The NWA “less is more” branding is brilliant
In the modern age of wrestling, the value of the promotion is weighted by how full the crowd looks, how loud the audience screams, how iconic the theme music is, and how flashy the LED lights are. The NWA has flipped that script entirely.
The over 100-year-old wrestling company made its comeback in 2019, headed by William Corgan (the guy from Smashing Pumpkins). The aim was to revive the wrestling hype of the 80s. Back in the day, wrestlers did not come out to carefully branded theme music, an iconic Titantron, and a stadium of screaming fans. The 80s were simple. The wrestlers had big hair, angry words, and loud promos.
NWA Powerr brought that back. Wrestlers like James Storm, Colby Corino, Nick Aldis, Homicide, and Kamille come out to a modest TV studio housing less than a hundred fans. The only music is the 80s-inspired metal riff at the beginning. The NWA wrestlers have no music save for the rowdy crowd chanting their names. The wrestling mat is plain colors with a simple font. The backdrop that the wrestlers get interviewed in front of looks like a late seventies gameshow piece. It is unironically tacky.
While the atmosphere errs on the side of plain colors and outdated set pieces, the wrestlers treat the TV studio like it is the mecca of pro wrestling (because it really is). Wrestlers give their heart and soul in promos treating the NWA titles like they are life or death. Nick Aldis lives as if the Heavyweight title (The Ten Pounds of Gold) is the only wrestling belt in existence. The humor of Aron Stevens and Austin Idol takes us back to a simpler time when wrestling was not trying to be UFC Jr. The heels are treated like the scum of the earth and the baby faces are the real American heroes. It doesn’t get more iconic than the NWA.
The wrestling that takes place on the modest blue mat is another story. At least one match a show is edge-of-your-seat nail-biting. Some of these matches feel like the main event of ROH shows. Each spot receives a powerful “wow” or “boo” from the crowd. The female division is well respected by the likes of Kamille and Mickie James. The NWA goes out of its way to give them respect. The tag team division is the most diverse mix of wrestling nostalgia. You have the sinister tag team of the Ill Begotten, the pompous blondes who like to cheat, and the powerhouse team of The Fixers.
What is the NWA’s secret? The wrestlers act bigger than the crowd and the lights. No talent can hide behind their branding because the branding is the old-school spirit that the wrestler brings into the ring.
The best part about all this? You can watch every episode on YouTube. It’s free.
I say let the teeny-bopper promotions have their loud music, flashy lights, and Madison Square Garden arenas. The true heart of wrestling is the NWA.