The NWA, owned by Billy Corgan, recently signed a pair of deals with The CW Network that will see NWA Power and an unnamed reality show about the promotion air on the network, and WWE announced NXT would move to the CW in 2024.
Prior to the NXT announcement, there was a controversial moment during the NWA Samhain pay-per-view that reportedly jeopardized the NWA’s TV deal with The CW Network. Jim Mitchel was at a table with women around him drinking alcohol, and it appeared that Mitchell was snorting cocaine off the table before passing it around to everyone around him.
Corgan shot down this report. According to Fightful, at least one NWA talent was “surprised” by the NXT announcement.
Following the news, Corgan withdrew from those close to him, according to Haus of Wrestling. According to a WWE source, talks with the network accelerated after the incident, as fans bombarded The CW with outrage over the angle.
According to reports, the commercial irritated people at The CW, and there is now “an active push by those higher-up at The CW” for NWA programming to air exclusively on The CW app rather than on television.
The WWE source said, “No segment ever done in wrestling has had that severe of consequences to the promotion than the Samhain Coke Spot.”
NWA wrestlers have expressed dissatisfaction with Corgan’s current leadership, according to the report, because in the past, Dave Lagana and Pat Kenney were names that Corgan relied on to help with the creative process and communication with talent. Lagana is no longer with the NWA, while Kenney has taken on more of a talent relations role and is considered second in command to Corgan.
The report noted, “One source described him as the “Johnny Ace of the NWA” and as someone you only talk to if you are in trouble or getting signed. Billy is in charge of contract offers and creative.Due to Corgan’s busy schedule touring with The Smashing Pumpkins, some feel he is unavailable to relay his creative ideas between shows.”
Several people said they didn’t know what they were doing at TV events until the day of the show, if not an hour before. While one source understands Corgan has a lot on his plate, they are hopeful that he surrounds himself with a team of creative people to help filter his ideas.
The NWA plans to re-sign several wrestlers in June, with negotiations set to begin in February. However, some of those wrestlers are dissatisfied with Corgan’s leadership and are already considering other options once they are free and clear.
The report noted, “Haus of Wrestling has also heard of Corgan giving various talents “tests” to see how they react and to prove their loyalty, which has not been well-received. Examples of “tests” were things like making “over” talents who come in to work lose right away, just to see how they react. Or, for Corgan to be overly critical of a talent who has done nothing wrong to see how they take it.”
NWA reportedly signs younger wrestlers to contracts because Corgan prefers to have “first dibs” on these wrestlers before they become famous and are booked in other promotions.
