Match Point is an on-going series at Last Word on Pro Wrestling, where we look at intriguing matchups in indie wrestling and beyond. They may be dream matches, first-time matchups, or hotly anticipated rematches. Today’s edition focuses on the incredible story that the NWA has been telling between champion and challenger over the past several months. Nick Aldis is coming for his rematch against Cody at NWA’s 70th Anniversary Show on October 21, 2018.
Just over a year ago, Billy Corgan took ownership of the National Wrestling Alliance. Corgan had just gotten out of a contentious relationship with IMPACT Wrestling so no one really knew what to expect from the NWA relaunch. And then, Nick Aldis came along and suddenly, the vision of Corgan and Dave Lagana started coming to life.
As Aldis has said, he took a chance on the NWA when not many were and the company in turn, took a chance on him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn_5oD7ePIs
On December 9, 2017 at Combat Zone Wrestling‘s Cage of Death 19, Aldis defeated Tim Storm to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and that’s when business began to pick up. Through the platform of Ten Pounds of Gold, NWA began to tell Aldis’ real story and not one of a character he plays in the ring. In fact, that was the basis of the entire series, to tell real, compelling stories to get people invested in NWA and its wrestlers once again. Very much adopting an old school wrestling mentality, NWA built and focused on narratives instead of in-ring action and that began to set the promotion apart from anything else of its kind.
As Aldis said in an interview with Huffington Post, there weren’t matches 24/7 back then. Instead, people had to wait months to see two guys go at it for one match. That allowed companies to build the story with all of the facets that made people want to tune in. It was through this story that the match became the attraction. Without the story, it would just be a wrestling match and for Aldis, that’s not something that resonates with fans as much in the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yzWEYzwucE
But that doesn’t mean that the in-ring hasn’t been a huge part of the NWA storyline as the company has worked its way back to prominence. Aldis’ first storyline as champion was called the “Aldis Crusade” and it involved the 31-year-old defending the world title 20 times in 60 days. In order to do so, Aldis traveled the world, defending his title on six different continents and within 16 different promotions, staying very true to the nature of a “world championship.” His challengers varied and included James Ellsworth, David Starr, Robbie Eagles, Tommy Dreamer, Matt Cross and Colt Cabana. Throughout all of this, NWA’s Youtube series continued to tell Aldis’ story as well as the legacy he was carrying forth.
“Love me or hate me, I don’t care,” Aldis said in the Huffington Post interview. “Just pay attention.”
Through Ten Pounds of Gold, fans were introduced to Aldis in a way that they had never been before. And for some he was a likeable, sympathetic character whereas for others, he was arrogant and cocky. But as Aldis said, the perception didn’t matter. What mattered was that people paid attention and they certainly did, all the way through until All In‘s press conference in May where it was announced that Aldis’ 24th title defense would take place in Chicago against Cody. In the ensuing months leading up to September’s All In, NWA wove a masterful story which was aided thanks to Ring of Honor allowing them the television platform for Cody and Aldis’ feud to develop.
Calling himself the Dealer, Aldis accepted Cody’s challenge on one condition. If he was going to put up his title, Cody would have to put up one of his own, the ROH World Championship. But Cody lost the ROH title leading Aldis to renegotiate the terms. In order for Cody to get the title match, Aldis took his literal ring of honor as collateral. And while that story was developing on ROH TV, Ten Pounds of Gold was telling a different story, one of much more realism and consequence. On one hand, we saw Aldis, who had become the company’s standard bearer. Aldis was a proud champion, one who credited himself with bringing the NWA back to prominence. And then there was Cody, who wanted to win the NWA Championship as much for his father as he did himself. The real emotion and sincerity behind Cody’s story, his love for his father and his dream of making him proud by continuing the family legacy, was plain to see. It wasn’t a gimmick or a crafted persona for either of these men and that was the beauty of NWA’s series. This was as real as real could be and it was clear just how much this title meant to both men.
At All In, that same intensity and emotion carried into the match, which because of the fantastic build, really had become the attraction. Cody’s entrance alone gave off the chills as alongside his Nightmare Family, and on his so-called home turf at All In, he prepared for the biggest match of his career. Of the wrestlers on the All In card, no one would argue that Cody and Aldis were not the two best in-ring performers. However, with an over-two month long story on their side and phenomenal booking of the match itself, this championship bout delivered on all fronts. One element of the story was that Aldis technically had the title won twice. The first instance occurred when Cody was outside of the ring for longer than a 10-count but the ref kept the match going. The second was when Brandi Rhodes interfered, not allowing Aldis to pin Cody after a move that Aldis believed would have kept Cody’s shoulder down on the mat for 30 seconds, not just three.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spx0D1x80Mc
For that reason, Aldis has chosen a two out of three falls match for his rematch, something he believes will neutralize anything like bad ref calls or Brandi’s interference. In fact, Aldis also noted he could have had Brandi banned from ringside as due to her not being a licensed manager that would have been well within his right. But instead, Aldis has lined up his own “insurance policy,” someone who has yet to be revealed but certainly has the internet talking.
Aldis believes he is the true face of the NWA, that it was his blood, sweat and tears that helped rebuild the company to where it is in 2018. He believes Cody is a fraud, who is more focused on where he is going next as opposed to being in position to continue to elevate the NWA. Cody disagrees, saying he’s more a world champion than Aldis ever was. He takes the title everywhere, even when he’s not defending it, it’s always on his person. Since winning the belt, Cody has defended it just once, against Willie Mack in Ring of Honor. The way Aldis sees it, he has yet to defend in NWA territory, something that this time gives the British grappler the home field advantage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kaOQksZSho
The NWA Championship story between Cody and Nick Aldis has been one of the best booked storylines of 2018. And with the intrigue of this rematch, one that has been almost two months in the making, there is no reason to believe this story won’t deliver on an incredible ending as well.
That is, if in fact this match really is the end…
You can watch Aldis vs Cody II and the entire 70th Anniversary Show, which features Jazz defending her women’s title against Penelope Ford and a tournament to crown a new NWA National Champion, live, on the FITE TV app for $24.99.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
