Reclaiming the Glory
Reclaiming the Glory 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. The tournament included 16 international wrestlers fighting to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion. 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. "Round One" "Quarterfinals" Terry Funk Bracket. "Round One" "Quarterfinals" Jack Brisco Bracket. "First Round" "Quarterfinals" Harley Race Bracket. "Round One" "Quarterfinals" The Final Four. 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. 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.