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NWA Powerr
October 8, 2019

by Samoa Rowe

I was going to review last night's stellar episode of AEW Dynamite, but Youtube TV decided not to record it for me, despite me marking the series to be taped always and forever. I'm still in the mood to review something, so I'm giving this new Youtube series from the NWA a shot, as it's received a positive word of mouth this week.

From GPB Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Our hosts are Joe Galli and Jim Cornette. The show is going for a decidedly retro feel, with a Dokken theme song and intentionally corny studio setting.

Alex Marquez interviews NWA Champion Nick Aldis, accompanied by Kamille. Aldis puts over year long title reign and the work he's put into taking the NWA back from being a punchline. Aldis respects his opponent, Tim Storm, but he relies on pro wrestling to feed his son and refuses to do a J.O.B. in A.T.L. Great emotion and fire from Aldis here.

The Dawsons (Zane and Dave) vs. Sal Rinauro and Billy Buck

Hey, it's Sal Rinauro, cool! There's a blast from the 00's past! Sadly, Sal finds himself on the receiving end of bruising offense from the Dawsons. Buck tags but runs straight into a lariat. The Dawsons double team Buck and finish him with an avalanche/power slam combo at 1:54. Refreshingly straight to the point squash match.
Winners: The Dawsons

The Dawsons cut a victory promo at Marquez's table. They are here to fight everyone, don't care who gets in their way, and are proud to be bullies.

Promotional consideration from Austin Idol. This may or may not be a fake commercial as Idol cuts a promo about his wrestling school.

Interview with
e, who has a lot on his mind, and riles up the fans to brand Atlanta as NWA country. Drake says that other wrestling companies have children but the NWA has men. Drake puts Nick Aldis and James Storm on notice, as he'd like to take their title belts, and that's a fact of life. Man, this was another seriously awesome promo, these guys are talking me into wanting to follow this show.

Eli Drake vs. Caleb Konley

Hey, it's Caleb Konley, talk about a blast from the 00's past! Sadly, Konley finds himself on JTTS duty tonight, but goes toe to toe with Drake early on to avoid getting outright squashed. Drake blocks a monkey flip and hits a tight cutter. Drake's neckbreaker gets 2. Drake hangs Konley on the rope with a drop toe hold and hits a series of kicks to the head for another 2. Konley punches and kicks his way to a comeback and hits a corkscrew senton for 2. Konley double stomps the chin but Drake counters a moonsault. Drake hits the Gravy Train for the win at 4:23. They kept a good pace and provided a satisfying short match. I would actually point to this as a blueprint for how most TV matches should be laid out.
Winner: Eli Drake

Jocephus disrupts commentary to demand Tim Storm. Not sure what their issue is, but Jocephus continues to hold up the show until he gets what he wants. James Storm shows up instead, and tells Jocephus that he's the only "Storm" he needs to worry about. Storm says that guys like Jocephus pretend to be tough, but can't do the work that guys like Storm does, and tells him to go back to his desk job and leave the wrestling to the real stars. They brawl and have to be pulled apart by officials. Again, the quality of promos on this show has been some of the best I've heard in a long time.

NWA Tag Team Championship:
The Wild Cards © (Royce Isaacs and Tom Lattimer) vs. Danny White and Mims

Isaacs punches White off his feet and steps over him to tag in Lattimer, who hits an elbow drop. Mims tags, but Lattimer attacks him in the ropes. The Wild Cards double team Mims, with running clotheslines. Isaacs whips Mims into White to allow a tag. Lattimer hits White with a pop-up powerbomb and Isaacs finishes with a Dragon suplex at 2:11. I didn't know who the Wild Cards were, but I sure do now, as they looked nasty in this squash.
Winners and still NWA Tag Team Champions: The Wild Cards

My editor (well, okay, Wikipedia) has informed me that Tom Lattimer is Bram. I guess I should have recognized him, but I didn't, so leave me alone. Half the internet (including me) thought that Cain Velaquez was Rey Mysterio's son, Dominick, so we all make mistakes, alright?

The Wild Cards are rude to Marquez in their post match interview, and put themselves over as the best tag team in the world. They're interrupted by Eddie Kingston, who offers sarcastic applause. Kingston says he's not here to disrespect the champs, but demands they respect him while he's talking. He says the belts look great on their jacked up bodies, but that means nothing to Kingston, as they don't speak for underdogs or outlaws. Kingston shoves the table into them, and Homicide arrives on time for support. Suddenly, James Storm and Jocephus brawl into the studio to break up the moment. More great mic work from all the guys.

Back from a break, and Storm and Jocephus are brawling into the stands. They get some separation and Storm dares Jocephus to enter the ring for a proper match, but Jocephus demands that Storm turn his back first.

Jocephus vs. NWA National Champion James Storm

Storm allows Jocephus to charge and spins around for the Last Call and the win at 0:15. Storm hits another Last Call for good measure and puts Jocephus' thumb into his own mouth to "“"put baby to bed." That is so awesomely disrespectful.
Winner: James Storm

Old footage from Tim Storm's reign as NWA champion is replayed, that puts over how much the belt meant to him. Storm is interviewed before the bout, and he cuts a passionate promo about how much the title means to him and that he couldn't bring himself to tell his 94 year old mother that he was going after it again. He feels that Nick Aldis is the best champion in wrestling today, but tonight is the night he goes for it and reclaims what was once his. Storm feels that under these circumstances, he cannot lose. Storm's promo made me feel all sorts of things and now I want him to win.

NWA World Championship:
Nick Aldis © (with Kamille) vs. Tim Storm

Bell rings and the crowd is pretty hot for this one. They lock up and trade chops. Storm loses control pummeling Aldis in the corner and the ref pulls him off. Storm hits a shoulder tackle and punches Aldis off his feet, and the champ retreats to ringside. Aldis reverses an Irish whip to send Storm into the ring post! Aldis takes control of the match with his methodical old-school heel offense. Storm breaks a chinlock by ramming Aldis into the turnbuckles and makes a comeback with a big boot. Storm counters a figure four with a rollup for 2. Storm applies a figure four of his own and the champ is in trouble. Aldis escapes, but Storm follows with a superplex for a good nearfall. Storm hits a slightly botched flying crossbody when his foot gets caught on the ropes, but still gets a good 2 count. Storm totally misses a swanton bomb, and Aldis capitalizes with a flying elbow into the spine. Aldis locks in the King's Landing but Storm digs deep to get the ropes. Storm pushes Aldis into the ref and hits a blind low blow, followed by the Perfect Storm, but Aldis kicks out! Crowd is going nuts for this. They meet on the top rope and both do down after a head butt. Storm ducks a clothesline at ringside and Aldis takes down Kamille by accident. Aldis recovers and rolls up Storm for the win at 12:04! The terrific promo work and the hot crowd elevated this from being average to being an emotional and memorable showdown, ***½.
Winner and still NWA World Champion: Nick Aldis

The crowd gives them a standing ovation and chants "NWA."" Gally interviews Aldis afterwards. Aldis says that NWA also stands for “never without authenticity” and puts over Tim Storm's character (nice of him to forgive the low blow). Kamille is asked about how she's feeling, and Aldis won't let her talk. That's not cool, bro.

Credits roll!

Final Thoughts: Wow, this was a totally charming throwback studio show. The squash matches all served their purposes well and made the show breeze by, and the main event tore the house down. The real reason to watch is that every wrestler who get to talk was able to deliver top notch promos that got themselves over and their programs. This show is a great alternative to some of the other great modern brands in wrestling today. Give this a chance, Thumbs Up!

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