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Crockett Cup

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The Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament (also known simply as the Crockett Cup ) is a professional wrestling event produced annually by the professional wrestling promotion , National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The event features a tag team professional wrestling tournament with the Crockett Cup awarded to the winning tag team.

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50-501: The Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament was created by Jim Crockett Jr. of Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in honor of Crockett's father, JCP founder Jim Crockett Sr. The tournament format was single-elimination with a promoted prize of $ 1 million (U.S.) awarded to the winning team. JCP held the event every April in 1986, 1987, and 1988 before selling the company to Ted Turner (via TBS ) in November 1988. In July 2017,

100-568: A brief stint with Georgia Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions , Scott eventually found his way back to Canada where he wrestled for promoter John Katan in Toronto and made his debut in Maple Leaf Gardens in November 1950. While there, he and Whipper Billy Watson had an altercation in which he appeared with Watson on the undercard facing Lee Henning . The following day, a local newspaper wrote how Scott's match stole

150-539: A career in law enforcement. Although he began working as a bouncer for a time and was offered a managerial position at the bar he worked for, he declined and eventually returned to active competition in Stu Hart 's Stampede Wrestling in 1954. Helping his brother Angus break into the wrestling business in 1953, Scott began teaming with his brother in Stampede Wrestling shortly after his recovery later winning

200-676: A day-long tag team tournament at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans . The Road Warriors defeated Ron Garvin & Magnum T. A. after 7½ hours to win the tournament. Although Crockett had organized the tournament as a tribute to his father, several rival promoters suspected he was using the event to further his own plans for expanding his promotion nationally. Their suspicions increased as Crockett began holding wrestling events in Memphis and Florida without contacting

250-488: A match between Abdullah the Butcher and Bruiser Brody at the supercard Christmas Star Wars '86 later that year. However, he secretly withheld from the participants that the match, in which Abdullah the Butcher would lose to Brody, would be a loser-leaves-Texas match. Brody would eventually find out about the arrangement and instead agreed to lose to Abdullah causing him to leave the promotion. Brody would return to WCCW as

300-571: A partner with Jim Crockett buying a third of Toronto promoter Frank Tunney 's promotion for $ 100,000. This allowed them access to southern Ontario and parts of the northeastern United States as well as bringing in wrestlers from Maple Leaf Wrestling and the Carolinas. This would continue for several years until Frank Tunney's death in 1983 and his nephew Jack Tunney sided with the World Wrestling Federation when they entered

350-452: A promoter of wrestling and other forms of entertainment since 1931, with JCP joining the NWA in 1952. Although Jim Crockett Sr. had decided his son-in-law John Ringley would run JCP, Jim Jr. reluctantly took over ownership of the company after his father's death in 1973 and a dispute with Ringley. Crockett brought in wrestler George Scott as head booker, and he recruited wrestlers from across

400-446: A promotion in the Carolinas called South Atlantic Pro Wrestling in the early 1990s. It got off to a promising start but shut down in 1994. Retiring to Indian Rocks Beach, Florida with his wife Jean, a former City Commissioner who has long been active in local politics. Scott also became involved in real estate and rental property , as well as his involvement in numerous charitable events, specifically his assistance in establishing

450-553: A reputation as one of the leading bookers in the industry. Brought in by John Ringly, who had recently taken over Jim Crockett Promotions after the death of his father-in-law Jim Crockett, Sr. , and stayed on after David and Jim Crockett, Jr. assumed control of the promotion. During his first few years in the Carolinas, he made major changes in the promotion including changing its focus from traditional tag team wrestling to singles competitors by bringing Wahoo McDaniel , The Super Destroyer and Johnny Valentine , with Valentine being

500-660: A short time (1968) in Championship wrestling based in Fort Worth Texas at the North side arena, the promotion was later bought by Fritz Von Erich and renamed WCCW. Scott as a baby face had bloody matches with Johnny Valentine, once Valentine ripped Scotts shirt off and ran him into the ring post, Scott spent the night in the hospital because Valentine went too far and really injured him. Remaining in Calgary, Scott had

550-456: A short-lived relationship with Verne Gagne and his American Wrestling Association (AWA) to form Pro Wrestling USA . Crockett was elected to a second term as NWA President in 1985. He bought Vince McMahon 's Saturday night TV time slot on Superstation WTBS and his business began to flourish. The following year, he organized the first annual Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup , in which wrestlers from eight NWA regional territories participated in

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600-735: A successful singles career while with Stampede Wrestling during the 1950s and 60s. When Billy Watson appeared in the area in the late 1960s, he refused to defend his title against Scott as well as Luther Lindsay and George Gordienko . According to Scott, this was the result of their argument in Toronto years before. While wrestling Killer Kowalski during a match in Calgary, fans reportedly began chanting "We want Scott" . The following night at an event in Edmonton, Watson asked Scott to team with him in Toronto to which Scott declined. Scott has stated in later interviews that he regretted that decision as

650-566: A two-night event on March 19 and 20. Jim Crockett Jr. Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s James Allen Crockett Jr. (August 10, 1944 – March 3, 2021) was an American professional wrestling promoter. From 1973 to 1989, he was part owner of Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), a wrestling company affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). From 1976 to 1987, Crockett and his family also owned

700-756: Is buried in Woodland Cemetery, Hamilton, Ontario. Involved in hockey , basketball , and roller skating as a child, Scott began amateur wrestling at the local YMCA at age 12 and, during the next year, also started weightlifting. Living nearby Ben and Mike Sharpe , both well known professional wrestlers in Hamilton at the time, he also faced Martin Hutzler in an amateur bout at the YMCA. Making his professional debut in Wasaga Beach at age 17, he

750-675: The American Wrestling Association , Maple Leaf Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling . Scott was also the longtime head booker for the Jim Crockett Promotions working under promoter Jim Crockett, Jr. during the 1970s and with Vince McMahon during the World Wrestling Federation 's national expansion during the early 1980s. He helped organize many of the early PPV events such as WrestleMania I and WrestleMania 2 as well as

800-794: The Charlotte Orioles , a minor league baseball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina as well as owning the Winston-Salem Polar Twins in the Southern Hockey League from 1974 to 1975. Born to Jim Crockett Sr. and Elizabeth (Eversole) Crockett, Jim Jr. graduated from Myers Park High School in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1960. He and his younger siblings ( David , Jackie, and Frances) were largely uninvolved in professional wrestling until their father's death in 1973. The elder Crockett had been

850-655: The Crockett Foundation , with Classic Pro Wrestling, held a spin-off version called the Crockett Foundation Cup Tag Team Tournament in New Kent, Virginia. Bobby Fulton , The Barbarian , and The Rock 'n' Roll Express were previous tournament wrestlers that took part in the event. The Geordie Bulldogs (Mark Denny and Sean Denny) were the tournament champions. On October 1, 2017, William Patrick Corgan 's purchase of

900-608: The NWA (via his company Lightning One, Inc.) was finalized. In addition to ending its operation as a governing body, the NWA vacated all titles, except for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Women's Championship , and all licenses with previously-affiliated promotions expired. From that point on, NWA gradually became a singular wrestling promotion. In October 2018, during

950-661: The NWA 70th Anniversary Show , it was announced that the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament, now simply called the Crockett Cup, would be returning in April 2019. Thirty-one years after the previous event, the fourth annual Crockett Cup was held on April 27, 2019. In June 2019, the inaugural event from 1986 was uploaded to the WWE Network . In January 2020, during NWA's Hard Times pay-per-view, it

1000-571: The World Wrestling Federation , he was immediately sent to Atlanta to oversee the WWF's purchase of the Saturday night timeslot on TBS , forcing out Georgia Championship Wrestling and resulting what became known as " Black Saturday ". He was later involved in negotiations with Keith Hart for the McMahon's buyout of Stampede Wrestling which, according to Stu Hart in his biography Stu Hart: Lord of

1050-811: The Carolinas with his brother during the 1960s before eventually regained the Stampede International Tag Team Championship in 1963. They would also win the Indiana version of the AWA World Tag Team Championship and, while in Australia during the late 1960s, won the IWA World Tag Team Championship three times between 1966 and 1968. While in Stu Hart 's Stampede Wrestling in 1954, he and Angus would become one of

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1100-729: The Eblen Foundation in Asheville, North Carolina , which helps underprivileged families. In 2001, he was among several honorees at the Cauliflower Alley Club Banquet & Reunion . Scott was also acknowledged by Vince McMahon, who publicly thanked him for his contributions to the World Wrestling Federation during a wrestling event later that year. Scott was diagnosed with lung cancer in November 2011. He entered hospice care in October 2013 and died

1150-583: The NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship in 1954. After a brief stint in Maple Leaf Gardens in 1955, The Flying Scotts, as they were known, became one of the top tag teams in the Toronto and Buffalo areas during the late 1950s. Defeating Chris and John Tolos for the Stampede International Tag Team Championship in 1958, they would feud with Butcher and Mad Dog Vachon the following year. Scott would also return to

1200-729: The NWA back to the Dallas Sportatorium . Both projects were short-lived, and he left the sport for good in 1995. After his retirement from professional wrestling promoting, Crockett worked as a Texas realtor and mortgage loan originator. On February 28, 2021, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter 's Dave Meltzer reported that Crockett was in grave condition. Four days later, Robert Gibson reported that he died from complications of liver and kidney failure. His brother David attributed his death to COVID-19 , which Crockett contracted two months earlier. He

1250-532: The Ring , was concluded by a handshake agreement. The official sale was finalized by Jim Barnett on August 24, 1984, for $ 1,000,000 to be paid off $ 100,000 a year. While in the area, he began running events in Miami, Florida , which soon became very profitable for the company, and he soon began booking for the entire promotion. Between 1984 and 1985, the WWF was grossing between $ 3 million and $ 4 million on weekends. He

1300-608: The UWF and NWA as separate promotions in order to promote an annual inter-promotional event similar to the Super Bowl , Crockett instead moved the old UWF headquarters from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Dallas, Texas . and incorporated its stars into his own promotion. Crockett promoted his company, JCP, as the NWA, since he owned six NWA territories and was the NWA President, much to the confusion of fans. By November 1988, Crockett

1350-481: The WWF's Tuesday Night Titans . Eventually, Scott decided to resign due to overwork, the changing direction of the company and ongoing conflicts with Hogan and other wrestlers. After leaving the WWF in 1986, he briefly worked for Fritz Von Erich in Dallas replacing Ken Mantell , who had left the promotion earlier that year. Although David Meltzer 's The Wrestling Observer newsletter reported that he had joined

1400-426: The area during the mid-1980s; Scott later sued Jack Tunney and eventually received a $ 500,000 settlement and $ 150,000 in legal expenses in 1992. In 1981, Scott chose to leave Jim Crockett Promotions due to a pay dispute and resigned his position after giving Jim Crockett six weeks notice. Although Jim Crockett attempted to take Scott to court, the matter was soon dropped. Receiving numerous offers from promoters across

1450-419: The country, Scott took several months off before agreeing to temporarily assist Atlanta promoter Jim Barnett and Georgia Championship Wrestling for two months. Scott was approached by Eddie Einhorn to become a partner in his International Wrestling Association , offering him a $ 250,000 salary and a percentage of the promotion, but Scott eventually declined. During this time, he also looking into purchasing

1500-480: The country, from veterans such as Wahoo McDaniel to younger wrestlers like Ric Flair . In 1980, Crockett was elected to his first term as NWA President, which ended in 1982. He had a working relationship with Maple Leaf Wrestling , based out of Toronto and owned by Frank Tunney , until Tunney's death in 1983. Tunney's nephew Jack Tunney switched Maple Leaf Wrestling's working agreement to Vince McMahon 's World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Crockett then formed

1550-690: The early cards for the WWF's weekly television shows Saturday Night's Main Event , Prime Time Wrestling and Superstars of Wrestling . On the Steve Austin Show Unleashed Podcast, Scott was credited by Ric Flair as the person who came up with the idea that to reverse the Figure-four leglock, the opponent would simply turn over onto their stomach. George Scott was the first born son to his parents, Walter James Scott Sr. (1903-1991) and Jeannie Mackay (1904-1995). He

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1600-600: The following year, he lost to Superstar Billy Graham in Chicago, Illinois on November 3, 1972 Suffering a neck injury while wrestling in Texas, he was forced to retire the following year reuniting with his brother Angus against Atlantic Coast Tag Team Champions Gene & Ole Anderson in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on May 26, 1973, retiring later that year. In the years following his retirement, George gained

1650-773: The local NWA promoters. He eventually purchased promotions based in Oklahoma and Kansas City in the Mid-South territory and began airing his own televised wrestling events, which were syndicated across the United States. Crockett was elected to a third term as NWA President in 1987. That same year he bought out Championship Wrestling from Florida and the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), thus acquiring such talent as wrestler Sting and commentator Jim Ross . Although initially planning to keep

1700-538: The masked wrestler Red River Jack and, with Scott leaving the promotion shortly after, Brody replaced him as head booker. . He later went back to work for Crockett in 1988, taking over creative rights of the promotion but lightning didn't strike twice and his run was brief as he was fired in April 1989, due to the lack of promotion for the Clash of the Champions, and was replaced by the NWA booking committee. He started up

1750-553: The most popular tag teams in Western Canada during their six-year stay in the promotion. At one event, in which they were featured in the main event against The Miller Brothers ( Bill and Ed Miller ), promoters were forced to turn away 6,000 at a Stampede Wrestling event before splitting up. The two would eventually have a falling out after the death of their mother resulting in Angus refusing to attend her funeral. Scott spent

1800-533: The promotion in August, other sources such as David Manning's Heroes of World Class have claimed he had joined the promotion shortly before Kerry Von Erich 's motorcycle accident the previous month. Scott's time in WCCW was brief however and, according to Gary Hart , he resigned his position after failing to force Hart out of the promotion. Scott, who reportedly regarded Hart as a threat to his position, had scheduled

1850-404: The rights for the NWA's Oklahoma territory although he walked away from the deal allowing Bill Watts to purchase the territory for his Universal Wrestling Federation /Mid-South promotion. In 1983, Scott received a call from Vince McMahon, Sr. with whom he had a close working relationship while with Jim Crockett Promotions. Agreeing to assist his son Vince McMahon who had recently taken over

1900-429: The ring as he was supposed to be an outside-the-ring referee. Prior to WrestleMania, he took part in the initial negotiations with Mr. T to appear in the main event. Despite an argument between him and Mr. T, the disagreement was eventually settled and he agreed to appear; Mr. T later ran up $ 22,000 in expenses during the week leading up to WrestleMania. Scott was also one of the key officials who attempted to clean up

1950-465: The show and Scott began appearing in the opening matches for much of his time in the promotion thereafter. In 1952, following a match against Buddy Rogers in Florida, Scott collapsed in the bathroom of his apartment. He was eventually found by a friend who, noticing the bathroom light on, broke into the apartment when Scott failed to respond to his knocking on the door. Brought to a local hospital, Scott

2000-420: The top wrestler in the territory. Although fans were slow to respond to the sudden shift, Valentine had become one of the most popular wrestlers in the region within several months. He also signed younger wrestlers such as "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka , Roddy Piper , Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair , and became a major influence during their early careers. During the late-1970s, Scott became

2050-531: The widespread drug use among wrestlers in the promotion. He was involved in setting up the WWF's initial drug testing program. Those who failed the drug test would be suspended for six weeks and, if caught a second time, would be released from the company. Although having control of most of the roster, he and then WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan became involved in a heated argument during an event at Madison Square Garden regarding "some unsavory characters" hanging around backstage. Hogan, who by this time

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2100-520: The wrestler who eventually teamed with Watson, Billy Red Lyons whose career would take off after that match. Involved in booking for Stu Hart and Jim Crockett during the early 1970s, he declined offers to tour Japan and instead chose to continue wrestling for both Stampede Wrestling and the Mid-Atlantic territory. He teamed with El Mongol and Jimmy Dancing Bear in 6-man tag team matches against Buddy Colt and The Assassins in late 1971 and,

2150-547: Was 76. George Scott (wrestler) George Scott (August 27, 1929 – January 20, 2014) was a Canadian professional wrestler , booker and promoter. From the 1950s until the 1970s, he and his younger brother Sandy competed as The Flying Scotts in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance , particularly the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic territories , as well as successful stints in

2200-642: Was announced the Crockett Cup would be returning again in April 2020 , thus confirming the Crockett Cup as an annual event held by the NWA. On February 18 the NWA announced the date of April 19 for when the Cup would be held and they announced the venue would be the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia . However, the 2020 event was canceled due to the global pandemic. It would return in 2022 as

2250-656: Was born in Dalmeny, Scotland while his parents were visiting relatives and, returning to Canada, was raised in Hamilton, Ontario . He grew up with his siblings Angus (AKA Sandy Scott, 1934–2010), and beloved Walter (1936-2014). His sister Jeannie Gow Scott, at the age of 11, suffered appendicitis during a return trip from Scotland on the SS ; Athenia , and was pronounced dead in Montreal, Quebec on October 25, 1937. She

2300-442: Was directly involved in planning some of the biggest events in the promotion's history including WrestleMania I and 2 , the first televised shows for Saturday Night's Main Event and the supercard Big Event at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium . Scott appeared on-camera at WrestleMania when, during the main event between Hulk Hogan & Mr. T and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff , he pulled guest official Muhammad Ali out of

2350-431: Was gaining some political clout, went over Scott's head complaining about the incident to promoter Vince McMahon. He worked three days straight with NBC producer Dick Ebersol on Saturday Night's Main Event I . He and Ebersol disagreed on the show's content, with Ebersol in favor of a Saturday Night Live -style show as opposed to Scott's ideas for a traditional wrestling event. The format had been previously used on

2400-544: Was helped in his early career by Pat Murphy and Dano Macdonald. During the late 1940s, Scott attempted to convince local promoter Joe Maiche to wrestle in the Brantford armories before being signed by Toledo promoter Jack Pfefer and promoted as an up-and-coming wrestler. As Benny Becker, would gain considerable experience from many veteran wrestlers in the territory and would later face "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers and Gorgeous George several times in his early career. After

2450-494: Was near bankruptcy and, through promoter Jim Barnett , sold his company to Ted Turner , who renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Crockett remained NWA President until 1991. In the early 1990s, Crockett attempted a return to wrestling, briefly serving a fourth term as NWA President. In 1994, Crockett launched the World Wrestling Network , an NWA-affiliated wrestling network. Crockett also brought

2500-677: Was told he had passed out due to a deep bruise in his hip and was eventually flown back to Toronto where he was diagnosed with three ruptured discs in his back caused when Rogers had kicked him in the back during their match. Although doctors recommended surgery, Scott refused when he was told he would be unable to wrestle again. Taking a year off to recuperate, he lived with his parents while John Katan, Jack Laskin and Jack Tunney held stags and fundraising events to help his family as Scott remained paralyzed for six months. Worried that he might suffer another more serious injury, his parents had tried to encourage him to retire and his mother suggesting

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