On a recent edition of “The Kurt Angle Show,” NWA owner Billy Corgan discussed how he ended up purchasing the National Wrestling Alliance.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On wanting out of wrestling after his past bad experiences: “After ECW folded, and Paul Heyman offered me a piece of ECW — and we could talk about that if you want. But when that didn’t happen, some of the guys from when the company went out of business talked to me about starting a promotion, and I was interested. It didn’t happen. Then Court Bauer of MLW approached me about being an investor. That didn’t happen. Then the whole thing kind of seemed to ebb away and life went on, and I still went to shows. I saw a ton of shows. And I got to know people in the business, including Gabe Sapolsky, who now works for WWE again. And you know, I stay in touch with Gabe. Like, I have those relationships, but I had them only as a fan. And even before Kurt’s time in TNA, I would go down and — you know, when Jarrett started running the fairgrounds in 2002 and they were doing PPVs once a week, I was down there in the crowd hanging out. I just liked being around wrestling, and once I got to make those relationships, I got to know people, okay.
“So one day this. I met these guys here in Chicago. Used car salesmen, you can’t make this up. And they approached me about it, ‘Do you want to start a promotion?’ It’s a longer story, but that’s the simple version. We said, ‘Sure.’ And so I worked in this indie promotion for a while. I didn’t own it, they owned it but I kind of ran it creatively. That went on for a few years. It ended very poorly, and then I walked away. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m done with professional wrestling. Like, leave me alone.’ And then six months goes by and who calls me but Dixie Carter. ‘Do you want to come work in the office and work on the booking committee?’ It was too tempting an offer because I did have those ties with TNA. When I would go to Nashville, I would have lunch with Dixie but only as a friend. And she would ask my advice and ask my advice on other stuff that was outside of wrestling, where maybe my expertise in media or marketing could help TNA. Including my lending songs to TNA and stuff like that. So it was an intriguing thing. I jumped in on that, ultimately ended up being the owner for a hot second. Big lawsuit got out of that and I said, ‘I’m done with wrestling forever. Leave me, please leave me alone.’”
On his decision to buy the NWA: “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. 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.”
On Kurt Angle: “As I said when we started, Kurt [is] absolutely the greatest professional wrestler that I’ve ever been around, and was fortunate enough to work with.”
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Billy Corgan, the owner of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), recently discussed how he ended up purchasing the organization. In a podcast episode of “The Kurt Angle Show,” Corgan shared his journey and the various experiences that led him to become involved in wrestling once again.
Corgan began by expressing his desire to distance himself from wrestling after some negative experiences in the past. After the closure of ECW, Paul Heyman offered him a stake in the company, but the deal fell through. He was also approached by others to invest in different promotions, but those opportunities didn’t materialize either. Despite these setbacks, Corgan maintained his love for wrestling and continued attending shows as a fan.
Eventually, Corgan met a group of individuals in Chicago who were interested in starting their own promotion. He worked with them for a while, running the promotion creatively, but it ended on a sour note. At that point, Corgan decided he was done with professional wrestling and wanted to be left alone.
However, six months later, Dixie Carter, the former president of TNA (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling), reached out to Corgan with an offer to work in the office and be part of the booking committee. Corgan had previously developed a friendship with Carter and had provided advice on various matters outside of wrestling due to his expertise in media and marketing. Intrigued by the opportunity, he accepted and eventually became the owner of TNA for a brief period before facing a lawsuit that made him swear off wrestling once again.
Despite his intention to leave wrestling behind, Corgan’s interest was reignited when he learned that the NWA was up for sale. Contrary to popular belief within the industry that the NWA had lost its value and relevance, Corgan saw an opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream. The chance to own a company that he had admired as a young fan was too tempting to pass up.
Corgan acknowledged Kurt Angle, a former professional wrestler, as the greatest wrestler he had ever worked with. He expressed his admiration for Angle and the privilege of being able to collaborate with him.
The podcast episode provides insight into Corgan’s journey in the wrestling industry, from being a fan to owning the NWA. It highlights the ups and downs he experienced along the way and his unwavering passion for the sport.
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