From Larry Goodman and Georgia Wrestling History
This was the fourth episode of NWA ME to air since the arrival of Bill Behrens as Executive Producer. Things got better right away and have improved each week. It’s been a long time coming. After Jeff Daniels departed as booker this summer, the first few “New Era” episodes had some life in them. Largely written by Jason James and prominently featuring Shawn Shultz, they were uneven as hell but made for compelling viewing at times. To say NWA ME TV has been floundering since then would be putting it mildly. In between the occasional flashes of decency (pieces of the Will Owens and White Tiger stuff), there were long stretches of horribleness. Some if it was comically bad. Some bordered on being unwatchable. The show was basically on life support as an internet-only product when Mike Porter brought Behrens on board. It’s still internet only, but the booking, the formatting of the television and most importantly, the talent roster, are all greatly improved. The production values not so much. At least they got the audio dialed in this week. I don’t mind the single camera most of the time, because it stays active. This was the third episode to air with Behrens at the helm, and it was the best one so far. The first two episodes were solid by the number stuff. The wrestling was much better. The thing that distinguished the current episode was the zany, unpredictable quality that has in times past, made NWA ME so much fun to watch AND the wrestling was pretty good, too. Hayme and Rockwell opened the show with a very strong match, playing off the angle that closed the previous episode. I liked cutting to the clip from last week explaining why Rockwell was so badly wanting to kick Hayme’s ass. The Mega Rumble, of course, is a Behrens specialty. Se7en is green for sure, but he’s a monster by NWA ME standards and was booked accordingly. You could see the thing with Hyatt coming a mile away, but that’s fine. He's an appealing buffoon. I liked it for the zaniness factor. The centerpiece of this show was the interview with Rudy Charles. I thought the “aliens” vignette with Posey on last week pretty far out there. Who would expect to hear Art mentioned on a pro wrestling show? This one was completely off the chain. Charles riffing on Bogart as Captain Queeg blew my mind. I thought Aaron Camaro did a nice job here as well. The main event provided solid storyline development. The titles are being made to feel important. Rockwell seems bound and determined to get Posey’s junior title. Owens is none too keen on defending the heavyweight title, and Boyce now has a claim there. Meanwhile, Bishop has set his sights on Boyce’s title. They’ve got some over babyfaces in Rockwell, Boyce, and Tiger. The building blocks are there. It will be interesting to see what Behrens does with them.
To read the entire review please check out
Georgia Wrestling History
