"Show Time Power Hour" TV Taping Number 76 (Week 151)

William Regal: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the finest sixty minutes of pro wrestling in the world, the Show Time Power Hour! I'm your host, William Regal. As you can see, I'm not at our customary commentary booth in the arena. Today, I will be coming to you from our studio with a rundown on this weekend's Mid-Atlantic Championship tournament that took place in Tampa, Florida. We will be showing highlights of all seven matches that took place this past Saturday. Because Commissioner Ric Flair only signed superstars to the tournament who had never been Mid-Atlantic Champion, we knew ahead of time that a first-time champion would be crowned, which only added to the excitement in the building. So, without further adieu, let's get to the highlights!"

*All match footage aired is joined in progress for the sake of time

(Commentary between matches will be suspended for the sake of space and brevity)

Match One ~ 1 CM Punk with AJ Lee vs. 8 Donovan Dijak with Truth Martini and "Hoopla Hotties" (Shotzi Blakkhartt, Zahra, & Dana Adiva)

The large and athletic Dijak looked good through the mid-part of the match, but Punk eventually turned the tide and reversed "Feast Your Eyes" into "Go to Sleep" for the pin.

Winner = CM Punk by pinfall in 10:13

Match Two ~ 4 Jay Lethal with Truth Martini and "Hoopla Hotties" (Shotzi Blakkhartt, Zahra, & Dana Adiva) vs. 5 "Olympic Hero" Kurt Angle with Shelton Benjamin

"House of Truth" was represented in two consecutive matches, as Lethal took on hall of famer Angle in an instant classic. Angle controlled the pace, but Lethal's counter wrestling was on point. Angle had his "Ankle Lock" submission cinched in, but Lethal was able to reverse into a "Small Package" for the surprise pinfall.

Winner = Jay Lethal by pinfall in 11:29

Match Three ~ 2 "Eater of Worlds" Bray Wyatt with "Spirit of Abigail" Maria Kanellis vs. 7 Deacon Sinn with Sister Karen

The real story in this match was the interaction of Kanellis and Karen, who remained intrigued by one another's existence for the entire battle. Maria cornered Karen and grabbed her by the hair, which caused Sinn to lose focus on the match. As he went to save his lady, he was spun around by Wyatt and dropped with "Sister Abigail."

Winner = Bray Wyatt by pinfall in 9:06

Match Four ~ 3 "The Monster Among Men" Braun Strowman with "The Goddess" Alexa Bliss vs. 6 "Broken Savior" Jon Skyler with "Broken Soldier" Gunner

Gunner tried to intimidate Bliss on the outside. He backed her down and looked to put her in her place before being plowed by a runaway Strowman, who sprinted all the way around ringside to level Gunner. In the ring, Skyler tried to chop down the Redwood-like Braun, to no avail. He essentially was shoved off at every turn. Braun ended it mercifully with his "Running Powerslam."

Winner = Braun Strowman by pinfall in 6:37

Match Five ~ 1 CM Punk with AJ Lee vs. 4 Jay Lethal with Truth Martini and "Hoopla Hotties" (Shotzi Blakkhartt, Zahra, & Dana Adiva)

This was a high octane slugfest that captivated fans. I'd call it the match of the night for sure. This is the first time the two have met since their ROH World Title match of 2005. It's also notable that Lethal trained Punk's wife AJ for the ring several years ago. So, there certainly was a personal element in play. Both men unleashed all their standard offense and they wowed the fans with their counters. It was nip-and-tuck the entire way, with the tide turning several times. Jay hit "Lethal Injection," but could not immediately cover due to exhaustion. when he finally did cover, Punk got a shoulder up at 2.9. Punk went for "GTS," but Lethal blocked it. He went for another "Lethal Injection," but took a vicious knee to the back of the head that led to "GTS."

Winner = CM Punk by pinfall in 14:20

Match Six ~ 2 "Eater of Worlds" Bray Wyatt with "Spirit of Abigail" Maria Kanellis vs. 3 "The Monster Among Men" Braun Strowman with "The Goddess" Alexa Bliss

This was a fight, pure and simple. The feud continued as the former member of "The New Face of Fear" took on his former leader. Wyatt actually had the advantage in this match for the most part. Strowman is so strong and so tough, though, he can't be kept down. Braun came raging back. He reversed out of a "Sister Abigail" attempt to hit a barbaric "Clothesline" that turned Bray inside out. Strowman then pounced on Wyatt with the "Running Powerslam."

Winner = Braun Strowman by pinfall in 13:46

The fans enjoyed a fifteen-minute intermission at the live event that was emceed by Samantha Ponder and Barbie Blank.

Match Seven ~ 1 CM Punk with AJ Lee vs. 3 "The Monster Among Men" Braun Strowman with "The Goddess" Alexa Bliss

The fatigue of having wrestled twice before was setting in on both men. Strowman was the aggressor and seemed to take on an even meaner persona. It's hard to tell if that was his sense of urgency or if the devious Bliss gave him a "pep talk" before the match. Regardless, Braun was even darker than normal. Punk bore the brunt of it, not able to mount much of an offense. On the outside, Bliss constantly hurled instructions to Braun and insults to Punk. Lee heard all she could stand and confronted Bliss, eventually knocking her into the barricade with a huge shove. Bliss crumpled to the floor, which got the attention of Braun. He immediately left the match to attend to his partner. Punk was out of it in the ring as the referee began his count. Braun seemed oblivious to this fact, with only concern etched on his face for the wellbeing of Bliss. The referee was screaming his ascending count at Braun to try and jog his memory that a match was in session, to no avail.

Winner and NEW NWA: Show Time Mid-Atlantic Champion = CM Punk by countout in 15:38

AJ Lee grabbed the championship and celebrated. Strowman realized what happened after the bell had rung. He jumped into the ring. Lee scurried to the outside as Braun grabbed Punk and planted him with a "Running Powerslam" before dropping the title belt across his chest.

Regal: "There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. CM punk is the new Mid-Atlantic Champion for the first time in his illustrious career. We'll be back next Tuesday on TBS with him and all the superstars of NWA: Show Time on the next episode of the Show Time Power Hour! And, be sure to tune into Femme Fatales this Thursday on TNT for the continuation of the 'Show Time Femme Fatales Mixed Match Challenge,' as both of this week's matches will take place! For NWA: Show Time, I'm William Regal, saying ta ta for now!

Mid-Atlantic Championship Tourney 2018.pdf (218.37 KB)

There is no NWA: Show Time After Buzz with Cathy Kelley this week, as she is on assignment in Japan commentating for the Femme Fatales/Stardom tour.