“Big Strong” Matt Mims gets the last word on the NWA. The former NWA TV champ sat down with Will Gray of Last Word on Sports, to discuss his career and the current state of affairs for one of the oldest promotions in the United States.
BLK Jeez and The New Mims
This time last year, Mims was part of Magnum Muscle. They were a red-hot tag team climbing the NWA tag team ranks and even participated in the Crockett Cup.
Mims would say that the vets in the locker room told him he “lacked focus.” Mims would buckle down to win the TV championship that had eluded him for nearly two years, but it was a false focus.
“What I lacked was to find focus. I had this fake focus. I had that. I got to that NWA TV championship that I had been looking for and trying to grab for almost two years and I let that fall to the wayside. I think that’s where I didn’t have the focus that I needed. The focus needed to be a world champion.”
Matt Mims would say in a recent episode of Powerrr that BLK Jeez was that missing piece. The piece that could help propel him to that next level.
Working with a Literal Rockstar in Billy Corgan
In 2017, Billy Corgan and the Lightning One Era of the NWA started. This era of the NWA found itself pushing through a pandemic and a shifting climate in the pro-wrestling world.
Mims would say this about some of the doubters in the early days:
“You just bought three worthless letters, we’ve all heard that soundbite, but we are continuing to bring it back to prominence everyday.”
When asked about working with the aforementioned rockstar and what Billy Corgan was doing for the NWA, Mims would gush about the man running the show behind the scenes:
“I like to think it makes me a bit of a rockstar by proxy… Honestly, it’s special to me because he’s kind of conquered the music business. You can go on social media and see him selling out concerts all over the world… He’s gonna take that genius he has in music and bring it over to pro-wrestling… It makes sense why I’m home, I want to be the champion of the NWA, I wanna do Billy a favor and prove him right.”
The Samhain Spot that Shook the Wrestling World
Last year at the live event Samhain, there was a spot where Father James Mitchell appeared to use a controlled substance on screen as part of a story. This spot would put the IWC and wrestling media on their heads.
The rumors started swirling but, when asked what it was like for the locker room and those inside the NWA, Mims said:
“That was another stroke of genius by Billy Corgan. It got people talking. It gave all types of people ideas of what was happening behind the scenes, they knew this, they knew that. The dirt sheets reporting this and that, one person loved it and another hated it. ‘This is the worst thing they’ve ever seen,’ but you know what? It got people to talk. We decided to take that buzz and use it to get eyes on the product.”
Mims would add, “You never know what we might pull out, this time we have the Devil himself Father James Mitchell there.”
Big Strong Mims would also use this time to promote what he felt was the most important thing about the NWA. The fact that week in and week out, they put out a great consistent product in his and the team’s eyes.
“We know we can have the best matches around. The best promos around. We can have the best everything around, and all people are gonna do is just talk. They can talk negatively all they want, but when they watch a few episodes and then all that negativity goes out the window.”
Back to the Territories
In a callback to the olden days, the NWA has started partnering with promotions all over the country to bring back the territory system. From Joe Cazana Promotions Southeast to Exodus Pro to Krossfire Pro, the NWA has started putting a forward focus on the independent landscape.
“You can only get better by being around people better than you, so what I think this is going to do, it’s not only going to enrich the NWA and spread the good word, it’s also going to make the people on the independent’s step their game up.”
The NWA and NWA Powerrr can be found every Tuesday on the CW app. Big Strong Mims can be found on all social media platforms.
The full interview is available here, if aggregated please credit Last Word on Sports and Will Gray.
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