SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NWA POWER TV REPORT
JANUARY 14, 2020
ATLANTA, GA AT GPB STUDIOS
REPORT BY MICHAEL TAYLOR, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Joe Galli, Stu Bennett
– The show opened with highlights of the match between Nick Aldis and Ricky Starks on last week’s episode. After the match, Aldis was challenged Ricky Morton to a “Team Aldis” vs. “Team Morton” match and the debut of Scott Steiner. “Breaking News” flashed on the screen and Aldis was shown invading an ROH and attacking Marty Scurll. “Into the Fire” began and so did the Power intro video. The camera entered the studio and landed on the announcers. They ran down the card for the evening before throwing to Dave Marquez.
-Marquez introduced The Rock ‘n’ Roll express who entered to cheers. Morton asked all the young wrestlers in the back to listen. He said they always put the fans first and that they paved for the way for the wrestlers who came after them to make millions of dollars. Morton said he was like all the fans because he still had to get up and go to work every day to pay his bills. The crowd cheered. Morton turned his attention to Nick Aldis and said he and Gibson had fought the best in the world throughout their careers. Morton said later that night, his team would beat Team Aldis and he would go on to beat Aldis for the NWA Heavyweight title. Marquez asked who be on Morton’s team prompting Gibson to say they were going to leave Team Aldis guessing.
(Taylor’s Analysis: This was a good promo from Morton. He sounded genuine and his words were relatable and easy to get behind. The show, however, is losing focus in its Heavyweight title picture. Aldis has gone from feuding with Scurll, Storm, and Morton within a short time. Yet another challenger would be announced later.)
-A commercial for tickets to NWA tapings aired.
-The Television Tournament bracket was revealed by Joe Galli. The matches were as follows: Tim Storm vs. the winner of the Zane Dawson vs. Dave Dawson, Ricky Starks vs. mystery opponent, Zicky Dice vs. mystery opponent, and The Question Mark vs. winner of Tom Latimer vs. Trevor Murdoc. Galli said these matches would all take place at the Hard Times pay-per-view.
(Taylor’s Analysis: Finally. This bracket should have been introduced weeks ago.)
-The camera returned to the studio with Dave Marquez interviewing Zicky Dice and Ricky Starks. Dice asked what Starks had done in the NWA. Starks called Dice a “broke-ass Guy Fieri” and said he had done a lot including Zicky’s mother. Starks said he took Aldis to the limit and the Dice was nothing to him. He concluded by saying he was “coming to eat because Stroke Daddy was hungry”. The camera cut to the ring.
(Taylor’s Analysis: The “mother” comment was low hanging fruit but felt unscripted. This is the most natural Starks has sounded on the mike and has real potential to be a star on the roster.)
(1) DAVE DAWSON vs. ZANE DAWSON – NWA Television Title tournament qualifying match
The bell rang, and they stared each other down in the ring. Zane’s hand was wrapped in a bandaged cast which caused him difficulty locking up. Eventually, Zane hit a flying shoulder tackle for a two count. Dave countered a charging Zane with a dropkick for a two count. Dave called Zane “little brother” and challenging him to get up. Zane created separation and then squashed Dave in the corner. Dave attacked Zane’s hand. The referee got between both men to stop the attack. With the referee’s head down, Zane hit Dave in the jaw with his casted hand for the win.
WINNER: Zane Dawson via pinfall
-A video package for Hard Times aired with a song from NWA president William Patrick Corgan, followed by more clips of Aldis invading ROH.
-Clips were shown of both Colt Cabana and Ken Anderson. Cabana said he thought he and Anderson could turn things around as a tag team. Anderson was shown asking “Who says I’m bitter? What am I bitter about?”
(Taylor’s Analysis: The idea of this segment was great, but neither man was shown saying much. What was the point if only a few clips were going to be shown?)
-The camera returned to the studio. Asley Vox made her ring entrance, followed by Melina.
(2) ASHLEY VOX vs. MELINA
Formal ring introductions took place and the bell rang. Vox hit a running dropkick and charged Melina in the corner. Melina avoided contact and slammed Vox to the mat. Vox countered with a head scissors takedown. From there, Vox charged Melina in the corner by Melina avoided contact. Vox tried to rally but Melina hit a headbutt. The crowd started an “Ashley!” chant. After a surprise roll-up, Vox scored a two count. Melina returned to her feet and they traded strikes. Vox tried to cinch in the real catch submission hold but Melina countered and hit her split-leg drop for the win. After the match, Joe Galli interviewed Melina. She said her team of Rosa and Bell had beat Kay’s team of ODB and Vox. Melina announced she was going after Allysin Kay and the NWA Women’s title. She asked Kay to come out from the back. Kay walked out challenged Melina to a match at that moment. Melina said the match would be next week and told Kay to be ready before walking to the back.
(Taylor’s Analysis: The crowd was really into Vox which is a great sign. She loses frequently but will fit perfectly in the underdog, comeback storyline when the time is right. Melina is great at getting heat but needs to either stop improvising or get better at it. When she is unscripted, her delivery is awkward and robotic.)
-More footage of Aldis invading ROH was shown. At the ROH commentary desk, Aldis took a headset before being thrown out by ROH staff and wrestlers, including Flip Gordon. Before leaving the building, Aldis challenged Gordon to a match at Hard Times.
(Taylor’s Analysis: This is a very confusing decision. I can only assume Scurll will not be as the NWA hoped he would be. There had better be a great build to this match in the next few weeks, or it will be completely flat and uninteresting.)
-A commercial for NWA.com aired.
-The camera returned to the studio with Dave Marquez interviewing Pope and Outlaw Inc. Marquez asked if Pope was their manager. Pope said he wasn’t a manager but that he “worked some of his magic” to get them an opportunity. He called out Aron Stevens for not defending his NWA National Heavyweight title. He challenged Stevens and Question Mark to wrestle Outlaw Inc in a tag match. Marquez asked if Homicide had been cleared to compete. Homicide said he was ready to compete. Pope took the mike back and called out NWA for allowing Eli Drake and James Storm in the NWA Tag title picture. He said they were a team out of convenience, but Outlaw Inc was a team born from blood. He said their time was now and they walked to the ring.
-A commercial for tickets to NWA tapings aired.
(3) OUTLAW INC. (w/The Pope) vs. ARON STEVENS & THE QUESTION MARK
The match began with Eddie Kingston and Aron Stevens. Stevens quickly retreated to the outside. Back in the ring, Homicide tagged in and knocked Stevens to the mat with a back elbow. Stevens attacked Homicide’s injured shoulder and scored a two count. Stevens taunted the crowd and cinched in an armbar. Eventually, Homicide created separation with a back-body drop. Kingston ran into the ring and attacked Stevens. Question Mark ran in and hit the Mongrovian Spike on both Kingston and Homicide. Stevens pinned Homicide for the win. After the match, Kingston attended to Homicide. Pope entered the ring and looked displeased with Kingston before returning to the back.
WINNERS: Aron Stevens & Question Mark via pinfall
(Taylor’s Analysis: Pope continues to be charismatic in promos. It seems he’s slowly, but surely, driving a wedge between Kingston and Homicide. The only confusing part is that Kingston doesn’t need a mouthpiece by any means. I’m still interested to see where this goes.)
-A parody commercial for Austin Idol “Ring Psychologist aired.
-The end of the match between Starks and Aldis was shown, including the debut of Scott Steiner.
-The show returned to the studio. Dave Marques introduced Nick Aldis with Strictly Business. Scott Steiner was holding an alternate version of the NWA Tag titles. Aldis said when he first came to this country, he was warned about being stabbed in the back. He said he was specifically warned about Scott Steiner. Aldis said Steiner did nothing but nurture and coach him since they met. Steiner took the mike and said he knew Aldis was going to be world champion. He said he appreciated that Aldis called him because he wakes up every day just wanted to beat someone up. He called out the audience and was censored. He turned his attention to the belt around his shoulder and called it “the original”. Steiner said when Ted Turner bought the NWA, he and his crew changed the wrestling game. He turned his attention to The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express and said he never liked them, and they were about to get their asses kicked. They walked to the ring. The Rock ‘n’ Roll express walked out, followed by Eli Drake and Tim Storm.
(Taylor’s Analysis: This was an awful segment. The addition of Scott Steiner in this group makes no sense. His promo was all over the place. He incorrectly called the belt he was holding the “original” NWA Tag belt. He sounded confused and unpolished. The rest of Strictly Business looked like they were trying their best to sell this as effective. They didn’t do a convincing job.)
(4) TEAM ALDIS (THE WILDS CARDS & SCOTT STEINER) vs. TEAM MORTON (Robert Gibson & Eli Drake & Tim Storm)
The bell rang with Latimer and Drake in the ring. Drake hit a neck breaker and tagged Robert Gibson. Gibson hit a few strikes before tagging Storm. Latimer hit Storm in the throat and tagged in Royce Issacs. Storm knocked Issacs to the mat and scored a two count. Drake tagged in and dove from the top rope on Issacs. He hit a pump handle slam and an elbow drop for a two count. On commentary, Bennett said everyone was waiting for Steiner to tag in. Issacs tagged Steiner who hit a suplex on Drake for a two count. Latimer tagged back in and cinched in a cravat. The Wild Cards kept control of the match with frequent tags. Issacs cinched in a headlock on Drake and taunted the crowd. Drake tried to rally, but Issacs hit a suplex for a two count. Steiner tagged in and hit another suplex on Drake. After a two count, Steiner cinched in an armbar. Aldis was shown watching from the interview booth. Latimer tagged in and cinched in a headlock. Drake created separation and hit a DDT. The crowd cheered for Drake to make the tag. Drake tagged Gibson who entered the ring and hit a flurry of offense. Issacs tagged in and a brawled ensued. With the referees back turned, Drake hit a jawbreaker on Issacs. Gibson rolled Issacs up for the win. On commentary, Bennett confirmed Morton would be facing Storm next week for the Heavyweight title. Aldis looked on angrily as the show ended.
WINNERS: Team Morton via pinfall
(Taylor’s Analysis: Seeing young, athletic talent sell for the likes of Gibson and Steiner is a bad visual. They clearly have trouble moving around the ring. The match was clumsy and awkward for the most part.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: Contrary to last week’s episode, this show felt confused and chaotic. The booking is all over the place. There’s a line of unworthy Heavyweight title challengers. Eli Drake is in both the Tag title picture and frequently calling out Aldis in promos. Steiner is going to bring eyes to the NWA, but for the wrong reasons. Hopefully, the next few weeks will be more focused, but as of now, the card for Hard Times feels rushed and forced.
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