SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
•OPENING MONTAGE – HIT: Scurll is here to cause a spot of bother and challenge for the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship, but due to Flip Gordon’s loss at Hard Times to Nick Aldis, the champ controls the when and where for that eventual tilt. Great recap and mood music.
•NICK ALDIS WITH SEAN MOONEY (!!!) – HIT, HIT, HIT, HIT, HIT!: Aldis is back and dressed to the nines, no more stupid tracksuits. Nick Aldis, after a weird season two vacillating between comic villain and smarmy heel champion, he’s firmly back at his heel champion best to start season three. He is now the marathon man because he runs the show and now that he’s disposed of “Flop Gordon”, he’s turned his focus to Marty Scurll and had a recorded sit-down with him that will close the show. Nick is back and on fire and we’re all the better for it. Although, I know he’s the National Treasure, but is it for the nation of England or the nation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? I have questions. He also has a new nickname to go with the Real World’s Champion and the National Treasure–The Dealer! But you’ll have to wait til show’s end to find out why. Anyway, go back and watch this because how the champ dressed down Flip Gordon and why he sent Marty Scurll out of the building at Hard Times is just Heel 101 but done perfectly.
•ROYCE ISAACS (W/ NOW MAY VALENTINE) vs. ANDRE GUHN – HIT: Sal Rinauro is on commentary with a broken arm and received a genuine pop from the crowd. GPB Studio audience has gone full Full Sail now, just putting over any two-bit bastard. Yuck. Anyway, there’s not much to go on long about this match but it was a rehabilitative effort for Isaacs. He got to show some really good power moves over an enhancement guy and most importantly, he got a win, something Wild Cards haven’t done since forming Strictly Business. Also, his two signature moves is a really lovely deadlift fisherman’s suplex called the Money Clip and his finisher is the full nelson-German suplex hybrid called Hush Money. We know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the Wild Cards, their gear matches in colours but not in motifs, and yet Royce’s moves have money names. Why?! Do they ever plan on explaining who they are and why they are? Anyway, look to a feud with Rinauro and Isaacs in the future or Isaacs getting heat by attacking Sal’s broken arm because they need to get their heat back and also Royce and Sal had words for each other after the match. In all, finally a sign of a good direction for Isaacs, his team, and his faction possibly.
•EDDIE KINGSTON/POPE VIGNETTE – HIT (?!): Eddie is shown cutting a promo about Pope sending him all the mixed messages about being a potential world champ, about not needing Homicide, about needing Homicide and being tag champs, and he’s doing this all in a t-shirt reading “I HOPE YOU SUFFER.” It cuts to Pope coming out and both the Dawsons beating Eddie up, bringing a smile to Pope’s face. One question, WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?! They air it as a vignette like they do with recaps to continue storylines but I don’t remember this at all. It’s a good package though, but damn, it left me confused. As a reminder, this is a canned show, so how NWA continues to let all kinds of things air erroneously or troublesomely is quite baffling.
•THUNDER ROSA W/ KYLE DAVIS – HIT: This was by far the best work Melina has done since debuting on Power. Rosa was to give a celebratory interview as the new NWA Women’s Champ but before she could muster words, Melina and Marti Belle came out and Melina stole the show. It seemed obvious that once Rosa won the title and Melina didn’t turn on her immediately, it would be one of those angles where Melina will be domineering and drive a wedge between her and Rosa on her own and as hack and cliche as it is, it worked. Melina told us that she’s a champion maker and knew she could take Rosa to the top and that when you cheer Rosa, you’re actually cheering Melina. The woman didn’t even win or fight for the title and yet she’s milking it. Super effective and short from Melina and it just fit her character and most importantly, it all made sense. Eventually Rosa did get some words in about being happy to win the belt and being the first Mexican-born woman to hold the title, but Melina eventually cut this interview short and Rosa went with it. One thing is clear, Rosa will be driven from the group and that’s good because only Tim Storm can rival her popularity as a babyface.
•RICKY STARKS & ZICKY DICE W/ MARQUEZ – HIT: The good news is babyface Ricky is over, but it’s a couple degrees down from Tim Storm, Thunder Rosa, and Eli Drake. He and Zicky Dice have really good chemistry on the mic together too, trading barbs and leaning into each other’s shtick, but to me, Zicky is better because he has more grip on his character. When he’s listing outlandish prices for his gimmick plastic glasses, gimmick plastic feather earing and gimmick fanny pack, it’s beyond brilliant. I could watch this Zicky Dice all day; he really nails the outdated wrestling villain and does it to where you think he believes he doesn’t know how out of place he is. Ricky handled his own though, reciting some of the history from the TV Title and National TV Title reigns, like Arn, Dusty, Ladd, and Austin Idool. He was effective in connecting past history to him establishing his own new history with the title and that’s the stuff you want to hear from a babyface. And then he tried so hard to ruin it.
It came time for the two to stop talking and start fighting and Ricky steps back, gestures “after you” to Zicky and accompanies it with “Ladies first!” So let’s start with the obvious. Being a woman is not a sign of weakness or inferiority. That’s trash language that needs to be eliminated from wrestling. Too often in wrestling and combat sports, attacking a man’s masculinity and calling them a woman is taken to be such an insult. That’s trash. Stop it. And not to mention, Ricky Starks began his promo by saying the people he fought at Hard Times were some of the toughest he’s ever fought and that included men and women. So you start with women are tough and then use women as an insult. This is again where I say people need diversity in their workplaces, and for wrestling, that means in creative positions because this shouldn’t be allowed. It’s tired, it’s played out, it’s offensive as hell, and I’m beyond over it.
•NWA TV TITLE MATCH: ZICKY DICE vs. RICKY STARKS (C) – HIT: Solid match between the two and I think they could have one of those rivalries that goes on the backburner but never gets cold. Zicky had the early advantag with power and smarts but eventually Ricky’s athleticism took control. It’s a good thing that his finisher, formerly the Buster Keaton but now the Stroke, is a power move because it reminds you that this kid isn’t all speed and flash, he’s got some real strength. I love that these matches will continue to be 6:05 time limit, and we also found out that there’s a lucky sevens rule in effect–win or draw in seven consecutive defences and you automatically get a title shot. Looking at how far we are from the Crockett Cup, there’s no way Starks won’t have his second chance at Nick Aldis. One thing though that will continue to plague babyface Starks is posing. When Zicky poses, it makes sense for him as an abrasive heel, and that’s why it always goes against him in kayfabe; when Ricky poses, it goes against him as well and that’s why this is a problem. Wrestling has gone to this cliche of babyfaces are dumb, and the more Ricky takes time to pose, the more it will work against him in matches. Be confident, Ricky, not cocky. Still it was a good match where we got to see Zicky show off and Ricky show out. I’d like a longer PPV match between the two and see how much chemistry they really have.
•JAMES STORM & ELI DRAKE AND ARON STEVENS & QUESTION MARK W/ GALLI – MOSTLY A HIT: Eli and James are over like rover but on this episode, James got far too silly. He told knock-knock jokes and dad jokes and I reckon pretended to be a bit inebriated? It was pretty terrible; James Storm doesn’t need to do such comedy stuff when he’s got legitimacy as a wrestler. Sure, you could argue well since he does have legitimacy, he has a longer leash. No, he doesn’t because he doesn’t do it well. It was hack and awful. In a segment where Shooter Stevens hammed it up with facial expressions, a triple-length black belt and more, it was he that seemed dialed back in comparison to Cowboy.
It’s good seeing Question Mark and Shooter still tied at the hip after Stevens left him hanging at Hard Times but it didn’t bother Question Mark, yet at least. After the silliness of James Storm, Trevor Murdoch came out and announced he’ll have a National Title shot next week against Shooter and Question Mark must’ve not liked that because he Mongrovian Spiked Murdoch immediately. Some could argue Stevens and Mark have done enough and it’s time to split them but I think they still have plenty of longevity as a unit.
Such a sad thing that James Storm was so goofy because the crowd is so into Eli Drake and Eli is great at milking it for everything. This should have been a can’t miss hit. Damn you, James Storm and your luck.
MARTY SCURLL-NICK ALDIS SITDOWN – HIT: Starting the segment off with Marty bitching about being made to wait while the champ is late was great. It set the tone for Aldis being completely in control, something that he is and was afforded after beating Flip Gordon anyway.
So let’s bullet point this conversation some: Nick is pissed because he looks out for himself, the company, the locker room, and yet he’s still called the problem but Scurll, a fellow countryman, isn’t as kind or as loyal as he appears. Nick was there to congratulate, encourage, and be a friend and Marty just had to challenge for the title last year. Nick allowed it, they fought it out and left it in the ring, they hugged at the end and that should be it but instead Nick feels Marty just wants all the nice things for himself, including Nick’s title and spotlight.
Marty says everyone keeps bothering him about never being a world champ and that he should’ve won the belt at last year’s Crockett Cup. Marty also resents that he had to scratch for pennies in English indies while Aldis was then-TNA champion. His new big contract isn’t what this is about for Scurll, he wants one more shot at the title.
And this is where Aldis cranks up calculated heel and earns his new “The Dealer” moniker. Picking at Marty saying it’s not about money, Aldis asks for the entire purse! I love when pro wrestling still alludes to it all being a prize fight of sorts and that there’s money in winning and being a title holder. Aldis shuffles everything up and deals from the bottom of the deck though when he lays down his condition for Marty: he’ll give him one last shot at the 10 Pounds come this year’s Crockett Cup but if Marty loses, he has to reimburse all ticket buyers! Making Marty put his mouth where his money after getting the new contract is an interesting twist and not one I can say I’ve heard before. It wasn’t loser leaves town or some other contrivance, and this makes me wonder how they get out of this totally. I’m now interested in this match and I didn’t see that happening at all.
Oh and Nick didn’t even wait for an answer as he just left Marty there to stir and soak in his own thoughts. You son of a bitch, Nick Aldis.
•OVERALL – HIT: The season three premiere was much better than season two. Where season two was rushing to get to Hard Times in about five weeks, they just threw a lot at us and shrugged. Having a good two months plus until the Crockett Cup, NWA took their time with this season opener, giving us mostly promos to set up new feuds. I’m intrigued as to what Marty will do in his new situation and how they progress the Rosa/Melina breakup over time. Ricky Starks is hitting his stride now and Trevor Murdoch is climbing the ladder fast. So far, season three looks like it has some good stuff to deliver.
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