The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
On the latest DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, my longform series on the history of pro wrestling is up next in the rotation.
We are up to August 1983 where we discuss Ken Patera in Memphis, Harley Race continuing his record-breaking reign as NWA World Champion, the annual NWA convention, the Midnight Express, and more.
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Andrew and Rich are back for a very special episode of Mat Men where they are joined by Billy Corgan, owner of the NWA and lead singer of the Smashing Pumpkins.
Corgan joined us on his birthday to talk about the upcoming NWA 312 pay-per-view and more.
We talk about his earliest influences in pro wrestling and what led to him wanting to get into the wrestling business. We also discussed his experience as a successful musician and how that helps when it comes to dealing with different aspects of the business, including talent and production.
Corgan talked about his overall thoughts on the wrestling business today and why it likely has yet to peak. He shared his philosophy on the modern NWA and how it differs from the nostalgic era that most of us remember. Plus, he discussed the importance of mental health in the business and his approach when it comes to dealing with talent.
Finally, we talk about April 7th’s NWA 312 in Highland Park Illinois, where some of the proceeds will help to benefit the Highland Park Community Fund which will help victims recovering from the mass shooting in that community last July 4th.
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NWA Power opened with Joe Galli interviewing Chris Adonis, asking how his preparations are going for his World title match against Tyrus at NWA 312. Tyrus then made his way onto screen after Adonis said that the Master Lock would take the title from him. Tyrus talked about how he was the bogeyman underneath the bed of all the Internet fans, and claimed Adonis couldn’t lock the Master Lock on someone as big as him.
Kenzie Paige defeated Ashley D’Amboise
This was a short match, but one that was decent given the time it had. Paige looked good as usual, and D’Amboise was able to show a little bit of her ability before the finish.
A promo package before the match with Paige dismissing D’Amboise as a threat. D’Amboise talked about being a great French Canadian and that Paige was a dirty American, so it’s hard to know who the babyface is here. Paige called D’Amboise incompetent in French, which was a nice touch. This showed the personalities of both wrestlers.
The babyface/heel confusion continued as D’Amboise and Paige both pulled each other’s hair in the opening moments and after an exchange, they crashed to the mat while pulling each other’s hair again. D’Amboise hit a nice neckbreaker for a two-count. Paige drew D’Amboise in and necked her on the middle rope and then hit a cutter after an exchange for the pin.
– Trevor Murdoch talked about how the NWA decided to put him through a test with the big man he faced recently (Beast Mode) that he coined “Van Hammer Jr.” and that he was coming back to NWA Power Live to have a talk with the big man. Beast Mode is a far worse name than Van Hammer Jr.
Mike Knox defeated Stacee Alexander
Knox looked good in this one. Maybe he missed his calling as a babyface. I can’t believe I wrote that in 2023, but here we are.
Knox was over in this match, getting a lot of reaction being in his hometown, but also getting cheered due to how he took out Matt Cardona. Alexander was wearing a CYN shirt and after being beat around the ring by Knox for a few minutes, he raked Knox’s eyes and got a bit of heat before Knox hit the Knoxout for the win.
– May Valentine was with Bobby Fulton and they discussed The Fixers mocking him and stealing the NWA U.S. Tag Team titles. Fulton then offered an open challenge to either Fixer, saying he was an old man but he was going after them for disrespecting both he and the titles. Valentine suggested that his health struggles might prevent him from doing that. Fulton said that it may be true and that his voice is evidence of the throat cancer he had, but he was going to stand up and do the right thing. I sincerely hope he isn’t going to wrestle, but man, this was a good babyface promo.
– Valentine asked about Rolando Freeman’s relationship with Aron Stevens, and Freeman said that Stevens betrayed him like he did Valentine. Freeman blamed Stevens for getting in his head and causing him to go out to fight Tyrus for the title where he failed immediately. Freeman said he was coming for Stevens and was going to get some revenge for Valentine, too.
NWA TV Champion Thom Latimer defeated Rhett Titus to retain the title
This was a solid match that only went around four minutes, limited by the 6:05 time limit of all TV title matches on Power. But, it was good given the time it had.
Latimer and Titus exchanged a lot of technical wrestling throughout. Latimer doesn’t show that side of his work very often, but he did a good job here. Titus, of course, is quite experienced in that style, being a part of The Foundation in ROH. Titus went up and over in the corner and Latimer hit a spear out of the corner for a two-count. Latimer immediately went for the crossface, but Titus blocked, so Latimer went back to the knee that he worked on early on and transitioned into an STF for the submission.
– Thrillbilly Silas was backstage with Valentine and disheartened because he didn’t get the NWA National title. He then called out Brady Pierce, saying he was going to climb back to the top. Pollo Del Mar emphasized that it was not personal, but Silas was going to take Pierce out to get to the top.
Kerry Morton defeated Mecha Wolf
This was easily the best match on the show with these two having a nice basic match.
Wolf used a series of submission attempts after hitting an armdrag off the top rope and Morton almost went out in a Koji clutch shortly after. Wolf went for a double jump moonsault off the middle rope, but Morton dodged and hit some punches in the corner. Wolf hit a tornado DDT for a two count.
Wolf went for a power bomb, but Morton countered and almost got a three count. After this, Bestia 666 made his way down to ringside, but because he didn’t have a manager’s license, the referee tried to get rid of him. Bestia passed a Tag Team title belt to Wolf, but the referee caught him and he turned around into a jumping knee from Morton and a GTR for the pinfall.
Final Thoughts:
This was a pretty good episode by NWA standards with simple storyline progression and some decent wrestling. The only problem was that it wasn’t must see and in today’s wrestling landscape, that begs the question: ultimately, who is this show for and can it grow their audience?
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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
*The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site. It’s got the most detailed coverage from a business standpoint and creative standpoint, covering AEW Revolution including reader feedback on that show, UFC 285 and the Stardom show this past weekend.
*Match and performer of the week
*The longest singles title matches since 1970 all over the world
*MJF vs Danielson and comparisons to other Iron Man matches
*Evaluating MJF as a performer and a drawing card
*Early PPV numbers along with gate numbers from San Francisco and other business metrics
*The return of FTR
*The potential of the AEW tag team division
*AEW repeat PPV business notes
*Movie theater business for Revolution
*San Francisco records
*Future AEW directions
*Full details on WWE’s attempt to get gambling legal on its outcomes and what steps and how its business will have to change to make this happen
*Full coverage of UFC 285 including Jon Jones legacy and future, Alexa Grasso’s win and business notes regarding the show including what unique note thee was about the prelims this week
*Full details on the amended lawsuit MLW has filed against WWE, McDevitt talks, what new things are added and what it says about the MLW relationship with REELZ, and lots of business notes from the lawsuit regarding the wrestling television rights fees
*Stardom puts on its best show of the year and a look at the very different excellent matches
*Notes on the first few days of the New Japan Cup and where things stand
*TV ratings over the past week as well as segment-by-segment notes, competition and the whys of how everything went down
*The unique team challenge tournament CMLL finished up this past week
*AAA star faces claims by girlfriend of domestic violence and both CMLL and AAA talk about the situation
*Notes on the joint NWA and AAA show put together as part of a Smashing Pumpkins concert
*Notes on retirement of Daisuke Harada
*New Japan anniversary show and New Japan Cup notes*Zero-1 runs 22nd anniversary show
*Notes from Creed III
*Big shows over Mania weekend not from WWE
*Major questions on AEW talent and their media talks
*What international star AEW tried to get for San Francisco and why it didn’t happen
*International TV ratings and streaming numbers for WWE & AEW and what NXT segment scored huge
*Upcoming ticket advances for WWE & AEW shows
*Dana White on the future of Power Slap
*48-year-old world champion wrestler has retirement MMA fight soon
*Notes on Vince McMahon’s return backstage at the Boston show
*Wells Fargo Securities predictions on Smackdown negotiations and the value of Raw & Smackdown right now
*WWE performer talks trying to go to the 2024 Olympics and is training for MMA as well
*WWE injury updates
This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:
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Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Raw and all the news of the day, and there is a lot, with Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send questions for tonight’s show on current topics to [email protected]
For Raw tonight, Kevin Owens faces Solo Sikoa in a street fight and with Sami Zayn said to be not there and the Usos there, I think that may hint where this is going, Cody Rhodes faces LA Knight, Bianca Belair faces Chelsea Green in a non-title match, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson face Maximum Male Models, Johnny Gargano & Dexter Lumis face Dominik Mysterio & Damian Priest plus there are face-to-face confrontations scheduled with Brock Lesnar and Omos and Edge and Finn Balor. Sami Zayn is not at the show but the Usos and Solo Sikoa are scheduled and Rey Mysterio is in Providence, the latter reported by PWInsider. Tickets out for the show were more than 7,200 as of this morning. A legit sellout for a pro wrestling sellout in the building would be close to 9,000.
We are looking for reports from the show, anything dark or the Main Event matches to [email protected]
Dick Fosbury, who won the gold medal in the high jump at the 1968 Olympics with a unique style that led to Don West naming one of the new unique dives in wrestling as the Fosbury Flop (the name given to his high jump style) passed away yesterday.
TBS made it official today that Power Slap is not being renewed. We talked about it on last night’s show as it was pretty clear this was the case after all the criticism and the declining ratings. Dana White all but acknowledged it a few days ago when he said he had a deal with Rumble, the streaming service that did do good numbers Saturday night for the finals, but it had not been completed. The Rumble deal was for two years of a television series like the one on TBS, plus eight live events and White said he was looking at filming the second season in Abu Dhabi. He has also said that they are working on getting Power Slap legal and sanctioned in more states and said it was here to stay.
Yes, my Twitter account has been hacked so hopefully it will be up and running soon.
AEW will debut QTV, which is a segment with QT Marshall, on Wednesday night’s show from Winnipeg.
While it is not confirmed that Taya Valkyrie will be the opponent for Jade Cargill on Wednesday, Taya Valkyrie was scheduled on a tour of Australia that started Saturday and was not on the tour and they said it was due to a late schedule conflict, so if anything, that adds fuel to the speculation. Cargill said she would have an open challenge for the title against any Canadian and Valkyrie is Canadian. The only Canadian woman on the roster is The Bunny, who has been out with an injury of late. Taya is also confirmed as going with either WWE or AEW imminently. Konnan on his podcast also said Taya has something very big coming up.
While ROH has not announced dates for a second TV taping, they have no show for 3/30 (the night before the PPV taped) and Rush and Dralistico were both pulled from an AAA show in Saltillo on 3/25. They often announce the Disney tapings in Orlando very late in the game so they could be taping that weekend.
MLW on REELZ at 10 p.m. tomorrow night has EJ Nduka & Calvin Tankman vs. the Samoan Swat Team, a contract signing for Alexander Hammerstone vs. Jacob Fatu for the title and Mance Warner vs. Rickey Shane Page. The show is not officially canceled but everyone is acting like it is.
Anthony Mayweather of the NWA, who was also Crimson in TNA, was arrested for violation of an order of protection. Police claimed that he sent several text messages to his wife, Heather Mayweather, including while police were present and he was booked this past week. Mayweather had been arrested for allegedly head-butting her in 2016. He was taken into custody on Wednesday and released on bond later that day.
Bandido is advertised for both the La Mole comic convention and a GCW show on Friday in different place.
City Championship Wrestling in Harrison Township, MI on Saturday night: Joe MeMaro b Gutter, Darion Ultra b Ike Watts, Chris Moore b Trevor Straud, Freedom Ramsey b Thomas Bailey, The Purge & Cat Daddy b New Albania, Rhino b Jason De Milo, Aaron Ashura b Mike Marbles, Alex Shelley b Ryan Matthias (thanks to Leonard Brand)
Lucha Palooza on 4/27 from Parkdale Hall in Toronto features Komander, Gangrel, Drago Kid, Sam Adonis, Gringo Loco and Jody Threat. Loco vs. Komander, Gangrel vs. Mega Medico and Drago Kid vs Adonis are scheduled.
MCW on 4/6 in Perryville, MD at 5th Company Brewing and 4/14 in Joppa, MA at the RJ Meyer Arena. They also have an all-women’s show on 4/22 at the RJ Meyer Arena.
The NWA World Heavyweight title match for the company’s next pay-per-view, 312, has been announced.
On Tuesday’s NWA Power, Chris Adonis confirmed that he was cashing in his Champions Series title match for the pay-per-view, which takes place on April 7 in Chicago, Illinois. Tyrus last defended the title at Nuff Said earlier this month, defeating Matt Cardona.
The NWA Women’s Championship will also be defended, with champion Kamille taking on La Rosa Negra. In a promo during Tuesday’s show, Negra appeared and said she was also cashing in her Champions Series win. Kamille came out and put over Negra, saying she was one of the few people who saw something in her when she first started. However, Kamille promised to show no mercy to anyone who tried to challenge her.
Already announced for the show is the finals of a tournament to crown the first NWA Women’s Television champion and Cyon defending the National title against EC3.
Here is the lineup so far for 312:
NWA Power opened with La Rosa Negra and Kyle Davis at the podium. The fans were chanting quite loudly for her, excited that she was getting a Women’s title shot because of her participation in the Champions Series. She put over Team Rock ‘n’ Roll and talked about the honor of challenging Kamille for the NWA Women’s Championship. This was a great promo.
The champion came out to the podium to a good reaction and talked about how Negra was one of the people who saw something in her when she first started in wrestling. Kamille talked about how the tables have turned but that when they finally face off, Kamille is going to show no mercy to anyone trying to take the title away from her.
Negra promised that no matter what happened in the match, win or lose, Kamille will not forget their battle. This was a great segment.
Fodder (w/ Angelina Love) defeated VHS
I think Fodder, the star in this match, has a worse name than VHS. VHS also showed some charisma, but it was far too short to have any major impact.
Yes, his opponent was named VHS which led to an extended discussion about VCRs, tape trading, and VCR-related puns around rewinding and tracking errors that I enjoyed. Otherwise, this was a nothing match that ended after a chokeslam from Fodder that he calls the Psycho Slam.
– May Valentine was with EC3 and Jordan Clearwater, discussing the partnership between Church’s Money Enterprises from BLK Jeez and CYN. Clearwater said he had no idea what CYN is, but he was open to partnering. EC3 said NWA was the rock he was going to build his church on. Well, that quote does seem to be in line with CYN. Clearwater said rather hilariously, “I like rocks!” as the promo ended. Looks like EC3 is becoming a cult leader based on his promo.
Kenzie Paige defeated KiLynn King to advance in the NWA Women’s TV title tournament
This match was great and the best of the night. Paige and King remain fantastic.
Paige recently lost the Women’s tag titles and her luck continued to be rough. King beat Paige around the ring, including chops on the outside to the delight of the fans. Paige managed to superkick King on the way back in to start getting the heat.
Paige choked King in the corner and against the ropes. King fought out of a chin lock, but Paige was able to hit a DDT instead. The DDT was actually an adjustment because Paige did not get up high enough to hit a head scissors on King, but immediately switched to a DDT making the mistake seem like she adjusted on the fly in a great transition.
King hit a superplex, but was unable to get the pin. She landed hard chops and a powerslam in the middle of ring for a two count. Paige slipped out of the Excalibuster and hit a uranage for a two count. She and King exchanged slaps and strikes before King nailed Paige with a forearm. Paige rolled King up, but she kicked out. King hit a crazy full nelson slam for a two count. Paige countered the Excalibuster into a hurricanrana and then hit a springboard cutter for the win.
– Aron Stevens and May Valentine attended couples counseling. The doctor took swings of whisky behind their back. This was so bad and I don’t want to recap it. It was supposed to be funny. It was not. This went for nearly seven minutes in a 38-minute show.
– There were highlights of Judias vs. Thrillbilly Silas with Silas winning after hitting the Thrillride. James Mitchell gave a chair to Judias to attack after the match, but Silas got away.
– Chris Adonis was in the arena before the show with Joe Galli and challenged NWA Champion Tyrus to a match at NWA 312 in Chicago.
Bully Ray defeated Mike Knox by DQ
Knox attacked Ray before the bell rang, hitting Ray with weapons and choking him. The referee rang the bell to start the match and threatened the referee before hitting Ray with a chair. The match ended in a DQ, lasting less than ten seconds. I am not sure if the referee thew this out as a no contest, or if it was a DQ, but I’m going with DQ because Knox attacked first.
Ray enlisted a fan to help him get a table out from under the ring. As he was setting it up, Matt Cardona ran in and saved Knox. Cardona and Knox argued when Cardona commanded Knox to put Ray through the table. Knox then chokeslammed Cardona through the table instead. This had zero build. Knox then flipped Cardona off and left him alone to deal with Ray.
Final thoughts:
Well, the first 21 minutes of this show was good while the last 17 were not. The angle with Stevens and Valentine may have been one of the worst angles I have ever seen. I am not sure if it tops TNA stuff from their peak of bad, but it was not good at all.
The NWA Women’s Tag Team titles changed hands twice on Tuesday’s Power with Missa Kate & Madi Wrenkowski ending the night as champions.
Fresh off winning the titles at this month’s NWA Nuff Said, The Renegade Twins (Charlette & Robyn) first defended the the gold against Pretty Empowered’s Ella Envy & Roxy. The Renegades had defeated Envy & Kenzie Paige at the PPV, so this was a rematch of sorts.
After Roxy held Robyn’s tights to get the pin and the titles, Kate and Wrenkowski (who goes by Madi in the NWA) then came out and cashed in their title shot by virtue of their team’s recent Champions Series victory.
The challengers picked up a quick win after Kate hit the Kick Filet and Madi landed the Reality Check on Roxy to get the pin and their first taste of NWA gold.
The two become the fifth set of champions since the titles were revived by the NWA in 2021.
The NWA made two announcements during Tuesday’s edition of Power with another new pay-per-view and another championship on the way.
Following last Saturday’s Nuff Said, the first-ever NWA 312 will emanate from Chicago, Illinois, on Friday, April 7th. Chicago is NWA owner Billy Corgan’s hometown.
The PPV will feature the finals of the newly-announced Women’s TV title tournament where their inaugural Women’s TV Champion will be crowned.
Both qualifying matches and the tournament will take place on upcoming editions of Power. The first qualifying match will see reigning AAA Reina de Reinas Champion and MLW women’s Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie against Jennacide.
Similar to the men’s TV title, the women’s version will fall under the NWA’s Lucky 7 rule which states that after seven consecutive title defenses, the champion can cash in and challenge for the NWA Women’s title.
The title will be the ninth currently defended in the NWA.
**********
Thom Latimer defeated Jordan Clearwater to win the men’s TV title on Tuesday’s show. Latimer joins his wife, current Women’s Champion Kamille, as NWA titleholders.
Clearwater issued an open challenge going into the night which Latimer answered.
New NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions were crowned at Saturday’s NWA Nuff Said event.
Charlette and Robyn defeated Pretty Empowered (Kenzie Paige and Ella Envy) to win the championships for the first time. The finish had Robyn pulling Paige from the ring as Charlette rolled up Envy to score the win and the titles.
Pretty Empowered had held the titles for 246 days, defeating The Hex (Allysin Kay and Marti Belle) at NWA Alwayz Ready back on June 11 of last year.
The Renegade Twins are best known for their appearances on AEW television, appearing on AEW Dark, Elevation, and occasionally Rampage. Their last appearance on AEW television aired on the February 1 edition of Rampage, where they lost to Saraya and Toni Storm.
They made their in-ring debut for the NWA back on their Christmas special in December, losing to Pretty Empowered. They won a rematch the following month on a live edition of NWA Power.
EC3 announced Saturday that he has signed with the NWA.
During the NWA Nuff Said pre-show, May Valentine did an interview with EC3 where he announced that he had signed with the company, and would be bringing Control Your Narrative with him. EC3 said in the interview that he would help people across the industry recover their passion.
EC3 is set to face Kevin Kiley, the former Alex Riley in WWE, later in the show.
First appearing for the NWA back in August of last year, EC3 has been involved in a feud with Thom Latimer, with EC3 attempting to get Latimer to join him in CYN. He most recently appeared on the live edition of NWA Power back on January 31, where his team (Team Tyrus) lost to Team Rock ‘n’ Roll in the Champion Series Final Team War match.
Since being released from WWE in 2020, EC3 has run vignettes and promos hyping his Control Your Narrative brand, including holding events and specialized matches. He’s also appeared in Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor.
A stipulation has been added to the upcoming NWA World Championship match set for this weekend’s Nuff Said.
During tonight’s NWA Power, Tyrus and Blunt Force Trauma defeated The Cardona Family in a six-man tag team match. As a result, he got to name the stipulation for the upcoming title match. It was established that the match will not feature any seconds or have any outside interference.
Additionally, more matches have been announced for this weekend’s show via NWA’s Instagram. They include Dak Draper and Mims vs. Jax Dane and Blake Troop, Mercurio and Natalia Markova vs. Jennacide and Max The Impaler, and Joe Alonzo vs. Odinson.
A pre-show match between Missa Kate and La Rosa Negra has also been added.
Here is the current lineup for Nuff Said:
This week’s NWA Power was the go-home show for this Saturday’s Nuff Said pay-per-view that saw some new matches added.
Kratos defeated Thrillbilly Silas (w/ Pollo Del Mar)
This was a solid match with Kratos getting the win. Silas has potential, but he is still quite rough around the edges. Kratos remains awesome, and I hope a main event run is in the future for him. Del Mar also took a heck of a bump off a pounce.
Kratos immediately dumped Silas to the floor. Silas did not enjoy this and ran back into the ring. Kratos hit a flying forearm in the corner that looked awesome. Silas hit the ropes and hit a flying shoulder tackle. I believe I forgot to mention this last week, but Silas has gotten in really great shape. Silas and Kratos exchanged hard strikes until Kratos hit a drop toe hold into the turnbuckle.
Kratos hit a slam and climbed to the top rope. Silas grabbed Kratos’ goatee and threw him off the ropes before hitting a series of running strikes in the corner, later hitting a running powerslam. Kratos rallied with a spinebuster and went back to striking in the corner before suplexing Silas across the ring. Del Mar got back in the ring to try and save Silas, so Kratos hit a pounce on Del Mar. He then hit a flying knee strike on Silas for the pin and win.
The Renegade Twins (Charlette & Robyn) defeated Roxy & Ella Envy (w/ Kenzie Paige)
The twins winning made sense given they are trying to setup a title match with Pretty Empowered for the PPV, especially with Envy getting pinned. That said, the debut of Kylie Paige could have been handled better and having her cause her team a match is not the best way to make it work. She does look a lot like Kenzie, based on first impressions, so they may be able to do some twin magic down the line.
As the Pretty Empowered faction were making their way down to ringside, Kyle Davis announced that Kenzie Paige was going to be handcuffed to the ring post which she protested heavily. Robyn Renegade started the match with Envy, dropkicking her into the corner and hitting double knees to Envy’s back.
Roxy tagged in and took it to Charlette, trying to impress Paige and Envy to keep her position in Pretty Empowered. Envy stomped Charlette in the corner before hitting a cannonball. Roxy choked Robyn on the ropes and Envy screamed, “I’m almost proud of you!” and I laughed. This really is a great act.
Roxy and Robyn clotheslined each other and both went down. Both women tagged out and Charlette hit a Thesz press on Envy. That was followed by a fisherman’s suplex on Envy who kicked out. As this happened, Kylie Paige, the sister of Kenzie Paige, debuted and tried to get the handcuffs off her sister. She then jumped on the apron and tried to distract the Renegade Twins, but it resulted in Envy getting hit with a Hart Attack for the pinfall.
– May Valentine, still in her wedding dress, was with Matt Cardona saying that she couldn’t get over last week’s botched wedding with Aron Stevens, thus why she was still wearing the dress a week later. Anyway, Cardona said that he shouldn’t even be wrestling tonight, but he planned on winning so he can call the shots with a stipulation for his title match against Tyrus this weekend.
Cardona said that he had a third partner for tonight that didn’t like Tyrus and that he would tell Knox who it was after the interview.
NWA TV Champion Jordan Clearwater (w/ BLK Jeez) vs. Mims went to a time limit draw
Mims looked like a geek in this finish, going to a time limit draw and wasting his Champions Series shot already. He would have been better off cashing in for the PPV and not being restricted by TV time. Also, going for a bearhug with only 15 seconds left rather than hitting a suplex for a pin attempt? I’m really not sure about the booking on this one.
Clearwater claimed all the ladies wanted to see him as he hinted at gyrating. In a nice touch that I just noticed, Clearwater’s finisher is the Midas Touch which is a big boot. The boot he uses to hit the move is gold. Clearwater tried to stall for time as it counts as a successful defense if he goes the time limit, but Mims took it right to him with a lariat.
Clearwater necked Mims on the ropes and did it a second time on the middle rope before coming back in the ring and choking him. Clearwater hit a vertical suplex on Mims for a two count. He locked in a chinlock on Mims to try and keep him grounded, but Mims keeps firing back with strikes, followed by a series of clotheslines.
Mims called for the Big Strong Slam, but Clearwater rolled him up and then both men started exchanging roll-ups. Clearwater went for the Midas Touch, but Mims countered into a bear hug and the time limit ran out.
– Valentine was with Stevens and she asked him what happened. Stevens talked about the tag team division and Blunt Force Trauma. Valentine said she was talking about the wedding. Stevens went on about how the officiant was an idiot, and that Blunt Force Trauma would be Tag Team Champions soon, cutting the promo like an 80s manager. Valentine screamed that she hated him. This sucked.
Thom Latimer defeated Jax Dane (w/ Chris Silvio, Esq.)
This was a bizarre finish. The match was fine and I loved the distraction spot because it was so stupid, but a heel being that dumb makes all the sense in the world. The fan simply sharing that he emailed asking for an autograph leading to the heel stopping, deciding to sign it during a match, and paying for it made my day. It’s so ridiculous, but that is exactly why I loved it.
Dane continued the gimmick of leaving his vest on to show he wasn’t planning on keeping the match going long. Dane hit a shoulder tackle and then went to the outside of the ring. Chris Silvio ran up to Dane and asked Dane to sign an autograph to give to a fan who said, “I emailed you a while back!”
Naturally, this led to Latimer attacking Dane from behind (after the autograph was signed, because Latimer is a babyface after all) and I laughed at how ridiculous this distraction spot was. The ref then turned around to see Silvio grabbing the foot of Latimer openly yet he did nothing. Dane hit a few chop blocks and worked over Latimer. Thankfully, the follow up interference was actually missed by the ref.
Latimer hit a roll-up and then stomped on Dane in the corner, but sold his leg in the process. Dane shoved Latimer off the middle rope and hit a shoulder tackle before trying to smash his leg into the ring post. Latimer pulled Dane face-first into the post. Dane tried to pop the trunk with his lariat, but Latimer pulled Dane into a crossface and Silvio threw in the towel.
Silvio tried to pull the towel away from Latimer, but Latimer pulled him in and went for a piledriver. Silvio got away as Latimer’s knee gave out.
NWA World Champion Tyrus (w/ BLK Jeez) & Blunt Force Trauma (Damage & Carnage) (w/ Aron Stevens) defeated The Cardona Family (Matt Cardona & Mike Knox) & Rolando Freeman
Davis’ disbelief as Freeman entered as the mystery partner was fantastic. Cardona justified it by saying Freeman had defeated him in the past so the guy that had his number is now his partner. The referee took his time checking for weapons, discovering a weapon (a silver chain) in Freeman’s tights. The referee then found another chain in his knee pad…then a shiv in his boot while Cardona and Knox looked on baffled.
Freeman blind tagged in and Tyrus hit him with the worst Tongan death grip I have ever seen to get the win. Tyrus got to pick the stipulation for the Nuff Said match with Cardona, saying it would be one-on-one with no outside interference to determine who would be undisputed champion.
Final Thoughts:
This show was fun right up until the finish of the last match. I even laughed at Freeman having a shiv in his boot while Cardona and Knox looked on. Tyrus got away with doing no work, which is probably for the best, but I can’t say the main event build for Nuff Said was any good at all. That said, the rest of the card could have some good matches. I actually really enjoyed this episode of Power, minus Tyrus and the nonsensical Valentine/Stevens stuff.
NWA Nuff Said final card:
The NWA is bringing in a guest commentator for the main event of this weekend’s Nuff Said pay-per-view.
In the main event of Nuff Said this Saturday, Tyrus will put his NWA World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Matt Cardona. It was announced last night that Bully Ray will serve as a guest commentator for the match.
“As announced on tonight’s NWA Livestream, @bullyray5150 will be ringside on commentary for the #NuffSaid main event between @PlanetTyrus & @TheMattCardona,” the NWA tweeted on Monday. “NUFF SAID is sold out, but you can still catch it live on @FiteTV!”
Cardona responded to the announcement: “@bullyray5150 sliced a layer of skin off my forehead with a cheese grater a few months ago and now he’s the ‘guest commentator’ in my @nwa Worlds Heavyweight Championship match against @PlanetTyrus? HOW IS THAT FAIR?! #NuffSaid”
Bully Ray also appeared as a guest commentator at the NWA’s Alwayz Ready PPV in June 2022.
Bully Ray was in action on the live episode of NWA Power last week, losing to Odinson by disqualification in a “no tables” match.
At NWA Hard Times 3 last November, Tyrus defeated Trevor Murdoch and Cardona in a triple threat match to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Nuff Said is being held at the Egypt Shrine Center in Tampa, Florida on Saturday night. The updated card for the PPV is listed below:
Several new matches have been announced for NWA Nuff Said.
The promotion revealed on Saturday that Kamille will defend her NWA World Women’s Championship against Angelina Love on the pay-per-view. Kerry Morton will defend his NWA Junior Heavyweight belt against Alex Taylor and EC3 will take on a debuting Alex Riley, who will wrestle under his real name of Kevin Kiley.
The 41-year-old Kiley returned to the ring in December for the first time since his release from WWE in 2016. He teamed with Tyrus on a Create a Pro event in Lynbrook, New York on December 8, 2022. He would later appear on Tyrus’ podcast and spoke about wanting to get back in the ring again soon.
On Sunday, the NWA also announced that Chris Adonis will face former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Trevor Murdoch, Cyon will defend the National title against Homicide and Thom Latimer will face Fodder in a Singapore cane match.
NWA Nuff Said takes place Saturday, February 11, 2023, from the Egypt Shrine Center in Tampa, Florida. The lineup for the show is below.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including the Royal Rumble on Sunday, Cody’s merch sales, odds for the show, more on the Briscoes and WBD, a lawsuit over the Luchasaurus mask, Kenny Omega visa update, and tons more. Plus, JORDAN CLEARWATER joins us to talk NWA and New Japan Strong! A fun show as always so check it out~!
