Mike Bennett Issues Challenge To NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis (Video)

By Marc Middleton

Former WWE, ROH and Impact Wrestling star Mike Bennett (Mike Kanellis) is set to make his debut for the National Wrestling Alliance next month.

As seen in the tweet below, the NWA released a video that was sent to them on Thursday of this week, addressed to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis. The video was from Bennett, who laid down a challenge for the "United Wrestling Network Prime Time LIVE!" pay-per-view on September 15.

"It's time to take back what's mine," Bennett said. "My name is Mike Bennett. Do you hear me? My name is Mike Bennett. I've been a professional wrestler for 20 years. I've traveled the world. It's time to prove everybody that ever believed in me, that you are 100% correct and the only way to do that is to hit the ground running. So, here's what I'm gonna do, and you don't have to accept this if you don't want to, but I know... I know you feel the same way I do. I know that you were perceived one way for the longest time and it eats you alive. So, I know you know exactly what I am going through.

"Nick Aldis, September 15. I want the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. I need to restore dignity to my family, I need to restore honor to my name, and the only way I can do that is to beat you for that prestigious World Championship. Nick, you don't have to accept. I won't be mad if you don't, but this is everything to me. This is my livelihood. This is my legacy. Nick, September 15... I'm down if you're down. I am fighting for my life."

Bennett then placed his COVID-19 mask on and walked away from the camera to end the promo.

Bennett re-tweeted the video and wrote, "I need this more than anything. I don't say this very often about my own stuff, but you're going to want to watch this whole video. This is everything to me. This is my livelihood. I'm fighting for my life...."

Bennett and wife Maria Kanellis were released in April of this year as a part of company-wide cuts brought on by the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic. They had just signed multi-year deals in the fall of 2019, after originally signing with WWE in April 2017.

The NWA is partnering with the United Wrestling Network for the new "UWN Prime Time LIVE!" pay-per-view series, which premieres on September 15 from the closed-set Thunder Studio in California. The 90-minute live pay-per-view series will air on Tuesday nights at 9pm ET via pay-per-view providers, including FITE.TV. PWInsider previously reported that the booking team for these events will be NWA's David Marquez, who owns the UWN, along with Aldis, Aron Stevens (Damien Sandow) and NWA owner Billy Corgan, for content that is specific to the NWA.

Stay tuned for updates on Bennett vs. Aldis and the new weekly pay-per-view series. Below is the full tweet with Bennett's promo, along with Aldis' Twitter response and full response on the "This Is NWA" podcast:

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