The company initially attracted attention for its hardcore brawls involving Cactus Jack, Terry Funk and Sabu. Martin is credited for giving these future ECW stars the creative freedom to push the limits of hardcore wrestling.[4][6] Along with introducing Sabu to Las Vegas audiences, the NWC was one of the first promotions in the U.S. to feature Rob Van Dam in a prominent position.[3][7] In addition to a weekly television series,[4] the promotion sold out both The Silver Nugget and Aladdin Hotel & Casino several times during its initial 1994–95 run. During this brief period, the NWC was considered an up-and-coming independent group by both Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer. It also pioneered the use of the internet to promote itself and interact with wrestling fans across the country using AOL Chat.
The NWC made pro wrestling headlines in 1995 when The Ultimate Warrior agreed to make an appearance for the company after nearly three years in self-imposed exile. Thousands of fans came to see The Warrior's first U.S. wrestling appearance since 1992 in one of the biggest independent shows of the year. When one of Martin's backers was forced to pull out a few months later, Martin and Warrior formed a partnership which included jointly promoting Warrior University. Warrior's abrupt departure weeks later, and his erratic behavior leading up to their debut event, is blamed for causing the NWC's first bankruptcy. Martin managed to revive the NWC the following year and eventually moved its headquarters to Sacramento, California. He attempted to distance the company from its hardcore roots during its last years and held shows at the Memorial Auditorium until its close in August 1998.
History and overview
Formation
Terry Funk (left) and Tito Santana (right) headlined the first NWC main event on October 8, 1994.
T.C. Martin, a former sports radio host and one-time ring announcer for the World Wrestling Federation, formed the National Wrestling Council in the fall of 1994 with several investors.[5] The promotion was backed financially by Al Rodriguez[8] and colorful Las Vegas businessman James "Buffalo Jim" Barrier.[2][9] The NWC held its debut show on October 8, 1994, at the Aladdin Theater on the Vegas Strip.[5] It was headlined by Tito Santana and Terry Funk. The semi-main event between Bobby Bradley and Sabu was especially well received by the audience. Despite having never wrestled in the area, Sabu "got the biggest face pop of anyone on the show stemming from local TV commercials showing his crazy spots". The undercard also featured a match between Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and Nailz[1] in one of their earliest appearances on the independent circuit after their release from the World Wrestling Federation. The NWC became a stopover for a number of ex-WWF stars in the mid-1990s.[3] The success of this first show encouraged Martin to move the NWC to the Silver Nugget Pavilion which would remain the promotion's home arena for most of its original run.[5][9]
Silver Nugget Casino and television syndication
The NWC's first-ever show at the Silver Nugget Casino was held on October 29, 1994. While the show only drew 550 fans, the Desert Death match between Sabu and Cactus Jack was rated 4 stars by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.[10] During the match, the two men fought inside the casino itself and at one point Cactus Jack piledrove Sabu onto a blackjack table.[11] The Cactus Jack-Sabu feud quickly became the promotion's most popular storyline.[4] The first NWC Heavyweight Champion, Tito Santana,[12] won the championship in a tournament held at the Silver Nugget Casino on November 19, 1994.[13]
In what Dave Meltzer called "one of the biggest indie houses in a long time", the company's Silver Nugget show on January 13, 1995, sold out the venue for the first time with 1,500 fans in attendance. The main event was a rematch between Cactus Jack and Sabu in a "Bring Your Own Weapons" Steel Cage match. The "weapons" present in the cage included two tables, a telephone, a pair of garbage cans, a metal tray and a noose. The bout ended with both men climbing out of the cage at the same time but Sabu hit the floor first by falling through the timekeeper's table. The ultra-violent match received another 4 star rating from the Wrestling Observer, however, it reportedly alienated some of the audience who had come to see midget wrestling and a rare appearance by Junkyard Dog.[14] JYD, who was in the process of moving to Las Vagas, made a number of appearances for the promotion[3] which ended up being his last major run as an in-ring competitor.
Sabu was the second NWC Heavyweight Championship after defeating Terry Funk during a Texas chain match on March 17, 1995.
The NWC attracted another sell-out crowd to the Silver Nugget Casino on February 11, the featured bout being Terry Funk and Virgil in a branding iron match, prompting the Wrestling Observer to call the promotion one of "the hottest indie groups" in the country.[15] That same month, the NWC Heavyweight Championship was declared vacant after Tito Santana left the NWC to work for the American Wrestling Federation. Sabu defeated Terry Funk in a Texas chain match on March 17, 1995, to become the new champion.[12][13][16]
This show also served as the first television taping for a weekly series called NWC Slammin' TV. The program was sponsored by Allstate Auto & Marine Electric, KOMP and Ultrazone, a popular lazer tag facility. NWC Slammin' TV was originally set to debut on May 13, 1995, but was pushed back two months.[17] The show aired in July on KFBT (Channel 33) on Saturday afternoons from 12:00 to 1:00, replacing WWF Challenge.[18] Martin became a more prominent on-screen character during this period.[19] This included hosting "The Doctor's Office" on Slammin' TV, a comedy interview segment heavily influenced by the WWF's Piper's Pit, which was not popular with either the audience or wrestlers. And while the NWC was praised for its main events the undercard matches were "virtually unwatchable".[20] Martin was also criticized for using more expensive ex-WWF talent despite Sabu, Terry Funk and Cactus Jack being the promotion's main draws.[21] Martin also advertised Mil Mascaras for an NWC show in Indio, California that same year.[17]
That spring, Rob Van Dam made his debut in the NWC against Bobby Bradley.[21] He was brought in based on the suggestion of Sabu[3] and formed a tag team with Bradley called Aerial Assault. The duo proved to be one of the promotion's most popular "babyface" performers. They dominated the NWC's tag team division, wowing crowds with their Suicide Bomber finisher,[22] and remained undefeated throughout their three years with the company. While working with Bradley, Van Dam perfected many of the high-flying tag team maneuvers that would make him a star in Extreme Championship Wrestling[23]
I was very happy to have the [NWC] tag team belts. That would have been one of the first belts that I had in my career because I was pretty young back then so how many could I have had before that? Bobby Bradley was a great tag team partner because he could do so many cool moves and we complimented each other with our action and you wouldn't expect it from him based on just his look, his shape. You know, he wasn't necessarily someone you would think equated to being such a great athlete but he would like jump up there and leapfrog way up and come down and hit you with this flying head scissors on the way down. And like everything, like we did 'put this dude on my shoulders, you jump off the top rope and give him a hurricanrana off my shoulders'. I mean way back then we were doing crazy stuff. So I had a lot of fun with him.
After a two and a half year hiatus, The Ultimate Warrior made his return to pro wrestling at a NWC show on July 22, 1995. In spite of using the name, "The Warrior", the WWF threatened legal action against the NWC for trademark infringement.
In the summer of 1995, T.C. Martin contacted The Ultimate Warrior about the possibility of working with the NWC.[24] At the time, the wrestler was demanding $10,000 (equivalent to $19,996in 2023) for a single appearance, an amount few independent promoters could afford. The highest drawing talent on the independents were paid an average of $750 (equivalent to $1,500in 2023). Warrior agreed to do the event as a favor to Bill Anderson, who had originally trained he and Sting as Power Team USA in 1985, in exchange for $1,000 as well as a deal with Martin to restart his wrestling school, Warrior University, with both parties sharing in the profits.[17]
The match was unexpectedly set up on NWC's June 23 show which had a sellout crowd of 1,300 fans, with a weapon-filled Steel CageStretcher match involving Sabu, Cactus Jack, Mr. Hughes and Virgil as the main attraction. In the co-main event, The Honky Tonk Man used his guitar to win his match against Junkyard Dog. Bragging in post-match interview about having an open contract, the wrestler was confronted by T.C. Martin who revealed that The Ultimate Warrior had one as well and announced they would be meeting each other at the NWC's next show. The bout was promoted as a chance for The Honky Tonk Man to avenge his embarrassing loss at SummerSlam (1988).[17][25]
"The Ultimate Return" was held on July 22, 1995, and saw The Warrior won the match after using The Honky Tonk Man's own guitar on him. Between 1,250[8]-2,000[26][27] fans[a] turned out to see the Warrior's first appearance in the United States in two and a half years, making it one of the year's highest-attended shows on the U.S. independent circuit behind Smoky Mountain Wrestling's Super Bowl of Wrestling (5,000[28]) and the United States Wrestling Association's Memphis Memories II (3,000[29]).
The event was a major coup for the company and garnered publicity from Pro Wrestling Illustrated[30] and similar publications.[31] But the company soon found itself dragged into The Ultimate Warrior's legal problems with the WWF. The July 29 edition of Slammin' TV, in which The Ultimate Warrior made his NWC TV debut,[30] was pulled after KFBT received "an 11-page fax from Titan Sports" threatening legal action if it aired any footage of his appearance on the show. Though he appeared as "The Warrior", the WWF claimed his portrayal resembled "The Ultimate Warrior" character too closely. These segments were supposed to be edited out on the next broadcast[32] but the station accidentally aired the episode its entirety the following month.[33]
On August 25, 1995, the NWC held a supercard entitled "Night of Champions". James "Buffalo Jim" Barrier was on hand as a special guest color commentator. The focus of the event was a championship tournament to crown the first NWC Tag Team Champions. Ariel Assault won the tournament by defeating The Mercenaries (Mercenary #1 and Mercenary #2), The Powers of Pain (Warlord and Barbarian), and The Power Twins.[34][35] In the main event, Sabu retained his title against Cactus Jack in a Lumberjack match.[26] It was a match on the undercard, however, that aroused controversy when Virgil's opponent, The Thug, came out to the ring dressed in a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) hood. The Thug was accompanied by another man dressed in a full KKK outfit who revealed himself as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Both men proceeded to attack Virgil with Neidhart rolling the KKK robe into a noose and hanging Virgil on the outside ropes.[36][37] The 2-on-1 assault finally ended when the building's security dragged Neidhart to the back and Virgil was carried away on a stretcher.[8] Matches from this event, including the KKK incident, aired on the September 24 edition of NWC Slammin' TV. This angle was used as the basis for an episode of the Netflix comedy-drama GLOW more than 20 years later.[38]
Cross promotion with Ultimate Creations
In late-1995, Al Rodriguez was experiencing financial troubles and had to pull out as an investor. Martin was forced to move the promotion's shows back to the Aladdin Theater as a result.[8][39] Although The Warrior was supposed to come in for a one-time appearance, he became more interested in the NWC seeing the large crowds it was drawing.[24] He and Martin agreed to form a new parent company, Ultimate Creations, which was to be officially announced on the promotion's upcoming first anniversary show.[25][40] Martin also looked into bringing Big Van Vader to the NWC after the wrestler was suspended (and ultimately fired) by World Championship Wrestling.[41] Additionally, the company's first and only home video release, NWC Total Chaos, became available to fans at the beginning of October.[11]
However, problems soon began to emerge in the Martin-Warrior relationship. In the week leading up to The Warrior's debut as co-owner of the NWC, the wrestler wanted to change the company's name to "Warrior Promotions". He also failed to appear for several interviews on two major radio stations in Las Vegas to promote the show. Martin received a call from Warrior about 15 minutes before his first interview and claimed his car had broken down while driving from his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. When Warrior finally checked into the Aladdin Hotel at 6:00 PM, about 12 hours after his scheduled arrival, he put a block on his phone which prevented the promoter or anyone else from contacting him. In a meeting with Martin the next morning, the wrestler asked for the show's sponsorship checks which totaled $6,000 and were made out to "Warrior Promotions". Warrior claimed that he would "cash the checks and settle with the hotel and the athletic commission to show each there were sufficient funds for the return show, and at the show write out his own checks to take care of the boys". Warrior missed another round of public appearances including one for Ultrazone, a major sponsor for Slammin' TV, which had brought out 300 fans. It was planned for Jim Neidhart to start a fight with him in order to drum up publicity for their match that night. Unbeknownst to the promoter, Warrior had already left the city after getting into an altercation with hotel management at the Aladdin. He had apparently become upset with the staff after noticing that the band Oingo Boingo was listed on the marquee instead of his own.[39]
The event reportedly turned into a fiasco when The Warrior did not arrive. The 1,400 fans were in attendance became rowdy when Martin addressed the crowd at the start of the show. Virgil was named as Neidhart's opponent in the main event[25] and an impromptu $10,000 battle royal involving the entire NWC roster was added[39] but they failed to satisfy the audience. The Neidhart-Virgil bout ended in a double-countout after less than two minutes angering the crowd further. A real-life fight broke out in the stands during their match.[25][42] Harry Simon, then a correspondent for the Pro Wrestling Torch, recalled the audience's reaction at the show's conclusion:
After the card, people were throwing things in the ring as [T.C. Martin] announced their “Halloween Massacre” show on Monday, Oct. 30 at the Aladdin, featuring Cactus Jack vs. Too Cold Scorpio in the main event, plus Bradley & Rob Van Dam defending the NWC Tag Titles against The Powers of Pain, and Paine vs. Judge Dread. Before Carter could leave the ring, he was bombarded with chants of “Warrior” and “Refund.” One fan shouted he was going to burn his NWC shirt. Every fan left the building looking angry.
—Harry Simon, Ultimate no-show in Las Vegas (October 15, 1995)[42]
Warrior later claimed he had decided to end his relationship with the NWC over a disagreement over his share of the $14,000 in ticket sales.[24] Martin attempted to soldier on after The Warrior's departure from the company. Along with the "Halloween Massacre" supercard, the promoter talked about expanding into California with former WWF promoter Bob Cartago.[43] But after Ultimate Creations debacle, the promotion was facing bankruptcy. Several wrestlers were reportedly not paid on the last NWC event and the final episode of Slammin' TV aired on October 14.[43][44]
Although the promotion had started out the year on a high note, the company's finances and popularity had plummeted in the span of six months. Besides the bad feelings resulting from The Warrior's "no show", the KKK storyline was also ill-received and caused one wrestling fan to ask: "How tasteless can a promotion get?"[45]Bryan Alvarez of the Figure-Four Wrestling Newsletter stated this was the most offensive "angle" in the history of professional wrestling.[46] At the 1995 Wrestling Observer Awards, the NWC was nominated for Worst Promotion of the Year as well as an honorable mention for Worst Television Show.[29] On the opposite end of the spectrum, The Ultimate Warrior was voted third runner-up for the PWI Comeback of the Year award by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.[47]
Relaunch and departure from Las Vegas
After five months of inactivity, Martin attempted to restart the promotion. He originally announced plans to hold a return show on March 2, 1996, headlined by NWC Heavyweight Champion Sabu and ECW Heavyweight ChampionThe Sandman in a champion vs. champion match at Arizona Charlie's Hotel & Casino[48] but the event was canceled due to lack of finances.[49] Martin finally got a show together two months later which was again held at the Silver Nugget Casino on May 17. The main event had Sabu successfully defending the NWC Heavyweight Championship against Kama. One of the featured matches on the undercard was The Honky Tonk Man versus Virgil, which Virgil won by pinfall. A special ceremony was held on the show in honor of Superstar Billy Graham.[50] According to Bryan Alvarez, the best match on the card was reportedly a tag team bout between Mexican luchadorsDamian and D.Dog versus Super Boy and Principe Indu from Asistencia Asesoría y Administración.[51]
Martin later announced his intention to hold monthly events in both Las Vegas and Sacramento, California at the start of June.[50] The NWC's next show at the Silver Nugget Casino, however, would be the company's final one in Las Vegas. In the double main event, Sabu retained his title against Kama and Virgil in a TriangleSteel Cage match, while Johnny "Psycho" Paine and The Iron Sheik fought to a double-disqualification. On the undercard, defending NWC Tag Team Champions Aerial Assault (Bobby Bradley and Rob Van Dam) defeated Super Boy and Principe Hindu.[52] Despite its best efforts, the NWC was unable to recapture the cult following it enjoyed in previous years:
Martin's little independent group was actually doing pretty well and getting an ever-improving following among the Las Vegas locals. Unfortunately, T.C. decided he should be the star of the show despite the fact that he wasn't a trained wrestler. Pretty soon he became the play-by-play announcer. Then he became the ring announcer. Then he became the guy walking to and from the ring and managing the guys. Pretty soon he was all over the place, and it didn't take long for people to get sick of him and stop going to his shows. Realists are few and far between in this business, and T.C. was not one of those rare ones. Of course, if everyone in the business was a realist, there would be no business.
—Terry Funk, Terry Funk: More Than Just Hardcore (2006)[19]
As the Attitude Era was gaining in popularity, the NWC tried to reinvent itself as a more "family friendly" company. The promotion offered fans free autograph signings and a chance to interact with its wrestlers as part of this effort. In July 1997, Martin and Hanzalik were featured in The Sacramento Bee where they discussed their plans to hold regular shows at the Memorial Auditorium, a planned expansion into Reno, Nevada, and producing another weekly TV program. All of their events in Sacramento were being taped for this purpose but a new series never materialized.[5] A year later, the NWC was ranked among the top U.S. independent promotions by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.[55] The company held its last show at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium on August 28, 1998.[56] Martin had hopes of running regular shows in Sacramento, Stockton and Bakersfield, California but was ultimately unable to secure a television deal to air the promotion's weekly series. The Sacramento Bee reported that an arrangement with one station fell through at the last minute because the executives felt a "Steel Cage War with Weapons" match might offend viewers.[6]
↑ The announced figure was 2,000,[26][27] however, Dave Meltzer claimed the actual number was closer to 1,250 with an estimated 965 paid attendance[8] (Harry Simon of the Pro Wrestling Torch gave a figure as low as 924[25]).
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1 2 "Buffalo Jim goes to the mat for LV wrestling". Las Vegas Sun. July 8, 1996.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (November 14, 1994). "Savage/WWF relationship falls apart, When World's Collide PPV with one of the best matches of the 90s, another WCW lawsuit, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. 10/29 Las Vegas (NWC - 550): Bobby Bradley Jr. b KGB, Vulcano Kid b Tim Patterson, Thug b Bill Anderson, Karate Kid &? b b Little Tokyo & Killer Cruz, Greg Valentine b Doink the Clown (Mark Ashford-Smith aka Mark Starr), Sabu b Cactus Jack ****
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↑ Meltzer, Dave (January 23, 1995). "Hulk Hogan's effect on WCW, business trends over the prior three years for all major companies, UFC V, big shows upcoming, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (February 20, 1995). "WCW makes the big jump to nine PPV's per year, raises prices, PPV schedule, major mainstream article on UFC III talking Shamrock and Royce, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 10, 1995). "WrestleMania XI in-depth report, Weekly Pro Wrestling show at the Tokyo Dome, major World Championship Wrestling shake-ups, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (July 10, 1995). "Shoot fight between pro-wrestlers at UFC event upcoming, AAA LA Sports Arena return, WWF suit against Doink, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
1 2 Funk, Terry; Williams, Scott E. (2013). "Chapter 22: Back To (What Was Left of) the Territories". Terry Funk: More Than Just Hardcore. New York: Sports Publishing. ISBN978-1613213087.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (March 27, 1995). "Big John Studd passes away, WCW Uncensored, economic crisis hits Mexico and kills AAA corporation, Blacktop Bully and Dustin Runnels fired, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
1 2 Meltzer, Dave (May 1, 1995). "Atsushi Onita retirement, Rickson Gracie still the king after Japan Vale Tudo 1995 (subject of CHOKE documentary), tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Picarello, Robert (2002). Monsters of the Mat. New York: Berkley Boulevard Books. pp.157–158. ISBN042518594X.
1 2 3 Meltzer, Dave (July 31, 1995). "Hase wins Japanese election, WWF In Your House II, big questions about financial state of WWF, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
1 2 Peters, Craig, ed. (1996). "1995: The Year in Wrestling". The 1996 Wrestling Almanac and Book of Facts. PWI Almanac (1sted.). Ambler, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Inc. p.15. ISSN1043-7576.
↑ O'Hara, Michael, ed. (November 1995). "The Return of The Ultimate Warrior!". New Wave Wrestling. Vol.1, no.19. Gracie Station, New York: Combat Sports Magazine Group.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (August 14, 1995). "Future of ECW and the Sunshine Network, controversial angle, revamped SummerSlam card, Collision in Korea, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
1 2 3 Meltzer, Dave (October 16, 1995). "Muto beats Takada, Warrior Whatever Happened To? Fun, New Jack troubles, legal issues in Mexico, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (September 25, 1995). "Tons of details on Lex Luger jump to WCW, ratings for early Monday Night War battles, Fall Brawl, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (October 9, 1995). "Bill Watts to WWF for the moment, more Monday Night Wars, huge lucha shake-up, Super J Cup 2, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
1 2 Meltzer, Dave (October 23, 1995). "Bill Watts already gone from WWF after three weeks, New Japan/UWFi update, Ultimate Ultimate tournament pairings, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (November 13, 1995). "Monday Night Wars continue, buyrate battles between WWF and WCW, Mexico promotional war, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Moreland, Dan (November 13, 1995). "Monday Night Wars continue, buyrate battles between WWF and WCW, Mexico promotional war, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Hanecak, Ed (January 1996). "NATIONAL WRESTLING CONFERENCE RETURNS". Ring Report. No.152.
↑ Meltzer, Dave (March 4, 1996). "Clique gets ready to head to WCW, Shamrock vs. Severn recordsetting, puff piece on Gracies in Weider mag, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
1 2 Meltzer, Dave (April 22, 1996). "Brian Pillman terrible auto accident, WrestleMania XII buyrate, Pancrase PPV debut, World Wrestling Peace Festival update and more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Alvarez, Bryan (May 27, 1996). "Pro wrestler vs. Pro wrestling in UFC, Diesel and Razor Ramon leave WWF after MSG CURTAIN CALL, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Alvarez, Bryan (June 24, 1996). "Dick Murdoch bio, one of the best PPVs of all time put on by WCW, Best of the Super Junior tournament, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California.
↑ Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Las Vegas: NWC Tag Team Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p.291. ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
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