NWA When Our Shadows Fall Review - June 6, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

La Rebelion def. The End, Sal Rinauro & El Rudo, and Slice Boogie & Marshe Rockett in a Four-Way Tag Team Match

Was it explained why Rinauro teamed with Rudo (a.k.a. Sam Adonis, the real life brother of Corey Graves) and not Tim Storm? The two were in action together on Tuesday's PowerrrSurge and emerged victorious over Luke and PJ Hawx, so I'm not sure why they didn't continue their team here other than Storm being needed for commentary. At any rate, this was a fun four-way tag team match. Billy Corgan told Chris Jericho on Friday's Talk Is Jericho that NWA now has a working relationship with AAA and that's why we got La Rebelion (Bestia 666 and Mecha Wolf 450) here. That'll only add to their small roster if they can use more talent rom there. They were the new guys, so it made sense for them to win. This had a nice pace to it and was a good showcase for all involved.

Tyrus def. NWA Television Champion Da Pope in a Grudge Match (Non-Title)

Being billed as a "Grudge match," this had no time limit. I'm glad the title wasn't on the line because Tyrus didn't do anything to deserve another shot after their last encounter ended in a time-limit draw. I also liked that we got to hear both guys beforehand and that Pope's Love Alive charity got a shout-out (which we talked about extensively in our recent interview). I didn't have high hopes for this as Tyrus is limited in the ring at this stage of his career, but it exceeded my expectations, even with Tyrus on offense for a majority of the match. Pope attempted to battle back from the hurt ribs but to no avail. Tyrus winning means the feud will continue and that another title opportunity is in his future.

Kylie Rae and Taryn Terrell def. Thunder Rosa and Melina

Not only did this mark Rae's NWA debut, Joe Galli casually mentioned on commentary that Rae has signed with the company, which is terrific news. She was previously with AEW and IMPACT before leaving both times due to personal reasons. Hopefully she sticks around in the NWA because she's very talented and can be an asset to their women's division (especially if Rosa leaves for AEW at some point). This was an enjoyable match with a weird dynamic. Rae came off like a babyface at first before showing heelish tendencies and then cheating to pin Melina. Thus, I assume she's a heel. Rosa was protected by not taking the losing fall and by brawling with Terrell to the back so she couldn't save Melina.

Fred Rosser def. JTG

I thought I was watching an old episode of WWE NXT: Redemption for a second (where I believe JTG served as Young's "pro" for a period of time). I kid, I kid. These guys can clearly still go and it's cool to see them back on a bigger platform. This was a very good, competitive contest where they made the most of the time they had. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of them on Powerrr going forward because Rosser has been an afterthought so far despite having some untapped potential.

NWA World Tag Team Champions Aron Stevens and Kratos def. The War Kings and Strictly Business (NWA National Champion Chris Adonis and Thom Latimer) in a Three-Way Tag Team Match

It feels like Stevens and Kratos have been teasing tension practically since they became champions late last year, so I thought for sure they were dropping the belts here. Alas, that was not the case as they won yet again, this time with Kratos using a low blow and Stevens capitalizing for the win (though apparently he didn't know Kratos cheated). They seemed to be back on the same page, but we'll see how long that lasts. This was another enjoyable multi-man match that told a solid story. I had the random thought while watching this that I'd love to see FTR come in and win the tag titles, defending them in both the NWA and AEW. With the working relationship the two companies have, it's possible.

Kamille def. Serena Deeb to Win the NWA World Women's Championship

Deeb won the title back in October but hasn't been seen on NWA programming until now due to being out injured, though she has had a few successful title defenses in recent weeks over in AEW against Red Velvet and Riho. Kamille has been holding down the fort in the NWA in her absence, has been built up very well, and has improved leaps and bounds in the ring. You can argue Deeb carried her to a quality match here, but Kamille deserves credit for having as strong of a showing as she did. This was the matchup of the night in my opinion. Deeb being under contract to AEW paved the way for her to lose here and now Thunder Rosa can chase Kamille.

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis def. Trevor Murdoch by Disqualification

This was never going to be a five-star mat classic, but one thing Aldis' matches always excel at is telling a compelling, dramatic story. Murdoch has been the perfect foil for Aldis over the last two months and had a chance of taking the title here. I know that sounds silly with Aldis having been champion since late 2018, but Murdoch getting that feel-good moment wouldn't have been too far-fetched. He gave it a hell of a fight until we got the stupid shenanigans with Strictly Business running in and knocking out the referee. When the ref came to, he saw Murdoch use a chair on Aldis and disqualified him when it looked like Murdoch had the match won. I know it's something the old school NWA would have done, but I wasn't a fan and thought it was lame for a pay-per-view main event. That type of stuff just doesn't work in the modern day. I'm probably one of the few people who doesn't mind the belt staying on Aldis. Murdoch would be a fine choice to beat him, but it's not like there's been anyone super hot that undoubtedly should have won it by now. Maybe Pope can be built up for that spot if he can retain his TV title another few times and earn that opportunity, or they stretch out this storyline with Murdoch until the next pay-per-view, whenever that may be.

Overall Show

This was the first NWA event to feature fans in over a year. There weren't a ton of people in attendance, but it definitely added to the atmosphere and enhanced my enjoyment of the event. On the whole, this was a thumbs-up show. People are going to hate that finish to the main event and I don't blame them, but from an in-ring standpoint, this was one of the better pay-per-views I've seen from the NWA. Kylie Rae signing and Kamille winning the women's title were notable and I'm interested to see what the fallout will be on Powerrr. It was also the perfect length at just under two hours.

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