 Pre-Show: Robert Anthony def. Magic Jake DumasThe pre-show stream started just as the bell rung, but a few minutes toward the end were not shown (including the finish) due to an issue with the stream. I'm not upset that we didn't see how this thrilling affair concluded (sarcasm, of course), but that's still an embarrassing issue to have. What we got from these two was perfectly fine. Anthony competed on Tuesday's Powerrr, so it looks like he'll be appearing for the NWA going forward. Pre-Show: Talos and Daisy Kill def. The Fixers (Jay Bradley and Wrecking Ball Legursky) in an NWA United States Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's MatchI'm still not super high on Kill and Talos as a team, if only because I find Talos to be abysmal, but at least Kill is there to carry him. They had a decent match with The Fixers here and them winning was the right call as The Fixers already had a run with the NWA United States Tag Team Championship. Talos and Kill will challenge The Country Gentlemen for the belts on the Night 2 pre-show. Pre-Show: Zyon def. Jordan ClearwaterIt's been months since Austin Idol turned on his son Cyon and replaced him with Zyon. There's been zero progression with that storyline since then, so it's no surprise that Zyon has zero heat. Meanwhile, Clearwater has been treading water for a while and could have used this win, but Zyon winning was expected. This was a pretty lifeless match. Cyon needs to return so we can get this over with because Zyon is somehow more boring than Cyon. Pre-Show: Jack Cartwheel def. Matt Vine, Eric Jackson, Alex Taylor and Koa Laxamana in a Jubilee Jamboree MatchThe winner of this match would earned a shot at the NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship on Night 2. Taylor was the only name that stood out because he's featured on NWA programming fairly regularly, whereas Jackson, Laxamana and Vine are essentially enhancement talent and Cartwheel isn't an NWA regular. Despite that, he was the one who ultimately emerged victorious. This was actually a lot of fan and was so different than what we usually see in the NWA, so props to all involved. Max the Impaler def. Kenzie Paige to Win the NWA Women's Television ChampionshipPaige has played her role really well as a vulnerable champion, so I liked the dynamic they had here. She sold nicely for Max's offense and Max going over was a cool moment. She fell short of becoming NWA World Women's Championship a year ago at NWA 74, so I'm glad she finally has gold. Of course, Paige immediately rebounded by winning the Burke Invitational Gauntlet a little later on in the show. Thrillbilly Silas Mason def. Odinson and Kratos in a Three-Way Winner Take All Match to Win the NWA National ChampionshipI'm not sure why this was billed as a Winner Take All match when only one title was on the line, but we were guaranteed a new champion with EC3 vacating the belt heading into his NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship opportunity on Night 2. Mason was easily the best choice of the three and I'm happy he became champ. This was a solid hoss fight and Mason betraying Pollo Del Mar after teasing tension coming into this contest was a welcome secondary story. Joe Alonzo def. Homicide in a No Disqualification MatchI can't recall the last time we last saw Homicide in the NWA. It's not like this match was built up over the course of a few weeks, but Alonzo did an effective job of hyping it in the video package that aired on Tuesday's Powerrr. I wasn't expecting Alonzo to go over, so that was a pleasant surprise. We don't get a lot of hardcore matches in the NWA, so this felt like a refreshing change of pace and turned out to be a ton of fun. The Brothers of Funstruction def. Magnum MuscleViolent J from Insane Clown Posse accompanied Brothers of Funstruction to the ring for this match. They're facing La Rebelion (who will have Vampiro in their corner) on Night 2, so it was only academic that they'd win here to give them a momentum boost. Magnum Muscle have a higher ceiling in my opinion, but it's clear the NWA is high on the clowns. This didn't last long, but it was average and accomplished what it needed to. Kyle Davis Interviewed NWA Television Champion Thom LatimerThere were a few backstage promos and interviews throughout the show, but this was the only one to take place on the stage (if we're not counting the weigh-in from later on). He cut a basic promo talking about Chris Adonis being his next challenger on Night 2 (Adonis interrupting him would've been appreciated because the bout only just came together on Tuesday's Powerrr) and his wife Kamille's title defense in the main event. This was short, sweet and straight to the point. Colby Corino def. Kerry Morton to Win the NWA Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipThese two know each other so well because they've battled over the Junior Heavyweight title a number of times in the past. Morton came out on top in all of their other encounters, so I'm happy Corino finally went over and was crowned champ, especially after his jump to WWE didn't work out. Morton is ready to ascend up the card. I thoroughly enjoyed this and the crowd did, too. Moron had held the title since November and defended it quite a bit, so it meant something for him to lose it here. Jax Dane def. Tim Storm by Referee StoppageStorm and Dane have a lot of history and thus I didn't have an issue with them running it back on such a special show, but now having seen this play out, I have no idea why it was booked. It ended within three minutes when the referee called for the bell because Storm couldn't continue. If it was legitimate, I hope he's okay, but if not, this was lame. It's possible this was meant to rekindle their rivalry and there will be more matches, but that's not necessary. Kenzie Paige Won the Burke Invitational to Earn an NWA World Women's Championship Opportunity on Night 2 of NWA 75There were several faces in this thing that I didn't recognize and none of the action stood out at all. In fact, most of this match was abysmal, but the finishing sequence with Paige and Allysin Kay was well done. It's been a while since we last saw Kay in the NWA to my knowledge and she would've been a worthy opponent for Kamille on Night 2, but Paige becoming number one contender right after losing the TV title made for a more interesting story and gets her right back on track. Matt Cardona def. Ricky MortonThis was an open challenge. Morton probably shouldn't be wrestling as regularly as he does, but it was logical to get him on the card for the 75th anniversary show. I'm sure Cardona had a blast sharing the ring with him. This was what it needed to be with Cardona winning in a matter of minutes. There wasn't much to it at all, but it did set the stage for Kerry Morton to step up and face Cardona on Night 2. Blunt Force Trauma def. La Rebelion to Win the NWA World Tag Team ChampionshipLa Rebelion have dominated the NWA's tag team division over the past two-plus years, and although the titles changing hands was overdue, I was really hoping Blunt Force Trauma wouldn't be the ones to dethrone them. They've been a lame duo since joining forces and certainly aren't an upgrade over La Rebelion. This was whatever, but I guess it frees up La Rebelion vs. Brothers of Funstruction on Night 2 to be non-title. NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Tyrus and EC3 Weighed InDoing weigh-ins in wrestling has never made sense to me because there are no weight classes, not to mention that the segments themselves aren't typically great. Sure enough, this was no exception. This truly served no purpose. The mic work from both guys was nothing memorable and I can't say that this left me looking forward to Tyrus vs. EC3 on Night 2. Then again, it's impossible for me to be excited for that in any way. NWA World Women's Champion Kamille def. Natalia Markova in a No Limits MatchMarkova has already unsuccessfully challenged for the NWA World Women's Championship twice before, and with this being the main event, I thought she had a strong chance of beating the undefeated Kamille. Obviously, that didn't happen, but they had a hell of a No Limits (a.k.a. No Disqualification) match, nonetheless. Kamille's improved immensely throughout her reign and Markova has proven herself as being very talented in her own right. There were plenty of suspenseful nearfalls down the stretch and they made the most of the stipulation. NWA would be wise to headline more of their pay-per-views with the women because they've delivered far more often than the men have this past year. Overall ShowNeedless to say, I never have lofty expectations for NWA pay-per-views because they've largely been bad for a year or so (specifically in the time that Tyrus has been on top), but Night 1 was better than I thought it would be. Granted, Night 2 is shaping up to be the bigger show, but Kamille vs. Markova is worth seeking out and there were some gems (by NWA standards) on the undercard. The various title changes made it a newsworthy night. Some of the matches for Night 2 have potential, and depending on how EC3 vs. Tyrus goes, maybe the promotion can use this weekend to hit the reset button and start heading back in the right direction.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
October 2024
|
RSS Feed