Pre-taped for broadcast on Amazon Prime, 25th December 2024 – NWA Presents: World Class Championship Wrestling @ Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, NY
-Merry Christmas everybody!!! Pyro goes off and we are welcomed to the third episode of NWA: WCCW by our commentary team, Ian Riccaboni & Nigel McGuinness. Our Christmas Day episode kicks off the show with the entrance of Walter.
Walter promo – Walter talks about Christmas, or how he calls it “Weihnachten”. He was never really much of a Christmas guy, he doesn’t like the idea of gifts. Gifts are for people who need a handout. Everything Walter gets, he has earned. However, he has gone against his own traditions and he has a gift for Brian Pillman Jr if he would like to come out. Pillman comes out. Walter’s gift is the opportunity for Brian to forfeit their match next week right now, therefore he can save himself some money on hospital fees. Pillman thanks Walter for the gift, but he doesn’t need it. He knows he is the underdog, but will put his heart and soul into this match and he may just get lucky. Pillman does have a Christmas gift for Walter though. He slaps Walter and quickly slides out of the ring. Walter laughs it off, he says next week will be Pillman’s first NWA match, and his last.
Zack Sabre Jr. vs Powerhouse Hobbs, NWA World Title Tournament Round 1 – The World TItle tournament continues here with a complete clash of styles. The technically proficient ZSJ must overcome the explosive strength of Hobbs. Zack evades the best he can, using his plethora of holds and submissions to wear down Hobbs’ limbs. All it takes though is for Hobbs to land one big strike to swing momentum back his way. After nearly 20 minutes, the effects of ZSJ’s offence shows because Hobbs struggles to get him in position for the Burning Hammer. The delay allows Zack to counter it into a guillotine choke. He chokes the air out of him, before transitioning into an inside cradle and pinning him at the 18 minute mark. The first quarter-final is confirmed. Zack Sabre Jr will face another powerhouse Jeff Cobb, a man he has had more than his fair share of matches with.
-Charly Caruso talks to Oba Femi, he knows that he could defeat everyone in the tournament if he had a fair 1v1 match with them all. Dominik Mysterio comes and backs him up, saying that they were robbed in the rankings. Femi reminds Dom that it was him who put him through the announce table. “No hard feelings?” Dom asks, but Femi just walks away.
LA Knight promo – Samantha Irvin introduces LA Knight who comes out full of gestures and things to say. He believes he was hard done by in the rankings but that’s okay, he understands. Sure he isn’t the most technical, the most violent, the strongest or the fastest. He is however, the most charismatic must see superstar in the NWA. He says that Christian is the first in a line of 4 dummies in the way of him and the world championship, after all is said and done he is going to prove why the name coming out of everybody’s mouth is LA Knight, YEAH!
War Machine (Hanson & Rowe) w/Lady Rowe vs The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) – Max Caster performs a rap during their entrance and it goes like this; “We’re not scared sorry for the inconvenience, who can be intimidated by a Viking Experience. Hanson you’re ugly I don’t want to hear an mmmBOP, step to me and I’ll make your nose go mmmPOP. Rowe is married but I’m a single man, I’m in the Hammerstein looking for a One Night Stand. Valhalla, Logan, Lady Rowe, by the way you dress I should call you Lady Hoe.” That last comment causes War Machine to rush The Acclaimed and the match starts with a brawl. Hanson & Rowe are deceivingly athletic big men and although the Acclaimed are talented wrestlers, they’re comments motivated War Machine rather than throwing them off. War Machine win with the Fallout after 11 minutes. They join FTR and Grizzled Young Veterans with 2 points in the World Tag League.
-Athena speaks to Charly Caruso backstage, she is focused ahead of her match tonight, but she has Mercedes in the back of her mind. She refuses to be disrespected in such a manner, so she instructs Billie Starkz to wrestle her next week and teach her a lesson. Starkz is defensive at first but she agrees to go through with it.
CM Punk promo – CM Punk comes out to talk about his loss to Bron Steiner on the debut episode of WCCW. It did not play out how he thought, he was familiar with what Bron Steiner was capable of but he did not expect him to hit that hard. Steiner made him question whether or not he is going to be able to compete at this level for much longer. He can’t think about that right now, he has to look at what is next. Matt Cardona. Upon hearing his name, the man himself comes out. Cardona says their match together will be a first time ever. He remembers back in 2011, Punk did a lot for him both on-screen and behind the camera. He respects Punk a lot. But times have changed. Cardona has reinvented himself and his work is on another level, whilst Punk has remained the same. Watching Punk lose so badly on the debut episode of WCCW was hard to watch, it was like watching an injured dog limp out onto the street. Cardona will return the favour that Punk gave him all those years ago. Next week, Cardona will put Punk out of his misery. Punk says Cardona may have won the NWA title before, but that was during an era when even the Funkasaurus could be NWA champion. This is a new NWA. A better NWA. CM Punks NWA. We’ll see how good Cardona truly is.
Hikaru Shida vs Athena – These two incredibly talented women are considered among the favourites to become the first ever NWA Women’s Champion. Mid-way through the match, Mercedes Mone makes a glamorous entrance and joins commentary. Her entrance distracted Athena and she nearly got pinned. Throughout the match Mercedes makes it clear that she thinks Athena is good, but she has got nothing on The Boss. They go on to wrestle a 16 minute match, Athena hits the Eclipse to get the win. Athena shouts over to Mercedes, warning her to stay out of her business. Mercedes says she can do whatever she damn well pleases.
-Footage plays from last night after WCCW went off the air, Eddie Kingston and Ricky Starks are backstage, both men crashing out in the first round of the NWA world title tournament. Starks makes a joke about Kingston losing, so Kingston makes a joke back. It ends up becoming a shoving contest which producers Bryan Danielson, Wade Barrett & Sting separate.
Jordynne Grace & Kamille promo – Samantha Irvin introduces Jordynne Grace & Kamille for an interview together. Grace vs Kamille is a dream match that people have been talking about for a few years and now we could actually see it happen. Both women praise each other and look forward to when they will face each other. “BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!” Out walks Chelsea Green with Piper Niven not far behind. Chelsea doesn’t want to hear these two charisma-less brutes sit and talk and be besties. “If you’re going to fight, go ahead and do it already and stop wasting the spotlight that I deserve.” Green continues to push Kamille and Grace to hit each other, eventually Grace drops Green with a vicious forearm. Niven charges but she is thrown out of the ring by Kamille. Green & Niven leave, angry and embarrassed.
-Commentary hype up the next show, the first television special; New Years Dash! Gunther vs Pillman, Punk vs Cardona, Mercedes vs Starkz, Starks vs Kingston & FTR vs The Creed Brothers. Also, Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru featuring MJF.
Bron Steiner w/Taz vs Miro, NWA World Title Tournament Round 1 – Steiner is the heel, Miro is the face. Meat-mania is running wild between these two powerhouses. Not only are they both powerhouses, not only are they both deceivingly fast, but they both utilize a variation of the Camel Clutch as a finisher. This is a highly competitive clash of goliaths, both wearing down the mid-section looking for a submission. Neither man is willing to quit though. Steiner drills Miro with a pair of spears, followed by a Military Press Powerslam for the victory in 14 minutes. Steiner will wrestle the winner of Punk vs Cardona in the next round.
-Taz closes the show by naming Punk, Walter and even Danielson if he dares to come out of retirement. Bron will take them all on. “Beat him if you can. Survive if he lets you.”
