Crockett Cup (2023)

The Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament is a tag team tournament first held in April 1986.[1] National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), headed by Jim Crockett Jr., hosted the Crockett Cup, held in honor of Crockett's father, JCP founder Jim Crockett Sr. and saw participation of teams from various NWA territories. JCP held the tournament again in 1987[2] and 1988,[3] before JCP was sold to Ted Turner later that year.[4] In July 2017, the Crockett Foundation, with Classic Pro Wrestling, held the "Crockett Foundation Cup Tag Team Tournament" in New Kent, Virginia, which was not affiliated with the NWA. Bobby Fulton, The Barbarian, and The Rock 'n' Roll Express, all former Crockett Cup participants, took part in the event as a link to the original tournaments.[5]

The original concept of the Crockett Cup was a single elimination tag team tournament, with the storyline prize of $1,000,000.00 given to the winning team along with a large trophy.[6] The 1986 and 1987 tournaments featured 24 teams,[1][2] while the 1988 version had 22 teams competing.[3] Each tournament was split over two shows to encompass all 23 tournament matches as well as non-tournament matches; in 1986, JCP held a show in the afternoon and another in the evening,[1] while the 1987 and 1988, the tournament was spread out over two days instead.[2][3]

On April 7, 2023, at NWA 312, it was announced that the Crockett Cup would return and would be held in on June 3–4, at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[7]

The event will feature a number professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines. Wrestlers are portrayed as either heels (those that portray the "bad guys"), faces (the "good guy" characters), or tweeners (characters that are neither clearly a heel or a face) as they follow a series of tension-building events, which culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches as determined by the promotion.[8] The thirteenth season of the NWA's weekly flagship program, Powerr, will feature storylines leading up to the event along with the seventh season of NWA USA.

The main feature of the event is the titular Crockett Cup, a tag team tournament where, in addition to the namesake trophy, the winners will earn a match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. 27 teams will be involved in the tournament.

The following twenty three teams have been announced or have qualified for the tournament:

• The Midnight Riders (NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Tyrus and Chris Adonis)[9]
• The Mortons (Ricky Morton and NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Kerry Morton)[9]
• Magnum Muscle (Dak Draper and Mims)[9]
• SVGS (Blake Troop and Jax Dane)[9]
• Mike Knox and Trevor Murdoch[9]
• The Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana and Anthony Andrews) (NWA United States Tag Team Champions)[9]
• The Spectaculars (Brady Pierce and Rush Freeman)[9]
• The Warriors from the Wasteland (Judais and Max the Impaler)[9]
• La Rebelión (Bestia 666 and Mecha Wolf) (NWA World Tag Team Champions)[9]
• Jinetes del Aire (Myzteziz Jr. and Octagón Jr.) (Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide)[9]
• Los Vipers (Arez and Toxin) (Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide)[9]
• A Cut Above (NWA World Television Champion Thom Latimer and Rhett Titus)[10]
• The Brothers of Funstruction (Yabo the Clown and Ruffo the Clown)[10]
• The Fixers (Jay Bradley and Wrecking Ball Legursky)[10]
• The Heatseekers (Elliot Russell and Matt Sigmon)[10]
• Blunt Force Trauma (Carnage and Damage)[10]
• Flippin' Psychos (Flip Gordon and Fodder[11])[10]
• The Immortals (Kratos and Odinson)[10]
• Idolmania Sports Management (Cyon and Jordan Clearwater)[10]
• TNT (Terrell Hughes and Terrence Hughes)[10]
• "Magic" Jake Dumas and Brian Brock[10]

Seeding was announced during a May 18th special YouTube show where it was also announced that the twenty fourth seed would be determined in a four-way tag team match between the following teams:

• The Miserably Faithful (Sal Vation and Gaagz the Gymp)
• Daisy Kill and Talos
• Jeremiah Plunkett and Eric Jackson
• The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum)

At NWA 312, EC3 defeated Cyon to win the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. Later in the night, "Thrillbilly" Silas Mason won the Bob Luce Memorial Battle Royal to earn a match for the championship on Night 1 of the Crockett Cup.[12]

During the May 15th episode of "This is the NWA" podcast/YouTube show, it was announced that on night one of Crockett Cup that a women's hardcore team war match would happen pitting all 4 members of Pretty Enpowered (Ella Envy, Roxy, Kenzie and Kylie Paige) against the team of Samantha Starr, La Rosa Negra, and the NWA Women's World Tag Team Champions M95 (Madi Wrenkowski and Missa Kate). Also it was announced that on night two that Kenzie Paige would defend the NWA World Women's Television Championship against an as of yet unnamed opponent and that the new championship belt would be unveiled before the match.