Crockett Cup (2026)
| Crockett Cup | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |||
| Promotion | National Wrestling Alliance | ||
| Date | April 4, 2026 (aired May 1, 2026, May 2, 2026, May 9, 2026, May 16, 2026, May 23, 2026) | ||
| City | Forney, Texas | ||
| Venue | The OC Theatre | ||
| Supercard chronology | |||
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| Crockett Cup chronology | |||
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The 2026 iteration of the Crockett Cup was a professional wrestling tag team tournament produced by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). It was the ninth iteration in the Crockett Cup chronology. The event took place on April 4, 2026, at The OC Theatre in Forney, Texas, later airing on tape delay across several episodes of NWA Powerrr on Comet. The event celebrated the 40th anniversary of the first Crockett Cup tournament, which took place on April 19, 1986, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Reigning All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW) World Tag Team Champions Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) defeated The Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana and KC Cazana) to win the titular tournament. The event was notable for NWA Commentater Joe Galli announcing a new media rights deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group to air NWA Powerrr on Comet, starting with a two-night premiere covering the Crockett Cup on May 1 and 2. This put the NWA back on over-the-air television for the first time since 1996.[1][2]
Production
Background
The Crockett Cup is a tag team tournament first held in April 1986.[3] 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[4] and 1988,[5] before JCP was sold to Ted Turner later that year.[6] 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.[7]
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.[8] The 1986 and 1987 tournaments featured 24 teams,[3][4] while the 1988 version had 22 teams competing.[5] 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,[3] while the 1987 and 1988, the tournament was spread out over two days instead.[4][5]
On February 6, 2026, the NWA announced that first-round matches for the Crockett Cup would take place at the February 21 NWA Powerrr tapings.[9] Nine days later, on February 15, they announced that the rest of the tournament would take place on April 4, at The OC Theatre in Forney, Texas.[10]
Storylines
The event featured professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Storylines were played out on the twenty-sixth season of the NWA's weekly series, Powerrr.[11]
On March 15, NWA President William Patrick Corgan announced that All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW) World Tag Team Champions Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) would be entering the Crockett Cup. As late entrants, they would compete in a series of play in matches for the #16 seed in the tournament.[12]
Results
| No. | Results[13] | Stipulations | Times[14] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) defeated Jack Valor and Eddie Grayson, Devastation Reborn (AJ Farat and Frank Stone), and Death Row Militia (Leo Fox and MurderMan KillBane) by pinfall | Four-way tag team match to determine the #16b seed in the Crockett Cup | 2:49 | ||
| 2 | Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) defeated Sins n' Grins (Izzy James and Bam Bam Malone) by pinfall | Tag team play-in match to determine the #16 seed in the Crockett Cup | 3:05 | ||
| 3 | Gisele Shaw defeated Tiffany Nieves (c) (with Miss Starr and Gretta) by pinfall | Singles match for the NWA World Women's Television Championship | 8:23 | ||
| 4 | Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) defeated The Immortals (Kratos and Odinson) by pinfall | Crockett Cup first round match | 7:02 | ||
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| No. | Results[15] | Stipulations | Times[16] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Misery (with Brandon McCord) defeated Damian Fenrir by pinfall | Singles match to determine the number one contender to the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship | 6:36 |
| 2 | The Wrestling Machines (Mike Mondo and Spencer Slade) (with Aron Stevens) defeated The Southern Six (Kerry Morton and Alex Taylor) (with Ricky Morton) by submission | Crockett Cup quarterfinal match | 6:58 |
| 3 | The Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana and KC Cazana) (with Joe Cazana) defeated The Colóns (Primo Colón and Epico Colón) by pinfall | Crockett Cup quarterfinal match | 6:01 |
| 4 | Pretty Boy Smooth (with Pastor C-Lo) defeated Trevor Murdoch by pinfall | Singles match | 2:11 |
| No. | Results[17] | Stipulations | Times[18] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) defeated The Slimeballz (Sage Chantz and Tommy Rant) (with Aron Stevens) by pinfall | Crockett Cup quarterfinal match | 5:43 |
| 2 | Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) defeated Thom Latimer and El Dragón Nihan by pinfall | Crockett Cup quarterfinal match | 9:30 |
| 3 | Tiffany Nieves won by last eliminating Gretta | Burke Invitational Gauntlet to determine the number one contender to the NWA World Women's Championship | 21:30 |
Burke Invitational Gauntlet
| Draw | Entrant | Eliminated by | Order | Method of Elimination | Eliminations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "HollyHood" Haley J | Gretta | 2 | Pinfall | 0 |
| 2 | Kylie Paige | Tiffany Nieves | 6 | Pinfall | 1 |
| 3 | Shay KarMichael | Gretta | 1 | Pinfall | 0 |
| 4 | Gretta | Herself | 7 | Over the top rope | 4 |
| 5 | Kenzie Paige | Kylie Paige | 5 | Over the top rope | 1 |
| 6 | Morgan Mercy | Gretta | 3 | Over the top rope | 0 |
| 7 | Herra | Kenzie Paige | 4 | Pinfall | 0 |
| 8 | Tiffany Nieves | Winner | — | — | 1 |
| No. | Results[19] | Stipulations | Times[20] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carson Drake (with Aron Stevens) defeated Wrecking Ball Legursky by pinfall | Singles match | 5:30 | ||
| 2 | The Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana and KC Cazana) (with Joe Cazana) defeated The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) by pinfall | Crockett Cup semifinal match | 5:43 | ||
| 3 | Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) defeated The Wrestling Machines (Mike Mondo and Spencer Slade) (with Aron Stevens) by pinfall | Crockett Cup semifinal match | 9:30 | ||
| 4 | Natalia Markova (c) defeated Sirena Veil by pinfall | Singles match for the NWA World Women's Championship | 5:30 | ||
| 5 | Tiffany Nieves (with Miss Starr and Gretta) defeated Natalia Markova (c) by pinfall | Singles match for the NWA World Women's Championship This was Nieves's Burke Invitational Gauntlet cash-in match. | 0:21 | ||
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| No. | Results[21] | Stipulations | Times[22] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Smalls defeated Daisy Kill by pinfall | Kiss My Boots match | 1:40 | ||
| 2 | "Thrillbilly" Silas Mason (c) (with Kerry Morton, Alex Taylor, and Ricky Morton) defeated Bryan Idol by pinfall | No Limits Falls Count Anywhere match for the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship | 13:48 | ||
| 3 | Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) defeated The Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana and KC Cazana) (with Joe Cazana) by pinfall | Crockett Cup final | 9:39 | ||
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2026 Crockett Cup tournament bracket
| First round NWA Powerrr February 21 Crockett Cup April 4 | Quarterfinals Crockett Cup April 4 | Semifinals Crockett Cup April 4 | Final Crockett Cup April 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | The Immortals (Kratos and Odinson) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) | 7:02[14] | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Thom Latimer and El Dragón Nihan | 9:30[18] | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Carson Bartholomew Drake and Tyler Stevens | 6:58[23] | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Thom Latimer and El Dragón Nihan | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | The Wrestling Machines (Mike Mondo and Spencer Slade) | 9:30[20] | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | The Southern Six (Kerry Morton and Alex Taylor) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | The Hardway (Jack Vaughn and Dalton McKenzie) | 5:49[24] | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | The Southern Six (Kerry Morton and Alex Taylor) | 6:51[16] | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | The Wrestling Machines (Mike Mondo and Spencer Slade) | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | The Wrestling Machines (Mike Mondo and Spencer Slade) | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | The Holy Grail Experience (Pretty Boy Smooth and Hayden Backlund) | 6:33[24] | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | The Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana and KC Cazana) | 9:39[22] | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | The Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana and KC Cazana) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Trevor Murdoch and Tyler Franks | 4:03[23] | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | The Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana and KC Cazana) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | The Colóns (Primo Colón and Epico Colón) | 6:01[16] | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | The Colóns (Primo Colón and Epico Colón) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Red, White, and JAC'd (Wrecking Ball Legursky and JAC) | 5:08[25] | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | The Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana and KC Cazana) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) | 5:43[20] | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Da Pope and Mims | 7:28[23] | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | The Slimeballz (Sage Chantz and Tommy Rant) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | The Slimeballz (Sage Chantz and Tommy Rant) | 5:43[18] | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | The McCord Collection (Zyon and Bonez) | 5:09[25] | |||||||||||||||||
See also
References
- ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (April 5, 2026). "NWA Announces Deal For NWA Powerrr To Air On Sinclair Broadcasting Network". Fightful. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ Holloway, Derek (April 20, 2026). "NWA Powerrr Premiere Date Set As Sinclair Announces Comet TV Launch Details". Ringside News. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "1st Annual Crockett Cup". Pro Wrestling History. April 19, 1986. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- 1 2 3 "2nd Annual Crockett Cup". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- 1 2 3 "3rd Annual Crockett Cup". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ↑ R.D. Reynolds; Bryan Alvarez (October 1, 2014). Death of WCW, The: 10th Anniversary Edition of the Bestselling Classic - Revised and Expanded. ECW Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-77090-642-6.
- ↑ "Crockett Foundation Cup Tag Team Tournament is One Week Away". The Mid-Atlantic Gateway. July 7, 2017. Archived from the original on November 4, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ↑ Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 3:Jim Crockett and the NWA World Title 1983-1989. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1494803476.
- ↑ Johnson, Mike (February 6, 2026). "NWA ANNOUNCES START OF CROCKETT CUP 2026". PW Insider. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Forney, TX is set to host the 40th Anniversary of the NWA Crockett Cup at the OC Theater on April 4th". National Wrestling Alliance. February 15, 2026. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ↑ Thompson, Andrew (March 15, 2026). "AJPW World Tag Team Champions Ren Ayabe & Talos Competing In 2026 NWA Crockett Cup Tournament". Fightful. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ Goldstein, Eric (May 1, 2026). "NWA POWERRR May 1st Recap: Who will claim the #16 Seed in the Crockett Cup Tournament? A new Champion Crowned, and a shocking upset in the main event!". National Wrestling Alliance. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
- 1 2 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NWA Powerrr #257 - The Crockett Cup 2026: Part 1". Cagematch.net. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ Goldstein, Eric (May 4, 2026). "NWA POWERRR May 2nd Recap: A new #1 contender to the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship has been decided; Crockett Cup Action Rolls on; and the end of a 27-year career". National Wrestling Alliance. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NWA Powerrr #258 - The Crockett Cup 2026: Part 2". Cagematch.net. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ Goldstein, Eric (May 11, 2026). "NWA POWERRR May 9th Recap: The Burke Invitational returns, and The Crockett Cup Semifinals are officially set!". National Wrestling Alliance. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NWA Powerrr #259 - The Crockett Cup 2026: Part 3". Cagematch.net. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
- ↑ Goldstein, Eric (May 17, 2026). "NWA POWERRR May 16th Recap: The finals for 2026 Crockett Cup are set, Bryan Idol & Silas Mason have one more sound off before next week's Title Match, and we have a NEW World Women's Champion!". National Wrestling Alliance. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NWA Powerrr #260 - The Crockett Cup 2026: Part 4". Cagematch.net. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
- ↑ Goldstein, Eric (May 25, 2026). "NWA POWERRR May 23RD Recap: Our 2026 Crockett Cup Winners have been Crowned, Betrayal in the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Title Match; and who kissed whose boots?". National Wrestling Alliance. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
- 1 2 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NWA Powerrr #261 - The Crockett Cup 2026: Part 5". Cagematch.net. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NWA Powerrr #254". Cagematch.net. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
- 1 2 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NWA Powerrr #252". Cagematch.net. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
- 1 2 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NWA Powerrr #251". Cagematch.net. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
External links
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