Results ~ April 16th, 2022 ~ Crockett Cup Night 2

[Dustin Salyers]

Proudly Presents...

NWA Reign ~ Crockett Cup Night 2 (IWTV)
April 16th, 2022 [Saturday] @ Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, NC
2,957 Spectators

1. Crockett Cup Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Mechanics vs. Hardy Boyz
>Winner: Wheeler (14:23) following the Powerplex on Jeff
~ Matt & Jeff jerk the curtain again, due to the Mechanics holding the #1 seed, to a huge ovation from the crowd, putting the Mechanics back in a position of not being the crowd favorite necessarily. Matt carried the load of the match but the crowd became unglued when Jeff climbed to the top turnbuckle for the apparent Swanton but Harwood jerked the top rope. Wheeler dumped Matt to the outside and climbed to the top turnbuckle himself as Harwood setup the superplex on Jeff. The crowd definitely popped for the finish and cheered both teams as they each made their way to the back.

2. Wahoo McDaniel Memorial Block Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Xavier Woods
>Winner: Woods (10:32) following the Lost in the Woods
~ Woods worked hard to get his first win and got a pretty nice reaction from the crowd for all his troubles. He and Gargano remain at the bottom of the block though.

3. Crockett Cup Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Smartly Dressed Gentlemen vs. Team Alpha
>Winner: Benjamin (11:53) with the T-Bone suplex on Taylor
~ This was a competitive match that was clearly defined by the clash of styles. A lot of suplexes as the match carried on and the crowd seemed behind the young Gable and the always athletic Benjamin.

4. Wahoo McDaniel Memorial Block Match: Karl Anderson vs. Adam Page
>Winner: Anderson (18:15) following a spinebuster
~ Match of the night at this point in the card and a definite heavyweight slugfest. Page seemed to have some opportunities to finish the match but Anderson survived before damn near driving Page through the mat with a spinebuster. Anderson has somewhat miraculously moved into the top half of the block while Page seems permanently stuck with three points.

5. Crockett Cup Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Young Bucks vs. Alliance of Violence
>Winner: Matt (12:22) following the BTE Trigger on James
~ Dustin Ashes was absolutely beside himself when this match ended. The Alliance of Violence were very competitive and with Ashes unique assistance, they had an opportunity to sneak out a win. The athleticism of the Bucks is what saved them and they caught James with the BTE Trigger when Cole got caught with the “Book of Violence” moments before.

6. Wahoo McDaniel Memorial Block Match: Rush vs. PAC
>Winner: Rush (16:27) following the Rush Driver
~ This match saw some jarring strikes exchanged and was in the running for match of the night. Rush received the most heat of the night as soon as the referee counted to three and did everything to bask in his glory. Rush currently sits at the top of the block.

7. Crockett Cup Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Briscoe Brothers vs. Zero G Zen
>Winner: Kincaid (13:50) following the Grave of the Fireflies on Mark
~ This has to be an upset by definition but you wouldn’t know it by the crowd who were solidly behind Moriarty & Kincaid, probably due to their disdain recently for the Briscoes as well. Zero G Zen seem to be carrying a lot of momentum but they have the Young Bucks next.

8. Wahoo McDaniel Memorial Block Match: Jay White vs. Kota Ibushi
>Winner: White (17:08) following the Blade Runner
~ Arguably another match of the night and huge win for White as he has nearly guaranteed himself a spot in the semifinals.

9. Crockett Cup Tournament Semifinal Match: The Mechanics vs. Team Alpha
>Winner: Harwood (16:43) following the Goodnight Express on Gable
~ The crowd was mostly behind the Mechanics but Alpha definitely had their support and they put up one of the most competitive matches that Harwood & Wheeler have dealt with since coming to the territory. The Mechanics have made it to the finals which could prove very interesting with a shot at their Championships on the line.

10. Crockett Cup Tournament Semifinal Match: Young Bucks vs. Zero G Zen
>Winner: Moriarty (14:02) with La Magistral on Matt
~ Easily the biggest pop so far of the night as no one had Zero G Zen finding their way into the finals. The Bucks were just as shocked as everyone else and spent several moments arguing with the referee about the count.

11. NWA North Carolina Ladies Championship Tournament Final Match: Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
>Winner: Flair (23:13) with the Figure Eight
~ Flair becomes the first Champion.
~ This could have been the main event with the amount of heat on Asuka and support for Flair. Flair survived a slew of near falls throughout the match, getting heavily battered with the strikes of Asuka. Flair looked resilient and eventually physically dominant as she worked over the right leg following a devastating dragon screw leg whip as the match drew on. Asuka screamed in pain and stretched for the ropes as soon as the figure four was applied but it turned nearly blood-curdling when Flair began to bridge.

12. Crockett Cup Tournament Final Match: Mechanics vs. Zero G Zen
>Winner: Harwood (21:16) following the Mindbreaker on Kincaid
~ Mechanics win the 2022 Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament
~ Great finish to another great night of wrestling as the Mechanics put the target squarely on their back as arguably the best team in the NWA. They are presented the Crockett Cup by Sting, who won the last Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament with Lex Luger in 1988. David Crockett presents them with the $100,000 check from the Crockett Foundation and Paul Ellering, the manager of the Road Warriors who won the first Crockett Cup in 1986, presents them with the contract they signed weeks earlier for a challenge to their NWA North Carolina Tag Team Championships. Harwood takes the contract and immediately asks for a microphone. He announces that the contract remains unsigned and the open invitation remains in place… but one thing has changed. He and Wheeler have proven how hard they work and how blue collar values can lift you to the top of the mountain, but now… after tonight… they are on top of the mountain… and as such they are no longer the “Mechanics”... they are now the “Top Guys”.

[jp1985]

Some more great matches in the Crockett Cup and I really liked the focus on history in the final with all the throwbacks to past winners. It told a good story and if The Mechanics weren't already on the map, they are after that with 3 big wins.

I definitely did not expect Zero G Zen to get all the way to the final, beating both The Briscoes and The Young Bucks. That may be almost as big a story as the win of the tournament itself.

Charlotte Flair beating Asuka to win the Women's Title on this show would have been another big moment. It's hard to imagine going any other way than that, given the event is in Charlotte.

Xavier Woods finally getting on the board was good to see. I thought with the story, he may go winless but nobody really deserves that and it's nice to see that everybody will get at least one win.

Jay White and Rush continue to stand tall with their wins, that loss for Kota Ibushi especially important as it keeps a gap from second to third. Karl Anderson also snuck in there with his win.