The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling company. The NWA started in 1948. It was a group that oversaw many smaller wrestling companies.
In 2025, Wrestling Central, the new all-wrestling FAST channel featuring both the NWA® and WOW - Women of Wrestling, is now streaming on Roku channel 208 across the United States and Canada.
These companies worked together. They had their own local champions. But they all agreed on one main world champion. This champion would travel and defend their title everywhere.
The NWA was very important in wrestling until the mid-1980s. At that time, many original NWA companies closed down.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship Title Belt
Read also: Training at Alliance Chula Vista
In 1948, a wrestling promoter named Paul "Pinkie" George started the National Wrestling Alliance. He had help from six other promoters. These promoters wanted to bring together the champions from their local companies. They wanted one true world champion in wrestling. This champion would be known all over the world.
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA®) is a historic American professional wrestling promotion and governing body founded in 1948 by Paul “Pinkie” George and five other regional promoters, including Al Haft and Sam Muchnick, to unify the fragmented territorial wrestling system under a single world championship banner.
The concept of the NWA was to consolidate the championships of these regional companies into one true world championship of professional wrestling, whose holder would be recognized worldwide.
By consolidating disparate “World” titles into the recognized NWA® World Heavyweight Championship, the NWA® established itself as the premier authority in pro wrestling, with its champion traveling between regions and enhancing local promotions’ credibility.
From 1994 to 1997 the most visible NWA promotion was Dennis Coralluzzo's NWA New Jersey/Championship Wrestling America, which lasted until 2000.
Read also: Mastering Jiu-Jitsu at Alliance Yucaipa
In 1950, Sam Muchnick became the President of the NWA. He stayed in this job for a long time, until 1960. During this time, television became popular. Wrestling matches started to be shown across the country. This meant more people watched wrestling than ever before.
Following the advent of television, professional wrestling matches began to be aired nationally during this time, reaching a larger audience than ever before. Rising demand and national expansion made wrestling a much more lucrative form of entertainment than in decades previous.
In 1956, some people said the NWA was acting like a monopoly. This means they were trying to stop other companies from competing. The government looked into it. Some promoters left the NWA around this time.
In 1956, allegations were made that the NWA was an illegal monopoly blocking competition. An investigation led by the US Department of Justice resulted in the NWA Consent Decree of 1956 (United States v. National Wrestling Alliance).
Several promoters left the organization during this time, with some managing to find niches in the United States.
Read also: Discover the story of Casey Swiderski
As the 1950s ended, fewer people watched wrestling on TV. Many TV stations stopped showing wrestling. The remaining wrestling shows were small and local.
On January 24, 1963, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Lou Thesz defeated Buddy Rogers in a one-fall match and was declared NWA World Heavyweight Champion for the third and final time.
In 1963, Lou Thesz won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. But Vincent J. McMahon and Toots Mondt did not agree with this. They ran a wrestling company in the Northeast. They left the NWA.
However, after the event, Vincent J. McMahon and Toots Mondt of the Capital Wrestling Corporation (CWC) refused to recognize the title change since Thesz was not a strong draw in their Northeastern territory. They then withdrew the CWC from the NWA.
Then, McMahon and Mondt started their own company. It was called the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). This company later became WWE.
As a result, McMahon and Mondt formed the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, later to be known as WWE) with Rogers as its first world champion in April 1963.
Wrestling's popularity went down in the 1970s. The WWWF changed its name to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979.
They changed their name from the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979.
The NWA became very strong again. Their show, Georgia Championship Wrestling, was the first wrestling show on national cable TV. It aired on TBS in 1979. They brought in Gordon Solie to be the main announcer.
While the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation (WWWF/WWF) both faltered during the 1970s, the NWA once again took over as the top promotion and gained huge dominance with their program, Georgia Championship Wrestling, which became the first nationally broadcast wrestling program on cable television through then-superstation TBS in 1979.
Videotape trading and cable television paved the way for the decline of the NWA's inter-regional business model, as viewers could now see plot holes and inconsistencies between each territories' storylines.
In the 1980s, people could trade videotapes and watch cable TV. This meant they could see wrestling shows from different areas. They started to notice when stories didn't match up. Also, big stars like Ric Flair were on TV every week.
The WWF completely left the NWA in 1983, as Vincent K.
The WWF left the NWA for good in 1983, as Vincent K.
That same year, the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) started a big event called Starrcade. It was the first wrestling show shown on closed-circuit TV.
With the success of WrestleMania III in 1987, the WWF scheduled another pay-per-view, Survivor Series, on Thanksgiving night to compete directly with NWA's Starrcade event, and demanded exclusivity from cable providers on carriage of the event.
On July 14, 1984, something called "Black Saturday" happened. McMahon bought an NWA company called Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW). He put it into the WWF. The WWF took over GCW's TV spot on TBS. But this did not go well. The TV ratings dropped, and the WWF lost money.
Black Saturday
On Saturday, July 14, 1984, in what would become known as Black Saturday, McMahon bought NWA member Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) and merged it into the WWF. The WWF took over GCW's TV slot on TBS, which had been home to GCW's World Championship Wrestling program for 12 years.
Then, Jim Crockett, Jr., who owned JCP, bought the TV show back. NWA shows returned to TBS.
Then-NWA President Jim Crockett, Jr., the owner of JCP, bought the World Championship Wrestling program from McMahon for $1 million and returned NWA programming to TBS.
By 1985, JCP became the main NWA company. They bought more TV time and joined with other NWA companies.
By 1988, Jim Crockett Promotions was facing bankruptcy.
In 1987, the WWF had a very successful event called WrestleMania III. The WWF then scheduled another big show, Survivor Series, on the same night as NWA's Starrcade. The WWF wanted cable companies to show only their event. So, Starrcade had to move to December the next year.
With the success of WrestleMania III in 1987, the WWF scheduled another pay-per-view, Survivor Series, on Thanksgiving night to compete directly with NWA's Starrcade event, and demanded exclusivity from cable providers on carriage of the event.
The WWF also started their Royal Rumble event in January 1988. The NWA responded by creating Clash of the Champions on TBS.
On October 11, under the direction of owner Ted Turner, TBS bought the assets of JCP and renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW) after the TV show of the same name.
On October 11, Ted Turner's company, TBS, bought JCP. They renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Originally incorporated by TBS as the Universal Wrestling Corporation, Turner promised fans that WCW would retain the athlete-oriented style of the NWA.
Turner promised fans that WCW would keep the NWA's athletic style.
On August 27, 1994, a company called NWA: Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) held a tournament. It was to find a new World Champion. But it was a trick!
On August 27, 1994, NWA: Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) held a World Title tournament for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Unbeknownst to any one, the event was staged for ECW's public withdrawal from the NWA, with tournament winner Shane Douglas throwing down the NWA title belt and instead picking up the ECW Heavyweight Championship belt, proclaiming himself to be the ECW World Heavyweight Champion.
The winner, Shane Douglas, threw down the NWA title belt. He picked up the ECW Heavyweight Championship belt instead. He said he was the ECW World Heavyweight Champion.
From 1994 to 1997 the most visible NWA promotion was Dennis Coralluzzo's NWA New Jersey/Championship Wrestling America, which lasted until 2000.
In 1998, the World Wrestling Federation used the NWA titles and history for a storyline. This was on TV.
In June 2002, Jeff and Jerry Jarrett launched a new promotion called NWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA:TNA).