What a weekend for the NWA. I’m still not recovered from the two nights of action, pure emotion and history being made again. Wrestling returned to The Chase with the St Louis crowd going wild for not only the All-Women’s PPV Empowerrr but also NWA 73 the following night. Mickie James proved all the doubters wrong by putting on an incredible show with Chelsea Green winning the Invitational Cup, The Hex capturing the Women’s Tag Team Championships and Deonna Purrazzo retaining her IMPACT Women’s World Championship against a gutsy legend in Melina.

Following the women was always going to be tough but everyone involved in the 73rd Anniversary show gave it their all and fans certainly got their money’s worth. Green got her title shot against Kamille but sadly came up short, while James got in on the action and faced the hugely popular Kylie Rae. On the men’s side, Tim Storm survived a brutal three-way against Crimson and Thom Latimer while, in our main event, Trevor Murdoch shocked the world by ending the 1000+ day reign of Nick Aldis and walking out with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. And with the Nature Boy Ric Flair coming out to celebrate with him, NWA past and present all came together for one huge celebration. Now the dust has settled, you have to wonder who will step up as the next challengers.

Booker T praises @TheRealTMurdoch in-ring work and winning @nwa world champions! #NWA73

YouTube Linkhttps://t.co/4ANXvU3qCH pic.twitter.com/zTJQOGUuHY

— Reality of Wrestling (@TheOfficialROW) August 31, 2021

Strictly Business

With Joe Galli, Tim Storm and Velvet Sky on commentary notifying us that Nick Aldis has taken a leave of absence following his loss at NWA 73, Strictly Business looked a little bit lonely when catching up with Kyle Davis at the podium. Kamille, ever the dominating presence, looked as happy as she ever does holding her title while Thom had a slightly more concerned look on his face. Both had very different weekends – the champ not only defeating Green but also AEW’s Leyla Hirsch while her partner ended up on the wrong end of a Tim Storm beatdown. Give all the belts to Tim Storm I say. Davis took the opportunity to remind both of them that the fans aren’t exactly on their side, which the boos from the audience backed up, but Kamille and Latimer aren’t there to be liked.

I was fairly sure Kyle was going to be on the wrong end of Kamille’s fist by accidentally calling them Risky Business but thankfully they got past that. The champ tried to stand up for her man but the crowd were having none of it, so instead, she shifted her focus to Billy Corgan with a few choice words about how she had to wrestle so much over the weekend. The crowd were fully behind Leyla and Chelsea which really didn’t help to improve Kamille’s mood. Apparently, there’s a Billy Conspiracy and Strictly Business have had enough of it – Thom seemed to think he could have been killed over the weekend which was a bit of an exaggeration. And then just to add insult to injury Davis then brought out Trevor Murdoch who had a smile on his face and a belt in his hand. At least he had a good weekend.

The Real World Champion

Strictly Business had enough and walked off in disgust, leaving Kyle with a much more positive person to interview in Murdoch. Looking smart in his suit, Trevor looked like a man who had been through a lot of battles but thankfully for him he walked out victorious rather than losing his career. Murdoch didn’t gloat but instead, he took the time to show professional respect to a man who spent so long making the title mean something and Nick Aldis surely has the respect of many others around the world too.

Trevor wants Nick to come back from his sabbatical and one day they’ll sort out their issues as men, although having watched what Aldis did at NWA 73 I’d be very surprised if he’s looking to behave in such a respectful way towards Murdoch or anyone else. Despite all that, Trevor considers NWA 73 to be a magical moment and made Harley Race proud and he took his last moments on the mic to thank everyone. It’ll be interesting to see who steps up in Aldis’ absence and tries to take that contender spot but whoever it is I’m sure the champ will be ready.

Champions Series Catchup

As May Valentine took the mic, she was joined by Colby Corino, Pope and Jax Dane. Apparently, the Masked Man didn’t want to talk to her so didn’t turn up. Seems like a nice guy. Teams were formed and title opportunities were won but they’ve sat back and watched the landscape change over the weekend so there’s a lot to consider now. Corino’s got a huge chip on his shoulder and some real attitude, shouting at the crowd and the guys on the stage too, but that’s no surprise considering the family he comes from. Pope said some words which really made no sense whatsoever, and Jax was happy to stand there and look menacing for most of it. Dane made his intentions towards Trevor Murdoch pretty clear but Kyle Davis also reminded him that Crimson probably wants revenge after his attack at the weekend. All three men have opportunities but we’ll have to wait to find out where and how.

Kiera Hogan vs Skye Blue

Empowerrr may not have gone exactly the way Kiera wanted it to, coming up short against Chelsea Green, but Hogan still put in a good shift against a tough lineup of competitors and once again showed why she’s the Hottest Free Agent at the moment. With Mickie James looking on from the commentary booth, Hogan had another opportunity to impress in front of Billy Corgan and no doubt many other interested parties. Blue had eyes on her during the Empowerrr pre-show and has been one to watch lately with a lot of untapped potentials. This was a match between two women who are desperate to climb that ladder towards not only Kamille and the NWA women’s championship but open doors to other companies in the US and around the world.

James put over both women on commentary and sees a bright future for both of them. A good show of respect from Hogan and Blue to start the match and some smart arm work from Kiera was met by impressive escapes and reversals from Skye. Both were hesitant to dive right into any drastic moves, instead calmly looking for any potential opening to take advantage of. The women kicked it up a gear, trading quick pinfall attempts but neither able to keep the shoulders down for a count of three. Kiera hit a huge kick to the face in the corner but spent a little too long celebrating and didn’t capitalize as quickly as she should have. Skye nearly made her pay with a superkick but wasn’t enough as Hogan came back with her Face The Music finisher to keep her momentum going, even taking the time to approach Mickie at the desk and telling her to respect her. Skye Blue can be proud of her efforts and there’s a lot more to come from her.

Byeeeeeeeeee

As we all saw at Empowerrr, Taryn Terrell isn’t one for letting others get attention. She interrupted Gail Kim during a heartfelt promo and was far more interested in trying to get herself over with the crowd. Thankfully, we were rescued by Kong who came and destroyed her little crew. Sadly they all recovered and Taryn decided to get on the mic again this week and try to burst my eardrums with her squeaking and whatnot, not even letting Jennacide get a word in. Newly crowned tag champs The Hex weren’t happy with just sitting backstage and listening to that trash so came out to confront Taryn and her gang, including Paola Blaze who seems to think the world owes her. Lots of arguing later and I think we ended up with some sort of singles challenge in there somewhere, along with La Rebelión coming out to show off their tag titles and lock their eyes on some potential future challengers.

Tag Team Tournament – Qualifying Match – The Rude Dudes vs The Ill Begotten

Not being overly familiar with either team, I decided to pick based on which name I preferred – and that was the one that rhymed, so go Rude Dudes! After the competitive match over the titles at NWA 73, it’s clear that the new champs are ready and willing to take on all competitors, so it’ll be interesting to see who progresses through this tournament. According to the commentators, the teams were all quite new with no real experience which could go either way – they could struggle to pick up wins or they could be a real surprise. The match itself started with a lot of trash-talking from both sides and eventually broke down into brutal chokes on the mat, with neither team interested in showing any technical ability.

This was no Hart Foundation tag team masterclass or anything by any means. It’s tough to be thrown in there as a new team with such high stakes. The Rude Dudes showed the most promise in terms of teamwork, despite spending a lot of time bragging and showing off. It’s clear that both of the Dudes have a lot of talent yet I think they need to bring it together and focus more to get to the level they need to. The crowd definitely got behind The Ill Begotten and wanted them to take down their cocky opponents but it wasn’t meant to be and The Rude Dudes hit an assisted top rope stomp to advance in the tournament. There’s some promise there but they’ll need to go away and study the tape and make some improvements as their opponents will undoubtedly get more challenging. After the match, La Rebelión expressed their disappointment at the quality of talent in the tournament and decided to leave for Mexico until NWA offered them better opponents.

Melina’s Masterpiece

Shocking all the fans in attendance and watching at home, Melina made her way out with Chris Adonis and it wasn’t a pairing that anyone was expecting. I mean I know he’s in good shape and everything but I thought Melina had slightly better taste than that. He’s hardly John Morrison. Mostly because Morrison has a nice slow-mo entrance. Adonis put Melina over on the mic and complained that she wasn’t even on the card for the show, again blaming the Billy Conspiracy.

cham·pi·on-
a person who has defeated or surpassed all rivals in a competition, especially in sports @nwa @FiteTV pic.twitter.com/UJ6nmoyzZy

— Chris Masters (@ChrisAdonis) August 30, 2021

Melina started moaning about Kamille and the way she talks but things then fell apart with the Sinister Minister turning up and threatening him because Judias is next in line for a shot at the National Championship. If anyone can break out of the Masterlock I’m pretty sure it’s the big man, but the champ showed no fear whatsoever. I’m looking forward to them battering each other all over the ring as soon as possible. Bring on the chaos.

Kenzie Paige vs Chelsea Green

After a weekend of ups and downs, there’s no question that Chelsea Green made a statement against a huge wealth of talent over the two shows. She’s been on a roll since leaving WWE and these appearances for NWA are helping her to shine that star even brighter than before. It’s fair to say that the sky really is the limit for her and she’ll be looking to add some more shiny things to her collection. Kenzie is known for her power game and went straight for Green, keeping pace with Chelsea and smartly focusing on the broken wrist.

It looked as though she wasn’t going to be able to capitalize on it as Chelsea was going for her finisher but instead Paige surprised her and caught the quick 1-2-3 that no one saw coming. Kenzie escaped the ring as fast as a robber in your local supermarket and we were left with Chelsea Green having a breakdown of sorts in the ring. No more smiles and being happy to be there. It was clear that the Hot Mess was back as she snapped at the commentary team and everyone at ringside. I was scared watching and I was safe at home so good luck to anyone having to wrestle her in the future.

I AM YOUR FUTURE @nwa CHAMPION. https://t.co/hQeAP1FMxv

— CHELSEA GREEN (@ImChelseaGreen) August 31, 2021

Tyrus vs BLK Jeez

I think we can all agree on one thing – that no matter where James Storm appears he’s always one of the most over guys on the card. He’s paid his dues over the years in multiple companies but now finds himself back in NWA and the real question is why? His match at NWA 73 was one of the best on the card and now we’re all wondering what’s next for our favourite cowboy. As with so many of us, he’s had a chance to think during the pandemic and reassess his priorities and he’s all about one thing – no, not beer but family. But after spending some great time with his kids, this might be time to look at something else. Before finding out, Austin Idol decided to come out and interrupt Storm’s promo time to introduce Tyrus instead for his main event TV Title match in which Idol himself got to handpick the opponent. Or opponents apparently as Jordan Clearwater and BLK Jeez came out to the ring.

Both Clearwater and Jeez seemed to be under the impression that they’d be getting the opportunity so it was all a bit awkward to start with, plus they only had around 6 minutes of TV time remaining so it wasn’t going to be a 60-minute mat classic by any means. Jeez got the nod by the announcer and Jordan was really annoyed, but he probably started to think it was a good thing when he saw some of the punishment that Tyrus inflicted on BLK. All credit to the smaller man, he really took it to the champ in the opening minute, even taking him down off his feet. But as soon as he got back up, he absolutely destroyed the challenger with a massive suplex and heart punch and that was that. An impressive showing from the champ and you have to wonder if James Storm will have something to say about that in the future or will Clearwater get the shot he thought he was getting this week?

Full Results

• Kiera Hogan defeated Skye Blue
• The Rude Dudes defeated The Ill Begotten in a Tag Team Tournament qualifier
• Kenzie Paige defeated Chelsea Green
• Tyrus defeated BLK Jeez to retain his World Television Championship

Final Thoughts

After such a momentous weekend for the NWA, things went through quite the shakeup, especially on top. It’s now Trevor Murdoch at the wheel and with Nick Aldis disappearing, it could be anyone who steps forward to try and dethrone the new champion. Personally, I think it should be Tim Storm but I’d say that about any title. Maybe not the women’s one. NWA always does a great job of making all the titles seem important and this episode was very much about setting the scene for who might be getting title opportunities in the future. There will be plenty of chances over the coming weeks for talent to step up and make a name for themselves. I’m sure they all watched Ric Flair at the weekend and came away feeling highly motivated to perform at their best in one of the best wrestling companies in the world. There may be a lot of important history in NWA but there’s a whole future to come too.

NWA Powerrr airs exclusively on Fite TV as part of the NWA Powerrr subscription service – Pics courtesy of Fite TV