested in joining Jase in his pursuit of the gold. Before anything else could be said though the Court of Avalonia would attack Energy from behind, and would viciously assault PAC and Hicks, whilst funnelling Love and Sky off so they couldn’t aid their stablemates.
The attack would seem to massively distract Angelina Love, who wouldn’t accompany Velvet Sky to the ring - which would be part of her downfall as SJB would claim a victory over Velvet with Candice LeRae playing distraction allowing the young Brit to suckerpunch Sky with a chain wrapped around her fist unknown to the referee.
Josh Alexander would be found backstage by Sting and Samoa Joe having been savagely beaten and was heavily bloodied with the calling card of the mask belonging to Broken Demon to left behind, which had been his mask when he had previously been known as Blue Demon, Jr.
Team 3D would face The Kings of Wrestling in two separate singles matches, with both members of 3D gaining a victory, Ray over Castagnoli and Devon over Hero. Whilst, TEAM 3D would celebrate the nights victories, the King of Wrestling would storm the ring wielding chair and assault Team 3D before Truth Martini would slide a table into the ring as the tag team champions would lift up Brother Ray and Powerbomb him through the table, sending a pretty clear cut message to their challengers ahead of the title match this coming weekend.
The lights in the arena would be turned off ahead of the final match of the night, which would see Becky Quinn be set to face MsChif. Both women had come to an agreement that if Becky failed to beat MsChif tonight, then she would never challenge for the NWA Women’s World Title ever again. The two women would have a brutal match, with both women left bloody faced but it would be the Irishwoman Quinn who would finally claim such an important victory over her long time rival.
[3.75]
+ + + + +
Episode Twelve
The night would begin with SJB facing Angelina Love in a non-title match, but really show far how she had come in recent months by actually much to Love’s dismay claiming a win over the Women’s Champion. After the contest, SJB would make it clear that she expected the JMG to have her booked to face Angelina once again this weekend as she intended to make sure that that she made the year of SJB and would even make a joke that she had do something that Becky Quinn had never been able to do and that was that she would win the Women’s Championship.
Josh Alexander was heavily bandaged backstage, but would cut a promo and make it clear that he would be fighting fit this coming weekend. He made it clear that if Broken Demon wanted to jump the queue, then so be it - but Alexander would make it clear that Charlie Haas would also have his shot at this belt this weekend. Alexander would lay down an important stipulation that the NWA National Heavyweight Championship would only change hands if he was pinned or submitted.
The Tokyo Knights would claim a shock win over the Motor City Machine Guns, with Ishimori and Yoshi-Hashi looking genuinely confused as their hands would be lifted into the air to signal their victory.
A video package would focus on the rivalry between Ric Flair and Jay Lethal, and reminded viewers that the two men would meet at Hard Times.
PAC would face his biggest challenge to date as he would go one-on-one with the TV Champion AJ Styles, much to everyone's surprise PAC would continue on his winning ways and get the biggest victory of his life, but where the fans were impressed PAC was not. Before a situation would arise though, ZSJ would enter the ring and prevent a further fight from occurring before heading backstage with his fellow Brit.
Impact would conclude with all three members of the Legion getting a six-man tag victory over Kurt Angle, Jay Lethal and Rob Van Dam.
[3.75]
Extra Twenty-Eight
Afro Mask defeated Awesome Kong
Jeff Jarrett defeated Scott Steiner
Melina defeated Mickie James
AC United defeated Industrial Revolution
[3.75]
-------
Uhaa Nation, Brian Knobbs, Frankie Kazarian were all released by the NWA.
The Top 50 wrestlers of 2011 were announced.
Shinsuke Nakamura is recognised as the #1 wrestlers for the second year in a row, with Hiroshi Tanahashi also holding onto #2 for the second consecutive year as well.
Ricky Banderas claims #4, AJ Styles #5 & Peter Avalon #7 - with three members of the NWA placing in the top ten this year. A number of other NWA wrestlers made the list including: Claudio Castagnoli #14, Josh Alexander #16.
At #32 Becky Quinn was the second highest woman on the list.
Ken Anderson would open the PPV by going on a full on rant where he would criticize the Juice Management Group and label them as a group of narrow minded silly marks, who for far too long had been putting over a bunch of jobbers dressed up as main-eventers and a bunch of no hopers dressed up like monkeys in suits. Eventually Anderson’s microphone would be turned off, with it being clear that the JMG were not pleased with what he was saying.
The first match of the evening would be an interesting encounter between Melina and Becky Quinn with both men warming up the crowd, with the young Quinn claiming the victory.
The second contest would be a high level trios match in which Rob Van Dam, Jeff Jarrett & Kevin Steen would blow the roof off the building as they would have instant chemistry to claim the win over Murdoch, AJ Styles and Abyss.
Peter Avalon would come out from the back and make it clear that as former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion he has a certain level of authority over the rest of the roster and would demand that a former employee of TNA come out from the back, so he could kick his ass. Booker T would be the man to respond, with both men having an impromptu match with Peter Avalon continuing to prove himself as one of the most valuable commodities in pro wrestling with a win over Booker.
An eight team tag-team gauntlet would take place in the next contest - with the winners earning themselves a future shot at the tag team titles with the match taking place in the following order: The Fatu Family defeated AC United The Fatu Family defeated Beer Money Inc.
Future Shock defeated Beer Money Inc.
Industrial Revolution defeated Future Shock
Industrial Revolution defeated Chaos Project (Joe & Sting)
MCMG defeated Industrial Revolution
Tokyo Knights defeated MCMG
The Tokyo Knights would be shocker winners, with the pair not quite sure how to celebrate the fact that they had earned themselves a future shot at the tag team titles.
Silas Young and Kazuchika Okada would have a final match, with Young demanding that the match be a submission match prior to it commencing. Both men would put on a technical masterclass, with Okada once again claiming a victory over Young. After the match though, Silas Young would shake Okada's hand and very much giving the young Japanese star his seal of approval.
Angelina Love and SJB would meet once again, this time with the NWA Women’s World Championship on the line. Angelina and SJB would go tooth and claw, but it would be the 20 year old Brit that would shock the wrestling community to win her first world championship.
Energy! as a full complement would team up in trios action against the Court of Avalonia (Strong, Uno & Dos) with ZSJ claiming the win for his new team by getting Player Dos to tap out after locking him in a Cross Armbreaker. After the match, Peter Avalon would emerge from the back and look annoyed as he would shout at his stablemates and make it clear he was unhappy by their loss.
The Kings of Wrestling and Team 3D would have the most incredible match, with both teams really pushing themselves to their limits. There would be a number of close encounters, in which both teams would almost send each other through the tables. Ray and Devon would almost manage to finish the match by sending Hero through a table with a Dudley Death Drop, but would only be spared as Truth Martini would pull the table out of the way but it wouldn’t stop Chris Hero from bouncing off the concrete. The match would come to an end not longer after as Castagnoli would send Ray through a vertical table with a Spear to bring an end to the contest. It was clear that the match was one of the best in the history of the National Wrestling Alliance in recent years.
Kurt Angle would take on Jeff Hardy once again with the X-Division Championship on the line, and although the pair had to follow such an epic tag team match they would still manage to put on a highly entertaining contest, although Kurt Angle would successfully retain the championship in another match that was really showcasing just how far the NWA had come in the last two years.
Ric Flair and Jay Lethal would have an epic First Blood match in which the pair would push each other to their limits, and the match would conclude with Ric locking in the Figure Four Leg lock, whilst grabbing hold of a steel chair and repeatedly in the head until eventually Lethal would be busted wide open with the 63 year old Flair claiming an important victory.
Ricky Banderas and Tyler Black would have their third encounter, with the previous two ending in no contests with the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship on the line once again. Black would put on the best performance since joining the NWA and would wrap up the contest by nailing Banderas with God’s Last GIft to bring the contest to an end and become the Worlds Champion for the very first time. After the contest, Tyler Black would speak to the fans and make it clear that he had joined the NWA from ROH due to financial uncertainty and for months had wondered whether he had made a mistake. If he had made the right decision or not, getting this win tonight made it all seem worthwhile. Black would make it clear that he expected Banderas to face him in the coming weeks, so there would be questions about whether or not his reign was legitimate and then he would turn his attention to another legend from south of the border.
The main-event for Hard Times would be a triple threat TLC match for the NWA National Heavyweight Championship with Josh Alexander defending his belt against Broken Demon and Charlie Haas. The match would prove to be another highlight reel with Josh Alexander being head and shoulders over his two challengers and retaining the title once again as the show would draw to a close.
[4.5]
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Reigning X-Division Champion Kurt Angle departs the NWA and signs with the New Japan Pro Wrestling vacating the X-Division Champion upon his departure.
Brock Lesnar would be announced as the newest signing to the National Wrestling Alliance, officially making a return to professional wrestling.
The show would begin with PAC standing in the ring accompanied by Energy! stablemate Jase Hicks. PAC would make it clear as the Hollywood Champion he was focusing on making sure that everyone understood that he was the most valuable member of the NWA roster and he was going to make sure that people understood that people like AJ Styles were champions of absolutely nothing. Following the promo, PAC would face Censored Material’s Shelton Benjamin and continue his winning ways.
A video package would focus on looking back at the rivalry between Tyler Black and Rick Banderas that had led to Black becoming the new NWA Worlds Champion.
Matt Hardy would be accompanied to the ring by Ric Flair who would manage to claim a strong victory over Kazuchika Okada, which would actually be Okada’s first singles loss since rejoining the NWA.
Following the match all the lights in the arena would turn out, only to come back on again with Abyss being joined by the returning the Sinister Minister. James Mitchell would make it clear that Abyss was the newest member of the Legion and that Abyss would offer something that the Legion currently didn’t possess and that was pure insanity. And that Abyss would showcase this insanity, by finishing the job that Ric Flair started and beating the living crap out of Jay Lethal. Abyss would live up to Mitchell’s expectations as he would obliterate Lethal in the ring, only for Hardy to slide a table in the ring and Abyss to pick Jay up and Chokeslam him through a table to add insult to injury. It was only after this that Flair would enter the ring and mount Lethal and rain down on him with multiple shots.
The true number one contender for the tag team titles the Tokyo Knights would take on the Kings of Wrestling in a non-titles match, and Ishimori and Yoshi-Yashi would shock the world once again and claim a monumental victory over the Kings.
The night would conclude with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship being defended by Josh Alexander against Broken Demon. The match would be of a high quality with Alexander successfully retaining the title. After the match, Alexander would make it clear that he still had some unfinished business with Charlie Haas to deal with.
[4.5]
Episode Thirteen
SJB would open Impact with her first singles victory as the NWA Women’s Champion and do so against LuFisto, in a match that would struggle to engage the audience’s interest.
Luckily, the fans would be treated to a slightly better match as RVD would claim a more interesting victory over Brodie Lee.
National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame member Goldberg would address the crowd and confirm that Kurt Angle had officially departed for Japan and thus the X-Division Championship had been vacated. Bill would confirm that a tournament would take place at Heartbreak In Hollywood to crown a new champion. Goldberg would also say he was very excited that Brock Lesnar was returning from the world mixed martial arts, considering he had been the man to retire him all those years ago.
Kevin Steen would have a solid match with Alex Riley, only for Trevor Murdoch to emerge from the back and nail Steen over he head with a concrete brick causing the match to end in disqualification. Murdoch hit Steen over the head multiple times with the brick, before addressing the fans and announcing himself as the newest member of the Court of Avalonia.
The rivalry between Alexander and Haas would continue with Censored Material gaining a victory over the far less experienced partnership of Josh and Samoa Joe of Chaos Project with it pretty clear that a future National Heavyweight Championship was on the horizon.
The evening would end with The Legion of Smashdom claiming a win over Team 3D. After the match, Madison Rayne would cut a promo and make it clear that Uno and Dos were continuing to prove why they were the strongest pairing in the Court of Avalonia and that once this nonsense that was the Tokyo Knights were out of the way, then her boys would challenge for the world tag team titles in the near future.
[4.25]
Extra Twenty-Nine
The Fatu Family defeated Industrial Revolution
Jonathan Gresham w/ Arn Anderson defeated Matt Hardy w/ Ric Flair
Broken Demon defeated Jase Hicks
Madison Rayne & Melina defeated Becky Quinn & Mickie James
The show would begin with an excellent match between AJ Styles and Zack Sabre, Jr. with the NWA TV Title on the line. Both men would push each other to their limits, with the fans on their feet at the end of the contest as AJ would connect with a Styles Clash from the middle rope to seal the victory. After the match, AJ would send a message to PAC and make it clear that if Brit wanted a piece of him - then the best way to decide who was the better man, was to unify both title belts and there to be no doubt who out of the two of them was the better champion.
Brock Lesnar would feature in a debut video package, which would most feature his NFL and MMA career with the NWA clearly not having access to the WWE’s footage of Brock. Brock would make his debut as he would walk out to the ring and he would end up calling out Goldberg.
Goldberg and Brock would have a stare down in the ring, with the tension between both men radiating from the ring before out of nowhere again Lesnar would lift Goldberg onto his shoulders and wipe him out in the middle of the ring with the F-5.
Team 3D would be involved in a solid tag team contest with Industrial Revolution with the multiple time tag-team champions claiming the victory. After the match, Sting would come out from the back and formally introduce Team 3D as the newest members of Chaos Project.
Tyler Black would put the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship on the line, against former champion Ricky Banderas and successfully retain the belt. After the match, Black would call out Broken Demon offering him the next shot at the Heavyweight Title.
In a moment backstage the Chaos Project and The Legion would cross paths with Sting and Ric Flair having a brief conversation. Sting would make it clear that he didn’t like what Flair was doing to Lethal, and that if he didn’t stop whatever he was doing there would be problems. The pair would have a heated stare down, but no actual fighting would take place as the two factions would walk away from each.
The main-event would see Jeff Hardy with Ric Flair by his side taking on Jay Lethal in singles action. As Flair would start pulling heel tactics, Sting would come out from the back and show his support for Lethal. With someone watching his back, Lethal would actually turn the match around and claim an important victory as the match ended. It must be noted that Sting wouldn’t join Lethal in the ring, as Jay would celebrate victory.
[4.5]
Episode Fourteen
The night would begin with Chris Hero claiming a singles victory over Yoshi-Hashi with the truth being that in the singles contest, the difference in abilities between both men was staggering. After the match a fight would break out with both members of both teams battling it out in the ring. Hero and Yoshi-Hashi would be ejected from ringside though, to allow for Claudio and Taiji to wrestle each other. Truth Martini would try to steal a win for Claudio, but the interference would backfire with Castagnoli and Truth clashing heads that would allow Ishimori to roll-up the Swiss-man to claim an important victory.
Jay Lethal would cut a promo backstage where he would make it clear that it didn’t matter if it was Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy or any of the other stooges that made up the Legion because no matter he would always get up and carry on fighting. Now though, he had backup as he was officially the newest member of Chaos Project. This announcement would be followed by The Chaos Project (Team 3D & Samoa Joe) claiming a six-man tag victory over the Court of Avalonia (Murdoch & Legion of Smashdom).
Tyler Black and Broken Demon would meet in the ring, with Black offering Demon a shot at the Worlds Heavyweight Championship. Demon would make it clear though, that if he failed to win the belt - then he would officially hang up his boots and retire from the business forever.
The show would close with PAC successfully defending the Hollywood Championship against Jake Strong taking his singles record to 18-0. PAC would close the show by accepting Styles' challenge, and that he couldn’t think of a better time for the two of them to settle their differences than at the start of next week’s episode of Shockwave.
[4.25]
Extra Thirty
Awesome Kong defeated Afro Mask
Kyle O’Reilly defeated Doug Williams
Peter Avalon defeated Jeff Jarrett
Kevin Steen defeated Abyss w/ Father James Mitchell
The show would begin with the much anticipated contest between PAC and AJ Styles, with both the NWA Television and NWA Hollywood Championships being put on the line in a unification match. Both men would go all out, but it would be PAC would connect with a 450 Splash to seal the deal and win both titles. PAC would lift both titles in the air, before seeming to bury the TV Title by tossing it to the side almost as if he was discarding it as he would walk back with only the Hollywood belt in his possession.
The camera would cut backstage, where a massive all out brawl was taking place between all members of both Chaos Project and The Legion with the clear hatred between both groups at boiling point. It would take security plus half the roster to forcefully separate both factions apart.
Becky Quinn would face MsChif once again and claim a second victory over her long term rival. After the match though, Becky would make it clear that she was coming for SJB and intended to finish Heartbreak in Hollywood with the Women’s Championship in her possession and would do everything in her power to claim the belt.
The Kings of Wrestling would cut a promo making it clear that wins and losses meant nothing (really changing their tune) and all that mattered in pro wrestling was title belt and who was in possession of the title. They would make it clear that they had beaten MCMG and Team 3D, so the thought of them losing the straps to the Tokyo Knights was just hilarious.
Booker T and Peter Avalon would have a second match, although in this run it would be Booker T that would leave with the win to his name. As Booker celebrated the victory though, he would be jumped by the entire complement of the Court of Avalonia, as Peter would take to the microphone and make it clear to Booker that winning one match didn’t stop Booker from being the biggest bitch in the National Wrestling Alliance.
Josh Alexander was heading out from the back to compete, only to be attacked on the entrance ramp by Charlie Haas who would wield a baseball bat in order to attack Alexander’s knee making it impossible for the National Champion to stand up. Paul Ellering would make it very clear that Alexander’s time under the spotlight was very much coming to an end.
Tyler Black and Abyss would close the night in a great match with both men pushing each other to their limits. Father James Mitchell though would be blindsided by Sting, who would take Mitchell out without the referee noticing. Sting would then toss in a white towel in the ring, which the referee would assume Mitchell had thrown in costing Abyss the match as the referee would ring for the bell. As Black would celebrate though, he would be nailed from behind by Broken Demon with Tornado DDT, before Demon would pull out a pair of scissors and proceed to cut a lock of Black’s hair off as the show came to an end.
[4.0]
Episode Fifteen
The show would open with Silas Young and Kazuchika Okada coming out to the ring together. Silas would introduce Kazuchika as his new tag team partner and that going forward they would be known as ‘The Last Real Men’. Young would call out The Hardy Boyz, and make it clear that he was looking forward to him and his understudy kicking the shit out of the two of the biggest pussies in the NWA, the Hardy Boyz. ‘The Last Real Men’ would claim their first tag team victory in a clean fashion, with Okada getting the pinfall victory.
A second tag team place would take place, with this match having more ramifications for the tag division with the Legion of Smashdom w/ Madison Rayne getting a win over Future Shock.
SJB would cut a promo prior to her match, where the NWA World Women’s Champion would make it clear that she was very much looking forward to proving once and for all that she was the biggest future star in the NWA and that she was very much looking forward to kicking the crap out of Becky Quinn at Heartbreak In Hollywood and leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind moving forward. SJB would then proceed to claim a singles victory over Mickie James and carry on her strong run over form in which she now was in the double digits in her unbeaten streak. SJB tag team partner Candice LeRae would also claim a victory, as she would defeat Awesome Kong in singles competition.
Chase Owens would return to NWA programming and introduce himself as the coach and inspirational leader for the Tokyo Knights going forward. The segment was a bit of a flop, with Chase having no weight going into the announcement.
The show would end with Josh Alexander facing former Worlds Champion Ricky Banderas in a non-title match, with Alexander claiming a massive win to his name to round off the evening.
[3.5]
Extra Thirty-One
Madison Rayne defeated LuFisto
Zack Sabre, Jr. defeated AJ Styles
The Legion (Abyss & Flair) w/ Father James Mitchell defeated Chaos Project (Jay Lethal & Sting)
Episode Sixteen
Josh Alexander would open the go-home show with a solid victory of Trevor Murdoch to open the show. After the win, Alexander would cut a promo where he would make it clear that at Heartbreak in Hollywood he would finally silence Charlie Haas once and for all and perhaps move on to a bigger challenge and perhaps a more prestigious championship.
Claudio Castagnoli would come out to the ring with Truth Martini, with Truth demanding that someone from the back offer Castagnoli a real challenge because at the PPV the fans were just going to be left disappointed. The challenge would be answered by Jarrett, but Castagnoli showed why he wasn’t just a talented tag team wrestler but would also show off his singles prowess with a win over Double J.
Jeff Hardy and Jay Lethal would feature in a high calibre singles contest, with both men really pushing each other to their limits - but it would be the more gifted and slightly braver Jeff who would leave with the W.
Tenille Dashwood would close the night by claiming a surprise win in a 10-woman elimination battle royal. After the bell, Dashwood would cut a promo and make it clear that she had enjoyed her time working for the National Wrestling Alliance for the last two years, but that she would departing the company and that she had wrestled her last match for the promotion.
[4.25]
-----------------
It would emerge that Tenille Dashwood had signed a development contract with the WWE.
Episode Sixteen
The Tokyo Knights would open the show with a solid victory over Team 3D to put them in good stead for their upcoming championship match at the PPV.
Josh Alexander would be jumped backstage by both members of Censored Material who would kick the crap out of Alexander, with Ellering standing over Alexander and making it clear that Alexander would be made an example of and everyone would forever more remember the name Charlie Fucking Haas.
The Legion of Smashdom w/ Madison Rayne would continue their solid run of form with a victory over Beer Money Inc. After the match, Madison Rayne would make it clear that Uno and Dos were the rightful number one contenders for the NWA World Tag Team Championships and were more than ready for a shot at the belts.
A fight would break out backstage between Matt Hardy and Kazuchika Okada, but before anything could happen Silas Young would step in between both men and tell Matt he would have to go through him if he thought he was just going to attack Okada and there would be no consequences.
Chris Sabin and Abyss would have a great hardcore match to end the night, with both men going all out to cause the other as much damage as possible as Abyss would send Sabin down in a bed of steel chairs with a Black Hole Slam to bring an end to the contest.
[4.5]
Extra Thirty-Two
Rob Van Dam defeated Jakes Strong
NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championships: 5th Dimension & Candice LeRae defeated Madison Rayne & Melina
2012
The match would begin with a massive ten-on-ten elimination tag team match, which the JMG would announce prior the match that they were looking to instill as a tradition at the Heartbreak in Hollywood event. The team of AC United, Future Shock, The Last Real Men, Team 3D & MCMG would claim a victory over Industrial Revolution, Court of Avalonia (Peter Avalon, Uno, Dos & Murdoch), The Legion (Abyss, Matt & Jeff Hardy) & Ricky Banderas. There would be a strange combination of teams and combinations, but the fans would enjoy the match and it would actually end up a really high quality contest.
The Tokyo Knights would give their championship match their best shot, with Chase Owens at ringside doing his best to direct traffic. Their best efforts would bring about a really interesting contest, but they simply wouldn’t be able to match the quality that the Kings of Wrestling would bring to the table at a PPV and Castagnoli and Hero would successfully retain the belts.
SJB would come into her match against Becky Quinn as a double champion, now being both the Women’s Champion and Tag Team Champion with LeRae. The match would be a real tale of the tape with the both women going all out for the title, but once again almost as if she was cursed Becky Quinn would fall short and find herself nailed with a running high knee as she would be covered for the three count as SJB would retain the championship. Quinn would look emotionally dejected in the aftermath, unable to handle her emotions.
Brock Lesnar would make his NWA debut in a match against Legend Goldberg, with Bill having come out of retirement especially for this match. The match though would end up being a complete annihilation as Brock would nail Goldberg with three suplexes in the row, before finishing him with an F-5 to claim the win in less than a minute as Lesnar would look nothing short of indestructible.
++ Hollywood Bowl Quarter Finals ++
The Hollywood Bowl would take place with not only the winner earning the ceremonial bowl, but they would also be leaving as the new X-Division Champion.
Kevin Steen defeated Tomoaki Honma
Jake Strong defeated Rob Van Dam
Bobby Lashley defeated AJ Styles
Shelton Benjamin w/ Paul Ellering defeated James Storm
+++++
Jay Lethal and Ric Flair would have their much anticipated rematch, with both men pushing each other to their limits with this match being slightly longer than the last with fatigue noticeably starting to set in for Flair that would allow Jay to connect with the Lethal Injection and claim an important career win.
++ Hollywood Bowl Semi Finals ++
Kevin Steen defeated Jake Strong
Shelton Benjamin w/ Paul Ellering defeated Bobby Lashley
+++++
Josh Alexander and Charlie Haas would end up competing in a Steel Cage match, with the JMG deciding that the cage would prevent either man from receiving any outside help although it was clear they were more concerned about involvement from Benjamin and Ellering. The match would be a real classic, with both men combining their technical skills with the brutality of the cage - with Charlie Haas claiming a singles championship win and achieving something he hadn’t in a long time as a solo competitor by claiming gold. Both men would look incredible after the contest, with there being no doubt how talented the pair were.
Kevin Steen and Shelton Benjamin would have an epic match in the Hollywood Bowl Final, with both men showing themselves in great form but it would be Kevin Steen who would win the bowl and with it become the new X-Division Champion which surprisingly would be his first singles champion since leaving ROH.
The main-event would see Tyler Black and Broken Demon have an epic match, with both men being pushed to their utmost limits and with Demon’s career on the line as well as both men’s hair and the Worlds Championship it was clear that both men really wanted to win, but also didn’t want to lose. The fans and the men though would only be left frustrated after an amazing match, the match would be declared a time limit draw after sixty minutes of wrestling. Both men would look so exhausted, that neither was able to stand as the show came to a conclusion.
[4.75]
----------
Jay Lethal departs from the National Wrestling Alliance and signs with the WWE.
Ken Anderson, Doug Williams, Christina Von Eerie & Brodie Lee are given permission to leave and sign with CZW.
WWE raids the National Wrestling Alliance Women’s Division signing Afro Mask, LuFisto, MsChif, Awesome Kong & Melina.
Mickie James goes on record and reveals that the WWE have been targeting the women working for the NWA for the last few months and makes it clear that the success of younger talent like Candice LeRae, SJB and Becky Quinn have motivated the much large powerhouse to do their best to buy their way to the top. James would make the point that she will do everything in her power to rally talent from the indie to make themselves available but there is a high possibility that women’s wrestling in the NWA could take a massive hit with perhaps the tag team titles having to be retired if more heads don’t walk through the door.
Fire Ant (James Cipperly) signs with the NWA and has ownership of The Colony IP. It is revealed that Jonathan Gresham will be rebranded as ‘Green Ant’ and Alex Riley as ‘Black Ant’.
Fire Ant would open the show as the newest member of the NWA roster and make it clear that ‘The Colony’ had decided to make the National Wrestling Alliance their new Ant Hill and intended on making wrestling fun again, instead of the technical nonsense that so many fans seemed obsessed with. Fire Ant would make it clear that Green Ant and Black Ant would make their first appearances as Ant later on tonight. The Colony (Green Ant & Black Ant) w/ Arn Anderson would claim a win over the Industrial Revolution. After the match, the Tokyo Knights would appear on the entrance ramp and almost look as if they had been checking out The Colony.
PAC would defend the Hollywood Championship and successfully retain the belt against a returning Christopher Daniels, the win would end up taking the Brit to 20-0 in singles action.
Brock would make his Shockwave debut with a solid victory over Jeff Jarrett and just like his debut would absolutely obliterate Jarrett in the middle of the ring. After the match, Brock would grab the microphone after the match and make it clear that he was coming for Tyler Black or Broken Demon, and that he didn’t care which one but that he was coming for the NWA Worlds Championship - something he intended on winning before returning to the WWE. It was hard to gauge whether name dropping the WWE was a shoot or a work, but it certainly pissed off the fans.
The Legion of Smashdom and the Kings of Wrestling would run into each other backstage, with Truth Martini and Madison Rayne exchanging words where Madison would make it clear that Uno and Dos were coming for the titles and it wasn’t a question of if, but rather when they became the tag team champions.
Tyler Black and Broken Demon would be booked to face each other in a rematch from the PPV, with Demon knowing that if he lost the match for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship then he would be forced to retire. Both men would continue their match from Heartbreak In Hollywood, but were clearly not at 100%. The match would end with Black nailing Broken Demon with a Curb Stomp to end the contest. Broken Demon would bow to the fans after the match, as Black would leave him in the ring alone allowing Broken Demon to have his final moment under the spotlight before he would officially be retired.
[3.75]
Episode Seventeen
Charlie Haas would open the show by addressing the crowd and introducing himself as the first relevant National Heavyweight Champion of the NWA, but that he was going to offer anyone in the back an open challenge and that the title would be on the line. The challenge would be answered by Jase Hicks, who would shock everyone including himself as end up defeating Haas to become the new champion. Paul Ellering would look on, in complete shock that Haas had actually lost the belt on his very first title defence.
The next match would be an epic tag team contest with Brock Lesnar & Ricky Banderas teaming up to face Tyler Black & Rob Van Dam, with it being very clear that Lesnar was very much the next man in line to challenge Tyler Black for the world title. Lesnar and Banderas would pick up the win, but it was clear that all four men each brought something different and yet still equally impressive to the table.
A second tag-team match would take place, although this one was much more focused on both team’s desire to move up the tag team rankings in a contest that would see the Tokyo Knights w/ Chase Owens claim a win over The Last Real Men. After the match, Chase Owens would make it clear that Taiji and Yoshi-Hashi still had their eyes on the tag team titles and that one loss wasn’t going to discourage the pair.
Candice LeRae and SJB would come out the ring, and end up vacating the NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championships with Candice LeRae in forming the fans, that the JMG had decided to retire the women’s tag division until further notice. Candice would then add that with no need for a tag team partner, the Industrial Revolution no longer really needed SJB and she would slam her tag team title belt into the side of SJB’s head busting her wide open, before exiting the ring - setting up a feud between both women.
The Legion of Smashdom would continue their winning ways as they would claim a win over Beer Money Inc.
The evening would conclude Kevin Steen would defend his X-Division Championship for the first time against AJ Styles and end up successfully retaining the strap. After the match, Steen would make it clear that unlike other members of the roster he wasn’t on the verge of jumping ships and still was very much committed to the NWA.
Katie Lea Burchill would make her NWA debut as as she stepped into the ring, she would make it clear that she was gutted that NWA had been forced to retire their Women’s Tag Team Championships, but would make it clear that she would do everything in her power to inject some like back into the Women’s Division and would do her best to convince other women in the indies to push themselves forward as candidates for the NWA. Burchill however, would however fail to win on her debut as it would be Velvet Sky that would claim the win.
Peter Avalon would officially induct Madison Rayne into the Court of Avalonia, and would make it clear that Rayne had been instrumental in helping to push the Legion of Smashdom to a position where they were the number one contenders for the tag team titles. Madison would follow up her induction into the Court, by claiming a singles victory over Mickie James. Madison would remain at ringside though, as her coaching effort would continue as her boys Uno and Dos would claim a win over The Fatu Family continuing to impress.
A promo package would feature ZSJ and AJ Styles, looking back at some of previous matches between the two men before cutting to AJ Styles. Styles would make it clear that despite being less experienced, Zack Sabre, Jr. brought something to a table that a lot of people lacked and that was natural ability and that he was looking forward to the next time that the two of them would meet in the ring. Styles would make the point that sometimes the best matches were about wrestling without the distraction of championship gold.
The main-event would be full of action with Matt Hardy and Kazuchika Okada with both men really getting the best out of each other, it would be Hardy who would claim victory over Okada though although it was largely due to Jeff Hardy causing a distraction that would allow Hardy to connect with the Twist of Fate to end the contest.
[4.25]
-------
Sonjay Dutt, Johnny Gargano, Sergeant Dust & Low Ki are all promoted from the Developmental Roster with suggestions that the NWA are considering experimenting with a Trios Division.
Episode Eighteen
The night would begin with a six-man tag team match that would be labelled as ‘Trios’ for the first time in the NWA. The Colony w/ Arn Anderson in their corner would claim an impressive win over Chaos Project (Sting, Samoa Joe & Josh Alexander) with the residents of the Ant Hill not only getting a victory over high calibre opponents, but would also put on a great showing whilst they were doing it.
The Industrial Revolution’s Simon Gotch and Danny Burch would come out to the ring with LeRae, with SJB nowhere to be seen. Gotch and Burch would introduce Sergeant Dust as not only the newest member of the National Wrestling Alliance, but also as the newest addition of the IR Power. Sergeant Dust was a little bit more flamboyant and colourful than the rest of the group, but the American luchador was being touted as one to watch for the future. The new combo would participate in the second ‘Trios Match’ gaining a victory over Energy! (PAC, ZSJ & Jase Hicks) w/ Angelina Love at ringside.
Tyler Black would cut a promo backstage, where he would make it clear that if Brock Lesnar really thought he was going to use the NWA and the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship as a stepping stone to get signed back to the WWE then he had another thing coming.
The Hardy Boyz would team up and put on a grand showing against the MCMG, but it would be the two Legion members that would claim the victory.
Truth Martini would feature in a recorded promo, where he would make it clear that the Kings of Wrestling - were without challengers at March Madness, but would be offering Team 3D and the MCMG a second chance at the belts although Truth would make it clear that if they were to lose they would not get to challenge for them again during KOW’s reign.
The evening would conclude with a solid non-title match between Kevin Steen and Trevor Murdoh, in which Steen would continue to show himself as one of the most capable men on the NWA’s book.
[4.25]
Extra Thirty-Four
JLS (Johnny Gargano, Low Ki & Sonjay Dutt) defeated The Legion (Ric Flair, Abyss & Jeff Hardy)
Zack Sabre, Jr. would feature in a promo package of his own, where he would make it clear that he felt that AJ Styles was much more excited about facing him than he was about facing Styles. ZSJ would make that point that he was the hot young prospect, with his whole life left ahead of him, whilst AJ was just a nearly man who had never been scouted by the big boys in America or Japan and that he was nothing more than an Indie Journeyman. ZSJ would make the point that it didn’t make him a bad guy saying these things, it just made him honest.
This week on Shockwave would be packaged as ‘The Battle of the Midcard’ with all matches booking focusing on talent that might not always feature each and every week on NWA programming. By some viewers it was seen as a sign that the National Wrestling Alliance had a far too large roster, and that sooner or later it was going to lead to dire consequences.
Scott Steiner would make a rare appearance, not having been used for weeks and would claim a victory over Bobby Roode. Low Ki would make his singles debut with a victory over Kyle O’Reilly, that left people wondering if Low Ki would perhaps not just be featuring as a member of the JLS Trio.
Jeff Jarrett would make an announcement that he was starting to move away from the wrestling side of the business and was taking on more of an authority role. Jeff would confirm that the National Wrestling Alliance had signed a deal with NJPW and would continue to send talent back and forth on short and long-term deals. Jeff would also announce that starting next month the NWA would host their own version of the G1 Climax with the permission of New Japan that would be labelled as ‘The Wrestle 1’
The tournament would use the same format as the G1 Climax in 2000, would feature four blocks made up of six wrestlers in each with the winners of each block, facing off in a Semi Final and Final taking place on a yet to be determined PPV.
Another wrestler who was currently on a limited appearance contract Christopher Daniels would take on the former Young Lion Kazuchika Okada. The match would prove to be a good test for Okada, but Kazuchika would claim the win.
The final match of the evening would see PAC continue his strong run of form with a victory over Sonjay Dutt to round off the evening.
[3.75]
Episode Nineteen
In a similar fashion to Shockwave, this week’s show of Impact would also be given a theme ‘Ladies Night’ the show would begin with a triple threat match between Thea Trinidad, Velvet Sky and Katie Lea Burchill. It would be Thea who would claim the win, which would be a rare moment for the Puerto Rican wrestler who was often used as enhancement talent.
This would be followed up with a strong clash between new Court of Avalonia member Madison Rayne and ‘Nearly Woman’ Becky Quinn. It would be the Irish talent Quinn though that would claim the win, perhaps being motivated by the fact that some of the women who had previously prevented her from reaching the top heights within the NWA were no longer around to hold her back.
Angelina Love and Candice LeRae would end up having quite the exciting match, but it would be Candice who would claim the victory. After the match though SJB would enter into the ring and blindside Candice to the back of the neck with the Polish hammer before picking up LeRae and nailing her with a Cradle DDT. SJB would grab a microphone and make it clear, that if Candice thought she was just going to be forced out of IR Power based on LeRae’s word alone then she had another thing coming and that if anything, it was Candice that deserved to be tossed to the side and discarded like a used condom. SJB would make it clear that she wasn’t just a champion, but a fighting champion and that she would be to the title on the line tonight against Mickie James. SJB would successfully defend the NWA World Women’s Championship, as ‘Ladies Night’ would draw to a close.
[3.75]
Extra Thirty-Five
Industrial Revolution defeated AC United
Tokyo Knights w/ Chase Owens defeated Kings of Wrestling
The show would begin backstage with Peter Avalon having been jumped backstage by Booker T, without any of the other Court of Avalonia members around. With Avalon down and out Booker T, would inform Avalon that he would put his career on the line at March Madness in exchange if Avalon was willing to offer control of the Court of Avalonia. Peter Avalon wouldn’t be able to offer any confirmation of this stipulation at this time.
The first match of the night would be a tag team contest that would see the Tokyo Knights pick up a victory over The Real Last Men. After the match Chase Owens would question why the Tokyo Knights weren’t involved in the match for the tag team titles at the PPV, and would suggest that Castagnoli and Hero were clearly scared of his two boys.
Candice LeRae was preparing to cut a promo backstage, only to be smashed in the back of the head by SJB with a steel chair. SJB would look in the camera and smile before making it clear that she was the true first woman of the Industrial Revolution.
The Kings of Wrestling would also feature and claim a tag team victory over Future Shock.
A massive video package featuring Chaos Project and Legion, touting a match between both super groups taking place at March Madness. As part of the build up to the match, Josh Alexander would claim a victory over Ric Flair. After the contest, Josh would confirm that on Impact this week - there would be two new additions to Chaos Project this Thursday.
The evening would conclude with James Storm putting on a strong performance and claiming an impressive victory over former Worlds Champion Ricky Banderas. After the match Banderas would announce that he would be taking a few months off to rediscover himself in Mexico, but intended to return better than ever.
[4.25]
Episode Twenty
The show would begin by focusing on PAC who was still unbeaten in singles competition since signing with the NWA and had held onto the Hollywood Championship for a large period of time and then had gone on to unify his title with the former TNA and then for a short time the NWA TV Championship before it was made one with the Hollywood Title. As was a common trend for PAC, he would defend the Hollywood Championship and once again do so successfully by retaining the belt against Sonjay Dutt.
The NWA’s Tag Division was continuing to prove itself as the promotion’s biggest attraction and another high quality match would take place between The Hardy Boyz and the Beer Money Inc. with Matt and Jeff leaving with the victory.
Peter Avalon would cut a promo backstage where he would accept Booker T’s challenge and say he had no worries about putting up his throne, because there was zero percent chance that Booker was going to beat him.
Truth Martini would cut a promo in the ring where he would make it clear that he had heard the demands of the Tokyo Knights and that if they were able to beat either of the two title challenging teams of Team 3D and MCMG, then they would be added to the championship match at March Madness. Unfortunately, it would be Team 3D who would claim the win that would shut the door for Ishimori and Yoshi-Hashi and prevent them from gaining entry into the title match.
With Team 3D celebrating in the ring, they would be joined by the rest of Chaos Project. Sting would introduce the two newest agents of Chaos out from the back as Bobby Lashley and Rob Van Dam. Sting would make it clear that both men were perfect fits for the group and that they would be making their debut as members of the Project against The Legion this weekend.
The show would end with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe having an epic - that was almost a throwback to the TNA era that both men had been part of for such a long time. Both men would impress the fans, but it would be AJ that would claim the victory.
[4.25]
Extra Thirty-Six
Legion of Smashdom w/ Madison Rayne defeated AC United
