Former WWE Star Aron Stevens Shares Thoughts On NWA's Controversial 'Cocaine Spot'

The NWA found themselves in a bit of trouble for featuring a segment on a recent pay-per-view that saw James Mitchell seemingly snorting cocaine and giving bumps of the drug to the young wrestlers he was seated with. Speaking with "Eyes Up Here With Francine," former NWA National Champion Aron Stevens thinks that it was blown out of proportion.

"Decisions are made. Good, bad, and different, decisions are made. Now do I think it negatively impacted the company? No," Stevens said. "If you want my honest opinion. In the long term, we just came off one of the best shows we've ever had in Sarasota ... We have a packed house. We have a roster that is growing and getting better everyday." Stevens believes that the company is fostering a fanbase that will weather the controversy with them. "It is a grassroots thing," Stevens said of the NWA, which was at one time the most powerful wrestling promotion in the country, and says that show after show has been a success, with first-time attendees gushing to him about how much they love the shows.

"There's a vibe at an NWA show. We are the alternative today," Stevens continued, explaining why his colleague Simon Diamond compares NWA's position to that of ECW in the 1990s. Stevens believes that the vibe is created by NWA President Billy Corgan, who he says is a great leader and inspires loyalty in the locker room by granting them creative freedom. The cocaine incident was said to have led to issues in the budding relationship between the NWA and The CW, with The CW signing on to broadcast "WWE NXT" not long after the incident. However, NWA programming still ended up debuting on The CW's app.