NWA Power report: Race to the Chase preview special

Joe Galli opened NWA Power this week talking about Empower and NWA 73, introducing Race to the Chase and setting up the historical significance of the NWA returning to the Chase.

A video showed the tradition of the NWA, those who have held titles in the past, and major events in the NWA’s history. Nick Aldis and others talked about the significance of holding a show at the Chase and that it was a privilege for them to bring wrestling back to that building.

Local news stories were shown with reporting on wrestling coming back there which Aldis was thrilled with. Mickie James talked about wanting to be a part of what the NWA is doing while Jeremiah Plunkett talked about how all the greats have gone through the Chase, so to be a part of it gave him chills.

James talked about how she wanted to introduce more than just one title for the women to chase after, since it wasn’t just a division, and her vision for what women’s wrestling is going to look like going forward.

Aldis talked about his upcoming match with Trevor Murdoch for the NWA World title, showing a highlight video of their last match with Aldis taking the referee out with a chair and disqualifying Murdoch for using a chair, even though it was Aldis who did it.

A video showed when Kamille joined Aldis at NWA 70 and how he brought her in to be protection to counter Brandi Rhodes. The highlights showed how Cody Rhodes lost the match and Aldis’ current reign as champion began.

Aldis talked about the chance they took on Kamille, and how the first time they met her, he decided she was the one to help him. He knew that from day one she was a special talent. They highlighted her journey to the NWA Women’s title.

Murdoch talked about how he was a wrestler that wanted to make the fans feel something. While he wasn’t fancy, you know he was going to go in there and work harder than anyone. He also talked about how excited he was to go to Wrestling at the Chase and that he was going to savor every second of it because things like this don’t happen often.

Murdoch said the only thing that he and Aldis agreed on was that the NWA World title was the no. 1 title in wrestling. Kyle Davis pointed out that the title was everything to Aldis, and if he were to lose it, who knows what he might do? Davis predicted that Aldis would be unbearable if he ends up losing it at NWA 73.

There was more footage of the local news coverage from the Fox affiliate as they talked about the return to the Chase including interviews from Billy Corgan, Aldis and James. A video aired of The Gathering II where Aldis defended his title against Murdoch ahead of their match at the Chase with Aldis barely pulling off the win.

Murdoch cut a promo after the match about how he still wanted to be world champion, but he had a deal to make with Aldis. Murdoch said that if Aldis beats him at NWA 73, he would retire from wrestling if he is unable to defeat Aldis so the match is now title vs. career.

Aldis said that he was going to let the Champions Series play out instead because he thought Murdoch was counting on Pope’s team winning and giving him the title shot against Aldis which is exactly what happened. Aldis said that because he put his career on the line, he deserves to be retired.

Aldis promised he was going to be the first man to walk into the Chase as champion in 37 years and will be the first to defend his title in 37 years and also retire Murdoch.

Final Thoughts:

This was a return to the 10 Pounds of Gold style of storytelling that gave the NWA buzz before the launch of Power. This was fantastic. The main focus was the main event of NWA 73 with Murdoch vs. Aldis which is only appropriate. They did also give significant time to James, Kamille and their stories.

This was the kind of thing that got me into the NWA when it first relaunched, so I can’t recommend this enough. There were only highlights from matches, rather than traditional wrestling action, but this was a lot like an AEW “Road to” show. The personalities and interviews really set the stage for both Empower and NWA 73.