Previewing NWA 73 And Empowerrr Pay-Per-View Events
The National Wrestling Alliance is presenting two pay-per-view events on back-to-back nights. The women’s only wrestling PPV called Empowerrr takes place this Saturday, August 28 and then on Sunday, August 29 it’s the NWA 73 PPV. You can order both shows together as a package on FITE TV for $39.99. They also have an option available where you can pay $24.99 for each event if you only want to watch one of them. The NWA is owned by musician Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, who is a lifelong wrestling fan. They have a good mix of veteran wrestlers, young talent and they utilize legends as well with Ric Flair coming in this Sunday for NWA 73.
The events (along with two days of tapings on Monday and Tuesday) are taking place at the historic Chase Ballroom in St. Louis. There will be just under 1,000 fans in attendance at NWA 73, which is sold out and Empowerrr is close to being sold out. That’s pretty good. I hope the fans make a lot of noise.
Here’s part of what FITE TV wrote earlier in the week and then I’ll share the lineups for both nights followed by some thoughts.
For 73 years, The National Wrestling Alliance has reigned over the world of professional wrestling, the hopes of the competitors to dreams of the fans and beyond. From its origins within a hotel conference room in Waterloo, Iowa to stadiums around the globe and beyond, The initials of the NWA have long inspired greatness, stroked competition and inspired glory for all eyes that have scanned across them.
Whether it be hard times, four raised fingers, the greatest wrestler on God’s green earth or the glorious number 6:05, the National Wrestling Alliance is synonymous with presenting the best in true professional wrestling from every corner of the globe to the discerning professional wrestling fan that lived and died by “The King of Sports” and all those who vied to prove themself as the best athlete, the best fighter, the best competitor on the globe.
All sports and cultures evolve with time but in the National Wrestling Alliance, the most important cornerstones stand forever like great redwood trees, stoic and strong. No matter the century, the NWA remains focused on the importance, the grandeur of its champions and their championships, utilizing a roster of mavericks, individualists and rebels who like those great redwoods, stand strong, a grappling rebellion that puts forth the best of today and epitomizes the best of yesteryear to forge the grandest future.
The NWA may be 73 years young, but the clashes of champions, the grit of the grappling, the emotional whirlwind that it transcends will stand immortal.
Therefore it is only fitting that the NWA’s events this weekend emanate from the historical and magical Chase Ballroom, which was the centerpiece of infinite hours of wrestling greatness presented under the National Wrestling Alliance banner. Sam Muchnick, like NWA President William Corgan today, lived to bring the best of wrestling for an audience he respected and adored in St. Louis and those ideals, those dreams, those standards still live on today, empowering the men and women of the National Wrestling Alliance – and all of its fans tuning in live on FITE.TV.
You can read the full press release on FITE TV here.
Lineup for NWA Empowerrr on Saturday, August 28
*Produced by Mickie James.
*NWA Women’s World Champion Kamille vs AEW’s Leyla Hirsh.
*Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo vs Melina Perez.
*NWA Women’s World Tag Team Championship Tournament Semi-Final: The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) vs Hell on Heels (Renee Michelle & Sahara 7)
*NWA Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament Semi-Final: Red Velvet & KiLynn King vs The Freebabes (Jazzy Yang & Hollyhood Haley J & Miranda Gordy)
*NWA Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament Final to crown Champions.
*NWA Women’s Invitational Cup Gauntlet: Bianca Carelli vs Chelsea Green vs Debbie Malenko vs Lady Frost vs Jamie Senegal (with Pollo Del Mar) vs Jennacide (with Taryn Terrell) vs Kiera Hogan vs Masha Slamovich vs Tootie Lynn vs Thunder Kitty to earn NWA 73 Women’s World Championship Match.
* Skye Blue vs. Christi Jaynes.
*AAA’s Chik Tormenta vs AEW’s Diamante vs The NWA’s Kylie Rae.
Five Thoughts on NWA Empowerrr
1. I nearly went to the event to support my friend Mickie James. We have known eachother for over a decade now, I help her with her website (in the process of building a new one) and her Facebook page. I wanted to go, but traveling to the US right now is a bit of a hassle for Canadians even for those of us that are vaccinate. I’m happy for her being in this role as an Executive Producer. I know she has watched a lot of video of the women on the show to try to set up matches that will be interesting to the viewer at home. Some of them feature well-known wrestlers and others feature women who I don’t really know, to be honest. Mickie has told me a few things about the show, but no spoilers really. I don’t want to know them anyway. I’m going to watch to support the company as well as her. This is the start of something big for them. Will they get a huge audience like other wrestling companies? Probably not, especially right away, but it’s about building and I’m here to support.
2. I assume the two Women’s Tag Team Championship matches will go on first since the winners are going to wrestle a second time on the show. That makes the most sense to me. The team known as The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) has a lot of experience and they are my pick to leave with the Tag Team Titles by the end of the night.
3. I think Chelsea Green will win the Invitational Cup Gauntlet to earn an NWA Women’s Title match at NWA 73 the next night. That makes a lot of sense to me since she has a lot of experience wrestling for other wrestling companies. I can see the NWA wanting to put over some new talent, to introduce them to the wrestling world, but the more established names are likely going to get a chance to shine as well.
4. The main event will probably be Kamille defending the NWA Women’s against AEW’s Leyla Hirsch. It should be a competitive match. Kamille is a taller woman around 6 feet tall while Leyla is about 4’10” so there’s a big difference. I think Leyla will get some nearfalls throughout the match, but I think Kamille wins in a dominant manner.
5. My favorite match on the card is Deonna Purrazzo vs Melina Perez for the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship mainly because Melina is one of my favorite women’s wrestlers ever. Plus, I have seen enough of Deonna to know she’s very good and does a nice job as a confident heel champion that backs up what she says. I doubt Melina wins the title, but I expect her to come close a few times. Also, based on recent Impact Wrestling happenings, it seems like Deonna will face Mickie James possibly at Impact Wrestling’s Bound for Glory in October. That could be part of the deal with Deonna working this show and then Mickie wrestling for Impact a few months later. It makes sense to me.
One more bonus prediction that is not so bold. This will not be the NWA’s only women’s wrestling PPV. I think they’re just getting started.
Let’s move on to NWA 73 on Sunday night.
Lineup for NWA 73 on Sunday, August 29
*Ric Flair to appear.
*NWA World’s Champion Nick Aldis vs Trevor Murdoch. If Murdoch doesn’t win, he will retire from wrestling.
*NWA Women’s World Champion Kamille (or Leyla Hirsh, should she win the Championship) vs The Winner of NWA Empower Women’s Invitational Gauntlet.
*NWA National Champion Chris Adonis vs “Cowboy” James Storm.
*NWA World Tag Team Champions Aron Stevens & Kratos vs Mecha World & Bestia 666.
*Mickie James vs Kylie Rae.
*Thom Latimer vs Crimson vs Tim Storm in “Brawl in the Lou.”
*NWA TV Champion Tyrus & The Masked Man & Jordan Clearwater with Austin Idol vs The End & The Pope, Elijah Burke.
*12 Man Battle Royal to determine top contender for the NWA National Championship.
Five Thoughts on NWA 73
1. I love that Ric Flair will be there. He’s got so much history with NWA as a multi-time World Champion (whatever the real number is) and I’m sure Ric will enjoy being at a building where he wrestled many times in the past. The logical thing, to me, is for Ric to present the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship to whoever wins the main event. They could also have Ric on hand before the match as well to talk about how important it is.
2. The main event featuring NWA World’s Champion Nick Aldis defending the title against Trevor Murdoch should be a good match. I think there will be a title change too, which will put an end to Nick’s reign that has lasted for over 1000 days (nearly three years). Then again, Murdoch is at a point in his career where maybe he doesn’t want to wrestle anymore and maybe it’s time for him to move on. I just think since these NWA shows have had Aldis dominating the title scene for the last three years (plus mots of the year before that) that they might want to have a babyface like Murdoch get the win in front of the 1,000 or so fans that will be there. Murdoch got screwed a bit in his last title match, so this is his chance for revenge. I think Murdoch should win.
3. The Mickie James match with Kylie Rae should be a lot of fun. It is Mickie’s first singles match since September 21, 2020 against Zelina Vega. Mickie did work the Royal Rumble this past January, but this is her first singles match in a year. Kylie is the type of worker that is easy to like when she’s a face and she’s full of energy like what Mickie was earlier in her career about 15 years ago. I don’t know who is going to win. You can say Mickie doesn’t need to win because she’s the veteran, so she might want to put over the younger wrestler, but I think Mickie is going to be a regular in NWA moving forward. With that in mind, it makes sense for Mickie to get the win here.
4. Here are some quick picks for the other matches:
* Kamille will beat whoever her challenger is for the NWA Women’s Title.
* Chris Adonis will beat James Storm to hold onto the NWA National Championship.
* I think Stevens & Kratos will keep the Tag Team Titles.
* Thom Latimer should beat Crimson and Tim Storm in that triple threat “Brawl in the Lou” match.
* I’ll go with The End & Elijah Burke beating Tyrus, The Masked Man & Jordan Clearwater.
5. I’m looking forward to the show. I subscribe to and watch NWA Powerrr every week. It’s not always the most exciting show, but everybody works hard and I like the old-school nature of the product. I think having a crowd of about 1,000 people will help both of these PPVs feel like a bigger deal because when you have a crowd making noise, it helps a lot.
In Closing
That’s a wrap for this NWA 73 and Empowerrr preview. I plan on watching both shows, but I haven’t decided if I will review them. If I do review them, I might use a different format than what I usually do. I’ve been writing a lot of late while also wanting to take it easy a bit this weekend. I’m not sure yet what format I might use although I will most likely post the results.
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John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter @johnreport