Newage Wrestling (NAW) is a former Online Wrestling federation which is now owned by World Turmoil Federation, on the Bebo Wrestling Network. NAW made its inception into Bebo Wrestling in October, 2011 under the management team of Blake Eradist and Jason Smith. NAW was originally New Age Wrestling, however was later changed to Newage Wrestling, still being referred to as NAW.
From January 2012 onwards, NAW started to rise among the ranks in wrestling feds. It started to become recognized due to the top quality results and graphics, and was soon seen as the second best federation on Bebo. However, numerous problems led to the company losing its head. Its fall from grace and the various factors leading up to it have been heavily documented within the industry.
History[]
Leadership and Booking[]
The company went through a tough time whilst the duo of Blake Eradist and Jason Smith were in charge. With only one show under their belt, the chairmen of NAW locked heads and caused a dispute over the results of Resurrection. Smith then proceeded to make a new NAW page and then the chaos ensued.
While Jason Smith has received much criticism for some of his actions including kicking Eradist out of management, Smith went on to make NAW the second best federation on Bebo. Smith combined an understanding of wrestling and a willingness to make changes that were needed in order to help NAW become more visible eyes of the media and other Online Wrestlers.
Smith was the Chairman of NAW for 15 weekly Resurrection shows and tallied up 2 Pay-Per-Views, until the merge with WTF.
The Underdog (January 2012 - February 2012)[]
Gaining recognition in January 2012, NAW introduced a weekly show called Resurrection, taking to the airways every Sunday Night broadcast from venues around the United States. In the very first match, Ricky Maine was pitted against Hayden Porter for the National Championship. Maine would go onto win the match, followed by Craig Knightly who won the Heavyweight Championship in an open battle royal later that night. The following week, Smith and Eradist introduced the Lightweight Championship, in which Joey Alderson defeated Chris Walker. Rivalries also started to build between individuals, including former tag team Dwayne Cray and Matt Young.
Goin' Solo (February 2012 - May 2012)[]
By this time, Smith had taken over NAW and was running the show solo. In what was the biggest task ahead of him, Smith booked The Asylum, NAW's first ever PPV event which saw Craig Knightly unsuccessfully defend his Heavyweight Championship against Joey Alderson thanks to Resurrection General Manager Neal Powers. In what some say brought the most attention to NAW, the feud between Alderson and Knightly was getting heated, in which culminated in another match, this time at reVolution. Alderson battled Knightly in a Singles Match which once again saw Neal Powers interfere and cost Knightly the match.
The Main Event scene was not only what brought recognistion to NAW, but also the development of stars below it. A King of the Ring tournament was announced for eight men, with the chance to not only become the NAW King of the Ring, but also receive a Heavyweight Championship shot at a later date. The finals came down to Ricky Maine and Chris Walker, putting on a stellar Ladder Match at The Asylum. Chris Walker walked away with the victory and the 2012 King of the Ring.
With the Main Event scene crowded, some smart starts vied for the chance to become a champion. On the February 19th edition of Resurrection, Craig Adams defeated Ricky Maine for the National Championship and immediately ensued in a feud with Overkill. After a match for the title on Resurrection, Robert Bling caused an interference and cost Overkill a match. Then the next week on Resurrection, Bling received a National Championship match, however Overkill cost Bling the match. Thus then leading to a match at reVolution between the three. Overkill would go on to hold the title for the remainder of NAW's solo existence.
Not only was the National Championship home to the midcards finest, as was the Lightweight Championship. After the first champion, Joey Alderson was forced to relinquish the title, a Battle Royal at The Asylum was setup featuring Trip Johnson, Renevant, Mikey Christ, Jason Beatbox, Andrew Economous, Daniel Davies and Daniel Williams. Johnson would go on to win the match and the title, however would go on to vacate the title after numerous defences. On the 13th episode of Resurrection, the Lightweight Champinoship would once again be up for grabs and a Battle Royal would determine the outcome. This time, Matt Young won the title before 7 other men. However, this would be short lived as one week later, Pierre Bernard defeated Young for the title to begn his first reign and would see the title through till the end of NAW's solo existence.
Acquisition by World Turmoil Federation[]
As April 2012 came to a close, there was inside talk of the future of Newage Wrestling. Although NAW was still popular, the stars were not showing and the overall activity was at a decline. A number of potential buyers for NAW were rumored to show interest in the company. Smith, however, was still in charge and was weighing up options.
Over weeks of talk, Jason Smith reached a deal with Justin Williams to see NAW merged with WTF in what was the biggest merge in some time. Williams acquired trademarks, video libraries and contracts that would all go directly to WTF. Once the merge was complete, a new WTF saw a roster boasting over 45 superstars and a panel of 8 champions.