We haven’t seen much of Tyrus since losing his title shot to Trevor Murdoch on night two of NWA 74, but one thing is certain: He’s looking to get back to his winning ways. Tonight, he’ll put up the NWA Television title against his toughest competition to date in Big Strong Mims, who’s looking for redemption after losing and getting put on the injured reserve list following his defeat at the Alwayz Ready pay-per-view.
We’ll see later tonight if the Man-ster can retain the belt, as we head to the Skyway Studios in Nashville, TN. Joe Galli, Tim Storm, and Velvet Sky have the call with the First Match of the night being…
Courtesy of the NWA
KC Roxx & “The Question Mark” (with Aron Stevens) vs. Da Pope and Kratos
The early part of the match had Storm questioning (pun intended) if The real Question Mark has returned back to the NWA, and Sky and Galli are talking him off that ledge and imploring him “not to drink the Kool-Aid.”
As Roxx and Pope start off, this quickly becomes a one-sided matchup as he dominates the smaller Roxx. Meanwhile, Stevens is reading Tyrus’ memoir at ringside. Pope gets Roxx with a delayed vertical suplex at seventeen seconds before dropping him to the mat. Now Stevens distracts Kratos and Pope, and as the ref tries to restore order, “The Question Mark” blindsided Pope and drags Roxx to his side for the tag, and now the match favors Stevens’ Black Glove Management© stable. As fans chant for the “Question Mack”, he sends Pope to the ropes where Roxx kicks in the back. Pope ain’t pleased with this and bionic elbows the pesky Roxx off the ring apron.
Meanwhile, “Question Mack” gets a spinebuster and the Pope is in Peril. Tag back to Roxx who attempts a suplex but cannot pull it off, and Pope reverses. Back to “Question Mack” who tries to lock in the Euthanizer, but Pope lands a desperation jawbreaker to get the hot tag in his corner, and Kratos is going full God of War in the ring, amid “Welcome back!” chants. He attempts a deadlift suplex but cannot complete the full move on Mack, as Roxx attacks from behind. He and “Question Mack” attempt a double team, but Kratos clotheslines Mack and powerslam Roxx. He lands an Olympic Slam to Mack, and Roxx kicks him in the back, but…Nah, that dog won’t hunt. Kratos gives him a gorilla press slam and follows with a wheelbarrow suplex for the three count.
Your Winners via Pinfall: Kratos and Da Pope
After the match, Stevens superkicks Pope on the outside of the ring, and then he and Mack gang up on Kratos to stomp him in the corner. It looks bleak but…wait a sec! Another wrestler dressed like The Question Mark gives the Mongrovian Spike to Mack, and Stevens runs off after looking like we’ve seen a ghost. As commentary tried to piece together what happened, I just wondered what in the name of Jocephus just happened.
At The Podium is Bully Ray leading the fans in “N-W-A” chants like it’s the second coming of ECW. As Kyle Davis gets ready to interview him, Matt Cardona comes to golf clap his return. As the self-proclaimed “Savior of the NWA”, he welcomes him and then says get the hell out, because nobody in the back likes him. Bully Ray agrees that he has no friends in the business because that’s how he wants it, but he has tons of friends in the fans. He runs down Cardona for hiding behind his Twitter account to insult him, and challenges him to take fifteen seconds to come up with something better. Cardona asks if he wants a match (not with him, of course, since his dance card is filled for Hard Times 3) but suggests VSK and Mike Knox in a tag match. but who’d want to be in Bully ray’s corner? Cardona assumes no one would want to be his tag partner, but Bully Ray hints he’d have someone in mind.
If you think you know who he’s referring to, I say dust off that tie dye or camo and know that it’s time to Testify!
May Valentine is backstage with Thom Latimer asking if EC3 will distract him from title opportunities. Latimer admits that he and his CYN group are kind of a distraction, but that’s the “fish he wants to fry.” She also asks about how Cardona accused Bully Ray of having no friends, and Latimer notes that he helped his wife Kamille train to be a champion, so therefore he considers Bully Ray a good friend and mentor.
I wouldn’t mind that team-up, either.
Kyle Davis is in the NWA Control Center to talk about what to expect in the upcoming weeks for the Hard Times 3. With all due respect, you can watch that later, but I’ll keep you up-to-date with that coming up on NWA USA with other contenders in the NWA National Title tournament. Speaking of which, let’s go to ringside for…
Courtesy of the NWA
Joe Alonzo vs. “The Great” Cyon (with Austin Idol)
For some reason, Galli and company are painting Alonzo as “cocky and overconfident”, which would be words best used to describe a heel, even though Alonzo is getting some babyface vibes from the crowd. Very curious. Also curious is the fact that this is a non-title match, which makes one wonder if Alonzo told truth on the last NWA USA that Cyon was afraid of losing the belt to him.
Cyon takes down Alonzo early in the match and is able to outwrestle the upstart, but Alonzo goes into another gear with multiple pin attempts but can’t put away “The Great One.” A forearm and a back suplex by Cyon allow him a cover to Alonzo for a two count. He returns fire with forearm shivers and a suplex attempt, but Cyon blocks it and then his midsection on the top ropes to knock the wind out of Alonzo. Cyon chops away, and then he goes for a ground-and-pound attack. He then whips Alonzo hard into the corner, and then Cyon picks him apart with a scoop slam twice under the direction of “Daddy” Idol. He signals his son for a third, and Alonzo uses that attempt to a rollup for a cover but Cyon kicks out. He turns Alonzo inside out with a tilt-a-whirl front slam for a two count. Cyon lands elbows on the side of Alonzo’s head and then wrenches in a headlock. He sends him to the corner, and as Cyon rushes, Alonzo ducks and trips him up. He then crotches the Masked One on the ring post and wraps his leg around the post. As Cyon pulls up lame in the ring, Alonzo gets his second wind and targets the bad leg. He also nails a superkick to Cyon, followed by a springboard cutter, and gets another two count. Cyon is hurting as he crawls out of the ring, and Idol checks his boy. Alonzo rolls out and talks smack to Idol. Cyon attacks and as he tries a suplex, Alonzo wriggles out and throws him into the post to stun him. He goes back in the ring and follows with a tope suicida to Cyon on the outside. They go back in the ring and Alonzo is confident he’s got it in the bag, but Cyon manages to land the DVD even with a badly injured leg to earn the “W” in this hard-fought match.
Your Winner via Pinfall: “The Great” Cyon
As May Valentine is recording things for an upcoming promo, Rolando Freeman wanders in and crows about defeating Matt Cardona twice, but she’s miffed that he’s interrupting her while she is recording. Que Rude!
Now Valentine is with NWA Legend Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, about what makes a champion, compared to yesteryear and in the year 2022. Steamboat pontificates that the look of a wrestler should appeal to fans, and they should show interest in representing a company. Rolando then wanders back into the shot and butters up Steamboat. He thinks he can help get him a shot for the Ten Pounds of Gold. Steamboat appreciates he was considerate, but…he doesn’t know him at all. As Rolando starts to protest he’s dragged offscreen by somebody.
I hate to use the “Little Man Syndrome” to describe Rolando, but…
Now how’s about he head to the squared circle for…
Courtesy of the NWA
The Queen Bee Match: Max the Impaler, Angelina Love, and Natalia Markova (with Taryn Terrell) vs. Ella Envy, Kenzie Paige, and Roxy
So Roxy is the “pledge” to the Pretty Empowered NWA Women’s tag champs, and Markova is the current holder of the “Queen Bee” crown. If you missed it from a few weeks ago, the rules of the match are that the first phase is a normal six-way tag match. Once the other team loses, the winner goes to the second phase and competes in a three-way elimination until one is left as the “Queen Bee.”
Got it? Good, ’cause I ain’t repeating myself again.
Love and Envy start and the Pretty One gets a Northern Lights suplex for a two count. Now Roxy tags in and Love hip tosses her and hits a basement dropkick. Now Paige and Markova tag in, and Paige lands with a heel kick to a senton. She isolates Markova on the Pretty Empowered side for the majority of the match. A desperation rollup by Markova to Roxy gets her a two count. She manages a kick and makes the hot tag to Max. Roxy knows she is boned and tries to go to Pretty Empowered for a tag, but Envy and Paige leave her high and dry. Max dumps her straight on the head with a nasty-looking Gonzo bomb to pin.
The next phase is the three-way elimination, and Markova and Love gang up on Max, but…yeahhhh, that dog won’t hunt. Max gives a double pump handle to both Love and Markova and delivers the Welcome to The Wasteland on Love. Markova nails a shotgun kick that stuns Max, and she steals the pin on Love. Now Markova and Max are left and she attempts to outfight the Non-Binary Nightmare. Max slams her head on the middle turnbuckle, and she picks up Markova in a powerbomb position but she reverses to a head scissors takedown. She attempts The Beautiful Disaster but Max blocks her and stomps Markova to cover for a two count. Both combatants brawl and the ref tries to maintain order, but neither one is listening to his commands. Finally, the ref calls for the bell and it’s declared a…
No Contest via Referee Stoppage
Max grabs the tiara and wears it for a bit, but then smashes it in the ring, much to Markova’s chagrin. Therefore, The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen of the Wasteland.
Seriously, you wanna argue with Max about that? Good f’n luck, sunshine!
May Valentine is talking with the masked man from the beginning of the show, and we find out that it’s not The Question Mark himself, but rather it’s the Brother of The Question Mark, or “Question Mark II”, if you will.
Hey, you bought the bit before. So just buy the premise, already.
There’s a recap of the NWA Junior Heavyweight match between Homicide and Eric Jackson from this last NWA USA, so read it here if you missed out on the show.
May Valentine is with the NWA Heavyweight Champion, Trevor Murdoch. He states it’s his responsibility to set the tone for the NWA and from now on its ruthless aggression. Since Tyrus lost at NWA 74, Valentine inquires what would happen if he cashed in his automatic title shot since he’s defended the NWA Television title seven times. Murdoch deadpans that he may cash in his shot, and it’s his funeral. Finally, she asks why he interfered in Cardona’s match with Rolando Freeman, and Murdoch explains he owes a receipt from what Cardona did to make him lose the belt the first time around, and he did what was right by the company.
(Author’s Note: I should do a side-by-side one day of Murdoch and Harley Race doing promos because, tonally, Murdoch is really evoking those vibes when he speaks. Also, I seriously hope WWE doesn’t have copyrights to “Ruthless Aggression.”)
But let’s head to The Main Event and it’s for the…
Courtesy of the NWA
NWA World Television Championship: Tyrus(c) (with BLK Jeez) vs. Big Strong Mims
This is a no time limit match, and the first time Mims has faced Tyrus since his injury back at the Alwayz Ready PPV. I’d like to say this was a well-fought match.
Really, I’d like to say that, but this was so short and squash-y that the best way to recap this is a Haiku In Review™:
*Ahem*
Tyrus Totally
Smashes Mims Thoroughly With
One Heart Punch. ‘Nuff Said!
Your Winner via Pinfall, and Still NWA Television Champion: Tyrus
Tyrus then leaves the ring and walks to the back, not even bothering to take his title belt with him. Jeez picks up the belt and looks on as the show goes to the credits.
Final Thoughts:
This was a solid show, and Alonzo is really growing on me as a blue-chipper wrestler in the NWA. The introduction of Question Mark II, makes perfect sense, and I’m now invested in where this angle goes. The Queen Bee match had an odd ending, and now I’m not sure what direction this will lead in the future.
As for the Main Event, I get what they were doing with Tyrus as a focused Man-ster. The idea sounds good on paper but its execution felt flat for where it was placed on the card. In my opinion, it should have happened earlier and the Cyon/Alonzo match should have taken its place.
Oh, well. Until next time, see you in seven!