The NWA is coming to Philadelphia.
The National Wrestling Alliance confirmed NWA 76 will take place in Philadelphia this summer. The event will take place at the 2300 Arena on Saturday, August 31.
WrestleZone first reported these details about the event on March 26.
NWA 76 will mark the first-ever event in Philadelphia for the National Wrestling Alliance under Billy Corgan’s ownership. This is also the first NWA flagship event in Philadelphia since the Eddie Gilbert Memorial Brawl held in February 1998.
The annual NWA Anniversary show (NWA 73-75) was held at the Chase’s Khorassan Ballroom in St. Louis for the past three years. Before that, NWA 70 took place at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville in 2018.
NWA In Philadelphia
Billy Corgan was asked about the potential for NWA running an event in Philadelphia during an interview with WrestleZone’s Managing Editor Bill Pritchard last year.
When asked if he was looking into other markets for the National Wrestling Alliance, Corgan revealed that he’d love to run at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena (ECW Arena) at some point.
“We have had been in discussions at different times with what is affectionately known as the ECW Arena. I think it was called 2300 now — we would love to run there,” Billy Corgan said. “And we’ve also looked at New York at different times. We were hoping to run Philly this year. It just hasn’t worked out. That building’s booked a lot, unfortunately. And the way we work is we tend to book kind of shorter windows.
“We don’t book things out nine months in advance. honestly, a lot have to do with our TV scheduling. So, when that changes, I wouldn’t mind booking the building out way in advance and knowing we’re coming in. I think Philadelphia would be a market that would really, really enjoy the NWA. I’m not saying we’re ECW.
“I don’t think we’re anything like ECW. But what I do know about Philly fans is they like wrestling with real physicality. And the NWA is at its most physical right now in 2023, probably since it’s been — I guess you could argue since the Crockett Times. So I think the Philly audience in particular would really appreciate the NWA style.”
“Not a lot of frills, but if you like, people going at it. I would point to an NWA 75 match, which is coming up, which is Homicide versus Joe Alonzo. Joe Alonzo is a young NWA superstar. Of course, anybody who’s a wrestling fan knows Homicide. And Joe Alonzo has been cutting some really interesting promos on his social media.
“He did one where he did an imitation of like he was talking very down to Homicide and he does an imitation of Homicide. And I watched it. I was like, ‘Oh my God, Homicide is going to beat the hell out of you.’ And if that ain’t Philly, I don’t know what is. You know what I mean?
“Because Paul [Heyman] was really good at getting that sense of two people in competition over something that isn’t always a championship. It’s not pride, and it’s not a championship. It’s somewhere in between, something personal. I think this feud has that kind of feel to it, and so that feels cool.”
You can check out our complete interview with Billy Corgan below:
