Everything You Need To Know About The NWA's 70th Anniversary Pay-Per-View
Billy Corgan’s takeover, the ALL IN rematch, the company’s seventy year history, and more.
The National Wrestling Alliance dominated the wrestling world until Vince McMahon's WWE captured everyone's attention in 1985 thanks to his new brand of sports-entertainment. By the 1990's the NWA floundered in relative obscurity but last year began to slowly creep its way back into prominence when Billy Corgan, leader of famed rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, purchased the company.
Now, Corgan's revitalized NWA, with Cody as its champion, is set to produce their first pay-per-view event since their affiliation with TNA Wrestling ended in 2004. Live from The Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee and broadcast via Fite TV, NWA 70 will mark the organization's return as they celebrate seventy years of existence and look forward to a hopefully fruitful future.
The NWA title was recently featured at the ground-breaking ALL IN pay-per-view and will be defended by Cody in a rematch against Nick Aldis. The company will also crown a new National Heavyweight Champion following a one-night, eight-man tournament, and former WWE Superstar Jazz will defend her World Women's title.
With that, let us breakdown the NWA's lineage and resurgence -- from Billy Corgan's purchase of the company to what can be expected at NWA 70 and going forward.
14. 70 Years Of The National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance, established in 1948, is the oldest wrestling promotion in the United States. It predates WWE by nearly two decades and was the most prominent wrestling group in the world until the 1980’s. With prominent territories under its umbrella -- such as Jim Crockett Promotions in the Carolinas, Georgia Championship Wrestling, St. Louis, affiliations with Japan, and even the World Wrestling Federation at times -- the Alliance was the singular governing body of almost all of wrestling.
By the early 1990’s, however -- following WCW’s withdrawal and ECW turning its back on the group -- the NWA had hit hard times. In 2002 though, the brand saw a slight return to the national stage with TNA Wrestling. That partnership was ended in 2004, however, leaving the Alliance left overseeing small, largely unheard of independent promotions across the country until last year.
An unlikely source stepped in to purchase the NWA brand with an eye on reviving its falling status. Famed Smashing Pumpkins frontman and former IMPACT Wrestling executive, Billy Corgan, took over the day-to-day operations of the National Wrestling Alliance and went to work on executing his vision for the company's future.