This week on NWA Powerrr, it’s the finals of the Race To The Chase tournament, and it’s anyone’s opportunity in the upcoming fatal four-way match. Who will face NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Trevor Murdoch for the Ten Pounds of Gold at NWA 74?
We’ll find out as we go straight to the Skyway Studios in Nashville, TN. Joe Galli, Velvet Sky, and Tim Storm have the call, with our First Match of the night…
Courtesy of the NWA
Max The Impaler vs Ella Envy vs Taya Valkyrie
Can I say how much I enjoy actual wrestling right from the get-go, and not talking about trains (read my Raw Report to see why I’m so grateful for this).
Envy tried to go all Mean Girl, and Valkyrie and Max take turns hurting one half of the NWA Women’s tag team, with each one-upping the other. After send Envy out, Max and Valkyrie focus on each other, and Valkyrie gets a pin but Envy drags her off and she gets a snap suplex for her trouble. Max back Valkyrie to the corner with forearms and then a suplex, and Envy breaks the count again, and she gets tossed out.
Valkyrie comes back with a spinebuster to Max and mounts with punches, and then a surfboard to a curb stomp. Envy sneak attacks with a codebreaker, and then she encounters Max. She beats a hasty retreat, but Max catches her screaming in terror from the Impaler, and Envy gets rammed to the ring post. Valkyrie nails a draping DDT to Envy, but Max tackles her into the corner, followed by a spear. Back to Envy, she nails with the Welcome to the Wasteland, and Valkyrie is not able to break the count in time, so that means…
Your Winner via Pinfall: Max The Impaler
After the match, Max heads to Kyle Davis at The Podium, and Max…well, takes his pocket square and mic muff. The Sinister Minister comes out, and he likey the Impaler. He prods to come to join him, and Max follows.
I gotta say, there was a lot going on there.
But let’s get to tag team action with…
Courtesy of the NWA
The OGK (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) vs. La Rebeliòn (Bestia 666 and MechaWolf with Damian 666)
is Papa 666 in the house for this exhibition match, and La Rebelión looking to get back to the top of the tag ranks. Taven and Wolf start out, and The OGK manage to quickly isolate him in the corner. Damien distracts Taven, and now La Rebelion get back in control, but a blind tag by Bennett gets him in the ring and he puts boots to Bestia, and Damien tries again to interfere in the matchup. The match becomes lucha-rific with tope suicidas, and all four men are brawling to the outside. The ref starts to count, and all four men dive in at the eight count, and this is a tornado match of the highest order.
La Rebelión ground Taven and get the Nail in the Coffin (neckbreaker/big splash combo) to cover, but Bennett breaks the count. He cleans house and gets a DVD, and then Taven follows with the Sliding Wizard punt to cover, but Damien gets on the ring apron and keeps sticking his nose in everyone’s business to have the ref stop the count. Now this breaks down into a Pier a four brawl, and neither team obeys the ref, and he has no choice but to call it. So this is a…
No Contest, Due to Double Disqualification
After the Match, Damien splits the uprights to Bennett’s…err, little OGK’s and mists Taven for his troubles. I smell a new feud a-brewing.
May Valentine is backstage with Taryn Terrell and Valentine’s Favorite Wrestler™, Natalya Markova, and they have breaking news. Markova is not medically cleared after match with Taya Valkyrie, so she cannot challenge for the NWA Women’s championship. Valentine wishes her a “speedy” recovery.
Now Valentine is with Austin Idol and Cyon, and she inquires about the father and son relationship. Idol says he can achieve greatness, if he listens to him. Cyon hated him for half his life, and now this is the missing piece of the puzzle, and he will do what is asked of him.
Again, they are a hair’s breath away from a cease-and-desist from George Lucas’ people. But overall, it’s such a heartwarming tale: a boy and his sociopathic dad. Someone get the Hallmark channel on this.
Now, how about a magic trick with…
Courtesy of the NWA
Magic Jake Dumas ( with his lovely assistant CJ) vs. “The Distraction” Eric Jackson
Dumas wants a lighter, but CJ doesn’t pick up the cue so he says screw it. Also, smoking is bad, mmm,’Kay?
Jackson tries to take out Dumas, but he pulls a sleight of hand to ram The Distraction into the corner. He follows with a legsweep and ta-da. For his next trick, Dumas gets Jackson in the corner for a splash to a swinging slam, and he berates CJ for being late on the presentation (good assistants are so hard to find and train, I suppose) , but the end comes with the Abracadabra finisher, and…
Your Winner via Pinfall: “Magic” Jake Dumas
After the match, he gets CJ to present a card, and he slices Jackson’s eye with it.
Again, I still prefer this to Criss Angel. Now, if he can get an act going on the Vegas strip with a residency…
There’s a segment with Luke Hawx and Colby Corino’ s main event from NWA USA, but it’s cooler to read it here.
Kyle Davis is with the NWA Owner William Patrick Corgan anf the thought process behind the Race to The Chase, and he says…well, let’s have him speak:
“What’s the thought? Well, when you’re dealing with the tournament format, of course everybody focuses on who the champion is, right? But that behind the scenes machinations, and how you get to number one contenders who will face the champion, in this case, Trevor Murdoch, the NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion; I have to deal with the constant politicking behind the scenes, and you know who they are. I don’t have to tell you, you don’t have to read any dirt sheets. They are in this company. So in dealing with the machinations, I always go back to what I know; prove it in the ring. So I had to deal with some extenuating circumstances and I’ll get to that in a second.
What I like is two competitors in a ring, and a referee. In this case, the better man wins tournament format, and a victor comes out creating a number one contender. Let me say one thing, too; I reserve the right to dismiss any number one contendership at any time. Being the number one contender doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want, say whatever you want, whenever you want. You must represent this company, in fact, to a greater extent than a champion. Let me express one other thing. When I was in the ring at Alwayz Ready with the Cardona family. We had a champion that told me one day he was ready to compete. The next day he told me, and you saw what he said to the whole world, he was going to be there but he didn’t know what Billy was going to do. He went back and forth and look if that was me, holding the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship.
I’m reliving the emotion of the moment: Holding that championship, if you’re Matt Cardona; it’s not easy to hand that thing over. I had to assure the Cardona family that I had their back. Yes, I said it. I had to have the back of the Cardona family. I promised them things in that ring that I’m fine with, that are good for this company. Everybody in this company deserves to be in this company. They are top line competitors. Asking them to prove it in the ring is fine by me.
Yes, there are extenuating circumstances. Yes, it’s not a perfect world. Thank you. I am not a perfect person, and as much as I love Kyle Davis, he is not a perfect announcer. We are doing our best to make the best NWA product that we can, to regrow this company and this company has more momentum than it has had in 30 freakin’ years and there’s a reason and it doesn’t have anything to do with me. It has to do with champions. It has to do with tournaments. It has to do with men and women competing at the highest level for the grandest and richest and most prestigious prizes in all of combat sports. All of combat sports. Okay, so what I promised The Cardonas; I meant, I stand behind it, and I don’t give a… what anybody thinks about it.
Thank you.”
Powerful words from the boss man himself.
May Valentine is now with Colby Corino and Odinson. She asks the Asgardian if he has any chance against Tyrus. Odinson says he has more than a chance against the NWA Television champion, and Valentine thinks that’s cute. She asks Corino why he’s fixated on the Morton’s, and he’s upset by the question. Corino asks why they’re trying to take food out of his mouth, and why doesn’t she ask Kerry Morton why he’s fixated on him? Valentine says because she’ll ask him a different question later. Zing!
Now let’s get to the Main Event, and it is a…
Courtesy of the NWA
Race to the Chase Fatal Four-Way: Mike Knox vs Brian Myers vs Thom Latimer vs Nick Aldis
Knox is the freshest of the four members having received a bye, and he and Myers representing The Cardonas give a clear advantage in this match to being a number one contender.
The bell rings and Knox and Myers double team Aldis, and then turn to Latimer. The King of all Evil fights but the numbers game catches up. Aldis comes in the ring, and now he and Latimer work together to beat down Myers. Latimer covers, but he pulls up to stare down his former Strictly Business stablemate. Now Aldis and Latimer have a go, but The Cardonas get involved and send Aldis crashing to a ring post outside.
Back in the ring, the numbers game is in effect against Latimer, and Knox gets a leg lariat to his neck on the middle ropes. Latimer is sent out, and now Aldis comes back in the ring the hard way with a double suplex, and more beatings are dished out on The National Treasure. Aldis fights back, but all for naught. Latimer tries to get back in and Myers sends him back out. Knox and Myers set up for a double team, but Aldis pushes Knox into Myers to knock him off the top rope, and he gets an Olympic Slam on the big man. Now Aldis climbs up the top turnbuckle and attacks but Myers holds him off long enough for Knox to get behind for a Tower of Doom and all three men are down.
Latimer is back in and attacks big Knox with a hip attack to a spinning back suplex to cover for a two count. Myers then feeds Latimer to Knox for a running splash, and Aldis comes back in the ring but Myers keeps him off balance. He goes for a missile dropkick, and Aldis catches him and transitions to the Kingslayer cloverleaf, but Knox kicks him in the mush to break the submission. They go to the running splash, but Aldis reverses and sends Myers crashing into his Cardona stablemate. Latimer and Knox tackle each other, and Aldis uses the opportunity to cover Myers for the one, two, and three.
Your Winner via Pinfall: Nick Aldis
Aldis in now your number one contender to face Trevor Murdoch at NWA 74, as the show goes to credits.
Final Thoughts:
Now this is my speed: bell-to-bell action from beginning to end, with minimal talking except to drive a feud or an angle further. What a welcome respite from yesterday!
The four-way match, while, I wish was more spread out, does give Nick Aldis a chance to get back in the title hunt for “Sweet Charlotte” at NWA 74.
For now, see you in seven!