This is the second to last episode of NWA Power before NWA 75 next weekend. This show is from the Highland Park, Il, tapings last month with Joe Galli and Tim Storm on the call.
The Southern 6 (Alex Taylor & Kerry Morton) (w/ Silas Mason) defeated Colby Corino & Joe Alonzo
This opening match was a bit of a preview for NWA 75 as Corino takes on Kerry Morton for the NWA Junior Heavyweight Title on night one.
Morton started with Alonzo, but Corino tagged in immediately which only led to Taylor tagging in immediately. This didn’t work well for the heels as Alonzo and Corino cut off the ring from the champ. But, Morton illegally got involved and turned the match around. He held the offense until Corino got the hot tag on Taylor and hit a diving elbow drop from the top rope. He then pulled Morton into the ring and they fought back to the outside while on the inside, Taylor hit the Green Whistle on Alonzo for the win.
Talos defeated Judais
They were already in the ring after the intro and ready to go at it. This was a great big meaty men slappin’ meat match as both are least 6’7″and 300 pounds. Judais just ended up beating down Talos for a long time. A big-time fallaway slam took both out momentarily. After this, Sal the Pal ran in with his towel and threw it at the referee. While the referee was distracted, Gaagz the Gymp hit the Gaagz Reflex onto Judais and Talos pinned him for the win.
– May Valentine was backstage with NWA TV Champion Thom Latimer who is close to hitting the Lucky 7 (seven straight title defenses earn him a World title shot). He said he has no idea who his last opponent to get there and he doesn’t care. He also doesn’t care who he takes on for the NWA World Title. He also has a tag team match next week. Busy guy!
– DLZ had his weekly segment and announced the Kamille vs. Kylie Paige non-title match for tonight and interviewed a couple of people backstage who really have much to say.
Magic Jake Dumas & CJ defeated AJ Cazana & Natalia Markova in an intergender match
Storm said we hadn’t seen a mixed tag team match like this in years which is surprising. Galli also claimed that there can be an interaction between the genders. We saw that on full display when Markova hit a couple of moves on Dumas. Cazana worked over Jake for a few minutes, but CJ tagged in. Cazana didn’t want to put his hands on a woman, so he tagged in Markova. The men came back in and Cazana accidentally ran over Markova. Dumas and CJ then double-teamed Cazana which set up Dumas for the moonsault and the win.
– Eric Jackson was backstage with May Valentine. He thanked everyone for the opportunity in NWA, but he can’t prove himself to who he really is and he called himself him. Alright. He also announced he teams up with Fodder next week.
NWA Women’s Champion Kamille defeated Kylie Paige in a non-title match
Kamille celebrated 800 days as champion today.
They hyped this up as a match that showcases the future of the division vs. the present. They tied up early and Paige was thrown around. Kamille dominated in the early going, but Kylie eventually baited the champ and used the ring post to her advantage. She worked over the left arm of Kamille. They went back and forth a bit until Kamille hit a massive Alabama Slam. Kamille followed it up with a spear for the win. Pretty Empowered came out after the match to help Kylie, but Kamille just ended up spearing both of them at the same time.
– Trevor Murdoch & Mike Knox — the winners of the NWA Crockett Cup tournament — were with May Valentine hyping up their NWA 75 Tag Team Title match on Night 2. Blunt Force Trauma takes on La Rebelion on Night 1 so they talked about which team they would rather face and which team they thought would show up. They also talked about next week’s big main event against Latimer.
– Kamille had her own promo wondering how Markova earned the title shot against her on night 1 of NWA 75. She announced it as a “no limits match” where anything goes.
Blunt Force Trauma (Carnage & Damage) (w/ Aron Stevens) defeated EC3 & Jordan Clearwater (w/ C Red)
Commentary pointed out that EC3 is not the NWA National Heavyweight Champion anymore. Carnage started against Clearwater and BFT dominated early. EC3 finally tagged in, but it wasn’t a hot tag — BFT just let it happen. EC3 and Clearwater turned things around and had the same domination segment of the match. This whole match was just back and forth, but the old-fashioned way. BFT eventually hit the double-team sidewalk slam off the middle rope onto Clearwater. EC3 went to break up the pin but Stevens stopped him from the outside for the BFT win.
On June 6, 2022, Kamille defeated Serena Deeb for the NWA Women’s Championship, ending her reign of 222 days.
Since then, she has held onto the gold for well over 700 days, successfully defending against the likes of Chelsea Green, Leyla Hirsch, Melina, Kylie Rae, KiLynn King, Taya Valkyrie, and others with 36 defenses.
Her last came at last weekend’s Crockett Cup when she bested Natalia Markova.
I recently caught up with Kamille for a conversation about her career and her historic reign as champion which you can watch on YouTube above.
Here are some highlights:
When she won the championship, Kamille had only been with the NWA for a short time and wrestled just a couple of matches. However, when she won the belt, she had secretly hoped that she would hold onto it for a year – a personal goal that she didn’t tell anyone about. Then when she surpassed the first year, she did not see an end in sight.
Now, she has a new goal in mind: to surpass June Byers’ 760-day title reign.
“…That will put me in the top five all-time NWA Women’s Championship reigns. It’s crazy to think about,” she said.
Saying that she was only used to having squash matches, she knew her style had to change and that once she won the title, she had to run with it, “and either I am gonna slip and drop the ball or I am gonna keep carrying it and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
While she considers herself still new to the business, her success as NWA Women’s Champion has all come to down to confidence.
“I am not saying I am a veteran by any means. I am still very new to the business. But when I first started, I felt like I needed help being carried through a match, stuff like that. Now, I am at the point where I can carry others through a match, I can be that person. I can be the leader in the ring. Being able to transform in that way has been really cool.”
The 2023 NWA Crockett Cup tournament concludes Sunday after kicking off Saturday in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
After winnowing down the field Saturday, the quarterfinals will kick off with the following matchups:
NWA Tag Team Champions La Rebelion (Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf) vs. Blunt Force Trauma (Carnage & Damage)
Jinetes del Aire (Myzteziz Jr. & Octagón Jr.) vs. The Brothers of Funstruction (Yabo the Clown & Ruffo the Clown)
Mike Knox & Trevor Murdoch vs. Ricky & Kerry Morton
NWA World Champion Tyrus & Chris Masters vs. The War Gods (Kratos & Odinson)
The show will also feature two title matches as NWA Women’s Champion Kamille will look to extend her 700+ day run as champion as she defends against Natalia Markova. This will be their third-ever meeting in the NWA with Markova winning the first by DQ and the two going to a time-limit draw in April.
NWA Women’s TV Champion Kenzie Paige will defend her title against an opponent to be named.
**********
Pre-show:
The Country Gentlemen win a Gauntlet Match to retain the NWA United States Tag Team Titles
– Magnum Muscle (Dak Draper and Mims) defeated The NOW (Hale Collins and Vik Dalishus)
Magnum Muscle started the match against The NOW. They wrestled for maybe one minute but then Draper pinned Hale Collins.
– Magnum Muscle (Dak Draper and Mims) defeated The Fixers (Jay Bradley and Wrecking Ball Legursky)
The Fixers ran in and started destroying Magnum Muscle and they held the advantage for a good 2 minutes but then Dak Draper secretly tagged in and pinned Wrecking Ball for the second pinfall.
– Daisy Kill and Talos defeated Magnum Muscle (Dak Draper and Mims)
After the pin of the previous matchup, Talos made his way out onto the stage without Daisy Kill, who was in the ring attacking Magnum Muscle. Dak Draper was able to lift up the giant Talos once, but Kill dragged him down and set up a chokeslam for the pin.
– TNT (Terrence Hughes and Terrell Hughes) defeated Daisy Kill and Talos
TNT ran in with a lot of energy but it didn’t last long. Talos worked them both over for a little bit to start. Talos was taken out of the equation to the outside, so TNT hit the 3D for the pin.
– The Spectaculars (Brady Pierce and Rolando Freeman) defeated TNT (Terrence Hughes and Terrell Hughes)
This was somewhat noteworthy because Rush Freeman is usually part of The Spectaculars but for this match, it was Rolando. The commentators chalked it up to them losing in the first round of the Crockett Cup. They took care of business quickly and pinned TNT with a frog splash.
– SVGS (Jax Dane and Blake “Bulletproof” Troop) (with Chris Silvio, Esq.) defeated The Spectaculars (Brady Pierce and Rolando Freeman)
The SVGS, of course, had the early advantage. Some early distractions gave Rolando the opportunity to fight back, Jax Dane destroyed Pierce and killed Rolando in the ring with a clothesline for the pin.
SVGS (Jax Dane and Blake “Bulletproof” Troop) (with Chris Silvio, Esq.) defeated Los Vipers (Arez and Toxin)
This one started with another all-out brawl and the actual leg of the match only lasted about 30 seconds. Blake Troop hit his jackhammer finish for the pin.
NWA United States Tag Team Champions The Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana and Anthony Andrews) (with Joe Cazana) defeated SVGS (Jax Dane and Blake “Bulletproof” Troop) (with Chris Silvio, Esq.)
Jax Dane started this segment strong too against the champions. Andrews got the hot tag though and hit a massive uranage onto Troop. Dane interfered and got ready to spear Andrews but Troop tagged in and locked in a headlock which turned into the perfect position for The Country Gentlemen’s finish. They retain the titles.
“Thrillbilly” Silas Mason (with Alex Taylor) defeated Dan Maff (with Shawn Donavan)
It looks like the big theme of tonight is to have unannounced matches take place on a show that already has 10 on the card.
Maff came out angry throwing his jacket at Mason and attacking him early. They went back and forth after that working to the outside. Joe Galli had his hand laying on the announce table and Mason drove Maff’s head into it. Galli starts freaking out that his hand was broken and he needed ice. Tim Storm also needed some Diet Coke apparently.
Back in the ring, they worked this really well for two big guys that aren’t giant. They traded head butts, punches, and forearms. The finish came when Maff went for a lariat but Mason kicked the arm down and connected with the thrill ride out of nowhere for the win.
NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions M95 (Madi and Missa Kate) defeated Angelina Love & Max the Impaler (with Fodder & Father James Mitchell) to retain
Looks like we have an unannounced title match now. Including people we already saw last night. Madi and Love started the contest by screaming at each other and pushing each other around, but Madi came out on top with a cross face and toe drag.
Love went for the tag onto Max but she wasn’t holding the rope or extending her hand. Storm questioned whether she knew tag team rules even though we saw her in the most important tournament of the year, just last night. Max finally got the tag and dominated the match until Missa Kate got the hot tag. They worked over Max until she charged at her own corner and Love tagged her as she fell out. All Kate did was hit one kick-fil-a and they won the match.
Ruthie Jay defeated NWA Women’s TV Champion Kenzie Paige by DQ
Ruthie Jay replaced La Rosa Negra last night in the Hardcore Team War so she may be replacing her in this match tonight too. No 6:05 time limit in this one due to it being a PPV, which doesn’t really make sense.
Paige started out ahead just being a classic heel, but Jay fought back and sent her to the outside. Paige got the heat back by pulling her hair and countering a cannonball in the corner. The champ locked in a sleeper that almost put Jay to sleep, but she fought out and did her comeback that ended in a facebuster. She then connected on a double German for a near fall. Paige kicked out and hit Jay with a superkick and sold her ankle. Kylie Page then ran in and just ran over Ruthie Jay right in front of the ref. He called for the bell and that was it.
Main Card:
NWA opened the show with their sizzle reel and commentary breaking down the bracket. Joe Galli, Velvet Sky, and Tim Storm are on the call.
Jinetes del Aire (Myzteziz Jr. & Octagón Jr.) defeated The Brothers of Funstruction (Yabo the Clown & Ruffo the Clown) in a Crockett Cup quarterfinal
Yabo came into the ring with a balloon sword. When he challenged Myzteziz to a sword fight, somebody in the crowd yelled this is a family show. Great start. The clowns kept throwing clown stuff at the luchadors but none of them foreign objects. Jinetes del Aire retaliated with a double tope suicida.
Yabo got the heat back cutting off the ring, but Octagon got the hot tag and ran wild on the clowns. He hit a cutter on Ruffo while Myzteziz did something to Yabo on the outside that we just never saw. Octagon followed it with a 450 splash for the win.
Mike Knox and Trevor Murdoch defeated Ricky Morton and Kerry Morton in a Crockett Cup quarterfinal
The Mortons came out on stage with Bobby Fulton trying to convince them to not fight dirty after they used a title belt to win last night’s match. They brushed it off and went to the ring.
Right when the match started Kerry distracted the ref and Ricky hit Murdoch with a low blow. The Mortons then cut off the ring and worked on the former world champ. Murdoch set up the hot tag with a massive spine buster onto Kerry. Mike Knox ran wild onto the Mortons which set up Kerry to go high and low for the win.
The Midnight Riders (Tyrus and Chris Adonis) defeated The Immortals (Kratos and Odinson) in a Crockett Cup quarterfinal
It was a battle of meat to start this one. NWA Heavyweight Champion Tyrus against Kratos. The Riders cut off the ring on Kratos with early domination. During this though, Tyrus looked like he hurt his knee and everything after looked weird but I think he was just selling it. He was able to suplex Kratos after selling for them for about 2-3 minutes. Adonis gets the hot tag and hits Odinson with a sky-high for a near fall.
Tyrus and Kratos fought on the outside when Odinson went for a top rope move onto Chris Adonis but he caught him in the master lock and made him pass out for the win. After the match, Tyrus was still selling the knee and Kyle Davis asked him if he can still take on Knox and Murdoch in the semifinals which he replied, in simpler terms, yes.
– They then brought out legendary NWA Tommy Young for an interview. He joked that he wasn’t Tommy Young, he was Tommy Old. When they asked Young for his prediction, he put over Fox News and how much Tyrus is on Fox News. That was weird.
Blunt Force Trauma (Carnage & Damage) (w/ Aron Stevens) defeated NWA World Tag Team Champions La Rebelion Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf) (with Vampiro) in a Crockett Cup quarterfinal
They started this match by talking about how Vampiro didn’t have a manager’s license so he had a Legends exemption. He’s out because he attacked the Flippin’ Psychos for the champions last night in the main event.
BFT attacked La Rebelion on the outside and they got the early advantage. Aron Stevens was on the outside barking orders and telling the team what to do. They worked over Bestia 666 for most of the match until Mecha Wolf got the hot tag. He hit a double moonsault off the top and then got help from Bestia for a double enziguri and tope. Stevens then got involved with his loaded glove but Vampiro went to the top rope and took a nasty bump in the ring. BFT rid the ring of all the interference and they actually got the surprise win over the champs. They’ll face Jinetes del Aire in the semifinals.
NWA National Champion EC3 defeated NWA TV Champion Thom Latimer in a Champions Choice match to retain
We got another unannounced match which was the same as last night. This was a Champions Choice match where EC3 got to select who he wanted to defend the title against. He selected NWA Television Champion Thom Latimer after he put himself over, of course. He gave Latimer the choice of which belt to defend and he picks the National title.
They ran wild to start fighting all over the place. Latimer got the early advantage though after catching EC3 on the outside. EC3 turned it around with a clothesline and Thesz press. They were just taking turns getting the heat and working, very old style. Almost too old to a point. They kept working this slow style until EC3 hit his one percent finish, but it was a near fall that got a big pop.
Latimer went to clothesline EC3 but EC3 wrapped around and just threw Latimer into the turnbuckle from a German suplex. This led to a giant superplex that led to a close 10-count draw. They got up and fought to the outside where EC3 wanted to use the title belt as a weapon, only for Latimer to hit him with a belly to back onto the apron. EC3 had the title taken away from him in the ring and when the referee was disposing of him he slammed Latimer in the groin and hit a piledriver to win and retain the title.
Colby Corino won a six-way scramble for a shot at the NWA World Junior Heavyweight title
This match started with all six men coming out but right after that, Colby Corino came out and was a surprise seventh entrant. In a six-way?
Jared Fulton, Eric Jackson, PJ Hawx, Flip Gordon, Joe Alonzo, and Gaagz the Gymp were the original six that came out for this #1 contender match. They proceeded to have a spot fest, which included Jackson and Hawx dropping each other right on their heads. The FITE stream also started going haywire during this match so I couldn’t see everything. I was able to see the old classic spot of everybody diving into the same spot so Flip Gordon can tease his dive, but he never did it.
Judais and Father James Mitchell then made their way out from the back and Judais picked up Gaagz and threw him out of the ring on top of everyone else. They then went to go pick up Gaagz the Gymp and left with him. They continued the spot show. It is 1000000x more exciting than anything else from NWA this weekend. The finish came when Colby Corino was in the ring with Gordon and he hit him with his arm lock DDT for the win. NWA Junior Heavyweight champion Kerry Morton came out after the match and got in Corino’s face and yelled at him.
Blunt Force Trauma (Carnage & Damage) (w/ Aron Stevens) defeated Jinetes del Aire (Myzteziz Jr. & Octagón Jr.) in a Crockett Cup semfinal
BFT started this match using the same strategy as their last match, which was an attack before the bell. The luchadors turned it around quickly though, catching them on the way back into the ring. they got a quick sequence in before Carnage turned it back around. BFT worked over Octagon on their half. Myzteziz finally got his hot tag after a missed elbow drop and the chaos resulted in a near fall.
Octagon set up Damage for a shooting star press which he missed badly so Galli had to change the move into a shooting star press head butt to the shoulder. Damage actually kicked out at 1 and BFT hit the double flatliner for the win. BFT moves on to the finals.
Mike Knox and Trevor Murdoch defeated The Midnight Riders (Tyrus and Chris Adonis) in a Crockett Cup semifinal
Tyrus is still selling the knee injury from earlier and he came out with a ton of tape on that knee. He can barely walk down the steps to the ring. So, of course, Adonis starts the match across from Mike Knox.
These two went back and forth in the beginning, but right when it looked like Murdoch and Knox were gonna work over Adonis for the entire match, Tyrus tagged himself in and tried to fight but Murdoch took advantage due to the knee. Adonis finally got his hot tag and put the Masterlock in on Knox but Murdoch broke it up and attacked Tyrus on the outside. Adonis couldn’t tag out so Knox and Murdoch went high and low to advance to the final against Blunt Force Trauma.
The Mystery Man defeated Cyon (w/ Austin Idol) by referee stoppage in an Unsanctioned Match
Cyon came out and Idol was lagging way behind. The Mystery Man is still wearing this black Cyon mask and his entrance theme is just really loud white noise. They started battling with Cyon getting the upper hand, but it really was an all-out brawl. Cyon went to the back and got a trash can and set it up in the corner. The Mystery Man then threw Cyon into the chair and got the heat back. Austin Idol was extremely quiet at ringside, which is not normal.
The Mystery Man started ripping at the mask of Cyon and we almost saw the face of Cyon. He started getting beaten so badly that he went crawling to his father Austin. Austin then whipped out the Brass Knuckles and punched his own son in the face. Jordan Clearwater came out to help but Idol punched him too. The referee ended the match, an unsanctioned match, because Cyon could not continue. The Mystery Man dragged both Cyon and Clearwater into the ring and spit on them.
NWA Women’s Champion Kamille defeated Natalia Markova to retain
Commentary made sure to say that this was the co-main event with the Crockett Cup Final, but who knows on this show? Markova was getting introduced and Kamille just runs her over on the apron onto the concrete. They also pushed how Kamille is from “right down the road” in Durham.
Natalia Markova was getting killed in the early going. She was taken some of the nastiest bumps I’ve seen all weekend. If NWA does one thing right, it’s making Kamille feel like a real star. After Markova moved out of the way of a charge onto the outside, it was a little bit more even in the ring. A neck-breaker from Markova got a 1-count. Soon after, she went for a roll-up in the corner that was a little too fancy and she fell right on her face. She got the heat back though and a superkick got a near fall. She followed it up with a roundhouse kick that got another near fall.
Markova set her up for the finish in the corner, but Kamille ducked and dropped the leg for her own near fall. She then set her up for a torture rack into a blue thunder bomb. They exchanged German suplexes, but Markova tried to win it with a top rope move and Kamille turned it into an avalanche German for a really good near fall. Kamille went for another avalanche, but Markova hit the head scissors from the top rope. She went to set up the finish in the corner one more time and Kamille speared her out of nowhere for the win. She hits two years as champion in a really really good match.
Mike Knox & Trevor Murdoch defeated Blunt Force Trauma (Carnage & Damage) (w/ Aron Stevens) to win the 2023 NWA Crockett Cup
Billy Corgan and Davy Crockett came out before this final match to hold the cup and take a seat at ringside. Aron Stevens made his way out with BFT taking off the jacket but not the white glove. Knox and Murdoch made their way to the ring looking fired up as always.
It was chaos to start with each man running into each other and then all four men brawling in the middle. The crowd was chanting BLT towards BFT which really angered Aron Stevens. It got back to normal in the ring but Stevens was messing with the apron in the corner where they were working and it tripped up Knox setting up a nasty-looking DDT by Carnage. This let BFT cut off the ring on Knox.
After a few rest holds and heel tactics, Knox finally powers out of a nerve hold and hits a clothesline onto Damage. This opens up the hot tag from Murdoch and he ran wild for about 10 seconds before he was speared by Carnage. Knox recovered and help Murdoch fight back, but as Knox rolled out of the ring, Murdoch got the referee trapped in the corner and he went down. Murdoch hit a piledriver with the referee down and got like an 8-count from the crowd. Aron Stevens came into the ring and punched Murdoch with the loaded glove and dragged Carnage on top. The referee only got to two before Murdoch kicked out. But right after, Carnage got set up for high and low, and without interference, Mike Knox and Trevor Murdoch win the 2023 NWA Crockett Cup.
– After the match, Stevens was shown crying over the cup. Corgan and Crockett lifted up the trophy to the two victors and they celebrated in the ring by holding it up and bowing down to the famous trophy.
Night 2 was definitely better than Night 1 but there was still too much going on. A 3-hour and 45-minute show that included 15 matches, the night after they went over 4 hours with 20 matches. Still fun at times and a very famous tournament that I had the pleasure of covering!
NWA Power started with Women’s Champion Kamille and Kyle Davis in the ring. After getting a great reaction, she asked the question, “Who can beat Kamille?” and thought the answer was nobody.
Daisy Kill and Talos then made their way down to the ring. Kill talked about Natalia Markova being the one to beat Kamille. Kill played a ukulele and attempted to sing, insulting her with the lyrics.
Kamille said Markova could have the match tonight if she wanted it. Kamille is over, folks. She is one of the few acts in NWA that is working very well and is treated like a superstar by the audience.
NWA National Champion EC3 defeated Carnage (w/ Aron Stevens) to retain the title
This was not good. No heat at all.
EC3 and Carnage are both heels, and EC3 walked out to virtually no reaction. His gimmick of being the “over man” is definitely not true. They started doing rest holds two minutes into the match, and the fans went mild. EC3 hit a jawbreaker, but ate a dropkick and then a powerslam for a two count.
EC3 hit a Thesz press and did an Ultimate Warrior-type rope shake which got a small reaction. Stevens tried to punch EC3 with a loaded glove, but EC3 ducked and Stevens punched the ring post. EC3 locked on The Purpose (a cobra clutch) for the win and not to be confused with the purpose that Odinson uses to hype himself up.
– Yabo The Clown was with May Valentine and he laughed about facing Ricky Morton next week. Valentine was disturbed as he blew up a balloon and busted it. He then booped her.
NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions M95 (Madi & Missa Kate) defeated The Hollywood Blondes (Ray Lyn & Heather Monroe) to retain the titles
This was fine. All four women are still green, but there is a lot of potential here.
Kate took down Lyn, but got taken over with a headscissors after trying to get in the face of Monroe. Monroe chopped Madi in the corner before the Blondes hit a leg sweep and a meteora. The spot was a bit slow, but I have seen far worse and usually with the NWA World Champion.
Monroe got a good hot tag, hitting cartwheel elbows, shoulder tackles, and a double stomp to Kate for a near fall.
Madi broke up the pinfall attempt and M95 went right back to being in control. M95 tried to hit a suplex, but Lyn broke it up. Monroe tried to fight off the champions, but Kate hit the Kick-fil-A and Madi hit a Reality Check (axe kick) for the pinfall.
– Speaking of the champion, Tyrus came out and was getting ready to announce his tag team partner for the Crockett Cup. He announced Chris Adonis because they would be an unstoppable team. These two squared off for the title at the recent 312 pay-per-view.
Adonis came out and said that he didn’t know what Tyrus was up to naming him him partner, but Adonis was busy and had a match right now.
Chris Adonis (w/ Tyrus) defeated Cyon (w/ Austin Idol)
Decent match. Adonis really is far better than Chris Masters ever was.
Cyon indicated to Tyrus he was upset that he wasn’t named as Tyrus’ partner since he and Tyrus are aligned in Idolmania Sports Management. Adonis went for a stalling suplex, but his knee gave out, leading to Cyon working over the knee for a little bit. The two exchanged chops in the corner before Cyon sent Adonis crashing into corner back-first. Cyon locked on the figure four on Adonis as Idol instructed Cyon on how to twist the knee.
Adonis rolled over and Tyrus curiously cheered Adonis on in the process as Cyon made the ropes. Cyon went for an elbow off the middle rope, and almost crashed into Adonis with his back instead of the elbow as Adonis rolled away. Adonis hit a Manhattan drop and a flying shoulder tackle. He called for the Master Lock, but Cyon blocked it and hit a slingblade. Idol shouted more instructions, but Cyon screamed, “Shut up! It’s your fault we lost the title.” He then turned into Adonis cradling him for the pinfall.
– Ricky Morton was backstage talking about his upcoming match with Yabo. He also talked about the conflict he was having with his son as of late.
NWA Women’s Champion Kamille vs. Natalia Markova went to a time limit draw in a non-title match
This was easily the best match on the show and potentially sets up further matches.
The two locked up and tried to outpower each other. Eventually, Kamille got the advantage over Markova. This led to the fans chanting for a test of strength and they obliged. Kamille had more power, but not by much. The two started exchanging forearms and Markova’s strikes started to show a big effect after a bit, leading to a Markova cutter for a nearfall.
Kamille drove Markova into the turnbuckle before hitting a series of punches in the corner. Kamille went for a spear in the corner, but Markova dodged and the champion flew through the ropes, hitting the ring post while in midair before crashing to the floor. That looked brutal. Markova also crashed to the floor after Kamille swept the legs on the apron. She then sent Markova into the ring post hard.
Markova hit a chop block on Kamille and locked on an arm submission, but Kamille survived it until the time limit expired.
Kamille is one of the only reasons to watch these shows and Markova is right there with her in terms of getting the crowd into her matches.
Several new matches have been announced for NWA Nuff Said.
The promotion revealed on Saturday that Kamille will defend her NWA World Women’s Championship against Angelina Love on the pay-per-view. Kerry Morton will defend his NWA Junior Heavyweight belt against Alex Taylor and EC3 will take on a debuting Alex Riley, who will wrestle under his real name of Kevin Kiley.
The 41-year-old Kiley returned to the ring in December for the first time since his release from WWE in 2016. He teamed with Tyrus on a Create a Pro event in Lynbrook, New York on December 8, 2022. He would later appear on Tyrus’ podcast and spoke about wanting to get back in the ring again soon.
On Sunday, the NWA also announced that Chris Adonis will face former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Trevor Murdoch, Cyon will defend the National title against Homicide and Thom Latimer will face Fodder in a Singapore cane match.
NWA Nuff Said takes place Saturday, February 11, 2023, from the Egypt Shrine Center in Tampa, Florida. The lineup for the show is below.
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Tyrus defends against Matt Cardona
NWA World Women’s Champion Kamille defends against Angelina Love
NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Kerry Morton w/ Ricky Morton defends against Alex Taylor w/ Danny Dealz
NWA National Heavyweight Champion Cyon w/ Austin Idol defends against Homicide
Due to injury, Thunder Rosa is officially off Triplemania XXX: Mexico City.
Rosa was scheduled to challenge Taya Valkyrie for the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship at the Triplemania event. Lucha Libre AAA posted a video on Friday night setting up that Kamille will instead face Valkyrie for the title in Mexico City.
Kamille cut a promo saying she’s heard that Valkyrie is looking for someone new to face at Triplemania because “apparently your last opponent got hurt.” Kamille said she’s here to answer that call.
Kamille has been NWA World Women’s Champion for more than a year. She retained that title against Valkyrie at night one of NWA 74 this August.
On AEW Dynamite last month, Rosa announced that she wouldn’t be able to compete at All Out due to injury. Rosa still holds the AEW Women’s World Championship, but Toni Storm has been crowned interim champion while Rosa is out of action. Storm was supposed to challenge Rosa for the title at All Out. She instead defeated Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, and Jamie Hayter in a four-way match at the pay-per-view to become interim champion.
Rosa told Busted Open Radio that she expects to be out of action for a couple of months due to the back injury. She also responded to people who have claimed she’s faking the injury.
“This is not fake, not a work. If I can f**king work, I can f**king work,” Rosa said.
“I’m sorry, guys. I want to walk when I’m 40, I want to have kids…I have the right to say, ‘No, I can’t walk, I can’t do it.’ I don’t want to have surgery (and be out longer).”
Triplemania: Mexico City is taking place on Saturday, October 15. It’s the last of three Triplemania PPVs this year celebrating the 30th edition of the event.
NWA Power had news both regarding the next challenger for the NWA Women’s Championship and news regarding the next NWA Empower.
Tuesday’s show had NWA owner Billy Corgan discuss the success of NWA 74, saying that he hopes to keep the NWA rolling so that they reach their 100th anniversary. He also brought up that Kamille had two of the best matches at NWA 74. He concluded the topic by saying that they will do another NWA Empower “very soon”.
Meanwhile, the NWA Women’s Championship match has been set for Hard Times, which will take place on November 12 in Chalmette, Louisiana. Taya Valkyrie earned a shot at Kamille’s championship after defeating Chelsea Green, KiLynn King, and Jennacide in a number one contender’s match. Kamille and Valkyrie previously met at NWA 74 last month, with Kamille successfully retaining the championship.
Kamille also wrestled on Tuesday’s NWA Power, going to a time limit draw with Allysin Kay.
A Women’s Championship match is the latest addition to the card for the NWA’s Alwayz Ready pay-per-view.
It was announced today that KiLynn King will challenge Kamille for the NWA World Women’s Championship at Alwayz Ready on Saturday, June 11. The PPV is being held at the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
King getting the next shot at Kamille’s title was confirmed when King defeated Chelsea Green and Jennacide in a triple threat match on this week’s episode of NWA Power.
On Twitter, King commented on facing Kamille at Alwayz Ready: The biggest match of my career thus far..I’m coming, June 11th at the #AlwayzReady pay per view, for The Burke with everything I’ve got”
Kamille has been NWA World Women’s Champion since winning the title from Serena Deeb in June 2021.
The updated card for Alwayz Ready is listed below:
NWA World Women’s Champion Kamille defends against KiLynn King
NWA National Champion Jax Dane defends against Chris Adonis
NWA Television Champion Tyrus defends against Mims
NWA Tag Team Champions La Rebelion (Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf) defend against The Commonwealth Connection (Doug Williams & Davey Boy Smith Jr.)
NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) defend against Pretty Empowered (Ella Envy & Kenzie Paige)
The Commonwealth Connection joined Kyle Davis to open the show. Doug Williams talked about his history with Nick Aldis, and how Williams, Harry Smith, and Aldis are going to take out The Cardonas this week.
The show went to the announce table. Austin Idol was still yelling about the Tyrus Slam Challenge from last week when Mims slammed Tyrus. Joe Galli pitched to the ring.
Kamille w/ Thom Latimer defeated Paola Blaze
This was mostly fine, but the booking was just bizarre. It made no sense if you think about it for a few seconds, as the referee was ready to stop the match and suddenly didn’t once more damage was being done.
Blaze rolled out of the ring as the bell rang, and said she wasn’t ready yet. Every time Kamille tried to get to her, Blaze would run away, smiling. Kamille had enough and drove Blaze back to the corner and hit an Oklahoma powerslam for a two count. Kamille hit a gutwrench suplex and nailed Blaze with a spin heel kick for another two count.
Kamille landed hard on her leg when she tried to leapfrog Blaze, looking like she hurt her quad or knee. Blaze stood away as the referee and Thom Latimer checked on her. Latimer turned around and Blaze kicked Latimer low and started stomping on the leg of Kamille.
They were looking to stop the match prior to this attack, so they just kept going once Latimer was out of the ring, and the referee just shrugged. Why? If you were going to stop the match, then why are you letting it go after Blaze attacked? That made no sense at all.
Kamille managed to fight back after a submission attempt and hit a twist and shout for a 2-count. Blaze hit a headscissors and a missile dropkick on Kamille. Latimer came out with some ice he was holding near his lower regions, which distracted the referee for some reason. The referee tried to send him to the back despite him doing nothing. Kamille hit a low blow on Blaze and then hit two spears for the win. Kamille sold the knee inconsistently once she started getting offence again.
Matt Taven was with Kyle Davis at the podium and talked about how he wants to win the tag titles with Mike Bennett, but he also wants to challenge for the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. Good promo from Taven.
Matt Taven defeated Judias w/ The Sinister Minister via DQ
I was worried they would have Judias win this match. I’m not a fan of the DQ finish, but at least Taven didn’t lose.
Taven hit some hard chops that Judias no sold. Judias powered out of several moves from Taven, but Taven used his superior movement to keep slipping out of the power moves. Judias dodged a missile dropkick and started a Garvin stomp on Taven.
Judias used basic power moves to get some heat on Taven until Taven managed to get on the top rope and go for a flying elbow. However, The Sinister Minister called out Gags the Gimp and Sal the Pal to attack Taven. The group started to beat on Taven as the announcers let us know that Mike Bennett was not there this week, so Taven had no one to help him.
Help then came in as the Briscoes ran out, laying waste to the Sinister Minister’s stable, saving their old rival but ROH comrade in Matt Taven.
Tyrus was backstage with May Valentine and talked about Mims challenging for the NWA Television title. Tyrus insisted he was impressed and Mims was exactly what he was looking for, as he wanted a challenge.
The Dirty Sexy Boys (Dango & JTG) w/ Angelina Love defeated The Miserably Faithful (Sal the Pal & Gags the Gimp)
Velvet Sky went into a rant about how Angelina Love didn’t tell her that she was coming to the NWA, and that now she was moving in on her crush over Dango. Okay, this seems dumb. Joe Galli tried to reign her in and get her to call the match, but Idol continued to feed her into it. That was annoying.
JTG and Dango dominated Sal the Pal in the early portions of the match, but Gags tripped JTG as he hit the ropes and they started to get the heat on him. Sal and Gags worked over the fingers and various small joints of JTG. All of Gags’ offence was cheating, outside of a few chinlocks. Sal accidentally hit Gags with a clothesline and JTG tagged out.
Dango commanded Gags to lay down on the mat. Gags listened. Dango kicked him. Dango went for a crucifix bomb, but Gags slipped out and tagged out to Sal, who superkicked Dango. Dango moved out of the way of a rocket launcher from Gags and Sal. Dango hit a falcon arrow on Sal for the pinfall.
Dango held Angelina Love like he was going to kiss her, but realized that Velvet Sky was watching, so they stopped short and cut to the back.
The Pope was with Kyle Davis and talked about how he wanted to talk to Trevor Murdoch next week, as he was concerned about Murdoch’s behaviour as of late. Pope saw common ground with his old friend because both of them had bad experiences with Matt Cardona recently, losing title matches, and he wanted to have a heart to heart with Murdoch about it.
KiLynn King defeated Chelsea Green & Jennacide in a number one contender’s match
This was easily the best match on the show thus far, and KiLynn King was clearly positioned to get over in this one, but it was surprising given how they have been pushing Jennacide recently. Either way, King and Kamille should be a good match.
Green foolishly tried to take out both King and Jennacide at the same time, but that did not work, and King suplexed Green onto Jennacide. King and Jennacide hit some hard forearms on each other until Jennacide hit a low pump kick to King and threw Green across the ring. Jennacide hit a big boot in the corner for a two count.
Green went to the top rope, but got knocked off, and landed on the apron. Kinghit a flying knee off the top rope on Jennacide. Green tried to dive onto Jennacide and King on the floor but they caught her. King and Jennacide fought over getting into the ring to pin Green, but Green took that chance to recover and kick the middle rope as King was entering the ring again.
Green hit a curb stomp into the turnbuckles on King for a two count. Green locked on a camel clutch on King in the middle of the ring, but Jennacide came behind her and locked a sleeper on. Jennacide hit an atomic drop type move on King for a two count. Green went for the Unprettier on King, but King reversed into the Excalibuster for the win.
The Commonwealth Connection (Doug Williams & Harry Smith) & Nick Aldis defeated The Cardona Family (Matt Cardona, Mike Knox, & VSK) w/ Chelsea Green
Good match to end the show here, with Nick Aldis getting a win to set up a future match with Cardona. In this case, it wouldn’t have hurt to have Cardona tap out with at least a visual submission to further set it up, but we got time before the next PPV, so that might happen.
VSK started the match with Doug Williams and regretted trying to chain wrestle Williams immediately. VSK was only able to get ahead by raking the eyes. VSK did manage to get a headlock and pushed Williams back to the corner to tag out to Mike Knox. Aldis tagged in and Cardona tried to come in from behind, but got dropped by Aldis.
Cardona immediately tagged back out to Knox. Aldis tagged in Harry Smith, who hit a stalling vertical suplex on Mike Knox. Williams and Smith showed some good double team offence on Knox, making it easy to forget they originally were just a makeshift team for the Crockett Cup. Cardona tried to apply a wrist lock on Williams but as soon as they got too close to Aldis, Cardona ran away.
Smith came in and threw VSK all over the ring. The Cardonas got the heat on Smith for a little bit after Chelsea Green got involved, choking Smith on the ropes. Smith managed to knock Knox and VSK off the apron, leaving Cardona alone in the ring. Smith tagged out to Aldis. Aldis ran wild on Cardona, but it soon broke down into everyone hitting big moves.
Cardona hit Reboot on Aldis and went for Radio Silence, but VSK chop blocked Aldis and Cardona tagged out to VSK. Cardona fled the ring as Williams shoved VSK off the top rope and right into a Cloverleaf on VSK for the submission win.
Final Thoughts
This episode of NWA Power ended stronger than it started, with the first few matches not being great. Everything picked up with the women’s triple threat. I like how they are developing the Pope/Murdoch storyline and I’m quite interested to see where it goes. I also think Kilynn King and Kamille will be a fun match when it happens.
Joe Galli opened the show to a loud crowd with Jax Dane in the ring. Galli asked what was next for him and he promised violence. Dane promised to kill the heroes of the NWA like he killed Crimson and promised more of the same tonight.
Jax Dane defeated Eric Jackson
I love squash matches like this with a big dude killing a jobber. It was delightful.
Dane lived up to his promise of violence by attacking right away. Jackson got a few elbows in the corner, but that just made Dane mad. Dane threw him across the ring before taking Jackson’s head off with a lariat for the pinfall.
– Kyle Davis talked about Dane’s one mile restraining order on Anthony Mayweather/Crimson, saying that Mayweather was in the building. Dane denied that and told Davis to keep a close eye on what he does at the Crockett Cup.
Chelsea Green defeated Kenzie Paige
This was an excellent match with both women working hard.
Green and Paige exchanged several pinfall attempts at the start of the match, keeping up a very fast pace. Green slapped Paige, but Paige slapped her back a bit later and hit an exploder suplex and a shotgun dropkick that sent Green across the ring. Green baited Paige and sent her to the floor, followed by a stun gun and a pump kick for a two count.
Green hit two short arm clotheslines for a two and then got in a shouting match with a fan as he taunted her while she had a chinlock on. Green hit a German suplex of sorts, but Paige came back a European uppercut. Both women hit forearms and headbutts at the same time before collapsing.
Paige hit some hard chops and forearms before hitting a superkick for a near fall. Paige went for a package piledriver, but Green fought out and hit a flatliner into the middle turnbuckle before curb stomping Paige into the bottom turnbuckle for a near fall. Paige hit a cutter, but Green got her foot on the ropes. Green asked for a timeout and Paige turned around to talk to someone in the crowd, giving Green the opening to stand up and hit the Unprettier for the pin.
Paige looked bad in that finish. She looked dumb for just walking away from Green and turning around, only to get hit with the Unprettier, but nonetheless, this was a very good match.
Colby Corino defeated Rhett Titus in a two-of-three falls match
This was an excellent TV match, going around 18 minutes. This was a pay-per-view quality performance from both men. If there is a match to watch on this show, it’s this one.
Titus offered a handshake, keeping the Code of Honor outside of ROH, but Corino refused. The opening portion featured some nice technical wrestling with Titus outwrestling Corino. Corino was able to neck Titus on the ropes before flying over the top with a forearm to his back, followed by a tope and finally a senton that crushed Titus.
Titus pulled Corino over the top rope into a Northern Lights suplex for a two count. Titus hit a backbreaker and a gutwrench suplex, followed by a dropkick that got Corino for the first fall. Titus hit a series of boots in the corner, but Corino swept his legs out as he went to the top rope and hit a package backbreaker after pulling him off. Corino locked on the sharpshooter and then let go for some reason to hit an elbow on the back. Tim Storm said that his back went out, but it didn’t seem like that.
Corino hit a back suplex into a backbreaker on Titus for two. Corino, doing his best Roderick Strong impression, hit yet another backbreaker for two. Corino went for a dive, but ate a dropkick from Titus for another two count.
Corino tried to get Titus with an O’Connor roll, but Titus countered and a series of pinfall attempts was initiated. Corino rolled Titus up and grabbed the ropes to make it 1-1. Both men started exchanging hard chops. Corino countered a suplex into a cutter, but Titus responded with a slash and then a belly-to-belly suplex for a near fall.
Corino countered a submission attempt and hit a big double stomp to Titus’ back before hitting a Strong esque vertical suplex into a backbreaker for another two count. Corino locked on an inverted deathlock, but Titus refused to submit and started throwing strikes before countering with a half crab but Corino got to the ropes.
Both men had their backs punished in this match. Titus threw Corino into the turnbuckle three times before hitting a spinning back suplex for a two count. Corino hit a low blow as the ref was in the corner and then hit a rolling elbow to the back of Titus’ head for the pinfall to finish an excellent match.
– Taryn Terrell was with Kyle Davis backstage and claimed she was going to with the NWA Women’s Championship. After she won it, they wouldn’t call it “The Burke” anymore, but “The Terrell.” She was great here.
NWA Women’s Champion Kamille defeated Taryn Terrell to retain the title
This was a very fun match. It wasn’t the best technically, but both women worked hard and Terrell bumped like crazy. Her antics were very amusing, so this was an easy thumbs up from me.
Terrell did her own introduction and then pulled out a photo, saying that they could put it in the belt when she won, Kamille grabbed it and tore it up. Terrell’s over the top character makes me laugh every time. Kamille was not impressed when Terrell grabbed the belt and put it around her waist. She called for a test of strength, but Kamille nearly ripped her arm off, so she went to the ropes.
Terrell paused for a water break and Kamille crushed her in the corner and hit a suplex when Terrell tried to do a monkey flip. Terrell yelled for help as Kamille Irish whipped her into the corner, which had me laughing again. Kamille hit a backbreaker and Terrell was left half dead in the ring.
Terrell managed to hit a jawbreaker, but Kamille caught her and hit a fallaway slam. Terrell screamed “Ow!” very loudly and went for another drink of water. Kamille stomped on her and hit a European uppercut that sent Terrell crashing to the mat again. Terrell spit water into Kamille’s face and rolled her up for a one count. Terrell yanked the hair and stomped on Kamille for another one count.
Terrell went for a kick, but Kamille caught it and threw her to the mat. Terrell caught her with a knee and hit a flipping neckbreaker for a two count. Terrell screamed it was a three and then locked on a camel clutch, but Kamille powered out and snapmared Terrell before hitting the spear for the pin and win.
Final Thoughts:
These “on the road” NWA shows are always really good, and I wish they did them more. A hot audience can elevate an average show to being good and this was a good show even without the fans. Everything was good and even the opening squash was great. This was an excellent NWA Power Trip.
Crimson opened the show talking about the cage match he was having with Jax Dane later, with his son by his side. Crimson promised consequences for what Jax Dane did, turning on him at the NWA Anniversary show.
Tim Storm was with Kyle Davis in the ring. The crowd was going crazy. Storm talked about his match with Jaden Roller tonight. Roller ran down to the ring and attacked Storm before he could say anything, and Davis made a quick exit from the ring. Roller asked for a No DQ match and Storm agreed as the show started.
Tim Storm defeated Jaden Roller in a no DQ match
Fun opening match that told a simple story.
Storm immediately made Roller pay, choking him with his shirt and starting to brawl around the ring. Storm hit a big boot and a few forearms. Storm sent Roller to the floor and hit some chops and sent him headfirst into the stairs. Roller floated over a bodyslam and hit a low blow in the ring, then a second.
Roller grabbed a chair from under the ring and nailed Storm in the back with it. Roller set up a chair in the corner. Storm got sent into the chair after Roller reversed a neckbreaker, and Roller hit a bodyslam and an elbow for a two-count.
Roller set the chair up in the middle of the ring and hit a drop toe hold on the chair. Roller tried to axe kick Storm into the chair, but Storm moved and Roller crotched himself on the chair. Storm then hit a DDT onto the chair and pinned Roller.
Kyle Davis was with Trevor Murdoch and Nick Aldis. Murdoch thanked Aldis for joining him and helping him against Latimer and Adonis. Aldis said this was personal for him after Thom Latimer, his former friend, turned on him after all he did to help him. I like this babyface Aldis, and seeing him team with Murdoch is fun.
Kamille defeated Kenzie Paige to retain the NWA World Women’s Championship in a 2/3 falls Match
The near falls towards the end of this match was awesome. Kenzie Paige got all the crowd behind her so easily as soon as she started showing that she had a chance in the second fall. Paige took most of the second fall, making it easier for the crowd to invest. This was great.
Kamille threw Paige across the ring immediately, using her superior power. Kamille hit a gutwrench suplex and a running slam into the corner. Kamille continued to get the heat with basic offence for the next few minutes. Kamille went for another power slam, but Paige slipped out and hit some chops and a hard back elbow.
Kamille missed a corner charge, but connected with a pump kick and a swinging neckbreaker for the first fall. Kamille went for a spear as soon as the second fall started, but Paige dodged and Kamille crashed into the ring post. Paige drove Kamille into the guardrail and then suplexed her on the ramp. Kamille kicked out of a pinfall attempt in the ring.
Kamille went for another swinging neckbreaker, but Paige countered into a pinfall attempt. A few attempts were exchanged until Paige hit a superkick and a Samoan drop for a two count. Paige climbed to the top rope, but Kamille threw her off and went for a spear again, but Paige dodged and rolled Kamille up for a near fall. Kamille dodged a corner charge, and Paige turned around into a spear for a three count, winning 2 falls to 0.
Strictly Business (Thom Latimer & Chris Adonis) came down to the ring with cake for Kamille, as they were celebrating her birthday. Latimer demanded the crowd sing happy birthday to Kamille, but he immediately stopped them and got Kyle Davis to do it instead, but Nick Aldis interrupted it, and it looks like Murdoch and Aldis will be taking on Strictly Business right now.
Trevor Murdoch & Nick Aldis defeated Strictly Business (Thom Latimer & Chris Adonis) with Kamille
This was a great tag match, with the babyfaces going over. I really liked Aldis wrestling as a babyface here. Murdoch was good too, showing great babyface fire.
Joe Galli made the comment that Aldis was out for months after Latimer hit him with several piledrivers, but we only saw it happen a few weeks ago on TV. I suppose it’s sort of true if we count when the TV was taped vs. when it aired, but that was a weird comment. It has been about 2 months since the NWA 73rd Anniversary show.
Murdoch and Adonis started the match, but once Aldis got in there with Latimer, Latimer tried everything he could to stay away from him. Latimer tried to hit Aldis with a monkey flip, but Aldis landed on his feet, which was impressive. Kamille got involved, which allowed Strictly Business to get the heat on Aldis.
Aldis cut Latimer off when he went to the top rope and hit a superplex. Aldis made the tag to Murdoch, who took out Adonis but ate a clothesline from Latimer. They went right back to the heat here, with Latimer and Adonis isolating Murdoch. Murdoch hit a back elbow when Adonis charged the corner and hit a crossbody, but Latimer knocked Aldis off the apron before a tag could be made.
Murdoch finally made the tag and Aldis finally was able to get his hands on Latimer, hitting a tombstone and a flying elbow, but Adonis broke up the pinfall. Adonis and Murdoch brawled at ringside and Adonis shoved Murdoch into the ring post. Latimer hit a low blow on Adonis when the referee wasn’t looking.
Latimer hit an implant DDT on Aldis. Murdoch hit a pop-up spinebuster on Adonis. Latimer hit a pop-up powerbomb on Murdoch, which was impressive. Aldis powerbombed Latimer, then Adonis hit a spinebuster on Murdoch. Aldis put the Cloverleaf on Adonis, but Kamille pulled him to the ropes.
Kamille went to spear Aldis, but he moved and she hit Adonis. Aldis threw Kamille into Latimer and then Murdoch hit a flying bulldog off the top rope on Adonis, scoring the pinfall in this excellent tag match.
Jax Dane defeated Crimson in a cage match
That was a good cage match to end the show, with Jax Dane acting like the perfect heel. We know that without cheating, Crimson would have likely won.
Jax Dane waited at the entrance area for Crimson, but Crimson predicted this and came in through the crowd and got one up on Dane. Crimson and Dane brawled around ringside, with Crimson suplexing Dane on the entrance ramp. Dane sent Crimson’s head into the stairs and threw a chair into the cage.
Dane brought Crimson into the ring and the bell rang. Dane loaded up something in his hand and nailed Crimson, but hid it from the referee. It’s a cage match though, so why would he need to hide it? Either way, Crimson was busted open, and Dane worked him over. Dane wiped the blood off his hands on the referee’s shirt and continued to attack Crimson’s wound.
Crimson soon ended up wearing a crimson mask, pardon the pun, bleeding all over his face. Crimson powerbombed Dane out of the corner, but ate a big boot on a corner charge and then a clothesline from Dane. Crimson drove Dane’s face into the cage a few times and hit a spinebuster on Dane before hitting a huge elbow drop off the top rope for a two-count.
Crimson picked up the chair as Dane went for a spear. Dane accidentally smashed headfirst into the chair. Crimson hit a Death Valley Driver on Dane in the middle of the ring. Dane ended up throwing powder into the eyes of Crimson, but Crimson still kicked out. Dane pulled a bottle of rubbing alcohol out from the apron and poured it onto the open wound and eyes of Crimson before hitting another clothesline for the three count.
Final Thoughts:
The last two episodes of NWA Power were fantastic. If they could get crowds like this for all their TV tapings, and maybe focus on having 1 or 2 matches of the calibre they had this show per episode, Power would feel like a really hot show every week. I loved both of the By Any Means Necessary episodes, and I hope we see more special ones like this in the future.
The NWA hosts their first-ever all-women’s pay-per-view Saturday with Empower — the kickoff to two back-to-back PPVs in St. Louis, Missouri, at the famous Chase Ballroom.
The Mickie James-produced show will feature the first-ever women’s Invitational Cup that will see ten women compete in a gauntlet match for the chance to face the NWA Women’s Champion on Sunday at NWA 73. That opponent will be determined by a title match between current Women’s Champion Kamille and challenger Leyla Hirsch.
The first NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions since 1983 will be crowned in a four team tournament featuring The Hex (Allysin Kay and Marti Belle), Hell on Heels (Sahara 7 and Renee Michelle), Red Velvet and KiLynn King and The Freebabes.
The event will also see Deonna Purrazzo defend the Impact Knockouts title against Melina; a three-way dance between Kylie Rae, Diamante and Chik Tormenta; Kenzie Paige vs. Paola Mayfield; and Skye Blue vs. Christi Jaynes.
Our live coverage begins at 8 PM Eastern.
**********
Preshow Match: Skye Blue defeated Christi Jaynes
Decent little opener her outside of a few awkward moments, especially the botch near the end. That said, I think Jaynes and Blue both have a lot of potential, and working shows like this are only going to help them both.
Blue and Janyes exchanged some arm drags to open the show. Jaynes hit a kick to the head of Blue who was draped over the apron. Jaynes locked on a submission. Jaynes hit a shotgun dropkick as Blue was laying in the corner for a 2-count. Blue ducked a clothesline and hit a flying hurricanrana and then a kick in the corner.
Blue went to the top rope and hit a big flying crossbody for a 2-count. Blue went for a triangle, but Jaynes powerbombed her into the corner and then hit a big knee to the face for another 2-count. Near falls were exchanged until a botch at the end when Jaynes went for a powerbomb or gutwrench. Jaynes picked Blue up and hit a fireman’s carry into a neck breaker, but after dodging a springboard moonsault, Blue rolled her up and scored the pinfall.
May Valentine was backstage with Melina, and they talked about the historical significance of this show, and what the show meant to her. Melina talked about how she wished her dad was there.
The preshow stream cut off here, and the main show started on Fite before the preshow ended, so we did not see any part of Kenzie Paige vs. Paola Mayfield, unless that is what is opening the show.
On the Fite feed, we heard Joe Galli working with the production crew to try and get the audio working, so this is off to a rough start.
*********
The opening video aired with Mickie James putting over the talent and historical significance of this show, showing clips of Mildred Burke.
They then aired a mock promo from the 1950s with Aron Stevens and Kratos talking about how women’s wrestling could never have a whole show, then flashed forward to todaay at the Chase Ballroom.
Mickie James came out and cut a promo about how people told her that women’s wrestling didn’t draw money, and tonight they were proving everyone wrong, as wrestling returns to the Chase Ballroom, and it’s women’s wrestling. This was very good.
Diamante (AEW) defeated Kylie Rae (NWA) & Chik Tormenta (AAA)
Nice fast paced opening match here. It was beyond clear that Rae and Diamante were the best workers in the ring, as things fell apart a few times when Tormenta was in there. Rae is absolutely fantastic, and Diamante is great as always. Good match to open the show.
Diamante and Rae superkicked Tormenta after an opening exchange, and Tormenta dropped to the floor. Diamante and Rae had some quick exchanges, with Rae hitting s top rope armdrag. Rae hit an uppercut and then a cannonball in the corner on Tormenta.
Rae had Diamante in a fireman’s carry, and Tormenta grabbed Rae and German suplexed her to drop both of them. Diamante hit a Russian leg sweep and a splash for a 2-count, and then followed up with a German suplex on Tormenta, who landed wrong, and ended up accidentally having Diamante’s shoulders on the mat.
Diamante chopped Rae in the corner and put her on the top rope. As a fan chanted for Rae, Diamante flipped off the fan. This gave time for Tormenta to powerbomb Diamante and Rae off the ropes with the Tower of Doom for a 2-count. Diamante hit a cannonball on Rae, and Tormenta hit running knees, but went for the pinfall right in front of Diamante.
Rae went for a backslide on Tormenta, but Diamante kicked their legs out and rolled both of them over for a 2-count. That was a clever spot. Rae did a roll through and superkicked Diamante who rolled outside. Tormenta missed a dive on Rae, who rolled her up and locked on a cross face. Diamante came in and made the save before hitting a Code Red (and not a Canadian Destroyer, as Velvet Sky called it) for the pinfall on Tormenta.
The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) defeated Hell on Heels (Renee Michelle & Sahara 7) in a NWA Women’s Tag Team Championship semifinal
This was not good. Kay was the best worker in the match, by far. I will say this – they tried very hard, and I appreciate the effort. They really wanted this to be a good match, and there were some good moments.
The match started with all 4 participants brawling, but it ended up breaking down quickly to Belle and Kay working over Michelle in the corner, stomping her down in the corner. The referee had a hard time controlling the match here, and I was a bit worried as the wrestlers almost hit her several times.
Sahara 7 choked Belle on the top rope, and Belle bumped for a Rude Awakening neckbreaker by falling flat on her back. Yikes. Sahara 7 and Belle struggled here a bit, as it seemed like they weren’t on the same page. Belle hit a discus forearm on Sahara before tagging out to Kay. Michelle tagged in, but Kay was running wild, and it was clear she was the best worker in the match.
Marti Belle hit a weird move that was supposed to be like a Skull Crushing Finale or The Stroke, but it looked bad. Renee Michelle tried to hit an elbow but missed, but Belle sold it anyway. Kay booted Michelle. It wasn’t long after that Kay and Belle hit the Hexectution for the pinfall on Michelle.
Red Velvet & KiLynn King defeated The Freebabes (Miranda Gordy & Jazzy Yang) w/ Hollywood Haley in a NWA Women’s Tag Team Championship semifinal
This was way better than the last tag match. I really liked Gordy and Yang. This was the first time I’ve ever seen them, but they looked great. I liked the characters too. I hope we see more of them in the NWA. Velvet and King worked a good tag match here, and it’s clear that QT Marshall working with them is fantastic.
Velvet and Yang started the match, but it wasn’t long before Gordy and King were in the match. Both women exchanged power holds, and this was already quite a bit better than the previous match. Hollywood Haley J threw a coat at Red Velvet and Gordy responded with a big boot and a Gorilla Press. They started to get the heat on Velvet here, cheating behind the referee’s back.
Velvet came close to a tag, but got caught by Gordy. Velvet hit an enziguri and tagged out to King, who ran wild over everyone. This was a great hot tag. King hit the Kingdom on Jazzy Yang for the pinfall.
May Valentine was with The Hex, and the talked about their return to the NWA. Kay talked about how much it would mean to her to win the NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championship.
Gail Kim came out to a nice reaction from the crowd and talked about the history of women’s wrestling before Taryn Terrell came out with Paola Blaze and Jennacide. Terrell grabbed a mic and talked about how the show was really about her, and the women surrounded Kim before Awesome Kong’s music hit!
Kong came out and destroyed Blaze and Jennacide, clotheslining Blaze, chokeslamming Jennacide, then hitting the Implant Buster on Blaze. Kong came face to face with Gail Kim, and beckoned her into the ring to a great reaction from the crowd. Kong grabbed the mic to talk, which is rare.
Awesome Kong talked about how she had a very hard year, and one of the only things that could motivate her to come out tonight was Gail Kim. She said that Kim was her greatest foe, and that she loved her, and that there was no other way she wanted to end her career than being in the ring with Kim. Kong has announced her retirement. This was an amazing moment.
Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defeated Melina to retain
This match was fantastic. Easily the best match of the night so far. I know I have been hard on Melina in previous matches in the NWA, but she was good here. The fans wanted this to be an outstanding match too, so they kept the energy up making it feel like a big deal. Purrazzo is so good, and I’d like to see her cross through that Forbidden Door soon. I especially want to see Purrazzo vs. Serena Deeb, Riho, and Shida.
Melina and Purrazzo kept it basic in the opening exchange. Melina took over with a submission attempt, and then drove Purrazzo’s head into the turnbuckle. Melina went for a hurricarana off the top rope, but Purrazzo caught her in mid air and hit a powerbomb.
Purrazzo started working over the arm, and Melina sold quite well while this was happening. Purrazzo bent Melina’s arm back and placed it on the mat before stomping the elbow. Melina tried to make a brief comeback but Purrazzo caught a kick and started working over the knee of Melina, which she has had injuries with in the past.
Purrazzo locked on Figure Four Leglock, but Melina made the ropes. Purrazzo went right back to the leg with a toe hold, honouring both Terry Funk and Ric Flair in the early parts of the match. Purrazzo went for a corner charge, but Melina dodged and Purrazzo crashed shoulder first into the ring post and spilled out of the ring onto the steps.
Melina took advantage, getting a few near falls here, and hitting double knees in the corner for a 2-count. Purrazzo ducked a clothesline and hit a Russian legsweep and transitioned into a half crab. Melina made the ropes, and both women exchanged kicks before Melina botched a Code Red, but Purrazzo covered her to make up for it. The crowd was very kind here, chanting “This is awesome.” I honestly love how kind they were there, and they played off it well with Melina’s knee.
Purrazzo did a chop block to Melina, who started selling the knee. Melina hit the ropes but fell right over because of the knee injury. The referee was going to throw the match out, but Melina grabbed the arm and told the ref to not throw it out. Purrazzo ate a few strikes from Melina before Purrazzo kicked the knee and began to taunt Melina. Melina managed to stand up and hit the Play of the Day for a 2-count. Purrazzo countered into an armbar and grabbed both arms, bending them as Melina struggled to make the ropes. Purrazzo then reached back and pulled back the leg in a half crab and finally forced the tap out. This was a great match.
The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) defeated KiLynn King & Red Velvet in the NWA Women’s Tag Team Championship tourney final
This was another good match, and far better than the first tag match of the show. Kay and Belle worked very well with King and Velvet, and the crowd was ridiculously hot for this match. They wanted this to be an epic moment for the winners, and the women worked very hard to make this a stand out match. This was very good.
Medusa came out to do guess commentary for this match. Kay started the match with King, and they had a good exchange, but once Belle and Velvet were in the ring, Belle hit three suplexes but Velvet was able to tag out. King hit a German suplex on Kay after Velvet pulled Belle from the apron, and they started to get the heat on Kay here for a bit.
I wasn’t expecting them to get the heat on Kay here, but it was working for the crowd, as the AEW women played the heels subtly in this match. Velvet got caught by Kay and almost ate a powerbomb, but countered into a hurricanrana. Velvet locked on an Octopus Stretch, but Kay was able to hit a huge spinebuster on Velvet before making the tag to Marti Belle for the hot tag.
Belle hit a kick to King and then went for a pinfall, but Velvet broke it up. King slammed Kay and Velvet went for a frog splash, but Kay moved. Kay and Belle then hit an assisted AK-47 on Velvet for the pinfall, and they have won the NWA World Women’s Championship. Excellent match.
Holy cow, this match was great. Leyla Hirsh is outstanding, and Kamille easily had the best match of her career here. The selling was wonderful from Hirsch, and the timing was perfect for the comeback. The false finishes had me believing that Hirsch was going to win, and I bought almost all of them. Absolutely fantastic match.
Before the match began, the NWA honoured Mildred Burke as the first real Women’s World Champion, and they displayed Burke’s original title, that went on to be the main title in AJW. This was very nice. The crowd popped huge for Burke’s title, and it’s wonderful to see her being honoured here.
Hirsch tried to shoot for a takedown, but Kamille just picked her up and threw her across the ring. Hirsch floated behind, but Kamille shrugged her off as well. Hirsch changed tactics to lucha, and ran up the ropes and hit a huge hurricanrana and then a suicide dive to the floor on Kamille to a huge pop from the crowd.
Kamille caught a hurricanrana attempt on the floor and swung Hirsch into the stairs, which looked ugly. That one had to hurt. Kamille grabbed Hirsch and dragged her eyes over the guardrail like it was the ropes. Strictly Business was at a table just behind the guardrail cheering her on.
Kamille continued to use her power to throw Hirsch around the ring here, including tying her up in the ropes and hitting big strikes to the chest of Kamille. Kamille tried to pick Hirsch up, but Hirsch locked on a sleeper and then pulled the arm over the top rope into an armbar on Kamille. Hirsch came back in and got hit with a fireman’s carry though.
Kamille hit a big backbreaker before hitting a snap suplex. Kamille hit a European uppercut to drop Hirsch. Hirsch didn’t stay down though, and tried to hit a few strikes, but it wasn’t enough to keep Kamille at bay. Kamille went for a superplex, but Hirsch drove her head into the turnbuckle and then cartwheeled over Kamille’s back into a German suplex. That was incredible.
Hirsch finally started hitting suplexes, hitting another 3 German suplexes and two flying knees for a 2-count. The crowd went absolutely nuts for this. Hirsch went for the armbar, but Kamille managed to drag herself to the ropes to escape. Kamille hit a pump kick to drop Hirsch, and then picked her up with a Torture Rack into a powerbomb for a 2-count.
Hirsch hit a Saito suplex and then a lariat after an exchange of forearms, and the crowd was all on their feet. Hirsch went for a moonsault, but Kamille moved. Kamille went for the spear, but Hirsch floated over, hit a backstabber, and locked on the armbar again. Kamille fought out, caught Hirsch after a 3rd knee attempt, dumped her over, and then hit a spear for the win. This was fantastic.
NWA Women’s Invitational Cup Gauntlet: Chelsea Green defeated Bianca Carelli, Debbie Malenko, Lady Frost, Jamie Senegal, Jennacide, Kiera Hogan, Masha Slamovich, Thunder Kitty & Tootie Lynn
This wasn’t a bad match at all, but it did have some lower points. That said, the key stories coming out of it were how awesome Masha Slamovich was, Kiera Hogan looked awesome, Debbie Malenko was a legend to come out. Tootie Lynn looked fantastic here as the hometown hero, but just came up short after getting a huge pinfall over Slamovich. I would love to see those two have a feud on NWA Power.
Chelsea Green and Kiera Hogan were the first entrants in the gauntlet. Green and Hogan exchanged pinfall attempts early on, but with quick kick outs. Hogan hit a superkick on Green, but Green dodged a corner charge and hit a knee in the corner. Bianca Carelli was the 3rd entrant and immediately slammed Hogan for a 2-count.
Thunder Kitty was 4th into the ring, and the announcers talked about how she was 100 years old. She was not. Jennacide was 5th, and she came out with Taryn Terrell. Jennacide hit big right hands on all the other women before catching Carelli and hitting a swinging DDT to eliminate her from the match.
Hogan jumped onto Jennacide’s back, and she still overpowered Green and Thunder Kitty. Lady Frost was next, and took her time waiting outside the ring. The production crew kept the camera on Lady Frost on the outside, and we missed something that Joe Galli was yelling about. They kept the camera on her for way too long with Lady Frost’s lower third on the screen.
Jennacide somehow eliminated Thunder Kitty, but I couldn’t see it. Joe Galli commented that they weren’t going to take off Frost’s graphic until she got in the ring, which was a nice cover. The floor camera was obviously told to look at the ring so we didn’t miss anything, which is good, but the lower third was still stuck on the screen.
The women paused in the ring for a bit as this happened, as something must have led to them losing the camera. They finally managed to switch back to the hard camera and send out the next opponent. They waited until they had that back for the next person. Debbie Malenko came out next and she threw Lady Frost into the ring.
Malenko started throwing suplexes, German suplexing Hogan and Green. Jamie Senegal was next. Frost and Senegal exchanged some armdrags. Frost hit a cannonball into the corner on Senegal and Jennacide before hitting a Sky Twister Press on Senegal for a 2-count. Malenko rushed in and put an STF on Frost and got the tapout.
Malenko put a surfboard stretch on Green, but as she locked it on, Kiera Hogan slipped in between the two and pinned Malenko. Hogan then hit a suicide dive on Jennacide and Green. Senegal hit a moonsault on all of them, and Masha Slamovich was next and hit a dive off the top rope onto everyone.
Slamovich, Senegal, and Green had to triple team Jennacide to finally eliminate her from the right. Tootie Lynn was the final competitor, and she was the hometown hero in this match. Lynn came in and ran wild on everyone hitting kicks and clotheslines. Lynn hit a bulldog on Senegal but ate a dropkick from Slamovich. Slamovich hit a package piledriver on Senegal and scored a pinfall.
The final four were Kiera Hogan, Chelsea Green, Masha Slamovich, and Tootie Lynn. Slamovich ran over Green as she hit the ropes. Hogan pulled Lynn from the ring and hit a kick on Slamovich. Hogan hit a shotgun dropkick on Slamovich, but Slamovich cut her off and they hit a Tower of Doom on Hogan and Slamovich, but Slamovich rolled through and pinned Hogan.
Slamovich hit a Tiger Suplex on Green for a 2-count. Lynn reversed a powerbomb from Slamovich into a hurricanrana and pinned Slamovich. We were down to the final two,and Green went for the Unprettier, but Lynn countered into a backslide. Green hit a ripcord back elbow, and then hit the Unprettier for the pinfall.
Chelsea Green celebrated as the show went off the air with the Invitational Cup.
Final Thoughts:
This was a very good show. Outside of one rough match in the tag tournament, everything else on this show was good to great. I wasn’t sure about finishing the show with the Invitational, especially as Kamille and Leyla Hirsch was so good, but the crowd was really into the Invitational, and they popped huge for all the major moments.
Mickie James got to see her vision for an all women produced show come true, and it delivered exactly what she promised – great wrestling. The match of the night was easily Kamille and Hirsch, but Denonna Purrazzo and Melina was also fantastic. The tag team tournament final was an excellent tag team match.
The first wrestling show at the Chase in 37 years was NWA Empower, and I can’t help but feel that is going to be a significant part of the history of that storied venue. The NWA knocked it out of the park with this show, and I cannot recommend it enough.
She defeated Serena Deeb at the NWA’s When Our Shadows Fall event that took place this afternoon. In what turned out to be a back and forth contest, Kamille pinned Deeb following a spear to win the championship for the first time. This ends Deeb’s run with the title after holding it for 222 days, defeating Thunder Rosa at a UWN Primetime Live event back in October.
Deeb has defended the title multiple times on AEW television. Since returning from a knee injury, she’s retained the title against the likes of Red Velvet and Riho, with the latter title defense taking place at the AEW Double or Nothing buy-in pre show last weekend.
In the NWA, Thunder Rosa and Kamille have feuded over who would challenge Deeb next for the title. Kamille originally became the number one contender, but Rosa challenged her to a match where she would give up working for other companies if she lost again. That match ended in a draw, meaning Rosa could still wrestle in other places, but Kamille would still challenge for the title.
Thunder Rosa accepted a match this week on NWA Power that could see her no longer appearing on AEW and other outside wrestling companies if she loses.
On the show, Kamille accused Rosa of using the NWA for her own selfish purposes, pointing out her appearances on AEW Dynamite. Kamille said she would put her number one contendership to the NWA Women’s title on the line in a 20 minute, one fall match if Rosa would agree that she would not be able to work with any other company if she lost. Rosa agreed, though a date for the match wasn’t established.
Kamille has been number one contender since NWA Back for the Attack on March 21, when she defeated Rosa. Serena Deeb, the NWA Women’s champion, has been out of action since February with a knee injury.
Rosa has appeared regularly on AEW television since last September, with AEW contracted wrestler Deeb defeating Rosa on an episode of UWN Primetime Live to win the NWA Women’s championship. A recent high-profile match on Dynamite saw Rosa defeat Britt Baker in a lights out match.
Joe Galli & May Valentine opened the show, showing a segment from last week where Nick Aldis announced that Strictly Business was recruiting. The announcers then invited Mike Parrow to the announce desk to ask him about his career.
–Parrow talked about how he wasn’t seen in the NWA since the NWA 70th Anniversary and had to go to Japan to earn his way back to the NWA. He was angry that the management sent him away, since he watched people from all across the world, but didn’t get a shot in the NWA. He said that he was going to take everyone in front of him out, and every single person there should run in fear. Excellent promo.
–A recap of Thunder Rosa beating Britt Baker on AEW Dynamite aired. Rosa then cut a promo about wanting to win the NWA Women’s title back.
–Kamille was at the announce desk and asked where her video package was. Kamille said that she made the match that Rosa was in last week better by running in and spearing Rosa. She also talked about Adonis and Thom Latimer being a good team, but she wasn’t quite sure where Nick Aldis’ head was at because she and Thom aren’t going anywhere.
She said she wasn’t upset with Nick, and recognized that he was going to do the best thing for Strictly Business. May Valentine asked if she was taking it personally, and Kamille got increasingly upset, saying that she was just straight to business.
Mims defeated Jerimiah Plunkett
This was a solid, basic match once it got started. Mims and Plunkett botched something early on, but right after that, they got on track.
Plunkett trained Mims, so there was a bit of a built-in story for the match. Plunkett got the heat for most of the match, using heel tactics, which Velvet Sky pointed out with those exact words. Not a fan of Sky saying “That’s a real heel there. Getting the heat from the crowd.” What does that mean if this is real?
Mims made a quick comeback, hitting some bodyslams and a huge belly-to-belly suplex. Mims then hit the Hook Up for a pinfall victory. Solid match.
The announcers informed us that Sal Rinauro was looking for a world-class wrestler to team with him to face Aron Stevens and Kratos.
–Nick Aldis was with May Valentine and Joe Galli and talked about the qualifications needed to challenge for the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. Aldis said there were several people in the running, but no one has separated from the pack yet. Aldis said that this afforded him the time to focus on advancing Strictly Business.
Aldis also called out May Valentine for her questioning of Kamille. He said that Latimer & Kamille are not a part of Strictly Business because they’re his friends, they’re members because they are elite-level athletes. As long as they remain elite, they will be members.
Galli then asked about Chris Adonis, and Aldis said again that he was not a member. He is on their radar, and he has had a good start, winning the NWA National Title, but the main thing that Aldis is looking for is consistency.
Aldis then spoke directly to the viewers who were happy NWA Power was back, and all the fans that support them, saying “You’re welcome.” Perfect heel line from Aldis here. Good promo, and a little intrigue built towards the next episode of NWA Power.
Final Thoughts:
This was a very easy 30-minute watch that featured a recap of all the events from the last few weeks of Power, and then a bonus match on top of it. It also advanced some characters in Mims and Parrow specifically. I’m not sure what the plan is going forward with Power Surge, but as a half-hour recap show with promos, it served its purpose well.
