History of World Championship Wrestling
 |
|
| Acronym | WCW |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 11, 1988 |
| Defunct | March 23, 2001 (WCW assets sold) |
| Style |
Professional wrestling Sports entertainment |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Founder(s) |
Ted Turner Jim Crockett |
| Owner(s) |
Universal: Ted Turner (1988–present, promotion until 2001) WCW, Inc.: Vince McMahon (2001-present) |
| Parent |
Universal: Turner Broadcasting System/Jim Crockett Promotions (1988–1996) Time Warner (1996–present, as a legal entity) WCW, Inc.: WWE (WWE Libraries) (2001–present) |
| Formerly |
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions |
| Website | WCW official website |
The history of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) is the history of the American professional wrestling promotion that existed from 1988 to 2001. It began as a promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that appeared on the national scene under the ownership of media mogul Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia. The name came from a wrestling television program that aired on TBS in the 1980s, which had taken the name from an Australian wrestling promotion of the 1970s.
In the 1990s, World Championship Wrestling, along with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), were the top two wrestling promotions in the United States. Its flagship show WCW Monday Nitro went head-to-head with WWF Raw is War in a ratings battle known as the Monday Night Wars. However, lackluster storylines, the increasing popularity of the WWF's Attitude Era, interference and restrictions from Time Warner eventually led to its decline and eventual acquisition of key assets by its main competition; Vince McMahon and the WWF (now WWE).
Although World Championship Wrestling was a brand name used by promoter Jim Barnett for his Australian promotion, the first promotion in the United States to use the World Championship Wrestling brand name (though it was never referred to as "WCW") on a wide scale was Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW). GCW, owned primarily by Jack Brisco and Gerald Brisco and booked by Ole Anderson, was the first NWA territory to gain cable television access.
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