World Championship Wrestling (WCW)

WCW was founded in 1931 as Jim Crockett Promotions. On October 11, 1988, Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territory Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), which had aired its programming on TBS.

History
By the 1980s, the U.S. pro wrestling industry was undergoing seismic and rapid change. The old, NWA-sanctioned system of separate, regional "territory" promotions was collapsing under increasing competitive pressure from Vincent K. McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), itself a family-owned, territory promotion covering the northeastern U.S. which was aggressively expanding into a nationwide promotion. Crockett had similar expansion goals, envisioning a united NWA through JCP buying-out or merging with all of its member regional territories.

Ted Turner had realized the value of professional wrestling for cable television in the early 1970s, as pro wrestling provided his then-fledgling channel a source of cheap live entertainment, well-suited to TBS' target audience at the time. Turner could run per inquiry ads (for products like Slim Whitman albums and Ginsu knives) and take part of the sales profits just by providing the big viewing audience delivered by pro wrestling's loyal fanbase (wrestling generally did not attract large ad revenues at that time, due to negative industry perceptions of its lower-income target demographic).

Turner's "SuperStation" TBS had asked Georgia Championship Wrestling, Inc., whose television show it aired on Saturday nights, to change its public brand name to World Championship Wrestling, helping fuel rumours that the Jim Barnett-controlled company would go national itself. Georgia Championship Wrestling acquiesced to the World Championship Wrestling name change in 1982. Meanwhile, by 1983, JCP went from recording its weekly shows in a television studio to shooting on-location, in between matches at live arena events. After purchasing a mobile television production unit for $1 million, Crockett unveiled what became the NWA's dominant, end-of-year, annual supercard: Starrcade.

In 1984, the WWF purchased controlling interest in Georgia Championship Wrestling from a number of its co-owners (including brothers Jack and Jerry Brisco and Jim Barnett), thus gaining control of GCW's flagship Saturday night time slot on the nationally-seen TBS channel. This tactic (co-opting the timeslots of rival territories in their own "backyard"/local TV markets) was a part of the WWF's national expansion strategy. To Vince McMahon's surprise, however, this tactic backfired severely with TBS. When the WWF aired its first show on TBS on July 14, replacing World Championship Wrestling, viewer backlash was severe, as the show's Southern fans were incensed to see their beloved stars suddenly replaced without advance notice by an "invading force" of wrestlers from "up North," an event that has since become known in pro wrestling lore as Black Saturday. In response to the ensuing deluge of complaints, TBS granted an upstart promotion called Championship Wrestling from Georgia (backed by holdout GCW shareholder and NWA member Fred Ward, and former GCW wrestler/booker Ole Anderson) an early Saturday morning time slot so that the local stars could still be seen. Championship Wrestling from Georgia's television show (which had the same name as the promotion itself), along with that of Bill Watts's Mid-South Wrestling, easily surpassed the ratings for the WWF broadcast, which just featured clips and wrestler promos instead of original matches. The steep decline in ratings for the Saturday evening WWF show, and viewers clamouring for GCW's return, began to make the WWF's move a money-losing one. Eventually, McMahon cut his losses and sold the time slot to Crockett for $1 million. This chain of events and McMahon's refusal to sell to the network/Turner, instead, were critical in Turner's later decision to purchase Jim Crockett Promotions, and form World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in its wake

By 1988, JCP was on the verge of bankruptcy. On October 11, 1988 Turner Broadcasting System purchased a majority interest of JCP for $9 million. The Crockett family retained a minority interest, with Crockett, Jr. becoming a consultant. Turner Broadcasting System ultimately rebranded the promotion World Championship Wrestling and decided to replaced and renamed numerous of the NWA branding logos and names to WCW (except for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as the NWA had control and not WCW, this as well as disagreements with the WCW board of directors lead to the NWAceasing their partnership with WCW meaning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was no longer WCW's world title, so WCW created the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship continued to defend the belt on WCW events but this ended in 1993.

1988-2001
Kevin Nash explained that the WCW made an offer he couldn't refuse. At a time when his WWE character would be dropping the championship belt to Bret Hart, and Nash was asked to let Mike Tyson drop him for charity, World Championship Wrestling promised a world of perks. Nash would only have to work 180 days a year, which must have sounded like a vacation compared to the 300 days he worked for WWE. Plus, he would earn $850,000 a year minimum. His wife was pregnant so opting for extra time and money made all the sense and cents in the world. Bret Hart's refusal to drop the belt to Nash was another reason Nash citied as his decision to join WCW from WWE

https://wwfoldschool.com/scott-hall-reveals-what-exactly-made-him-leave-the-wwf/

2001
It was announced on Thursday, January 11th, 2001 that Eric Bischoff and Fusient Media had purchased World Championship Wrestling for $8 million. The sale is expected to be officially closed within 45 days. Eric Bischoff would become WCW President, Jerry Jarrett become Vice-President, Vince Russo would stay as head booker and Brian Bedol of Fusient Media would be the CEO.

Jamie Kellner made cancelling of WCW wrestling his first significant act in his new role. His feeling was that wrestling didn’t suit the more affluent, upscale image the network was aiming for with their ‘TNT for drama and TBS for sports’ vision.' Fusient struck a deal with News Corporation for 8pm Saturday night slot on FX for 90 minutes on a Saturday evening (with the option of extending to 2 hours, pending good ratings) in exchange that News Corporation have a 20% minority stake in the company. This led to the creation of WCW Saturday Night which were taped from The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada and will tape every episode of their Saturday evening broadcast during the week, in 2 or 3-week batches

There will be a second PPV on May 27, continuing the company’s tradition that month of staging an event titled Slamboree. A deal will be available where customers can watch Slamboree for free if they bought The Big Bang. And the TV show airing 24 hours before a PPV will be replayed by FX at 9pm on the Sunday as a free pre-show leading into and heavily advertising the pay-per-view, in which FX of course has a financial stake

The lack of funds also affected WCW’s production values. Having already made multiple changes and cuts to the television production budget during 2000, the budget was slashed even further. Onscreen graphics were simplified tremendously, with on-screen animations simplified. The standard Saturday Night set was, in many ways, closer to that of the ECW Arena than to those of the old WCW, a comparison not helped by the reduced size of Saturday Night’s venues, the average Saturday Night venue would be a far cry from Nitro’s selling-out of the Georgia Dome a mere 3-years before.

WCW decided to ditch the traditional 4-sided ring and adopt a 6-sided ring. The transition, it was argued, would allow wrestlers to do things that other companies couldn’t and help the product look different. The cruiserweight division was changed to the “X-Division”. According to Jerry Jarrett, the cruiserweight or jr. heavyweight titles had been devalued in the eyes of American fans. Instead of trying to redefine that division, he asked, why not just come out with an entirely different concept that wasn’t beholden to weight? As long as the matches were high excitement and fast-paced, it could fit in the division. With the new ring, he felt the X-Division could be a major selling point.

The Roster
AOL Time Warner has a host of existing contracts to honour, unless the wrestler accepts a buy-out. It is made clear that those deals will be the only talent contracts financed above WCW itself. Any new deals and any renewals of existing stars past their current terms would come out of the promotion’s own budget. This gives the company a decent financial umbrella as they transition into their new, more sensible role as a clear number two to WWE, striving to provide a consistent alternative product and turn a profit on a more basic business model

The following AOL Time Warner contracts will be utilised:


 * 1) Bill Goldberg: 2.5m pa until June 30, 2003 (would sign with WWE afterwards on a 1-year deal)
 * 2) Kevin Nash: 1.625m until December 31, 2001 (would sign with WWE afterwards on a 2-year deal)
 * 3) Sting: 1.5m pa until January 1, 2002
 * 4) Lex Luger: 1.5m pa until April 13, 2002
 * 5) DDP: 1.25m pa until January 1, 2002
 * 6) Sid Vicious: 900k until August 6, 2002, was out injured for the duration of his contract (did not renew his contract especially after suing WCW)
 * 7) Scott Steiner: 750k pa until November 30, 2001 (afterwards went in to have foot surgery, and would sign with WWE on a 3-year deal in October 2002)
 * 8) Rick Steiner: 750k pa until November 30, 2001
 * 9) Dustin Rhodes: 700k pa until August 1, 2002 (joined WWE afterwards on a 2-year deal)
 * 10) Konnan: 570k pa until January 14, 2002
 * 11) Buff Bagwell: 450k pa until March 25, 2001 [see below]
 * 12) Bam Bam Bigelow: 450k pa until July 5, 2002
 * 13) Ernest Miller: 450k pa until January 31, 2002 (joined WWE afterwards)
 * 14) Rey Mysterio: 425k pa until December 31, 2001 (declined to resign instead joining the WWE in June 2002)
 * 15) Alex Wright: 400k pa until December 31, 2001
 * 16) Shane Douglas: 375k pa until April 9, 2002
 * 17) Mike Awesome: 350k pa until April 9, 2002
 * 18) Disco Inferno: 350k pa until March 7, 2002
 * 19) Jeff Jarrett: 325k pa until October 17, 2002
 * 20) Billy Kidman: 325k pa until June 21, 2002
 * 21) Hugh Morrus: 250k pa until December 31, 2001 (joined WWE afterwards)
 * 22) Dave Finlay: 250k pa until November 15, 2001 (joined WWE afterwards)
 * 23) Lance Storm: 245k pa until May 31, 2002
 * 24) Chris Kanyon: 240k pa until April 23, 2001
 * 25) Chavo Guerrero: 225k pa until May 31, 2001 (joined the WWE)
 * 26) Bryan Clarke: 175k pa until December 31, 2001
 * 27) Brian Adams: 175k pa until January 18, 2002
 * 28) Lash LeRoux: 150k pa until June 20, 2002
 * 29) Ron Harris: 130k pa until October 24, 2001 (left WCW day)
 * 30) Don Harris: 130k pa until October 24, 2001 (left WCW day)
 * 31) Big Vito: 130k pa until November 21, 2002
 * 32) The Demon: 125k pa until April 10, 2002 (left WCW day)
 * 33) Norman Smiley: 120k pa until May 9, 2002
 * 34) Kaz Hayashi: 100k pa until July 19, 2001
 * 35) Evan Karagias: 85k pa until December 31, 2001
 * 36) Shawn Stasiak: 78k pa until February 28, 2003
 * 37) Chuck Palumbo: 75k pa until April 18, 2001
 * 38) Mark Jindrak: 75k pa until April 18, 2001
 * 39) Crowbar: 75k pa until July 11, 2002
 * 40) Christopher Daniels: 75k pa until February 28, 2002
 * 41) Johnny The Bull: 75k pa until December 15, 2001
 * 42) Mike Sanders: 75k pa until June 18, 2001
 * 43) Elix Skipper: 75k pa until April 30, 2001
 * 44) Shannon Moore: 75k pa until December 31, 2001
 * 45) Jamie Noble: 62k pa until April 18, 2001
 * 46) Sean O’Haire: 75k pa until April 18, 2001
 * 47) Kid Romeo: 40k pa until May 18, 2002
 * 48) Sharmell: 52k pa until April 30, 2002
 * 49) Jimmy Yang: 50k pa until April 18, 2001
 * 50) Mike Sanders: 39k pa until June 18, 2001 (left WCW day after)
 * 51) Reno: 33.8k pa until May 18, 2002 (left WCW day after)

Shane Helms, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and David Flair reject to work with WCW reboot. Ric Flair and David Flair accepted a buy-out from his contract because of Ric Flair's personal issues with Eric Bischoff, he has also said he would have been happy if WCW finally closed down, although at the same time the fact that many people would have lost their jobs saddened him (in December 2001 he would join the WWE). Hogan accepted a buy-out from his contract needing to have surgery on both knees, had already agreed to go back to WWE and also had personal issues with booker Vince Russo. Shane Helms accepted a buy-out from his contract and signed with the WWE as they offered better pay and job security, Helms also disliked the backstage politics and negativity in WCW. Numerous valets, managers and other non-wrestlers (such as M.I. Smooth, Tygress, Midajah) were also released from WCW, the most prominent example would be the all the members of the Nitro Girls, the popular dance troupe used to entertain live crowds during commercial breaks.

Scotty O and Jason B were both released by WCW. Deals that expire during the reboot are the 1st contracts on the Fusient payroll:


 * Buff Bagwell agrees to cut down from 450k to 300k on a 1-year deal when interest from the WWF doesn’t come to pass. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2002.
 * Chris Kanyon moves up to 300k on a 2-year deal. May 1 2001 to April 30 2003.
 * Jimmy Yang is given a new deal on 100k until December 31 2002.
 * Kaz Hayashi’s 100k deal is extended from July 19 2001 to December 31 2002.
 * Mark Jindrak moves up to 150k on a 2-year deal. May 1 2001 to April 30 2003.
 * Chuck Palumbo moves up to 150k on a 2-year deal. May 1 2001 to April 30 2003.
 * Sean O’Haire moves up to 150k on a 2-year deal. May 1 2001 to April 30 2003.
 * Elix Skipper moves up to 100k on a 2-year deal. May 1 2001 to April 30 2003.
 * Jamie Knoble moves up to 100k on a 2-year deal. May 1 2001 to April 30 2003.
 * Mike Sanders moves up to 100k on a 1-year deal. May 1 2001 to April 30 2002.

In addition, several acquisitions are made in a combination of brand new talent and wrestlers who had worked for WCW in the dying days of the previous era on per-night deals:


 * Kid Kash signs for 100k on a 2-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003.
 * Jason Jett signs for 100k on a 2-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003.
 * AJ Styles signs for 75k on a 1-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2002.
 * Air Paris signs for 75k on a 1-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2002.
 * CW Anderson signs for 150k on a 2-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003.
 * Johnny B Badd signs for 150k on a 1-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2002.
 * Super Crazy signs for 150k on a 2-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003.
 * Guido Maritato signs for 150k on a two-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003.
 * Tony Marinera signs for 150k on a two-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003.
 * Simon Diamond signs for 150k on a two-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003.
 * Johnny Swinger signs for 150k on a two-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003.
 * Christian York signs for 100k on a two-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003.
 * Joey Matthews signs for 100k on a two-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003.
 * Low Ki signs for 100k on a 2-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003.
 * Chris Harris signs for 100k on a 1-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2002.
 * James Black signs for 100k on a 1-year deal. May 1, 2001 to April 30, 2002.
 * Steve Corino came highly recommended for a job from Dusty Rhodes. However, Corino unfortunately suffered a serious neck injury shortly before signing. As a result, he was offered a job in the office learning the ropes on the production side, as well as handling minor on-air interviewing and hosting roles. It’s hoped he would one day move up to a full roster role.

Fusient abolished ‘guaranteed contracts’ WCW used during the 1990s, something WCW wouldn't be able to afford without Ted Turner’s money behind them. Instead, they switched to a similar system to that used by the WWF, one centred around ‘downside guarantees’. Another money-saving feature of these new contracts was an alteration to the ‘no-compete clause’, originally introduced in both WCW and the WWE during the 90s in order to prevent wrestlers from debuting for the rival’s company immediately after release. While the clause remained in the new WCW contracts, the ‘no-compete’ time would be reduced. Thus, in contrast to the WWE’s 90-day no-compete clause, the new WCW contracts included a 60-day no-compete clause, which, while serving the same purpose (preventing other companies from capitalizing from a wrestler’s immediate momentum), also appeared more palatable to both the industry and the public (preventing a wrestler from appearing on TV for 2 months rather than 3) as well as saving money (only having to continue paying the wrestler for 2 months rather than 3).

WCW also eliminated complete creative control from their contracts, but insisted that the wrestler would be consulted regarding their character development

Due to the structure of WCW under Turner’s ownership, the contracts of main eventers such as Ric Flair, Sting, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, were not with WCW itself, but with AOL Time Warner. The nature of this buyout left those affected with a choice – earn a lot of money doing nothing, but risk losing the spotlight, or join the new WCW and stay in the public eye, but for a reduced wage.

Staff
Tony Schiavone is joined by Joey Styles from ECW, alongside Mike Tenay in his usual ‘Professor’ role as an analyst.

Gene Okerlund and Scott Hudson will provide interviews with the talent as well as present syndications and video/DVD releases, with Jeremy Borash also being eased into similar roles as a long-term option. A range of inexpensive compilations featuring the best of the old WCW tape library will be released to help generate revenue and raise the profile of remaining roster members.

David Penzer remains lead ring announcer and the deal with Michael Buffer is terminated. Improvements are made to the in-house production and medical teams.

Arn Anderson is employed as a road agent. Norman Smiley and Fit Finlay also help put matches together whilst still performing in reduced roles. Both are expected to sign full-time trainer/road agent deals when their AOL Time Warner deals expire.

Season finale
Turner South aired classic matches on their "WCW Classics Program" during WCW "hiatus", much like Heenan and Monsoon, Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair hosted the program. The duo would bicker throughout the show, which lasted throughout the summer of 2001.
 * The March 26, 2001 edition of Nitro (in Panama City Beach, Florida) was the last edition of Nitro and last edition of wrestling on Turner Broadcasting System. Bischoff decided to take WCW off air after March 26, 2001 edition of Nitro, go dark and then “reboot” WCW starting with WCW The Big Bang on May 6 held at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
 * Contingency plans were being laid into place by the booking team for the Spring Breakout season finale of Nitro, which are mostly kept. The show runs as it did in reality, albeit without the copious McMahon appearances.
 * The final Monday Nitro runs under the premise that Bischoff’s takeover has yet to be completed, playing off the uncertainty surrounding the deal that was factored into Eric Bischoff’s promos on the penultimate Nitro and final Thunder.
 * During the season finale, an ominous air of uncertainty hangs over the entire broadcast, with performers and staff playing up that this truly could be the end of WCW despite now knowing it will not be. Nothing is given away regarding the fate of the company… at first.
 * Ric Flair cuts a similar promo to reality, without the references to McMahon and WWF. Flair speaks as if it’s WCW’s last night and says if this is how it ends, he wants to end against his greatest opponent… Sting.
 * WCW champion Scott Steiner (with Midajah) defeated US champ Booker T for ownership of both belts. The bout runs pretty much as in reality, but runs a few minutes longer.
 * Rey and Kidman earn a cruiser tag title shot later in the night, as per, versus Three Count and the Yung Dragons. Remains a high-spot sprint.
 * Shane Helms retains the cruiserweight title in Chavo Guerrero’s rematch. Again, runs a little longer than in reality.
 * Sean O’Haire and Chuck Palumbo retain the WCW tag titles vs Lance Storm and Mike Awesome, like in real life
 * Rick Steiner calls out Shane Douglas for a fight, per Douglas’s challenge on Thunder. The 2 end up brawling all around the Spring Breakout set until security break things up before they get too out of hand.
 * Shawn Stasiak wins the ‘tattoo’ match versus Bam Bam Bigelow, like in real life
 * Rey and Kidman win the cruiserweight tag titles from Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo in a longer match than in reality.
 * Sting beats Ric Flair, as per, in their nostalgic exhibition of legends. Sting extends a hand post-match and the two shake and hug. They’re joined by the entire roster, in a big heartfelt farewell to the Turner era and perhaps, in their minds, to WCW as a whole.
 * Post-credits, however, a graphic of an almighty explosion is followed by the on-screen words: The End… until May 6.

After 2001
In October 2002, Panda Energy purchased a controlling interest (72%) of World Championship Wrestling (including News Corporation's 20% stake) with J Sports & Entertainment, LLC (the Jarretts) owing 28%. Eric Bischoff stepped down as president, Dixie Carter was appointed president, Chris Sobol, the Panda manager of business development, was appointed vice president of operations, and Frank Dickerson (later Kevin Day) was appointed chief executive officer. However WCW and News Corporation agreed to keep WCW Saturday Night on FX for 90mins until May 2005

In 2012 Panda Energy sold their stake in WCW to Dixie Carter herself making her the majority shareholder. On June 24, 2015, Jeff Jarrett, would sell his stake to Aroluxe Marketing, a Brentwood, Tennessee-based marketing agency.

On August 12, WCW appointed Smashing Pumpkins frontman and Resistance Pro Wrestling owner Billy Corgan as the company's new president and the transition of Carter from President to the company's new Chairwoman and Chief Strategy Officer. On November 4, Corgan was removed as president

On January 4, 2017 Anthem Sports & Entertainment acquired complete control of WCW, Carter resigned as Chairwoman after 14 years in charge, while joining the advisory board of Fight Media Group. Ed Nordholm, Anthem's Executive Vice President, took over Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions as Chief Corporate Officer & President, Leonard Asper as President & CEO, Jeff Jarrett as executive producer and Chief Creative Officer and Scott D'Amore & Don Callis both as Executive Vice President.

However Jeff Jarrett left WCW in 2018 to join WWE as a producer and Callis left WCW to join AEW in 2020. In 2019, David Sahadi joined as a Creative Director

Ownership history

 * Jim Crockett (1931–1973)
 * Jim Crockett Jr. (1973–November 2, 1988)
 * Turner Broadcasting System (November 2, 1988–October 10, 1996)
 * Time Warner (October 10, 1996–January 11, 2001)
 * Fusient Media (Eric Bischoff, Brian Bedol and other investors) and Encompass Health (January 11, 2001-October 2002)
 * Panda Energy (72%) and J Sports & Entertainment (28%) (October 2002-2012)
 * Dixie Carter and J Sports & Entertainment (2012-2015)
 * Dixie Carter (51%) and Aroluxe Marketing (49%) (2015-January 4, 2017)
 * Anthem Sports & Entertainment (January 4, 2017-present)

Commentators
David Crockett was replaced by

Madden was fired in 2000 for making disparaging remarks about the company, lobbying for the return of the fired Scott Hall, and disclosing information about the sale of WCW.

Ring announcers

 * Tom Miller (1983 – January 1988)
 * Gary Michael Cappetta (January 1988 – May 1995, released due to budget cuts)
 * David Penzer (June 18, 1995 – May 13, 2010, released due to budget cuts; March 9, 2017 - present)
 * Jeremy Borash (May 20, 2010 – March 2, 2017)
 * Michael Buffer (select TV main events and PPV main events only, September 19, 1993 – March 26, 2001)

TV history

 * WCW Saturday Night on FX for 90mins at 9pm May 2001 until May 28, 2005
 * WCW Thunder on Paramount Network for 90mins on Thursday 9pm June 3, 2005 until September 27, 2007
 * WCW Thunder on Paramount Network for 2hrs on Thursday 9pm October 4, 2007 until December 31, 2010
 * WCW Monday Nitro on Paramount Network for 2hrs at 8pm January 4, 2010 until May 3, 2010
 * WCW Thunder on Paramount Network for 2hrs on Thursday 8pm May 13, 2010 until December 25, 2014
 * WCW Thunder on Pop TV for 2hrs on Thursday 8pm January 8, 2015 until January 11, 2018
 * WCW Thunder on Pursuit Channel for 2hrs on Thursday 8pm January 18, 2018 until October 17, 2019
 * WCW Thunder on AXS TV for 2hrs on Thursday 8pm October 24, 2019 until present

WCW expanded their previous agreement with Twitch to simulcast WCW Thunder episode broadcasts online, beginning with the Pursuit Channel debut on January 18, 2018

The WCW Network was launched on October 10, 2017. In 2022 WCW Network is on YouTube TV