Tag: strictly business

NWA Power results: Strictly Business vs. The Cardonas

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

NWA Power opened with Bully Ray coming down to the ring. He shook the hands of the announcers, and Velvet Sky made some awkward statement about not seeing him come near them. Bully Ray asked the fans to chant “NWA” and they obliged. Mike Knox and VSK came down to the ring.

Knox talked about how Bully Ray got him back into wrestling, and then went on to call him a piece of garbage and a terrible person. He said that Bully Ray was there to rip everyone off, take money, and burn the bridges, while leaving his friends in Aces and Eights to starve (as Mike Knox was in the group with Bully).

Knox said that Bully left them to starve and he would never forgive or forget that. Bully Ray said he was a different person now than he was then, and if he did wrong by anyone, he was sorry. The fans chanted “Hug it out!” Bully offered a handshake and said he would leave, but Knox punched him and VSK brought a table into the ring. Knox then chokeslammed Bully Ray through the table and left him laying. Tim Storm and the referees checked on Bully Ray as they went to the intro.

Trevor Murdoch had a promo in the ring before the show started in the empty arena, asking that the fans contribute to their local food banks, but Rush Freeman interrupted him and said that his big brother was going to come there and beat up Murdoch. A smaller dude came into the ring and attacked Murdoch, so Murdoch hit a big boot on him, and then hit a pop up spinebuster on Freeman before leaving. Not sure what the point of this was.

Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green were with May Valentine backstage. Cardona talked about how he was forced to give up the title and that he was the real NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, but that he was trusting Billy Corgan until he got back. Green claimed that Corgan said something in the ring that no one else knows but them, and that they are not going to forget.

Luke Hawx was backstage talking about being disrespected by The Fixers as they attacked PJ Hawx and Homicide at NWA Alwayz Ready. He was angry at Homicide as well, because he didn’t check on PJ Hawx. The promo was a bit confusing at first, as it wasn’t clear if he was talking about Homicide or The Fixers. He claimed Homicide went to help the Mortons and ignored the Hawx family. While I’m not quite sure what he is talking about, it is clear they’re building something between him and Homicide.

Taya Valkyrie defeated Taryn Terrell

This wasn’t too bad. Terrell is an amusing heel to watch in the ring, and Valkyrie needed a stronger showing after the match on the PPV didn’t go as planned.

Terrell came out with a cup full of water and told it to stay in the corner when she placed it there like a pet. Terrell was angry that Valkyrie’s skirt was larger than hers. Valkyrie responded by kicking her and stomping in the corner. Valkyrie hit an uppercut and a hip attack in the corner before hitting a meteora in the corner for a two count.

Valkyrie put Terrell on the middle rope and hit a sliding German suplex. Terrell tried to run around the ring, but managed to stomp on Valkyrie as they got back in the ring. Terrell did a camel clutch, but Valkyrie fought it off and drove her back into the corner. Terrell screamed that she needed to hydrate. Valkyrie hit a drop toe hold and hit a curb stomp.

Terrell hit a cutter before going for a cross body, but Valkyrie caught her and hit the Road to Valhalla for the pinfall.

Natalia Markova was backstage with May Valentine and talked about how Taryn Terrell was welcome to be around her, though she didn’t need her to win. Markova then talked about how she wanted to face Kamille soon and challenge for the NWA World Women’s Championship.

KiLynn King was backstage with May Valentine and talked about how she was very close to beating Kamille. She said she was going to rise up the ranks again, and the next time she got a title shot she was not going to miss.

Strictly Business (Thom Latimer & Chris Adonis) defeated The Cardonas (Mike Knox & VSK)

It seems Strictly Business are back together for this match after the breakdown of their relationship recently, functioning as babyfaces. I am not sure why Strictly Business went over here after having Knox and VSK lay out Bully Ray to open the show. It seems like it would be wiser to have them go forward and build some momentum heading into what is likely a match with Bully Ray and a partner.

Latmier and Knox locked up to start the match. Latimer hit a dropkick to drop Knox. Latimer hit a shoulder block after Joe Galli called him by his nickname, “The Maniacal King of All Evil” which is an unusual nickname for a babyface. Adonis hit a vertical suplex on VSK before chopping him, which sent him running to tag in Knox.

Knox hit some hard punches in the corner that sent Adonis to the mat, but Adonis got up, turned it around, and hit several hard chops. Adonis hit a flying shoulder block on Knox. Knox hit a running crossbody on Adonis, then sent Adonis into a dropkick from VSK for a two count.

Latimer came in and hit a big spinning back suplex on VSK, who then rolled up Latimer but yanked the tights, which the ref saw. As the ref was chastising VSK, Knox hit a big boot and then VSK hit a superkick on Latimer. Knox sent VSK into the corner to hit Adonis with an elbow, but Adonis caught him in the Master Lock. As Knox charged, Adonis dropped VSK and put the Master Lock on Knox while Adonis hit a pop-up powerbomb on VSK for the pinfall.

Final Thoughts

While they did a good job setting up future storylines for Kamille and the women’s title, there were a lot of questions about the other titles on this show. I am not sure if Trevor Murdoch feuding with Rush Freeman is a good idea, given Freeman is basically an undercard job guy. I was glad to see that they are clearly moving away from Murdoch being heelish and into a more “babyface with an edge” type of character, as that suits him well.

I think they were quite obviously setting up a Bully Ray and Mike Knox match down the line, though with VSK involved, it seems like Bully might be looking for a tag team partner.

The wrestling was decent on the show tonight, but there was nothing too noteworthy. The promos were mostly good, but it does feel like a somewhat weak follow up to NWA Alwayz Ready. That said, NWA does like to take their time on storylines, so we shall see how this plays out in the weeks to come.

NWA Power results: Team War finals

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

The British Invasion (Doug Williams & Nick Aldis) defeated Jaden Roller & Fable Jake

This felt like a classic JCP squash in the 80s with the stars trying to get a decent match out of the jobbers. It felt quite nostalgic even though JCP was before my time.

Fable Jake looks like a jobber out of 1992, which fits this show quite well. Doug Williams tied Roller up early on and hit a butterfly suplex. Jake decided the best way to break up a complicated submission was to punch Williams in the face. Simple, but effective. Aldis threw Jake around before tagging out to Williams, and they continued their double team assault.

Jake and Roller got some heat on Williams. Jake’s offence did not look good. Roller hit a snapmare and then an elbow drop. Williams threw Jake’s foot into the stomach of his own partner before hitting an exploder suplex and tagging out to Aldis. Aldis ran wild for a bit before Jake raked his eyes and tagged out to Roller.

Aldis dropped down as Roller hit the ropes, tripped over him, and crashed into Jake. That was funny. Williams hit the Chaos Theory on Roller and Aldis followed up with a flying elbow for the win.

Tootie Lynn (w/ Kylie Rae) defeated Marti Belle (w/ Allysin Kay)

This was shockingly fine, given that Marti Belle has been very hit or miss. Belle was fine in this match, and while Lynn spent most of it selling, she also looked good.

Marti Belle ate a kick from Lynn early on. Belle rolled up Lynn and hit a running knee before hitting a hip attack in the corner. Belle kept the advantage for a few minutes here, acting as the heel in this match. Lynn fired up but got dropped with a forearm. Belle put Lynn in a fireman’s carry and yelled that she has been working out to Medusa at the commentary table.

Lynn floated out and hit a clothesline, making her pay for showing off. Belle hit The Stroke on Lynn and went for a Pedigree, but Lynn rolled her up and scored a pinfall. Both Kylie Rae and Tootie Lynn have pinned members of the Hex in non-title matches, so it looks like we have our next title defence for the Hex set.

Austin Idol and Cyon were with May Valentine and Cyon said he had no explanation for who his father was. Valentine asked Idol why he was helping Cyon, and Idol said that he liked to help people, and he had no idea who Cyon’s father was, but it could have been any historical NWA champion. Cyon interrupted and said that he didn’t need help, and that his father was a world champion. I’m actually very into this storyline.

Jennacide & Natalia Markova ended in a count out

Despite the non-finish, I really liked this match. Neither woman was able to overcome the other, and both showed some great wrestling here. Markova isn’t bad at all, and Jennacide is very good, so this was fun to watch. This will likely set up some sort of rematch, and I’m looking forward to it.

Jennacide and Markova exchanged some moves with Jennacide using power to keep the advantage. Markova baited Jennacide in and scored a roll up, but Jennacide kicked out. Both women exchanged hard forearms until Jennacide hit a huge double hand chop on Jennacide. Jennacide hit a spinebuster for a two count.

Markova went for a dive, but Jennacide hit an uppercut to cut her off. Jennacide went for a brainbuster on the apron, but Markova fought out and hit a tornado DDT off the apron onto the floor. That was brutal. Jennacide blocked a hurricanrana and powerbombed Markova on the apron, and both women crashed to the floor as the referee counted both of them out.

Melina defeated Christi Jaynes

This wasn’t good at all. They worked very hard, but could just never get on the same page. While Jayne’s offence looked good when Melina was there to take it, everything seemed to be off. Melina had trouble running the ropes and completely botched the finish, and I have no idea what it was supposed to be.

Commentary noted that Melina wanted to be the permanent number one contender as she mentioned in a promo a few weeks back, indicating that she did not want to wrestle Jaynes here. It was bizarre hearing the commentary agree with this because it’s a very heel belief. That said, they locked up and refused to let it go, working around the ring for a bit with it. Melina hit a dropkick and Jaynes fell to the apron.

Time then froze as Melina stared at her. Stars were born and died in the time that nothing happened. Melina then went for a baseball slide and Jaynes moved. Jaynes got the heat for a little bit before rolling through a roll up into an STF. They seemed to be a bit lost before that, but that looked nice. The finish of the match was completely botched with Melina just giving up on an STF or Muta Lock attempt after locking the legs, pausing, then just letting it go and pinning Jaynes. This happened after Jaynes missed a dropkick, which she didn’t actually miss, and Melina just no sold. Yikes.

Matt Cardona defeated Victor Benjamin

Perfectly acceptable enhancement match, with Cardona giving lots to Benjamin but never losing control of the match. Velvet Sky called Cardona boring and buried him as such, which is not something you should do with one of your main event talents.

Cardona underestimated Benjamin and ate a kick to the face that staggered him and made him go to the floor. Cardona baited him in and pulled Benjamin’s legs out from under him to send him crashing to the apron. Cardona hit a neckbreaker and got the heat for a little bit. Cardona kept under estimating Benjamin, which kept giving him openings before Cardona finally hit a Radio Silence for the win.

Strictly Business (Thom Latimer & Chris Adonis) & El Rudo defeated The End (Odinson & Parrow) & Rodney Mack in the Team War finals

So this was a team match that consisted of 3 man teams, with each member of the team facing off in singles matches where eliminations could happen by pinfall, submission, or being thrown over the top rope. As one member is eliminated, the next member of the team enters. It seems like they didn’t have the rules of this match figured out in the first match of this type last week, but figured it out. This was a real chance to try and elevate The End, but the NWA didn’t take it. I’m quite disappointed in the booking of this match.

Rodney Mack and El Rudo started things off. Mack hit Rudo’s head into the various turnbuckles around the ring. Rudo rolled up Mack and eliminated him. Parrow came in and hit a powerbomb on Rudo for the pinfall. Parrow and Latimer then exchanged power moves, with Parrow getting the best of it several times, but Latimer was finally able to top him with a piledriver. I liked this segment of the match.

Odinson was the last member of his team like last week, and took it right to Latimer. Odinson hit some good European uppercuts, putting Latimer in trouble. Adonis jumped on the apron and put the Master Lock on Odinson while the ref’s back was turned. The referee turned around and gave him a 5 count, and Latimer let go at 3. The referee DQ’d him anyway, which he should have done, as Adonis was not active in the match. This also begs the question to why there were no DQs last week, but there were this week. The finish had Odinson get hit with a piledriver from Latimer for the pinfall. Latimer, Adonis, and Rudo celebrated as the show closed.

Final Thoughts:

Well, there have certainly been better episodes of NWA Power than this one. The Team War concept suffered the same fate of the Champion’s Series last year – not enough clarity for what the rules are and how the whole thing was going to be conducted. In many ways, the NWA needs to do a better job of telling us what is going on with graphics and explanations from the announcers. Joe Galli tries, but there is only so much you can do without the production being on the same page.

I really enjoy NWA Power most weeks. It’s usually a very easy to watch show with easy to follow stories, but they keep running into things like this that are easy fixes. That, along with not re-recording botched finishes on a taped show is just bizarre. There is a lot of good in this product (the Jennacide and Markova match tonight was excellent), but they seem to shoot themselves in the foot consistently from a production standpoint.

NWA Power results: Three-way tag team match

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

Strictly Business opened this week’s show with Tim Storm, asking them about what happened with Melina & World Champion Trevor Murdoch. They challenged Storm to a fight for questioning them. Thom Latimer, Chris Adonis and Kamille circled the ring and were getting ready to attack him as Joe Galli tried to stop it, but Nick Aldis made his way to the ring instead and cut them off, saying that it wasn’t the time or place to do this.

They all backed down, but were eying Aldis suspiciously. This was a really simple, but good opening angle. The tension in Strictly Business is building here and I like this new direction with Aldis.

Melina was with May Valentine at the podium and she cut a promo on Kamille, indicating that someone, someday was going to take the title from her. Chelsea Green came out with her trophy from the last PPV, claiming that Melina has done nothing for the business, and that she should be champion.

Tag Team Title eliminator tournament match: Hawx Aerie (Luke & PJ Hawx) defeated Colby Corino & JTG

Corino was angry that Luke Hawx and JTG shook hands at the start of the match, almost costing them it as it started. After some basic exchanges with JTG, Corino ended up in the ring with PJ Hawx and made the rookie pay for his inexperience. Hawx was eventually able to tag his father in after a belly-to-belly.

Luke Hawx made a comeback, but Corino cut him off and continued using heelish attacks before tagging out to JTG, who was not impressed with Corino.

After a relatively even exchange between JTG and Luke Hawx, both men hit punches and fell at the same time. Mutual tags were made and PJ Hawx got his hands on Corino. Hawx Aerie sent Corino to the ropes with PJ Hawx trying to send Corino into the air into a powerslam from his dad, but something went wrong. Somehow, they still hit the powerslam and picked up the win.

This was a decent match although the finish was a bit messed up. I have no idea how they still hit the powerslam considering what happened. I like Hawx Aerie advancing in the tag tournament.

— Cyon cut a promo about how he wanted the TV title and that he was going to cash in his title shot earned in the Champions Series to take on Tyrus. This was a good and simple promo.

— Tyrus, Austin Idol, BLK Jeez and Jordan Clearwater were at the podium. Idol promised that if Cyon tried to cash in his title shot on Tyrus, they were going to destroy him and take his mask. Jeez promised that pain was the only thing awaiting him. Tyrus said that he wasn’t quite sure, but he thought he knew him and it was clear Cyon knew who he was, so he was going to take his mask.

Jennacide defeated Allysin Kay

This was fine, but a bit boring. It might have been better with a little more time. The minor botches didn’t take away from it, thankfully.

Jennacide and Kay saw Jennacide dominating Kay in the early part of the match, attacking Kay’s shoulder repeatedly. Jennacide used a few armbars throughout until she hit a vertical suplex and went going right back to the shoulder and arm.

Both women exchanged strikes in the middle until Kay hit a stunner and then a clothesline for a two count. Jennacide and Kay had some miscommunication after two botched moves.

Jennacide hit a chokeslam and went to the middle rope. Kay responded by hitting a power bomb off the ropes. Lady Frost came down to the ring and distracted Kay which led to Jennacide rolling her up with a handful of tights for the win.

Taryn Terrell came out and celebrated with Jennacide after the match. It looks like they are heading towards a Tag Team title match with Kay and Marti Belle.

— La Rebelion was with May Valentine and talked about how they would take on any tag team in any company and that they were going to bring the NWA Tag Team titles to Mexico to take on all comers.

Judias (w/ James Mitchell) & James Storm went to a double DQ

Judias is no good. He is really, really bad. Storm, however, is great and The Sinister Minister is a great manager, but Judias really sucks. I would have rather seen Mil Muertes as Judas Mesias again than this dude.

Storm did some cowboy martial arts poses after a lock up, which popped the crowd, but Judias did not see the humor in it, punching Storm in the face and working him over in the corner. As both men exchanged punches in the corner, the referee threw the match out as they wouldn’t break when he asked.

Da Pope & NWA World Champion Trevor Murdoch defeated The End & Jeremiah Plunkett & Crimson in a three-way match

This was a really fast match that served to further the post-match angle than anything else. I would have liked to see them get more time as it could have been really fun.

This started with Murdoch and Plunkett immediately throwing Parrow to the outside of the ring. Murdoch hit a flying crossbody on Plunkett and got a two count. Murdoch immediately started selling his knee and tagged out to Pope who exchanged strikes with Plunkett.

Parrow pulled Pope from the ring and threw him into the guardrail before mauling Plunkett in the ring. Plunkett dodged a corner charge from Odinson who crashed into the ring post. As Plunkett turned around, Pope hit the Elijah Express on Plunkett for the pinfall.

Jax Dane came down to the ring with a referee and claimed he was going to challenge the injured Murdoch for the title at that moment. However, Crimson punched Dane in the face and prevented him from cashing in. So it appears the cashing in of title shots from the Champions Series is like WWE’s Money in the Bank which was not explained before the tournament.

Final Thoughts:

This was a decent episode of NWA Power and one that flowed nicely from one segment to the next. If you are looking for good in-ring action, this show was merely average. I think the best segment of the show was easily the opening with Aldis and Strictly Business. Fewer minutes from the opening tag and more for the main event would have also been nice.

NWA Power results: Adonis vs. Latimer vs. Parrow

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

Kyle Davis started the show with Strictly Business to talk about the main event triple threat with Parrow, Adonis, and Latimer where the winner would advance to face JTG next week for the National title. They talked about having the advantage in the match, but Kamille criticized Corgan for making the triple threat. Aldis insisted this was Corgan staking the odds against Strictly Business.

–May Valentine was with the War Kings. Crimson talked about his upcoming match with Slice Boogie.

The Mystery Man defeated Mims

There’s something familiar about the Mystery Man, but I can’t put my finger on it. I’m deliberately avoiding looking up who he is to let them tell their story, but I feel like I’ve seen him before. He looked good in this match, despite it being a little slower.

This marked the debut of the masked man we have seen in recent weeks. Early on, he showed some great technique in his wrestling, managing to ground Mims. Right after I wrote that, Tim Storm said it, so we’re on the same page. Mystery Man hit a huge back suplex on Mims and some hard strikes.

Mims was never completely out of it in this match, but Mystery Man was clearly the more experienced grappler with his ability, making Mims pay for every misstep. Mims made a comeback and got a Big Strong Boy chant before hitting a big splash. Mystery Man responded with a sling blade and a Death Valley Driver and scored the pinfall.

–BLKJeez and Jordan Clearwater were with Kyle Davis. Jeez promised that they had a plan for their upcoming match.

Tyrus (with Austin Idol) defeated BLKJeez & Jordan Clearwater

What was this? What? Why?

The match started, and Jeez laid down. He asked Clearwater to lay down, and Clearwater refused. Jeez tried to convince him to do it, and he eventually did. They stayed down, and Tyrus pinned them. What?

–Thunder Rosa & Serena Deeb were with Kyle Davis, and the crowd popped huge for Rosa. Deeb and Rosa had some tension between each other, as Deeb defeated Rosa for the title. Deeb said she wanted her rematch for the title, and Rosa said that she should be the number 1 contender. It looks like we are getting Rosa and Deeb in a singles match soon.

Serena Deeb indicated that she wanted to mentor someone like Kylie Rae, who came out. She talked about how great Deeb and Rosa are, and she was happy to be there with them. Rosa indicated she wanted to mentor. Melina came out, thinking it was her, but she was wrong. It was Skye Blue. This broke down into a brawl. This was a bit of a mess of a segment.

–May Valentine was with Taryn Terrell and Jennacide. Taryn said they were overlooking Jennacide. Terrell called AEW “AWE” and made a weird analogy about rock hard pillows.

Crimson (w/ Jax Dane) defeated Slice Boogie w/ Marche Rocket in a No DQ Grudge Match

This wasn’t a bad match. Crimson is far better than his TNA days, and Boogie is quite good. I’m a bit tired of the “Will they get along?!” storylines in the tag division as we have two of those going now.

Crimson went right after Boogie, beating him around the ring and ringside. As Crimson came back into the ring, Boogie kicked the middle rope to low blow Crimson, and hit an axe kick for a pinfall attempt.

Crimson, using his experience and power, was able to make a bit of a comeback, but Boogie hit a tornado inverted DDT for a 2 count. Boogie grabbed a chair and set it up in the corner between the middle and top rope. Crimson reversed an Irish whip into a suplex on Boogie and sent Boogie to the floor.

Crimson whipped Boogie with his belt around ringside. Boogie tried for a low blow, but Crimson hit a Death Valley Driver. He stopped the pinfall and went for the chair. Dane told him he didn’t need the chair, and he wasn’t happy with it, but Crimson listened and hit a Death Valley Driver for the pinfall.

–Aron Stevens and Trevor Murdoch were on commentary for this match, as they were both NWA National Champions. Apparently, Stevens broke Velvet Sky’s chair and was left near the floor. It was a comedy bit, but it made me laugh.

NWA National Title qualifier: Chris Adonis defeated Thom Latimer and Parrow

Decent main event here, with the story of the match being Latimer and Adonis both wanting to win, but especially making sure that Parrow didn’t win. Parrow looked like a beast in the match, but he couldn’t overcome the odds, and in the end, Adonis used his brain to win. To be fair, he tricked Bram, so that doesn’t sound too difficult.

Adonis and Latimer spent the early parts of the match double teaming Parrow, sending him to the floor after a bit, and deciding to wrestle each other fair and square to see who the better man was, but they were giving Parrow time to recover.

Every time Parrow came back into the match, Latimer and Adonis would send him back to the floor. Problems between Adonis and Latimer began to escalate when Latimer tried to pin Parrow and Adonis broke it up. Parrow took advantage of this and started throwing both men around. He hit the Parrow Driver on Adonis, but Latimer broke it up.

Parrow made Latimer pay with a powerbomb for a two count. Strictly Business hit a double superplex on Parrow, and then when Latimer went up top for a moonsault, Adonis stole the pin by pinning Parrow. Latimer was angry, but Adonis promised that Latimer would get the first shot.

Adonis moves on to face JTG next week for the National title!

Final Thoughts:

Solid, if unspectacular, episode of NWA Power this week. The National title was the main storyline, and Aron Stevens was great on commentary in particular, selling the importance of the match and the history of the wrestlers involved.

I’m looking forward to Adonis against JTG next week, but I also want to see the next chapter in Murdoch’s story start to move forward. Hopefully, we’ll see that addressed a bit more. It’s clear that Thunder Rosa is, by far, their biggest star. She got a huge pop from the studio audience, and having them back shows her time in AEW is also quite effective in getting her over.

The women’s division clearly has a few aces up their sleeve over the next few months, as even though the angle with them tonight was a bit poorly executed (especially when Melina arrived), there are still some very interesting matches that were set up.

NWA Super Power results: Strictly Business vs. Villain Enterprises

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

Billy Corgan opened the show and talked about how he hoped everyone was safe. He said that this episode of NWA Power was meant to be the go-home show for the Crockett Cup, but it had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. He promised an announcement about the future of the NWA at the end of the show.

Marty Scurll and Brody King came out to cheers from the crowd. Scurll said he didn’t come alone, and that when you mess with him, you mess with the whole of Villain Enterprises. King talked about how him and PCO were the winners of the Crockett Cup last year and are former NWA Tag Team Champions. King promised that Scurll would be the next NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion.

A recap of Kamille’s story played here that we saw a preview to a few weeks ago. They also replayed her promo, which was just as excellent as the first time I saw it.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express came out for an interview with Sean Mooney. Ricky Morton said that since 1985, he’s been looking for the Crockett Cup. He said last year they lost in the first round to The Briscoes, but that they still have a chance of winning because no one thought they could be nine-time champions.

**********

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express defeated Shooter Stevens & The Question Mark

Before the match started, Stevens claimed his black belt proved his virility. Well then. Question Mark started the match with Morton and dropped him with a palm strike. Stevens tagged in, missed an elbow, and tagged back out to Question Mark. Question Mark sent Morton into the corner.

Question Mark tagged out and Stevens ate several punches from Morton and Gibson and Flair flopped into the middle of the ring. Stevens asked “What happened?!” but raked the eyes and started to get the heat on Morton. Stevens then asked for a timeout for a breather. Trevor Murdoch came out, and Stevens said he had backup named Question Mark Jr.

Brian Milonas came out wearing a Question Mark mask. He helped choke Morton on the ropes, but Murdoch chased him around the ring. Question Mark Jr. collapsed out of breath halfway around the ring, and Stevens got angry. Gibson shoved Stevens and he fell backwards into a roll-up from Morton for the 1-2-3.

This was a ton of fun with it being a pure comedy match. I loved the spot for the finish, and Question Mark Jr. being out of breath.

**********

Melina came out and cut a promo about why she should get a shot at the NWA Women’s Championship. Melina said Allysin Kay doesn’t deserve a shot at the title because she lost it and then lost her rematch.

Kay came out and the referees were there to keep them apart. Kay said that Thunder Rosa beat her fair and square, and because Melina ruined her rematch, she wanted to fight Melina at the Crockett Cup. Kay called Melina a coward.

Thunder Rosa came out to a massive pop. She assured Kay that the interference had nothing to do with her losing and she said she didn’t need help to be champion. She wanted to represent her family, dojo, and the NWA with pride. She isn’t going to lay down for anyone, including Melina. Thunder Rosa said she wanted a triple threat with Kay and Melina, saying she could take both of them.

**********

Tim Storm defeated Jax Dane in a no DQ match

Dane started the match by attacking Storm at ringside and then hitting a big splash in the corner. Dane hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Storm, which is crazy, because Storm is a very big man. Storm sent Dane flying into the steps as Joe Galli told us that it took Storm multiple times to beat Dane for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.

Both men brawled into the crowd and Storm sent Dane into the railing at the top of the stairs. Dane’s punches were not very good, but he clobbered Storm. Storm hit an elbow, took Dane to the top of the stairs, and drove Dane into a poster of Storm’s own face. Storm used a gate on the leg of Dane, but Dane fought back and sent Storm down the stairs with a punch.

They came down to the announce table and brawled more at ringside, where Storm and Dane started to chop the crap out of each other. Dane went for a belly-to-belly on the floor, but Storm didn’t quite get over, and it looked like his shoulder was driven into the floor. That had to suck. Danny Deals gave Dane a chair, but he was unable to send Storm into it.

Storm hit a big boot, but Dane stood right up and hit the Dane Effect (a Samoan drop). Storm stood up too, and Dane charged him, but Storm dodged and Dane crashed head-first into the chair and walked backwards into a Perfect Storm for the three count.

Danny Deals now has to be in the ring for five minutes with Tim Storm! Deals tried to run away but the referee didn’t let him. The fans chanted “Tim is gonna kill you!” They then chanted “Get in the ring!” as they wanted Storm to beat him up. Deals got into the ring, put glasses on, and pretended to be Mama Storm again with a wig.

Storm pulled the wig and glasses off and then Deals tried to hug him. Storm patted him on the back, and Deals offered a handshake. Storm took it and then sent him flying into the ropes and hit a Perfect Storm. Storm picked him up and hit one more to a roar from the crowd.

The match wasn’t anything special, but Storm is such an amazing babyface that I still loved this.

**********

May Valentine’s Diary aired and she talked about how upset she was that Royce Isaacs got jealous of Sal Rinauro. May was very upset that Isaacs tried to break Rinauro’s other arm and talked about how Isaacs seems like he is starting to lose his mind with jealously. This was good.

**********

Tasha Steelz defeated Ashley Vox and Marti Belle in a triple threat match

Vox and Steelz are friends, so they didn’t want to start the match with each other, but they did fair and square when Belle stepped out of the ring. Vox went for a pinfall, but Belle broke it up and drove Vox into the ring post. Belle hit running knees on both Steelz and Vox before hitting rolling suplexes on Vox.

Steelz cut her off and avoided a charge from Belle by floating over, but ate a boot from Vox. Belle hit a rolling elbow on Vox and went for a Samoan drop, but Vox hit a superkick on Belle and then locked in the Reel Catch on Steelz. Belle hit a pump kick on Vox, but Steelz managed to hit a codebreaker on Belle for the win!

Vox and Steelz are quite good, and Steelz has a very good presence. Vox was probably the best worker in the match. I’ve been very impressed with her week by week — they have something with her.

**********

Eddie Kingston came out with James Storm and Eli Drake and talked about how he is going through some personal stuff, worried about Homicide. He asked the crowd not to disrespect him because he doesn’t disrespect them, and the crowd applauded as Kingston tried to collect himself. This was such a small thing to help get over how upset Kingston is.

Kingston said he wanted Storm and Drake because they’re fighters and the best tag team wrestlers in the world because of the titles they hold. He worked with them to get rid of The Bouncers, and he wants to focus on Pope.

Storm said he always wanted to make sure the fans get to enjoy the NWA shows, but while they can make people laugh, he can beat people up too. Storm said all three of them love entertaining and love wrestling, but don’t get them confused, they will laugh as they have fun, and they will laugh after stomping a mudhole.

Drake pointed right toward the Crockett Cup and said the next pay-per-view is for that cup, so that is in his focus. Drake said The Bouncers came in and got bounced back to Ring of Honor. Drake said they could bring whoever they want to the Crockett Cup, but he is a fighter.

Storm, Kingston, and himself are all very different people, but they love fighting. He said “Sorry about your damn luck,” with James Storm just looking at him weirdly and then saying, “Yeah!”

All three men were incredible performers here. What a great promo.

**********

Strictly Business (Nick Aldis & Thom Latimer) defeated Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll & Brody King)

Scurll started the match with Aldis, but Aldis immediately tagged out to Latimer. Scurll was about to lock up with Latimer, but ducked out and tagged King just like Aldis did.

King went for a chop on Latimer, but Latimer ducked and hit a shoulder block. Latimer hit a dropkick on King. King responded with a shoulder tackle and then chopped him hard.

King chopped the crap out of Latimer and sent him to the ropes, but Latimer reversed and Aldis hit a knee lift to the back of King. Latimer hit the ropes, but Scurll hit a knee of his own and then tagged in. Scurll hit a chop and then an uppercut, while the referee told him that he didn’t want anymore shenanigans.

Scurll hit the rope and clapped his hands and pointed to Aldis like Aldis kneed him in the back. The ref turned around and started arguing with Aldis, then Scurll hit a drop toe hold on Latimer and King hit a splash. Scurll hit his apron superkick on Latimer, but Aldis threw Scurll to the floor and Latimer drove Scurll into the ring post and started to punch him by the stairs into the crowd.

Aldis came in, and now he was squaring off with Scurll when he’s already been beaten down. Aldis raked the eyes and distracted the ref for some cheap double teams with Latimer. They then got the heat on Scurll for the next few minutes. Latimer went for a vertical suplex, but Scurll hit a huge vertical suplex on Latimer and tagged out to King.

King chopped the heck out of both opponents, then crushed them in the corner and hit a double clothesline/enzuigiri on Latimer. Scurll hit a sunset flip on King, which sent him into German suplexing Latimer. Aldis ended up back in, but King hit a piledriver on him. Latimer made the save.

Scurll pulled the ropes down and Latimer fell to the floor. Scurll then did his fake-out superkick on Aldis and went for the chicken wing, but Kamille came out and distracted the ref. Aldis went for an umbrella shot, but Scurll ducked and took it from him and hit the running in Royce Isaacs.

Scurll hit a dive onto Isaacs, but in the middle of the chaos, Latimer low blowed King and Aldis hit a flying elbow and pinned him.

Strictly Business won in a very good match. It’s too bad the Crockett Cup isn’t coming yet.

A message from Billy Corgan then aired, with him saying the roster of the NWA is too talented and the fans are too supportive for them to fold the NWA right now. He said that no matter how tough things are right now, they will be continuing and will be producing new content in a way they considered when this all started until the return of NWA Power in the future.

Next week, NWA Carnyland debuts. Corgan couldn’t tell us what it was about, because it was too hard to describe. I will be right here with the recap next week for you all.

NWA Power results: Strictly Business & Villain Enterprises brawl

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

Sean Mooney opened the show talking about the matches coming up for NWA Power. These little segments are simple, but it makes it so easy to invest in the matches.

Tim Storm cut a promo about how the fake Mama Storm bothered him and really got under his skin. Storm said that he has his own path to walk and if Strictly Business is a part of it or not, he will get the job done. Thomas Latimer came out and said that Storm was old news, and Strictly Business was done with him.

Latimer accused Storm of trying to drive a wedge between him and Nick Aldis, as he was the best man in Aldis’ wedding. Latimer said that if it got to the point where he had to wrestle Aldis, it would be the best man winning, as they have wrestled before.

Latimer left to boos, and Storm said “This is where the fake Mama Storm usually comes out.” Danny Deals from the ads entered.

Deals was the one impersonating Mama Storm, so Tim wanted to get his hands on him. Deals said that he had a deal to help Storm get back on his feet, with a tag team partner. Deals said that he could take door one, which is the easy way, or door two, which is hellfire. Storm said he was going to choose door three and get his hands on Deals’ neck.

Deals said that he will make a deal, because he’s Danny Deals. Since Storm didn’t want to team with him, he is going to book him in a match, and if he loses, he needs to get him an NWA contract, but if he wins, he gets five minutes in the ring with Deals.

Deals asked if anyone remembered how Tim Storm won the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, and insisted that it was with nefarious means. Deals said the man he took the title from didn’t forget, and he was coming back to get his revenge. Jax Dane then walked out and got in Storm’s face. This was absolutely awesome.

**********

Matt Cross was with David Marquez and talked about how the NWA had history, heart, and spirit — and he has it too. He talked about how he was like the legends of old, hitting the road, but he now wants to find a place to call home, and he thought this was the time and place. Cross said they weren’t afraid of the word wrestling in the NWA, and he was here to live forever.

Zicky Dice defeated Matt Cross and NWA Television Champion Ricky Starks in a non-title triple threat match

This was a non-title match, and it happened because of the time limit draw between Starks and Cross. Dice wormed his way into it to make it a triple threat. Dice rolled out of the ring and pulled Starks to the floor. Both men started brawling as the crowd chanted “We don’t like you!” to Dice.

Cross hit a suicide dive onto both of his opponents, then Cross and Starks hit a double clothesline and both were down. Dice tried to get one over on both of them by sneaking in with pinfall attempts. Cross and Starks sent him to the ropes and hit a double back body drop before resuming their fight.

Starks went for the stroke, but Cross countered and hit the Cross Cutter on him. Cross went to the top rope and hit a beautiful Shooting Star Press on Starks, but Dice threw Cross to the floor and stole the pinfall.

Dice then threw an over-the-top celebration, and I expect he will be getting a TV title match soon.

**********

May Valentine’s diary aired and she talked about how Royce Isaacs got a win over The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, how she was so proud of him for it, and that night he said he loved her. Valentine showed her makeup routine and put makeup on Sal Rinauro to practice on him. She also talked about how Kamille wasn’t really a scary monster. This was fun.

**********

Aron Stevens came out and Joe Galli talked about how he has ran away recently, leaving Question Mark to take a beating. Stevens denied it, and Galli asked if he wanted to be a fighting champion.

Stevens said he was a fighting champion, otherwise he wouldn’t be a third degree National Champion. He then dodged the questions and said Question Mark had a match coming up now.

Trevor Murdoch defeated The Question Mark

Question Mark started the match by attacking rapidly, but Murdoch dodged a Mongrovian Spike and Question Mark hit the top turnbuckle. Murdoch went to the top rope and hit a top rope bulldog for the pinfall.

Stevens immediately attacked Murdoch after the match and began to beat him down, hitting several elbows to the ear on the corner that left Murdoch unconscious. I liked this. It was a good heat angle to show that Stevens really isn’t just a comedy figure, but someone that can be dangerous.

**********

Sean Mooney was with Nick Aldis and got right to business by asking about Villain Enterprises. Aldis said he heroically beat “Flop” Gordon at Hard Times, then mentioned how he and Royce Isaacs beat The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, proving that he is the man and that he is the one driving the NWA forward — “It isn’t trickle down economics, it’s Nickel-down economics.”

Aldis decided to give Marty Scurll one chance to back out of the deal, and he told Scurll to come out and admit that Aldis was the better man. Scurll entered to a massive reaction from the crowd. Scurll said he was sick of talking and wanted to fight right now. Aldis asked him if he wanted to do this, and Isaacs came out.

Scurll said yes, then Latimer came out. Aldis gave him one last chance, but Marty told them to bring it, because he’s a fighting babyface. Brody King made his way down and Villain Enterprises evened the odds a little bit as Scurll and King started brawling with Isaacs and Latimer.

My major question left after seeing this was where the third member of Villain Enterprises, ROH World Champion PCO, was. We might see him soon, and that is exciting.

**********

Eddie Kingston came out and taped up his hands and talked about how it was time to bust someone up. He wanted to fight Pope right now, as he got rid of The Dawsons with The Bouncers. While looking directly into the camera, Kingston dared Pope to come out. He said Pope probably called the cops.

Pope came out taping his fist, but he ripped it off and grabbed the mic. Pope still insisted he was putting Kingston back on track, and told him that what Pope wanted, Pope got. As he was talking, The Bouncers came out and stood behind Kingston. Pope said he had the money to do whatever he chooses — and The Bouncers attacked Kingston.

They started beating him down. Kingston kept trying to fight back, but The Bouncers were too much for him. Brawler Milonas climbed to the middle rope and hit a flying leg drop onto Kingston as Beer City Bruiser was holding Kingston up. My goodness, this was a killer angle.

**********

A very good hype video aired for Thunder Rosa vs. Melina. Mooney then announced that The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express were the first entrants into the Crockett Cup this year.

NWA World Women’s Championship match: Thunder Rosa defeated Melina via countout to retain her title

Melina accused Thunder Rosa of being disrespectful, so Thunder Rosa shoved her. Melina then rolled to the floor and walked away up the stairs. Melina claimed that Thunder Rosa owed her and said she was the reason Thunder Rosa has the title. Melina got counted out and pointed to her head, saying she was in Thunder Rosa’s head.

Allysin Kay met Melina at the top of the stairs and chased her back to the ring before dropping her with a forearm and sending her into the ring. Thunder Rosa stood on the apron and watched as Kay went to attack Melina.

Kamille appeared out of nowhere, speared Kay, and left her laying in the ring. Melina rolled out to the outside and Tasha Steelz and Ashley Vox helped Kay out. Thunder Rosa and Kamille had a staredown as the show went off the air.

For a non-finish in this match, I think it actually made sense. I really enjoyed this episode as it advanced all the major stories in simple, but very effective ways. Eddie Kingston is an absolute star and is beginning to steal the show every week with his promos. Before long, I think he should be in the World title picture.

Thunder Rosa is a star. Plain and simple. She is so over and has such a great presence. Nick Aldis, as always, is proving to be one of the best champions in wrestling today.