On Friday, January 24th, 2020, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) brings its first pay per view of the decade with Hard Times live from the GPB Studios in Atlanta, GA beginning at 7:00 pm EST. This pay per view will focus around the NWA World Television Championship tournament along with the ongoing war between Nick Aldis and Marty Scurll. Here is what to expect from the pay per view.
Nick Aldis vs. Flip Gordon
After Nick Aldis’ successful title defense at Into The Fire, The Villain Marty Scurll made his surprising NWA debut. The feud between both has escalated, however, with Nick showing up at ROH and contributing to the loss of the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championships for Villain Enterprises.
BREAKING | A huge inter-promotional match signed for #NWAHardTimes @NWA vs. @RingOfHonor@RealNickAldis vs. @TheFlipGordon
Order #NWAHardTimes now – https://t.co/6xgGJc7jTU pic.twitter.com/f3fR1rVyot
— NWA (@nwa) January 14, 2020
The NWA champion tried showing up at Honor Reigns Supreme at the commentary table at the top of the show. However, Villain Enterprises intercepted and got rid of Aldis and his Strictly Business companions. Aldis challenged one of VE’s members in Flip Gordon soon after and Gordon accepted the challenge.
Will Aldis be able to get through the Mercenary this Friday night at Hard Times? Or will Flip stop the leader of Strictly Business and possibly find a kink in the armor of Aldis and be able to get through him? And what will Marty Scurll have up his sleeve this Friday?
NWA World Television Championship Tournament First Round Matches
Tim Storm vs. Ken Anderson
Of all the competitors in the tournament, is there anyone who has more to prove than Mama Storm’s baby boy? Tim Storm has had a story of ups and downs, but it’s his will and determination that sets him apart from everyone else. He has a roadblock ahead of him in Ken Anderson who just destroyed the friendship between him and Colt Cabana after defeating him for a shot to get in the NWA World Television title tournament and then assaulting Cabana after.
With Anderson’s change of face and more dangerous nature, will that be enough to overcome a motivated Tim Storm? Or will Storm be able to see past Anderson’s mischievous ways and defeat him to advance in the tournament at Hard Times?
Trevor Murdoch vs. The Question Mark
Trevor Murdoch defeated Tom Latimer to advance in the tournament. However, it seems that Murdoch may have an impossible task this coming Friday. He has to face the king of Mongrovian Martial Arts, the teacher of the 3rd Degree National Champion Aron Stevens, The Question Mark.
This match promises to be entertaining but the Question Mark comes with various styles of MMA as displayed on NWA Powerrr. Trevor Murdoch’s no-nonsense attitude and wrestling style could fare well against the Question Mark, but, could the Question Mark be holding back on other styles of Mongrovian Martial Arts? What could the Question Mark have in store for Trevor Murdoch?
Zicky Dice vs. Dan Maff
On the final episode of NWA Powerrr prior to Hard Times, there were some major announcements. Some matches and mystery names were shared that would be a part of the World Television Championship tournament. One of those names announced was Dan Maff, recently signed to ROH. Maff is scheduled to face the undefeated Zicky Dice. While Dice will tell you that he has an impressive record in NWA, to his opponent, none of that matters. Dan Maff is a beast and destruction driven and unless Zicky Dice keeps focusing on his match, it will end up being a short one. Who will advance to the second round of the tournament?
Matt Cross vs. Ricky Starks
In perhaps what could be the match of the tournament or even the match of the night, Matt Cross makes his NWA debut and faces the charismatic Ricky Starks. Starks has been on a roll as of late and recently got even with Aron Stevens. However, Starks has to focus on what’s in front of him and Matt Cross is no slouch.
Cross is one of the most athletic performers in the industry. A champion all over the world and winning title after title, Cross is no stranger to gold, but, this isn’t just any piece of gold, this, is the NWA World Television title. Who will go on to round 2 of the tournament?
NWA Women’s World Championship Match
Allysin Kay (c) vs. Thunder Rosa
Allysin Kay while on a roll as Women’s World Champion has had a major problem in the form of Thunder Rosa, Melina, and Marti Belle. It all started during the early episodes of NWA Powerrr when Marti had a couple of opportunities to face Kay for the title but failed at her attempts win. This caught the attention of a debuting Thunder Rosa, who seemed to have plans for Marti Belle and formed a team together.
We’d later find out that Melina would come into the picture and the three seemed to have the same thing in common, take the title off of Allysin Kay. On the go-home edition of NWA Powerrr, Kay challenged Melina to a match. Melina turned things around by challenging Kay to go up against Thunder Rosa first at Hard Times.
Thunder Rosa, ever since being with the NWA has been nothing short of impressive in all her bouts. Will Kay taking up the challenge to face Thunder Rosa be a mistake? Will we see a new champion at Hard Times?
NWA National Championship Match
Aron Stevens (c) vs. Scott Steiner
A couple of weeks ago on NWA Powerrr, we would see the debut of the man with the shortest fuse in the business, Scott Steiner. The Big Bad Booty Daddy made his long-awaited return to the NWA and joined forces with Strictly Business. It seems that in just a week, the former NWA tag team champ has made his mark and is now pegged to face Aron Stevens for the NWA National Title.
Scott Steiner is known for his fantastic amateur wrestling career, all the accolades he’s achieved in pro wrestling, along with having one of the most freakish physiques in the industry. Is it enough to overcome the third degree-level karatay of Aron Stevens?
The student of the MMA master, the Question Mark, has a big task at hand. Challenging a former All-American wrestler and former NWA and WCW champion is probably the best way to test himself. Will Aron Stevens be able to take all the teachings of the Question Mark, put it all together, and beat Steiner? Or will Scott Steiner put Stevens in a Steiner recliner and become the new NWA National Champion?
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Hard Times is available for purchase on FITE.TV and airs live on January 24th at 7:00 PM EST.
