Is the NWA Title really better off without TNA?

[Uncle Sam]

I ask this because around the time TNA and NWA severed ties, people on the internet talked as if it were a good thing for the title.

Personally, I don't think it is. Sure, being held by some near-unknown indy stars like Adam Pearce imbues NWA with some false sense of "honour" or something, but does the NWA having the power to pick and choose which wrestler's going to give the title near zero exposure and devalue it really mean anything?

Surely, surely, they were better when they had no power over it, but allowed it to be held by stars such as Jeff Jarrett, Sting and Christian Cage. TNA gave it a fair amount of exposure and made it famous again, even re-installing PWI's recognition of it as a world heavyweight title. It's beyond me why the NWA would want it back so soon. It must have some financial benefit, because it certainly did the belt no good.

And that's without even mentioning the state the tag team titles are in. Joey Ryan and Karl Anderson are no Team 3D, I can tell you that much.

 

[justinsayne]

Wait the NWA title is still around...seriously forgot about that belt, last I heard Adam Pearce won it in a tournament, does he still have it?, I think NWA needs a promotion to host there titles, Maybe ROH would be a good promotion for that, they could do some sort of unification match between the ROH title and the NWA title, I think that would be pretty badass, they could do the same with the Tag belts too, put the matches on one of the their PPVs, as I could definitely see it help them get more buy rates

I do think that NWA title leaving TNA was a bad thing for the NWA title but only in that now the belt gets no exposure, and is for the most part forgotten, however I do think that it was good for TNA cause now they have their own idenity when it comes to their title belts, they can make and sell replica belts, which is something WWE makes loads of money off of, and the TNA world title just plain looks cooler than the NWA title (which IMO needs a new look to it, I understand the history and all, but it could use a little bit of a face lift if you know what I mean)

 

[Uncle Sam]

Yes, Adam Pearce still has it after losing in the semi-finals of the tournament but winning the finals when Bryan Danielson had dropped out because of injury. His main challenger has been Sean Waltman of all people. I think you can see what I mean when I say the belt has been seriously devalued.

I, too, would quite enjoy some sort of unification between the ROH and NWA titles. It'd at least increase the exposure and give them some value back. I can't began to fathom the complications that would be present with such a move though, and sort of like entertaining the concept of a "travelling champion", which isn't really working out right now.

 

[justinsayne]

Yes, Adam Pearce still has it after losing in the semi-finals of the tournament but winning the finals when Bryan Danielson had dropped out because of injury. His main challenger has been Sean Waltman of all people. I think you can see what I mean when I say the belt has been seriously devalued.

Sean Waltman?!?!?!?!, like X-pac Sean Waltman????, Are you fucking kidding me?, that's a joke, there are so many other greats in the indy scene that could carry that tile better than X-pac, I mean What the fuck, LOL

I, too, would quite enjoy some sort of unification between the ROH and NWA titles. It'd at least increase the exposure and give them some value back. I can't began to fathom the complications that would be present with such a move though, and sort of like entertaining the concept of a "travelling champion", which isn't really working out right now.

I think they could have them defend the title on ROH shows for awhile, like they do with the FIP title (which if I understand right, Rodderick Strong just lost to Erik Stevens last night at an ROH show), I think keeping the two titles seperate for awhile but one the same show would be good, they could still have the NWA champion defend the title as a "traveling Champion" for awhile but than build up a story where the NWA champ comes out and claims his title has more prestige and is more important than the ROH champ, and the two could go back and forth for awhile then have NWA & ROH officals come out and make the major announcement that the NWA champ and ROH champ will be facing each other in Title Unification Match, or better yet Title Unification Series, I think a best of Seven Series would be good, you could have them exchange victories in the first four matches so that they are tied, then at a PPV taping do a 2 out of 3 falls match, that or just do the last part, the 2 out of 3 falls match, either would work well IMO, then they could still do the "Traveling Champ" thing also to an extent

 

[Uncle Sam]

I suppose that's a good plan, but we're getting ever so slightly off-topic. I think the NWA title was immediately downgraded once it left Christian's waist, although Pearce is not one of the worst candidates to hold the belt. I think Danielson was a far better candidate, and the original plan was for him to hold the belt. Just the fact that Pearce was beaten in the tournament and only just thrown into the main event at the last second makes him a worse champion.

I'd also like to point out that Kurt Angle was never really the NWA champion, even though he sort of held it, as it had already been stripped from Christian earlier that very night. Odd, considering the match was technically for the title.

TNA did not only provide name value and exposure, but something which the belt is currently without: a stable promotion to call home. A travelling champion is all well and good, but Pearce is currently not really that, but still not really belonging to a single promotion.

 

[ImpactPlayer27]

I don't see it as TNA and NWA parting ways as a good thing. It gave the old NWA title and tag titles coverage and publicity that was needed and that most considered to be dead or at the very least non-existent. Now, nobody knows of what has become of the NWA belts and the TNA ones since they'd been introduced seem almost......comical now because of what TNA is becoming. You had Adam "Pacman" Jones as a tag team champ for god's sake. Kurt Angle holding the belt pretty much since June and the X-Division belt is the victim of a storyline that should just die already. There's no winners benefitting from NWA and TNA parting ways, both sides have lost in this one.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I don't see how TNA's storylines are a direct product of them parting ways with the NWA. The storylines would have probably been just the same if the NWA belts had stayed. I doubt TNA have really been affected at all, which is why I'm asking what affect this has had on the NWA, which is the side most people don't think about. Hence why this is in the general wrestling forums and not the TNA forums.

The NWA has got one thing right though, and the legacy would have fallen apart otherwise: no quick title changes. Title reigns for such a belt should last a long time, allowing the world champion so seem just that: the best in the world until one truly exceptional individual comes along and does what no one else can do: defeat the best in the world and claim the rank for himself. Perhaps TNA didn't do this to the best effect, with three quick title changes until Christian's long-ish one, but it wasn't really necessary then.

 

[sirveaux]

The NWA title is now, like after the WCW split, the MIA title. I love the NWA's arrogance here. "Please take our title off TV, we don't want it to mean anything." A belt not on TV doesn't mean anything except to the diehard crowd, and you can't base your business solely on diehards. I really liked seeing the NWA title on TV again, but I'm afraid without a TV deal, the title's precious little remaining value will be lost.

 

[Slack]

ROH doesn't have a national tv deal of any kind, so by your logic, the ROH title doesn't mean a thing either. So how would putting the NWA in ROH get it any type of exposure? Outside of the internet and maybe the northeast, ROH isn't really that big. I mean I live in Alabama and I don't remember ROH doing any shows down here and only heard one wrestling fan even mention ROH. No matter what anyone wants to think, ROH is an internet built up company, like the old ECW, XPW and WSX all were.

 

[klunderbunker]

No the NWA title isn't better off without TNA. Love or hate tna, it's by far and away the 2nd biggest company in the country right now. Other than Dan Severen, I don't think I could name one champion since douglas threw the belt down until tna came along. The NWA died over 20 years ago and tna gave it a small bit of life. The NWA needs to get over themselves and realize it's not 1965 anymore and there's other companies out there that mean something. THe nwa's old school system hasn't worked, and their title means nothing anymore.

 

[king5000]

The NWA does have a TV deal with Colors TV.

With Kurt Angle and Adam Pearce being the only champions after TNA created their own titles(I not counting Sting). They need to have a few more title changes before both title are really worth anything

 

[Total Impact]

NWA title means as much as the WWE Hardcore Championship. The NWA is a dead promotion system that doesn't mean anything today. I watch the NWA on colours TV and think that it is the worst produce wrestling show I ever seen. I mean they are in Las Vegas, a major city and the show looks like a local wrestling promotion TV taping. Bad lighting, bad matches, and commentary not seen since the days of Stevie Ray and Disco.

The NWA title is a belt that didn't matter in TNA. I mean did TNA ever once mention Sabu as a former Champion? How about Chris Candido or Steve Corino who wrestle in TNA were never created as former Champions. the belt is meaningless and even TNA it wasn't worth nothing as TNA was quick to drop the belt. The NWA lost meaning once WCW gave up on them.

Winning the NWA title means nothing, you will never go into WWE or TNA and be looked as a Main Event. The title and the NWA should just quit, because they will ****e themselves out to another promotion and be dropped quick.

 

[KingNick]

Does anyone else see the comparisons between TNA and WCW in terms of the NWA?

WCW didn't technically have their own world title until 1991. I believe Flair was their first champion, and didn't officially secede from the NWA until 1993. There was a lot of reasons why the two separated but a big one in my opinion was people were getting confused on what the damn company was called. Was it NWA or WCW?

The same thing with TNA. For the longest time I had to constantly remind my friends they didn't have their own championships. They weren't TNA titles, they were NWA titles. Now TNA broke off onto their own, which I predicted.

I never thought the NWA/TNA pack would work. It's too confusing if you're not a hardcore wrestling fan. In retrospect, I think it was BETTER for NWA to be paired with TNA. Don't more people have Spike TV than Color TV?

I'm amazed NWA has been surviving since WCW broke off from them. If they remained alive this long, they'll keep going. Who knows? Maybe if/when Hogan and Bischoff start their promotion, they'll go under the NWA first.

My 2 cents.


Nick

 

[mandie914]

I think the NWA title is the equivalent to the WCW title when David Arquette won it. It lost its luster. The only people who have won the title after WCW buried the NWA were a bunch of bums until TNA recognized as its World Title. It got its momentum back until the NWA left TNA. The NWA should try to go with ROH because like TNA it was nobody when they were affiliated with NWA and now TNA is nationally Known across the U.S.

 

[grunks]

Many promotions have become more popular after they ditched the NWA;The AWA,WWWF,WCW,ECW and now TNA. The NWA is like your first lay;you use him/her to tell people that you've been laid and are not a virgin anymore. Then when you start getting more respect and/or attention you dump the tiny penis/flat chested bore for bigger and better things. You become the life of the party while the rejected sulk and cling to anyone that gives them attention.

 

[Hacksaw Highway]

The NWA title is completey unrelevent now that it is gone from TNA. TNA might not have been the biggest stage, but it was a stage. The title isn't even in a fed on basic TV anymore.

 

[Blacksmith]

The NWA is basicly non-existant these days. The only people who get to watch it are the people that live near the few feds who are still associated

 

[RuKDaD]

The only chance the NWA title has of being anything anymore is if the NWA can get some big money people to invest and get them a channel to show there talent on. Even the Lifetime channel should be considered. Hogan and and Eric B. should buy them and give it a run. Fuck it, whats the worst that can happen.