How Blind Arrogance Killed Wrestling's Coolest Cult Promotion

4. The Jewel In The Crown

Ricky Starks NWA TV Champion
NWA

The very first episode of NWA Powerrr saw NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis fend off the challenge of Tim Storm, the ridiculously loveable veteran babyface who Aldis had defeated in 2017 to embark on his first run with the Ten Pounds of Gold.

While he'd had some success in TNA - at one point holding the promotion's top prize - the Nick Aldis seen in the NWA at this point was one vastly different to what had been seen before from the Englishman. The National Treasure had always shown promise in TNA, and for those who'd not been keeping up with the career of the former Magnus, he was an entirely different beast under the NWA banner.

Having defeated Cody Rhodes to commence his second reign as the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, this Nick Aldis oozed star power and carried himself as the utter embodiment of the classic World Champion of yesteryear. Character-wise, Aldis had a sprinkling of Nick Bockwinkle, a splash of Ric Flair, and a smidge of Harley Race to his persona. In-ring, the Norfolk native was extremely capable and could bring the best out of anyone he stepped between the ropes with.

Throughout the initial Powerrr run and beyond, Nick Aldis was the jewel in the crown for the National Wrestling Alliance, and having such a credible World Champion was pivotal to the success and favour achieved by the NWA upon its 'proper' relaunch.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.