Las Vegas businessman James "Buffalo Jim" Barrier. The NWC held its debut show on October 8, 1994, at the Aladdin Theater on the Vegas Strip. It was headlined by Tito Santana and Terry Funk. The semi-main event between Bobby Bradley and Sabu was especially well-received by the audience. Despite having never wrestled in the area, Sabu "got the biggest face pop of anyone on the show stemming from local TV commercials showing his crazy spots". The undercard also featured a match between Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and Nailz in one of their earliest appearances on the independent circuit after their release from the World Wrestling Federation. The NWC became a stopover for a number of ex-WWF stars in the mid-1990s. The success of this first show encouraged Martin to move the NWC to the Silver Nugget Pavilion which would remain the promotion's home arena for most of its original run. Silver Nugget Casino and television syndication The NWC's first-ever show at the Silver Nugget Casino was held on October 29, 1994. While the show only drew 550 fans, the Desert Death match between Sabu and Cactus Jack was rated 4 stars by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. During the match, the two men fought inside the casino itself and at one point Cactus Jack piledrove Sabu onto a blackjack table. The Cactus Jack-Sabu feud quickly became the promotion's most popular storyline. The first NWC Heavyweight Champion, Tito Santana, won the championship in a tournament held at the Silver Nugget Casino on November 19, 1994. In what Dave Meltzer called "one of the biggest indie houses in a long time", the company's Silver Nugget show on January 13, 1995, sold out the venue for the first time with 1,500 fans in attendance. The main event was a rematch between Cactus Jack and Sabu in a "Bring Your Own Weapons" Steel Cage match. The "weapons" present in the cage included two tables, a telephone, a pair of garbage cans, a metal tray and a noose. The bout ended with both men climbing out of the cage at the same time but Sabu hit the floor first by falling through the timekeeper's table. The ultra-violent match received another 4 star rating from the Wrestling Observer, however, it reportedly alienated some of the audience who had come to see midget wrestling and a rare appearance by Junkyard Dog. JYD, who was in the process of