NWA POWERRR: James Storm faces a new challenge

FanSided is back with all the happenings from the Oct. 29 episode of NWA POWERRR, “Dealer Calls Again.”

Before the show, the NWA aired Aron Stevens’ mini-movie, Tropical Pirates, that first aired last week, then showed off more Tweets and vlog clips from excited fans, a smart PR tactic that the company has been using as pre-show filler since the debut episode of POWERRR.

The show kicked off with a pre-taped package featuring angles from the past few weeks, with an emphasis on Tim Storm, Nick Aldis, Eli Drake and James Storm.

In the studio, we were joined by Jim Cornette and Joe Galli. James Storm came to the broadcast desk and said that he was sick of having to prove himself week after week to the NWA. He explained that his resume speaks for itself, that NWA Worlds Heavyweight champion Nick Aldis continues to duck Storm, and that even Colt Cabana had still been gunning for another shot at Storm’s NWA National Heavyweight title.

Cabana was out on cue and demanded another shot at said title, saying his leg was better and that he wanted a shot immediately. Eli Drake came out to explain that the National Championship is the ticket to the Aldis’ title and, again, right on cue, Aldis walks out to address Storm himself.

Aldis said that since he knew Storm loves to drink, he’d simply chalk his recent trash-talk up to the ramblings of a kayfabe alcoholic (though not in those precise words). Aldis then claimed that Eli Drake’s only vice was wanting to be just like him, when everyone clearly knows that Drake wants to be just like The Rock, not Aldis. Aldis suggested they all “settle things in the ring like men,” because he said that’s what they do in the NWA. Aside from the women, we suppose.

Aldis’ offer was to have a six-man tag match, with both he and Storm recruiting whomever they’d like to for the show’s main event, but all on one condition: If Aldis’ team wins, Storm would have to abdicate the National title. Storm agreed with the caveat that if he won, Storm would get the aforementioned title shot from Aldis.

Next we saw a quick video package of Joe Galli asking Kamille, Aldis’ “insurance policy,” what she thought about Aldis accidentally decking her during the main event of POWERRR’s debut episode, and a few of the clips showing her not speaking, or choosing to stay silent in spite of Galli’s questioning. The segment finished with an #AskKamille graphic onscreen.

This angle is beginning to inadvertently paint Galli as a prying heel who won’t stop asking the same question. It’s hard not to side with Aldis and Kamille so early on in this, in theory. The payoff for this, we assume, will happen at the Dec. 14 pay-per-view, but if not, then why, storyline-wise, has Galli been so persistent? These are the questions fans have to wait for to be answered. Hope the payoff is worth it.

David Marquez was at the broadcast desk next with Trevor Murdoch, who said he was in the NWA for a contract and that he specifically wanted to work for the NWA. He then explained to the crowd that he spoke with the office and insisted that Jocephus be brought back to wrestle despite throwing powder in his buddy Colt Cabana’s face a few weeks back.

He then mentioned he wanted to settle things “like real men do,” which, again, was in the ring, in a match. Jocephus came out and explained that his “spiritual advisor” said it was all right for him to take the match, so that’s that: Murdoch versus Jocephus was up next.

Trevor Murdoch defeated Jocephus

After both wrestlers agreed to the match, Jocephus ambushed Murdoch and roughed him up before the bell. Inside the ring, Murdoch recovered quickly and landed a hard lariat that knocked Jocephus to the mat. Murdoch did a good job of heating the crowd up here. Before the finish, Jocephus took out a giant sandwich baggy of “foot powder” (I can’t imagine the fungi he must be experiencing) in an attempt to blind Murdoch, who quickly caught him and kicked the powder into Jo’s face, then landed a flying bulldog from the second rope for the win. This was a nice squash to build Murdoch, though I’m not sure if the zany foot powder from Jocephus was all that necessary. It worked today.

A quick Thunder Rosa vignette was shown before Aron Stevens joined Joe Galli back at the broadcast desk. Galli averted his eyes, per Stevens’ request last week. Ricky Starks then joined Stevens at the desk. Stevens thought he was out there to be Stevens’ body-double. Starks offered a limp hand for Stevens to presumably kiss; a fan shouted “awkward,” then Starks kissed his own hand.

Stevens told Starks he looked ridiculous, which prompted Starks to smack Stevens in the face. Stevens sold it by running across the studio over to where Jim Cornette was sitting, at the announce table. “You talk too much” was Starks’ emphatic next line, one ready-made for Maffew Gregg’s notorious albeit industry-coveted Botchamania segment.

Next was a quick recap of NWA World Tag Team Champions, the Wild Card, and their recent match with Eddie Kingston and Homicide, which was ruled a no content after the Dawsons interfered and attacked both teams.

They then showed a mock commercial for a made-up drink called Kayfabe Cocktails from “YOUR’S TRULY” [sic], Austin Idol. After that, we saw a quick “Coming Soon” vignette for the Rock ’n’ Roll Express.

The Dawsons defeated Eddie Kingston and Homicide in a No Disqualification match

A nice brawl between these two teams. Kingston and Homicide jumped the Dawsons as they walked to the ring. The crowd erupted when the brawl circled around the ring at the start. This featured lots of dirty fighting, lots of fishhooks, eye rakes, choking and chair shots — all the good stuff. Wild Card (Royce Isaacs and Thom Latimer) came out and watched the match near the announce desk. The crowd sounded like they loved all of this.

Later, the Dawsons suplexed Kingston onto two unfolded chairs. Thom Latimer then interfered and knocked Zane Dawson off the top rope, and Royce Isaacs jumped in next and used a Death Valley Driver to Kingston onto a pile of chairs in the ring, then laid Dave Dawson atop Kingston for the pin. The crowd booed Wild Card as they walked back behind the curtain with their tag belts.

They aired an intentionally cheap-looking vignette of a masked character named The (?) Mark. If NWA’s goal is national television, I’m not sure what these cute insider-centric parody bits are meant to accomplish.

Next was a pre-taped Marti Belle interview. She explained how excited she was to be with the NWA and that Allisyn Kay was her best friend, and was even wearing Kay’s shirt. She said she wanted another shot at Kay’s title.

Ashley Vox defeated Marti Belle

Allison Kay came out with a new version of the NWA Women’s Championship belt before this match to watch alongside David Marquez. She essentially said both Belle and Vox need to earn their title shots at her and prove themselves tonight.

The match itself was an athletic 50/50 match without much story, a quick my-turn-your-turn bout before Vox got the surprise win with a jackknife pin.

Afterwards, Thunder Rosa slid into the ring and stuck out her hand for Belle to shake. Belle denied her and exited the ring. Production blasted some overdubbed Hans Zimmer-esque drum music over this segment and drowned out the crowd.

Ricky Starks defeated Aron Stevens

This was short and sweet. Stevens towered over Starks in the ring, who came off here as cocky-but-confident underdog here. The finish saw Starks feign a slap that saw Stevens duck away and shriek, and here was where Starks found the opportunity to pin Stevens with an O’Connor Roll for the victory. Afterwards, Stevens shouted “No!” for each time the crowd would shout “Yes!”

Nick Aldis, Colt Cabana and Ken Anderson defeated James Storm and Wild Cards

Aldis and Storm were the first to actually start wrestling once the bell rang. When Cabana was in he was great, but it’s an almost strange to see this subdued, slightly produced version of “Boom Boom.”

Midway through, Anderson hit a big Steamroller on Latimer for two. A few moments later we saw pretty much everyone in the ring hitting high spot after high spot until all six wrestlers were knocked to the mat, which received a loud reaction from the crowd. What a bunch of spot monkeys!

Flippancy aside, this finished hot. It saw Storm accidentally superkick partner Isaacs, followed by Aldis planting him with a uranage, then Cabana pinning him with the Superman Cradle for the win. According to what they agreed on at the top of the hour, Storm must now defend the NWA National title against Cabana.

Final thoughts

This was a packed show with loads of angles and quick, decent matches, some more solid than others. Here’s the breakdown:

— The main event scene has quickly become convoluted, and to viewers it comes off as Aldis’ real rival at the moment is Joe Galli.

— Trevor Murdoch is exactly the type of wrestler they need at the beginning of their show to set the tone.

— The Dawsons shined in a bedlam setting with Kingston and Homicide, NWA’s two most unsung pickups.

— There wasn’t much wrong with Marti Belle vs. Ashley Vox, at least wrestling-wise. It felt rushed, sure, but that’s the nature of shorter studio shows like this, where production attempts to cover a lot within a small window of time. This segment’s function was first to introduce Thunder Rosa onto the show without leaving Allisyn Kay out of the picture as champion while also showcasing new talent.

— Ricky Starks and Aron Stevens had little time but made the most of it, giving the crowd an easy, entertaining lead-in angle and a quick, efficient match that felt like it elevated both Starks and Stevens, making them feel like new important cogs in the show.

— The six-man tag was good but felt like overkill, but if the NWA has a specific destination and this was the only way to balance booking out, then those are the breaks. The momentum is pointed at December, where we’ll likely see the blowoff to much of these angles. It’s also where we’ll finally be able to have a better perspective on what NWA POWERRR is, or what it’s truly aiming to be.