Shortly after it was reported that the NWA, owned by Billy Corgan, recently signed a pair of deals with The CW Network to see NWA Power and an unnamed reality show about the promotion air on the station, WWE announced NXT would move to the CW in 2024.
Before the NXT announcement, there was a controversial moment during the NWA Samhain pay-per-view that reportedly put the NWA’s TV deal with The CW Network in jeopardy as Jim Mitchel was at a table with women around him drinking alcohol, and it looked like Mitchell was snorting cocaine off the table before passing it around to everyone around him.
This report was disputed by Corgan. As previously reported by Fightful, at least one NWA talent was “blindsided” by the NXT news.
Haus of Wrestling reported today that Corgan withdrew from those close to him following the news. A WWE source told them that the impression that talks with the network accelerated following the incident as fans had bombarded The CW with outrage over the angle.
It was reported that the spot upset people at The CW, and there is now “an active push by those higher-up at The CW” for NWA programming to only air 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.”
The report stated NWA wrestlers expressed frustration with Corgan’s current leadership as in the past, Dave Lagana and Pat Kenney were names that Corgan leaned on to help with the creative process and communication with talent. Lagana is no longer with the NWA, while Kenney moved more into a talent relations role and is viewed as second in charge next 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.”
Multiple people noted they didn’t know what they were doing at TV events until the day of the show, if not close to an hour before filming. While one source understands Corgan has a lot on his plate, they are hopeful he puts a team of creative people around him to help filter his ideas.
NWA will look to re-sign several wrestlers in June with the intention of starting up talks in February. However, some of those wrestlers are frustrated by Corgan’s leadership and are already looking into other places they can go once 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 talent to deals because Corgan likes to have “first dibs” on these wrestlers before they get big and are booked in other promotions. NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion EC3 issued a statement on this report, which you can read here.
