The Day NWA Nearly Died

[@00pium_kingvampstan]

I feel like it died the second they put the world title on “Funkasaurus”

[@AdrianM865]

Speaking out got them too. Their head of creative at the time (Marty DeRosa) and the guy originally slated to beat Aldis (Marty Scrull) got caught up.

[@dethiamthelaw1353]

True. But the TV deal would’ve helped them get back on their feet. So…

[@catwheeler]

That guy could barely even move, completely immobile

[@drg5352]

@@AdrianM865 Plus NWA VP Dave Lagana, who was also caught up with Speaking Out. Though that wasn't surprising, given that he'd been fired from the WWE for sexually assaulting one of the women. The Covid shutdown also cost them Thunder Rosa, Ricky Starks, James Storm, Eli Drake/LA Knight, and a few others, though a number of talent left just because Corgan wasn't paying as well as indies running 10 seat bedroom shows. His inability to work with others doesn't help, such as his on again off again feud with Impact/TNA/Whoever they are this week. He fired Mr Anderson for appearing on Slammiversary. Then he put the World Heavyweight Championship on Tyrus the Funkasaurus, who was never able to work, talk, nor had any charisma, and could barely waddle out to the ring by the time he reached the NWA. Another with sexual harassment allegations behind him, he was about the worst choice for a main guy that you could pick in every way. Despite pushback, Corgan doubled down and said anyone who wasn't a fan of Tyrus wasn't a fan of wrestling. Not that he's got much better options; his current World Champion Thom Latimer was fired from the WWE after he was arrested for assaulting a police officer, and was later arrested for beating his girlfriend, who he was cheating on his wife (Charlotte Flair amazingly enough) with. It's telling that most of the NWA champions are so unknown that they lack even wiki pages. Honestly, Samhain didn't really do much damage; CW was almost certainly already in negotiations with the WWE for NXT, and NWA was never going to get a TV spot with the WWE there. Corgan has done all he could to damage the NWA himself, from knowingly hiring rapists to not paying his talent, to frankly idiotic booking decisions and creating so many damn titles that the entire roster has two each. Ironically, since he's failed to grow the NWA, he's gone back to licensing the name out to indie shows as pseudo territories, much like the NWA was throughout the 2000's and 2010's after being ditched by TNA.

[@showtime1235]

in fairness he made them tons of money and coverage bec of his spot on fox news

[@radleybuttons7830]

Nothing says "Corgan's NWA" like airing your Halloween PPV at Christmastime.

[@CornBreadtm1]

I've never seen a company exclusively comprised of job guys before!

[@craigwalsh2711]

NWA, Please Just go back to you tube 🤔😁

[@showtime1235]

i assume it’s money related but i bet they would get just as much views if not more on youtube and def more coverage from other channels

[@TheAnnoyedPanda]

Just a heads up Samhain is pronounced like Sow-in. It's a Celtic pagan holiday from Ireland that would be the precursor to Halloween.

[@dkupke]

Was it ever even really alive? The NWA is a fifth rate promotion at best and has been for decades.

[@BrandanTheBroker]

I think they had a chance before COVID and they were doing really good, and I can't blame them for COVID, but seems like after that they just couldn't get it right. Losing all your big stars is one thing, but boneheaded choices really holds them back now. I'd say they're behind WCPW and that place has been dead for years

[@Bribrig4l]

Nwa's been on life support for years!!! Billy don't know ish about wrestling. He almost killed Tna

[@JaneBarker-i4b]

It ain't over till the fat lady sings and I'm not singing hun. If your so good buy the company off Corgan and see how you do.

[@BlackMoore82]

R.I.P. to the "Dane Event" Jax Dane 🌺 He passed away on Christmas at the age of 48.

[@matthewpulama106]

Speaking Out & COVID was the first major blow, if you ask me. Tyrus winning the title and the disaster that was NWA Samhain were the next blows that shagged the National Wrestling Alliance.

[@sirekumasutra7022]

Leaving KZbin for Fite TV also.

[@Mr.Majestic77]

​​@@sirekumasutra7022 you also have to add the NWA being on The CW app, getting removed from The CW app, after the WWE's NXT secured a deal on The CW, and the NWA (NWA Powerrr) currently being on X (formerly known as Twitter).

[@jennygholson]

I love your videos 😊

[@daloaded1]

I used to love NWA POWER! Are you going to review ROH Final battle?

[@user-xk9gd8vc5n]

Bro, let it go, NWA is not going to die

[@PantheonLincoln]

I find it baffling Corgan would do a bit involving hard drugs after what happened in the Smashing Pumpkins in 96. For those who don't know, while on tour, Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and touring keyoardist Jonathan Melvoin both overdosed on heroin. Melvoin died from it, and Chamberlin was fired. When you've had an actual death from drug use happen on your watch, it seems weird to use such things as fodder for wrestling. I'd rather Billy Corgan would devote that time and energy into more Smashing Pumpkins stuff. The last album, Aghori Mhori Mei was pretty solid, really.

[@dizzle1119]

"on your watch". smfh

[@supercool2999]

This would be a good Darkside Of The Ring episode. Rise And Fall of Billy Corgan's NWA.

[@wweminehead]

Max doesn't hold both TV only the men's. Big Mumma is the nwa women's tv champ

[@kidz4p509]

2:54 In your defense, JR Kratos and Jax Dane look similar. 3:58 It’s _Thrillbilly,_ dude. 4:46 I think that’s napalm.

[@thomaswatson3774]

Bugar sugar 😂😂

[@user-xk9gd8vc5n]

Although NWA getting rid of their live PPV model was a mistake

[@Devondavis-fm2dz]

This is unexpected cause I just got done watch nwa wrestling

[@zekeS1849]

He needs to hire a new booker

[@bernardosantosribeiro6665]

I would love you doing a weekly analysis on NXT, I know RAW and SmackDown would be very tiring due to the durability

[@Lance-wn9dc]

NXT is awesome

[@reze0n]

I realize that it is hip amongst the IWC to troll the NWA, but under what actual factual criteria is the NWA nearly dead? Its numbers have been holding pretty steady from what I can find. I don't have any viewership numbers from when it was on the CW streaming service, but pre-CW and post-CW view numbers seem to hover fairly consistently around 100k. That places it around the same numbers as MLW (another promotion the IWC seems to hate). Sure, that is low compared to the big leagues like WWE and AEW, but amongst indie promotions 100k is huge, as most indies are lucky if they can get even 10k views. Apparently, you want us to believe that the CW was so mad at NWA that they aired their episodes on their streaming service for a year until the WWE affiliated show was ready to jump over. Considering the WWE is known for demanding network exclusivity, it's no surprise the smaller promotion got dropped. All of this seems to be based on one dirt sheet refusing to admit they were blindsided by NXT being in talks with CW at the same time as the NWA deal. I realize that the IWC is invested in using NWA as its punching bag for trolling and cyberbullying, but the IWC isn't an accurate reflection of the tastes of the silent majority of wrestling fans.

[@oddishhonor]

Just say you like it and move forward. It is a dead promotion, boo hoo.

[@JM-fr5ge]

Bro WWE didn’t tell cow drop NWA. CW wanted live programming on its station and NWA wasn’t gonna give it to them also then doing blow on ppv made them look worse.

[@dannyinoakpark9095]

What the hell is a Lev?

[@mrhaag]

They died as soon as they got rid of cornette.

[@razieltalos]

someone actually pronounced Samhain correctly, color me shocked

[@marvellesaulsberry]

Only because i know him i mist correct you it's "The Thrillbilly" Silas Mason

[@MegaMan-bs3oy]

I'm sorry. I don't get the Kenzie paige love. To be so high rated. She did 7 moves in Decatur the other night mostly forearms a chop block a horrible super kick and a bad cutter....no one cheered during the match but her small section in the corner. I just don't see the future everyone is talking about and feel like that's just nwa trying to self build anything they can. Like he said all the tag formats feel the same. No one tells a story in the Ring anymore it's just moves and go home.

[@WhiskeyBrewer]

RIP Jax Dane

[@augustuswayne9676]

Is he pronouncing Samhain correctly ?

[@undertakerfanz628]

I wonder if the powder was good or not

[@JabbarMuhammad-f8j]

NWA better start hosting better shows or else they won't last another year

[@jesterr7133]

I'm a huge Billy Corgan fan, but after Nick Aldis walked away, NWA has turned into a total shit show. I don't know what the hell happened. It started off as a throwback show that was good, but a little too far of a throwback. Since Aldis left, it has done a 180 in the opposite direction. Now it's a combination of 94/95 era WWE gimmicks with Russo WCW era booking, but without entrance music, big stars, or big crowds. I don't know what the hell Billy is thinking at this point.

[@colm4303]

Is Carson Bartholomew Drake a Wish version of MJF?

[@GLJosh]

Is there a step below Wish? CBD would be that.

[@Solid_Jackson]

You put so much effort into editing and creating thumbnails. Could you put a similar level of effort into your use of the English language? I’m not saying you need to sound overly formal, but there are quite a few errors in how you express yourself, which makes it difficult to follow.

[@DKCG0113]

What is up with that name? Samhain, but it's pronounced Sow-hane?

[@MrHazzerRC]

Why are you suddenly talking really fast!

[@rileyanthony]

Nwa need help

[@kevinroulette]

I use to watch when Power was on KZbin. When they took it off KZbin, I stopped watching NWA really . Now and then I’ll see a match on KZbin and watch but it’s really went down hill. Hell they never was high up the hill . Still they’ve lost about anyone I liked on the roster .

[@zeuzzy-k4u]

dude why you watch NWA like a mark? who are these nobodies??

[@FlowerEpsilon]

Speaking of the CW. Has it benefitted NXT to move there? I feel like the CW has become uncool.

[@bernardosantosribeiro6665]

From what I've been told, it seems that NXT's audience is bigger than the CW's normal audience, it's just not bigger than it was at the height of Riverdale.

[@00pium_kingvampstan]

CW wasn’t cool from the second they tried to change their whole brand in a night after green lighting Riverdale for 7 seasons

[@FlowerEpsilon]

@00pium_kingvampstan I agree! It’s a pity because they give (gave not sure their programming now) a chance to a lot of Canadian shows that we wouldn’t be exposed to.

[@drowsypro5106]

Breaks my heart, as the NWA and the general idea of "Wrestling as it's Meant to Be" resonates with me and so many other fans. It's not just about not liking flippy dips or PG or Social Media, or any other "old man waves at clouds" type characterization. I could go on for ages, but I guess the most succinct way I could put it is - At it's best, Powerrr showed that a show with the not just the look, but the mindset and matches of an old school territory era tv show could **work** in the modern era. It wouldn't bring the territories back (at least as they were), it wouldn't dethrone WWE or threaten AEW, because frankly, it didn't need to. You what it needed to be? Wrestling. That's it. Simple storylines, told mostly in ring, quick story beats that build in intesity, until you just *had* to shell out the dough to see how it ends on the PPV. A simple formula that's worked for over half a century. At it's worst? Well, here we are. I don't like saying that. There are plenty of people on this roster that deserve mountains of respect and praise. Unfortunately, it seems every business decision made since inception has only made the company worse off. Whatever one thinks of Corgan and how he's running it, there's no real way to paint the trajectory of the NWA since 2019 other than downward.

[@BatDad1984]

So I didn't watch NWA, but wasn't it a few years ago NWA Power was more a classic style wrestling show, with great looking champions like Nick Aldis and Kamille? Seems like it just got ugly and trashy.

[@dvd2909]

Still miles better than All Ex-WWE Wrestling

[@JaneBarker-i4b]

To all you moaning men why watch it if you th8nk its shit?

[@lebenshilfemavericke.v.106]

Tko must buy the nwa

[@Mr.Majestic77]

Hell no! The NWA is Pro Wrestling.

[@GodLovesYou828]

Why is all these British Wrestling marks you tube channel are always so cringe. Always butthurt. Just enjoy all Wrestling. And btw Vince McMahon is a legend. So is Hulk Hogan.

[@thomasperry2485]

“They” “Them” PC malarkey on Max The Impaler. Pa-the-tic!!!

[@davidburke7777]

I thought Abadon had piled on the pounds.

[@VelvetMetrolink]

Grown ups think that getting angry about having the manners to refer to people in the way they request is pretty pathetic Thomas. Oh, and Gerrard is really overrated. When he had the chance to win the league the club obsessed over, he bottled it and just fell over.

[@thomasperry2485]

@ who the hell cares? This non-binary bullshit is ruining the world we live in

[@thomasperry2485]

@@VelvetMetrolink who the hell cares about these non-binary wrestlers. They’ll never be big stars if they ever go to the WWE. They’re a joke

[@davidburke7777]

@@VelvetMetrolink You don't get the right to force people to refer to you as you want.