New NWA TV Deal Already In Trouble Due To PPV Cocaine Spot

Last weekend's dumb cocaine spot has caused problems for the NWA's TV deals with The CW.

by Andrew Pollard
NWA Samhain Father James Mitchell Sinister Minister
NWA

With the National Wrestling Alliance having recently agreed two TV deals with The CW, those deals are already in trouble due to a spot at last weekend's NWA Samhain PPV.

For those who missed it, Samhain at one point cut to Father James Mitchell - aka the Sinister Minister - partying in a private seating area. There, Mitchell was joined by a group of women as they knocked back booze and the veteran manager was bizarrely shown snorting a white powder that was alluded to be cocaine - all as the commentary team of Joe Galli, Tim Storm, and Danny Dealz talked up how Mitchell was "partying it up".

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As per Haus of Wrestling, this stunt looks to have caused some issues with the recent deals agreed between the NWA and CW.

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Previously, the plan was for The CW to air the weekly NWA Powerrr and a new NWA reality series. Now though, this cocaine spot has upset CW higher-ups to the point that certain officials are pushing for the NWA shows to air on The CW app rather than the actual TV station.

During negotiations, the NWA's Billy Corgan was told that The CW would not be watching the company's PPVs and would instead only be concerned with the TV output. However, following a deluge of social media comments and complaints directed towards The CW, it's now said there's a 90% chance that both NWA Powerrr and the NWA reality series will solely be shown on The CW app rather than be broadcast on TV.

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In addition to this, this Haus of Wrestling report also notes how the reality show was actually fully paid for by Corgan. The CW would profit from the series through ad revenue, with one of the selling points of the series being footage of Billy Corgan's wedding from earlier this year.

As for the cocaine spot at NWA Samhain, that was Corgan's idea and he was the one who pushed for it to be a part of the organisation's latest PPV.

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 day job, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.