What do you see in that image above? I see two men with passion. I see two men with honor, fighting for something that means the world to them. But what is worth that much agony? What is worth Seven grueling matches all across the United States and then the hard task of flying to Australia and risking everything in a steel cage?
What was supposed to be a National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship match against Career Steel Cage fight was unceremoniously unsanctioned by the NWA and even though something more poignant was still on the line, it was a moment that may be telling in the future of what was once the largest and arguably most prestigious organization in wrestling. Those two men in these images are no strangers to anyone. The former and possibly the greatest modern day NWA Champion Adam Pearce and another former Champion Colt Cabana still fought for something that meant everything to both. Pearce’s NWA career. For Colt it meant revenge for all the pain and suffering he had been dealt by the man looking across from him in that ring. For Pearce, it’s his legacy. His honor as a man and as a Champion and he put it on the line even if an organization he had put his trust into had turned their backs on him and what he was supposed to symbolize. I was sent these photos directly from the former NWA Warzone photographer Cory Lockwood and Rhi Lockwood sent me an awesome recap of the nights event. While I won’t be including the full article here, you can read here it by clicking here, but I appreciate the time and work these two took to send me this information. But what she sent me caught the mood of the night. Here is some of what she wrote:
Last week, the National Wrestling Alliance announced that they were unsanctioning the upcoming match between Colt Cabana & Adam Pearce at NWA Warzone, in what was to be the decider in the 7 Levels of Hate series.
As a long-time wrestling fan, I was disappointed and disrespected. This match had been months… years in the making, why was the Australian crowd suddenly unworthy of seeing the dramatic conclusion take place for the NWA Heavyweight Championship?
Her sentiments were shared by hundreds, many of whom tweeted us after we put out the news of this and it really made me start to wonder, what does the NWA mean anymore?
Her full description of the nights events that you can read by clicking that link above are rewarding and it was great to read that the night no matter the circumstances surrounding it, was still a success and an awesome night of wrestling for all who were there. But the looming question still remains. At least for me.
For the two men in the ring, the NWA was supposed to symbolize everything that wrestling was and should be. But then it was ripped away from them. So at the end of the night, Pearce and Cabana both respectfully said goodbye to an organization they had spent many months trying to help. We’ve all read and announced the news. Many promotions are leaving the NWA. Few are joining. For many wrestlers, the NWA still symbolizes what it was in the past and of course I applaud new NWA World Heavyweight Champion KAHAGAS for taking it upon himself to hold that organization on his shoulders and try to help it rebuild. At the same time though I can’t help but wonder what it will mean for my coverage of the NWA. Of course everyone at PWP wants to put out the best effort and wants to help indy wrestling grow, and with so many indy promotions still under the banner of the NWA it would be irresponsible of us not to give it proper attention.
But it is going to be hard to not think of these events when reporting on the NWA and all of it’s promotions. I’ll be delving deeper into what it means to be a part of the NWA and what it does for a promotion and even more. Thanks for reading, I hope you leave your thoughts either below or email me at cgstong@PWPonderings.com and feel free to offer any thoughts as this will be a multi-part series and I encourage all comments/thoughts along the way. Feel free also to tweet at me by going to Twitter.com/CGSTONG. I want to thank Cory & Rhi Lockwood for their help. Here is where you can follow them:
Cory Lockwood Photography: http://www.facebook.com/corylockwoodphotography
Rhi Lockwood is the web admin for No Holds Barred Girls for all your New Zealand & Australian Women’s Wrestling News: http://www.nhbgirls.com/
Here are some more photos they sent along. Tremendous photography to be sure.
It should be noted that whomever the guy is currently running the NWA said it was due to the promoter not paying his trademark fee for the event was the reason for them unsanctioning the bout, nothing that Colt and Pearce did. But that still doesn’t excuse what happened.
Absolutely. I was going to touch on that in part 2. Thanks for your feedback man.