 |
| Returning to our old roots Year two in the NAWF starts off with the reformation of arguably the greatest tag team in NAWF history. Chen has returned, and Anxiety Rising becomes whole once again. Their first targets? The Workrate Kings. Anxiety Rising knows they need this win if they want to get back to their dominant ways. Workrate Kings knows they need this win if they want to get INTO their dominant ways. Well, during the match, when Masset was about to hit his Massetology, Ravage comes down and Gores Masset, ending up giving Anxiety Rising the loss. But the next week, dubbed "Josh Payne's night of wacky entertainment" featured Chen against Ravage in a Barroom Appreciation match. But the real kicker, was the main event, featuring Masset against "The Legend" Eric Flatley in a Stepladder match for the Intercontinental championship. In the last match of Masset's rookie year, Masset has a chance to add "Intercontinental champion" to the list of achievements. However, Eric Flatley becomes a whiny bastard and walks out, leaving the belt vacated. So Masset's opponent changed to "The Original Sinner" Roger Clark. But that didn't stop Masset from winning, which he did. To do so, he brought in Snow and lifted him onto Masset's shoulders while climbing the ladder, letting Snow retrieve the raised belt. Morris: What an incredible beating both men took, and props to Masset for actually USING the midget. Wheeler: Hell, he's been beaten up, crucified, and tarred and feathered for AR's amusement...he's quite the useful little guy indeed. Morris: And so "Fear The Midget" really is a viable quote. So Masset's rookie year also includes an Intercontinental title reign. So we're two weeks away from the NAWF Bowl 2004, and Anxiety Rising has one more match before that. And that's a tag team match against The Elite, consisting of Brett Ferguson and Pete Thomas. So that match gets underway, and it's a short match, only taking about eleven minutes. And wouldn't you know it? The interference fairy visits again, as Roger Clark comes down for a little IC title payback, letting AR lose their second match in a row. When was their last credible loss? April 2003? NAWF Bowl 2004 AR looks past that bad week, as they look forward to the biggest PPV of the year. Chen and Masset are among the twenty that will battle it out for a shot at February's "Crossroads" PPV. Chen has a bad week, and as a result, doesn't have a super performance. Masset on the other hand, had a great week. In an unpresidented new record for most speaking time in one week, Masset goes in the Bowl as a strong link. Out of the twenty in the Bowl, only five showed true desire to win the match. Masset, Roger Clark, the returning Neo Zodiack, Rumble, and Kronos are all that tried. Unlike last years Bowl where Chen and Masset never even saw eachother in the ring at the same time, AR forms up and takes out several people. But Chen is eliminated fifth to last, leaving only five in the ring, who happened to be the five that tried. Masset eventually disposes of Clark, then he and Rumble get a double dropkick to Zodiack and Kronos, eliminating them. So it was down to Masset and Rumble. Rumble showed intense resistance, as no move would put him out. And as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. Masset, knowing something has to be done, pulls the old Affirmation out of retirement. And after the devestation that is the Affirmation is successfully hit, Masset simply tosses out the scraps. And ladies and gentlemen, history has been made. Masset wins, becoming the first man to win 2 gimmick PPVs Morris: It was certainly a coming out party for some of the newer talent, but I bow to you Andy, because Masset is YOUR 2004 NAWF Bowl Champion. Wheeler: He won KOTR, and should've won All Mixed Up, and you can't bet against Anxiety Rising. Masset, exhausted, goes straight into an Intercontinental title defense against the runner-up, Rumble. In what Masset thought would be an easy match throughout the week, having talked almost three times MORE than Rumble, gets on the receiving end of the biggest screwjob, well, in February. These screwjobs are a biweekly occurance. "...In typical Masset match fashion there were some outside influences on this match," spoke Kronos, commenting on how common it is for Masset to lose unfairly. So what happened, exactly? Well, let's just say there were more run-ins than wrestlers participating in the actual match. Roger Clark, Ravage, and both Workrate King members join the fight, abruptly ending the match. And I must say, it's getting rather ridiculous. And so, Masset loses his Intercontinental title. Masset's last clean tag team loss: April 27th, 2003. Masset's last clean singles loss: September 21st, 2003. For the first time in over a year, Masset and Chen FINALLY get a week off. So the week they return, it's Anxiety Rising and Rumble teaming up against the Elite and Roger Clark. Almost everybody no-shows that week. And sticking to tradition, Anxiety Rising is laid out before the match, thus lose unfairly. But this week wasn't important in the least. Because the very next week... Crossroads Masset returns to the Fargo Dome for the first time since his wrestling career began. And he's going there for a big reason. He's headlining the pay-per-view in his Bowl-earned world title match against the world champion, Richard Braddock. Masset has the chance to become a two-time world champion right in his hometown. And did that happen? Well, sort of. In what was supposed to be the night world title gold returns to Anxiety Rising, along with the formal disbanning of Anxiety Rising, what actually happened was much different. Anxiety Rising won in a 40-second match, followed by a beat-down. What a way to go. And Richard Braddock didn't even defend his title. As he became the official interim president, he simply handed over the title. He cancelled a pay-per-view headlining main event hometown world championship match. Masset was beyond royally pissed. The next month flies quickly. Chen wins a world title condendership match while Masset beats Ravage. So in the match everybody was looking forward to, on March 7th, 2004. A date that will be remembered for more reasons than one. Masset fights Chen for the second time in the NAWF, once again for the World title. But last time, the title was on Chen's waist. This time, it's over Masset's. But like last time, Masset is victorious. Chen has never cleanly beat Masset in a one-on-one match, and forever it shall remain. Masset goes through another world title defense the next week agains Gryphon, winning that as well. One week off and we find ourselves at the showdown in one of the greatest inter-fed rivalries across the plains. Sibling Rivalry; NAWF versus NEWF. Sibling Rivalry Masset knows this year's Sibling Rivalry will be a hard match to win, because it's against the NEWF's world champion, "The Hardcore Icon" Alex Marsley. Bitter hatred feuled even more. What's sweeter, is this PPV main event is ruled to be a Hell in a Cell match-up. It's a repeat of last year; the NAWF and NEWF teams fight, until it's tied 3-3 in the "best of seven" contest, all riding on the main event. The stakes couldn't be higher. The NEWF needed this win to avenge last year's loss. The NAWF needed this win to show the boastful NEWF who's better. Alex needed to show his superiority over Masset. Masset needed to show that he's a fighting and worthy champion. The tension was high. It was the war to end all wars. Everyone was on their feet as soon as "Another Brick in the Wall" started blaring over the speakers. The slow, mellow music keeps the tension at a rise. Masset is so focused and ready, he rips the cell door clean off to enter. Then 20 minion-esque people come out in robes and candles to gothic hums. It's an eerie mood, when "Understanding" plays and out walks Alex Marsley. The NEWF crowd is in an uproar as he makes his way into the ring. People already know they're in store for a historic match. They stare eachother down. as they hand the ref their respective world titles. The crowd is through the roof as they stand next to eachother. The tension is broke as Masset strikes the first blow, and they soon reach a stalemate in punches. Marsley gets the upperhand, but it's a back and forth match the whole time. Masset hits moves such as a top rope powerbomb, but Alex would just repay it with a gorilla press into spinning body slam. Masset DDT's Marsley's head onto a steel chair, and Marsley would just baseball slide a ladder into Masset's head. But things start to turn in Masset's favor as he counters the Terminal Velocity into a spinebuster onto the ladder, followed immediately by the dreaded Massetology. This only gets a two-count, and Masset ends up getting dropkicked off the apron through the cell wall later in the match. Then, the most unsmart thing you can do in a Hell in a Cell match happens. The two climb to the top of the cell. They fight up there for awhile as the cell shakes with each move. Finally, Masset goes to finish off the match with a top-of-the-cell Massetology. The NAWF crowd wants it, but Alex counters it into the Terminal Velocity (basically a Pedigree) on top of the cell. Luckily, it doesn't break. But Alex continues his beating on Masset with a chokeslam that DOES break the roof, and Masset plummets to the bottom. And if there weren't enough "HOLY SHIT" inducing spots in this match, Alex puts the final nail in the coffin as he does his One Shot Deal (shooting star press) through the roof hole onto Masset, getting him the 1-2-3. Hoytt: HOLY SHIT!! HE NAILS THE ONE SHOT DEAL OFF THE TOP OF THE CAGE!!! That was like a 15 foot fall onto Masset!!! But Marsley did it!!! Koujo: Thats for damn sure he did. Marsley was a tag champ last year. He returned from a hiatus to dominate the world division and now, to dominate the best of the NAWF. That was the deciding factor and I am pleased to say that the NEWF wins this year 4-3 ladies and gents. The Aftermath So NAWF lost Sibling Rivalry. People started pointing fingers at Masset, saying he lost it for the NAWF. One man in particular was Gryphon. He was angry that he should've won his world title shot from a few weeks ago, saying he would've won if it wasn't for interference. Well, that week they teamed up to take on the IC champ and TV champ, being Roger Clark and Mike Shiekman, respectively. They win that, then the next week, Gryphon gets his world title rematch. With Gryphon complaining for weeks about how he should've won the title a few weeks back, it felt good as Masset cleanly defeated Gryphon in a short, yet decent match. And because of that, the Spring Fever main event is signed; Neo Zodiack against Masset for the World title. Spring Fever This was one of the few matches where the World Heavyweight Champion is the UNDERDOG against a first-time contender to the World Title. But Zodiack has proven himself worthy of the shot. He single-handedly beat the NEWF tag team champions in a handicap match at Sibling Rivalry, which is no easy feat. So everybody was saying things such as, "I feel sorry to whoever the champ is going into Spring Fever, going against ZODIACK!" Not one person thought Masset could pull it off, and they had plenty of reason to believe so. Masset's world title reign has been anything but spectacular. Beating jobbers, losing in unimportant matches, why, it's almost like Marty Howe's reign. But at any rate, the blockbuster PPV winds down to its main event. "I've held the tag titles, I've held the TV Title. And tonight, for the first time, I get to taste the big time. Surely, Quinn, it won't be the last. Both Masset and I are accomplished wrestlers, and he's a 2 time champ; but no matter what, Neo Z is walking out with the gold," spoke Neo Zodiack prior to his match. "You see, Neo Zodiack is a great wrestler, and he beat 2 men by himself at Sibling Rivalry. But unlike that has been Herod and that never was Halo, I'm a 2 time NAWF champ, a near Grand Slammer, and the longest reigning champion in NAWF history. Some things you just can't change, and for everything else, there's MASSET." The match started off slow, getting reverses and counters in there. This was a grueling 27 minute match. As he did at the Bowl, Masset starts needing to take drastic measures to put Zodiack away. So he climbs to the top, and as we've seen before, jumps, nailing the Affirmation. But this was a first, as Zodiack actually kicked out of the Affirmation. Masset couldn't believe it. He has occassionally not successfully connected with it, but each time he has, he's gotten the pinfall afterward. But the roles are later reversed as Zodiack hits his 13th Sign, only to have Masset kick out of that, as well. But shortly after the 13th Sign, Masset hits something that has put away challengers left and right, even Snow White. He hits Massetology, and it's all over. Masset retains. But that's not the last of Neo Zodiack. Two weeks later, they battle it out in a World Title rematch at Destruction. They battle for over twenty minutes when Masset hits the Massetology. But the return of The Reaper stops the pinfall from occuring and the match is ended in a no contest. So once again, Masset escapes loss from Neo Zodiack. But Neo Zodiack is not done. Continuing once again on his attempt to capture the coveted World Title held by Masset, Zodiack and Masset fight, along with Roger Clark and Ryan O'Rourke in a fatal four-way match at Purgatory for the title. Clark and O'Rourke gave a lackluster performance, but Zodiack brought his game. Unfortunately, it was just not enough as Masset triumphs over Neo Zodiack in a world title match for the third time in less than a month. Finally, after six weeks with only one of them not including Masset and Neo Zodiack in the same match, Masset can finally focus on bigger things. Bigger, more important things. Like a new record. On the week of June 13th, 2004 Masset ties the longest reign Masset witnessed firsthand. It was Thriller's reign exactly one year ago. After fifteen long weeks, Masset finally ties the fourth longest world title reign in NAWF history. And surpasses it. Masset is now in the top three reigns with only roughly two weeks from the all-time record of seventeen weeks, set several years ago by Sid King. The record-breaking match occurs at one of the biggest Pay-Per-Views of the year...King of the Ring. Becoming King King of the Ring 2003 saw the Anxiety Rising sweep as Masset won the tournament and Chen retained the World title. King of the Ring 2004 was once again a monumental event in the annals of the NAWF thanks to Masset. The tournament didn't feature Masset in it as it did last year, as Masset is the World Champion. But it did feature some top-notch talent. Neo Zodiack made his attempt to gain a fourth world title shot, while many, such as Kronos, Punisher, Venom, and Mike Shiekman, were looking for their first shot against Masset. It all came down to two men; Venom and Kronos. It was a great match, and in the end, Venom became the second man to win two of the "Big 3" Pay-Per-Views. The first, of course, being Masset. About one month prior to King of the Ring, Masset had to choose which path to take. He could either forfeit his world title in order to be entered into the tournament and try to become the first man to win King of the Ring back-to-back, or he could keep the title and go for the reign length record. Masset chose the latter, and kept retaining until his Pay-Per-View Main Event record-breaking world title match. It was against Gryphon, the man Masset had already beaten twice for the world title before. It proved to be deja vu as the Neo Zodiack/Masset history repeated itself. Masset beat Gryphon for the third time and now held the record for the longest world title reign ever. He will face the King of the Ring winner, Venom, on the August 1st, 2004 pay-per-view, Mayhem. Masset has been in the NAWF for nearly two years and has won many titles, yet he still has never lost any title any time between February and August. He also holds two reign records; the world title and tag title, showing complete dominance in both singles and tag wrestling. But can there be more dominance? Oh yeah. The week after King of the Ring, Masset and Venom are teamed up against Death and Destruction, the tag team champions, who have a flawless tag record. It's for the titles, and Masset is eager to become a double champion again. It's only a short 14-minute match, but in the end, Masset cleanly nails Massetology onto Kronos, and before Punisher could react, he gets the 1-2-3 for the team. Masset acquires his first tag reign outside of Anxiety Rising, and it's with his soon-to-be bitter enemy come Mayhem, no less. That leads into Mayhem 2004, where at the start of the show, Death and Destruction got their rematch. Masset was in the ring almost the entire match and took one hell of a beating, but in the end, it was Venom who was finished off by Punisher and pinned. Masset lost the tag team championship. That led into the main event. Many people have called this a great Match of the Year candidate. Venom has won almost the same things as Masset, and the two are hands down the top two wrestlers in the NAWF. The match swayed either direction, but thirty minutes into the match, Masset hits the infamous Massetology and the match is won. Venom fell to Masset. As if holding the world title record wasn't enough, Masset, carrying the belt to the August 15th Destruction, put him again over the Genocide reign and thus Masset is owner to the top two reigns of all titles in the history of the NAWF. Anxiety Rising: Intensity In an effort to return to his older roots, Masset tries reviving Anxiety Rising. But with Chen still in retirement, Masset goes on a hunt to find the next Anxiety Rising star! Many hours and splitting headaches later, he finds Rederick, a man with a lot of heart and plenty of skill to boot, having a near-flawless record thusfar. He joins Anxiety Rising and the two set out to make their mark in the tag team scene as well. The two do a massive overhaul of all Anxiety Rising stood for, changing the name to Anxiety Rising: Intensity. In the first two weeks, Anxiety Risng beats the Tag team champions in a non-title match and beat the number-one contenders. Second 200+ day reign In an almost random match-up, Masset fights Mike Shiekman to headline the August PPV, Fat Sunday. Shiekman surprises everybody and takes Masset to the limits, but once again, falls short of dethroning the champion. As a result, Masset steamrolls into September with the World Title still in tact, leading him to his second 200-day title reign. The closest anybody else has ever gotten is 160 days by Genocide, then 128 days with Sid King's world title, then 117 days. Needless to say, reaching 200 days twice is rather impressive. Along with that, Masset becomes the first man to reach two thirty-week reigns, as he held the title from February's Crossroads all the way to September's Full Speed Ahead. But at Full Speed Ahead, Masset drops the belt to Roger Clark so he can make his second attempt...at All Mixed Up. All Mixed Up The date fell on October 24th, 2004. Roger Clark made it more interesting by putting a $250,000 bounty over Masset's head, saying that whoever eliminates Masset can claim the cash prize as well as a World title shot, whether they win the battle royal or not. Masset countered that with a $600,000 bounty over Clark's head for whoever strips him of the belt. President Lou DePietro a few weeks earlier gave added incentive for the winning of All Mixed Up. The winner will not only be All Mixed Up champion, but Television champion as well. This fueled Masset even more, as it was the only belt standing between him and the Grand Slam. The competition was thick. The returning Rob Withrow increased the challenge. In the end, five people reached their 13 promo limit, with a total of over 120. In the tag team match, Masset teamed with Jono to take on the returning La Muerte Roja and newcomer Jack Matrix. It was no contest as Masset and Jono took the win in only nine minutes. After, however, Masset suffered a beatdown at the hand sof Jono and La Muerte. When the battle royal began, many people went after Masset for the prize, but Rederick always was there to stop them. Masset suffered two-on-one and three-on-one beatdowns, being nearly thrown over on several occasions. The final four came down to Masset, Mike Shiekman, Rederick, and Rob Withrow. Rederick eliminated Jono, who returned to pull him out of the ring, thereby eliminating him. Shiekman lifts Withrow onto the ropes for the Browless, but Masset bum rushes them, toppling Shiekman down and sending Withrow to the floor. Shiekman is left teetering, so Masset gives one more shove to send Shiekman out. Masset wins the TV Title and the 2004 All Mixed Up tournament by winning the battle royal at 13:19. In the process, he becomes the 21st man to win the Grand Slam, and the first man to win all 3 Gimmick PPVs (NAWF Bowl, King of the Ring, All Mixed Up). Fucking a, indeed. Morris: Ladies and gentlemen, he was denied last year by Aremis Simeria...but this year, we've just watched the validation of perhaps the greatest set of career acomplishments in NAWF history. Wheeler: 2 World Title reigns, including the longest in NAWF history. [4] Tag Title reigns, also with the longest in history. An IC title reign. Last year's King of the Ring, this year's NAWF Bowl, and now a TV Title and All Mixed Up to go on top...Masset has won EVERYTHING you can in his NAWF career. Masset has accomplished it all. But he still has his earned World Title match at the November PPV, Pilgrimage to Paydirt, against Roger Clark. But it won't be just those two fighting. Masset and Lou got together to talk and came to a general consensus that Mike Shiekman and Rob Withrow had a very good performance at All Mixed Up and that shouldn't go un-rewarded. So they agreed to have the November PPV a Fatal-Fourway match. So what has Rederick been up to? About fifteen weeks into his young (actually old compared to the rest of the roster) career, he has only one blemish on his otherwise flawless singles record. At September's Full Speed Ahead, he fought Mike Shiekman for the Intercontinental Championship, cleanly defeating him as well as satisfying the belief that Shiekman sucks when compared to ARI. Rederick and Masset go into the November PPV as the number-one and number-two ranked wrestlers in the NAWF. Pilgrimage to Paydirt It's Thanksgiving week as Masset fights to regain his world championship. Rob Withrow probably died or something, because he talked in the beginning, but after a few days in, he was done. Shiekman thought it was his time to win, while Clark thought it was NOT his time to lose. Meanwhile, Masset started an AR reunion. Having brought back Bruce, he also decided to get the wisdom and accompanyment of Chen. Rederick was tagged along by Rachelle, and even Amy dropped in for the Thanksgiving feast. Masset got some last-minute training in to work off some of the Turkey Day pounds, and then was off to do his thing. Before the World Title match, the infamous Hell's Pit match took place, in which the Saints of Sin (Jono and LMR) were victorious. Then came Rederick's IC title defense against the challenger, Chris Blue. Red quickly finished him off to retain his title and keep on track to breaking the all-time record. Then, it was main event time. Rob Withrow was the first to be eliminated, and rather quickly at that. The other three stick with it for a very long time. It's high-spot galore, even having the Affirmation seeing the light of day once more. Actually, he misses as Clark moves out of the way. Shiekman and Clark slug it out, Clark getting whipped into the ropes. He ducks a closeline and hits a superkick. He signals for the Act of God, but Shiekman flips out of it, lands of his feet, and nails Browless to Clark. 1, 2, 3 and the champion is eliminated. That leaves Masset and Shiekman. It's a sluggish few seconds as they wearily fight while catching their breath. Masset almost wins with a sleeper, but Sheikman fights back. He gets a second wind and hits a few elbows, a backdrop suplex, finishing with Browless! Masset kicks out after two, and hits a sitout powerbomb. In the adrenaline rush, he hoists him up and nails Massetology. He gets the pin and the victory. Masset did it again, pinning Sheikman to win the match and regain the NAWF World Title. Official time is 1 hour, 7 minutes, 19 seconds, making this the longest continuous non-NAWF Bowl match in NAWF history (3 Steps to Gold went about 71 minutes at Spring Fever). Masset had to fight harder for this World Title more than any other. And on top of that, he extends his accomplishments on the most decorated career in NAWF history. His first defense came not a month later, a week before Season's Beatings, in a ladder match against Roger Clark. That ended in a controversial draw, but allowed Masset to keep his title. That led into... Season's Beatings 2004 Not unlike last year, Masset was the unofficial leader of his team for the 5-on-5 elimination match. Alongside him was Rederick, Beamish, Mike Shiekman, and Lou DiPietro. They fought Roger Clark, Jono, Acid Burn, LMR, and Jack Matrix. But unlike last year, Masset wasn't looking to win. He was looking out for Rederick, so that he may do the best he can and have Team Anxiety take the win two years in a row. Several were eliminated right away, including Masset, who was eliminated well before he was ready to be. It finally came down to Jono and Rederick, both familiar with the other. However, it was Jono that upset Rederick and claimed the title of Season's Beatings Sole Survivor. Rederick didn't finish the year as he would've liked, but before the year ended, Lou DiPietro inducted more to the Hall of Fame. Well, sort of. Richard Braddock was inducted as staff, and Masset, as he usually does, made history once more as he became the first man ever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame TWICE, once under the tag team division and once under the singles division. And Masset's career isn't even two years old. The Start of Year Three The year 2005 started pretty bad for Masset. It started with a Triple Threat match against Mike Shiekman and Roger Clark for the World Title. In an upset, Mike pins Clark to strip Masset of his world title. Meanwhile, Rederick stomped Acid Burn in an IC title match, having little competition. A post-match beatdown afterward set up Acid Burn versus Masset the next week, where Masset likewise spanked Acid across the ring for fifteen minutes. Feeling good, both men go to the next PPV...The third joint pay-per-view between the NAWF and NEWF. A Chance of a Lifetime Neither fed had a large enough roster to have their own Royal Rumble match, so combined, they had a 30-man Rumble. Masset had a poor showing, being in it for all of 11 minutes, before being eliminated by Clark. Jono took it the farthest, being in there for over an hour. However, it was John Mage who won the thing, becoming the NEWF's first person to win the Triple Crown, second in both feds, only a few months after Masset. Rederick wasn't in the Bowl. He finally had his chance at the World Heavyweight Championship, fighting Mike Shiekman. In the battle of IC Champion vs. World Champion, Red pulled out all the stops while maintaining a clean match. After about 40 minutes, the match was over and we had the third ever Anxiety Rising double champion. Koujo: You know, Rederick has the potential to be one of the best in history, because tonight proved that he can overcome adversity. Shiekman is gonna be stuck with that upset kid label now, and it's unfortunate, because he's a damn good wrestler. With Rederick as both the Intercontinental champion AND World champion, Lou vacates the IC title so Red can focus on his World title. So ARI's first target fresh off of Chance of a Lifetime is the Unholy Trinity, Jono and Clark. Masset and Rederick finally beat the Unholy Trinity fairly and in the mean time, the NAWF 2004 Awards are in! It was basically a clean sweep, with Rederick and Masset winning every category for which they were nominated in. Rederick was voted the 2004 Rookie of the Year, only one vote short of a full unanimous sweep. Masset, likewise, was one vote shy of a clean sweep but still claimed the 2004 Most Valuable Player award...along with the Rivalry of the Year, Storyline of the Year, Moment of the Year, and Match of the Year. February was a month of tag team action for Masset and Rederick, with minimal success. The month's PPV, Blaze of Glory, saw Rederick defend his world title against Jono in a Hardcore Anything Goes match. Just prior to that, Masset was in the finals of the IC tournament. It was a disappointing night, as Masset lost in the three-way against Acid Burn and Shiekman, and Jono narrowly won the match after much fighting. March was again a month of fighting as Anxiety Rising fought in a six-man tag, NEWF compatriots, then finally Clark and Blue for the tag team titles. It's been two and a half months since Masset has held a title -the longest dry spell by far in his NAWF career- and makes good on his opportunity to end that. In Anxiety Rising's first tag title shot since the fall of 2003, the tag team gold returns to the Anxiety Rising camp. The week after, both Masset and Rederick get an opportunity to go for double gold: Rederick for his second time. Masset, his third. Passion of the NAWF The March pay-per-view consisted of two matches. A random tag match and the main event featuring the tag team champions, the Intercontinental champion, and three others fighting for the world title, vacated after the champion, Jono, died. So yeah. It was the three "all-time legends," Masset, Nighthawk, and Slash, along with the NAWF greats, Rederick, Roger Clark, and Mike Shiekman. This was a six-man elimination chamber match in which all six participating members are former world champions. It was indeed an all-star match. That didn't phase Rederick or Masset, who made it to the final three. Rederick was unfairly eliminated by Nighthawk, leaving him and Masset. Masset then stomped him for a few minutes, finishing with the Massetology and Affirmation. Masset became a four-time world heavyweight champion and three-time double champion with the world and tag belts. The NAWF entered its final month of existence in April. The first big match was to decide the final NAWF Tag Team Champions that will live on in memory as the last ones to ever hold the belts. Anxiety Rising, the champions, defend for the last time against the Barroom Heroes. How fit it is, that the first team Anxiety Rising ever fought in the NAWF is also the last team they will ever face. The match is close, but the Barroom Heroes come up short. Masset and Rederick prevailed to become the last ever NAWF Tag Team Champions. Spring Fever The weeks close in. We're down to two more weeks in the NAWF. The final pay-per-view is the big one for the year. Spring Fever, the event Masset has goot success at, is where he'll fight to determine who is the last World Heavyweight champion. His opponent? Ryan O'Rourke. No matter how many times he beats Ryan, Lou always throws him back in for more. This week decides whether Masset finishes off his career as a double champion or just as a tag team champion. With much at stake, Masset refuses to give up. He's the favorite and it's obvious why. Masset wins the match and declares himself the last NAWF legend, ending on the highest note ever achieved. Masset retires as a double champion. The Final Match But Masset hasn't retired just yet. He has one more match left in his career. It's the match everybody has been begging for and the match Lou has been trying to book. Masset versus Rederick. Lou made it evident months ago that it will occur at some point, and finally, it does. It's one match away from being the final match the NAWF will ever see, being overshadowed by a six-man tag studded with NAWF past. This is no longer about winning. No longer about holding gold, retaining titles, or earning fame. All that is over. This is about the farewell to the place that has housed Masset for nearly one-thousand days. The place that Masset has impacted more than anyone ever in history. Won more. Done more. It is fitting that Masset gets to say goodbye to such a career with a match dedicated to his friend, his fans, and his life. He made it clear that this is not just the end of Masset's NAWF career, it's the end of Masset's wrestling career. But did that happen? No. The match was changed. It was no longer Masset vs. Rederick, but rather, Masset and Rederick vs. Slash and Redrum in a tag title defense. In what was supposed to be a glorious match to go out on, it now was a pathetic 44 second squash against the two worst opponents you could imagine. And so, Masset's career is over. |