NWA Roundup: Taya Valkyrie #1 contender, Nick Aldis controversy, more!

Let’s check in on the National Wrestling Alliance.

The latest episode of NWA Powerrr (S9E7) featured lots of news for the women’s division.

Taya Valkyrie competed against KiLynn King in a #1 contender bout for a title shot at Kamille and the NWA Women’s World Championship at the NWA 74 Anniversary event. The match had an interesting flow starting with chain wrestling then escalating to power hits. For the finish, King escaped a Road to Valhalla then Taya escaped an Excalibuster. King ran the ropes for a big boot. Taya ducked under and used an ankle pick technique for a takedown to transition for an STF submission to secure the win. Taya earned a date with Kamille on August 27.

Taya’s road to the title shot has been bumpy. She lost her NWA debut to Natalia Markova thanks to trifling interference from Taryn Terrell. Taya clobbered Terrell for her first NWA win. Taya then lost a three-way when Max The Impaler pinned Ella Envy. And now Taya beat King to become #1 contender. NWA hasn’t built Taya with strong momentum, however, La Wera Loca can never be counted out to win another championship.

Kamille had a bit of business herself to handle. She defended the women’s title against Chelsea Green. Matt Cardona was ringside to support his wife. Down the stretch, Green poured on the offense with a flying blockbuster and curb stomp. Kamille kicked out and rallied with a spinning heel kick. Green regained control on a backstabber and curb stomp into the bottom turnbuckle. Cardona pulled the bottom rope away during the three-count, but Kamille still managed to reach it for the break. As Green argued with the referee, Kamille regrouped to strike with a spear for the win.

The NWA is bringing in more championships left and right. First was the announcement for the return of the NWA United States Tag Team Championship. This week, Madusa announced the newly minted NWA Women’s Television Championship. When asked if she would be competing to win the prize, Madusa coyly shrugged.

In other action on the program, the Commonwealth Connection (Doug Williams & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) successfully retained the NWA World Tag Team Championship against the Dirty Sexy Boys (JTG & Dango). The challengers isolated Smith and focused on attacking his knee. Hot tag to Williams for the rally. Smith was back as the legal man. JTG had momentum in the corner, but Williams grabbed his foot as a defensive tactic to help his partner. Smith recovered to pick up JTG off the turnbuckles and execute a running powerslam for victory.

The controversy surrounding Billy Corgan’s decision to pull Nick Aldis from the NWA 74 world title main event remains mysterious. Aldis earned the #1 contender spot with a clean win to pin Brian Myers in a four-way with Mike Knox and Thom Latimer during last week’s episode of NWA Powerrr (S9E6). There were no shenanigans from Aldis in that victory.

Corgan seems to have a personal vendetta against Aldis. The story is very strange to this point in time. Before Aldis won, Corgan delivered a promo stating that he reserves to the right to dismiss any #1 contendership status at his discretion.

A radio clip aired with Corgan explaining his decision. It is his duty to present the best product for the fans and protect the integrity of NWA championships. This tweet from Aldis in particular was shown as evidence of disparaging the company and a catalyst for Corgan’s actions.

That message from Aldis is pretty tame behavior. It is nowhere near crossing the line bad enough to be stripped of a title shot he rightfully earned. Something smells stinky in this situation, and Corgan is full of beans on this one. It comes across like an abuse of power.

Aldis isn’t exactly the good guy either. His recent promos have leaned heel, and he abused the rules with repeated low blows goading Tim Storm to get caught doing the same for a disqualification win in the first round of the #1 contender tournament. The lines here are very blurry.

The card so far for the NWA 74 Anniversary show includes:

Night 1 (August 27)

• NWA Women’s World Championship: Kamille (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
• NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Homicide (c) vs. Kerry Morton
• Tables Match: Bully Ray vs. Mike Knox
• Burke Invitational: Women’s gauntlet match to earn a title shot

Night 2 (August 28)

• NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship: Trevor Murdoch (c) vs. Tyrus
• NWA Women’s World Championship: Champion vs. Burke Invitational winner
• NWA United States Tag Team Championship: Tag team battle royale to crown winner

Share your thoughts on all the happenings from NWA Powerrr and NWA USA.