Much has been made about WWE’s sister promotion, NXT, getting ready to make its debut on The CW channel and the app. But lost in the mix is the National Wrestling Alliance, which recently debuted its NWA Powerrr show on The CW in September of 2023.
Also interesting is the fact that all those episodes are set to be removed from the app on September 30th.
So, what has changed since then?
Screenshot of the NWA Powerrr episodes set to leave The CW on Sept 30, 2024.
It wasn’t that long ago the promotion, owned by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, touted the success of getting Powerr to broadcast on the app instead of its YouTube channel, in addition to the reality-based series, Billy Corgan’s Adventures in Carnyland (which is still available on the app). When SlamWrestling.net last spoke to one of the NWA’s COO and ring announcer Kyle Davis in March of this year, he praised the NWA moving to The CW. “The greatest part about being on CW is the quality,” said Davis. “You notice the detail, you notice the sound quality, the lighting, and everything of that aspect.”
It was pointed out that the CW app could only be seen in North America and the United States; Davis noted that would hopefully change: “We are in talks with a number of places to see where we can get that content for international non-American viewership.”
There was speculation that they were going to be on The CW channel. Still, because of a segment at the Samhain PPV involving Father James Mitchell, Gaggz the Gymp, and Sal Rinauro partying with a powder-like substance, the deal was supposedly changed to be broadcast to just the app exclusively. Davis advised that was not the case and set the record straight.
“James Mitchell had absolutely nothing to do with anything,” David said at the time. “The truth is when you make a deal with a company or a TV station like CW, you are doing what they want with that programming, and CW currently, like every other company that does entertainment, is trying to get more people to the streaming platform and so we are one of those things that they put on the streaming platform as an incentive for people to be looking at it right now.
“I wish I could say, ‘Hey, people, our Jim Mitchell thing affected everything,'” Davis continued. “But the truth of the matter is fans feel like it affected everything, but it had no effect on anything that was already in talks.”
This comes back to what is the status of the NWA and any future episodes being broadcast on any platform. Joe Galli, the other CCO of the NWA, announced on the last episode of Powerrr that it would start showing the matches for NWA 76 which was held in Philadelphia, PA, in August, with Thom Latimer challenging EC3 for the Ten Pounds of Gold this Tuesday. Whether the NWA broadcasts on its YouTube channel or elsewhere remains in doubt. Add to that, the last NWA pay-per-view was back in October of 2023 for the aforementioned Samhain show, and Davis confirmed last year that the promotion was no longer affiliated with Triller (then known as FITE.TV).
The other curious aspect is the fact that the NWA announced on its websites and various social media platforms that it would be holding future TV tapings in Tampa, Florida, at the WEDU PBS studios, which was announced recently as the future venue for NWA television shows (before any Hurricane Helene damage). Also, this weekend of tapings starting October 5th and 6th will be featuring their roster and stars like former WWE wrestlers Primo and Epico Colon in competition.
Courtesy of the NWA
SlamWrestling.net sent an email last week attempting to find out what is the current broadcast status of the NWA, but no response was received.
However, an announcement was made on the NWA’s X/Twitter account on September 30th, and Galli, the NWA;s play-by-play commentator, gave the following news:
This Tuesday at 6:05 pm EST celebrate 76 years of @NWA history as the action of #NWA76 comes to #NWAPowerrr for FREE on the official @NWA X account. Titles & pride are on the line with 2 HUGE championship matches that will now be viewable AROUND THE GLOBE! THIS Tuesday at 6:05:… pic.twitter.com/u0Voo2mxM2
— NWA (@nwa) September 30, 2024
Hello, NWA fans. The voice of the NWA, Joe Galli, coming to you from our home office with a big announcement, especially for all of our international fans.
You’ve asked for it and we’ve listened. For the next five weeks, fans from around the globe will be able to enjoy NWA 76 as we roll out episodes of NWA Powerrr for free on the official NWA account on X every Tuesday at 6:05 pm Eastern. We wanted to reward all of our loyal fans domestically and around the globe, by allowing them to see our spectacular anniversary show, especially to those fans who may have been missing out on NWA Powerrr over the past few months, you don’t want to miss these matches.
NWA 76 is our anniversary show. It’s the biggest show of the year for the National Wrestling Alliance. In front of a rowdy, sold-out crowd at the historic 2300 Arena in Philadelphia this Tuesday, at 6:05, you will see the NWA World Tag Team Championships being defended as Knox and Murdoch take on Alex Taylor and Kerry Morton of the Southern Six. And in the main event, ‘Sweet Charlotte’ is on the line in a match that has been the pinnacle of a bitter feud that’s lasted over a decade. EC3 defends the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Thom Latimer.
Make sure to follow us on X. Click that bell icon at the top to get notifications for all of our posts. We’ll see you tomorrow at 6:05, and for the next five weeks, every Tuesday for a brand new episode of NWA Powerrr.
This continues to be one of the most exciting times of the Lightning One era, and it’s because of you, because of our great fans and the best is yet to come.
The NWA; where history lives, and where legends are forged.