The Crockett Cup is finally here. We saw some big surprises tonight, along with some fantastic wrestling on night one. There were ten matches in total, and each of them was enjoyable in one way or another. The Cardonas looked to do their friend Matt proud. The Briscoes were in action, as were the NWA Tag Team Champions, La Rebelión. Strictly Business, Gold Rushhh, Dirty Sexy Boys, The Fixers, The Tate Twins, Doug Williams and Harry Smith, and The Ill Begotten were all in action. It promised to be a fantastic night of tag team wrestling. First up, Hawx Aerie took on The End.
Round One
Hawx Aerie (PJ Hawx & Luke Hawx) vs The End (Parrow & Odinson)
There was an element of unrest between The End going into the match. Despite not seemingly being on the same page, they did a great job of using their power to beat down PJ Hawx in the early stages. Parrow hit Luke with various splashes, as Odinson stomped him down in the corner. PJ was looking frustrated in the corner as Odinson controlled the pace of the match, hitting Luke with some knees to the stomach, a flying European uppercut, and a belly-to-belly. He hit a Death Valley Driver as Parrow connected with a senton, but PJ broke up the pin. Parrow continued to beat down Luke in the corner, but he escaped and hit a Razor’s Edge out of nowhere. PJ finally got tagged in and exploded, dropkicking Parrow and suplexing Odinson. Hawx Aerie were able to get in some double team moves, which led to PJ rolling up Odinson for the win. After the match, The End beat up Hawx Aerie, which left Luke with a concussion. It was later announced that PJ Hawx would continue in the tournament alone. The End’s loss was the first of many surprises in the night, but Hawx Aerie deserved the victory.
The Cardonas (Mike Knox & VSK) vs Pope & Mims
After VSK and Pope reversed various submissions in the early stages, Mims joined the match to squash VSK with a front-falling powerslam. Pope and Mims worked together to beat down VSK with an atomic drop and flying clothesline combo. Knox finally tagged in and stomped down Mims, and as the referee was distracted, VSK choked the big guy on the apron. Back in the ring, VSK ran at Mims in the corner and hit a spinning European uppercut as Knox landed a splash. VSK hit a codebreaker as Know dropped an elbow. The Cardonas were impressive, working together well to wear down Pope and Mims. However, Pope was able to gain some momentum and unleash a flurry of elbows and strikes in honour of Dusty Rhodes. Along with Mims, they hit a Doomsday Device on VSK, but Knox broke up the pin. The Cardonas picked up the win after Knox connected with a Sister Abigail spinning DDT and VSK hit a frog splash for the three-count.
Dirty Sexy Boys (JTG & Dirty Dango) vs Aron Stevens & The Blue Meanie
Before the match, it was announced that Kratos wasn’t in the building. Stevens spoke with Kyle Davis and started to make derogatory remarks about Nashville. He brought up that Kratos wasn’t there, and after using the ‘something borrowed, something blue’ analogy, he announced his tag team partner was “extremely blue.” The match itself wasn’t anything special. It showed that The Blue Meanie doesn’t compete much anymore, as he was slow and sluggish. Despite the ring rust, he was able to help Dirty Sexy Boys get weird. He tickled JTG and made him dance, along with landing some splashes in the corner to do some actual damage. Despite some decent offence by Stevens and Meanie, Dirty Sexy Boys picked up the win after JTG pushed Meanie over a kneeling Dango, then hit a standing splash.
Strictly Business (Thom Latimer & Chris Adonis) vs Gold Rushhh (Jordan Clearwater & Marshe Rockett) W/ BLK Jeez & Tyrus
I’m a big fan of Strictly Business, and couldn’t believe they lost. Right out of the gate, Adonis locked in the Master Lock, but because Latimer was still in the ring trying to fight off Rockett and his cronies, the tap out didn’t count. When the match started, Strictly Business worked on Clearwater with some big back elbows and great synergetic manoeuvres. Rockett eventually tagged in and superkicked Masters, then clotheslined the both of them. Masters was able to put Rockett in the Master Lock, but the referee was distracted by BLK Jeez. This allowed Clearwater to smack Latimer with Tyrus’ TV title and Rockett to grab the three-count. It was a decent match, but an ending I didn’t see coming.
The Ill Begotten (Rush Freeman & Alex Taylor) W/ Jeremiah Plunkett vs The Commonwealth Connection (Doug Williams & Harry Smith)
After some confusion about who would face Williams and Smith, it was decided Freeman and Taylor were the guys to do it. Williams took it to Taylor with a belly-to-belly, as Smith tagged in and beat the hell out of Taylor. The Ill Begotten were able to get in some offence, as Freeman dropped Williams with an atomic drop as Taylor landed a dropkick. The Ill Begotten controlled the middle stages of the mat. Williams went for a tag, but Plunkett pulled Smith off the apron. YUMA came out to argue with Plunkett about not being put in the match, getting punched for even thinking about questioning him. Back in the ring, Freeman landed a vertical suplex on Williams, but the Ambassador of British Wrestling connected with a flying European uppercut. He tagged in Smith who banged The Ill Begotten’s heads together. Smith followed up with ten corner punches on Taylor, a huge back body drop that sent Taylor flying through the air, a power slam, and a Saito suplex. The Commonwealth Connection won with a running powerslam and flying headbutt combo.
The Tate Twins (Brent Tate & Brandon Tate) vs La Rebelión (Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf)
La Rebelión were quick to dismiss The Tate Twins, with Mecha Wolf laughing at Brent’s trash talk and tagging in Bestia 666. It didn’t take long to see why the brothers were in the Crockett Cup, though. Brent got in some early offence in on 666. Brandon tagged in and hit a flying crossbody on Mecha Wolf, then both guys connected with a double dropkick. La Rebelión showed why they were the NWA World Tag Team Champions with some great teamwork. They stomped down Brent, then hit a backbreaker and missile dropkick combo. Despite The Tate Twins landing double Tope Con Hilos and Space Jam, the champs hit Brent with Mark of the Beast to pick up the win and advance. They didn’t look as dominant as they have done before, but they got the job done in style.
Quarter-Finals
The Fixers (Jay Bradley & Wrecking Ball Legursky) vs The Cardonas (VSK & Mike Knox)
Once again, the Crockett Cup dropped another big surprise upset on us. I thought The Fixers were a shoe-in for at least the semi-finals. That wasn’t to be, though. To be fair to The Cardonas, they withstood one hell of a beating in this one, especially VSK. The Fixers used their power on both VSK and Knox. The pulled the legs of VSK to hit the ring post into his groin. VSK was able to fight back with a rising knee, but Legursky dropped him with a powerslam. They connected with duel headbutts on VSK and were about to deliver a double vertical suplex, but Knox chop-blocked Bradley’s knee. Wrecking Ball missed a Vader Bomb thanks to Knox saving his partner. They were then able to deliver their finishers to pick up the shock victory.
The Briscoes (Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe) vs Dirty Sexy Boys (JTG & Dirty Dango)
After defeating The Now during the pre-show, The Briscoes advanced to the quarter-finals to face Dirty Sexy Boys. They were in fine form throughout the match, using aggression and skill to get the better of JTG and Dirty Dango. Mark placed a chair down in the ring and jumped off it to hit a Tope Con Hilo to the outside. JTG fought back and landed a sling blade on Mark, but The Briscoes were just too tough. Mark launched JTG into Jay’s boot, then locked in the Muta Lock. Dirty Dango tagged in and showed off some great offence. He chopped Mark’s chest repeatedly and landed a Falcon Arrow, then an Air Raid Crash and DDT combo on both of the brothers. The Briscoes got their heads back in the game and hit Redneck Boogie on JTG, but Dango made the save. It was all over when Jay hit the Jay Driller and Mark hit the Froggie Bow to pick up the victory.
Hawx Aerie (PJ Hawx) vs La Rebelión (Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf)
Fair play to PJ for continuing in the tournament alone. Despite facing two huge figures like Bestia 666 and Mecha Wolf, he managed to hold his own for quite some time. He landed an arm drag, a dropkick, and a headlock on Mecha Wolf. Mecha Wolf bit his face, but he got out of it to land a double underhook suplex. It all got too much for him, as La Rebelión hit him with Mark of the Beast. Surprisingly, PJ kicked out. They landed another to secure the victory, but it wasn’t easy for them. PJ Hawx could very well get a big push after that. I can see Hawx Aerie challenging for the tag team titles when Luke’s recovered.
The Commonwealth Connection (Doug Williams & Harry Smith) vs Gold Rushhh (Marshe Rockett & Jordan Clearwater)
In what was perhaps the best match of the night, Doug Williams and Harry Smith were exceptional. Gold Rushhh had some fantastic moments, but this one belonged to The Commonwealth Connection. After a slow start, Gold Rushhh were able to control the pace of the match after Smith hurt his leg. They worked on his injury, with Clearwater whipping Smith’s leg into the ring post. Smith connected with an Enzuigiri to make the tag, and Williams ran in to land various clotheslines on Gold Rushhh, and a flying European uppercut on Clearwater. Following an exploder suplex, Williams dropped Clearwater with a Tiger Driver. Smith landed a sit-down powerbomb on Clearwater, as Williams followed up with a piledriver. Rockett broke up the pin as the match continued. Williams picked up the win after putting Clearwater in his submission.
All pics and captures courtesy of Fite and NWA