National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA ) is a governing body for a group of independent professional wrestling promotions and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States . The NWA has been in operation since 1948 . Prior to the 1960s , it acted as the sole governing body for most of professional wrestling , operating as a talent and brand name franchiser for the inter - regional " territory " system . History . 1940s . Before the NWA was founded in 1948 , there existed many regional professional wrestling promotion s across North America ( each promoting its own " World " champion ) . None of them , however , had backing or recognition outside of their own respective geographic base - areas . The concept of the NWA was to consolidate the championships of these regional companies into one true world championship of pro wrestling , whose holder would be recognized worldwide . In 1948 , Paul " Pinkie " George , a promoter from the Midwest , founded the original version of the National Wrestling Alliance with the backing of five other promoters ( Al Haft , Tony Strecher , Harry Light , Orville Brown , and Sam Muchnick ) . This newly formed NWA Board of Directors wanted Brown to be the first - ever NWA World champion . During the reign of the second NWA World Heavyweight Champion , Lou Thesz ( 1949 – 1956 ) , the title was further unified with several more previously - competing " World " titles , such as those recognized jointly by the National Wrestling Association and the American Wrestling Alliance ( in Boston ) , plus another version promoted from the Los Angeles Olympic Auditorium . This legitimized the NWA ' s claim that its title was a " Unified World Title , " and its lineage continues to this day . The NWA members divided up North America , as well as Japan , into territories that each promoter would " own " and operate in . Having a territory meant that no other NWA member could promote wrestling in that area unless special arrangements were made between the promoters involved . If non - NWA promoters tried to promote their show in an NWA territory , then the other member groups were obliged to send stars to help force the intruder out . Reportedly , threats of violence or physical retaliation were used against any promoters ( and / or talent ) who disregarded the territory system . If any member territory broke the NWA ' s rules , it faced expulsion , and thus risked missing out on having nationally - known wrestlers appear on their local shows . For most promoters under the NWA umbrella , the benefits of membership were well worth the dues . Usually , the NWA President ' s territory was the main territory of the entire alliance . Beyond the benefit of having other promotions to draw on in case of an intruder , each territory also received periodic guest visits from the NWA World Heavyweight Champion . The champion did not have a " home territory " as such , but instead traveled from territory to territory , defending the title against the top stars of each territory . A number of former NWA World Champions often remarked that their primary goal was to make the top stars of each territory " look good " and give crowds the impression that those " local heroes " had the potential of being the champion by almost winning the title . Many promoters would build up to the appearance of " The NWA World Heavyweight Champion " weeks or months in advance , making the local World title matches that much more special , and the shows they headlined more lucrative . In addition , each NWA member promotion usually produced a TV show that aired in their territory only , meaning that the local fans only saw the World champion when he came to their area , not year - round . It was not just the champion that would travel the territories ; often , wrestlers from a different area would come into a territory ( often the heels / " bad guys " ) , and run an angle or two with its top local faces ( " good guys " ) . Also , if the local fans ever tired of a wrestler , he could go to a whole new area and perform the same act for new audiences , who would think the act was brand - new . 1950s – 1960s . Upon becoming the booker for Lou Thesz in 1950 , Muchnick , who was the head of the St . Louis Wrestling Club , became the new NWA President and maintained that position until 1960 . In the mid - 1950s , serious disputes broke out within the NWA . There were antitrust problems with the government and there were a number of competing factions who wanted to replace Thesz as champion with different wrestlers such as Verne Gagne . The antitrust case led the infamous NWA Consent Decree of 1956 in US v . National Wrestling Alliance . There were also disputes over the number of dates wrestled by the champion in various parts of the country . The first break within the organization occurred in 1957 when Montreal promoter Eddie Quinn walked out of the August NWA meeting in St . Louis . Quinn had fallen out with Sam Muchnick over a number of issues . Quinn was a partner in the St . Louis territory and disagreed with how it was being run . Quinn was also angry that Muchnick had business dealings with rogue promoter ( and Quinn rival ) Jack Pfefer . At the time Quinn walked out , a wrestler of his named Édouard Carpentier was involved in an angle where he and Lou Thesz were both being presented around the NWA as champion . This occurred after Carpentier had a disputed win over Thesz on June 14 , 1957 , and some of the NWA promoters considered it a legitimate title change , while others did not . The original idea was to build the idea of the " disputed " NWA title into a high profile rematch . When Quinn left the NWA , Muchnick announced that Carpentier had never been an official champion and had no claim on the title . Afterward , Quinn saw the financial possibilities in the Carpentier situation and began to negotiate with factions within the NWA , as some territories such as Boston ( AAC / Big Time Wrestling ) , Nebraska , and Los Angeles ( NAWA / WWA ) continued to recognize Carpentier as champion . He offered to have Carpentier lose a title match to their prospective champion thus giving them , if they decided to break away , a legitimate claim on the world title . The AAC recognized Killer Kowalski as World Champion when he defeated Carpentier in Boston . Nebraska recognized Verne Gagne as World Champion when he defeated Carpentier in Omaha . ( After winning the belt , Gagne tried for two years to work things out with the NWA , but finally in 1960 left the organization forming the American Wrestling Association . Gagne ' s win over Carpentier was used to legitimize the world championship status of the AWA title . ) The NAWA / WWA recognized Freddie Blassie as World Champion when he defeated Carpentier in 1961 . The promotion then left the NWA officially and became the World Wrestling Association ( WWA ) until it returned to the NWA in 1968 . Muchnick ' s replacement at the NWA ' s helm in 1960 was Toronto ' s Frank Tunney ; he in turn was succeeded by Fred Kohler , who was the main booker for the new NWA World champion , " Nature Boy " Buddy Rogers . October 1962 saw Rogers defeated Kowalski in a match which was promoted by Doc Karl Sarpolis , the NWA member promoter in Amarillo , Texas . As a result , Sarpolis rose to the NWA presidency . On January 24 , 1963 in Toronto , Lou Thesz defeated Rogers in a one fall match and was declared Champion . After the event , Promoter Vincent J . McMahon refused to recognize the title - change , and withdrew his operation from the NWA , becoming the World Wide Wrestling Federation ( now World Wrestling Entertainment ) with Rogers as the star performer . The WWWF recognized Rogers as its first World champion in April 1963 . Although both Verne Gagne and McMahon promoted their own World champions , their promotions continued to have representatives on the NWA Board of Directors and regularly exchanged talent with NWA promotions . Decline of the territory system . In the 1980s , video tape trading and cable television paved the way for the eventual death of the NWA ' s inter - regional business model , as fans could now see for themselves the plot holes and inconsistencies between the different regional storylines . Also , the presence of stars like Ric Flair on TV every week made their special appearances in each region less of a draw . Vince K . McMahon , who had bought the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) in 1982 , used these gathering trends , as well as raids of competing promoters ' talent pools , to turn his Northeastern territory into the first truly national promotion . To compete against this threat , various NWA promoters , along with the AWA , attempted to co - promote shows under the Pro Wrestling USA banner . Internal disputes over power and money , however , caused this deal to eventually fall apart . The AWA ended up owning the group ' s ESPN timeslot , and used it to broadcast its own weekly shows . In 1984 , NWA member Georgia Championship Wrestling ( GCW ) was sold to McMahon and merged into the WWF , with the WWF taking over GCW ' s long time TV slot on TBS . Meanwhile , to hold off the threat of the WWF , Charlotte , North Carolina - based Jim Crockett Promotions decided to unify certain NWA territories and " go national " itself . Accordingly , Jim Crockett , Jr . began buying out some of the other NWA member promotions or , in some cases , allowed them to quietly die and just absorbed their rosters . Because of his acquisition spree , and because he failed to consistently match the WWF ' s ambitious marketing , TV production values , and merchandising , Crockett was facing bankruptcy by 1988 . In turn , Ted Turner bought Jim Crockett Promotions ( JCP ) and renamed it World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) . With the backing of Turner ’ s money , it grew into a national promotion . With time , WCW became the main NWA territory with the JCP versions of the Tag - Team , United States , and Television Champions being recognized on a national scale . Up until this point only the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship had had national recognition . WCW was still a member of the NWA , but with time felt that the NWA needed WCW more than WCW needed the backing of the NWA , especially since both WCW and the WWF toured the entire country instead of staying within a confined territory . To make matters even more confusing , WCW spent much of 1992 and 1993 recognizing and promoting both WCW - brand World Champions and NWA - brand World Champions . Another promotion that withdrew from the NWA to operate on their own was Mid - South Sports . Originally Mid South owned by Leroy McGuirk ( who booked the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion for the NWA ) , the promotion was sold to Bill Watts in 1979 . Watts changed the name of the promotion to Mid South Sports and declined to join the NWA . Watts did have a working agreement and exchanged talent with Jim Crockett Jr . , allowing him to book the NWA World Champion . In 1986 , Watts renamed the promotion the Universal Wrestling Federation in a bid to expand nationally , but was eventually bought out by Jim Crockett Promotions in March 1987 , after going bankrupt . In February 1986 , promoter Fritz Von Erich withdrew World Class Championship Wrestling ( WCCW ) from the NWA in a bid to become a national promotion . They joined up with another former NWA member , the Continental Wrestling Association ( CWA ) and the AWA to try to compete with WCW and the WWF , but soon fell apart due to interpromotional politics . WCCW and the CWA later merged to form the United States Wrestling Association , which folded in 1997 . Abroad , the defections of Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre , All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid - 1980s was mostly regionalized as not many American fans followed or even knew about these promotions . 1990s – 2000s . In January 1991 , WCW officially began to recognize a WCW World champion , with Ric Flair , who had just defeated Sting to regain the NWA World championship , as the first title holder . Ric Flair was simultaneously recognized as the World champion of both the NWA and WCW until he left WCW over a dispute with WCW president Jim Herd ( with the actual title belt in his possession ) to join the WWF . Upon leaving , Flair was stripped of the WCW World title causing the separation of the WCW and NWA titles , but continued to be recognized as the NWA World champion until his arrival in the WWF a few months later when he was officially stripped of the NWA World title as well . Afterwards , the NWA World title lay dormant for a year , until New Japan Pro Wrestling hosted a tournament to crown a new champion . In September 1993 , WCW withdrew completely from the NWA , and , despite Flair ' s possession of the physical belt , made no mention of the NWA name on air after the split . In August 1994 , Philadelphia - based Eastern Championship Wrestling ( ECW ) withdrew their membership from the NWA in somewhat surprising fashion . As one of the most popular independent promotions of the early 1990s , they hosted a tournament to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion after WCW had withdrawn from the NWA . The finals of the tournament saw Shane Douglas defeated 2 Cold Scorpio for the world title . Then , in a surprising turn , Douglas threw the title belt to the ground , claiming that he did not want to be the champion of a promotion that died " seven years before " ( when JCP was sold to Ted Turner ) . Shane then grabbed the ECW Heavyweight Championship belt and declared himself the ECW World Heavyweight Champion . ECW owner Tod Gordon then renamed the company to Extreme Championship Wrestling and officially withdrew ECW from the NWA . This act all but obliterated any remaining prestige connected to the NWA World Championship and relegated it to an all but forgotten status among wrestling fans . After the AWA ' s bankruptcy in 1991 and the secession of ECW in 1994 , the NWA wasn ' t what it once was . Through the mid to late 1990s , the all - but - forgotten organization was left with a small collection of independent promotions during the peak of the Monday night ratings war between WCW and the WWF . In a bid to become the " number two " national wrestling promotion , Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA ) split from the NWA in 2004 . TNA was founded in 2002 as NWA : TNA and quickly came to hold exclusive booking rights to the two NWA world titles ( NWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship ) . In 2004 , TNA withdrew from the NWA , but cut a deal to keep the promotional rights to the NWA World Heavyweight and Tag Team championships . However , due to TNA not reporting to the NWA about title changes in accordance to NWA bylaws , TNA and NWA worked out a split and the titles were returned to the NWA on May 13 , 2007 . The NWA began a tournament in June 2007 to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion . NWA today . Today , there is still a group of promoters which hold membership in the NWA and continue to use the NWA name , although no members are holdovers from the membership of the promotion ' s " glory days " of the 1940s – 1980s . In order to join the NWA , a promoter must have been operating for at least one year in a territory uncontested by any other NWA member , and their application must be approved by a majority vote of the Board of Directors — although , there are numerous exceptions to this bylaw currently within the organization . In August 2005 , the presidency of the NWA was dissolved and the duties of the office assumed by the Board of Directors , following the resignation of Ernie Todd ( promoter of NWA : Canadian Wrestling Federation ) . On his promotion ' s website , not only did he explain his reasons for resigning from the NWA and its Board of Directors , but Todd stated that he would be joining AWA Superstars of Wrestling . Other members on the NWA ' s message board posted their thoughts on Todd ' s departure , and his decision to join AWA Superstars of Wrestling . It was announced on the NWA ' s website on Monday , October 10 , 2005 , that current NWA legal counsel Bob Trobich would become its new Executive Director . As NWA Executive Director , Trobich is the primary contact and decision maker for all NWA business . Promotions . Regional promotions of the past . Several smaller promotions that were once cornerstones of the NWA ceased to exist as the WWF and WCW grew to national levels . Pacific Northwest Wrestling ( PNW ) was one of the main NWA territories into the 1980s , but , due to the aging of promoter Don Owen and dwindling profit , PNW closed down in 1992 . Another territory that was once considered a main territory of the NWA was promoter and two - time NWA President Sam Muchnick ’ s St . Louis - based promotion , the St . Louis Wrestling Club , which ran until 1982 and was then sold to a promotion that Jim Crockett Promotions absorbed in 1985 in their attempt to create a national promotion . NWA Mid - America , booked by Nick Gulas , and the Continental Wrestling Federation , booked by the Fullers , both folded in the 1980s , but were long - time members . Southwest Championship Wrestling out of San Antonio , Texas was a member from 1978 until it was bought by WCCW in 1985 . When Detroit promoter and NWA member Ed Farhat made several wrestling appearances as the Sheik in an " Outlaw Territory , " his promotion , Big Time Wrestling , was expelled from the NWA , since that was against the charter of the NWA . Another American former NWA member is Ohio Valley Wrestling , which was a member until it was made a WWF developmental territory in 2001 . The NWA is not an organization restricted to the United States alone . At various points , promotions in Mexico , Canada , the Caribbean , Japan , the United Kingdom , and Australia were members , further strengthening the " World " aspect of the group . Frank Tunney Sports was a Canadian promotion that was a long - time member of the NWA , with its promoter serving as the NWA President in the early 1960s . Frank Tunney Sports withdrew from the NWA when it was incorporated into the WWF in 1984 . Another Canadian promotion that was a key member in the NWA , until being bought by the WWF in the 1980s , was Stu Hart ’ s Stampede Wrestling in Calgary , Alberta , although when it was relaunched in 1999 , it did not become a member of the NWA . Another Canadian territory , encompassing Nova Scotia , New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island , was known as the Eastern Sports Association , and operated only in the summer months . The promotion dissolved in 1977 , and promoter Al Zink ’ s subsequent ventures into wrestling were not affiliated with the NWA . Out of Vancouver , British Columbia came promoters Gene Kiniski and Sandor Kovac ’ s NWA All - Star Wrestling , which was a member until 1985 , and then recognized a fictitious sanctioning body known as the " Universal Wrestling Alliance . " In Mexico , the primary NWA member was Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre ( now called CMLL ) . Founded in 1933 , it precedes the creation of the NWA . EMLL joined with the NWA later on , but broke away from the group in 1980 . Despite not being a member of the NWA since 1980 , CMLL still recognizes three titles with NWA lineage : NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship , NWA World Middleweight Championship and NWA World Welterweight Championship , which are all unsanctioned and only defended at CMLL events . In the Caribbean , long - time promotion the World Wrestling Council , owned by Carlos Colon and based out of Puerto Rico , was a member from 1973 until 1988 , when the territory concept became semi - obsolete due to WCW ’ s growth . Rival Puerto Rican promotion International Wrestling Association , founded in 1994 by Victor Quiñones , was a member of the NWA from its inception until its withdrawal in 2001 . The NWA ’ s presence in Japan was established in 1953 , when Japanese wrestler / promoter Rikidōzan founded the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance , which quickly became the main promotion in Japan . In 1972 , the JPWA ’ s two top draws Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki left to form their own promotions , All Japan Pro Wrestling ( AJPW ) and New Japan Pro Wrestling ( NJPW ) respectively . As a result , the JPWA soon folded . AJPW became an NWA member upon its inception in 1973 and stayed until the late 1980s . NJPW was also a member of the NWA at various points between 1975 and 1985 , mainly in order to gain control of the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship . In 1992 and 1993 , NJPW joined with the NWA once more to re - establish and promote the NWA World Heavyweight Championship , but left the NWA when WCW withdrew . NJPW returned to the NWA in 2004 , again mainly for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship , and it is not a connection that is strongly emphasized . Between NJPW ' s departure in 1993 and its return in 2004 NWA representation in Japan was scattered among a few independent promotions : the International Wrestling Association of Japan ( 1994 – 1996 ) ; the Wrestle Yume Factory ( 1995 – 1997 ) , the Universal Fighting Arts Organization ( 1999 – 2000 ) ; and Pro Wrestling Zero - One ( 2001 – 2004 ) . In June 2007 , it was announced that the Inoki Genome Federation would replace NJPW as the Japanese affiliate of the National Wrestling Alliance . In February 2008 , however , New Japan returned to the NWA . At the annual meeting in 2010 , New Japan did not renew its membership and left the NWA yet again . The NWA brand name has been seen most prominently in recent years in conjunction with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA ) , a former NWA member promotion started by Jeff Jarrett and his promoter father Jerry in 2002 , which withdrew from the NWA in 2004 . In 2004 , TNA negotiated a new deal to license the NWA name and the use of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Tag Team Championship , for ten years . On May 13 , 2007 , the NWA announced that it had ended this deal , revoked official World Heavyweight and World Tag Team championship statuses from the current ( TNA - based ) holders , and announced tournaments for both newly vacated titles . In reality , both sides wanted to end the arrangement , as TNA wanted to brand its own World titles , and the NWA membership wanted final say on ( and control of the booking dates for ) NWA - brand champions . Current major promotions . United States . NWA Wildside aired 300 consecutive weeks of syndicated television before closing in April 2005 , when the promoter , Bill Behrens , signed a deal to work as a television syndicator for WWE . Bill Behrens and Jerry Palmer began NWA Anarchy after the closing of NWA Wildside . NWA Anarchy continues to broadcast weekly television programs appearing on stations all across the U . S . and Canada . NWA Pro Wrestling , operated out of Los Angeles by David Marquez and John Rivera , have been successful in running arena events throughout the American Southwest using top Lucha libre stars to draw houses . The current promotion , NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood is broadcast in the Southern California television market on KDOC . Austrailia . Explosive Pro Wrestling , a joint promotion in Western Australia and South Australia , makes up the Alliance ' s newest Australian member after the failed NWA Australia venture . United Kingdom . The late 1990s also brought in the first European member , NWA UK Hammerlock . Due to European recognition of the UK - based All Star Promotions World Heavyweight Championship and the match rule differences ( matches in Europe were usually divided into rounds ) , the NWA did not have a presence in Europe in its heyday . Mexico . In 2008 a new Mexican promotion , NWA Mexico run by Blue Demon , Jr . ( adopted son of the original EMLL star Blue Demon ) arose as the NWA ' s new Mexican affiliate . Demon , Jr . , made an instant impact by winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship ( the first Mexican luchador to do so ) without any EMLL involvement . Recent television programs . NWA Wrestling Showcase . In January 2008 , Colours TV on Dish Network and the NWA announced that they would begin airing an hour - long show entitled " NWA Wrestling Showcase " , featuring the NWA ' s current lineup of stars in action . The show was hosted by David Marquez ( with Rob Conway co - hosting the first four episodes ) with match commentary by announcers Todd Kenneley , Kris Kloss and Rick Otazu . Ten episodes were shown before re - runs began . All the matches were taped at the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas , Nevada . In January 2009 , " NWA Wrestling Showcase " started airing new episodes , this time the tapings took place in Hollywood California . NWA Championship Wrestling From Hollywood . On July 12 , 2010 , NWA Pro Wrestling , Inc . and KDOC - TV Los Angeles announced a partnership in producing National Wrestling Alliance branded television programming to the station beginning September 2010 . " NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood " is now an ongoing weekly television series that originates from KDOC - TV Los Angeles . The series premiere was on September 17 , 2010 . NWA Mountain State . NWA Mountain State Wrestling and production company Cucumber and Company co - produce NWA Mountain State as an hour long show which airs on the local Fox station WVNS - TV ( West Virginia , USA ) Sunday mornings . Personnel . Presidents . Since the NWA was founded in 1948 there have been twenty different presidents of the company . In 2005 , at the NWA ' s annual meeting , the position of President was abandoned in favor of the position of " Executive Director " .