NWA Crockett Cup: Day 2 Review - March 20, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Briscoes def. The Cardonas in a Crockett Cup Semifinal Match

Kicking off the show with The Briscoes was a smart call. They were one of the favorites to win the whole Crockett Cup to begin with, but The Cardonas gave them a good fight here in what was an adequate opener. I liked that they worked with a sense of urgency and the crowd was into the action. They were also happy to see The Briscoes advance to the finals. To their credit, Mike Knox and VSK work well as a team.

Doug Williams and Harry Smith def. NWA World Tag Team Champions La Rebelion in a Crockett Cup Semifinal Match

Speaking of teams who work well together, look no further than Williams and Smith. I had a lot of praise for them in my Day 1 review of the Crockett Cup and they had another awesome outing here, this time with La Rebelion who have been dominant since arriving in the NWA last year. Williams and Smith beating the champs should absolutely put them in line for a title shot at some point. Williams and Smith making it to the finals over La Rebelion was a pleasant surprise, though I would have been content with either outcome.

Kyle Davis Interviewed Da Pope

I was curious what was next for Pope coming off his failure in the first round of the Crockett Cup and his latest loss to Mike Knox. Is he never going to avenge that? Maybe he still will, but from what it sounds like, he'll be cashing in the guaranteed championship opportunity he earned from winning the Champions Series last summer (which I honestly forgot about). This was a well-delivered promo from Pope, but it probably could have been saved for Powerrr.

NWA National Champion Anthony Mayweather def. Jax Dane; Dane def. Mayweather to Win the NWA National Championship​

I thought this feud finished up months ago inside of the steel cage, but apparently not because Dane continued to call out Mayweather after that. Well, now we know why. The confusing thing is that he didn't use his guaranteed title shot on Mayweather to begin with. Rather, he cashed it in afterward, so I'm not sure why he was granted a title shot in the first place. It was a quality contest and Dane becoming champion is an interesting swerve. I don't need to see these two resume their rivalry even though I'm sure that's where this is going.

NWA World Women's Tag Team Champions The Hex def. Kenzie Paige and Ella Envy

I had no idea what to expect from this match because it wasn't built up on Powerrr at all and I wasn't aware Paige had a partner. She's also been a babyface for as long as I can remember, so that was certainly a change of pace. It was an acceptable match for as long it lasted. Marti Belle's in-ring work isn't the best, but when she's kept limited, The Hex's matches are mostly fine and this was an example of that. It's hilarious that they've defended their tag titles more than the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions and the NXT Women's Tag Team Champions combined.

Homicide def. Colby Corino, Darius Lockheart and Austin Aries in a Four-Way Match to Win the NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship

The Junior Heavyweight title tourney has been fun to follow since December and I've been entertained by a majority of the matches. Hopefully the NWA will have enough junior heavyweights to make it work. It's off to a strong start because these four put together a really nice match with a consistent pace. Say what you will about Aries, but the guy can go and he and Homicide brought the veteran presence to the match. I'm not sure how I feel about Homicide winning the title, though. I feel like Corino or Lockheart would have been a better fit at this point seeing as how they're younger and have more to gain.

Kyle Davis Interviewed Trevor Murdoch

Murdoch wasn't booked for either night of the pay-per-view due to recently losing the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, so I appreciated how he incorporated that frustration into his promo. He questioned what was next for him and showed excellent intensity. I am curious where he goes from here, but at least there appears to be a plan and he won't simply be forgotten about. I have to assume his time in the title picture isn't done and that he'll be back in the mix soon enough.

NWA World Women's Champion Kamille def. Kylie Rae and Chelsea Green in a Three-Way Match

I wasn't overly impressed with Kamille's title defense against Green at NWA 70 last summer, but adding Rae to the mix definitely made this match better. She's the best wrestler of the three of them and they had the crowd engaged in action, especially with some of those nearfalls down the stretch. With Kamille retaining, I can't think of anyone who stands a chance of beating her right now, unless it ends up being Rae in a one-on-one situation.

NWA Television Champion Tyrus def. Rodney Mack

I can't imagine anyone seeing this match on paper and being excited for it in any way. Tyrus is terrible and Mack is well past his prime. It's been cool seeing Mack back in the NWA for the past few months, but he really shouldn't have been put in this position, at least not with someone who is almost incapable of having a competent match in 2022. This was as much of a train wreck as you'd expect. NWA desperately needs to get that belt off Tyrus.

The Briscoes def. Doug Williams and Harry Smith to Win the 2022 Crockett Cup

These two teams (along with La Rebelion) were the highlight of this year's Crockett Cup, so I'm glad it came down to them in the finals. It was also unpredictable who would win because both teams are new to the NWA's tag team ranks and I wasn't positive The Briscoes would be sticking around. This was top-notch stuff. The Briscoes are all the place these days (except for AEW, that is) and, as previously noted, I hope Williams and Smith stick around as a team.

Nick Aldis def. NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Matt Cardona by Disqualification (Jeff Jarrett Served as Special Guest Referee)

Aldis and Cardona wrestle similar styles in that they're more than capable in the ring but they both tend to incorporate "smoke and mirrors" into their matches. That's why this dragged for the first half, but once they picked up the pace a bit, it turned into a really good main event. Unfortunately, I feared the worst when Jarrett was named the special guest referee given his history of shenanigans in past TNA main events, and sure enough, that's exactly what happened. Green interfered and delivered a low blow to Jarrett behind his back, and when it looked like Aldis had the match won by submission, Jarrett called for the bell to disqualify Cardona. NWA did something similar less than a year ago at the main event of When Our Shadows Fall, so this was lazy. That sort of stuff shouldn't be happening in the main event of pay-per-views.

Overall Show

The evening unfortunately ended on a sour note with that silly finish, but Day 2 of the Crockett Cup on the whole was significantly stronger than Day 1. As mentioned, Day 1 featured a lot of setup for Day 1 and nothing was overly significant. Day 2 was a bit more newsworthy with a new Junior Heavyweight champ being crowned and there being a slew of other title matches. The tag team tournament itself was fun to follow and The Briscoes winning it all was an unexpected treat considering they've never been regulars in the NWA. The promotion has had better pay-per-views in the past, but this was an overall solid effort.

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