- Dane vs Jackson NR
- Green vs Paige ***1/2
- 2/3 Falls: Titus vs Corino ***3/4
- NWA World Women's Title: Kamille(c) vs Terrell ***1/2
Thoughts:
I haven't checked in with NWA much in a while as I just haven't felt there was much to check out. The recent three-episode stretch of Powerrr Trip and the Crockett Cup shows seemed interesting, though.
It's my birthday by the way. I'm hoping this choice pays off.
This one started with Jax cutting a promo in the ring, moved to him winning a squash, and then another promo.
Chelsea Green versus Kenzie Paige followed. While the opening portion of the episode was largely forgettable, this brought things back to life. Both worked well together and both worked hard, giving us a very good match that overdelivered. Outside of the cheap heel victory, this was well worth catching.
An ad for NWA USA ran. I am still not sure why that show exists nor how it truly differs from Powerrr. Sadly I don't really care and I've seen little that suggests I should start. I've seen nothing in the way of buzz, little on the cards that stands out, and nothing has been recommended to me. If you're reading this and can tell me why I should change my attitude on the subject, let me know.
Next up, Rhett and Corino worked a best of three falls matchup. Like the contest before it, this overdelivered. They leaned nicely into the gimmick and pushed forward, allowing for nice touches of drama like nearfalls and cheap heel work alongside some very solid ringwork. This felt a lot like something Ring of Honor would have showcased last year. Great shit!
We closed with Kamille defending her NWA Women's strap against Taryn. Note that the latter never really got credit for the work she was putting in during her TNA run, where she frequently was a highlight of their weekly programming. Before WWE started to pretend to care about women's wrestling, she was one of the pillars of an American movement to return respect to the division. I applaud her work during that span. Since returning, I do agree that she has seemed to slip a bit but time does shit to a human body and wrestling is the equivalence of putting your body through a few car crashes a month.
I get it.
Kamille has grown as a worker and is sincerely a decent talent. She still has a way to go, but I appreciate her output for what it is.
Taryn announces herself which was admittedly handled in a rather humorous manner. I should remind readers real quick, but I actually think this belt is pretty solid. NWA's current belts are rather decent in general.
The champ (wo)man handled the challenger early on with the latter taking a couple of water breaks. One such break resulted in a spray of a saliva-water mixture giving her a momentary advantage. They paced things out to last about 8 minutes. While I can't say it was the MOTN, there was enough here to ultimately still make it worth watching.
With a taping format like NWA's, same with MLW, it means you can go several weeks with subpar content if things don't go right. The roster that NWA features is full of talent but the way management has utilized them hasn't always resulted in must-see television. In fact, they've instead focused on questionable names at times and featured iffy booking choices. Combine that with a poor choice they made, and have now corrected, in moving off of YouTube and you have a bad combination. With the wrestling scene more alive than perhaps ever right now and the abundance of high quality content available within a click or two, the NWA folks need to step the fuck up.
I say all of that but need to finish with a statement of another tone.
This episode was perhaps the best of the modern era for the company. I walked in intrigued but cautious, presuming I'd be left unrewarded for my time. Instead I found an hour of pro-wrestling content that I sincerely enjoyed.
The Jax Dane stuff was forgettable, but inoffensive. Everything else was well done and made NWA Powerrr seem like a far better series than it has been for much of its lifespan.
Go ahead and click play, folks. If you tend to respect my opinions of the art of wrestling, you'll likely have a good time.
I'll be back for episode 80, which is part two of the Powerrr Trip tapings, as soon as I can.
Overall Rating: 80/100%
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