NAPW is through the first third of 2008. Titles have changed hands, feuds have been settled, new ones have begun. The only constant is awesome matches night-in, night-out no matter what city an event is taking place in. As NAPW heads to the coast of British Columbia for two shows in May, we here at the website thought it a perfect time to go over the rivalries and stories going into the summer.
It's not as though Tommy Deathrow feuding with a former Tag champion partner is new. Deathrow's legendary wars with Billy Kryenik mark NAPW's first year, and his later feud with Jake Phoenix was physical. But Krusty Kid Paul? Deathrow and KKP seemed to be soul-mates. Peas in a pod. Brothers from other mothers. But while SAD are are still sexy, adorable and drunk, they are no longer friends. Not by a long shot. And it seems to be Krusty Kid Paul who is responsible. KKP claims that he "carried" Deathrow to their tag title reign and is sick of "living in STD's shadow." Was that really enough to throw away several years of friendship, as KKP did when he put Deathrow through a table at Supershow V? The two have had several altercations since then with no winner emerging. With KKP showing an even more violent side to himself and Deathrow on a revenge rampage, only thing is certain: injuries are going to pile up. Will these two men - or NAPW - survive their war?An issue has developed between "The Show" Chad Kurtis and Prince W. Darko. For the first few months of 2008, both men were managed by Ian Smith, Inc. Now that Ian has been summarily turfed by all of his associates. Darko and The Show showed (no pun intended) each other no mercy in a Triple-Threat match against World Champion "The Ego Buster" Dan Ryan. The issue seems to have really heated up after their "Finishers Only" match-up from Bingo Tango!!. Darko's cockiness did him in when he attempted to use Chad's patented CK Finale against the innovator, only to have it reversed into the proper move. "The Show" picked up the first victory but Darko isn't taking it lightly. Chad teams with his brother Matthew Kurtis at Tagstravaganza III against Darko... and a partner of his choosing. Who will Darko pick to take on the reunited Bluegrass Mafia? Will it be his own former partner in The Foundation, Thomas Young? Another REBEL Pro superstar?
Speaking of Matthew Kurtis, his months long issue with the Worker's Guild of Alberta seems to have finally settled with what can only be termed the destruction of "Bad Boy" Joey Malone in a Bluegrass Strap Match. The feud took many twists and turns, with the alliance of Joey and his friends into the WGA, as well as seeing the return of TWO of Matt's old flames. Mandy finds herself in the company of the WGA, while Lyndsey Valentine is once again at Matthew's side. Now Matt has what he has wanted for ages: A shot at singles gold in NAPW, when he challenges the Heritage Champion Jake Phoenix on 5/27. Fans have clamored for a match between these two big men for over a year, they will finally get it. Phoenix has a long-standing issue with both Kurtis brothers in both NAPW and REBEL Pro. The BGM have beaten Phoenix in tag encounters, but neither brother has been able to beat Jake in singles. Will Matthew Kurtis be able to derail the momentum of the current Heritage AND REBEL Pro world Champion?
The Heritage Champion is additionally angry these days. Ravager, thanks to his upset victory against Phoenix at Bingo Tango!!, is once again on the NAPW roster. Currently Phoenix and Ravager are banned from being physically involved with one another and management plans to keep them apart for some time. On top of all that, Phoenix has to deal with the man he beat for the Heritage Title, Trent Daniels, the surging Jacob Venar... and his partner at Tagstravanza III, D!. D! has made it clear that he would not be happy if Jake Phoenix failed to keep Ravager out of NAPW forever. Clearly, the Heritage Champion has his hands full with challengers coming from all directions and zero allies to his name.
The fans don't like seeing D! back, but the wrestlers even less. Thus far D! has rampaged through the new crop of NAPW talent, injuring Jacob Venar and Trent Daniels. In his first singles match back, D! brutalized Jacob Venar, taking advantage of his injured head. Then he took advantage of Trent Daniels' cracked ribs to once more take out the man who tossed him from Sole Survivor. Daniels & Venar are looking to even several scores when they team up to take on D! and Phoenix at Tagstravaganza III. Daniels and Venar are two of the brightest future stars in profesionall wrestling... IF they can survive the coming months.
The Beast can't keep friends. From Stylin' Kyle Roberts to Rex Caliber, it seems that almost every wrestler Bruce Richards allies with or becomes friends with turns to the dark side. You can add Stone Zellor to that list. Though Stone went round the twist late last fall as a result of his lust for Heritage title gold, it seemed that it may not affect his friendship with The Beast. You can throw that idea - and any hope for friendship - out the window after Stone cost The Beast the NAPW World Title! Now the issue is personal, and will start out in violent fashion when The Beast (teaming with Deathrow) and Stone (teaming with KKP) meet in a Superstar Rules tag match.
As mentioned above, NAPW's greatest World Champion is BACK! Ravager has been reinstated into NAPW after a stunning victory over the seemingly unstoppable Jake Phoenix. Now, the question is what's next for the returned "Last Resort?" None other than the only NAPW gold he has not held... the tag titles! And to do that, Ravager found a partner in the one man who can hit, kick and stretch other wrestlers with as much intensity and impact as he can: Dez Carter! Dez has had a tremendous eight months since returning to NAPW, but title gold has eluded him. Ravager and Carter will get their chance when they team up for the annual Tagstravaganza match on 5/20, where they will take on Grade "A" Alberta Attitude, a combination of WGA members...
...and the hated Southern Destruction. Henderson & Miller have turned on the NAPW fans and any notion of fair play in pursuit of the tag titles and their disgust at the antics of current champs Mystic Exposition. MyEx were able to retain the tag titles (which is the first they have ever successfully defended the tag titles in four reigns) at Bingo Tango!!, but were laid out by SD after the contest. For SD to get another shot, they will have to win what promises to be a competitive Tagstravangaza match... and hope MyEx can retain again, against the unlikely but so far successful pairing of Stein and Chris Kamikaze!
Although NAPW fans are still not comfortable with "The Ego Buster" Dan Ryan representing the promotion as its World Champion, they have come to grudgingly respect the international champion. Dan Ryan brings experience, power, charisma and sheer guts to the table and it has - like in so many promotions over the past decade - brought him to the top. Ryan survived the "Murderer's Row" of title defenses in April, one on every NAPW show against top talent. Ryan drew with The Show at Supershow V, scored a decisive pinfall on Prince W. Darko at Untouchable, and pinned The Beast following a Humility Bomb at Bingo Tango!!. Rumour has it that Ryan is FURIOUS when he learned of Stone Zellor's interference at the finish of that particular match. Neither Ryan nor the referee were aware of what transpired, and many critics point out that Ryan had Beast pinned for a three-count while the referee was knocked out. It is possible we will see Dan Ryan vs The Beast again in the near future (not to mention Dan Ryan potentially wanting a piece of Zellor), but for May he has anothe priority. The next defense on the agenda is perhaps the biggest match of Dan Ryan's NAPW tenure. We know it is the biggest match in over a year for the man on the other side, the 2008 Sole Survivor winner... "LDK" Lloyd Rees. Since fall, Rees has not only returned to form but surpassed it. Where once he would resort to cheating to win matches and titles galore, Rees eschews cheating now, preferring to win matches by making opponents scream "I QUIT!" Rees has truly become "Da Technical Terror" and the fans have taken to him.
Rees will challenge Ryan for the NAPW World Title at 5/27, Fracas On 4th Ave in Vancouver, British Columbia. They have never met before. This will be the first encounter of any kind between these two competitors. Ryan is on the verge of an NAPW title reign up there with Ravager, The Beast and Donovan Astros' own runs as well as cementing his own legacy in NAPW. Rees has held more gold then any other superstar, but has never wanted to be champion as bad as he does right now. The champion and challenger will officially sign the contract for this contest on 5/20 in Surrey BC as the build to this titanic title match builds!
There you have it, fans, everything you need to know going into what promises to be a fantastic summer of professional wrestling for New Alberta Pro. And who knows what surprises await around the corner?See you at the shows.
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