Former WWE, WCW, ECW and independent star Raven revealed some bad news for NWA fans. It appears the promotion is shutting down and won't reopen.
Lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan is the man behind the NWA promotion and there's unfortunate speculation surfacing that he may be forced to shut things down. Unlike some wrestling promotions that are going on pause, NWA may be closing for good.
While a guest on The Hannibal TV's Devon Nicholson show, Raven was asked if he would ever consider working with Corgan again and he shared what he'd heard through the grapevine which is that the National Wrestling Alliance will be closing it's doors. He added, "I heard Billy's not opening it back up, he's really disillusioned."
While this hadn't been confirmed by NWA or Corgan himself when Raven made the remarks, it was taken seriously as many believed Raven had close ties to Corgan from their time working together with the old Resistance Pro Wrestling group. After all, it would seem odd to say he heard it was closing, if, in fact, it wasn't.
Update: Billy Corgan Responds
Corgan has since posted the following statement about the status of NWA.
"A quick note about the National Wrestling Alliance, which I fought for, and won ownership of a few years back. We are NOT shutting down. So please disregard any and all rumor to effect. The NWA is not and will not be for sale, and those talent who are under contract remain under contract for a reason: which is that we at the NWA are trying to figure out a way to provide our great fans with wrestling content in a very, very tough environment.
"And, most importantly, keep our talent safe and the standard of production you've come to expect from us at a high level. Anything less, in my opinion, is unacceptable. So yes, appreciate the interest, appreciate the chatter, but don't appreciate the unsourced rumors and speculation."
Every wrestling promotion has taken on financial hardships with the COVID-19 pandemic, but for NWA, the financial struggles have been extremely difficult. They haven't run a live event since 26 January, but tried to produce shows through YouTube. Then, whey Dave Lagana resigned due to implications related to the #SpeakingOut Movement, their YouTube content stopped too.