Reclaiming the Glory was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

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 Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promo ...

. The tournament included 16 international wrestlers fighting to become the new

NWA World Heavyweight Champion The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is i ...

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 The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

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 New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top independ ...

and IWA Puerto Rico.

Lou Thesz Bracket

''Round One'' *(June 9) Fred Sampson defeated Glamor Boy Shane in Mesa, Arizona *(June 2) Brent Albright defeated Osamu Nishimura in

Salyersville, Kentucky Salyersville () is a home rule-class city on the Licking River in Magoffin County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. According to the 2010 census, the population was 1,883. History Early history After an attempt a ...

''Quarterfinals'' *(June 30) Brent Albright defeated Fred Sampson in Chula Vista, California, to win the

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...

Bracket.

Terry Funk Bracket

''Round One'' *(June 16) Claudio Castagnoli defeated Pepper Parks in Danvers, Massachusetts *(June 30) Sicodelico, Jr. defeated Roughneck Ryan in Lebanon, Tennessee ''Quarterfinals'' *(July 21) Claudio Castagnoli defeated Sicodelico, Jr. in

Wallingford, Connecticut Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven and Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The population was 44,396 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in En ...

, to win the

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – ...

Bracket.

Jack Brisco Bracket

''First Round'' *(June 16) Bryan Danielson defeated Nelson Creed in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

*(June 30) Fergal Devitt defeated Mikey Nicholls in Quincy, Massachusetts ''Quarterfinals'' *(July 21) Bryan Danielson defeated Fergal Devitt in

North Tonawanda, New York North Tonawanda is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 31,568 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is named after Tonawanda Creek, its south b ...

, to win the

Jack Brisco Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur and professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division I national championship. He tu ...

Bracket

Harley Race Bracket

''Round One'' *(June 2) Chad Parham defeated Damian Wayne in

Cornelia, Georgia Cornelia is a city in Habersham County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,160 at the 2010 census, up from 3,674 at the 2000 census. It is home to one of the world's largest apple sculptures, which is displayed on top of an obelisk-shap ...

*(June 2) Adam Pearce defeated Aaron Aguilera in

Lodi, New Jersey Lodi (; ) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 24,136,Covina, California Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles, in the San Gabriel Valley. The population was 51,268 according to the 2020 census, up from 47,796 at the 201 ...

, to win the Harley Race Bracket.

The Final Four

1. ''Adam Pearce took the place of Bryan Danielson (see below)'' ''Semi-Finals'' *(August 18) Bryan Danielson defeated Adam Pearce in North Vancouver, British Columbia,

*(August 12) Brent Albright defeated Claudio Castagnoli in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

''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 (born October 15, 1978) is a Japanese former professional wrestler. Morishima is best known for his work with Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former three-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has also performed for Ring of Honor (ROH) in the Un ...

. 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

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 New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. 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 Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club stable. Castagnoli also performs for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Ho ...

became Cesaro,

Fred Sampson Frederick Douglas Rosser III (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current Strong Openweight Champion in his first reign. He is best known for his ...

as Darren Young,

Fergal Devitt Fergal or Feargal are Irish, male given names. They are anglicized forms of the name Fearghal.Mairéad Byrne, Irish Baby Names – 25 Apr 2005 The arts * Fergal Keane, OBE (born 1961), Irish writer and broadcaster *Feargal Sharkey (born 1958), f ...

as Finn Balor, and Bryan Danielson as Daniel Bryan. Adam Pearce was also signed as a trainer.

References

External links

National Wrestling Alliance’s official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reclaiming The Glory 2007 in professional wrestling National Wrestling Alliance shows Professional wrestling tournaments