Pictures from NPWS “2012 Chris Candido Memorial Jersey J-Cup Tournament” in Belleville, NJ 8/18

Here is a nice collection of pictures from the National Pro Wrestling Superstars “2012 Chris Candido Memorial Jersey J-Cup Tournament” in Belleville, NJ on August 18^th.

Here is a recap of the show:

Saturday night August 18th, NPWS concluded its double-tournament weekend at the Belleville, NJ Knights of Columbus Hall with the biggest annual wrestling event in the tri-state area, the 2012 Chris Candido Memorial J-Cup Tournament. It may have been the biggest event of the year, but NPWS management will be honest as always in admitting it was the smallest crowd ever for a J-Cup event… and the fans who didn’t attend (shame on them) missed an exciting night of wrestling action.

The show opened with the introduction of the eighteen members of the Class Of 2012:

• Chris “Boom-Boom” Powers
• NPWS Cruiserweight Champion “Mr. Entertainment” J.D. Smoothie
• Nick Talent
• The Jersey Kidd
• ROH star and 2008 J-Cup Tournament winner Rhett “The Threat” Titus
• Eddie “Spaghetti” Franken
• “Retro Rocker” Rikki Roxx
• The Funky White Boy
• FWF Cruiserweight Champion “The White Urkel” B. Fehrm
• Mike Matixx
• CZW star Devon Moore
• Nick Napoleon
• Mark Modest
• NPWS Junior Heavyweight Champion “Jersey Shore Jock” Mike Dennis
• Marcus Streets
• 2011 J-Cup Tournament winner and NPWS Jersey Shore Champion “The Love Machine” Nicky Oceans
• Two other participants, “Too Hot” Steve Scott and Rob Fury were delayed en route but would be arriving in time for their opening round matches.

Ring announcer Johnny Falco explained the tournament rules. The Qualifying Round would consist of six Triple-Threat Elimination Matches. Each match would have a ten-minute time-limit, with a five-minute sudden-death overtime period if no winner. If after the five-minute overtime there was still no winner, the fans would vote for the winner. The Semifinal Round would consist of three one-on-one matches with the same time limit and overtime rules. The three Semifinal winners will face off in a Triple-Threat Elimination Final Match with *no* time limit.

Chris Candido’s younger brother Johnny Candido, who would be presenting the trophy to the winner at the end of the night, was introduced, and the wrestlers and fans paid tribute to Chris.

Qualifying Round Results:

1. CZW star Devon Moore won over Nick Napoleon and FWF Cruiserweight Champion “The White Urkel” B. Fehrm. It was a pitched three-way battle, with Napoleon being eliminated first by a rollup pin from Devon, then after ducking a superkick from Fehrm, Devon leveled Fehrn with one of his own and pinned him.
2. Chris “Boom Boom” Powers scored what many considered an upset victory over NPWS Cruiserweight Champion “Mr. Entertainment” J.D. Smoothie and The Funky White Boy. Smoothie was tossed out early by his opponents, who traded some exciting high-flying moves. Smoothie eventually returned to the ring and the three battled back and forth. Funky took down Powers with a crucifix slam, but then Smoothie leveled Funky with a neckbreaker. Smoothie hit his “Leg Drop Across The Delaware” finisher on Powers, but Funky broke up the pin and tossed Smoothie outside, and the two Delaware rivals brawled on the outside until the referee counted them both out and awarded the bout to Powers.
3. NPWS Junior Heavyweight Champion “Jersey Shore Jock” Mike Dennis won over Mike Matixx and Marcus Streets. Dennis came out still sporting a shoulder injury from the previous night, and Matixx and Streets tried to take advantage all throughout the match, but with the crowd cheering him on, Dennis fought them both off. Towards the end, Matixx and Street’s “alliance” broke down, and the two started fighting each other. Dennis took advantage and took out both with a double clothesline, then F-5’d and pinned Matixx. Dennis superkicked Streets and had him covered for the pin when the bell sounded and the ten-minute time period had expired. The match continued in overtime, and after a running knee, Streets appeared to have the battle won, when J.D. Smoothie and Nicky Oceans came out from the back. Smoothie distracted the referee as Oceans climbed onto the ring apron and spat a mouthful of beer in Streets’ face. Dennis rolled up the blinded Streets and pinned him. As the crowd boo’ed Dennis for cheating, Dennis responded that he will do whatever it takes to win.
4. 2011 J-Cup Tournament winner and NPWS Jersey Shore Champion “The Love Machine” Nicky Oceans won over Eddie “Spaghetti” Franken and “Retro Rocker” Rikki Roxx. Oceans initially stepped out of the ring and encouraged Eddie and Rikki to face off against each other, but after a few minutes he snuck back into the ring and leveled both opponents with a double clothesline. As the match wore on, Rikki appeared to have a change of heart and joined Oceans in doubling up on Eddie. But Eddie roared back, but when he aimed a flying dropkick at Rikki, Rikki threw the referee in front of him, and the referee was knocked out. Oceans held Eddie as Rikki aimed a Crisis Kick at him, but Eddie ducked and the kick leveled Oceans instead. Both Eddie and Rikki battled over covering Oceans, but the referee was out and could not count either’s pin. As Rikki and Eddie battled, Mike Dennis came down to the ring with a pair of  Wet Floor signs, and he and Oceans used them to knock out Rikki and Eddie. Oceans revived the referee and covered both Eddie and Rikki together and got the pin on both. After the match, Rikki regretted his change of heart and embraced Eddie.
5. ROH star and 2008 J-Cup Tournament winner Rhett “The Threat” Titus defeated Nick Talent & The Jersey Kidd. Talent tossed Titus out of the ring early and focused his attack on Jersey Kidd, kicking Titus off the ring apron whenever he tried to return to the ring. After a back and forth battle, The Kidd hit a brainbuster suplex and a running clothesline in the corner on Talent and pinned him. Titus returned to the ring and he and The Kidd traded near-falls back and forth, thrilling the crowd, until Titus hit a DDT on The Kidd and pinned him.
6. “Too Hot” Steve Scott won over Rob Fury (making his NPWS debut) and Mark Modest. Scott was apparently the local favorite, and Modest and Fury teamed together to dominate him. But Scott withstood the assault, and Modest became greedy… as he held down Scott for a flying splash from Fury, he instead caught Fury in an RKO on the way down, and pinned him 1-2-3. Scott and Modest continued the battle, until Scott hit a superkick on Modest and pinned him.

During intermission, former ECW hardcore icon John “Balls” Mahoney greeted the fans, and NPWS celebrated birthdays.

In the first Semifinal Round Match, Chris “Boom Boom” Powers took on CZW star Devon Moore. The rising star Powers made a good effort against the south Philadelphia veteran, but after kicking out of a moonsault and pin attempt, Devon leveled Powers with a kick to the head and pinned him 1-2-3.
Winner and advancing to the Finals: Devon Moore

In the second Semifinal Round match, 2011 J-Cup Tournament winner NPWS Jersey Shore Champion “The Love Machine” Nicky Oceans took on “Too Hot” Steve Scott. Oceans attacked Scott early, but Scott battled back and kept Oceans from putting him away. Towards the end Scott roared back, and after planting Oceans into the mat with a German Suplex, he appeared to have the match won, when J.D. Smoothie came out to ringside to once again distract the referee. As Scott went over to deal with Smoothie, Mike Dennis snuck into the ring and took down Scott with an F-5. Oceans finished off Scott with a running knee and pinned him 1-2-3.
Winner and advancing to the Finals: “The Love Machine” Nicky Oceans

In the third and final Semifinal Round Match, ROH star and 2008 J-Cup Tournament winner Rhett “The Threat” Titus took on NPWS Junior Heavyweight Champion “Jersey Shore Jock” Mike Dennis. Dennis offered to shake hands, and Titus took him up on it, but was ready when Dennis tried to sneak in a kick, and the two traded wrestling holds for the next few minutes to the delight of the crowd. After surviving a flurry of offense from Titus, Dennis roared back but could not put Titus away. Then Nicky Oceans came down to the ring holding a Wet Floor sign, apparently intending to return the favor and help Dennis, but when he aimed at Titus, Titus ducked and Oceans leveled Dennis instead. Titus clotheslined Oceans out of the ring, then DDT’ed Dennis and pinned him.
Winner and advancing to the Finals: Rhett “The Threat” Titus

Ring announcer Johnny Falco pointed out that two former J-Cup Champions, Rhett Titus and Nicky Oceans, will be competing in the Triple-Threat Final Match.

The next match was originally scheduled to be a one-on-one Ladies Match between WSU stars Jennifer Cruz and Kimberly, but Kimberly came out with NPWS newcomer Nikki Rich. Then out came Jennifer Cruz. Still smarting from her defeat last the previous night, she accused NPWS of conspiring to make her wrestle in a Handicap Match, but she announced she had a partner of her own, “the sexiest and most voluptuous partner”… then the music hit and out came “The Cold-Hearted Playa” Danny Demanto! Laughing, Demanto expressed confidence that Cruz could handle things herself, but Kimberly proved to be a tough opponent, and even the rookie Nikki was able to hold her own against Cruz, then Cruz finally tagged in Demanto, and the two double-teamed her for the next few minutes, Demanto even embarassing Nikki by spanking her, but when Demanto went for a powerbomb, Nikki slipped out and tagged in Kimberly. Kimberly used her quickness to surprise Demanto and take him down with a rolling DDT and a hurricanrana. Kimberly and Nikki went for a double suplex on Demanto, but Cruz broke it up and tossed Kimberly out of the ring, while Demanto hit a piledriver on the hapless Nikki and pinned her 1-2-3.
Winners: “The Cold-Hearted Playa” Danny Demanto & Jennifer Cruz

The Final Match of the Tournament was a Triple-Threat Elimination Match between semifinalists CZW star Devon Moore, ROH star and 2008 J-Cup Tournament winner Rhett “The Threat” Titus, and 2011 J-Cup Tournament winner NPWS Jersey Shore Champion “The Love Machine” Nicky Oceans. Oceans initially ducked out of the ring to allow Titus and Devon to face off, but he quickly returned to the ring, and the three battled back and forth. Frustrated by his inability to put his opponents away, Oceans jumped out of the ring and menaced long-time NPWS fan Robert Puglisi, who had been taunting him all night after Oceans had tried to attack him the night before. Titus threw Oceans back into the ring and the three-way battle continued. After Titus broke up a superplex attempt by Oceans on Devon with a Tower Of Doom Powerbomb, Oceans left the ring once again and attacked Puglisi, putting him in a Full-Nelson and refusing to break the hold, and was eventually counted out by the referee and eliminated. Devon and Titus continued to battle back and forth, bringing the crowd to the edge of their seats, until a series of flying kicks from Devon helped him finally put Titus down for the 1-2-3.
Winner and 2012 Chris Candido Memorial J-Cup Tournament Champion: Devon Moore

Johnny Candido brought the trophy to the ring, as the other competitors in the tournament came out from the locker room to congratulate Devon.

The victory celebration was abruptly interrupted by the appearance of former ECW star John “Balls” Mahoney, who seized the microphone and got in Johnny Candido’s face. He apologized to Devon for interrupting the victory celebration, but he had to get this off his chest. Balls said that a year after Chris had died, and WWE had offered him a contract, they asked him to recommend a tag-team partner for him, and he immediately suggested Johnny, but Johnny had turned it down. Johnny claimed that he turned down the contract because his perspective on wrestling had changed since his brother died, but Balls accused Johnny of being afraid to be cut off from his family money if he wrestled (as he said Chris had been). The angry words soon led to punches flying between the two. The other wrestlers tried to keep them apart, but the two kept lunging at each other and fighting on the floor and all the way to the back.

As order was finally restored, Devon returned to celebrating with his trophy, as the show closed.

To view the pictures, follow this link: http://www.foto-mark.com/NPWS/