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 affiliates 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.
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[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.
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, Abyss (Justice), David Young, Onyx, Slim J, Hotstuff Hernandez, Jason Cross, Jimmy Rave, Tony Mamaluke appeared for the company.
Wildside's weekly one hour TV show air nationally and was available to as much as 40% of the United States at it's peak.
In late 2004, Wildside was broadcast by The Wrestling Channel in the United Kingdom giving them a Transatlantic audience.
In April 2005, NWA Wildside closed down, after producing 300 consecutive weeks of episodic television, as a result of owner Bill Behrens accepting a job with World Wrestling Entertainment. He then worked with Jody Hamilton, the owner of Deep South Wrestling, a WWE developmental territory located in McDonough, Georgia.
Behrens left DSW after getting the promotion ready to produce TV but before TV production began due to creative differences with DSW's Jody Hamilton, and was employed by TNA as Director of 3rd Party Bookings.
Wildside was replaced by NWA Anarchy, a promotion operating in the same arena using similar talent.
[edit] Championships
Champions listed are the final champions in Wildside.
- NWA Wildside Heavyweight Championship — Onyx
- NWA Wildside Junior Heavyweight Championship — Slim J.
- NWA Wildside Tag Team Championship — Iceberg and Tank
- NWA Wildside Television Championship — Jeremy V.
- NWA Wildside United States Heavyweight Championship — Skeeter Frost
[edit] Alumni
NWA Wildside is the promotion where many current rising stars debuted. Some of the notable alumni include:
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When The Hardy Boyz's Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts promotion closed down, many of the wrestlers migrated to Wildside, including:
