NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood

[Ringo]

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/9866/nwah.png (http://img850.imageshack.us/i/nwah.png/)


http://nwahollywood.com/main/

So NWA Hollywood has been getting a bit of press lately. Adam Pearce, NWA Champ is based here now. They've got a cool old school territory feel which I like. ROH guys like Cabana and Aries have wrestled for the promotion. They've also got the usual indy names like Rasche Brown, Scott Lost, Scorpio Sky and Joey Ryan. Also Paul Bearer and SEAN WALTMAN. It premiered on September 17th. Here's the first episode:

http://nwahollywood.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52%3Aepisode-1&catid=14%3Anwa-championship-wrestling-from-hollywood&Itemid=10

Looks like all the episodes are available to watch in full and high quality on the website. There's 24 so far.

ROH is in a bit of a lull, TNA stinks...

I'm gonna give this thing a shot. Who's with me?!

[Psycho666Soldier]

I'm down, baby. I need something fresh to take on other than the puro.

You got yourself a partner, Ringading.

I'll watch a few episodes when I get out of band practice.

[Ringo]

The first episode looks like it's just the roster/announcers talking about NWA's great tradition. It's actually pretty cool with extended clips of classic matches like Thesz/Rocca, but not really essential viewing. The second is a 60 minutes interview with Pearce, which I've got on now. I think their first objective was to get Pearce over as "WORLDS CHAMPION", which this interview is doing a decent job of. It sort of clues you in to the last 4 years since NWA and TNA severed ties. I like this David Marquez chap.

So yeah, episode 3 is probably the first "proper" episode.

[Olympus]

I watched the one with the battle royal. Adam Pearce is sort of a spaz on commentary, but I think he's a great champion, and it's nice to see the NWA Title continue its lineage.

[Cewsh]

Been watching this for months. Easily already the 5th best promotion in the US.

[Ringo]

And what EXACTLY are the top four?!

[Cewsh]

WWE
ROH
Shimmer
TNA

Add in NWA and its a loooooong step down to PWG.

[Ringo]

Ah yes, SHIMMER escaped me. I remember now how much you love that promotion.

Like the old school presentation of this show.

Peter Avalon is hilarious. "Not only am I the future of the NWA, not only the future of wrestling, but I am the future... IN GENERAL!" :lol:

Willie Mack is a dude.

Los Luchas/Rockness Monsters from episode 5 was good. It's also cool to see Brian Cage (Kris Logan) who was one of my favourites from FCW a while back. Was sad to see him get his release from WWE so it's nice to see him reappear here as one half of Natural Selection. Endorsed by Percy Pringle too. :yes:

[Cewsh]

Its actually crazy to me how long the feud between Colt Cabana and Adam Pearce lasted/is lasting for them. They're really doing an old school job of promoting it heavy and drawing it out.

[Dubya]

Hmm .. I may just check this out

[Ringo]

I love Willie Mack. What a guy. Was going to call him the Black Dusty Rhodes but he wrestles like bloody Londrick. Brilliant human. The match with Claudio "why hasn't WWE signed me and Chris yet?" Castagnoli was enjoyable.

The guy on colour, James Morgan I think, has gotten progressively better too. Found him really irritating in the first episode but he's given me a fair few laughs over the last couple of shows.

[Ringo]

Up to episode 12 now. They're developing some good stuff here. Pearce is firmly established as the man, Joey Ryan is the local darling, Cabana has his big fairytale mission to finally win the big one, Willie Mack and Scorpio Sky are the other top faces. There's Kaos & Avalon's alliance, SkullKrusher fucking shit up, The Tribe getting themselves repeatedly DQed and some good tag stuff from RockNES, Natural Selection and Los Luchas.

Oh yeah. And Austin Aries.

[virus21]

Heard about these guys. THey did a few iPPVs already if Im not mistaken. All I can say the more companies getting press, the more incentive WWE and TNA have to get off thier asses and improve

[Sparky]

Stoked about Cabana being the new Champ. I will definitely be checking this out more, and will be on the look out for the match he won the title in

[Ringo]

Yeah, this is huge. Cannot wait to see it. :hyper:

In other news, I'm up to episode 17. Pearce piledriving Cabana through the table was gnarly. Probably the biggest thing to happen so far, it was bad ass. I loved the ending with Pearce grabbing Marquez and Cabana getting a standing ovation as he got to his feet and walked out of the arena. Great stuff really and the first time I've felt truly invested emotionally in the goings on of the promotion.

Haha, and there's even more fun in episode 17 already. Nick Madrid pinning Pearce and celebrating with the fans! Brilliant.

[Ringo]

Pics from Pearce/Cabana

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=10150102964930779&id=273718705778&aid=279375

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/full/254015094.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0ZRYP5X5F6FSMBCCSE82&Expires=1299534861&Signature=ZsMyV7wtXXYwqZftjO95LJp9d9E%3D

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/1420/19029010150102980625779.jpg
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/5266/18933610150102981050779.jpg
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/2924/18308510150102981910779.jpg
http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/1844/19799610150102981415779.jpg (http://img845.imageshack.us/i/19799610150102981415779.jpg/)
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/1623/20059210150102980740779.jpg


Looks like a WAR.

[Cewsh]

Amazing.

[Ringo]

So apparently Jason Watts who featured in the Hollywood Invitational Battle Royal a few weeks ago (eliminating Joey Ryan) will be one of the contestants on Tough Enough. Pretty cool.

Also I think I love Buggy.

[McBain]

Oh yeah. And Austin Aries.

:hyper:

Will give this a go just for him.

[Ringo]

So I'm up to the 2/18 episode and James Morgan appears to have been REPLACED with Excalibur?! I hope this isn't the case. Nothing against Excalibur, but James Morgan was fucking entertaining. :irked:

EDIT: Ah, it seems they've given him an interview segment instead.. :yes:

Also, good to see the crowd size quickly increase after they moved to the Showcase.

http://nwahollywood.com/main/images/stories/Roster/1heavyweightchamp.jpg

:hyper:

[LOCONUT]

This is taped right up the street from my house. Gonna get Miotch and check this out LIVE. I haven't been to live wrestling in like 8 years and haven't watched anything since then. I'll post a review if we make the April 10 show. In all honesty, this seems like the EXACT thing I could get behind.

[Vandal]

Watched episode #3. Good stuff.:yes:

Liked the main event. I thought the high flyer was gonna win...

[Miotch]

This is taped right up the street from my house. Gonna get Miotch and check this out LIVE. I haven't been to live wrestling in like 8 years and haven't watched anything since then. I'll post a review if we make the April 10 show. In all honesty, this seems like the EXACT thing I could get behind.
GBF turned down floor tickets to summerslam last year, but wants me to go with him to this?

[Ringo]

This would probably be more fun to be fair. It's got a cool old school feel and the fans look as though they really enjoy themselves. Up close and personal, looks like a decent intimate atmosphere.

[Miotch]

I don't watch the WWE any more, but SS was incredibly fun. It's almost more about the people in the crowd than anything else.

[Ringo]

I had an amazing time staring at all the oddballs when I went to Summerslam in 2008, so I feel ya.

[LOCONUT]

This looks like it would kill WWF shows.

[Hero!]

http://nwahollywood.com/main/images/stories/Roster/1heavyweightchamp.jpg

:hyper:

oh, that gets my dick hard.

[Cewsh]

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu132/CewshReviews/194312_10150123838118539_279734928538_6427395_4779 128_o.jpg?t=1300249612

Sweeeeeeeeeet.

[Ringo]

THAT IS SO COOL.

[Psycho666Soldier]

Ok, so my schedule has cleared up some more, so I've been catching up on this. I've watched the first 8 episodes so far, and I plan on having 3 more knocked out before I go to work.

I dig the vibe of this whole promotion. Very old-school, but not so much that people more fond of the newer style couldn't get into it. The wrestling seems to grow better with each week, and I like the build that has been happening so far.

Willie Mack rocks. Probably one of my favs from there right now. The match between him and Claudio Castignoli was pretty awesome, and the story was told well. Also, "Pretty" Peter Avalon is hilarious. So far all the segments I've seen with him had me laughing, including his "Tag Team Match" against Natural Selection when they were debuting.

Now knowing that Colt's the champion, it's kind of interesting to watch this like a non-chronological movie that starts right before the end and then goes to the beginning of the story so you can see what led to that point.

Also, Scorpio Sky isn't too great on the mic, but damn can he put on a match.

EDIT: Also, just noticed Cedrick The Hitman's theme song is "Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle" by Dethklok :lol: We need more Dethklok entrance themes in this world.

[Psycho666Soldier]

Watching Episode 18 now. I was thinking to myself that Tommy Wilson reminded me of the illegitimate lovechild of Mr. Anderson/Kennedy and Chris Candido, with a splash of Shane Douglas. Then after a few more words, I immediately decided he reminded me of Shane Douglas almost on a whole, with a more modern twist which gives him that Kennedy/Candido vibe. Not a bad thing at all, as I love all three of those guys.

Really...I am loving this promotion all the way. Adam Pearce is a great champion, and an awesome heel. Colt Cabana is a great psychologist and just knows how to put on a great match, regardless of his conservative moveset. There are a many other standouts, but I just do not feel like getting too far into detail now. Really, almost everyone that has wrestled at least two matches in this promotion are great in the ring, most of them are decent to good on the mic, a little less than half of them are great on the mic. A much better balance than WWE or TNA, I think.

The biggest selling point for me, that clinches the whole deal, is the Tag Team and Women's division. Both are treated with the proper respect, and are handled very well. Tag teams get into feuds without a belt being involved, the women have varied personalities with skilled in-ring abilities, and it's all pretty entertaining, especially the Tag Teams.

I'm officially sold. I'll follow this promotion until it gives me 5 reasons not too...and even then I'll probably still keep on with the hope that it will not give me anymore.

I did the same thing with WWE and TNA :lol:

[Ringo]

I dig the vibe of this whole promotion. Very old-school, but not so much that people more fond of the newer style couldn't get into it. The wrestling seems to grow better with each week, and I like the build that has been happening so far.

Completely agree. I like how things are gradually improving and falling into place as the different wrestlers grow more comfortable with their roles and positions in the promotion. The venue change helped a lot too.


Willie Mack rocks. Probably one of my favs from there right now. The match between him and Claudio Castignoli was pretty awesome, and the story was told well. Also, "Pretty" Peter Avalon is hilarious. So far all the segments I've seen with him had me laughing, including his "Tag Team Match" against Natural Selection when they were debuting.

YUS. Mack & Avalon are both very enjoyable, and its good to see Mack getting some recognition from bigger more established indy promotions.


Watching Episode 18 now. I was thinking to myself that Tommy Wilson reminded me of the illegitimate lovechild of Mr. Anderson/Kennedy and Chris Candido, with a splash of Shane Douglas. Then after a few more words, I immediately decided he reminded me of Shane Douglas almost on a whole, with a more modern twist which gives him that Kennedy/Candido vibe. Not a bad thing at all, as I love all three of those guys.

Haven't really engaged with Tommy Wilson yet myself, but he's certainly reminiscent of Mr. Douglas.


Really...I am loving this promotion all the way. Adam Pearce is a great champion, and an awesome heel.

Main thing NWA Hollywood has done for me so far is changing my opinion of Adam Pearce. Used to have a mild respect for his consistency and hard work but figured he was limited and would never be particularly great. Fuck that, he's the man.

[Psycho666Soldier]

I've only seen one episode with Tommy Wilson, which was 18, so it's just first impression, but I think it'll stay.

Spot on about Pearce, though. I really didn't know whether he'd turn out to be exceptional or not, but he definitely showed me. He deserved having a couple reigns under his belt, and I'm quite sure it won't be the last.

I'm watching episode 19, and Cedric the Hitman is impressing me even more with each time I see him perform. At first I thought he was pretty bland, but his ring work is prime material. When I look at him, though, with his ring attire, he almost reminds me of a much, much more sound New Jack, without any of the ultraviolence.

EDIT: Also, Lil Mikey O'Shea never seems to change expressions.

[Ringo]

In the midst of all the Wrestlemania hype and fallout I completely forgot!

http://nwahollywood.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51&Itemid=10

This is the one we've been waiting for!

April 2nd. Adam Pearce defends the NWA World's Title vs. Colt "Boom Boom" Cabana.

Incidentally, the next episode will feature Cabana making his first defence against NWA Hollywood's local hero, Joey Ryan.

[Ringo]

Just watched it. While it's not quite the brutal hate-filled classic I was hoping for from the photos and build, it's still a pretty damn good match. I thought that Pearce tapped way too quickly in the Billy Goat's Curse, but the pop was big from such a small audience. Loved the section when Pearce was gloating in the ring as Cabana was close to getting counted out, and then when Colt makes it back in he just piledrives him to fuck. Great near fall.

So happy for Colt, brilliant visuals at the end with Pearce a bloody mess outside the ring and all the faces rushing in to congratulate the new Champ.

[LUNATIC]

Who does their womens division consist of?

[Cewsh]

Buggy, Tab Jackson, Rachel Summerlyn, Lucky O'Shea, Candice LeRae and two amangers Sylvia and Olivia (who i'm pretty sure is a porn star).

[Deewun]

I have an episode or two of this downloading. Excited to give it a chance.

[Ringo]

You can stream them all on the official site :yes:

[Deewun]

Oh, sweet. Well that is cool to know. Doing that now.

[Ringo]

The lack of feedback for Colt's big win is saddening. :(

[Psycho666Soldier]

I haven't watched it yet because I'm watching everything in order.

I was in a nice motion of seeing a few episodes each day, then I lost my house so I don't have as much opportunity to do so.

I'll give plenty of feedback once I get there, trust me.

[ANT]

I don't keep up with it much, but there seems to be a little CONTROVERSY~ with Colt losing the NWA title to the Sheik a few days ago. Seems to be a not so popular decision, and NWA Hollywood isn't going to be booking the Sheik.

Any thoughts?

[Cewsh]

Yeah, I saw that a few days ago and I can't remember being this annoyed with a recent booking decision from any other company.

After all the great press and excitement of Cabana winning, to just put it on the Sheik, who hardly anybody gives a shit about seems like a massive waste. I'd almost compare it to Homicide finally winning the title and then immediately jobbing to Morishima in ROH.

[Psycho666Soldier]

Well that blows. I had just finished watching Cabana's title win, too. Why would they do that? I thought NWA Hollywood was supposed to be their new flagship? Not to mention that Cabana barely got to carry any of that momentum anywhere.

[Psycho666Soldier]

I don't know if anyone still follows this. I'm still a few episodes behind. However, if anyone is interested the website I write for got an interview with Nick Madrid:

http://www.pinfallmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/nick-madrid-interview.m4a

He's definitely a very humble guy, like I had assumed. I also just recently found out that he's only 6 months into his rookie year. Knowing that, I find myself enjoying him a lot more. Lance Storm's training does good things for some people, at least.

[Cewsh]

I didn't even realize that I stopped watching this until you bring it up.

Yeah, I haven't watched a single show since Cabana lost the title.

[Psycho666Soldier]

Yeah, that really soured me and I had stopped watching for a while, but I kept up with it. They at least brought back the NWA World Title and made an NWA TV Title.

Still bullshit they completely killed Cabana's reign, though.

[Cewsh]

Yeah, it was such a bizarre situation. Their company had this huge momentum of positive press, and then have this great emotional moment and a week later they kill it dead and put the belt on the most worthless wrestler on their roster.

And then that whole "Last Ride" thing with Adam Pearce was just fucking awful too, and now nobody talks about them at all. Really a shame.

[Psycho666Soldier]

Hopefully when they're going into their second year, they'll have amped things up considerably and got some momentum back in their grasp.

And hopefully they won't book their ways out of it again.

[Ringo]

As far as I'm aware, it wasn't NWA Hollywood's decision. The Sheik wasn't even on their roster and after he won the title there was a report that there were no plans for him to be part of NWA Hollywood. So my guess is the NWA higher ups (lol) weren't happy with something or other and decided to take the belt away from both Cabana and NWA Hollywood by putting it on The Sheik.

Sounds as though it's back now though...

With Adam Pearce. :(

[Ringo]

Here:


Joey Ryan, one of the top independent wrestlers based out of Southern California, was outspoken against the decision to switch the title.

"What a terrible mistake the NWA made tonight by taking the title off of (Cabana). I assure you that wasn't an (NWA Hollywood) decision," Ryan wrote on Twitter.

We have reached out to NWA officials on the decision to change the title and are awaiting an official comment.

Meanwhile, the NWA Hollywood promotion noted The Sheik will not be part of upcoming TV tapings, where the NWA Title has regularly been featured.

"To those that have asked: There are no plans for The Sheik to be a part of (NWA Hollywood)," said the promotion on Twitter.

[Cewsh]

See now that's just fucking awful, and its a major part of why the NWA is such a meaningless name these days.

The committee clearly sees something in the Shiek and Adam Pearce, as they're both multi time champions, but as far as i'm concerned that's a clear signal that the wrong people are in charge. The Cabana thing flat out killed the most promising NWA territory since TNA opened, in a totally untapped market. And for what?

[Ringo]

Exactly, really dumb. They killed a lot of momentum with that decision.

[Psycho666Soldier]

I feel like I'm the only one around these parts who actually likes Adam Pearce.

I agree with everything else you guys said wholeheartedly. Cabana should have at LEAST got a 3 month run)he deserved much longer, but I'm willing to compromise).

Still, I think Pearce does a great job as a Heavyweight Champion. I especially loved his feud with Cabana.

[Cewsh]

I never felt anything about him one way or another until he started flat out telling his fans on Twitter that he was on the verge of paralysis but was going to wrestle one last run just to put people over.

Funny how he's still the champion now, months later.

[Psycho666Soldier]

My assumption is he plans on waiting for the right person to drop the belt to, while at the same time trying to get other competitors over.

From what I've watched so far, the people he's actually defended have not been worth the belt at all, but he did put on a pretty good match with Johnny Yuma where he made him look really good. That wasn't for the belt though, and rightfully so.

It just as easily could be hypocrisy, but until he drops the belt, I'll wait and see whether he(or better yet NWA) has an intended and worthy direction or not.

[Ringo]

Hey Psycho (since I assume you're the only one who still watches),

Could you fill me in on the state of play? What's good, what's bad, what's worth noting, who is tearing it up, who isn't. Is the show notably weaker without Joey Ryan?

ALSO, I was browsing the roster page which appears to have been updated relatively recently and spotted some guys I'm not familiar with...

http://nwahollywood.com/main/images/stories/cast/The_Disorder1.jpg

These guys look great! Are they?

http://nwahollywood.com/main/images/stories/cast/Terex.jpg

And what is he all about!?

Also, how are the likes of Nick Madrid and Famous B getting on? Is Peter Avalon still the man?!

So many questions!

More and more of the NWA Hollywood guys are popping up in PWG from what I can tell, but Willie Mack and the RNM are probably the most eye catching still.

[Psycho666Soldier]

Ok, I'm still about 7-10 episodes behind, but here's what I can gather from what I've watched and read about:

Johnny Goodtime left, leaving Yuma to fight in singles' competition, and Shaun Ricker broke up with Brian Cage, so RockNES Monsters and Natural Selection are no more in NWA, which is a shame because I felt both teams really added to the depth of the division.

The Tribe have carried the belts well, and I still love Young Hollywood. Other than that, I haven't seen any of the other current teams wrestle as tag teams, so I don't really know how I feel about the division as a whole at the moment.

They introduced the NWA Television Championship(which I assume was their original cover for the loss of the NWA Heavyweight Championship) through a really fun tournament that showcased a lot of feuds. Scorpio's been a great champion, and each TV Title match pretty much keeps getting better than the one before.

Nick Madrid's actually been coming along nicely. He's still a weak promo, but he's got a lot of heart and seems to have been putting a lot of effort into improving. The Disorder, as you have pointed out, is actually a large stable of some dark, goth-ish types. It was introduced by Joey Kaos as a way to take out Willie Mack during their feud, which failed. Madrid looked really good in his qualifying match for the TV Title tournament, and Kaos was worried, so he had Disorder beat the hell out of him and fuck him out of his match.

From there, Madrid went on a quest to take out Disorder one by one...but somewhere in the mix, Kaos was no longer a part of Disorder and two of the guys you see in that picture took over, which is about the point where I'm at. Madrid has destroyed everyone except the bigger scary guy, his name is merely "M." Pretty fun story that led to a few talents in the Disorder being showcased some afterward.

Terex is the newest big man that I might be in love with. First thing that you need to know and that will be made known to you: He is incredibly fat and he does a standing Moonsault. Like, his belly hangs almost to his knees fat, and he does a standing moonsault. It's not the most picture perfect Moonsault, but it's still an amazing feat. The best part is that he's not just a one-trick pony, it would seem, either. Recently I've seen him in actual non-squash matches, and he's pretty good, and athletic for his very unorthodox size.

Peter Avalon is still the man, and is actually getting a TV Title shot in the next episode I'm about to watch. He had a pretty epic feud with Ryan Taylor, and some great matches have come of it. Actually Famous B was a part of this feud too, as after The Standard broke up, PPA, Rico Dynamite, and I think Ray Rosas formed a little trio. The main fuel to the feud was PPA and Taylor, which ended up in a Hair vs. Hair match that was terrific. I definitely recommend watching that match.

Willie Mack has been going on a feud with Cedric the Hitman, which hasn't been the most original or entertaining story, but has put on some good matches. I mean...Willie Mack is superb in the ring, so that goes without saying.

Shaun Ricker has been able to shine since going solo, though I'm still bitter about Natural Selection being ended. Johnny Yuma has shown some solo shine, and Ricky Mandel has been pretty solid. I like SoCal Crazy a lot, too, but according to the roster page, he's not with them anymore, even though he's wrestled as recent as the last episode I've watched.

Overall, there's still a good chunk of quality in the promotion. The Colt Cabana fiasco sort of slowed things down and killed momentum a bit, but a lot of the title-less feud have been fantastic. I just wish some of the better talent would have stuck around(Aries being one of them).

[mth]

Yeah, I had to look up this Terex fella and....holllyyyyy shit.
Terex make his NWA Championship Wrestling From Hollywood debut from Ep 37 - YouTube
For one, physique-wise, he makes Brodus Clay look like John Morrison. But man, look at him go. Dude can move and a frikkin' STANDING MOONSAULT. Crazy.

[RuneEdge]

It was more "Vader-sault" than moonsault, to be fair.

[mth]

It's a massive fat dude doing a standing backflip without landing on his head. That's impressive whatever you call it.

[G-Fresh]

That is ridiculous. That dude gets mad propz for that shit.

[Ringo]

Ahaha, he's fucking huge! Magnificent.

And thanks for the great update Psycho, really appreciate it. When I have the time I'll definitely watch a few episodes to see if I can get back into it.

[OD50]

I didn't know NWA: Hollywood was still active, have to start checking it out again.

And I like that Terex fella. Kind of like the Wild Samoans and Big Daddy V mixed together into one jiggly ball of crème caramel. The 'moonsault' wasn't the most attractive looking but I really dug his big splash in the first match, looked good. His corner avalanche(s) was nice too.

This is the kind of guy that would be managed by Mr Fuji challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF title had he been around in 1987.

[Ringo]

I haven't kept up with this promotion for years but I wondered what was going on there nowadays and saw this guy Othello. 7ft tall.

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140511235153/prowrestling/images/6/6a/Othello_-_1395817.jpg

How he hasn't been signed by WWE yet I do not know.

[Psycho666Soldier]

I feel like I've seen that guy before, but maybe it's just because he looks like the lovechild of Virgil and Ezekiel Jackson/Big Ryck.

I've actually been wanting to catch up with this and start watching the weekly show again from whatever the most recent one was. I haven't seen an episode since 2012 or '13, so I'm curious how it's changed and who is still around.