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74-763: The team originally formed on July 9, 1987, in Jim Crockett Promotions , defeating Dick Murdoch and Eddie Gilbert . They would wrestle six times together, all against Gilbert and Murdoch, winning every match but the last one, which Gilbert and Murdoch won, before disbanding. Gordy went to All Japan Pro Wrestling while Williams stayed for the transition from Bill Watts 's old UWF into JCP, before moving to New Japan Pro Wrestling and then jumping to All Japan himself in 1990. The team reunited in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in February 1990 and quickly became

148-454: A guard during his sophomore and junior years. However, his junior year was marred by a near fatal car accident involving him and his mother, resulting in him going into a coma. When he came out, he had lost a significant amount of weight, and had to put it back on, despite the coaches at the time preferring their players to be small and quick, which Watts had struggled with before the accident. Former Sooners teammate Wahoo McDaniel (then of

222-794: A 30 minute draw. On July 5, 1992, at a house show at the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia, Williams and Gordy won the WCW World Tag Team Championship from the Steiner Brothers. Shortly afterwards at The Great American Bash 92 the final two rounds of the NWA Tag-Team Championship Tournament were run. Gordy and Williams defeated Ricky Steamboat and Nikita Koloff in the semi-finals, and then beat Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham in

296-434: A business, and you put money in it, why shouldn't you be able to discriminate? It's your business... That's why I went into business, so that I could discriminate... Who's killed more blacks than anyone? The fuckin' blacks." Watts claims that when he was hired by WCW, he had explained the situation to Turner president Bill Shaw , apparently to his satisfaction. However, a year later wrestling journalist Mark Madden brought

370-636: A lengthy interview on wrestling, Watts commented on Lester Maddox , a 1960s restaurant owner and segregationist Governor of Georgia ) who refused service to black customers. Watts supported the owner's position, illegal under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , that he had a right do discriminate as did Watts in his business. Watts further expressed his view that slavery was beneficial for bringing slaves to America. He also made numerous other controversial statements pertaining to race and sexual orientation, including using numerous highly offensive slurs: "If you want

444-425: A majority interest in the promotion to Turner Broadcasting System (which was acquired by Time Warner in 1996, later became WarnerMedia from 2018–2022, now known as Warner Bros. Discovery ), resulting in the creation of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1988. In 2022, Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. was restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett . Jim Crockett (1909–1973)

518-525: A number of its co-owners (including Barnett and brothers Jack and Jerry Brisco ), thus gaining control of GCW's flagship Saturday night time slot on TBS. This tactic—co-opting the time slots of rival territories in their own "backyard"/local TV markets—was part of the WWF's national expansion strategy. To McMahon's surprise, however, the move backfired with TBS. When the WWF aired its first show on TBS on July 14, replacing World Championship Wrestling , viewer backlash

592-445: A partnership, had also withdrawn from the NWA. JCP also began to run shows in new markets from coast-to-coast (often in less-than-sold-out arenas), greatly increasing travel costs and other overhead. JCP's first pay-per-view endeavor, 1987's Starrcade , was scheduled in its traditional Thanksgiving slot, but ran into unexpected competition from the WWF's inaugural Survivor Series PPV, which

666-619: A promoter in the Mid-South United States, which grew to become the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF). Watts also worked under the ring name Doctor Scarlett which was sometimes stylised as Dr. Scarlett . In 1992, Watts was the Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) but after clashes with management over a number of issues, as well as feeling pressure from Hank Aaron over

740-666: A racially insensitive interview, he resigned. He was subsequently replaced by Ole Anderson . In 1995, Watts briefly worked as a booker for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE). In 2009, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame . Watts played as a linebacker for his high school football team, the Putnam City Pirates . Bud Wilkinson recruited him to play for the Oklahoma Sooners , where he played as

814-530: A secondary company out of Knoxville, Tennessee . The promotion featured such stars as Mulligan; his son Barry Windham (then billed as Blackjack Mulligan Jr.); Kevin Sullivan ; Wayne Ferris ; The Mongolian Stomper ; Terry Taylor ; Tim Horner , and others. The enterprise lasted less than one year, however. By the 1980s, American professional wrestling was undergoing seismic and rapid change. The old, NWA-sanctioned system of separate, regional "territory" promotions

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888-640: A separate organization, Crockett sent his mid-card wrestlers to the UWF and had them quickly win their titles. Eventually, the UWF folded, and Crockett would be bought out by Ted Turner in 1988. In April 1989, after firing George Scott , WCW offered Watts the chance to book , but he declined the offer and WCW instead decided to go with a booking committee, which included Ric Flair and Kevin Sullivan . Watts became Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (succeeding Kip Frey) in 1992. He took many of his old-school values with him, such as banning moves from

962-452: A single supercard in 1985 and expanding to the full tour in 1986. By 1987, Crockett was elected to a third term as NWA President, and gained control (either through purchase or working agreements) of the St. Louis Wrestling Club , Heart of America Sports Attractions ( Bob Geigel 's Central States brand), Championship Wrestling from Florida , and Bill Watts 's Mid-South Sports (which operated under

1036-607: A top tag team for the next several years under the name the Miracle Violence Connection. The two quickly found success when they defeated Genichiro Tenryu and Stan Hansen to win the World Tag Team Championship on March 6, 1990. Williams and Gordy would make one successful title defense against Hansen and Dan Spivey before losing the titles to Jumbo Tsuruta and the Great Kabuki on July 19, 1990. In

1110-576: Is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina , United States. Founded in 1931, the promotion emerged as a cornerstone of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). By the 1980s, Jim Crockett Promotions was, along with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), one of the two largest promotions in the United States. The Crockett family sold

1184-494: Is an outspoken critic on breaking kayfabe and "smart" wrestling fans . A Watts-run promotion always had face and heel wrestlers dress in different locker rooms and to have faces and heels not meet publicly. He has also been known to revamp his booking plans in order to protect the business from such fans. After losing over half a million dollars, Watts sold the UWF to NWA Mid-Atlantic's Jim Crockett Promotions , who kept many of their stars, such as Sting . Instead of having UWF as

1258-548: The Class of 2009 . Watts has five children. From his first marriage, he has a son, William III (nicknamed Biff), and from his second marriage, he has three sons, Joel, Erik , Micah and a daughter, Ene. In March 2006, Watts released his autobiography The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story: Rebellion, Wrestling and Redemption through ECW Press . The book chronicles his upbringing, his career as first

1332-629: The Houston Oilers of the AFL ), introduced him to professional wrestling for the first time, something McDaniel did in the off-season. Watts turned professional in 1961 and joined the Oilers, but did not last long there, and according to a shoot interview, he left after knocking out a coach. Through McDaniel's friendship with defensive coach Bob Griffin , Watts played for the Indianapolis Warriors of

1406-675: The Jim Barnett -controlled company would go national itself; GCW 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 annual supercard, Starrcade . In 1984, McMahon's WWF purchased controlling interest in GCW from

1480-848: The NWA Tri-State / Mid South Wrestling before he became head promotor in the Oklahoma / Louisiana areas. Watts is perhaps even more famous for being a pioneering promoter in the Mid-South area of the United States, with his base of operation being in the Shreveport, Louisiana area. His promotion was known as Mid-South Wrestling. He is often credited with creating the current and popular "episodic" style of TV wrestling, building solid creative storylines week-on-week, with an emphasis on solid in-ring action with dependable wrestlers like "Dr. Death" Steve Williams , The Junkyard Dog , Ted DiBiase and Jim Duggan . He

1554-592: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship during his presidency; by this point, JCP's top contracted performer, Ric Flair , was locked-in as the champion. Moreover, even though Flair was obligated to perform title-defense matches in each territory against the territory's own chosen star/challenger, any title changes only occurred between other performers also contracted to Crockett, such as Dusty Rhodes and Ron Garvin . Crockett's rapid expansion had significant financial consequences for JCP. By December,

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1628-549: The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Crockett joined the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1952, and his "territory" covered Virginia , North Carolina and South Carolina . The name "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" became JCP's primary brand name in print, radio, and other advertising (the name was also used for its main television programs). The business was incorporated in the 1950s. Jim Crockett died in 1973. He left JCP to his family, with his eldest son, Jim Crockett, Jr. , taking over as chief executive. Led by

1702-497: The Nippon Budokan to Stan Hansen and Dan Spivey. A few months later on July 6, Williams and Gordy rebounded by regaining the titles for the third time. The title reign would not last, three weeks later on July 24, they lost the titles to Misawa and Kawada. Williams and Gordy entered their second Tag League in the fall of 1991 and would proceed to win the tournament for the second time by finishing in first with 21 Points. Along with

1776-572: The Southeast eventually suffered, as some local fans vindictively withheld their support. Booking decisions also factored into the promotion's downfall. JCP flushed away a potentially profitable angle following the acquisition of Bill Watts 's UWF by " burying " the UWF's talent. Instead of portraying them as competitive with JCP wrestlers, the UWF's wrestlers and championships were portrayed as second-rate compared to those of JCP. Meanwhile, mid-carder Ron Garvin beat perennial champion Ric Flair for

1850-748: The United Football League , while also being able to wrestle for NWA Indianapolis. Watts then had a try-out with the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL), but after a discussion with general manager Jim Finks , who wanted him to quit his wrestling career, Watts left the Vikings having decided he could make more money back in Oklahoma. As a professional wrestler, he famously feuded with WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino , but

1924-950: The 1980s, Crockett, Jr. began consolidating the Southern member promotions of the National Wrestling Alliance. Discarding the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling brand, he began promoting his events simply as NWA shows, although his promotion remained distinct from the larger NWA entity. In August 1980, Crockett, Jr. was elected president of the NWA, and the next year (the same year Crockett moved his TV show tapings from Raleigh to Charlotte), former (and future) Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) booker Ole Anderson took over as Mid-Atlantic's booker. In 1981, Anderson booked both JCP and GCW simultaneously. In 1982, Crockett partnered with wrestlers Ric Flair and Blackjack Mulligan to start Southern Championship Wrestling,

1998-712: The April 18 edition of WCW Saturday Night it was announced that Williams and Gordy would be part of the upcoming tournament for the vacant NWA Tag-Team Championship that summer. At Clash of the Champions XIX on June 16, the duo defeated the Australian representatives Larry O'Day and Jeff O'Day in the opening round of the NWA Tournament. As a bonus for the Clash, it was announced by new WCW Executive Vice President Bill Watts that

2072-623: The Battle Bowl event at Starrcade and teamed with Sting to defeat Eric Watts and Jushin Liger . At the start of the event it was announced that he would be substituting for an injured Rick Rude to challenge Ron Simmons for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship , but lost by disqualification. He left WCW shortly thereafter. During their relatively brief stay in WCW, their feud with

2146-490: The Eliminators at When Worlds Collide and High Incident . Terry Gordy died on July 16, 2001, due to a heart attack. He was 40 years old. In 2004, Williams was diagnosed with throat cancer; he would eventually get surgery and was declared cancer-free for five years until 2009 when his cancer returned. He eventually died on December 29, 2009. He was 49 years old. Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions

2220-540: The Mid-South Wrestling, and later, upon expansion, Universal Wrestling Federation brand names). Despite Crockett now having six consolidated territories under his banner and leading the NWA, JCP and the NWA were still two separate entities, and Crockett—like all NWA promoters before and since—was simply licensing the NWA brand name, whose true value was as a credibility-infusing, fan-trusted brand name for wrestling championships. Still, Crockett had an iron-clad grip on

2294-439: The Miracle Violence Connection won their fifth and final World Tag Team Title by defeating Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada. After holding the titles for 4 Months, Williams and Gordy would lose the titles to the newly formed Holy Demon Army (Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue). After failing to win the titles on July 26, Williams and Gordy would team one last time on July 29, 1993, defeating Johnny Ace and Kendall Windham . After

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2368-399: The NWA world title. Although Garvin was booked to be a babyface, many fans did not find him credible enough to be a serious threat to Flair. JCP apparently neglected to monitor its own lavish spending as well. Crockett flew himself and his top performers around in an expensive private jet. In addition to the expense of Crockett's personal jet, there were other extravagant purchases such as

2442-607: The Saturday evening WWF show, and viewers clamoring 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. Although this gave Crockett vital national exposure, it also allowed McMahon to finance his own marquee wrestling event, WrestleMania . This chain of events was critical in Turner's eventual decision to purchase JCP and form World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1988. An extra sense of urgency

2516-630: The Steiner Brothers was also seen as a major feud by Japanese fans even though the two teams never faced each other in Japan. Despite advances by New Japan, Gordy and Williams, out of loyalty to Giant Baba , refused to compete for the rival promotion. In October 1992, Gordy left WCW, before Halloween Havoc , while Williams left in December, after Starrcade . Williams and Gordy briefly reunited in Extreme Championship Wrestling in late-1996, facing

2590-533: The Tag Tournament the Miracle Violence Connection also won the vacated World Tag Team Titles for a fourth time. Four months later on March 4, 1992, they lost the titles to Jumbo Tsuruta and Akira Taue. For the remainder of 1992, Williams and Gordy attempted to regain the titles but failed to including a rematch with Tsuruta and Taue on October 7. The two also entered the 1992 World's Strongest Tag League but finished in second place with 17 points. On January 30, 1993,

2664-482: The U.S. trademarks of Jim Crockett Promotions to David Crockett on August 1, 2022, after the conclusion of the Starrcast weekend. Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939), better known under the ring name Bill Watts , is a retired American professional wrestler , promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as

2738-740: The WWF buyout of the Toronto territory occurred, as well as after the airing of the WWF program The War to Settle the Score on MTV to high ratings. Together with the Minneapolis -based American Wrestling Association (AWA), Championship Wrestling from Georgia, and Memphis -based Jarrett Promotions, JCP created Pro Wrestling USA . However, the organization fell apart in January 1986. Crockett bought out Ole Anderson's Championship Wrestling from Georgia, on April 6, 1985, and

2812-449: The WWF was the uncontested #1 PPV content provider in America at the time, only a handful of companies committed to air Starrcade, devastating the event's profitability. After the cable industry warned McMahon to never again attempt such a move, Crockett felt it safe to restart his PPV attempts, and scheduled Bunkhouse Stampede in January 1988. However, the WWF again sabotaged JCP by airing

2886-505: The WWF's success, McMahon was financially able to lure the top talent away from rival companies. Because of this, JCP offered many of its stars lucrative contracts - paying them beyond their actual value - to prevent them from leaving the company. Another factor was the fans' exasperation with the " Dusty Finish " (a type of " screwjob " finish named after Rhodes, who did not actually invent the concept, but used it frequently for matches at regular house shows and PPV/major cards, alike). Due to

2960-558: The WWF, as WrestleMania IV's buy rate was much lower than that of the previous year's Survivor Series. However, Clash of the Champions was now the only thing Crockett could use to keep the NWA alive, though it was not even as highly watched as the WWF's Saturday Night's Main Event . On the verge of bankruptcy, Crockett sold Jim Crockett Promotions to Ted Turner in November 1988, and the promotion

3034-705: The broadcast to several local TV stations throughout the Carolinas and Virginia. In 1981, JCP moved to the WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte (a station once owned by Ted Turner ). The local shows hosted by announcers like Billy "Big Bill" Ward (from WBTV in Charlotte) and Charlie Harville (at WGHP in High Point) gave way to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (known briefly in 1978 as Mid-Atlantic Championship Sports ). Mid-Atlantic

Miracle Violence Connection - Misplaced Pages Continue

3108-519: The company had bought-out the rival UWF; Crockett even moved many of his administrative employees from his Charlotte base to the UWF's former offices in Dallas. Jim Crockett, Jr. and Dusty Rhodes personally manned the Dallas office, leaving Jim Jr.'s brother David Crockett in charge of the Charlotte operations. Bob Geigel, a former NWA President who bought his promotion back from Crockett in Febrtuary 1987 through

3182-700: The end of Terry Gordy's run in WCW; after the tandem returned to All-Japan in October 1992 for a lengthy series of matches only Steve Williams would make future appearances for WCW. Williams received a rematch at Halloween Havoc and chose Steve Austin as his partner, but were only able to wrestle Rhodes and Windham to a time limit draw. "Dr. Death" returned to the American promotion on December 12, 1992, and teamed with Big Van Vader in an unsuccessful challenge to Windham & Rhodes in Columbus, OH. On December 28 he participated in

3256-538: The fall of 1990, the Miracle Violence Connection entered the World's Strongest Tag Determination League and would win the tournament by finishing in first with 19 Points. By winning the tournament, they also won the vacated World Tag Team Championship. The team would hold the titles for four months, making two successful title defenses against Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada and Jumbo Tsuruta and Akira Taue . The Connection's second title reign ended on April 18, 1991, at

3330-467: The first-ever Royal Rumble on the USA Network opposite Bunkhouse Stampede, cutting into its buy rate. Crockett then attempted to use McMahon's tactics against him, airing Clash of the Champions I —featuring a PPV-quality card—on TBS in an attempt to draw viewers away from WrestleMania IV on PPV, which took place that same night. This was one of the few tactics to actually work for JCP in its war with

3404-461: The heavy overuse of this end-of-match sequence, many JCP fans started to expect the swerve at any moment, whenever a popular wrestler (usually a face ) appeared to win a title match and was about to be awarded the championship belt (or any similar situation), only to have the win overturned due to a technicality. As a result, attendance at live shows began to fall — even at venues where JCP had traditionally drawn well or extremely well. By 1988, JCP

3478-466: The interview to the attention of Hank Aaron , himself a vice president in the Turner organization with the Atlanta Braves , who then pushed for Watts' removal. While Madden takes credit for Watts getting fired, Watts himself disputes this account, saying he was not fired for the comments but quit his position out of frustration over "backstabbing" by Shaw and (unbeknownst to Shaw) had already resigned by

3552-549: The issues that came with expansion was a lack of investing in the kind of marketing needed to make it successful. As mentioned, major cards such as Starrcade and the Bunkhouse Stampede did not draw as well when moved out of JCP's traditional territory. According to Rhodes, JCP failed to gain the national name recognition that McMahon achieved with the World Wrestling Federation. Rhodes also pointed out that with

3626-524: The late 1970s and early 1980s, it ran regular shows in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio . Crockett and Scott also bought minority shares of Frank Tunney 's Toronto -based promotion, Maple Leaf Wrestling . Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling also aired on a Buffalo, New York station, enabling the Tunney/Crockett/Scott enterprise to bring a full slate of shows to Ontario and upstate New York . In

3700-427: The limousines provided for various wrestlers and regular business parties held by officials throughout JCP's regional offices. In addition, the large amount of capital needed to take a wrestling company on a national tour and Crockett's aggressive territorial acquisitions had seriously drained JCP's coffers. In purchasing the UWF, JCP also took responsibility for the UWF's large debt from TV contracts, etc. Compounding

3774-408: 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 (to whom Turner had also granted a time slot), easily surpassed the ratings for the WWF broadcast, which only featured clips and wrestler promos instead of original matches. The steep decline in ratings for

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3848-488: The match, Gordy left All Japan breaking the Miracle Violence Connection up. On February 29, 1992, at SuperBrawl II , then-WCW Executive Vice President Kip Frey announced that he was negotiating to bring Williams and Gordy back to World Championship Wrestling. On March 9, the duo defeated three enhancement teams at a television taping for The Main Event in Anderson, South Carolina in contests that would not air until May. On

3922-462: The quarter-finals would begin later that night; as a result in a non-title match Williams and Gordy defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions the Steiner Brothers . While waiting for the next round to begin following the Clash, the duo would face and defeat Marcus Bagwell and Tom Zenk in house show matches. At Beach Blast 92 Williams and Gordy again faced the Steiner Brothers, this time going to

3996-491: The ring for one last match under Jim Crockett Promotions, Ric Flair's Last Match on July 31, 2022. Shortly after Flair's announcement, David Crockett and Conrad Thompson of the Starrcast wrestling fan convention filed for U.S. trademarks on "Jim Crockett Promotions" and "JCP" with respect to wrestling events, news, and merchandise. During a media call promoting the pay-per-view, Thompson stated he will give his 50% percent of

4070-450: 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). SuperStation TBS's parent company, Turner Broadcasting System , had asked Georgia Championship Wrestling to change its public brand name to World Championship Wrestling , helping fuel rumors that

4144-400: The time Aaron got the newsletter. Watts was replaced by Ole Anderson . Watts later went on to a position of booking power in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). His tenure there was short, as he stated in later interviews that he was only there on a three-month contract and had no interest in staying long-term. On April 4, 2009, Watts was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of

4218-597: The top rope and the babyfaces and heels separation. His tenure was not long, nor were his ideas overly embraced. According to his autobiography, Controversy Creates Ca$ h , Eric Bischoff (who worked under Watts at the time) felt Watts would intimidate anyone he was talking to and was only interested in taking the WCW product back to 1970s standards, with poorly lit arenas and house shows in remote rural towns. The circumstances of Watts' departure in 1993 are controversial. Prior to 1992, Watts had given an interview to Wade Keller for his newsletter, Pro Wrestling Torch. After

4292-703: The tournament final. Their NWA title win, however, went unrecognized by the NWA. Steve Williams and Terry Gordy then began feuding with the Dangerous Alliance, defeating Bobby Eaton and Arn Anderson in house show matches. On the September 26th edition of the Main Event, the duo sustained their first televised defeat when they were beaten by The Steiner Brothers in a non-title matchup. On the October 3rd edition of WCW Saturday Night they were then upset by Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham and lost both titles. This would mark

4366-463: The value of professional wrestling for cable television in the early 1970s. WTCG aired Georgia Championship Wrestling's programming on Saturday evenings, and wrestling provided his then-fledgling enterprise (the future SuperStation WTBS ) a source of cheap live entertainment which was well-suited to the station's target demographics. Turner could run per inquiry advertisements (for products like Slim Whitman albums and Ginsu knives) and take part of

4440-643: The younger Crockett and under the guidance of a new creative force—former wrestler-turned-match- booker George Scott —the promotion moved away from generally featuring just tag teams , to primarily focusing on singles wrestling (although tag-team matches continued to play a big part in the company). By the early-1970s, JCP had gradually phased-out its multiple weekly television tapings in such cities as Charlotte, North Carolina , Greenville, South Carolina , and High Point, North Carolina , consolidating its production schedule into just one shoot (a Wednesday night videotaping at WRAL-TV in Raleigh ), and then syndicating

4514-890: Was a promoter of live events including professional wrestling , music concerts , plays , minor league baseball , and ice hockey . In 1931, he founded his own professional wrestling promotion , Jim Crockett Promotions. Crockett built JCP as a regional promotion centred on the Carolinas and Virginia . Although the business was always called Jim Crockett Promotions, it used a variety of pseudonyms as brand names for specific TV shows, newspaper and radio ads, and even on event tickets, themselves. Among those brand names that JCP created were "Championship Wrestling", "All Star Wrestling", "East Coast Wrestling", "Eastern States Championship Wrestling", "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling", "Mid-Atlantic Championship Sports", "Wide World Wrestling", and "NWA Pro Wrestling", NWA World Wide Wrestling", and "NWA World Championship Wrestling" following its membership in

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4588-445: Was added to Crockett's national expansion ambitions when, after Frank Tunney's death, his nephew and successor Jack joined forces with the WWF. Crockett would now have to either find other willing partner-promoters or buy them out if he wanted to run shows outside the Mid-Atlantic territory. This period also marked Crockett's first attempt to create a national promotion; Crockett and other wrestling companies needed this opportunity after

4662-735: Was also hosted by the team of Rich Landrum and Johnny Weaver . In 1978, JCP later added a short-lived show, The Best of NWA Wrestling , which was taped at the WCCB studios in Charlotte (across the street from the now- Bojangles' Coliseum , a regular venue for Mid-Atlantic live events) and featured then-active wrestler Johnny Weaver sitting down with top stars in a "coach's show" format (in which host and guest did running commentary over 16 millimeter film footage of matches from local arenas). Rich Landrum and David Crockett appeared on "Best Of", doing promo interviews for local arena shows. JCP gradually began to expand, running shows in eastern Tennessee, parts of West Virginia , and even Savannah, Georgia . In

4736-440: Was basically a re-packaged version of Mid-Atlantic , and it was also announced by Billy "Big Bill" Ward. In 1975, JCP premiered a new, syndicated show, Wide World Wrestling (renamed World Wide Wrestling in 1978). The original host of this show was former Georgia Championship Wrestling announcer Ed Capral. Subsequent Wide World / World Wide announcers included Les Thatcher, George and Sandy Scott , and Dr. Tom Miller. It

4810-542: 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's buyout of or merger with all of the NWA's regional promotions. Ted Turner , whose Atlanta television station WTCG would become distributed nationally via satellite starting in 1976, had realized

4884-426: Was frequently referred to in the influential Pro Wrestling Illustrated and its sister publications by the WCW name or more commonly as "the World Championship area." As a result of the success World Championship Wrestling now had from acquiring the Saturday night time slots, Crockett (along with JCP booker Dusty Rhodes ) was able to establish an annual summer arena tour, " The Great American Bash " starting with

4958-420: Was hosted by Bob Caudle , (a longtime WRAL weatherman). Caudle was joined by a rotation of co-hosts (everyone from Les Thatcher all the way to Dr. Tom Miller ), before David Crockett (another son of Jim Crockett Sr.) became Bob's permanent co-host/ color commentary man (after ending a very brief career as a wrestler, himself). For a brief period, a secondary show, East Coast Wrestling , was taped at WRAL; it

5032-408: Was on the verge of bankruptcy . In November 1988, Turner Broadcasting System purchased a majority interest in 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 . In 1993, JCP ceased to exist. On May 16, 2022, Ric Flair announced he would return to

5106-473: Was re-elected NWA President. This was to help counter the WWF, after it became America's dominant wrestling business in the wake of WrestleMania. Crockett then purchased both Saturday evening TBS time slots from Vince McMahon and filled the time slot with two hours of original programming filmed in Ted Turner's Atlanta studios . The programming aired under the World Championship Wrestling banner, which had been adopted by GCW before its demise. The entire company

5180-406: Was renamed the Universal Wrestling Corporation. Soon after, it was renamed again to World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The eventual downfall of JCP, leading to its eventual sale to Ted Turner (and thereby the birth of WCW) can be attributed to several key factors. Magnum T. A. — one of JCP's top babyfaces , and the performer scheduled to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion at Starrcade 1986 —

5254-418: Was scheduled to air the same night. Not wanting to possibly lose to the WWF in a direct PPV competition, Crockett decided to move Starrcade's starting time to Thanksgiving afternoon instead of the evening. However, the WWF then threatened cable companies that if they chose to air Starrcade, they would not be offered future WWF PPVs, including that year's Survivor Series and the forthcoming WrestleMania IV . Since

5328-530: 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

5402-708: Was severely injured in a car accident over two months before Starrcade (October 14), and could never wrestle again. So, JCP turned major "heel" Nikita Koloff , into a face on October 25, to take Magnum T. A.'s place while still being able to have a profitable build-up to Starrcade's main event. JCP alienated loyal fans in the Carolinas by moving Starrcade '87 and the Bunkhouse Stampede to arenas in Chicago and New York City, respectively. JCP had no real history and market presence in either of these non-southern metro areas, and its ability to drawing sellout crowds for arena shows in

5476-453: Was unable to win the title. In the 1960s, he wrestled in many areas, such as San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, and even Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). During these periods, Watts challenged for both the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and American Wrestling Association (AWA) versions of the World Title . Watts also had a successful run winning tag belts with Buck Robley in

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