Billy Corgan: Chasing Success With NWA Is Like Trying To Make It Big As An Alt Rock Band

Billy Corgan says trying to stand out in the wrestling world is like aiming to make it big as an alternative rock band.

Corgan is the president of the National Wrestling Alliance, but long before he entered the wrestling world, he enjoyed plenty of success as a founding member of the Smashing Pumpkins. After several years apart, the band reunited, and they remain active to this day.

During an appearance on 1059 The Rock, Corgan compared his journey in the music world to his attempt to build the NWA into a successful alternative for wrestling fans. He noted that, in both cases, he has had to battle the perception that the top players in the field are doing it the right way. He also expressed his belief that the NWA can become the “the coolest and most forward-thinking promotion in all of wrestling.”

“When I started the Pumpkins, the chance of an alternative rock being a huge band was very, very small,” said Corgan. “And then five years later we were selling out arenas with some of our compatriots, Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana and stuff like that. So I think it’s very similar. People kind of make up their minds as, ‘Well WWE is the thing.’ And then Tony Khan comes along, [and] spends a lot of money to buy his way into the marketplace.

“He’s done a tremendous job, but people have a hard time understanding that you can take something like the NWA, rebuild it on organic level and make it in many ways the coolest and most forward-thinking promotion in all of wrestling because they only see it from one perspective, which is people blowing a lot of money.”

When Corgan bought the NWA, he started chasing his dream, and he was aware that doing so was a risky move. In the interview, he noted that hard work and dreaming big are key ingredients to success, no matter the difficulty of the task at hand.

“I’m a big proponent of live your dream,” said Corgan. “I talk to a lot of people in life from every level with a background, you name it, and I always tell people, people always come to you when you’re successful and they want to know what the secret is. And there really is no such secret other than hard work and live your dream. If you have a dream, you gotta go for it. And it’s always gonna be risky. It’s like playing the tables in Vegas. They don’t make it easy on purpose.”

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