NWA
History
The National Wrestling Alliance was, for most of the 20th Century, the preeminent wrestling promotion in the world. In actuality, the NWA was a confederation of many different promotions operating under a common name for both marketing and networking purposes. One could see an NWA show in Los Angeles, Mexico City, Tokyo, or even small towns throughout the United States or Mexico, and be assured of a quality show. In addition, talent was traded between cities or "territories" to keep a constant influx of fresh faces for fans to see. The arrangment was beneficial to the promotors, the wrestlers, and the fans.
The NWA traces its lineage back to the turn of the 1900's, when professional wrestling was still in its infancy, having only recently become something other than a completely legitimate sporting event.
Internationally renowned member promotions of the NWA included EMLL (until the Lutteroth family pulled out of the NWA and necame CMLL), Jim Crockett Promotions (until Ted Turner bought the company, eventually pulling out of the NWA and forming WCW), and even Vince McMahon Sr's WWF, which was a member on two occassions, once upon its inception until a 1960 dispute over Buddy Rogers possession of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and again in the early 1970's until the advent of cable television allowed Vince McMahon Jr to make the WWF a national entity in its own right.
The NWA sputtered after the secession of CMLL and WCW, and only recently became a major player in the international wrestling scene with the advent of Jeff Jarrett's Total Nonstop Action promotion. TNA has seemingly revived the NWA from the dead, and the name of the NWA is once again strong.
Relation to Lucha Libre
EMLL was a strong member of the NWA until the 1990's, and retains control of many of the world-class championships of the alliance, such as the NWA World Middleweight Championship, the NWA World Welterweight Championship, and the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship, though the "official" backing of the NWA has gone and the belts aren't seen as NWA property anymore.
NWA World Heavyweight Champions occasionally wrestled in Mexico and defended the championship, though it has never changed hands in Mexico.
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