NWA Crockett Cup: Night 2 Review - June 4, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pre-Show: NWA United States Tag Team Champions The Country Gentlemen def. SVGS, Los Vipers, The Spectaculars (Rush Freeman and Rolando Freeman), TNT, Daisy Kill and Talos, Magnum Muscle, The Fixers, and The Now in a Tag Team Gauntlet Match

Although the NWA United States Tag Team Championship was on the line, it didn't feel like the titles were in jeopardy of changing hands once it became apparent the champs were coming out last. I don't know why they couldn't have come out sooner to create more drama, but this was still better than most of the tag team matches I saw on Night 1. It was one of the quicker tag team Gauntlet matches I've seen (especially considering nine teams were involved) and none of the matches in the middle were given much time, but it was well worked on the whole.

Pre-Show: Thrillbilly Silas def. Dan Maff

Maff lost a first-round match on the Night 1 pre-show and it's cool he was brought back here for a singles match. I've thoroughly enjoyed his work on the indies in recent years and would definitely be down for him getting a run in the NWA. Hell, he would infinitely better in Tyrus' current spot than Tyrus is. This was a good, physical that allowed Silas to pick up a rebound win following his failure to beat EC3 for the NWA National Championship on Night 1.

Pre-Show: NWA World Women's Tag Team Champions M95 def. Angelina Love and Max the Impaler

Love and Max are such a random team. Unless there was something I missed, I don't remember interaction between these two on the main shows. I like that the women's tag titles were defended on the pay-per-view, but the division clearly isn't very deep if Love and Max were put together for no other reason than M95 needing opponents to defend against. The match was whatever and thankfully Love was the one pinned.

Pre-Show: Ruthie Jay def. NWA Women's Television Champion Kenzie Paige by Disqualification

These two were on opposite teams in the Hardcore Team War match on Night 1. I believe Jay had to fill in for La Rosa Negra for that match and we got her again here. Her and Paige had a decent match, but it didn't last long enough to get out of first gear. Kylie Paige ran in for the obvious disqualification (and Kenzie didn't look pleased), so with Jay winning the match, I assume we'll get a rematch on Powerrr soon.

Jinetes del Aire def. The Brothers of Funstruction in a Crockett Cup Quarterfinal Match

I'm still shocked Brothers of Funstruction made it to the quarterfinals. You can argue that they were over with the fans in attendance and that's why they made it as far as they did, but the clown gimmick isn't my cup of tea in 2023 and I would've preferred them being bumped early (or not included at all). The entertaining aerial offense from Jinetes Aire made this bearable and, needless to say, them winning was the right result.

Knox and Murdoch def. The Mortons in a Crockett Cup Quarterfinal Match

The Mortons cemented themselves as heels with their turn on Night 1, so I appreciated that this had a clear-cut dynamic. Knox and Murdoch once again worked well together and I like The Mortons as a heel duo. My only nitpick is that Kerry was the one pinned. He's the NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion, whereas Ricky is clearly retiring soon and easily could have taken the loss here without being damaged at all.

The Midnight Riders def. The Immortals in a Crockett Cup Quarterfinal Match

Anything involving Tyrus is bound to be abysmal, especially when he's wrestling multiple times on the same show, but having Adonis as his partner helped keep him limited. It also helped having The Immortals as their opponents, whose intensity and explosiveness I enjoy. This was quite the hoss fight, and it was more bearable whenever Tyrus wasn't in there. Unfortunately, Tyrus' team advanced, but given he's the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, I should've seen that coming.

Blunt Force Trauma def. NWA World Tag Team Champions La Rebelion in a Crockett Cup Quarterfinal Match (Non-Title)

Legendary referee Tommy Young addressed the audience right before this bout, but it wasn't significant enough to warrant anything more than a mention here. I assumed La Rebelion would make it all the way to the finals given they're the tag team champs, so that was quite the shocker. Blunt Force Trauma aren't great despite being booked as a monster team, but the match exceeded my expectations thanks to La Rebelion.

NWA National Champion EC3 def. NWA Television Champion Thom Latimer (NWA Television Championship Was Not Defended)

This was billed as a Champion's Choice match, so not only did EC3 choose Latimer as his opponent, he also gave him the choice of which of their titles would be defended. Obviously, Latimer chose to challenge for the National title, which made sense because they recently fought for Latimer's TV title.  This was on par with their other encounters in that it wasn't overly exciting, but the wrestling was solid. Now that they've split wins, could a Title for Title match be coming?

Colby Corino def. Flip Gordon, PJ Hawx, Gaagz the Gymp, Eric Jackson, Joe Alonzo and Jarron Fulton in an NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contender's Seven-Way Scramble Match

This marked Corino's NWA return. He last appeared back in December and the word at the time was that he was WWE bound. He has since revealed that his contract offer was later rescinded for whatever reason, which is a bummer because he's very talented. At least he's picking up where he left off in the NWA in the Junior Heavyweight title picture. What's weird is that both him and Kerry Morton are both heels, so I don't know who the crowd is supposed to cheer for when they eventually face off for the title. This was a fun sprint from all involved.

Blunt Force Trauma def. Jinetes del Aire ​in a Crockett Cup Semifinal Match

Putting Blunt Force Trauma in the ring with teams better than them was the best way to book them in this tournament because their matches likely would have been much worse otherwise. Much like La Rebelion, Jinetes del Aire sold well for Blunt Force Trauma's offense and the clash of styles made this a fun outing. With Blunt Force Trauma beating La Rebelion in the quarterfinals, there was no way Jinetes del Aire were winning here.

Knox and Murdoch def. ​The Midnight Riders in a Crockett Cup Semifinal Match

There's a lot of history between these four. Trevor Murdoch and Mike Knox were once rivals along with Tyrus and Chris Adonis, Tyrus ended Murdoch's reign as NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, and Murdoch and Adonis feuded over the NWA National Championship back in 2021. That doesn't mean I was into this match, though. Even with Tyrus in there, this was okay. Knox and Murdoch advancing to the finals over Tyrus and Adonis was a blessing.

Masked Man def. Cyon in an Unsanctioned Match by Referee Stoppage

This stemmed from the unknown individual costing Cyon and Jordan Clearwater a first-round match on the Night 1 pre-show. He wasn't given a formal name, much like Cyon when he debuted in the NWA, so he's simply "Masked Man" for now. The match itself was fairly forgettable, but Austin Idol betraying his son Cyon as well as Clearwater at ringside was notable. Hopefully this means Idolmania Sports Management is officially no more.

NWA World Women's Champion Kamille def. Natalia Markova

Kamille's title defenses have become a recurring highlight on NWA programming and this was undoubtedly the best match on the show. Other matches had high stakes, but Kamille's been champion for two years and thus it's going to be a big deal when she loses. I've thought for a long time now that Markova was the right person to dethrone her, but that didn't happen here. It was a strong match with some very suspenseful nearfalls even if there were a handful of hiccups and it wasn't the smoothest encounter by any means.

Knox and Murdoch def. Blunt Force Trauma to Win the 2023 Crockett Cup

Blunt Force Trauma made this far and were made to look like a threat, but Knox and Murdoch going over was the better choice. They're not a regular team, but if this keeps them busy in the tag title picture for the foreseeable future, I have no issue with that. Was this a pay-per-view-worthy main event? No, but it was at least acceptable and Knox and Murdoch overing the seemingly-unstoppable Blunt Force Trauma sent the crowd home happy.

Overall Show

This was a significant improvement over Night 1, but I realize it was a low bar to begin with. Night 1 featured absolutely nothing worth seeking out, whereas Night 2 had more important matches and a very entertaining NWA World Women's Championship defense. I applaud the effort to make the Crockett Cup feel prestigious, but I'd prefer they stretch the tournament out on Powerrr and NWA USA. That way, we're not left with a two-night event that drags terribly and mostly consists of mediocre tag team wrestling.

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