Dylan Sizemore Weighs in on Christmas Night's NWA World Junior Title Match!

As I sit here overlooking the card for NWA Smoky Mountain’s return to Rogersville, TN’s National Guard Armory (108 Frontage Rd.) on Christmas Night, one match stands out… Obviously, that match is the NWA World Junior Heavyweight title match between the challenger, Johnny Knieval and the champion, Chase Owens.

One would be dilluted to think that there are two other wrestlers featured in this area fitting the bill of a Dream Match... I’ll say this: in the world we live in today, people will over-exagerate any and everything they possibly can to generate paying customers. The terms “grudge match of the year”, “biggest event of the year”, and others are used on a regular basis to draw interest. This is not one of those times. Johnny Knieval vs. Chase Owens one-on-one is truly a dream match for a fan of wrestling in the mountain empire, or a fan of either man.

The accolades of Chase Owens are vastly recorded from competing for Chikara, Ring Of Honor, WWE, and TNA to becoming the Mountain Empire’s first World Champion a few months ago in Kingsport, TN. I could recount litterally 100's of matches where Chase has proved why he is “The Real Deal”… But you already know that. You also know that while his resume’ isn’t touted with the “big shows” and matches against top names in the sport, Johnny Knieval possesses something that very few men possess.

I have personally witnessed nearly every match in Johnny’s career, whether it be in our home area, or on the road. I would be hard pressed to say if there have been more than a rare handfull of nights where the honor of having the Match Of The Night didn’t go to our formerly masked friend. In a world where size, strength, and who you know dominates the profession we have chosen, Johnny stands out with a natural charisma possessed by few men, that brings notice to his in-ring passion, as well as an ability to out-perform any challenge set before him. Don’t take it from me, take it from the fans who spend their hard-earned money to blow the roof off of the venues when Knieval’s music hits the speakers.

The question has been asked of me by quite a few people over the past few years, and now more so than ever since Mr. Moorehouse’s announcement of the upcoming Christmas night dream match who I thought would win in a match between the two men. I have always said one man’s name, and I hold to my statement… Johnny Knieval.

Don’t mistake me, I’m by no means saying that Chase is anything less than a stellar athelete, on the roll of a lifetime. Chase is destined for greatness in this sport and that’s an evident statement. However, I hold firm to my belief that on Christmas night, Johnny Knieval will do what he has done so many times and overturn his detractors and stand victorious.

In what many would call “The house that Johnny built”, the Rogersville Armory; a venue that has not only seen Johnny grow as a competitor from his days as a masked rookie into the final PWF Heavyweight Champion, he has grown as a man. He has developed a drive that is insurmountable to most, and an unshakeable resolve that he uses to dig down to a deeper place and pull out victories when things look there bleakest.

Chase Owens is defending the title he spent his entire career (and life) building to, and that’s, pardon the pun, a big deal. I, however, see Johnny entering this match with the “nothing to lose and everything to gain” mindset. Johnny’s NWA Television Title is not on the line, therefore he literally has nothing to lose in this match-up. Nothing to hold him back in any way from taking every risk and giving it his all, and then some.

Whether you’re on the side of the fence of the Champion or the Challenger, you know this match will be a definite Match Of The Year caliber match. Sure, there are other events taking place on Tuesday night, but there is only one event featuring the elite stars of the area. NWA Smoky Mountain presents Christmas Chaos 2012 on Christmas night in Rogersville, TN.

On a side note... When you choose where to spend your hard earned money on Christmas Night Wrestling, remember this: Just because something was the first or the oldest, doesn’t mean that the product is worth anything... The first mobile phones were actually phones in cars. I'm sure they were good at the time, but they were fat and slow... Now the phone business has evolved and the products have gotten faster, smarter and better. Now we have Iphones, Droids and other smartphones.

Which would you rather have: a big, fat, oversized car phone or a smartphone?

NWA Smoky Mountain - Faster. Smarter... Just Better.

- Dylan Sizemore