{"id":91825,"date":"2020-01-15T16:58:46","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T22:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=91825"},"modified":"2020-01-15T17:05:25","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T23:05:25","slug":"nwa-power-hits-misses-1-14-scott-steiner-wild-cards-vs-robert-gibson-eli-drake-tim-storm-colt-cabana-and-ken-anderson-outlaws-inc-vs-aron-stevens-question-mark-dawson-vs-dawson-psyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/01\/15\/nwa-power-hits-misses-1-14-scott-steiner-wild-cards-vs-robert-gibson-eli-drake-tim-storm-colt-cabana-and-ken-anderson-outlaws-inc-vs-aron-stevens-question-mark-dawson-vs-dawson-psyc\/","title":{"rendered":"NWA POWER HITS &#038; MISSES 1\/14: Scott Steiner &#038; Wild Cards vs. Robert Gibson &#038; Eli Drake &#038; Storm, Cabana and Anderson, Outlaws Inc. vs. Aron Stevens &#038; Question Mark, Psychologist Austin Idol"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1852740153\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><strong>OPENING MONTAGE &#8211; HIT:<\/strong> This is old hat by now but Lagana and company really know how to set the tone for every week and create great montages. This was all about the fallout of Aldis\u2019s draw with Starks, Ricky Morton demanding five minutes with the champ, and then set-up for tonight\u2019s main event, Team Aldis vs Team Morton. Oh and I can\u2019t forget the clip of Aldis crashing ROH. Just good stuff at the top, week in and week out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ROCK &amp; ROLL EXPRESS W\/ MARQUEZ &#8211; HIT (FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS): <\/strong>LOYALTY IS A HOAX! Still have no idea what that means but everyone\u2019s favorite QAnon shirt wearing grandpa, Robert Gibson, comes out with Ricky Morton and thankfully lets Ricky do most of the talking. I wish I had more notes here, but I was OBSESSED with watching Robert as he was struggling with the Tag Team title. He was trying to stand it up on its own but it was upside down and wouldn\u2019t, so he would leisurely hold it up. He then just picked it up and held it for a second before then trying to put it back on the table right-side-up, but it still wouldn\u2019t quite stand on its own. It was so distracting, Dave Marquez would often look out the corner of his eye behind him watching Robert Gibson absolutely struggle with physics and reality. Maybe reality is a hoax? Physics is definitely a hoax.<\/p>\n<p>As far as the promo goes, Ricky wants us to believe he still gets up before the crack of dawn and puts in long hours at work somewhere to feed his kids. Dude, you\u2019re in your 60s. You\u2019re not punching a clock at the local Krystal and you have no kids to feed. Stop. Get some help. Luckily, Gibson was there to steal the scene.<\/p>\n<p><strong>HARD TIMES TV TITLE BRACKET RELEASED &#8211; HIT (BUT ONLY ON PRINCIPLE):<\/strong> So finally, the powers that be at NWA must\u2019ve listened to Kelly Wells\u2019 gripes with the lack of a bracket because we got one this week. Tim Storm vs a Dawson to be decided in this episode; Ricky Starks vs. open slot (legend or ROH\/indy person); Zicky Dice vs. open slot; Question Mark vs. Latimer\/Murdoch winner (next week\u2019s TV Title match). It\u2019s hard to predict much from this with the open slots but all roads lead to Storm-Latimer, or so they\u2019d want us to think. I\u2019d still prefer Murdoch-Starks rematch for the belt.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZICKY DICE AND RICKY STARKS W\/ MARQUEZ &#8211; COMEDIC HIT:<\/strong> I never was one for Rock promos because I thought he tried too hard to be quick with quips and barbs that were sophomoric at best, but Ricky Starks tried his hand at the same with Zicky Dice and it worked. He called Zicky a \u201cbroke ass Guy Fieri\u201d and because of course Zicky is stuck in 1985, he said he didn\u2019t get that reference! Commit to the bit, Zicky! Zicky accused Ricky of not doing enough to get in the tournament and Rick channelled his inner Rock saying he did a lot to get here, including Zicky\u2019s mother and sent her back to Flavortown! That\u2019s so juvenile&#8211;but goddamn it\u2019s funny and Zicky sold it too. Zicky eventually told Stroke Daddy the only thing he\u2019s going to stroke are Zicky\u2019s curls and that was that. It was quick, it was funny, it had Zicky Dice who we all love, and it had good one-liners.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ZANE DAWSON VS. DAVE DAWSON, TV TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH &#8211; MISS:<\/strong> This match hurt my eyes to watch, not because it was bad, but because it was prodding and slow. The story was Zane\u2019s hand injury and how will the brothers handle fighting each other. Eventually they just threw caution to the wind and fought each other; a lot of forearms and chops and punches, but I don\u2019t recall a single wrestling move or hold in this match. It was the immovable object vs. the immovable object. Does that sound like something you want to watch?? The finish came with Dave attacking his own brother\u2019s hand but Zane hits Dave with his wrapped-but-they-called-it-casted hand and that sealed the pinfall for Zane. Great. Whatever. Commentary set this up as will Zane be cleared for the tournament and if they\u2019re asking, I\u2019m going to spoil it&#8211;no. No, Tim Storm will get a pass or Nick Aldis will pull a fast one and get someone in that spot to continue Tim\u2019s babyface momentum.<\/p>\n<p><strong>KEN ANDERSON &amp; COLT CABANA SEPARATE BACKSTAGE SEGMENT &#8211; MISS:<\/strong> I\u2019m all for investing time into other stories that aren\u2019t Nick Aldis vs Tim Storm and Ricky Morton, but this isn\u2019t the story I want time invested in. So let\u2019s quickly recap and move on. Ken isn\u2019t bitter; Colt blames Ken for last week\u2019s lost but still believes in the team; Ken isn\u2019t bitter; Colt thinks maybe it\u2019s a lack of communication but believes in the team and can get Ken\u2019s head in the right space; Ken thinks his head is in the game; also, Ken isn\u2019t bitter. I just don\u2019t care about Ken Anderson and any story he\u2019s involved in. This won\u2019t propel neither wrestler up the card and really, it seems to be dragging Colt down to me because he was a National Champion just weeks ago and now he\u2019s sandbagged with the bloated Ken Anderson. Hate to see it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ASHLEY VOX VS. MELINA &#8211; NEUTRAL:<\/strong> Melina isn\u2019t ready for the ring at all. She\u2019s protected in tag matches where she can mix it up and get out quickly but this just exposed how terrible she is as a wrestler. A spot where Ashley Vox went for a leg scissors in the corner suggested that Melina was supposed to turn and flip into a bump but instead Melina just fell like a sack of potatoes. My words aren\u2019t doing it justice because it was a trainwreck.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2809722721\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Vox is really good at fighting from underneath and I can\u2019t wait to see her rise up the card. She has great facials, can sell her ass off, and fires up quite well. She can suck you into even the false hope spots because you want to see her get back into a fight. She\u2019s got all the trappings of star so far. Melina, however, thank god she\u2019s already a legend because she can\u2019t do a single wrestling move besides forearm smashes and stomps. Yeesh.<\/p>\n<p>Melina won the match and called out Allysin Kay but for next week, but Kay was ready to go now. Unfortunately, Melina and the braintrust are dragging this out. I hope they get Melina some more training because Allysin Kay can\u2019t carry Melina to three stars.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALDIS INVADES ROH &#8211; MISS:<\/strong> I get it. They\u2019re trying to stir up attention by mixing it up with ROH and bringing what\u2019s left of their eyes over to Power but this was just weird. Nick Aldis is backstage with his own cameraperson. Okay? How? Strictly Business invades Ian and Caprice on commentary for minutes without recourse. Okay? Why? How? Kamille, though, is still the master of saying so much without saying anything as she was belittling Caprice Coleman with just a smirk and batted eyelashes. The worst part of all of this is it leads to Nick Aldis, the NWA World\u2019s Heavyweight Champion, issuing a challenge to\u2026 Flip Gordon. Wah, wah-wah-wah, waaaaah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OUTLAW INC VS. SHOOTER STEVENS &amp; QUESTION MARK &#8211; HIT(?):<\/strong> This was a hard segment to grade. Pope does Pope things at the podium and declares he\u2019s not managing Kingston and Homicide but he\u2019s trying to get them their shot at the titles. Homicide is cleared to wrestle but is clearly selling the injured shoulder and putting doubt on his ability. Pope calls James Storm James Storms, I reckon for comedy? I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t get Pope, and if you\u2019re going to have Kingston near a live mic? Let. Him. Talk. So far a miss.<\/p>\n<p>The good from this match were the little things: Shooter and Question Mark begin with a bow; Stevens balancing silly stuff like crane elbow with seriousness in attacking the injured shoulder of Homicide; Stu Bennett firmly in the Shooter Stevens fan club. The bad was minimal at least. There was a spot early where Stevens went hammy and launched himself back and out of the ring to avoid a fight with Homicide and I just rolled my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Shooter went over after Question Mark cut off Eddie Kingston with a Mongrovian Spike and when Homicide looked for his finisher, the injured shoulder wouldn\u2019t allow it. Question Mark came through with a Mongrovian Spike for Homicide too and Stevens got the pinfall.<\/p>\n<p>Decent match but not much to really say about it in ring, but I\u2019m curious as to where this goes for Outlaw Inc. Homicide stated earlier that the team has fallen from the title picture and that\u2019s clearly true but when it comes to tag teams, they\u2019re only put together to break them up. If this is just leading to a Kingston heel turn, that seems like a failure. Eddie Kingston is a solid babyface, and though I think he\u2019d be a great heel, NWA benefits from a rough-around-the-edges hero. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll break up anytime soon, but this is something to keep an eye on as the story is told.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AUSTIN IDOL, PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING PSYCHOLOGIST &#8211; HIT:<\/strong> Power loves these fake hotlines, I guess. Idol makes his return after his failed date rape advert from months ago. Now he\u2019s selling himself as a wrestling shrink that can get you heat again, and heat gets you paid! Call 555-GET-HEAT NOW and take two fists and call him in the morning! Just wonderfully silly and cheesy. I love these spots.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1804544156\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong>STRICTLY BUSINESS W\/ MARQUEZ &#8211; LOLHIT:<\/strong> The track jacket fearsome foursome, well threesome plus 70s Porn, come out before the main event and provided us the moment we knew we wanted&#8211;Scott Steiner with a microphone.<\/p>\n<p>Steiner was his usual barely intelligible self, bumbling and stumbling along half-chewed words. He praised Aldis as a guy he knew would always be champion. We also found out Steiner wakes up looking to punch somebody, especially the [EXPLETIVE] and rednecks in the audience. WHAT WAS THE BLEEPED WORD?! I must know! Scotty broke out the should-be-patented \u201cFAAAT ASSES!\u201d for the crowd and also let us know he\u2019s got the last original NWA Tag Team Tile still and that\u2019s because he and Rick are the best of all times [sic]! This was like watching the old black and white footage of the fat, shirtless, white guy take the cannonball right into the stomach as it was just puzzling as to why do I need this but yet I can\u2019t look away. The real question is what part of Steiner\u2019s promo are still on the cutting room floor?<\/p>\n<p><strong>WILD CARDS &amp; STEINER VS. GIBSON &amp; DRAKE &amp; TIM STORM &#8211; 50.1% HIT:<\/strong> Yeah, I make up my own specific hit levels, but I do it for you, reader. I do it so you know all hits aren\u2019t the same. I created this kind of hit weeks ago when I gave something a 50.5% hit. The idea behind this is everything from 0-49.9% is a miss and everything from 50.1 to 100% is a hit, leaving 50% as neutral. This whole thing just did enough to escape neutral.<\/p>\n<p>We didn\u2019t find out Gibson\u2019s teammates until right before the match as first Eli Drake came out and then Tim Storm. I was expecting Scurll since we haven\u2019t seen him since Into the Fire and we already saw Aldis crashing ROH.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Steiner is still abysmal in ring, but good thing it was somewhat hidden by Latimer tagging in usually after Scott would come in and throw a couple forearms and then a belly to belly. His movements are so stiff and stilted like he\u2019s made from wood. Who would think it would be Robert Gibson that would be the spry and nimble on in 2020 between the two old guys?<\/p>\n<p>Eli Drake gets good marks for having explosive babyface offense, especially in the start of the match. Royce Isaacs gets a grade of \u201cmeh\u201d, but I think that\u2019s what they want? He\u2019s so chicken shit and scared of everything and everyone that I still think it detracts from Aldis and camp. Gibson was never left in the ring long and that\u2019s good because he\u2019s the hot tag and go-home partner, and well, he\u2019s old! He shouldn\u2019t be in there for long! Latimer was used mostly as a way to take advantage of ref distractions; he brings the actual heat to the heel Wild Cards.<\/p>\n<p>Nutshelling this match, babies had the early portion until the heels started using double and triple team tactics, and then the babyfaces won after Drake executed a DDT off a whip into the ropes, hot tagged Robert, pandemonium broke out and Eli Drake dropped Isaacs with a jawbreaker and Gibson got the pinfall.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think there\u2019s much to really say here as we knew the babyfaces would win to progress to Aldis-Morton, but the match wasn\u2019t anything to write home about on a show where matches normally aren\u2019t anything to write home about. I do think we\u2019re not far away from Strictly Business turning on Isaacs because he\u2019s such a wuss.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OVERALL &#8211; NEUTRAL:<\/strong> So our streak of hit episodes ended with three, as episode four of season two is just passable. The matches didn\u2019t really move stories much as we don\u2019t know what to expect from Melina and Kay yet, we still don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with Scurll, we don\u2019t know much about Hard Times beyond the TV Title Tournament and Aldis\/Gordon. If Hard Times weren\u2019t so soon, this episode just existing as some filler is fine, but we\u2019re only two weeks away. NWA has to really beef up some storylines to get us hot for that show.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>CATCH UP&#8230;\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/01\/08\/nwa-hits-misses-1-7-tim-storms-opening-promo-aldis-vs-ricky-starks-in-tv-title-tournament-colt-cabana-and-ken-anderson-thunder-rosa-vs-odb-shooter-stevens-question-mark-rock-roll-expr\/\">NWA HITS &amp; MISSES 1\/7: Tim Storm\u2019s opening promo, Aldis vs. Ricky Starks in TV Title tournament, Colt Cabana and Ken Anderson, Thunder Rosa vs. ODB, Shooter Stevens &amp; Question Mark, Rock &amp; Roll Express Hotline<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1732295861\"><div id=\"pwtor-1738640541\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>OPENING MONTAGE &#8211; HIT: This is old hat by now but Lagana and company really know how to set the tone for every week and create great montages. This was all about the fallout of <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/01\/15\/nwa-power-hits-misses-1-14-scott-steiner-wild-cards-vs-robert-gibson-eli-drake-tim-storm-colt-cabana-and-ken-anderson-outlaws-inc-vs-aron-stevens-question-mark-dawson-vs-dawson-psyc\/\" title=\"NWA POWER HITS &#038; MISSES 1\/14: Scott Steiner &#038; Wild Cards vs. Robert Gibson &#038; Eli Drake &#038; Storm, Cabana and Anderson, Outlaws Inc. vs. Aron Stevens &#038; Question Mark, Psychologist Austin Idol\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,28,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists_hitsandmisses","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/11\/KennedyKen_GG_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91825"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91831,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91825\/revisions\/91831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}