Anybody miss this great company? I know its still around today, but just not the same like before. NWA will never come back and be great like it use to be, but man oh man do I wish it did. I watched alot of old skool NWA wrestling and it was amazing man. That was wrestling back then people, but fans started to want more then wrestling, so NWA soon died out. Now its an indy company like a ROH. So anybody's thoughts?
First off, I must give full disclosure. I am not an employee of the NWA. However, I'm a rabid fan. I blog about the entirety of the National Wrestling Alliance at
Alliance-Wrestling.com.
I think this post is in the wrong forum. All though the NWA is rich with history and tradition, the promotion was on its last legs several years ago, but since has rebounded. Will it ever go back to what it was prior to the formation of the World Wrestling Federation... never. Will it compete with the WWE, not any time in the near future. But it has successfully carved out a niche of the wrestling audience and although small, the growth potential is there.
The big NWA that was televised on TBS was Crockett promotions bought by Ted Turner and renamed WCW. NWA was originally a bunch of Territories that came to an agreement. So it is not really an Indy, but a collection of Indies. It could be huge again, but all the Indy promoters need to get together. Also, TNA, ROH both were part of the NWA at one time. They both just decided to go there separate ways.
I don't believe Ring of Honor was ever were a part of the NWA, but they were just do some co-promotional work. The Head booker for ROH is former NWA World Champion Adam Pearce. Producer Dave Lagana with ROH also helped produce the NWA Showcase show.
The NWA can't be as big as it once was due to the sheer size of the WWE and the NWA wanting to control everything ever. TNA wanted to be its own entity and that's all well and good and has worked out pretty good. ROH is the same. The NWA in it's original incarnation was a combination of ALL of the territories in the US and the world. This included Mid-Atlantic Wrestling (Jim Crockett), the WWWF (Vince McMahon Sr.), and other well known territories.
The territory system simply doesn't work because it doesn't draw the money it used to. The WWE is the end game for people to want to make it big. Back in the day, being the NWA champion was it. You'd be the traveling world champion and face the best in a particular territory. Now, the WWE is a company that fights within itself. I'd love to see, lets say, John Cena travel to different cities and promotions and put his WWE title on the line. That would be awesome. But it doesn't draw money. It only makes money in that territory and Vince isn't worried about anyone else.
As much as I miss the glory days of wrestling we'll never see that concept ever done again. Which is why I miss the NWA in it's older days.
I agree with you. The original concept of the NWA is dead. But the evolution of the territories today is different. Some promotions like Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling is almost like a throw back to the old school. They still book guys like Bobby Eaton, Rock 'n' Roll Express, Scott Stiener and was using Flair for appearances. Then you have promotions like Pro Wrestling Revolution who books a wide range of luchadors and American wrestlers, radically different fan bases. But equally important to the growth of the NWA. And then you've got a promotion like NWA Pro Wrestling who runs big arenas, uses a mix of luchadors, legends, former WWE names, and Indy favorites. None of these promotions are at a level to compete against WWE or TNA, but certainly bring a level of entertainment to the fans that attend the events.
Some companies still use the NWA territorial system internationally. (Mexico and Japan) However,the problem is the talent that the NWA uses are virtual unknowns here in NA. The NWA champion Blue Demon Jr. is a traveling champion as we speak, but the notoriety and drawing power is not there like it was in the golden age of NWA champions. Maybe one day the NWA territory system might work, maybe.
CMLL uses NWA names, but aren't associated with the NWA at all. New Japan is associated with the NWA, but don't really use the NWA unless they are building up challengers. Like when they brought in Black Tiger Mask 4 as the NWA World Jr. Champion against Tiger Mask IV.
A few of the NWA regulars are now competing internationally in AAA and New Japan. Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov are regulars in AAA, Karl Anderson and Fergal Devit are regulars in New Japan, and all four developed in the NWA Pro Wrestling dojo.
I thought the NWA was making its way back to prominence during its association with TNA. That was not the case as we saw the NWA's "holier-than-thou" attitude come to the forefront yet again...as the president Rob Trobich kept calling out then-World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage, for "not defending the title against all comers."
Didn't the NWA realize that TNA had their own agenda, because they had their own TV show and list of title contenders to deal with? Cage had to make appearances on Impact and TNA tours around the world to help further the TNA product...instead of defending the title against a no-name in a dead territory, in a tiny arena with 200 people.
It's a good thing TNA commissioned their own titles and left their partnership with the NWA, without as much as even mentioning the situation with the World Heavyweight Title. It was hardly even worth it. The NWA still uses a dead system, and it shows, even if they call themselves the "gold standard" of wrestling. I personally think they will never be relevant again, sad as it is.
The NWA association with TNA is mutually beneficial. TNA benefited with the borrowed history of the NWA title. And it helped the NWA having their World Title on television each week. But title matches were becoming increasingly difficult to schedule. TNA wasn't working with the territories. I followed TNA very closely and the NWA and there was never a "holier-than-thou" attitude. Obviously there were disputes about money, title matches, etc., and instead of making all that public, they simply started to negotiate the end of the business relationship. Nothing happens in wrestling without an explanation. The NWA was starting to tour and wanted its trademark on its programing. TNA wouldn't allow their wrestlers to appear on these shows. Hence "Re-Claiming the Glory."
Of course the NWA realize that TNA had their own agenda. At that point TNA didn't need to borrow the NWA Legacy, it had built their own reputation. TNA had successfully built its own credibility. The NWA was ready to forge on their own direction. I attended one of the many NWA Wrestling Summit Arena tours. In Las Vegas at the Orleans arena that had over 5,000 fans in attendance, without Christian Cage or the rest of TNA. This even didn't even feature the Worlds Heavyweight Championship. Obviously the NWA were able to step up to the plate in the same sized arenas as TNA.
The NWA is evolving. They aren't at the same level of TNA. And they might never be at the same level of the WWE. But certainly they have forged their own direction and are no where near dead.
