By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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NWA Exodus Pro Midwest “New Game+”
Cleveland, Ohio, at Treelawn Music Hall
Streamed live January 17, 2026, on YouTube.com
The venue is a standard auditorium with a high ceiling. The crowd was maybe 250. The lighting was good. On the entrance stage was a large original Nintendo video game controller, fitting with the theme of this show.
* I admittedly am not a big fan of the current NWA or OVW products. So, I am a bit skeptical as I enter this show — a lot of faces that I’m sure I haven’t seen before, or just once or twice.
1. Alex Taylor vs. Cowpoke Paul. I’ve seen Taylor in NWA; he has a blond mullet and he wore a shiny red jacket. My first time seeing Paul; he wore a cowboy hat, but he also wore spandex and bright pink pants. Both guys look like they just emerged from 1984 and could be members of the Outrunners. Taylor bodyslammed him at 3:30. Paul hit a top-rope superplex and they were both down. They got up and traded punches. Paul rolled him up for the flash pin. Merely okay.
Cowpoke Paul defeated Alex Taylor at 5:55.
* Carson Drake, who must be 6’5″ and wore a suit, emerged from the back and attacked Cowpoke Paul. He noted he’s facing EC3 later tonight. At least for me, the audio isn’t quite syncing up with the words coming out of his mouth. He vowed he was going to beat EC3 tonight. He introduced “The Gross Boyz,” who are dressed like “The Slime Ballz.”
2. Sophia Rose (w/Victor Benjamin, Blake Banks) vs. Eva Brooks. I’ve seen redhead Rose a few times, both in Uprising in Illinois and in the Rhodes Wrestling Association in Texas. (She had a stroke in her early 20s and had to relearn everything.) I don’t know if I’ve seen Eva before; the commentators said she’s new to the business so probably not. She wore blue gear with her name on her butt. Sophia is thicker and easily shoved her to the mat. Eva hit some armdrags. Eva hit a handspring-back-elbow in slow motion; that move was at three-quarters speed.
Rose stomped on her and was booed. She slammed Eva’s head repeatedly into the top turnbuckle and hit a bulldog at 3:30. Eva hit a stunner and a handspring-double knee drop to the ribs. She hit a running knee to the side of the head. Rose kicked her to the floor at 5:30. She threw Eva back into the ring, applied a cravat, and hit a Russian Leg Sweep for the pin. An underwhelming finisher. Okay action.
Sophia Rose defeated Ava Brooks at 6:24.
3. Cristiano “Luigi” Argento vs. Mario vs. Christian Napier vs. Channing Thomas vs. Harley T. Morris vs. Towel Boy in a “Press Start, Player One Hard Mode Match.” Channing is a regular in the Northeast scene. Napier and Drake have been in GCW in the past few months, but I don’t know anyone else. Two players start. This sounds like it’s just a mini-Rumble match. Towel Boy is a thin Black man, and he’s No. 1. Harley is white with Ric Flair-like hair and robe, and he’s No. 2. Those two opened. Channing Thomas entered at 1:30 as No. 3. Napier was No. 4.
Mario was No. 5, coming out to Super Mario Brother music, and he’s dressed a bit like the video game character (the commentators never said who this wrestler really is). Cristiano “Luigi” Argento came out at No. 6, looking more like the character. Silliness obviously. Mario and Luigi eliminated a few guys. Argento tossed Mario at 7:00 and was booed. Towel Boy tossed Argento. Napier hit a Lungblower pinned Towel Boy for the pin. Silliness and entirely skippable.
Christian Napier won this mini-rumble at 7:36.
4. Richard Holliday vs. Kal Herro for the NWA Midwest Title. Okay, here’s one of the reasons I tuned in. I’ve seen Herro a few times on indy shows from Wisconsin as well as in OVW. The commentators noted how Holliday has a few inches of height and a muscle mass advantage; I like the way they discussed this as if it were a legit fight. Basic brawling early on, and the crowd was totally behind Herro. Holliday set up for His Signature Move (the low blow uppercut!) at 2:30, but Herro avoided it.
Kal clotheslined him over the top rope to the floor. They fought on the floor and down an aisle. They got back into the ring at 5:00, but Richard immediately knocked him back to the floor and hit a guillotine leg drop on the ring apron; he rolled Kal back into the ring and got a nearfall. He tied up Kal’s legs on the mat. Kal fired up and hit some punches and a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall, and they were both down at 8:30.
Kal hit a stunner for a nearfall. Holliday hit a top-rope superplex at 10:30, and they were both down. This is significantly better than the first three matches! They got up and traded punches. Kal hit a running knee for a nearfall. Kal nearly hit the ref; Holliday immediately hit the low blow uppercut, then the 2008 twisting suplex for the tainted pin. Good action.
Richard Holliday defeated Kal Herro to retain the NWA Midwest Title at 12:23.
* Lord Crewe immediately headed to the ring to confront Holliday. Richard was about to hit Crewe but thought better of it, and he left the ring.
5. Silas Mason vs. Anthony Greene for the NWA World Heavyweight Title. I’ll reiterate that I recently saw Mason wrestle for the first time in maybe two years, and I was startled that he had slimmed down and improved his physique. Right on cue, the commentators talked about Mason being in such great shape. He is a legit 6’4″, so he has several inches on Greene. He immediately bodyslammed Anthony, sending him to the floor to regroup. Back in the ring, Mason knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. He got another bodyslam for a nearfall at 2:00.
Mason hit a big dropkick and was dominating, as Greene again went to the floor. So, Mason hit a double axe handle to the floor, and they fought in the crowd. He slammed Greene back-first on the apron. In the ring, Greene hit a top-rope crossbody block at 4:30. He hit some punches and stomps and kept Mason grounded. Greene hit some chops, but it just angered Mason. Greene hit a Divorce Court armbreaker at 7:30. He missed a moonsault. Mason immediately hit a clothesline and a splash in the corner.
Mason set up for a Black Hole Slam, but Greene avoided it. Mason avoided an Unprettier, and he hit the gutwrench Doctor Bomb for a nearfall at 9:00. Greene hit a corner fadeaway stunner for a nearfall. Greene grabbed the title and brought it into the ring, but the ref confiscated it. The ref accidentally got bumped. Greene went for a low-blow uppercut, but Mason blocked it. He got the title belt, but Mason grabbed it, so Greene hit a low blow punt kick.
Greene then struck Mason with the belt, then he nailed his second-rope Unprettier for a believable nearfall at 11:30. Greene hit a superkick, but he couldn’t hit a second Unprettier. He dove through the ropes onto Mason. In the ring, he went for a top-rope crossbody block, but Mason caught him and hit the Black Hole Slam for the pin. Good action. They shook hands afterwards.
Silas Mason defeated Anthony Greene to retain the NWA World Title at 12:45.
* Intermission was 21 minutes.
6. Brandon Barretta vs. Mike the Agent in a Strictly Business Plan Fourth Stage match. I saw Barretta recently beat Rhino; it’s the only time I’ve seen him before now. He has a crew-cut and wore a generic black singlet, and he’s “all business” and doesn’t even have intro music! He looks like a drill sergeant and is an even more generic Lance Storm. My first time seeing Mike, who wore a red singlet and looked a bit chubby. With his curly brown hair, he looks a bit like a young Chris Harris. They stood toe-to-toe, and Mike is much taller. Basic punches, and Mike dropped him with a shoulder tackle. Barretta put him in a sleeper, fell backwards to the mat, and Mike passed out! Yes, it really was that quick!
Brandon Barretta defeated Mike the Agent at 0:46 in a Strictly Business Plan Fourth Stage match.
* “Himbro” Connor Knox came out of the back to confront Barretta. He wants a match… right now! Connor is a goofball youngster and confused a lot of sayings and quotes.
7. Connor Knox vs. Brandon Barretta. They traded punches. Barretta put him in the sleeper he used to beat Mike, but Knox escaped. Connor applied a headlock on the mat and kept Brandon grounded. Barretta hit loud chops in the corner at 3:30, and he kept the young Connor on the mat. Knox hit two jawbreakers at 6:00. He hit some clotheslines and was fired up. Baretta got a rollup with a handful of tights for the cheap pin. Meh.
Brandon Barretta defeated Connor Knox at 7:07.
8. Pastor C-Lo and Pretty Boy Smooth vs. Manbun Jesus and Sam Beale vs. Devious Cass and J Bouji vs. Blake Banks and Victor Benjamin in a four-way tag to become No. 1 contenders to the NWA Exodus Pro Midwest Tag Team Titles. I don’t think I’ve seen Manbun Jesus or Pastor C-Lo or Blake Banks before. Blanks was at ringside for the Sophia Rose match; he is a scrawny white kid. Pastor C-Lo is bald and really short (but he was standing next to the 6’10” Smooth!) Manbun Jesus has a long beard and the man-bun on top of his head; I wouldn’t say he really looks like images of Jesus, though! I just watched a show a day ago where Cass and Bouji fought each other in New Jersey; they came out last and insulted the crowd; this apparently is their debut here.
Everyone started brawling, and we’re underway! Jesus launched off a back and dove onto everyone on the floor. We got a bell to officially begin at 00:50. Everyone brawled on the floor. Banks thought about diving but stopped. Smooth grabbed him by the throat and chokeslammed the scrawny kid. He swung Banks around in his arms, using the kid’s legs to strike opponents. PB went to throw the pastor onto everyone at 3:00, but the pastor got caught on the top rope; luckily, everyone rushed forward to catch him before he went head-first to the floor.
In the ring, PB hit some more chops on the scrawny Banks, and the crowd loved these. Pastor C-Lo hit a Northern Lights Suplex. Jesus and Bouji brawled, with Bouji hitting a low blow at 5:00, and he stomped on Jesus. Bouji and Cass hit some team moves in the corner. A commentator reiterated that Cass is still just 18. Beale got in and hit a powerbomb on Bouji at 7:00 for a nearfall, but Cass made the save. The muscular Victor entered, and he kicked Bouji to the floor, then hit a jumping knee to the chin in the corner.
Pastor C-Lo brawled with Banks. PB Smooth got a hot tag at 11:00, and he hit a World’s Strongest Slam on Banks, then a big guillotine leg drop for a nearfall. Cass and J Bouji hit some team moves on Jesus. Cass nailed a flip dive to the floor. Bouji hit a sit-out powerbomb on Jesus at 12:30. Banks hit a Cody-style Disaster Kick for a nearfall. Jesus and Beale hit a team spinebuster on Benjamin for a nearfall. Everyone started fighting to the floor again. In the ring, PB Smooth caught Bouji with a forearm strike. The Pastor hit a Crucifix Driver and pinned Bouji! That was fun.
Pastor C-Lo and Pretty Boy Smooth defeated Manbun Jesus and Sam Beale, Devious Cass and J Bouji, and Blake Banks and Victor Benjamin in a four-way to become No. 1 contenders to the NWA Exodus Pro Midwest Tag Team Titles at 14:17/official time of 13:27.
* Silas Mason immediately came out of the back to confront Pastor C-Lo and Pretty Boy Smooth! Silas said he was there… to give PB Smooth an NWA contract! The crowd popped for this news! We got a “You deserve it!” chant as Silas handed Smooth an envelope with a contract. “You know what? I think we can do some business,” Smooth said, and he shook Mason’s hand. o
9. “The Main Event” Duke Davis and Ganon Jones Jr. vs. “Shot Through The Heart” Love, Doug and TJ Crawford for the NWA Exodus Pro Tag Team Titles. TME are much, MUCH thicker and visibly more muscular than STTH. Ganon, wearing a singlet, opened against Doug, and he easily shoved Doug to the mat. Doug grabbed the waist, but Ganon again easily threw him to the mat. STTH hit blows to Jones’ back and were booed. Duke entered and hit a loud chop on Crawford at 3:00 and hip-tossed him across the ring.
STTH hit stereo enzuigiris on Duke. Ganon got in and hit a double clothesline. Doug dove to the floor. Duke caught both opponents and slammed them both on the ring apron at 5:00. In the ring, the champs worked over Doug in their corner. TJ unloaded a series of kicks. Doug hit a slingshot crossbody block. He hit a Rebound Lariat on Duke, and they were fired up! Duke tossed Doug at Ganon, who slammed Doug with a back suplex for the pin. Decent action; the champs were just so much bigger.
“The Main Event” Duke Davis and Ganon Jones Jr. defeated “Shot Through The Heart” Love, Doug and TJ Crawford to retain the NWA Exodus Pro Tag Team Titles at 7:40.
10. EC3 vs. Carson Drake in a No. 1 contender’s match. Again, I’ve never seen Carson before, but he acts like the snobby, boorish rich kid. I’ve never been a big fan of EC3’s in-ring skills, but he looks absolutely fantastic. (He apparently has been injured; this is his first match since Oct. 11.) Both men wore black trunks; Carson has a good physique but is giving up a lot of muscle mass. They tied up; EC3 hit a chop that sent Drake over the top rope to the floor! That popped the crowd. In the ring, Drake knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. EC3 hip-tossed him to the mat, and Drake again rolled to the floor at 2:30.
In the ring, Drake stomped on the left knee and twisted it, and kept EC3 grounded. He switched to an ankle lock at 6:30. The commentators wondered if EC3 was back too soon from his injuries. EC3 hit a flying forearm. B,” who we saw earlier in the show, tried to interfere. EC3 got a chair and used it on Drake’s back, causing a DQ.
Carson Drake defeated EC3 via DQ at 8:02 to earn a title shot.
* EC3 got on the mic and said he doesn’t work for the NWA anymore. He wants to fight Carson in a street fight… right now! This match must continue! I haven’t cleared my stopwatch, so I restarted it at the bell. EC3 slammed him to the mat; Drake rolled to the floor, so EC3 dove onto him. In the ring, EC3 jabbed a chair into Drake’s knee at 9:30. Carson applied a Figure Four. EC3 eventually reversed it. Drake got the chair and hit EC3 across his head to break the hold. Drake got a nearfall at 11:30.
Drake hit a Jarrett-style Stroke faceplant onto the folded chair for a nearfall, and he yelled at the ref. EC3 hit a TKO stunner. The Gross Boyz jumped in the ring and attacked EC3, but several guys from the locker room ran in and carried the Gross Boyz to the back, so it was quickly back to one-on-one. They traded chops while on their knees at 14:30. They got to their feet and brawled. EC3 hit a Thesz Press and a Twist of Fate-style stunner. The Slime Ballz hit the rig and stomped on EC3. They did a team spinebuster move onto a box on EC3, and they hugged Drake and were booed.
Cowpoke Paul ran in and brawled with the Slime Ballz. Paul hit a tornado DDT on Drake. Drake hit a low blow on EC3 at 18:30, then he struck him across the back with the chair, and he jabbed the chair into EC3’s ribs. Drake got on the mic and boasted that he’s “the most successful guy in this company” as he stomped on EC3. Carson swung the chair, but it ricocheted off the top rope onto his face. EC3 threw a chair at Carson’s face, and he hit the One-Percenter (snapmare driver) onto a folded chair. He tied Drake in a Rings of Saturn, and Drake immediately tapped out!
EC3 defeated Carson Drake at 20:36.
Final Thoughts: An up-and-down show. I could have skipped the first three matches and not felt bad about it. Silas Mason vs. Anthony Greene was really good, and it earned the best match. I’ll reiterate that Mason has clearly worked hard to improve that physique to be the flag-bearer of the NWA brand. The chaotic four-way tag was fun with non-stop action, and we had the fun bonus of learning that PB Smooth earned an NWA contract; that match earned second.
I liked Holliday-Herro, and that takes third. It’s been a while since I’ve seen The Main Event — I used to see them in AIW, but that’s no longer on Triller+ — but it was a good reminder of how BIG they are and just tower over guys like Doug and Crawford.
The EC3 match was a typical overbooked TNA match with too many run-ins and false finishes. Again, I’m admittedly not a fan of EC3, but he looks great, and the crowd was into his match. I don’t watch wrestling just to bash it, so I’ll just politely say the Brandon Barretta stuff coming out of intermission didn’t interest me. The Rumble was poorly booked; Channing Thomas deserves a lot better than being in that mess. A reminder that this show is free on YouTube, and subtract the intermission, and it’s 2.5 hours. If you don’t have time for the whole show, skip those first three matches and the Barretta matches after intermission.
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