The National Wrestling Alliance Is Officially a Joke

None of this would have happened if I were Champ...
Photo Credit: Random Chikara Fan

So, the NWA just stripped The Sheik of their World Championship because he backed out of a scheduled title defense against "Scrap Iron" Adam Pearce. As if the governing body hadn't taken enough flak during the year the way their top title has been handled, this comes as a big black eye in my opinion. I'm not surprised that there are shenanigans though. The rumor, and again, this is a rumor and this isn't the reason why anything happened, is that Pearce dropped the title in the first place to Colt Cabana because he didn't want to drop it directly to Sheik. Of course, that isn't the biggest reason why the title took so much of a hit, because if I were to base things on rumors, hearsay and conjecture, well, I'd be fucking Rajah now, wouldn't I?

I made a giant stink when Cabana lost the title to Sheik for my own, "fan" reasons, but if the title had to change hands, well, the title had to change hands I guess. However, I don't mean to crow over being vindicated here, but I think this situation proves that maybe I was right and that they should have called an audible on Cabana keeping the strap. Now, instead of being able to build an unbroken lineage (not historically, but recently at least as many people have relinquished/been stripped of the title before), they have the same political BS that plagues the big feds in a time when the indies are building a DIY-spirited recreation of the old school.

The problem is that they were so adamant on programming two guys together who clearly have problems with each other. I don't know what those problems are, and I won't pretend to be an expert on shit I don't know, but at the same time, where there's smoke, there's fire. Pearce didn't drop the strap directly to Sheik. Sheik pulled out of a match against Pearce. For a governing body that doesn't have complete control over the talents they book, programming people that have political enmity is a bad idea. I mean, if Vince McMahon wants John Cena to drop the WWE Championship to Triple H, he can force Cena to do it because it's his company. But the NWA? Well, they can't because Pearce is part of the braintrust of NWA Hollywood. Sheik runs NWA Fusion in Jacksonville. The NWA still operates like it did in 1970, not realizing that it doesn't have the same reverence it had in those days. Therefore, with the rise of indie feds that have made it on their own as entities, the being a part of the NWA has less and less appeal, to the point where a guy based mostly out of California can't really be programmed against a guy who runs out of Florida.

It's for this reason why the governing body of the NWA, not the individual feds, but the governing body, is a joke. They're pretty much running off the glory days and the fact that Ric Flair and Harley Race once held their titles, but with each passing day where shit like this happens, it's becoming clearer that they don't have a clue as to how something stays relevant in this day and age. The problem is, like I've said before, the answer is right in front of them.

If they really wanted to do something bold and something that'd work, they'd consolidate into one promotion, one that is actually on television and has a national reach, even if it's only through the Internet. They should retreat to Hollywood and build up a name and a brand there. If you want to compete for NWA gold? You head out West. Let's see how much the name is really worth. Let's see how many people are dedicated to continuing the legacy and not just trying to leech off the name and the name only.

Having the influence spread out over several feds is a bad idea, especially in this day and age. The time for a decentralized governing body in a worked sport full of egos has long since passed. The NWA is doing its satellite feds, ESPECIALLY the execellent NWA Hollywood, a severe disservice with this political BS.

That way, you don't have situations where one guy gets stripped of his title because he pulled out of a defense, and you won't have other Champions relinquishing titles out of protest.