How and Why Billy Corgan Bought NWA
On the latest episode of The Kurt Angle Show, NWA President Billy Corgan shared how he came across the opportunity to buy the NWA, and why WWE was not interested in buying out the historic organization.
Billy Corgan, who has had his fair share of ups and downs in the wrestling industry with stints in MLW, ECW, and TNA, revealed the story of how he stumbled upon the chance to acquire the NWA. After finally settling his ownership disputes with TNA, Corgan received a surprising phone call informing him that the NWA was up for sale. To his disbelief, he learned that the NWA was now owned by just one individual in Texas who was willing to sell it to him. Interestingly, Corgan also discovered that WWE had actually passed on the opportunity to purchase the NWA, believing that the organization had lost its value and relevance in the industry.
“About a month goes by, somebody calls and says, ‘The NWA is for sale.’ I said, ‘How is that possible? Isn’t the NWA owned by like 400 people?’ He said ‘No, it’s one owner out of Texas, and he’s willing to sell it to you.’ I poked around, I found out that WWE had passed on it. You know, basically, the general consensus in the business is that it didn’t have any value anymore, that its best days were certainly long past it.”
Despite previously declaring his departure from the wrestling industry on two occasions, Corgan was drawn to the idea of owning the NWA out of sheer nostalgia and a childhood dream. Reflecting on the momentous decision, Corgan expressed his inner conflict and the surreal feeling of potentially owning the company he once idolized as a young wrestling fan.
“And so I was like, ‘This is really tempting.’ Because go back to the kid in the basement, if you had gone to time machine and told that kid, ‘Hey, one day you’re going to own this company.’ And you can own it right now if you want. It was like, ‘Oh geez, I thought I was done with professional wrestling.’ So we could talk about any of those moments, but that’s how we got here.”
Today, Billy Corgan proudly stands as the owner of a revitalized NWA, which has recently announced the revival of the historic territory system.
(h/t 411mania)