Memento Mori, Remember you must die.
Strong words to open the new season of NWA Powerrr. This was the promotion’s first showing on The CW app, and they did not pull any punches.
Today’s the day! #NWAPowerrr debuts on @TheCW!
Watch it free here!: https://t.co/e0sAe8DQrc pic.twitter.com/Fc4PDn9dFa
— NWA (@nwa) February 6, 2024
The New NWA
HOLY F*CKING SH!T!!! THE LIGHTTUBES EXPLODED ON @TheMattCardona !!! @therealec3 #NWAPowerrr pic.twitter.com/HQXaA4ZxKW
— 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐕𝐞𝐧 (@WrestlingCovers) February 6, 2024
The episode opened with a recap of the build for the Matt Cardona vs ECIII main event. The “Indy God” vs. the “Over Man.” The vignette led straight into the new intro for the show. The intro screamed territory wrestling. The old-school feels mixed with a fresh 2024 coat of paint was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Joe Galli and Danny Dealz are a commentary duo that doesn’t get enough credit. They give you that JR/Lawler feel while delivering the action in the ring. Cutting straight to the action, we get an NWA World’s Tag Team title match.
Blunt Force Trauma, made up of BFT Carnage and BFT Damage, is the reigning and defending tag champ. Led by the “Manager of Champions” Aaron Stevens, BFT upset the year-long reign of La Rebellion last year.
Going head to head with Jax Dane and Tim Storm, this was a solid opening match. BFT would get the win with the assist coming from Stevens. The dominance of BFT in the ring is matched by the cunning instincts of a ring-savvy manager and an “alleged” loaded glove.
Mims and Max
Big Strong Mims, the reigning NWA TV champ, cut a passionate promo on Max the Impaler. Next week on Powerrr they will face off in a title unification match. Mims stands strong on his platform that he will pin Max, take their title, and vacate it because he “doesn’t need a second title.”
After next week’s defense, Mims is moving forward with the build to his shot at the NWA World’s Championship. Mims would say, “History is written by the winners, and I see a winner right here.”
His plan and path to the ten pounds of gold is clear.
Kenzie Page and the Berk
Tell ‘em, Champ.@KenziePaige_1 & @TiffanyNieves_ do battle for “The Burke” on #NWAPowerrr streaming on demand right now on @TheCW!https://t.co/Hq5uoQSSCT pic.twitter.com/puq2AKcNYu
— NWA (@nwa) February 8, 2024
Kenzie Page would put the NWA World Women’s Championship on the line against Tiffany Nieves. The match was beginning to end, the best “wrestling match” in the short one-hour episode.
From bell to bell, the competitors showcased wrestling psychology, working every inch of the ring. Although it wasn’t technically flashy or a high-flying match, the story told was of the back and forth with Page resorting to cheating to win. You could see the influence of Dr. Tom Prichard in the way Page worked the crowd. This old-school heel work paired nicely with the rest of the show.
The Ultimate Match of Death
A blood soaked, smoke filled, hepatitis avoiding #VICTORYLAP for #theOVERMAN upon retaining the WORLDS CHAMPIONSHIP.
To see #THEULTIMATEMATCHofDEATH get @thecwapp NOW#overMAN VS #indyGOD pic.twitter.com/DpTx0KWeJl
— ecIII (@therealec3) February 7, 2024
After both men had cut promos on each other, it was time to put up or shut up. “We spill the same blood in the same mud,” the quote from the champion led you to believe it would be a bloody affair, and it was.
I appreciate the respect for the champions’ rights shown by the NWA. Having every champion enter second, that “respect” is sometimes lost on modern TV.
The match itself was littered with wild action, weapons, and craziness. At one point, a solid gold door was presented, and Cardona was swiftly put through it with a backbody drop. ECIII would start bleeding after a chair shot, but the challenger would add insult to injury by hitting a DDT on the outside on a broken picture frame. The picture in question, a photo of ECIII and former owner of TNA wrestling Dixie Carter, was a subtle nod at the “war being fought” by other promotions. They didn’t need to explain it; they just let it breathe.
The cut to black and white was a little off-putting at first, but I warmed up to it. You miss the violence and gore of a deathmatch when everything is monotone.
ECIII would retain by tapping Cardona out in the center of the ring.
William Patrick Corbin would go on Busted Open Radio on Wednesday morning to celebrate the episode and the company’s debut.
“A huge step. It’s been about six years since I bought the NWA, and you know it’s been a long journey to get it to a place of respectability but also to commercial viability.”
If the first episode is any indication, I’d say NWA is well on the way to both those things.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Check out the NWA, its weekly program NWA Powerrr on YouTube, The CW App, and all pay-per-view events, on FITE.
