NWA 70 News: Ellsworth Wrestles Dark Match, Joey Janela, Billy Corgan’s Thoughts

James Ellsworth

James Ellsworth wrestled in a dark match before the show at last night’s NWA 70th Anniversary show in Nashville. He defeated Karim Brigante.

Ellsworth was originally booked to wrestle on the actual PPV broadcast, but plans changed and his match was cut, according to PWInsider.

ELlsworth did appear on the broadcast in a backstage promo with Mike Parrow, then later at ringside in one of the National title matches, helping out Willie Mack when one of Mack’s opponents, Jay Bradley, tried to attack Ellsworth on the outside but ended up running into the ring post.

#BoundforGlory last Sunday #Smackdown1000 Tuesday (check https://t.co/hTbQMFKeEY for the exclusive video) #NWA70 tonight!

I’ve accomplish a lot in my career, but not nearly enough..

I “WILL NOT” give up on my dream 😉 pic.twitter.com/UehA4Ob2op

— James Ellsworth (@realellsworth) October 21, 2018

James Ellsworth has CENA NUFF of his best friend WIllie Mack getting beat down and saves the day post-match #NWA70 pic.twitter.com/9vL4HdMTDd

— Kenton (@Kenton_lb) October 22, 2018

Joey Janela

Joey Janela was originally booked to be part of the eight man tournament for the NWA National Championship, according to PWInsider. He wasn’t able to wrestle due to his knee injury, which will keep him out for at least a year.

Production Issues

Jeff Jarrett was head of production for the show, according to PWInsider.

The show was plagued with audio issues early on, which were eventually fixed. Audio for some backstage segments were not audible, the commentary team could be heard over video segments, etc. The crew was very aware of the issues and knew that they would obviously have to be resolved for any future shows.

Billy Corgan

NWA president Billy Corgan posted his thoughts on the event:

View this post on Instagram

Note from @williampcorgan ・・・ #NWA70 thoughts in no particular order: Magnum TA @magnum_ta was an absolute joy to engage with, and showed when speaking live of the NWA's future why he is so highly regarded with fans and people in the business. Jim Cornette, on commentary, reminded why there is no one better with a microphone, and I appreciate him lending his gravitas to the event. His partner, Joe Galli, has such a bright future, and I hope he will remain as our leading voice for decades. As well, I was thrilled to have Tony Schiavone (@tonyschiavone24) call the main event. As this highlights one of the great pleasures of owning the NWA, which is seeing these legends do what they do best. On the production side, we fell short on providing a televised event up to the standard that I would consider acceptable. Which reminded me greatly as to why people questioned my pursuit of TNA (in terms of wanting to buy the company, and filed a potential lawsuit to do so). Put simply, building up a culture like Smashing Pumpkins or the NWA, takes time, trial and error, and great risk. And throwing $$$ at the problems doesn't necessarily correct the issues, and in some cases makes it worse. So last night I was painfully reminded of how hard this journey is, and knew by the time the last bell rung we have much work to do before we'd run another such live event. Which in no way diminishes my appreciation for those who ordered or attended the event. In fact, it increases it. Sitting ringside for the main event, I had one recurring thought, which is there are only a few people on the planet (let's say the number is under 30) who could do what Nick and Cody (@nickaldis @americannightmarecody) did last night. Or, as I used to tell my Mother, 'this is why they pay me the big bucks, Ma'. Skilled, talented people need the right stage and crowd to show their best, and last night was exactly that. The fans were FANTASTIC. Pushing Cody and Nick to a place I think that surprised them. I remain hopeful for a third, definitive contest. Lastly, the vibe backstage with talent was jubilant, and hopeful. From a living legend like Dory Funk, Jr, to the kid in the dark. And that speaks volumes.

A post shared by NWA (@nwa) on Oct 22, 2018 at 8:24am PDT