The Rise and Fall of WCW
 
(Top) The original WCW logo, (Bottom) The logo used from 1999 to 2001
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| 1988–1996 Private (subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System) 1996 Public (subsidiary of Time Warner division Turner) 2001–present Private (subsidiary of WWE) |
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| Industry |
Professional wrestling Sports entertainment |
| Fate | Merged with WWE |
| Predecessor |
Georgia Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions |
| Founded | October 11, 1988 |
| Founder | Ted Turner |
| Defunct | March 26, 2001 |
| Headquarters | One Centennial Tower Atlanta, Georgia 30303 United States |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products | Television, Internet, merchandise |
|
Number of employees
|
~150 (March 1998) |
| Parent |
Turner Broadcasting System (1988–1996) Time Warner (1996-2001) World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment Inc (2001-present) WCW Inc. Time Warner (2001-present) Universal Wrestling Corporation |
| Website | WCW at WWE.com |
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion, historically based in Atlanta, Georgia. It began as a regional (mid-Atlantic U.S.), National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)-affiliated "territory" promotion – Jim Crockett Promotions – until November 1988, when Ted Turner (through his Turner Broadcasting System business) bought the promotion, whose struggle to compete with Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE) had left it near bankruptcy. Immediately after the buyout, the business was renamed the Universal Wrestling Corporation (UWC) and consisted of Crockett's business assets not picked up by World Wrestling Federation Entertainment. In its early years, WCW was buoyed by established NWA performers such as Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes, along with emerging stars like Lex Luger, and Sting, who would go on to be dubbed "The Franchise of WCW".
In the mid-1990s, WCW dramatically improved its economic performance, largely due to the promotion of Eric Bischoff to Executive Producer; the hiring of former WWF main eventers Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper and Diesel (Kevin Nash); the introduction of the Monday Nitro series on cable TV, and the resultant Monday Night Wars with the WWF's Monday Night Raw; the creative and marketing execution of the New World Order (nWo) brand/stable of wrestlers, which involved Hulk Hogan's shift from perennial fan-favorite to prominent villain; and other innovative concepts. WCW also developed a popular cruiserweight division, which showcased an acrobatic, fast-paced, lucha libre-inspired style of wrestling.
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