I enjoyed this episode a lot. Shooter Stevens, James Storm, Marty, Aldis and Drake going over was all great stuff. Only thing I really didn't like was jobber 3 way and that obnoxious character.

I like the stable even though I don't think Aldis really needed it. I was also really enjoying his take on being a tweener, he pulled it off in a way not many could. I don't mind him going full heel because he's done it before and is very good but there was just something really unique about his character in season 1.

Weird thing is that he wrestled in a shirt in TNA, not sure why he doesn't now. Hides his gut plus gets his shirt on TV longer.

One more titbit about the stable, Latimer was Bram in TNA and had a very lengthy partnership turned feud angle with Aldis so there's a fair bit of history between the two.

edit: Also yeah, Bennett has been great in the role.

This week's ep is being uploaded Monday night, same time.

Awesome. Probably same thing next week. That should at least mitigate the viewership loss during the holidays.

Kind of a down episode this week, but not without its enjoyable points.

*I recognized Elijah Burke, but I'm not really familiar with him. While he seemed very capable on the stick, I can't say I really enjoyed his promo or his commentary.

*Starks vs. Kingston was whatever. I wish I liked Ricky Starks as much as Billy Corgan clearly does.

*That whole Royce Isaacs/May Valentine business was weird. It felt like they reduced him to a comedy heel right after solidifying him as part of the company's serious top heel stable. Thumbs down.

*That said, James Storm was very enjoyable as the opponent for Isaacs. Enjoying Storm as the newly minted babyface.

*Eli Drake promo was the highlight of the show. Loved it. (Kind of extremely afraid that "yeah" could become the NWA crowd's "what?" though.)

*Kind of lining up with what Kabong said last week, I think I liked the tweener Aldis better than this full heel Aldis. His promo with his group was fine, but was probably the least I've been into an Aldis promo yet.

*6-woman tag was fun. Thunder Rosa continues to be one of the best parts of every show she's on. Melina stopping her from asking for a title match is a good development that I'm sure will be paid off properly before long.

*Tim Storm continues to be great on the mic. Certainly looking forward to Storm vs. Aldis next week.

*Question Mark vs. Colt Cabana didn't do anything for me. Glad Question Mark went over though.

I was also disappointed in the Starks/Kingston outcome, just because Kingston seems like a perfect face to go up against Aldis' heel character at some point but it seems like he's not going to get much of a push here.

The Isaacs thing was weird. I guess it's at least an effort to give him more of a character but he doesn't seem like a natural promo like others in the company and wasn't that good on the mic.

I'm liking Storm's chances to win this TV tournament. He'll make that title feel important which feels necessary when it feels like an excess belt. Scurll likely provides some assistance next week.

Overall, agree that this show is always pretty fun to watch and breezes by for me, but nothing here felt all that important.

This week's ep drops a day late.

I just now am watching some of these shows and I like the feel and ambiance... Obv harkening back to the old school Studio Wrestling days with Flair promos etc. Cant put my finger on why I like it just yet, since i'm not particularly interested in any characters/feuds, but Im a fan so far...

Wasn't the best episode but still enjoying the ride.

Some more TNA backstory if it helps:

*Elijah Burke was called "The Pope" in TNA and got a pretty substantial push. At the time he was getting a lot of praise for his promos but I was never a fan and his matches were always very average. After some time off he returned to TNA in commentary, was absolutely awful and that's what led to the consensus that he was terrible on the mic. I don't want to go full hater on him but I'm not really excited to see him on the show.

*Oh have I got bad news for you. Eli Drake has the opposite opinion of you and actively tried to put over "yeah" like "what" in TNA to the point where he actually had a big red button he would press during promos that said "yeah." He would call people dummy and his catchphrase was "when I say dummy, you say yeah." It caught on pretty quick and got him over. People would call him Stone Cold Eli Drake as a dig for it though.

*Yeah I didn't enjoy that heel promo very much at all. Aldis is all good but it looks like we're just getting a generic heel stable that are bad guys just because they're bad guys.

Ep. 12:

*Opening promo segment with Tim Storm and Nick Aldis was very good. This was a better heel promo from Aldis than last week's.

*Did Joe Galli just say he has trained in jujitsu? You wouldn't figure that. The Stevens submission match was whatever, but I'm definitely in for Stevens vs. Murdoch; their face-off after the match was great.

*Oh, we're right into it after the break. Stu Bennett having to scramble back from "Trevor Murdoch has a thick everything" was hilarious. Glad to see Murdoch go over.

*Not sure what to make of that quick Pope/Kingston/Homicide segment. Trying to drive a wedge in the team, I guess? Feels like they would do well to keep that team together, or at least that alliance together. They're going to need a strong babyface team to move past Rock 'n Roll at some point.

*Wasn't a big fan of the Drake-Cabana stuff. I do prefer Cabana when he's less of a goofball though.

*Obviously they're setting up Marti Belle to turn face again soon. Face --> heel --> face within the course of just a few months always seems like a bad idea.

*Man, ****ing bullshit that NWA pulled this bait-and-switch on the Storm-Aldis match. I could stomach it if this had been set up and backed out within the same episode, but it's garbage to advertise your episode around this match's hype and then not deliver the match.

...

Up until the end, I would have complimented this as a good episode, but that stunt to close the show out makes me give the whole thing a thumbs down. Hope they're not going to make a habit out of that type of thing.

I pretty much echo your thoughts on this. I'm also a little puzzled that we haven't seen Marty after his big debut. I assume he was there for the tapings and it felt like given the way he was presented they would make a point of showcasing him as a top guy right away.

I'm curious what that NWA Girl Powerrr thing will be. A women's show would probably not be very good but it would be a good way to develop some talent and there are a lot of people who are enthusiastic about women's wrestling.

Yeah, I share the puzzlement about Marty. It doesn't seem like Scurll-Aldis is the planned ME for Hard Times, and the whole top program has been all about Aldis-Storm since the last PPV. But now Storm is lined up to be in the tourney on that show. Best guess is that Aldis does something underhanded to cost Storm his spot and then they end up with their own separate match.

The discount price for this next one is down to $15, but next week's will be the last episode before that price lapses. I'm dubious that I buy this one, but I guess we'll see.

Ep. 13:

*Tim Storm/Kamille stuff was good. It does seem that we're inevitably headed for the nullification of the stipulation from the premiere episode of Powerrr, with Storm getting a title shot. Seems like this has to be headed for Tim vs. Aldis at the PPV.

*Dawson vs. Dawson in the TV Title Tournament is okay I guess, but it just feels like being cute for the sake of it.

*I still don't care about Zicky Dice.

*Aron Stevens/Question Mark promo was fine, but any serious movement toward Stevens chasing every belt would be a dumb storyline.

*Thunder Rosa vs. ODB was a lot of fun. Still waiting on the first Thunder Rosa segment I don't enjoy. They still need to execute that face turn sooner rather than later.

*Last week was still a really cheap way to get Nick Aldis heat, but it's fun to see a heel get so much hate from the live crowd. Thankfully that weak heel promo from a couple of weeks ago seems to have been an anomaly, and Aldis is back to consistently strong promo work.

*Please stop pushing Ricky Starks as some kind of wunderkind. The Aldis vs. Starks match was well done, but I'd sooner have seen the rub go elsewhere.

*...so yeah, all of Strictly Business is just going to be skipping matches as a heat-drawing device? Can we not? Anyway, I wasn't sure why I was supposed to care about this tag team match. They (correctly) haven't made Anderson seem like real competition for Drake, and last week's confrontation didn't justify spending another main event on Colt Cabana. I did find the ending interesting though; maybe they can make me interested in Anderson yet.

*And the third man is...57-year-old Scott Steiner. Sigh. For the second straight week, they finish the show in a way that completely dispirits me, and this one is actually significantly more disappointing. The Big Poppa Pump character is one of the most grating ones to ever gain popularity. Shame on everyone who ever liked blond Scott Steiner.

Well, not going to pre-order the PPV at the discounted price now, which makes it pretty unlikely I'll buy it at all. They're obviously doing some things right, but my optimism is taking a hit.

I really liked the Thunder Rosa/ODB match. While not everything is perfect with the promotion, matches like that combined with the vibe of the show keep me interested.

The Steiner Brothers were a great tag team but individually Scott Steiner was so vanilla before he became Big Poppa Pump. I can't understand how anyone can't love the Big Booty Daddy. When Scott Steiner comes to town, all the hoochies come around.

I'm not opposed to Steiner for a short run since he has some name recognition. I feel like he should have been a face since Steiner Math is such an endearing meme now. I'm fine letting him cut some goofy promos as long as he doesn't become too much of a focal point.

I really enjoyed the women's match and Aldis' interactions with the crowd. It felt like he was having a ton of fun and was close to cracking up most of the time.

This was also the best Ricky Starks has been on NWA, though in kayfabe it felt like Aldis would have taken the extra five minutes because he wanted to deliver more punishment and kick his ass some more because he was so confident. They sort of explained it with his promo but meh.

The name recognition thing is true, though it seems like most of the value there is getting more eyes on the product, and - fully recognizing that he was popular - I guess I have a hard time getting my mind around the notion that very many people would try the NWA out because this ****ing guy shows up. The heavy Rock 'n Roll Express focus already has me all skittish about the place becoming an old-timer's club too. Aldis mocks Ricky Morton as a carny just looking for another payday, and then he brings in Scott Steiner as an ally.

I didn't mind Aldis declining the five minutes or the immediate singles match with Morton. It just felt like more effective trolling of the crowd to act like he was considering the question and then to go with a flat "no."

I have a history of enjoying that sort of thing though...

Steiner hasn't been able to move in like 20 years and it's only getting worse, which is a shame because if you combine his peak charisma and in ring periods, he could have been one of the best of all time.

But I'll be damned if I don't admit it still gets my immediate attention any time he grabs a mic. (That said, I still haven't seen this yet.)

Ep. 14:

*Ricky Morton still needs to feed his kids? Is there a failure to launch, or is he fathering children while on the verge of getting his AARP card?

*Meh to the Ricky Starks-Zicky Dice face-off promo.

*Dawson vs. Dawson wasn't bad, but it suffered from the fact that these two really never have gotten distinguished from each other as characters, so I'm not sure how anyone could actually get invested in which one was going to win. Incidentally: the spot where they chased each other into corners one after another was overly choreographed and hacky.

*That "Hard Times" song they used to run a PPV hype video is a bust. Please don't play that again.

*In an unlikely turn of events...I'm actually into this Anderson/Cabana story? I'll be duly impressed if they can keep me hooked.

*Ashley Vox is just an absolute charisma vacuum. Get anyone else into that white-meat babyface underdog role in the NWA women's division. Thankfully Melina put in a strong in-ring outing just as I was giving up on her, so I did enjoy this match. They made her look strong enough that it made it less of a stretch for Thunder Rosa to be following her. The post-match promo work was...less strong.

*I...don't know Flip Gordon. That's our Aldis PPV match? Yeah, increasingly doubtful that I'll buy this PPV. Isn't the newly minted heel champion going to be the de facto babyface in an NWA arena against an outsider from ROH?

*Don't really know what this Kingston/Homicide/Pope story is, but I'm not really taken with it. Tag match against Stevens and the Question Mark was pretty dull.

*"Scott Steiner really hasn't lost a step at all." You don't need to lie to the people to put a match over, Joe Galli. Call him a crafty veteran whose experience gives him an edge on the competition; don't pretend that he's anything but a stiff now. I suppose they had to pay off that (also pretty dull) main event with a babyface win so that we could do Aldis vs. Morton. I'm actually strangely looking forward to that match.

Pretty underwhelming episode, even if nothing managed to actively agitate me like the ends of the last two episodes.

Their approach to building PPVs sure is weird. Giving the biggest match to someone who hasn't even been on the show is loose and in kayfabe some of the wrestlers should be pissed off about it. This PPV doesn't really feel like it needs to exist at all and is probably a rushed money grab. Granted, they need money to keep functioning, so I can't entirely blame them.

I like Ashley Vox and think she's doing fine for someone who has had no promo time. I'm less sold on Melina in the ring. That said, she is a name and I could actually see them moving the title to her and then having Rosa win it from her with a face turn.

Haven't had much time to post lately but caught up on the recent eps and although I still find it easier to watch than a lot of other wrestling, I don't like a lot of what they've done recently.

Steiner was bad but I think(hope) it was a short stint and he isn't on the roster.

My two biggest gripes though -

I've never liked the Pope character at all and really don't like him taking mic time away from Eddie Kingston. Hope this story doesn't last long, I feel like they've kind of dropped the ball a bit with Kingston and Homicide. We're 14 eps in, we've barely seen them do anything and now that they are doing something it's with ****ing Pope.

My biggest worry is the ROH relationship. Marty Scurll signed a huge money contract with ROH and is also now their head booker. It's such a weird deal but anyway there's clearly a relationship going on with Aldis invading ROH TV and now Flip Gordon getting a spot on an NWA PPV. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of Flip Gordon because he's as average as they come. He had an angle with Cody and Brandi in ROH about getting booked and that's basically as popular as he ever got. I'm kind of pissed he's getting that spot. Maybe this relationship is a good thing and will get more eyes on them but a small part of what I liked about NWA was that it felt like it's own "world" and a bunch of ROH guys showing up and then leaving kind of hurts that a bit for me. They're also giving 4 spots in the TV title tournament to people not on the roster and I'd honestly rather nostalgia acts taking those spots over ROH guys. I know that's weird but I'm weird.

Edit: That was a negative post but I'm still enjoying the show. The women's angle seems like it's hopefully leading to Thunder Rosa to the moon and I can't wait.

Ep. 15:

*Quite the greasefire of a promo from Robert Gibson. At least it was short.

*Thunder Rosa match was fine, but less entertaining than her other stuff. Brief attempt at a post-match promo was awkward and I didn't see the point.

*Like Kabong, I don't like the interpromotional stuff, and again I find it very strange that they decided to make him go full heel when this relationship was probably already in place. It would have made much more sense to keep him at least in that tweener role when he's inevitably going to be the NWA face when he's repping NWA in interpromotional stuff.

*Royce Isaacs dropping that bomb - that he wasn't getting any - was a funny twist. I like it.

*Murdoch-Latimer was...interesting. I don't mind that type of story, but it feels like a face/heel flip. I dug the Latimer onslaught, but I don't love Murdoch ever winning a match that way.

*I dug the Kay-Melina face-to-face promo. As Stu Bennett quickly pointed out, really weird dynamic with Kay looking to earn the opportunity to defend her own title at the PPV. Kay vs. Belle was a lot of fun, albeit with an underwhelming ending.

*Nice video package for Morton-Aldis. Like I said last week: even though I'm not into the heavy R'n'R fixation, I'm pretty bullish on how good that match can be tonight.

*What in the blue **** was that interminable Question Mark/Stevens segment? All to pay off with Ricky Starks? Awful.

*Gauntlet match was mostly boring until the end. Ending was fine I guess, though it was pretty formulaic and I guess I hoped for a more interesting payoff to the Cabana/Anderson stuff.

*Pretty fun promo with James Storm and Eli Drake.

*Main event was fine. I got my hopes up and it didn't necessarily live up to what I hoped.

Probably a slightly above-average episode? Card for Friday doesn't look half-bad. Thunder Rosa getting a title match would be more of a selling point for me if it was actually a payoff, but I'm just assuming that Melina costs her and continues the slow burn toward an eventual face turn. I'm still not planning on buying, though they probably accomplished something with this episode by getting me thinking harder about it.

Episode was too long imo, and I hope they don't make a habit of running over an hour since I think brevity is part of the appeal here. I didn't get that into the show, but I think it's because I have no nostalgia for Ricky Morton so it just feels like they're running back a much worse version of the Tim Storm story. And Aldis was obviously never losing there.

Corgan coming out for commentary and being an on-air authority figure of sorts was interesting. I think the use of McMahons on WWE has made everyone leery of having any authority figures involved in a show but I think they can add a lot if things don't get too ridiculous (like William Regal in NXT).

I'm out for the PPV -- I have hockey tickets on Friday and nothing on the card seems like it'll be that worth checking out later except maybe the women's match. I share the thread's disinterest in the ROH stuff. I love this weekly format but they need to tighten up the storytelling and really build some momentum for the PPVs instead of having matches thrown together like Stevens vs. Steiner, which won't exactly be a mat clinic that can work with no context.

They label these go-home shows as season finales, and they were advertising the supersized episode on Twitter. I don’t think that length will become a weekly norm.

Out for the PPV also. Made other plans on Friday. I hope I really want to buy the next PPV.