NWA Primetime! - 11/20/08, live from the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia
“Man in the Box” by Alice in Chains plays as legendary wrestlers in NWA history are shown in action… Lou Thesz, Harley Race, the Funks, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Tommy Rich, the Rock N Roll Express, and more. The classic NWA logo then fills the screen and then the scene cuts to inside the arena. Ring Announcer Tony Chimel does the introductions and the bell rings…
Juventud Guerrera vs D-Lo Brown
The two lock up to begin things and D-Lo shoves Juvy to the mat and then stomps on him a few times. Juvy is back up, though, and ducks under a clothesline before hitting a leg lariat on Brown. Juvy goes on the offensive, hitting a springboard dropkick, tornado ddt, and then a dragon suplex for a two count. The match is interrupted, however, by The Giant, who tosses Guerrera out of the ring and Chokeslams D-Lo Brown to the mat hard.
Jim Ross: “DAMN YOU, GIANT… This is the second straight match you’ve ruined… you ruined the main event last Thursday, and now this opening match here tonight!”
The Giant grabs a mic and begins to talk about how he is the biggest and baddest man in professional wrestling today, and he will damn well do what he pleases. He starts to go on more, but is interrupted by Ric Flair’s music.
Flair comes out and talks about all of the history between The Giant and himself… he notes that The Giant won his first legitimate World Title from him, and they’ve had wars in both the WCW and the WWE. He reminds The Giant, though, that he is the man in charge, not The Giant. He tells him that this is his ring, and he must follow the rules that he sets forth.
The Giant shoots back, letting Flair know that he does what he wants, when he wants, and if Ric Flair and his cronies want to try to stop him, just go ahead and try. Flair stares The Giant down as we go to a commercial break.
Commercial Break
We come back from break and go over the NWA North American Title match set for tonight, the 6 Man Timed Entry Gauntlet Match. Two competitors will start, then a new competitor will enter every 2 minutes until all 6 men have entered. Wrestlers will be eliminated by pin, submission, countout, or DQ. The last man alive will be the NWA North American Champion. A graphic is up to show the competitors – Raven, Dustin Rhodes, CM Punk, Ron Killings, Mark Copani, and Steve Corino.
Chris Masters & Rob Conway vs Paul London & Billy Kidman
Billy Kidman makes his NWA debut as Paul London’s tag team partner, and he starts out the match against Rob Conway. Conway gets in a few punches, chops, and kicks, then makes a tag to Masters. Masters slams Kidman to the mat, but misses an elbow drop and Kidman is able to tag in to London. London hits a flying clothesline from the top rope, and gets a 1 count in the process. Masters is able to overpower London, though, and he drags him over to his corner and tags Conway back in. Some good double team and quick tag action by Masters and Conway puts London down on the mat, but he is able to scramble over to his corner and tag in Kidman. After some back and force action, Kidman does a leapfrog over Masters, but gets nailed by Conway with a big running clothesline. Masters takes out London while Conway secures the pin.
Winners – Masters & Conway by pin (5:02)
We cut backstage to show a limousine arriving to the arena, and Jim Ross and Larry Zbyzsko wonder who it could be. Ross mentions how two weeks ago, Kurt Angle arrived, and last week, both Bill Goldberg and The Giant showed up on NWA Primetime!
The brackets are then shown for the NWA Junior Heavyweight Title Tournament, with the top half being Juventud Guerrera over Paul London and Tajiri over Sonjay Dutt. The bottom half of the bracket shows Chris Sabin over CM Punk and the final quarterfinal match, Teddy Hart vs Jamie Noble.
Teddy Hart vs Jamie Noble (NWA Jr. Heavyweight Title Tournament Match)
The two locked horns and Noble backed Hart into the corner and beat him around before hitting a body slam and a quickie cover attempt. Noble whipped him to the corner and ate a boot and a bunch of strikes from Hart. Hart then hit a bunch of kicks and drop kicks before hitting the Dungeon Bomb.
Noble’s in trouble here and Hart hits a cross body only for Noble to roll through for a two count. Noble has gained the advantage, and hits Hart with a swinging neckbreaker followed by a corkscrew senton. He only gets a two count, though, and goes up to the top rope. Hart is up, though, and executes a springboard dropkick to the chest of Noble. Noble falls down to the mat hard, and Hart goes up top to hit a shooting star press. Hart makes the cover for the 3 count.
Winner – Teddy Hart by pin (5:32)
Commercial Break
Back from commercial now, we see Raven sitting in the corner in his locker room, hair down over his face. He talks about the chances he’s been given, and also the chances he’s been denied. He goes on to say that tonight he’s been given an opportunity to become the North American Champion, and he’ll make the other 5 guys standing in his way feel the pain that he’s felt in his life. Quote the Raven… nevermore.
Orlando Jordan & Elijah Burke vs Tyson Tomko & Chris Kanyon
Jordan and Burke make their NWA debuts as they take on Tomko and Kanyon in a tag match. Burke starts out in the ring with Kanyon, and is able to take the action to him. Kanyon reverses a twisting armlock with a short-arm clothesline, then is down on the mat with Burke with a front-facelock. Kanyon makes the tag to Tomko, who unleashes a fury of punches and kicks that put Burke to the mat. Burke makes the tag to Jordan, who is able to duck under a clothesline attempt and hit a big sidekick to floor Tomko. Jordan drops the knee on Tomko and then makes the tag to Burke. Tomko is able to tag in Kanyon as well, and all four men are in the ring now. Tomko and Jordan brawl to the outside as Burke hits the Elijah Experience on Kanyon and gets the pin.
Winners – Orlando Jordan & Elijah Burke by pin (4:49)
Commercial Break
The crowd explodes as we are back from commercial as Bill Goldberg makes his way down to the ring wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He has his sights set on the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and nobody is going to get in his way. He says he’s kicked ass from the WCW to the WWE, so there’s only one place left now. The NWA is NEXT!
Kurt Angle vs Rhino
The bell rings and they lock up. Rhino backs Angle into the corner and the referee immediately breaks them up. Angle wrenches the arm and gets Rhino in a hammerlock and sends him shoulder first into the turnbuckle. Angle now executes a hip toss and keeps the arm bar on. Rhino punches out and we see Bill Goldberg watching backstage on a flat screen TV.
Rhino goes to send Angle into the ropes but the Olympic Gold Medalist reverses and sends The War Machine in to the ropes. Rhino holds on to the ropes and Angle charges and gets back dropped to the outside but lands on his feet on the apron! Rhino turns and punches him and snaps the neck of Angle off the top rope and he crashes to the outside! Rhino goes to the outside and rolls him back in for a two count.
Rhino now locks in a chin lock. He keeps it on for a bit before Angle gets to his feet and tries to elbow out but Rhino just slams him down! Rhino hits a few forearms and sends Angle into the ropes. Kurt ducks a clothesline and comes off the ropes with a flying forearm smash for a one count but Rhino powers out. Angle levels Rhino with two clotheslines and the big man is down.
Angle hits Rhino hard with a right hand and sends him into the ropes but lowers his head and Rhino kicks him in the face and levels him with a neckbreaker! This gets Rhino a two count. Rhino now sizes him up for The Gore but Angle drops to the mat and avoids it the brunt of it. Rhino ended up face-first into the turnbuckle, and he is down. Angle tries to secure the Ankle Lock, but Rhino is too close to the ropes. Rhino is back up to his feet, but misses a haymaker, and is off balance. Kurt is able to hit the Angle Slam and get the pin.
Winner – Kurt Angle by pin (8:22)
Commercial Break
We are back from commercial now and the limousine is shown in the back again, JR and Larry refuse to speculate on just who it would be inside that limo.
Arabian Connection vs X-Factor
The bell rings and Sonjay Dutt will be starting this championship match out against Sean Waltman. Dutt does a little roll before they lock up. They lock up and Waltman quickly gets a knee to the midsection and wrenches the arm. Dutt rolls on his back, then kicks up out of it and does a back leg sweep on Waltman and covers for a two count. Dutt wrenches the arm and goes to whip him into the corner but Waltman reverses and whips him instead, but Dutt jumps on the second rope and flips into a crossbody for a two count! Dutt wrenches the arm again and bounces Waltman’s head off his turnbuckle before tagging Sabu.
Dutt sends Waltman into the ropes and does a drop toe hold and Sabu comes off the ropes with a leg drop on the back of Waltman’s head! Sabu covers for a two and a half count, but Credible breaks it up. Sabu lands a left hand on Waltman and sends him into the ropes but Sean holds on! Sabu charges and Waltman tries to back drop him to the outside but Sabu lands on the apron and hits Waltman, then hits Credible who charges him and finally gets drilled by Waltman and Sabu falls into the security railing on the outside.
Waltman finally tags in Credible who sends Sabu back first into the ring apron! Waltman puts Sabu back in the ring and Credible covers him for a near fall! Credible kicks Sabu in the back a whole bunch of times before covering him for another near fall! Justin then sends Sabu into his corner and Waltman tags in off Credible’s back. There is some good double team action on Sabu, and then another quick tage back to Credible.
Credible runs and puts a forearm in Sabu’s face and covers him for another near fall! Another tag puts Waltman back in, and now he puts on a waist lock. Dutt is rooting on for Sabu as is the crowd. Sabu fights up but Waltman puts a knee in his midsection and sends him into the ropes. Waltman puts Sabu on his shoulder for a slam but Sabu slips off and hits a rolling neckbreaker!! Both men crawl towards their partner s and make the tags!
Dutt comes in over the top rope and hits Credible with some right hands and goes to whip him into the ropes but it’s reversed and he goes into the ropes and comes off with a nice back elbow! Sonjay knocks him down with a clothesline, does a cartwheel and drops him with a dropkick! Credible is in the corner and Dutt charges but eats a boot! Credible tries to follow up with a clothesline but Dutt ducks and hits a nice neckbreaker! Dutt covers but it’s broken up by Waltman at one! Sabu comes in and kicks Waltman out of the ring but is hit by Credible from behind. Credible then turns into a Missile Dropkick from Dutt and he covers for the win!
Winners – Arabian Connection by pin (11:10)
Commercial Break
Afa, Jr. vs Chad Parham
The debuts continue on NWA Primetime! as Afa, Jr. faces Chad Parham. Jim Ross goes through the Samoan lineage that ties Afa Jr not only to his father Afa Sr, but a brother of Samu, is cousins with the late Yokozuna, Rosey, The Tonga Kid, Rikishi, and Umaga, and is a second cousin with The Rock. Ross wonders whether this isn’t the most decorated family is wrestling, at least right up there with the Hart Family, which includes the NWA’s very own Teddy Hart and DH Smith.
Afa, Jr. is all over Parham from the beginning. He hits Parham with chops and sidekicks that send him to the mat. Afa Jr drops an elbow on Parham then lifts him up and smashes him with a big headbutt. Afa Jr finishes him off with Lights Out and gets the 3 count.
Winner – Afa Jr by pin (2:58)
We cut backstage to see Steve Corino standing with interviewer Jonny Fairplay. Corino talks about bringing prestige back to the title that he once held back in 2001. He goes on to run down his opponents for their inability to actually wrestle a match. He says he is old school and wrestling will always win out in the end.
Vampiro vs Kofi Kingston
Vampiro rushes in at Kingston as the bell rings and hits him with a shoulder block. Vampiro is all over the smaller Kingston with a slam followed with an elbow drop. Kingston slides to the outside to stop the momentum, is back inside, and is able to leap frog a charging Vampiro. He hits Vampiro with a leg lariat and follows with a spinning leg drop. Vampiro is up now, but floored with a Russian leg sweep, and Kingston then successfully executes a springboard crossbody as Vampiro gets to his feet. Kingston finally finishes him off with Trouble in Paradise for the pin.
Winner – Kofi Kingston by pin (3:52)
Commercial Break
Rob Van Dam is out now, and inside the ring. He starts off by issuing an open challenge to anybody in the building, to come out and get smoked by RVD.
Cut backstage now, and the limo door is shown opening, but the camera cuts back to the ring and RVD. Van Dam talks about how he is Mr. Thursday Night and the Whole F’n Show, and nobody in wrestling can touch him.
The crowd explodes to their feet as Adam Copeland, formerly Edge in WWE, makes his way out in jeans and a t-shirt. RVD gives a nervous smile, but is obviously shocked to see Copeland coming out. Copeland has a mic and just says, ‘Challenge accepted!’ before dropping the mic and charging at Van Dam and tackling him to the mat. The two roll around on the mat exchanging rights and lefts until RVD slides out of the ring. Copeland follows him to the outside and they trade blows out there. Copeland tries to send Van Dam into the ring post, but RVD reverse and Copeland is sent shoulder first into the post. Copeland is down, and Van Dam lays the boots to him a bit, then gets up on the ring apron and drops a elbow down on Copeland. RVD searches under the ring for a steel chair, but takes too long, as Copeland is able to recover. RVD holds the chair up to swing at Copeland, but a dropkick sends the chair into Van Dam’s face. Copeland pulls RVD up by his hair and whips him into the security railing, then body slams him onto the mats surrounding the ring.
Copeland pulls Van Dam up to his feet now, and tries to send him off the ring apron, but Van Dam is able to jump up and use the apron to hit a springboard crossbody. Both men are down now, on the outside. Van Dam is to his feet first, and he drags Copeland by his hair over to the announce table, and clears it off. He lays Copeland on top of the table and heads back into the ring. Van Dam runs across the ring, off the ropes, back, and uses the ropes as a springboard to launch himself into a frogsplash, but Copeland is able to slide off the table prior to impact. RVD crashes through the table in a heap, and he is hurt. Copeland slowly gets to his feet and looks down at the wreckage. The EMT team is out as Copeland looks on. He slowly heads to the back, stopping to raise his arms to the cheers from the crowd as we head to commercial.
Commercial Break
We’re back now and JR and Larry are sitting at ringside without an announcers table, and they recap the hellacious encounter between Rob Van Dam and Adam Copeland.
Up next is the Six Man Timed Entry Gauntlet Match for the NWA North American Title. Two wrestlers start out in the ring, and then another enters two minutes later until all six have entered the match. Wrestlers will be eliminated by pin, submission, countout, or DQ. The last man alive will be the NWA North American Champion. A graphic is up to show the competitors – Raven, Dustin Rhodes, CM Punk, Ron Killings, Mark Copani, and Steve Corino.
Six Man Timed Entry Gauntlet Match for the NWA North American Title
The first two entrants in the gauntlet match are Dustin Rhodes and Mark Copani. Rhodes is seeing his first action in the NWA, and he charges right at Copani and knocks him off his feet with a shoulder block. Copani bounces right back up, though, and they exchange big right hands. Copani ducks under, and then locks in a armbar on Rhodes. Copani sends Rhodes off the ropes but misses a clothesline attempt as Rhodes ducks under and is off the opposite ropes. Rhodes hits a flying knee smash that sends Copani down as Steve Corino makes his way out to the ring. Corino sneaks behind Rhodes and rolls him up for a 2 count, but Dustin kicks out. Copani level Rhodes from behind as he gets up, though, and stomps away on him on the mat. Corino applies a spinning toe hold on Rhodes, but is hit with a huge clothesline from Copani to send him to the mat.
CM Punk is the next wrestler to enter now, and he goes right after Copani with a flying body press. He is down now on top of Copani and delivering rights and lefts as Rhodes is up and takes the offensive on Steve Corino. Copani rolls over on top of Punk and now he is blasting with rights and lefts onto Punk. JR goes over the short history these two have developed the past couple of weeks, including the Sons of Italy costing Punk his Jr. Heavyweight Title tournament quarterfinal match. Rhodes hits a big lariat on Corino and gets a 2 count. Raven is next in now, and he floors Rhodes from behind with a forearm smash.
Punk and Copani roll to the outside now, and continue their brawling. Copani sends Punk off of the ringside steps and follows up with kicks to the body. Punk grabs the arm of Copani and pulls him into the ringpost and both are down and injured. They both continue the fight as they get up, though, trading big rights and left. The referee counts to 10 and both CM Punk and Mark Copani are eliminated from the match by countout. They still are fighting, though, and brawl their way to the back as Ron Killings makes his way to the ring as the final entrant. It’s down to Dustin Rhodes, Steve Corino, Raven, and Ron Killings for the NWA North American Title.
ELIMINATED – CM Punk & Mark Copani by countout (7:46)
Killings is in and hits a spinning heel kick on Corino before taking Raven down with a dropkick. Rhodes is down in the corner, having been double teamed by Corino and Raven for the past couple of minutes prior to Killings entering the match. Raven is up now, and takes down Killings with a drop toe hold. We go to commercial as Raven has a front face-lock on Killings and Corino is stomping on a fallen Dustin Rhodes.
Commercial Break
Back from commercial now, and Killings has taken the offensive on Steve Corino while Raven is now on the attack against Dustin Rhodes. We make it back just in time to see Raven hit the EvenFlow DDT on Rhodes and make the cover and pin.
ELIMINATED – Dustin Rhodes by pin (14:08)
Raven, Steve Corino, and Ron Killings are left now for the NWA North American Title, and we’re done with commercial breaks, we’re here until the end. Raven is down in the corner clutching his neck as Corino has Killings in a hammerlock. Killings is able to reverse it, and send Corino off the ropes and hit him with a clothesline sending him to the mat. Raven takes out Killings’ knee from behind, though, and scrambles over to Corino for the cover, but only gets a 2. Raven tosses Killings to the outside and follows, and sends The Truth into the security railing. Corino looks on from inside the ring as Raven slams Killings down on the protective mats surrounding the ring. He rolls Killings back inside now, and Corino capitalizes with a crucifix armbar. Raven is back in also, and smash Corino with a huge forearm. He covers Killings, but is only able to get a 2 count.
The action goes back and forth for the next few minutes, mostly ground maneuvers and quick bursts of power moves, only to get 2 counts at most. Corino controls most of the action until Killings is able to hit a Jumping Axe Kick on Raven and score the pinfall.
ELIMINATED – Raven by pin (23:28)
We’re down to the final two, as either Ron ‘The Truth’ Killings or ‘The King of Old School’ Steve Corino will leave the Charleston Civic Center as NWA North American Champion. Killings has the momentum at this point, and gets a 2 count after a dragon suplex. Corino slides to the outside and Killings follows, and they brawl outside until the ref reaches 8 on his count. Back on the inside now, and Corino ducks under a clothesline and hits the Old School Lariat, but Killings is able to get a foot on the ropes after a 2 count.
Killings is able to counter an Old School Expulsion attempt with a Truth Conviction, but is unable to make the cover right away. Both men are down, but Killings is able to finally drape an arm over Corino, but for only a 2 count.
Both men make it back to their feet and trade lefts and rights, and seem to be re-energized a bit. Killings is in position to deliver a hurricanrana to Corino, but Corino instead hits a sitdown powerbomb. Corino is on his feet now, and lifts Killings up. He plants a big boot in the gut of Killings, and then is able to hit the Old School Expulsion and make the cover for the 1-2-3. Steve Corino is the first champion crowned in the new NWA, the NWA North American Champion!
Winner – Steve Corino by pin (29:31) *New NWA North American Champion*
Corino is shown raising the championship belt above his head as the cameras fade to black and we go off the air.
