Tag: nwa power surge results

NWA Power Surge results: Build for The Crockett Cup continues

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

The opening moments of NWA Power Surge this week featured Joe Galli, Billy Corgan, and Pat Kenny going over the seeding of the Crockett Cup for this year. The first seed was La Rebelion, and it was announced that Harry Smith would be Doug Williams’ partner in the tournament. The rest of the brackets can be seen here:

After running down the first 8 teams, they cut to a match recorded previously between Sal Rinauro and J Spade.

J Spade defeated Sal Rinauro (with Danny Deals)

I’m not into Sal Rinauro’s demon possessed gimmick, but I can’t fault him for going all in on it and trying to make it work. He might win me over. Joe Galli suggested that he was ‘Sinister Sal Rinauro” now, and if he takes up that name, I may change my mind. It is bizarre that Danny Deals is still in his corner rather than the Sinister Minister, but we shall see if that lasts.

Rinauro bit the fingers and attacked the hand of Spade quite a bit in the early part of this match, including doing a series of stomps Bryan Danielson style on Spade. Every time Spade got offence Sal would go for the finger and continue small joint manipulation, but after leaving Spade in the corner, Sal charged and hit a sky high spinebuster for the pinfall.

Billy Corgan and Joe Galli talked about Trevor Murdoch losing the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship to Matt Cardona. Corgan announced that due to the injuries suffered in that match, Murdoch was not cleared to wrestle at the Crockett Cup. Nick Aldis instead stepped in to take on Cardona, and Corgan expected Murdoch to come back stronger than ever once he heals up.

Corgan told the story really well here, and having segments like this more often would do well in filling in a lot of the holes in NWA’s storytelling because some of the questions I had lingering were answered here, and it helped drive forward what they were going for.

Allysin Kay defeated Missa Kate

Kay and Kate had a good match here, with some short hope spots for Kate. I like how the NWA does this every now and then with the less established talent, giving them shine before defeating them. Kay looked great in this, and Kate looked like someone that was missing experience, but had the talent to compete. Kay got the win after Kate missed a corkscrew splash, allowing Kay to plant Kate with the AK47.

Corgan, Kenny, and Galli continued discussing the rest of the tournament brackets for the Crockett Cup. Again, I liked Corgan telling the story behind why each team was placed where they were, including why we should pay attention to them. It’s a little thing, but it helps me connect with each team.

The Fixers were with Joe Galli and they talked about beating the OGK, calling them nerds with a k (but the k is silent). Wrecking Ball called out the Bushwhackers, Demolition, the Legion of Doom, and the Nasty Boys. I think Wrecking Ball is my favourite wrestler.

Judias (with The Sinister Minister) defeated Jamie Stanley

Judias is not working for me at all. It only gets worse the more they try to push him. Judias killed Stanley in this match, which got mild applause because Stanley is good at being dislikable. But this match was heel vs. heel, which also makes it odd. Judias hit a butterfly suplex into the turnbuckles on Stanley, but it looked like he planted Stanley on his head like a Paradigm Shift but by accident, so that had to hurt.

Stanley managed to hit a flying crossbody on Judias then dropped an elbow, but Judias grabbed him by the throat and chokeslammed him. Judias picked him up out of a pin then hit the Crucifixia for the win.

Nick Aldis and Matt Cardona joined Joe Galli for a final faceoff to close the show. Aldis and Cardona were excellent here. Aldis talked about how he wanted to step away from the spotlight of the world title scene, bringing in Doug Willams to go after the tag team titles. Aldis said Murdoch deserved the spotlight, and Cardona robbed him of it. Cardona claimed he was saving the NWA. Aldis said that he agreed with Cardona on one thing – the NWA needed saving now, and that Cardona was a clown.

Aldis’ promo here was fantastic. Cardona was so good at being an unlikable jerk. Cardona claimed the NWA Worlds Heavyweight championship is valuable because he holds it. Aldis got very angry and reminded Cardona of the legacy of the title, including Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, and Harley Race. Aldis and Cardona made me want to see this match, so this was very well done.

Final Thoughts

Not the usual format for an NWA show, but I like when they do episodes like this and really focus on telling the stories of all the matches, which in this case are the stories of all the tag teams involved in the Crockett Cup. The Fixers are a delight, and Wrecking Ball is hilarious. I am critical of the holes in production and storytelling the NWA has sometimes, but this was a great show to get me hyped for the Crockett Cup.

NWA Power Surge results: Tim Storm & Sal Rinauro vs. Hawx Aerie

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

May Valentine interviewed Kamille to start off the show and she listed off some of the greats that were women’s champions in the past, but that it was time for a greater champion to take the NWA’s legacy to a new level.

Kamille talked about how she was sitting next to May at the last show, and was upset that May Valentine talked about Thunder Rosa when Kamille was there to be interviewed. Kamille addressed Rosa’s comments that she was a coward, and talked about how she was going to defeat Serena Deeb.

–May Valentine was with Billy Corgan, and Corgan talked about how Trevor Murdoch was the kind of man that when you mess with him, he will never let it go. Corgan talked about how everyone has a chance in the NWA, and it doesn’t matter their background, he is going to give everyone a chance.

Corgan compared Trevor Murdoch to Jerry Blackwell, given that he is not a traditional looking wrestler, but that he can go. Corgan made the point that the NWA was the land of opportunity and Murdoch is championship material. He was trained by Harley Race, and Aldis was too. Corgan said that Harley was right about both of them, and the main event of When Our Shadows Fall is going to be a great match. Good interview with Corgan here in a rare physical appearance on NWA television.

–Latimer and Kamille talked about being a successful couple in pro wrestling. Latimer touched on his friendship with Aldis and how he wasn’t offended that Aldis said that as long as everyone performs, they’re safe with Strictly Business.

Latimer said Nick Aldis was talking about everyone else, and not him, even though he specifically named Latimer, which is interesting. They also touched on Latimer wanting the tag titles back.

Tim Storm & Sal Rinauro defeated Hawx Aerie (Luke and PJ Hawx)

This was a really great tag match to highlight Hawx Aerie, and Tim Storm and Sal Rinauro worked like the veterans they are. Excellent match.

PJ Hawx and Sal Rinauro started the match with some technical wrestling, and PJ Hawx used his experience as an amateur wrestler to stay on top of Rinauro. Luke Hawx and Tim Storm got in there, and it’s hard to believe he’s PJ Hawx’ father. He’s only 39, but this father and son tag team is a nice hidden gem on the indies based on what I’ve seen in this match.

Storm tagged Rinauro in, hitting a handspring stunner sending Luke Hawx backwards to his son, who tagged in and gained the advantage back against Rinauro. Luke Hawx worked over the back of Rinauro for a bit, and PJ Hawx worked over the arm with some arm bars.

Rinauro made the hot tag to Storm, who ran wild on both men, but PJ Hawx was able to break up a pinfall attempt and he suplexed Rinauro. Storm responded by hitting PJ Hawx with a Cross Rhodes, and then Storm hit his Bossman Slam on Luke Hawx, and Rinauro made the pin for the victory.

–They recapped the botched finish of the War Kings becoming #1 contender, and the masked man interfering and attacking Crimson last week, and the rest of the events leading into Where Our Shadows Fall, where champions Aron Stevens and JR Kratos will face Jax Dane & Crimson and Chris Adonis & Thom Latimer.

–Nick Aldis talked about what it meant to be the NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, and how he had to do some terrible things to Tim Storm to make it happen. He didn’t want to do those things. It was just what had to be done.

He also talked about Trevor Murdoch, saying he wasn’t afraid of him, but that he believed that Murdoch was not the right kind of person to lead the NWA. He didn’t believe that Murdoch was championship material.

Aldis also talked about Kamille facing Serena Deeb, and Adonis & Latimer being in the triple threat for the tag titles. One thing that sticks out to me here that doesn’t make sense is that Latimer and Adonis were stripped of their #1 contender position by Corgan a few weeks ago. They haven’t earned the shot on TV, so this seems a bit odd to me, unless one of them were the ones to attack Crimson, giving them a reason for being in the match.

Aldis put over Kamille, saying she has flourished under his learning tree, and also talked about the tag title match. This was really good stuff here. He put over the psychology of tag team wrestling and analyzed all 3 teams and their strengths and weaknesses, while insisting that Strictly Business was going to win.

–Billy Corgan was then interviewed. He put over Kamille and how she worked hard to get where she is today, and while Thunder Rosa might say she was handed opportunities, Corgan felt like she earned her position and worked very hard for it. Corgan also talked about Stevens & Kratos, War Kings, and Latimer & Adonis match as a whole.

He explained why the War Kings were in the match, as they had their match stolen from them, and that Latimer & Adonis were added because of Latimer’s background as tag team champion. He didn’t want to be about taking away opportunities, but wanted to let Stevens and Kratos take the opportunity from them. At least they tried to explain it. It isn’t good, but at least they tried to explain it.

Corgan talked about the main event as well, putting over Murdoch and Aldis.

Final Thoughts:

This wasn’t a bad show. Billy Corgan really tried to tie all the stories he was telling together throughout the show, and Nick Aldis was a highlight in the storytelling. Corgan was actually excellent here. It might be good to have him on commentary every week telling these stories, as it will drive it all home a bit better. I understand why he doesn’t want to be on TV all the time, but doing commentary might work well for him.

This was a pretty good show to build the PPV. It also had a good tag match, so I would say between the promos and Corgan explaining things deeply, it was about as good as it could get. One notable missing part was Trevor Murdoch, and it would have helped to have him do a promo or two.

NWA Power Surge results: Nick Aldis announces top tag contenders

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

Report —

NWA Power Surge opened with Thunder Rosa at the desk with May Valentine and Joe Galli. Rosa talked about how she was very proud to be doing good things for women’s wrestling both in the NWA, and on the independent scene. Rosa called Kamille a coward, and said she wasn’t sure that she was going to face her.

Jennacide defeated Skye Blue

This was a solid little squash match that made Jennacide look great. Skye Blue bumped well, and sold that Jennacide was a total monster.

Joe Galli claimed that Jennacide learned Muay Thai by having it downloaded directly into her brain, like something out of the Matrix. I found that amusing.

Jennacide dominated a good portion of this match, using strikes and a surfboard stretch before hitting a Yakuza kick in the corner. Jennacide countered a head scissors into a tombstone for the win.

**********

Trevor Murdoch speaks —

A recap of the events surrounding Trevor Murdoch aired, ending with how he was suspended for 30 days.

Murdoch sat down with May Valentine to talk about what happened, and he said he was beat up physically. He said he didn’t expect much when he first came to the NWA, he only wanted to make a splash and stand out. He said he has moved up the ranks and dealt with Nick Aldis putting obstacles in his way, but he wasn’t used to the easy path and accepted that life is hard.

Murdoch said that at the end of the day he had to look at the mirror and he has two young sons at home that he needs to teach how to be a man and carry themselves.

He said nobody wants to put in the hard work and sacrifice everything, and that he had to choose between rent and paying for gas to get to the next wrestling show. He sacrifices time with his family, time with his friends, and working towards the goal of becoming world champion.

He said that a lot of men don’t make it to the top, and there are far more that try to get there. He said that Harley Race set the pace and standard for him, and he is going to follow his path. Murdoch got emotional about missing Race, as he wanted him to be here to show him how far he has gotten.

He is promising to do this for Harley Race, the fans, and his kids that he can be a champion in the NWA.

I assume this was taped before he was suspended for 30 days without pay, but this was an awesome interview building up Murdoch’s motivation for going after the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.

**********

A recap of what is happening between Kratos and Aron Stevens aired.

**********

Number one contenders announced for the NWA World Tag Team titles —

Nick Aldis talked about what was going on with Stevens, and Joe Galli asked if the decision for Thom Latimer to pick Kratos as his tag partner on Power was something Aldis decided. Instead, Aldis confirmed that Latimer made the decision himself.

Aldis then announced that Latimer and Adonis are the number one contenders for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. Aldis said that no one comes into the door of the NWA without him knowing everything about them, and he keeps a close eye on everyone, including Kratos. Aldis said he felt very confident about Latimer and Adonis taking the titles.

**********

NWA Worlds Heavyweight title number one contender battle royal announcement —

Aldis said that he wanted the most qualified person to challenge for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, and he was looking for someone to step up. Joe Galli then announced that there will be a 14-man battle royal for the number one contendership to the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, and that no one who is a current champion in the NWA will be in the match. The match will be held in three weeks. 

Aldis was very upset to hear this, and was shocked that Galli had the scoop on him, which he claimed wasn’t supposed to happen as the show went off the air. This was excellent.

**********

Final thoughts —

It seems that Power Surge is going to be mostly a recap show and a chance for one talent to get a good squash in with a few new promos. The promos are absolutely worth watching when they air, as they are always quality.

I loved what we saw from Murdoch and Aldis on this show. If you watch anything on this episode, watch that.