10 Things Wrestling Fans Should Know About The National Wrestling Alliance
For decades, the National Wrestling Alliance was the main power in professional wrestling. While territories existed, they needed the connections for the NWA World Champion to get attention and be able to thrive. The NWA World title was the most prestigious in wrestling and the organization’s power was felt into the 1980s.
Related: 10 Things We Miss About Classic NWA Wrestling
Today, the NWA is a shell of itself, barely holding on amid other companies. It was whittled down slowly but surely by high-profile defections, internal strife, and other issues that took it from a near monopoly of wrestling to being ignored by fans. Yet there was a power to the NWA, as without it, wrestling as we know it wouldn’t exist today. With such a long history, it’s tricky to whittle it down, but here are ten things fans should know about the NWA and why it was the power of wrestling for so long and still has a unique legacy today.
10 Their Origins
On July 18, 1948, a half dozen men met in a hotel room in Iowa. They didn’t like or trust one another but were bound by the one thing that gets enemies together: making money. Realizing it was better to consolidate than fight each other, these promoters linked their groups into the National Wrestling Alliance.
Soon, others came on board, recognizing a single World Champion for various territories as well as a couple of secondary titles. Orville Brown was recognized as their first World Champion, who’d lose it to Lou Thesz for a lengthy run to establish the NWA as a powerhouse.
9 The Governing Body Called All Shots
A joke among old-time wrestlers is that comparing the NWA to the mafia is unfair as “the mafia is more honest”. It wasn’t just that the NWA board insisted on determining who was champion but could also be harsh on punishment for anyone going against them.
Related: 10 Women Who Held The NWA Women's Championship
It was too common for conflicts to arise between NWA members over who would be champion or get a push and that would often erupt into interpromotional wars. While consolidating was good, the domination of the NWA board also caused fissures that would cause them huge headaches down the line.
8 Fighting The U.S. Government
As rough as their internal issues were, the bigger fight for the NWA came in 1956 when rival promoters claimed they were violating U.S. antitrust laws. The Department of Justice launched a full investigation that charged the NWA as a monopoly.
The NWA managed to sign a consent agreement, giving them power to continue, but the damage was done. Several members left, and the organization’s power began to wane with local territories as this legal battle was a blow the organization never truly recovered from.
7 The Belt “Deposit”
One of the most important parts of the NWA was the World Champion touring the various territories to face the local stars. However, there were worries about a champion perhaps going into business for himself or even jumping ship with the title.
Related: 10 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Were NWA World Heavyweight Champions
To ensure that didn’t happen, whenever a guy won the belt, he had to put down a deposit (anywhere from five to ten thousand dollars) with the NWA board. They got the money back when they lost the belt as this cash was a sure way to ensure a champion stayed under NWA's control.
6 The Territories Leaving
After dominating the wrestling landscape for so long, the cracks in the NWA armor began in the 1960s. First, Verne Gagne broke away to create the American Wrestling Association. Then, Vince McMahon Sr. used a title change to create what would become WWE. They rejoined the NWA in 1971 for some cross-promotion but then broke off for good in 1983.
World Class Championship Wrestling likewise severed ties in 1986 along with a few other territories. The NWA still had one chief promotion they could use but sadly couldn’t count on it as their influence over the business was slowly whittled away.
5 The WCW Defection
For years, thanks to its national TV deals, Jim Crockett Promotions became the face of the NWA for fans. That was great for a while, but then Crockett was forced to sell to Ted Turner in 1988. That led to it being renamed WCW and no longer using NWA's titles.
Related: 10 Things Fans Should Know About The WCW Tag Team Championship
They still worked together for a bit, with the NWA belts defended a few times in 1992. But in early 1993, WCW finally pulled out of the NWA for good and the loss of what had long been their biggest promotion would hit the organization hard.
4 The ECW Debacle
After WCW broke away, the NWA tried to keep going, not grasping the wrestling world was about to change. They got into a push with the Philadelphia-based Eastern Championship Wrestling for a tournament with various promotions for a new NWA World Champion.
It was won by Shane Douglas who began a warm speech on the win…then threw the belt down and went on a tirade about the NWA being a dead promotion. That birthed what became Extreme Championship Wrestling. The NWA was infuriated as they had no idea about this double-cross that would make ECW a hot place while the NWA faltered with fans.
3 The Brief WWE Alliance
The ECW mess was a huge blow to the NWA and not helped by the Monday Night Wars putting some indie promotions out of business. In 1998, they forged an agreement with WWE as Jim Cornette led an NWA “invasion". This included Jeff Jarrett winning the North American title, NWA Champion Dan Severn getting a push and the NWA tag titles shown off.
Related: 10 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Held The NWA National Championship
The problem was, the NWA guys were seen as second-rate, and obviously, Vince McMahon didn’t want to show the promotion off. In just a few months, the agreement ended and the NWA became an afterthought to other promotions.
2 Revival Under TNA
After a few years ignored, the NWA came back to prominence in 2002 when Jeff Jarrett began his Total Nonstop Action promotion. Indeed, it was called NWA-TNA for its first year with the NWA World and Tag Team titles used with the same lineage as before.
Even as TNA became the official name, the NWA titles were used, although there was a bit of conflict as some members of the NWA board felt they deserved more say than Jeff Jarrett and others calling the shots. It finally ended in 2007, as TNA broke away from the NWA for their own titles, leaving the promotion once again on a tailspin trying to stay relevant.
1 The NWA Today
After TNA broke off, the NWA was bought in 2012 by R. Bruce Tharpe, who kept it alive for a bit. However, his moves led to lawsuits with several promotions severing ties to leave the NWA on life support. In 2017, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan bought it and did a decent revival, including a weekly YouTube show.
Like many wrestling promotions, the pandemic hit the NWA hard and they were close to going under. Nevertheless, they are trying to recuperate, including having their own streaming service. Thus, while a shadow of its former self, the NWA still retains a place in wrestling to pay tribute to its amazing legacy.
