NWA 70 Could Be The Last Wrestling Show At The Asylum

jeff jarrett — Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

Nate Rau of The Tennessean recently documented the history behind tonight’s NWA 70 and the historic venue that will host the event. Known to wrestling fans as The Asylum, theNashville Fairgrounds hosted some of the NWA’s most significant events and featured legendary wrestlers like; Andre The Giant, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Steve Austin, The Road Warriors, The Rock N’ Roll Express, Randy Savage, and AJ Styles.

NWA 70 may be the very last NWA related event to ever take place at The Asylum.

He caught up with Nashville native WWE Hall of Famer, Jeff Jarrett, who opened up about why the NWA chose The Asylum,

“When we looked at the 70th anniversary show, it was going to be a celebration. It was pretty simple. We both arrived at the fact that the most recent home for (the NWA) was the Asylum in the early 2000s. Then you jump back into the late 70s and through the 80s, Nashville was definitely a stop on that tour. So it made a lot of sense to hold the show in that arena. The way this came together was just remarkable. When Billy [Corgan] and I started talking about this in early 2018, there wasn’t a rematch to be had. Now it’s possibly the match of the year. For it to be happening on the 70th anniversary show, and for it to be happening in the fairgrounds – obviously since the day the doors opened my family has had a relationship with that building – and then on top of all of it the political situation that has transpired, it’s pretty amazing how it’s come together.”

Jarrett also added,

“Back in the early 80s, that building was the proverbial professional wrestling spot. It was smoke-filled. Lots of adult beverages were taken down. The fans lived vicariously through the wrestlers and it was a wild night on Saturday nights. That building took on a personality all to itself. And it was that way through when the doors opened until about 1995 or 1996.”

The Asylum is scheduled to be torn down and a brand new Major League Soccer Stadium will be erected in its place.

While the historic wrestling venue will be no longer, Rau adds a glimmer of hope. A new building will be erected in The Asylum’s place and will likely host future wrestling events. IMPACT’s Homecoming pay-per-view will take place at the venue on January 6th.