"If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." - Henry Ford.
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller
" 'Cause Two heads are better than one. It's double the pleasure babe, It's triple the fun" - Powertool
From The Road Warriors to Mark and Jay Briscoe, from The Super Powers to Villain Enterprises, over the last several decades in professional wrestling, there has only been one true way to etch yourself into infinity as one of the greatest tag teams of all time - The Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Tag Team Cup.
Initially launched as a way to pay tribute to one of the most success professional wrestling promoters of all time back in 1986, The Crockett Cup remains the ultimate destination event for true connoisseurs of tag team excellence, a moment in time where the greatest tandems converge from all points across the world to one place to showcase their supremacy against all opponents who stand in their way.
This Saturday June 3rd and Sunday June 4th, The National Wrestling Alliance, as led by President William Corgan and FITE once again show their own tag team might to bring you the 2023 iteration of the Crockett Cup, featuring 24 of the greatest tag teams imaginable battling over two days and multiple rounds of competition with the winners earning the ability to stand tall, possess the Crockett Cup and possibly even secure their spot as the next contenders challenging for the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
Indeed, the next chapter in team history will be written in blood, sweat and tags live from the old Crockett Promotions stronghold of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where the echoes of names like The Four Horsemen, The Midnight Express, The Garvins, The Fantastics and many more can be heard if you listen closely in the arenas where they once waged wars.
With representations of many generations of professional wrestling talents united under one roof yet again, all styles of tag team warfare will be presented under the prism of the Crockett Cup as everyone will hit the squared circle with two things on their mind - the victory at hand and the next round of competition.
The first round will feature lucha superstars, badass brawlers making their NWA debut, family legacies being represented and a mix of established NWA stalwarts mixed with the ever-evolving next generation of superstars who are etching their name weekly into the National Wrestling Alliance's time capsule.
Round One on Saturday June 3rd, live on FITE, features:
- Control Your Narratives's Flip Gordon & Fodder vs. the debuting New Jersey baddasses Dan Maff & Shawn Donovan.
- Cyon & Jordan Clearwater vs. Seed #24, who will be named after a Four Way battle earlier on the card.
- Jax Dane & Blake Troop vs. Terrence & Terrell Hughes, the sons of WWE Hall of Famer DeVon Dudley
- The Fixers vs. Yabbo & Ruffo the Clown.
- The NOW vs. Judais & Max the Impaler.
- Kratos & Odinon vs. Brian Brock & Jake Dumas.
- Mims and Dak Draper, Magnum Muscle vs. Brady Pierce & Rush Freeman.
- Lucha stars Arez & Toxin vs. The Heatseekers.
As if that first round wasn't enough action, Round Two will feature the dynamic duos who gave secured opening round byes taking on the winners, so those who have struggled to overcome their initial opponents and advance further now find themselves tasked with fresh opponents who would be dangerous enough under any other circumstances, including:
- NWA World Champion Tyrus and the Masterlock master, Chris Adonis.
- NWA World Tag Team Champions La Rebellion.
- All-Time Tag Team Hall of Famer Ricky Morton and his son NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Kerry Morton.
- Lucha Libre sensations Octagon Jr. & Myzteziz.
- The ferocious Thom Latimer & former ROH World Television Champion Rhett Titus.
- Former NWA World Champion Trevor Murdoch & fearsome brawler Mike Knox.
- The deviously dangerous unknown battlers, Blunt Force Trauma.
- The charismatic and explosive Country Gentlemen.
Those who survive the second round will move into the Quarter-Finals, The Semi-Finals and then the ultimate final confrontation for everything at stake, including a chance to change the trajectory of their personal lives and professional wrestling careers, forever, live on FITE.
This war of attrition will carry out over multiple nights, putting not just tag team wrestling center stage but a number of National Wrestling Alliance championship matches as well in non-tournament action, including a battle among two of most intensely unique competitors in all of the NWA as the beloved and charismatic Thrilbilly Silas Mason will challenge the leader of CYN, the reigning NWA National Heavyweight Champion EC3. EC3 has long been on a mission to change the very fabric of professional wrestling, but can Mason not only change Carter's attitude but the trajectory of the National title in one fell swoop? FITE fans will learn this Saturday night.
NWA Women's TV Champion Kenzie Page will defend her Championship this Saturday but Friday, all eyes will be on the Hardcore Tag Team war that will surely erupt when the legendary Baby Doll leads her daughter Samatha Starr, Puerto Rico's greatest female competitor La Rosa Nega and M95 into battle against the combined might of Pretty Empowered in a battle that will anything from for the faint of hearts.
In a match with Crockett Cup implications, four teams scramble for the right to enter the prestigious tournament when Daisy Kill and Talos, The Miserably Faithful, the tandem of Eric Jackson and Jeremiah Plunkett and The Outrunners all collide at once, seeking their path to accomplish an impossible dream.
Sunday will also feature six of the top Junior Heavyweight competitors alive today all striving to earn a victory, which would bring them a future guaranteed championship opportunity against Kerry Morton for the NWA Junior Heavyweight Title.
The resurrection and metamorphosis of the National Wrestling Alliance continues this weekend in Crockett Country itself, North Carolina, as the NWA proudly marches into battle once more, brandishing the dual flags of tradition and evolution on the tips of their bayonets.
While every competitor in the Crockett Cup all want to achieve the ultimate victory for their team, the one thread that unites every single competitor this weekend is that they are seeking to prove their dominance. To do so means that they will have to place their own egos and even rivalries aside in order to attempt to achieve the improbable, a series of victories over some of the most talented and lethal professional wrestlers in the world.
To the victors go the spoils, the shimmering beauty of the Crockett Cup and future greatness guaranteed, unfolding live as it happens on FITE!
This weekend, the 2023 NWA Crockett Cup!
Mike Johnson is the lead reporter for PWInsider.com and has been writing about professional wrestling since 1996. He can be found on Twitter @MikePWInsider and MikeJohnsonWrites.com.
