Pro Wrestling News: NWA and ROH partnering to bring back Crockett Cup tournament

What's the story?

According to several news outlets, including a report from Wrestlingnews.co as well as a joint press release from both companies, NWA will partner with ROH to bring back the Crockett Cup Tag Team Tournament in 2019.

The NWA already announced the return of the event back at its 70th Anniversary event in October where Nick Aldis recaptured the NWA Heavyweight Title from Cody.

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The Crockett Cup Tag Team Tournament started 30 years ago and had several prominent winners including the team of Sting and Lex Luger, as well as the Road Warriors.

It ran from 1986-1988 but was discontinued when the Crockett family sold the promotion to Ted Turner, who soon turned it into WCW.

Several of the best teams in history competed in the tournament, including the Road Warriors, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, the Steiner Brothers, the Fantastics, the Powers of Pain and the Rock 'n' Roll Express.

Even popular singles' stars like Dusty Rhodes, Mike Rotunda, Magnum TA, Rick Rude and Kevin Sullivan took part in the tournament.

The Tournament made a return in 2014. In 2017, former Crockett Promotions' teams like the Powers of Pain and the Rock 'n' Roll Express competed in the event.

The heart of the matter

In anticipation of the event in April, both NWA and ROH issued the following press release in order to let the world know of the joint partnership in helping return the tournament in 2018:

BALTIMORE/NASHVILLE — Thirty-three years ago, Jim Crockett Promotions partnered with Mid-South Wrestling to present the first ever Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup in New Orleans, Louisiana. On April 27th, 2019, The National Wrestling Alliance (in association with The Crockett Foundation) will partner with Ring of Honor Wrestling to bring the classic tag-team tournament, The Crockett Cup, back to North Carolina at the Cabarrus Arena in Concord, NC.

The report from Wrestlingnews.co mentioned that NWA President Billy Corgan 'made a commitment to honoring the tradition and the legacy upon taking control of the famed organization'. Corgan also spoke on the matter:

“The NWA is known for the legends who have carried the famous Ten Pounds of Gold,” said Billy Corgan. “Jim Crockett Promotions built a foundation in the Mid-Atlantic region with their tag team wrestling in the 70s and 80s. The Crockett Cup in 1986 brought together the best tag teams in the world under one roof. It’s our honor partnering with Ring of Honor to bring this tradition back to North Carolina while supporting the Crockett Foundation with their philanthropy for veterans.”

Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling recently sold out their event at Madison Square Garden on April 6, 2019 during Wrestlemania weekend. The announcement about the Crockett Cup is another joint-partnership for ROH that could help raise each company's profile.

“Our utmost important stakeholders, investors, or partners in this business are the wrestling fans”, said Greg Gilleland, General Manager (ROH). “Partnering with The NWA to bring back this prestigious tournament and truly create a special event is a responsibility that we have to all fans, and is one of many other special events to come.”

The Road Warriors, the Super Powers (Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes) and the tandem of Sting and Lex Luger won the tournament respectively in it's first three years.

What's next?

ROH has partnerships with both NWA and NJPW that will translate into big shows in 2019. April is always a big month because of Wrestlemania, but over the last 20 years, the business as a whole has taken advantage of the weekend by running high-profile shows in the same city of Wrestlemania.

The popular face team of Lex Luger and Sting won the Crockett Cup in 1988.

If both shows are successful for ROH, it should bode well for the company going forward. There was speculation as to how ROH's relationship with NJPW would be affected going forward due to All Elite Wrestling.

NWA has been around longer than the WWF but hasn't been as prominent due to it maintaining a territorial business model. Bringing back a popular tournament from the past is a smart business move.

The teams involved haven't been announced yet, but if ROH is involved, teams like SCU, the Briscoes and the Kingdom will likely be involved.