NWA (Current Version) Discussion

[Pete]

Who the fuck runs ropes like that after almost 20 years?

[Dolfan in NYC]

Someone that should have retired 10 years ago.

[Pete]

Always a shame when someone that young suffers from early onset Alzheimer's.

[Log]

Wow. Good for him, I guess.

Wow.

[Curt McGirt]

I manifested something similar more than once today

[Nice Guy Eddie]

So, how many more Smashing Pumpkins tours will it take to keep the NWA going?

[hammerva]

The worse Tyrus spot I thought was EC3 trying to do the Randy Orton DDT to the floor and Tyrus was so exhausted/lazy/a shitty wrestler that EC3 almost had to carry Tyrus just to make it look like he landed on the floor.   It was easily the safest DDT in wrestling history because the impact was almost non existant.

Since the NWA major marketing in the last 2 years was appealing to MAGA and the Fox News crowd, either EC3 is going to keep that grift going or they are deep trouble.   You can't use Tyrus because he won't have a belt in his hands.  Now he is just Greg Gutffield version of Jason Whitlock and that is it.

[twiztor]

NWA 75 ROAD REPORT~!!

this is a lot. and long. and broken up by pictures. I'll spoiler tag each day so as not destroy this whole thread. I haven't went back and watched the PPV version of this, so it is completely by (faulty) memory. 

Friday 8/25/23

Spoiler

This day is not related to NWA 75 at all. I just wanted to brag that i left work early ("to prepare" haha). In reality, i went to Buffalo Wild Wings for a couple drinks (Captain Morgan + Diet Pepsi + Grenadine), some boneless wings (Hot BBQ- they recently brought them back after a few years' absence, and Thai Curry- one of their more underrated sauce flavors), as well as some Cheese Curds.

The Curds were delicious, of course. I topped them with Desert Heat seasoning. Usually i go with Chipotle BBQ, but i wanted slightly more spice since the sauce choice for the wings wasn't as high as normal. The wings were great. could've used more sauce, but i forgot to order them "wet'. but i was happy nonetheless. As i was out solo, i finished reading the Avengers "Korvac Saga" comics. They did an excellent job bringing in and including non-Avengers characters like Ms. Marvel and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Really gave it an epic feel. and (spoiler alert for a 45 year old comic), the Avengers end up not necessarily being the good guys. Which is the earliest i can think of where that's the case. 

Night 1: Saturday 8/26/23

Spoiler

Saturday started my journey to St. Louis. It's around 5 hours straight through, so i knew i would need some nourishment for this pilgrimage. So at 9am i hit the road with a typical Midwestern breakfast- Mt. Dew and Casey's Pizza.

I'm trying to limit my sugar intake, so the Zero Sugar Dew is mine. the OverDrive is just for bragging purposes, since it's a Casey's exclusive ("with a Blast of Citrus Punch Flavor") and not available everywhere. Take that, you people on the coast!  The Dew was just right. I'm not huge on breakfast pizza, so i grabbed the slice that was the least "breakfast-y" of them. It was as good as one could hope for. Casey's has the best pizza of any gas station i know.

My first stop was in Normal, IL. now, it was about 45 minutes out of my way, but Bojangles ALSO has an exclusive Mt. Dew flavor (Southern Shock: "with a Blast of Tropical Fruit Punch Flavor"), and one only available as a fountain pop, so i had to try it. so i grabbed the address from Google (1000 Main St. in Normal). No problem. 3 hours later, i pull into the town. There's a train blocking my path, so i decide to park and walk since it's only a couple of blocks.....Except there's no Bojangles restaurant. No restaurant of any kind. It looks like college-style apartments. OK, that's weird. Check my phone. OH, 1000 NORTH Main St. Well, that's my bad. hop back in the car, trek the 20 or so blocks, and........no Bojangles. This time i had gotten the address off the actual Bojangles website, so it had to be right. right? GPS confirms that i'm in the correct location. Except that it's residential housing. Nothing resembling a business at all. Back to Google. Scroll reviews and whatnot. Finally found another address, this one 2007 N Main St. You know what? i may as well try it. I'm already on the street. So off i go again. But it looks like i'm heading out of town. Oh, what the hell? No, wait, i can see the Bojangles sign. OK, it was some headaches, but i finally made it for that sweet, sweet Dew fix. This establishment is connected to a Love's gas station. cool i guess.  Walk inside, and up to the soda fountain machine and..........no exclusive Dew flavor. Well, now i'm pissed so i'm not ordering anything and i just leave. Back on the road, destination STL. That's over an hour i'll never get back.

Just before the crossover into Missouri in St. Louis, traffic on the highway comes to a complete stop. all 3 lanes. great. long story short, there's  gnarly semi accident. No picture. Looks like the driver slammed into the cement barrier on the right, careened back across to the left, and hopped in and out of the ditch for a while. Surprisingly, the trailer looked remarkably fine, but the cab was in sorry shape. Saw a few emergency vehicles come and go. Hope everybody made it out OK.

Hotel was easy to find. And check-in was quick and painless. I cranked up the AC and settled in to kill time with some more comic books. This time i went more current and started the Immortal X-Men book written by Kieron Gillen. It deals mainly with Mr. Sinister and his designs on taking over the world. I really enjoyed it, but stopped myself a bit before the "Sins of Sinister" crossover that i was actively looking forward to. More on that in a bit.

My hotel was a less than 5 minute walk from the Chase Park Plaza. Speaking of which, here's the marquee:

Doors were scheduled to open at 6. i got there a bit after 5, grabbed a couple shirts (one of which is posted earlier, that's the shirt i mentioned in a previous POWERRR! review). Pretty Empowered are just showing up near the merch table to sign autographs and do a meet & greet i guess. I was more interested in finding my seat and reveling in the history of going to a "Wrestling At The Chase" show, so i scooted past and entered Khorossan Ballroom.

Here's a panoramic shot of inside. Apparently the lights are glaring right where the ring is. Nice picture taking, @twiztor. My seat is in the 3rd row opposite the crane cam. Perfect view.

There are a number of wrestlers and talent mingling with fans, friends, and family. I'd only been to bigger shows before (WWE, All In), so this caught me by surprise. But it was really cool. I went and talked to Billy Corgan (amazingly approachable! at least in this environment) and Violent J (that dude has a smile plastered on his face at all times, and i don't mean the clown makeup!). I also saw Joe Galli, Kyle Davis, Judais, Tyrus, and EC3 (in that weird mask he wore at the weigh-in. what was up with that?) but didn't really approach anyone else.

Pre-Show:
Robert Anthony def. "Magic" Jake Dumas. ok, not gonna lie here. This match started and i could see everything. Not in a good way. The loose punches, the missed blows, the stomps that weren't. All of it. And i started to doubt if i should have even come. Needless to say, not my favorite moment. So no hate to the competitors, but i didn't enjoy this.

#1 U.S. Tag Team Title Contenders: Daisy Kill & Talos def. the Fixers. Jay Bradley and Wrecking Ball Legursky are some big dudes, so this match helped calm my reservations. I enjoyed this one, even if Daisy Kill is the absolute dumbest name around. Talos is tall but doesn't really offer much past that. I hope he finds a way to improve.

Zyon def. "Golden Boy" Jordan Clearwater
i don't really have much to say about this match. Zyon doesn't do anything for me, but i was surprised to see Clearwater tap out here. 

"Jubilee Jamboree" for a Junior Heavyweight Title shot on Night 2: Jack Cartwheel comes out, looks impressive, and wins. Fun match. Koa Laxamana was pretty over with the crowd but was really kind of a non-factor. 

NWA 75, Night 1 PPV:
Women's TV Title: Max the Impaler def. Kenzie Paige (c). Kenzie took a queen-sized beating. Seriously, this was an extended squash match. From my vantage, the moment where Max heaved Kenzie onto the apron but she hit the corner and crumpled to the floor looked like it hurt. a lot. I was afraid this was a way to write Kenzie out of the company. As she's one of the best things going on here, this was disappointing. But a killer spectacle. And good for Max, who is also awesome.

National Title (vacant): Silas Mason def. Odinson and Kratos. three big dudes just out there throwing bombs. Yes, this sparks joy. Silas took a bit to win me over, but between his size, his goofiness, and his aura, i'm in. the old boy with a surprisingly pronounced Southern accent next to me told me that Silas Mason is the next coming of Terry Gordy. Odinson is a guy that i want to root for, but he doesn't do very much besides European uppercuts. Kratos brings the intensity.

No DQ March: Joe Alonzo def. Homicide. loved the Terry Funk moments from Homicide. Fun match, but i guess i thought it was be a little more than it was. Thought for sure Homicide would teach the up and comer a lesson, but no issues with Alonzo stealing the win. 

the Brothers of Funstruction def. Magnum Muscle. Violent J continued to wear his smile and generally looked like he was having a blast out there. i really don't like the clowns' schtick, so the match didn't do much for me. 

Junior Heavyweight Title: Colby Corino def. Kerry Morton (c). this match was great. I say this every show he's on, but Steve Corino is one of my favorites, so i will root for his son at all times. So of course i was overjoyed when he won the belt. i was pretty sure Morton would be retaining here. Not the last time i'd be surprised by a result. 

Jax Dane def. Tim Storm by ref stoppage due to injury. Disappointing. worrying. Good show by Jax, Trevor Murdoch, and somebody else (Kratos? i can't remember) to help Tim Storm to the back. 

Burke Invitational Gauntlet: Kenzie Paige enters as #1 and wins the whole thing to earn an NWA Women's World Title shot at Night 2. The entrances here seemed to go by VERY quick. Not sure what the timing was, but they felt like 30 seconds each. i believe Kenzie was unannounced for this. I had Samantha Starr as my dark horse prediction. When Max entered, the feeling of tension for Kenzie was palpable. Kenzie was over huge here, and when she won, the crowd came alive. Great moment.

Matt Cardona's Open Challenge. He faced, and beat, Ricky Morton. i couldn't care less about this match. i didn't pay attention to it at all. Get 100 year old Morton OFF MY TV!

Men's Tag Team Titles: Blunt Force Trauma def. La Rebelion (c). This was a fine match, but it's all about Aron Stevens. He is WONDERFUL at ringside. Great promos, amazing facials, always moving and reacting in just the right way. The man is certainly a treasure. Surprised to see BFT go over, but assumed it was a way to switch the titles to Knox & Murdoch while saving that match for the future. 

NWA Women's World Title / No Limits Match: Kamille (c) def. Natalia Markova. This was pretty much great. I didn't catch on to Markova's Tifa inspired gear, but interpreted the white top that she would be bleeding. Guess i called that one wrong. I didn't know how this would play out. Markova kind of needed to win here, or risk being dropped down the card. But a hardcore match as solid as this did her no disservice. Those hard chops in the aisleway were LOUD. and that final spear through the table was excellent. 

After they went off the air (i assume), Billy Corgan came into the ring. Thanked everyone for being there, all that stuff. Said as the booker, he's making 1 more match. Him vs. Kyle Davis. Kyle laid down, Billy put his foot on Kyle's chest and the crowd chanted to three. Everyone went home happy.

Leaving the arena, a was walking behind Tyrus and his son (maybe his daughter too?). That man was hobbling. My dude, you haven't even wrestled yet! Just completely and totally immobile. i had previously suspected, but at this moment I knew the Night 2 Main Event would be atrocious.

I left the show very hungry. I realized that since i didn't eat at Bojangles as planned, i hadn't had anything since my breakfast pizza and gummy worms. So i stopped at the bar of my hotel, ordered a Captain Morgan + Diet Pepsi, and inquired about pizza. Well, first things first, they were out of my precious Captain. The only rum they had was Bumbu, so i settled for that. It was delicious. Props to the bartender. I forget his name. Let's say Tyler. He immediately recommended Imo's Pizza. It is a STL specialty. Good enough for me.

So i ordered it. 1 medium pizza, Pepperoni and Chicken. One order of Toasted Ravioli (another STL specialty). The raviolis were actually really good. i was dipping them in hot sauce (i thought it also came with marinara but i guess not). The pizza came topped with Provel cheese. I guess it's yet another STL specialty, and LOVED by the locals, but truth be told, it didn't taste much different to me. 

Passed out listening to Spoon. 

Night 2: Sunday 8/27/23

Spoiler

Woke up Sunday morning and had no plans until the show. But i knew there was a little barcade near the hotel, so i had to check it out. I decided to walk, since it wasn't far. I get there, and they're closed. Google told me they would be open. The hours on their door said they should be open. but they were not. well, fuck.  OK, choice number two. there's a record store about a mile away. You know what? It's nice out, i'll just walk there too. I've got my headphones. I listened to the new Mammoth WVH album. It's pretty good. Turns out it's more like 2.5 miles away. oh well. Wander around the record store a bit. Kind of a let down, as almost everything they have are new pressings. I really only buy old records. That's why i went to a place called "Vintage Vinyl". ugh. But overall they had a good selection. Give 'em a look if you're in the market and the area. the people running the shop seemed pleasant. Debated calling an uber, but decided to hoof it back to the hotel. 

this street name made me giggle every time i saw it. And since it was near my hotel, that was a lot.

Get back to the hotel and my feet are DYING. i think, all in all, that i walked about 7 miles. i hadn't prepared myself for that, at all. But now i'm back, and still have plenty of time to kill, so i grab my trusty Kindle Fire and read more comic books. Oh yeah. "The Sins of Sinister". Look, i don't know if there's a comic franchise that has combined superheroics with just batshit insane ideas any better than X-Men has the last few years. This is EXACTLY my thing. Maybe the Fantastic 4? i've only read the Lee & Kirby stuff, but i have to assume that that title ventures into it with a fair amount of regularity. Anyway, i'm not going to begin to describe what the book is about. Suffice to say, i freaking loved it. 

At some point, my feet had recovered, so i ventured out for something to eat. I love my boneless wings and almost went to B-Dubs again. But i veered and went with Hooters. Curly Fries (with Cajun seasoning). Boneless wings (with Daytona Beach and General Tso's sauces). and a Diet Pepsi. Again, not the hottest, but flavorful. They were fine. Atmosphere was fun: place was pretty full for mid afternoon Sunday. Staff was friendly and doing what they do in those short shorts.

Back to the Chase. Again a very casual atmosphere. Tyrus was out and about. i wished him luck as he limped back behind the curtain. Was glad to see Tim Storm back behind the commentary table. Happy that there were no major issues. Talked to Billy Corgan again, who gave me the side-eye due to my outfit and hat. Congratulated him on how great Night 1 was and told him i looked forward to Night 2. (Note that i am not a Smashing Pumpkins fan, so i texted my friend who is a giant fan to rub it in her face.) There was also a fan dressed up as the Question Mark, which got a pop from me. Also saw 1 person with a Big Gold Belt and 2 with the 10 Pounds of Gold. All in the front row, but in different areas. Bunch of marks.

Dark Match:
Soda Pop def. Erik Jackson. no idea who this Soda Pop kid was, and i fully expected him to lose, but he looked good enough and went over. Match only went like 2 minutes.

Pre-Show:
Battle Royal for a National Heavyweight Title shot: Jordan Clearwater wins. There were a LOT of guys in this. i really thought it would be much smaller. Sidenote/Pet Peeve: Kyle Davis, when announcing guys, was saying their team name, then listing the members. Like "your next contestants, the Outrunners, Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd". But no. It's an individual battle royal. I wished he had said something more like "Truth Magnum from the Outrunners and Turbo Floyd from the Outrunners". Or even "from the Outrunners, here are Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd". rant over.

Natalia Markova def. Taylor Rising. this was a total "get her momentum back match". It was fun, but the result was never in question. 

US Tag Team Titles: Daisy Kill & Talos def. Country Gentlemen (c). Prematch, Daisy heeled on the STL audience. i mentioned in a previous review that the Gents didn't have much personality, but i felt like they got to show it off more here, and i enjoyed them more for it. was very surpised to see DK&T pick up the win here. but i thought it was a fun match overall.

NWA 75, Night 1 PPV:
Men's TV Title: Thom Latimer (c) def. Chris Adonis. this match held the most intrigue for me, as would they set up the next title challenger in Latimer, or stop him from hitting Lucky #7. My money was on Adonis, which proves why i am not a betting man. I thought this was a very solid match. I think Latimer winning is ultimately the right move, as a Latimer/EC3 feud could kick off the title reign well. I'm surprised that Adonis hasn't held the 10 pounds of gold yet. Seems like a natural champion. I'm rooting for him and hope it comes sooner than later.

Women's Tag Team Titles: Pretty Empowered def. M95 (c). I haven't been back following NWA for long, but it feels like these teams have been feuding FOREVER. Kylie Paige is like mini-Kenzie in all the best ways. Fun match that i really don't remember anything specific from. 

Junior Heavyweight Title: Colby Corino (c) def. Jack Cartwheel. I thought this was going to be a routine defense for Colby, but it was an awesome match. Jack got me seriously questioning everything in the second half of the match. He is very exciting and fun. Hope we see more from him soon. His leap off the top rope, where he hit the ropes, was scary. Well played by Corino to immediately factor that into the finish. 

Women's TV Title: Max the Impaler (c) def. Ruthie Jay. Ruthie Jay also took a beating from Max this weekend, and it was also awesome. All of the comeback and hope spots were done perfectly, and i can't imagine how this could have been any better. Good stuff.

La Rebelion (with Vampiro) def. Brothers of Funstruction (with Violent J). VJ was animated and bouncing around in his corner, getting involved and interacting with the crowd. But i couldn't stop watching Vampiro, who just looked annoyed and angry and was basically just pacing in his area. I don't know if that was a work or not, but it certainly held my attention. Vamp facing off with VJ and giving him the pie face was fun. Here's them facing off just before that moment.

Kerry Morton def. Matt Cardona. This was a good match, but Matt is/has been/should be presented as on a different level than Kerry. From that perspective, Kerry took too much of the match. He was showing off and taunting to start, and i just feel like the story didn't play out like they were setting up. But it was fine. And if Cardona will be (even) less frequent for NWA, i guess it makes sense for him to give a rub to one of their future guys.

National Title: Silas Mason (c) def. Jordan Clearwater. It was at this time that my energy was fading quick. Used this as an opportunity to stretch my legs and grab some fresh air. Finish was never in doubt. I enjoyed what i saw.

Men's Tag Team Titles: Blunt Force Trauma (c) def. Knox & Murdoch. Solid enough match, but BFT are just missing the experience to really come across like threats. And since they're the champs, that's a problem. K&M looked good and laid the match out well. Again, Aron Stevens was the star at ringside. I don't know if it was on camera, but after the kickout from the bulldog, Stevens had the PERFECT look of fear and relief on his face. completely picturesque. Did i miss Stevens loading up his glove? I mean, i was watching him for most of the match, but it seems odd that one single punch from him laid out Murdoch for a delayed three count. Finish just left me feeling flat.

Women's World Title match: Kenzie Paige def. Kamille (c). going into this, i was sure that Kamille was winning. I thought they'd bring her up to 950+ days to get her in the top 3. I really was feeling like this was going to be a missed opportunity, because this crowd was HERE FOR A KENZIE WIN. And the match delivered. I felt like it started off a bit shaky, but once these women found their footing, it was great. Pretty Empowered standing tall with all their belts was a great capstone to this event and a great way to end it and send the fans home happy.

what?

there was one more match?

oh yeah. 

Men's World Title / Bullrope match: EC3 def. Tyrus (c). The less said the better. Tyrus may as well have been made of clay. He could barely fucking move. Did you see him "running" the ropes? absolutely atrocious. the crowd certainly gave him a warm reception both before and after the match. there was even a chant of "please don't go". WHAT THE FUCK?!? Ricky Morton is 1000x more mobile than Tyrus, and i don't want to see him either. At least Morton has a storied history in the business, plus his son is a featured performer. Anyway, i don't know how much of the post-match was shown on TV, but a bunch of wrestlers came down while Tyrus talked about a fat kid who looked up to Dusty Rhodes, then thanked the fans for a great career or whatever. I wasn't listening.

Back to the hotel. Turned on the Flaming Lips to relax to. Played some Nintendo DS. Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. It's a low effort puzzle platformer game. 8 or 9 worlds of 9 stages each makes it perfect to play a few stages at a time and set down when you've had enough. 

Monday 8/28/23

Spoiler

at 2am the fire alarm went off. I had to drag my ass out of bed because they evacuated the hotel. Stood around for 15 minutes until the fire dept. determined that it was a false alarm and we could all return to our rooms.

a pretty uneventful (but long) trip home. Lots of road construction. Here's a place i passed that had a bunch of weird giant shit outside. the Pink Elephant is what caught my eye initially.

Stopped about 90 minutes from home to grab some grub. This was a place called California Burrito. It's like a Chipotle, or a Panchero's. I read some pretty rave reviews online, but the food was adequate at best. And the two guys working (one of which seemed to be a manager of some sort?) did. not. give. a. fuck. about being there. Just Powerade in the cup. Steak, Rice, Beans, Jalapenos, hot sauce in the tortilla. Very disappointing that the hot sauce wasn't. at all. 

Read some comics (surprise!) while i ate and then just chilled for a bit. Today's books were a few series called "Before the Fantastic 4". There were 3 separate stories, "Reed Richards", "the Storms", and "Ben Grimm & Logan". These were published in the late 90s, but dealt with the F4 before they had their space adventure that turned them into the crime fighting super family you know and love. the Reed book was decent, kind of an Indiana Jones style adventure. The Storms one sucked. Some mystical medallion that tied in to Dracula, and neighborly relationships that you just had to accept were long tenured and established. But they weren't. The Grimm/Logan one was best. and featured Carol Danvers as well. Cold war spy story with copious amounts of suspended disbelief required.

Got home, crashed on the couch and watched the All-In Zero Hour preshow. will check the PPV tonight so i can catch up on the AEW threads!

whew! this took like an hour and a half to type out. never again!

Edited August 29, 2023 by twiztor

[DreamBroken]

Excellent road report!

 

Tonight's Powerrr will just be a recap of NWA 75 night 1. They'll be showing 3 of the matches:
Max the Impaler vs Kenzie Paige
Zyon vs. Jordan Clearwater
Matt Cardona vs. Ricky Morton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpfvFO-SpqE the link could not be embedded because etc

[twiztor]

NWA POWERRR!
Episode 124: The New Era
9/5/23 @ Nashville, TN ("the NWA Arena", according to Joe Galli)

Really good opening video package to start. [side note: this is uploaded separately to YouTube as well]  Joe Galli and Danny Dealz are on commentary. No mention of Tim Storm, so i hope he's home recuperating. 

Women's TV Title:  Taylor Rising  vs.  Max the Impaler (c)
a methodical beat down by Max. it was OK. Natalia Markova makes the save for Taylor post-match.

Immortals  vs.  Outrunners
the power game of Kratos & Odinson leads them to dominate the early part of the match. the Outrunners finally succeed with some underhanded tactics to gain the advantage. I thought we might see some dissention in the Immortals (you know, since they just were opponents at NWA75), but they worked well together. The Outrunners are so much fun. It's good to see them getting some recent appearances with AEW as well. 

Brady Pierce  vs.  Rolando Freeman
the Spectaculars EXPLODE~! but, in like the Moxley/Omega "Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match" kind of way. 

NWA World's Heavyweight Champion EC3 is at the podium dressed like a gladiator. He looks forward to the future. "the Overman Era has begun." He will take the title everywhere- in the water, in the streets, and on Mars! He issues a warning to Thom Latimer. pretty decent promo.

The Fixers, LLC.  vs.  Southern 6
no Jay Bradley for unknown reasons. Wrecking Ball Legursky is joined by Matt Vine and some dude in a mask (who apparently is named "the Fixer"? that's odd.) Thrillbilly and Legursky face off power-for-power early on, and i want to see more of it. Everything else is fine but there's not much to it.

NWA presents SAMHAIN! October 28th @ Cleveland, OH. "the most violent and deadly pay-per-view in NWA history", or so says the Sinister Minister. count me in.

Edited September 8, 2023 by twiztor

[Gorman]

1 hour ago, twiztor said:

NWA presents SAMHAIN! October 28th @ Cleveland, OH.

I like how EC3 is defending the belt at home in Cleveland like Stipe Miocic did with the UFC heavyweight title.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

3 hours ago, twiztor said:

NWA presents SAMHAIN! October 28th @ Cleveland, OH. "the most violent and deadly pay-per-view in NWA history", or so says the Sinister Minister. count me in.

Billy Corgan really needs to try to get Danzig to play this show. 

[DreamBroken]

they're doing n64 No Mercy halfway entrances in this New Era.  The Pretty Era according to Pretty Empowered, nice promo from them.

I like Taylor Rising, good potential & looked great in her recent appearances so I hope she continues on here. 

Looking forward to NWA's take on a Halloween Havoc style PPV 

[twiztor]

3 hours ago, DreamBroken said:

they're doing n64 No Mercy halfway entrances in this New Era.

OMG YES! it bothered the hell out of me that i couldn't correlate the new style entrances with a deep locked memory.

[Travis Sheldon]

11 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Billy Corgan really needs to try to get Danzig to play this show. 

Ain't no way Danzig is putting over Billy.

NO WAY!!!

[Peck]

If these were the NWA production upgrades that have been talked about over the past few weeks then I'm still on the fence on whether I like them or not. Not the biggest fan of Danny Dealz on commentary either. Still completely watchable wrestling though.

[Cobra Commander]

how long has Power been back on YouTube? (knowing how little I pay attention, there's probably like 2 years of it back on YouTube or something)

Also... while I'm not asking for it to be as good as the late 2019/early 2020 run.. is Power at least somewhat worthwhile to watch now or does the promotion still kinda comparatively stink? The Outrunners are a good team to have around for the purposes of having something entertaining on the show so..

[twiztor]

4 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

how long has Power been back on YouTube? (knowing how little I pay attention, there's probably like 2 years of it back on YouTube or something)

Also... while I'm not asking for it to be as good as the late 2019/early 2020 run.. is Power at least somewhat worthwhile to watch now or does the promotion still kinda comparatively stink? The Outrunners are a good team to have around for the purposes of having something entertaining on the show so..

since sometime at the beginning of this year. 

i jumped back on the NWA train in June i think. the leadup to the Crockett Cup. i would say NWA Power is watchable and fairly enjoyable most weeks. But it is certainly a step down from the 2018-2020 run. And there's rarely anything super memorable or awesome. There are certain standouts (Kenzie Paige, Aron Stevens' managerial routine). I guess basically, if you keep your expectations low, you'll have a good time. 
Also worth nothing that their PPVs are solid-to-good. 

[DreamBroken]

It went from Youtube to FITE, to then premiering on FITE on Tuesdays but being put up on Youtube on Friday, to ultimately abandoning the FITE portion and going back to strictly Youtube this past January. 

Powerrr can be hit or miss, but I've generally found the majority of the PPVs to be very good still.  And agreed Kenzie Paige is the current highlight 

[DreamBroken]

Velvet Sky has announced she is no longer part of NWA going forward.  I enjoyed her on commentary

[twiztor]

NWA POWERRR!
Episode 125: New Era, Old Problems...
9/12/23 @ Nashville, TN

Intro goes hard on the Kenzie Paige hype, and i back that play 100%. i feel like the intros the last couple weeks have been trying to bring back the "10 Pounds of Gold" YouTube videos that kicked off the Corgan Era. Solid move.

NWA TV Title Qualifying Match:
Dak Draper  vs.  Gaagz the Gymp  vs.  Zicky Dice  vs.  Judais
i don't dislike the No Mercy entrances, but the sudden music change with each person was a bit much- or maybe it was just the tonal shift to go from Draper -> Gaagz -> Judais.
the match revolves around a size battle between Judais and Draper, which i feel undermines Judais, but whatever. i don't know. i guess this was OK, but anything involving Gaagz is not for me, at all.

AJ Cazana  vs.  Jax Dane
BMMSM! the announcers are focusing on if the Country Gentlemen will form back together again, but they didn't break up? at least not on camera. or maybe the other guy left NWA? match was pretty much just a brawl, but no complaints from me.

Homicide & Joe Alonzo  vs.  Colby Corino & Koa Laxamana
Ricky Morton is the special referee for this match. No explanation as to why Homicide is teaming with Alonzo, after their NWA75 match a couple weeks back. They are hyping up that Jamie Stanley manages both Alonzo and Covington, as if that's any sort of compelling angle. Stanley came out with Alonzo, FWIW.
This didn't work for me at all really. too much going on. Homicide and Alonzo were antagonistic towards each other. the stuff with Stanley. the referee. i like Koa, but he didn't carry his end here. plus the referee bit. Just kind of a mess.
Actually a pretty cool moment as i type that. On the floor, Homicide slid a set up steel chair into Koa. i haven't seen that before. 

EC3 requests the presence of Thom Latimer. (someone in the crowd: "oh no he didn't!" best moment of the show so far). Latimer comes out. EC3 prattles on somewhat, Kamille interjects herself and has something to say. She runs down EC3 ("you were sitting poolside with the boss politicking, but you've been doing that since the Dixie days") and Tyrus ("Gaagz the Gymp could have beaten Tyrus!"). Latimer accepts EC3's challenge for Samhain.

interview with Chris Adonis. He will win the TV Title because it is his stepping stone to the NWA World Title. pretty decent quick promo. "Who is Zicky Dice?"

NWA Women's Title Match:
Kenzie Paige (c)  vs.  Samantha Starr
announced as a non-title match, but off camera it get switched to a title defense.
solid match with Kenzie fighting from underneath for the majority. She is excellent at playing that role. Shorter match than i would have liked, but definitely enjoyed what was here. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by twiztor

[twiztor]

 

NWA POWERRR!
Episode 126: The Dark Carnival
9/19/23 @ Nashville, TN

#1 Contender:
Ruthie Jay  vs.  Natalia Markova  vs.  Missa Kate
the two underdogs team up on Markova early until personal ambition gets in the way. timing was a bit off at times, but this wasn't bad. i agree with the outcome and think Kenzie Paige can have a pretty good match with her. Interesting finish that involves an intriguing take on a low blow.

they (re?)play Tyrus' retirement speech from NWA75. i assume this aired on the PPV? i haven't rewatched it yet. i'm not going to live through that again, so i skip ahead.

Zyon  vs.  "Double Barrel" Boz
we seem to have settled on the "Zyon" spelling, after some inconsistency earlier ("Zion"). Boz gets the jobber entrance, which is the first time i recall NWA doing that. Definitely more of a competitive match than i expected. Certainly not a bad match, but also nothing special. 

Interview with Violent J:
He likes to chew ice. this dude is super animated. How has there not been an ICP cartoon or something by now?

Rush Freeman  vs.  Thom Latimer
Freeman is kind of vanilla. this is pretty one-sided and fine.

La Rebelion  vs.  Magic Inc.
CJ is the only good part of this magic team. She is barely above a one-note character, but it is done EXCELLENTLY. La Rebelion carry this to a watchable match, but these magic guys are just kind of dumb and uninteresting. Timing was all sorts of off for the finish. 

 

they seem to have loaded up next week's show: an NWA World Title match (vs. Jay Bradley), a Tag Team Titles match (vs. Knox & Murdoch), plus Kamille (vs. Madi Wrenkowski)!

Edited September 23, 2023 by twiztor

[Curt McGirt]

2 hours ago, twiztor said:

How has there not been an ICP cartoon or something by now?

Just to be a shit, I'm gonna say: They do, it's called "their career"

[twiztor]

NWA POWERRR!
Episode 127: The G Gets The Love
9/28/23 @ Nashville, TN

NWA TV Title Qualifying Match:
Chris Adonis  vs.  Mims  vs.  Jordan Clearwater  vs.  Blake Troop
i liked, and was surprised by, the finish and the winner. the match itself wasn't bad, but felt too discombobulated for me. It just didn't flow. I'll look forward to the TV Title match.

Murdoch cuts a fiery promo about winning the tag team titles. crowd eats it up. Knox brings the energy down with some weird talking about dreams and spirits and a Jackalope. ok.

Kamille  vs.  Madi Wrenkowski
the story going in is that Kamille may have lost her focus on wrestling since losing the title, and she's shifting more to supporting her beau. 
Madi takes it to her early, but Kamille's size and strength is always tough to overcome. Madi leans into some underhanded tactics to retain control until the big comeback. Pretty decent match. The finish was not really in doubt, but the journey getting there was entertaining.

US Tag Team Titles:
Brothers of Funstruction (with Violent J)  vs.  Daisy Kill & Talos (c)
if you like the clowns' schtick, this was probably fun. it just feels dumb to me, i can't really get invested in what they do. 
Post-match, we get La Rebelion brawling with the clowns and also Vampiro and Violent J getting heated.

an awkward promo from Brady Pierce, formerly of the Spectaculars. Yikes, this was awful. 

NWA World TItle:
EC3 (c)  vs.  Jay Bradley
mostly a power battle. i guess this was OK. i didn't dislike it, but it felt like these guys didn't get out of first gear. 

Tag Team Titles:
Blunt Force Trauma (c)  vs.  Knox & Murdoch
another match with big dudes, although this highlighted the brawling of both teams. we only get about 5 minutes until Aron Stevens slides a chair into the ring. Knox gets DQ'd when he DOESN'T use the chair because the ref DOESN'T see it. if i was an overly positive person, i'd say that NWA was subverting tropes and expectations with that finish. Since i'm not, i'll call it what it was: bullshit. 

 

Last week, i mentioned that it seemed like they were loading this episode up. Well, for me it certainly didn't come close to delivering. also no idea what the episode title means. 

Edited October 5, 2023 by twiztor

[DreamBroken]

Kamille/Madi was fun. Felt like Madi was babyface in m95 feuding with Pretty Empowered but then just reverted back to heel since losing the titles. Really like the potential teamup of Natalia Markova & Taylor Rising. Rising impressed in her recent appearances so I was glad to see her get a bigger role.  Enjoyed the post-match tag brawl with Violent J & Vampiro getting involved.