In the last few days, there has been a lot of drama between NWA owner Billy Corgan and former World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis, as Aldis announced on Sunday that he would be leaving NWA when his contract expires on January 1, 2023.

NWA suspended Aldis for his comments despite him being scheduled to wrestle Odinson at NWA Hard Times 3. Aldis has been part of the National Wrestling Alliance since 2017, when Corgan purchased the company and helped get the promotion to where it is today.

While appearing on Busted Open Radio, Corgan detailed his issues with Aldis.

“Nick Aldis and I entered into a business relationship five years ago where we bet on one another. That proved to be a good bet. He’s been the highest paid talent in the NWA the entire time, without question. He knows that. He’s had a lot of say, not only over the company but also with how he was booked. That’s transparent,” began Corgan. “Why is a man, who a week ago, emailed us to say, ‘Thanks for everything you’ve done, I’m going to kind of move on.’ ‘Cool.’ He gave his notice, privately, we didn’t do anything. Did we retaliate or leak some rumor? No, we didn’t say anything. We have shows booked, Nick is on the card. He’s doing interviews for the pay-per-view. Why is a guy, who is so disgruntled, doing interviews? We’re in business, right? A couple of days ago, he does a video where he says, ‘I’m opting out of my contract.’ He does it publicly. I wouldn’t do business that way, but it’s his choice. I didn’t like it, but okay, he’s leaving in 55 days. Do your business and go out the door. Hopefully, we’ll do business down the road. Then, he starts blasting the product. I want to remind everybody. Everything that he’s said, I’ve been hearing that stuff for years. It’s not like I heard it and got sensitive. Why in a pay-per-view week, with a talent who is leaving the company, does he decide to start blasting me and product, 55 days before he’s out and he can do whatever he wants to do? Why does he have to bury the locker room and the product? Again, I’ve heard all of this stuff privately for years. These are not new criticisms. He and I have battled about the product for years and he’s helped make the product better with those battles. This is not a sensitive reactionary thing. How do I, as the leader of this company, allow a key talent, the most highly visible talent in the company, up until he opens his mouth and tells people he’s leaving, blast the company? He’s still under contract and being paid. We don’t invite him. He’s still being paid, we didn’t take his money. I can’t have a guy like that show up because what message does that send to the locker room. There are a lot of people in the locker room not happy about this. They have to do their job. Why is the focus not on Matt Cardona, Tyrus, Trevor Murdoch, Kamille, KiLynn King, or Chelsea Green? The focus is on Nick Aldis, who is not on the show anymore. It’s not an animosity, it’s just, why are we doing this?”

Aldis apologized to fans after his suspension for not working the upcoming show and noted he intended to finish out his commitments ahead of his deal expiring.

Corgan talked about how he thought Aldis was attempting to create some publicity by saying he would be leaving when his contract expired.

When asked if there was tension before Aldis announced his departure, Corgan answered there wasn’t any, but he admitted that he wished he could have spoken to Nick beforehand.

Corgan was certain that Aldis was using an angle throughout the entire interview. Tyrus took Aldis’ place in the NWA World Heavyweight Title match against Trevor Murdoch before moving it to NWA 74. The angle they were working on, according to Corgan, has changed to a shoot.

“He wasn’t happy with the way he was booked, he told me that, and we talked about that. He’s a top guy, he believes he’s a top guy, and he believes the company runs best when he’s in the top position. He was very clear about that. I told him, ‘I can’t build a company around one person.’ I have to get other people over to heat the company up. It can’t just be about you. If it’s just one guy, then it’s just the Nick Wrestling Alliance. He thinks guys in the locker room are hell of workers. He’s told me, ‘this guy is a great worker. This guy is great.’ Okay, so let me get these guys in position.”

Aldis said on social media that Corgan’s opinions about NWA EmPowerrr and the reasons he chose not to launch a second show were driven by his desire to depart the company. Corgan has commonly noted that he doesn’t think there is enough female talent to carry the show and raise it to the same level as the inaugural event.

When Corgan decided to make Aldis the center of the NWA in 2017, he was warned of his attitude, which Corgan then explained.

Corgan continued by saying, “None of this needed to be public. We could have all these intense feelings and still be thinking what we’re thinking, but why is this in public? That’s my argument. Nick picked this fight. Now we’re in wrestling-land. What are we talking about? A talent running a non-wrestling angle angle. He picked the fight. Now he’s in a fight. I’m not a weakling. I’ve been in the public forum for 34 years. Nick wants to fight, let’s fight. That’s not a challenge. Do you hear me blasting Nick or spilling family secrets? No. I’m talking strictly on a business level. This is a stupid play. He will regret this play later. I believe it hurts his stock in the public. If he were talking about running this angle on someone else, I would say, ‘Don’t do it.’ Nick had a reputation before coming to NWA as a bit of a headache and a locker room problem. He’s just reinforcing a stereotype that he spent five years erasing. Why? It’s bad for business. It’s bad for Nick Aldis business. I hope none of this rubs off on Mickie and hopefully I can resolve my issues with Mickie down the road. The issues with Mickie were business, nothing personal. If she felt disrespected, she felt disrespected on a wrestling business level. I would never disrespect Mickie as a woman or talent. She’s a Hall of Famer.”

Corgan concluded by stating that he was not working from an angle and that everything was a shoot.