Live! Dana White’s Power Slap Ep. 1 Results, Reactions

I guess it’s face-hitting time?

Like it or not, Dana White’s Power Slap league is finally airing on TBS tonight (Weds., Jan. 18, 2023) at 10 p.m. ET.

As it appears to be a show similar to The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) in which contestants are selected onto teams and will live in a house together, not much is currently known about who everyone is, the order in which things will proceed, or really anything. You’ll find out with me when and if this show tells us stuff. Heck, even the old website that lists who the coaches are — “Darius The Destroyer” and “Wolverine” — don’t have a lick of info on them other than their stage names.

Here are the official particulars:

Athletes from Dana White’s new slap fighting combat sports league, Power Slap, will be featured in the new eight-episode unscripted series that will introduce fans to the sport as they compete for a coveted spot in the Power Slap house and future opportunities for glory. During the season, audiences will see weekly Power Slap matches and get to know more about the competitors and their athletic journeys. Athletes will compete in four weight divisions, including welterweight (170 lbs.), middleweight (185 lbs.), light heavyweight (205 lbs.) and heavyweight (265 lbs.). As athletes rise in the rankings, fans will find out which athletes from each weight class will compete for a Power Slap title.

Nevertheless, stay tuned as we watch and write about this thing below …

POWER SLAP EPISODE 1 RESULTS

Coming at 10 p.m. ET …

Well, we’re starting off right away with heavyweights Rob Perez in blue and Ryan Phillips in black. Turns out you get 30 seconds of recovery time in between slaps. Guess we’re only going 3 rounds of slaps each before we go to the judges. They score it unanimously for Perez.

He’s going into the PS house. Or no, he isn’t. His nickname is One-Eyed Wolf, and it’s because he has well… one eye. So he can’t get medically cleared. So Phillips is in.

Quick promo between the two coaches, Ron and Darius, who will slap each other at the end of the season. They mention it will be on pay-per-view.

Welterweights up next. Michael Smith in black vs Alex Asbury in blue. Ah, I understand the rules a bit better now. They have to stand with their feet in the box, head in a specific spot. They call which hand and on the count of 1, 2, or 3. Smith cuts Alex’s lip open and that gets a doctor stoppage. The coaches in the back remark they like them both.

Heavyweights. Duane Crespo (blue) vs. Matthew Strickland (black). Crespo knocks the stuffing out of Strickland with the first hit.

Back to welterweights. Jewell Scott (blue) vs. Anthony Green (black). And former boxer Scott gets the win in the 2nd round of slaps.

Women’s lightweight up next. Kortney Olson in blue, Sheena Bathory in black. Bathory hits her square and Olson literally does a somersault. There’s no group of women to get into the house with, so they’re bringing Bathory on as an assistant coach.

Middleweights now. Jon Kennedy (blue) vs. Wesley Drain (black). Drain gets his face swelled up badly, but knocks out Jon.

The show goes in hyper-speed now as it’s all highlights and quick clips and bits. About 6 bouts decided in two minutes. A quick primer on some fouls, such as moving your feet or leading with the palm of the hand. Names are flying by far too quickly for me to get anything down, honestly. They show one guy with an MMA background who has no power and he gets lightly mocked for it. He loses the decision.

Back to a full fight clip. Light Heavyweights. Devon Schwan (blue) vs. Vern Cathey (black). Vern with the first slap knockout.

Cut to Dana White, Hunter Campbell and the coaches in a room talking and showing off the new belt for the coaches winner. Preview of next week’s show, which will be more people slapping to get into the reality show house. And that’s the show.

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