Hotseat: Billy Corgan
IN REVIEWING THE Smashing Pumpkins’ breakout 1993 album, Siamese Dream, New York Times critic Simon Reynolds called the band’s sound “an inferno of acid rock and art metal” that fused Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Sonic Youth, and Jane’s Addiction.
He concluded that the band “lacks the zeitgeistdefining edge that made Nirvana’s breakthrough so thrilling and resonant.”
Siamese Dream would go on to sell more than six million copies and become one of the defining albums of a generation.
Three decades later, Pumpkins founder and frontman Billy Corgan is once again rolling his eyes at critics who mistakenly look to the past, rather than to the future, to try to understand his creative vision. This time around, that vision is the National Wrestling Alliance.
A longtime wrestling fan who previously ran his own promotion (Resistance Pro Wrestling) and briefly helped run TNA, Corgan purchased the NWA in 2017. Once the most esteemed three letters in wrestling, the NWA had lost much of the luster from its 20th century glory days, and Corgan made it his mission to resuscitate the ailing brand.
By 2019, the NWA was, arguably, as relevant as any time in decades, with a popular weekly YouTube show, NWA Powerrr, and regular pay-per-view offerings.
Nostalgic wrestling fans were lured in by the ’80s-inspired studio setting and the appearances of NWA legends like the Rock ’n’ Roll Express and Austin Idol.
But, even while embracing the NWA’s rich history, Corgan’s priority was building a 21st century wrestling company with world-class performers like Nick Aldis and Kamille as its centerpieces. After being derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Corgan’s NWA is back on track, boasting a new partnership with FITE TV and a new world champion in Matt Cardona.
Recently, Corgan spoke with PWI Senior Writer Al Castle about his oft-misunderstood vision for the NWA, almost giving up on that vision, and what lessons have come in handy from his other job as a rock star.
