Grim Watches NWA Powerrr (So You Don't Have To)

[Bobby Barrows]

NWA Powerrr (October 15, 2024)
S20E3: “NWA 76: Part III”

Oh goodie goodie gumdrops, another episode of everyone’s least favorite wrestling promotion. We get Jazz and Simon Diamond kicking things off in the ring. They’re really there to just hype up the crowd. Of course we get more ECW legends, because all the NWA legends are either more known for being a part of WCW or WWE. Nice to see Jazz though, she gets a nice standing ovation. So yeah that’s how we kick off this edition.

Our first match of the evening is for the #1 contender for the Junior Heavyweight Championship, it’s Jack Cartwheel (who allegedly holds a world record for one-handed cartwheels within 30 seconds) facing off against Alex Misery, who seems to have a whole Sabu/Mankind-esque gimmick. Upon looking up who Alex Misery was, I was shocked to find out he is the son of former TNA talent Apolo! @Sky and @Canadian Dragon will know who I’m talking about, but yeah, pretty interesting! Holy crap, I’m surprised, we’re actually getting technical wrestling! We’re… getting good wrestling!? In the National Wrestling Alliance? These two are doing all sorts of flips and techniques, with Cartwheel incorporating cartwheels into his moveset; he manages to pull off a cartwheel into a Japanese armdrag, which is crazy to watch. Then he does a full standing moonsault, and it was actually very impressive!

[Finally, some good fuckin’ wrestling–]

We get a really cool spot with Misery where goes to do a top-rope moonsault to Cartwheel on the outside of the ring, but Cartwheel dives into the ring, and Misery lands on his feet as Cartwheel hits a cartwheel backflip senton over the rope to Misery on the floor. Fucking insane spot. Misery kicks out at one after that, which is wild. The crowd is really into this match, and with good reason, it’s two high fliers and technical guys just hitting big spots. Misery even hits his own standing moonsault on Jack! Misery then starts to strategize and go after Jack’s leg.

We get a commercial break advertising Samhain 2, which is whatever. Afterwards, Alex Misery continues to keep control while Jack Cartwheel tries to mount comeback after comeback. Misery slaps on a figure four leg lock, but Jack rolls over to the ropes. Here comes the babyface comeback by Alex! Another great spot sees Alex Misery go for a roundhouse kick, but Jack Cartwheel hits a cartwheel at the same time and counters with a Flatliner! Cartwheel then hits a neckbreaker on Misery, and then a crucifix pin! Cartwheel starts selling the attack on his leg, including not being able to lift up Misery for a Samoan drop. This gives Misery enough time to re-take control of the match.

Misery goes for a top-rope moonsault, which Cartwheel gets out of the way of. Again, Misery lands on his feet, and it becomes a case of both men trading hard strikes with one another while Jack sells his leg. Jack Cartwheel finally gains the advantage by tying up Misery in the ropes, and he hits a Coup-de-Grace on Misery! Misery still kicks out! Cartwheel starts climbing up the turnbuckle, Misery tries to suplex Jack Cartwheel off, but Jack throws Misery off and hits a corkscrew senton splash! That’s all she wrote for this match! Jack Cartwheel wins! I… liked this match? I liked this match! It was actually a *good* match. My god, the NWA did it, and it only took the third episode of Powerrr to get here.

[This is what good wrestling looks like, folks.]

So after that exciting match, we get a Kenzie Paige interview, which is after her victory over Max the Impaler last week. She’s asked about the Burke Invitational Gauntlet Match. She just takes the time to brag about herself. She also hypes up Kylie Paige. Then we get a promo from a guy named Rolando. I’m not actually sure what he said, but it was something, alright. So now we’re finally on the Burke Invitational Gauntlet, which has the rules as follows:

- Two women begin in the ring.
- A new competitor enters every minute.
- Eliminations occur via pinfall, submission, or over the top rope.
- There must be a winner.
Oh goodie, it’s one of those matches where I have to keep track of who comes and who goes. Great; see shit like this is primarily why I do dislike reviewing Pay-Per-Views like the Royal Rumble, largely because I just can't stand having to keep track of everything. Nevertheless, I’ll try my best.

Our first competitor is Ruthie Jay, and our second is Kylie Paige, so yeah, we’re already just starting off the storyline for this, with Pretty Empowered wanting to win this gauntlet so they can hold all the gold. We get a lock-up, with Jay controlling things first over Kylie. Already, we get Competitor 3: Lili Pescadita. I have no clue who she is, so she better impress me. Lili goes after Kylie first, allowing Jay to catch her breath before attacking Lili. Very quickly, we’re onto Competitor 4: Big Mama. Alright then. Lili tries to hit a reverse Death Valley Driver on Jay, who lands on her feet before Big Mama gets in the ring and just wrecks shit. Just before our next competitor is introduced, Ruthie Jay gets pinned by Big Mama. Elimination 1: Ruthie Jay

Competitor 5: Haley J, apparently this is her debut in the NWA, so uh, that’s not a good sign of things to come. She gets in the ring and immediately gets bodied by Big Mama. Haley convinces everyone to attack Big Mama and eliminate her by throwing Mama over the top rope, again just as the next competitor is being introduced. Elimination 2: Big Mama. Competitor 6: La Rosa Negra. Hey, someone I’ve heard of! She gets into the ring and starts kicking ass, going after Lili. She then hits a Death Valley Driver to Kylie onto Lili. Competitor 7: Natalia Markova hits the ring now, and she’s probably my favorite right now. Markova hits a head scissors to Rosa, throws Kylie into Rosa, and hits a roundhouse kick onto both of them.

So far this match isn’t actually going bad, it’s just chaos. Competitor 8: Tiffany Nieves comes out, and it’s another wrestler I’ve heard of! She’s probably the best dressed out of all of them, sartorially resplendent in blue and silver ring gear. She makes her way down slowly to the ring, taking her time. Markova throws Lili over the ropes, so now she’s gone. Elimination 3: Lili Pescadita. Rosa Negra and Tiffany fight on the apron but Tiffany doesn’t get thrown out. Competitor 9: Mystii Marks comes on out, and the ring is filling up pretty fast here. I’m actually not sure how many women are gonna be in this match, but we’ll find out! Marks hits a nice hip-toss on Tiffany.

Marks slams down Rosa Negra, and then slams Tiffany onto Rosa just as Competitor 10: Kayla Rossi comes out. Kylie Paige hits a German suplex on Haley J when Kayla Rossi rolls into the ring and lariats Kylie. She comes in as a dominant force and largely focuses her wrath on Kylie. Heck, Rossi hits a standing moonsault on Kylie too. It’s a minute in and I already like Rossi! Our next competitor comes out, Competitor 11: Adrianna Mosley. It’s her hometown, and she gets the pop for it. Rossi and Mosley fight in the ring, meanwhile we have a brawl on the outside as Haley J and Tiffany Nieves are going at one another; neither have been eliminated yet. Mosley hits a Fallaway Slam to both Markova and Rosa Negra, then a DDT on Kayla Rossi.

[A sign of things to come.]

Competitor 12: Kelly Madan heads on down to the growing pile of women, going right after Kylie Paige first. There’s a lot of women in this ring right now, but that’s about to change, because Madan and Mystii Marks get thrown onto the apron by Kayla Rossi, who then clotheslines both of them out! Elimination 4 & 5: Mystii Marks & Kelly Madan. Suddenly, Kylie Paige rolls up Kayla Rossi and she’s eliminated now! Elimination 6: Kayla Rossi. Everything is going on, and it’s time for Competitor 13: Santana Garrett is out here! Hey hey hey, Santana’s here, and she’s arguably the best wrestler in the match! Haley J goes for a dive but Tiffany Nieves hits a spinebuster on her, and then forces a submission on Haley for the elimination. Elimination 7: Haley J. Adrianna Mosley manages to get Santana Garrett on the apron, but suffers from One Man Gang syndrome and runs herself over the top rope. Elimination 8: Adrianna Mosley. Kylie Paige manages to hit a big move on Natalia Markova, but Tiffany Nieves prevents the pin. La Rosa Negra and Santana Garrett are fighting on the outside, but Santana manages to throw Rosa to the floor for the elimination! Elimination 9: La Rosa Negra.

We’re down to our final four here: Kylie Paige, Natalia Markova, Tiffany Nieves, and Santana Garrett! Natalia slams down Tiffany and goes for a pin, but Tiffany kicks out, meanwhile Santana, still on the apron, is fighting with Kylie Paige. Paige kicks Santana, who ends up doing the splits, before Kylie hits a dropkick on her and Santana gets eliminated! Elimination 10: Santana Garrett. Markova tries to eliminate Kylie Paige, but it doesn’t work. Tiffany Nieves brings a chair into the ring! Finally, Markova eliminates Kylie Paige, and we’re down to our final two! Elimination 11: Kylie Paige. It’s Natalia Markova and Tiffany Nieves, but as soon as Markova turns around, Tiffany hits a chair shot to the head! Tiffany goes for a pin, but Markova kicks out! Tiffany grabs a kendo stick, and she goes to town on Markova. They’re actually nasty looking shots, and then Tiffany starts choking Markova with it.

[A chairshot to the head in 2024, who’da thunk it.]

Markova on the outside finds her own Kendo stick and now these two are just swinging for the fences on each other. Nieves maintains the advantage and tries to choke out Markova with the stick. Then Tiffany attempts a suplex on Natalia, but Markova reverses it with her own onto the concrete floor. These two girls are just beating each other up. Markova goes for a pin, but Nieves kicks out, and she hits Markova with a headbutt and spear combo! Markova still kicks out! Tiffany Nieves pulls out a table (because of course there’d be tables in Philadelphia). Billy Corgan on commentary quips, “Why am I having anxiety about thoughts of fire in this building?”, he’s referencing ECW’s flaming table shticks. Nieves sets up the table, then slaps Markova in the face. Tiffany Nieves goes to try for a superplex onto the table, but Markova hits an Uranage onto the table, and that’s it for this match! Elimination 12: Tiffany Nieves. That was actually an unbelievably fun match, all things considered. I will say this about the National Wrestling Alliance, there’s actually an abundance of talent in the women’s division that I hope to see more of, specifically: Santana Garrett, Kylie Paige, Kayla Rossi, Natalia Markova, and Tiffany Nieves!

I was actually surprised to see that NWA Powerrr would have a genuinely good episode this early. Cartwheel vs. Alex Misery is genuinely a good wrestling match and the Mildred Burke Gauntlet was a bit chaotic but had some fun moves in it and a very good finish. I can’t believe I’m actually about to say this, but you should definitely check out this episode of NWA Powerrr. MUST-SEE
​

Jack Cartwheel d. Alex Misery	***1/2
Natalia Markova Wins Burke Invitational Gauntlet	**3/4

 

[Sky]

I went back to my post about the Devil's Last Dance match to see if I mentioned Alex Misery being Apolo's son.

Commentary tells me Alex Misery is the son of Gran Apolo from old NWA-TNA? News to me, but I think he's more over with me now that I know that.​

Turns out I did, nice

 

[Sky]

Ruthie Jay you should have heard of. She had one of the few decent matches at Samhain '23 and she's got a LOOK so if an actual good promotion gives her a shot she can go places