NWA Wildside

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NWA Wildside was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cornelia, Georgia, with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, operating between September 1999 and April 2005. It was one of the main affilliates of the National Wrestling Alliance, a group that dates back to 1948 and was one of the most-watched independent promotions in the United States.

Two of the main attractions of Wildside were the fact that their wrestlers were allowed to be more creative in the ring, and the announcers - Dan Wilson and Steven Prazak - give a legitimacy to the product rather than treating it as a joke.

World Championship Wrestling hired NWA Wildside to serve as its development territory, and sent their Power Plant wrestlers like Shannon Moore, Jamie Noble, Sean O'Haire, Mark Jindrak and Elix Skipper to compete in the company.

Soon, World Championship Wrestling hired several NWA Wildside talent for their shows including A.J. Styles and Air Paris, with other wrestlers such as Onyx, David Young and Rick Michaels appearing on World Wrestling Federation tapings.

With the establishment of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, various NWA Wildside stars such as A.J. Styles, David Young, Jason Cross, Jimmy Rave, Tony Mamaluke appeared for the company.

In April 2005, NWA Wildside closed down as a result of owner Bill Behrens accepting a job with World Wrestling Entertainment. He will now work with Jody Hamilton, the owner of Deep South Wrestling, a new World Wrestling Entertainment developmental territory located in McDonough, Georgia. Behrens will co-host and syndicate a DSW television series.

Wildside was replaced by NWA Anarchy, a promotion operating in the same area using similar talent.

[edit] History

Wildside was originally named National Championship Wrestling in 1997 and was owned by Steve Martin, who often made appearances on the wrestling card.
In December 1999 NCW merged with NWA Georgia to form NWA Wildside under the ownership of Bill Behrens.
In late 2004, Wildside was broadcast by The Wrestling Channel in the United Kingdom giving them a Transatlantic audience.
In April 2005, the promotion closed after producing 300 consecutive weeks of episodic television, holding its last ever show on April 30.