Billy Corgan spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated about the purchase of the NWA brand. The following are the highlights of the interview, which can be ready in full at SI.com.
Corgan on why he bought the NWA brand: “We’ve looked at how the WWE has positioned itself and how Anthem has positioned Impact Wrestling, and now a brand like the NWA, which has built-in recognition value and a history that is unmatched, suddenly starts to become more valuable in this shifting landscape. Maybe we’re not so crazy for buying these three letters after all.”
Corgan on long term plans: “Our focus is on the NWA plan, and we have a 20-year plan. We’re not going to just come in and throw money around for two years. We’ve learned from the past mistakes of TNA, which we have intimate knowledge of.”
Corgan on rebuilding a damaged brand: “We’re armed with this knowledge, and we’re setting out to rebuild the brand so a fan that currently doesn’t know anything about the NWA will respect the tradition and also respect what we’re trying to accomplish, like a Ring of Honor or a New Japan. That’s where we are starting, and we’re building from there.”
Corgan on his relationship with Anthem/Impact Wrestling’s Ed Nordholm: “I speak to Ed at least once, if not twice, a week… After everything was resolved in the settlement, I called Ed and said, ‘I think we’re going to be doing business together in the future and I want you to know there is no issue.’ I obviously got involved in the Hardy situation which never got resolved to anyone’s satisfaction, though it was close at times. Ed has had to clean up a lot of messes and he takes a lot of stick in the press. Behind the scenes, I’ve found him to be a pretty straight-forward guy.”
Powell’s POV: Corgan spoke in more detail about his discussions with Nordholm and the idea of positioning Impact Wrestling and the NWA as rivals, working with Dave Lagana on the project, and his long term plans for the brand. We will have more on the NWA purchase later today.
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