Joe Alonzo discusses his departure from the National Wrestling Alliance and the circumstances surrounding it.
Former NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Joe Alonzo announced that he was leaving the NWA on July 1. He had been with the company since 2022.
Speaking with Fightfulâs Sean Ross Sapp, Joe Alonzo discussed leaving NWA. He stated that it was the right choice for him. (H/t Fightful for the transcription)
âSo, isnât that kind of funny how once me and Miss Kate make our announcement that we are departing that all of a sudden, NWA is making a lot of posts saying, âOh, this personâs resigned and this personâs resigned,’â Alonzo said. âI think it was like, I donât want to say damage control, but I thought that was kind of funny how that happened after we made our announcements of us kind of going separate ways. But Iâm happy for everyone who signed. It was the right career choice for myself. It was a gamble.â
Alonzo went on to discuss how he was not sure whether the company was going to offer him a contract, and he went some time with no talks of a new deal. He recalled how it felt like the company wanted him to do a worked shoot. Alonzo then detailed how NWA later offered him a new contract, but he was not happy with the financials.
âIt was a long process because I wasnât sure if they were going to offer me anything else. Like I thought so, because like I was doing a lot of stuff with like with Billy himself on screen and we were doing a lot of cool things and they were pushing me. But then no talks of contracts. There was like a couple awkward conversations they would say in public in front of the crowd and I was like, âWhat are we doing here?â They wanted me to do like a like a work shoot thing with like saying like, âI donât need the NWA. Iâll leave this place.â I was like, âUh-oh, like whatâs going on?â
âThen they offered me a contract and I wonât get into the numbers, but Iâll get into the time length of it. It was it was a year and a half and I was okay with the time frame of it, but the money I wasnât the happiest with and then I asked to have a conversation personally with Billy. I was like, âIf Billyâs the man whoâs signing my checks, can I speak to him? Just him and I or whoever has to be there, whatever, but I want to speak to Billy.â I donât want to say this personâs name, who it was, because Iâm trying to learn to grow up and be a little bit more professional. But old me would just go off the walls and say who it was. So itâs a battle within ourselves.â
Joe Alonzo On Negotiating With Billy Corgan
Joe Alonzo continued by detailing how he talked to someone in the NWA and shared his belief that the contract offer did not reflect their belief that he was a valuable asset to the company. He noted that he asked them about what the best they could do was. Alonzo stated that he got another offer that would have been for two and a half years, and he was honest with NWA about how they were not the âend-all, be-allâ for his career, as he wanted to do other things.
âThatâs just a little too long and Iâm going to be approaching 30 by the time that contract would be done and still like itâs not worth my time to commit to a company that long,â Joe Alonzo said. âLike I can my name value can skyrocket from now until six months from now. So Iâm not gonna lock under that number. I donât think thatâs fair to do.â
âTheyâre like, âOh, well, there was like a couple different things they were trying to explain to me like loopholes and you can get a raise and whatever.â Iâm like, âOkay, but it doesnât say that. As far as contract stuff goes, I just donât think this is fair.ââ
Joe Alonzo On His Living Situation
Joe Alonzo stated that he was in conversations with other companies, but they could not talk about much because he was under contract. As a result, he was waiting to hear about that.
Alonzo went on to open up about his living situation and how he told the NWA that he appreciated them, but he could not comfortably afford his own living with what they were offering. He detailed how he opened up about how he was living on someone elseâs couch.
âI said, âHereâs my current living situation. I really broke it down and I was like, dude, itâs hard, itâs a struggle for what Iâm going through,â Joe Alonzo said. âIâll just say it, man. Iâm like, dude, Iâm living on somebody elseâs couch. Thatâs kind of hard. For me to take pride into being signed to a company that I donât even make enough to live off of.
âSo like, can you help me out? Like, if Iâm really a valuable asset to your company, like help me out.â The response I got was, and this is where I knew itâs time to walk away from the NWA, was, âWell, hey, thereâs a lot of other people who donât even have a couch to sleep on. So some people have it worse.’â
Joe Alonzo On Speaking With NWA Bosses
Joe Alonzo subsequently detailed a talk that he had with one of the bosses. He claimed that they tried to talk to him about his religious beliefs and family views and used that against him by saying, ââWell I think you know God is like is kind of laying it out there for you.â Alonzo said that he thought that was âsh*tty businessâ. He clarified that his relationship with Billy Corgan was good, and he wishes he could have handled the contract situation with him. He note
Alonzo reiterated that he had a good talk with Corgan, but things were weird and awkward with him and others that he was close with in the NWA.
âI donât want to say it got ugly, but it got very awkward and I had a good talk with him,â Joe Alonzo said. âI talked to him about personal things and then it turned into like, now weâre distant and itâs weird and itâs awkward. A lot of the people who I was very close to and I trusted, Iâm distant from them. Iâll tell you this, I wonât say the talents of who it was, but this is where they say they care about you, but they donât. They say they want you to be better, like to do what you can hear and then go other places and then, âWe wish the best for you to go to the next place.ââ
Joe Alonzo On His NWA Exit
Overall, Joe Alonzo reflected on his departure by saying that he knew NWA was a stepping stone for him, and he did not plan on re-signing. He also recalled how two NWA talents got WWE tryouts, and the NWA office told them that they were essentially fired.
âlike when I knew early on that Iâm not going to stick around with this company or if I always knew it was a stepping stone to get somewhere else, but I knew I wasnât, I didnât plan on resigning because months ago, there was two NWA wrestlers who got WWE tryouts.
âYou reported that they were at that tryout and while they were at their tryout, the office called them to tell them, âHey, you are no longer needed at the NWA.â Because they had a tryout non-contracted. Just like stuff like that. Theyâre going to call them at their tryout to tell them that theyâre pretty much fired.â
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