Throughout its history, WWE has had a long relationship with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). For many decades, until the mid-1980s, the NWA acted as a governing body of the many regional wrestling promotions, and membership allowed for decreased regional competition and the shared use of big-name stars for local events. WWE (as Capitol Wrestling) was a member of the NWA between 1953 and 1963, and again (as the WWWF) between 1971 and 1983. In 1998, WWE (as the WWF) hosted NWA matches on its programming.
