When it comes to climbing the ladder of success, it’s not just about reaching the top but also about how you get there. And it seems that Billy Corgan has found a secret stairway that leads to both the heights of the music industry and the world of professional wrestling. In a recent interview with Wrestling News, Corgan shared the surprising similarities between running the Smashing Pumpkins and his current role in WWE.
“As much as I would love the internet crowd to kind of love everything that we do, the reason I took this company over was to create a company that had a mainstream appeal,” Corgan said, revealing his initial purpose in purchasing NWA. “And I was in a very similar position in music, where it’s like, I’m well aware of sort of what the indie crowd in music wanted from my band.”
The singer continued, “And at some point, I was either going to play to that audience, or I was going to go for a mainstream thing, and I took the slings and arrows that went with crossing over to be a mainstream band. But here, 35 years later, my band still headlining arenas and festivals. And the business tension of this situation is I want NWA to be a mainstream product again. And I hate that word product, but it is a product.”
He then explained his vision for a new and improved NWA, saying, “And that’s what I go into these board meetings to try to sell. And my position in the world, the ability for NWA to be presented as a sort of a 21st-century product that has a little bit more width to it than the traditional wrestling product that most people who don’t watch wrestling associate with professional wrestling, that’s where I have a sort of seat at the table, right?”
Billy Corgan has had a remarkable career in both music and wrestling. He rose to fame as the frontman of the Smashing Pumpkins, still headlining arenas and festivals 35 years later. And for a while, he’s been making waves in the world of professional wrestling as the President of Impact Wrestling and a co-owner of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
It seems like the singer has found a secret formula that works for both music and wrestling. But let’s be real; it’s not as simple as just copying and pasting the same plan. However, Corgan has a certain logic behind his approach, as he understands that both music and wrestling are about creating a unique identity and striving for mainstream appeal.
