The WWF comparison doesn't fit since Lee Thompson is not using just NPC, but rather adding a word to it. And that's not semantics; it's a major difference.
All of the blowing going on - during Olympia Weekend, no less - is fuckin' comical. When did we ever hear a pro thank the NPC for everything that they have in life? If Thompson was not a threat to their monopoly, then these pros would have been talking about their Super Bowl instead. Scripted, no doubt.
And now that Bodybuilding.com has signed on with NPC Global, it seems the first 'defector' is a major one. They got screwed with the O webcast and also have a bunch of NPC/IFBB athletes tied to them. What will happen with these people?