NWA Powerrr Review - April 5, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Matt Cardona def. Tim Storm (Non-Title)

The worst part about Storm stepping back in the ring was Austin Idol having to replace him on commentary for the night. Ugh. That aside, Storm can still hold his own and I liked how he took the fight to Cardona before eating defeat. They told a great story with Storm representing classic NWA and Cardona playing a fantastic foil. Cardona is doing some of his best work right now and I love the idea of him targeting NWA "originals."

Da Pope Announced He's Cashing in His NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship Opportunity

As Pope alluded to in a recent promo, he still has a guaranteed shot at the top title thanks to his win in the Champions Series last summer. I'm shocked I even remember that was a thing because it was a very confusing stretch of television. At any rate, this was the usual strong promo from Pope. He didn't announce when exactly he intends to cash in his title shot, but I'm happy they didn't forget about it and that it will likely be soon.

Rhett Titus def. Darius Lockheart by Disqualification

This was billed as a junior heavyweight exhibition match. Titus is actually fresh off losing the ROH World Television Championship to Minoru Suzuki at Ring of Honor's Supercard of Honor pay-per-view. In fact, it was such a short and decisive loss that I don't know he'll be used by ROH/AEW again any time soon, so sticking in the NWA for now is probably his best bet. He and Lockheart had a solid match, but the non-finish was disappointing. Hopefully that was designed to leave the door open for a rematch and they won't just move on from it.

Kyle Davis Interviewed NWA National Champion Jax Dane and Chris Adonis

It was a week or two ago that Thom Latimer and Kamille officially severed ties with Adonis, leaving Adonis to claim he was better off as a solo act. If this segment was any indication, there won't be an Adonis vs. Latimer feud, probably because both men will remaining heels. Adonis lost the National title to Anthony Mayweather a few months ago, so it makes sense for him to shift his focus back on the belt. That said, the heel vs. heel dynamic with him and Dane is definitely odd.

Trevor Murdoch def. Garrisaon Creed

Similar to Titus vs. Lockheart, this was also billed as an exhibition match except with heavyweights. Murdoch has been knocking dudes down left and right in recent weeks and obviously won't rest until he's granted a rematch for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship he was cheated out of. It was wise to keep this short and sweet because of that. I'm still not sure whether the endgame is for him to turn heel, but as I've said before, I'm intrigued.

NWA Television Champion Tyrus vs. Cyon in a Body Slam Challenge Ended in a No Contest

This never-ending Tyrus vs. Cyon feud has been painfully bad. Cyon has been made to look like a loser time and time again, so I don't know why he's still in the title mix. Hell, I don't know why Tyrus is still the champion, either. He's atrocious, much like this segment was. Cyon was apparently promised another shot at the strap if he was able to slam Tyrus, but instead, this thing ended without a winner. And yes, that was how they went off the air. This whole thing was beyond lame.

Overall Show

It was strange that the show opened with Cardona vs. Storm, and although I'd praise them for switching things up and kicking off the night on a high note, that last segment was so bad that I have no idea why they structured the show the way they did. I actually enjoyed most of the show otherwise with Titus vs. Lockheart being a well-wrestled affair, Cardona and Murdoch maintaining momentum, and Pope establishing himself as next in line for an NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship opportunity.

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