Could The Answer To NWA’s Problems Be AEW?

On May 1st, 2017, the lead singer of Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan, finalised a deal to purchase the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Once the largest governing body in professional wrestling since its formation in 1948, the promotion would spend several decades sharing talent among multiple promoters and protecting their World Champion. The wrestler deemed good enough to be named as NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion would often be one of the toughest and legitimate wrestlers, appearing in multiple regions to help generate business.

For many fans of the time, the NWA Champion was The Man, the champion that all others were compared to and the measuring stick. Some of the valued names who held that championship over the decades included Orville Brown, Lou Thesz, Dory Funk Jr, Buddy Rogers, Terry Funk, Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, and Ric Flair.

Unfortunately, several issues and disputes since the 1980s gradually worn away at the prestige of the NWA name, whether a public split with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), an unceremonious betrayal from Eastern Championship Wrestling when Shane Douglas threw the championship down, or being outgrown by Total Nonstop Action (TNA). The brand had become an afterthought in a wrestling business popularised by championships from WWE, TNA, Ring of Honor (ROH), New Japan (NJPW).

Corgan, meanwhile, had invested in TNA and became the President of the company, looking to move on from the damaged brand. Following substantial legal issues with the company, Corgan would wash his hands of them and move on. Instead, he returned to the past, buying the name, rights and trademarks of NWA, including their championship belts. Alongside Vice President Dave Lagana, the two planned to rebuild the reputation of the NWA brand, specifically becoming a singular entity with its own company. This would lead to the involvement of the NWA Championship at All In, the precursor pilot to All Elite Wrestling, and the decision to launch their own television tapings.

NWA Power premiered on YouTube on September 20th 2019, with a unique style that helped it stand out. First of all, every episode is a weekly one hour piece set in a studio, with an 80s style theme song and look, regularly featuring interviews on an interview stage. Wrestlers dress suiting their character, with NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis in dapper suits ala Flair and Race for instance, priding themselves on being much more physical in comparison to other companies, more like brawlers than anything. The studio would have a ring centrally, commentators in one corner, the interview stage opposite them, and a crowd sat behind the ring like a viewing audience at a Friends taping. It’s a more intimate surrounding, telling simplistic stories where every moment matters.

NWA was able to capitalise upon the niche market they developed, and had actually begun a partnership with ROH earlier this year, incorporating ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll into a feud with their champion, Nick Aldis. Unfortunately, the development of the ongoing pandemic cancelled most of their and ROH’s upcoming events and then it was intensified by allegations against VP Lagana. With Lagana resigning, the releases of two young talents that seemed primed for major roles with NWA in Ricky Starks and Zicky Dive, and no way of producing any tapings due to social distancing issues (NWA Power is much more dependent on crowds being included than say, WWE or AEW), NWA’s momentum is starting to stumble.

Meanwhile, one man who continues to try to generate interest in NWA is their Worlds Heavyweight Champion, Nick Aldis. A proud representative of the historical company, Aldis dresses, talks and wrestles like throwbacks from the 1980s, and is heavily involved with NWA’s current placeholder show, Carnyland, a comedic throwback show. Aldis is a proud fighting champion, having now held the championship for over 600 days since winning it back from Cody and averaging a title defence every 25-30 days. With the NWA seemingly focused on reshaping their company after Lagana’s resignation from the promotion, and having made large losses due to having to cancel their shows, Aldis is likely determined to help save NWA from losing all they worked for.

However, there is an opportunity for NWA that could help them reignite audience interest that actually ties back to its history, that of the travelling champion. As mentioned previously, it was the role of the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion to travel to different regions, where he would defend his championship against the biggest stars of the territory, before moving on. Under the stewardship of Corgan, NWA has been able to modernise themselves with its free shows on YouTube, but they have also had Aldis continue to defend the championship elsewhere. This has included matches for ROH, IPW:UK (International Pro Wrestling United Kingdom), and MCW Pro Wrestling, but there was also a certain match that occurred with Cody at All In in September 2018.

While that match was originally a standalone event with partnerships from ROH and NWA, it would become the catalyst for All Elite Wrestling, which has grown in strength since. AEW is one of the few wrestling companies that have been able to continue their shows despite the pandemic, as CEO Kahn authorised the use of an amphitheatre he owns called the Daily’s Place as their home arena. This amphitheatre is predominantly the practice facility of NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars, owned by Kahn’s father, allowing for AEW to function without fans to honour their weekly shows. During the pandemic, AEW seems to have increased their use of non-contracted wrestlers to help their income, with an episode of AEW Dark even featuring 11 matches with fifteen of those wrestlers.

But even more of interest was the inclusion of the AAA Mega Championship on an episode of both AEW Dynamite and AEW Dark, title holder Kenny Omega defending the championship against Jack Evans and Sammy Guevara. If other championships have already appeared on AEW shows, and the NWA Championship originally appeared at All In, what is to prevent the two companies coming to agreement to do so again? AEW has many of their competitors who cannot feature due to travel restrictions, while NWA need to keep the momentum going for the tremendous work they’d achieved so far. If Nick Aldis were to appear on an episode of AEW Dynamite, defending his championship against Eddie Kingston, Eli Drake, James Storm, Mr Anderson, Trevor Murdoch, it would grab the attention of new fans and increase their popularity, while at the same time AEW could get new fans from NWA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBxINBVhToA

This doesn’t even consider the possibility of a crossover, as even though the two companies would most likely keep the NWA Championship separate from AEW, there’s still the TNT Championship. Cody had previously told how his open challenge included non-AEW talent, and that could easily allow for a crossover with NWA, this time featuring any of the names above or even others. With a regular inclusion of an NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship match between Aldis and an NWA-based opponent, and sometimes a third battling Cody, it offers substantial attention for NWA, an extra match option for AEW, and a third match that helps both.

Considering the fact that Cage has recently defended his FTW Championship against Brian Pillam Jr on AEW Dark and gained nearly 182k views for the company, the set-up is already there. Combined with the notion that if any AEW wrestler would suit the NWA style, it would be the grandson of a plumber in Cody, a tremendous storyteller helping to build the legacy of the TNT Championship.

And for those who think that the two could never reach an agreement, as they’re too different in styles, don’t forget that ECW once featured on WWF Raw in 1997, and clean-cut ROH feuded with ultraviolent Combat Zone Wrestling. The truth is that if there’s anything taught to fans by the wrestling companies they watch, it’s that nothing is unlikely when it comes to making money and generating business.