April 26, 2008 – Manville, New Jersey
National Wrestling Superstars presented the Chris Candido Memorial J-Cup Tournament at the VFW. Skitzo defeated Ronnie The Red; Devon Moore defeated Sabotage and Minyon; Drew Blood defeated Unbreakable Andy and Fantastic Maxx; Mike “Bulldog” Collare defeated Bison Bravado; Rhett Titus defeated Mikey Pacifica and Brett Thunder; Nicky Oceans defeated “Firebird” Jorge Santi and Golden Lynx; J-Cup Semifinal Round Match, Drew Blood defeated Devon Moore; Rhett Titus defeated Nicky Oceans. Nate Mustang def J.D. Smoothie; former WWE star Scotty Too Hotty defeated Mike “G.Q.” Quest (with former WWE star Romeo Roselli); J-Cup Final Round Match, Rhett Titus defeated Drew Blood to claim the 2008 J-Cup Tournament Trophy
April 26, 2008
Long Version
NWS 2008 Chris Candido Memorial Jersey J-Cup Results: Nearly 300 Fill Manville VFW Hall, Twelve Competitors Shine, DOI’s 2008 Predicted Breakout Star Wins It All, Romeo Roselli Brings NWS Star Thought To Be Gone To Face Scotty Too Hotty & Much More From This Annual Jersey Wrestling Tradition
High gas prices, and generally higher prices on everything else are keeping people from doing all the things they would like, but the fans of National Wrestling Superstars still know when a good time is worthwhile, and nearly three hundred of them packed all sides and corners of the Manville VFW Hall on Saturday night April 26th for the annual Chris Candido Memorial Jersey J-Cup Tournament, as NWS paid tribute to one of Jersey’s most beloved wrestling stars with a tournament showcasing the talents of twelve of the best cruiserweight & middleweight stars on the indy pro circuit today.
In a dark match before the show officially began, Skitzo defeated Ronnie The Red. The two rookies traded wrestling holds for several minutes until Skitzo blocked a back-cracker attempt from Ronnie, then rolled him up with a handful of tights for the 1-2-3.
The show formally opened with all twelve competitors coming to ringside to pay tribute to Chris Candido, along with Chris’ first manager in pro wrestling, Tom Roberison. There was also a thirteenth wrestler at ringside who turned out to be Mike “G.Q.” Quest, who had recently been stripped of his NWS Junior Heavyweight Title and suspended for sixty days for refusing to show up at NWS events when scheduled to defend his title. NWS Commissioner Gino Moore reminded Quest that this could have been his year to shine in the J-Cup had he not been suspended, and told Quest he should sit in a corner and watch, otherwise if he walked out he could never come back. Quest gave in and took a seat in the back.
In the first J-Cup Opening-Round Match, Devon Moore defeated Sabotage and Minyon. The three comeptitors tore into each other from the get-go, and near the end of the match all three were battling on the top rope in the corner when Sabotage got tangled in the ropes and Moore pushed Minyon off the top onto the mat, then hit a somersault splash on Minyon to get the 1-2-3 and advance to the Semifinals.
In the second J-Cup Opening Round Match, Drew Blood defeated Unbreakable Andy and Fantastic Maxx. The rookies Andy and Maxx knew they had their work cut out for them against PWU veteran Drew, but Maxx tore into Drew and matched him and Andy hold-for-hold for most of the match. At the end, Maxx hit a cannonball splash on Andy and was ready to pin him when Drew drop-kicked Maxx then pinned him 1-2-3 to advance to the Semifinals to face fellow PWU veteran Devon Moore.
Mike “Bulldog” Collare defeated Bison Bravado in a non-tournament match.The two big men brawled inside and outside the ring, until Collare moved out of the way of Bison’s Stampede Roll, and rolled up the stunned Bison for the 1-2-3.
In the third J-Cup Opening Round Match, Rhett Titus defeated Mikey Pacifica and Brett Thunder. Titus and Thunder started off exchanging wrestling holds, but were repeatedly interrupted by Pacifica, who was feeling left out. Titus and Thunder eventually double-teamed Pacifica (to the delight of the crowd, who obviously did not consider Pacifica a fan-favorite this night). The match actually reached the ten-minute time limit with no winner, but tournament rules called for a two-minute sudden-death extension, and it was Titus with a drop-down DDT off the top turnbuckle on Thunder who got the 1-2-3 to advance to the Semifinals.
In the fourth and final J-Cup Opening Round Match, Nicky Oceans defeated “Firebird” Jorge Santi and Golden Lynx. Oceans’ brawler-wrestler style was a definite clash with the luchador styles of Santi and Lynx. The two luchadors kept pace with Oceans, but after Santi hit a Michinoku Driver on Lynx, Oceans snuck in with a drop-kick to Santi’s face followed by the 1-2-3. Oceans advanced to the Semifinals to face his arch-rival as of late for his NWS Jersey Shore Title, Rhett Titus.
Former WWE Tag-Team Champion and Heartthrobs member Romeo Roselli came out to the ring, walking with crutches as he is recovering from a torn ACL. He apologized to his many fans that they would not get to see him wrestle former WWE star Scotty Too Hotty tonight (the fans didn’t seem to mind that much), but insisted that his contract allowed him to name his own replacement. He then proceeded to call out his “protégé”, none other than Mike “G.Q.” Quest. NWS management was furious, but conceded that it was indeed allowed in his contract. Quest called Scotty an old man and said he was the future. This brought out Scotty Too Hotty himself, and the two began brawling inside the ring before Security broke it up.
In the first J-Cup Semifinal Round Match, Drew Blood defeated Devon Moore. The two PWU mainstays started fighting inside and outside the ring from the opening bell. They even both tried to use chairs before being thwarted by the referee. In the end, Drew got out of the way of a somersault splash attempt from Moore, then delivered a kick to the stunned Moore followed by the 1-2-3 pin. Drew advanced to the finals to face the winner of the Rhett Titus-Nicky Oceans Semifinal Match.
In the second J-Cup Semifinal Round Match, Rhett Titus defeated Nicky Oceans. This rivalry has been brewing in NWS for almost a year now, and the two combatants turned up the temperature yet again in Manville. After a back-and-forth battle, Oceans actually got a three-count on Titus, but the referee saw Titus’ foot on the ropes and restarted the match. Titus then hit Oceans with a drop-down DDT off the top turnbuckle and got the 1-2-3 (his first clean defeat of Oceans). While Titus celebrated his victory and advancement to the Finals to face Devon Moore, a sore loser Oceans attacked the referee in frustration before threats of suspension from NWS Commissioner Gino Moore stopped the assault.
Nate Mustang defeated NWS Cruiserweight Champion J.D. Smoothie in a non-title return grudge match. Manville native Mustang had taken Soothie to the limit at the last Manville show and both men were itching for a rematch. The two went back and forth again, to the delight of the crowd, until Mustang reversed a rollup from Smoothie and turned it into one of his own for the 1-2-3 pinfall.
Former WWE star Scotty Too Hotty defeated Mike “G.Q.” Quest (with former WWE star Romeo Roselli). Quest attacked Scotty in the ring before the bell, and with outside interference from Roselli tried to put him away early. Roselli threw one of his crutches to Quest to use while the referee was distracted, but Scotty ducked and nailed Quest with his facebuster bulldog, which was the setup for his finisher, and as the crowd chanted “W-O-R-M” Scotty leveled Quest with it and got the 1-2-3. Roselli appeared to be willing to forgive Quest for the loss and give him another chance, but then leveled Quest with the crutch. (“I lied!”) NWS Commissioner Gino Moore signed a match between Quest and Roselli for when NWS returns to Manville in the Fall.
In the J-Cup Final Round Match, Rhett Titus defeated Drew Blood to claim the 2008 J-Cup Tournament Trophy. Even after two previous hard-fought matches, the two combatants turned up the heat, battling inside and outside the ring and not giving any quarter. After a series of near-falls and near submissions, which saw referee S.P. Anderson take a bump when he got caught between the two in a spash in the corner, Titus blocked a superplex attempt by Drew, threw him off the top rope, and hit a flying splash for the 1-2-3 and the victory.
All eleven other tournament participants came out from the locker room to congratulate Titus as he was handed the trophy. Even arch-rival Nicky Oceans came to the ring, and looked like he was going to show some good sportsmanship, but then seized the trophy and leveled Titus with it. The other participants pulled Oceans off Titus and sent him to the back as Titus resumed, somewhat subdued, his celebrationin the ring as the fans went home happy.
NWS returns to action next weekend with a three show blitz. Friday night May 2nd, NWS returns to Edison, NJ’s Herbert Hoover Middle School Gym, then on Saturday night May 3rd they return to their always sold-out Jersey Shore venue, the Brick, NJ Elks Lodge. On Sunday afternoon May 4th, NWS joins their Delaware affiliate Funkdafied Wrestling Federation for an afternoon matinee at the Christiana, DE Fire Company Hall.
Follow NWS on the Web at www.nwswrestling.com.