NWA Television champion “Outlandish” Zicky Dice granted release from company
ATLANTA, Ga. — There are often a variety of reasons why there is news surrounding a wrestler releases from a company. They could have the unfortunate designation of being an undercard wrestler or non-essential staff member being laid off or placed on furlough leave. It could be due to bad behavior. More recently, it’s due to the backlash from the #SpeakingOut social media campaign.
While this may be the case for people like National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) co-owner Dave Lagana, this doesn’t apply to the “Outlandish” Zicky Dice.
Dice, the NWA Television champion, is leaving the NWA, which creates a dire situation for the company during uncertain times throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zicky Dice’s run as NWA Television champion uneventful
Zicky Dice defeated Ricky Starks earlier this year to win the Television Championship. Since then, he has had an uneventful run as champion. That is, unfortunately, no thanks to the pandemic, which had shut things down in the NWA. As a result, there was a postponement of all tapings and the Crockett Cup was cancelled.
This was Dice’s first championship in the NWA since debuting in 2015.
Between the Lagana scandal and the pandemic cutting into profits, the future of the iconic brand could soon be no more. Should Dice remain champion, there is the potential that the championship belt will go on the road to other promotions and further promote the brand. If that becomes an option, the potential remains that he could be brought back on board when the company recovers.
Dice’s contract was to expire at the end of the year.
NWA granting releases to anyone wanting out
Currently, there are no plans to run any more shows or produce content anytime soon. Therefore, owner William Patrick Corgan is granting release to current members of the company roster. The main stipulation: anyone who doesn’t believe in the NWA vision going forward can request their release and move onward. This is according to an email sent to talent under contract.
Ricky Starks was one of those wrestlers. Two weeks ago, Starks faced off against Cody Rhodes on AEW Dynamite for the TNT Championship. Shortly afterward, Starks would find himself with a contract.
Dice could very well follow suit by making the jump to the brand. He could also potentially make a home at Impact Wrestling to fill the vacancy created by former wrestler Joey Ryan. Ryan was recently unceremoniously terminated from his job. Ryan’s termination was the result of confirmation that Ryan was the instigator of a sexual assault incident.
As the news continues to come relating to NWA, it would result in NWA World Champion Nick Aldis looking for his ouster from the company. Despite having great content on NWA Powerrr, the company’s inability to film shows did result in a major hit. That is further intensified by their inability to get a television deal. The combination of the company’s issues could determine their fate.
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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.
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