TNA to lose titles and NWA name?

[Search_JWA1EWA]

It is rumored/reported that TNA will soon lose the rights to use the name NWA and it's titles in the coming months. It is said that TNA will introduce their own brand of championships to replace the one's the NWA own. One plan being discussed is to have Samoa Joe win the NWA title and toss it to the ground, declaring himself the TNA Champion, the same as Shane Douglas did in ECW in 1995.

Over the weekend in Canada, Bryan Danielson declared his desire to become the next NWA Champion. NWA officials met and once the NWA titles are gone from TNA, it is said that Danielson will be the next in line to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

Source: Various


One thing confuses me, I believe that when Jeff Jarrett started TNA, he purchased the rights to the NWA Championship and the tag team championship for a total of 12 years. This is something that I read a few years ago. Now 12 years isn't up and this rumor is swirling around. Or was the 12-year renting of those titles just a rumor itself? What's up wit dat?

 

[Ogerz]

God I hope not! Don't mimmic ECW! Something Different would be better. TNA would need to set them apart from these guys more than ever losing the NWA name! Anything would be better!

 

[TNA_Fan201]

this might be good for TNA. Consider it a step in thier own direction so now they can be thier own federation instead of a branch of a bigger 1

 

[bbay]

i just think that tna are just discracing the whole wrestling world at the mo, they are misusing rhino, they are misusing aj styles, they got a load of big names in and cant even do a 1.0 for spike, i think that tna need to seriously think about there product and maybe just maybe put something together with the x division becoming the focal point and maybe bring a title together that sets it apart from the rest not just mimic ecw

 

[Y 2 Jake]

They should try to keep the right's. The NWA title has more history and TNA is an awful name. Total Non-Stop Action? Absolute rubbish.

 

[Search_JWA1EWA]

I say, if this is true, instead of having the eventual winner of the NWA Championship throw it down so they can introduce a new TNA title, they should strike a deal with Danielson or his management to have him surprisingly appear on a TNA iMPACT! or PPV and challenge Joe/whomever right then and there for the belt. Danielson wins the title and everyone is happy.

Imagine the buzz this will cause and that particular shows buyrate or replay rating will be at least triple of what it gets now. This move doesn't disrespect the oldest wrestling belt in existence, it's smooth transition from TNA back to the NWA committee, TNA gains more exposure world wide because of the angle, Joe/whomever is still the new TNA Champion, Danielson is the new NWA Champion. No one can lose with this angle. Imitating what Shane Douglas did 12 years ago sounds cool, but that's another beast you're dealing with. Being extreme and non stop action action are two totally different concepts. If TNA were true to it's name, then having a match to get the NWA title away from the holder is the best bet and it still shows that the NWA belt is still THEE belt of all belts.

 

[PlatynumX420]

I think its about time.The NWA has been dead since Ted Turner bought wcw.The nwa is no longer relevent today seeing as how 'territories' don't really matter anymore.Back in the day territories would help each other out by sending knowntalent and what not to each other if some rival was putting on a show in your territory to try and out do them.Today that doesn't matter seeing as how wwe is on national tv and if they have a show in an nwa area and you are a casaul wrestling fan what are you gonna go see? Wrestlers you know or wrestlers you don't?


I kind of like your idea Search_JWA1EWA. Tna doesn't need to rip off what Shane Douglas and ecw did when they withdrew from the nwa.I don't think Tna would gain any exposure out of a TNA vs NWA for the nwa title.The nwa would gain some exposure only to be quickly forgotten about because they don't have a major tv deal.I also don't agree with you that the nwa belt is the belt of all belts.The nwa titles might be a big title to win if your an indy wrestler and your fed(s) dont have a national tv deal but to have a promotion with a national tv deal flashing nwa titles doesnt mean squat.A casual wrestling fan doesnt even know what the NWA was/is and probably wonders why the nwa belt is defended in tna and isnt called 'the tna world title' or 'tna tag team titles'.


I read on wikipedia(so i m taking it with a grain of salt) that tna is losing the rights to the titles/name because of financial reasons and general unhappiness from both sides.

 

[switchback]

i agree that tna need a new way of splitting from the nwa, but i think to have someone come in and beat the new tna champ and take the nwa belt makes the tna champ look weak, and makes the tna belt seem secondary to the nwa belt. Tna need to do it in a way that makes them and their chamionship seem strong... not the other way round!

 

[Search_JWA1EWA]

That is kind of weird, now that I read back on what I wrote, but it goes to show that titles don't mean anything if a promotion is willing to part with the belt just to create a new one. That's why I came up with the idea of a one night deal, bringing in the man who the NWA wants to be their champion and move on from there. Something has to be done to get the NWA title out of TNA.

Now you may say it makes TNA look weak, but think about it, TNA uses the title now as if the NWA belt is THEE belt. So why not have someone come in and claim THEE belt, only for TNA to establish their own belt and claim that their belt will become the most sought after championship in wrestling and if anyone dares come in and try to take from them, it won't be as easy.

I don't know, just an idea. Let me mull over it for a while to come up with something more rational.

 

[A.J.]

Source: The Pro Wrestling Torch

TNA and NWA have been working on ending their working relationship and the ramifications could begin as early as the TNA PPV this Sunday. Ending the relationship means that the NWA will take back their World and Tag Team Title belts, and that TNA will need to create new belts.

It also means that TNA will no longer be able to reference the NWA history as a way to add lineage and credibility to their World and Tag Team Titles.

The main problem with the working agreement has been that TNA has not been following many of the rules that the NWA has regarding using their name and titles. The main one being that NWA requires to know in advance when a title is going to change hands. TNA has not been notifying them of this.

A split has been expected for awhile which is why TNA stopped using NWA in their name a long time ago (TNA was initially known as NWA-TNA).

The original partnership took place because Jerry Jarrett thought that having the NWA name tied with the TNA name would give the new promotion instant credibility for their weekly PPVs (TNA started as a PPV-exclusive promotion).

This isn't anything new. ECW also broke away from the NWA back in 1994 with a famous promo by Shane Douglas that established the new ECW belt.

 

[Moon Knight]

Good. Over the past years I have felt that TNA has done a disservice to the belt and embarrassed it. They have allowed Jarrett to hog it and most other champions to only hold it for a brief time, look at Abyss; he only held it for what a month? They have handed it to people who didn’t deserve in my opinion in Rhino and used it to prop up Jarrett to the sum of 6 title runs.

Not only that; they have not really done what was done in the past; has any champion from TNA gone to Indy promotions to defend their titles? The NWA title was supposed to aid all small promotions in the NWA by the champion going there, I stand by TNA losing the names because they don’t do that and it harms small promotions and hurts the NWA by making less enticing to join.


Don’t get me wrong, I want TNA to survive as competition is needed; I just think
They have not done a good job with this belt name and would be better suited to have their own and hopefully allow the NWA to reach its past glory, which would be great for wrestling.

 

[coltx7]

TNA is a cool name if you ask me. I'm not saying the company is great though. I also don't like how Jeff Jarret raped the NWA belt. I've read alot of news claiming him to be a nice guy etc etc etc. That doesn't change the fact that as NWA/TNA champ he F'n sucked. As far as the NWA name goes oh zZzzzzzzz yawnz! NWA died in 1990 when they started doing that hole dubbya C dubbya non sense. With the exceptions of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe. Kurt Angle & Christopher Daniels the rest bore me to tears. I just hope once they do drop the NWA that they bring in a NEW Championship Belt and NEW tag team belts.

 

[Kasey]

I'm slightly bummed to see the belts go as I appreciate the lineage they spawn from, however, TNA either needs to go all the way and be the NWA, or they need to establish their own set of belts and not depend on someone else's titles. They already have the desired cred as the company is at the five-year mark. Judging by the reactions at events, their belts have more prestige and garner more interest from the TNA fans than the WWE belts get from their own stable of diehards, so they can change the belts whenever they see fit. I just hope they don't take a cue from the WWE and decide to "bling" up any of the title belts. That's just f**king stupid, as far as I'm concerned. At this point, I do feel they need to switch gears from pushing titles that are rooted in the past and focus on the future.

And as much as I hear people piss on Jarrett for doing what he did with the NWA titles, big deal. He's just the Southern version of Triple H, if you ask me. Nepotism is very prevalent in both of their cases. Plus, both guys were the top heels in their respective companies...the only difference being that Jarrett was in a company that had NO other credible built-in heels that could scoop as much heat from the crowd on a regular basis like Jarrett could (therefore they didn't have much of a choice), whereas HHH swam in a veritable sea of talent for the last half decade. Now that Christian Cage is in TNA to pick up the slack on the mic (or Angle if they go forward with a bona fide heel run down the stretch) and in the ring as a top heel, Jarrett doesn't have to be the bearer of the belt all the time.

 

[Abyss]

As I say it will be a real shame to see the history of the NWA go from the major stage.

It will be a blow to TNA, because as jake has mentioned, TNA is an awful name for a title.

 

[Dj Martyn]

Yea the TNA heavyweight title, is a crap name for a belt, i wish they could just call it the World Heavyweight Championship, but WWE has it copyrighted, i guess they Could call it The Heavyweight title in the way they have The X-division title i.e not TNA prefix to it.

 

[RVDgurl]

I think this is a very positive thing for TNA. When ECW broke away from the NWA in '94, it took that company to new heights. TNA needs to be careful how they handle this situation. They need to come up with something new and creative, not just copy Shane Douglas'. If TNA can make a smooth and exciting transition, it will only benefit the company.

 

[noone911]

I don't really think this will have an effect on many fans. I would venture to guess that if you are a TNA fan it's for the wrestling and not the title history and newer or younger fans may not even be aware of the NWA or it's history. That said, I hate to see the history of the belt go away. Angle will win it at some point but he'll never get to say he held the NWA title, same goes for Joe etc...

When they debut the new title I think that they should make it very hard to get. You can't have a brand new belt and after one year have 9 guys that have been the champ.

I would love to see months and months long fueds.

 

[TNA_Fan201]

yes they need their own belt plus image it when paul heyman leads the extreme to florida to take over and they battle for the championship, only to lose but join TNA.
That will make TNA huge in the wrestling world and hopefully by then they will have a two hour show.

 

[Lionheart]

I don't think that TNA should broke away from NWA, that will be bad for the company. If they want a TNA World Heavyweight and World Tag Team titles why not have both titles. And dont forget that they have the WWA world title in possession so that makes a total of three world titles in TNA. Isn't that awesome?

 

[X]

This I see as a bit of a shame in the sense that now TNA can't use the established history of the NWA title anymore, which is probably the most valuable title in all of wrestling, even more so than WWE's title (with guys like Batista and Cena holding them, those titles are worthless in my book). So that's a downfall, true, but on the other hand.

Look at ECW, when they got rid of the NWA title with Douglas famously spitting on the title and claiming he was the ECW champ, if TNA were to do something like this it would definately establish them as a true power comany, and IMO would be the stepping stone to a new era of wrestling. Overall though, the TNA titles will be fine.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I guess this mean's Joe will win on Sunday. If they are going to dimp the title's I doubt they will have Cage do it. They will probably have Joe say that this is a new era or wrestling or something similar. Then dump the belt and bring out a new on on the next iMPACT.

 

[Shocky]

I actually think it's a damn good idea. While I respect everythign the NWA once was, I don't respect what it is. It is a former shadow of itself, and while the direct lineage to all those classic champions is honorable, it's time for TNA to do it's own thing.

What happens every time that TNA brings back a former NWA Legend? WWE offers them contracts for their Legends lines. This way, WWE can't interfere with the history of TNA, because TNA is now going to write its own history. It happened when they brought back Harley Race, it happened when the brought in Piper, it happened when they brought in Rhodes, it's waht the WWE does, they throw money at people tomake the competition disappear. It's bad PR when old timers are saying how great the NWA was, and the next week they are on Raw.

I don't think that they should, "Throw the Belt Down" ala Shane Douglas, because you're going to tick off the ECW loyalist that follow TNA. Don't got the route that WWE has gone and simply use the name ECW as a stepping stone for C List talent, they should do their own thing.

 

[heavensclown]

I think TNA is doing great... the 6 sided ring, the X-Match, AJ Styles and Christian together with Tomko, Samoa Joe's push, Angle, Sting, Abyss,.. they are putting on a good show. Russo is doing an excellent job with the tools he has to work with.. a one hour show is prolly hard to cram when he is required to show all the stars each week but he's doing good. I think they definately need to get a more attractive and bigger belts than the nwa titles.. they are flat out ugly (no offensive) but a new belt design would be great, and they should establish themselves as TNA ... period. I think the next step is to drop those nwa titles and build the legacy of "TNA". Get a 2 hour show, and work on production, camera angles and lighting to make their show more presentable for the cameras.. maybe a slight yellow tint filter would be great on the cameras, to distinguish it's product from wwe/ecw/wsx.... ya know like many blockbuster movies have sometimes, it's attractive. just an idea. haha but yeah drop the belts.. TNA should do it's own thing in my opinion

 

[Kasey]

After thinking further I hope that they just come out and shoot about it. I'd seriously like them to tell the actual truth in regards to dropping the belts due to the contract issues instead of trying to make a storyline out of it. ECW already did the best one possible, so I really don't see the point of ripping them off creatively, or just trying something else that can't cut the mustard and watching the proposed angle fall flat on its ass. Just tell the truth, and maybe have Cornette talk a little about TNA's need for independence and to stand on its own two feet or something. I just don't see any potential in turning it into an overblown segment that apes something Douglas and Heyman masterminded well over a decade ago.

 

[PlatynumX420]

Just tell the truth, and maybe have Cornette talk a little about TNA's need for independence and to stand on its own two feet or something.

I like the idea of telling the truth but i don't think Cornette is the person to tell it.Based on everything i ve read about Cornette and seen on tv the man eats,breathes and shits NWA. I think it would kill cornette if he was the one to give a speech/promo talking about how TNA got too big for the nwa,or just general shittalking of the NWA.Maybe have Dixie Carter do it maybe?