NWA Powerrr

[El-P]

ODB getting bookings so she can get her food truck bad is pretty cool.

Kamille barely being involved after all the fuss they made about her seems like a waste, just like the whole referee gimmick.

Marty Scurll showing up is odd to me. They have worked together before and it was a good match, and finally they can have a legit great worker in the roster but... Dunno, maybe Scurll is gonna do that before signing a big-ass contract somewhere.

Another PPV in one month already ? While AEW, IMPACT and MLW (?) are only doing a few a year ? That's pretty odd too. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Thanks for the write-up, Coffey.

I don't give a shit about Scurll and he makes me less interested in watching the show, but he's a good pick-up for them. I was hoping Luke Harper would show up.

[The Thread Killer]

2 hours ago, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

I was hoping Luke Harper would show up.

If Meltzer is to be believed, Harper is bound by his no-compete clause until March 2020.

 

3 hours ago, El-P said:

ODB getting bookings so she can get her food truck bad is pretty cool.

The one area where the NWA might actually have an advantage and end up having some success in getting talent, is their schedule.  That can be a huge selling point to Pro Wrestlers who still want to be Pro Wrestlers but only work a very limited schedule, because they have other business interests, jobs, commitments or whatever.  They literally only have to work three days every two months, the two days of tapings which cover 8 weeks of TV, and then the PPV.  For people like ODB, Stu Bennett, Ken Anderson, Trevor Murdoch and Aron Stevens who were all more or less out of the business...that's a great deal.  They pretty much get to have their cake and eat it too.  That was one of the main reasons Cornette originally took the job as well.

[C.S.]

5 hours ago, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

I don't give a shit about Scurll and he makes me less interested in watching the show, but he's a good pick-up for them. I was hoping Luke Harper would show up.

Aldis and Scurll have a legit history and friendship dating back 15+ years. That writes itself. I know they've already had a match for the NWA Title, but their backstory is still compelling regardless. 

[rovert]

 

 

 

 

2

11 hours ago, El-P said:

Another PPV in one month already ? While AEW, IMPACT and MLW (?) are only doing a few a year ? That's pretty odd too. 

Their Youtube show makes no money nor do they have a TV deal so they have to recoup costs.

[The Thread Killer]

NWA: "Into The Fire"

The PPV is coming from the GPB Studios in Atlanta where Power has been taping.  I'd have much preferred that they held the PPV in a different venue to give the event a more "special" feel overall and differentiate the PPV events from the TV tapings.  I legitimately enjoy old school studio wrestling, but even Georgia Championship Wrestling and JCP didn't hold their big shows in the Techwood Studios.  I'm pretty sure the NWA could have found a small venue somewhere in the Atlanta area that seats 250-500 fans which they could have dressed up to look good.  Hell, Impact can barely draw flies to their shows and they always manage to find small venues and dress them up to make their big shows look good.  I love what Impact has been doing with The Rebel Complex here in Toronto, and I think they only put about 400 people in there.  So the NWA could do it, if they tried. It's all about picking an appropriately sized venue so the place doesn't look half empty, then laying out the venue intelligently so it doesn't look cavernous (so unlike what ROH does) and then having the right number of seats and being smart about how you place the cameras and mic the crowd noise.

Having said that, I do understand that the NWA is really trying to save money and run this organization in a fiscally intelligent manner.  The GPB studio already has TV cameras and production equipment on site, so I can see why they chose to use it.  Also, I will give them credit, they did try and spruce things up a bit for the PPV.  The lighting was dimmer, they used theme music and the Wrestlers entered through a hall above the stands and descended to the ring down the steps, through the fans. That made it different from the Power tapings.  This entrance also gave the babyfaces a good chance to interact with the fans.  There was a man with a young kid (his son, I assume) who were sitting in the stands on the aisle, and I thought it was cute how Colt Cabana and Nick Aldis took the time to pay special attention to the kid.  Also, Stu Bennett referred to the building on several occasions as "The NWA Arena" so I guess this is pretty much their home base for the time being. But long term, I really hope they just do the Power tapings there and then have the PPV events elsewhere.

Speaking of Stu Bennett, I thought he did an outstanding job.  I'd never heard him do Color Commentary before, but he was really good and really polished.  To be honest, I actually preferred the combination of Galli & Bennett to Galli and Jim Cornette. Bennett was very serious, with a heelish slant to his commentary but he was also funny on a couple of occasions  Bennett's commentary far exceeded my expectations and I am looking forward to him being the color man on Power from now on.

Eli Drake vs. Ken Anderson

This match was hardly a five-star classic, but it was a hell of a lot better than I expected it to be.  That is entirely down to Eli Drake, though.  Drake looked really sharp and in my opinion, this guy really needs to be one of the main focuses of the promotion in the future.  He's awesome on the microphone (despite the continuous comparisons to The Rock and Stone Cold) and his ring work is solid.  There was one awesome spot where Ken Anderson was slumped on the top turnbuckle (trying to catch his breath I assume) when Eli Drake did an amazing vertical leap to the top rope, it was very impressive.  Ken Anderson was the reason this match wasn't better than just "good."  He tried, and in the opening segment of the match they did some passable mat work and chain wrestling.  The problem is, Ken Anderson is not in great physical condition.  His belly is still quite ample and by the end of this match you could tell that he was clearly out of gas.  Right before the finish, he was propped up in the corner huffing and puffing and looking exhausted, and believe me...it wasn't him selling.  But despite that, this was a solid opener and it went the right amount of time, around 10 minutes.  One of my big worries going into this PPV was that the matches would be short or not very good, but this allayed my concerns. Looking at it "star rating" wise, I would give this match 2.5 stars, which is decent.

Nick Aldis/James Storm Promo

This was a good segment to hype the Main Event.  Nick Aldis has been doing an excellent job portraying the classic champion who thinks he is carrying the entire NWA on his back. This promo and the pre-taped packages on this show really demonstrated what a solid interview Nick Aldis is.  Either he has gotten noticeably better, or he never got a fair chance to show what he could do when he was "Magnus" in TNA.

Thunder Rosa vs. Tasha Steelz

The NWA is obviously trying to beef up their Women's Division, which is good.  Steelz cut a decent promo before the match, and the match itself was solid if unremarkable.  I think Thunder Rosa is probably the best female talent in the NWA right now in terms of the overall package - mic work, ring skills and overall look, so the right person went over but Steelz got in enough offense to still look good.  This match did exactly what it was supposed to go, introduced Steelz and made her look good while establishing that Thunder Rosa is one of the top names in the NWA. 

During this match, I couldn't help but think about the Big Swole vs. Emi Sakura match on AEW Dynamite this past week, which I was pretty sure was never going to end. Actually, I ended up tapping out and changing the channel during that match, so for all I know it might still be going.  In contrast, this match demonstrated to me that you can accomplish what you need to during a match - including introducing a new character - without taking over 10 minutes to do it.

After the match, Thunder Rosa got into a confrontation with Ashley Vox and ended up slapping on an armbar which looked totally legit and made me cringe.  She bent that girl's arm in way I believe arms were not meant to bend.  As I said, this match and the post-match angle went a long way in establishing Thunder Rosa.  I'd give the match about 2 stars, which is decent.

The Question Mark vs. Trevor Murdoch

I am somewhat conflicted about this match and the whole Question Mark deal in general.  Aron Stevens is heavily involved in the Question Mark angle and I always have time for him.  I don't mind comedy in my Pro Wrestling, provided that it's actually funny.  In my opinion, since coming to the NWA Stevens has been consistently entertaining.  I can understand how his goofy form of comedy might not be for everybody, I get that.  However, if Pro Wrestling can find room for a guy that throws people around with his dick and matches with Invisible Men, then there should be plenty of room for Aron Stevens.  I don't see a huge difference between the Aron Stevens/Question Mark stuff and the goofy stuff Orange Cassidy has been doing in AEW since Dynamite debuted.  I have managed to see the humor in Orange Cassidy, so it would be stupid to criticize Aron Stevens and The Question Mark.  Comedy is a part of Pro Wrestling, I get that.

Aron Stevens coming to the ring in a Gi and holding the Mongrovian Flag while Stu Bennett claimed that in the past three weeks, Stevens had become a third degree blackbelt in Mongrovian Karate did crack me up.  The Mongrovian flag and National Anthem also made me laugh out loud as well.  Here's where I was conflicted...of all people there is no damn way that Trevor Murdoch should have been involved in this stuff.  He especially shouldn't have been jobbing to The Question Mark.  I saw an interview with Billy Corgan and Dave Lagana this past week where they said that the response to some things on Power had caught them by surprise and caused them to change direction unexpectedly...and they were clearly talking about the reception to The Question Mark.  The fans in the GPB studios have adopted The Question Mark kind of like the old ECW Arena fans adopted J.T. Smith.  Cool, I get that.  The difference is, Paul Heyman didn't respond to that by having J.T. Smith beat The Sandman in a competitive match.  Nick Aldis has been saying in a couple of recent interviews that Trevor Murdoch has really opened some eyes in the NWA about how good he still is...so they clearly know they have something with the guy.  So there is really no excuse for having him lose to a comedy character.

This was what it was, a short, moderately competitive match between a comedy character and a legit Pro Wrestler.  When that happens, the Pro Wrestler should go over, I don't care how popular the comedy guy is.  Trevor Murdoch has been nothing short of awesome in the NWA so far, and they need to get him far away from this stuff and do more with him, ASAP. If they don't, then they're idiots.  For having Murdoch lose, I rate this match as a DUD.

NWA World Tag Team Championship Match: The Rock & Roll Express vs. The Wild Cards

Speaking of stupid crap which shouldn't be happening...

Ugh.  I've said before and I'll say again...I respect the hell out of the Rock & Roll Express, but there is no way in hell they should be the NWA World Tag Team Champions and taking up a spot on this PPV. Almost worse than that, they have fucking Eddie Kingston and Homicide there and working as corner men? What a waste. I also came to a conclusion during this match about The Wild Cards and that is that Royce Isaacs kind of sucks.  I really think he's the reason that his team doesn't have better matches.  Bram is perfectly capable of having good matches, but Isaacs can't hold up his end of the deal...and being in the there with a couple of Senior Citizens ain't helping him any.  The parts of this match with Lattimer were okay, but Isaacs's offense looks like shit and he screwed up a couple of really basic spots where he was supposed to be getting his signals crossed with Lattimer. I can't believe Ricky Morton did a suicide dive between the ropes at his age. This match was pretty weak. At least it was only around 5 minutes.  I can't believe the Rock & Rolls retained.  I really hope they don't make it out of the next set of Power tapings with those belts.  The NWA also needs to grab a couple more Tag Teams (who are younger than 120 years combined age) ASAP.  This was a 1 star match, and I'm probably being generous.

Announcement

The NWA is returning to PPV on January 24, 2020 and the NWA is bringing back the World Television Championship.  Stu Bennett displayed the title belt, and it is the classic NWA TV title from the JCP era that Arn made famous, so that is awesome.  From the way they worded this announcement, I am not sure if the PPV itself is going to be a tournament to fill the TV title, or if the PPV will feature the finals of a tournament, or what...but seeing as how they were announced together I did get the impression that the two announcements are linked.  Maybe I'm wrong.  I'm not sure the NWA roster as it stands right now is big enough to sustain three singles championships, but as an old school fan it sure is cool to see that TV belt again.

As I mentioned above, I have been checking out most of the interviews that Corgan and Lagana have been doing leading up to this PPV, and based on stuff they have been saying, and other stuff I have read online, I think I understand why the NWA is doing another PPV so soon.  They were pretty upfront going into the launch of Power on YouTube that they didn't think a YouTube show was going to be financially viable for them long term. I think originally they were planning on going the traditional route and getting a TV deal and then doing quarterly Pay Per Views, etc. However, they are saying they were totally caught off guard by the response to Power.  Similarly they have apparently been pretty surprised about the response to this PPV. There are reports that the pre-sales for Into The Fire actually exceeded the number of buys they had projected for the PPV overall.  Billy Corgan has said that considering the current level of interest and fan support for the NWA, their current business model of two days of TV tapings every other month followed by a PPV might actually be sustainable long term. The fact that they have gone ahead and announced the next show for next month seems to bear that theory out.  That means they can't afford to lose any more viewers for Power and they have to keep selling Pay Per Views though, so I guess the onus is on them to make this work.
 

Eli Drake Promo...Mr. Anderson attacks

Drake comes out and cuts a decent promo which I was hoping would hint at his next angle or title aspirations...until Mr. Anderson appears and attacks him.  So I guess this feud isn't over, and I'm not so hyped about that.  Here's what strikes me as weird...Eli Drake attacked Anderson a couple of weeks ago from behind with that metal turnbuckle wrench thing.  Total heel move, and the announcers were playing up how brutal it was during Anderson's match earlier.  However the fans are cheering for Drake now, and Anderson's attack here comes across as a total heel move and the fans are giving him shit while he's doing it.  There is no clear babyface/heel dynamic in this feud.  Maybe the NWA roster is so small they don't want to paint guys into one role and then have to do turns for every new angle.  I'm not crazy about this feud continuing, but credit where it's due...this attack was really well done by Anderson and sold really well by Drake.  And huge props to Stu Bennett as well, he did a great job of putting this whole deal over.

Melina & Marti Belle vs. Alyson Kaye & ODB

I still don't get why they didn't just have Alyson Kaye defend her title on this PPV, but whatever.  So anyhow...this match sucked.  Melina is awful, and has no business in the ring if this is the best she can do.  Bless Marti Belle for trying, but as somebody said elsewhere (I think it was @rovert) she wrestles like she has two left feet.  Alyson Kaye is very good, and ODB did fine...but they didn't have much to work with. I was going to say this match was too long, but I think that just might be because it wasn't any good.  DUD.

For the NWA National Championship: Colt Cabana (c) vs. Ricky Starks vs. Aron Stevens

I was surprised by this match.  I wasn't expecting all that much from it and it was pretty damn good.  Aron Stevens has the whole cowardly heel act down to a science at this point.  The part of the match where he bailed out and hid behind the Christmas Tree was pretty damn funny, as was his hiding underneath the tarp by the production equipment.  I recently heard Arn Anderson say that in Triple Threat Matches you always have to make one guy step aside and sell while the other two fight, and he is right.  If you're going to follow that blueprint, you might as well make it entertaining...especially when the end result was Aron Stevens sneaking in and stealing the win and the title in the process. This match was good, especially some of the segments when Starks and Cabana were taking turns beating up Stevens, because his comedic selling was quite good (if you like that sort of thing.) Cabana actually looked really good in this match, as did Starks.  Fun match.  I'd go 3 stars for this one.

Tim Storm Promo

This guy is such a terrific old school babyface.  He just has natural "good guy" charisma. I know a lot of people claim the "Mama Storm" stuff is cheesy, and it is...but keep in mind that Tim Storm used the line "Mama Storm still loves me" as a throw away line during a promo and it was the fans that jumped on it and started chanting her name.  Hell, the guy is reportedly selling a good number of Mama Storm T-shirts.  Like it or not, the whole thing is popular.  I am really hoping we get to see Tim Storm challenge Aron Stevens for the National Championship, because that would be a really fun case of an old school babyface vs. heel rivalry.

Main Event for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (Best 2 out of 3 falls) Nick Aldis (c) vs. James Storm

I don't ever remember seeing a 2 out of 3 falls match where one of the falls wasn't a quick pin.  This match was no exception.  This did a good job of either resolving or furthering all the storylines leading into the match.  James Storm openly speculated during one of his promos that Nick Aldis had been flattering Tim Storm in order to manipulate him into favoring him during the match, but we found out that Tim Storm is still going to be Tim Storm and he was totally fair as the ref in the second and eventually the third fall.  Aldis made it clear that he didn't want Kamille out there, but she showed up anyhow and ended up costing him the first fall in the aforementioned quick fall.  We don't yet know if that was deliberate, but even if it wasn't we can guarantee that Aldis isn't going to be happy that she didn't listen to him and almost cost him his title in the process. 

Technically, I thought this was a very good match.  The first fall went quickly, and I quite enjoyed the brawling in the second fall...especially how it favored James Storm and you could tell (and the announcers put over) that it wasn't Nick Aldis's game.  I loved it when Storm got thrown into the Christmas Tree and Stu Bennett called it "Mongrovian Pine." The third fall had some good in ring action and close calls, culminating in the ref bump and eventual finish.  The only thing that would stop me from calling this a great match is that I found James Storm to be a little sloppy.  He clearly messed up a few spots during this match.  I don't think he was tired either, I think his coordination seemed a little off and he isn't quite as limber as he used to be.  It reminded me of Chris Jericho in the sense that once you get to be a certain age and there are things you can't do anymore, you should maybe stop trying to do them and change up your act like Jericho has. It didn't kill the match or anything, but NWA James Storm of 2019 is definitely not the same as TNA James Storm of 2009.

All in all, I was satisfied with the match and the resolution of the storylines leading into the match.  We know Tim Storm is still a good guy, we know there is trouble with Kamille and Aldis and due to the way the finish went, James Storm is no worse the wear for losing the match.  In that respect, it was smartly booked which is not something I have been saying about the NWA up to this point.  I'd say this was a 3.5 star match, which is very good.

As far as the angle after the match, that was a definite "Holy Shit" moment when Marty Scurll made his entrance.  I know people had pretty much been speculating about whether he'd show up in NXT (or maybe even on the WWE's so-called "main roster") back in Japan, or AEW.  As far as I know, nobody was seriously predicting him coming to the NWA.  There is no way you can possibly look at this other than it being a huge signing for the NWA.  I have seen some AEW fans freaking out online today, saying they can't believe Marty Scurll would go to the stupid NWA instead of AEW. I think they might be getting ahead of themselves.  As I said earlier, working in the NWA requires you to work a whopping 3 days every 2 months.  It's not exactly the WWF schedule from the 1980's.  This means he can work other places, Japan especially.  Not to mention, AEW has a great relationship with the NWA.  AEW Dark helped NWA Power become so popular, and of course the two companies already worked closely together at All In. If MJF can work in MLW and AEW at the same time, I'm sure Scurll can work in the NWA and AEW at the same time...especially since the combined schedule of the two is still way better than working for WWE.

Overall

This show was not without it's flaws, for sure. The Question Mark beating Trevor Murdoch was ridiculous, as is The Rock & Roll Express still being the Tag Team Champions. The women's tag match was awful.  However, I thought the opener was solid and the last two matches were very good.  The announcing was excellent and the overall aesthetic of the show was decent for their first major PPV since Power debuted.  I personally had some problems with my stream stalling and getting only audio, but I'm pretty sure that's more because of my crappy laptop than it was the NWA or Fite TV.  Next time, I will trying using my XBOX One to stream Fite and see if that improves the video quality.

Bottom line is, this show only cost me $20.00 so it was definitely worth it. One thing I loved is that the show was only around 2.5 hours long so it wasn't a chore to get through.  Even the stuff I didn't like didn't drag on forever.  That's a big change from the stuff I've been seeing on Wednesday Nights from both AEW and NXT, where everything has to be epic and overlong.  In my opinion, there was more good than bad on this show. I'm glad I ordered it and I am excited about the potential cycle of 6-8 weeks of Power leading into a fairly priced PPV from this point forward - especially since the NWA has said they are going to continue to introduce new talent (something they certainly did with this show.)  This was hardly an epic show, but it was good.  More importantly, it was fun.

 

 

 

[gordi]

2 hours ago, The Thread Killer said:

I don't ever remember seeing a 2 out of 3 falls match where one of the falls wasn't a quick pin. 

Here you go. It's a pretty good one, too:

 

 

[The Thread Killer]

Ha, that's hilarious.  I love the Flair/Steamboat Trilogy from 89 and I've seen that match a million times, but I totally spaced out and forgot that.

[gordi]

Gave me an excuse to watch it again, so I am grateful. It's not easy to come up with another example. Maybe something from AJPW in the 70s?

[El-P]

Yeah. I gave that promotion all the time I could, really. Unlike MLW, which totally renewed my interest with what ended up being one of my favourite and most fun event of the year, NWA just did not deliver at all with their PPV.

On the positive side :

_if you steal, might as well steal from the best : total Lucha Underground rip-off presentation with the wrestlers coming down the steps, complete with their portraits on the wall ! Gave a much more dynamic presentation to the whole thing.

_the announcing was really good. Stu Bennett did a tremendous job.

_Eli Drake vs Mr. Anderson was way better than I thought it would. Drake in particular looked like a star here, and honestly I thought Anderson wasn't bad at all. Quite ok in a older version of himself trying to keep it up with the young jacked up guy who works fast. Surprisingly good hot opener.

_Thunder Rosa vs Tasha Steels was a good little TV match. Rosa is explosive and Steels seems to be quite ok with some actual character.

And... that would be it for me. Only went south from there.

I love how NWA is supposed to be this more serious old-school promotion yet two out of seven matches featured wins by comedy workers, one of which being a complete meta-gimmick, the other one actually winning the secondary title. That's way too much silly shit in spot that actually matters, as opposed to them being jobbers as they should (I mean, Question Mark is basically Hack Myers).

Remember when watching the Rock'n'Roll Express having a good match in 2019 was a cool novelty ? That was before the NWA made them their actual tag-team champs and exposed them as 65 years old dinosaurs. But, hey, Marko Stunt is unrealistic and killing da business, people... 

That women tag match was awful. Cool to see ODB though. Belle is just that, but she's not any good, and she still looked like Gail Kim in her prime next to Melina, who still does the split and that's her highspot. 

The main event was what I'd call an Aldis Special : it reminds me some of the bad overbooked TNA main events of the early days. Work was kinda shoddy to me at points, it's obvious Storm is passed his prime, Aldis was never very good and still isn't, and when Kamille isn't there to add flavour to his presentation and take a few spectacular bumps, he comes off dull as fuck to me. It was ok I guess, but the 2/3 falls and useless referee fuckery gimmick just made everything more complicated than it should and gave a sense of forced drama (especially in this studio setting with a controlled audience). But the worse part to me was how they used Kamille. After she was a central part of the intrigue, hey, let's throw her ringside after only two minutes for no reason so it kills any sense of expectation to see her show up at the end or at a critical time. The quick fall came off lame and totally anticlimatic because of it too. Complete dumb fuck booking. What a waste. Plus she was there like ten seconds on the screen, while Question Mark and Aaron Stevens got seemingly half an hour between the two... Way to feature one of the only character who actually come off like a star...

I guess Scurll is doing a favor to his old pal before signing a big time money deal with either WWE or AEW (hell, he could go to NJPW if he cared, this guy can do whatever he wants), but even though I really like him, he could not make me care to watch ROH this year, and will certainly not make me care enough to keep NWA on my rotation. Especially as I'll have less time to watch pro-wrestling next year as my life is gonna drastically change (in a good way, hopefully). 

[aloniv]

gordi - The match between Okada and Omega from last year's Dominion show was 2/3 falls and not surprisingly none of them were quick (the match is also the highest rated by Meltzer of all time achieving the legendary 7 stars).

[gordi]

5 hours ago, aloniv said:

gordi - The match between Okada and Omega from last year's Dominion show was 2/3 falls and not surprisingly none of them were quick .

 

That's right! Excellent example.

I really enjoyed that match, too. Dominion '18 was perhaps the point where I stopped fighting and learned to love Omega, The Young Bucks, and the modern go-go-go style. (And I wouldn't be surprised if the Thread Killer enjoyed that match as well). 

Not to hijack this thread, but: It's pretty interesting that two of the matches that belong in the general discussion of Best Ever are both 3-falls matches that break the typical mode. I don't think that ever occurred to me until just now. There probably is a 1960s or 70s AJPW GOAT-candidate match (Baba vs Destroyer or vs Race, maybe?) that doesn't have a quick pinfall One more would make it a trifecta. (I think Jumbo vs Funk '76, for example, does in fact have one quick fall... but it's been a couple of years since I last watched it).

[C.S.]

20 hours ago, El-P said:

I guess Scurll is doing a favor to his old pal before signing a big time money deal with either WWE or AEW (hell, he could go to NJPW if he cared, this guy can do whatever he wants)

Scurll showed up at the latest set of ROH tapings...

What is this guy thinking?!

Yeah, I'm sure ROH threw an obscene amount of money at him to stay, but he'll never be this coveted again. 

[SirEdger]

From what I heard, a handshake deal with ROH for a few dates.

[El-P]

He's like Pillman in early 96. Few dates more in ROH so he can make good for his old friend Aldis in NWA, then sign the big-ass contract with whoever. You can quote me on that one.

[Mad Dog]

I mostly enjoyed the show. I am not sure it was worth $20 though.I think they needed to do a little more for a paid show than a bigger version of the TV show. This was a Clash of the Champions level show and they needed to be a step better than that.

I think the NWA has done an excellent job with the angles and pushing their universe forward on a weekly basis. It feels like everyone has a direction on the card which is good. I think the biggest weakness though is the inring and that's going to hurt them for PPV level shows. Yes, I had a lot of fun with the show but none of the matches at the PPV were super satisfying.  I think that is something that can be fixed with time but they still haven't beaten the Aldis/Storm match from week 1.

Now my biggest issue story wise. They need to be doing a lot more than Tim Storm and Eddie Kingston. It's kind of ridiculous that Outlaw Inc. didn't have a match on this show. The women's division still sucks but they have gotten Thunder Rosa over quick and she comes across like a star on these shows. Side note to this, I love the TV Title but I don't really feel like they have the roster or the TV time for 5 championship belts.

I will continue to watch the weekly show but they are going to have to try harder to get money from me on the next PPV.

[SirEdger]

7 hours ago, El-P said:

He's like Pillman in early 96. Few dates more in ROH so he can make good for his old friend Aldis in NWA, then sign the big-ass contract with whoever. You can quote me on that one.

I know that rovert is adamant he's sticking with ROH but something just tells me that he's gonna end up in AEW anyway. And I don't think it's gonna necessarily come down to a money thing. I know that Tony Khan had buyer's remorse recently but it'd be insane to assume that there's zero interest on their part for Marty Scurll

[rovert]

1 hour ago, SirEdger said:

I know that rovert is adamant he's sticking with ROH but something just tells me that he's gonna end up in AEW anyway. And I don't think it's gonna necessarily come down to a money thing. I know that Tony Khan had buyer's remorse recently but it'd be insane to assume that there's zero interest on their part for Marty Scurll

At the end of Sunday's ROH TV taping, he said he was looking forward to his 2020 in ROH.

As long as you acknowledge ROH is a possibility I'll save the back and front lol.

[SirEdger]

I'm not saying you're wrong. Looks more and more like you're right. It just feels surreal to me, that's all. He had been such an intrical part of the Elite during their say in ROH/NJPW that I was convinced he would join them once he had the opportunity. Especially with everything that happened surrounding Joey Mercury and Kelly Klein. I would've expected him to stick around with ROH if there was some changes in management.

[Migs]

 

1 minute ago, SirEdger said:

I'm not saying you're wrong. Looks more and more like you're right. It just feels surreal to me, that's all. He had been such an intrical part of the Elite during their say in ROH/NJPW that I was convinced he would join them once he had the opportunity. Especially with everything that happened surrounding Joey Mercury and Kelly Klein. I would've expected him to stick around with ROH if there was some changes in management.

 

Yeah, I'd really love to understand his logic here. Is it simply that ROH is offering the biggest stack of cash? Is it creative control? The freedom to keep managing his own brand? Was there some rift in the group where he doesn't think AEW would be great for him creatively (or they're not making an offer at all)? ROH just had its biggest PPV in what looked like an empty arena. 

[C.S.]

It's not that I don't believe @rovert - I do - I just don't understand what Marty's motivation could possibly be for staying in ROH. The place is a dumpster fire that's never been less relevant, less buzzed about, less cool than it is now. PCO as Champion is a good sign, but that alone can't cure all that ails ROH. 

[SirEdger]

I think that's the general sentiment, historically, @rovert has been pretty accurate with that stuff but it goes beyond our comprehension as to why Marty wouldn't take the opportunity to test the market, now that his value is probably at its peak so far.

[Mad Dog]

From what I have read, he is treating RoH and New Japan like a package deal. So he's not choosing RoH so much as he is choosing Japan. 

[C.S.]

 

[Coffey]

6 minute time limits is an awful idea.