NWA Reportedly Expected To Make Cuts To Roster, Production

The NWA is expected to make some cuts to its roster and production teams, according to a new report. Haus of Wrestling reports that the company is expected to make cuts to both areas soon, one one source noting that Billy Corgan will be making cuts “at every corner.” The report gives an example with the hair and make-up department, which sources said will have its budget will be cut by about half.

According to the site, this weekend’s NWA Powerrr taping will have a “bare-bones crew” and only have contracted talent appearing with the exception of Violent J and Mike Knox. Violent J is said to work for free and flies himself in to the tapings. January’s tapings have been booked largely with contracted talent.

The report notes that the roster cuts are expected to occur at some point after the January tapings, when Corgan expects to begin contract talks. Several NWA talent contracts are up in June of next year. It’s not clear how many talents would be cut or not re-signed, though it was specifically noted that all contracted talent are “under review” with their benefits to the company being weighed. Talent working without formal deals will likely not be booked.

The cuts are said to be due to the fact that Corgan has been funding the company out of pocket for years and there is “little to no sponsorship money coming in.” Corgan is said to have spent millions on NWA Powerrr and the planned reality series and cuts will need to be made for the company to continue operating at a comfortable level.

In addition to the personnel cuts, the site reports that most NWA talent can no longer fly for shows the day before so that the company no longer has to pay extra hotel costs. The company has been paying those costs for a while now along with flight costs. Paying for the hotel costs has been an incentive for talent to work for the company to lower their overall pay compared to bigger companies. WWE does not pay for hotel costs, while AEW is said to do so. NWA talent will continue to have hotels paid for the night of tapings and each night if the tapings go more than one day. The January tapings are currently tentatively scheduled for two nights.

The NWA has had a tumltuous couple of weeks after they were reported to have reached a deal with The CW to air Powerrr and their reality series, which was upended when WWE announced that NXT is coming to the network in October of next year. It was reported that the cocaine spot with Father James Mitchell at NWA Samhain strained the relationship between NWA and The CW, and it is believed to be likely that the NWA’s content will air on The CW app instead.