Billy Corgan: The NWA Is Starting To Evolve Into What I Want It To Be

The National Wrestling Alliance is starting to evolve into what Billy Corgan wanted it to be.

Corgan reached an agreement to acquire NWA in 2017; since then, the promotion has grown under his guidance, but like everyone else, the company dealt with numerous setbacks due to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, NWA has gained momentum over the last several months; Matt Cardona generated more buzz for the company when he won the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, and the two-night Crockett Cup event features a star-studded lineup that includes Cardona, Nick Aldis, and The Briscoes, among many others.

During an appearance on My Mom’s Basement with Robbie Fox, Corgan discussed the NWA’s progress throughout his time as its president. He acknowledged some of the challenges the company has faced and explained that it has been forced to adjust accordingly. Still, Corgan expressed his belief that the product is starting to become what he wants it to be.

“I think it’s kind of in the general neighborhood of what I started out to do, but I’ve had to adjust,” said Corgan. “One thing of course was the success of Powerrr, a lot of people didn’t think Powerrr would work, and it did work and it continues to work. But you know the whole idea with Powerrr was to be a little bit more 21-st century, of the moment, social media and have surprises and have, not fun isn’t the right word, but have a little bit of a wink to it, not be overly serious.

“But because of the way things have lined up, Powerrr has had to be our flagship program as opposed to sort of a standard traditional program that you would see from everybody else. So it’s had to stress test what Powerrr represents and so Powerrr is kind of an amalgam of what I would want it to be versus what it needs to be. As far as the rest of the product, I think we’re finally now at the start of the fifth year pivoting towards what I want the NWA to be in the twenty-first century.”

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Corgan elaborated by explaining that building the company’s culture is a vital part of the process, as he has to focus on finding good fits for the roster. He also noted that he values building the NWA as a “company of opportunity” by giving performers who have been overlooked elsewhere the chance to shine.

“It’s a lot easier to talk about than accomplish because first of all, you have to build a culture,” said Cardona. “So when you have. Harry Smith, who I do go back ten years with, I still have to be able to point to it and say look, this is what the NWA represents. Do you fit into this, or don’t you? That oftentimes is a bigger selling point than how much and how long. It becomes more about the passion and why people animate and do what they do in the business. I think if you look at the diversity of our roster, the different backgrounds that people come from on every level, including internationally, I think you see that it really is a company of opportunity.”

Speaking of the land of opportunity, Cardona has thrived since he arrived in NWA. The Internet Champion has been the subject of some controversy, as he has made fun of NWA and threatened to throw the Worlds Heavyweight Championship in the trash in various social media posts. Still, despite Corgan’s appreciation for the historic side of the promotion, he explained that he aligns with Cardona’s vision for the company more than those who would aim to preserve NWA’s “throwback” nature. Corgan described how this stylistic clash can clearly be seen in Cardona’s on-screen feud with Nick Aldis; he also stated that NWA is “figuring out” which style it wants to lean on, and once it does, it’ll be “dangerous” due to its unique place in the wrestling world.

“My version of the NWA is much closer to the historical and traditional version of the NWA, so I don’t really have to sell anything,” said Cogan. “Nick [Aldis] I think would be probably more on the side of even more old-school. So that’s what I’m saying. It’s like I get painted as kind of a throwback guy. There’s people in the company that are far more throwback than I am. I’m much more twenty-first century.

“And so that tension point between Cardona, that’s almost, not different eras but different sort of ideological frames, I think is what makes the NWA so interesting and really goes back to what the NWA was, which was different territories clashing together. So I think we’re kinda figuring that out, much more than people realize, and once we do figure it out, we’re gonna be a very dangerous promotion to deal with because we’ll offer something that literally nobody is offering, including the WWE.”

NWA Crockett Cup will conclude with a star-studded second night of action on March 20; Cardona will defend the Worlds Heavyweight Championship in a buzzworthy match where the legendary Jeff Jarrett will be the special referee.