NWA Powerrr recap: Did EC3 sabotage his team in Champions Series final?

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NWA went full steam ahead for their first-ever live edition of Powerrr. The show from Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville, TN featured the Champions Series final, a contract signing for Matt Cardona to challenge for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, Aron Stevens’ wedding, new tag team champions, Bully Ray in a No Tables Match, and more.

The main event in terms of wrestling was the Champions Series final. Title shots galore were on the line as two teams of seven battled for all the marbles.

Team Tyrus was captained by Tyrus with BLK Jeez as captain’s assistant. Their roster included EC3, Trevor Murdoch, Thrillbilly Silas Mason, Carnage, Samantha Starr, Robyn Renegade, and Allysin Kay. Team Rock N’ Roll was captained by Kerry Morton with Ricky Morton as captain’s assistant. Their roster included Taya Valkyrie, Chris Adonis, Alex Taylor, Dak Draper, Mims, Madi Wrenkowski, and La Rosa Negra. Renegade was an injury replacement for Kayla Kassidy, and La Rosa Negra was an injury replacement for Jennacide.

The final was decided in Team War. The format was similar to a torneo cibernetico without tags. It was a gauntlet style with eliminations via pinfall, submission, and over the top rope.

Kay and Rosa kicked off the action. Rosa earned the submission with an octopus Rings of Saturn. Renegade entered next. She focused on Rosa’s damaged ribs. Renegade hooked a crucifix position to hammer elbows into the ribs. Rosa submit in pain. Wrenkowski took care of Renegade with an scissor kick. Starr ousted Wrenkowski with a DDT. Taya took out Starr with the Road to Valhalla.

Taya was the last woman remaining. La Wera Loca called out the most menacing man on Team Tyrus. Taya wanted a piece of Carnage. Unfortunately, EC3 caused a distraction. Carnage ran in to dump Taya over the ropes. That was a badass tease to see Taya get rowdy, but it amounted to nothing due to the simple elimination.

Carnage pinned Mims on a flatliner. Adonis used a full nelson bomb to pin Carnage. Murdoch took the ruckus to Adonis, but the Masterpiece reversed an Irish whip to send Murdoch tumbling over the ropes. Murdoch was a sore loser and dragged Adonis out of the ring to inflict pain. Adonis was easy pickings for a helicopter slam from Silas. Thrillbilly’s spinning finisher is so cool.

Silas continued the momentum by catching a flying crossbody from Taylor for another helicopter slam.

Silas was on a roll. He went for the helicopter slam to Draper, who was the last member of Team Rock N’ Roll. Draper was able to escape for a sunset flip pin to eliminate Silas. Enter EC3 as the last member of Team Tyrus. Draper and EC3 would determine which team won the grand prize.

EC3 controlled Draper and tossed him over the ropes three times. Draper landed on the apron each time to remain in the game. EC3 kept turning his back in assuming the match was over. That backfired on the third occasion when Draper rallied for a jackknife pin to win.

Taya Valkyrie, Chris Adonis, Alex Taylor, Dak Draper, Mims, Madi Wrenkowski, and La Rosa Negra all earned title opportunities for an NWA championship of their choosing.

Team War was a fun match with hectic action. The high stakes added an element of strong drama. The finish was genuinely surprising. I did not expect EC3 to lose in that situation. Draper put himself on the NWA map by overcoming the odds to win and pin a main event caliber player in EC3. EC3’s strategy was peculiar. Turning his back so often to assume victory was a foolish move. For as calculating as he can be, arrogance is generally not in his narrative. It turns out that EC3 may have sabotaged his own team. Cameras caught up with EC3 shortly after the match, and he played coy about the possibility of losing on purpose.

The main event segment for Powerrr was the wedding of Aron Stevens and May Valentine. Sam Teano (Santino Marella) was the special guest to officiate the proceedings. Love was strong, despite protests from Pollo Del Mar, Mercurio, and Natalia Markova. The nuptials were set to be etched for eternity when Santino noticed an error on the marriage license. Stevens picked out the wrong form. Valentine is a Brazilian national with a green card for the USA. The paperwork was for two American citizens. Santino would not break the law to give his blessing, so the matrimony would have to be delayed for another day. Commentary accused Stevens of making that mistake intentionally. Valentine freaked out and wrecked everything in sight. She smashed a champagne bottle over Damage’s head while shouting that she hates Stevens. Ah, the bliss of nearly newlyweds.

The main event for the Nuff Said PPV on February 11 is set. Tyrus and Matt Cardona signed on the dotted line for the world title fight. Cardona wanted to call the shots for a stipulation, since he never lost the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship when relinquishing due to injury. Cardona begrudgingly accepted terms for a six-man tag to determine who picks the stipulation. That bout will take place next week.

In the opening contest for Powerrr, Bully Ray competed in a No tables Match against Odinson. For Impact viewers, this was not the same villainous Bully character. He leans more babyface right now in the NWA. Odinson talked a big game about not needing tables, ladder, or chairs to win fairly. As soon as Bully turned his back, Odinson landed a low blow. That was before the opening bell, so Bully was in testicular pain throughout the bout. In the end result, a table was used. Bully escaped a fireman’s carry to shove Odinson colliding into the referee. Odinson landed a European uppercut to flatten his opponent. Odinson then got the tables. He set up a table in the ring with bad intentions while the referee was still down. Bully countered Odinson for a chokeslam through the table. As Bully was executing that maneuver, the referee regained consciousness to disqualify Bully for using a table in a No Tables Match.

There was also a title change for new champions on the show. The Fixers (Jay Bradley & Wrecking Ball Legursky) defended the NWA United States Tag Team Championship against the Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana & Anthony Andrews), but the Fixers did not leave with the gold. Down the stretch, all four men fought in the ring. Bradley executed a gutwrench suplex on Andrews. Andrews rolled out of the ring, and Bradley followed him. Wrecking Ball charged to smash Cazana in the corner. Cazana ole’d, and Legursky rammed into the turnbuckles. Cazana scored a timely roll-up to win. The crowd was enthusiastic for the new champs. I think part of that sentiment is due to Joe Cazana, AJ’s father, being a local wrestling promoter in the area. That Tennessee connection ran deep.

The Beautiful People were represented well during the broadcast. Angelina Love and Fodder claimed travel issues to pull a fast one on rivals Kamille and Thom Latimer. Love and Fodder were actually in the building though. They ambushed Kamille and Latimer with a kendo stick. Kenzie Paige paid homage to Velvet Sky by using a familiar trick to cheat against Charlette Renegade. Paige grabbed her tag title belt as a foreign object, so the referee snatched it away. That was a ruse for Paige to pull out hairspray to spray in Renegade’s eyes. Paige grabbed the tights on a roll-up to secure victory. Sky is usually a babyface commentator, but even she appreciated that trick from Paige since it was from her own playbook from her wrestling days.

Grade: C+

This live episode of Powerrr did a good job of giving the NWA experience. What you saw is pretty much how the current product is on a weekly basis. Those that loved it should continue tuning in. Those that hated it shouldn’t expect the style to change anytime soon.

On the positive, the NWA built hooks for developing angles. Odinson, Angelina Love, and Fodder developed heel heat for babyface ass-kickings from Bully Ray, Kamille, and Thom Latimer. Anticipation is strong for next week with mystery partners and a stipulation on the line for Tyrus and Matt Cardona. The tag title change in favor of the Country Gentlemen added a newsworthy moment. Team War was entertaining and interesting. And yeah for the Renegade twins. I’m a fan, so it was nice to see them score work with the NWA. Being that the NWA has women’s tag titles, I’m hoping to see them challenge for that gold.

On the negative, the wedding was whack. There were a few chuckles, but it was not that entertaining for the length of time it ran. The end result was kind of meaningless. At least right now, it appears that way. I don’t expect May Valentine to form a team to go after Aron Stevens in revenge.

The stud of the show was Thrillbilly Silas Mason. He never made an impression on me prior, but he stood out as a wrecking machine of destruction in Team War. His helicopter slam is a great finisher to pop the crowd. Thrillbilly has me believing that he could eventually become the first home-grown NWA world champion in the Billy Corgan era.

Share your thoughts on NWA’s live Powerrrr. The show is available for viewing (here) on the NWA YouTube channel.

 

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