NWA Empowerrr results: Kamille vs. Leyla Hirsch for the NWA Women’s Championship, Deonna Purrazzo vs. Melina for the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship, NWA Women’s Tag Title tournament, Kylie Rae vs. Diamante vs. Chik Tormenta

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

NWA Empowerrr
Aired live August 28, 2021 on FITE TV
St. Louis, Missouri at the Chase Ballroom

The screen was black and we could hear some production talk along with some music initially. The production talk ended. Six minutes in, a video package opened the show….

Powell’s POV: Just a heads up that I am going very light with my coverage and commentary for this event. Long story short, my dentist kicked my ass yesterday. I got through Smackdown coverage last night, but now the meds have worn off and I’m feeling lousy. Yes, poor me. I should be back in full force with my usual length review of NWA 73 on Sunday night.

An old school black and white style video featured Mae Valentine interviewing Aron Stevens and JR Kratos. Valentine asked if they would eventually have championship belts just for the ladies. Stevens’ sexist character said Mildred Burke is an exception, but in general women are not on the same level as men. Valentine said she believed someday that there would be an all women’s pay-per-view. Stevens asked what a pay-per-view was and balked at the idea that everyone would have a television in their home. Kratos said it would never happen…

Powell’s POV: Cute video. Stevens is a riot. The building looks great. It’s very well lit. As is the norm these days, some fans are wearing fans and others are not.

Mickie James was introduced as the executive producer of the show and delivered an in-ring promo. She got emotional while talking about the show. She dedicated the show to every little girl who said they wanted to be a pro wrestler and had to work twice as hard for half the respect. “This is the NWA and this is Empowerrr,” James said…

The broadcast team of Joe Galli, Velvet Sky, and Timmy Baltimore ran through the lineup and said the Women’s Invitational match would be the headline the show…

1. Kylie Rae vs. Diamante vs. Chik Tormenta in a Triple Threat. Rae submitted Tormenta, but the referee was clearing something from the ring and didn’t see it. Diamante ended up stealing the pin…

Diamante beat Chik Tormenta and Kylie Rae in a Triple Threat.

Powell’s POV: A good opener. It was framed as a battle of the NWA vs. AEW vs. AAA, and Galli said score one for AEW when Diamante got the win. By the way, it’s nice to hear Velvet Sky loud and clear for a change. She’s usually very quiet in the Powerrr audio mix for some reason.

2. “The Hex” Allysin Kay and Marti Belle vs. “Hell on Heels” Renee Michelle and Sahara 7 in an NWA Women’s Tag Title tournament semifinal match. The winners will advance to the finals that will be held later in the show. In the end, Kay and Belle hit Michelle with a double team move and then Kay scored the pin.

Allysin Kay and Marti Belle beat Renee Michelle and Sahara 7 to advance to the finals of the NWA Women’s Tag Title tournament.

Powell’s POV: There were some ugly moments in this one. Nevertheless, the live crowd was kind and supportive.

3. Red Velvet and KiLynn King vs. “The Freebabes” Jazzy Yang and Miranda Gordy (w/Hollyhood Haley J ) in an NWA Women’s Tag Title tournament semifinal match. Yang is the daughter of Jimmy Yang, and Gordy is the daughter of the late Terry Gordy. J tossed a fur coat at Velvet, allowing Gordy to take control and press slam Velvet. Yang and Gordy isolated King, who eventually made the hot tag. King hit her finisher on Yang and scored the pin…

Red Velvet and KiLynn King defeated “The Freebabes” Jazzy Yang and Miranda Gordy to advance to the finals of the NWA Women’s Tag Title tournament.

Powell’s POV: This was definitely the better of the two semifinal tag matches. Velvet had a rough outing on AEW Dynamite this week, but she brought some energy to this match and stood out in a good way. The Freebabes did a nice job of getting some heat while isolating of Velvet. Gordy did the heavy lifting for her team. By the way, the NWA has had female referees for each match thus far.

May Valentine interviewed Allysin Kay and Marti Belle in the backstage area about facing Velvet and King in the finals for the NWA Women’s Tag Titles…

Gail Kim made her entrance for an in-ring promo. Kim spoke about it being a historic night until she was interrupted by Taryn Terrell, Jennacide, and Kenzie Page. Terrell cut a condescending promo on her former rival and said there was only room for one legend and it was time for Kim to go. Terrell ordered his sidekicks to clear Kim from the ring.

Awesome Kong made her entrance and went face to face with Kim. Kong got annoyed by the heels and destroyed the duo of Jennacide and Page. Kim went to the apron and chased away Terrell. Kong approached Kim and motioned for her to get back in the ring. Kong took the mic and said she’s not much for words. She said it’s been a hard year and Kim is the only thing that could get her off her couch. Kong got emotional while telling Kim that she loves her and announced her retirement. A “thank you, Kong” chant broke out. Kim took the mic and got emotional while saying that she and Kong would have a bond for life. They hugged and cried…

Powell’s POV: While there’s been a little too much gushing from some people on this show about how special this night is even though it’s far from being the first women’s pro wrestling pay-per-view, the Kim and Kong moment was truly great. As much WWE boasts about the women’s evolution, it really started (at least on the big stage level in the United States) with the fantastic Kim vs. Kong feud on TNA television. It was a really nice touch to have them both on this show. This was the highlight of the night thus far.

4. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Melina for the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship. Purrazzo dominated the bulk of the early offense. Melina eventually avoided a charging Purrazzo, who went through the ropes and shoulder first into the ring post. Melina went for a sunset bomb from the ropes that was botched. The crowd didn’t seem to care, as there was a small “this is awesome” chant just seconds later. Melina sold a knee injury from Purrazzo’s earlier attacks. The ref was going to call for the bell, but Melina stopped her. Purrazzo targeted the bad leg. Melina was able to hit a Playmaker for a near fall. Purrazzo rallied and applied a Fujiwara armbar. Melina reached for the ropes, so Purrazzo hooked the other arm. Purrazzo countered into a half crab and got the submission win.

Deonna Purrazzo defeated Melina to retain the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship.

Powell’s POV: The in-ring highlight of the night thus far. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was entertaining and better than I anticipated. Melina is a legend, but she’s not really known for her in-ring work at this stage of her career. Purrazzo is terrific and did a nice job of carrying the match and working around Melina’s limitations. And good for Melina, who had her best match in years.

Madusa made her entrance and joined the broadcast team…

5. Red Velvet and KiLynn King vs. Allysin Kay and Marti Belle in the finals of the NWA Women’s Tag Title tournament. Kay was isolated for a good portion of hte match. Late in the match, she powered up Velvet and swung her legs into King. Belle ran the ropes and performed a double team version of Kay’s AK-47 on King before pinning her.

Allysin Kay and Marti Belle beat Red Velvet and KiLynn King to win the NWA Women’s Tag Titles.

Madusa entered the ring and presented the tag titles to Kay and Belle. Velvet and King returned to the ring and ended up congratulating the new champions and raised their hands…

Powell’s POV: An entertaining match with good emotion shown by the new champions. I guess this means Kay and Belle will be sticking around in the NWA now that they’ve won the tag titles.

Billy Corgan walked out with a belt bag and stood by the broadcast team at ringside. Entrances for the NWA Women’s Championship match took place. Ring announcer Kyle Davis read a statement from Corgan regarding Mildred Burke. Corgan presented Burke’s championship belt, which the referee held up. The crowd applauded the belt…

6. Kamille vs. Leyla Hirsch for the NWA Women’s Championship. Tim Storm sat in on commentary. Hirsch targeted the left arm of Kamille early on, but Kamille avoided her armbar attempt. Kamille went to ringside. Hirsch ran and leapt off the ring steps, but Kamille caught her and swung her head into the post or ring steps. Kamille roughed up Hirsch at ringside in front of a table where Nick Aldis, Thom Latimer, and Chris Adonis were seated. Back inside the ring, Hirsch applied a sleeper, but Kamille backed her into the corner. Hirsch responded with an armbar over the ropes that she had to break.

Both women fought on the ropes. Hirsch got the better of it and ended up performing a nice German suplex. Hirsch followed up with three more German suplexes and two running knees and covered Kamille, who grabbed the bottom rope to break the hold. Kamille came back with a big boot. Kamille hoisted up Hirsch in a Torture Rack and then spun her into a powerbomb that resulted in a near fall. Hirsch came back with a lariat for a near fall of her own. Hirsch went for a powerbomb, but Kamille moved. Hirsch came right back with a Backstabber and went for a cross arm breaker. Kamille picked her up and slammed her and eventually broke the hold. Hirsch charged at Kamille, who caught her and tossed her across the ring. Kamille speared Hirsch and pinned her clean.

Kamille defeated Leyla Hirsch to retain the NWA Women’s Championship.

Kamille went to ringside and celebrated with Aldis, Latimer, and Adonis. Trevor Murdoch came out and jawed at Aldis. Latimer slapped Kamille on the backside and then escorted her to the back…

Powell’s POV: My new favorite match of the night. I wasn’t sure how they would do with the massive height difference, but both wrestlers did a terrific job. Hirsch showed really good fire throughout the match and looked tenacious in the way that she just kept going at Kamille. As good as they were, both could have done more to play to the crowd. Kamille could have heeled it up at certain points, and I think the fans would have gone nuts if Hirsch had looked to them for support at some key times. But this was really fun and Hirsch gained something in defeat. On a side note, I would have bet the house that a man wouldn’t slap a woman’s ass on this show.

7. The NWA Women’s Invitational gauntlet match for a shot at the NWA Women’s Championship at NWA 73. Tim Storm remained on commentary. The first two entrants were Chelsea Green and Kiera Hogan. The third entrant was Bianca Carelli. The fourth entrant was Thunder Kitty.

The fifth entrant was Jennacide, who was accompanied onto the stage by Taryn Terrell. Carelli went for a cross body block, but Jennacide caught her, slammed her, and pinned her.

Bianca Carelli was eliminated by Jennacide.

The sixth entrant was Lady Frost. The broadcast team all freaked out about something happening inside the ring while the camera focussed on Frost standing at ringside for far too long. They turned the camera to show Jennacide pinning Thunder Kitty. They seemed to have technical problems, as they stuck with the same ringside camera and Lady Frost’s graphic was frozen on the screen.

Thunder Kitty was eliminated by Jennacide.

They finally cut back to the hard camera and then Debbie Malenko made her entrance as the seventh entrant. Frost was still standing at ringside and ended up being roughed up by Malenko, who tossed her inside the ring. Malenko was given a moment as she worked over all of the entrants.

The eighth entrant was Jamie Senegal, who was accompanied by a manager. Frost tapped to a Malenko submission hold.

Lady Frost was eliminated by Debbie Malenko.

Malenko put Green in a surfboard. Meanwhile, Hogan covered Malenko and pinned her.

Debbie Malenko was eliminated by Kiera Hogan.

The ninth entrant was Masha Slamovich. She went up top and performed a swanton dive onto a group of opponents at ringside. In the ring, Slamovich and Jennacide fought. Slamovich got the better of it. Green and Senegal also hit moves on Jennacide, who was then pinned by all three women.

Jennacide was eliminated by Masha Slamovich, Jamie Senegal, and Chelsea Green.

The tenth entrant was hometown gal Tootie Lynn. Her family were seated in the front row. Lynn had a flurry of offense on Senegal, but Slamovich cut her off. Slamovich performed a piledriver on Senegal and pinned her.

Jamie Senegal was eliminated by Masha Slamovich.

The final four were Slamovich, Hogan, Green, and Lynn. Hogan put Slamovich down and then went up top, but Slamovich recovered. All four women did a tower of doom spot that resulted in Slamovich superplexing Hogan and pinning her.

Kiera Hogan was eliminated by Masha Slamovich.

Slamovich performed a wicked suplex into a bridge on Green for a good near fall. Lynn ended up rolling Slamovich into a pin for the upset win.

Masha Slamovich was eliminated by Tootie Lynn.

The match came down to Lynn and Green. Lynn picked up a couple of quick near falls, but Green came back an hit an Unprettier and scored the pin.

Chelsea Green eliminated Tootie Lynn to win the NWA Women’s Invitational gauntlet match to earn a shot at the NWA Women’s Championship at NWA 73.

After the match, Green and Lynn hugged. The other wrestlers returned. Mickie James, Jazz, Gail Kim, Madusa, and Awesome Kong joined some of the women on the stage while others were at ringside. Green celebrated her win and was awarded a trophy. Green and Lynn both played to the crowd. There was a group hug on the stage while Green walked around the ring with her cup and eventually joined them on the stage. Meanwhile, Lynn had an emotional moment with her family at ringside. Galli hyped NWA 73 for Sunday night to close the show…

Powell’s POV: The NWA Women’s Championship match was the peak of the show and the rightful main event. The gauntlet match had its moments, but they didn’t introduce most of the entrants let alone give us reasons to care about them on the NWA Powerrr series. The post main event celebration was very nice, as it seemed like the wrestlers and producers were genuinely excited about the show. It was cool to see that type of enthusiasm from those involved. I will be back on Sunday night with my live review of NWA 73.