Fans of classic wrestling will no doubt be aware of the incredible legacy of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Most people may be talking about WWE and AEW these days, but there are still plenty of people who long for the old days of classic NWA wrestling. Some may think that the NWA can’t be all that different from modern wrestling, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Wrestling has shifted and changed so much over the years, and plenty of veterans have and even continue to criticize the modern product for it. While some criticisms are more worthwhile than others, it is fair to say that each era of wrestling has had its own unique strengths and champions that will never be taken away from them.
10 Kayfabe Mattered
In most instances these days, kayfabe is a thing of the past. Thanks to the rise of social media, it’s possible to see what most wrestlers are up to in their day-to-day lives regardless of their in-ring actions and character.
Back during the prime days of the NWA, kayfabe was something that was protected so heavily, that many truly believed the wrestling they were seeing was a real fight. That adherence to kayfabe helped villains feel even eviler and helped heroes become even bigger idols around the world.
9 Matches Without Dives
While a good dive spot can certainly elevate an exciting match, the overuse of dives to the outside of the ring has made it feel commonplace. On most wrestling cards it is actually a shock if a dive to the outside isn’t present in a match.
It was pretty rare to see much high-flying at all in the NWA days, at least not anywhere near the form of high-flying we see today. While matches could be formulaic even then, many were taken for massive turns when solidified performers took on lesser-known talents or new rivals. Dive spots are great, but not when everyone does them in every match.
8 Heels Felt Truly Hated
These days, getting real heat with fans is incredibly difficult. A lot of the time, heels end up getting cheered half the time because wrestling fans take a liking to their negative attitude. It’s possible there are other compounding reasons for why heels just don’t feel so hated anymore, such as companies looking to play it safe.
In the NWA era, it wasn’t a shock if wrestling fans actually tried to attack heels due to just how evil they could be. While that is obviously unsafe, it’s hard to deny heels were arguably far more effective in previous eras.
7 Babyfaces Were Seen As Real Heroes
While kids will likely always see their favorite wrestlers as their heroes, it’s pretty rare for grown men to see a wrestler as anything other than a performer. Everyone knows that their favorite performer is just a normal person like them at the end of the day. They shop, work out, and even stream as many people do.
A few decades ago, wrestling fans viewed the top babyfaces as the biggest heroes around. Many wrestlers have stories of being treated like rock stars upon their arrival in certain towns. Even better, if they chased a heel out of town, they were solidified as the best around.
6 Gimmick Matches Mattered
It’s rare to go a single week in wrestling without a single bombastic gimmick match somewhere on a card. They often take the form of street fights or table matches on weekly television, but it used to be the case that gimmick matches were saved for special moments.
It was rare to see any kind of gimmick matches during the classic NWA era unless two wrestlers were embroiled in a bitter feud. Sure, some matches had rewards for the winners, but a loser leaves town match was saved for the climax of a lengthy back and forth.
5 Local Champions Were Constantly Elevated
One of the biggest problems that the modern wrestling industry faces is the elevation of performers into the main event scene. Everyone has their own opinion on what it means for a performer to be over in the minds of fans, but it seemed much simpler in the old days.
Back in the NWA, for a local champion who was ready for the big time to be elevated to a spot of prominence, all they needed to do was battle against a top heel. If a big babyface took on someone like Flair and only lost on a technicality in their first encounter, the rally behind that performer was sure to be immense.
4 Rivalries Could Last For Years
It’s pretty rare for a rivalry to last longer than a few months. There are rare instances in which performers carry on a rivalry for longer, but that usually either amounts to nothing or results in another bout of feuding years down the line.
While lengthy rivalries weren’t only found within the NWA, many of the longest rivalries in classic wrestling were carried through the promotion. Some performers would feud with their peers for years and in some instances even a decade at a time.
3 Characters Didn’t Feel Silly
Wrestling should absolutely be fun for everyone involved, but characters can often feel a bit silly. It is more often a problem for WWE than other promotions, but when a character is too silly, it can destroy a lot of the credibility that they had with their fans.
While some older performers could be described as flamboyant in nature, few would describe them as silly. Even characters that were less serious were hated because of their inclination for cheating to win. Heels and babyfaces were respected as someone who was going to step into the ring and beat another man to the ground.
2 Championships Mattered
One of the biggest complaints anyone will be inundated with upon their arrival in the wrestling community is that certain titles feel like they really don’t matter. Most often, WWE’s United States, Intercontinental, and Women’s Tag Team Championships all feel as if they, and by extension, their holders don’t matter.
While there were countless titles going around during the days of the territories, the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship was seen as the peak of wrestling. The holder of that title was seen as the best in the business regardless of who held it, but that’s not always true of even world champions these days.
1 Champions Could Reign For Years
A lengthy title reign is a hard thing to pull off these days. While Roman Reigns has been seeing quite a bit of luck with his run, outside him and Brock Lesnar, it’s pretty rare for most title reigns to even last a year.
Back during the prime of the NWA, title reigns often lasted multiple years. Multiple holders of the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship held the title for over 1000 days in a row. That length may not be realistic for many reasons nowadays, but maybe someone like Roman Reigns can pull it off and reign for years to come.