The NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from the 1940s until 1981. The company was founded in the 1940s by Nick Gulas and Roy Welch and was one of the first promotions to join the NWA after it was founded in 1948. From 1953 until late 1974 John Cazana promoted the Knoxville area and Joe Gunther promoted the Birmingham area from around 1940 until some point in the 1970s. In 1977 promoter Jerry Jarrett and wrestler Jerry Lawler broke away from NWA Mid-America, breaking the Memphis area off to start on the own under the name the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA). Mid-America stopped promoting in 1981 and the CWA took over most of their territory as well as some of the championships promoted by NWA Mid-America
NWA or Nwa may refer to:
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is a professional wrestling governing body which has historically been the largest league of independent wrestling promotions in the world. The organization sanctions various NWA championship bouts within its member promotions. The NWA has been in operation since 1948. Prior to the 1960s, it acted as the sole governing body for most of professional wrestling, operating as a talent and brand name franchiser for the inter-regional "territory" system.
Before the NWA was founded in 1948, there existed many regional professional wrestling promotions across North America (each promoting its own "World" champion). None of them, however, had backing or recognition outside of their own respective geographic base-areas. The concept of the NWA was to consolidate the championships of these regional companies into one true world championship of pro wrestling, whose holder would be recognized worldwide. In 1948, Paul "Pinkie" George, a promoter from the Midwest, founded the original version of the National Wrestling Alliance with the backing of five other promoters (Al Haft, Tony Strecher, Harry Light, Orville Brown, and Sam Muchnick). This newly formed NWA Board of Directors wanted Brown to be the first-ever NWA World champion. During the reign of the second NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Lou Thesz (1949–1956), the title was further unified with several more previously-competing "World" titles, such as those recognized jointly by the National Wrestling Association and the American Wrestling Alliance (in Boston), plus another version promoted from the Los Angeles Olympic Auditorium. This legitimized the NWA's claim that its title was a "Unified World Title," and its lineage continues to this day.
N.W.A (an abbreviation of Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group from Compton, California. It was one of the earliest and most significant popularizers of the gangsta rap and West Coast hip hop subgenres, and is widely considered one of the seminal groups in the history of hip hop music. Active from 1986 to 1991, the rap group endured controversy owing to their music's explicit lyrics that many viewed as being disrespectful of women, as well as its glorification of drugs and crime. The group was subsequently banned from many mainstream American radio stations. In spite of this, the group has sold over 10 million units in the United States alone. The group was also known for their deep hatred of the police system, which sparked much controversy over the years.
The original lineup consisted of Arabian Prince, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, and Ice Cube.DJ Yella and MC Ren joined later, with Arabian Prince eventually leaving shortly before the official release of Straight Outta Compton over royalty disputes, with Ice Cube following suit in December 1989. Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and MC Ren would later become platinum-selling solo artists in the 1990s. Their debut album Straight Outta Compton marked the beginning of the new gangsta rap era as the production and social commentary in their lyrics were revolutionary within the genre, while their second album Niggaz4Life would be the first hardcore rap album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 sales charts.Rolling Stone ranked N.W.A number 83 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In October 2012, N.W.A were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time. In October 2013 the group was nominated for a second time. In December 2015, the group was announced as one of the inductees of the 2016 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, on their third try.