Joining the National Wrestling Alliance in 2017, Nick Aldis has risen to become the face of the Billy Corgan-helmed promotion. ‘The National Treasure’ is a two-time NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion in the company, the second reign of which marked the sixth-longest (by days recognised) in history at 1,043 days.
In just a matter of weeks, though, Aldis will officially be a free agent. He posted to Instagram in a now-deleted video, informing fans that he’d handed his notice to Billy Corgan. Issues with the creative direction of the NWA were cited as the primary reason for his departure.
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson had reported in July that Nick Aldis had “magma-level heat” for venting his frustrations with the NWA and promoting himself over the company as a whole. He was pulled from the NWA 74 pay-per-view as a result.
Aldis will compete against Odinson at the promotion’s Hard Times 3 pay-per-view on Sunday, November 12 in what will mark one of his final appearances. Prior to his current dissatisfaction, the Englishman was instrumental in the rebirth of the NWA, with his work often compared to that of legendary NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champions of prior decades.
Nick Aldis Turned Down An AEW Deal
Given the star power of Nick Aldis within the NWA, AEW turned their attention towards him early into its history, a deal that Aldis turned down. Tony Khan wanted exclusive use of Aldis, thus prohibiting him from continuing his career-defining work with the NWA. Aldis did, however, praise the AEW CEO for his professionalism throughout their discussions.
That may be where Nick Aldis ends up come January 2023, if not in WWE. A return to IMPACT Wrestling, following on from his two prior appearances throughout 2022, is presumed to be out of the question; those two matches came via an established working agreement with the NWA.