Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3 Part 2
Date: April 5, 2019
Location: White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, New Jersey
Commentators: Denver Colorado, Dave Prazak, Kevin Gill

This is a show I’ve been trying to see for a long time now and I might as well knock it, as well as the rest of the Wrestlemania XXXV weekend series, out while I have the chance. If you have seen something from this series before, this show is going to be complete insanity but often in a good way. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Night One if you need a recap.

No opening video here, mainly because the show didn’t start until after 12:30am due to the ROH/New Japan show running WAY late.

Jungle Boy vs. Joey Janela

Janela has Penelope Ford with him and it’s a F*** ROH chant to start things off. Boy starts fast with a running hurricanrana and an armdrag out of the corner. They don’t bother staring it down as Janela hits a chop in the corner, followed by a rather hard superkick. Boy comes back with his own superkick, followed by another exchange of superkicks. That gives us the required Young Bucks/AEW references until Boy turns him inside out with a clothesline.

Boy knocks him to the floor and hits back to back suicide dives into those plastic chairs. Back in and Janela catches him on top for a reverse fisherman’s buster onto the apron. That’s only good for a one back inside so Janela stomps on the ribs. They chop the heck out of each other until Boy spears him through the ropes. The Jungle Cutter (exactly what you think it is) gives Boy two so it’s Ford coming in with a top rope hurricanrana.

Boy isn’t having any of this and gives her a Backstabber out of the corner. Janela is back up with a spinning Trapper Keeper bomb for a very near call so he asks the fans who he is. That means a song that I don’t recognize but Boy runs him over. A Lionsault is countered into a dragon sleeper of all things (that’s not bad) but Boy is in the ropes in a hurry.

The camel clutch is broken up even faster so Boy takes it to the apron for the Death Valley Driver to plant Janela. Boy hits a springboard flip dive to knock out Janela and a bunch of chairs, freaking Ford out even more. Back in and Janela snaps off a Tombstone for two but since no one sells at this show (just how it’s going to work), Boy is already up top but Janela, with the crazy eyes, is up there with him for a top rope brainbuster.

That’s good for one and Boy nips up (Colorado: “WHAT THE F***???”), followed by a superkick for two on Janela. They trade snap German suplexes with both of them popping right back up and then hitting two more each. With that not working, Janela grabs a choke but Boy reverses into something like a raised full nelson to make Janela tap at 13:31.

Rating: C+. One thing to keep in mind on this show is that it isn’t going to be like most regular events. This is all about action and not psychology, so don’t waste your time on a bunch of stuff that isn’t going to be there. Boy looked good here and it isn’t a surprise that he became a thing in AEW. Janela….well it’s his show and you can only be so mean to him so we’ll move on.

They shake hands post match.

I’m assuming they’ve edited out all of the transitional stuff between matches, which is a little annoying given that the show is still full price over a year after it took place but how much could be missing?

LAX vs. Rock N Roll Express

This is the match that made me want to watch the show, just for the pure spectacle. The fans are very glad to see the hometown LAX and then declare the whole thing awesome just after the bell. Gibson and Santana start things off with Gibson claiming a hair pull to take him into the corner. Santana gets taken into the corner as well and that’s good for a standoff.

A hiptoss takes Santana down and Ortiz comes in to get one as well. It’s off to Morton for the right hand to the ribs into the Million Dollar knee lift to send LAX outside. Fans: “NEVER LOST IT!” The Express take over on Santana’s arm and, after drawing Ortiz in, do the fake clap tag, which feels a little wrong coming from them. Ortiz comes in and is armdragged straight into a wristlock but it’s a snap powerslam to put Morton down.

Gibson is told to suck it and that is just wrong on so many levels. A shot to Morton’s arm brings in Gibson for the failed save, allowing LAX to double team in the corner. I can always go for something so simple that still works so well. Ortiz misses a charge in the corner though and it’s a hot tag to Gibson as everything breaks down. The Express is sent into each other but Santana clotheslines Ortiz by mistake.

Ortiz drops a leg on Gibson and adds a top rope splash. Morton dives in for the save and keeps going, landing a Canadian Destroyer on Santana. The threat of the double dropkick sends LAX outside so Morton dives onto both of them. Santana has to dive in for a save and it’s a double superkick to Gibson. A double clothesline drops LAX but Morton gets sent into the corner for an assisted Cannonball and the pin at 8:35.

Rating: C+. This is a match that had no business being any good due to the age situation but the Express came out there and somehow made the thing work. It was a decent enough match and my goodness I can’t believe they almost pulled that off. LAX is a great team and the Express hung in there with them well enough. Good stuff here.

Post match, LAX shows respect, offering hugs and bows. The SPRING BREAK chant breaks out but Ortiz wants a ROCK AND ROLL one instead. They even exchange bandannas in a great moment.

LA Park vs. Masato Tanaka

They chop it out to start with Park knocking him down in the corner and hitting the shaky knees dance. A clothesline drops Tanaka for two and there’s a chair shot to the head. Tanaka no sells it as is his custom and the roaring elbow gives Tanaka two. Park’s snap powerslam gets two, followed by a whip with the belt. Tanaka fights up and knocks him to the floor for the big dive but Park sends Tanaka into the apron.

There’s a chair to the back and a slam onto the empty chairs, meaning it’s time to bring in some doors. Park drives him through one of the doors for two and it’s time to go up. Tanaka is right back up with a superplex, followed by a splash for two. Back up and Park spears him through a table for the sudden pin at 9:40.

Rating: D+. Just a brawl here and something that has been done a lot better elsewhere. Park is someone who is a lot better when he gets to show off his amazing charisma that was only somewhat on display here. Tanaka looks exactly the same as he did back in ECW and I can see why fans would want to see him around some more. Not a terrible match, but nothing that felt like it belonged on a major show.

So we have about an hour and a half left in the show and it’s time for the main event.

The Greatest Cluster****

Oh boy what am I getting myself into. So it’s a Royal Rumble and you are eliminated by pinfall, submission, being thrown over the top (dives DO NOT count), if you leave the arena, or if you die. The Necro Butcher (looking old and very different without a shirt) is in at #1 and, after Butcher eliminates referee Bryce Remsburg, Nick Gage is in at #2. I’m not sure if the bell rings but they lock up and shove each other a bit until Gage is sent to the apron. Shlak and Markus Crane come out together, I guess as #3 combined, who bring in their own door.

Butcher punches Crane down and slugs it out with Shlak, with Gage watching like a fan from the apron. They go to their knees and it’s Georgie Boy, with a rubber chicken, in at #4. Gage and Crane jump him immediately and Gage beats Georgie down with the chicken. The door is set up in the corner and Georgie goes through it, allowing Crane and Shlak to beat him down with the pieces.

Swoggle is in at #5 and superkicks Shlak down. Everyone brawls around the ropes until Arik Cannon is in at #6. Gage is waiting on him for the slugout as Swoggle seems to bite Butcher’s foot. A low blow with the rubber chicken keeps Butcher down as Shlak tosses Georgie out. Cannon is busted so Gage rips at the cut and it’s Joe Gacy in at #7 to go after both of them. Crane can’t hold Gacy up so he goes with a sloppy dragon sleeper instead. Brian Pillman Jr. is in at #8 and brawls with Gage as well, earning himself a sitout powerbomb out of the corner.

Crane and Shlak double belly to back suplex Pillman for two and…..here are Nate Webb and Marko Stunt for a concert from the crowd. They sing/play Teenage Dirtbag as an unnamed man dances around ringside. Pillman dives onto Gacy and some guy in a mask takes Webb out. It’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman, who gets in (at #9, assuming Stunt and Webb don’t count) to go after Pillman as Crane is eliminated.

Swoggle unloads on MJF in the corner as Gage seems to have been eliminated somewhere in there. Joey Ryan is in at #10 (Colorado: “AND VIEWERSHIP HAS SKYROCKETED IN THE LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY AREA!”) and we pause for the full baby oil. Sweet Tooth Music hits Cannon and MJF hurts himself on a low blow attempt. Sexxxy Eddy is in at #11 and he wants Ryan. That means oil on Eddy’s chest as Cannon stops for a beer. The match just stops while Joey and Eddy rub their chests until Effy is in at #12.

Ryan pulls off Eddy’s towel….and no clothes are found under there. Eddy knocks Ryan into the corner and a dropkick sends him into Ryan (you can imagine how this goes), with Effy kicking Eddy into him over and over. Mick Moretti is in at #13 as Eddy manages a moonsault (while managing to keep his hands in a specific place). Cannon rolls Eddy up for the elimination and it’s Marko Stunt officially in at #14. Logan Stunt, who looks even younger than Marko, is in at #15 (or maybe part of #14 as I’m completely lost on keeping the numbers).

Marko saves Logan from Necro and it’s time for the brothers to argue. Butcher gets rid of Logan but can’t quite put Marko out. Team White Wolf are in at #16 (A-Kid and Carlos Romo, who are announced together) and a double superkick gets rid of Pillman. Kobe Durst is in at #17 and goes after White Wolf. That goes nowhere, so it’s Swoggle grabbing Joey’s it….and throwing him out by it in a big upset.

Egotistico Fantastico is in at #18 and the fans seem pleased to see him. Gacy eliminates himself for some reason (I think?) and Egotistico hits a double jump springboard for two on Durst. As you might be able to guess, the eliminations don’t exactly mean much here. G-Raver is in at #19 and busts out the hypodermic needles (yep) to stab Swoggle in the head. Swoggle rips them out and German suplexes Raver, but Cannon superkicks Swoggle for the elimination.

Kikutaro (in a Cleveland Indians jersey for an improvement) is in at #20 as Moretti is out. After sticking his fingers in various areas on various people, he uses the smell to knock them out, only to have Bryce Remsburg put Kikutaro’s fingers in Kikutaro’s mouth. That knocks him out as well and Kikutaro gets dog piled for the elimination. Teddy Hart, with cat, is in at #21 as G-Raver hits a top rope double knee to Shlak.

Cannon brainbusters Romo for the pin and then backdrops A-Kid out as Hart walks around with the cat. Homicide is in at #22 as the cat is taken to the floor. Everyone (include Gacy, who wasn’t out) stops for the Hart vs. Homicide showdown, with Homicide grabbing a wristlock of all things. That’s broken up so Hart spits in his face and fires off an uppercut. Cryme of all people are in at #23 and dang I miss that theme (historical note: this is being written the week of Shad Gaspard’s death so this is kind of hard to see actually).

They slug it out with Homicide and Hart, the latter of whom is low bridged out. Shad and Homicide fight on the floor (without an elimination) and Cannon gets rid of Shlak. Egotistico powerbombs Durst for an elimination and things settle down a bit. Cannon and Fantastico head outside for a breather, leaving MJF, Gacy, Butcher and G-Raver in the ring (there are a lot more still in, though not inside at the moment).

Grim Reefer is in at #24 and he dives off the stage onto someone. Homicide and Shad gets back in with the former hitting a cutter on Reefer. For some reason Homicide goes up and Reefer shoves him out for the elimination. JTG and Cannon get back in and the Ugly Ducklings (Colby Corino, Lance Lude and Rob Killjoy with Coach Mikey) are in at #25. Colby needs two tried to tornado DDT Reefer and it’s Slim J in at #26.

There goes Reefer and Slim J hits a sloppy tornado DDT of his own on Corino. Slim J beats up all of the Ducklings and then hits a huge dive to the floor onto a bunch of people. Facade is in at #27 and kicks away at the Ducklings as well. Lude is put onto Killjoy’s shoulders and Facade’s rope walk kick to the chest makes Lude reverse hurricanrana his partner for a big crash. MJF gets rid of Shad and then JTG to clear the ring a bit, and of course does JTG’s dance on the ropes for a bonus. Butcher knocks MJF down and it’s Gringo Loco in at #28.

Loco hits a Swanton onto Raver and then flips away from Killjoy in the corner. A Spanish Fly hits Killjoy and it’s AJ Gray in at #29. He clotheslines the Ducklings down to continue a pretty funny running gag. Colby gets powerbombed into Killjoy in the corner and there’s a Steiner Screwdriver to Lude. Gray hits a big corkscrew dive onto a bunch of people but here’s Ophidian in at #30 for a Meteora on Gray, followed by the suicide dive to the floor. Now it’s the Ducklings hitting their own running flip dives, giving us a QUACK QUACK chant. Rich Swann is in at #31 and dropkicks Killjoy, followed by a super hurricanrana for a bonus.

Swann adds his own big corkscrew dive, followed by Facade’s springboard 450 onto the bigger pile. Cannon doesn’t bother with a dive so Butcher knocks him down with a right hand. Dustin Thomas (the wrestler with no legs) is in at #32 for a 619 to Fantastico. The Swanton connects to get rid of Fantastico and the NO LEGS chant (to the OLE tune) is on. Now it’s Dustin hitting his own flip dive onto the pile (GET BACK INSIDE ALREADY!) and it’s Stunt vs. Loco. MJF breaks that up and here are Nate Webb and Brendan Brown (lead singer of the band Wheatus, who sing Teenage Dirtbag) in at #33.

Brown kicks MJF low and hits a Diamond Cutter for the surprise elimination. Facade hits another big springboard spinning dive….and literally misses everyone as Parrow and Odinson (two big monsters) are in at #34. They Super Collide the Ducklings and FINALLY throw out Lude’s unconscious body. Killjoy is thrown out as well, followed by Colby in short order. Loco follows the three of them and it’s Shane Mercer in at #35.

Gray gets beaten up and tossed out, followed by a European uppercut Doomsday Device to Facade. He’s out as well and Parrow stomps on Dustin, followed by the elimination. Swann kicks Parrow in the face to no effect as it’s a Fire Thunder Driver to plant him. Mercer, who is rather muscular himself, can’t do much to Odinson and Parrow until he sends Odinson into the corner. Mercer adds a rather impressive delayed vertical suplex drops Parrow (who is built similar to Braun Strowman), followed by a moonsault fall away slam to Odinson.

That’s enough to get rid of Odinson and Parrow as Tony Deppen is in at #36, but first we need some crowd surfing. That takes so long that it’s Jake Atlas and Lucas Riley in at #37. The two of them go after Mercer with some springboard takedowns but Butcher comes back in with a chair. Australian Suicide is in at #38 as Gacy is slammed onto a chair. Commentary says we’re at forty entrants and….again does it matter all that much? Kyle The Beast is in at #39 so Deppen blows his nose on him.

A big powerbomb gets rid of Deppen and Kyle throws Atlas and Riley around without much effort. Mercer and Kyle have the big power showdown and it’s Caveman Ugg in at #40. Kyle Stuns Suicide out and it’s Crowbar (looking ancient yet tough) in at #40. A super hurricanrana gets two on Gacy and Raver armdrags Kyle a few times. Matt Tremont is in at #41 and goes after Butcher as Gacy swings a chair at various people.

Mercer tosses Atlas and Riley as Crowbar suplexes Gacy onto the chair for another elimination. Grizzly Redwood (the Littlest Lumberjack) is in to go after Mercer as Ugg moonsaults Crowbar for another elimination. Tremont runs Swann over with a clothesline and it’s Chris Dickinson and Pinkie Sanchez in at #42. Dickinson needs some time to powerbomb Redwood before stomping on Butcher in the corner.

Michael Blais is in at #43 and he is immediately followed by Kit Osbourne and Frankie Pickard at #44. The two of them start fighting each other in a hurry and a double suplex puts Butcher down. NWO Sting is in at #45 (and towers over most of the match) for some forearms and it’s Tracy Smothers, with cane, in at #46. Chops and right hands abound until Mantaur is in at #47. With nothing going on, Matt Knicks is in at #48. NWO Sting is out and it’s Cecil Nyx in at #49 to lift Swann up, walk him around ringside, and then suplex him. Dickinson dumps Smothers and it’s Jimmy Lloyd in at #50.

Lloyd beats up Nyx, leaving Raver and Tremont to headbutt each other out. Masashi Takeda is in at #51 and immediately goes after Lloyd. Jeff Cannonball is in at #52 as even commentary can’t remember how many people are involved. Mercer is out and Takeda follows him to the floor. Ethan Page is in at #53 and beats up various people until Essa Rios is in at #54 (Denver: “If we dug up Mantaur, why not Essa Rios?”). Nyx gets faceplanted for an elimination and Butcher is tossed after an hour and sixteen minutes.

It’s time for another door as Maria Manic…..is not here actually. Cue about seven women from the crowd (including Ashley Vox, Shazza McKenzie, Allie Kat, Session Moth Martina, Su Yung, Maria Manic and more) as Rios is out. Tremont and Page are put through doors as the women get in to start beating up the men. Raver stares Martina down so she spits beer in his face and hits him with a DDT. Stunt can’t powerbomb Vox, who reverses into White Noise.

Ophidian gets bulldogged onto a table and it’s time to beat up Frank the Clown (who was standing by the entrance). The women take turns kicking him low and it’s Lloyd’s turn to get destroyed. Here are the light tubes, all of which are broken over various parts of Lloyd. The fans want PCO but settle for Dickinson getting beaten up instead.

Two tables are brought in and Maria superplexes Dickinson through both of them. The referees are beaten up and Yung Mandible Claws one of them in the corner. Referee Aubrey Edwards is allowed to leave and here’s Joey Janela himself to get choked on the ropes to end the show, meaning the main event is a no contest at we’ll say about 1:25:00.

Rating: C+. I have no earthly idea what to call this one so we’ll go with slightly above average, even with the….I guess the word is joke (?) ending. Normally my criticism would be that the match was a mess, but looking at the title, that’s what they were going for here. This was definitely more of a match for the live crowd and I can go with that, as one of the best times I’ve ever had at a show was a similar match at the WrestleCon SuperShow. I think I liked this, even though it didn’t have a ton of star power and featured a lot of interchangeable indy wrestlers. It’s a lot of fun, but the ending could be very, very annoying.

Overall Rating: C-. This was definitely the weaker of the two shows, but it’s certainly not bad. The main event is going to be divisive as it feels like they ran out of time to come up with a good ending, which can happen. What we got was memorable, but the first night was a blast and this was more like a show that existed for the sake of having one (very, very) long song and dance to end the indy half of the weekend. It was a good enough show, but the first night is a lot more fun (albeit with a weaker main event).

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Powerrr
Date: May 12, 2020
Location: GPB Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Joe Galli, Stu Bennett

Wow it feels like a long time since we’ve been here. So back in March, the NWA was gearing up for the 2020 Crockett Cup when Coronavirus happened. As you might have guessed, that changed everything going on and the decision was made to not air this show for about two and a half months. Here it is though, with the extended show under the Super Powerrr banner. Let’s get to it.

Here is the most recent episode in case you need a recap.

Billy Corgan welcomes us to the show and promises a special announcement about the future of the NWA at the end.

Opening sequence. Dang I miss Into The Fire.

Here are Marty Scurll and Brody King for a chat. Marty talks about Villain Enterprises being here in the NWA and if you mess with him, you mess with Brody too. King promises that Scurll will be the next World Champion.

We look back at Kamille attacking Allysin Kay and staring down Thunder Rosa.

We recap Kamille’s time in the NWA, which is kind of tricky as she doesn’t speak, no matter what.

Kamille vs. Madi Maxx

Kamille drives her straight into the corner to start and stomps away. Max forearms away but gets glared down off a sunset flip attempt. After putting Maxx on top, Kamille hits a Regal roll and spears Maxx down for the pin at 2:31. Not quite a complete squash but it was close enough and Kamille looked dominant.

Post match the fans want Kamille to speak and she glares Galli back when he asks for a comment.

We get a video from Kamille, now with red hair, talking about how she has been great her whole life and how no one likes her as a result. Her coaches loved her but the parents wanted her taken out of the league for endangering their kids. Why should she have any respect for authority? She is an elite athlete who has dominated everything she has done.

That’s why Nick Aldis called: she isn’t here for her looks, but because she can take care of problems. She doesn’t talk because she lets her actions do the talking for her. While she’ll never start a fight, she’ll always end one. She’s here to end all of us. Good video here and it’s nice to have a backstory for Kamille, who has some personality to her.

Austin Idol wants to show you how to get heat because he’s a professional wrestling psychologist.

We recap Aron Stevens and the Question Mark wanting a Tag Team Title shot. They’ll go through the Rock N Roll Express to get there. Stevens beating up Trevor Murdoch was included as well.

Sean Mooney brings out the Express, who want the Crockett Cup.

Aron Stevens/Question Mark vs. Rock N Roll Express

Morton works on Mark’s arm to start so it’s some KA-RAH-TAY to get him free. Stevens comes in to miss an elbow, which he claims was due to Morton moving illegally. An armdrag sends Stevens into the corner and he gets ping ponged between Ricky and Robert. He’s fine though….and there’s the faceplant. Stevens is back to take Morton into the corner as Murdoch comes out.

That sends Stevens into a rant about how Murdoch was injured (Stevens: “I GUESS YOU FLUNKED HONESTY!”) but worry not, because he has some backup: Question Mark Jr.! This guy is huge and commentary thinks it’s Brian Milonas, because it’s not like there are many other people that size. A two second chase has Mark Jr. gassed so Morton rolls Stevens up for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: D+. I can’t get too annoyed at this as while the Express can’t do as much in the ring these days, it is still cool to see legends like them out there almost every week. The ending wasn’t even clean so it’s not like they beat some team in a major upset. On top of that, you have Stevens being hilarious every time he’s on TV. That line about honesty got an actual chuckle out of me and that’s easier said that done. Nice one.

We look back at Zicky Dice winning the TV Title last week.

Dice won’t tell us he told us so, but he told us so.

Video on Melina vs. Thunder Rosa, which included Kamille attacking Allysin Kay.

Here’s Melina to say that she’s a legend and deserves the next title shot. It’s not her fault that Allysin Kay lost her title and the rematch. Cue Kay to say Melina cost her the rematch because she is a coward. Now it’s champion Thunder Rosa come out to say she’ll face anyone. She’s already beaten Kay though and won’t lay down for Melina. But let’s just make it a triple threat anyway.

Tony Falk wants to sell you waffles and tire irons. Buy three waffles, get four tire irons free.

Video on Tim Storm vs. Royce Isaacs over the fake Mama Storm (Danny Deals). This led to the return of former NWA World Champion Jax Dane.

Jax Dane vs. Tim Storm

No DQ and Deals is in Dane’s corner. Dane waits for Storm at the entrance and the brawl is on in a hurry. They get inside with Dane snapping off a belly to belly suplex and they’re back to the floor again. The battle of the forearms head into the crowd with Dane sending him into a barricade and pounding him down. Storm swings a gate into Dane’s ribs and they fight back to ringside.

Dane is sent head first into the Crockett Cup to draw some blood. The loud chop off sets up an overhead belly to belly to nearly drop Storm on his head on the floor. Back inside again and Dane wedges a chair in the corner, which isn’t likely to end well. Dane shrugs off some clotheslines and a big boot, setting up a Samoan drop. Dane misses a charge into a chair in the corner and walks into the Perfect Storm for the pin at 8:31.

Rating: C-. I liked this well enough and that’s what it was supposed to be. Storm continues to be the best story to come out of this promotion as he has gone from that old guy who won the NWA World Title to a genuinely beloved star. He’s just one of those likable guys and it’s a character that works so well. Good for him for making it work like this. Dane is a nice choice for a monster and he could do some stuff around here.

Post match, Deals has to face Storm, which wasn’t mentioned before the match. For reasons of pure stupidity, Deals puts the Mama Storm gear back on, earning himself a pair of Perfect Storms.

Mae Valentine doesn’t get why Royce Isaacs is going so nuts about her friendship with Sal Rinauro. No she isn’t cheating on Royce because her mama raised her to be pure. This has already cost her ONE HUNDRED FOLLOWERS!

Marti Belle vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Ashley Vox

The trash talk sends Marti outside but she comes back in to stomp both of them down in the corners. Some running hip attacks get two on Steelz and a Russian legsweep gets two on Steelz. Vox is back in with a missile dropkick to Belle for two and the Real Catch has Steelz in trouble. Belle takes Vox down but walks into a Codebreaker to give Steelz the pin at 5:48.

Rating: D+. This was a good example of a match with three people doing moves to each other until one of them won. That doesn’t make for the most thrilling match and that was the case here. The women’s division continues to be one of the bigger weaknesses around here and this didn’t make things any better.

We recap Pope paying off the Bouncers to beat up Eddie Kingston, plus the Bouncers losing their Tag Team Title shot against James Storm and Eli Drake.

Here are Kingston, Storm and Drake for a chat. Kingston talks about how he wanted two fighters to take care of the Bouncers so he picked the World Tag Team Champions. Storm talks about wanting to entertain the fans and loving to fight. Drake doesn’t care if the Bouncers came from Ring of Honor because they got bounced right back to Ring of Honor. Any team who wants some of them, come see them in the Crockett Cup.

Video on Nick Aldis vs. Marty Scurll.

Strictly Business vs. Villain Enterprises

Nick Aldis/Thom Latimer vs. Marty Scurll/Brody King here. Aldis bails over for the tag to Latimer instead of facing Scurll so Latimer shoulders King to no avail. A shoulder and chop put Latimer down but Aldis’ cheap shot from the apron….has very little effect actually. Scurll comes in and claims a cheap shot from Aldis and the distraction lets the Villains hit a double elbow. Latimer gets sent outside so Scurll hits the superkick but Aldis sends him outside as well.

Back in and NOW Aldis is willing to fight as the cheating begins. Latimer grabs the chinlock but Scurll is up in a hurry for a suplex. The hot tag brings in King as everything breaks down. A sunset flip/German suplex combination into a piledriver gets two on Aldis but here’s Kamille to break up the chickenwing. Cue Royce Isaacs for a distraction so Scurll takes him out with a dive. The distraction lets Latimer hit King low, setting up the top rope elbow to give Aldis the pin at 9:47.

Rating: C+. They’re doing a good job of setting up Scurll challenging Aldis because it’s going to be a heck of a fight. I’m not sure how well it’s going to go whenever they finally get there, but the build has been good and that is what matters most at the moment. This was a good choice, and should set up Scurll making sure that it’s one on one against Aldis.

Corgan announces that since they can’t have actual wrestling right now so next week it’s a new series: Carnyland.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: C. The main thing that this show did was remind me of two things. First, the show doesn’t need to be this long, and second, that the NWA wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire when it went on hiatus. It isn’t a terrible show or anything, but there isn’t a lot to get excited about around here. I’d have watched Crockett Cup, but this didn’t really make me want to see it. It’s an ok show, though they might need the time off to freshen up their ideas.

Results

Kamille b. Madi Maxx – Spear

Rock N Roll Express b. Aron Stevens/Question Mark – Rollup to Stevens

Tim Storm b. Jax Dane – Perfect Storm

Tasha Steelz b. Ashley Vox and Marti Belle – Codebreaker to Belle

Strictly Business b. Villain Enterprises – Top rope elbow to Aldis

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Into The Fire
Date: December 14, 2019
Location: GPB Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Joe Galli, Stu Bennett

This is another one that has been sitting on my list for a good while now and it’s time to knock it off. What we have here is the NWA pay per view and the big culmination of the first season of Powerrr. The show has been good leading up to this event and now we need to see what the NWA can do on a big stage. The main event is Nick Aldis defending the World Title against James Storm in a 2/3 falls match with guest referees involved. Let’s get to it.

The opening video features Stu Bennett reading a poem, which is capped off with the line Into The Fire. Makes sense, just like the words being read over clips of the wrestlers on the card.

The commentators run down the card, which I never understand on a pay per view, but for a cheap show where a lot of people might be getting into the promotion, it makes some more sense.

Eli Drake vs. Ken Anderson

Everyone has music and an entrance now, making the show feel even more important. This is fallout from a triple threat match for the National Title where James Storm retained. A hard lockup takes them into the corner to start, followed by Anderson grabbing a hammerlock. Drake can’t spin off the mat early on so he powers up and hammers away in the corner. Anderson whips him back into the corner though and it’s a sliding knee to crush Drake’s head.

Back up and Drake grabs a hot shot for two, setting up the chinlock. The big jumping elbow gets two and there’s a slingshot shoulder for the same. The chinlock goes on again, followed by a quick neckbreaker so Drake can get another near fall. We hit the reverse chinlock until Anderson fights up again for the Regal Roll. Anderson counters the Gravy Train into a rollup and goes up top. That’s fine with Drake, who runs up the corner for a superplex, only to have Anderson counter into a sunset bomb, with Drake sitting down on it for the pin at 9:15.

Rating: C. This was a perfectly fine match between two wrestlers who have been in the ring for a long time and done this stuff for a long time. They didn’t do a great job of explaining why these two are fighting, but at least they had a watchable enough match. I can go for more of Drake, though he wasn’t exactly looking great here.

Here’s Nick Aldis to say the NWA went from nothing to something, with forty countries watching live on pay per view. Yeah you can get up and cheer for that and tonight, it’s him vs. James Storm as the only men with a chance to live forever. Storm comes out as well and says everyone worked together as a team to get here. Tonight, Aldis is going to learn that he has been through a war with the toughest SOB in the world. At the end of the night though, Aldis is going to hear AND NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.

We recap Melina debut and forming an alliance with Thunder Rosa and Marti Belle.

Here’s Tasha Steelz for her match but first, she says how great she is and makes a weird noise.

Tasha Steelz vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa comes down the steps and looks ticked, despite getting a heck of a reception. Rosa grabs her by the hair to start but misses a clothesline. Steelz goes for the wristlock but gets blasted with the second clothesline attempt, allowing Rosa to tie her in the Tree of Woe. A running corner dropkick gets two so Steelz tries an Irish whip, which is cut off with a drop toehold (I’ve seen that before and it’s still sweet). The surfboard goes on but Steelz gets out and hits some running uppercuts. Some running kicks to the face drop Steelz again and a top rope double stomp to the back finishes Steelz at 4:18.

Rating: D+. As usual, the women’s division doesn’t exactly seem like much around here and it hasn’t gotten much better. The match was just a few steps above a squash and Steelz is one of multiple women who feel interchangeable around here. Rosa continues to look like a star though and the longer she toils with these matches, the less important she feels.

Post match Rosa beats on her some more, drawing out Ashley Vox for a failed save attempt. Rosa dislocates the elbow for a bonus.

We recap Aron Stevens joining forces with Question Mark over the powers of ka-ra-te.

Question Mark vs. Trevor Murdoch

Stevens is here with Mark, who he refers to as Sensei Question. Hold on though as Mark needs to sing the Mongrovian National Anthem, with Stevens unrolling the flag. They stare each other down for a good bit after the bell until Murdoch starts slugging away. A slam puts Mark down again but it’s too early to go for the mask. Mark strikes away with chops to the head and chest, followed by a middle rope dropkick for two. Back up and Murdoch grabs a spinebuster before going up top…..WHERE HE GRABS THE FLAG AND THROWS IT DOWN! You don’t do that to Mark so Murdoch has to chase Stevens off, allowing Mark to hit the chop to the throat for the pin at 5:58.

Rating: C. Mark is one of those guys who the fans have just accepted and turned into one of the most entertaining acts around here. That’s all he needs to be and while it won’t last forever, it is something that is rather entertaining for what it is. Murdoch will be fine as the old cowboy as it’s a character you can always have around.

We look at the Rock N Roll Express winning the Tag Team Titles from the Wild Cards. Tonight is the rematch.

The Express comes out, flanked by Outlaw Inc., for a chat before their title defense. Outlaw Inc. is here as an insurance policy, which doesn’t bode well. Hold out though as here are the Wild Cards, with the Dawsons as their own backup.

Tag Team Titles: Rock N Roll Express vs. Wild Cards

The Express is defending. Morton and Latimer start things off with the champ sending him into the corner. A double back elbow drops Latimer and Gibson sends the Cards into each other. Naturally Morton is fine enough to hit a suicide dive onto both of them but Isaacs gets in a knee to the back to take him down.

A powerbomb connects but the referee won’t count because there was no tag. I guess they really do wrestle in the NWA. Morton avoids a charge in the corner and brings Gibson back in to clean house. A missed clothesline drops Isaacs and Morton busts out a Canadian Destroyer of all things. The other teams get in a fight on the floor and in the confusion, the double dropkick finishes Isaacs to retain the titles at 5:01.

Rating: C. This is one of those matches where you have to put it on a sliding scale because the Express are in their sixties and there is only so much that they can do. The match wasn’t anything great and I’m not sure why I should think much of the Wild Cards if they can’t beat the old Express, but the fans were WAY into the champs here. And they even busted out a dive and Destroyer so it’s kind of hard to complain that much.

The NWA will be back on pay per view January 24 and the TV Title is coming back (dig that classic design).

Here’s Eli Drake to say he wants a World Title shot. Drake doesn’t like the idea of someone coming out here and trying to pump his gas, so here’s Ken Anderson to jump him from behind. Anderson wraps a chair around Drake’s neck and crushes it against the post. The Mic Check onto the open chair knocks Drake cold.

Allysin Kay/??? vs. Melina/Marti Belle

Ashley Vox was supposed to be Kay’s partner but she was taken out earlier, meaning we need a replacement. That would be….ODB, because we’re just that lucky. Good thing she was here and in gear on about thirty minutes notice too. Melina bails from a charging Kay to start so it’s Belle coming in instead. That earns her some forearms into the corner so a running knee can get two.

A hard whip into the corner keeps Belle down and Kay hammers down some right hands for two more. There’s a neckbreaker for another two as Kay keeps yelling at Melina. That’s enough to draw Melina in without a tag so Kay tries the belly to back piledriver (AK47, which is a different move than the one that originally used the same name), allowing Belle to get in a cheap shot to take over.

Now Melina is willing to come in legally and stomp away, with Belle choking from the corner for a bonus. Belle gets two off a DDT but Melina misses a kick to the head, allowing ODB to come in off the hot tag. House is cleaned, including a fall away slam and Bronco Buster to Belle with Melina making the save. Now the AK47 drops Melina and the Bam (usually a TKO but practically a Samoan drop here) finishes Belle at 7:21.

Rating: D. I’ve never been an ODB fan and this didn’t make it any better. The finish looked horrible and I’m still not sure what the point of this feud is. Then again I’m not sure if it’s a feud in the first place, as the story just kind of goes on and on. Not every promotion needs a women’s division and while Melina may be a star, she’s not quite the kind of legendary star that they seem to think she is.

Video on Storm vs. Aldis. Storm has claimed a conspiracy against him so tonight it’s 2/3 falls and they both get to pick a referee.

National Title: Ricky Starks vs. Aron Stevens vs. Colt Cabana

Cabana is defending, Stevens has Question Mark with him, and it’s one fall to a finish. Stevens bails to the floor to start so the chase is on, with Cabana and Starks hitting elbows to his head back inside. A running kick to the head puts Stevens on the floor so he hides behind a Christmas tree at ringside. Starks takes Cabana down in a hammerlock but Cabana is back with one of his own.

As Bennett tries to figure out what a “Stroke Daddy” is, Starks fights up and shoulders Cabana down for two. With the other two down, Stevens runs back in, poses a bit, and gets punched in the ribs for his efforts. Cabana throws Starks outside and takes Stevens into the corner. Starks comes back in so Stevens hits Cabana low and discus clotheslines Starks for two. A fancy elbow hits Starks and it’s time to choke in the corner.

Mark takes care of Cabana on the floor and Stevens knees him off the apron as Starks can’t get back up. Cabana gets back in and is sent out again just as fast, allowing Starks to run Stevens over. Everyone gets back in and it’s time for some atomic drops to Stevens for the sake of comedy. Starks dropkicks Cabana and lands on Stevens with a backsplash for two, followed by an abdominal stretch to Cabana.

That’s broken up as well and the Billy Goat’s Curse (reverse Boston crab) has Starks crawling over to the rope in a hurry. The pinfall reversal sequence gives us some near falls each until Starks grabs a tornado DDT on Cabana. Back up and Cabana hits the Superman Pin for two as Mark makes the save with a shot to the throat. Stevens is right back in and covers Cabana for the pin and the title at 12:21.

Rating: C+. This was a fun match and Stevens is going to be fine as a champion who everyone knows they can beat but can’t quite do it for a bit. His association with Mark is going to be rather entertaining and hopefully we get some more wacky shenanigans out of them soon. Starks is going to be fine for a long time to come.

Here’s Tim Storm, Nick Aldis’ referee for the World Title match, to promise that he’ll call everything right down the middle. He’ll represent the NWA because he’s always Mama Storm’s little boy.

We recap the World Title match, which is still centered around Kamille, who whispered something to Storm. The story doesn’t exactly make sense, but the match itself does and that’s what matters most here.

NWA World Title: James Storm vs. Nick Aldis

Aldis is defending and it’s 2/3 falls with Brian Hebner (Storm’s pick) and Tim Storm (Aldis’ pick) refereeing the first and second falls respectively. If a third fall is needed, a coin flip will determine who gets to referee. They fight over hammerlocks and headlocks to start with Storm having to flip out of a headscissors. Back up and it’s a standoff as Kamille comes out to watch. Aldis tells her to get to the back and it’s a Last call to give Storm the first fall at 2:17.

James stays on him to start the second fall and hammers away on the floor for a bit, including sending Aldis knees first into the steps. They fight up into the crowd for a bit, followed by a hard suplex onto the floor to keep Aldis down. Tim counts to nine at a fair speed so James throws Aldis right back to the floor. Aldis manages to whip him into the Christmas tree though, meaning it’s time to send Aldis into the announcers’ table.

Back in and James starts in on the leg, only to go to the middle rope and dive into a belly to belly. James is fine enough to hit the Eye of the Storm for two so it’s time for a chair. Believe it or not, he listens to the referee and throws it down, only to get small packaged to tie it up at 11:06.

We get a coin toss with Hebner winning so the third call can start. Aldis grabs a quick Michinoku Driver for two but walks into a Backstabber for the same. Storm gets crotched on top and superplex down for two (with a sloppy cover, causing Gorilla Monsoon to groan from the announcers’ booth in the sky). Another superplex attempt is broken up and Storm drops a top rope elbow for two. The Last Call is countered so Storm settles for a Figure Four instead.

Aldis turns it over to escape and hits a Tombstone of all things, setting up the top rope elbow for two. The referee gets bumped though, meaning Tim has to come back out to take over. There’s the Last Call to Aldis, who gets knocked into the corner. James grabs an O’Connor roll, with Aldis pulling the turnbuckle pad off with him (it wasn’t clear if he unhooked it or if it broke). The kickout sends James into the exposed buckle and the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf finishes the unconscious James at 21:54.

Rating: B. This was a main event that felt like it should have been on a major show and that’s a good thing. I could see this being a finish in an old school NWA match as you could argue over whether Aldis cheated or not. Aldis continues to carry himself like a champion every time and that’s the kind of thing that should keep the title on him for a long time to come. Good main event here and easily the best thing on the show.

Post match Aldis says this win belongs to all of us because we are the NWA. The title is how he tells the world who he is, and he knows no one can take the title from him. The lights go out and MARTY SCURLL IS HERE! Aldis looks scared and leaves to end the show before anything happens.

Overall Rating: C+. The thing to remember is where this company was just a few months ago. Until Powerrr started, AEW truly was a punchline. They went from absolutely nothing to something that people were talking about in a good way. Now they’re putting on a completely competent, if not downright good, pay per view. There were things here that weren’t very good, but there were enough positives to make the whole thing a success. It’s an easy two and a half hour show and that’s all it needed to be. Nice job and considering how far they’ve come recently, that’s impressive.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Powerrr
Date: February 11, 2020
Location: GPB Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Joe Galli, Stu Bennett

We’re heading towards the Crockett Cup and we might have a bit of a change in the main event. This past Sunday saw the NWA come to Ring of Honor’s Free Enterprise event, where the terms for the NWA World Title match were confirmed. There was a new idea thrown out and I’m sure we’ll cover that this week. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Sean Mooney tells us to subscribe.

Opening sequence.

Dawsons vs. Bouncers

Eddie Kingston is here with the Bouncers, Pope is here with the Dawsons, Eli Drake is on commentary and a rowdy James Storm is behind trio to offer some shenanigans. Beer City Bruiser rams into Zane to start, followed by a clothesline to put Zane down. Brian (not Brawler here) comes in and doesn’t care for Dave chopping him that much. Some rapid fire Stink Faces from Milonas set up Bruiser’s non-bite bite (he doesn’t have teeth so it’s not really biting).

Bruiser gets taken into the corner though and the beatdown is on with the Dawsons getting to take turns on him. A double clothesline gets Bruiser out of trouble though and it’s back to Milonas to clean some house. The managers nearly get in a fight on the floor, allowing the Dawsons to powerbomb Milonas off the ropes for two. Not that it matters though as Milonas is right back with a superplex into a frog splash from Bruiser (the Blackout) for the pin on Zane at 5:16.

Rating: D+. I like the Bouncers but this wasn’t the right kind of match for them. They work well because they’re so much bigger than just about anyone they face but this was the opposite, which hurt them a good bit. It’s nice to have a fresh team around here though as the partnership with ROH pays some benefits.

Post match, Drake and Storm drink out of the Crockett Cup.

We’ll find out the date and the location of the Crockett Cup next week. If it’s not Center Stage in Atlanta, I don’t know what to tell you.

We see Nick Aldis challenging Marty Scurll to come up with his own counteroffer for the World Title match.

Thom Latimer is asked about his upcoming match with Tim Storm, which could put him in line for a World Title match. He isn’t interested in going after the title because that’s Strictly Business. Oh and the Wild Cards will get the Tag Team Titles back. Kamille teases slapping Dave Marquez but pats his jaw instead.

Thom Latimer vs. Tim Storm

Rating: C. I know I’ve said this before but if this incarnation of the NWA gets credit for nothing else, they should get credit for making Tim Storm into a star. Storm is nearly fifty five years old and has no business being a big deal. The NWA has turned him into a hero the fans can believe in though and that’s downright impressive.

Post match here’s the fake Mama Storm, who Storm manages to not deck.

We look back at Trevor Murdoch vs. Aron Stevens going to a time limit draw but Trevor pinned him after the match was over.

Murdoch wants a rematch because he is the roughest and toughest man to wrestle in the NWA. He didn’t get the TV or National Title, but here’s Question Mark to sing the Mongrovian National Anthem. A challenge seems to be made and accepted.

It’s time for an Update with Sean Mooney (sweet goodness it’s nice to say that again, though sweeter gooderness it’s weird hearing him talk about Ring of Honor). We see a clip of the end of Free Enterprise with Marty Scurll offering to put up $500,000 for a title shot.

There is no Powerrr next week, as we will see the debut of Squared Circle, the new reality series.

Nikita Koloff wants to tell you about Jesus. Fair enough.

TV Title: Matt Cross vs. Ricky Starks

Starks is defending. They fight over a wristlock to start with Starks taking him to the mat in a chinlock. The fans get behind Starks as they get back up, with Starks running him over off a shoulder. Cross is back with a backbreaker for two and now the fans are split. A handspring elbow in the corner gets two on Starks and it’s time to fight over a suplex. Starks gets the better of it but we have less than a minute to go. Starks gets two more off a DDT but Cross is right back with the Cross Cutter as time expires at 6:05.

Rating: C+. The time limit is an interesting idea as you can rarely do anything special in that little amount of time (made even worse with the first gear starting) but it makes sense for this show. Starks is someone who suits the match well enough, but there are possibilities with a heel running away to retain the title over and over. Nice enough match here though, with both guys working in their limited time.

Video on Thunder Rosa retaining the Women’s Title last week over Allysin Kay.

Melina vs. Tasha Steelz

Melina isn’t into shaking hands to start so Steelz hammers her in the face. That earns her a boot and clothesline to the jaw and Melina starts kicking in the corner. A running faceplant gives Melina two but Steelz is back up with some elbows to the jaw. There’s a jawbreaker to rock Melina again but she clotheslines Steelz’s head off. The Primal Scream finishes Steelz at 4:48.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here as the women’s division continues to not be all that great. Melina is the biggest name in the division by several miles though and putting her against Thunder Rosa for the title is what makes the most sense. She isn’t exactly her old self in the ring but the star power is more than enough to keep her around at this level for the time being.

Post match Melina demands a title shot and she has sanctioned it herself.

Royce Isaacs/Nick Aldis vs. Rock N Roll Express

Sal Rinauro and Mae Valentine are in the crowd. The fans are behind the Express as Isaacs and Gibson get things going. Isaacs is all shaken up by Valentine being out there with Rinauro though and Aldis has to calm him down. That doesn’t go so well though as Gibson grabs the leg and brings in Morton. Gibson works on the leg again and even draws Aldis in so Morton can make the switch without a tag.

Aldis does come in legally but gets taken down by a Morton hurricanrana to get under his skin. Isaacs gets knocked outside again but he’s fine enough to choke Morton on the ropes to take over. Aldis comes in for a cheap shot to give Isaacs two and then comes in to hammer on Morton as well. A missed charge lets Morton make the hot tag to Gibson though (the amount of times that has been done over the years) and house is cleaned in a hurry. During the melee, Isaacs pokes Gibson in the eye and rolls him up for the pin with his feet on the ropes at 7:21.

Rating: C. The Express’ matches have to be on a bit of a sliding scale as there is only so much they can do in the ring but at least they had a good enough one here. It gives the heels a win and keeps the story going if they want to go there, while also keeping things moving with Rinauro vs. Isaacs.

Post match Isaacs leaves with Valentine.

A video on Scurll vs. Aldis ends the show.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: C-. I can always appreciate a short show that manages to get a lot of stuff into their limited time. That was the case here and even thought hey didn’t get that much high quality stuff, it was at least entertaining and gave us some nice moments. Maybe having next week off can help things out a bit, though I’m not exactly feeling the idea of a reality series. Are they really that far along yet?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Somehow the NWA is back with another pay per view and it looks pretty good. I only say somehow because I still can’t fathom that this company is alive in 2020, with the fact that they have been entertaining going another step beyond. This time it’s about the TV Title, with a tournament to crown a new champion. There’s some other stuff too of course so let’s get to it.

TV Title Tournament First Round: Tim Storm vs. Ken Anderson

This is going to be a tricky show to preview because there are a lot of matches where we won’t find out the participants until later in the show. We’ll start here though and it’s an interesting one to pick first, as it really could go either way. Anderson barely qualified for the tournament, only getting in via a gauntlet match. Storm has been treated as a major focal point over the last few weeks though, meaning this could go either way.

I’ll go with Anderson winning here though, likely due to Strictly Business interfering to cost Storm the match. That’s the story that makes sense, though it wouldn’t shock me to see it happen later in the tournament. Or not at all as Storm winning the title would be a nice feel good story as Storm has been turned into quite the fan favorite. It’s nice to start off with a match which could go either way and hopefully that continues.

TV Title Tournament First Round: Zicky Dice vs. Dan Maff

This is another one where it depends on how you see the other first round match going. Maff is one of the people over from Ring of Honor and quite the monster, which Dice is someone they seem interested in push. It helps that Maff is also a huge guy and rather tough, which would seem to be a near guaranteed win over Dice.

That’s why I’m taking Dice, who is someone with a good attitude and character that makes you want to see more of him. The NWA seems interested in pushing him and it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to have him lose here. Ring of Honor will be back later on in the night, but for nice it should be Dice moving forward.

TV Title Tournament First Round: Ricky Starks vs. Matt Cross

Now we might have the first easy choice. Cross is the outsider getting his chance in the tournament and Starks is the one who seems to have been pushed rather well throughout the show’s entire run so far. I’m not sure what to expect from the match from a quality standpoint but it isn’t hard to guess where this is going.

Starks wins here, as it might be his entire tournament to win. Cross has shown the abilities to have a good match against anyone so hopefully he can give Starks a nice rub. Starks has shown himself to be rather talented so far and hopefully that continues as he could go quite far in this thing. I mean, there are only three matches for the winner so it isn’t hard to go far but you know what I’m getting at.

TV Title Tournament First Round: Question Mark vs. Trevor Murdoch

Every now and then a wrestler catches on to something that is so goofy that you can’t help but get behind it. That’s the case with Question Mark, who has turned into a cult favorite in the NWA despite being quite the goofy heel. Murdoch on the other hand is as classic of a gimmick as you can get with the grizzled cowboy trying to show he can still fight.

Ignoring the gimmicks though, this is pretty clearly Mark’s to lose. Murdoch has been little more than a jobber to the stars so having Mark lose makes no sense. If nothing else, having Mark around with more of the karate stuff would make all the sense in the world. He’s just great with that whole gimmick and I’m curious to see how far it can go. For now though, it goes on to the second round.

Women’s Title: Allysin Kay(c) vs. Thunder Rosa

This is a weird situation as Kay is the long running champion but she isn’t the most popular star in the division or even the biggest name. That being said, she’s incredibly talented and feels like a big star, though I’m not sure how long she is going to hold the title. Melina and Thunder Rosa come off as the most important people in the entire division and that isn’t a good sign for Kay’s future.

I think I’ll play it safe here and go with Rosa as the next champ. This is a case where it would be fine to go either way, but Rosa has been turned into the most popular member of the division. I know Melina is still lurking, but they could make something out of Rosa and that would start with a title win here. I’m not convinced in the slightest, but I’ll take Rosa to win the title.

Tag Team Titles: Rock N Roll Express(c) vs. Wild Cards vs. James Storm/Eli Drake

The Express got their big moment a few months ago on Powerrr and I’m not sure how much longer they can hold the things. It’s hard to believe that a pair of guys who could be the fathers of a lot of the wrestlers are the best tag team in the world, but that presents the other problem: who else is there to take the titles from them? It’s not like the division, if there is one, is all that deep.

I’ll take the Wild Cards to get the titles back though, which is about all you can go with here. They’re in a big story at the moment with Strictly Business and it would be a good idea to give the team some more gold. I could see Storm and Drake winning as well, but at some point you need to get the titles off of the Express and this seems to be a perfect place to do just that.

TV Title Tournament Semifinals: Ken Anderson vs. Ricky Starks

This is more of the right kind of match for Starks. Cross is a name, but Anderson is a former World Champion and someone who can give Starks a real rub. At the same time, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Anderson could move on and win the whole thing, which makes for a more interesting match here. You really could go either way and that’s a nice feeling.

That being said, Starks makes more sense here as the NWA needs stars and reheating the same Anderson that we’ve seen for years now doesn’t seem like the best solution. Just let Starks go forward and make the finals as Anderson is someone who can lose and not really be hurt by it. Starks moves on and Anderson goes to talk about something else.

TV Title Tournament Semifinals: Zicky Dice vs. Question Mark

It’s always weird to have a heel vs. heel match but it’s also weird to have a heel get some of the biggest reactions on the show. Dice is someone who could go somewhere but he hasn’t shown me much more than potential yet. On the other hand, Mark is someone who is riding an awesome wave of popularity so I’m not sure how long it is going to last. Both of those have positives but one makes more sense.

I’ll take Mark here, as Starks vs. Dice isn’t that thrilling of a final. Mark has been one of the most entertaining things about Powerrr so far and giving him the spot in the finals will get a much bigger reaction. Dice is going to be fine and can find something else to do, but for now it’s Mark moving forward, just to hear more about hie ka-ra-te skills from Stevens.

National Title: Aron Stevens(c) vs. Scott Steiner

Speaking of Stevens, here’s what might be the most amazing match of the Powerrr era as it could be anywhere from entertaining to one of the biggest disasters in recent memory. Hopefully it’s more towards the former and given how Stevens has been going as of late, I’d lean in that direction.

I’m going with Stevens to retain here, likely by DQ when Steiner goes nuts. They’ve done a nice job of keep Stevens as the cowardly champion who talks a big game, which is something that is always going to work. Just let Steiner be insane for a little while and have Stevens be entertaining and everything should be fine. Or it could be great. Or a nightmare. Either way, we could be in for something special here.

TV Title: Ricky Starks vs. Question Mark

So now we get down to what matters and I really could see it going either way. Like I’ve said before, it’s interesting to see where this goes because there are different realistic options. Mark is someone who is already over but I don’t know how far his run can go from here. A lot of that energy is likely to be gone with a single loss, but the same thing would be true of Starks at this point.

Give me Starks to win the title though, as Mark is over enough without it while Starks is someone without much of a gimmick or any credibility. The TV Title would help that a lot and he can defend it for a few weeks to come. Mark and Stevens are going to be fine doing their shtick while Starks needs something a bit more traditional. They’ll both be fine, but Starks wins here.

Nick Aldis vs. Flip Gordon

I doubt this goes on last but I can’t help putting the World Champion in the final spot. This is part of the NWA vs. Ring of Honor story and that could go well for both sides. The NWA is still finding its footing and Ring of Honor is trying to find a way to stop things from somehow getting worse. Maybe this partnership can help, but it has to start somewhere.

I’m actually going with Gordon on this one, probably in the form of Marty Scurll interfering to cost Aldis the match. Aldis vs. Scurll is where it’s at in the near future and they need something to help advance that. I could go for Scurll winning the title, but if Gordon wins here, he’ll be getting the shot. Aldis winning doesn’t leave as many doors open though, so go with Gordon winning.

Overall Thoughts

I’m not usually big on a one night tournament but the NWA is still brand new at this being around thing and need to do something to get some attention. There are enough names in the field to make it interesting and there is a good chance I’ve gotten most of these predictions wrong. There are a lot of good choices though and that’s a nice situation to have, much like having this show around in general.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author- page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Powerrr
Date: January 7, 2020
Location: GPB Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Stu Bennett, Joe Galli

We’re back to the regular scheduled after the holidays messed things up a few times. This week is again about the title situation, with Tim Storm setting his sights on Nick Aldis, who doesn’t seem interested in fighting. This has done wonders for Storm and I want to see where he goes from here. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at everyone coming at Aldis, who seems more interested in finding every way he can to avoid them all.

Into The Fire. I wish they would update the credits as it was better when you had the people on the show rather than just the big names.

Here’s Tim Storm to open things up. Storm explains the tournament (there will be six members of the Powerrr roster and two open invitational spots, which could come from anywhere) but he isn’t happy with Aldis running from him. Cue Kamille to hold up a mic but she doesn’t say anything. Storm calls Aldis a coward and gets slapped in the face.

Trevor Murdoch is ready to fight anyone and we get another draw for two TV Title Tournament qualifying matches: Dave Dawson vs. Zane Dawson and Trevor Murdoch vs. Tom Latimer.

TV Title Tournament First Round: Zicky Dice vs. Caleb Konley

I’m pretty sure this is the first round and there is no mention of a qualifying match. Konley grabs a few rollups for two and armdrags Dice into the corner for a bonus. Dice avoids a dropkick, only to get knocked outside for a breather. Konley gets sent to the apron so he comes back in with an anklescissors. A backsplash gets two on Dice but he’s right back with a bridging northern lights suplex for two. The slugout goes to Konley but he misses a double jump moonsault. Dice’s Snake Rattle and Roll is good for the pin at 4:28.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure how much there is in Dice but Konley is fine for a match like this. They need to build someone up to be a factor in the tournament and Dice is becoming just that so far. I could still go for a bracket or a list of who all is involved, but I’m not completely sure the NWA knows just yet.

Highspots.com ad.

Earlier today Aron Stevens and the Question Mark promised to win more titles with Stevens owing his success to Mark (in a Stevens robe for a funny visual).

ODB vs. Thunder Rosa

Allysin Kay is on commentary. Rosa grabs a front facelock to start but ODB is back with some knees to the ribs. The slugout goes to ODB but Rosa starts with the kicks to the legs. A legsweep sets up the running crotch attack to the back in the ropes and it turns into a brawl on the mat. The chinlock goes on but ODB is up in a hurry and hitting her in the face again. A middle rope ax handle misses though and ODB bangs up her knee again. The top rope double stomp to the back finishes ODB at 5:49.

Rating: D+. Rosa getting the win is the right move as she has a lot of potential and beating a name like ODB can help her a lot. I’m still not convinced that the women’s division needs to exist but that isn’t going to change anytime soon. Not a terrible match, but I could go for something a lot stronger in the story department around the whole division.

The Rock N Roll Express have a love hot line.

Here’s Nick Aldis for a chat and there is literally a stack of questions for him. Believe it or not, the first question is about Kamille and Aldis knew that was coming. It’s true that Kamille isn’t the insurance policy anymore but that’s because she is now a full fledged member of Strictly Business. Then there’s Ricky Morton, who is a great tag team wrestler but needs to stay away from the World Title.

It’s like Eli Drake and James Storm trying to jump the line and get to the main event without earning anything. The Wildcards are going to be taking the Tag Team Titles so Storm and Drake can mind their business. As for tonight, he’s ready to beat Ricky Starks in less than six minutes because the only place he isn’t done in less than six minutes is in the bedroom because he can go all night.

Nick Aldis vs. Ricky Starks

Non-title with a 6:05 time limit. Aldis shoulders him down and busts out a cartwheel, meaning it’s time to lay across the top rope. Starks does the same but adds in a dropkick to set up a rollup for a new fall. A spinning suplex gets Aldis out of trouble and a clothesline is good for two.

The chinlock goes on and we have three minutes left. Starks is up in a hurry and Aldis charges into a boot in the corner for a breather. The middle rope missile dropkick gives Starks two more and the suicide dive to the floor makes it even worse. Back in and Starks misses a moonsault to tweak his knee. That means the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf with a minute left and Starks holds on for the time limit draw at 6:05.

Rating: C. This is the kind of thing that the champ can do to put someone over. It’s true that Starks was in trouble and would have lost after another minute or so but officially it’s a tie and Aldis couldn’t beat him. That’s how this should have gone and it wound up being an entertaining little match with Aldis giving Starks a lot.

Post match here’s Ricky Morton to demand five more minutes. That’s not happening, so Morton asks for five minutes of his own. Again, no.

Eli Drake/James Storm vs. Wildcards vs. Colt Cabana/Mr. Anderson

Hang on as there are no Wildcards to start so we’ll go two on two early on. Cabana headlocks Drake to the mat to start so Drake slips out, only to get caught in a second headlock. A quick flip gives Cabana two and it’s off to Anderson to hammer away. Drake’s jumping clothesline allows the tag off to Storm, who skins the cat and snaps off a headscissors.

Rating: C+. This had some nice energy and some of that was due to not having the other team included. That’s the kind of thing that can drag a match down so it was a good case of addition by subtraction. If nothing else, a triple threat match doesn’t seem to fit in the NWA and it was nice to see this get a little more time than the usual matches around here.

Post match Cabana yells at Anderson for costing them the match until they head to the back.

Cue Aldis and Kamille, plus the Wildcards, for one more chat. Aldis pulled the Wildcards from that match because it wasn’t in the best interest of Strictly Business. He invites the Rock N Roll Express out here and has an idea: a six man tag with Team Aldis vs. Team Morton. If Team Morton wins, he gets a show at Sweet Charlotte. Morton goes on a rant about the good old days before accepting the challenge. Hang on though as Aldis and Morton won’t be in the match because Aldis wants no excuses. Team Aldis will be the Wildcards and…..SCOTT STEINER, because we need to get that required square checked off.

Overall Rating: C+. This is starting to feel like a more complete wrestling show and that is the best thing that it could do. You can see the stories (ok so having some different people in them might help) being set up and where they are likely going, but what matters most is they’re making me care about what happens to these people. This place is starting to get some life and that’s a very good sign. There’s more to it than that, but for now they’re doing pretty well. Nice show here, with the wrestling not being the focus, as usual.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Powerrr
Date: December 17, 2019
Location: GPB Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Stu Bennett, Joe Galli

We’re back after a one week absence with I guess the start of the second season. Into The Fire has come and gone with the biggest developments being Aron Stevens taking the National Title from Colt Cabana and Marty Scurll showing up to challenge Nick Aldis, who retained the World Title. Hopefully there is a nice bump in viewership after the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look at Scurll appearing at the end of Into The Fire.

Speaking of which, Into The Fire.

The announcers preview tonight’s show.

Here are Aron Stevens, in a gi, and the Question Mark for a chat. Stevens describes himself as a VERY dangerous man because he is now the first ever American to have a third degree black belt in Mongrobian karate. Mark: “KARATE!” Fans: “QUESTION MARK!” Stevens: “DO NOT CALL THIS MAN A MARK!” Stevens lists off the names who have held this title but he is at a different level than the rest of them.

Actually, he is NOT the NWA National Champion, because he is the first ever THIRD DEGREE NWA National Champion, and he has the stripes on the belt to prove it. From now on, you will refer to him as Shooter Stevens. Soon, the two of them are coming after the Tag Team Titles, Mark will be going after the TV Title and Stevens will be having the NWA World Title. Cue Colt Cabana to say Stevens would never win a thing without Mark there to help him. Stevens says he’s a third degree champion and suggests Cabana try some Mongrobian karate lessons.

Cue Thunder Rosa of all people and the men all leave. Rosa shouts in Spanish and here’s Melina, only to have Ashley Vox show up to attack Rosa. The two of them go to crush Vox’s arm but Allysin Kay and ODB make the save.

We look at Ken Anderson jumping Eli Drake from behind. Tonight, they face off in a No DQ match.

Post break, here’s the same thing you just saw.

Melina and Rosa yell at Marti Belle for not having their back out there. Belle says they told her to stay in the back but Melina wants her to do what she means, not what she says.

The NWA TV Title is coming back (that belt is still sweet) and there will be a tournament to crown the first champion. The finals will take place at the still unnamed January 24 pay per view and each match has a 6:05 time limit.

TV Title Tournament Qualifying Match: Zicky Dice vs. CW Anderson vs. Sal Rinauro

One fall to a finish. They go for the rapid fire near falls to start as the time limit is rather short. A triple clothesline puts everyone down with Dice getting up to cover both of them for two each. The double noggin knocker is broken up and it’s a double punch to the face to put Dice down. Dice hits a running Stunner on Anderson but Anderson hits the spinebuster on Rinauro. Anderson is sent into the post though and Dice’s Snake Rattle And Roll (neckbreaker) finishes Rinauro at 2:00.

Post match Dice says he doesn’t need luck because he’s the future TV Champion. Cue the Dawsons to chase him off though and say no one can stand them. Well they can’t stand the fans either and they’re here to expose some truth. James Storm is right: there is a conspiracy around here and they were a part of it. They did the Wildcards’ dirty work but now the Wildcards won’t answer their phones.

Cue the Wildcards with chairs to chase them off but now it’s Marty Scurll coming out for a chat of his own. Scurll has been hearing people asking about where he’s going for the last two months but the truth is he does whatever he wants. If he wants to show up in the NWA, that’s exactly what he’s going to do. He’s heard Nick Aldis talking about being the NWA World Champion for a long time now.

Well he’s known Aldis (and Bennett) for a long time now. Earlier this year, Scurll gave Aldis the fight of his life at the Crockett Cup and he knows he can beat Aldis. The fans seem to like the idea and he’s right here waiting for Aldis anytime anyplace. Scurll brings so much star power to this place that it’s unreal.

Highspots.com ad.

Eddie Kingston joins commentary and has nothing to say about Homicide’s injury.

Rock N Roll Express vs. Zach Mosley/Sean Sims

Non-title. Gibson shoulders Mosley down to start and it’s off to Morton for the Million Dollar knee lift. The Express whip them into each other and roll them up at the same time for the double pin at 46 seconds.

Post match the Express talks about other great names in the NWA’s history and what an honor it is to be considered with them. As for Aldis comparing himself to Harley Race and Ric Flair, he has a long way to go to back that up.

Cue the Dawsons again to say they want the Wildcards so here they are for the brawl.

The pay per view will be called Hard Times.

Dawsons vs. Wildcards

Zane has to fight out of the corner to start but everything breaks down in a hurry. Zane is taken outside with his hand being stomped onto the steps to put him in trouble. Back in and the double teaming ensues, including a wishbone to stretch the legs out. Latimer bites the hand so Dave comes in for the save, only to get taken out in a hurry. A powerbomb/Death Valley Driver combination finishes Zane at 3:05.

Rating: D+. You have to rebuild the Wildcards somehow if you want them to mean anything going forward so having them beat up these heavies is a good way to go. They’re a fine team and if they beat the Express to get the titles back, they might actually be able to survive that rather horrible loss.

After losing at the pay per view, James Storm said he would get his justice when he deserves it. He saw Aldis taking off the turnbuckle pad and taking out Storm’s referee so that wasn’t exactly fair. Storm is willing to go back to the bottom of the pile to get to the top.

Zicky Dice comes back out and we get to see the entrants in the TV Title tournament:

Zicky Dice

Ricky Starks

Caleb Konley

Colt Cabana

Trevor Murdoch

Tom Latimer

Question Mark

Eddie Kingston

Tim Storm

Dave Dawson

Zane Dawson

Nick Aldis

Former TV Champion Nikita Koloff comes out (still looks great) to draw some names for the tournament. Here are some first round matches:

Ricky Starks

Eddie Kingston

Colt Cabana

Question Mark

Aldis and Starks come up to the interview desk with Aldis showing off the NWA pocket square. Aldis talks about the effort it is going to take to knock him off. He’s here to make history so he wants to hold both titles at once. Maybe Starks could even make it to the finals to face him.

Marty Scurll is brought up and Aldis has no comment. He goes on about how people keep coming in here to ask about spots, just like Scurll. Aldis didn’t hear what Ricky Morton had to say but he’s sure it was complimentary. As for Kamille, he knows he needs a real team and not just an insurance policy. You’ll see the team over the next few weeks, but Kamille is no longer his insurance policy. The fans seem to approve.

We get a sitdown interview with Scurll, who took the first chance he had to come to the NWA. He loves the idea of the NWA World Title because it was the title that mattered when he was a kid. Scurll likes to keep people guessing and maybe even he doesn’t know what he’s going to do at times. He’d love to be the NWA World Champion.

Tim Storm joins commentary and he likes the idea of Scurll vs. Aldis.

Here’s Eli Drake, with a sore throat, for a chat. A few minutes ago, you had Aldis out here talking about how things are supposed to be in the NWA but then Drake wasn’t in the tournament. As for Ken Anderson, he send Drake’s throat into the post with a chair but Drake is still standing. Let’s do this right now.

Eli Drake vs. Ken. Anderson

No DQ. Drake slugs away to start and the fans are behind him. A clothesline out of the corner sets up a Russian legsweep and another clothesline puts Anderson on the floor. They fight into the crowd with Drake kicking him low but Anderson gets in a shot to the ribs. They fight behind the cameras with Drake getting the better of it and hitting Anderson in the back with a trashcan.

Drake crushes his face against a barricade but stops to steal a fan’s phone for a picture. They head back to ringside with Anderson sending him into the steps. A chair is thrown in but Drake blocks the Mic Check into said chair. Drake sends him face first into it instead and hammers away, setting up the Gravy Train to finish Anderson at 6:57.

Rating: C. This was a big brawl in the crowd with a few moves thrown in at the end. To be fair though, they had the match at Into The Fire so there wasn’t much of a point to doing the full thing here. Drake wanted revenge and got to beat Anderson up here so everything they did made perfect sense, including Drake winning.

Post match Aldis comes out to get in Storm’s face, saying to keep his name out of Storm’s mouth. They argue some more off microphone so Storm gets in the ring and invites Aldis to join him. The jacket comes off but the Wildcards come in as well to beat Storm down as Aldis approves. Cue Kamille to shove Aldis into the corner….and spear Storm. Kamille kisses Latimer to end the show.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: C+. There was a lot going on here and I liked it better than most of their usual shows. The biggest thing here was having an actual focus instead of being a big collection of things going on at the same time. Aldis is a full on heel and has a bunch of people gunning for him so now he has his own backup. That’s a basic story that can carry them for a long time as we try to find the next person to take the title from him. I dug this one and hopefully they get some more viewers after a revamped effort to start the second season.

Results

Zicky Dice b. CW Anderson and Sal Rinauro – Snake Rattle And Roll to Rinauro

Rock N Roll Express b. Zach Mosley/Sean Sims – Double rollup

Wildcards b. Dawsons – Powerbomb/Death Valley Driver combination to Zane

Eli Drake b. Ken Anderson – Gravy Train

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

I would say this falls into the “never say never” category. The NWA used to be all the rage back in the day but now things have changed quite a bit. While it isn’t exactly what it was before, the NWA is still around and has reached a level they have not achieved in a long time. This includes holding a pay per view event and that means it is time to see what they have in store. Let’s get to it.

Tasha Steelz vs. Thunder Rosa

This is a last minute addition to the card and it certainly feels like one. Rosa is someone that has been pushed rather hard since Powerrr began and she has been treated as a big deal. Steelz is someone you may remember as not doing very much but she is someone who can be put in there for a quick match. I’m not sure how much I would expect from it, but at least the match exists.

I’ll take Rosa here, as she needs to get her feet back a little bit after they did that rather strange series of videos on her losing in mixed martial arts (yeah it was cool, but it was completely different to what she does in her regular appearances). Steelz is someone who could be a nice star down the road, but Rosa is someone who could be a big star right now and that is what the NWA needs at the moment.

Tag Team Titles: Rock N Roll Express(c) vs. Wild Cards

It’s a rematch of the big moment from the first season (Are eight shows a season?) of Powerrr with the Express becoming nine time Tag Team Champions. Now they have to defend the titles that they won in a match which wasn’t all that great in the first place. I’m almost scared of the idea of the Express putting on some big, epic match, but it was cool to see them win the titles one more time at least.

I’ll go with the Wild Cards winning the titles back here, as there isn’t much of a future in having champions who are both in their 60s. It was a nice moment and all, but losing to the Express hurt the Wild Cards quite a bit. A win could help them get back on their feet, but it might be a little too late. You have to try and see though, as the Wild Cards need to get the titles back.

National Title: Colt Cabana(c) vs. Aron Stevens vs. Ricky Starks

How out of place does a triple threat match feel in the NWA? Anyway, this is an interesting one as you have the popular Cabana, the incredibly gimmicky Stevens and Starks, who looks like a nice prospect. This really is a match that could go any way and that makes things a lot more interesting. I’m actually not sure how this is going to go and that’s a feeling I always like.

That being said, I’ll go with Cabana retaining here, as he has the highest profile of all three names. Starks would be able to get something out of winning the title, but I’m not sure if he’s ready to go there yet. Stevens is going to be fine with his promos and funny lines alone and Cabana has already lost the title once. Cabana retains here, but it really could go to any of the three.

Trevor Murdoch vs. The Question Mark

Every now and then you find someone who just catches fire in a way beyond all expectations. That is the case with the Question Mark, who has turned into the cult favorite of all cult favorites in the NWA. I know he isn’t going to go anywhere long term, but it’s very smart to go with something that is working at the moment. The NWA needs something to get on the map and maybe the Question Mark can do so in a way.

So of course I’ll take the Question Mark to win, though probably not through the cleanest means. There is nothing wrong with giving Question Mark a win here, as Murdoch can bounce right back in a hurry due to being one of the better known names around at the moment. Question Mark isn’t going to last forever so the NWA is doing the right thing by capitalizing while they can, which includes a win here.

Allysin Kay/Ashley Vox vs. Melina/Marti Belle

This is another star power match, but above all else, where in the world do those drum beats come from? Can everyone in the ring hear them? Are they in someone’s head? Why do I think about these things so much? Anyway, Melina getting back in the ring is kind of a big deal, though I’m not sure if she has the kind of star power to make that big of a difference around here.

I’ll take Melina and Belle to win, likely with Melina pinning Kay to set up a future title match. There is nothing wrong with that in a situation like this so hopefully they get this one right and go with the logical means. Vox is another someone who could be a nice addition to the roster so putting her in there with the biggest name the women’s division has is smart. She isn’t involved in the finish here though and that makes the most sense.

Eli Drake vs. Ken Anderson

Here’s your second biggest and likely best match on the card as you can throw two experienced people out there and likely have one of them become the next #1 contender to the World Title. Drake has come off like a star in the NWA with those promos and status as the devil on your shoulder working very well for him. Anderson is Anderson and therefore acceptable, but he is pretty long removed from being a big deal.

That being said, I’m still going with Anderson to win with some cheating. Drake is someone with more potential and likely more help long term, but Anderson is someone with a certain charisma to him and his former WWE/Impact Wrestling status should be enough to carry him here. It’s ok to go with the bigger name at times and that is what they seem to be doing here. Anderson wins.

NWA World Title: Nick Aldis(c) vs. James Storm

It’s the main event with a stipulation of course, as this will be 2/3 falls with both of them getting to pick a referee for each fall. Should it go to a third fall (should…..right), a coin toss determines who will referee the third fall. The cuts from the broadcast hurt this one a bit as their reason for fighting isn’t all that clear. The videos are out there, but it would be nice to have a little better explanation.

Even with all of the stipulations, I’m taking Aldis to retain here as the NWA really seems to love him. I’m not sure I get the huge star in Aldis, but he does indeed have something there. The promos and look are enough to keep him in or near the main event and it’s not like there is anyone else who desperately needs to win the title at the moment. Aldis is as good as they have at the moment, so stick with what works.

Overall Thoughts

I still can’t get my head around the idea that the NWA is running a pay per view and it actually looks good. The promotion is not exactly doing great at the moment with the viewership for Powerrr being pretty weak, but the fact of the matter is they got out there and tried to do something, which is a lot more than so many promotions can do. See if this works and maybe there is a path forward. It’s not like this is going to be any worse than having the promotion sitting around, so maybe it can get them somewhere better, even if it is just a little bit.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Powerrr
Date: December 3, 2019
Location: GPB Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Joe Galli, Jim Cornette

It’s the finale of the first set of tapings and the go home show for Into The Fire, which is going to be taking place in about a week and a half. The big main event for tonight is the Rock N Roll Express getting their shot at the Tag Team Titles, which could be a feel good moment, a really bad idea, or both. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at a little bit of everything happening so far, capped off with a look at the Express.

Into The Fire.

Galli welcomes us to the season finale and thanks us for watching. To the opener!

Ricky Starks vs. Colt Cabana

Non-title. Hold on though as here are Aron Stevens and the Question Mark, with the former asking what he has to do to get a National Title shot. Cabana goes over to the interview desk and says he’s tired of hearing about this. If Stevens wants a title shot, he can have one if he can beat Starks right now. And Question Mark can go to the back for a bonus.

Aron Stevens vs. Ricky Starks

Into The Fire ad.

James Storm will be challenging Nick Aldis for the World Title at Into The Fire in a 2/3 falls match. Each will get to pick their own referee for a fall apiece, with a coin flip determining the referee for the third fall.

Storm talks about Kamille whispering something to him last week and Aldis not knowing what was said. On another point though, Storm thinks there is a conspiracy against him trying to become World Champion. There was an unspecified incident at an NWA pop up event and then he became #1 contender in a match that never saw the light of day. Is it that hard to imagine him being World Champion? Is that something so bad? Storm has picked Brian Hebner as his referee, because he knows Hebner won’t do anything to cheat him. If Aldis’ referee cheats though, it isn’t going to go well.

Highspots.com ad.

Video on the Question Mark, who loves ka-ra-te.

Video of Nick Aldis confronting the Great Muta at WrestleCade. Aldis laid the title down and said anywhere, anytime.

Here’s Melina for a chat. She gives people a purpose around here, because people care about her. Allysin Kay is going to have to work hard to keep the title from here, so here is Kay to threaten to slap the smug look off Melina’s face. Kay is ready to fight but Melina, not exactly in wrestling gear, walks away instead. Cue Marti Belle and Thunder Rosa to beat Kay down, including the rapid fire drum beats for reasons I still don’t quite get.

Tony Falk wants you to buy waffles and tire irons.

The Rock N Roll Express want the titles back.

Nick Aldis talks about the triple threat match between Storm, Ken Anderson and Eli Drake which never made air. Storm knows why it was never shown and wasn’t recognized: because Storm talked his way into the match, as he always does. Aldis: “We aren’t in TNA anymore.” Storm hasn’t earned a thing and the three way was a mess with all kinds of interference anyway. So why is Storm #1 contender now? Aldis went and told the NWA that he wanted Storm to get the title shot.

See, Storm is going to make a lot of noise and ask for what he wanted. That’s why Aldis is giving him everything he wants, so he can shut Storm up for good. As for the referee, it’s the man who put up everything for this title: Tim Storm. Kamille is brought up again and due to all of the controversy, Kamille has the night off (with pay) at Into The Fire. After that, it’s back to normal with Kamille back at his side.

Powerrr is back on December 17 with Into The Fire fallout.

Tag Team Titles: Rock N Roll Express vs. Wild Cards

The Cards are defending but the fans are WAY into the Express. Latimer runs Morton over with pure power to start so it’s a blind tag to bring in Gibson for a double shoulder. Isaacs comes in and powers out of a full nelson before avoiding a charge to send Gibson into the post. The champs start switching to stay on Gibson but the charge into the corner allows the hot tag to Morton. Cornette is WAY too excited for a pretty slow motion comeback. The double dropkick gets two on Latimer so Morton shoves them together and rolls Isaacs up for the pin and the titles at 5:02.

Rating: D+. I don’t think there’s any secret to the fact that this was ALL about the moment and not the wrestling. Yes the Express winning got the biggest reaction of the night, but at the same time, having this be their big moment for the season finale doesn’t exactly help with the stigma of the NWA being stuck in the past. Both members of the Express are in their 60s and while they’re not embarrassing themselves, there isn’t much of a future for them, or much of a way to draw in younger fans. It was a nice moment, but that might not be the best thing right now.

Cornette goes into the ring to celebrate with the new champs.

Galli thanks Cornette for everything he has done for the NWA.

The Express says it wasn’t about beating someone but outsmarting them.

The Wild Cards get their rematch at Into The Fire, along with Cabana vs. Starks vs. Stevens for the National Title.

Into The Fire rundown.

Aldis introduces Cornette’s replacement on commentary: Stu Bennett (Bad News Barrett).

Overall Rating: C. These half and half shows have been a completely different breed and the more I think about them, the more I like them. Having their regular TV shows hasn’t been helping things, but this show made me want to see the World Title match a good bit more. Both Powerrr and Into The Fire have taken some major hits in recent weeks though and I don’t think that is going to get any better with a week off before the pay per view.

Results

Aron Stevens b. Ricky Starks – Mongrobian Spike

Rock N Roll Express b. Wild Cards – Rollup to Isaacs

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Hidden Gems #9
Date: 1984, 1986, 1995

It’s the third of four sets of these Christmas shows and of course it’s more AWA because there’s nothing else to possibly air. These things are a complete hit and miss collection and while that can make for some fun surprises, it can also make for some absolutely terrible stuff. Let’s get to it.

AWA House Show
Date: December 25, 1984
Location: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul Minnesota
Attendance: 13,000
Commentator: Ron Trongard

Billy Robinson vs. Steve Olsonowski

Robinson is freshly heel and jumps Steve to start before sending him into the corner a few times. Steve gets sent into the buckle three times in a row and then tossed outside as Robinson is being more aggressive than usual. Back in and Robinson stomps away, followed by a loud right hand to put Steve on the floor. This time though Steve grabs Robinson’s leg and wraps it around the post to give himself an opening.

Robinson takes a breather of his own on the floor and calmly stands on the apron because he’s smart enough to know the referee will protect him there. A backbreaker takes Steve down but it bangs up Robinson’s knee all over again. It’s time to start on the knee for real with a hamstring stretch and an elbow onto the leg.

Robinson bails to the rope to get out of a leg crank so Steve elbows him out to the floor. We’re told it’s five minutes in at six minutes, which is a reversal from what you usually get. Back in and a sunset flip gives Steve two and the knee is damaged even worse. The leglock goes on again but Robinson is finally smart enough to use the good leg to break it up.

Steve is right back to the rope as they’re certainly sticking with the formula that has worked so far. They do it again at the ten (eleven) minute mark but this time Robinson goes to the eyes to get out. The comeback is on with Steve being knocked around the ring, including getting choked on the rope. Steve is right back with a backbreaker and dropkick for two but a middle rope elbow misses, giving Robinson the pin at 13:01.

Rating: C. I was getting into this one and would have liked it more if they had a few different things going on instead of the same formula over and over. The ending didn’t help either as Robinson literally just covered after Steve messed up. I’ve seen a good bit out of Olsonowski lately and he’s a steady hand in the ring, which is something you can always use.

Steve Regal vs. Baron Von Raschke

Say it with me: not THAT Steve Regal. We hit the stall button to start as Regal yells at a fan and then chills in the corner a bit. Baron goes outside to shake hands with the fan, which takes enough time that Regal hits Baron in the face to get things going. Some stomps keep Baron in trouble on the way back in but is fine enough to send Steve into the buckle a few times.

A headlock slows Baron down and an elbow to the head sets up the chinlock. The five minute call is accurate this time as the clock must have been fixed. Baron fights up and hits one heck of a backdrop to get another breather. The threat of the Claw sends Regal bailing to the floor but he comes back in and offers a scared handshake.

Some stomping in the corner sends Regal outside again so he comes back in (again) and hammers away. We go back to the chinlock and then a headlock to mix things up a bit. Oh wait never mind as the chinlock goes on again. Baron finally (and I do mean finally) breaks it up with an atomic drop….but Regal punches him in the face and puts on a front facelock.

Regal gets caught choking and the hold is broken so it goes right back on. With five minutes left, Regal sends him head first into the mat a few times, causing Baron to Baron Up. A backdrop takes care of that but Regal misses an elbow so Raschke can really start the comeback. The Claw goes on and Regal gives up at 17:13.

Rating: D-. Nope. This is the definition of the old school match that is nothing but laying around in holds for the most part. There’s nothing going on in those chinlocks and headlocks with both guys just laying there on the mat for a few minutes at a time. If they weren’t doing that then they were stalling on the floor, making this a truly mind numbing experience. That kind of a match can work and it can work very well, but this was terrible.

Mr. Saito vs. Jim Brunzell

Joined in progress with Saito coming back inside and getting taken down by the knee. Saito reverses a leglock into a cross armbreaker so Brunzell rolls around trying to break it for the better part of two minutes. The BORING chants are on, which you knew was coming after the previous match. Brunzell reverses into a leglock from behind but Saito gets up and rakes the eyes for the break.

We hit the ten minute mark, meaning they skipped about five and a half minutes. The sleeper has Brunzell in trouble, but unlike the Baron he does more than just sit there, which already makes this match better. A rope gets Brunzell out of trouble so the sleeper goes on again. Brunzell’s comeback is countered with a ram into the buckle and it’s time for him to take a breather on the floor.

Saito goes after him and gets pulled down so Brunzell can wrap the leg around the post (same sequence, even the same post, as the Robinson match). The Figure Four goes on (good one too) and it’s kind of a weird visual since Saito wrestles barefoot. With five minutes left, Saito grabs Brunzell’s leg to break things up but opts to turn it over and hurt Brunzell’s leg instead. Brunzell hammers away on the mat with forearms to the head and the Figure Four goes on again.

It’s reversed again, with Trongard being surprised that it would hurt Brunzell. I’m still not sure on the physics of that one. Brunzell doesn’t realize that he’s next to the rope and spends forever turning it over again for the break. The abdominal stretch keeps Brunzell in trouble until he reverses into one of his own with thirty seconds left. That’s broken up as well and Saito blocks a sunset flip until time expires at 14:17 shown of 20:00.

Rating: D+. This was still dull but they did a far, far better job of keeping the fans entertained. The leg stuff was the same thing that happened to Robinson but the effort here made it better than the previous match. It also helps that most of the matches on this show have come close to the time limit so the draw wasn’t the most obvious thing in the world. Still kind of dull, but light years better than it could have been.

Post match they keep brawling until the official decision.

Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Hennig would explode into a major star down the road around here. Again joined in progress but it seems to be right after the bell. Bockwinkel starts with the hard forearms to the face, followed by the knees to the ribs to put Hennig outside. Hennig’s head is rammed into the apron a few times as it’s all Bockwinkel so far. Some more forearms off the apron keep Hennig down until he finally pulls Bockwinkel down by the knee (learn a new match layout) and hammers away at the five minute mark (Yeah they clipped all of three seconds. Why not just show the opening bell?).

This time it’s Bockwinkel being knocked outside and it’s a suplex to bring him back in. A double clothesline knocks both guys down and it’s Bockwinkel up with some knees to the ribs for two. Bockwinkel’s sleeper is broken up with a ram into the corner and it’s time to hammer away on Hennig in the corner. Hennig comes back with right hands and a headknocker (picture the start of a piledriver but Hennig jumps up and lands on the back of Bockwinkel’s head), setting up a sunset flip for two.

With that not working, Hennig gets two off a sunset flip. That was close so to mix it up a bit, Hennig sunset flips him for a near fall. Tired of having his sunset flipped, Bockwinkel takes him down into a Figure Four, which is turned over. For some reason Hennig grabs the rope while it’s reversed, suggesting that physics don’t work the same around here. Bockwinkel continues the AWA philosophy of “if a hold is broken, put it right back on” so Hennig makes the rope even faster this time. Bockwinkel tries it a third time and knowing what’s coming, Hennig small packages him for the pin at 14:21.

Rating: C. The energy was better here and they had a much better story throughout with Bockwinkel trying everything he could to finish Hennig but not being able to pull it off. Hennig was still very young here but it was nice to see them trying to make a big star for a change. He clearly had all the tools save for the experience though and pushing him made sense.

Post match the livid Bockwinkel sends him head first into the post to blow off some steam. Hennig is busted open and Bockwinkel adds a pair of piledrivers. Referees and wrestlers break it up but Bockwinkel manages to add in a chair shot to the head. They break it up again and Bockwinkel gets over again to stomp away. The post match beatdown was over five minutes long.

Greg Gagne/Jerry Blackwell vs. Masked Superstar/King Kong Brody

It’s a brawl to start with Gagne kneeing Superstar outside. Brody kicks Blackwell in the face and takes over. The villains alternate with their boots on Blackwell until Superstar puts on a front facelock. Superstar gets shoved away though and it’s off to Gagne for his weird dropkick on Brody.

Blackwell chokes from the apron but Brody is fine enough to block a monkey flip and put Gagne in trouble. The piledriver is broken up but Brody sends Gagne right back into the corner. Superstar’s flying headbutt sends Gagne outside and it’s time to walk around the ring a few times.

Back in and Gagne slips over for the tag to Blackwell so house can be cleaned. Blackwell drops an elbow and the big splash for two on Brody. Stereo dropkicks (Blackwell’s is a jumping foot to the stomach) put the villains down and Blackwell powerslams Brody but the ref gets bumped. With the ref down, an ax handle knocks Blackwell out for the pin at 10:29.

Rating: C-. This was energetic but not very good. One of the most consistent problems with the AWA shows is I have no idea how we got to this match. The commentary very rarely offers any details as it’s all about the wrestling, which is fine but not the most informative thing in the world.

Post match Blackwell gets beaten down even more until Greg Gagne makes the save. Blackwell headbutts the referee for not being there to count his pin.

A Tag Team Title match with the Road Warriors defending against the Fabulous Ones in a no contest is cut here.

AWA World Title: Jimmy Garvin vs. Rick Martel

Martel is defending and Garvin has Precious in his corner. Trongard says that this is a repeat of something that happened before. Now we’re not told what that thing is, but something did indeed happen. Garvin starts fast with some knees to the ribs so Martel snaps off a dropkick to send him outside. An early Precious distraction doesn’t work as Martel grabs an atomic drop and punches away.

The hammerlocking begins with Martel adding a knee drop for a bonus. Since this is the AWA, the hold stays on for a few minutes, though at least Martel keeps moving to keep things a little more fresh. Garvin is right back with an armbar of his own, followed by some legdrops to the arm. The champ comes back with his own armdrag into an armbar, which is almost all we’ve seen in the match so far.

A few kicks send Garvin outside and he wants a timeout. The delay seems to work very well for him as he comes back in and takes over with a chinlock. Martel’s comeback is cut off with another chinlock into the reverse chinlock for a special twist. Martel fights up and gets sent over the top, which Garvin denies and actually gets away with thanks to Precious.

Another comeback works a little bit better this time as Martel hiptosses him down and gets in a long series of right hands to FINALLY wake the fans up. A slingshot splash gives Martel two and he hammers away in the corner until the referee pulls him off. That lets Precious slip in a foreign object so Garvin can knock Martel cold for the pin and the title at 17:00.

Rating: D. While there were worse matches on the card, this was another dull one full of chinlocks and rest holds that killed the interest. Martel was trying and had his good, fired up comeback, but he doesn’t feel like a top star and this didn’t feel like a World Title match. You know the ending isn’t going to stand either, which makes this a pretty weak way to end the show.

And never mind as matchmaker Wally Karbo reverses the decision to keep the title on Martel to end the show. That makes sense as you wouldn’t want a face looking strong around here. Of the seven matches on the card, the faces went 2-3-2 with the two wins coming either via DQ with Martel after he was pinned or via fluke by Hennig, who was beaten senseless after. Even when the young faces won, they didn’t exactly look good in the process. How AWA of the show.

Thankfully we can get away from the AWA a bit and jump ten years forward to Smoky Mountain, which I haven’t seen much of over the years. I’m not completely sure when or where this was filmed, as the event was held over several nights in different cities. The date listed on the Network is two weeks later, so I’d assume this is the version that eventually aired on television.

Christmas Chaos 1994
Date: January 7, 1995
Commentators: Jim Ross, Les Thatcher, Buddy Landel

Opening sequence.

Yep it’s a studio show.

The announcers welcome us to the show and aren’t happy to see Buddy (TV Champion), who has bought the TV time. He wants to talk about what happened on Christmas night in Knoxville and as luck would have it, here we go.

SMW Title: Dirty White Boy vs. Buddy Landel

Landel is challenging and his TV Title isn’t on the line. Joined in progress with White Boy in trouble and Landel yelling at the fans in between stomping. The Figure Four (because Landel was a Ric Flair knockoff/tribute, albeit very talented as well) is broken up twice in a row and White Boy grabs a DDT for a breather. Landel pulls out a chain but White Boy takes it away and knocks Landel cold for the DQ at 2:25 shown.

Post match White Boy beats him up even more.

Landel remembers beating the White Boy’s brains in and wants a rematch on January 28. White Boy wants to face Jerry Lawler and Landel would pick him too because White Boy knows he can’t beat Landel. The White Boy is on his way out here so Landel suddenly remembers a conference call in Los Angeles.

We get a video from Jerry Lawler in a locker room where he finds a drunken man underneath a pile of clothes, which apparently is the drunken White Boy. That’s typical for a horrible place like Knoxville, which is the dumb end of Tennessee. Lawler is coming to Knoxville at Super Saturday Night Fever because he wants the title that White Boy holds out the window of his pickup truck when he rides around with the Dirty White Girl.

Back in the studio, the White Boy talks about how he isn’t scared of Lawler or Landel so he’ll face both of them at Super Saturday Night. Landel’s match can be non-title though and we’ll see how he likes that.

Bruiser Bedlam (Oh dear what a character. Convicted of assault, drug trafficking and blowing up a police station, plus accused of several murders. He also pinned Randy Savage.) calls Jim Ross an idiot so Ross throws him out.

From December 5 in Princeton, West Virginia.

Cactus Jack vs. Bruiser Bedlam

Bedlam is having issues with his manager Jim Cornette. They trade shoulders to start and that’s a BANG BANG from Jack. Landel jumps in on commentary to rant about how awesome he is as Landel grabs a headlock. Bedlam slugs Jack out to the floor, which just seems to fire him up. Back in and Jack hammers away with forearms in the corner, followed by a chair to the back. As Landel rants about his upcoming match being non-title, Bedlam powerslams Jack for two and frustration sets in. Some brass knuckles to the head knock Jack silly but here is Brian Lee to point it out to the referee, meaning it’s a DQ at 5:27.

Rating: D+. They beat each other up here for a little while and that’s all it needed to be. There was no point in trying to have a wrestling match here so it was two brawlers fighting instead. That’s how things should have gone and the match was entertaining enough. I wasn’t wild on the finish, but the rest was entertaining enough.

From Christmas night in Knoxville.

Chris Candido/Boo Bradley vs. Tracy Smothers/Cactus Jack

Falls Count Anywhere. Tracy is replacing Brian Lee, who had transportation problems. If Bradley (Balls Mahoney) doesn’t take care of Jack, Tammy Fytch (Sunny) will THROW BRADLEY’S CAT OFF A BRIDGE. They don’t play around here. Candido chairs Smothers off the apron and Jack is in trouble. Smothers comes back in to pull Jack out of the way, causing Bradley’s top rope splash to hit Candido instead. That’s enough for Jack to steal the pin at 57 seconds shown.

Post match Candido yells at Boo, who the fans get behind. Candido slaps Boo and gets knocked down but here’s Fytch with the cat. With Bradley taken out by a chain, Fytch puts the cat back in the bag and runs off, sending everyone in a chase. They come back into the arena with Candido carrying the bag (I think you get the idea here) and Bradley hammering away. Fytch hairsprays Bradley, allowing Candido to drop the top rope leg on the bag. Candido and Fytch leave and Bradley is devastated (I mean, not as devastated as the cat) so here’s Cactus Jack to console him. Rather hot angle here.

Candido and Fytch have both been suspended and are rather unhappy. When that ends, Candido has to face Bradley.

Jack and Bradley have a funeral for the cat with Jack telling Bradley that he has to step out of Candido’s shadow. Bradley says Candido is his enemy now and Candido won’t like him when he’s angry.

From Christmas night in Knoxville again.

Tag Team Titles: Rock N Roll Express vs. Gangstas

The Gangstas are defending and Jim Cornette is managing the Express to make sure the sky is falling in Knoxville. Joined in progress again with everything breaking down and New Jack hitting Gibson with a slap jack. New Jack goes after Cornette though and it’s a tennis racket shot from Morton for the pin and the titles at 1:18 shown.

Post match the Gangstas beat down the Express but Cornette makes the save with the racket n one of the most bizarre scenes I can remember in a long time. The Gangstas get back up and destroy Cornette as Gangstas’ associate D’Lo Brown comes in to help with the beating. Cactus Jack and the Dirty White Boy make the save.

In the back, the Express praises Cornette for doing what he promised to do and then taking a heck of a beating. Cornette now has an open invitation to manage the Express against the Gangstas anytime. Cornette staggers in, COVERED in blood, saying he needs a phone.

We go to Cornette’s home a few days later. Cornette talks about wanting to remember Christmas night so he can hate someone. After twelve years of fighting the Express, he decided to find a team that could destroy them once and for all. For once, he had them feeling like they owed him something because he helped them win the Tag Team Titles. He thought about turning on them but decided to be a man of his word.

Cornette knew that the Gangstas would destroy them after the match and he would have a ringside seat for a Christmas treat. Then the fans started begging Cornette to help them and his ego took over. For about twenty two seconds, he beat the Gangstas down but then reality took the ego’s place. After that, all he remembers is pain and it’s all from the Gangstas.

When Jack and the White Boy made the save, Cornette got a round of applause. Now he hates the Gangstas but before he left the building that night, he called some friends. The Heavenly Bodies are coming back to help him deal with the Gangstas. They’ll be back on January 28 for Super Saturday Night Fever but before we get there, Cornette wants to talk to Commissioner Bob Armstrong to get the Bodies’ suspension lifted. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Now this was an old school southern promo, which did exactly what it needed to do. Cornette explained everything and set up stuff for the future in a great angle. I love the idea of bringing someone in to continue the angle as it’s such a territory style which works very well. That’s how you keep people coming back and this worked very well.

The announcers hype up next week’s show to wrap things up. This is edited off the Network version.

Since I can’t escape them, back to the AWA!

Brawl In St. Paul
Date: December 25, 1986
Location: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Ron Trongard, Dick Jonckowski

It seems that we’re skipping Buddy Wolf vs. Buck Zumhofe going to a fifteen minute draw. Aww shucks.

Earthquake Ferris vs. Brian Knobbs

Yes that Brian Knobbs and no not that Earthquake. Knobbs is still very green here and calls Ferris fat. That earns him a slam from the bigger Ferris and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and the name calling continues with Knobbs telling the fans that Ferris is a worthless piece of meat. Ferris slams him down but misses the elbow, meaning Knobbs can start in on the arm. Some legdrops to the arm and a twist around the rope have Ferris in trouble. He’s fine enough to whip Knobbs into the corner for a running splash and the Ferris Wheel (airplane spin) sets up another splash for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: D. Not the best start to the show as Ferris isn’t quite the most thrilling big man and Knobbs on his own is holding up a bit too much (needs to Sag some more). The fans liked Ferris well enough though so it worked for an opener, but it’s not something that holds up all that well.

Post match Ferris gives a rather “I’m happy to win” promo and sucks up to the crowd.

Boris Zhukov vs. Steve Olsonowski

Zhukov has Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie. After a weapons check, Boris hides in the corner and then on the floor. It doesn’t last that long as we hear about great football days at the University of Minnesota. Steve grabs a headlock and then a headlock takeover as we’re on the mat early in this one. The announcers use this as a way to subtly talk about the AWA action figures (or dolls in this case), though Boris’ head going into the corner and possibly the post gets their attention.

Another flying headlock takeover gets two as Boris gets caught on the mat again. The fans start chanting something as the headlock keeps going, though at least they’re moving and trying to do something with it. They get back up with Steve losing a top wristlock and getting his arm sent into the corner. The arm is wrapped around the rope as a fan is LOSING IT over the referee not doing enough to help Steve. He’s so loud that the camera looks at him for a bit as Boris pulls on an armbar.

A headbutt lets Boris wrap the arm around the post and it’s right back to the armbar. Back up and Steve misses a charge into the buckle, meaning it’s a different kind of arm crank for a change. Steve finally makes the comeback with chops and a backdrop for two. An atomic drop gets the same, this time with the Sheik putting the foot on the rope. Steve misses a middle rope elbow so Boris drops his own for the pin (a fast one at that, with Sheik shoving the foot off the rope) at 13:10.

Rating: D. This could have been a lot worse as Steve is someone I’ve started to like as I watch these things. He wrestles a nice enough match and can do all the basics quite well. Boris was your run of the mill Russian heel and while the arm stuff made sense and even played into the finish, it went on for a long time and wasn’t exactly interesting.

Greg Gagne/Leon White/Scott Hall vs. Larry Zbyszko/Super Ninja/Mr. Saito

You might know White better as Vader. Larry has been having some issues with referees as of late and got to pick his own referee here. We wait around for some reason but hang on as Larry needs to yell about a man being wrongly accused and having to overcome the system. Ninja kicks Gagne down to start and follows with a thrown before it’s already off to Larry. This doesn’t go very well for the villains as Greg gets two off a backslide. The referee (who looks to be Jerry Sags of the Nasty Boys and yes indeed it is) has to deal with White though, allowing Saito to kick away in the corner.

We hit the choking on the mat for far longer than any human should be able to survive before it’s off to Ninja for a missed legdrop. That’s not enough for the hot tag though as Ninja kicks Gagne down and grabs a nerve hold. See, he uses holds like that because he’s from Japan and that’s what masked Japanese villains are supposed to do. Gagne kicks Ninja away and does the same to Larry, allowing the tag to White.

House is cleaned in a hurry and a running powerslam gets two on Saito with Ninja making the save. Zbyszko comes in and gets crushed in the corner, followed by the big splash for two more as Saito makes a save this time. Hall comes in for the first time to a nice reaction and Saito bows to him. Thankfully Hall doesn’t go for it and grabs a headlock instead. A shot to the knee puts Hall down but he’s fine enough to hit a knee lift for two on Ninja.

The villains change again though and tie Hall up in the ropes so Zbyszko can….get picked up and carried over to the good corner. Gagne comes in and it’s Zbyszko in trouble with everyone taking a shot at him. Since the tags need to continue without anything happening, Saito comes back in for a Scorpion Deathlock/Figure Four hybrid to start in on Hall’s leg. Ninja tries an Indian Deathlock but gets small packaged for two instead.

It’s back to Zbyszko, who gets slammed down because he’s the very weak link of the team. Gagne comes in again and gets beaten up as well as this just keeps going. Saito drives him into the corner and stomps away, allowing Zbyszko to come in and actually not screw something up! This time it’s an abdominal stretch but Gagne hiptosses his way out of it and we look at a fan telling Zbyszko that he sucks. Hall and Saito come in with Hall grabbing a bearhug but Ninja makes the save.

That earns him a bearhug but Saito throws salt in Hall’s eyes for….I’m not sure actually but the match ends at 15:41. Saito covers him while grabbing the trunks but he lets go, then people try to break it up, then the camera cuts away and we hear three slaps on the mat. Before the third goes down though, another referee (Scott LeDoux, a regular wrestler) comes in to say something to the original referee. Zbyszko comes after LeDoux and it’s a brawl with the good guys clearing the ring.

Rating: D+. Well that was a lot. This was fifteen minutes of people just going back and forth with nothing tying the match together and no flow to it whatsoever. Everyone was fighting everyone and while the energy was there, the ending was a mess and I’m still not sure what happened.

Post match the villains leave and White beats up the original referee. LeDoux talks but I can’t make out a word he’s saying. The announcers say they don’t know who won the match either. They try to recap everything and you have to give them points for hitting the chaos they were shooting for.

AWA World Title: Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Bockwinkel is defending and Billy Robinson is guest referee. They grapple to start with neither getting anywhere early on. The announcers are still talking about the six man tag and don’t remember Ninja pinning Hall. That’s probably because Saito was the one covering him but that’s just a detail. Bockwinkel hits some shoulders but gets slammed down for one. That’s enough to send Bockwinkel to the floor for a breather, which makes a lot of sense for him.

Back in and Bockwinkel grabs a top wristlock as we cut to a rather bored looking fan. The hold stays on for a good while, which also makes a lot of sense for Bockwinkel. They go down to the mat as a few fans shouting from the crowd are drowning out commentary. Hennig reverses into a hammerlock and starts in on the arm with the Bockwinkel not being able to bridge out of it. The hold is released and Hennig hammers away instead before sending him into the buckle over and over.

Bockwinkel bails to the floor but this time pulls Hennig down and wraps the leg around the post. Back in and it’s off to the leglock, which again goes on for a good while. Hennig: “My leg! My leg!” Another Figure Four attempt is reversed into a small package for two so Bockwinkel wraps the leg around the rope. Back up and Hennig knocks him to the floor, meaning it’s time for Bockwinkel’s arm to go around the post.

The arm is fine enough for Bockwinkel to ram Hennig into the buckle a few times as the announcers remind us that Robinson is a thing in this match. Some knees to the ribs give Bockwinkel two but Hennig goes right back to the arm. We’re clipped to the two of them fighting to the floor with Bockwinkel ramming him into the apron a few times. Back in and a forearm give the champ two, followed by Hennig’s sunset flip for the same.

The good looking dropkick gets the same, though the camera was on the crowd at the kickout for no logical reason. Hennig’s ax handle (finisher) gets two more but the referee gets bumped (oh here we go). Hennig hits something off camera for no count and has to counter the piledriver with a backdrop over the top (there it is). Back in and Hennig slams him (Dick: “That youth is paying off.” Good thing Curt invested in it then.) to set up the missile dropkick but Robinson calls for the bell and the DQ at 19:18 shown. You can feel the energy go out of the arena as they know what’s happening again.

Rating: B. These guys were getting going and once you get around the long form rest holds, you can see a good story in there with the scientific veteran against the young athlete. Hennig was having to get in his shots here and there but Bockwinkel had the better overall plan. It made for a good match but the ending killed it, as always in the AWA. Also, what does it say that they ran this match on two out of three Christmas nights

Post match Hennig calls that BS refereeing and the fans agree. The announcer explains the DQ and tells the fans how lucky they were to see such a great match. Hennig continues to rant until Verne Gagne comes in to say it’s up to the referee’s interpretation of the rules. It never ceases to amaze me how the AWA seems to enjoy taking away the fun and energy from the fans at every chance. Bockwinkel says there’s no such thing as being fair in wrestling so Hennig needs to learn from his lessons.

Jimmy Snuka vs. Colonel DeBeers

DeBeers is from South Africa and tries to swing his flag at Jimmy, earning himself a running headbutt. A shot to the face cuts Snuka down though and DeBeers stomps away, which just annoys Snuka a bit more. The headbutts have DeBeers in trouble and he’s even busted open. You don’t do that in a match against someone like Snuka, who hits a top rope right hand to the head. Snuka hammers away and shoves the referee for the DQ at 3:37.

Rating: D. I’ve always liked DeBeers a little bit but this was just a match for the sake of a match. The lack of time didn’t help either as they flew through the whole thing, which made it feel more like an angle advancement than anything else. That’s fine, but it’s kind of a weird place on the card for such a thing.

Post match Snuka keeps beating him up but DeBeers bails before the Superfly Splash.

We take a break to build the cage.

Tag Team Titles: Midnight Rockers vs. Doug Somers/Buddy Rose

Somers/Rose are defending and it’s in a cage with Billy Robinson as guest referee again. Joined in progress with the Rockers sending the champs into the cage as Sherri Martel (champs’ manager) yells about various things. Somers is busted open early as Sherri is literally trying to chew into the cage. Another ram into the cage gives Shawn two on Somers so it’s off to Rose.

Marty powerslams Somers and Shawn hits the top rope elbow for two as this is a very long opening beatdown. After a hard stare and some spitting at Rose, Marty runs Somers’ head against the cage for the sake of some more pain. Sherri wants it stopped as Shawn rubs Somers’ blood on his face. A headbutt below the belt finally gives Somers a breather and Rose sends Michaels into the cage. Rose’s DDT (called a front piledriver) gets two on Shawn with Marty having to make a save.

Somers sends him into the cage as Shawn is very busted as well. Sherri shouts what sounds like some rather non-PG slurs at Shawn as the beating continues. A fan throws a drink on Sherri as Rose gets the slowest two in the world from Robinson. Shawn gets in a headbutt and knee lift to drop Somers, allowing him to fall into the tag to Jannetty. Rose tries to get out so Marty pulls him back over the top. With Rose down, Marty hits a high crossbody on Somers for the pin and the titles at 17:21.

Rating: B-. The blood helped a lot here and you can tell there’s a history between the teams. The rematch of this was on Shawn’s From The Vault DVD and that one was a lot of fun too so you know they have something special between the teams. I liked this more than I was expecting to and it made for a good main event.

Post match Somers and Rose knock Shawn outside and beat the heck out of Jannetty. Shawn finally gets in and makes the save as the champs leave. Yeah Somers and Rose are the champs because this wasn’t a title match. See, I thought “it’s a battle for the Tag Team Titles” meant it was a title match and the fans seemed to agree with me. But that might be fun so we can’t have that, especially when the Rockers would get the titles less than a month later.

Overall Rating: D+. I don’t know how much more of these AWA Christmas shows I can take. They’re just not my style and take so long to get through with one boring match after another. Some of the bigger stuff was good but those lower level matches are nightmares most of the time. SMW was good stuff, though it’s the kind of thing that is going to take some time to get used to. There are worse sets of shows, but these weren’t exactly strong.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6