It was poised to be a huge night for NWA Houston and it definitely was, as they opened their 2012 campaign this past Friday night in Cypress. With their "Next Level" event set for suprises and a huge main event, it was nothing short of spectacular. Oh yeah, and that little part about having over 400 people in the crowd didn't exactly hurt things either!
The ladies kicked things off first, as fans witnessed the very first match in the opening round of a tournament to crown brand new NWA World Women's Tag Team Champions. This opening round match saw bitter rivals-turned-friends Barbi Hayden and NWA LoneStar Women's Champion Jen-Alise take on the team of Claudia Del Solis and Angel Blue. The story here wasn't the back and forth action throughout the match as much as it was the total breakdown between Angel and Claudia. Midway through the match, Claudia seemed to have the match well in hand and even had Hayden down for a series of pins. But Angel made the decision that SHE wanted to get the pin, and even repeatedly broke up her own partner's pin attempts. Claudia had seen all she needed, as she later got ahold of Angel on the outside of the ring and took her out of the equation completely. After dealing with her, Claudia walked off and left Angel to be double-teamed by Barbi and Jen. Barbi got the pin to advance to the next round of the tournament.
Tony Brooklyn introduced the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, "Modern Day Hero" Kevin Douglas, to the crowd. Tony mentioned the assault from Rudy Russo last month and asked his thoughts on the situation. Douglas simply stated he would beat Russo within an inch of his life, as the two would face off later in the evening.
Next match up was former NWA LoneStar Junior Heavyweight Champion Bolt Brady and Psycho Circus member, "One Man" Mike Dell. These two started off quick, as Circus ringmaster Scot Summers looked on from ringside. Dell was in control for a good portion of this match, both in and out of the ring. The fans were on both sides throughout the contest, cheering for both Brady and Dell throughout various parts of the match. In the end, it was Dell who would emerge victorious. Hitting a signature brainbuster and topping it off with a top rope elbow drop, Dell scored a big win over one of the heavy favorites in NWA Houston. Following the match, Rudy Russo hit the ring and laid out Brady. This would bring Dell back to the ring for the save, but Russo was quick to retreat. Dell approached Brady, helped him to his feet and raised his hand to the delight of the Cypress crowd.
Fans were treated to a tag team match, as Chaz Taylor and Hambone faced the team of The Grappler and "The Scottish Nightmare" Wallace Gordon. The fans were solidly behind Chaz and Hambone, as they quickly ejected their opponents from the ring. The Grappler started things off with Hambone, who was fast to begin working on the arm of The Grappler. Chaz and Hambone began using quick tags, before Hambone hit a thunderous springboard moonsault onto The Grappler. Wallace was finally able to tag in, and dropped Hambone with a single arm DDT. After dominating for several minutes, he tagged The Grappler back in. But Hambone hit a Code Breaker to buy a few minutes. However Wallace broke up his attempt to tag in Chaz, to keep him in their corner. Chaz would eventually get in, and scored with a super kick that would be the final blow in putting down the Grappler for the win.
On Monday morning, NWA LoneStar CEO Tony Brooklyn announced over the phone Chaz and Hambone have made their mark in the tag team rankings. So much in fact, that on February 10 they will receive a shot at the NWA LoneStar Tag Team Titles against Breaking Point ("Benchmark Silky Baines and "The Texas Torture Machine" DJ King). With their win over The Grappler and Wallace Gordon, they have some momentum going into their first crack at the belts.
The "Hebrew Phenom" David Stahr came out and addressed the ringside security. During last month's "Christmas Rumble" battle royal, several members of the ringside security team actually got involved in the match (at the request of Tugboat Taylor) and actually eliminated several wrestlers. Stahr told them he had been beating people up long before they had a locker and a hall pass at school. He promised to get in the ring with one of them on February 10 and "properly" welcome them to the business.
The first half of action concluded with a grudge match between NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion "Modern Hero" Kevin Douglas and Rudy Russo. Wanting revenge for what happened at "Christmas Carnage" last month, Douglas wasted no time in taking out his frustrations on Russo. This match was all over the place, including spending a little time on the outside. This is where Douglas regained some momentum after Russo had been in control for several minutes. Back in the ring, Douglas was in firm control after a springboard splash that nearly got him the win. But as he was backing Russo into the corner, the NWA LoneStar Tag Team Champions (Silky Baines and DJ King) hit the ring and attacked Douglas. This earned an immediate disqualification. Russo joined in and put the boots to Douglas. Chaz Taylor and Hambone raced to the ring and made the save. NWA LoneStar CEO Tony Brooklyn got in Russo's face after the beating, telling him that he had every right to not only fire him but also Silky and DJ. But he informed Russo that Douglas was headed to NWA Hollywood in February and when he returns for the March event, Brooklyn promised a big surprise for Russo.
Coming back from intermission, the tag champs were in action. Silky and DJ set out to defend their gold against former champions The Crusaders (Pop'n & Lock). The challengers started off early with a few comical aspects to throw off the champions. This only lasted a few minutes, as Silky and DJ had decided they were through with the antics. From there it was an all-out assault on The Crusaders, as the champions used quick tags and brutal double-teaming to keep the control in their favor. Crusader Lock would get a small measure of advantage, but it was extremely short-lived. Breaking Point used their size and power advantage to put Lock down and get the pinfall.
The next match was for the NWA LoneStar Championship, as Ken Carson defended the title against former champion "The Name That Entertains" Jasper Davis. Before the bell could ring, Jasper took control and sent Carson crashing into each turnbuckle. The action quickly moved to the floor, where they began trading punches all around the ringside area. Carson got the upper hand with a swift superkick that landed square on the challenger's jaw. Jasper narrowly avoided being counted out, as he rolled back into the ring just before the referee could count him out. But Carson took advantage and continued his attack. The match's conclusion came about when Carson attempted what he calls the Carson Kick (a running kick, aimed at Jasper's head), but Jasper moved and Carson ended up tangled in the ropes. Jasper pulled a page out of the champion's book and delivered his own version of the kick that did connect. Jasper made the cover and shocked the fans when he was declared the NEW NWA LoneStar Champion! But his celebration was short-lived.
As Jasper was announced as champion, an enraged Carson confronted Jasper about the ending of the what was a great match between the two. After a brief exchange between the two, Jasper had enough and tried to swing at Carson...but disaster struck. Carson ducked the attempted punch, and Barbi Hayden (who usually accompanies Carson to the ring), took the full force of the blow. An absolutely stunned Cypress crowd looked on, as Carson grabbed a microphone. Carson told Jasper that he had just messed up "real bad," and ordered him to be arrested! Two officers on duty then came to the ring and actually placed Jasper under arrest and escorted him out of the building. As the crowd booed Carson for what was transpiring, he pleaded that his foot was "clearly" on the rope and that he is still the real champion. He then left the ring with the championship, as Barbi had be helped out of the ring by security and NWA LoneStar officials.
After everything had settled down, it was time for the main event and time to answer one burning question: who is the undisputed best in Texas? Any theories, beliefs, or doubts were about to be put to rest. NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion Lance Hoyt (fresh out of his recent run with WWE and just returning from Japan) stepped into the ring to defend the recently revived championship against the leader of the Psycho Circus, "Showtime" Scot Summers. There were no expectations that this would be a "wrestling clinic" as these two had been mouthing off at each other for the last couple of months leading up to the match. It was very obvious that this would be a brawl, and the winner would leave as the NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion. Hoyt slapped Summers several times to get the match started, which only got Summers' blood boiling more. This match wasted no time in getting vicious and brutal as the two would eventually wind up outside and battling across the tables at ringside. Hoyt took the fight straight to Summers, even trying to realign his spine courtesy of a steel chair. Summers took everything that Hoyt dished out.
Towards the end of the match, Hoyt scored with a huge chokeslam, but couldn't put Summers away. Hoyt would later attempt to chokeslam Summers a second time, but Summers was ready. He slid down Hoyt's back and locked in a submission that would put Hoyt down for the count. With Hoyt stranded on the mat, the referee checked Hoyt to see if he was still conscious. When Hoyt's arm dropped for a third time, fans jumped up in excitement as Summers had dethroned Hoyt and was crowned the brand new NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion. The Psycho Circus stormed the ring to celebrate with the new champion.
If there was any doubt as to who is the absolute best in Texas, then "Showtime" Scot Summers just made a major statement by knocking off one of the literal biggest stars in the state. What lies ahead for Summers? Now that he has the most prestigious title in the state of Texas, Summers now has to prepare for a laundry list of superstars jumping at the chance to get a shot at the title.
On February 10, NWA Houston returns to the Cypress VFW for their next event. In addition to the NWA LoneStar Tag Title match mentioned earlier, expect the fallout from the Ken Carson-Jasper Davis situation as well as other surprises planned by NWA Houston management. Plus, David Stahr has promised to get in the ring with an unnamed member of the NWA Houston Security Crew, so anything could happen there! For more information, check out the NWA Houston Facebook page as well as their official website, and the brand new NWA LoneStar Facebook page for all the details and late breaking news.
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