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NWA POWER TV REPORT
DECEMBER 17, 2019
ATLANTA, GA AT GPB STUDIOS
REPORT BY MICHAEL TAYLOR, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Joe Galli, Stu Bennett
– The show opened with post-NWA Heavyweight title match highlights. Nick Aldis was being interviewed by Dave Marquez after his win before he was interrupted by the debut of Marty Scurll. With the arena darkened, Scurll walked through the audience and confronted Aldis. The highlights ended and the Power intro video began. In the arena, the camera panned the audience before landing on the announce team. Joe Galli introduced Stu Bennett who said it was an honor to be a part of the show. They ran down the card for the evening and threw to Dave Marquez.
-In the interview booth, Marquez introduced the NWA National Heavyweight champion, Aron Stevens. Stevens walked out with Question Mark. Stevens said he was a very dangerous man and that he was the first American to earn a third-degree blackbelt in Mongrovian karate. Question Mark played to the crowd and they started a “Question Mark!” chant. Stevens called the crowd “marks” and then ran down a shortlist of former National Heavyweight champions. He said he was on a different level from those wrestlers and said he was also a third-degree National Heavyweight champion. He revealed three stripes on the strap of the National Heavyweight title and said he would henceforth be known as “Shooter” Stevens. Marquez asked who Stevens had his eyes on and Stevens said he and Question Marks had their eyes on other NWA belts. Colt Cabana entered to a “Colt Cabana!” chant from the crowd. Cabana said Stevens only held the title because Question Mark interfered in the triple threat match. Stevens said suggested Cabana get a hobby and offered Mongrovian Karate lessons with Question Mark at a low price. They walked to the back where Thunder Rosa was shown. Rosa walked to the ring and asked the crowd to rise to their feet. Melina walked out wearing a Santa hat and they both entered the ring. Ashley Vox attacked Rosa and they fought at ringside. ODB and Allysin Kay ran out and saved Vox.
(Taylor’s Analysis: Why did these two very different segments need to run together like this? This felt like an attempt to make the show feel spontaneous, but instead, came off as clumsy and confusing. If Stevens would dial everything back by about 25%, he’d be a great mid-card, heel champion. Cabana continues to show his serious side in the NWA which is so much better than his comedy.)
-A replay was shown of Ken Anderson attacking Eli Drake after their match at Into the Fire.
-A commercial for Power tapings aired.
-Backstage Melina and Rosa confronted Marti Belle for not helping them during the confrontation with ODB and Allysin Kay.
(Taylor’s Analysis: This direction feels off. If anything, Thunder Rosa needs to be the one who breaks free from this trio.)
-Galli announced that a tournament for the NWA Television title would be taking place and would culminate at the next NWA pay-per-view. Bennett said each match would have a time limit of six minutes and five seconds. He said if no one won within that time limit both competitors would be eliminated from the tournament. He threw to the first match of the evening with the wrestlers already inside the ring.
(1) SAL RINARUO vs. CW ANDERSON vs. ZICKY DICE
-Formal ring introductions took place and the bell rang. Galli said the winner of the match would enter the Television title tournament brackets. The pace started quickly until each man hit a triple clothesline on each other. Bennet called the wrestlers and “interesting cast of characters”. Rinauro hit a flurry of offense on both men until Anderson hit a spine buster. Dice threw Anderson to the outside and hit the snake, rattle, and roll neck breaker on Rinauro for the win. After the match, Marquez interviewed Dice. Dice yelled his name and the crowd booed. He said he didn’t need luck and that he was the future Television champion. The Dawsons walked out and sent Dice to the back. Zane said they were there to expose the truth and that James Storm was correct about there being a conspiracy in the NWA. Dave said they tried to help The Wild Cards retain their tag titles and received nothing in return. The Wild Cards came out with chairs and chased The Dawsons to the back.
WINNER: Zicky Dice via pinfall
(Taylor’s Analysis: Another clumsy attempt at weaving storylines together. Hopefully, this does not become a trend.)
-A replay of the post-Into the Fire interview with Mary Scurll aired. Scurll said he would do whatever he wanted and would wrestle anywhere he wanted. He said he and Nick Aldis went back several years. He said he knew he could beat Nick Aldis and that it was shame had yet to become a world champion. Scurll demanded a shot at Aldis and said he would wrestle him anytime and anyplace.
-A commercial for Highspots.com aired.
-Back in the arena, Eddie Kingston was shown at the announce booth. Bennett asked about Homicide’s injury at Into the Fire. Kingston declined to answer, and Galli threw to ring. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express made their entrance with their opponents already in the ring.
(2) THE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL EXPRESS vs. ZACH MOSELY & SEAN SIMS – Non-title match
-The bell rang, and all four men quickly entered the ring and brawled. On commentary, Kingston noted the “Road Warrior” pop for the Rock ‘n’ Roll express. Morton and Gibson each rolled up Sims and Mosely for the win.
WINNERS: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express via pinfall
(Taylor’s Analysis: If this is all the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express can do every week, it’s more evidence that they should not be tag champions.)
-After the match, Galli interviewed The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. Morton said he and Gibson built Atlanta with tag team wrestling. Galli asked about Nick Aldis. Morton said Aldis proved to himself and the fans that he deserves to be the NWA Heavyweight champion. He said he was not there to disrespect anyone, but Aldis had a long way to go if he wanted to be like Ric Flair or Harley Race. They walked to the back. The Dawsons returned to the interview booth. They said they weren’t leaving the building until they exposed the truth. The Wild Cards came back out and both teams brawled.
-A replay of Stu Bennett announcing the return of the NWA Television title aired.
-The show returned with The Wild Cards and The Dawson in the ring.
(3) THE WILD CARDS vs. THE DAWSONS
-The bell rang, and The Wilds Cards tried to double team Zane Dawson. Latimer stomped on Zane’s hand on the ring steps. Back in the ring, The Wild Cards kept control with frequent tags. Dave Dawson entered the ring and tried to help Zane. Dave was knocked to the outside and The Wild Cards hit tandem offense on Zane for the win.
WINNERS: The Wild Cards via pinfall
-After the match, The Wild Cards continued to attack Zane as the crowd booed loudly. They entered the interview booth. Latimer said The Dawsons were liars and then also called Santa Clause a “goddamn liar”. Issacs confirmed Santa was a liar and the crowd started a “Santa” chant. Jocephus entered the arena dressed as Santa and threw NWA shirts to the audience.
(Taylor’s Analysis: I’m not sure what I watched here. Was this a face turn for The Dawsons? Why on earth did The Wild Cards get interrupted by Jocephus dressed as Santa Claus? The list of questionable decisions is only growing throughout the night.)
-James Storm was shown being interviewed after his title match loss to Nick Aldis. Storm said justice would come in time. He said he would work his way back to title contention and that he would “beat the shit” out of Aldis in due time.
-A commercial for Flag Under 14 aired.
-The show returned with Zicky Dice back in the interview booth with Dave Marquez. Marquez introduced each member of the Television title tournament and they all made their way to ringside including Dice. He also introduced Ricky Starks, Caleb Conway, Colt Cabana, Trevor Murdoch, Tom Latimer, Question Mark, Eddie Kingston, Tim Storm, The Dawsons, and finally, Nick Aldis. The contenders looked on ins shock as Aldis walked around ringside. Marquez then introduced former NWA Television champion Nakita Koloff and the crowd cheered. Koloff said it was great to be back in the NWA and that he was excited to see who the new Television champion would be. Koloff began drawing names from a glass bowl two at a time as Marquez said each set would face each other in the first week of the tournament. The matches announced were Rick Starks vs. Eddie Kingston, and Colt Cabana vs. Question Mark.
-Nick Aldis entered the interview booth with Ricky Starks. Aldis said the world was wondering why he would want to enter the Television tournament. Aldis said he ran through the entire roster as the crowd booed. Aldis said he wanted to be the first man to hold both titles. Aldis turned his attention to Starks and said he was a high caliber athlete. He said Starks might make it to the finals, but he would lose to him. Marquez asked about Scurll confronting him at Into the Fire. Aldis declined to comment on Scurll and said he was tired of wrestlers trying to take advantage of his hard work. Marquez asked if Aldis heard what Ricky Morton said about him earlier in the night. Aldis said he had not heard the comments but would listen back later. Marquez brought up Kamille. Aldis said he needed more than an insurance policy and that he needs a real team behind him. He said that team would unfold over the next few weeks and that Kamille was no longer his insurance policy. He left the booth as the crowd booed.
-A commercial for Power tapings aired.
-The show returned with Stu Bennet interviewing Marty Scurll. Scurll said he wanted to stand out and keep the people guessing. He said people were constantly commenting on where he was going to end up in professional wrestling. Scurll said there was no title more important than the NWA Heavyweight title and his match with Nick Aldis sparked his passion for professional wrestling. Bennett said Scurll was being vague and Scurll agreed and said it was intentional. Scurll said nothing as more important to him than being a world champion and the interview ended.
(Taylor’s Analysis: Scurll rambled a bit too much here. This was not a good introduction to him on the show.)
-Back in the arena, Tim Storm was shown on commentary. Bennett asked Storm about Scurll. Storm said Scurll proved himself all over the world and he deserves a title shot against Aldis.
-Eli Drake entered the interview booth. He tried to speak but struggled because of the attack on his neck by Ken Anderson. Drake said it was unfair that he wasn’t included in the Television title tournament. He said he thought Anderson was behind him, but he was wrong. Drake said the match with Anderson tonight would be no disqualification and played to the crowd before entering the ring. Anderson made his entrance and the crowd booed.
(4) ELI DRAKE vs. KEN ANDERSON – No DQ match
-The brawl began while Marquez was making ring introductions. Drake hit a clothesline followed by a neck breaker. He knocked Anderson to the outside and they brawled up the stairs into the crowd. Drake jammed Anderson’s head into a chair and kicked it closed. They continued further up the stairs until they reached the top row of seats. They brawled behind the audience. Drake took a cell phone from a fan and took a selfie while he punished Anderson. He played to the crowd and Anderson took control. He slammed Drake’s head in a steel barricade. The crowd booed as both men returned to ringside. Anderson threw Drake into the ring steps and threw a steel chair into the ring. Anderson set the chair up and taunted Drake. From there, he attempted to mic drop Drake into the chair, but Drake countered. Drake picked up the chair but decided not to use it. Drake hit the gravy train for the win.
WINNER: Eli Drake via pinfall
(Taylor’s Analysis: This match took place far too soon after Into the Fire. Drake sold the injury well at first but completely shrugged it off during the match. He plays to the crowd far too much and often gets bested by the heels when he does it. Brawling around a small arena does not make for an exciting match. It comes off as boring and contrived. Not a good match.)
-After the match, Nick Aldis confronted Tim Storm on commentary. Off mike, Aldis was heard telling Storm to keep his name out of his mouth. Storm defended himself as Aldis berated him. They argued until Storm angrily entered the ring. Aldis entered the ring and they shoved each other. The Wild Cards entered the ring and attacked Storm. Aldis taunted the crowd as the beatdown continued. Kamille entered the ring and shoved Aldis into the corner. Kamille quickly turned and speared Tim Storm. Kamille then kissed Tom Latimer and all four celebrated in the ring. Referees tried to enter as Aldis continued to attack Storm. The credits began and the show ended.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Clumsy, confusing, and overbooked. This episode was a mess and the storylines will suffer because of it. All the events on tonight’s show could have unfolded over the next 6 weeks and culminated at the pay-per-view. Instead, everything was thrown at the audience at once. The Television title bracket was the best part of the show, and we can at least look forward to the tournament playing out over time. Watching this episode requires a pen and paper to keep track of everything, so have those handy if you want to try to make sense of the questionable booking throughout the night.
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