Billy Corgan Announces ‘NWA Presents’
The National Wrestling Alliance has officially announced today that they are introducing new programming to their schedule with the debut of NWA Presents on Tuesday January 10th at the usual time of 6:05pm ET on the NWA’s YouTube channel. The show will take the place of Powerrr, which is on hiatus until the show returns with its live edition on January 31st.
NWA Presents is set to be a long-form interview show where, according to the press release, NWA President Billy Corgan will sit down each week with “true living legends” and, according to wrestlingheadlines.com, will “discuss their careers, the inner-workings of the territories, and to offer exclusive pro wrestling memorabilia from the unique NWA archives, some of which has never been shared in public“. The first episode is set to feature Austin Idol, which will certainly be interesting, and knowing that Billy has had relationships in the last 18 months with the likes of Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Baby Doll, and Bobby Fulton, I’m excited by the possibility that there might be some genuine legends appearing on the show. Certainly, I’d kill for an in-depth interview with Ricky Steamboat, one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots. We’ll have to wait and see what we’ll get, but the potential is definitely there.
According to Billy Corgan, “this show is so special because it allows legends to tell an unfiltered story about the wrestling industry they came up in. What I really like is when I show off an old wrestling program or picture from my memorabilia collection and you can see memories rushing back to the guests on the show. It sparks conversations you would never get to hear otherwise.” It will be certainly interesting to see what memorabilia Billy has. More than that, while we talk a lot about Billy the promoter, it will be enlightening to learn more from these conversations about Billy the fan. What were his formative experiences of wrestling? Knowing those might give us some more insight into his current booking strategies.
NWA Presents is not the first time the promotion has produced content about rather than featuring wrestling – most notably they had shows such as Carnyland, Inside the NWA and Girl Powerrr during the pandemic. But for fans who were concerned by Nick Aldis’ departure and what that meant for ideas of “legacy” and “tradition” within the promotion’s ethos and presentation, NWA Presents may offer some reassurance that these things are still of interest to Billy and the NWA. If the show delivers on its promise, it was also help to increase the promotion’s programming with a genuinely worthwhile idea that fans can get behind, as opposed to the risky, contentious Carnyland.
NWA Presents begins on January 10th on YouTube. Stick with us here at Alliance Wrestling for analysis and reviews of the show after it airs.