Tiffany Nieves won “the Burke” this weekend. The woman she beat for the title, Natalia Markova, wasn’t without gold for too long.
“La Princesa” Tiffany Nieves is the new NWA Women’s World Champion, ending Natalia Markova’s first title reign at 231 days. Nieves earned the title match by cashing in her Burke Invitational Gauntlet contract clause, winning the title for the first time in her career.
The weekend wasn’t a total loss for Markova, however.
She and NWA’s Bryan Idol won gold during their respective appearances for World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico on Saturday. Markova won the WWC Women’s World Championship, while Idol won the WWC Television Championship.
Markova’s title win was a “Rick Rude” of sorts. The WWC appearance was live, while Nieves’ title win aired on tape delay on the May 16 episode of NWA Powerrr on COMET.
For those unaware, Rick Rude infamously appeared on the November 17, 1997 episode of WWE RAW sporting a beard. That same night, Rude also appeared on WCW Nitro, albeit with a mustache. WWE taped that episode of RAW, while Nitro aired live, allowing Rude to pull off the then-unheard-of feat. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Rude also appeared on that week’s episode of ECW TV, which aired on various days in syndication.
Since then, a number of pro wrestlers have appeared on two different shows on the same night (and same week). However, Rude is the only person to do it for WWE and WCW on the same night.
In addition to the Women’s World Championship changing hands, All Japan Pro Wrestling announced the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Title will be defended at the historic Korakuen Hall on June 18. The title will be defended by the winner of a May 23 match between Idol and reigning champion, “The Thrillbilly” Silas Mason vs. Bryan Idol.
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