WWE SmackDown GM Nick Aldis Takes Shot At Former Employer Following NXT TV Deal

It was announced this past Tuesday that "WWE NXT" will air on The CW starting October 2024. The news came ahead of reports that The CW was the network that NWA's weekly TV show, "NWA Powerrr" and an unnamed reality TV series was going to air on. However, NWA's controversial drug-related spot at the Samhain pay-per-view created uncertainty regarding the TV deal for the promotion.

Former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion and current "WWE SmackDown" General Manager Nick Aldis took to Instagram to take "shots" at the promotion by sharing a graphic of "NXT" coming soon to CW with NWA's theme music "Into the Fire" by Dokken.

Aldis and NWA parted ways in acrimonious circumstances, as he was suspended by NWA after he publically announced on social media that he had asked for his release from the company in November 2022, and was also critical of the promotion. The WWE star's contract with the promotion was to expire in January 2023. He later called the brand "toxic" and accused NWA owner Billy Corgan of playing politics after he was replaced by Tyrus in the main event of the NWA 74 pay-per-view. Aldis, a two-time NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, had been with the company since 2017.

On the October 13 episode of "WWE SmackDown," Chief Creative Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque surprised the pro wrestling world by introducing Aldis as the new "SmackDown" GM, with Aldis taking over from Adam Pearce, who had previously held the GM position of the blue brand and "WWE Raw."