Max the Impaler will get the next NWA Women’s Championship match.
They last eliminated Natalya Markova to win the Burke Invitational during the first night of NWA 74 on Saturady. With the win, Max will now challenge the winner of NWA 74 night one’s NWA Women’s Championship match between Taya Valkyrie and Kamille at Sunday’s NWA 74 night two.
Other participants in the Burke Invitational include Samanta Starr, KiLynn King, Tootie Lynn, Missa Kate, Madi Wrenkowski, Angelina Love, Taryn Terrell, and Jennacide. The finish of the match had Markova going to the top rope, but Max countered and crotched her on the ropes. Max then threw her out to the mat then pinned Markova with the Welcome to the Wasteland.
After the match, Max celebrated with Miserably Faithful (Judias, Sal The Pal, and Gaagz The Gymp) and Father James Mitchell.
The NWA Women’s World Championship will headline the first night of NWA 74. The following night, Tyrus will challenge Trevor Murdoch for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
NWA returns for its 74th anniversary weekend featuring two nights of pay-per-views from the Chase Ballroom in St. Louis, Missouri.
Saturday’s show will feature four title matches, a gauntlet match for an NWA Women’s title match on Sunday, and the return of Matt Cardona.
Cardona, the former NWA World Champion, will face a handpicked opponent. He has been out of action since June with a torn biceps and relinquished the title at Alwayz Ready.
The show will open with a Nick Aldis open forum as the former champion was pulled from the main event of night two.
Kamille will put up the NWA Women’s title against Taya Valkyrie. On Sunday, the winner will defend against the winner of tonight’s ten-woman Burke Invitational gauntlet.
NWA men’s Tag Team Champions The Commonwealth Connection (Doug Williams & Harry Smith) will defend against former champions La Rebelion, National Champion Jax Dane will defend against Cyon, and Junior Heavyweight Champion Homicide defends against Kerry Morton.
Other featured matches include Bully Ray vs. Mike Knox in a tables match, the promotional debut of EC3 against Mims, three pre-show matches and more.
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Pre-show–
Joe Galli and Tim Storm open the preshow, and Joe Galli talked about changes to the show that were going to be announced in the preshow. The audio was not working here, and Tim Storm couldn’t be heard at all. Galli’s mic was low.
As they were discussing EC3 vs. Mims, the audio went completely out, and they match graphics showed without audio. We’re off to a good start on this PPV, which had a build that was shaky at best.
The stage setup with two big screens at the entrance was actually quite great. Looks good for an indie show. The audio cut off again in the entrance of Gold Rushhh. Commentary was not on at all, and music for the entrances could barely be heard.
The Country Gentlemen (AJ Cazana & Anthony Andrews) w/ Joe Cazana defeated Gold Rushhh (Jordan Clearwater & Marshe Rockett)
The audio continued to cut in and out at Cazana and Clearwater started the match by locking up. Cazana hit a big right hand on Clearwater after Clearwater slipped out of a bodyslam. Cazana then hit him with a bodyslam. The audio came back on at this point with Cazana hitting a bodyslam on Rockett, and it was so loud I almost kicked out of that bodyslam instead of Rockett.
Clearwater tagged in after a dropkick from Rockett. Rockett hit a bodyslam of his own on Cazana for a 2-count. Cazana hit a slam of his own on Clearwater and tagged out to Andrews, who came in and hit a uranage on Rockett, but got low bridged when he hit the ropes. This led to Cazana hitting an O’Connor Roll on Rockett for the pinfall, in the shocker of the night.
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–May Valentine interviewed an injured Jay Bradley, but it only aired for a minute before it was cut off due to technical difficulties.
Rhett Titus defeated VSK
Titus replaced Luke Hawx, who was advertised for this match, as he and PJ Hawx were moved into a tag match somewhere on the card, which Joe Galli said would be announced in a bit.
Titus and VSK had a very technical opening segment to the match, resulting in a monkey flip being one of the high spots, which I love. VSK dodged a corner charge and Titus crashed into the ring post and VSK started to work over the left arm of Titus. VSK hit a slingshot senton on the back and arm of Titus before locking on an armbar.
Titus countered with an armdrag, but was unable to hit a German suplex due to his injured arm. This didn’t stop him from countering and hitting his standing dropkick on VSK but he couldn’t go for the pin due to his arm. Titus then used his good right arm to hit forearms to the back, but VSK hit a usperkick on Titus and went to the top rope, but Titus got his knees up for the frog splash and hit a belly-to-belly suplex for the pin.
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The Pope defeated Rodney Mack w/ Aron Stevens
Pope got a great reaction coming out here. It’s clear NWA could do a lot more with him than they are, as much like Murdoch, he is having a great run in NWA and it showed there is a lot left in the tank for him.
In another confusing part of NWA’s booking, Stevens distracted Pope before the start of the match, and Rodney Mack attacked Pope from behind and acted as a heel when he has been a babyface on Power for the last few months. Stevens and Mack being full blown heels in this match makes me think like I missed something in this story, but I likely didn’t, which makes it worse.
Pope dodged out of the way of an elbow and hit some kicks on Mack before hitting a Manhattan Drop and a fist drop. Pope hit a corner splash and a flying forearm before hitting some bionic elbows. Pope hit another forearm but Stevens got on the apron, so Pope hit him with a bionic elbow. Unfortunately Pope got locked in the Euthanizer, and Pope tapped out.
Stevens and Mack started to beat down Pope, but Kratos ran down, making a return to the NWA, and hit started attacking Stevens and throwing him around the ring! Stevens was pulled out of harms way by Rodney Mack, but the return of Kratos is a great thing. This guy should be pushed as a singles star in NWA, so hopefully this is the start of that. I would have loved to see him in the NWA Worlds title picture, because JR Kratos is the man.
–Bully Ray was with May Valentine, and May reveals that Ray challenged Mike Knox to a tables match on Busted Open Radio. That would have been nice to know a few weeks ago with some audio clips. Ray cut a promo on him, tying their history to Aces & Eights in Impact, and that Ray promised that Knox will go through a table. This was a simple, effective promo.
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–Joe Galli and Tim Storm ran down the rest of the card for Night 1. Hawx Aerie was announced to be replacing the Commonwealth Connection in the NWA World Tag Team Championship match as Harry Smith was out with an illness. This means the titles were vacated and new champions will be determined today.
It was during the entrances of this match that Joe Galli announced Colby Corino would be facing Caprice Coleman in a 30 minute iron man match tomorrow night at NWA 74 Night 2.
Wrecking Ball and Corino got the heat on Gustavo throughout the early part of this match, with Wrecking Ball in particular just tossing him all over the ring. Corino and Wrecking Ball kept Gustavo in their corner for a few minutes. It was noticeable that one of the ringside cameras was completely out of focus. The hard camera looked great, but the ones next to the ring were questionable.
Corino blind tagged Wrecking Ball before hitting a suplex into a neckbreaker across his knee for a 2-count. Gustavo hit a tilt a whirl into a tornado DDT on Corino and tagged in Coleman who hit a series of clotheslines on Corino. Coleman hit a springboard kick on Wrecking Ball, but Corino made the save on the pinfall. Coleman managed to lock Wrecking Ball in a chicken wing, which made him tap out. Wrecking Ball shook hands with both men ahd chased Corino away, indicating a babyface turn for The Fixers, which is good because they were getting very over.
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Main Card
The show opened with a highlight video Harley Race and Terry Funk having a match in 1977 before cutting into Bullet with Butterfly Wings by The Smashing Pumpkins, which was a fantastic choice for the opening song. Joe Galli, Tim Storm, and Velvet Sky then run down the entire card for tonight. They have done a better job promoting the PPV on the PPV than they did on the TV.
–Nick Aldis made his entrance to a great reaction from the audience, and his unfortunate rap theme is back, rather than his previous one which suited him far better. Aldis talked about how he was the world champ 1 year ago at the NWA anniversary show, and that Trevor Murdoch beat him clean in the ring and was the better man that night.
Aldis reminded the fans that the show was sold out a year ago, which seemed like a shot at Tyrus, given the show did not sell out this time, and was not even close to it. Aldis said that the world title was not his belt, or Murdoch’s, but it belongs to the fans and history, and he wants it back for the fans.
Aldis then addressed being stripped of the #1 contender position by Billy Corgan. Aldis said he wasn’t going to waste time lamenting what happened, and promised that the fans would get their money’s worth if they came to see him wrestle, but if he can’t get back to the title, maybe it was time for him to walk away. The crowd booed this. Aldis then said that Corgan could take away his title shot, but he could never take away his legacy, and he promised that he was going to beat Flip Gordon tomorrow night. It would have been nice to have this promo on TV.
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EC3 defeated Mims
EC3 sent Mims right into the ring post, attacking the previously injured shoulder. EC3 then threw terrible half punches/half clothelines in the corner on Mims. EC3 locked a top wristlock on Mims to twist and attack the shoulder and wrist of Mims. EC3 setup Mims for a capture DDT, with his leg wrapped around Mims’ leg, but fell forward into a weird Russian Leg Sweep type move rather than backwards into a DDT.
Just because you can do something, EC3, doesn’t mean it will look good, and that looked bad. Mims hit a flying clothesline on EC3 but got necked on the ropes, and it attacked his arm too. EC3 then did the One Percenter on Mims before locking on The Purpose for the submission. Poor Mims, this was not a good match, and it wasn’t his fault.
EC3 grabbed a mic and talked about being on hallowed ground for the NWA, paying homage to the past. He said the past was just a story, and it sucked. He is trying to do profound cryptic promo stuff here, and it sucked. He ranted about nostalgia and controlling your narrative, and that nostalgia is dead because he’s the future or some sort nonsense.
–Thom Latimer came down to the ring to respond to EC3. EC3 never turned around and somehow knew that Latimer was behind him. I guess he has magic powers? My internet died at this point, leaving me unable to see the rest of the promo, but I’ll take that as a good thing.
My internet came back on an hour later, but EC3 didn’t look at Latimer until he said he was going to pull all the demons out of Latimer. This was weird, and not good. I don’t like the spooky doesn’t make sense promos like this.
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The Miserably Faithful (Judias, Gagz the Gimp, & Sal the Pal) w/ James Mitchell The Ill Begotten (Alex Taylor, Jeremiah Plunkett, & Danny Dealz) in a Beelzebub’s Bedlam Match
Judias had his hair done up like a 90s emo kid with his beard done up like a hipster. Gagz setup a chair in the corner and drove Plunkett into it. Sal hit a tiger feint kick on Plunkett, but Alex Taylor broke it up. Judias hit Taylor with a garbage can and went for a powerbomb on Plunkett. Danny Dealz ran into the ring with a crucifix and holy water, and threw it on Judias, which made me laugh.
Judias used a Greco Roman choke on Danny Dealz while Sal and Gagz setup a ladder. Alex Taylor came into the ring with a chair, smashing Judias with it several times. Gagz grabbed a broom and broke it over the back of Alex Taylor, but ate a forearm from Plunkett who tried to piledrive Gagz on the chairs. Gagz went for an Acid Drop on Plunkett, but Plunkett dumped him onto the chair and Taylor hit a Future Shock onto the chairs on Gagz.
Sal broke up the pinfall and bit Taylor before setting up the chairs in the middle of the ring and took a seat on them. Taylor and Plunkett powerbombed Sal onto all four chairs. Judias had some sort of spike that he brought in the ring, but was stopped from using it by Danny Dealz hitting him with a chair. Judias no sold the chair, but this allowed for a low blow.
Alex Taylor went onto the ladder and was about to be superplexed into the ring by Sal the Pal. Taylor got caught on the ladder, however, as it was set up with the steps of the ladder were not facing the corner, so it was an awkward position to come into the ring. Taylor ended up crashing onto the top rope and it looked devastating. I hope he’s okay, as he hit the ropes hard, and then flipped into the ring.
Regardless, Danny Dealz was the last man left standing, and Medusa came out and threw powder in his face as he has been gunning for her GM job on NWA USA. She threw him in the ring and Judias hit him with a chokeslam for the pin.
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Chris Adonis defeated Odinson via Disqualification
Odinson and Adonis started the match with displays of strength, throwing each other around the ring. Adonis eventually took over for a short while, working over the arm and shoulder of Odinson before chopping and punching him in the corner. Odinson managed to hit an Asgardian uppercut for a two count.
There was some basic back and forth ending with Adonis putting the Master Lock on Odinson, but Odinson grabbed that spray he sprays in his mouth and sprayed it into the eyes of Adonis to break the hold. The referee DQ’d Odinson, who then hit Adonis with the spray bottle and left the ring. Crappy finish on this one.
–Pretty Empowered were on the stage with Kyle Davis and talked about their upcoming match with The Hex, with Ella Envy saying that the Hex were just jealous, leading to Envy getting booed. Kenzie Pagie talked about how much the title meant to her and how much fighting for the NWA meant to her, which got cheers. Envy claimed the Hex were crying like children, which seemed to offend Paige a little bit. Velvet Sky pointed out that Paige was taking it seriously, while Envy was making a mockery of the titles.
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Homicide defeated Kerry Morton w/ Ricky Morton to retain NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Morton and Homicide started fast paced, with Homicide smiling and shook the hand of Morton, while looking like he was going to attempt to kill him, no pun intended on his name. Morton hit a shoulder tackle and a hip toss, being on step ahead of Homicide who lightly shook his hand again and did a peace sign to Ricky Morton while looking like he wanted to kill Ricky Morton too.
Homicide’s facial expressions are so great. Morton hit another armdrag and a dropkick that sent Homicide ot the floor. Homicide and Ricky Morton came face to face before he got back in the ring. Homicide went to shake Morton’s hand again, but this time he slapped it away. Homicide yanked the hair of Morton to pull him to the mat, but got caught in an O’Connor Roll for a 2-count. Homicide kicked out and then went for a dive to the floor, but Morton came back in and hit a crossbody for a 2-count.
Homicide hit a back elbow on Morton before looking at Ricky Morton again and fishhooking Kerry Morton and yanking the hair again. Homicide is descending into his old heelish ways, and chopped Morton a few times, but Morton asked for more. Morton went for a dive to the floor, but Homicide caught him, drove him into the ring post, and slammed him onto the floor.
Morton managed to hit a Cheeky Nandos superkick in the corner before powerbombing Homicide off the middle ropes for a 2-count. Morton missed a frog splash and Homicide got a 2-count. Homicide went for the Cop Killa, but Morton slipped out and hit a superkick. Homicide hit a lariat, and went for another, but Morton ducked and hit one of his own. Homicide then hit a low blow right in front of the referee.
The referee warned him and threatened him to DQ him, while Homicide insisted it was accidental. Morton recovered and hit the Finaly Roll, but missed the moonsault, and Homicde was able to hit an avalanche Koji Cutter on Morton for the pinfall. This match was fantastic.
Kerry Morton shoved Homicide after the match, upset about the low blow, and Homicide slapped him and left the ring.
–Kyle Davis introduced an NWA legend in attendance, Tommy Rich, who got a nice reaction from the NWA audience. Rich cut a great promo, saying dreams came true, and he was so happy to be back in the NWA. He said he was fired up, thanked the NWA, and thanked St. Louis, and it was a dream come true to wrestle in the NWA, be the NWA champion, and to be back in the NWA again.
-Thrillbilly Silas was with May Valentine and predicted pain for his match tomorrow with Davey Richards.
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Matt Cardona made his entrance, and claimed that he was back to save the NWA, and ahead of schedule. He said he wasn’t wrestling Nick Aldis or Bully Ray tonight, claiming that Bully Ray was Extreme shaming him and that he wasn’t hardcore. Cardona said he was the death match king, and more hardcore than him. He also promised he wasn’t going to ruin the Worlds title match tomorrow, as they will have the main event tomorrow, and he’ll be challenging for the title soon enough again, as Corgan promised him one. He then introduced his opponent, Rolando Freeman.
Rolando Freeman defeated Matt Cardona
Freeman flipped off Matt Cardona which got a nice reaction. The height difference here was rather hilarious, as Cardona towered over the 5’2ish Rolando. Cardona went down to his knees for a test of strength, and Freeman laughed before hitting a forearm into the face of Cardona. He then hit a running headbutt on Cardona, but ate a big kick when he charged the corner. Cardona started punching him like crazy.
Cardona was mad now and choked Freeman and hit shoulder blocks in the corner before setting him on the top rope. Cardona slapped him, but Freeman responded with a slap of his own and hit a missile dropkick. Freeman hit a flatliner for a 2-count. Freeman hit a series of forearms, but ate a flying foreman from Cardona. Cardona murdered him with several forearms and hit the ReBoot but picked Freeman up from the pin. Cardona picked him up a second time, and then went for a lazy cover with his back, and Freeman caught him in a crucifix pin and pinned Cardona!
Rolando Freeman beat the former champion, clean in the middle of the ring, by outwrestling Matt Cardona! Cardona was livid as he left the ring. I really liked this finish. It was a clean finish, and not a fluke, as Freeman outwrestled him. This was so good.
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–Baby Doll was with Samantha Starr backstage, returning to the NWA. May Valentine noted that she came back to NWA to manager her daughter, Samantha Starr, who Valentine welcomed to the NWA. Starr talked about what it meant for her to go up against the top talent in the NWA in the Burke Invitational.
Max the Impaler won the The Burke Invitational Gauntlet Match
KiLynn King and Samantha Starr started the match, as King looks to continue her rise in the NWA, and Starr looks to make an impact with her mom in her corner. The announcers talked about the family of Grizzly Smith, praising the wrestlers that came from him, but I wouldn’t have done that, given Smith’s history of abuse. Not a good look, despite it being true that it was Starr’s family linage.
Starr and King started fast with different attacks in the corner, attempting to pin each other quickly to make it easier before the next opponent came out. This match is not an over the top rope battle royal, as far as I know, but there is a countdown between entrants, and it isn’t only one person at a time in the ring as Natalia Markova made her entrance and took it to both King and Starr.
Markova hit a cutter on King, but Starr stopped it for some reason, which seemed odd as it is an elimination gauntlet. Markova and Starr exchanged strikes until the next entrant made their way in. Missa Kate ran down and hit a twisting senton onto both Starr and Markova before kicking King in the face. King put Kate over the top rope and she was eliminated, so apparently it is a battle royal, with pinfalls. This really isn’t a gauntlet. It’s a battle royal, so this was mis-advertised.
Madi made her way to the ring after King hit a series of moves on the other women. Madi tried to throw King over the top rope, but couldn’t, so she looked at the referee and screamed for help, which was funny. Starr tried to help but it didn’t work. Madi tried to pin everyone, with no success.
Taryn Terrell was the next entrant, and she looked so thrilled to be there while trying to avoid interacting with the fans. She hasn’t gotten into the ring, and seemed content to wait until the others beat each other up. This is where we need a rule that if you aren’t in the ring by the time the next entrant is in, you’re eliminated.
Max the Impaler was the next entrant, and as soon as Madi saw Max, she jumped over the top rope herself, and ran away, because she didn’t want to face Max. She could have just rolled to the floor and waited, but it was funny that Madi jumped the guardrail and ran out of the building.
Max hit a huge uranage on Markova before slamming KiLynn King quite recklessly on Markova, who was not positioned flat to take the move. Tootie Lynn was next in the ring and faced off with Max, while slightly unsure, but still willing to fight. Angelina Love was next and Tootie Lynn was eliminated by Max as she made her way down to the ring.
Love hit a headscissors on King and a clothesline on Markova, but looked unsure about Max. She tried to hit forearms on Max, but Max no sold them. Markova, Love, and King tried to throw Max out. Jennacide came out as the final entrant, and she would likely be the best one to eliminate Max. Samantha Starr brought Taryn Terrell into the ring and hit a Samoan drop.
Max eliminated Taryn Terrell and Angelina Love as they were fighting on the apron. Love looked to be bleeding from a stiff shot from Max. Jennacide hit a huge spinebuster on Max. King tried to help Jennacide pin Max, but Max kicked out anyway. Max got in the way of Markova hitting a kick in the corner on King. Markova pinned King and Max pinned Jennacide.
Markova went for a crossbody, but Max hit a slam for a 2-count. Markova went right after Max with hard strikes and hit a big knee to the face of Max, who kicked out. Markova went to the top rope, but Max mistimed hitting the ropes to knock her down, so Markova had to just sort of stand there and pretend it didn’t effect her until Max got to her. Max then hit Welcome to the Wasteland on Markova for the pinfall. I think this was a mistake. Max hurt several people in this match and missed spots all over the place.
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–Aron Stevens made a challenge for a tag team match tomorrow night with Stevens and Mack against Kratos and a partner tomorrow night.
Cyon w/ Austin Idol defeated Jax Dane w/ Chris Silvio, Esq. for the NWA National Championship
Dane attacked Cyon before the match started, leaving Austin Idol no time to get out the ring with Cyon’s robe. This match being heel vs. heel really didn’t help the heat here. Dane dumped Cyon to the floor before taking off his vest and asking for a count out. Austin Idol and Chris Silvio got into an argument, with Idol pushing him back away from the downed Cyon.
I think, by default, Cyon is the babyface in this match, but it sure is weird having Austin Idol working like one as a manager. Dane beat on Cyon, but left the ring with the title saying he was going to take a count out, but Cyon ran up the aisle and brought him back to the ring. As the referee was trying to keep Austin Idol and Chris Silvio apart, Anthony Mayweather came into the ring and chokeslammed Dane.
Cyon refused to accept Mayweather’s help and started brawling with Mayweather. The referee was back at this point, so I have no idea why there wasn’t a DQ here. The referee sent Mayweather to the back and Dane hit a spinebuster on Cyon for a 2-count. Cyon fought out of a fireman’s carry into a sleeper hold, and Dane tapped out, but Chris Silvio distracted the referee so he didn’t see it. Dane hit his Pop the Trunk lariat, but Cyon got his feet on the ropes.
This match had zero heat because they didn’t know who to cheer for. Who could have predicted that happening? (I did, because it’s heel vs. heel.) Cyon hit a Death Valley Driver on Dane and managed to pin him, which sort of got a reaction, and light applause. So, there’s that. Cyon won the National title, a title Austin Idol, his kayfabe dad, held, so that was a nice moment. Idol did what he could to be a babyface manager, but his heel work before the PPV made is extremely difficult to cheer, and I don’t blame the audience for being confused.
Bully Ray defeated Mike Knox in a Tables Match
Bully Ray tried to get a table right away, but it got caught on a metal bar in the middle of the ring, and Bully Ray said, “Where is D’Von when you need him?” and I laughed. Mike Knox hit a crossbody and then beat on Bully Ray with a chain. The tables had their trim cut off to weaken them and make it easier to go through, but that is a bad idea because one of these big men are going to go through it like butter.
Bully Ray suplexed Knox on the floor, but Knox grabbed a chair and hit Ray with it as Ray setup another table. Ray hit a back suplex on Knox and grabbed a chair of his own before hitting Knox with a light as a feather chairshot, which was actually nice to see. It looked good, but was light. Ray went for another, but Knox booted the chair into his face. Knox went for a crossbody into the corner table, but Ray moved and Knox crashed through it. Ray picked up Knox and hit a uranage on Knox through the table. Ray then broke off a piece of the table and gave it to a little girl to bring home. She celebrated, holding the piece of the table like it was a championship. That was very cute.
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–Ricky Morton cut a promo on Homicide, and it seems like he’ll be coming for him soon, potentially challenging for the NWA World Jr. Heavyweight title.
La Rebelion w/ Damian 666 defeated Hawx Aerie (Luke & PJ Hawx) for the NWA World Tag Team Championship
Doug Williams came out with his tag title, and he looked disappointed that he had to vacate the title because of Harry Smith being ill. Williams gave the title to the referee and shook hands with Luke Hawx, as a show of respect.
Luke Hawx and Bestia 666 started the match, with Bestia eventually hitting a shoulder tackle and both men doing some lucha, which the crowd appreciated. PJ Hawx came in and hit a series of arm drags on Mecha Wolf.
Damian 666 managed to get a punch in on Luke Hawx after La Rebelion distracted the referee. La Rebelion tried to hit double knees to Luke Hawx, but he ducked and they kneed each other, leading to the hot tag from PJ Hawx. Hawx ran wild, hitting suplexes on La Rebelion. This was a great hot tag. Hawx slipped off the top rope, but managed to turn it into a double lariat.
Unfortunately, Luke Hawx got isolated again and La Rebelion hit Nail in the Coffin on Luke Hawx, but PJ Hawx made the save. Hawx kept making the save for his dad, and hit an inverted atomic drop on Mecha Wolf, but Damian 666 pulled Luke Hawx off the pin. Bestia 666 pulled PJ Hawx off the apron and Damian 666 spit the red mist into the face of Luke Hawx. Mecha Wolf hit a tope on PJ Hawx while Bestia 666 covered Luke Hawx, using his body to cover the red mist on his face for the pinfall.
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–Kyle Davis was in the ring for a face off between Trevor Murdoch & Tyrus, who was accompanied by Idolmania Sports Management. Bill Corgan joined them, hyping the match between Kamille & Taya Valkyrie tonight. Tyrus told Idolmania Sports Management to leave the ring as it was just between him and Murdoch.
It seems that the promos we should have had on TV, even if it was just inset promos, was about to happen now, since they didn’t do it on TV leading into the PPV. Tyrus spoke first, saying that he defended the TV title 10 times and didn’t cash in at 7 because he wanted to make it mean something when he faced Murdoch. He said it wasn’t personal, but he was going to make it personal when they fight tomorrow.
Tyrus said that he was in the best shape of his life, and the fans laughed. So, that should tell you what they think about this match. Tyrus said he bought 10 pounds of gold chains to wear around his neck to train for carrying the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.
Trevor Murdoch got a big pop when he took the mic, and he said the only 10 pounds of gold Tyrus was getting was the chains around his neck. Murdoch said he wasn’t going to let Tyrus beat him for the world title, and it was over his dead body. Corgan stood between Murdoch and Tyrus who were trying to brawl. This angle/promo should have been on TV, as it was half decent. Corgan wanted a poster shot from the camera man, Tyrus left the ring once Murdoch indicated he wanted to fight tonight. Murdoch tried very hard to get heat for this and get the crowd into it, but a match with Tyrus will only make them mild.
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Kamille defeated Taya Valkyrie to retain the NWA World Women’s Championship
Valkyrie worked the early parts of this match a bit too slow for a show that was too long. I can tell the fans wanted to be into this match with heat, but again, it was given very little promotion on TV with neither cutting promos on each other. They just had Valkyrie win a #1 contender’s match on TV and then she disappeared, and Kamille was nowhere to be seen. It has resulted in a match that the fans were not loud for, despite the work being quite good.
I think NWA was banking on Kamille being over because she usually is, but none of the booking highlighted why this match is important outside of it being for the title, and with the show quite far from sold out, it didn’t help that there were less fans there to cheer as well. They would react to small segments of the match and pinfall attempts, but that is about it.
Kamille went for a pump kick, but Valkyrie dodged, and Kamille had to use some clever movement herself to get into position to attempt and hit the pump kick once again. Kamille got a 2-count out of it. Valkyrie caught a corner kick and set Kamille on the middle ropes before hitting a sliding German suplex, which got a pop.
Valkyrie was able to get some reactions by chopping Kamille hard at ringside. Valkyrie did a camel clutch and got a 2-count after a few punches in that position. Valkyrie hit a clothesline and a hip attack on Kamille in the corner of the ring before hitting a metora in the corner. Kamille blocked a kick and picked up Valkyrie up for a powerbomb. This happened slowly, so it looked fairly bad in the setup.
Kamille hit a spear, but Valkyrie rolled to the floor to avoid the pinfall. Valkyrie hit a double stomp back in the ring, but only got a 2-count. Valkyrie gut cut off on the top rope and Kamille hit a superplex for a 2-count. Joe Galli said “This crowd is on their feet” and it was about 20 people out of the entire place, but I suppose he was technically correct. Kamille hit Valkyrie with a Canadian Destroyer, but Valkyrie kicked out.
Valkyrie accidentally dropped the referee, so when she hit three curb stomps on Kamille, there was no one there to make the count. Valkyrie started to act heelish here, grabbing the title and hitting Kamille with it. The referee made the count, but Kamille kicked out at the literal exact last second, and suddenly the fans exploded. They got them at this point and people were legitimately jumping up and down. Kamille managed to hit a spear and finally pin Valkyrie.
This was a good match that had very little heat at first, but it built as the match went on as it was really solid work from both of them. It would have helped to have more promos and angles on the show. The entire women’s roster came out to cheer the main event as Kamille celebrated with the fans. This was a great ending to the first night. All the men came onto the stage to congratulate her as well.
Final Thoughts
This show was way too long. It had little heat for many of the matches because the promotion of the matches had been so poor on NWA Power. The heel vs. hell match of Cyon and Jax Dane was unsatisfying seeing the title change hands because it was two villains fighting. Kamile and Taya Valkyrie, from a work perspective, was excellent, but it took until the last part of the match for the crowd to truly get into it. The nearfall for Valkyrie on Kamille at the end was one of the best near falls I have ever seen, and Kamille kicked out at the last possible moment. That was awesome. Kamille is steadily improving, and is far from the green worker she was when she first started wresting in the NWA. I don’t think this was as good as her match against Leyla Hirsch last year, but that doesn’t mean it was bad. It was a very good match that saw both women work very hard.
The rest of the card was quite frustrating for a variety of reasons as they did more promos to promote the matches on this show than they did on the TV leading into it. The Tyrus and Trevor Murdoch segment should have happened on TV with subsequent promo segments and video packages, and maybe a pull apart brawl or something like that. Trevor Murdoch tried so hard to get the fans fired up for this match, and he only got a mild reaction, which is unfortunate. It makes me wonder if NWA will learn it’s lesson in pushing Tyrus, but something tells me they won’t, and to my horror, they may very well put the title on Tyrus tomorrow night.
Former NWA president Howard Brody passed away on Wednesday due to an infection following quadruple bypass surgery.
The news was first reported by PWInsider who also noted last week that Brody was in rough shape following the surgery.
Brody was NWA president from 1996-2001, notably signing an agreement with the then-WWF to have Jeff Jarrett, Jim Cornette and the new Midnight Express as NWA talents on Monday Night Raw in a short-lived invasion-esque storyline.
Brody was a promoter both in the U.S. and overseas with the Ring Warriors promotion and TV show with the late Hiro Matsuda in an attempt to promote NJPW in the U.S. PWInsider noted that the show was among the first to be downloadable and streamable online.
Other accomplishments as noted by Mike Johnson and John Pollock:
Brody made international distribution deals for Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling that allowed Cornette to close as a profitable business.
Brody was the first promoter to bring wrestling (MACW) to China in 2003.
He was among the first to bring ECW to Florida when the company began to expand.
He was the point person for the sale of the Puerto Rico-based WWC library to WWE.
He was the author of 2009’s “Swimming With Piranhas: Surviving The Politics of Professional Wrestling” and also co-authored Dusty Rhodes’ autobiography.
He freelanced for both WWF Magazine and the Gold Belt Wrestling magazine.
He also helped promote the UWF and Wild Women of Wrestling.
NWA Power began with Joe Galli, Tim Storm, & Velvet Sky welcoming us to the celebration of NWA 74 beginning tonight. The entire roster has come together for the first time and were in the audience with the fans.
Balloons and streamers were in the ring and Caprice Coleman & Chris Adonis were clearing the ring for their match. Wrecking Ball Legursky was in the front row, grabbed a balloon, celebrated like he won a title while the other wrestlers cheered, and then bust it because he squeezed it too hard. He looked so sad afterward, which was hilarious.
Chris Adonis defeated Caprice Coleman
The wrestlers being in the audience cheering on their fellow wrestlers was fantastic. They were hot for everything which helped elevate the match.
Adonis used his size to dominate Coleman at first, but Adonis ate a dropkick that dropped him and gave some breathing room for Coleman. Coleman hit a series of punches and then a springboard heel kick before landing a spinning axe kick on Adoins for a near fall.
Coleman ate an elbow, but hit a hurricanrana and went for a northern lights suplex. Adonis fought out, ducked a kick and countered into the Master Lock. Coleman tried to fight out, but eventually passed out to give Adonis the win.
– After the match, they displayed graphics for both Coleman vs. Colby Corino and Adonis vs. Odinson. This was a significant improvement from last week. They followed that with a graphic for EC3 vs. Mims, noticeably not saying it was a grudge match like it was advertised to be, which again, is an improvement.
They ran down the card for both nights with one new development: KiLynn King demanding to be the first entrant in the night one Burke Invitational where the winner earns a Women’s title shot on night two.
I would have liked to have the card explained more than once with video packages summarizing the feuds. This was significantly more promotion for this weekend’s PPVs than the last few weeks though and I am much more happy as a result.
– NWA Women’s Champion Kamille was with Kyle Davis and talked about how she was ready to defend her title over two nights. Thom Latimer also indicated that he came close to getting a title shot recently and he was ready to keep on going so that he can challenge for Trevor Murdoch’s title.
Jennacide defeated Kayla Kassidy
Jennacide shoved Kassidy to the mat as soon as they locked up. Kassidy ran at Jennacide and just bounced off her, which actually looked quite bad. Wrecking Ball Legursky led the wrestlers in a chant for Jennacide which made me wish he was in the audience for every single match because he’s great.
Jennacide hit a pump kick and a Jenna 9000 (an Okada-style landslide) for the pinfall. This was actually really bad, but not Jennacide’s fault.
A graphic went up for the Burke Invitational, indicating that Jennacide was in the match. This is really all I need. It would have been nice to have an official announcement that Jennacide was in it rather than just a graphic saying “Burke Invitational” and nothing else, but I’ll take what I can get.
– The Cardonas were with Kyle Davis at the podium. VSK said that what happened to Matt Cardona was in the past, but they needed to focus on Bully Ray. VSK and Knox cut a promo on Bully Ray, saying he was going to be left in the wreckage of a table. We could have had a few weeks of this back and forth, but this is far better than what we had before.
Cardona said he was almost ready and that at NWA 74, he wanted to be involved in the title match as he was the real World’s champion and was coming for his title.
Hawx Aerie (Luke & PJ Hawx) defeated The Dirty Sexy Boys (JTG & Dirtiest Dango) & Rhett Titus & Gustavo in an elimination match
This match was awesome. The antics with Dango were hilarious and I do like how his obsession with Velvet Sky keeps costing him matches in hilarious ways. Hawx Aerie as the no nonsense team in this match also worked quite well for me, and it was nice to see them get a big win.
I have never seen Gustavo before, but I immediately loved his character as he was very sad that Rhett Titus broke the rose he brought out. He also threatened to get into a hip gyration battle with Dango, which was hilarious.
Titus, JTG, and Luke Hawx started, running a series of fast past spots that were awesome. JTG and Dango double teamed Hawx, while Titus and Gustavo offered assistance. Gustavo and Dango started their gyrations, and the wrestlers in the audience responded like it was a forearm battle in New Japan. Gustavo then pulled a rose from his pocket and threw it at Dango who took a rose petal and ate it.
The fans changed “This is awesome” as Gustavo hit his biggest dance move and Dango took his head off with a clothesline. PJ Hawx tagged in and said he could use his hips too, but used the opportunity to wrestle and take down Dango. Dango did not like this and responded with a dropkick. Dango then pointed at Sky, went to the desk, and tried to kiss her.
Sky then slapped him, which Dango liked. Unfortunately, it backfired again as he was then rolled up and pinned by PJ Hawx once he was back in the ring. Luke Hawx and Gustavo tagged in, but PJ Hawx was able to pop up Gustavo into a powerslam from his dad followed by Luke Hawx hitting his own powerslam for the pinfall.
Luke Hawx then warned Colby Corino that they were coming for him at some point.
Kenzie Paige & Ella Envy went to a no contest in an exhibition match
Paige and Envy facing each other here actually made some sense because Paige has disagreed with Envy’s cheating in their recent matches (which resulted in the street fight with The Hex at NWA 74). However, the match didn’t last long as Hayley Shadows & Jaylee came out with Mercurio and challenged both of them to a tag match.
Mercurio claimed that his team was fighting for his love and Paige responded by running wild and destroying both women. Envy and Paige then hit a double superkick on Shadows for the pinfall.
This was quick and had no chance to get good. Ella Envy got into a shouting match with The Hex, who were in the crowd, and all four women ended up in the ring. Seeing Damien 666 mark out and look shocked at these things was hilarious, especially in full face paint, as he sat behind The Hex.
The Hex then brawled with Pretty Empowered and Ella Envy bailed from the ring, leaving Kenzie Paige laying as Envy demanded the belts be given back to her, not worried about how Paige was laid out in the ring.
– Trevor Murdoch talked about how he was bringing hell with him at NWA 74. It was simple, but all we needed.
NWA Tag Team Champions The Commonwealth Connection defeated The Spectaculars (Rush Freeman & Brady Pierce w/ Orlando Freeman) in a non-title match
The tag champs looked good in this one, offering a handshake at the end of the night.
Kerry Morton was the one leading the wrestlers in clapping, showing enthusiasm for everything Doug Williams did.
Pierce and Freeman managed to hit a drop toe hold into an elbow, but that was about all they could do as Williams took Freeman’s head off with an elbow and then tagged out to Harry Smith, who continued the assault. Williams and Smith stayed on Freeman, working him over with submissions and clubbing blows.
Freeman managed to get a boot up in the corner and hit a clothesline to tag out. Pierce hit some strikes and a big boot on Harry Smith for a two count. Harry Smith didn’t respond well and suplexed Williams onto Pierce, followed by a big boot into a Chaos Theory for the pin and win.
Galli was closing the show, but the Ill Begotten came out and started attacking Freeman and Pierce, which led to The Miserably Faithful attacking everyone in the ring. CJ, the manager of the magician, walked around holding the number 47 up, getting it backwards….and the show went off the air.
I’m not sure about that finish, but hey, they tried to build the trios match for the PPV.
Final Thoughts:
This was significantly better than the last few weeks of NWA Power which have had next to zero promotion for NWA 74. This week had nothing but promotion for it.
If they had episodes this focused heading into the PPV, I would be much more excited for it. Either way, while I’m still dreading Tyrus in the main event of night two, I’m far more excited for the show than I was before tonight.
The only criticism I have is that that I don’t know who is in the Burke Invitational or US Tag Team title battle royal, but that is minor compared to the rest of the show actually being promoted now.
After being pulled from the main event, Nick Aldis has a new match for NWA 74.
It was announced Friday that Aldis will now face Flip Gordon at night two of next weekend’s two-night anniversary PPV from St. Louis, Missouri’s Chase Ballroom.
Aldis was slated to face NWA World Champion Trevor Murdoch after winning a four-way qualifier on NWA Power in mid-July. However, two days later, the NWA pulled him from the match and replaced him with TV Champion Tyrus instead.
NWA Owner William Corgan, then speaking in what’s believed to be storyline, said that “no one stresses me out more in the NWA than Nick Aldis, no one is more highly paid than Nick Aldis and no one is more unhappy than Nick Aldis” and accused him of politicking behind the scenes “ten times worse” than anything seen on TV.
The angle has never been followed up with on TV so it’s unclear why he was added to the show now. Aldis has yet to comment on the match on social media.
Night 1 | Saturday, August 27th:
NWA Women’s Champion Kamille defends against Taya Valkyrie
NWA National Champion Jax Dane defends against Cyon
NWA Tag Team Champions The Commonwealth Connection defend against La Rebelion
NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Homicide defends against Kerry Morton
Matt Cardona vs. TBA
The Country Gentlemen vs. Gold Rushhh
Luke Hawx vs. VSK
EC3 vs. Mims
Bully Ray vs. Mike Knox tables match
Pope vs. Rodney Mack
The Miserably Faithful vs. The Ill Begotten in a Beelzebub’s Bedlam match
Burke Invitational Gauntlet for a NWA Women’s title match Sunday
Night 2 | Sunday, August 28th:
NWA World Champion Trevor Murdoch defends against Tyrus
Battle royal for inaugural NWA U.S. Tag Team titles
Nick Aldis vs. Flip Gordon
NWA Women’s Champion (Kamille or Valkyrie) defends against Burke Invitational winner
NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions Pretty Empowered defends against The Hex in a street fight
MLW National Openweight Champion Davey Richards defends against Thrillbilly Silas
Billy Corgan says there was not enough available female talent to bring back NWA Empower this year but the event will return in the future.
Corgan spoke with NBC Sports Boston and explained why the all-female pay-per-view is not taking place in 2022.
“I saw a headline recently that said I don’t plan on bringing Empower back and that’s totally false,” Corgan said. “What it was is we looked at Empowerrr for this NWA 74 pay-per-view and unfortunately, there’s a paucity of female talent available on the open market because there’s such a demand now for female talent both with WWE and AEW that there just isn’t a ton of free agent talent available that can work at the television level. Is there enough talent? Absolutely, but you’re talking about putting people on an international pay-per-view where you’re asking fans to pay money.”
“Let’s all remember if that pay-per-view doesn’t go well, you put people in positions they are not ready for, it’s going to blow back not only on those talents but on the company.”
“We will definitely run another Empower pay-per-view, absolutely, and hopefully next year. It’s just one of those things where it has to be the right time and look at all the people under contract with AEW and look at all the people under contract with WWE and you recognize probably 80% to 90% of the top talent on the female side is already under contract with those companies.”
NWA Empower took place on August 28, 2021, in St. Louis. It was headlined by Chelsea Green winning an invitational gauntlet match and Kamille defeating Leyla Hirsch to retain the NWA World Women’s Championship.
Joe Galli and Velvet Sky were on commentary this week as NWA 74 continues to draw near.
Angelina Love & Chelsea Green defeated Paola Blaze & Rylee (3:58)
The preview and the screen at the start of the match said Blaze’s partner was Rylee, but the commentators kept saying Roxie. I’m going with Rylee.
Blaze and Love screwed up an O’Connor roll in the first 20 seconds. Blaze pushed Rylee into a double flapjack from Green and Love. Blaze stood in her corner playing on her phone while Rylee got worked over for the bulk of the match. Green knocked Blaze off the ring apron while she was playing with her phone. Green then gave Rylee a Russian leg sweep while Love connected with the pump kick, followed by both ladies covering Rylee for the pinfall.
– Kyle Davis interviewed Jeremiah Plunkett, representing the Ill Begotten. Plunkett brought out Rush Freeman, another member of the group, and promptly fired him. He then brought out the newest member of the faction, Brady Pierce. Plunkett praised Pierce as someone who was smarter, a better wrestler, better looking and can even read!
Freeman: “But, I have a Master’s Degree!” Pierce took exception to how Plunkett threw Freeman out of the group and rejected the invitation. Freeman and Pierce then decided to go off and bond over their love of Dos Equis beer. “What just happened?” “Uh, you just ruined your group.”
Well, that was different and easily the highlight of the show.
– May Valentine interviewed Chris Silvio, Esq. Silvio announced that NWA National Champion Jax Dane is not contractually obligated to defend his championship again until NWA 74. This announcement could have been an email or a tweet.
Tim Storm defeated Larry D (3:57)
Storm reminds me of Tom Berenger’s character in Major League: the old ballplayer trying to prove he’s still got it, even though he never really had it.
Larry D got a good near fall with a power slam, but Storm came back and got the pinfall with a spinning bossman slam. This had good back and forth action.
After the match, Velvet Sky called Storm over to thank him for his friendship. Sky gave Storm her Champion Series title shot which apparently gives him a shot at any title he wants. This seems like it should be a bigger deal given Storm’s past with losing the ability to challenge for the World title, but Galli just hustled to the next segment which were commercials for the upcoming pay-per-view and title belts. The show never touched on Storm again.
– Clips from the August 18th NWA USA show had Ricky Morton winning a match against VSK with a canadian destroyer and then getting attacked after the match. Mike Knox brought out a table, but Kerry Morton saved his father from a further beatdown.
NWA Women’s Champion Kamille defeated Hayley Shadows in a non-title match (3:04)
Kamille shouted “up.. POW!” whenever she hit a strike or a kick, which was pretty funny. She got a near fall after a clothesline and a backdrop suplex. Shadows dodged a charging knee in the corner and got a near fall after a kick, but Kamille came back with a Finlay roll and a spear to get the pinfall.
– May Valentine interviewed Rolando Freeman. Freeman called out the Ill Begotten and NWA World Champion Trevor Murdoch.
– Kyle Davis interviewed BLK Jeez who wants the NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship, so he isn’t interested in a match with Rodney Mack (who is a heavyweight and much bigger than he is). Mack came out with Aron Stevens and told Jeez just to admit he was scared, then went to the ring.
Mack was much bigger than Jeez. He hit a powerslam for a near fall. NWA TV Champion Tyrus came out (walking like an old man) and distracted Mack, allowing Jeez to get the advantage. Jeez hit a shotgun dropkick from the top, but later got caught on a crossbody attempt and was slammed to the mat. Mack then locked in a cobra clutch sleeper to get the tapout.
After the match, Jeez dropkicked Mack out of the ring. Stevens ran in and attacked Jeez, but Tyrus ran him off. Tyrus (who looked like he could barely move) called Stevens a “washed up punk.”
The show ended with a staredown between Tyrus, Mack and Stevens.
A new title match has been added to this month’s two-night NWA 74 pay-per-view as MLW National Openweight Champion Davey Richards will defend against Thrillbilly Silas.
The match will take place at the second night. Both are taking place at the Chase Ballroom in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 27th and 28th.
Richards won the title at MLW Battle Riot IV in a match that has yet to air. He defended the belt at last month’s NJPW Music City Mayhem against Rocky Romero.
Night 1 | Saturday, August 27th:
Bully Ray vs. Mike Knox tables match
Burke Invitational Gauntlet for a NWA Women’s title match Sunday
NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Homicide defends against Kerry Morton
NWA Women’s Champion Kamille defends against Taya Valkyrie
NWA National Champion Jax Dane defends against Cyon
Matt Cardona vs. TBA
Night 2 | Sunday, August 28th:
NWA World Champion Trevor Murdoch defends against Tyrus
Battle royal for inaugural NWA U.S. Tag Team titles
NWA Women’s Champion (Kamille or Valkyrie) defends against Burke Invitational winner
NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions Pretty Empowered defends against The Hex in a street fight
MLW National Openweight Champion Davey Richards defends against Thrillbilly Silas
The Control Your Narrative co-founder and former WWE, Ring of Honor and Impact wrestler will make his promotional debut at night one of NWA 74 on Saturday, August 27th in St. Louis, Missouri.
EC3 will take on Mims in singles action in what they are billing as a grudge match. It’s unknown what the grudge is based on as they have never wrestled and EC3 has yet to appear on NWA TV.
This will be Mims’ first match since unsuccessfully challenging TV Champion Tyrus at June’s Alwayz Ready.
Here’s the current PPV lineup for both nights from the Chase Ballroom:
Night 1 | Saturday, August 27th:
Bully Ray vs. Mike Knox tables match
Burke Invitational Gauntlet for a NWA Women’s title match Sunday
NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Homicide defends against Kerry Morton
NWA Women’s Champion Kamille defends against Taya Valkyrie
NWA National Champion Jax Dane defends against Cyon
Matt Cardona vs. TBA
Night 2 | Sunday, August 28th:
NWA World Champion Trevor Murdoch defends against Tyrus
Battle royal for inaugural NWA U.S. Tag Team titles
NWA Women’s Champion (Kamille or Valkyrie) defends against Burke Invitational winner
NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions Pretty Empowered defends against The Hex in a street fight
The FITE stream started in the middle of this week’s opening match from NWA Power, which seemed to be some sort of glitch.
Mike Knox defeated De’Vin Graves in a tables match
This was largely a squash match with Knox screaming “Come on, Bully Ray!” throughout, pretending Graves was Ray. Knox and VSK put a table in the ring and Knox chokeslammed Graves through it to win the match after a few minutes of beating him down. The announcers discussed the upcoming match between Ray and Knox at NWA 74.
-Jordan Clearwater and BLK Jeez were with Kyle Davis where Jeez revealed that Cyon was in training this week for his NWA 74 match against Jax Dane for the NWA National Championship. That match is still bizarre to me as Jeez made it clear Cyon was a heel by running down the fans.
Dane is also a heel which makes me feel as if this match is missing something as I don’t really want to see two heels fight. Jeez noted that Dane is a former champion in the NWA several times over, but emphasized the former part of it, and told Dane that Cyon was going to make him a former NWA National Champion.
– May Valentine was with Pope, discussing the main event of the show as Pope takes on Trevor Murdoch. Valentine asked if Pope had a chance of beating Murdoch, and Pope kindly said that of course he could. Pope noted that Murdoch and himself are friends, but had rough times over the years. Tonight was also going to be a rough time, but Pope was going to be the winner.
Ricky Morton defeated Wrecking Ball Legursky
Morton is awesome and his selling in this short match was so good. Morton did next to nothing and had the fans reacting to everything. What a pro.
Morton used his veteran wiles to keep Legursky at bay to open the match, but it was soon turned around when Legursky used a throat thrust and started to work over the arm of Morton. Morton’s selling was excellent, flexing his fingers and shaking the arm out every time a move was done to it and grabbing it whenever he was attacked.
Legursky hit a headbutt to the fallen Morton and yelled about how the “old man was done.” Legursky took off the turnbuckle padding in a corner and charged at Morton, who was against the turnbuckle, but Morton ducked down and Legursky crashed face-first into the exposed buckle and got knocked out, letting Morton pin him.
– A useless 15-second egment aired with Aron Stevens and May Valentine on set with an interviewer they didn’t introduce. The interviewer asked if Stevens thought he was better than him, and Valentine and Stevens confirmed that he was indeed better than the interviewer.
– A video aired of Homicide defeating PJ Hawx on NWA USA to retain the NWA Jr. Heavyweight Championship with an avalanche Koji Cutter.
– We were alerted by Joe Galli that Tim Storm left the commentary desk because Medusa told him there was an urgent matter from NWA USA that they needed to handle. Nothing came of this in the rest of the episode.
Jordan Clearwater (w/ BLK Jeez) defeated Joe Alonzo
This was a really solid match between these two. Alonzo was a good babyface in peril and Clearwater’s heel tactics were perfect for getting the crowd behind Alonzo.
Clearwater has a lot of potential to be a star and is clearly working out a lot as he has increased his muscle mass. However, Alonzo was faster than Clearwater in the early parts of this match until he went for a springboard. Jeez pulled him off the apron, crashing face first into the apron and onto the floor. Clearwater got a one count in the ring, which made him angry, so he slammed him and got a two count.
Clearwater hit a back suplex for a two count. A credit to Clearwater’s heel work in this match was how much the crowd got behind Alonzo, who also sold well. Alonzo is relatively unknown, so it’s a testament to this match being really solid. Alonzo hit a back suplex of his own and rolled through a sunset flip and hit a superkick. Alonzo ducked under a clothesline and hit a cutter for a two count.
Clearwater hit a Midas Touch big boot after Alonzo went for what looked like a Cross Rhodes. Clearwater then pinned Alonzo in a good match and gyrated to celebrate.
– Angelina Love was with May Valentine and talked about how she was excited to be in the NWA with her best friend, Velvet Sky. Love said that she wanted to take over the title shot that Sky won in the Champion’s Series as she was retired.
– The Pope was at the podium to talk with Kyle Davis. Pope said that he was going to wrestle with his friend for the love of the game, and since Murdoch asked, he was going to give him all he got and he was going to shake his hand afterward.
Trevor Murdoch and The Pope went to a double countout
This match was solid right until the finish, but I liked the storytelling aspect of it with Murdoch showing restraint but a lot of anger at the end. I like the character development of Murdoch recently and especially here.
The two had an intense start to the match with Murdoch staring daggers at Pope after the first few engagements. Pope hit a Manhattan Drop and Murdoch went to the floor. Pope held the ropes to let him back in, but as Murdoch came through the ropes, he hit Pope with a big right hand followed by a spinebuster.
Tim Storm noted that Murdoch wanted to do everything to keep his title as he nailed Pope right between the eyes with an elbow. Murdoch missed a middle rope elbow as Sky let us know that no one was there to check on Murdoch when he was busted open by Matt Cardona and lost the title. Pope bounced off the ropes and hit a flying forearm, but was dumped over the ropes to the floor by Murdoch when he charged at him.
Pope slipped out of a power slam attempt by Murdoch and shoved Murdoch into the ring post, but Murdoch stopped short and lured Pope into hitting the post. Murdoch went to piledrive Pope on the floor, but dropped him before delivering the move, reconsidering it. The referee counted both men out as he started at the fallen Pope and the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts:
While I enjoyed aspects of this show quite a bit (Clearwater vs. Alonzo, Murdoch showing good character development), I still can’t help but be baffled by the build to NWA 74. Nick Aldis has completely disappeared off television after being named the no. 1 contender and then was stripped of that position on social media.
They have clearly turned Murdoch heel as he is not just a babyface with an edge, so they are marketing Murdoch and Tyrus as a heel vs. heel main event for NWA 74. Cyon vs. Dane is also heel vs. heel, and will probably be the secondary title match on the show. We had a random statement that Ray was facing Knox at NWA 74, but haven’t seen Ray on NWA TV for weeks and there were no promos on TV that I am aware of, yet the announcers just assumed we knew what was going on when they talked about Knox in the first match of the show.
The show itself, in a vacuum, was not bad, but is also exactly the problem they have – it exists in a vacuum. Rarely do angles happen to build to the PPV, and I’m left wondering where Jax Dane is. Or Bully Ray. Or countless others that are apparently in heated feuds with people that we have never seen played out on TV. Tonight’s show seemed to build to Pope and Murdoch far more than it did Murdoch and Tyrus, which is another problem if you are selling the latter as the main event of the upcoming PPV.
It’s like reading a story with chapters missing in the middle, leaving you wondering what led to what is happening. The stories could easily make sense with a little foresight and planning and we could have a solid build to a PPV, but the middle chapters are missing.
A prime example of it, outside of what I just mentioned, is the Burke Invitational which has had no announcement on TV of the competitors involved. The same can be said for the NWA United States Tag Team Championship battle royal. There will be ten teams involved, but if I watch the TV only, I have no idea who some of them are. There has been zero mention of the teams involved on TV and no video packages or promos to introduce them. There has been next to zero build for either of these things on NWA TV, so I have no idea how I am supposed to be excited for them.
Power has had very little to do with the build for NWA 74 at all, making it a missable show — the exact opposite of what you want when you are building to one of your biggest shows.
Matt Cardona’s in-ring return is being advertised for the NWA’s 74th anniversary pay-per-view.
The NWA has announced that Cardona will make “an earlier than expected return to action” as he faces a handpicked mystery opponent at night one of NWA 74. The PPV is being held in St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, August 27 and Sunday, August 28.
“I’M BACK! I will make my return to the ring at #NWA74 on August 27,” Cardona tweeted. “I will handpick my opponent from the incredibly talented @nwa roster.” Who’s it gonna be?!”
Cardona has been out of action since tearing his biceps at a show for Game Changer Wrestling this May. The injury forced Cardona to vacate the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated in June, Cardona said he was hoping to return to the ring this September. Cardona said he was told his recovery time would be five months but he was hoping to be back in three.
Cardona and Chelsea Green will take part in a segment where they renew their wedding vows at GCW Homecoming part two on Sunday, August 14. The vow renewal will be officiated by Maven.
Trevor Murdoch became NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion after the title was vacated by Cardona. Murdoch is set to defend the title against Tyrus at NWA 74 night two.
The OGK opened this week’s NWA Power with Kyle Davis and talked about wanting to be the first tag team to hold the IWGP, ROH and NWA Tag Team titles. Mike Bennett was on fire in this one, calling out La Rebelion for when Damian 666 helped them beat The OGK.
La Rebelion then came to the podium and said that The OGK didn’t know what they were asking for, because they worked harder than anyone, especially when The OGK was sitting at home when ROH wasn’t running. Both teams started brawling, but Damian 666 attacked them from behind and spit red mist into the face of Bennett and Matt Taven, leaving them laying.
Cyon (w/ Austin Idol) defeated Rodney Mack (w/ Aron Stevens) to become the no. 1 contender for the NWA National Championship
This was mostly fine, but it is weird to see a heel being the top contender to champion Jax Dane, but somehow, I am not shocked that they did this. Regardless, Cyon is the better worker, so it does make for a better match against Dane.
Mack dominated the early part of the match with some power moves, but it was turned around very quickly when Cyon whipped the arm, driving Mack to the mat, followed by punches. Cyon hit a DDT as the announcers commented that Aron Stevens wasn’t doing a good job managing Mack as he was not very involved in cheering on and coaching him.
Cyon continued the attack, but Mack responded with a hip toss and went for a sunset flip, but Cyon was able to sit down on it and get the pinfall while pulling on Mack’s kneepad.
– May Valentine was with Thom Latimer and Kamille backstage to discuss the upcoming NWA 74 PPV with Kamille noting that Billy Corgan was making her wrestle two nights in a row, facing the winner of the Burke Invitational on the second night. Latimer said that he was going to do whatever it took to be a part of either show.
-Trevor Murdoch was with Valentine and he confirmed that he asked for a match with Pope next week on NWA Power. Murdoch said that at NWA 74, he was going to defend his championship and that why he wanted to face Pope was between him and Pope.
The Miserably Faithful (Gagz the Gimp, Sal the Pal & Judias) (w/ Father James Mitchell) defeated The ILL Begotten (Alex Taylor, Rush Freeman & Jeremiah Plunkett) (w/ Danny Dealz & Ronaldo Freeman) in a Team War match
This was perfectly acceptable, but was a weird heel vs. heel match which NWA seems to love. Eliminations are done via pin, submission or hitting the floor on the outside of the ring.
Sal started the match with Freeman, unloading a violent assault that seemed quite out of character, but after losing focus, Freeman hit him with a lariat. Deals seemed to trip his own man by accident, leading to Sal hitting a flatliner on Freeman for the pin.
Plunkett tried to pin Sal right away, but he kicked out and then hit a handspring stunner on Plunkett for a two count. Sal hit a series of headbutts to stagger Plunkett. Deals tried to convince Sal to go to the top rope, but Plunkett caught him after the distraction and hit a DDT to pin Sal.
Gagz came into the ring and took a hard Irish whip into the corner. Gagz hit some chops, but ate a knee from Plunkett. Gagz went for the eyes of Plunkett, but he punched Gagz right in the face to break it up. Plunkett locked Gagz into a bearhug, but Gagz seemed to enjoy the pain and scratched the back and chest of Plunkett before locking on the Gagz Reflex on Plunkett for the submission.
Alex Taylor came in and suplexed Gagz for a two count. Gagz ended up on the apron, but Taylor dropkicked him and he fell to the floor for the elimination. Judias came in and hit Taylor with a big boot. Judias chokeslammed him and then demanded he rise to his feet before hitting a crucifix bomb for the three count to win the match.
– Heart 2 Heart with Valentine was with Colby Corino for this edition. Valentine asked him what his childhood was like with his dad, and he said it was great. Aron Stevens was there and kept hijacking the interview to ask about Tyrus. Corino got frustrated as he kept starting to answer the questions and realize they were irrelevant to his pursuit of Homicide’s Junior Heavyweight Championship. This was bad comedy.
– Homicide was backstage with Valentine and Caprice Coleman. He talked about defending his title against PJ Hawx, and that he didn’t want to face the past in Luke Hawx. Homicide promised to break his bones if he kept calling him out.
Coleman said that he was going to be on the call for the NWA USA go-home show for NWA 74, and that when Homicide was done fighting kids, he should come for him.
NWA TV Champion Tyrus (w/ BLK Jeez) defeated Odinson to retain the title
Odinson tried very hard to make this acceptable, but it was not. Tyrus was horrible here and did next to nothing.
Odinson hit a series of hard European uppercuts on Tyrus, which winded Tyrus within 30 seconds because he had to sell. He hit an exploder suplex and a big splash in the corner. He hit an elbow on the back of Odinson and did pushups on his back, later followed by a nerve hold. Odinson stomped on the foot of Tyrus and bit his forehead to break the hold.
Odinson went for a European uppercut, but Tyrus fell before it even connected. Odinson rectified that with two hard ones and then a third off the top rope, but Tyrus kicked out. The crowd was fully behind Odinson here, but Tyrus swatted him (and by swat, I mean stuck his hands out hoping Odinson would fly into them) out of the air and hit a heart punch for the pin and win. This sucked, but at no fault to Odinson.
A bonus match from NWA Alwayz Ready — Taya Valkyrie vs. Natalia Markova– aired after the credits. I’m not sure why they chose this one as Markova was injured in the match and it turned into a mess.
Final Thoughts:
I can’t say anything special happened on this episode of NWA Power. It felt very missable outside of the opening promo segment with the OGK and La Rebelion. The Heart 2 Heart with Valentine was pointless and unfunny, and they set up a heel vs. heel match for the National title, and delivered a heel vs. heel Team War.
This was not very good overall and did very little to make me look forward to NWA 74. They need to start promoting the matches hard, and I saw very little of that on this show.
Kyle Davis opened the show talking with Marti Belle, Paola Blaze, and The Pope, who talked about what women’s wrestling meant to them.
I’m not sure why Pope was there, but he cut a great promo on why women’s wrestling was important. Belle was passionate in her speech about women’s wrestling while Blaze spoke in Spanish with no subtitles, It what was still clear with which the passion she spoke.
Kenzie Paige defeated Kaci Lennox
Paige and Lennox worked at a quick pace with Paige using some hard hitting offense, hitting a kick to the head after Lennox rolled out of a backslide. Paige was pulled off the middle rope by Lennox, who was able to then hit some shoulderblocks to Paige’s back before hitting double knees to her back.
Lennox hit a snap suplex for a two count and looked very unimpressed that Paige kicked out. Lennox charged at the corner, but got hit with a boot before hitting a missile dropkick off the top rope. Lennox hit a flatliner for a near fall and let out a horrifying high-pitched scream that may have been heard in the sky outside.
Paige responded while Lennox was distracted by hitting a full nelson face buster for the pin.
– The Miserably Faithful were with James Mitchell with Max The Impaler being announced as a new member of the group. Sal The Pal was walking back and forth in the background while laughing. Mitchell promised that Max will take the NWA World Women’s Championship from Kamille soon enough. May Valentine quickly exited the interview, afraid of everyone around her. Mitchell is a great promo, and this simple one worked very well.
Taya Valkyrie defeated KiLynn King to become the #1 Contender for the NWA Women’s Championship
This was a very good match from King and Valkyrie. This was easily Valkyrie’s best match in the NWA thus far while King continues to impress.
King and Valkyrie exchanged some good fundamental wrestling to open, exchanging headlocks, headscissors, and submission attempts. After a test of strength, they exchanged armdrags while countering each other at every attempt.
King stretched both of Valkyrie’s arms back and curb stomped her while Valkyrie was sitting, which was impressive.
King hit a pump kick on Valkyrie for a near fall. Valkyrie hit a double stomp on King for a near fall. King sold the double stomp like it broke her ribs, and struggled to breathe. King managed to dodge a corner charge and hit a clothesline on Valkyrie for a near fall.
Both women exchanged finisher attempts until Valkyrie was able to dodge a kick and trip King and lock on the Loca Lock for the submission.
– An audio clip aired from Busted Open on William Corgan talking about stripping Nick Aldis of his #1 Contendership at NWA 74. Instead, Trevor Murdoch defend against Tyrus, which is a significant downgrade if you ask me. Corgan claimed that Aldis disparaged Corgan on Twitter and gained an ego, thinking he deserved to be in all of the main events. The reasoning for changing it makes zero sense as Aldis did earn the shot.
– Allysin Kay and Medusa were with May Valentine and they announced a new title in the NWA: the Women’s Television Championship. Having a secondary women’s title outside of the tag titles is an excellent idea.
The Commonwealth Connection (Doug Williams & Harry Smith) defeated The Dirty Sexy Boys (JTG & Dango) to retain the NWA Tag Team Titles
Dango and JTG got the advantage over Smith in the early parts of this match, working over his knee. Smith kept trying to tie them up in submissions while grounded, but every time he did, they would attack the knee. The first few minutes of the match featured submission attempts and attacks on the mat. Smith used his leg strength to send Dango onto the floor and he managed to tag out to Williams.
Williams only stayed in for a few minutes before tagging back out, but this did not go well as Dango took Williams to the floor and kept him at bay when JTG went after the knee again. Once JTG went to the top rope, Williams was finally able to get away from Dango and cut JTG off. Smith took advantage and hit a running powerslam for a pin to retain the titles.
– Highlights of Colby Corino vs. Kerry Morton from NWA USA aired, with Morton defeating Corino and moving on to NWA 74 to face Homicide for the NWA Jr. Heavyweight Championship.
Kamille defeated Chelsea Green (w/ Matt Cardona) to retain the NWA Women’s Championship
Green got the shot thanks to the deal Cardona cut when giving up his World title at Alwayz Ready.
This was a great main event match as Kamille is clearly becoming a fantastic wrestler in every match she is in now. She has improved so dramatically from where she was a year ago, and it’s great to see.
Green yanked her hair ahd hit a hard forearm early and thought that would do more damage than it did. Kamille made her pay with a series of hard tackles, and began to work over the oft-injured wrist of Green. Green rolled to the floor and hid behind Cardona, allowing her to rake the eyes of Kamille.
Green hit a dropkick that sent Kamille to the floor, but when they came back into the ring, she only got a one count off it. Green choked Kamille with her foot in the corner, hit a snapmare, and an elbow for a two count. Green yanked the hair of Kamille again, hitting two mares with it. Kamille hit a forearm but Green grabbed the hair again, but then swore she wasn’t going to do it again.
Green went for a tope suicida, but Kamille caught her with an elbow. This gave Kamille some time to recover, and she was able to come back in and use her power to hit an Oklahoma Stampede on Green for a two count. Green missed a curb stomp and ate a huge pump kick for a two count.
Kamille picked Green up for a power bomb, which led to Cardona quietly saying “Oh no,” but Green was able to turn it into a headscissors. Green hit a blockbuster and then the curb stomp for a two count. Green went for the Unprettier and Kamille countered, but Green hit a backstabber and then hit a curb stomp into the bottom turnbuckle, but the referee caught her holding the ropes with help from Cardona.
While they were arguing with the referee, Kamille was able to hit a spear for the three count.
Final Thoughts:
This episode of NWA Power had little build for NWA 74 outside of Valkyrie becoming the #1 contender for Kamille. We did get an explanation for Corgan taking the contendership from Aldis, but I am not satisfied with the story, and it is an objectively worse main event now for the PPV.
We also got closure to the Green/Kamille story, with Green getting a title shot because Cardona gave up his title, though I would have thought that was a PPV match and not one used for TV. That said, it was an excellent match a great way to close a very good edition of NWA Empower.
The Burke Invitational will be returning at August’s NWA 74.
The 10-woman gauntlet-style match will take place on the first night of the two-night pay-per-view with the winner receiving a shot at the NWA Women’s Championship on the second night.
Chelsea Green won the first Burke Invitational at last year’s NWA Empower, unsuccessfully challenging Women’s Champion Kamille the following night at NWA 73. A year later, Kamille remains the Women’s titleholder.
NWA 74 is scheduled for Saturday, August 27 & Sunday, August 28 from the Chase Ballroom in St. Louis.
Here’s the current lineup.
Saturday:
10-team battle royale for the vacant NWA United States Tag Team titles
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Homicide defends against Kerry Morton
Burke Invitational for a NWA Women’s title shot
Sunday:
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Trevor Murdoch defends against Tyrus
NWA Women’s World Champion Kamille vs. Burke Invitational winner
PWInsider first reported Thursday that the promotion will introduce a Women’s TV title on this Tuesday’s edition of Power with the announcement to be made by NWA USA commentator and WWE Hall of Famer Madusa.
It’s unknown when it will be introduced into storyline with next month’s two-night NWA 74 anniversary pay-per-view looking like a possibility.
According to the report, the belt itself is in the design stage and is being done by belt designer/producer Dave Millican.
The men’s TV title is currently held by Tyrus and, as noted by PWInsider, it holds a “Lucky Seven” rule where after seven successful title defenses, it can be relinquished for a shot at the NWA World title. The rule is somewhat similar to Impact Wrestling’s Option C.
It will be the eighth current NWA title, joining the men’s and women’s World titles, the men’s and women’s Tag Team titles, the men’s National title, the men’s Junior Heavyweight title, and aforementioned TV title.
