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73-561: The promotion was founded by former Jim Crockett Promotions wrestlers George South and Gary Sabaugh in 1990. During the company's first year in operation, The Russian Assassin was billed as PWF Heavyweight Champion while George South and The Rising Sun were awarded the PWF Tag Team Championship. On June 15, 1991, South also became the first PWF Junior Heavyweight Champion after winning a tournament held in Charlotte. In April 1992,

146-571: A cult following in Appalachia and the Southeastern U.S., and garnered positive exposure from mainstream media outlets and pro wrestling publications, the PWF struggled financially for much of its history. PWF wrestlers typically performed for free including its biggest stars, such as The Harlem Knights . Charles Robinson noted that oftentimes the best the roster could hope for was "a hotdog and soft drink on

219-469: A family friendly version of traditional Southern-style Rasslin' catering to the region's large Southern Baptist community . South, a born-again Christian , portrayed the PWF's main "heel" performer. He incorporated elements of evangelical Christianity not only in his in-ring persona but the promotion's live events as well. Many of their benefit shows and fundraisers took place at local churches throughout

292-572: A Tournament for the OMEGA Heavyweight Championship which featured Matt Hardy vs. CW Anderson and Shane "Hurricane" Helms vs. "The King" Shane Williams. After Hardy's qualifying match he was attacked by CW but was saved by the returning Willow the Whisp . Hardy won that match and now advanced to the finals. In their April event "Chaos in Cameron" The Hardy Boyz defeated The Briscoe Brothers in

365-555: A co-promotion with Miss South Carolina . Attended by 1,350 fans, South and The Masked Superstar battled The Rock 'n' Roll Express ( Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson ) in the main event with Tommy Young as special referee. It was among the largest shows of the year on the U.S. independent circuit. Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina , United States. Founded in 1931,

438-540: A falling out with Sabaugh when he demanded to collect their $ 100 fee, and they reported the incident to WWF official Bruce Prichard . It was decided that the promotion would contact the brothers directly instead of calling Sabaugh. Sabaugh was released by the WWF shortly afterwards, partly due to the incident, and formerly ending its relationship with the PWF. The Hardy Boys eventually signed with WWF full-time in May 1998. While it enjoyed

511-465: A good night, plus gas money". According to George South, the situation worsened when Extreme Championship Wrestling arrived in the area during the late-1990s. The company's violent " hardcore wrestling " caused many high schools and other buildings to prohibit pro wrestling shows which South referred to as "the ECW rule". The PWF and other local promotions relied on these venues, particularly for "sold shows", as

584-479: 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

657-445: 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

730-465: A preliminary wrestler, brought groups of 12-15 PWF wrestlers (many of whom were his students) for WWF television tapings. In addition to being paid by the WWF for traveling expenses, Sabaugh also collected a $ 100 booking fee from the wrestlers. According to Matt Hardy, Sabaugh abandoned he and his brother in Charlotte, North Carolina after arranging to traveling to a show in Macon, Georgia. The Hardys later had

803-694: 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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876-424: A revenue source. The promotion finally closed its doors at the end of 2000. Sabaugh, who was burned out and going through a divorce at the time, cited his decision to leave the industry as the main reason for the PWF shutting down. In June 2019, it was announced on Facebook.com that a documentary film about the PWF was in production. Wrestling historian Jason Freeman and filmmaker Michael Elliot were attached to

949-530: 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

1022-452: 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

1095-675: 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

1168-592: 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,

1241-618: 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

1314-501: The South Atlantic region . One of these shows was held at Northside Baptist Church on December 12, 1992, before 2,050 people. The promotion was active in regional community outreach programs, particularly those involving sick and needy children . As part of an anti-drug campaign , the PWF held free wrestling shows for children at schools throughout West Virginia. Prior to the matches, George South and The Italian Stallion spoke to

1387-618: 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

1460-600: The United States Wrestling Association among others. Many of its wrestlers, including Madd Maxxine, were regularly featured in the PWI 500 from 1992 to 1998. The PWF had a loose association with the World Wrestling Federation during the early-to-mid 1990s. They worked directly with WWF agents George "The Animal" Steele , Rene Goulet and Tony Garea . Sabaugh, who was also appearing for the WWF as

1533-950: 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,

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1606-418: The Carolinas who had not yet made their mark on a national stage, including Chris Hamrick , Kid Kash (then known as David Jericho), Mike Maverick , Ron Killings , Venom and The Hardy Boyz . Starting in 1993, The Hardys had their first-ever matches in the PWF. Sabaugh was impressed by their high-flying moves but felt they were too inexperienced and lacked basic fundamentals and in-ring psychology. He wanted

1679-540: 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

1752-399: 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

1825-580: The PWF Heavyweight Championship in order to defend the tag titles with the newly reformed South. They were among the nominees for 1994 PWI Tag Team of the Year . The two eventually went back to fighting each other, with South winning the Stallion's title several times over the next two years, and at one point female wrestler Madd Maxxine (not to be confused with the 1980s WWF wrestler ) became involved in

1898-502: The PWF and its training school for its entire 9-year run. The PWF's "home territory" was the Carolinas with its live events held in many of the smaller towns once run by the Crockett family in the National Wrestling Alliance 's old Mid-Atlantic territory . PWF event tours also included church fundraisers, high school gyms, national guard armories and fairs in cities throughout North and South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. By 1995,

1971-630: The PWF was named the top independent promotion in the Southeastern United States by Pro Wrestling Illustrated , and was considered among the region's leading companies throughout the decade. The promotion also had a number of other singles titles including the PWF Lightweight Championship (1992), PWF United States Championship (1993), PWF Southern Championship (1993) and PWF Women's Championship (1992-1993) but these were all short-lived. The first PWF Intercontinental Champion

2044-607: 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

2117-503: The U.S. trademarks of Jim Crockett Promotions to David Crockett on August 1, 2022, after the conclusion of the Starrcast weekend. OMEGA Championship Wrestling The Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts , also known as OMEGA or OMEGA Championship Wrestling (stylized as ΩMΞGΔ CHΔMPIΩNSHIP WRΞSTLIΠG), is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in central North Carolina . It featured and helped launch

2190-740: 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

2263-449: 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

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2336-505: 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

2409-558: 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

2482-537: The World Wrestling Federation. The biggest heat I get is if I tell someone that I'm going to take them to church with me. That gets more heat than anything I've ever seen, more than if you cussed them to death. They've had to pull many of them out of that ring, and I've had policemen ask me what in the world I said to them. I told them that I just invited them to church. – George South, George South: No Heel Outside The Ring (1997) The PWF presented

2555-426: The Year . The PWF's main storyline revolved around the long-running feud between George South and The Italian Stallion . They initially fought over the PWF Heavyweight Championship, however, their rivalry would go through many twists and turns as time went on. In June 1994, South and The Italian Stallion briefly teamed to win the PWF Tag Team Championship and held the belts for six months. Stallion chose to surrender

2628-601: 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

2701-658: The brothers to train at their wrestling school, however, the Hardys were unable to afford the $ 3,000 class fees. They ultimately decided to create their own promotion, OMEGA Championship Wrestling , which operated from 1997 to 1999. South and Sabaugh's wrestling school, the PWF Training Center, was located in Charlotte, North Carolina. This allowed the promotion to develop its own crew of home grown talent. Some of their early students included Madd Maxxine, Henry O. Godwinn , and referee Charles Robinson who would later go on to join

2774-427: The careers of both Hardys , Shannon Moore , Joey Matthews , Christian York , Joey Abs , C. W. Anderson , Shane Helms , and others. The promotion has been inactive since 2017. Established in 1997, OMEGA was run and created by Matt and Jeff Hardy . They began the promotion because at the time, there were not many places to wrestle, nor did they know anyone who could help. Both Matt and Jeff Hardy took apart

2847-519: 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

2920-464: 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) 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

2993-406: The feud. Years before Chyna 's debut in the World Wrestling Federation , the 450-lbs. Maxine was presented as a serious challenger to male wrestlers. She was voted third runner-up for the 1995 PWI Rookie of the Year and the third ever women to make it into the annual PWI 500 after Miss Texas (1993) and Luna Vachon (1995). In August 1996, she won the promotion's junior heavyweight title, and

Pro Wrestling Federation - Misplaced Pages Continue

3066-467: 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

3139-461: 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

3212-593: The history of the promotion, including matches and interviews with many OMEGA wrestlers. Matt Hardy had announced that OMEGA would return in January 2013 with an event titled "Chinlock For Chuck" a fundraising event for former wrestler Chuck Coates (MADD Max) who at the time was suffering from Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. The main event featured Matt Hardy , Jeff Hardy , Shane "Hurricane" Helms and "Cowboy" James Storm defeating Gunner , Steve Corino , CW Anderson and Lodi . On October 12, 2013 at "Chapel Thrill", Hardy announced

3285-480: 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

3358-524: 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

3431-427: 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

3504-408: 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

3577-661: The project. The documentary was released on DVD the following year. After his partnership with Sabaugh ended, South established a new promotion called the Exodus Wrestling Alliance in Concord, North Carolina . The EWA operated from 2000 to 2015 and set a number of record-breaking shows in the early-2000s. On February 21, 2004, Night of the Legends: Beauty and the Beasts was held at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium as part of

3650-531: 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 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

3723-420: The promotion was running at least four shows a week in the Carolinas alone. In the early-1990s, the promotion filmed two television pilots with hopes of a weekly television series. The PWF was able to get a studio wrestling show on WBTV (Channel 15) in Charlotte, North Carolina but it only lasted six months on the air. One of the two filmed pilots were later released on DVD in the late-2000s. The promotion

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3796-534: The ring and put it back together at every event they had, while Matt Hardy sewed all the costumes worn in OMEGA. The promotion folded in October 1999, after both Matt and Jeff Hardy had signed with the World Wrestling Federation , leaving the other wrestlers to make careers for themselves, with many moving onto NWA Wildside . In 2007, Highspots.com produced a two-disc DVD set entitled OMEGA: Uncommon Passion , chronicling

3869-491: 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

3942-450: 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

4015-547: The students on the dangers of drug abuse. One of these shows was covered by Pro Wrestling Illustrated . On November 12, 1993, a free children's show in Richmond, Virginia was attended by 2,000. A month later, the PWF held one of its first major supercards, Pro WrestleMania II , seen by 4,500 fans at the Charlotte Coliseum . Due to his charity work, South was among the top candidates for the 1994 PWI Inspirational Wrestler of

4088-465: The two were able to use their connections to bring in The Equalizer , Firebreaker Chip and The Guerreros ( Eddie Guerrero and Hector Guerrero ) for championship runs in the early-to-mid 1990s. The PWF featured a number of wrestlers who were regulars in the Southeastern wrestling scene and was the birthplace of Men on a Mission ( Mabel and Mo ). It also featured a number of younger wrestlers in

4161-463: 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

4234-692: 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

4307-444: Was able to bring in a number of former stars from Jim Crockett Promotions during its early years including, most notably, The Barbarian , Jack Victory , Ron Garvin , Wahoo McDaniel , and The Rock 'n' Roll Express ( Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson ). Bambi and Peggy Lee Leather from Ladies Professional Wrestling Association also made several appearances during this period. As South and Sabaugh were regulars on WCW television,

4380-500: 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

4453-781: 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

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4526-440: 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

4599-542: 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

4672-558: Was crowned in a tournament final on January 29, 1994, in Inman, South Carolina , when American G.I. defeated The Russian Assassin. This title was replaced by the PWF Eastern States Heavyweight Championship following a tournament won by Tyrone Knox the following year. Sabaugh took over the promotion in October 1994. This allowed South to wrestle for other Southern independents, however, he continued to be involved with

4745-533: 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

4818-420: 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

4891-454: 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

4964-594: 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

5037-480: 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 —

5110-418: 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

5183-530: 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

5256-708: 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

5329-525: Was undefeated for nearly two years. Maxxine was later joined by her controlling mother Mama Maxxine as a manager . The intergender wrestling storyline received coverage from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and other wrestling magazines of the period . For much of the 1990s, the PWF was ranked among the top independent promotions in the Southern United States along with Smoky Mountain Wrestling and

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