NWA 78 2026 - WrestleFile Contemporary Verdict

The opening women's tag establishes Sirena Veil before her later championship match and gives the television run an early result with some continuity. Veil and Alice Crowley defeat Corinne Joy and Liviyah in a short match that functions more as positioning than as a major anniversary attraction. Its value comes from Veil's later title win: seen in the full NWA 78 record, the opener helps frame her as one of the event's recurring winners rather than someone who appears only for the championship change.

Alex Misery and Nihan go to a time-limit draw in the World Television Championship match. A draw is appropriate for a television belt because it makes the clock part of the championship identity and allows Nihan to push the champion without forcing an immediate switch. The result preserves Misery while leaving a natural reason for another match. On a show with several actual title changes, keeping this belt stable also helps prevent the anniversary event from becoming a sequence of arbitrary championship turnovers.

Hayden Backlund wins the vacant World Junior Heavyweight Championship in a four-way and gives NWA 78 its first permanent lineage change. The title had been vacated, so the match carries a different responsibility from a routine defense: the winner has to establish the next direction of the division. Backlund surviving three opponents provides a clear reset and immediately adds a championship milestone to the anniversary show. Independent title-history sources corroborate the July 25 Philadelphia win, strengthening the result's archival importance.

Kerry Morton versus Colby Corino gives the early television material a singles match rooted in recognizable wrestling families without needing a championship. Morton wins, adding momentum before the event later returns to his family's story through Ricky Morton's Texas Death Match with Alex Taylor. The match is useful because it gives Kerry his own result rather than using him only as support for his father. It is not one of NWA 78's largest consequences, but it adds connective tissue across the multi-episode presentation.

Dalton McKenzie and Jack Vaughn retain the United States Tag Team Championship against Eddie Grayson and Jack Valor. The match reinforces The Hard Way without adding another title change to a card that already needs room for several championship stories. As part of the tape-delay structure, it works as a compact championship anchor for one episode rather than a major anniversary centerpiece. The retention keeps the division stable and provides the champions with another documented defense.

The Dog Collar Match gives NWA 78 one of its clearest stipulation-based feud payoffs. Daisy Kill defeats Eric Smalls in a match whose value comes from escalation and personal conflict rather than championship stakes. On a television-heavy anniversary card, that distinction matters because it prevents every important result from revolving around a belt. The stipulation also gives the multi-week broadcast a visual break from standard singles and tag wrestling. The match is more story payoff than technical showcase, which fits its role.

Hammerstone and Thom Latimer defeat Mims and The Pope in a tag match that keeps several recognizable heavyweights active without attaching another championship to the segment. The result gives Hammerstone and Latimer momentum while the Mims-Pope side is left to address its own team problems in later television material. The bout functions as roster positioning inside the larger NWA 78 taping. It is useful for following the promotion's heavyweight depth, but the event's title changes and contender matches have greater archival weight.

Tiffany Nieves retains the World Women's Championship against Gretta and Natalia Markova in a three-way. The format gives Nieves two credible threats while allowing the promotion to feature Markova in a major title setting and maintain the champion's run. Keeping the belt on Nieves provides stability before the event later changes the Women's Television Championship. That division-wide balance is useful: the top women's title remains anchored while a secondary women's championship gets a new holder, creating movement without resetting everything at once.

Sirena Veil defeats Gisele Shaw to win the World Women's Television Championship, producing the event's most conventional title upset. DMV Wrestling News independently confirms the switch on the September 12 episode recorded at NWA 78. The result also rewards Veil after her earlier tag victory, giving her a complete event arc rather than an isolated championship moment. Because the main World Women's title remains with Tiffany Nieves, this change creates a new television champion without destabilizing the entire women's division.

Bryan Idol retains the National Championship against Mike Mondo and Slade in a three-way ladder match. The stipulation gives the title defense a premium-event identity and allows all three wrestlers to chase the belt without requiring a standard pinfall finish. DMV Wrestling News independently confirms Idol's retention from the NWA 78 recording. On a show where several belts are defended, the ladder format helps the National title avoid blending into the rest of the card and preserves Idol's reign through a visibly different challenge.

The Royal Court defeats the Federation of Champions in the Knights of the Round Table match, giving the faction rivalry a larger stipulation than a standard multi-man tag. The result is independently corroborated by DMV Wrestling News from the September 12 broadcast. Because the match is built around faction identities, the win matters less as an individual ranking result and more as a direction-setting victory for the Royal Court. The themed stipulation fits the characters and adds another distinct presentation style to the taping.

AJ Cazana and KC Cazana retain the World Tag Team Championship against Blunt Force Trauma. DMV Wrestling News confirms the result and notes that new championship belts were presented before the match, giving the segment additional symbolic value. The retention keeps The Country Gentlemen established as the division's center while allowing a physically imposing challenger team to headline one portion of the television run. It is a stable booking choice on a card already carrying two title changes elsewhere.

Heath wins the five-way match to become the next challenger for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. This is one of the anniversary show's most important non-title outcomes because it directly creates the next top-belt program. DMV Wrestling News independently confirms Heath defeating Pretty Boy Smooth, Kratos, Talos and Effy. The multi-person field lets NWA feature several heavyweight personalities while still leaving with one clear result. The contender win also gives the September television run a forward-looking hook beyond simply replaying July championship defenses.

Alex Taylor defeats Ricky Morton in a Texas Death Match, extending the Southern Six-related story through a veteran-heavy stipulation. DMV Wrestling News independently confirms the result from the September 19 episode. The match gains additional context from Kerry Morton's earlier win over Colby Corino, allowing the anniversary taping to use both Mortons in separate singles stories. Taylor's victory is the more consequential piece because it gives him a violent stipulation win over an established name and provides a clear feud result.

Nattie defeats Kenzie Paige and Kylie Paige in a featured three-way that gives the anniversary show its clearest outside-star attraction. The match works because the Pretty Empowered sisters are not presented as background names; their relationship and tension are part of the setup, while Nattie arrives as the experienced crossover figure. A decisive Nattie win gives the appearance competitive substance rather than reducing it to a guest segment. The result also adds visibility to the women's side of a card already carrying two separate NWA women's championships.

Silas Mason retains the Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Carson Bartholomew Drake in the final major match from the NWA 78 recording. The program had been promoted through interviews and a contract-signing recap across the tape-delay run, giving the championship match more build than a one-night challenge. Mason's successful defense keeps the promotion's top title stable while Heath's contender victory establishes the next direction. That pairing is the key booking logic: NWA closes one challenge and creates another within the same anniversary television cycle.