NWA flashback: The champion at first sight known as Barbi Hayden

Barbi Hayden is a critical piece of NWA history before Powerrr.

Before NWA took the internet by storm, there was a period in NWA history that was significant in laying the groundwork for today. The NWA women’s title was instrumental in being in the public eye. Kacee Carlisle led the charge in 2012 with a memorable 462-day title reign.

That title reign was brought to an end in a very surprising way. Kacee went toe to toe with a wrestler known as Barbi Hayden. The legacy that Barbi Hayden left is highly underrated and truthfully set the course for where it is today with Kamille as champion.

Barbi Hayden was the champion at first sight for NWA.

With her being such a new figure, Kacee was a personal favorite at the time. Barbi brought her historic reign to an end to win the NWA women’s championship. It was clear that her holding the title wasn’t a usual occasion at all.

This championship match was the very first time viewing Barbi Hayden as a competitor. It was a very unusual first time, but of course, it was during a time when there were certain superstars that fans follow, they won’t learn about others until later.

Barbi had a few years of experience under her belt to guide her in her wrestling journey. She oozed confidence the whole time and showed no fear or intimidation as she stood across from women’s wrestling pioneer Kacee Carlisle.

That’s when it became obvious that Barbi has a championship pedigree that makes her different than any other competitor. During her reign, she proved to all fans that it didn’t matter what a blue-chip prospect or a veteran of the game, she came out victorious.

Barbi bridged a gap and truly set the standard that she is so much more than just a pretty face and a well-rounded wrestler with technical capabilities to neutralize any opponent. It really set the tone for what was to come for NWA in the future.

Eventually, Barbi lost the title to Santana Garrett, but it wasn’t the end for NWA clearly. Years later, NWA debuted their program NWA Powerrr. The NWA women’s division only continued to grow with prospects and contenders.

The current reigning NWA women’s champion Kamille has a lot of similarities to Barbi Hayden in terms of strong first impressions. Barbi and Kamille share the same similarities of being athletic stars capable of anything and both have natural championship pedigree.

Even though Barbi wasn’t able to carry it over to NWA Powerrr, her legacy didn’t end there. She continued to appear on WOW Superheroes and amplify the message she sent as NWA women’s champion.

When looking at her for the first time, she easily looks like someone who could be a WWE golden girl because she possesses “the look”. She has pure athleticism which shows that fans can’t judge solely by her look, but by her magnificent action in the ring.

It wasn’t easy for Barbi since she had to deal with some fans who judged her solely by her looks. Barbi heard the noise and she made a point to prove people wrong. She successfully did it everywhere she went whether it was appearances on TNA or being seen on WOW.

Barbi eventually retired from the in-ring competition which was bittersweet since it felt like there was still a lot left for Barbi to do, including a dream matchup against Kamille. Barbi came and won fans over to leave a lasting legacy in NWA and independent wrestling.

She has taken on other endeavors to leave a strong lasting impression the same way she did for wrestling. Fans can search NWA title defenses and realize the groundwork that was laid by this superstar was significant.

As fans continue to enjoy NWA Powerrr and witness a dominant Kamille, fans must not forget Barbi Hayden, a dominant champion from the start to the very end of her amazing and memorable career.