Nick Aldis Says He'd Like To See NWA Become The "HBO Boxing Of Pro Wrestling"

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis appeared on the This is the NWA podcast to talk about his time in TNA, the differences between wrestling and entertainment, and advice he has for younger wrestlers.

Aldis began wrestling for NWA in late 2017 and since then has become the NWA Worlds Champion on two occasions. Aldis recalled when he was first approached being told what NWA President Billy Corgan's vision was for the promotion and was then asked what he'd like to see from the NWA, which was to make pro wrestling matches feel like prize fights.

"[David Lagana] said ya know, Billy basically wants the wrestling he watched on TV,'" Aldis began. "He wants a modern equivalent to that. He wants men cutting promos and having physical rough and tumble wrestling matches. I said, 'That I can do.' That was them describing their vision of what they wanted and then they asked 'What is your vision?' I said, 'I wanted matches to feel like prize fights.'

"I said 'I'm sitting here watching the build to Mayweather / McGregor and it's just the best s--t I've ever seen. It's fantastic theater. They're taking everything that pro wrestling did first, doing it better and pro wrestling's not even doing it anymore. We're just literally handing over all of this money to MMA and boxing. We gave them secret sauce and then stopped using the secret sauce ourselves."

With wrestling have a big presence on TV and the internet today, Aldis was asked what type of fan the NWA is looking to pull in.

"My major concern is that the already somewhat whittled down niche audience compared to better days for our business is gonna be divided up even further. But, we're not in the same business. We're going after a different market. If wrestling fans who predominantly exist in the current form decide not to watch our product, we're okay with that because we're trying to go after a different audience like any smart business would. We're trying to go after a different demographic, and that demographic is fans who've fallen off for whatever reason because they preferred a certain style of stuff.

"Ya know, it's so hard to state any of these intentions without seeming like you're projecting your own opinion, but my opinion has nothing to do with it. This is one-hundred percent a business decision in the sense that there sure are a lot of folks who aren't watching wrestling each week anymore. What did they used to watch? I can bet you a great deal used to watch the NWA and WCW."

Aldis was then spoke about where he saw himself and the NWA in the next five years. The champ felt like NWA could become something like the "HBO Boxing of pro wrestling"

"You know I'd like to think that in five years I'll be firmly established as a top performer and a top attraction, a sort of respectable OG character. I think that the NWA, if we keep on our current trajectory and our current milestones, within five years we could be a very solidly established brand, attraction and organization. I think brand is the best way to put it because I could see us working with multiple different companies here and there but ultimately what I've always wanted for us is to be like the HBO Boxing of pro wrestling."