WWE Shelves Plans To Air NWA’s Studio Show On The WWE Network

The National Wrestling Alliance has been negotiating with WWE to bring the new NWA studio series to the WWE Network, but the deal is now on hold indefinitely.

NWA pulled the trigger on the project expecting to close the deal with WWE. The working plan was for NWA TV to be part of the upcoming WWE Network revamp, which will include various “tiers” and programming from independent promotions.

Without a deal in place, the NWA jumped the gun by announcing tapings. The company has yet to announce a distribution channel for the show.

Things fell apart when WWE shifted its short-term focus from the tiered WWE Network strategy to the expansion of NXT, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. With NXT moving to the USA Network as a live 2-hour weekly broadcast, we’re told plans to ramp up the tiered network concept have been delayed.

The NWA was put in a tough spot by the WWE Network deal falling through. The company signed some talent to 90-day deals, contracted with a studio to film, went public with everything. Backing out of the studio tapings would be very damaging for the NWA, as Billy Corgan and Dave Lagana have painstaking rebuild the brand’s prestige.

With the initial plan scrapped, the NWA began shopping around the show to various television networks. Unfortunately, there was minimal interest.

WGN America told Billy Corgan he could pay for a time slot, but otherwise they were not interested. There were talks with AXS TV, but those fell through after the sale to Anthem. There were even talks with Joe Koff about bringing NWA TV to Ring of Honor’s Honor Club streaming service. However, the NWA felt a deal with ROH would do more harm than good for the big picture and their hopes of landing a deal with WWE down the road.

Dave Lagana is exploring the option of NWA TV airing primarily on YouTube, but they are aware this is not a viable source for the ad revenue needed to support the project. This predicament has led the NWA to reign in its budget.

A smaller California group is talking with the NWA about the possibility of airing the studio show on smaller over-the-air-channels on a station-by-station basis, similar to WWE’s syndication approach in the 1980’s. The problem with this scenario is that the NWA would be on the hook for selling their own ads with no rights fee involved.

The first NWA TV studio tapings are scheduled for September 30th and October 1st.