From NWA Georgia: NWA Georgia has certainly taken a different approach to the wrestling scene in Georgia. From the luxurious venue...
NWA Georgia has certainly taken a different approach to the wrestling scene in Georgia. From the luxurious venue of the St. Luke Ballroom in Columbus, GA to the pure ruthlessness of the wrestling matches; every minor detail has set NWA Georgia apart from other wrestling events in the state.
The show opened up as advertised promptly at 7:00 to ring announcer Rico Rodriguez and his old school carnival-esque introduction to the day’s events. The crowd was still filling in as the first match between “Luscious” LaRon and Steven Andrews started the event. The former NWA Georgia Television “Luscious” LaRon used what could be best described as bizarre psychological warfare against the Steven Andrews who is a newcomer to NWA Georgia. LaRon’s unusual tactics didn’t pay off when Steven Andrews caught “Luscious” with not one but TWO Shooting Star Presses from the top rope to get the victory over the former Television Champion.
The second match was between “The Incredible Huck” William Huckaby and one half of the Sin City Mafia Bubba Rage. However; before the match kicked off a fight broke out backstage between NWA National Champion Kahagas and Damien Wayne. The fight spilled out onto the main stage causing both locker rooms along with security to empty out in order to break up the brawl. After the chaos outside of the ring was contained—chaos inside of the ring ensued. Bubba Rage’s underhanded schemes were no match for the strength of “The Incredible Huck”. After multiple attempts of Rage attempting to lock in a Full-Nelson, Huckabee turned the tides and made Bubba Rage tap out with a Seated Stretch Muffler for the win.
Match #3 had “The Pinnacle” Anthony Andrews against “The Monster” Pain. Both men are well known in the Georgia scene and seemed to be in peak performance in Columbus, GA. Andrews was at his most visceral while Pain lived up to being the monster that he is. Pain might be the most agile and destructive big men in the wrestling industry but Andrews had his opponent well scouted. “The Pinnacle” seized every opportunity to break “The Monster” down with chokes and holds. Unfortunately, Andrews gave Pain one second too long to recover and was hit with the Monster-Bomb in the blink of an eye! Side note: Watching Pain do a moonsault from the top rope will give anyone goosebumps.
The fourth match brought in CJ Awesome of Sin City Mafia now going by the name of Cameron Jackson. Being accompanied to the ring by the visibly beaten Bubba Rage; he grabbed the mic and began making bold claims against the NWA Georgia before his microphone was cut off by the music of Rob Terry! A man of action and few words Terry came to the ring to handle business. The match was more of a two-on-one situation with Bubba Rage in the corner making distractions and sneaking attacks when the ref wasn’t looking. The numbers game may have broken a lesser man but Rob Terry was more than capable of handling the challenge. After taking Bubba Rage out with a serious of combos against Sin City Mafia; Rob Terry hit Jackson with a chokeslam to pick up the 1-2-3!
Match 5 brought two more newcomers to NWA Georgia in Rob Barnes and Joe A’gau. Rob Barnes flew in all the way from Australia to make his presence known in Georgia. Joe A’gau has made a name for himself by traveling the US as one of the premier fast paced wrestlers in the country. This match was a battle of wits vs speed between the two men in the ring. To say A’gua is a high flyer would be a disservice to his technical wrestling skills. However, it was no match for Barnes’ brutality and putting the brakes to A’gau’s speed. It was clear the Columbus crowd quickly despised Barnes and he might have taken too much time to revel in that fact—he was caught off guard by Joe A’gau’s Spear for the victory!
Intermission was more of a fan-fest than a break in the middle of the show. With security on hand; the locker rooms cleared out for a meet-and-greet amongst the crowd. Pictures, autographs, and short interview segments between the announcer Rico Rodriguez and various wrestlers and champions kept the fans entertained throughout intermission. On a personal note; the burgers were some of the best I had period—my compliments to the chef.
The second half of the show put all the Championship belts on the line. It kicked off with local fan-favorite J. Rod challenging NWA Georgia Television Champion Rex Andrews. Both men had mutual respect at the start of match but that didn’t deter from the beating they gave each other. Mid match the ring was graced with the presence of Merica Strong in an unknown capacity. J. Rod and Andrews matched each other hit for hit, move for move until they reached a stalemate. In an unfortunate series of events the ref found himself knocked out. Merica Strong decided that her managerial services were geared towards acquiring J. Rod and helping him gain the NWA Georgia Television Championship. With a serious of low blows to Rex Andrews—J.Rod accepted her services, turned on his fans and knocked out Andrews with the belt. The ref came to in time for J.Rod to steal the pin and become the new NWA Georgia Television Champion.
The next match was for the NWA Georgia Jr Heavyweight Championship. Champion Stunt Marshall defended his belt against Tennessee’s Jason Kincaid. Stunt Marshall has made a name for himself in the Georgia scene with his “Hate” gimmick however, Jason Kincaid is a former NWA World Jr Heavyweight champion. That global experience seemed to make a world of difference the two wrestlers. Every time Marshall would seemingly get the upper hand Kincaid would tap into that knowledge and get the best of him. With the pressure mounting Stunt Marshall reached for the belt to use an equalizer. The ref caught wind of the maneuver and grabbed the belt before it could be used. With the ref turned around hiding the belt; Stunt Marshall rolled and gave Jason Kincaid a low blow followed by a piledriver for the win.
The final NWA Georgia Championship match was scheduled between NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion Logan Creed and AJ Steel. However, unforeseen events prevented that match (card subject to change) and it left Logan Creed in the ring issuing an open challenge to anyone in the locker room. That challenge was met by former 3-time NWA National Champion and Former NWA North American Champion Damien Wayne! Before the referee could signal for the bell the two warriors went at it outside the ring! Creed known for his giant strength was matched by Wayne’s sheer brutality. The usual crowd favorite Logan Creed seemingly turned on his fans in frustration while trying to keep pace with Damien Wayne. The pressure seemed to wear on the giant allowing Damien Wayne to clash his way to a victory and becoming the new NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion!
Moving onto the NWA world stage the NWA Continental Champion Badd Blood was challenged to defend his streak by the “Barefoot Brawler” Matt Gilbert. This rivalry seemed to catch fire on social media in the build up to the show. The fans seemed to have been following the story and a sea of boo’s let out as Badd Blood hit the ring. This wrestling match was more of a bar-room fist fight as the men destroyed the St Luke Ballroom! Badd Blood broke every rule in the book in order to try and outdo Gilbert’s never say die attitude. Blood’s shady tactics paid off when he used the ropes to leverage up a pin over Matt Gilbert—and keeping his nearly 500+ day NWA Continental Championship streak going.
The main event match was between NWA National Champion “The Tokyo Monster” Kahagas defending his championship against “Ruthless” Ryan Davidson. In his first match in the City of Columbus, Ryan Davidson won the crowd over as soon as he hit the stage. Kahagas being a man of no-words put a pummeling on Davidson. It was apparent on why Kahagas is dubbed “The International Incident” and is the NWA National Champion. Every punch resonated and every chop echoed throughout the ballroom. Davidson’s infectious enthusiasm was no match for a Kahagas’ beating; that continued long after the bell rang. The only saving grace for Davidson was in Damien Wayne who came in to make a critical save. The two champs stared each other down until Kahagas walked back behind the curtain.
The next NWA Georgia event will be once again in Columbus, GA on Oct 14, 2017. This will be the fourth show for the company and also mark the 1 year anniversary of the inception of NWA Georgia.