Universal Wrestling Corporation: Difference between revisions
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{{About|a original wrestling promotion that existed from 1988 to 2001 and currently as a shell company|the [[WWE]]-owned subsidiary|World Championship Wrestling}} |
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{{Infobox company |
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|name = Universal Wrestling Corporation |
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|logo = |
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| former_name = {{ubl|World Championship Wrestling Inc. (1988-2001)}} |
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|type = [[Subsidiary]] of [[Time Warner]] |
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|fate = Assets sold to [[WWE|World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.]] (March 26, 2001) |
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|successor = [[WCW, Inc.]] |
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|foundation = October 11, 1988<ref>http://www.georgiacompanieslist.com/universal-wrestling-corporation-gcc1/</ref> |
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|location =One [[CNN Center]]<br>[[Atlanta|Atlanta, Georgia]] 30303 [[United States]] |
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|founder = [[Ted Turner]]<br>Jack Petrik |
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|key_people ='''Ted Turner'''<br /><small>(Owner, 1988-2001)</small><br />'''[[Eric Bischoff]]'''<br /><small>(Various executive roles, 1993-1999; 2000)</small><br />'''David Levy'''<br /><small>(President, [[Turner Sports]])</small> |
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|area_served = Worldwide |
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|industry = [[Professional Sports]] |
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|products = Television, Internet, and merchandise |
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|revenue = |
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|operating_income = |
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|net_income = |
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|num_employees = |
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|owner = |
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|parent=[[Time Warner]] |
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}} |
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'''Universal Wrestling Corporation'''<ref>caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-court-of-appeals/1391721.html</ref> ('''UWC''') is a [[United States|American]] [[shell company]] that was formerly a [[professional wrestling]] [[Professional wrestling promotion|promotion]] based in [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. It began as a regional promotion affiliated with the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA), named [[Jim Crockett Promotions]] until November 1988, when [[Ted Turner]] and his [[Turner Broadcasting System]] established the promotion as Universal Wrestling Corporation that consisted of Crockett's assets, but soon changing the name again to '''World Championship Wrestling, Inc.''' ('''WCW'''). |
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In the mid-1990s, WCW improved its economic stability, largely due to the promotion of [[Eric Bischoff]] to Executive Producer, the hiring of [[Hulk Hogan]], the introduction of ''[[WCW Monday Nitro|Nitro]]'' and the resultant [[Monday Night Wars]], the [[New World Order (professional wrestling)|New World Order]] and other innovative concepts. However, numerous problems financially and creatively led to the company losing its lead. Its fall from grace and the various factors leading up to it have been heavily documented within the sport. Turner, and later [[Time Warner]], owned WCW until 2001 when selected assets were purchased by its primary competitor, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), now known as [[WWE]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.georgesouth.com/press/051214_YESweekly.htm|first= Jordan| last=Green|title=I was famous for getting beat up': The glorious and tragic story of Carolina wrasslin|publisher=YES! Weekly|date= 2005-12-14}}</ref><ref name=wcwsold>{{cite book|last=Assael|first=Shaun|author2=Mooneyham, Mike |title=Sex, Lies and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation|date=2002-07-16|publisher=Crown Publishers|isbn=0-609-60690-5| pages=252}}</ref> Since 2001, WCW images and video footage have been widely distributed in WWE media. |
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Two separate subsidiary companies exist as successors to WCW. [[WCW, Inc.]] is the WWE subsidiary established in [[Delaware]] in late 2000 initially as W. Acquisition Company which holds the rights to the WCW video library and other intellectual property.<ref>http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1091907/000120677408000468/exhibit21-1.htm</ref> The former WCW entity, which retained certain liabilities (such as guaranteed contracts with certain performers) not acquired by WWF, was renamed back to Universal Wrestling Corporation, and as of 2014 is still registered as an active Georgia-[[domicile (law)|domiciled]] subsidiary of Time Warner.<ref>http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?762297</ref><ref name=UWC>http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-court-of-appeals/1204668.html</ref> |
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==History== |
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{{Main|History of World Championship Wrestling}} |
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===Name=== |
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The name "World Championship Wrestling" was first used as a brand and television show in 1982. [[Jim Barnett (wrestling)|Jim Barnett]], who had worked for the [[World Championship Wrestling (Australia)|World Championship Wrestling]] promotion in [[Australia]], came to Atlanta in the 1970s during an internal struggle over the [[Georgia Championship Wrestling|NWA Georgia territory]].<ref>[http://www.tvparty.com/80swrestling/32ghost.html Ghosts of Wrestling Past]</ref> Barnett wound up as the majority owner of the territory, and he wound up using the name for the territory's television program in 1982. The brand eventually passed on to [[Jim Crockett Promotions]]. |
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However, it was not until November 2, 1988 <ref name="First date">{{cite web|url= http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/jcp88.htm|title=JCP 1988|accessdate=2013-08-21}}</ref> that an actual NWA-affiliated promotion called World Championship Wrestling appeared on the national scene, under the ownership of media mogul [[Ted Turner]], based in [[Atlanta|Atlanta, Georgia]]. While initially the new company was called Universal Wrestling Corporation (launched on October 11, 1988), very shortly following the purchase the decision was made to utilize the familiar "World Championship Wrestling" name for the new promotion. |
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===Leadership and booking=== |
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The company went through various changes in its leadership and booking during the following years. Some people, like [[Jim Herd]] and [[Kip Allen Frey|Kip Frey]], were completely lacking in wrestling experience; others, like [[Bill Watts]], [[Ole Anderson]], and [[Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)|Dusty Rhodes]] had extensive wrestling experience, but were so entrenched in the old territorial methods of promotion that they were ineffective at building WCW's audience. |
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While [[Eric Bischoff]] has received much criticism for some of his mishandling while he acted as WCW Executive Producer (and later, WCW President), he combined an understanding of wrestling with a willingness to make changes that were needed in order to help WCW become more visible in the eyes of the media and advertisers. These changes including moving some television tapings to [[Disney's Hollywood Studios|Disney-MGM Studios]] in Orlando, and signing both main-event performers and young stars from around the world. |
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Some of the creative freedoms that Bischoff granted main-event level talent helped to bring the company down, as main-event level talent were less than cooperative in helping rising stars fulfill their potential, a staple of the sport. Once Bischoff was relieved of his duties in 1999, [[Vince Russo]], a former writer for the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Federation]], came on board to become the lead writer of WCW. Russo did not last long in his position, but in April 2000, WCW opted to bring Russo and Bischoff back in hopes that the duo might re-spark interest in WCW. The two, however, did not get along well and Bischoff soon left the company. |
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===WCW in other media=== |
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From 2000 to 2001, ''[[Monster Jam]]'' had a series of monster trucks based on wrestlers' names. These include nWo (2000), Sting (2000–2001), Nitro Machine (2000–currently Inferno), Madusa (2000–present) and Goldberg (2000–currently Maximum Destruction). The first to go was nWo, which only ran for a season. Next, all but [[Bill Goldberg|Goldberg]], Nitro, and Madusa were retired after the WCW sponsorship was lost. Nitro then became Flashfire, then was converted into Inferno. Madusa has stayed as the same name ever since it was created, because it is driven by former WCW superstar [[Debra Miceli|Madusa]]. As for Goldberg, it was changed to [[Tom Meents|Team Meents]] in 2002, then into [[Maximum Destruction]], which debuted in 2003 and continues to compete in the series. |
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WCW also had a presence in [[NASCAR]] from the mid-1990s to 2000, sponsoring the #29 team in the [[Nationwide Series|Busch Grand National Series]] full-time and the #9 [[Melling Racing]] team in the [[Sprint Cup Series#Winston Cup|Winston Cup Series]] part-time. In 1996, [[Kyle Petty]]'s #49 car in the Busch Grand National series was sponsored by the nWo. Then, [[Wally Dallenbach, Jr.]] sponsored WCW driving for Galaxy Motorsports for a couple races. |
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===Sale to WWF/E, Inc.=== |
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As 2000 came to a close, a number of potential buyers for WCW were rumored to show interest in the company. Ted Turner, however, was still in charge of [[Time Warner]] prior to the final merger of AOL and Time Warner in 2001, and most offers were rejected. Eric Bischoff, working with Fusient Media Ventures, made a bid to acquire the company in January 2001 (shortly following the AOL/Time Warner merger), and it appeared that WCW would continue. |
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One of the primary backers in the WCW deal backed out, however, leaving Fusient to take that offer off the table while it attempted to bring a new deal around. In the meantime, the World Wrestling Federation founded W. Acquisition Company in late 2000 and began speaking to the new [[Time Warner#2000s|AOL Time Warner]] about acquiring the WCW brand. Jamie Kellner was handed control over the Turner Broadcasting division, and deemed WCW wrestling to be out of line with its image. As a result, WCW programming was canceled on both [[TBS (TV network)|TBS]] and [[TNT (TV channel)|TNT]], leaving Vince McMahon's company, which at the time had an exclusive deal with Viacom, free to acquire the trademarks, video libraries and a few contracts of World Championship Wrestling through its new subsidiary W. Acquisition Company and was renamed to WCW Inc. afterwards. |
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==Ligations and lawsuits== |
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During the sale, WCW was in litigation, with various lawsuits pending, and [[AOL Time Warner]] still had to pay various performers their guaranteed deals, as many had contracts directly with the parent company, and not with WCW. Since WCW Inc. had acquired select assets, the company that was once World Championship Wrestling was reverted to Universal Wrestling Corporation once again; its only purpose now, however, was to deal with old contracts and lawsuits. However, Universal has been involved in a number of lawsuits and other legal cases during its existence as WCW and after the sale: |
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*In 2002, [[Kevin Nash]] sued Universal claiming he owed past royalties for his name, persona, and image. Nash was not the only wrestler who didn't receive royalties due. WCW "engaged in a systematic pattern and practice designed to avoid paying the professional wrestlers millions of dollars in royalties" for merchandising and licensing activities, the complaint said.<ref>http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/video_reviews/14385/Nash-Sues-Former-WCW.htm#vxMvZtLMArqMcb05.99</ref><ref>http://www.martindale.com/intellectual-property-law/article_Dinsmore-Shohl-LLP_2404.htm</ref> |
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*[[Hulk Hogan]] filed a lawsuit against WCW and [[Vince Russo]] in 2000 for libel and defamation of character during the [[Bash at the Beach#2000|Bash at the Beach]] event. That was dismissed in 2002. <ref>Terry Bollea, professionally known as Hulk Hogan and Hollywood Hogan, appeals from the trial court's partial grant of summary - See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-court-of-appeals/1395479.html#sthash.Brj9vHD2.dpuf</ref> |
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*After being released in 1999, [[Sonny Onoo]] and the twelve [[African American]] wrestlers launched [[Racism|racial discrimination]] [[lawsuit]]s against WCW in February 2000, in which he claimed wrongful dismissal.<ref name=oww/> Onoo claimed that he had been given a disrespectful gimmick and that his final salary—[[United States dollar|$]]160,000—was only half of the average pay for a wrestler at that time.<ref name="Altamura">{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingArchive2001/apr4_onoo-can.html|author=Altamura, M.|title=Kazuo 'Sonny' Onoo speaks out|publisher=[[Canadian Online Explorer]]|accessdate=2008-05-18|date=2001-04-04}}</ref> The lawsuit would eventually be settled out of court. |
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*When [[Sid Vicious]] retired in 2001 due to an career ending injury, he sued Universal claiming that he was made to jump off the second rope against his objections.<ref name=charm/> The injury forced a plot change in the 2001 [[SuperBrawl#SuperBrawl Revenge|SuperBrawl Revenge]] event. The main event was supposed to be Kevin Nash, [[Diamond Dallas Page]], and Sid against [[Scott Steiner]], [[Jeff Jarrett]], and Road Warrior Animal but was rewritten as Kevin Nash versus Scott Steiner. Time Warner subsequently reduced his pay and then terminated his contract in June 2001.<ref>http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-court-of-appeals/1204668.html#sthash.Cpb3k40C.dpuf</ref> |
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==Legacy== |
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At the outset of WCW's existence, as well as with the promotions that came before it, the company was strongly identified with the [[Southern United States|Southern]] style of professional wrestling ([[List of professional wrestling terms#R|rasslin']]), which emphasized athletic in-ring competition over the showmanship and cartoonish characters of the WWF.<ref>{{cite book|last=Assael| first=Shaun|author2=Mooneyham, Mike |title=Sex, Lies and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Federation|date=2002-07-16|publisher=Crown Publishers|isbn=0-609-60690-5|pages=61}}</ref> This identification persisted into the 1990s, even as the company signed former WWF stars such as [[Hulk Hogan]] and [[Randy Savage]]. WCW dominated [[Monday Night Wars|pro wrestling's television ratings from mid-1996 to 1998]] (84 straight weeks) mainly due to its incredibly popular [[New World Order (professional wrestling)|New World Order]] [[List of professional wrestling terms#A|storyline]], but thereafter began to lose heavy ground to the WWF, which had recovered greatly due to its new [[The Attitude Era|"Attitude"]] branding. Repetitive story lines, questionable booking issues, and corporate restrictions eventually led the promotion to begin losing large amounts of money, leading to parent company [[Time Warner|AOL Time Warner]] selling the name copyrights to the WWF for [[United States dollar|$]]2.5 million in 2001. Shortly after the purchase, Vince McMahon purchased the entire tape library for an additional $1.7 million, bringing the final tally of World Championship Wrestling's sale to $4.2 million. |
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WCW started out as a regional promotion in the late 1980s focusing mainly in the [[Deep South]]. It started growing nationally a few years later, which led to its rivalry with the WWF. Even though WCW folded in 2001, its legacy lived on in the WWF. The WWF kept the [[WWF United States Championship|WCW United States Championship]], the [[WWF Cruiserweight Championship|WCW Cruiserweight Championship]], the [[WCW World Tag Team Championship]], and the [[WCW World Heavyweight Championship]]. Eventually, the titles were unified into their WWF counterparts. In 2003, now known as the WWE, the company resurrected the United States title to be competed for exclusively on [[WWF Friday Night SmackDown|''SmackDown'']]. When [[Hulk Hogan]] came back to the WWF, the WWF kept his Hollywood nickname. In 2004, the WWE brought back the [[The Great American Bash|Great American Bash]] pay-per-view and also in 2009, released ''Starrcade: The Essential Collection'' as a three-disc DVD set. In August 2009, WWE released a DVD set chronicling the history of WCW called ''The Rise and Fall of WCW''.<ref name=WCWDVD>{{cite web|url= http://www.jrsbarbq.com/jrs-qa/wwe/hey-jr-i-was-just-wondering-do-you-know-when-rise-and-fall-wcw-coming-out-and-what-do-you|first= Jim|last=Ross|authorlink=Jim Ross|title=J.R.'s Place|publisher=J.R.'s Barbq|date=2009-05-03|accessdate=2009-05-13}}</ref> Commemorating the 10 year anniversary of the purchase of the company, WWE re-opened WCW.com, highlighting the history of the company that had once had the upper-hand in the [[professional wrestling]] marketplace. WWE released two documentaries showing highlights from WCW Nitro's history, ''The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro'' and ''The Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2'', both documentaries are hosted by [[Diamond Dallas Page]]. |
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WCW is a major focus in the [[WWE '12]] video game released by [[THQ]] for Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii in 2012. In the Game's "Road to Wrestlemania" Story Mode, many WCW superstars are featured such as Arn Anderson, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, The Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal), Kevin "Diesel" Nash, Booker T and Vader. |
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==See also== |
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{{Portal|Professional wrestling}} |
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*[[WCW, Inc.]] - the holder of all WCW-related properties by WWE. |
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*[[Jim Crockett Promotions]] |
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*[[Monday Night Wars]] |
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*[[WWE]] |
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*[[List of WCW pay-per-view events]] |
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*[[List of World Championship Wrestling alumni]] |
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*[[The Alliance (professional wrestling)]] |
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*[[New World Order (professional wrestling)]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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{{Atlanta companies}} |
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{{Turner Broadcasting System}} |
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{{Time Warner}} |
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{{Turner Sports}} |
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{{Professional wrestling in the United States}} |
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[[Category:American professional wrestling promotions]] |
[[Category:American professional wrestling promotions]] |
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[[Category:World Championship Wrestling|*]] |
[[Category:World Championship Wrestling|*]] |
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[[Category:National Wrestling Alliance members]] |
[[Category:National Wrestling Alliance members]] |
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[[Category:Entertainment companies of the United States]] |
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[[el:World Wrestling Entertainment#Η κόντρα και η εξαγορά του WCW]] |
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Revision as of 01:42, 25 August 2014
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