NWA Back for the Attack Review - March 21, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis Addressed Aron Stevens and the NWA Audience

Man, I've missed Nick Aldis' promos. There are few better talkers in wrestling than him. I loved that this was what kicked off the show as he addressed his opponent Aron Stevens, the return of the NWA after over a year, and most importantly, the passing of Joseph Hudson a.k.a. The Question Mark/Jocephus. This was a strong start to the show and set the tone nicely. Not many wrestlers got the podium treatment on this show, but I'm glad Aldis did.

Slice Boogie def. Jordan Clearwater, Jax Dane and Crimson in a Four-Way Match

Of the four, I'm most familiar with Crimson from his TNA days in 2012. Dane made a few appearances on Powerrr, and Clearwater wrestled Aldis on one episode of Shockwave last year. They told the story of Dane and Crimson being partners, but the match was way too rushed for that to come into play. There was no rhyme or reason behind the bout otherwise, but it was a fine four-way while it lasted.

Tyrus def. NWA World Tag Team Champion Kratos

I used to be a big Brodus Clay fan a decade ago, but he honestly been useful to any promotion in over five years. He did some decent stuff in IMPACT, but he only ever really excelled in the bodyguard role. On his own, he's boring, not to mention problematic as he has a pending sexual harassment lawsuit against him. The match surprisingly wasn't as awful as I was expecting, but it was pointless to have Tyrus win when Kratos is one-half of the tag team champions and has more upside.

NWA Television Champion Pope vs. Thom Latimer Ended in a Time Limit Draw

As other people have brought up, I have no idea why Pope hasn't been wrestling in a major promotion for the last decade. He served as a commentator for IMPACT for a few years, but that's about it. He can still hold his own in the ring and this was a pretty good match from him and Latimer. I assume Royce Issacs is done with the promotion, which puts his team with Latimer to an end. The only thing I didn't like about this was the time limit draw. I assume and hope they'll go back to it, but it didn't make for a satisfying finish on pay-per-view.

Kamille def. Thunder Rosa in an NWA World Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

I appreciated how the commentators acknowledged that Rosa is fresh off her Lights Out war with Britt Baker on AEW Dynamite. That was why Kamille dominated a majority of this match. Kamille didn't wrestle on Powerrr at all until its last episode in 2020, so it's amazing to see how much she's progressed in the ring since then. She had a standout showing and Rosa sold exceptionally well for her offense. The storytelling was strong here and the outcome was surprising. I'm curious if Rosa losing means her days in the NWA are numbered or if they just wanted to keep Kamille undefeated.

NWA National Champion Trevor Murdoch def. Chris Adonis

Murdoch is perfect in the role of NWA National Champion, fighting for his family and portraying the quintessential babyface. I'd say that WWE could have done more with him as a singles star in 2008 when he broke away from Lance Cade, but he's also just a better fit in the NWA. As for Adonis, he's still in phenomenal shape and is a great pickup for the promotion. They had a well-worked match and Adonis' post-match attack on Murdoch sets up the need for a rematch.

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis def. NWA World Tag Team Champion Aron Stevens

This contest came together because Stevens was so close to Joseph Hudson and this show was dedicated to him, so there was a real chance of Stevens capturing the championship. Yes, him winning the title would have made for a feel-good momentum to end the event, but Adlis has been champion for two-and-a-half years and my guess is that they want to save him losing it for a big moment. Nonetheless, this was an entertaining main event with both men putting forth an excellent effort. The finish was a bit abrupt, but the post-match tribute to Hudson made up for it.

Overall Show

I wasn't sure what to expect from the atmosphere for this event, but being back in the same building and having a limited amount of people in the audience (who I assume were crew members) helped tremendously in making it feel like the NWA product pre-pandemic. It was definitely weird for the NWA's first show back to be a pay-per-view because I'm not sure why you would have paid for an event that had zero buildup, but the two hours flew by and I enjoyed it on the whole. I just wish there was more hype for Powerrr's return this Tuesday night. It will be interesting to see how much of the original fan base returns now that you have to pay for Powerrr on FITE TV.