Dave Lagana Says The NWA Spoke To Turner Sports Before AEW’s Deal With TNT

NWA Vice President Dave Lagana recently appeared on Sirius XM’s Busted Open to discuss a variety of pro wrestling topics. Much of that conversation centered on NWA Owner Billy Corgan’s announcement on August 8 that the company will bring back studio wrestling in the fall of 2019.

The new show will take place in a studio very similar to the one that the NWA used during the 1980’s, when it was broadcast on Ted Turner’s Superstation TBS. According to Lagana, the building in Atlanta that will be used is very similar to the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iae2t4y7P-c

“We looked at the same ring that they did Georgia Championship Wrestling and the old 6:05 show. It’s still there. It’s in the mansion. The place we have secured is very close. It’s literally on the same street.”

Longtime fans who followed the NWA during those years will surely be happy with this news, as that era of territory wrestling remains one of the most popular eras of all time. Lagana said that he doesn’t think there will be more than 250 people in the building for the show, which will indeed be a very intimate setting.

But one interesting fact from the interview stands out. Lagana revealed that the NWA actually met with Turner Sports about doing a new studio show. However, this meeting came before AEW’s signing on Turner’s TNT Network, which will feature Cody Rhodes’ company live every Wednesday night beginning October 2.

“Billy and I met with Turner back in December of 2017. They called us. They wanted to have us produce a studio wrestling show for Bleacher Report Live. Ultimately, when the merger with AT&T happened, everything was sort of put on hold and obviously, they decided to go with AEW, which is awesome, because that is a much more blown out show for cable.”

EXCLUSIVE: @nwa VP @Lagana reveals TurnerSports was in contact about a studio wrestling show in 2017. He says the new show will be "close to Georgia Championship Wrestling" in presentation and will be an opportunity to put the power back in the talents' hands to sell tickets 💪👇 pic.twitter.com/gQqJUo4cxA

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) August 8, 2019

Lagana went on to say that the plan for the NWA was always to revive the studio format, which was indeed a staple of pro wrestling in the 1980’s. The new show is expected to begin in October and the NWA has yet to announce where fans will be able to tune in, or whether or not the show will be available on a streaming service.

The NWA’s working relationship with Ring of Honor recently came to an end, leading many fans to wonder what Corgan’s next move was. The NWA’s most recent notoriety came with April 27’s Crockett Cup event in Charlotte, which saw Nick Aldis retain the World Championship against Marty Scurll in the main event.