NWA EmPowerrr: What We Know So Far

It's coming! NWA's very first all-women's PPV event, EmPowerrr, is on the horizon! To say I was on Cloud Nine when this news broke two months ago would be an understatement! Here's how this monumental event came to be.

In April of 2021, World Wrestling Entertainment's batch of releases just happened to include Mickie James, and boy, was it controversial. James revealed a number of things post-release, the main one being that she had made many pitches to WWE regarding women's wrestling. Following the Evolution PPV (WWE's all-women's event) in October 2018, Mickie pitched another all-women's event, as well as an all-women's brand. I have said for at least three years that they could easily do an all-women's weekly show, because even though 205 Live (WWE's show centering on the Cruiserweight Division) gets little to no viewers, it's still on, so you know an all-women's show would be immensely watched. Anyone with common sense would agree to Mickie's pitches.

But this is Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Common sense hasn't been part of his repertoire for at least 15 years. Not only was Mickie turned down at every chance, she was told that "women's wrestling doesn't sell," and regarding Evolution: "it was the lowest rated PPV in WWE history."

Sure, Jan.

So on June 8, 2021, Mickie James makes her first appearance in NWA to announce that on the final days of August 2021, a series of events would take place, the first of them being the National Wrestling Alliance's very first all-women's PPV, titled "EmPowerrr." Yes, Mickie pitched it to boss Billy Corgan, and Corgan approved it because he, unlike Vince, actually has common sense and logic. The seeds for this event are being planted, and here's what we know so far about this event.

The Impact Knockouts Championship will be defended at EmPowerrr, with the current titleholder being Deonna Purrazzo. It was at Slammiversary that Mickie James appeared at the event after Deonna's successful defense against surprise challenger (and former NWA World Women's Champion) Thunder Rosa, and extended an invitation to Deonna to appear at the event and defend her title. In response, however, Deonna--playing up her heel persona--lashed out at Mickie for disrespecting her, leading to James superkicking Deonna. The two women confronted each other again on the first Impact following the event, with Gail Kim coming out and revealing that she invited Mickie to Slammiversary to extend the invitation, and after cooler heads prevailed, Deonna agreed to appear.

Deonna is in her second run as Knockouts Champion, having held the title since November 2020. She is actually set to defend her title against Faby Apache at TripleMania on August 14, though chances are she'll retain in time for EmPowerrr.

Chelsea Green, who was released from WWE at the same time as Mickie James, will also appear at the event. Mickie announced that the event will feature the NWA Women's Invitational, consisting of ten women, though regarding Chelsea, she'll compete in the tournament's final match, which will serve as the main event. The tournament winner will challenge for the NWA World Women's Championship at NWA73, which will take place on August 29, 2021, one day after EmPowerrr. Chelsea is one of three women announced for the Invitational so far; the other two are Tootie Lynn and Jamie Senegal.

I am a big fan of Chelsea Green and I have enjoyed what her career has brought her. From appearing as a woman claiming to be Daniel Bryan's mistress, to her time in Impact as Laurel Van Ness--which later included her "Hot Mess" gimmick that always stole the show, Chelsea always delivered, and she will continue to do so in not only NWA, but Ring of Honor as well.

The NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship will return at the event for the first time in nearly four decades. The titles had been established in NWA from the early 1950s until 1983, when the World Wrestling Federation bought the rights to the titles from The Fabulous Moolah, with Velvet McIntyre and Princess Victoria recognized as the inaugural WWF Women's Tag Team Championship--though the renamed WWE seems to omit that regarding their current Women's Tag Team Championship. The champions will be crowned at the event in a two-on-two tag team match.

Lastly (for now), the first official match has been set for EmPowerrr! On the latest edition of AEW Dynamite, "Legit" Leyla Hirsch defeated The Bunny to become the #1 Contender for the NWA World Women's Championship, which is held by Kamille. It was at NWA's When Our Shadows Fall event on June 6 that Kamille defeated Thunder Rosa to capture the title; an overdue accomplishment for one of my all-time faves, as well as one of the most amazing women I've ever seen. I'm also a fan of Leyla Hirsch as well; I've seen a number of her indy matches, and I always love what I'm seeing from her. This will be a truly amazing bout between Kamille and Leyla, and of course, the winner will defend the title the next night at NWA73.

In addition, while Mickie will serve as executive producer of EmPowerrr, she will not wrestle at the event, though we may see her compete at NWA73. Gail Kim, Madusa (a WWE Hall of Famer), Jazz (an NWA Hall of Famer), and Lufisto will all serve as producers--like this event couldn't be more epic. I've been a die-hard women's wrestling fan for nearly 20 years; I've seen various matches from different promotions, and I have a large collection of women's wrestling DVDs from promotions such as SHIMMER, NCW Femmes Fatales, Women Superstars Uncensored, Shine Wrestling, Queens of Combat, and Bellatrix. I am so very excited for EmPowerrr, and I will be in complete happiness overload while watching this event!