NWA Powerrr: Episode 2 Results, Grades, and Highlights

Trevor Murdoch vs. Ricky Starks

After an early stalemate and a chop exchange, Starks kneed Murdoch in the gut. As he hit the ropes to follow up, Murdoch recovered and nailed him with a big boot to the face. Murdoch then hit a Russian leg sweep and lifted himself to the second rope. He posed to the crowd for a second before attempting a leg drop, and which gave Starks time to avoid contact and deliver a basement kick to the side of Murdoch’s face, which scored him a near fall.

A neck breaker from Starks got him another near fall. He worked over Murdock a bit more before hitting a second-rope missile dropkick. He went for another pin, but Murdock put his foot on the bottom rope before the ref counted 3, much to Starks’ frustration.

Starks then attempted a rope-assisted tornado DDT, but Murdoch pushed him off mid-rotation. Murdoch then got into his comeback, throwing several right hands. He went for a clothesline, but Starks countered into a crucifix for the deciding pinfall.

Winner: Ricky Starks via pinfall

Rating: *1/2. This wasn’t particularly long nor was the action particularly memorable, but these two kept the audiences’ attention for the few minutes they got.

Marquez prepared to interview Starks after the match, but before he could, Murdoch showed up to congratulate Starks on the win and shake his hand. Starks put over Murdoch for his sportsmanship and grace in defeat before stating that he isn’t just about taking championships, but also taking “this” (presumably the promotion) up to another level that no one’s seen before.

Starks expressed his glee in receiving the platform he’s needed — or the platform that wasn’t in God’s plan just yet — before putting over his good looks, saying that “God didn’t have a lot of beauty left over when he was done with me”. He ended to promo with a pair of dope lines that I can’t do justice to in this recap so just watch the clip below. A great promo from Starks.

A “breaking news” bulletin flashed on the screen before cutting to Joe Galli who recapped what happened at the end of last week’s show. Galli vaguely put over his accolades as a journalist and said that he is only searching for the truth before noting that when you talk to people in positions of power, sometimes you need to ask tough questions.

He then plugged his pre-taped sit-down interview with Aldis for later in the show. He then said he would continue to ask the tough questions and would continue to be an impartial broadcaster. Refreshing to see a babyface announcer with some backbone.