Results ~ March 5th, 2022

[Dustin Salyers]

NWA Reign
March 5th, 2022 [Saturday] @ Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, NC
2,292 Spectators

1. Kota Ibushi & Xavier Woods vs. Jay White & Karl Anderson
> Winner: Woods (11:27) following the Culture Shock on Anderson
~ Anderson jerks the curtain first again, which seems to be working for popping the crowd at least, and this seemed to work well as the opening match, given the styles involved.

2. Jack Brisco Memorial Block Match: Adam Cole vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
>Winner: Cole (18:18) following a kneecap brainbuster
~ Most competitive match of the night and the crowd seemed genuinely surprised with the abrupt ending.

~ Tony Schiavone read a prepared statement concerning the events surrounding the eight-women tag team match last week and announced the decision to determine the NWA North Carolina Womens Champion in a single elimination tournament. Schiavone added that the first quarterfinal match would take place later in the evening between Asuka and Natalya Neidhart.
~ Announcement went over well with the crowd and seemed to work out even better with Charlotte Flair's music getting the action started again.

3. Charlotte Flair, Britt Baker & Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai, Hikaru Shida & Mia Yim
>Winner: Yim (8:39) following the Seoul Kick on LeRae
~ Yim regained some heat this week with her exchanges with Flair and the finish.

4. Jack Brisco Memorial Block Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Roderick Strong
>Winner: Okada (15:34) following the Heavy Rain

~ The Mechanics came to the ring shortly after an intermission had been announced to issue an open invitation to any team in the National Wrestling Alliance willing to travel to Charlotte and challenge for the NWA North Carolina Tag Team Championships. The Young Bucks quickly came to the ring to ridicule the need for an open invitation since they were the obvious next challengers given neither of them were pinned in the Championship match last week. The Mechanics agreed to defend the Championships next week against the Young Bucks but reiterated that the open invitation still stands.
~ Mechanics have a strong following and definitely helped themselves with the desire to be fighting Champions, both with the open invitation and the immediate acceptance for a match next week. The Young Bucks on the other hand are definitely not well liked but this match definitely makes sense given the finish from last week.

5. PAC & Rush vs. Adam Page & Johnny Gargano
>Winner: Gargano (12:08) following a jumping neckbreaker on Rush
~ Rush was visibly upset after he recovered and rolled under the bottom rope, kicking the ringside guardrail and startling many ringside fans in the immediate area. This lead to a lot of back and forth yelling and gestures between him and ringside fans, who didn’t appreciate his actions.

6. Jack Brisco Memorial Block Match: Prince Devitt vs. Bobby Roode
>Winner: Devitt (14:46) following a brainbuster

7. NWA North Carolina Ladies Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Asuka vs. Natayla Neidhart
>Winner: Asuka (13:19) with a seated Fujiwara armbar
~ Very competitive match, with more mat work than was probably expected, hopefully setting a tone for the remainder of the tournament. Neidhart’s counters were super over lending to even more heat for Asuka with the result.

8. Jack Brisco Memorial Block Match: AJ Styles vs. Bandido
>Winner: Bandido (24:54) with the 21 Plex
~ Styles was clearly the fan favorite, but Bandido drew closer as the match continued, giving the finish a decent pop but also making it evident that many fans were conditioned to think Styles would win.


Jack Brisco Memorial Block

1. Bandido - 2 points (1-0)
1. Adam Cole - 2 points (1-0)
1. Prince Devitt - 2 points (1-0)
1. Kazuchika Okada - 2 points (1-0)
5. Bobby Roode - 0 points (0-1)
5. Zack Sabre Jr. - 0 points (0-1)
5. Roderick Strong - 0 points (0-1)
5. AJ Styles - 0 points (0-1)

[Smith]

Great follow up to the birthday bash, more great matches. I enjoy the quick results followed by the notes, it allows for an easy read while getting an incite into the matches themselves. I too was conditioned for AJ to win the main but I appreciate you giving the nod to Bandido as it feels like the old vet giving back to the buisness.

[joe]

I was certainly surprised to see Bandido go over, but Styles can afford the loss. The Mechanics throwing out the open challenge is cool, and I'm wondering if any tag teams from around the NWA might answer. I'm a big fan of Mia Yim, so I am happy to see her go over. It seems like Cole and Sabre had a hell of a match, but I'd have almost rather seen that one go the other way than the main event. Almost. Probably the right call either way. We will see what happens.

[jp1985]

Some more great talent on the Brisco side of things here as every night should produce 4 high quality matches. I think that Roderick Strong and Bobby Roode could be in over their heads with this field, but any win is big in this sort of scenario since it comes at the expense of the other guy getting points - most notably here with Bandido beating AJ Styles.

The tag match format with the other bracket works its magic again, giving Xavier Woods and Johnny Gargano some important momentum building wins for themselves.

The women's division is getting some nice attention here. Asuka seems like she should be a favorite in the tournament but with Charlotte and then bigger wild cards like Britt Baker or Io Shirai, it really does all depend on the bracketing.

Good segment with The Mechanics to set up a title match with The Young Bucks. I do like the idea of an open challenge segment if they can survive with the belts, keeping things interesting with surprises. With the Crockett Cup looming, I don't know what's more important right now - that or the titles.