Reclaiming the Glory

Reclaiming the Glory[1] was a professional wrestling tournament held between June 2, 2007 and September 1, 2007. Promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance, the tournament was the result of the dissolution of the licensing agreement between the NWA and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.[2] The tournament included 16 international wrestlers fighting to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion.[3]

Reclaiming the Glory
Logo for the tournament
PromotionNWA Wrestling
DateJune 2, 2007 – September 1, 2007
City(see below)

The Tournament

Background

On May 13, 2007 NWA Executive Director Bob Trobich announced that the NWA was severing all ties with TNA Wrestling leaving the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Tag Team Championship vacant. Shortly after this, the Reclaiming the Glory tournament was announced to crown a new NWA Worlds Champion. 16 Men were chosen to compete in the tournament with matches taking place throughout the National Wrestling Alliance’s members and affiliates as well as selected matches in non-affiliated groups Chikara, New England Championship Wrestling and IWA Puerto Rico.

Lou Thesz Bracket
First Round Quarterfinals
      
Glamour Boy Shane
Fred Sampson
Fred Sampson
Brent Albright
Brent Albright
Osamu Nishimura

Round One

Quarterfinals

Terry Funk Bracket
First Round Quarterfinals
      
Pepper Parks
Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio Castagnoli
Sicodelico, Jr.
Sicodelico, Jr.
Roughneck Ryan

Round One

Quarterfinals

Jack Brisco Bracket
First Round Quarterfinals
      
Bryan Danielson
Nelson Creed
Bryan Danielson
Fergal Devitt
Fergal Devitt
Mikey Nicholls

First Round

  • (June 16) Bryan Danielson defeated Nelson Creed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • (June 30) Fergal Devitt defeated Mikey Nicholls in Quincy, Massachusetts

Quarterfinals

Harley Race Bracket
First Round Quarterfinals
      
Damian Wayne
Chad Parham
Chad Parham
Adam Pearce
Adam Pearce
Aaron Aguilera

Round One

Quarterfinals

The Final Four
Semi-Finals Finals
      
Brent Albright W
Claudio Castagnoli
Brent Albright
Adam Pearce1 W
Bryan Danielson W
Adam Pearce

1. ^ Adam Pearce took the place of Bryan Danielson (see below)

Semi-Finals

Finals

NOTE: A week prior to the finals of the tournament, finalist Bryan Danielson suffered a fractured orbital bone in a match with Japanese fighter Takeshi Morishima. As a result, Adam Pearce was reinserted into the tournament and took Danielson’s place in the finals. Danielson, wearing a protective eye patch, did have a hand in the match as the special enforcer to prevent interference from Pearce’s manager C. Edward Vander Pyle. When the assigned referee was knocked unconscious during the match, Danielson took over and counted the pinfall.

  • (September 1) Adam Pearce defeated Brent Albright in Bayamon, Puerto Rico to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion.[9]

Aftermath

Despite the controversial victory, Pearce would go on to a lengthy and successful eleven-month reign as champion before finally losing the title to Brent Albright on August 2, 2008 in New York City. Due to scheduling conflicts, Bryan Danielson never received his shot at the championship.

In the years following the tournament, many of the participants were signed to successful careers in WWE. Claudio Castagnoli became Cesaro, Fred Sampson as Darren Young, Fergal Devitt as Finn Balor, and Bryan Danielson as Daniel Bryan. Adam Pearce was also signed as a trainer.

See also

References
  1. Daris Brown (April 29, 2009). "The Illustrious History of the NWA". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  2. "NWA™ World Title Tournament Selection Special Report". YouTube. May 22, 2007. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  3. "pWwew.net: NWA Reclaming the Glory Brackets". www.pwwew.net. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  4. "News and Notes from the NJPW G-1 Special in the U.S.A. Press Conference in Long Beach, CA | SoCalUNCENSORED.com". SoCalUNCENSORED.com. 2017-05-18. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  5. "Antonio Cesaro". www.accelerator3359.com. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  6. "NWA Empire: Bryan Danielson vs. Fergal Devitt". YouTube. Jun 22, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  7. http://www.nwaempire.com/RedWhiteBruisedResults.html
  8. http://empirewrestlingfederation.com/eventresults/2007/Jul1307.htm
  9. United Wrestling Network (2007-09-04), Adam Pearce new NWA™ Worlds Champion Report from Puerto Rico, retrieved 2018-01-15
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